At least Rand, Cruz and Lee get it!

For all of you defending the Republicans who voted to allow debate to move forward on the Senate gun bill, you should listen to Rand, Cruz and Lee:

This morning the Senate will vote on the motion to proceed to the firearms bill (S.649). It is expected that the Toomey-Manchin provision announced yesterday will replace the current language regarding background checks. Yet, as of this morning, not a single senator has been provided the legislative language of this provision. Because the background-check measure is the centerpiece of this legislation it is critical that we know what is in the bill before we vote on it. The American people expect more and deserve better.

Unfortunately, the effort to push through legislation that no one had read highlights one of the primary reasons we announced our intention to force a 60 vote threshold. We believe the abuse of the process is how the rights of Americans are systematically eroded and we will continue to do everything in our power to prevent it.

Source.

Click to expand...

There is an abuse of process going on here, if allowed to continue, undermines the foundations of our republic. This moving bills out of committee and to floor debate when there has been no printed or marked up bill in committee has to stop. The only reason to rush a bill forward like this is to prevent legitimate inquiry. Those who participate in this process, like the "gang of 16" Republicans who voted for cloture yesterday, are unfit to represent their constituents, a majority of whom likely resent the way they voted.

I'm reminded of something our 20th President once said:

“Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature…

If the next centennial does not find us a great nation, it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”

Click to expand...

We need to get behind principled libertarian and conservative spokesmen in Congress like Rand, Cruz and Lee, and stop making excuses for those who are corrupting the political process before our very eyes.

Baz, were you as shocked as I was to see our Democrat Senator cross party lines? Hopefully, that means he's feeling the pressure from us.

Click to expand...

Actually, I was not very surprised. No doubt at all in my mind that he feels the pressure. He's got a tough fight ahead for reelection without this issue dogging him. He knows that if he is perceived as having done anything to support a gun bill, he'll go the way Blanche Lincoln went. He'll probably lose reelection anyway, but his only hope is to convince us he's on our side as far as the 2nd Amendment is concerned. As much as I like him feeling that pressure, the problem is that there are other issues that matter as well (think "tea party" and you'll know the kind of issues I'm thinking about) and no Democrat can be trusted on those issues, no matter what their NRA ranking is. So the sooner Pryor is gone, the sooner I can say good riddance.

Yes, Garfield was the 20th President. Ironically, the wife and I just watched "Lincoln." She was put off by how Lincoln resorted to patronage to get the 13th Amendment passed. I commented about how common that was (she said it sounds like today's "crony capitalism" -- naming a certain current President) and that Garfield was assassinated because he was a reformer trying to do away with the patronage system. He died, more or less, for his commitment to the words in that quote.