You Did It
You did it! Yesterday we asked for your help in stopping the confirmation of former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense. Capitol Hill was inundated with calls and emails. When the vote was taken Democrats were two votes short of the 60 votes needed to end the filibuster. But this fight isn't over.
Several senators are saying that they will not delay a final confirmation vote forever. So please keep it up. Click here to use our online Congressional Directory to look up contact information for your senators.
Here's an upside. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and others are demanding more information from the Obama Administration about the attack on our consulate in Benghazi. There is a long tradition in the Senate of delaying nominations as a form of leverage against the executive branch.
And because of this delay, we now know that Barack Obama did not pick up the phone to call anyone in Libya on the night our ambassador and three other Americans were murdered. So, in addition to Hagel's extreme views, it is worth leveraging this battle to the greatest extent possible.
Liberal Delusions
In spite of our nation's $16 trillion debt, some liberals don't believe we have a spending problem. At a Senate committee hearing yesterday Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) made this astonishing statement:
"I just feel very strongly, that it's not just appropriations that's causing this problem. It's the lack of the revenue that we should be taking in to meet our obligations as a country."
If you are tempted to think Sen. Harkin has a point, watch this video.
Sadly, Harkin's socialist delusions have spread far and wide. A big reason why the fiscal cliff talks between President Obama and Speaker Boehner broke down was because of Obama's insistence that wedid not have a spending problem.
Taking the extreme rhetoric to new heights, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) compared the upcoming sequestration spending cuts to slavery. First she made this bizarre comment, "We're at the bone almost, and sequester, that is across-the-board cuts, will literally destroy us and put us in a recession."
Let's take a timeout for perspective. The sequestration cuts total $1.2 trillion -- over the next ten years. During that same amount of time, the government is expected to spend about $46 trillion. We're talking about a 2.6% reduction in spending over a ten-year period. This year's cuts amount to $85 billion -- when Obama is running deficits of $1 trillion a year and spending well more than three times that amount. Does that sound like "cuts to the bone" to you?
Facts aside, Jackson Lee also said, "I stand here as a freed slave because this Congress came together. Are we going to be able to do it today to free America?" Free America from what?
When you hear liberals talking like this it makes you wonder what they would do if they had total control of Congress. Well, we don't have to imagine. Senate Democrats have announced a plan to solve the $85 billion sequester cuts with -- you guessed it -- higher taxes and more spending. Harry Reid has devised a $110 billion plan that raises another $55 billion in taxes. The net result is an additional $25 billion in spending!
And they are just getting started. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is promising to bring another massive energy tax to the Senate floor this summer. Her "cap and tax" scheme is expected to suck out of your pocket another $120 billion a year! These "libs" all need to check into a tax and spend addiction clinic to dry-out.
NOTE: Our office will be closed Monday, February 18th. The "End of Day" report will resume Tuesday, February 19th.