Thank you for visiting LLPH Second Revolution.
On February 24, 2016, we officially launched our new website and group: LLPH Conservative Reform.
Visit our new website here: http://llphcr.weebly.com/
Thank you for all you have done for liberty and freedom. We have grown the conservative movement, elected new leaders, and held members’ feet to the fire. We are just getting started.
In Liberty,
LLPH Second Revolution & the new LLPH Conservative Reform
LLPH-Endorsed Mary Thomas (FL-02 CAND)
LLPH is proud to endorse Mary Thomas for Florida’s 2nd Congressional District. Mary Thomas is exactly the type of conservative leader that we seek to send to Washington D.C., especially to represent this R+6 congressional district. She is a new, fresh conservative voice who will stand on principle and expand the Republican Party while working for a better future for the next generation of Americans.
Mary Thomas stated the following at her campaign announcement,
“My parents came to this country from India in 1972 and they came here legally, so illegal immigration is an issue that is very personal to both me and my family,” Thomas told Tallahassee’s WTXL. “So I think when President Obama issues unconstitutional and illegal amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, it’s not only an outrage to me, but it’s also an outrage to my parents and thousands of immigrants waiting in line to become Americans the legal way.”
“When I look in the mirror, I see someone who has lived the American dream,” Thomas commented during her announcement. “I believe what we need in Washington, is a fresh, conservative voice who will fight each day to protect the interests of our district and our great country. We need someone who has energy, passion, and the strong will to stand up for the interests and beliefs of the people that she represents. I am the right person for this job. I have a proven history of and experience in standing up for our district and our state, and this will not waiver,” she continued.
Mary Thomas’ positions on the issues have truly impressed LLPH. Many candidates, even Democrats and Republican members of the Surrender Caucus, speak in conservative platitudes saying “cut spending” or “control government,” but they fail to lay out specifics.
Here are some of Mary Thomas’ specific plans:
- Cut spending across the board.
- Adopt the Penny Plan by cutting one penny out of every dollar that the government spends each year for five years and capping spending at 18% of GDP. This would balance the budget by 2019 and reduce spending by $7.5 trillion over ten years.
- Eliminate entire agencies like we did in Florida under Governor Rick Scott’s leadership.
- Eliminate the IRS, Department of Education and the EPA.
- Don’t support omnibus budgets that increase the debt ceiling and deficit spending.
- Don’t support continuing resolutions as they allow Congress to continually evade doing its job.
- Only consider clean budgets that don’t contain riders.
- End taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.
- Pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children under 20 weeks.
She was one of the first three House candidates to be endorsed by the Senate Conservatives Fund. Ken Cuccinelli, the head of SCF, stated,
Mary Thomas is running for the Republican nomination in Florida’s open 2nd congressional district. She’s a constitutional lawyer and member of the Federalist Society who vetted judicial nominees in Florida for Governor Rick Scott’s administration. Thomas is the daughter of first-generation immigrants from India and knows personally the value of living the American Dream. Her primary opponent is a liberal Republican who is supported by the establishment in Washington and Tallahassee. He lobbied for Obamacare when he worked for the Florida Medical Association and opposes Obamacare’s repeal. Mary Thomas is the clear choice for conservatives and she needs our support.
She is also backed by our allies at the Madison Project who stated in their endorsement,
At 37 years of age, Mary Thomas is a rising star in conservative politics. A general counsel inside Governor Rick Scott’s administration in Florida since 2011, Mary has been involved in interviewing the governor’s nominees as well as serving as general counsel for the Department of Elder’s Affairs in Florida. Already having made the repeal of Obamacare a core component of her campaign, Mary impressed us with her deep knowledge of the Constitution. We have seen this a few times before with great Madison Project candidates-the one that comes to mind is Ted Cruz.Florida’s 2nd Congressional District is currently held by a Democrat but with redistricting it is now a strong Republican district which means whoever wins the Republican primary looks to win this seat comfortably in the general election next November. Though Mary has raised a healthy six figures, she is up against a well funded moderate in the race who, as a lobbyist, fought for the expansion of Medicaid as a part of Obamacare and is on record saying he opposes the repeal of Obamacare because it would “jar the economy and leave many people without care.”This is an opportunity for us to make history as a team, not only by helping Mary win but by helping elect the first Indian-American female to Congress, one who has promised us her first order of business in Washington, DC will be to join the House Freedom Caucus.We are thrilled to endorse her and look forward to helping her win both the primary and the general election.
