Tuesday, February 16, 2016

I make no secret of how utterly worthless and shallow the RINO congresscritter from our own district happens to be.

An intellectual coward who refuses to hold open town hall meetings because of her cowardice, Ridgefield Barbie has caved over and over again, whenever her puppet-master, Cathy McMorris (Herrera used to be her gofer back in the mid 2000's; after all, someone on the legislative staff had to gt McMorris her coffee, and as one of her lowest paid staff, that sort of thing fell to Jaime) jerks her strings.

Jack up the debt ceiling?

You bet!

More horrific deficit spending?

Absolutely!

An ongoing failure to take positions on anything controversial?

Goes without saying!

Uses her own sick child as a campaign prop?

Time and again!

Abandoned the people of Clark County during the CRC/Loot Rail scam?

No question!

So, whenever I read yet another newsletter from someone who actually represents the people of his district as opposed to doing the absolute minimum required to get re-elected in this district, I turn envious at the people of Norther Idaho for electing a person of conviction and integrity.

I speak, of course, of Raul Labrador, a man I've met and who, upon examination, I would trade a thousand empty-head, vacuous, narcissistic empty suits like the one we're stupid enough to have representing me in Congress, every day and twice on Sunday.

Here's Congressman Labrador's latest newsletter that leaves no misunderstanding as to where he stands on the issues...

Labrador Letter -   February 12, 2016
Congressman Raul Labrador, Representing the 1st District
 of Idaho
Dear Friends,

President Obama released his final budget proposal this week. His plan is a liberal fantasy that increases spending, taxes and deficits. Over 10 years, the President’s blueprint would raise taxes by $2.6 trillion and our national debt from $19 trillion to $27 trillion – even under the Administration’s unrealistic economic assumptions.

The Obama budget is so detached from reality that the House and Senate budget committees won’t waste their time holding customary hearings. While the Obama plan is irrelevant, I regret to report that if my party doesn’t find its backbone things won’t be much better.

Why? Because after five years of relative discipline, spending is headed in the wrong direction. Until now I’ve been able to report progress -- as annual deficits fell nearly 70 percent, from $1.4 trillion in 2009 to $439 billion in 2015.

But late last year, GOP leadership struck a deal with Democrats to increase spending and raise the debt limit. I vigorously opposed that devil’s bargain. The grim result appears in a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Under current law, CBO projects our annual deficit will rise to $1.4 trillion in 2026. Over 10 years, our debt will jump by almost $11 trillion. By 2026, our nation will be about $30 trillion in the red.

I often cite former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen’s statement that the national debt is the greatest threat to national security. Mullen’s warning is borne out in another CBO projection. By 2026, interest payments on the national debt will exceed defense spending.

We can trim defense spending by modernizing the world’s greatest fighting force and taking a closer look at excessive layers of Pentagon bureaucracy. But when we have to spend more on interest than defense, we will be a weakened nation.

Last week, I told a conservative forum we must end the back-scratching in which Republicans and Democrats agree to protect one another’s sacred cows by raising spending for both defense and social programs. My call to action received national coverage, including this report from McClatchy.

But ending the unholy alliance won’t be enough. The Defense budget and other discretionary spending such as education and transportation represent just one-third of the budget. Entitlements, which grow on autopilot, are the larger driver of our spending problem. If we fail to reform Social Security and Medicare, insolvency is on the horizon.

Part of the reason anti-establishment candidates are faring so well in the presidential race is the failure of congressional Republicans to keep their campaign promises. Americans are smart. They don’t need to read CBO’s report to know that federal spending is “unsustainable.” They live in the real world, where checkbooks balance and debt must be repaid.

I will continue to sound the alarm. The ordinary citizens I speak to every day know restoring fiscal sanity means tough choices. It’s time Congress muster some courage. Otherwise, we risk losing the trust of the American people forever.
Thank you,

Washington, D.C.
1523 Longworth HOB | Washington, DC 20515 | Phone: (202) 225-6611 | Fax: (202) 225-3029
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30AM-6:30PM ET
Coeur d'Alene
1250 Ironwood Drive
Suite 243
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
Phone: (208) 667-0127
Fax: (208) 667-0310
Hours: Monday-Friday
9:00AM-5:00PM
Lewiston
313 D Street
Suite 107
Lewiston, ID 83501
Phone: (208) 743-1388
Fax: (202) 888-0894
Hours: Monday-Friday
9:00AM-5:00PM
Meridian
33 E. Broadway Avenue
Suite 251
Meridian, ID 83642
Phone: (208) 888-3188
Fax: (208) 888-0894
Hours: Monday-Friday
9:00AM-5:00PM

Thursday, February 4, 2016

The confusion of motion with action: Jaime Herrera's letter to Tim "The Liar" Leavitt

Much of the local "Facebookasphere" is buzzing over the letter our local Congresswoman had her staff write to smack Tim "The Liar" Leavitt around over his childish snit thrown yesterday at my Representative, Liz Pike, over her efforts to move us on from his CRC/Loot Rail scam and by trying a different approach to addressing our cross-river vehicle transportation issues. Leavitt, of course, has offered nothing as an alternative, save to trash any other effort not spelled "CRC."

