And you thought it was only Boehner who was willing to caucus with Democrats against his own party rank and file. Katrina Trinko, NRO:
House majority leader Eric Cantor is increasingly frustrated with a group of House Republicans who are working against the leadership, and he’s not afraid of voicing his dismay.
In a closed-door conference meeting on Wednesday, Cantor told one GOP member that if they blocked the Senate-passed Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) from coming to the floor, they’d cause “civil war” in the ranks.
Cantor’s comment irked some Republican aides, who told National Review Online that such strong language is inappropriate. In recent days, some conservatives have been upset about the Senate’s version of VAWA, saying that parts of the bill are unconstitutional.
Nevertheless, Cantor’s warning may have had an effect. When the bill came to the floor on Wednesday, only nine Republicans voted against the rule to take up the bill.
Tensions between backbenchers and the leadership, however, are evident. Behind the scenes, House Republicans raised concerns about VAWA throughout the day. Eventually, though, the rule passed, 414–9, and the House plans a final vote on the Senate’s version of VAWA [today].
Among those to vote against the rule that will bring a vote to the floor were Karl Rove targets Georgia Senate candidate Paul Broun and potential Iowa Senate candidate Steve King.
Today, the House passed the Harry Reid-led Senate legislation.
This bill, the “Violence Against Women Act [VAWA],” in its Senate version does at least four egregious things: federalize domestic violence laws (already ruled unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 2000), taking that power from the states; expand the parameters of “domestic violence” to include “unpleasant speech” and emotional abuse, both terms left deliberately vague to ensnare as many “offenders” as possible (and in potential violation of the 1st Amendment); grant authority to Native American Federation courts to prosecute non-Native American US citizens; and finally, redefine women to include men, homosexuals, the transgendered, and prisoners — while granting illegals suffering from domestic violence immigration rights.
But perhaps worst of all, conviction under such federal law will negate the right to gun ownership — meaning that men, women, homosexuals, and the transgendered can all lose their 2nd Amendment rights for inflicting “emotional abuse” on a partner, or even for engaging in “unpleasant speech.”
— Which I suppose trumps the “shall not be infringed” portion of the amendment’s text in the Bill of Rights.
Here’s how Daniel Horowitz at Red State describes this dangerous and Orwellian leftwing legislation, actively pushed by the GOP-led Republican House (many of whom voted “no” once the Democrats and the 87 Republicans who voted for passage were tallied, in much the same way McCain et al, used the Hagel confirmation vote):
Earlier today, the Republican-controlled House passed the Senate version of the unconstitutional Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Senate bill expands “coverage” to illegal aliens, men, homosexuals, transgendered individuals and prisoners. It also expands the law’s reach to give tribal Indian authorities jurisdiction over non-Indians accused of abusing Indian women.
The final bill passed with the support of 87 Republicans. Before voting on this bill, the House considered a substitute amendment that removed some of the new anomalies. It was defeated by a coalition of Democrats and 60 Republicans. It is important to note that about half of the GOP noes were opposing the bill precisely because it did not contain the new social engineering provisions. So even if all the conservatives had supported the House version, there were enough liberal Republicans to block it. Moreover, even had the GOP version passed the House, the conferees would have inserted the extra provisions in conference anyway.
[…] The only thing the federal government can do to protect women is to pass a universal right to carry bill. Everything else is just big government demagoguery. There is no reason a GOP-controlled House should have brought this bill before the body, much less the Senate passed version. If they are concerned about the political optics, they should have just ignored it and changed the subject to…let’s say gas and food prices. Now that is a novel idea. Giving the Democrats two full days to bludgeon you with gender warfare during debate time is evidently more politically prudent than repealing the ethanol mandate or some other useful legislation.
What is the purpose of a GOP-controlled House anyway?
You’ve heard me say this now on countless occasions, but I’m going to repeat it yet again: we legal conservatives/classical liberals/libertarians have no representation in the US Congress. And that’s because the current GOP leadership is filled with cowards who will trade away our rights under threat of bad press.
After all, who wants to vote for Violence Against Women, right? And that’s all legislation is any more, is whatever perception can be created by its title.
The Republican Party is dead. Or rather, those who want it can keep it. It’s but the Democrats’ whorish little bitch, anyway — and I don’t put out for fascists or socialists, no matter how many baubles they dangle before me.
update: Hot Air runs with the headline “Hastert Rule, strike three: House passes Senate’s Violence Against Women Act bill with majority of Republicans opposed,” which points out that Boehner’s house has now passed legislation on three separate occasion where the leadership caucused with the Democrats to defeat its own Party.
But as I noted in the post proper, the real pressure here was from Cantor demanding a vote be allowed in the first place. Once the lockstep Democrats and the certain liberal Republicans broke ranks, that freed up a number of Republicans to vote no on a bill they knew would pass once it made it to the floor vote.
This is the disingenuous, perception-based politics that comes from political “pragmatism,” and many of us simply will not be fooled by it.
Again, take the Hagel confirmation. Rand Paul voted for the filibuster to stop the confirmation vote; John McCain and a few other Republicans allowed the vote to go forward, knowing the Democrats had the numbers to confirm Hagel. Therefore, Paul’s filibuster vote is far more important than his later “yes” vote, just as McCain’s filibuster vote is far more important than his later “no” vote.
We know who these people are. And the sad truth is, the GOP base has no real representation in Congress, and in fact the establishment GOP is doing every thing in its power to coalesce in principle (such as it is) with the left.
And though many of you don’t like to hear it, it is what it is.
“look i need a hill with a smoking lounge and a tanning bed ok you guys. ” – orangeman
if Boehnerfag wants to be a fascist so bad why doesn’t he just man up and switch parties
i just don’t understand it
Why do we call them third parties if there is no longer a second?
“Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer “
It’s taken a long time to wake the sleeping majority. Let it not take any more time to demand Boehner be removed and that anyone foolish enough to line up in his shadow be removed as well.
Yes you do.
no, I don’t, Mr. Howard
here is a link where you can see the overpriced clothings
Cantor threatening civil war tends only to point to his failure of perception: the war has been going on for a long time now. People who take offense at a threat in the presence of the fact the threat has been achieved already are what? Sleepyheads, I guess. Or maybe dumbasses, if they claim to be awake.
Jeff. I thought you were being a bit extreme in the run up to the 2012 Election. Sorry. You were not. We’re fucked. Good and truly fucked… for now at least.
It’s gonna get ugly.
email
reply: fuck you and the eric cantor.
R–E–S–P–E–C–T, they will never give it too you Eric unless you just dry up and blow away. They are a Party of monsters. Unless you give in to every thing they will never, never, stop calling you an evil bastard.
You can be a doormat for these twisted people to walk on or you stand up and fight them at every turn until they are defeated or you are dead. There is no third way. They only respect power.
@jhoward Let it not take any more time to demand Boehner be removed and that anyone foolish enough to line up in his shadow be removed as well.
From what I understand of the previous “coup” attempt against Boehner, none of the upstarts wanted to take the speakership, so the attempt fell apart.
I see nothing to indicate that any of them have managed to grow gonads since that time.
Which provision in the VAWA bill do the Establicans want so badly?
What’s in it for them?
hairplugs gets results
Biden Advises Shooting Shotgun Through Door
Virginia Beach man charged for doing exactly that
Welcome to the United Fascist States of America. Please have your papers ready.
allan ackbar
Al Jazeera Hires GOP Lobbyists to Counter Congressional Scrutiny to Current TV Deal
Paul Broun just earned a merit, if he runs for the Senate next year. If Rove’s against him he can’t be totally egregious. 99% maybe, but not totally.
Maybe the tea party types need to offer not to caucus with the GOP anymore . Publically. Bring Cantor and Boehner into it by name. Ask why anyone should vote for them in 2014 when all they do is give up ground and blame their base for it? Ask how much they need in donations to sell out their donors and bash them once the checks clear. Ask them just how far into Hell they intend to follow Karl “the architect” Rove and his phantom Orca.
Ask them if the sole of Obama’s shoe is red shifted or blue shifted.
link
Thanks, royced57. And I’m sorry: I didn’t want to be the bearer of bad tidings, but it was what it was and I called it like I saw it. That’s what I’m here for.
Other sites operate differently. But at the end of the day I always want to say I’ve kept my integrity. Which isn’t easy to do when you make as many vajayjay jokes as I do.
Sequestergeddon is just 35 minutes away here in the Central Time Zone.
Obama’s got a hot date.
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey….
“Which provision in the VAWA bill do the Establicans want so badly?
What’s in it for them?”
Increased federal power isn’t enough?
Remember when people used to say “don’t make a federal case out of it”? Everything is a federal case now.
From: Why Obama Wins: Democrats Purge Moderates, Republicans Purge Conservatives
“The Democrats’ strategy may deepen national divisions, and lead to bad policy, but it is, so far, the winning approach. Regardless, the pattern remains the same: the new, netroots-and-community-organizer Democratic leadership dispenses with party’s moderates, while the old Republican establishment tries to marginalize the grass roots conservatives who are largely responsible for the limited electoral successes the party has enjoyed in recent years.” [emphasis added]
No enterprise that fires its most productive workers can last.
Obama wins because the Democrats are stronger for what they are doing, and the Republicans are weaker because of what they are doing.
“What’s in it for them?”
They won’t have to worry about being called sexist by Democrats.
Wait,… WHAT???
Belay my last.
Obama thanks Cantor, Boehner for passing VAWA:
Oops.
For Danger above, to show how well it worked.
Both Democrats and Progressives.
I beg to differ. They HATE with an incandescent hatred power wielded by anybody other than themselves.
And that includes, of course, power wielded by individuals over their own lives.
Yes, but now violence against women is finally illegal, right? So what if our constitution is shredded. A small price to be paid to end the violence both physical and of course, most importantly, mental. You can’t have any bad thoughts. Besides our European betters will tell you how passe “Freedom of Speech” really is.
Glenn Reynolds has a link this morning about the ascendency of the courts on politics today. I can’t help but think that if Congress didn’t keep such blatantly unconstitutional laws, the courts would have a little less say in politics. Of course it doesn’t help that most Judges don’t believe in the Constitution. I guess we are truly boned.
And bloody well about time too.
The Democrats’ strategy may deepen national divisions, and lead to bad policy, but it is, so far, the winning approach.
Indeed, they keep winning battle after battle. But we know what lies at the end of their campaign: Utopia. The Workers’ Paradise. The Brave New World. Whatever you call it, it means the death of thousands, possibly millions.
Me and mine are not going to be counted among those numbers. Just sayin’, is all.
That might be something to keep in mind when we rewrite the Constitution.
There should be penalties involved with passing stupid laws.
@beemoe
Colonial villages had it right:
If only we could do the same to legislators, sales of Cranky Cudgels ™ would take off!
Typical Boston government: attempt an untested design in an effort to save money, see the project go over budget, then punish the poor contractor who struggled to meet the poorly-defined specifications.
And those were “the good old days!”
They still will respect the power even as they hate that they are not the ones wielding it. Out of power they are reduced to muttering and plotting in basements. That is much better than their lording it over all of us daily.
[…] Eric Cantor: A little man with a big ego, Representative Cantor threatens the House members who follow the Constitution. Cantor is dangerous to liberty. […]