With all the push and pull of politics, all the acrimonious displays of ideology from the many and strident defense of principle from the few, it’s nonetheless time to pause and remember the reason for the season. Let us never forget that there is one clothed with splendor and majesty and mighty in power, who loved mankind enough to give his all so that we might obtain salvation through Him. Let us keep Christ in Christmas this season.
On their way...on our way...towards His way...
And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
~ Luke 2:1-20
Wisemen still seek Him...
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’"
Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
~ Matthew 2:1-12
For unto us is born this day a Savior, which is Christ the Lord!
"...For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples..."
~ Luke 2:30-31
Here's wishing all a very Merry Christmas. May God Bless you and your family through this season and into the new year.
Additional Readings: Luke 1:26-56
Matthew 1:18-25
Related link: The Star of Bethlehem
No gift from Santa...
WaPo: At midnight Monday, the official deadline arrives for Americans to sign up through the new federal health insurance exchange for health plans that begin Jan. 1. But, without any public announcement, Obama administration officials have changed the rules so that people will have an extra day to enroll, according to two individuals with knowledge of the switch.
Over the weekend, government officials and outside IT contractors working on the online marketplace’s computer system made a software change that automatically gives people a Jan. 1 start date for their new coverage as long as they enroll by 11:59 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
...but just on schedule for Baracka Claus! Another change of the rules by our imperial president.
However, the website was still crashing today as Obama -- scratch that, as a White House aide -- enrolled, of course exempting the rest of the family, though. So who knows...maybe we'll get another day, and another, and another...
And the collective sycophants within and outside the White House wonder why both Obama and Obamacare are taking a nose dive in the polls?
Though Moe Lane wrote this piece yesterday, it practically reapplies per today's reset...and pretty much sums up how this debacle will (or rather won't) proceed:
RedState: So, the Obama administration needs to sign up – four million? Five? Six? …LOTS – of people tomorrow if they hope to hit their original target numbers. Let me do some spoilers:
- The Obama administration is not going to hit its target numbers for federal exchange signups.
- The state exchanges are not going to hit their numbers, either. The best percentage that any state exchange has hit, to date, is less than 23%.
- Those numbers from the last link are likely to go up. They are not going to go up insanely.
- And there is no certainty about what happens next.
Related link: Administration pushes back ObamaCare sign-up deadline by a day
“Jesus Christ was the most perfect being to ever walk this planet and he was persecuted and nailed to the cross, so please don’t be surprised when we get a little static.” ~ Phil Robertson @ Church on Sunday morning
On Sunday, the UK's DailyMail posted an exclusive story covering Phil Robertson's remarks made to his Bible study group that morning at the family's church in West Monroe, Louisiana. And unlike many faint of heart out there these days (including said media outlets), Mr. Phil's not backing down! (H/t: TheLid) FYI...I've bolded Phil's words, and I apologize ahead of time for the Mail's 'edu-ma-cated' punctuation...
During Sunday’s speech, he defended himself, saying he was simply quoting from the Bible and even went so far as to say Jesus could save gay people.
‘I love all men and women. I am a lover of humanity, not a hater,’ he added.
But despite the criticism Robertson has faced, his family and local community have come to his defense and stood firmly behind him.
Just before Sunday’s Bible study class started, one church-goer actually thanked Robertson for his comments.
Robertson replied: ‘I didn’t think much of it at all, but it seems a lot of other people did’.
And at the end of the session he led a defiant prayer, which included the words, ‘I will not give or back off from my path because you conquered death, Father, so we are not worried about all the repercussions.’
Earlier he stood in front of the small class, at White's Ferry Road Church wearing his full camouflage suit and addressed the group for around 45 minutes.
He said: ‘I have been immoral, drunk, high. I ran with the wicked people for 28 years and I have run with the Jesus people since and the contrast is astounding.'
'I tell people, "You are a sinner, we all are. Do you want to hear my story before I give you the bottom line on your story?"
‘We murder each other and we steal from one another, sex and immorality goes ballistic. All the diseases that just so happen to follow sexual mischief… boy there are some microbes running around now.
‘Sexual sins are numerous and many, I have a few myself. So what is your safest course of action? If you’re a man, find yourself a woman, marry them and keep your sex right there.
‘You can have fun, but one thing is for sure, as long as you are both healthy in the first place, you are not going to catch some debilitating illness, there is safety there.