Mary Thomas will not be a member of the Surrender Caucus. She will fight for liberty and stand by the Constitution. She will help support current LLPH Team Members, and we are proud to endorse her for 2016.
Therefore, LLPH is proud and honored to endorse a man of principle, a TRUE LLPH CONSERVATIVE Mary Thomas for election in 2016 to represent Florida’s 2nd Congressional District in the 115th Congress!
Here is Mary Thomas’ campaign website: http://www.runwithmary.com/
Follow him on Twitter at: @MaryThomasEsq and LIKE him on Facebook HERE.
Let’s gain this seat and place it in the hands of liberty-loving conservatives.
LLPH-Endorsed Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ 04)
Rep. Paul Gosar has been a strong, conservative leader. He has voted against every bloated budget and omnibus bill. He is a strong proponent of spending cuts and is part of the small group of conservatives who LLPH can depend upon on major votes. A lot of the votes are difficult in Congress, but Rep. Gosar is one of the few who checks each vote against the Constitution. We need more representatives like him.
He is one of the few to have voted against the many continuing resolutions, terrible budget deals including the most recent “Bipartisan” Budget Agreement which did away with one of the true spending cuts in the rate of spending.
Rep. Gosar was one of the few Republicans to oppose the recent Trade Promotion Authority, which expanded the President’s authority on trade matters. He went so far as to buck the leadership and oppose the rule for the bill.
He voted against Speaker John Boehner in 2015 and has consistently called for a return to regular order.
His primary challenger will just join the Go Along to Get Along Caucus in Washington and surrender to the liberals of both parties every opportunity he gets. This is what Rep. Gosar’s challenger, Ray Strauss, wrote,
This is what Representatives who live east of the Mississippi understand and why they value placement on the Transportation Committee where US highway dollars are allocated leading to economic growth and jobs.
Strauss is a dangerous Republican, who will seek to spend more money than our government has. Our national debt continues to increase, and Strauss is the type who wants to continue to bust our budgets.
LLPH is thankful to Rep. Paul Gosar who holds a strong A+ on our scorecard, one of the few representatives to hold that score and is a great member of LLPH’s Team. He is a voice for freedom, not an echo of the Surrender Caucus.
Therefore, LLPH is proud and honored to endorse a man of principle, a representative of the people, and a TRUE LIBERTY CONSERVATIVE Rep. Paul Gosar for re-election in 2016 to represent Arizona’s 4th Congressional District in the 115th Congress!
It may be a tough fight. But LLPH will not leave our men behind, especially when they have stood by us during the toughest of fights.
Here is Rep. Gosar’s campaign website: http://www.gosarforcongress.com/
Follow him on Twitter at: @RepPaulGosar and LIKE him on Facebook HERE.
Let’s win this seat and keep it in the hands of liberty-loving conservatives.
LLPH-Endorsed Becky Gerritson (R-AL 02 CAND)
“I’m a born free American woman. Wife, mother, and citizen. And I’m telling my government that you’ve forgotten your place. It’s not your responsibility to look out for my well being and to monitor my speech. It’s not your right to assert an agenda. Your post, the post that you occupy, exists to preserve American liberty. You’ve sworn to perform that duty, and you have faltered…”
-Becky Gerritson Congressional testimony (June 4, 2013)
A citien who stood up to the IRS when they abused their powers is ready to be a member of Congress to stand up to the Establishment who is failing to use their powers.
Meet Becky Gerritson:
A year later, Becky’s national involvement led to national attention. A primary target of the IRS scandal, she was called upon to testify regarding the abuses before Congress. Her heartfelt, passionate, and articulate testimony not only drew attention to the sins of the IRS it also put voice to the frustration felt by many Americans toward a government that had far outgrown what it was intended to be. Becky’s words inspired the masses and have served as a galvanizing force for the movement.
Passionate about teaching and educating Americans as well as standing for conservative principles, Becky has continued to oppose Common Core, fight the IRS, and stand for limiting the role of the federal government like the Founders intended.
Now, Becky sees the dysfunction in Washington and the failure of the Establishment and feels compelled to step forward. A concerned citizen, wife, and mother Becky is NOT a politician. This Born Free American Woman stands ready to serve the people of Alabama in Congress.
