Why Weiner Should not Resign

I firmly believe that Rep Anthony Weiner (D-NY) should not resign from his House seat, despite all the furor that has surrounded his recent sexting scandal. My opinion may surprise some of my audience, but I firmly believe that he should not resign. To put my opinion another way, he should not be allowed to resign: He should be expelled under Article 1, Section 5, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States. This clause reads simply:

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member. (Emphasis mine)

At this point, several members of the leadership of both parties in Washington have called for Weiner to resign. How convenient: Let's just allow him to walk away with his dignity intact, at the time and in the manner of his choosing? No! It is time for the United States House of Representatives to take a stand on principle. A recent Rasmussen poll shows that only 9% of respondents think Congress is doing a good or excellent job. (By contrast, 50% rate their performance as "poor".) While a stand on principle may not change how they do their job, it may let people know that the body is actually willing to stand up for something!

At present, the Representatives calling for Weiner to resign include Nanci Pelosi (D), John Boehner (R), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D). According to National Journal, 21 Democrats have called for him to step down. This may be a far cry from the 2/3 majority required for explusion, but surely the Speaker of the House can rally the majority and the House Minority leader can herd enough Democrats to give him this guy the old "heave, ho". (Surely, if that's still not enough, the Anointed One, Barack Hussein Obama, can whip the rest of his party into following along.)

If the House isn't willing to step up and take a stand on principle, than I have to call a spade a space and conclude that ALL of these guys (the Republicans included) calling for him to step down are just giving lip service to what they know the American people want to hear. It's time for the House to step up and start policing their own scandals. Maybe if they were willing to kick someone out for their indiscretions, our Congressmen may think twice about their actions.

Proposition Twenty

John McClaughery over at The American Thinker sure has his head screwed on straight.  McClaughery lays out the surest solution I've ever seen to our nation's debt crisis, in his article ttitled Proposition Twenty.  In the past, I've excoriated suggestions that we implement a Balanced Budget Amendment due to the fact that it gives the good ole Dems a license to raise taxes, and I've favored other solutions instead (like spending caps based on prior-year GDP).  This article points out some of the reasons my preferred solutions would fail to adequately shut down run-away spending.  His suggestion is elegant in its simplicity -- if only it didn't require a Constiutional Amendment.  But since my proposals have also involved one, I think I can overlook that. 

I think this is an idea worth pursuing. Check out his proposal and let me know your thoughts in the comments section.  Are there gaps in this solution, as well, or any better solutions you've heard of?  I don't claim to have the answers -- but I am deeply concerned about where I see my country heading, and I think we all can be a part of coming up with a solution.  So, thanks to John for setting me straight with a better idea. At the moment, this is the best idea I've seen to get behind.

Waiting for the Dawn

"... And like a thousand other commanders on a thousand other battlefields, I wait for the dawn."

- Captain Jean Luc Picard

On the eve of a historic election, this quote seems to express nearly every ounce of anticipation I have for the election results. (And, to be honest, I also feel a pinch of dread that my predictions would be wrong.) In any case, this post isn't about sharing my election predictions (many of which I've already shared here). Rather, this post is about what happens after the election.

What happens on November 3rd? That's the morning our work just gets started. If the election turns out the way many of us expect it to, there will be a large number of upset people: the media, establishment Republicans, and pretty-much the entire Democrat party. And, furthermore, each of these will be working overtime to discredit the election results, and to sabotage the outcome we all anticipate. In other words, they'll all be out to derail any attempt to change the direction of our government in Washington. Any of the tactics that were employed during this election (name-calling, lies, and mud-slinging) will be magnified by a factor of ten. And, more than that, the entire establishment will be out to neuter any of the incoming freshmen Republicans. Our job, then, will be to see to it that we remain vocal enough to let both the Washington establishment and newly-elected Freshmen know that our desires haven't changed, just because we've thrown a few bums out of office. We won't accept anything less than total rollback of the Anti-American agenda currently being implemented by the 'Rats in Congress (and in the White House).

It's our job to see to it that the incoming Freshmen do not lose heart and give in to the Washington establishment who would seek only the preservation of their own power above all else. And that job is just beginning.

Obama's Taxing Trap

As we Conservatives count down the days to the November elections, and the replacement of the current House Speaker and Senate Majority leader, there is a trap that the Republicans must be careful to avoid: I believe that Barack Obama is set to push through massive tax increases and blame the Republicans for them.

In recent weeks, a number of international events has highlighted the danger of deficit spending. First, Obama went to the G20 to ask the member nations to spend more money. Instead of going along with his worthless idea, they repudiated him and pledged deficit reduction. Additionally, the IMF on July 8 issued a call for America to focus on deficit reduction. And not all of the spirited calls for deficit reduction originate from outside our borders: Recent polling puts deficit spending as the number 1 or number 2 concern (depending on the specific poll) for Americans. And, the Tea party movement has long criticized the out-of-control deficit spending.