‘Commonsense says we are not going to procreate the human race unless we have a man and a woman. From the beginning Jesus said, "It is a man and a woman." Adam was made and Eve was made for this reason. They left their fathers and mothers and be united to become one flesh, that’s what marriage is all about.
‘But we looked at it and said it was an outdated stereotype. When you look back at the human race, the sins have always been the same: We get high, we get drunk, we get laid, we steal and kill.
‘Has this changed at all from the time God burnt up whole cities because their every thought was evil?’
The piece continues with more from Phil's Bible study:
Then reading from the Bible he said, ‘The acts of the sinful nature are obvious. Sexual immorality, is number one on the list. How many ways can we sin sexually? My goodness. You open up that can of worms and people will be mad at you over it.
‘I am just reading what was written over 2000 years ago. Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom. All I did was quote from the scriptures, but they just didn’t know it. Whether I said it, or they read it, what’s the difference? The sins are the same, humans haven’t changed.
‘If you give them the bad news, they’ll start kicking and screaming. But you love them more than you fear them, so you tell them.
‘A lot of times they don’t even wait for you to finish and say, ‘But there’s a way out, do you want to hear the rest of the story or what?
‘Jesus will take sins away, if you’re a homosexual he’ll take it away, if you’re an adulterer, if you’re a liar, what’s the difference? If you break one sin you may as well break them all.
‘If we lose our morality, we will lose our country. It will happen. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all walk around without stealing from each other and killing each other?
‘Why don’t we just love each other enough that we wouldn’t want to do these things to each other?’
Robertson – who made his fortune from inventing and manufacturing hunting equipment before finding TV stardom – went on: ‘We are a bunch of rednecks from Louisiana, but I am not uneducated, I have a degree from Louisiana Tech.
'But this week I have been called an ignoramus. This week I have been asked, "Is this the first time you have brought up sin?" I said, "Are you kidding? I have been traveling to and fro spreading this message."
Then he said, "Well do you invite yourself to go and get your Bible and tell people what you are now sharing with us?" I said, "No they are inviting me."
‘I have made hundreds and hundreds of speeches and you can pick them apart and the center has always been Jesus Christ.
‘Do many people get up and walk out? Yeah, all the time, do I hold it against them? No. Anybody can get up and stop listening. We are all just humans on this planet.’
He added: ‘Jesus Christ was the most perfect being to ever walk this planet and he was persecuted and nailed to the cross, so please don’t be surprised when we get a little static.’
Who would have thought the lib press, especially this one from across the pond, would be in West Monroe, Louisiana attentive to every word of a Bible-thumpin' pioneer man? The Lord truly works in mysterious ways!
Related link: Cracker Barrel On Removing Duck Dynasty Products: Nevermind
In a separate Mail piece, it's becoming clearer that A&E was likely in on the setup...
theRightScoop: This is quite a revealing interview with an unidentified source close to the Duck Dynasty family. Not only do they believe A&E is trying to manipulate the family and Phil Robertson ‘back into line’ – meaning they are trying to keep Phil from succeeding at his desire to have more of a strong religious presence in the show – they also believe the show doesn’t sit well with A&E executives because much of America has identified with the family and instead of laughing AT a bunch of redneck hillbillies, they are WITH them.
Which might explain all the backtracking now...
EntertainmentWeekly: Regardless of the current controversy and behind-the-scenes tension, A&E has every intention of keeping Phil Robertson on the air.
A source close to the situation confirmed that when the network resumes airing new episodes of Duck Dynasty starting Jan. 15, footage featuring the Robertson patriarch will indeed remain intact. The network also hopes the media and fan furor will cool down over the holidays and that tensions over shooting future episodes can then be resolved.
Laughable, huh? As is the silliness of the feigned outrage.
Related link: TMZ: A&E says Phil Robertson fired because GAY employees were OUTRAGED
UPDATE: A&E ducked following Christmas...Phil's back on. Looks like they heard YOU!
Riiight. Amazing how this guy can so effortlessly lie...
tRS: With a straight face Obama told the press today that he doesn’t care about polls when they asked him about recent polling that shows Americans have lost confidence in him because of Obamacare.
What malarkey. This is probably the most poll driven president I’ve ever seen. After all, they keep waiving more and more of Obamacare because polls are showing how much people dislike it.
Now to the extent that Obama will ever repeal Obamacare….yeah, polls don’t matter about that. His ideology trumps polling in that case. But otherwise, it’s a lie for him to say he doesn’t care about polls.
