RHEA COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Keith Flatness, Chairman Bitsy Gryder, Vice Chairman
Donna Taylor, Secretary Larry Pendergrass, Treasurer
Linda Pendergrass, Vice Treasurer Marv Keener, Chaplain
Gary Drinkard, Parliamentarian Jim Murphy, PAC Chair
AUGUST MEETING
The August meeting will be held on Thursday, August 9th, at 7:00 PM, at the Rhea County Sheriff’s Training Center, 711 Eagle Ln, Evensville, TN. We look forward to seeing you there!
| IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL READERS
Your fellow conservatives would greatly appreciate hearing from those of you who are involved in your local Republican Party. Specifically, we would like to know what you are doing to increase membership and attendance numbers in your area, what you’ve done that has proven successful, and what you’ve tried that didn’t produce the results you had hoped for. Your ideas will be shared with other readers who are active in their local organizations and would be greatly appreciated by all. Please email your response to pyrope84045@mypacks.net The ideas and information you share will be published in the October issue. THANK YOU! |
RANDOM THOUGHTS
If you had absolutely no problem with Mr. 0bama stuffing a plane with $1.7 billion in cash and sending it to Iran in the middle of the night, I don’t really care about your outrage over President Trump meeting with Vladimir Putin today. – Diane Knox, Graysville, TN.
MINUTES FROM THE JUNE MEETING
The Executive Committee meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM by Chairman Keith Flatness. Gary Drinkard presented a board of all candidates – County, State, and Federal. Discussion was held concerning contribution to local candidates in regard to primary elections. A PAC is necessary to give funds to local candidates to help/assist in their individual races. Motion was made to contribute $2000 to each of the local candidates. Larry Pendergrass seconded, Motion carried.
Discussion was held on funding a tribute to Gladys Best, Registrar of Deeds, who served from 1962-2018, who is retiring in September.
Meeting adjourned at 6:40 PM.
The regular monthly meeting of the RCRP was called to order by Chairman Flatness, at 7:00PM. 23 people attended the regular meeting.
Marvin Keener gave the invocation and Joe Gryder led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Jody and Chuck Bower were welcomed as guests.
The minutes from the May meeting were read, a motion to accept the minutes as read was made by Joe Gryder, a second was made by Bob Larson, and the motion carried.
The Treasurer’s Report was given by Bob Larson. A motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as read was made by Bitsy Gryder, seconded by Laura Travis, and the motion carried.
Jim Murphy gave the PAC report.
Chairman Flatness reported that Brock Harris, who served as emcee for a Memorial Day event did a great job.
Kris Bancroft announced that Rhea County no longer has the highest unemployment in the state. He then gave his Legislative Report covering the more important bills that had been introduced, failed, or passed in the House of Representatives and Senate. During the month of May, the VA Mission Act was passed and signed into law. Eighteen bills for medical, housing, and other financial assistance to our veterans were introduced, as well as more than a dozen bills to address our nation’s opioid problem. S 5206, and other bills changing Title 19 of the US Code (Social Security) have been introduced; these are of particular interest to our senior citizens. HR 2, the Health and Nutrition bill did not pass. One very encouraging bill that passed was HR 5682, the “First Step Act” is one of several of its kind intended to help reduce recidivism for persons being released from prison.
The Bledsoe County Reagan Day Dinner will be held on June 16, at 6:00 PM CST, at the Senior Center. Roane County will hold their Reagan Day Dinner on June 28, from 6:00 until 9:00 PM at the Noa’s Event Venue, in Harriman.
A discussion was held and a motion was made to donate $2,000 each to Cary Taylor (candidate for Sheriff), and Theresa Hulgan (candidate for Registrar of Deeds); the motion was approved.
A discussion was held concerning recognition of Gladys Best, for her service as Rhea County’s Registrar of Deeds from 1962 to 2018. She is retiring in September. Bitsy Gryder motioned, Marvin Keener seconded, to purchase a six foot bench to be placed at the Rhea County Courthouse in her honor. Linda Pendergrass will be assigned responsibility for accomplishing this project. The motion carried.
