Differing Political Opinions Part 11
This thread has been closed and archived.
This discussion is public.
Original Post
A new month, a new fresh start. Out with the old stale news. Time for a Lame Duck Version, as we celebrate the ending of a very tough political year.
Posted at 8:47am Dec 1, 2010 EST
Responses
www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.c...
Hope people are taking notes......it truly is outrageous!
VPA, love the cartoon! Very appropriate, too!
Posted at 12:14pm Dec 1, 2010 EST
www.welovedc.com/2010/12/01/smithsonian-pulls-piece-from-landmark-l...
It never should have been displayed. The Smithsonian gets 70% of its funding from our tax dollars. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Posted at 1:20pm Dec 1, 2010 EST
AP – Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nev. gestures during a news conference on Capitol in Washington, …
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Associated Press – 48 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans threatened Wednesday to block virtually all legislation until expiring tax cuts are extended and a bill is passed to fund the federal government, vastly complicating Democratic attempts to leave their own stamp on the final days of the post-election Congress.
"While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate's attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing tax hike," all 42 GOP senators wrote in a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. The 42 signatures are more than enough to block action on almost any item he wishes to advance.
The threat does not apply to a new arms control treaty with Russia that is pending, since it would be debated under rules that differ from those that apply to routine legislation. President Barack Obama has made ratification of the pact a top priority.
But it does threaten Democratic attempts to lift the Pentagon's ban on openly gay members of the military, and a separate item to give legal status to young illegal immigrants who attend college or serve in the military. The tax and spending bills are likely to be the last to pass before Congress adjourns for the year.
"Republicans have pleaded with Democrats to put aside their wish-list to focus on the things Americans want us to focus on. They've ignored us. The voters repudiated their agenda at the polls. They've ignored them. Time is running out. They're ignoring that," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in remarks on the Senate floor. "The election was a month ago. It's time to get serious. It's time to focus on priorities."
McConnell and Reid were expected to discuss the legislative agenda later in the morning in a meeting that was previously scheduled.
The Democratic to-do list also includes extending the expiring tax cuts — although they and Republicans differ on particulars, as well as a measure to keep the government in operation. But the rest of their agenda marks an attempt to court voters Democrats need in 2012 to recapture the majority.
Call it lame-duck politics.
Take the so-called Dream Act, a measure to give young people whose parents brought them into the United States illegally before they were 16 a path to legal status by going to college or joining the armed forces.
The measure has enjoyed some degree of bipartisan support in the past, and Reid, the majority leader, vowed last month — in the thick of his tough re-election fight in heavily Hispanic Nevada — to hold a vote on it when Congress returned to finish its end-of-the-year business. He said Tuesday he'd move to overcome GOP objections and force a test vote, although it's unclear when one will occur.
Hispanic voters also played a major role in sparing other Democrats — including Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado and Barbara Boxer of California — from being toppled by a GOP wave.
"There was a firewall in the West where Latino voters turned out in big numbers to reward people who championed them," said Frank Sharry of America's Voice, an immigrant advocacy group. "We're going to try to make it painful" for those who oppose efforts to give illegal immigrants a path to legal status, he added.
Most Republicans vehemently oppose the Dream Act, saying it amounts to amnesty.
Hispanic groups have pushed hard for the legislation, which targets the most sympathetic of the millions of undocumented people — those brought to the United States as children, who in many cases consider themselves American, speak English and have no ties to or family living in their native countries.
Miffed that Obama has not done more to press for a broad immigration overhaul to give undocumented people a path to legal status, the groups say the least Democrats can do is push through the more limited bill for young people.
Republicans decry the strategy of acting on such issues during the lame-duck session, accusing Democrats of playing politics and ignoring the message voters sent Nov. 2.
But Democrats also face pressure from their left flank.
Gay-rights groups have criticized Reid for not pushing hard enough to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy against openly gay soldiers, as the House has already voted to do.
Reid has promised to hold a Senate vote on the matter before year's end, after hearings can be held later this week on a Pentagon report on the impact that openly serving gays would have on the military.
