Tag Archives: NH

UPDATED! -> Ted Cruz’s Obamatrade Betrayal

by Annie | Leave a comment

UPDATE 3: Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 8:18am.
THANK GOD!!!!! Cruz has had a change of heart on Obamatrade and will vote NO today!!!! You can read his full explanation here or below, as excerpted from Breitbart’s exclusive. Thus, he will continue to receive my full $upport for President!

Exclusive – Ted Cruz: Obamatrade Enmeshed in Corrupt, Backroom Dealings

(By Senator Ted Cruz): The American people do not trust President Obama. And they do not trust Republican leadership in Congress. And the reason is simple: for far too long, politicians in Washington have not told the truth.

Both President Obama and Republican leadership are pressing trade promotion authority, also known as TPA, or “fast-track.” and both oppose it.

As a general matter, I agree (as did Ronald Reagan) that free trade is good for America; when we open up foreign markets, it helps American farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers.

But TPA in this Congress has become enmeshed in corrupt Washington backroom deal-making, along with serious concerns that it would open up the potential for sweeping changes in our laws that trade agreements typically do not include.

Since the Senate first voted on TPA, there have been two material changes:

First, WikiLeaks subsequently revealed new troubling information regarding… immigration…

Second, TPA’s progress through the House and Senate appears to have been made possible by secret deals between Republican Leadership and the Democrats… It appears (House Speaker Boehner) made (a) deal with Democrats..

Enough is enough. I cannot vote for TPA unless McConnell and Boehner both commit publicly to allow the Ex-Im Bank to expire—and stay expired. And, Congress must also pass the Cruz-Sessions amendments to TPA to ensure that no trade agreement can try to back-door changes to our immigration laws. Otherwise, I will have no choice but vote no…

It’s a time for truth. And a time to honor our commitments to the voters.

UPDATE 2: Tuesday, June 16, 2015, 5:17am.
Okay. I’ve had a few days to think about it. To ruminate. To stew. Here’s what I’ve decided: We will never, none of us, have a “perfect” candidate. Perfection can’t be a goal; that’s childish. What we can do is seek a born leader, one with a record of unimpeachable integrity, and the intellectual courage to seek opinions which differ from his own. I believe Cruz meets that test… but if he tries to use weasel words again when clearly having been caught not having read the entire bill, or not answering, point-by-point, very legitimate concerns, in this case, raised by Senator Sessions, a colleague he respects, and falling back on ‘only the legislative branch can make law’ as an answer when asked about them, he may permanently piss-me off, because then he may reveal himself to be irretrievably arrogant, thus, unable to be helped by a ‘team of rivals’ should he find himself at 1600 Penn… and then, he would just be a way-smarter version of Obama… and we can’t have that.

UPDATE 1: Friday, June 12, 2015, 1:29pm.

== end of updates ==

 

(The original blog post below was first published on June 6, 2015.)

“If Paul Ryan was my canary, Ted Cruz is my coal-mine.”  
Ted Cruz 2016 I just removed this Ted Cruz button that use to reside at the top of the right hand column here on my blog. I broke my long-standing policy of not supporting individuals (versus a principle, which will never let you down). Silly me. This is the tweet that set me off this morning:

 

It’s not that I am a fair-weather friend, or a Sunshine Patriot. I still believe him to be a good & honorable man who would be a superb leader in some large capacity, as Attorney General, or as a Supreme Court Justice, and yes, even as *President.

But his support for Obamatrade is so wrong-headed I can’t… understand it. This is a guy who should know better. When a decision is this inexplicable it can only mean one of two things:  ignorance/stupidity, or cravenness/corruption.

Well, we know he’s not a stupid man. Perhaps ignorance?  (As distinguished from stupidity, which cannot be remedied.  Ignorance is merely a state of un-knowing.) Is it a matter of not having read or properly understood some crucial sections?  That’s not an attractive alternative, either.  That would make him unforgivably derelict in his duties to the people of Texas (and to us, as a presidential candidate).

So that leaves cravenness or corruption.  At least so far, he has seemed immune to the pressures of being bought off, which is the very thing that has pissed-off everyone royally and made him so hotly unpopular, and thus, made him so attractive to me. (Being able to “buy” a Senator is to be able to control him.  His fellow Senator$ and lobbyist$ couldn’t control him, and that just drives them bat-guano insane.)

So how to explain this? Other than a promise of money, I just can’t understand what could possibly motivate this very smart guy to support this disastrous bill! When you are trying to understand an inexplicable change, it’s useful see if there has been any change to the status quo, anything that caused a disruption, or shift in the dynamic.  The only thing that I can see that has changed between “explicable” behavior and “inexplicable” behavior has been his announcement to run for President. He sure as sh*t isn’t getting any help from the deep, deep coffers of the GOP, nor any of their “ground game” operations, so he’s going to need big, big money from somewhere… Perhaps the Chamber of Commerce is buying him? I don’t get it! I just can’t understand this.  There’s nothing in his behavior I’ve seen these last few years, nor in his record, which I’ve done some reading on, which would suggest his “soul” is, or ever has been, for sale.  I mean, good grief, if ever anyone could have sold-out to save himself a steaming onslaught of sh*t from this, that, or the other thing, it’s him, many, many times before now and he never did it.

Add to this his new cowardice by refusing to be interviewed on the matter by even “friendly” media, most notably to me WRKO’s Jeff Kuhner who just held a hugely successful town hall for him in New Hampshire just 10 days ago!

What. The. Hell?

This is why I never support people, only principles. I broke my rule and I got burned. It’s still possible he could come to his senses, regain his courage and clarity and make a credible mea-culpa, but until it does, not another penny.