Whatev's...off to Hawaii with you!
Taking a Dynastic break, here's some interesting news from the regime for the post-holiday season. As there are now MORE Americans without health insurance than B.O. (e.g., Before Obamacare), Baracka Claus has handed down another dictate from on high, once again changing law as it needs to be (H/t: MoeLane)...
NJ: The Obama administration will not require the millions of Americans who received health-insurance plan cancellation notices to purchase a new policy next year.
They're granting those consumers an exemption from the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, a Department of Heath and Human Services spokeswoman confirmed. The mandate requires everyone to have health insurance or face a tax penalty, the greater of $95 or 1 percent of income in 2014.
The administration will also allow those consumers to sign up for catastrophic coverage. Those bare-bones plans are available to people who are under 30 or qualify for a "hardship exemption."
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a letter to Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., that the administration is granting a "hardship exemption" to Americans whose plans were canceled and "might be having difficulty" paying for standard coverage.
The allowance comes after months of political fallout from the president's promise that "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan," which proved untrue this fall after millions of people received notices from insurance companies informing them that their current policies did not meet coverage requirements under the new law and therefore would not be offered next year.
So big of these statists. No worries before the holidays, though. I'm certain many will be temporarily appreciative that they won't have a penalty to pay while they scramble for the temporary private policy crumbs that Obamacare's laid waste to. Just relax in the comfort of knowing that during his Sunny Christmas, the President will be thinking about you over the holidays...
Related links: With At Least 500,000 People Who Had Had Insurance Now Without It, Obama Creates More Law With His Mouth-Hole
The individual mandate no longer applies to people whose plans were canceled
WHAT? Obama admin now telling insurers to sell basic plans that DON’T MEET Obamacare guidelines
Eric Erickson was subbing for Rush this morning, but it wasn't necessarily anything he said on the program that caught my attention, but rather the piece he wrote for his website today that is very well stated and very well worth sharing in total...
RedState: In 1987, Andre Sarano took a photograph of Christ on the cross in a jar of urine. It won the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art’s “Awards in the Visual Arts” competition, which was sponsored in part by taxpayers.
Outraged Christians were told they didn’t have to see it. They did not have to go to the museum. Their money, of course, had to fund the National Endowment for the Arts, but they themselves just needed to ignore it. Christians needed to show tolerance for the diversity of others’ thoughts.
Robert Maplethorpe spent many years touring the United States with artwork depicting, among other things, people drinking urine, bondage and sadomasochism, and a picture of himself with a whip inserted in that part of his body Phil Robertson does not find very attractive.
Conservatives offended by this were instructed to be tolerant, not go to the exhibit, and just turn the other cheek.
In 1996, Chris Ofili created a painting of the Virgin Mary. He used pornographic images and elephant dung. Rudy Giuliani, then Mayor of New York City, tried to yank funding for the Brooklyn Museum because of the painting. Giuliani was pilloried in the press for doing so. Tolerance was demanded. Christians did not have to go to the museum if they wanted.
And now we’ve reach a new level.
Phil Robertson is an evangelical Christian. He called sin illogical, stated his preference for women, and lumped gays in with other sinners such as drunks and terrorists. It is that last one that has really caused all the problems. Nevermind that Phil Robertson said Christians are to love everyone and not judge anyone. Nevermind he made it clear he was not condemning anyone. He just stated his belief.
He did not make anyone convert. He did not attack anyone. He did not harass anyone. He answered a question. But the kids at GLAAD, now dominant, have gone from demanding tolerance for all to silencing good people.
Christians were once told they did not have to look or listen. The militant gay rights movement and the secular left will not abide by their own prescription. Those who dissent or think differently must be silenced.
The members of GLAAD, which also took it upon itself to tell America what Christians really should think and believe, could simply not watch Duck Dynasty. But the hysteric whiners can’t leave it at that. They cannot leave well enough alone. They must punish and destroy.
Evil must, when it is able, silence good because good serves as an ever present and ongoing witness against evil.
Speaking truth to power! Amen.
Statements so articulately made as this alleviate the excuses for such hypocrisy. Yet, it will undoubtedly be allowed by a secularized world to continue, which is why we, Christians, must ultimately make our stand, not for the temporal, but for the eternal.
Related links: Ex-gays point out the hypocrisy of firing “Duck Dynasty” Phil
The Mysterious Paradox of Liberal Tolerance
Right on, Robertsons!
