Congressional Black Caucus Ready to Show They Mean Business By Not Doing Business

The Conservative Tree House

Yeah, it's true. That Black Caucus in the Senate is going to walk out during the vote to hold Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.

Give Us a Damn Pipeline Obama

Democratic leadership squeaked out a 56-42 vote. | John Shinkle/POLITICO

Obama lobbied hard to stop the passage of a bill that would allow an oil pipeline from Canada to Texas. The bill in the Senate required 60 votes but, only received 56. 11 of the votes were from democrats that crossed party lines and 56 is still the majority. If Canada is unable to sell the oil to us, they will sell the oil to another country, most likely China.

The American people want the Keystone pipeline. We do not want to increase our dependence on oil from the Middle East. Buying oil from Canada will keep the cost down as well as foster a positive relationship with our Northern neighbors. Unlike Middle Eastern countries, Canada is not hostile toward the United States.

With increased drilling efforts, the pipeline, and encouragement of improving green energy, we can not only keep the cost of energy down but, we can still move forward with other options. I'm not necessarily a "green" person but, I am all for trying to explore other options. Why not? It certainly doesn't hurt us to look for other energy sources. The problem is, at this point, we do not have the capability just yet and that is the reality. Europe tried increasing their gas rates in order to push for green energy but that strategy has not worked. It has only crippled people. The United States is not Europe. We rely on traveling far distances to ship out goods and especially food. When the cost to transport these goods increases, the prices continue to rise, further crushing the poor.

Here are the 11 Democrats that actually responded to the wants of the American people:

The 11 Democrats who crossed party lines to support the amendment were Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Jon Tester of Montana and Jim Webb of Virginia.

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Senate Repeals Part of Health Care Law

Carl Levin (left) and Debbie Stabenow proposed amendments conerning the 1099 rule. | AP Photos

In a strong bipartisan vote, part of the health care bill was successfully repealed.

The Senate voted Wednesday for the first time to repeal a piece of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, rolling back a new tax reporting requirement that’s been universally panned by business owners.

Oh, Dear G-d NO!!!

Democrats want Keith Olbermann to run for Senate. They are eying Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) seat.

The ploy to coax the former MSNBC host into the Democratic Senate primary was hatched by activists attending a conference in Pennsylvania over the weekend. 

Sen. Lamar Alexander Warns Us About Democrats

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), in a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington Tuesday, struck back at Democrats in the Senate who may try to change the Senate rules regarding the filibuster to make it easier for the diminishing number of Democrats to pass liberal pieces of legislation more easily.

Referencing the recent midterm elections in which Americans sent a clear message that they were dissatisfied with Democrats and their liberal agenda, Alexander said Democrats were attempting to change the filibuster rules because “when you lose the game, you change the rules,” and said such rule changes would amount to an “electoral nullification.”

At issue is the speculation that Democrats are serious about changing the Senate rules so that only 51 votes, rather than the 60 currently needed, will end debate, which would essentially eliminate the ability of the minority to block legislation it deems to be harmful. While they had audaciously planned to to make an attempt on the first day of the new Congress, the Democrats, led by Sen. Tom Udall (D-Colo.), may wait a few weeks to try to change the Senate rules.

I don't even know what to say. Would anyone be remotely shocked if they did this? The worst part is, I'm sure many in the far left see no problem with this at all.

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GOP Picks Up 3 Senate Seats, Lose WV

AP – Former president Bill Clinton smiles as W.Va. Governor Joe Manchin campaigns at Tamarack in Beckley,

Arkansas, North Dakota and Indiana, Republicans picked up seats in the Senate. West Virgina was lost.

To gain the 10 seats they need for a Senate majority, Republicans will have to win all the remaining tight races, and pull off upsets in California and Washington.

Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida rocked the GOP establishment last spring by routing leadership favorites in party primaries. Then they beat back Democrats' efforts to paint them as too extreme, winning comfortably on Tuesday.

Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln became the first senator to lose in the midterm elections, falling to GOP Rep. John Boozman in a state that President Barack Obama lost by 20 percentage points two years ago.

Here are a few interesting points: 

_The Senate's most powerful member, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, could lose to a political outsider, tea party champion Sharron Angle.

_A tempestuous three-way race in Alaska could allow Democrat Scott McAdams to win a once-hopeless race for GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski's seat. Murkowski is running a rare write-in campaign after losing the Republican primary to another tea partier, Joe Miller.

• Three-term Democrat Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, was in severe danger of losing to GOP newcomer Ron Johnson.

Nevada, Colorado, Illinois and Pennsylvania are close races so, it may be some time before we get results.

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Pelosi Better Watch Out

 AP

Pelosi may be in for some serious competition in San Francisco. Imagine that!

It's not your everyday congressional race when the Republican candidate welcomes the support of Cindy Sheehan, the antiwar gadfly, and Matt Gonzalez, who was Ralph Nader's running mate in 2008. Yet that is exactly what is happening in San Francisco, where Republican John Dennis is challenging House Speaker Pelosi in what may be Pelosi's first-ever truly competitive race.