BONUS:  The tweet that set me off also features Paul Ryan, another one who has let me down.  I remember when Mitt Romney picked him for a running-mate I was genuinely excited.  Now I look back and am ashamed I was as emotional as an Obama voter.  Mitt’s an exceptionally good & charitable man, but he’s a squishy RINO.  Paul Ryan also appears to “get it” about America, but he, too, has proven to be inexplicably “establishment.”

If Paul Ryan was my canary, Ted Cruz is my coal-mine.

*I blogged on Ted Cruz’s eligibility here. 

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Be Inspired – By Mitt Romney!

by Annie | Leave a comment

Wow.  I didn’t see this live last night, but heard about it this morning so I looked up the text.  What a great speech!  Where has this Mitt Romney been all my life?

Enjoy:

“Thank you, New Hampshire! Tonight, we made history!

This state has always been a special place for our family. Ann and I made a home here and we’ve filled it with great memories of our children and grandchildren. And this Granite State moment is one we will always remember.

Tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we go back to work.

We remember when Barack Obama came to New Hampshire four years ago.

He promised to bring people together.

He promised to change the broken system in Washington.

He promised to improve our nation.

Those were the days of lofty promises made by a hopeful candidate. Today, we are faced with the disappointing record of a failed President. The last three years have held a lot of change, but they haven’t offered much hope.

The middle class has been crushed. Nearly 24 million of our fellow Americans are still out of work, struggling to find work, or have just stopped looking. The median income has dropped 10% in four years. Soldiers returning from the front lines are waiting in unemployment lines. Our debt is too high and our opportunities too few.

And this President wakes up every morning, looks out across America and is proud to announce, “It could be worse.”

It could be worse? Is that what it means to be an American? It could be worse?

Of course not.

What defines us as Americans is our unwavering conviction that we know it must be better.

That conviction guides our campaign. It has rallied millions of Americans in every corner of this country to our cause.

Over the last six months, I’ve listened to anxious voices in town meetings and visited with students and soldiers. In break rooms and living rooms, I’ve heard stories of families getting by on less, of carefully planned retirements now replaced by jobs at minimum wage. But even now, amidst the worst economy since the Great Depression, I’ve rarely heard a refrain of hopelessness.

Americans know that our future is brighter and better than these troubled times. We still believe in the hope, the promise, and the dream of America. We still believe in that shining city on a hill.

We know that the future of this country is better than 8 or 9% unemployment.

It is better than $15 trillion in debt.

It is better than the misguided policies and broken promises of the last three years – and the failed leadership of one man.

The President has run out of ideas. Now, he’s running out of excuses. And tonight, we are asking the good people of South Carolina to join the citizens of New Hampshire and make 2012 the year he runs out of time.

President Obama wants to put free enterprise on trial. In the last few days, we have seen some desperate Republicans join forces with him. This is such a mistake for our Party and for our nation. This country already has a leader who divides us with the bitter politics of envy. We must offer an alternative vision. I stand ready to lead us down a different path, where we are lifted up by our desire to succeed, not dragged down by a resentment of success. In these difficult times, we cannot abandon the core values that define us as unique — We are One Nation, Under God.

Make no mistake, in this campaign, I will offer the American ideals of economic freedom a clear and unapologetic defense.

Our campaign is about more than replacing a President; it is about saving the soul of America. This election is a choice between two very different destinies.

President Obama wants to “fundamentally transform” America. We want to restore America to the founding principles that made this country great.

He wants to turn America into a European-style entitlement society. We want to ensure that we remain a free and prosperous land of opportunity.

This President takes his inspiration from the capitals of Europe; we look to the cities and small towns of America.

This President puts his faith in government. We put our faith in the American people.

He is making the federal government bigger, burdensome, and bloated. I will make it simpler, smaller, and smarter.

He raised the national debt. I will cut, cap, and balance the budget.

He enacted job-killing regulations; I’ll eliminate them.

He lost our AAA credit rating; I’ll restore it.

He passed Obamacare; I’ll repeal it.

When it comes to the economy, my highest priority as President will be worrying about your job, not saving my own.

Internationally, President Obama has adopted an appeasement strategy. He believes America’s role as leader in the world is a thing of the past. I believe a strong America must – and will – lead the future.

He doesn’t see the need for overwhelming American military superiority. I will insist on a military so powerful no one would think of challenging it.

He chastises friends like Israel; I’ll stand with our friends.

He apologizes for America; I will never apologize for the greatest nation in the history of the Earth.

Our plans protect freedom and opportunity, and our blueprint is the Constitution of the United States.

The path I lay out is not one paved with ever increasing government checks and cradle-to-grave assurances that government will always be the solution. If this election is a bidding war for who can promise more benefits, then I’m not your President. You have that President today.

But if you want to make this election about restoring American greatness, then I hope you will join us.

If you believe the disappointments of the last few years are a detour, not our destiny, then I am asking for your vote.

I’m asking each of you to remember how special it is to be an American.

I want you to remember what it was like to be hopeful and excited about the future, not to dread each new headline.

I want you to remember when you spent more time dreaming about where to send your kids to college than wondering how to make it to the next paycheck.

I want you to remember when you weren’t afraid to look at your retirement savings or the price at the pump.

I want you to remember when our White House reflected the best of who we are, not the worst of what Europe has become.

That America is still out there. We still believe in that America.

We still believe in the America that is a land of opportunity and a beacon of freedom. We believe in the America that challenges each of us to be better and bigger than ourselves.

This election, let’s fight for the America we love. We believe in America.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.”

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