BOEHNER, A FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP…OR SOMETHING ELSE?

It would appear that our stellar Republican leadership, those who have proclaimed that they have heard the voice American people and understand their frustration, attempted to pass a continuing resolution through the House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon that would have permitted, not only, funding for Obamacare implementation and Planned Parenthood, but also funding to the United Nations Population Fund and, of all things, the allowing of funding to the Palestinian Authority to continue on into the new federal fiscal year that begins on October 1. Imagine my surprise! So I now find myself asking, just whose side is it that these guys are on? Look, I've never been a big Boehner fan, I've always seen him as being a bit wobbly and not having much of a spine. And all that crying stuff has nothing do to with that perception. I had thought, however, that Cantor, at least by the tone of his frequent rhetoric, was a bit stronger. Maybe I was severely mistaken.

Thankfully, the bill went down in flames, 195 to 230, when 48 House conservatives joined with 182 House Democrats in voting against it. Who says Democrats are good for nothing. Among the leading conservatives opposing the bill were Rep. Steve King (R.-Iowa), Rep. Louie Gohmert (R.-Texas), Rep. Joe Walsh (R.-Ill.), Rep. Jeff Flake (R.-Ariz.), Rep. Trent Franks (R.-Ariz.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R.-0hio), the chairman of the House Republican Study Committee, which is the organization of House conservatives. Sadly though, one of my favorites in the House, Allen West, chose to support it as did my own representative, Ander Crenshaw. Even Paul Ryan supported it. How are we supposed to believe these people when they do something that so completely contradicts all of the things that they have said and continue to say? By the way, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R.-Minn.) and Rep. Ron Paul (R.-Texas), who are both campaigning for president, did not vote. We can only assume how they might have voted.


While the rationale for voting against the bill varied with party affiliation, the important thing is that it went down to defeat, and hopefully will be rewritten in a much more appropriate manner to more accurately address concerns of conservatives. The Democrats objected to the bill because it would have offset new money for disaster relief at the Federal Emergency Management Agency by cutting $1.5 billion from the $25-billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loans program that provides government-subsidized financing to automakers. The failed CR, promoted by House Speaker John Boehner (R.-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R.-Va.), was a temporary measure designed to fund the entire government through November 18. During that time, it would have funded the government at an annualized rate just $7 billion less than the level of federal spending for fiscal 2011--but $24 billion more than the Republican-controlled House approved in the budget resolution they passed earlier this year.


However, with that said, the spending level authorized by the proposed CR was at exactly the level of the maximum spending cap House Speaker Boehner and Barry "Almighty" agreed to in the deal they struck last month to increase the limit on the federal debt by as much as $2.4 trillion. An analysis of the CR published by the conservative House Republican Study Committee should have been a show stopper for this thing from the get go as it made very clear that the CR, “continues funding for the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), the UN agency known for its involvement in China’s brutal one-child policy. It also continues $300 million in annual funding to the Title X family planning program, which is a prime funding source for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.” I'm not sure if I'm more confused or disappointed in these folks who say they understand my frustration and want to fix things, and then they turn around and put forward something like this. Well, which is it?


The study-committee analysis pointed out that in addition to permitting funding of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading abortion provider, the Republican-leadership-backed CR also permitted more than $2 billion in additional funding for domestic birth control and international population control through Medicaid and foreign aid programs. “Note that Medicaid also provides $1.4 billion in family planning assistance to low income individuals,” said the analysis. “The CR also continues to provide international population control funds at a rate of $575 million per year.” These are astronomical amount of money that we cannot afford to be spending. And if the current leadership can seem to understand that fact, then maybe it's time for some new leadership. I read somewhere recently that Mr. Boehner would be facing a primary challenge the next time around. I think that's terrific! While I'm sure Boehner will mostly win election, hopefully it will be close enough to throw a little scare into him!


The CR pushed by the Republican leaders did not include some of the key spending policy changes sought by conservatives. “Some conservatives may be concerned that the legislation does not block funding for Obamacare during the period covered by the legislation,” said the study-committee analysis. It also would have permitted federal funding to continue to flow to abortion providers, the Legal Services Corporation, and the Palestinian Authority, which does not recognize the right of Israel to exist. “The legislation does not include many other ‘riders’ that conservatives have advocated during the appropriations process,” said the Republican Study Committee analysis. “This includes a ban on funding for abortion providers, prohibiting funds for various new environmental regulations, and prohibiting funds for Net Neutrality regulations. The legislation provides the same funding formula for most programs, with final funding levels left to November 18, 2011 for individual program levels. This means that the CR continues to provide funding for many programs that conservatives would object to, such as NRR, the Palestinian Authority, and Legal Services Corporation."


Planned Parenthood, which would have continued receiving federal tax dollars under the Republican-leadership CR, aborted 332,278 babies in 2009, according to its most recent annual report. It also received $363.2 million in government money in its organizational fiscal year that ended in June 2009. A Planned Parenthood spokesman told Bloomberg Businessweek that 90 percent of that $363 million in government money came directly from the federal government or from Medicaid, a federal-state program. At its 2009 pace of 332,278 abortions per year, Planned Parenthood aborts 910 babies per day. At that rate, the organization could have aborted 44,590 babies during the 49 days the Republican-leadership-backed CR would have permitted it to continue taking in federal tax dollars. That it continues to receive federal funding which allows it to commit murder at such a level is simply unconscionable. And how can those who claim to conservatives support such a thing?


So, is what we have here a failure of leadership or is it something much worse. Are we simply being given lip service as those we are relying upon in Congress simply go about business as usual? We are rapidly running out of time to get things turned around, and if those who claim to be on our side are incapable to doing what has now become necessary, or simply refuse to do so, then a new tactic will have to be devised and put into action. And soon! Either these "leaders" are going to be willing to be part of the solution or they are going to be steadfast in their effort to remain part of the problem. The choice will soon not be their to make. We the people may be forced into making the decision for them. In the words of George Bush, either these people are with us or they are against us in this ongoing attempt to rescue our country from where it is presently headed. We are in a very steep, downward spiral and simply cannot afford to put our trust in those who haven't the stomach to do what's needed. It is now make it or break it time. We are officially now out of options.