From Demand Progress:
Congress has 8 days left to pass a funding bill to keep the government open past December 11—and Comcast's allies have just slipped a provision into the bill overturning Net Neutrality.1
It's unbelievable. After years of debate, lawsuits, millions of public comments, and countless hours of work by activists like you, the FCC finally declared Net Neutrality the law of the land.
Now Comcast is holding the entire federal government hostage and demanding that Net Neutrality be overturned as ransom.
This is Comcast's most desperate attack on the free and open Internet yet. Will you donate to help sustain our campaign to defend Net Neutrality?
Yes, I'll donate to save Net Neutrality.
This isn't the first time Comcast has tried to use the leverage of a potential government shutdown to roll back Net Neutrality. Earlier this year they tried the same thing—but a massive outcry from Demand Progress members and other open Internet supporters stopped it.
But this time the threat is as big as it's ever been.
Congressional leaders are working behind closed doors on a gigantic $1.1 trillion bill to fund the federal government for the next year. This bill is so big, and touches so many controversial issues, that there's a real risk that hidden anti-Net Neutrality language will slip through unnoticed—unless we're watchdogging every minute.
To fight back, we're once again unleashing our secret weapon to save the Internet: The Internet itself. Working with our allies, we've created a sharable web tool that allows people to call Congress and the White House directly from their web browser either on their PC or mobile device.2
But building an app like this isn't free or easy. Programmers, bandwidth—it all costs money. That's why we're counting on you. Will you donate to help sustain our work to save Net Neutrality?
Yes, I'll donate to save Net Neutrality.
Thanks for taking action on this at a critical time.
David, Daniel, Kurt, Mark, Sara, Victoria, and the rest of the Demand Progress Team
Showing posts with label government shutdown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government shutdown. Show all posts
Friday, December 4, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Big Telecom will shut down the government to get their way on Net Neutrality
From Open Media:
Ever since our historic win in February to stop the Internet Slow Lane, Big Telecom has been waging a war to roll back our victory.
If Big Telecom cronies try their underhanded tactics in Congress, it will amount to little more than a ransom note: “Bring back the Slow Lane or we’ll shut down the government.” If successful, this would be the lowest attempt yet to reverse our progress.1
We need your help to amplify your voices right now and launch an immediate campaign if their evil plan makes it to the final vote. It’s a very dynamic situation and anything could happen in the final hours.
The more we can raise in the next 24 hours, the more ready we will be, and louder we will get. So please chip in now.
Big Telecom are using every tool they can. They even have the audacity to claim that throttling and slowing your internet connection and your favourite sites counts as protected “free speech” under the 1st Amendment.2
Yeah, right. Give me a break.
Anything could happen in the next 24 hours. If they get their way tomorrow, we’ll wake up in a world where our favourite sites become slower and more expensive. We can’t let that happen.
We’re in this for the long haul— defending our Net Neutrality win defends the foundation of the open Internet. Can you donate today so we’re ready for what comes next?
For the Internet,
Josh Tabish, on behalf of your OpenMedia team
P.S. Thanks to the Internet, we’re incredibly efficient. But it still takes resources to amplify your voice and protect long-term wins. Whatever we raise, we’ll use to defend Net Neutrality and keep the Internet Slow Lane from ever coming back.
To Donate
Footnotes
[1] Policy Riders Threaten Vital Public Safeguards, Hijack Budget Process. Source: Public Citizen.
[2] ISPs don’t have 1st Amendment right to edit Internet, FCC tells court. Source: Ars Technica.
Ever since our historic win in February to stop the Internet Slow Lane, Big Telecom has been waging a war to roll back our victory.
If Big Telecom cronies try their underhanded tactics in Congress, it will amount to little more than a ransom note: “Bring back the Slow Lane or we’ll shut down the government.” If successful, this would be the lowest attempt yet to reverse our progress.1
We need your help to amplify your voices right now and launch an immediate campaign if their evil plan makes it to the final vote. It’s a very dynamic situation and anything could happen in the final hours.