DuckCommander: "We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. The family has spent much time in prayer since learning of A&E's decision. We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word. While some of Phil’s unfiltered comments to the reporter were coarse, his beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the Bible. Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Phil would never incite or encourage hate.We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith, which is his constitutionally protected right.We have had a successful working relationship with A&E but, as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm. We are in discussions with A&E to see what that means for the future of Duck Dynasty. Again, thank you for your continued support of our family."
On top of sticking up for God, Country and Family, the message is clear: No Phil, no Duck Dynasty, A&E! This successful American family doesn't need to bend to political correctness or any socially prescribed accepted ailments...they're just fine with the Almighty's Everlasting Law!
Bye, bye ratings, hello new network...or whatever medium the Lord guides them towards.
#IStandWithPhil
As an aside, the GOP could learn a thing or two about backbone, solidarity and principle from this extraordinary family! Just saying...
Related link: Over 1 Million Support Boycotting A&E Following ‘Duck Dynasty’ Star’s Suspension
"But really, who's been injured here? Really, who has been hurt? This is the whole point. We're talking about political correctness, a bunch of words. Who really has been harmed here, at the end of the day? Nobody but Phil Robertson." ~ El Rusbho
Great point, Rush!
theRightScoop: Yesterday GLAAD praised A&E’s firing of Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty, saying they’ve sent a strong message that discrimination is neither a Christian nor an American value. But Rush Limbaugh says that the only person who has actually been discriminated against is Phil Robertson and that GLAAD should attack A&E for discriminating against him.
Btw, to correct Rush in one minute regard, Phil didn't apologize, he clarified...
“I myself am a product of the 60s; I centered my life around sex, drugs and rock and roll until I hit rock bottom and accepted Jesus as my Savior. My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together … However, I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other.”
#IStandWithPhil
ADDENDUM: Rush went on to express that he's not so sure that this is a loss, that the Left's mock outrage over what Phil Robertson said could be a tipping point...
The stories the same: leftist rag interviews an openly Christian man who's not afraid to share his faith, asks questions about his beliefs that they already know they don't agree with and don't want to hear, then gather the secular progressive troops to crucify him for maintaining biblical teachings, while dictating to US what it is to be a 'Christian'. There's the genuine bigotry, folks...
WND: A&E Network suspended “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson from his own television show after calling homosexuality illogical, while proffering his male viewpoint preferring female anatomy to that of other men.
Fans of “Duck Dynasty” have turned to social media to oppose the suspension, with at least seven variations of “Bring Back Phil Robertson” pages now on Facebook.
The most popular among them had 300,000 likes as of early Thursday morning.
The Facebook page features a link to a petition calling on A&E networks to “end the wrongful suspension of Phil Robertson.” The petition had over 32,000 supporters early Thursday morning.
The Arts & Entertainment Network, better known as A&E, gave Robertson the boot Wednesday after learning of his remarks.
“It seems like, to me, a vagina – as a man – would be more desirable than a man’s anus, ” said Phil Robertson. “That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”
“We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty,” A&E said in a statement. “His personal views in no way reflect those of A&E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely.”
Robertson’s comments came in an interview with GQ magazine, where he championed biblical values and the battle against breaking God’s commandments.
“Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong … Sin becomes fine. Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men,” he said.
Paraphrasing Corinthians, he says, “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers – they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”
“We’re Bible-thumpers who just happened to end up on television,” he says of his family’s instant rise to fame. “You put in your article that the Robertson family really believes strongly that if the human race loved each other and they loved God, we would just be better off. We ought to just be repentant, turn to God, and let’s get on with it, and everything will turn around.”
But Phil, 67, also indicated he’s not too concerned with how other people are living.
“We never, ever judge someone on who’s going to heaven, hell. That’s the Almighty’s job. We just love ‘em, give ‘em the good news about Jesus – whether they’re homosexuals, drunks, terrorists. We let God sort ‘em out later, you see what I’m saying?”
Note that the last few paragraphs describing the interview have been virtually omitted from ANY AND ALL lib media reports in typical fashion of course.
Sarah Palin, Gov. Bobby Jindal and Sen. Ted Cruz are among those coming to the defense of Mr. Phil. However, their words may pale in comparison to Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) -- yes, the same conservative representative who's attempting to primary Cornyn -- who is targeting Robertson’s network with both guns blazing!
The congressman from Texas said he is “fuming” over the controversy.
