House Republicans Going on Two-Month Vacation (Hypocrites)

Republicans in the House can now be called 'hypocrites' with the last session of Congress almost in the books.  They will go down in history as being obstructionists for two years whose primary purpose was to make the President look bad so he would be a one-term President.  All we heard out of Republicans in 2010 was elect us -- we will work for the people unlike the Democrats led by Nancy Pelosi which we now know was a very large pile of Bravo Sierra.

Four years ago, Republicans objected when then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) adjourned Congress for a five-week August recess without bringing up their energy legislation. Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) shouted “Madame Speaker, where art thou? Where oh where has Congress gone?” Now, they plan a two month vacation, even if it means allowing vital programs to expire and working families to suffer.

These group of House Republicans just came back from their 5-week vacation and now are set to take the next two months off leaving a lot of bills on the table as they go back to their districts to try and save their seats.  They would have a better chance of saving their seats if they actually stayed in DC to get their work done.  For their vacation in August they never officially adjourned because they couldn't get the votes but left anyway.

Republicans promised if we elected them in the Majority in the House in 2010 they would run things the right way with transparency, inclusiveness, and plenty of notice about bills that were going to be brought to the floor.  That didn't last long as they became as bad as the previous two years of Democrat rule and in some cases worse.  With voting 33 times to repeal ObamaCare, the House cost the taxpayers almost $50M and yet they want us to re-elect them?

There are a lot members of the House who refuse to work with any Democrats on bills which means they never learned that once elected they represent all people in their district just not Republicans.  I still have not gotten over the 3rd bill of this new House led by Republicans (HR3 -No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act) co-sponsored by 227 Republicans which tried to define rape and to have no exceptions for abortion:

Paul Ryan And Todd Akin Co-Sponsored And Voted For The “No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act,” Which Redefined “Rape” As “Forcible Rape” In Order To Limit Federal Funding Of Abortion Procedures.  In 2011, Ryan and Akin co-sponsored the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act. According to the Washing Post, “[a] Republican bill seeking to permanently cut off federal funding for abortions has angered women's groups that say it alters the definition of rape, permitting coverage for the procedure only in cases in which the rape is considered ‘forcible.’

Social issues along with making Obama a one-term President became the most important thing to this group of Republican House members, not the Country.

Nancy Pelosi was reminiscing about working with President Bush and how they didn't agree on a lot of things but did work together for two years unlike today's Republican obstructionists.  The Reagan/Tip O'Neill disagreements are legendary but they did find common ground on what was best for the Country.  Until this group of Republicans took control in the House in January 2011, the opposition party  in the House was able to find some type of common  ground with the President over the years not only on large issues but on smaller issues.

Not this group of Republicans whose sole intent was to oppose the President at all costs to the American people including not wanting to pass bills that would help the economy grow along with jobs.  These Republicans sacrificed what was good for all Americans by putting Party over Country. They don't deserve to be in leadership after what we have been witnessing for the last two years.

This two-month vacation is just another slap in the face to the American people when you look at the bills they are leaving on the table.  If the House Republican Conference had worked with this President like Speaker Boehner was trying, we wouldn't be worrying about a Sequester bill outcome.  Every time Boehner thought he had an agreement, the far right House members would undermine the agreement he had made with the President.  Cantor's sole purpose seemed to be to get the Tea Party Republicans in the House to line up against any agreement with Obama.  Now this group of Republicans is going on a two-month vacation to try and convince voters they should remain in charge while leaving key bills awaiting action: 

House Republicans Plan Two Month Vacation, Leaving Key Bills Awaiting Action  

By Josh Israel on Sep 14, 2012 at 6:34 pm 

House Republican Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) announced Friday that after next week, the House will stand in recess until November 13. His plan for a nearly two month vacation will undoubtedly allow more time for campaigning, but will leave several vital bills awaiting action.\ 

Among the important legislation the House will likely not address before the November elections: 

• 1. Violence Against Women Act re-authorization. Though a bipartisan Senate majority passed the a strong re-authorization bill in April, the Republican House leadership refused to allow a vote on the Senate version of the bill. The House passed a watered down version on a mostly-party lines vote, leaving victims to wait for House action. 

• 2. The American Jobs Act. Republicans have been blocking President Obama’s jobs legislation for more than a year. Though House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) promised in 2010 that a GOP Congress would focus on job creation, he has blocked this bill’s immediate infrastructure investments, tax credits for working Americans and employers, and aid to state and local governments to prevent further layoffs of teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public safety officials. 

• 3. Tax cuts for working families. In July, the Senate passed a bill extending tax-cuts for the first $250,000 in annual income. The Republican House leadership has refused to consider the bill, holding it hostage to their demands for a full extension of Bush-era tax cuts for millionaires. 

• 4. Veterans Job Corps Act. The Senate is currently considering bipartisan legislation to help America’s veterans find jobs. The Air Force Times reports that the Republican House has “shown no interest” in the legislation to support those who served the country. 

