Russ J. Alan
The Republicans take over Congress: now what?
By Russ J. Alan
In less than three weeks, the Tea Partiers will find out how they did on election day. A polar shift to a Republican majority in Congress is widely expected. While there will be celebrations, parties and much elation, it won't be time to sing "happy days are here again" and then go back to sleep; instead, it will be time to do the HARD work. The big thing is not merely winning the November 2nd elections; instead, winning back our freedoms will be the Tea Partiers' new, completely overhauled role in the Conservative political process beginning January 1st.
Karl Rove said the role of the new Conservative majority in the House and the Senate will be to "repeal, replace and reform," and that became the Tea Party's mantra. In comparison, beginning in January 2011, instead of the normal routine of complaining in blogs, on talk radio and on Facebook of the democrats' hypocrisy and double standards as conservatives have done for so long, the job of the Tea Partiers will then be to "monitor, motivate and manipulate" their newly elected Republican (and maybe one or two "third party") representatives, "monitoring" them for any sign of weakness or "bipartisanshit," making sure that they are actively blocking ALL democrat legislation and not wasting taxpayer money, sponsoring legislation (due to the fact it would most assuredly end in veto), keeping their "feet to the fire" and working for the American people.
ALL we can expect to gain from ANY Conservative majority in the House and/or the Senate with President Obama in The White House is "gridlock," i.e., neither party being able to pass legislation. Democrat sponsored bills will be blocked by the Republican majority and Republican passed bills will be vetoed by the president, at least until 2012 when the Obama administration is replaced by the Palin Administration, the Jindal Administration, the Plumber Administration, or whom's ever, even if the Republicans win two-thirds of the seats in the House and the Senate, unless it is a "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" type of bargain deal with the democrats, in which case, the Tea Party will spring into action.
Ordinarily, to achieve a so called, "veto-proof," two-thirds majority, Republicans would need to win 287 seats in the House of Representatives and somewhere between 66 and 67 seats in the Senate, and all want the same things for our Country; however, even with a two-thirds majority vote on a bill to repeal any democrat legislation, Republicans would not be successful because "our forefathers," the "framers" of The Constitution of whom Conservatives speak so highly, gave President Obama a little gift:
"If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a Law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a Law." - US Constitution Article 1, Section 7
Yes, it is the "pocket veto." James Madison was the first president to use the pocket veto in 1812. All President Obama has to do is "ignore" a bill sponsored by the Republicans, until the session of Congress is over. The vetoed legislation must then be re-proposed during the next legislative session.
A Republican majority's only real power is against democrat sponsored bills — they simply vote them down. Unfortunately, even though the democrats will no longer hold the majority in the House of Representatives, President Obama will still be able to bypass the legislative process and advance his leftist agenda via "executive order."
Those who elected President Obama do not understand how our government operates. One can hear people calling into liberal talk radio shows all the time saying things like, "...I think Congress should be abolished — then the president can do whatever he wants!" The problem is, that would make the president a dictator. The Obama voter views the office of the president as that of a dictator. They say things like "...look at what Bush did to this country!", "...Bill Clinton gave us a SURPLUS and then George Bush spent it all!", etc. President Obama is no different; he sees himself as a dictator. In his first week in office President Obama issued five executive orders, the first one, Executive Order 13489, states that only the records he chooses to be made public will be released, for instance, his original birth certificate. Also in his first week he issued an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility, another to stop water boarding. In his first month in office he issued sixteen executive orders. In 2009 he issued thirty-nine executive orders and in 2010, so far, he has issued twenty-six executive orders. This president believes he does not need the legislative process to advance his agenda.
Can a Conservative majority in Congress kill a president's executive order? Yes, with a two-thirds majority, but then the matter can and will be put before the Supreme Court. In the history of our nation, the Supreme Court has only overturned TWO (2) executive orders.
Gridlock can have positive effects, such as with the economy. As Rush Limbaugh has so eloquently explained, as well as have many noted economists, the economy doesn't do well when businesses are uncertain of what will come down from the federal government in the form of regulation and taxation. On the other hand, Wall Street and the business world thrives on certainty, and in "gridlock," the certainty is that no legislation, regulation or taxation is expected from the federal government. While it may be good for the economy indirectly, the fact that taxpayers pay the salaries of members of congress and the president, gridlock is an inefficient "Rube Goldberg" method to achieve a strong stock market.
The Internet is "a-twitter" with Conservatives screaming for the impeachment of this president. Several of the Republican congressional candidates have expressed their intentions to move for impeachment. Such impeachment proceedings will need to be against the vice president as well. A Conservative majority in the House and the Senate can get this done.
The new job of the Tea Partiers is to work their newly elected Republican representatives. Just like President Obama can't legitimately blame George Bush for unemployment, the failed stimulus and the $1.3 trillion dollar deficit, Conservatives will no longer be able to entirely blame the democrats if we lose our country. Tea Partiers must focus their energy solely on keeping their newly elected Republican majority working to regain our freedoms. After the election, the success or failure of the United States of America will be solely in the hands of the Republicans.