“Your personal views on private relationships aside, the radical left once again seeks to personally destroy anyone who voices an opinion different than theirs,” writes Stockman.
He continued, “The liberal war on speech must end now. Liberals define “tolerance” the same way the Soviets defined “peace” — the eradication of opposition. They are on a mission to eradicate dissent. Please stand with Phil today.”
He pointed out that Robertson never personally condemned anyone and simply stated what his Christian faith teaches
And even one particular member of this community (notice how progressives segregate themselves into demographic groups) confessed that this whole fiasco says more about their bigotry than it does about Phil’s Christian beliefs!
Just as leftist Democratic bigotry absolves itself when lobbing truly vile and shockingly offensive language against Republicans, especially conservatives (e.g., Podesta is likely the latest example), so goes the LGBT bigotry towards the traditional, and scriptural, nature of man, marriage and family. Phil's absolutely correct...and I'm taking a #StandWithPhil.
Related links: MARK LEVIN: I have first amendment concerns about A&E firing Phil Robertson
Sarah Palin defends Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson
Gov. Bobby Jindal defends Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson, slams the “PC crowd”
Ted Cruz defends Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson: “Tolerance is a two-way street”
RUSH: Duck Dynasty Goose Is Cooked At A&E
Rush On Phil Robertson Firing: I’m Not So Sure That This Is A Loss
TMZ: Duck Dynasty sponsor says ‘We Stand Behind Phil’
Mark Levin: Ted Cruz on Duck Dynasty
Glenn Beck makes a very exciting offer to the cast of ‘Duck Dynasty’
We know this is lost on the modern Democratic statist. But how this is lost on today's GOP, when they're in a perfect position to be the principled opposition, should tell you all you need to know about the deficits in initiative, motivation and integrity that the party is experiencing...
Gallup: Seventy-two percent of Americans say big government is a greater threat to the U.S. in the future than is big business or big labor, a record high in the nearly 50-year history of this question. The prior high for big government was 65% in 1999 and 2000. Big government has always topped big business and big labor, including in the initial asking in 1965, but just 35% named it at that time.
Each party group currently rates big government as the greatest threat to the country, including a record-high 92% of Republicans and 71% of independents, as well as 56% of Democrats. Democrats are most likely of the partisan groups to name big business as the biggest threat, at 36%; relatively few Republicans, 4%, view big business as the most threatening.
"The Republican Senators and Congressmen who voted for this are in a political war with conservatives." ~ Mark Levin
Two days before the Senate proceeded to pass this budgetary debacle, Angelo Codevilla, author of an extensive AmericanSpectator piece and followup book on the Ruling Class in Washington, D.C., wrote another powerful op-ed on the need to break apart what he calls the UniParty (Levin also referenced this article last night)...
LibraryOfLawAndLiberty: Yet again, for the nth time, Republican Congressional leaders and their Democrat counterparts produced a Trillion dollar, multi-thousand-page spending bill that was voted immediately after being unveiled, without having been read. Republican 2012 vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan authored the latest edition along with Democratic Senator Patti Murray. Republican leader John Boehner preempted Democrats by preemptively accusing Republicans who opposed the bill of wanting to shut down the government. He topped off this feat of leadership by declaring political war on the conservatives who had given Republicans the majority that had made him Speaker of the House – a war that Republican leaders cannot sustain.
The Republican Party’s leaders have functioned as junior members of America’s single ruling party, the UniParty. Acting as the proverbial cockboat in the wake of the Democrats’ man-of-war, they have made Democratic priorities their own when the White House and the Congress were in the hands of Republicans as well as in those of Democrats, and when control has been mixed. The UniParty, the party of government, the party of Ins, continues to consist of the same people. The Outs are always the same people too: American conservatives. They don’t have a party.
Whatever differences exist within the Uniparty, between Republican John Boehner and Democrat Nancy Pelosi, between Republican Mitch McConnell and Democrat Harry Reid, get worked out behind closed doors. Those differences are narrow. The latest negotiations were over some $80 billion out of three trillion dollars in spending. The bipartisan negotiators did not let into the room any of the major issues that concern Americans. Not Obamacare, not racial preferences, not religious liberty, not endless no-win wars. The UniParty is unanimous: more of the same!
Hence, so long as the Uniparty exists, mere voters will have no way of affecting what the government does.
Breaking up the Uniparty, means breaking the Democrats’ hold on non- Democrat congressmen and senators. The only way to do that is to break the Republican leadership’s hold on other Republicans and on the Republican label. That in turn requires using the primaries to screen out UniParty people.
