Washington Post – by Stephen Dinan
Senators from both parties linked arms to defy Sen. Ted Cruz, overcoming his attempt to filibuster the stopgap spending bill, which allowed Democrats to add back in full funding for Obamacare and power the bill through the chamber and sending it back to the House.
“This is it. Time is gone,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said he will not negotiate with the House GOP anymore. “They need to accept what we just passed.”
The 79-19 vote saw 25 Republicans join with all Democrats to advance the bill, easily overcoming Mr. Cruz and his allies who had argued this was the key point that would determine whether major parts of President Obama’s health care law take effect next week.
Once that hurdle was cleared, the rest of the votes were preordained. The Senate waived budget rules, voted to strip out the Obamacare defunding on a 54-44 party line vote, and passed the bill.
The bill now heads back to the House, where Republicans are struggling to figure out a path forward, trapped between a right wing which insists on full defunding and Senate Democrats, who just proved that stance cannot succeed.
“This is like the movie ‘High Noon. The two sides are walking down the street. I just hope that like the movie ‘High Noon,’ I hope the good guys win,” said Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat who accused Mr. Cruz and his allies of being anarchists, hoping to destroy government altogether.
He said the country is facing a situation “every bit as dangerous” as the lead-up to the Civil War.
For Republicans, the rhetoric was more muted but the vote was no less weighty.
“Do we just give up?” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican who joined Mr. Cruz’s push to block the spending bill.
Without any action, the government’s authority for basic spending expires at midnight Monday, and operations such as school funding and national parks would have to cease.
The House has passed a bill to fund government through Dec. 15 but to withhold any money for Obamacare. If all goes according to Senate Democrats’ plans, they will pass their own bill that funds government through Nov. 15 and restores money for the health care law.
Democrats outflanked Republicans with parliamentary moves that left the GOP in a bitter internal argument over what the votes even meant.
Mr. Cruz and his allies argued the key vote was the first one on whether to filibuster the spending bill. They said if the GOP held together, they could successfully halt it, which would force Democrats to have to compromise and halt Obamacare funding or else face a government shutdown.
But Republican leaders feared that they would be blamed for the shutdown, and argued that a filibuster didn’t make sense because at the point they would be voting, the bill still includes the defunding Obamacare language.
“I don’t understand how I can vote otherwise on a matter that I want to see passed,” said Sen. John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican in the chamber.
Mr. Cruz and his allies, though, argue that is tantamount to voting for Obamacare funding. Indeed, Republicans have regularly led filibusters before when they’ve argued Democrats structured an unfair floor debate.
Despite their defeat, Mr. Cruz and his chief filibuster ally, Sen. Mike Lee, said the fight goes on.
“This vote is not the end. It’s not even the beginning of the end. It’s the end of the beginning,” Mr. Lee said. “The American people will always have the final word.”
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/27/senate-defeats-cruz-filibuster-clears-way-obamacar/#ixzz2g7VPmJ4f
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““This is it. Time is gone,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said he will not negotiate with the House GOP anymore. “They need to accept what we just passed.” ”
WE need to proecute those within the legislative branch for THEIR crimes and they “need to accept what we just passed.”
Here are just SOME of their crimes (not including treason). Let’s start with this one because the payback to the American people can come from THEIR own personal funds – which I consider to be a just reward for their behavior as “our” representatives, and because they have been doing this for years:
Misappropriation of Funds: “the intentional, illegal use of the property or funds of another person for one’s own use or other unauthorized purpose, particularly by a public official, a trustee of a trust, an executor or administrator of a dead person’s estate, or by any person with a responsibility to care for and protect another’s assets (a fiduciary duty). It is a felony (a crime punishable by a prison sentence).”
Where did the misappropriate funds? US Constitution – and all in PURSUANCE THEREOF is the highest LAW of this land, Article 1, Clause 12: “To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years”. It has been MUCH longer then the two years allowed without a congressionally declared war. War cannot lawfully be “declared” against a tactic such as the “war against terror” or the “war against drugs”; both are not wars and not even the congress can declare a war against a tactic. War is defined as ‘Open and declared conflict between the armed forces of two or more states or nations”.
Now let’s move on to:
2 USC § 1983 – Civil action for deprivation of rights
28 C.F.R. Section 0.85 Terrorism: “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives”.
Domestic terrorism is the unlawful use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States or Puerto Rico without foreign direction committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives.
18 USC § 2384 – Seditious conspiracy
5 U.S.C. 3331, provides the text of the actual oath of office the three branches of our government, the military, all law enforcement, the heads of the States, all federal employees are required to take before assuming office.
5 U.S.C. 3333 requires the three branches of our government, the military, all law enforcement, the heads of the States, all federal employees sign an affidavit that they have taken the oath of office required by 5 U.S.C. 3331 and have not or will not violate that oath of office during their tenure of office as defined by the third part of the law,
18 U.S.C. 1918 provides penalties for violation of oath of office described in 5 U.S.C. 7311 which include: (1) removal from office and; (2) confinement or a fine.
18 USC § 241 – Conspiracy against rights: If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or
If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured—
They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.
And many more…
I wonder how much more overtly anti-citizen our government can be? Does anyone feel represented any longer? I sure as hell don’t.
Damn crying shame if you ask me.