Becky Gerritson is challenging Surrender Caucus Rep. Martha Roby, who has the disgraceful record of an F-rating from LLPH while representing a R+17 district. Roby supported the Ryan-Murray Budget, the $1 Trillion Omnibus Bill FY 2014, and the CRomnibus, which surrendered the majorities we had just acquired in the 2014 elections. Rep. Roby has also been a strong opponent of the Penny Plan, being one of the few members to vote against every single Penny Plan amendment.
Becky Gerritson has been endorsed by our allies at Eagle Forum, Conservative HQ, and conservative leader Erick Erickson.
Eagle Forum’s leader Phyllis Schlafly stated in their endorsement,
“For example, since coming to Congress, except for the most recent (December 2015) as she faces a primary challenge, Roby has voted for every omnibus spending bill, including the CRomnibus in December 2014 that funded Obama’s amnesties. Most disturbing is her vote – along with every Democrat in the House and Senate – for final passage of the “Every Student Succeeds Act,” the latest overhaul of the American education system which has been criticized by informed conservative academicians as ‘Common Core on Steroids.’
“I first heard of Becky after she gave a compelling testimony to Congress when it was discovered that the IRS was targeting specific groups for their political beliefs. Her testimony inspired thousands when she courageously told government to get back in its place.
“Becky is a proven leader. She understands that sound governance doesn’t mean just passing bills that the president will sign, as the current Congress continues to do. She knows that sound governance means upholding and defending the Constitution, protecting the security of the American people, and defending the values that have made our country great. Her dedication and passion for the conservative cause has been seen not only by Alabamians but by the nation as she has fearlessly and tirelessly fought against the progressive agenda and big government.
Becky Gerritson will not be a member of the Surrender Caucus. She will fight for liberty and stand by the Constitution. She will help support current LLPH Team Members, and we are proud to endorse her for 2016.
Therefore, LLPH is proud and honored to endorse a man of principle, a TRUE LLPH CONSERVATIVE Becky Gerritson for election in 2016 to represent Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District in the 115th Congress!
Here is Becky Gerritson’s campaign website: http://beckyforcongress.com/
Follow him on Twitter at: @BeckyGerritson and LIKE him on Facebook HERE.
Let’s gain this seat and place it in the hands of liberty-loving conservatives.
LLPH urges all senators to vote NO on Wilhelmina Wright for the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Wright has a radical leftist agenda, and the Republican Senate should not be aiding in her confirmation in any way or form. We will maintain the right to score either the cloture or final vote.
Our friends at the Heritage Action wrote,
On Tuesday, the Senate is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Wilhelmina Wright for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Wright, who currently serves on Minnesota’s Supreme Court, has a troubling track record, which includes racially-charged accusations against President Ronald Reagan and statements indicating previous opposition to the constitutional understanding of property rights. Justice Wright once wrote in a law review that:
“White people are running and hiding. Their mad scramble is aided by a Chief Justice [Justice Rehnquist] who owned racially restrictive property and a Presidential administration [President Reagan] that believes bigotry, poverty, and poor educational opportunities for most public school students are the unavoidable fruits of a “thriving” free market economy.”
And later in the same review, she wrote “the sanctity of property and the belief in the hierarchy of races” undergirds racism in America. According to a recent Daily Signal article, when questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee about these statements, she qualified them by saying “the writing was ‘inartful’ and made without ‘all of the training and experience that I have now.’” The fact that her nomination has been guided through the process by two liberal Democrats, Senators Al Franken (D-MN) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), should also raise concerns.
Confirming Justice Wright to a lifetime appointment on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota is also the wrong response to this President’s recent overreach. Heritage legal expert Hans von Spakovsky explains President Obama “will go down in history as one of the most lawless of American presidents, someone who – with the help of his political appointees – has ignored, changed, or bent the law and the Constitution on every occasion.”
Last week, the White House chief of staff declared that “We’ll do audacious executive action over the course of the rest of the year, I’m confident of that.” Given the president’s most recent unilateral actions intended to arbitrarily increase immigration and undermine the Second Amendment, senators should take his promise seriously.
This was further explained in a recent Heritage Action memo, calling on Congress to stand up to the president:
“Repeated executive power grabs threaten to undo the system of checks and balances written into our Constitution. The president’s actions have not only marginalized the legislature, they have also begun eroding the independence of our nation’s judicial system by stacking the courts with liberal judges who interpret the Constitution to serve this president’s radical progressive agenda.