The more we can raise in the next 24 hours, the more ready we will be, and louder we will get. So please chip in now.
Big Telecom are using every tool they can. They even have the audacity to claim that throttling and slowing your internet connection and your favourite sites counts as protected “free speech” under the 1st Amendment.2
Yeah, right. Give me a break.
Anything could happen in the next 24 hours. If they get their way tomorrow, we’ll wake up in a world where our favourite sites become slower and more expensive. We can’t let that happen.
We’re in this for the long haul— defending our Net Neutrality win defends the foundation of the open Internet. Can you donate today so we’re ready for what comes next?
For the Internet,
Josh Tabish, on behalf of your OpenMedia team
P.S. Thanks to the Internet, we’re incredibly efficient. But it still takes resources to amplify your voice and protect long-term wins. Whatever we raise, we’ll use to defend Net Neutrality and keep the Internet Slow Lane from ever coming back.
To Donate
Footnotes
[1] Policy Riders Threaten Vital Public Safeguards, Hijack Budget Process. Source: Public Citizen.
[2] ISPs don’t have 1st Amendment right to edit Internet, FCC tells court. Source: Ars Technica.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Net Neutrality opponents threaten to shut down the government
From Demand Progress:
Comcast's war on Net Neutrality has gone nuclear--and their friends in Congress continue to threaten to shut down the federal government to stop it.
A few weeks ago, House Republicans attached a provision blocking Net Neutrality to a must-pass spending bill that funds the federal government.1
And a key Senate committee has scheduled a vote THIS WEEK to add the same anti-Net Neutrality to their version of the bill.
They think Net Neutrality supporters will give in if we're faced with a possible government shutdown. It's up to us to prove them wrong.
Will you chip in $5 to help stop these attacks on Net Neutrality?
We've already proven that grassroots efforts can beat back Comcast's attacks on Net Neutrality.
Most people thought the FCC would never enact strong Net Neutrality rules in the first place. And last week, Comcast's allies were forced to delay a full vote in the House on the bill threatening a government shutdown over Net Neutrality.
But we need to keep flooding Congress with phone calls and make sure that voters know which senators vote for--or against--the free and open Internet.
This is the biggest threat we're facing since the FCC's historic rule went into effect. The stakes are huge. And we're counting on you to stand with us.
Will you chip in $5 to help fund the grassroots organizing we need to win?
Yes, I'll donate $5 to help defend Net Neutrality.
Thanks for standing with us.
1.Source
Comcast's war on Net Neutrality has gone nuclear--and their friends in Congress continue to threaten to shut down the federal government to stop it.
A few weeks ago, House Republicans attached a provision blocking Net Neutrality to a must-pass spending bill that funds the federal government.1
And a key Senate committee has scheduled a vote THIS WEEK to add the same anti-Net Neutrality to their version of the bill.
They think Net Neutrality supporters will give in if we're faced with a possible government shutdown. It's up to us to prove them wrong.
Will you chip in $5 to help stop these attacks on Net Neutrality?
We've already proven that grassroots efforts can beat back Comcast's attacks on Net Neutrality.
Most people thought the FCC would never enact strong Net Neutrality rules in the first place. And last week, Comcast's allies were forced to delay a full vote in the House on the bill threatening a government shutdown over Net Neutrality.
But we need to keep flooding Congress with phone calls and make sure that voters know which senators vote for--or against--the free and open Internet.
This is the biggest threat we're facing since the FCC's historic rule went into effect. The stakes are huge. And we're counting on you to stand with us.
Will you chip in $5 to help fund the grassroots organizing we need to win?
Yes, I'll donate $5 to help defend Net Neutrality.
Thanks for standing with us.
