Tuesday, January 06, 2009
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New Congress Will Be Anything But Open and Transparent
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Posted by:
Michele Bachmann at
1:07 PM
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In about an hour, the 111th Congress will be sworn into office and the first matter we will take up is consideration of the new House Rules Package. Not only does the new package miss the opportunity to make important improvements to the earmarking and budgeting processes, such as increased transparency, it also essentially shuts off debate and prevents Republicans from proposing policy alternatives to the Democrat majority’s agenda.
No ifs, and, or buts about it - the Democrats are denying debate through gimmicks and legislative maneuvering, suppressing alternative ideas and dissenting views.
The Democrat-controlled Congress is coming off two years of abysmal leadership that denied the opportunity for debate more than any other Congress in our nation's history. Speaker Pelosi promised Americans transparency and open government in the political process, but sadly, we've received just the opposite. And, somehow, they’ve managed to make it even worse.
But, the restrictions on debate and the roadblock to alternative ideas are just where the bad news begins.
The Democrats are actually rewriting the rules to make it easier to spend your money and harder to cut your taxes.
Their rewrite of the “pay-as-you-go” rule includes a provision to tax and entitlement bills to be “packaged” together for purposes of calculating PAYGO compliance. This insulates their proposals from having to stand against Republican alternatives and makes it easier to circumvent rules that are supposed to keep Congress from running the federal balance sheets into the red.
Furthermore, the rewrite of the PAYGO rule allows for “emergency” designation of spending. It allows anyone to designate spending as “emergency,” exempting it entirely from PAYGO enforcement. The emergency designation isn’t even debatable.
This Rules Package is anything but open and transparent and creates an express lane for Democrats to tax and spend your money with nothing and no one to stop them.
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the Repubs had reached across the aisle a little more... |
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"No ifs, and, or buts about it - the Democrats are denying debate through gimmicks and legislative maneuvering, suppressing alternative ideas and dissenting views."
Those crazy Dems, they seem rather, um, unAmerican, don't you agree? Maybe the media should take a very close look at each member of Congress and find which ones espouse dangerous unAmerican viewpoints. Those found "guilty" should be sent to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period of time where their unAmerican viewpoints would be purged by forced education. |
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If the new Congress is "open and transparent", people will get to see how crooked the Democrats really are. |
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For clear thinking level headed Americans to storm on Capitol Hill and take our country back.
Nancy Pelosi is nothing more than a feminine Nazi facist who is hell bent on destroying this country. |
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The answer is no for the current GOP heavies to take back the congress. We need new people all around...in both parties. We need your average Jane and Joe to pay attention to local issues and fashion their communities into places where they actually want to live. We need state legislatures to get their bsiness done in a matter of weeks (how many new laws do we really need?), and we need the US Senate and House (especially the Senate) to be directly accountable to the state leadership...
Excuse me, I have to go catch up on Caylee/Britney/Brangelina/etc/etc/etc... |
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extremely impressed with the Dems polling numbers too..
Let's see if we see any transparency..
If you believe BHO everything should be as clear
as a bell!!!
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To think the democrats could not figure out why they were being called communist...whoa, here is the proof! |
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We should absolutely have crystal clear, real-time transparency in Congress, whether Democrats or Republicans are in charge. Bachmann recognizes that secrecy is an evil that prevents the American people from knowing how politicians are representing us. She knows we have every right to know how our money is being spent.
I look forward to Bachmann's new standard in transparency, posting online the transcripts of her meetings with lobbyists and Congressional colleagues. Way to go, Michelle - show Congress that the GOP is responsive to the American people!
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People wanted change and change they shall get. There will be no questioning the intentions of great leader and his court. Flogging will continue until morale improves. |
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We should all get more involved in our local and state governments.
We need the 2 party system but national politics has become a con game played by all. Any Senator or Representative that votes to increase the scope of the Federal government could and should be recalled due to violation of their oath of office in which they SWEAR to uphold the Constitution.
I believe Representative Shadigg from Arizona wants to pass a law that requires Congress to justify their actions by Constitutional adherence. That would be interesting.....
Thanks for your time. |
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Pelosi and Reid work only for themselves. Both are power hungry hacks. They have done their very best to stop Conservative protest. The majority of the people voted for these two idiots, I really do hope they enjoy what they have created. The Libs have always complained about wiretaps, which protects the people, this new Senate and House will make that look like borrowing a cup of sugar from your neighbor. They are changing policies, and Constitutional regulations just to suit their own need for power. The Libs will not be able to control the temptation to be the crooks that they really are. Pelosi does not know the meaning of transparency, except maybe her undergarments. Now that is a scary picture...sorry for that. Just stand by, the people will be vindicated soon. Meanwhile, we will have some really good entertainment that Hollywood could never match. These little weasels, have no morals, they really believe we are idiots, and know nothing about what sort of shady dealings that they do. They can't help themselves, they are corrupt by design, and power will not afford them to change. |
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Bachmann complaining about PAYGO LOL
At least the Dems go on record for where the money will come from; either cut spending or raise taxes. The Republicans did away with PAYGO when they had control.
Face it Rep. Bachmann the easy way out on government spending is what the Republicans had been practicing for the time they had control; spend and borrow but I didn't vote to raise your taxes.
It was the Republican's governing and spending practices that caused this recession. |
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Michael exemplifies the term useful idiot. The Dems go on record for nothing; all they do is blame someone else for their faux pas, which are too numerous to mention.
The cause for this recession, Useful Idiot, was the subprime lending crisis which has its genesis in the Community Reinvestment Act. This was where the Democrats, led by incompetent Jimmy Carter, threatened lending institutions with penalties unless they gave home loans to unqualified minorities. A few years later, this received a steroid boost under Bill, I-Never-Met-An-Intern-I-Didn't-Like, Clinton. Add a pinch of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, sugar daddies for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and you have a full blown housing collapse.