“Our system of government requires each branch to jealously guard its prerogatives, and President Obama routinely tramples over the legislature’s prerogatives. Senators should not stand by idly for the next 12 months. They must act to reassert their constitutional prerogatives.”
If Senate Republicans band together and block this nomination, it will be a strong first step on a long path towards the Congress reasserting their constitutional prerogatives and defending the rule of law.
We urge all senators to vote NO on Wright’s nomination and may include this vote in our scorecard.
LLPH is officially announcing that we intend to update our scorecard this weekend beginning from Friday evening until possibly Monday afternoon.
Therefore, LLPH’s Congressional scorecards will be inaccessible this weekend.
Thank you for your patience.
In Liberty,
LLPH Staff
LLPH-Endorsed Pattie Curran (R-NC 05 CAND)
Since LLPH was established in 2012, we have endorsed many candidates and legislators who love liberty and work hard to defend the Constitution. Many candidates begin as underdogs like LLPH Team Members Representatives Jim Bridenstine, Ted Yoho, and Dave Brat. LLPH does not endorse candidates only when we are positive they can win; we endorse candidates who stand by our principles and have shown that they are willing to fight to win their race.
Pattie Curran is definitely considered an underdog in North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District. She is running against a powerful incumbent (Rep. Virginia Foxx) with a $2 million+ war chest. But as Rep. Brat showed, a candidate does not need a huge war chest to win (although having money is important); he/she needs principles and the willingness to work to win.
As of today (January 10, 2016), Ms. Curran posted the following:
I made it to 548 houses this week, bringing my total to 6,632. It’s been great meeting the wonderful people who live in North Carolina’s 5th Congressional district. It will be an HONOR to SERVE you in Congress.#TeamWeThePeople
Pattie Curran is working to get votes in a way that we wished all candidates would work to get votes, by going door to door and offering a handshake and a promise…a promise to stand with the people of North Carolina’s 5th and not the DC establishment Surrender Caucus. She has shown while campaigning that she is willing to work hard to get votes and stand by conservative principles.
A local newspaper, the Kernersville News covered the race:
In the months since announcing her intention to run against Foxx in the Republican primary, Curran said nothing has changed her mind or opinion on the lack of conservative principles being displayed in the nation’s capital.
“Conservatives are disappointed,” Curran said Monday afternoon as she talked about her campaign and filing her candidacy earlier this month.
Curran’s displeasure with the status quo in Washington D.C. was apparent after Congress voted to pass the most recent omnibus bill on December 18 when she posted the following on her campaign’s Facebook page:
“Still angry over yesterday’s omnibus passing the Republican controlled House and Senate. We called, we tweeted, emailed ….and we the people were ignored again. We were attacked by moderate Republicans for not understanding.”
The bill, which keeps the federal government operating through next fall, funded all the things conservatives have complained about, including Planned Parenthood, amnesty for illegal immigrants, and the Syrian refugee program.
She continued.
“Both parties are working in collusion against the will of the American people. I’m tired of being ignored.”
It’s that sense of disappointment that Curran hopes will compel her to win over Foxx in the primary, but she knows it is an uphill battle.
“This is a grassroots effort. I am not a six-term career politician with a $2 million war chest. This is about taking back what’s rightfully ours. We need bold conservative leadership in Washington who say, ‘no, this is not right,” Curran said on Monday.
But aside from her strong conservative principles, Pattie Curran has lived these principles in her daily life. That is another key attribute that LLPH looks for when we endorse candidates. Have they actually sought ways besides running for office to be involved in working to improve our country?
Pattie enlisted in the Army National Guard (ARNG) when she turned 18 and later attended Officer Candidate School, receiving her commission just prior to her college graduation. She was awarded The Army Achievement Medal for meritorious achievement while serving as Executive Officer for HHD 165th Transportation Battalion. She received academic and athletic scholarships to help pay for the first few years of college, then transferred to Louisiana State University where the ARNG continued to pay for her tuition. She graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and minor in Religious Studies. Right out of college, she took the social work certification test (TX) and became a certified social worker.
Pattie and her husband, Chris, have been married for 22 years and have 3 children. Two of their children have a rare disease, Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome with secondary mitochondrial disease.