Ron Travis, Representative for the 31st District, reported on the following items:
- The State of Tennessee is 222 years old
- Its annual budget is $37 million and the budget is balanced
- Tennessee has a Rainy Day Fund for health care and low income families of $850 million
- Recent legislation passed makes adoption easier in the State and fights human trafficking.
- In upcoming elections, the Democrats have a goal of fielding a candidate in every race; this is being referred to as the “Blue Wave.” They are hoping to win six Republican seats.
Keith Flatness presented his “Joke of the Month” and Joe Gryder motioned to adjourn, seconded by Gary Drinkard, and the motion carried.
Linda Pendergrass
Substituting for Donna Taylor
RANDOM THOUGHTS
What do New York City, Detroit and Flint, MI, Cleveland, OH, San Francisco and Oakland, CA, Gulfport, MS, Hartford, CT, Washington, DC, and Chattanooga, TN have in common? Two things: They ranked as the ten worst run cities in the US, and; they’re ALL run by Democrats! https://detroit.cbslocal.com/2018/07/10/survey-washington-worst-run-cities/
BOOK OF THE MONTH
The above link is to an article written by Louie Gohmert, about Robert Mueller; it is a MUST READ and I urge you to share it with everyone you know. Thanks! – Editor]
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that has made it possible for evil to triumph. -Haile Selassie, regent of Ethiopia (23 Jul 1892-1975)
READERS ANNOUNCEMENTS & COMMENTS
This section is provided for our readers to make announcements about activities in their area or offer commentary on current events. Readers are encouraged to do so. Please e-mail your announcements or comments to pyrope84045@mypacks.net – Editor.
Jim Hice, a reader from Cleveland, TN shared an email he received: The definition of the word Conundrum is: something that is puzzling or confusing. Here are six Conundrums of socialism in the United States:
- America is capitalist and greedy – yet half of the population is subsidized.
2. Half of the population is subsidized – yet they think they are victims.
3. They think they are victims – yet their representatives run the government.
4. Their representatives run the government – yet the poor keep getting poorer.
5. The poor keep getting poorer – yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.
6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about – yet they want America to be more like those other countries.And that, my friends, pretty much sums up the USA in the 21st Century. Makes you wonder who is doing the math. Am I the only one missing something here?
John Anthony, a reader from McDonald, TN shared the following: I still haven’t figured out why Hillary lost the election. Was it the Russian uranium deal? Was it Wikileaks? Was it John Podesta or James Comey? Was it her husband who has been accused of being a sexual predator? Was it classified information on Anthony Weiner’s laptop? Was is a subpoena violation? Was it the corrupt Clinton Foundation? Was it the lies she told to Congress? Was it the lies she told about the attack on US citizens serving in Benghazi? Was it the “pay for play” scandal? Was it the “Travel Gate” scandal? Was it the “Cattle Futures” scandal? Was it the “Whitewater” scandal? Was it the “Trooper Gate” scandal? Was it the $15 million for Chelsea’s apartment purchased with Clinton Foundation money? Was it Bill’s “secret” meeting on an Arizona tarmac with Loretta Lynch? Was it stealing the debate questions? Could it have been her deletion of more than 30,000 emails that contained classified information from a home brew server? Was it the Seth Rich murder? Was it her calling half the population of the United States “deplorable? Do you think it might have been her loss of $6 billion while she was in charge of the State Department? Gee, I just can’t quite put my finger on it but it seems to be right in front of me.
COMMENTS FROM OUR REPRESENTATIVES
Dr. Scott DesJarlais, Representative for Tennessee’s 4th District writes: “I am proud to support numerous legislative initiatives in the 115th Congress that work to address the weakness in our immigration policy. I recently co-sponsored H.R. 400, the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act, which if enacted into law, would prohibit sanctuary cities from receiving certain economic federal g rants. I am also a proud co-sponsor of H.R. 486, Grant’s Law, which would require mandatory detention of any illegal alien arrested for deportable crimes. In addition, I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 80, the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act, which would prohibit the admission of alien refugees into the United States unless Congress explicitly gives the Department of Homeland Security authority to admit them.