When the Chosen One wrecks the nation beyond all recognition, I do believe the Dems will still be blaming Bush... which would be the cowardly path of least resistance. No surprises there. |
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President-elect Obama and the new Democrat-majority Congress have not even officially taken power, but some of its leaders are already making negative headways of recent weeks. Most notably, Blagovich, Emmanuel, Kilpatrick, Richardson...perhaps an ominous sign of things to come from the new leadership? |
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I guess Republicans didn’t ever control Congress after President Carter. Oh yeah I forgot, they controlled the US House, Senate and Presidency for a number of years.
Hey and didn’t the Republicans have a majority in the US House during many of the Clinton years
If the Republicans knew this was bad policy why didn’t they fix it? I will say hindsight is crytal clear especially when you have your selective memory.
The Republicans borrowed and spent the US into this recession and were a sleep at the switch just as the Democrats were on the lending practices that you mention. I don’t see you complaining that our deficits in every category that exploded during the Republican controlled years. Any form of PAYGO is better then their governing practices.
By the way, name calling becomes you.
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Well, you shouldn't guess. I'm sorry you forgot. Hey is for horses. Hindsight is twenty-twenty; not "crytal" clear, whatever that means. And you don't see me complaining because I'm not a whiner.
Yes, Republicans controlled Congress. They reduced the budget deficit during the Cigar-As-A-Sexual-Aid Administration... whereupon President Clinton took the credit for it. Too bad he didn't take credit for the Nine-Eleven attacks because they had his stains, er, fingerprints all over it.
Democrats own the market on selective memory, traceable all the way back through the Not-So-Great Society (LBJ) and ending at the Great Depression Exacerbating New Deal (FDR). In between, they were stridently against the Civil Rights Act... look it up!
For what it's worth, it really disturbs me when elected Republicans spend like Democrats. Apparently, racking up a humongous budget deficit only bothers you, Michael, if a Republican is at the helm.
By the way, ignorance becomes you.
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All you do in your comments is complain about Democrats but never address what Rep. Bachmann wrote about - PAYGO
OldeCoastie writes:
"Yes, Republicans controlled Congress. They reduced the budget deficit during the Cigar-As-A-Sexual-Aid Administration..."
OldeCoastie writes:
"The cause for this recession, Useful Idiot, was the subprime lending crisis which has its genesis in the Community Reinvestment Act. This was where the Democrats, led by incompetent Jimmy Carter, threatened lending institutions with penalties unless they gave home loans to unqualified minorities."
I guess the Republicans only were effective during the Clinton years, by your own writings they must of been powerless during the Reagan, G.H. Bush and G.W. Bush years. If not, why didn't they fix the problems that you say Carter created; they had full power many of those years.
You go back to FDR but in reality there was a budget surplus when Bush became president and prior to 9/11 the US had already returned to deficit spending.
Hindsight is crystal clear and it shows that government spending exploded while the Republicans had full control of the federal government during the first half of this decade.
Some drink from the fountain of knowledge, but some just gargle
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Paygo is a hoax perpetrated by frauds such as Pelosi and Reid. |
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Do you even know who held the house during the Reagan and George HW Bush years? Apparently not. The Republicans had control congress from 94-2006, that is 12 years. The democrats had control of it for like 40 years previous. All those policies OldeCoastie mentioned are causing many of the problems today, and even by your own admission as you said it was the duty of the republicans to repeal them then. (Instead of defending the policies you ask why didn't the republicans get rid of the polices. By doing that you forfeit that the policies have in fact caused much of this crisis) Of those 12 years that the Republicans held congress, 6 of them had Clinton at the helm and he would in no way sign off on repealing an act he just reinforced. The only time the GOP could have possibly repealed it then would have been 2000-2006. By that time the damage was already done and loaning institutions were using the subprime to their advantage. The CRA bill started this crisis, but it did not end it. The point of no return had passed by 2000. Face it, your democrat buddies caused this crisis Michael. |
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somebody should do some sort of investigation, i wish they would, into these so-called "congresspeople" to see if they hold anti-american views. i would really like to see that.
i bet they'd find that michele bachmann is the only one in the whole bunch who is actually pro-america.
republicans were so magnanimous in their leadership, i can't understand why dems wouldn't want to work with them. must be because they're terrrrists. |
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sorry.. previous (cnsnews) link provided "encountered a problem"..
scroll down to News..most popular political articles: "House Democrats pass a new rule to curb Republican influence" |
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pelousy and ripoff reid are so trustworthy and have the good will and intentions of the american socialists at heart. so you guys back off!!
roy |
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Same old same old
They had control from 2000 to 2006 and did nothing to fix all the problems Old Coastie speaks of.
It was to late to do anything so they did nothing LOL
Priceless
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Time is running out for the Dumbocrats! If they cannot get anything done right soon, it is the Titanic trip for them! I am going to set here and watch, hoping they are not forced to board the Titanic! Not much else I can do! |
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Conservatives pleaded, begged, warned and implored Republicans not to "reach out" to Democrats when they were in the majority. But they caved; they gave in to the incessant whining of the Dems that they were being left out of the legislative process.
And, the Republicans opined, they wouldn't want to have the same thing happen to them should they lose majority status. Well, Nancy Pelosi has just dropkicked the oh-so-bipartisan Republicans and she finished with a waffle stomp. Republicans, that is what happens when you refuse to listen to your base. Now, you can wallow in your impotence with no hope of that base coming to your aid anytime soon.
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