Therein lies the trap: Obama's sheep in Congress have added new spending like drunken sailors, and now that Obama has the spending in-hand, he's not going to give it up. Come November, (when, I predict, the GOP reclaims the House of Representatives), Obama will demand that Republicans make good on their promise of "deficit reduction" (which I still haven't heard Republicans commit to), and raise taxes. Of course, Obama will not remotely consider any more than token spending cuts to accomplish deficit reduction. If the Republicans are to avoid the trap, they need to control the debate before we ever reach the election. Republicans need to focus on policies that will promote growth in the economy, and instead of focusing on deficit reduction, they need to focus the debate on spending reduction.

November Outcome: New Congressional Leadership

In some previous posts, I've hinted about my thoughts regarding the outcome of the November elections. I think it's time that I formalize my predictions. Put succinctly, I think there is a very good chance that both chambers of Congress will have new leadership. But not the way you're thinking...

I am firmly convinced that we will have a new House Speaker, as the Republicans will re-take the House and fire Nanci Pelosi. (Moreover, I think the majority will be fairly significant.) I realize this is an ambitious prediction, as this means massive losses for the Democrats. But, I think current polling supports my prediction. (Time will tell, though...)

My prediction for the change in Senate leadership is far less ambitious. I do not foresee the GOP retaking the Senate. (As much as I would like to see that happen.) I think the election outcome will put the balance at 53-47 (advantage Democrats). However, Harry Reid will no longer be the majority leader, as I predict that Sharon Angle will defeat him in November. Polling shows a significant disapproval for Reid in Nevada, and the last I saw, Angle had a 7-point edge over Reid. Moreover, Obama's attempt for Reid did nothing to move his poll numbers in either direction.

Time is the enemy of all election predictions, as a lot can happen in a short time. However, I think it's time to go on-record with my election predictions. Time will tell if I am right.

We Need Solutions, not Scapegoats

For the past two days, America's radio talk show circuit has been abuzz about President Obama's remarks, made in this video clip:



The remarks demonstrate precisely the problem with the Administration's handling of the gulf oil spill (and most problems it's presented with): Instead of looking for solutions to the problem, they seek a scapegoat to blame for the whole problem. I, for one, feel very comforted when our nation's Commander-in-Chief walks around referring to whom he can beat up and how. (No wonder people have taken to referring to the Obama Administration as a "thugocracy".)

I would far prefer that the Administration seek real solutions, not scapegoats.

Big Ideas, Not Big Government

At this point, it is fairly clear that the outcome of November's election is not going to be good for the Democrats. What's not clear, though, is whether it will be good for the Republicans. A surging anti-incumbent sentiment has already unseated several high-ranking party members of both parties, including Benedict Arlen Specter himself, and Senator Bennett of Utah.

Regardless of the outcome of the election, it's clear that there will be a good deal of new blood in Congress. Let us hope that it comes with new ideas as well. To that end, I'd like to encourage you to check out a site launched by the House Republicans to solicit policy suggestions, and give you (and me) a place to speak out for better solutions for our current problems than are being offered by the current Administration. The site is at http://www.americaspeakingout.com/. In a manner similar to the Contract from America, the site intends to solicit policy suggestions and discussion by the American public. Since the launch of the site on Tuesday, May 25, the site has been up and down, dragged down by the volume of traffic -- most of which, at times, seems to be coming from the Democrat astroturf machine. As of late, things seem to have stabilized a bit, possibly because the SEIU thugs have lost interest in bashing Bush, Christians, and Republicans). And due to the volume of traffic and negative comments on the site, it's all the more important that we of Conservative mindset dilute the negativity on the site.

It's time that those of us with Conservative ideology begin to offer some new ideas, and this is a site that exists for such a purpose. It's not that "old" Conservative ideology doesn't work: It's that sometimes there is a disconnect between an ideology and a specific policy. We can be guided by our ideology, while offering new (and specific) policy suggestions to fix what's broken in Washington. And lateley, it seems to me that many people who recognize that our government is badly broken seem to get stuck in a rut, falling back to the same two or three policy suggestions:

• Abolish the IRS and implement the fair tax.
• Implement term limits for Congress.
• Cut taxes
  

And while these suggestions do address specific failings of our government, I don't think they go far enough: Variations on the theme of cutting taxes and reducing the size of government are great; but what about enacting policies that ensure that government can never grow large again (regardless of what clown is in power) -- what about placing an absolute cap on the amount of money the Federal government can spend every year? Likewise, term limits may limit the career of one bad apple who happens to be a career politician; but what about a policy that allows the recall of the entire Congress when enough Americans are disgusted with the Congressional antics?

It's time that we all work together to brainstorm some newer, bigger ideas that will be sure to defeat Big Government, and a site like AmericaSpeakingOut is a great place to do that. The Big Ideas will catch on, even if the House Republicans aren't listening (as some have asserted).