1.Source
Monday, October 7, 2013
The Sadism of Harry Reid
The Sadism of Harry Reid
sadism: (noun) enjoyment that someone gets from being violent or cruel or from causing pain
The good news is that those civilian Department of Defense workers I mentioned in Friday’s Jolt will go back to work soon.
On Saturday, the House of Representatives passed a resolution 407-0 to ensure back pay for federal workers furloughed because of the shutdown. Those federal workers still have the problem of no paycheck coming until after the shutdown ends – but if and when this bill passes, they can at least take assurance that they’ll get paid for the weeks they’ve been furloughed.*
This is quite the revealing moment, as the leadership of the Democratic party and federal government workers are supposed to be the best of friends — symbiotic, really. But when the moment comes to help out federal workers, Harry Reid drags his feet. The only plausible motivation is that the Democrats’ strategy for “winning” the shutdown fight requires maximizing the pain to as many Americans as possible, so that the pressure is maximized on the GOP opposition to accept a deal that amounts to unconditional surrender.
Thus, we have a government shutdown where the federal Amber Alert site is down, but Michelle Obama’s “Drink Water” site remains up. (The volunteer site, AmberAlert.com, and MissingKids.com are still up.) Now wonder this morning people are saying the president lives in “the Spite House.”
I hope those federal workers are paying attention.
Harry Reid drags his feet on alleviating the financial anxiety of hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers, and he’s refused to bring to the floor seven continuing resolutions, all passed by the House, all passed by wide and fairly bipartisan majorities (all or almost all of the Republicans, and another 20 or so House Democrats):
1.Authorizing military chaplains to do their duties during the shutdown;
2.Continuing appropriations for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children for fiscal year 2014 (food stamps).
3.Continuing appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
4.Continuing appropriations for veterans benefits.
5.Continuing appropriations for the National Institutes of Health.
6.Continuing appropriations for National Park Service operations, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
7.Continuing appropriations of local funds of the District of Columbia.
Not a single one of those resolutions says anything about Obamacare.
We know why Harry Reid isn’t bringing them to the floor. If he did, they would pass. Senate Democrats wouldn’t be able to vote “no” on any of those priorities without providing fodder for attack ads next fall (maybe the District of Columbia). And if they pass, the pain of the shutdown is mitigated in part.
Harry Reid doesn’t want to minimize the pain of the shutdown. He wants to maximize it.
* I can hear the complaints now: “Jim, why should these federal workers get paid if they’re not working?” If you want to eliminate their jobs, then eliminate their jobs. But these workers have been stuck in a holding pattern: ‘Stop going to work until further notice, and maybe you’ll get paid for the days or weeks you’re not there.’ Most workers and their families could get by for a couple days or a week without pay, but how many weeks could you or your household go by with no money coming in?
These workers didn’t walk off the job. They didn’t quit. This isn’t their fault, but they’re the ones feeling the most pain. In the District of Columbia and Virginia, a worker has to be out of work for a week before filing for unemployment benefits, and payments may not begin for several weeks. And if a furloughed federal worker does collect unemployment benefits, they have to pay them back once they receive any back pay. In other words, there’s a good chance that the unemployment benefit check will arrive just as the check for the back pay arrives.
Source:click here
Remind the Republicans not to give in
From Campaign For Liberty:
“Give in.” “Give up.”
“Cut a deal and get back to business as usual.”
With the federal government’s shutdown now entering day 7, Members of Congress who are standing firm against ObamaCare’s individual mandate are under tremendous pressure to cave in.
Wthout your IMMEDIATE action today, I’m afraid that’s exactly what will happen - and you and I will be the ones paying the big, fat price tag.
That’s why I’m counting on you to fill out your END THE MANDATE Emergency Fax Petition to Congress right away.
As you’ll see, your Emergency Fax Petition insists your Representative and Senators vote AGAINST any Continuing Resolution that doesn’t end the Individual Mandate.
The truth is, this Individual Mandate - which forces Americans to buy a government-approved health care plan - not only infringes on your right to control your own health care, but serves as the linchpin of ObamaCare.