“The safety and security of the hardworking citizens of this country is of upmost importance to me. Please be assured I will continue fighting for immigration reform on behalf of hard-working, tax-paying Americans. I look forward to working closely with the new administration to ensure the safety and security of all Americans.”
[The above paragraphs are excerpted from a response to an email to Congressman DesJarlais, expressing my encouragement that he should work to ensure our borders are secured in the fashion by which President Trump had campaigned on doing prior to his election. – Editor]
Press Release from Scott DesJarlais
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Obamacare’s medical device tax threatens to increase patients’ health care costs and prevent life-saving innovation. Congressman Scott DesJarlais, M.D., voted this week to permanently eliminate the tax, also threatening American jobs, and to expand tax-exempt Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
“Democrats promised Obamacare would reduce costs and improve health care access for Tennesseans,” said Rep. DesJarlais, a doctor. “Just the opposite happened. Millions lost the insurance and doctors they liked. The law forced them into unaffordable government plans with high premiums and deductibles. Unable to afford higher prices, many chose to pay a penalty rather than participate.
“Especially in rural areas, Obamacare resulted in hospital closures, because of consolidation. Only the largest medical providers are able to cope with complex regulations. Small businesses unable to cope shed employees and benefits, contributing to a part-time, low wage economy,” he said.
Rep. DesJarlais (TN-04) has voted to repeal and replace Obamacare with free-market reforms that would lower health care costs, expand patient access and improve quality, such as eliminating federal mandates and taxes, increasing economic opportunity, and encouraging responsible saving.
He and Republicans in Congress repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The mandate compelled Tennesseans to buy expensive insurance or pay a fine. Tax reform is creating more job opportunities and take-home pay for Tennesseans, explained Rep. DesJarlais. “More people are earning an income and gaining insurance coverage,” he said.
“The average family will save over $2,000 this year, not counting bonuses and other benefits companies are offering. Next year, Obamacare’s penalty will be gone. The Trump Administration has made other important changes.”
Rep. DesJarlais mentioned an executive order instating Association Health Plans, permitting small businesses and other organizations to join across state lines to negotiate better terms with insurance companies, as large companies do. Bills to expand HSA contributions and allowable expenses, including over-the-counter medicine, passed the House of Representatives today. A bill to permanently eliminate the medical device tax passed yesterday.
“Adding taxes to medical devices Tennesseans need to survive makes no sense. Encouraging families to save for health costs makes a lot more. I voted to remove Obamacare’s restrictions on simple drug purchases today,” said Rep. DesJarlais, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, overseeing rural health initiatives. “Dozens of Democrats joined Republicans in our effort.
“I hope more help us to make progress for the sake of our constituents, suffering Obamacare’s consequences.”
LEGISLATIVE REPORT
NOTE: Recently, a reader asked why recently introduced legislation is included in your newsletter and the question deserves an answer: Certainly, there are many bills that are being introduced – too many for the average citizen to keep up with – and that is why those bills that have the greatest impact on our country and its citizens are included for your review. Therefore, I hope you will please peruse these bills and if you see one (or more!) that concerns you, you can then contact your elected representatives to let them know whether you support the legislation or prefer that they vote against it. It’s almost a guarantee that you will not hear about these bills anywhere else! – Editor.
HR 2 Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (Conaway, R-TX. 1242 pages) amends and extends major programs for income support, food and nutrition, land conservation, trade promotion, rural development, research, forestry, horticulture, and other miscellaneous programs administered by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for five years through 2023. The bill is budget neutral and $112 billion below baseline funding. Since passage in the House and having been forwarded to the Senate, the Senate moved to evoke cloture and consider the bill for a vote. During this process, a motion was made to amend the bill; HR 2 was then forwarded to committee where modifications were made, and then reintroduced in the Senate for a vote. If the bill is passed on the Senate floor, since it was modified in the Senate, it will have to be reconsidered in the House.