© Russ J. Alan
October 16, 2010
In less than three weeks, the Tea Partiers will find out how they did on election day. A polar shift to a Republican majority in Congress is widely expected. While there will be celebrations, parties and much elation, it won't be time to sing "happy days are here again" and then go back to sleep; instead, it will be time to do the HARD work. The big thing is not merely winning the November 2nd elections; instead, winning back our freedoms will be the Tea Partiers' new, completely overhauled role in the Conservative political process beginning January 1st.
Karl Rove said the role of the new Conservative majority in the House and the Senate will be to "repeal, replace and reform," and that became the Tea Party's mantra. In comparison, beginning in January 2011, instead of the normal routine of complaining in blogs, on talk radio and on Facebook of the democrats' hypocrisy and double standards as conservatives have done for so long, the job of the Tea Partiers will then be to "monitor, motivate and manipulate" their newly elected Republican (and maybe one or two "third party") representatives, "monitoring" them for any sign of weakness or "bipartisanshit," making sure that they are actively blocking ALL democrat legislation and not wasting taxpayer money, sponsoring legislation (due to the fact it would most assuredly end in veto), keeping their "feet to the fire" and working for the American people.
ALL we can expect to gain from ANY Conservative majority in the House and/or the Senate with President Obama in The White House is "gridlock," i.e., neither party being able to pass legislation. Democrat sponsored bills will be blocked by the Republican majority and Republican passed bills will be vetoed by the president, at least until 2012 when the Obama administration is replaced by the Palin Administration, the Jindal Administration, the Plumber Administration, or whom's ever, even if the Republicans win two-thirds of the seats in the House and the Senate, unless it is a "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" type of bargain deal with the democrats, in which case, the Tea Party will spring into action.
Ordinarily, to achieve a so called, "veto-proof," two-thirds majority, Republicans would need to win 287 seats in the House of Representatives and somewhere between 66 and 67 seats in the Senate, and all want the same things for our Country; however, even with a two-thirds majority vote on a bill to repeal any democrat legislation, Republicans would not be successful because "our forefathers," the "framers" of The Constitution of whom Conservatives speak so highly, gave President Obama a little gift:
"If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a Law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a Law." - US Constitution Article 1, Section 7
Yes, it is the "pocket veto." James Madison was the first president to use the pocket veto in 1812. All President Obama has to do is "ignore" a bill sponsored by the Republicans, until the session of Congress is over. The vetoed legislation must then be re-proposed during the next legislative session.
A Republican majority's only real power is against democrat sponsored bills — they simply vote them down. Unfortunately, even though the democrats will no longer hold the majority in the House of Representatives, President Obama will still be able to bypass the legislative process and advance his leftist agenda via "executive order."
Those who elected President Obama do not understand how our government operates. One can hear people calling into liberal talk radio shows all the time saying things like, "...I think Congress should be abolished — then the president can do whatever he wants!" The problem is, that would make the president a dictator. The Obama voter views the office of the president as that of a dictator. They say things like "...look at what Bush did to this country!", "...Bill Clinton gave us a SURPLUS and then George Bush spent it all!", etc. President Obama is no different; he sees himself as a dictator. In his first week in office President Obama issued five executive orders, the first one, Executive Order 13489, states that only the records he chooses to be made public will be released, for instance, his original birth certificate. Also in his first week he issued an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility, another to stop water boarding. In his first month in office he issued sixteen executive orders. In 2009 he issued thirty-nine executive orders and in 2010, so far, he has issued twenty-six executive orders. This president believes he does not need the legislative process to advance his agenda.
Can a Conservative majority in Congress kill a president's executive order? Yes, with a two-thirds majority, but then the matter can and will be put before the Supreme Court. In the history of our nation, the Supreme Court has only overturned TWO (2) executive orders.
Gridlock can have positive effects, such as with the economy. As Rush Limbaugh has so eloquently explained, as well as have many noted economists, the economy doesn't do well when businesses are uncertain of what will come down from the federal government in the form of regulation and taxation. On the other hand, Wall Street and the business world thrives on certainty, and in "gridlock," the certainty is that no legislation, regulation or taxation is expected from the federal government. While it may be good for the economy indirectly, the fact that taxpayers pay the salaries of members of congress and the president, gridlock is an inefficient "Rube Goldberg" method to achieve a strong stock market.
The Internet is "a-twitter" with Conservatives screaming for the impeachment of this president. Several of the Republican congressional candidates have expressed their intentions to move for impeachment. Such impeachment proceedings will need to be against the vice president as well. A Conservative majority in the House and the Senate can get this done.
The new job of the Tea Partiers is to work their newly elected Republican representatives. Just like President Obama can't legitimately blame George Bush for unemployment, the failed stimulus and the $1.3 trillion dollar deficit, Conservatives will no longer be able to entirely blame the democrats if we lose our country. Tea Partiers must focus their energy solely on keeping their newly elected Republican majority working to regain our freedoms. After the election, the success or failure of the United States of America will be solely in the hands of the Republicans.
© Russ J. Alan
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