As far as that goes... neither has Herrera.  Where's her proposals?

No where.

Unfortunately, there's a harsh reality to this note as there is to all of Herrera's half-hearted, bogus efforts towards the CRC rip off, particularly in this election year: for most practical purposes, save for highlighting Pike's efforts to actually solve this issue when no one else is trying to do much of anything, it's worthless.

Not unlike Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers' Bogus Baby Bill of a few days ago, it's a rather sordid, worthless effort by Herrera to first, prove she's alive and second, continue to make her electorate believe she's actively involved and working to protect us.

Many of the more ignorant continue to (wrongly) believe she played a role in the demise of that gigantic rip off that cost us $200 million for nothing.  On the contrary: she did nothing or next to it, leaving the heavy lifting to be done by local legislators.

Well, when I say she did "nothing," that's something of an oversimplification.

What DID she do?

The same thing she did for Pike: she wrote a few letters expressing her "concerns."

The problem is that like this letter, those letters were just as worthless when it came to making an actual difference on the issue at hand.

No legislation.  No congressional action of any noticeable kind.

The "worth" of an action by anyone in the legislative branch at any level is judged entirely by it's impact.

For me, this letter has no real value because, frankly, as accurate as it is... it changes absolutely nothing concerning transportation.

Are we any closer to solving the problem because of this letter?  Will those seething in hatred of the major players in the demise of that ripoff suddenly undergo a change of heart?

Do you remotely think for one second that The Liar Leavitt gives a damn about this letter?  He certainly didn't care about any of the others Herrera's staff has written in the past.  What on earth makes anyone think he cares about this letter?

As stated, this is an election year.  Herrera is, of course, naturally concerned that the base is restive because she votes typically more like Maxine Waters than a GOP Congresswoman.

Nothing in this letter changes any of that.

Which, come to think of it, is exactly what her hide and seek letters over the years after she was elected accomplished: absolutely nothing... her concerns notwithstanding.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a classic case of the confusion of motion... over action.  It's designed to make it look like Herrera is doing something... but when the dust settles from this... how much closer will we be to the goal?

None.  No closer.  Zero.

But Herrera got earned media out there and, as I stated, even ardent opponents within the conservative GOP are congratulating her staff's letter writing skills.

From her perspective, it was a win all around... for her.

For the rest of us, it might make us FEEL better... but it accomplishes nothing.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Gee, if only the RINO House leadership (and, of course, Herrera) hadn't been such cowards.

With a government of liars on both sides of the aisle along with cowards and RINOs on the GOP side, I have to wonder: what would our level of debt look like if the GOP had refused to support these efforts to bury us in debt beginning years ago?

The GOP Establishment, of course, only cares about winning elections. And ultimately, they have no more of a problem stealing our money than the dems.

Locally, just look at Sen. Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers. Nationally, just look at our cardboard cutout of a Congresswoman, Jaime Herrera.

Neither one gave a damn or give a damn about drowning us in debt.

Their votes speak for themselves.


Daily Caller News Foundation

EXCLUSIVE: Secret Fed Docs Show Obama Misled Congress, Public During Debt Limit Crises

U.S. President Barack Obama  in Omaha, Nebraska, January 13, 2016.  REUTERS/Carlos Barria
U.S. President Barack Obama in Omaha, Nebraska, January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Federal Reserve Bank of New York officials secretly conducted real-time exercises during the 2011 and 2013 debt-limit crisis that demonstrated the federal government could function during a temporary shutdown by prioritizing spending, even as Treasury Secretary Jack Lew publicly claimed many times that such efforts were “unworkable,” according to a new report by the House Financial Services Committee obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
 
The staff report, to be released Tuesday, charges that Lew and other Obama administration officials deliberately misled Congress and the public during the federal budget and debt limit showdowns in both years. The committee will convene a public hearing on the report Feb. 2.
 
The report also states that the Obama administration crafted actual contingency plans to pay for Social Security and veterans benefits, as well as principal and interest on the national debt if the government was temporarily unable to borrow more money. The Committee concludes that over the last two years the Treasury Department has “obstructed” congressional efforts to get to the bottom of the administration’s real-time policy during the two showdowns.
 
The Constitution stipulates that only Congress can determine how much money the federal government can borrow. Presidents thus cannot unilaterally spend beyond congressional debt ceiling limits set. The committee — chaired by Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas — charged that during both confrontations, the Obama administration held the country’s creditworthiness “hostage” by claiming default was the only possibility if the debit ceiling was not raised.