Cindy Sheehan? You've got to be kidding me.

Anyway, it's nice to see some hope, even if it's a tiny spark of hope, that Nancy could get thrown out on her butt in Novemeber.

Since August, Dennis has raised three times as much money as Pelosi, and the $2.1 million he's collected so far is in the ballpark with her total. Dennis cites internal polling from a few months ago showing that roughly 35 percent of independents and Democrats in the district are growing tired of Pelosi's leadership, and the Dennis campaign is conducting a new poll that they hope will show support growing.

It could definitely be a stretch but, one things for sure, Pelosi will be dethroned from her post as Speaker of the House. Thank heavens.

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Midterm Election Strategies

With elections coming up, it is being speculated that Republicans are now downplaying what was previously stated, that they would guarantee that big wins would come about in November. They don't want Republicans to think it's a slam dunk. They don't want to take the current political climate for granted.

It's clear that Democrats would also like to have Republicans believe they will win, thinking some will stay home for election day and not vote. At the same time, they are trying to fire up their base.

Click title of post for full story on the AP.

With less than 3 weeks, it's clear that Republicans will need to stay motivated and, rather than concentrating on getting Democrats out, the vote needs to be a positive one. No one ever wins if you're voting against someone and, that has always been true concerning American politics.

Good News in Ohio For the GOP

Reuters – Former U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman smiles during a news conference at the U.S. embassy in Geneva

In a recent poll taken by Reuters/Ipsos, Rob Portman, a formal senior official for President George W. Bush, is showing a commanding lead for the Senate seat in Ohio. Democrat Lee Fisher is far behind, 50 percent for Portman and, a dismal 37 percent for Fisher.

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"Portman is really solidifying his lead -- it's starting to look insurmountable," Ipsos pollster Chris Jackson said. "Fisher hasn't been able to raise his profile enough to make a dent."

The Democrats have been trying to attack Portman for his previous work with the Bush administration, attempting to attach a stigma upon him by declaring his service will bring about the previous Bush tax-era. The only problem is, most people want those low taxes to continue for ALL Americans. There's also the problem of Bush never tanking the economy the way Obama and the Democrats have done since gaining full control over the Executive and Legislative branches of government.

Pelosi is a Target

AP Photo/Louie Traub

Nancy Pelosi may be welcomed in circles of democrats, for her ability to raise money for her party but, she a target number one for Republicans.

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Pelosi "is the most disliked, distrusted person in American politics," Republican strategist Chris LaCivita says, a claim hotly disputed by her admirers. Pelosi's hard-driving efforts to pass health care and other bills contribute to her reputation, LaCivita said, but what is more important, she is the personification of a deeply unpopular Congress.

She is scheduled to attend 35 fund-raising events for her party.  Even though Pelosi may help raise money, in the eye of the voters, she is representative of the stench that is congress. She is too divisive of a character and will most likely be proven toxic to anyone she associates with.

So glad the country will be removing the trash in November.

Border Security Bill

 Reuters

Tomorrow the Senate is expected to pass a border security bill that will help fund new agents for the US border patrol, at the border of US and Mexico. $600 million is what the cost of the legislation will be.

Click title of post for full story on Reuters.

Robert Gibbs - Republicans Could Win Control of House

Robert Gibbs, who is a White House spokesman, has admitted the Republicans could win the House in November.

Really, Mr. Gibbs? You just now figured this out? It just goes to show how these nimrods in Washington are so far out of touch with the American people.

Oh, and here's another clue, Republicans will most likely take the Senate as well. The American people are pretty livid at this point. It's time to do whatever it takes to stop Obama from destroying this country any further than he already has done.

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The economy is struggling and unemployment has hovered at just below 10 percent. The war in Afghanistan is not going well. And the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has prompted criticism that Obama's response was slow, disorganized and too easy on BP Plc.

The article also mentions that currently Obama is holding a 46 percent approval rating. I would beg to differ with that number. How can anyone approve of him at this point, and claim to actually have a brain?

Obama Criticizes Sharron Angle

Sharron Angle is currently Harry Reid's opponent for the Senate.  Obama, spoke this evening in Las Vegas, at a campaign rally. He decided to go after Ms. Angle, while not mentioning her name directly, by saying she referred to the compensation of $20 billion, a fund for the oil spill, as a "slush fund."

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She has since retracted her statement but...

Obama ridiculed that, too: "I'm sure she meant slush fund in the nicest possible way," he said.

Obama Bypasses Senate

The president has the power to make appointments without Senate approval, while they are on recess. Obama has done just that. He has appointed Donald Berwick to run Medicare and Medicade programs. 


Obama also appointed Philip Coyle to the position of associate director for national security in the White House Office of Science and Technology. In addition, Joshua Gotbaum will be director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. 


Click title of this post for the full article. 


I can understand that sometimes positions need to be filled but, Obama is complaining that Republicans are making things difficult for these positions to be filled. Well, that's their job, Obama. This is what BALANCE is all about. If it were a Republican making nominations, the Democrats would be objecting. Stop whining already! This is how the government works so, don't act surprised when people get upset because, they see you are acting like a big baby and, just going over the heads of people, all so you can get your way with every decision.