If you and I can pull the linchpin, the whole Big Government scheme will unravel.
That’s why this fight could not be more important.
The truth is, Members of BOTH parties know ObamaCare’s implementation is going to be a “train wreck.”
In fact, that’s how one Democrat U.S. Senator described it!
Now, hardworking Americans from all over the country are already beginning to feel its devastating impact, including:
*** Major employers such as Home Depot and Trader Joe’s are announcing they will no longer provide medical coverage for part-time workers;
*** Tens of thousands of full-time employees across the country are seeing their hours cut back to part-time.
Last year, six full-time jobs were created for every one part-time job. But this year, only one full-time job is being created for every four part-time jobs;
*** Health care companies in at least ten states have been forced to restrict plan options available to consumers;
*** Businesses such as the Cleveland Clinic – Ohio’s second largest employer – are announcing MASSIVE $330 million annual cuts just to deal with the ObamaCare fiasco.
During these tough economic times, shouldn’t we be doing everything possible to get government off people’s backs so businesses can expand? But our national media continues to parrot statist propaganda that “ObamaCare is already law. Get over it.”
They tell us the only appropriate action would be for folks like you and me to just stop “obsessing” over ObamaCare’s repeal.
I’d love to see them try to tell that to someone who just lost their job because of ObamaCare.
But the truth is, without your action, it’s all about to get worse . . .
“Just” full funding for ObamaCare isn’t the only thing the statists are now demanding.
Even with nearly $2.7 TRILLION in expected tax “revenue” – the exact amount of our entire federal budget in 2007 – the statists in Congress want the debt ceiling raised again.
Perhaps more taxes, too.
Never mind every man, woman, and child in the country now being on the hook for nearly $55,000 each . . .
Why is it our statist politicians believe the answer to EVERY problem is ALWAYS a little more spending and a little less freedom?
Why is it ALWAYS those of us who believe in limited government who have to cave?
The answer is because they think that when those of us who believe in limited government force the GOP leadership to take a stand, they can force them to eventually crumble.
Some media reports are already claiming the Republican leadership, despite public pledges to stand strong, are preparing behind the scenes to cave in and surrender on the debt ceiling and ObamaCare.
But this fight is too important to our country’s future for us to accept another choreographed surrender from the GOP.
That’s it’s vital you contact your Representative and Senators IMMEDIATELY.
Whether they like it or not, Members of Congress still are supposed to represent YOU.
Not the national media. Not the big-spending special interests.
Tell them you’ve had enough of their spending. Enough of their taxing and borrowing our country into the poorhouse.
Tell them you’re not going to just “give up” and watch ObamaCare ravage our economy.
Tell them to End the Mandate and DESTROY this whole ObamaCare monstrosity.
And, if you can, in addition to signing your END THE MANDATE Emergency Fax Petition, please agree to your most generous contribution of $15 IMMEDIATELY.
If that’s too much, please agree to $10 or at least $5.
Only you can inject steel into Congress’ spines.
Help me send the message to your Members of Congress that if they don’t have the GUTS to stand up and fight, the American people will find new Representatives and Senators who will.
So please sign your END THE MANDATE Emergency Fax Petition and agree to your most generous contribution of $15, $10, or at least $5 IMMEDIATELY.
In Liberty,
John Tatef
President
P.S. Congress is getting heat from every direction to cut a deal and be done with the government "shutdown."
As you’ll see, your Emergency Fax Petition insists your Representative and Senators vote AGAINST any Continuing Resolution that doesn’t end the Individual Mandate.
If the Mandate is ended, ALL of ObamaCare will unravel.
So please sign your Emergency Fax Petition and agree to your most generous contribution of $15, $10, or at least $5 IMMEDIATELY!
Sign petition here
“Give in.” “Give up.”
“Cut a deal and get back to business as usual.”