S 2463 BUILD Act of 2018 (Corker, R-TN, 174 pages). A bill to establish the United States International Development Finance Corporation, and for other purposes. This bill enables private organizations to establish interests in underdeveloped countries for the purpose of expanding private corporations within those countries. [Think establishing “banana republics” and serving lobbyists interests. – Editor]
H Res 928 Of inquiry requesting the President and directing the Attorney General to transmit, respectively, certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the President’s use of pardon power under Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution. (Lieu, D-CA, 6 pages). The Resolution failed to pass the House Judiciary Committee review by a vote of 13/12; had it passed, the Resolution would have negated the President’s ability to issue executive pardons for Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, Richard Gates, Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos, Alex van der Zwaan, and himself.
HR 4294 Prevention of Private Information Dissemination Act of 2017. (Kustoff, R-TN, 2 pages) This bill amends the Financial Stability Act of 2010 to provide a criminal penalty for unauthorized disclosures by officers or employees of a Federal agency of certain living will and stress test determinations. This bill was passed in the House and forwarded to the Senate for consideration. If signed into law, the bill would penalize leakers within the “Deep State” who compromise classified data. According to Skopos Labs it currently only has a 30% chance of being signed into law.
HR 2061 North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2017. (Ros-Lehtinen, R-FL, 7 pages). This bill reauthorizes human rights and democracy programs under the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 until 2022. Specifically, the bill authorizes the appropriation of $10 million each year over the 2018—2022 period. These programs promote human rights, democracy, and freedom of information in North Korea, as well as provide humanitarian assistance to North Korean refugees. The bill requires reports to Congress on the implementation of these programs, including a report by the State Department’s Special Envoy on North Korea. The bill also updates freedom of information authorities under the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 to reflect technological advances to include media beyond radio broadcasting, and requires an annual report for 5 years on the implementation of a plan to increase availability and consumption of uncensored news and information inside North Korea. The bill has been passed in both the House and Senate, and has been forwarded to the President for signature.
HR 6136 Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018. (Goodlatte, R-VA, 299 pages). The bill enhances enforcement of existing immigration law, closes immigration enforcement loopholes, ends the catch and release policy, provides $25 billion in funding to secure the border, provides a legislative solution for the current beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and establishes a new merit-based visa program.
HR 6157 Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2019. The bill passed in the House and has been forwarded to the Senate for consideration.
HR 50 Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2017. (Foxx, R-NC, 20 pages). This bill provides for additional safeguards with respect to imposing Federal Mandates; it is a measure that, if fully enacted and followed, would halt Congress’ ability to enact rules or laws for which there is no budgetary line item.
S 2039 PREEMIE Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Alexander, R-TN, 3 pages). This bill may be cited as the “Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act of 2018,” and revises another version of a bill with the same name.
HR 5953 BUILD Act. (Loudermilk, R-GA, 3 pages). This bill provides regulatory relief to charitable organizations that provide housing assistance both in the wake of natural disasters and to individuals and families who have suffered other economic duress. The main purpose of the bill is to relieve such charitable organizations from the regulatory burdens placed on contractors who build multi-unit Section 8 housing that is leased to the government for profit. The bill passed the House of Representatives under a suspension of the regular rules of order and has been forwarded to the Senate for consideration.