Pattie is an activist at heart. She has worked tirelessly to defund and repeal Obamacare, end the Export-Import Bank, to stop Common Core and to stop the assault on religious liberty. Her work has been published online and in the Washington Times and she has been interviewed on FOX News and News Max numerous times over her fight to repeal Obamacare.
Pattie Curran is running against incumbent Rep. Virginia Foxx in North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District, which according to Cook PVI is a R+11 district. The Surrender Caucus repeatedly tells us that we should not challenge moderates from Republican-leaning or Democrat districts. LLPH actually agrees with them in many cases, but Rep. Foxx is not a “moderate from a Republican-leaning or Democrat district”. She is a Republican from a very Republican district, which she is misrepresenting.
Rep. Foxx has voted for the $1 Trillion+ CRomnibus FY 2015, the recent $1 Trillion+ Omnibus FY 2016, and the Ryan-Murray Budget, all of which were more than 1,000 pages and rushed to the floor with less than 48 hours to read. The worst part is that as a member of the House Rules Committee, Rep. Foxx has used her power to shut down any debate on conservative amendments to these bills.
Perhaps her worst vote was opposing the A-PLUS Act amendment to the recent education bill, which would have restored more power over education to the states and local governments. She was the ONLY Republican from North Carolina to oppose this amendment offered by fellow North Carolinian, Rep. Mark Walker. No wonder she currently has a D on LLPH’s scorecard (at times getting Cs on her really good months).
Pattie Curran will not be a member of the Surrender Caucus nor will she be simply a swing vote like the current representative is. She will fight for liberty and stand by the Constitution. She will help support current LLPH Team Members, and we are proud to endorse her for 2016.
Therefore, LLPH is proud and honored to endorse a man of principle, a TRUE LLPH CONSERVATIVE Pattie Curran for election in 2016 to represent North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District in the 115th Congress!
Here is Pattie Curran’s campaign website: https://pattiecurran.com/
Follow him on Twitter at: @PattieCurran and LIKE him on Facebook HERE.
Let’s gain this seat and place it in the hands of liberty-loving conservatives.
LLPH-Endorsed Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC 11)
Just an update: North Carolina’s filing deadline passed on December 21, 2015. We are happy to announce that the Republican Surrender Caucus got scared and decided not to put up a primary challenger to LLPH-Endorsed Rep. Mark Meadows.
While he still has a general election opponent, he is expected to win in this R+13 district. Thanks to LLPH supporters and conservatives across the country, the Surrender Caucus decided not to even try to fight in this distrct.
If you would like to still help Rep. Meadows, you can do so here: http://meadowsforcongress.com/
We would also like to encourage you to help one of Rep. Meadows’ closest allies and an LLPH Team Member, Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District, who is facing a challenger from the Surrender Caucus: http://www.walterjonescommittee.com/
Also, please help send another strong conservative, Jim Duncan for North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District. He’s facing a Surrender Caucus Member, Rep. Renee Ellmers. http://www.jimfornc.com/
Thanks for all you are doing. Let’s continue to win North Carolina seats for TRUE LLPH conservatives!
LLPH-Endorsed Jim Duncan (R-NC 02 CAND)
In 2010, a young nurse was remakably elected to Congress. She was everything a conservative could dream about. She was a young nurse who would fight Obamacare. She beat a longtime Democrat incumbent with little to no support from the GOP Establishment. She spoke all the right words, sang all the right tunes, and the wave was strong enough to send her to Washington D.C.
Today, Rep. Renee Ellmers holds an F from LLPH. She voted for $1 Trillion spending bills from the CRomnibus for fiscal year 2015 to the recent omnibus for fiscal year 2016. She has voted against almost all attempts to cut spending by showing disdain for the Penny Plan, opposing such amendments. Reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank-Check. Putting Crony Capitalism before defending the homeland-Check. Surrendering every time we have a real chance to fight a liberal abomination whether it be Obamacare or abortion funding-Check. Showing up for conservative battles-MIA (Missing In Action).
Cook PVI states that she represents an R+10 district, making her district one of the most Republican districts in the nation. Yet, her current score ranges from the 20s to 30s (F).
It is time for a new voice from North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District. Jim Duncan is that voice.
