Tag Archive for GOP

Convention Time

Step Right Up - The Greatest Show On Earth is about to begin!

Every two years, the factions of the Republican party get to have a little fun.

Don’t get me wrong, the democrats run the fun/ridiculous machine overtime.  No matter what anyone tells you, those who hook their wagons to the Socialist lite democrat banner are already exhibiting what should be in the APA DSM manuals.  The GOP has a few critical cases, but generally the differences are in the way we want to approach the argument.

However, there are still too many people who think that a life of crime  ..er a life of service ..  a political paycheck is the way to go.  Perhaps the prestige of those ‘power’ positions, and maybe even the real reward of patronage while in and out of office can make such aspirations appealing.

It may seem that the time spent and asses people have to kiss to grab that golden ring would be far better spent with family, doing vacations, building a business, etc.  I have run a couple of primary challenge campaigns to incumbents, but have no desire to be seated long term.  Some folks do it to effect REAL reformative change however.

I suspect most politicians actually feel that they have a ‘mission’ as well when starting on such an adventure, but also having won a campaign against an incumbent in a primary, I have also experienced the pressure of acceptance.  To the novice of political office, it is exceptionally easy to be sucked into the ‘best intentions’ paradigm.

You Betcha! (14)Nuh Uh.(0)

A Major Mistake.

Contributions to NRCC and NRSC forsake donor intent.

Received this today.

WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC) have announced the transfer of $8 million to the NRSC and the NRCC in support of their midterm election efforts. The Trump Campaign will max out to nearly 100 candidates in its first round of contributions. The RNC will transfer $4 million to the NRSC and $4 million to the NRCC.

Not good.

Truth be told, I am still not a fan of my own state’s Republican political apparatus as they attempt to manipulate primary elections. Just take a look at who gets the stage when the president or Vice President comes to town.  But I am happy to contribute through my local dues and contributions to my local party, and sometimes nationally.

The RNC has not always been great in its finances historically, but has gotten a few of my shekels as contribution from time to time.  And the most recent iteration of it under chair McDaniel has been as an excellent

You Betcha! (13)Nuh Uh.(0)

So Michigan Republicans Don’t Like Lower Taxes

Apparently the Michigan GOP house has Republicans who want to keep higher taxes and higher spending.

At least some of them anyhow.

Sometimes you gotta just wonder why, when given the chance, some Republican lawmakers refused to consider the amount collected from the working class as too high. Especially given they operate under the banner which says:

I BELIEVE government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.

By golly, that seems simple enough.

This is truly “the money they earn.”  Oh yeah, I suppose the “fiscal responsibility” component of that oft ignored screed might well provide an ‘out’ for any ausgespielt fiscal-moral compass by a GOP type, but its not as-if the state budget is going down, right?

The following HOUSE REPUBLICANS may be using the excuse that they wanted to see cuts in spending first, but given the insignificant amount of taxes being reduced upfront, doesn’t that itself reveal the expectation that they will not?

Afendoulis (R) Calley (R) Crawford (R) Garcia (R) Inman (R)
Lilly (R) Maturen (R) McCready (R) Pagel (R) Roberts (R)
Sheppard (R) VanSingel (R)

Sad.

You Betcha! (15)Nuh Uh.(0)

Turning The Tables

Last night's debate revealed the true order of things.

I really dislike having to cry foul about the ‘mainstream’ media.

Michigan has its own media issues, much of it protecting the bad actors in Lansing.  Some of it locally even pursuing its own agenda.  But in the national scene?

Indeed, after last night’s CNBC GOP debate, it will be a lot easier to do so.  After the assault of “Do you still beat your mother” line of questions to a number of the candidates, it was apparent that there was no intention of talking about policy and the crushing debt our nation faces.   The only purpose any liberal media outlets might have in such an event is to personally destroy each and every viable GOP contender for Team D’s advantage.

However, after Ted Cruz (to the right) said what needed to be said, it was clear the candidates would not be victims for the remainder of the carnival.

It simply got better from there.   With little to no ‘friendly fire,’ in the balance of the show, there was something to cheer about from nearly all of the candidates.

You Betcha! (15)Nuh Uh.(0)

Removing The People’s Voice

Can Two Wrongs Make a Right?

Recall by constituents would have been a more appropriate option in the Todd and Cindy debacle.

In the hours leading up to what finally happened, deals were likely made that will hardly resonate later as good policy decisions.  “get your merry caucus of non voting dems to do their job, and I’ll make sure you get  …,” the highly probable statement from house speaker Kevin Cotter to house minority leader Tim Greimel.  Greimel apparently held out for the ‘investigation’ carrot as well.  Democrat Floor Leader Singh implied this after Roll Call 295, when he motioned to send the entire matter back to committee.

The House Democrats wanted – and got – more than just a couple of scalps. Their blackmail was effective because all of our representatives were bone tired after 13 plus hours of ‘Rule 32’ imprisonment and ready to go home for the weekend.   A Michigan State Police investigation of this sorry situation will almost certainly embarrass House leadership far more than the behaviors of Representatives Courser and Gamrat. They made mistakes, but weren’t sufficiently connected or protected politically to extract themselves once exposed.

Apologies NOT accepted.

