The bastards have already forgotten that we elected and reelected them to office.
Citing Politico as her source, Melanie Batley reports for NewsMax, Nov. 6, 2014, that just two days after their historic midterm victories, the Republican congressional leadership is “sending out signals” to the Republican rank-and-file, especially the so-called “hard right,” that infighting and gridlock will not be tolerated.
In other words, they are telling Conservatives and the Tea Party to shut up.
The way Politico put it was: “Emboldened by sweeping midterm election victories, Republican leaders are vowing not to repeat the errors of past years, when messy fiscal fights eroded public confidence in Washington and became the hallmark of the GOP-controlled House.” That’s because the GOP leadership feel justified in demanding loyalty from the conservative wing of the party, given that the victories from this election cycle were mainly the result of the party’s early backing of establishment candidates, some of whom are from moderate districts.
1. Incoming Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he will not go along with conservative calls to use the debt ceiling as leverage for spending cuts, an insistence by Tea Party members which triggered the government shutdown last year. McConnell has already vowed that there will not be a government shutdown on his watch. And in his victory speech Tuesday night, McConnell made it clear he would also be extending the olive branch to Barack Obama, saying the GOP has a “duty” to work with the White House on issues they agree on. “I’m pretty familiar with our conference including the new members who are coming in,” McConnell said. “The vast majority of them don’t feel they were sent to Washington to fight all the time.”
2. House Speaker John Boehner is telling colleagues he plans to be a “responsible leader.” By that, he means the party needs to be unified to take advantage of its political dominance.
3. Ohio GOP Rep. Steve Stivers, a close ally of Boehner, told Politico, “What this election did is give us a working majority where we have at least 218 votes to pass a Republican agenda, and what I think will be a responsible Republican agenda. We’re not veering hard right, we’re playing it straight down the fairway, to use a Boehner-ism.”
Boehner and McConnell have already set out their legislative agenda, saying in a joint editorial that their top priority is to help the struggling middle class, and a first step will be passing many of the bills the House has already approved. “Enacting such measures early in the new session will signal that the logjam in Washington has been broken, and help to establish a foundation of certainty and stability that both parties can build upon,” they wrote.
The GOP elites maintain that unity could be paramount to maintaining the Senate majority in 2016, when a number of senators from blue and purple states are up for re-election.
Meanwhile, to make your Saturday even better [sarc], now that Republicans are in control of the Senate, John McCain is set to be chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The same warmonger McCain who has never met a war he doesn’t want to drag the United States into.
Recall that McCain was a big proponent of a U.S. war in Syria. On September 4, 2013, he was one of three Republicans who joined 7 Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in approving a Senate resolution granting Obama authority to conduct military strikes on Syria’s government.
See:
- John McCain, warmonger
- Senate votes in favor of Obama’s war against Syria
- John Boehner goes whole hog for Obama’s war on Syria
- Senators who voted for Syrian war got more defense industry $
- U.S. soldiers in open rebellion against Obama’s war in Syria
- Obama admin considering a war against Syria, again
- Pulitzer-award journalist says Obama admin made up intelligence for war on Syria
~Eowyn