Ever grateful for his opportunities, he was able to succeed in the American free enterprise system. Jim and his family dedicated much of their time working with underprivileged inner-city children. These experiences caused Jim to examine his beliefs and look towards conservative principles. It became clear to him that there had to be a better way to lift children out of poverty and fundamentally change their circumstances and outcomes. He realized that the best opportunities came from strong conservative principles and has been a Republican ever since. Ultimately, Jim chose to call North Carolina home and settled his family in the second congressional district. There, he quickly rolled up his sleeves and decided to get involved in the community and local politics. In 2010, Jim founded the Coalition for American Principles, a nonpartisan group. Later that same year Jim was elected the Chairman of the Chatham County Republican Party. Jim’s chairmanship has been widely heralded as a success story. Under his leadership, the organization reached new heights and became a model for county level conservative groups.
Jim is a leader for the Boys & Girls Club of Durham, Board Member of The Jesse Helms Center, and the Chatham County 9/11 memorial board. Jim is happily married to Betsy, his wife of 44 years, and they have one daughter, Kirsten and a dog named Reagan.
Jim Duncan did not wait for the seat to come open or sit back quietly hoping that Congress would solve all our problems. Instead, he established a conservative organization, led the Chatham County Republican Party in a conservative manner, and has served as a Board Member of the Jesse Helms Center. That is the story of a true conservative who will go to Washington and lead.
Jim Duncan has stated,
I’m very proud to have this opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of nation that the conservative principles of smaller government, lower taxes, sanctity of life, peace through strength, reaffirming our inalienable rights, and free market principles are all topics that have been missing from our national debate. Washington insiders have given up fighting for the American people. As an outsider I will stand my ground and fight for the people of my district and our founding principles.
Conservative Leaders are backing Jim Duncan for North Carolina’s 2nd District:
Erick Erickson stated in his endorsement of Duncan,
This race should be a hill to die on for conservatives. Conservatives across the nation should be willing to make an example of Renee Ellmers’ repeated betrayals and repeated broken promises.
Jim Duncan would not do that to conservatives. Jim is a self-made man who joined the National Guard. He knows small business because Jim has run one. He knows entrepreneurial issues because he is an entrepreneur. He knows how Washington impacts the daily lives of folks in North Carolina because Jim Duncan has his roots there and, unlike the incumbent, is in no hurry to climb a social ladder in Washington, D.C.
The Club for Growth stated in endorsing Duncan,
Duncan is a true outsider, having never held public office. But he has a great reputation among tea party groups and other conservative organizations in the congressional district. He will be a reliable supporter of pro-growth policies and believes that his candidacy is not a “career move” but a “call to arms.”
LLPH is honored to join conservatives across the country in endorsing a true conservative to defeat Surrender Caucus Member Rep. Renee Ellmers. From surrendering during conservative battles to showing open hostility to conservative ideas, she has proven to be a F-rated politician who must be defeated.
Therefore, LLPH is proud and honored to endorse a man of principle, a TRUE LLPH CONSERVATIVE Jim Duncan for election in 2016 to represent North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District in the 115th Congress!
It may be a tough fight. But LLPH believes that we must send a clear message that Surrender Caucus members who openly violate conservative principles and express hostility toward liberty will be defeated. We have done it before by electing leaders like Reps. Dave Brat and Jim Bridenstine by defeating Surrender Caucus Republicans, and we can do it again!
Here is Jim Duncan’s campaign website: http://www.jimfornc.com/
Follow him on Twitter at: @JimDuncanNC and LIKE him on Facebook HERE.
Let’s gain this seat and place it in the hands of liberty-loving conservatives.
LLPH announced our STRONG opposition to the Omnibus Bill for FY 2016.
Our friends at Freedomworks in opposing the bill stated the following,
Before getting into the multitude of bad parts of the omnibus that have led us to oppose its passage, it is only fair to acknowledge a few of its positive attributes.
- It continues the prohibition on sending any more taxpayer dollars to ObamaCare’s Risk Corridors program, ensuring that health insurance companies won’t receive a bailout on your dime. As ObamaCare continues to fall apart, struggling insurers will just continue asking for more bailouts to compensate, so stopping the bleeding now is crucial.
- It gets rid of the long-obsolete ban on U.S. oil exports should be a good help to our economy and should help generate some economic growth and job creation. Another nice win here.
- It prevents the IRS from advancing an expected rule that would have more strongly regulated what 501(c)4 non-profit organizations can do and say with regard to politics.
