The Midas Touch

President Donald Trump certainly is right. More GOP candidates should have publicly embraced him. Trump had the Midas touch in 2018.

Now A Republican Disses Rubio For Skipping Town Halls

Rep. Justin Amash delievers a mean diss to fellow Republican Sen. Marco Rubio for failing to do town hall meetings in Florida. Rubio's office recently said the Senator was in Germany and could not perform town hall meetings. Two amateur videos captured Rubio in Florida.

We finally caught up with Senator Marco Rubio at @FIU. He told us that he won't host a townhall because people act "rude and stupid." pic.twitter.com/DrefDkvrFD

— Tomas Kennedy (@Tomaskenn) February 23, 2017

Sen. Bernie Sanders was extremely hard on Rubio.

Bernie Sanders: "If you don’t have the guts to face your constituents, then you shouldn’t be" in Congress https://t.co/TySrkSyNcT

— CNN (@CNN) February 24, 2017

“If you need police at the meetings, that’s fine, have police at the meetings, have security at the meetings,” Sanders said. “But don’t use that as an excuse to run away from your constituents after you support repealing the Affordable Care Act, throwing 20 million people off of health insurance, doing away with preexisting conditions. If you are going to do all those things, answer the questions that your constituents have.”

Rubio told Jim Defede that town halls aren't town hall meetings, anymore. Rubio's reasoning is that liberal activists are coming to the meetings. Rubio does nopt see it, but those liberal activists are his constituents.

Quote of the Day

W/impeachment issue a few "brilliant" R's handed D's & now voting on immig exec action, R's have done what Obama couldn't- energize D base.

— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) July 31, 2014

Obama could excite the base by talking about deficit reduction and bipartisan compromise. That is red meat for Democrats who have a Ben Nelson poster on their wall.

Schoolhouse Rock: 2014 Edition

Legislation has certainly change from what the founders intended.

According to Open Secrets the financial industry has donated $247,774,431 during the 2013 to 2014 election cycle. It is safe to say that financial reform legislation will not be introduced anytime soon.

The classic I'm Just A Bill song.

Revisiting the Financial Crisis: Sen. Michael Bennett Ignores Warnings

This is how clueless Sen. Robert Bennett was during the 2007 hearing of the Committee On Banking,Housing, and Urban Affairs. Bennett made this statement to Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke.

Senator BENNETT: And, by coincidence, I suppose the best rebuttal is in a piece that appeared in this morning’s paper by Brian Wesbury, who is the Chief Economist at First Trust Advisors, LP, in Illinois, ‘‘A Portrait of the Economy.’’ I would ask unanimous consent that the entire piece appear in the record.*

Chairman DODD: Without objection.

Senator BENNETT: He starts out, ‘‘It is the best of times. It is the scariest of times. Last year, U.S. exports, industrial production, real hourly compensation, corporate profits, Federal tax revenues, retail sales, GDP, productivity, the number of people with jobs, the number of students in college, airline passenger traffic, and the Dow Jones In-dustrial Average all hit record levels. For the third consecutive year, global growth was strong, continuing to lift and hold millions of people out of poverty. From 30,000 feet—heck, from 1,000 feet, it sure looks like the best of times. In relative terms, the first 5 years of the current recovery have been much better than the first 5 years of the 1990’s recovery. But this has not softened the pessimism of many pundits and politicians who are either unimpressed or expect the whole thing to come crashing down any minute, unless the Government firmly grabs the rein of the global economy and steers it clear of disaster.

And then he goes on to outline the history of how badly things have gone every time the Government has tried to step in and steer it clear, starting with the 1930’s and then the 1970’s. He makes this comment about the 1970’s, which I responded to, and it says, ‘‘Forgotten in the rush to pass judgment on capitalism is the fact that the last two times the Government seriously tried to control the economies in the 1930’s and 1970’s and made a terrible mess of it’’—well, I will leave the rest of it for people to read, but the one thing I would say to you, Mr. Chairman, if he is right—and I think he is—in the year of your stewardship, the last year, exports, industrial production, real hourly compensation, profits, tax revenues, retail sales, all are at record levels, you must have been doing a pretty good job. And if you were running for office, you would take full credit for absolutely all of it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

People were warning of an impending financial crisis and Bennett decided to treat this as utter nonsense. Bennett and other members of Congress can't say they weren't warned about a pending economic crisis. They heard these warnings and ignored them.

FEDERAL RESERVE’S FIRST MONETARY POLICY REPORT FOR 2007 by Michael Robert Hussey

Obama Urges Extension of Jobless Benefits

In his weekly address, President Barack Obama urged Congress to extend jobless insurance.

So when Congress comes back to work this week, their first order of business should be making this right. Right now, a bipartisan group in Congress is working on a three-month extension of unemployment insurance – and if they pass it, I will sign it. For decades, Republicans and Democrats put partisanship and ideology aside to offer some security for job-seekers, even when the unemployment rate was lower than it is today. Instead of punishing families who can least afford it, Republicans should make it their New Year’s resolution to do the right thing, and restore this vital economic security for their constituents right now.

You can email your member of Congress and urge for the extension of jobless benefits.