• 5. Sequestration. A spokesman for Boehner said earlier this week that stopping budget cuts he voted for last August “topped our July agenda and remains atop our agenda for September.” While House Republicans have complained about the imminent spending reductions and passed a bill that would require President Obama to find offsets for spending cuts they don’t like, Republican Leader Canter could not name a single compromise he was willing to make to get a deal. 

• 6. Farm Bill. Despite strong support for a 5-year farm bill from even conservative groups like the Farm Bureau Association — the House leadership has not scheduled a vote on the bill. The current law expires September 30. Without passage, 90 percent of the work of the Department of Agriculture could be defunded. 

• 7. Wind tax credit. The Senate may act next week to renew an expiring wind energy tax credit. Despite bipartisan support — including from original author Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the Examiner notes that the House is unlikely to pass the renewal. Despite GOP calls for energy independence, the expiration has threatened the wind energy industry and already led to job cuts. 

These, in addition to drought assistance, postal service reform, addressing the Estate Tax, cybersecurity legislation, fixes for Medicare reimbursement rates and the Alternative Minimum Tax, and all 12 of the FY 2013 Appropriations Bills remain unaddressed. 

Read More at Think Progress

Some of you might ask why a Republican would use Think Progress for a source but frankly most conservative sites are unwilling to state the truth because it shows Conservatives and Republicans do not have the best interest of the Country in mind.  They prefer to be cheerleaders like Fox News, Rush, Hannity, and others for Republicans no matter the cost to the Country and the American people.  All you have to do is take this one bill that is being obstructed by Republicans in the House that could lead to defunding 90% of the Department of Agriculture to know all they care about is the Party and electing Romney/Ryan.  They do not seem to care about the people of America who would be affected by their obstructionists tactics:

GOP Farm Bill Obstruction Could Defund 90 Percent Of Department Of AgricultureBy Zack Beauchamp posted from ThinkProgress Economy on Sep 15, 2012 at 10:42 am 

The 2012 Farm Bill is still languishing in the House, with GOP leadership in the chamber intentionally preventing action on the legislation for political reasons. According to the New York Times, “House leaders declined to take up either [the Senate or the House] version of the legislation. They are not eager to force their members to take a vote that would be difficult for some of them, nor would they wish to pass a measure largely with Democrats’ votes right before an election.” 

But without a new five-year Farm Bill or at least a temporary extension of current legislation, the Department of Agriculture may be forced to shutter almost all of its operations. 

The Farm Bill serves as a mass funding mechanism for the USDA — it provides funding for roughly 90 percent of the Department’s operations, meaning those operations may have to shut down if the Farm Bill isn’t renewed. According to the National Sustainable Agriculture Commission, the effect of even a temporary shutdown could be long-lasting:

USDA would be forced to occupy a multiple-month holding pattern, temporarily stopping many services and programs. Program administration involves a certain amount of planning and preparation, stakeholder input, rulemaking, and outreach. Even if program opportunities aren’t announced until later in the year, the preparation work that leads up to announcements takes time and certainty. Programs can’t simply be “turned off” and then “turned on” again with the expectation that program delivery and administration will not suffer.

The programs that the NSAC believe would be affected include “all the major programs for beginning and minority farmers, farmers markets, organic agriculture, renewable energy, and rural economic development” and new enrollment in the “the Wetland Reserve, Grassland Reserve, and Conservation Reserve Programs.” USDA programs funded by the Farm Bill are critical to addressing the crippling drought that has spread over four-fifths of the United States. The USDA also takes a lead role in shutting down brutal factory farms and administers the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a cost-effective food assistance program for needy families. 

This isn’t to say that the House bill is necessarily worth passing in its current form — the House version contains, among other things, deep cuts to critical food stamp programs. But failure to pass at least a stopgap necessary to keep USDA could have dangerous consequences.   

Read More at Think Progress

In some ways this is sad to me as I have been a lifelong Republican going back to knocking doors for Republican candidates as a charter member of the Ohio Teenage Republican Club.  For years I have worked campaigns and defended Republican candidates including in 2010, but this Congress and the nomination of Romney/Ryan has taken off my blinders on the Republican Party.  This is not the party of my parents or myself as I do not condone the actions of the House, the Senate with all their filibusters to keep bills from passing that would help the American people and economy, the RNC who made sure Romney was the candidate, and Romney/Ryan who have a problem with the truth preferring to lie and spin in most cases.

Then you have the so-called Republican/conservative pundits defending Romney/Ryan and Congressional Republicans like Fox News, Rove, Rush, Hannity, Beck, Medved, and others who will spin and lie to get Romney elected along with Republicans in Congress.  Rush has made some of the nastiest remarks against a sitting President I have ever heard.   His comments and those of others are pure trash and show a group of people who hate has become their most important weapon.

We will start to cover Congressional races leading up to Nov 6th in the days ahead.  We need new Congressional leadership in both parties IMHO no matter who takes control.  Tired of the far right and the far left in Congress trying to dictate their views which are outside the mainstream to the rest of us who believe in common sense and what is good for all Americans just not a few.