Gamrat believed she and her lawyer and all involved understood that it would be ‘censure, not expulsion’ if she prostrated herself in a very public mea culpa. Three hours of intense discussions between her, the House Majority counsel, and her own attorney fleshed out what she considered conditional admittance. According to Gamrat, Hassan Beydoun, Majority Counsel, told her “we can control our side ..” when sealing the ostensible censure deal.

Gamrat says the House leadership did not want to go all the way through removal. Leadership did not want to own an expulsion, which would encourage voters to examine other Lansing shenanigans. Approached multiple times by different legislators and implored to resign, Cindy Gamrat refused. She says the pressure was beyond intense. Gamrat’s resolve held all the way out to 4 AM when it became clear that the House leadership could not, or would not ‘control their side’.

You Betcha! (47)Nuh Uh.(7)

The Trump “mystique”…

What's a RINO to do???...

The establishment Repubs are in a tizzy over what the attraction to Trump is by the American mainstream….Just proves how out of touch with reality they actually are…The ‘mystique’ surrounding “the Donald” is no secret to those of us who have been trying to convey the same message to people we can reach for at least a decade…He tells it like it actually is: America is in trouble, and Washington IS the problem….period…

Giving the GOP complete control of the US Congress has not helped the situation in the slightest…Campaign promises from the establishment are now falling on deaf ears…They are scrambling to ‘adjust’ their campaign rhetoric to mimic “the Donald”, acknowledging him whether they attribute the shift to him directly or not…They KNOW they are in trouble…

I just received a notice from the RNC that my membership has “now expired”, and would I PLEASE renew it immediately???!!!…Not a chance…Until the GOP acts like they have the principles described in the party platform, I will not send any of them one dime of my hard earned cash…They will only devise devious ways to steal it anyway…

You Betcha! (17)Nuh Uh.(0)

Michigan House Leadership Off-The-Rail Witch Hunt

Speaker Kevin Cotter's antics in Lansing may reveal an underhanded effort to raise taxes.

kevin-cotterMichigan House speaker Kevin Cotter is turning out to be a real turd in the punch bowl.

Personal ‘Impropriety,’ and the lack of ‘qualifications’ are two very different things. Of course the State Constitution allows each house to determine the qualifications to occupy a seat as a representative.  It ALSO allows the house under certain circumstances to (remove) “expel” sitting representatives with a two thirds majority vote.

§ 16 Legislature; officers, rules of procedure, expulsion of members.

Sec. 16.

Each house, except as otherwise provided in this constitution, shall choose its own officers and determine the rules of its proceedings, but shall not adopt any rule that will prevent a majority of the members elected thereto and serving therein from discharging a committee from the further consideration of any measure. Each house shall be the sole judge of the qualifications, elections and returns of its members, and may, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected thereto and serving therein, expel a member. The reasons for such expulsion shall be entered in the journal, with the votes and names of the members voting upon the question. No member shall be expelled a second time for the same cause.

Qualifications, elections, returns, are all specific to the elections, and the follow up is the expulsion clause.

You Betcha! (28)Nuh Uh.(4)

QUANTUM OF SOLACE. TIME TO DO YOUR JOB AND STOP BUILDING POLITICAL CAPITAL FOR THE FUTURE.

“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This is the second time that Cindy Gamrat (at the behest of Todd Courser?) has considered throwing her hat in the ring for RNC Committeewoman. This is also the second time she has made an attempt to Undermine the TP/Liberty movement this month. An apparent pattern is beginning to emerge, one that many, myself included, were blinded to by Friendship and possibly misplaced loyalty.

Many of us Know that Cindy Gamrat asked Both Cindy Duran and Angela Rigas, to effectively cancel their house races, and Commit their Campaign resources and volunteers to her fight. (Were there others asked to do so?) Angela Rigas and Cindy Duran were both taking on sitting incumbents. With the recent revelations of the endorsement of Ronna last week, and the propping up of Calley at the Pow Wow, one could easily speculate on the motives of such a request, the origination of the requests, and who would benefit the most if either had dropped out? Many realize that while Pscholka and Lyons both still won, neither is in a position of leadership in the house today, and much of the credit for that goes to the diminishing of their power due to being challenged. A secondary thought is the arrogance involved in the concept that a candidate has the “Right” to commit the time, energy, and resources of volunteers, to others.

You Betcha! (29)Nuh Uh.(2)

In His Own Words

Dave Agema gives an explanation of the recent attacks.

Dave-bannerReceived this last night.

Given the snowball of uninformed public opinion driven by an active ‘smear Dave’ campaign, its only reasonable that he have at least ONE public outlet beside his own in which to defend his honor and integrity. Unfortunately, Jonathan Gruber is more right than he knew; There are some folks willing to believe anything in print, especially if it has the ability to destroy good things or people.  Dave Writes:

Dear Jason,

The truth is held from you. I felt compelled to deliver the truth behind the uproar.

Dave Agema RNC Committeeman
The Truth Is Not Told Once Again

Once again I find the same people making false statements concerning a repost of an article I got from Col West’s ( former congressman) news letter as my words and opinion. I make no accusation that I agree with the statements supporting the author he posted. I do support Col West’s commentary concerning the authors article and not the content of the article itself. I respect the former congressman and fellow military officer highly and regard his opinions since he grew up in the inner city as a black man who has personal experience. I think his observations are noteworthy and he is certainly not a racist nor am I for reposting his opinions.

You Betcha! (21)Nuh Uh.(4)