Doing this is more possible than ever, providing conservatives learn to hang together before they are hanged separately.
Conservatives, Constitutionalists, freedom-loving Americans, it is time to coalesce and PRIMARY THESE BUMS OUT! Never think, 'it can't be my congressman or senator,' because nine times out of ten IT IS!
Related link: Re-Branding the GOP
Last night, Levin of course discussed not only what happened yesterday morning with these 12 feckless GOP Senators, but what the passage of this phony budget bill means to some of the most honorable among us...
On Tuesday's Mark Levin Show: Every single Democrat and 12 Republicans in the Senate voted to cut pensions of disabled combat veterans with the passage of the budget bill. We were told they would be exempt, but it was quietly eliminated from the bill. Sen. Jeff Sessions wanted to introduce an amendment that would have paid for restoring the pension cuts by eliminating a loophole that allows illegal immigrants to get child tax credits, but Sen. Harry Reid wouldn’t allow it to come up for a vote. This bill is not the best Republicans could do. The Republican Senators and Congressman who voted for this are in a political war with conservatives.
WFB: A provision cutting the pensions of military retirees in the bipartisan budget deal that the Senate will vote on this week does not exempt disabled veterans, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
Disabled retirees were previously thought to be exempt from the changes to military retiree pay, which could cost servicemembers up to $124,000 over a 20-year period.
The Free Beacon previously reported that military retirees under the age of 62 would receive 1 percentage point less in their annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in the plan crafted by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D., Wash.).
The section of the U.S. code that has been altered also applies to disabled servicemembers, many of whom have been wounded in combat.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, called the change “unthinkable.”
Related links: 12 Republicans Vote to Advance Budget Deal That Boosts Spending
Senate GOP fails in final bid to restore military pension cuts to budget bill
ADDENDUM: Guess it didn't matter to 9 of them...done!
HotAir: After cloture passed 67/33 on Monday, final passage of the budget bill was a fait accompli. The only mystery was whether any Republicans who voted with Reid two days ago would switch now, knowing that Democrats could pass this thing on a party-line vote, so that they can pretend later on the campaign trail that they were “against” the bill.
Senate approves budget bill 64-36. No Dem noes. 9 GOP yeas: Collins Chambliss Hatch Hoeven Isakson McCain Portman Johnson (WI) Murkowski.
The three Republicans who switched were Lamar Alexander, Roy Blunt, and Jeff Flake, who’s become a fairly reliable centrist vote in his short time in the Senate. The only semi-surprise is Ron Johnson, but he comes from a blue state and was also skeptical of the “defund” effort back in October. He’s not one for shutdowns, and the whole point here was to avoid a shutdown.
Coinciding with 12 worthless GOP wonders joining Democrats in the Senate to pass a bogus budget deal, Rush circled back around to his theory on the feckless Republican leadership...
RUSH: I forget if it was last week or the week before, there was either a call asking my opinion or else I just launched into it based on something that happened in the news. But I was trying to explain why the Republicans were not fighting back on anything having to do with Obama and the Democrats, and I said, “‘Cause I think they’re shell-shocked. I think they’ve got PTSD. I think they’re scared to death. They don’t see Obama plummeting in the polls, and if they do, they don’t believe it. They’re just shell-shocked, and this government shutdown, the fact they got blamed for it ’cause they’ve been called racist, I’m telling you, they’re shell-shocked. They’ve got posttraumatic stress disorder.”
And then that begot a call from a guy who said, “That’s not what it is, Rush. They agree with all of this. They’re not shell-shocked. They believe in Big Government, too. They don’t really oppose Obamacare.
I said, no, that may be somewhat true, but I do think — I’ve talked to them. You don’t have to talk to ‘em to know. You can see they are shell-shocked. They are scared to death to say anything critical of Obama and the Democrats. And they’ll do anything to avoid a government shutdown, including giving Obama what he wants, which we just saw. Well, today, in the Washington Post, there’s a column by a man named Marc Thiessen and the headline: “Budget Deal Shows the GOP Has PTSD.”
Personally, I think it's a bit of both: shell-shocked and they're go-along neo-statists...
Marc Thiessen echoes Rush...
WaPo: So why are Republicans agreeing to reverse their only fiscal victory of the Obama era? Simple.
The GOP has PTSD.