These things are great, but they shouldn’t be mistaken for a win in the context of the rest of this behemoth spending bill. First, there are the riders that didn’t make it into the bill, including but not limited to:
- Most of the limits on EPA regulations that were passed during the appropriations process this year were stripped from the final bill. That means no stopping the massively destructive new and existing coal power plant rules, the ozone rule, or the “waters of the United States” rule.
- The bill fails to defund other harmful regulations, including the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule that has been fairly described as “ObamaCare for your IRA”.
- Major amendments to protect Americans against abuses of government surveillance authority were stripped from the bill for the second consecutive year. These included limitations on the government’s content collection authority under section 702 of FISA, and a prohibition on the NSA working with the National Institute of Standards in Technology to weaken internet encryption standards.
And then there are the new bits. First and foremost, the base spending level of the bill alone is unacceptable, fulfilling Boehner’s final betrayal this August by adding $80 billion in new spending over two years. Our total national debt approaches $19 trillion, deficits are already slated to start rising again, yet Congress’ priority is to spend tens of billions more. Beyond the numbers, there are many specific new items that conservatives should abhor, including:
- $1.2 billion in new funding for the Department of Education, including over half a billion in new funding for the ineffective Head Start Pre-K education program. It is hard to make progress with reining in the Department of Education’s top-down manipulation of our children’s education when Congress insists upon massively increasing its resources.
- What amounts to a bailout of the International Monetary Fund, by increasing the U.S. quota for that fund. This means the IMF will have access to even more of our taxpayer dollars to fund bailouts of irresponsible state actors such as Greece.
- The Cybersecurity Act of 2015. To begin with, this nearly 140-page, brand new program should be considered on its own, not tucked into a massive bill no one really has time to fully read. This bill is the final product of mashing together the Senate’s CISA bill and the House’s two bills, and manages to contain most of the worst provisions of each of them. This new cyber information sharing program won’t stop hackers from stealing your data, but it certainly will allow federal law enforcement and and surveillance programs to capture way more of your data without a warrant. Just this portion of the bill alone is a solid reason to oppose the omnibus.
This isn’t a comprehensive list of the good, bad, and ugly of the omnibus, but it should suffice to explain why FreedomWorks cannot but oppose the latest annual big government spending frenzy. Negotiated behind closed doors, released to Congress with two days to process its over 2,000 pages, this is another exhibit of the worst that Congress has to offer.
Heritage Action listed additional problems with the Omnibus Bill:
- Five-year extension of the Wind Production Tax Credit and Solar ITC. Allowing this extension of the Wind PTC is especially egregious. Republicans in Congress have opposed President Obama’s carbon regulations throughout this year, yet this bill provides an additional five years of this subsidy that is critical for the implementation of these regulations. The administration assumes a doubling of installed wind capacity over the next eight years to achieve their emissions targets, but these goals would be difficult to meet without the generous handout paid for by taxpayers to this large, mature industry. A vote to extend the Wind PTC serves as a de facto vote for the President’s radical climate agenda that is hurting hardworking American families.
- Three-year extension of the Land and Water Conservation Fund with no reforms. Earlier this year The Heritage Foundation explained that the “federal government owns between 635 million and 640 million acres of land in the entire United States, nearly 30 percent of the country and nearly half of the western U.S. This massive amount of federal ownership has resulted in land mismanagement, stifled opportunities for recreation and resource production, and poor environmental management… Congress should reject attempts to reauthorize the LWCF.”
- Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s Oceans bill. This long-stalled legislation would provide funds to environmental groups to study and restore U.S. oceans and coastlines.
- Tax Credit for Independent Refiners. The provision would provide a deduction for transportation costs for independent refiners, a narrowly crafted policy for an industry group that had mixed feelings about lifting the oil export ban.
- Missing rider. As mentioned above, several important riders — including funding prohibition for WOTUS and the Obama administration’s Green Climate Fund — were not included.
LLPH is strongly disappointed by the massive failure of the bill to follow regular order. Several bills from the Intelligence Authorization to CISA to refusing to allow good amendments to be debated on the floor all shows the failure to follow regular order.
As such, LLPH urges a STRONG NO vote on the Omnibus Bill. We will likely include this vote in our Congressional Scorecard.
LLPH Second Revolution 