With the federal government’s shutdown now entering day 7, Members of Congress who are standing firm against ObamaCare’s individual mandate are under tremendous pressure to cave in.
Wthout your IMMEDIATE action today, I’m afraid that’s exactly what will happen - and you and I will be the ones paying the big, fat price tag.
That’s why I’m counting on you to fill out your END THE MANDATE Emergency Fax Petition to Congress right away.
As you’ll see, your Emergency Fax Petition insists your Representative and Senators vote AGAINST any Continuing Resolution that doesn’t end the Individual Mandate.
The truth is, this Individual Mandate - which forces Americans to buy a government-approved health care plan - not only infringes on your right to control your own health care, but serves as the linchpin of ObamaCare.
If you and I can pull the linchpin, the whole Big Government scheme will unravel.
That’s why this fight could not be more important.
The truth is, Members of BOTH parties know ObamaCare’s implementation is going to be a “train wreck.”
In fact, that’s how one Democrat U.S. Senator described it!
Now, hardworking Americans from all over the country are already beginning to feel its devastating impact, including:
*** Major employers such as Home Depot and Trader Joe’s are announcing they will no longer provide medical coverage for part-time workers;
*** Tens of thousands of full-time employees across the country are seeing their hours cut back to part-time.
Last year, six full-time jobs were created for every one part-time job. But this year, only one full-time job is being created for every four part-time jobs;
*** Health care companies in at least ten states have been forced to restrict plan options available to consumers;
*** Businesses such as the Cleveland Clinic – Ohio’s second largest employer – are announcing MASSIVE $330 million annual cuts just to deal with the ObamaCare fiasco.
During these tough economic times, shouldn’t we be doing everything possible to get government off people’s backs so businesses can expand? But our national media continues to parrot statist propaganda that “ObamaCare is already law. Get over it.”
They tell us the only appropriate action would be for folks like you and me to just stop “obsessing” over ObamaCare’s repeal.
I’d love to see them try to tell that to someone who just lost their job because of ObamaCare.
But the truth is, without your action, it’s all about to get worse . . .
“Just” full funding for ObamaCare isn’t the only thing the statists are now demanding.
Even with nearly $2.7 TRILLION in expected tax “revenue” – the exact amount of our entire federal budget in 2007 – the statists in Congress want the debt ceiling raised again.
Perhaps more taxes, too.
Never mind every man, woman, and child in the country now being on the hook for nearly $55,000 each . . .
Why is it our statist politicians believe the answer to EVERY problem is ALWAYS a little more spending and a little less freedom?
Why is it ALWAYS those of us who believe in limited government who have to cave?
The answer is because they think that when those of us who believe in limited government force the GOP leadership to take a stand, they can force them to eventually crumble.
Some media reports are already claiming the Republican leadership, despite public pledges to stand strong, are preparing behind the scenes to cave in and surrender on the debt ceiling and ObamaCare.
But this fight is too important to our country’s future for us to accept another choreographed surrender from the GOP.
That’s it’s vital you contact your Representative and Senators IMMEDIATELY.
Whether they like it or not, Members of Congress still are supposed to represent YOU.
Not the national media. Not the big-spending special interests.
Tell them you’ve had enough of their spending. Enough of their taxing and borrowing our country into the poorhouse.
Tell them you’re not going to just “give up” and watch ObamaCare ravage our economy.
Tell them to End the Mandate and DESTROY this whole ObamaCare monstrosity.
And, if you can, in addition to signing your END THE MANDATE Emergency Fax Petition, please agree to your most generous contribution of $15 IMMEDIATELY.
If that’s too much, please agree to $10 or at least $5.
Only you can inject steel into Congress’ spines.
Help me send the message to your Members of Congress that if they don’t have the GUTS to stand up and fight, the American people will find new Representatives and Senators who will.
So please sign your END THE MANDATE Emergency Fax Petition and agree to your most generous contribution of $15, $10, or at least $5 IMMEDIATELY.
