January 22, 2018
Jan 22 02:18 Semi-annual fundraiser Jan 22 10:46 A budget impasse? Jan 22 11:18 Democrats' mass amnesty push Jan 22 13:24 Schumer's blink opens gov't Jan 22 21:04 Schumer's shills, Part II
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Semi-annual fundraiser
Loyal readers of LFR, it's time once again to host my semi-annual fundraiser. In the past, the money I've raised has paid for materials covered by Minnesota Data Practices Act requests as well as routine expenses like internet service or covering city council meetings or, in even-numbered years, candidate forums.
With the St. Cloud Times being afraid to tell the story about refugee resettlement expenses and because of their shrinking commitment to covering local events and politics, their already paltry coverage of the news will shrink even further.
I pride myself on original reporting as well as insightful commentary of the day's events so I'd appreciate contributions of any size to help defray some of these expenses. To contribute electronically, just click the donate button at the top of the right sidebar. If you want to contribute but don't want to contribute electronically, email me at gmg425 -at- charter -dot- net.
Thanks in advance for your support.
Originally posted Monday, January 22, 2018, revised 01-Feb 12:52 AM
Comment 1 by John Palmer at 22-Jan-18 07:48 PM
Gary don't forget the matching challenge a few good friends of LFR blog are offering. If some one gives $100 it will double to 200. The friends have raised enough to match up to $1000 in contributions. Readers how can you pass this opportunity up. Let's make sure the full $1000 get's used and LFR blog will have much needed resources to continue the good work being done to tell the stories that need telling. jwp
Comment 2 by Crimson Trace at 25-Jan-18 11:35 AM
The Trace will match dollar for dollar up to & including $300.
Comment 3 by eric z at 29-Jan-18 09:40 AM
Gary, I feel your need. After November you should repost. Right now my limited resources are extended writing contribution checks in denominations of twenty-seven dollars to candidates I wish to see winning. I feel their need. Not as much aimed against Republicans as in favor of progressives who have to contest GOP-lite Rockefeller Dems like multimillionaires Pelosi and Feinstein. We persevere to improve the brand. Bernie set the tone. Onward and upward. But I am kind of upset that Republicans, in general the wealthier in the nation, don't support you more intensively. What you are doing has merit.
A budget impasse?
This Bloomberg News article opens by saying "The House and Senate were in session Sunday with a federal government shutdown in its second day amid a spending-bill impasse in Congress." Apparently, Democrats, including Lindsey Graham, didn't get the memo. They think the bill that funds government operations, aka an appropriations bill, is the perfect opportunity to codify into law a DACA fix.
Once Vice President Pence returns home from his trip to Israel, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should schedule a vote to change the rules of the Senate that would require only appropriations be allowed in appropriations bills. I know that sounds like a radical concept but people not living in that sphere of insanity known as Washington, DC, would find that rule change sensible. Further, the Senate should require an up-or-down vote on appropriations bills.
One of the primary functions of congress is to fund the government. Political party shouldn't be allowed to stop that process dead in its tracks. That's what the Democrats are doing. The Senate rules should let them do their job. Period. It's time that Democrats learned that elections have consequences.
Finally, Republicans should highlight the fact that Democrats care more about illegal immigrants than they care for vulnerable children or the military. BTW, it's time to kill the sequestration caps. They're killing the military in terms of training and readiness.
Posted Monday, January 22, 2018 10:46 AM
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Democrats' mass amnesty push
Let's be honest about what the Democrats are attempting to do. Sen. Schumer's shutdown isn't about DACA recipients. It's about amnesty for DACA recipients' parents. It's about preserving chain migration . Let's see Democrats defend their attempt to protect future generations of lawbreakers.
Sen. Schumer and all those Democrats that voted to shut the government down, what frightens you about building the wall? What frightens you about putting a stop to families getting a free pass into the United States thanks to chain migration?
How does chain migration strengthen the economy? Why worry about whether the Mexican government will be upset if we build a wall that protects US citizens? If Mexico is upset, then tell them it's a dangerous world and that our first responsibility is to protect our citizens, not theirs. If that offends them, tell them to put their big boy britches on. Tell them that it's time for them to grow up.