Republicans say they need to examine the report, which was issued Tuesday, before acting. It concluded that getting rid of the policy might cause some disruption at first but wouldn't create widespread or long-lasting problems.
Obama seized on the conclusion to call on the Senate to act "as soon as possible" to repeal the ban, "so I can sign this repeal into law this year and ensure that Americans who are willing to risk their lives for their country are treated fairly and equally."
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101201/ap_on_go_co/us_democrats_lame_duck_pol...
Posted at 1:31pm Dec 1, 2010 EST
Smithsonian Museum Removes An LGBT Art Exhibit After GOP Threatens To Defund It
After the Catholic League deemed the exhibit an “assault on the sensibilities of Christians” and demanded the government defund the NPG, the Republicans were quick to pile-on. Decrying the exhibit as an “in your face perversion paid for by tax dollars,” House Appropriations Committee member Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) demanded a look at the NPG’s budget, advocating for “calling them up in front of the Appropriations Committee, asking for some resignations, auditing all their budget – all their books.” The House GOP leadership seconded the outrage and Kingston’s call for a Congressional probe into the museum’s funding:
And Incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., called it an “outrageous use of taxpayer money and an obvious attempt to offend Christians during the Christmas season.”
“When a museum receives taxpayer money, the taxpayers have a right to expect that the museum will uphold common standards of decency. The museum should pull the exhibit and be prepared for serious questions come budget time,” Cantor said through a spokesman.
Incoming House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he condemned the use of taxpayer money for the exhibit but would not call for the removal of the exhibit.
“American families have a right to expect better from recipients of taxpayer funds in a tough economy,” Boehner said…”Smithsonian officials should either acknowledge the mistake and correct it, or be prepared to face tough scrutiny beginning in January when the new majority in the House moves to end the job-killing spending spree in Washington.”
thinkprogress.org/2010/11/30/smithsonian-lgbt-exhibit/
Posted at 1:36pm Dec 1, 2010 EST
The Smithsonian does receive roughly 70 percent of its funding from the federal government, though funds for specific exhibits — including this one — are raised privately.
Posted at 1:41pm Dec 1, 2010 EST
It only takes a quick glance at the comments on CNS to see what type of feedback the Smithsonian was receiving yesterday. But the criticism hasn’t been restricted to ordinary CNS readers. The Hill reports that House Speaker-designate Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and incoming Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) have called for the exhibit to be shuttered, with Cantor calling the exhibit “an outrageous use of taxpayer money.”
Of course, the larger question here for the Smithsonian is whether their funding is at risk. TBD notes that Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, has called for the Smithsonian’s budget to be reviewed and their books audited. TBD does a great job of taking a look back on whether past threats over controversial pieces have resulted in actual budget cuts for museums.
-----the taxpayers didn't pay for this installation...nice, mature reaction by the right :)
Posted at 1:42pm Dec 1, 2010 EST
If taxpayers are providing the money to maintain the buildings, pay for utilities, and pay staff wages, I'm all for that. But, when other entities pay for disgusting displays to be exhibited inside those buildings, I'm not for that.
If it were not for the taxpayers providing the exhibit space, then they'd have no large venue to exhibit art that is denigrating to most people.
The Smithsonian should be a place for families to take their children without fear of what they might encounter. Most parents don't want to present questionable life-styles to their children in public venues. They can do that at home in any way they choose.
Posted at 2:29pm Dec 1, 2010 EST
folks...please investigate more...
there were clear signage about the mature content...it wasn't open to 'all ages' kinda display in the middle of it all...
just like you aren't forced to take your child to an r-rated movie at a public theater, neither was this installation being foisted on any innocents...
tax payers DIDN'T PAY FOR THIS!
ps: nice censorship...
Posted at 2:47pm Dec 1, 2010 EST
"tax payers DIDN'T PAY FOR THIS!"
-----
But we paid for the buildings where it is exhibited.
Posted at 2:51pm Dec 1, 2010 EST