Your Congress At Work (Not Really)

Anomaly posted that the House of Representatives will work only 8 more days this year. What is even more disturbing is the House had 239 scheduled days off in 2013. That is insane.

Update: MSNBC reports the 113th Congress passed only 55 bills.

The House Republican Playbook

The New York Times obtained a copy of the House Republican playbook for talking points against Obamacare. To drive a cliche into the ground; Republicans even have a picture of a football play on page 3.

Jonathan Chait noticed that Republicans drew up the most idiotic football imaginable. Republicans only field ten players, line up in an illegal formation and run a bootleg straight into a defensive back who isn't covering a receiver.

Chait writes:

This is literally the only play I can imagine that could not work against this defense.

This is coming from the same party that recently gave us the Ted Cruz government shutdown and Clint Eastwood talking to a chair.

Quote of the Day: Sen. Bernie Sanders Edition

Dennis Ross Says Shutdown About Republican Pride

Florida GOP Rep. Dennis Ross speaks truth to The New York Times about how foolish the government shutdown is for Republicans.

“Republicans have to realize how many significant gains we’ve made over the last three years, and we have, not only in cutting spending but in really turning the tide on other things,” he said. “We can’t lose all that when there’s no connection now between the shutdown and the funding of Obamacare.”

“I think now it’s a lot about pride,” he said.

The deficit has gone down under President Barack Obama. Economists have warned that the deficit had gone down too fast and has hurt GDP growth. Republicans have inaccurately predicted austerity policies would boost the economy. The slow recover has proven Republicans to be wrong.

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Where Are the Women

NARAL and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted this photo of the House Republicans set to negotiate with Senate Democrats. The lack of women in a leadership position in the GOP makes it easier to understand why Republicans are willing to shut down the government to prevent women from getting birth control. Elizabeth Warren gave a powerful speech, on the Senate floor, about the GOP war on women.

Republicans are shutting the government over preventing birth control access, abolishing taxes on medical devices, and denying people with pre-existing conditions getting health care insurance. Republicans are tanking the economy to appease corporate and social conservatives. That is why we are having a shut down.

Florida Members of Congress Voting For Government Shutdown

Via Stogie: here is a list of Republicans who voted for a CR bill that would delay Obamacare. This is a nonstarter in the Senate and President Barack Obama would never sign it into law. This vote is just to appease the tea party base of the GOP.

Rep. Jeff Miller [R-D1]

Rep. Steve Southerland [R-D2]

Rep. Ted Yoho [R-D3]

Rep. Ander Crenshaw [R-D4]

Rep. Ron DeSantis [R-D6]

Rep. John Mica [R-D7]

Rep. Bill Posey [R-D8]

Rep. Daniel Webster [R-D10]

Rep. Richard Nugent [R-D11]

Rep. Gus Bilirakis [R-D12]

Rep. W. Bill Young [R-D13]

Rep. Dennis Ross [R-D15]

Rep. Vern Buchanan [R-D16]

Rep. Thomas Rooney [R-D17]

Rep. Trey Radel [R-D19]

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart [R-D25]

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R-D27]

Quote of the Year

"I'm not over exaggerating when I say I can smell the booze wafting from members as they walk off the floor."

Ginger Gibson, Congressional reporter.

This is what happens when Congress takes a lot of days off and one party manufactures a budget crisis. Congress drinks itself into a oblivion.

Republicans Get Expensive Tax Paid Meals & Have the Audacity to Cut SNAP

Rep. Jackie Speier called out Republicans getting expensive meals on the taxpayers' dime.

"One member was given $127.41 a day for food on his trip to Argentina. He probably had a fair amount of steak. Another member was given $3,588 for food and lodging during a six-day trip to Russia. He probably drank a fair amount of vodka and probably even had some caviar. That particular member has 21,000 food stamp recipients in his district. One of those people on food stamps could live a year on what this congressman spent on food and lodging for six days," Speier said on the House floor.

Spieier was not allowed to name her Republican colleagues on the floor. The two members of Congress Speirr speaks of are Rep. Steve King and Rep. Frank Lucas.

Lucas and his wife had to survive on $127.41 per day while on a business trip (cough) to Buenos Aires. King ate on the meager sum of $3,588 during his time spent in Russia. Why do we make our members of Congress suffer like this?

Congress Has It Tough (Not Really)

The financial news service Monday Morning is conducting a poll on if members of Congress should give up their perks. I don't care about Monday Morning or the poll results. I do find the list of perks received by Congress to be fascinating.

* $174,000 salary

* Free company car

* Free gas Free parking (even at airports)

* Free flights almost anywhere in the world

* Per diem travel allowance... up to $3,000 a trip

* A month’s paid vacation 3-day work-weeks

* Free membership to a top-flight gym

* Pension plan and 401K plan

* Full retirement benefits (including up to 44% of their six figure salaries) at age 62

* Free top of the line health insurance with 10 plans to choose from Fully covered –even with pre-existing condition

The next time a member of Congress cries about Social Security or Medicare, a member of the member should ask a Congressman if he is willing to give up his free gym membership and car for the greater good of the country.