This is chilling:
Ever since the passage of the late Senator Ted Kennedy's immigration reform of 1965, legal immigrants have been able to petition for parents, adult brothers and sisters, and adult sons and daughters to come to the U.S. All of those groups can bring their own spouses and children. In turn, when they become citizens, they can sponsor their own relatives, and the cycle continues. Mark Krikorian of the Center for American Studies wrote: "The result is chain migration, in which yesterday's immigrants decide who tomorrow's immigrants will be ."
This must end ASAP. Immigration policy must be set by Congress and the executive branch, not by Mexicans who want to reunite with their families. If that sounds cold, so what? We The People have the right to determine what our country looks like.
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Posted Monday, January 22, 2018 11:18 AM
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Schumer's blink opens gov't
It isn't an overstatement to that that the government reopened when Sen. Schumer blinked . The final vote for cloture was 81 yeas, 18 nays. That's the vote that ended debate and allows a final vote on the CR to fund the government. UPDATE: That bill has now passed the Senate. The House will soon vote on the bill. President Trump will likely be able to sign it late this afternoon.
Appearing on Outnumbered as today's #OneLuckyGuy, Pete Hegseth put it best when he told the ladies of Outnumbered that "Schumer blinked." That's exactly what happened. Sen. Schumer essentially told his far-left immigration advocates that maintaining this fight was a loser for Democrats. He essentially talked the Democrats' special interest groups off the ledge.
In exchange for caving, Sen. Schumer got promised that the Senate would vote on DACA and immigration-related issues within the next month. He didn't get a promise that President Trump wouldn't still push for ending chain migration and the visa lottery. President Trump will insist on those things being part of DACA-related legislation.
This is how the shutdown ended :
The Senate on Monday voted 81-18 to break a Democratic filibuster on a government spending bill, clearing the way for Congress to approve the stopgap measure and end the three-day government shutdown. Democrats effectively backed off their opposition, after being given assurances from majority Republicans.
Before the vote, Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer made clear that Senate Democrats would supply the GOP-controlled Senate with the votes needed, but only in exchange for 'fair' and immediate efforts to consider legislation that would protect illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children.
Republicans, especially President Trump, now has the upper hand in these negotiations. What's settled is that the vast majority of people want DACA recipients protected. What will get settled is that they want the wall built and chain migration ended ASAP.
Now that Democrats have separated DACA from the budget, they can't 're-link' those things again.
Another thing that's got to get resolved is military spending. If Democrats are stubborn about that, they'll lose that fight just like they lost the shutdown fight.
Posted Monday, January 22, 2018 1:24 PM
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Schumer's shills, Part II
Friday night, I wrote this post to highlight how Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar voted against extending CHIP, voted against funding the military and the border patrol and didn't give the military the pay raise it needs to defend us. At the time, I said that "Sen. Smith (and other Democrats) voted against funding CHIP, funding our military and funding other national security considerations. Tina Smith said that protecting 700,000 illegal immigrants was more important than providing health insurance to 9,000,000 vulnerable children or paying 2,000,000 troops serving worldwide." I'll stand by that statement.
What a difference a weekend makes. According to this NY Times article , Klobuchar and Smith voted this time to reopen the government. These weren't principled votes. Sen. Klobuchar and Sen. Smith did what they were told.
The other thing that's been exposed during this shutdown is that Democrats, Klobuchar and Smith included, didn't put a high priority on properly funding the military. The chief function of the Senate is to fund the government. The highest responsibility in the list of funding responsibilities is funding the military. Sen. Klobuchar and Sen. Smith failed miserably on both counts.
Minnesota deserves better than this. Minnesota deserves senators that take their constitutional responsibilities seriously. Minnesotans don't deserve a pair of senators that campaign, saying 'vote for me, I'm a moderate', then vote like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren one time, then vote like Joe Manchin another time. It wouldn't be so bad if the legislation they voted with Elizabeth Warren on Friday was different than the legislation that they voted with Joe Manchin on Monday. The truth is that both pieces of legislation were virtually identical.
Stuart Varney got this exactly right:
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Since Sen. Klobuchar and Sen. Smith voted with Sen. Schumer both times , they're just as wrong as he is.
Posted Monday, January 22, 2018 9:04 PM
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