State of the Union Speech - House Invitation by Speaker Boehner

Does it look like genuine bi-partisanship when the House Speaker John Boehner formally invites the President to deliver his State of the Union address for his new term on February 12? Hardly. Actually it's a matter of a formality, as John Boehner really has no choice other than to cooperate with the President, as the new congress must deal with the re-elected president for the next four years.
As Boehner wrote in his note to the President "Our nation continues to face immense challenges, and the American people expect us to work together in the new year to find meaningful solutions." "This will require a willingness to seek common ground as well as presidential leadership," Boehner continued. "For that reason, the Congress and the Nation would welcome an opportunity to hear your plan and specific solutions for addressing America's great challenges." Recently John Boehner stated that never again will he try to compromise on issues with the president without the pre-approved backing of the House, which means that he will never again stand on his own two feet and work with the President on issues, and self admitted that he will be a puppet and a pre-recorded voice of the House. What a 'wiss'.
This year, you can almost bet that the topics of the president's state of the Union will include topics such as gun control laws, the federal debt and sweeping immigration changes. I'm sure that it pains Boehner to allow the President to speak to his House members and to the rest of the world, as I'm sure that he and the House republicans will have a totally different agenda again this year, just as they did after the president spoke after his 1st election. They most likely will try to impede the president at every corner, at every possible time to try and push their own agenda, which always seems to have limited government at center stage. The Commander and Chief is also capable to do things on his own with his Executive powers, such as modifying gun control laws, as he has stated recently that he may do.
The president will not be going up for re-election in 2016, as the law states that the total limited time for someone in that office is two terms or 8 years. The president will never face re-election so he has nothing to loose, but then again he never was afraid to do anything in his first term.
The president supported the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' and supported 'gay marriage in 2012. He supports raising taxes on the rich, as he stated in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention that we need to do our fair share, meaning that the rich need to pay their fair share in taxes. All of this has to totally disgust the Republican House, knowing that they will be facing decisions that they will not want to make especially during the next few months involving fiscal cliff issues. The Republican party needs to be reinvented, and with this House Speaker in office, I hardly doubt if the Republican party will ever have a chance to win election again in 2016.

Read more...

Rick Santorum to Oppose the Chuck Hagel Nomination

Former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, who happens to be President Obama's choice for Defense Secretary to replace Leon Panetta, has a foe, in the name of Rick Santorum. The former senator from Pennsylvania who happened to be a 2012 GOP presidential candidate, says that he will oppose the nomination.
The question here is just why would he not support a Republican to serve in the Obama Cabinet? I could understand why some Democrats are questioning why Obama isn't selecting a person from his own party for the Secretary of Defense job, but for Rick Santorum to oppose a Republican in the Cabinet is beyond my reasoning. It's hard to figure out what goes on in a radical mind such as Rick Santorum. I credit him for a big part in destroying the Republican chances to defeat President Obama in 2012. But he is like a sore throat that never goes away or better yet, a cancer that is terminal.His only ability is to destroy others.  One thing is for sure, it's nice to know that he will never ever get the nomination of his own party for President in the future. There are better candidates in the wings for the 2016 GOP ticket, and here you see that a guy that his own party will never nominate  for president talk down other people in his party, maybe because he's just a sore looser and just a disgusting person.  Also, it is now known that the pro-Santorum advocacy group called 'Patriot Voices' will start with on-line ads to oppose the nomination, Rick's only medium to distort the truth. Yes, Hagel is receiving criticism for his perceived lack of support for Israel in the past from both parties, but will their lack of support hold back the nomination of Hagel? I hardly doubt it. I'm sure that Hagel will support President Obama's stance on Israel. I'm sure that would be one condition of the job and since he has accepted the nomination and will fight for the job, it only stands to reason that he will support President Obama's beliefs on Israel.
Instead of questioning Chuck Hagel, now lets look at the reputation of a guy by the name of Rick Santorum.
Yes, Santorum actually did serve with Hagel in the Senate for at least 10 years, a member of the Armed Services Committee, but what are Santorums position on things? Does anyone care at this point? Why even waste time on the reputation of a person who is just irrelevant today in politics!

Read more...

Geither Replacement - Jacob J. Lew for Treasury Secretary

Other Cabinet decisions by President Obama are forthcoming, but just a few minutes ago, it has become known that the President now has an announcement to make tomorrow,  and that is to replace his present Treasury secretary Timothy F. Geithner, with his chief of staff and former budget director, Jacob J. Lew. His expertise in fiscal policy and Congress dealings far surpass the experience by Geithner. One of the President's reasons for choosing him would be his ability to work with budget fights with Republicans in Congress that are forthcoming. This experience was lacking with his present Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. But being nominated by a president these days, especially by President Obama, sports an increasing probability that there will be very fascinating hearing by Senate Republicans. With this said, at least the Republicans are not showing outright resentment for a potential nominee towards Lew as they did for the Obama potential nomination of UN Ambassador Susan Rice for the Hillary Clinton job of Secretary of State. The Cabinet positions seem to be shaping up, but it is still up in the air whether any of the President's nominations will actually pass through Congress.
No doubt that Jacob Lew will be sitting in the hot seat for the next few months, as the country faces at least 3 more fiscal cliffs that directly will financially affect everyone.

Read more...