In Liberty,
John Tatef
President
P.S. Congress is getting heat from every direction to cut a deal and be done with the government "shutdown."
As you’ll see, your Emergency Fax Petition insists your Representative and Senators vote AGAINST any Continuing Resolution that doesn’t end the Individual Mandate.
If the Mandate is ended, ALL of ObamaCare will unravel.
So please sign your Emergency Fax Petition and agree to your most generous contribution of $15, $10, or at least $5 IMMEDIATELY!
Sign petition here
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Obama,Reid responsible for government shutdown
From Rand2016:
I wanted to share with you an op-ed I authored about how President Obama refuses to budge on ObamaCare.
He's shut the government down rather than listen to the majority of American people who are crying out for relief from the ObamaCare train wreck.
Republicans in the house have passed numerous bills to fund the government while granting the American people a break from ObamaCare.
So I hope you'll take a few moments of your time to read my op-ed below.
After you read my article, please chip in a contribution so I can continue to help lead the fight in the senate to defund ObamaCare.
In Liberty,
Senator Rand Paul
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul: Obama’s response to shutdown is just ‘shut up’
It has been said that politics is the art of compromise. Try as they may, Washington leaders hardly ever get absolutely everything they want.
Polls show Americans are worried about the implementation of Obamacare — worried about keeping their current health insurance plans, the new law itself, the exchanges, potential fines, personal privacy, keeping their jobs, their work hours and a host of other issues too numerous to list here. Both the country and the Congress have much to discuss.
Right now, though, President Obama refuses to engage in any debate or discussion. The president is demanding that he get 100 percent of what he wants, and if he doesn’t, he and his Democratic allies in the Senate will keep the government shuttered.
Republicans have offered compromises that might stop or dull some of the negative effects of Obamacare but that would also pass a budget and keep the government functioning. Still, Mr. Obama refuses to budge. He will not even consider compromise.
Republicans are told that the law has already passed and that we’re being obstructionists for attempting to question or modify it. However, since when in this country after a law is passed is it eternally set in stone? When has it ever been true that Congress cannot look at and alter or improve existing law?
The Obama administration announced in August that it sought to reform our current mandatory-minimum sentencing laws. I’ve been speaking out on the need to get rid of these unjust laws for some time and look forward to working with anyone in either party who is serious about doing so.
Some of those mandatory-minimum sentencing laws have been in place since the 1980s. Does anyone think that just because they were once passed into law, that Mr. Obama or I are somehow “extremists” for wanting to change them? Does a bad law have to be decades old before we do anything about it? When Ronald Reagan was elected and the top tax rate was at 70 percent and had been so for 40 years, did he just throw up his hands and accept it? Or did he change the bad laws?
Plenty of people are saying Obamacare is bad law, and not just Republicans. The Teamsters are saying Obamacare has serious problems. Warren Buffett says it’s a problem. Former President Bill Clinton says there are problems.
Even the president himself acknowledges that there are some significant flaws. He has sought to delay portions of Obamacare through executive order, including the employer mandate.
There are still many compromise solutions that would end the government shutdown, like a short-term spending bill while we negotiate. A conference committee with an equal number of Republicans and Democrats is historically how we solved an impasse.
Unfortunately, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is rejecting any compromise. There has to be some middle ground, and Republicans are willing to work with Democrats to get there, but the president refuses to listen.
We, as elected representatives in the House and Senate, are hearing from our constituents that they do not want Obamacare as it currently stands. A recent NBC-Wall Street Journal poll shows that only 12 percent of Americans think Obamacare will have a positive impact on their lives.
We are looking for compromise with Mr. Obama. We are looking for give-and-take solutions.
The president is intransigent. He will not give an inch, yet he expects the entire country to take the whole Obamacare mile. It is his way or the highway.
It was not a good idea to shut down the government. It’s also not a good idea to give Mr. Obama 100 percent of what he wants on Obamacare. Why is the president so opposed to trying to make this law less bad? Why is he continually refusing to compromise?