More Do Nothing Congress

Sen. Harry Reid calls out House Republicans for being a do nothing Congress. Reid notes that House Republicans failed at their goals of passing repeals to laws they hate.

“House Republicans are failing even by their own metric. They’ve replaced virtually nothing. So by the speaker’s own admission, they’re not getting anything passed and by his own analysis, they’re getting nothing repealed,” Reid said. “So they’re doing nothing.”

Speaker Boehner has scheduled the hard-working House of Representatives to work nine days in September. What a joke.

112th Congress Is the Laziest Ever

The Republican controlled 112 House of Representatives passed only 561 bills. Chris Cillizza notes hat is the lowest amount of bills passed by a Congress between the 80th Congress and the 112th Congress. Keep in mind, the House of Representatives has no filibuster. If the majority party wants to get legislation passed in the House it will. Nancy Pelosi got a health care reform bill with the public option passed.

Republicans came into the midterms elections talking about the jobs. Republicans won the 2010 elections and did nothing for job creation and went about doing anti-abortion bills and 37 attempts to repeal Obamacare. House Republicans biggest legislative interests would never get a vote in the Senate.

An interest side note: the second least productive Congress was the 104th Congress. This was the Congress that Republicans won with their "Contract With America" pledge. Republicans campaigned on pledges in 1994 and 2010 and then had little interest in governing. The problem with Republicans from 1994 onward was the rightward shift that pushed out policy wonks. Former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough came in 1994 and presented his bold idea of eliminating the Department of Education. Every Republican in Congress talks about eliminating the Department of Education. There are no original ideas to be found in the current GOP.

Ted Cruz is the New Jim DeMint

Via Crooks and Liars: Sen. Ted Cruz continues to endear himself to both members of Congress.

“Madame President,” Cruz said to Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who was presiding over the Senate session, “the senior senator from Arizona urged this body to trust the Republicans. Let me be clear, I don’t trust the Republicans.”

“And I don’t trust the Democrats,” he continued after a beat. “And I think a whole lot of Americans likewise don’t trust the Republicans and the Democrats because it is leadership in both parties that has gotten us into this mess.”

Cruz is denying the right of House Republicans to conference with the Senate on the budget. Cruz is opposing his own party. This is the kind of stuff Jim DeMint used to do. DeMint supported letting the government default based on his own lack of understanding of economics. Even Mitch McConnell, in all his grandstanding, was not that crazy. Cruz, like DeMint, isn't in Congress to pass legislation. Cruz and DeMint both believe in making government dysfunctional and pissing off their colleagues.

I was not surprised when DeMint left the Senate to run the Heritage Foundation. It was obvious DeMint hated government and the people that worked there. My question is why did DeMint ever run for the Senate in the first place. I wouldn't be surprised if Cruz doesn't run for a second term. Hispanic Republicans are turning on Cruz.

“I’m disappointed in Ted Cruz because he is capable of being a leader on the immigration issue like Rubio,” said Artemio Muniz, the chairman of the Federation of Hispanic Republicans, an offshoot of the Republican Party of Texas. “He has the conservative pedigree to take the lead and be the guy and close the gap between the Hispanic community and Republicans, but he has chosen another route.”

Count on Cruz to block the immigration reform bill in the Senate. It doesn't matter that the Republican Party is losing Hispanic voters. Someone has to be the new Jim DeMint. Before DeMint was Joe Lieberman. There is always one member of the Senate that gets a power thrill from behaving like an asshole.

Update: Salon columnist Joan Walsh fired off this tweet.

Wow, Ted Cruz is kind of a skeezy huckster. Will Republicans start to notice?

— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) May 24, 2013

Your Congress Hardly At Work

As of the today, the United States Senate has worked 52 days in 2013. The House of Representatives has worked 57 days this year. These people can't even be bothered to show up to not pass bills and warm benches. They don't even bother going through the motions anymore. America deserves better.

Do Nothing Republican Congress

Jonathan Bernstein details the lack of interest in policy by Republicans in the House of Representatives. Bernstein use Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) as an example. Kelly was suppose to craft legislation that would eliminate $380 million in loan guarantees from clean energy companies. Kelly never got around to writing the legislation. Kelly's congressional office explains that the Congressman was too busy being outraged at President Obama.

"It was a priority, and remains an issue of interest. But Mike's efforts shifted when he chose to focus more on holding the administration accountable with regards to [Operation] Fast and Furious. And then when the Benghazi tragedy occurred, that took the cake," said Kelly's spokesman, Tom Qualtere.

Kelly didn't actually do anything of substance regarding Fast and Furious or Benghazi. That doesn't explain why Kelly couldn't multitask. The federal government is suppose to do more than one thing at a time. Kelly's handling of Fast and Furious also doesn't pass the laugh test. Kelly serves on no committee that handles foreign policy.

Republicans make excuses on why they can't write legislation. Last year Sen. Marco Rubio promised to draft an immigration reform bill. Rubio never produced a bill but did find the time to go on a book tour. The 112th Congress was the least productive since the 1940s.

Republicans want to start winning elections again. My question is why? The current Republican Party hasn't shown an interest in governing.