HR 6323 National Senior Investor Initiative Act of 2018. (Gottheimer, D-NJ, 7 pages). This bill would fund the creation of an interdivisional taskforce at the Securities Exchange Commission for senior investors. The specific duties of the taskforce include: identifying problems that senior investors have with financial service providers and investment products; identifying areas in which senior investors would benefit from changes in the regulations of the Commission or the rules of self-regulatory organizations; coordinate, as appropriate, with other offices within the Commission, other taskforces that may be established within the Commission, and self-regulatory organizations, and; consult, as appropriate, with State securities and law enforcement authorities, State insurance regulators, and other Federal agencies. This bill is one of several written for the sponsoring representatives and includes: HR 6320, HR 6321, HR 6322, and HR 6324. [At first blush, looking at HR 6323, we might be left to wonder whatever happened to personal responsibility and why only “senior” investors are covered under this bill, but on examining the companion bills, one finds the underlying motive for these bills are to disrupt the House of Representatives for the purpose of stalling the passage of other bills. – Editor]
HR 1376 Electronic Message Preservation Act of 2017. (Cummings, D-MD, 9 pages). This bill amends Title 44, US Code, to require the preservation of certain electronic records by Federal agencies, to require a certification and reports relating to Presidential records, and for other purposes. HR 1376 was passed by the House of Representatives on 17 July, and has been forwarded to the Senate for consideration. [It should be obvious that Congressman Cummings agenda is to find ways to disrupt, and call into question, the activities of the Trump administration but his proposed bill has two major flaws: 1.There will be significantly less communication in the way of electronic messaging. 2. This rule will impact all future administrations making “witch hunts” a standard operating procedure hence forth. See also HR 4631 Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act. (Quigley, D-IL, 12 pages). – Editor]
HR 5415 GAO IG Act (Walker, R-NC, 4 pages). This bill requires agencies of the Federal government to submit reports on outstanding recommendations in their annual budget justifications submitted to Congress. It was passed by voice vote under a suspension of the rules on 16 July, and forwarded to the Senate for consideration.
HR 5846 Promoting Flood Risk Mitigation Act. (Blumenauer, D-OR, 8 pages). This bill requires the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study examining the buyout practices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes. According to the implications of Representative Blumenauer’s bill, the Federal government would buy out properties damaged by flooding of those who have been deemed “covered” by the National Flood Insurance Program. The implication in the language presented indicates the Federal government would pay full market value of covered properties before they were damaged by flooding. In essence, persons who knowingly improve properties (and those lending institutions who financed such improvements) that are situated within flood planes are, by this bill, relieved of any financial responsibility for having made a poor choice while the rest of the taxpayers are made to suffer the consequences of their poor choice. HR 5846 was passed by the House of Representatives on 16 July, and was forwarded to the Senate for consideration. A companion bill, HR 3906, a bill directing the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a storm water infrastructure funding task force was passed on the same date.
HR 4819 Delta Act. (Fortenberry, R-NE, 8 pages). Otherwise known as the “Defending Economic Livelihoods and Threatened Animals Act;” this bill promotes “inclusive economic growth through conservation and biodiversity programs that facilitate transboundary cooperation, improve natural resource management, and build local capacity to protect threatened wildlife species in the greater Okavango River Basin of southern Africa.” In essence, this bill would provide funding to the governments of Angola, Botswana, and Namibia, in hopes they would reduce the amount of elephant poaching routinely occurring in their countries. It should be noted that elephant poachers normally pay these governments a fee for the privilege of poaching elephants. This bill was passed in the House of Representatives on 17 July and has been forwarded to the Senate for consideration. [In 2013, the U.S. gave $287 million, $108 million, and $261 million to Angola, Botswana, and Namibia, respectively. In Section 6 (c) of the text of this bill it remains unclear as to whether the funding for the DELTA Act would be taken from foreign aid already given to these same countries or whether it would require more in the way of foreign aid to these countries that have not proven themselves to be good stewards of the money we send them, much less our allies. – Editor]
HR 5105 BUILD Act of 2018. (Yoho, R-FL, 88 pages). This bill establishes the United States International Development Finance Corporation which enables domestic investors to finance projects in other countries while being relieved of paying taxes on those monies utilized by those investments. It also offers protection to those investors should their investments be threatened by civil disturbances or military action. This bill passed in the House of Representatives on 17 July and was forwarded to the Senate for consideration.