What are we supposed to do with a president who is completely unwilling to negotiate? Mr. Obama and the Democrats in the Senate would rather shut down our government than work with Republicans on serious amendments and solutions.
Donate Here
I wanted to share with you an op-ed I authored about how President Obama refuses to budge on ObamaCare.
He's shut the government down rather than listen to the majority of American people who are crying out for relief from the ObamaCare train wreck.
Republicans in the house have passed numerous bills to fund the government while granting the American people a break from ObamaCare.
So I hope you'll take a few moments of your time to read my op-ed below.
After you read my article, please chip in a contribution so I can continue to help lead the fight in the senate to defund ObamaCare.
In Liberty,
Senator Rand Paul
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul: Obama’s response to shutdown is just ‘shut up’
It has been said that politics is the art of compromise. Try as they may, Washington leaders hardly ever get absolutely everything they want.
Polls show Americans are worried about the implementation of Obamacare — worried about keeping their current health insurance plans, the new law itself, the exchanges, potential fines, personal privacy, keeping their jobs, their work hours and a host of other issues too numerous to list here. Both the country and the Congress have much to discuss.
Right now, though, President Obama refuses to engage in any debate or discussion. The president is demanding that he get 100 percent of what he wants, and if he doesn’t, he and his Democratic allies in the Senate will keep the government shuttered.
Republicans have offered compromises that might stop or dull some of the negative effects of Obamacare but that would also pass a budget and keep the government functioning. Still, Mr. Obama refuses to budge. He will not even consider compromise.
Republicans are told that the law has already passed and that we’re being obstructionists for attempting to question or modify it. However, since when in this country after a law is passed is it eternally set in stone? When has it ever been true that Congress cannot look at and alter or improve existing law?
The Obama administration announced in August that it sought to reform our current mandatory-minimum sentencing laws. I’ve been speaking out on the need to get rid of these unjust laws for some time and look forward to working with anyone in either party who is serious about doing so.
Some of those mandatory-minimum sentencing laws have been in place since the 1980s. Does anyone think that just because they were once passed into law, that Mr. Obama or I are somehow “extremists” for wanting to change them? Does a bad law have to be decades old before we do anything about it? When Ronald Reagan was elected and the top tax rate was at 70 percent and had been so for 40 years, did he just throw up his hands and accept it? Or did he change the bad laws?
Plenty of people are saying Obamacare is bad law, and not just Republicans. The Teamsters are saying Obamacare has serious problems. Warren Buffett says it’s a problem. Former President Bill Clinton says there are problems.
Even the president himself acknowledges that there are some significant flaws. He has sought to delay portions of Obamacare through executive order, including the employer mandate.
There are still many compromise solutions that would end the government shutdown, like a short-term spending bill while we negotiate. A conference committee with an equal number of Republicans and Democrats is historically how we solved an impasse.
Unfortunately, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is rejecting any compromise. There has to be some middle ground, and Republicans are willing to work with Democrats to get there, but the president refuses to listen.
We, as elected representatives in the House and Senate, are hearing from our constituents that they do not want Obamacare as it currently stands. A recent NBC-Wall Street Journal poll shows that only 12 percent of Americans think Obamacare will have a positive impact on their lives.
We are looking for compromise with Mr. Obama. We are looking for give-and-take solutions.
The president is intransigent. He will not give an inch, yet he expects the entire country to take the whole Obamacare mile. It is his way or the highway.
It was not a good idea to shut down the government. It’s also not a good idea to give Mr. Obama 100 percent of what he wants on Obamacare. Why is the president so opposed to trying to make this law less bad? Why is he continually refusing to compromise?
What are we supposed to do with a president who is completely unwilling to negotiate? Mr. Obama and the Democrats in the Senate would rather shut down our government than work with Republicans on serious amendments and solutions.
Donate Here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