Elena Kagan to Face Senate Panel

Elena Kagan will be facing the Senate panel this week. She will be questioned on various subjects, and her politics.


Even though she clearly will have enough votes to be passed through with the Democrats, the GOP will take the opportunity to expose her stances on things like gays in the military. 


She is the first female dean at Harvard Law school and, during her time there, she prevented the military from recruiting at the school, citing that the "don't ask, don't tell policy" went against the school's nondiscrimination policy. 


It is mostly feared, and rightly so, that she will not be interpreting the law, but will instead, try to help create law, or twist the law, in order to push through her political beliefs. 


The purpose of our judicial system is to interpret the laws that have been passed, and not to create law. There is a huge difference and, as we've seen before in this country, many of these liberal extremists that have been appointed as judges have done just that. 


I'm sure she will be appointed and, this is just one more person in Obama's presidency that will most likely carry out his deed to change this country into one that will reflect his socialist agenda. 


Obama and his appointments to various offices, including the court, have all been exposed as people who are not just middle of the road, or part of the mainstream but, rather people who are extremists to the left, or socialists. They are not interested in preserving the values of America but, rather more interested in pushing agendas that will move this country to one that is in total control of our daily lives from cradle to the grave. 

She has strongly criticized the military for not allowing gays to be open in the military but, I'd like to know her reasoning of how this goes against being discriminatory. First of all, sex is a private act. It is against the law to have sex in public, is it not? I have never once gone on a job interview and have been asked what my sexual preference is. It's not anyone's business what sex I am having, who I am having sex with, or if I'm having sex at all. When one goes into the military, they are there to serve the country and, do a job. 


Our culture has become so obsessed with sex. There is no privacy anymore. There has been a push in this country by the left to make sex, mostly homosexual sex, a huge issue that requires government intervention. What happened to families? What happened to trying to preserve a culture that focuses on the norms of a great  society? 


I have nothing personally against anyone that chooses to be gay or lesbian. It's a private issue that is reached by individuals for various reasons. Perhaps someone feels they are born that way or, maybe they were curious about certain sexual practices and found they felt comfortable in that lifestyle. I've been up close with the gay community for years. I used to think that people were born that way but, after MY years of observation, I have personally come to the conclusion that it is most definitely a choice, as is ultimately, all behaviors. 


Whether I am right or wrong on this issue really makes no difference. I am one person who has an opinion. An opinion, that I do not claim, is any more important than anyone else's opinion. The fact still remains that homosexuality is not part of the lifestyle of the majority of people. They make up a small percentage of the population. 

Even looking at homosexuality from a purely scientific manner, there is clearly an abnormality with being homosexual. It impedes the ability of procreation, which is necessary for a society to survive. There are also issues, especially with male homosexuality, that can catalyze the spreading of viruses and other health issues, including psychological problems. With all of these issues in mind, we can clearly see that homosexual sex is not equal with that of heterosexual sex.

While I understand and respect there is an inherent sensitivity that is involved in this issue, I find that identifying people by their sexuality in the military will ultimately create an unnecessary disruption. Being in the military is about becoming one with a unit. Instead, this will create a division. Is it not more important for a culture to focus on our similarities, rather than what sets us apart? 


Have we not seen with all of our country's history the problems with creating various divisions amongst people? Haven't these same people told us for years that the government should be out of our bedrooms? Why then, would they want to expose what is going on in people's bedrooms? 

Then, we have the issue of marriage. The concern is that homosexuals cannot receive benefits for their would-be spouses, supposing they could get married. The fact is, marriage is defined as one woman and one man. I am in support of civil unions or, call it whatever else you want. To me, if you want to declare a union between whoever, that is your business. When it comes to the military, we should absolutely be in support of marriage. Supporting marriage is done by providing benefits to spouses of people in the military. 


Giving benefits to gay couple's would be ultimately supporting that union as something equal to a basic family structure that begins with a man and a women and, clearly it is not equal. While that is something that may not be considered PC or, sensitive, it is a fact that we cannot deny. I do not view homosexuality as evil, I simply cannot find reason for the government to view it as equal, when ultimately it restricts the various things I've discussed and mostly procreation. 


If you are gay and want to serve in the military, you should do so and, there is no reason, that I can find, that you should not do so. I actually know several gays and lesbians that have served our country with honor. I just feel as though your sexuality should not be questioned. Again, it's a private matter. 


I'd love to hear your opinions on this issue. Please leave comments.

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California, Republicans, and Women

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Excerpt:

Meg Whitman won the party's nomination for California governor on Tuesday and Carly Fiorina will carry the GOP banner into the fall campaign for a Senate seat, a pair of wealthy businesswomen and first-time candidates running against veteran politicians in a year of palpable anti-establishment sentiment.

Well, this is going to be very interesting. I'm actually pretty excited to hear about this. From what I understand, Fiorina is considered quite conservative, not just another RINO.

November cannot come soon enough.