Republicans emerged from their last budget battle with a bad case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Scarred by the government shutdown, they are terrified of having another fiscal fight with the president in January. So they are unilaterally conceding before it even begins.
Related links: 12 GOP SENATORS JOIN DEMOCRATS TO SUPPORT RYAN-MURRAY BUDGET
McCain: Republicans voting against the budget agreement ‘lack intellectual integrity’
U.S. Senate Races
Besides effectively echoing Rush's sentiment that Republicans aren't going to repeal Obamacare...even if they control everything, of which Levin has expressed before, the Great One railed against 'Johnny boy' Boehner and the Speaker's war against conservatives on Monday evening's program, with a final call for a NEW Republican Party (H/t: MP)...
On Monday's Mark Levin Show: Mark says we don't care if the Republican Establishment likes us or not. We don't trust Speaker John Boehner and neo-statists that don't push the Constitution. We are Americans first and foremost that abide by the Constitution and embrace it, rather than crony capitalists or politicians that only care about politics at the moment. Mark says we need a new Republican Party, not a 3rd Party, but a Republican Party that embraces conservatism and will primary out the RINOs. We are the reason the Republicans took the House in the first place, and now they think they control us or think the Tea Party is just an outsider group. Just because Congress uses bipartisanship, doesn't mean that it should be commended, especially when the left has done so much damage to the country.
Related link: Mark Levin to Johnny Boehner: We don’t give a damn if you like us or not
Including that 'strong suggestion' that Levin was discussing in a prior post, it looks like Baracka Claus has quickly evolved into the Grinch who stole health care. Here's a few of the headlines to hit many Americans over the head and in their wallets...just before Christmas...
Sebelius 'Urging' Insurers to Cover People Who Haven't Paid
Fearing that many people will think they have health insurance coverage when they do not, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is "urging" insurance companies to "give consumers additional time to pay their first month's premium and still have coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2014." Insurance companies should cover people who haven't yet paid, in other words...
New York's Cultural Elite Blindsided by Obamacare
If there is at least one benefit of ObamaCare it is watching those who supported nationalizing the purchase of mandated health insurance get their comeuppance. The New York Times reports that "many in New York’s professional and cultural elite" who supported Obama and ObamaCare, and carved themselves out a sweet little health insurance pool "to avoid the sky-high rates in New York’s individual insurance market," are now out in the cold with the rest of us...
House Report: Ill-Trained Obamacare Naviators Encouraging Fraud, Jeopardizing Private Info
The Obama administration decided that Obamacare Navigators, tasked with helping Americans enroll in a health insurance plan, would not undergo mandatory background checks. Now, in the ten weeks since the launch of Healthcare.gov, the ill-trained Navigators have put Americans' sensitive health and tax information at risk...
WA ObamaCare Exchange Erroneously Debits Patient Bank Accounts
Maybe the Obama administration thought nothing could be worse than a web site that didn't work. But that's not necessarily true -- just ask those forced into ObamaCare exchanges in Washington state. Some report that their bank accounts are being wrongly debited -- some having money deducted from their accounts twice, others being billed before the date they had selected, creating significant cash flow problems, especially before Christmas...
ObamaCare's Troubles Are Only Beginning
Be prepared for eligibility, payment and information protection debacles—and longer waits for care. The White House is claiming that the Healthcare.gov website is mostly fixed, that the millions of Americans whose health plans were canceled thanks to government rules may be able to keep them for another year, and that in any event these people will get better plans through ObamaCare exchanges. Whatever the truth of these assertions, those who expect better days ahead for the Affordable Care Act are in for a rude awakening. The shocks—economic and political—will get much worse next year and beyond...
15,000 Obamacare Enrollments Disappeared; Payment Still an Issue
Healthcare.gov may now working better-ish, in that users aren't regularly hitting a wall or pulling up code salad, but the Obama administration still seems to have a low threshold for invoking the word "fixed." According to the Department of Health and Human Services, information that went in the front end, from people applying for health coverage, didn't necessarily make it to the companies who are supposed to provide that coverage...
And these are a mere weekend's worth of reports from Friday through today. Socialized medicine isn't so merry...
One of these men certainly isn't as conflicted as the others...and look Republicans, he's ahead of the Boehner & Christie capitulators!
NewsMax: Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, following his push to stop Obamacare, is the world's third-most influential person of 2013, falling in only behind Pope Francis and President Barack Obama, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll.
Eleven percent of the 1,000 adults polled on Dec. 11-12 picked Cruz as the most influential person, Rasmussen announced on Sunday.
Cruz was also a runner up in Time Magazine's annual "Person of the Year" selection last week, with Time selecting the pope for the top honor.
Republican Party: YOU'RE ON NOTICE!
Related links: Ted Cruz voted third most influential leader, behind Pope, President Obama
TIME names Pope 'Person of the Year'...not because of Rush, but because of attack on capitalism
ADDENDUM: Ahead of the 2014 election cycle, the Ted Cruz campaign has a powerful message aimed to MAKE D.C. LISTEN!
theRightScoop: That’s a great call to action. The campaign adds in the description: “We must carry on the fight to restore liberty in 2014! Please donate today: http://bit.ly/1bciLSZ,” which lead to the donation form for the Ring In 2014 campaign drive.
It may be intended as a fundraiser for just one campaign, but it is a strong reminder for conservatives across America about what’s at stake, and what we have to do in the upcoming year. It’s going to be a fight. Let’s get in it.
On Friday's program, Levin discussed the effective nationalization of our health care, as well as mentioning an interesting little piece at PJMedia describing HHS 'strong suggestion' that insurers need to pay claims for consumers who haven’t paid their premiums, among other bankrupting, suicidal freebies...
The summary of that piece breaks down the reality of Obamacare's (and thus Obama's) desired move...
If the insurance companies go along with HHS’ “strong suggestions,” they stand the risk of bankrupting themselves, as the “strong suggestions” would have them pay out for services and drugs for which they may never be compensated, and for which they may never collect premiums. That’s not a bug, but a feature of where Obama wants to take healthcare in America.
Obama has therefore set himself up to use failure to claim that the only solution is government-run, single-payer healthcare. Which has been his goal all along.
And yet, we can't get the Republican leadership to effectively lift a finger to fight it...
Related links: Sebelius 'Urging' Insurers to Cover People Who Haven't Paid
15,000 Obamacare Enrollments Disappeared; Payment Still an Issue
Here's a jewel of wisdom from yesterday's program. Rush makes the point that perhaps even if the GOP controlled everything, they still wouldn’t repeal Obamacare...
"We've got a socialist in the White House, we've got his party running the Senate, they've taken over the Judiciary, and we're making all these demands on the Republicans in the House to do something about it! And my question is if the Republicans owned everything would they do anything about it, as they are currently constituted? Conservatives would, but would Republicans? I don't [think so]."
Related link: RUSH: If Hillary Clinton’s Elected President, It’s Only Gonna Get Worse
ADDENDUM: This is a familiar message that Levin has also expressed...
"These aren’t people who are serious about repealing Obamacare. ... Republicans are not going to repeal Obamacare, ladies and gentlemen, even if they control everything."
Horowitz provides somber perspective...
RedState: We’ve noted many times that the GOP Senate Conference is rotten to the core, as Harry Reid can count on a supermajority at any given time to pass liberal legislation. Many of us thought that the House was significantly better, although far from perfect. Sadly, the GOP-controlled House adjourned the 2013 session with a bust.
Ever since the details of the budget detail were released, I thought that the House would surely pass the bill only over the objection of a majority of the GOP Conference, thereby violating the Hastert Rule once again. Astoundingly, only 62 members voted against it, just 26% of membership.
This bill was such a no-brainer for Republicans to oppose. Unlike the shutdown bill, which passed with majority Democrat support, Republicans weren’t called upon to ask for something tough, such as defunding Obamacare. All they had to do was pass a clean CR and let the status quo stand, something they have already done earlier this year. Instead they agreed to raise taxes and repeal part of the sequester for two years with promises of a hodgepodge of notional and intangible spending offsets over 10 years. Remember, they will continue to repeal the sequester on an annual basis, yet continue to use offsets spread out over 10 years.
Additionally, this bill takes away a procedural block to passing tax increases in the Senate with a simple majority. It obviates our leverage to fight Obamacare for another two years. And it clears the agenda to focus on other important issues, such as passing Obama’s immigration bill.
And if only 62 Republicans are willing to oppose Ryan and Boehner on this raw deal, how many will oppose them when they push through amnesty?
Furthermore, this feckless GOP leadership is supposed to retain the House and win back the Senate next year? Yeah, not only is this House busted, but the same can be said of the party leaders running Washington's Fantasy Land.
Related links: House passes bipartisan budget deal
Up In Smoke
On their way...on our way...towards His way...
Wisemen still seek Him...