HR 559 MERIT Act of 2017. (Loudermilk, R-GA, 5 pages). This bill was ordered reported on 17 July, the bill would amend Title 5, US Code, to provide an alternative removal of Federal employees as based on poor performance or misconduct. [This bill is an effort to rid taxpayers of the obligation to employ members of the “Deep State.” Those in agreement with this proposal may contact their elected representatives to encourage them to support this legislation. – Editor]
HR 5300 Federal Information Safeguards Act of 2018. (Palmer, R-AL, 2 pages). This bill provides agencies with discretion in securing information technology and information systems. This bill would negate the right of any Federal agency’s refusal to provide Congress with information sought during the course of investigations into the activities conducted by any Federal agency on the basis of collective bargaining arrangements, memorandum of agreement, or any other cause pursuant to Chapter 71 of Title 5, US Code, or; agreements negotiated under Section 7106 (b), or any other section of Chapter 71, Title 5, US Code. The bill was introduced in response to recent refusals by the FBI to provide Congress with information subpoenaed.
HR 1689 Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2017. (Sensenbrenner, R-WI, 17 pages). This bill prohibits any State or political subdivision of a State from claiming private property under its power of eminent domain, or allowing the exercise of such power by any person or entity to which such power has been delegated, over property to be used for economic development or over property that is used for economic development within 7 years after that exercise, if that State or political subdivision receives Federal economic development funds during any fiscal year in which the property is so used or intended to be used.
HR 6199 Restoring Access to Medication Act of 2018. (Jenkins, KS-R, 6 pages). This bill may be considered as a significant blow to the prescription pharmaceutical industry in that it allows taxpayers to claim certain over-the-counter medications as expense items against their Federal taxes. This bill replaces two previously failed efforts (HR 5842 and HR 2835), to accomplish the same primary goal.
HR 6311 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1989 and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [0bamacare] to modify the definition of “qualified healthcare plan” for purposes of the health insurance premium tax credit and to allow individuals purchasing health insurance in the individual market to purchase a lower premium “copper” plan. (Roskam, IL-R, 9 pages). The gist of this bill is presented in its title and is a bill that enables individuals to opt out of the more expensive 0bamacare plans; unfortunately, the Republicans still have not passed meaningful legislation to repeal and replace 0bamacare.
HR 6124 Tribal Social Security Fairness Act of 2018. (Reichert, WA-R, 8 pages). This bill amends Title II of the Social Security Act to authorize voluntary agreements for coverage of Indian tribal council members. In other words, Mr. Reichert’s bill provided a mechanism to give Social Security benefits to people who have not paid anything into a Social Security Account.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Politics is a crude business. A man is sure to find out who his friends are but mostly he finds out who his friends are not! – Davy Crockett.
EDITORIAL
The topic of many conversations among Republicans has to do with a threat our liberal friends are calling “The Blue Wave.” The Democrats are claiming this phenomenon is a rebuttal to the 2016 election cycle wherein the Republicans took the White House and many other elected offices throughout America. The Democrats believe their “Hate Trump” campaign have put them in a position to regain their lost power and, in effect, to neutralize the Trump agenda embodied in the “Make America Great Again” movement. Since the Democrats can’t seem to offer up any ideas of their own to make America great again they are resorting to the meme that America was never great to begin with and, so it seems once again, hate is the only arrow in their quiver.
That said, given that unique ability of those who run the Republican Party to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, one might give some credence to that Blue Wave the Democrats are talking about but, as it turns out, our liberal friends have some issues of their own! They are fielding candidates who are openly communists, socialists, and pro-Sharia Muslims – all of whom have a political philosophy that runs contrary to everything that has made the United States the greatest country to ever exist on planet Earth.
We are wise to mention at every opportunity that the leaders of the DNC, as well as their chief agitators are defaming police departments, churches and synagogues, our military, our border patrol and ICE agents screaming these institutions should be outlawed and their personnel be imprisoned. One has only to listen to the anti-American verbiage spewing from the mouths of people like Elizabeth Warren, Keith Ellison, Chuck Schumer, Eric Swalwell, Adam Schiff, and the latest arrival in the person of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (who leads the Democratic Socialist Party of New York), to understand the Democrats may just have themselves a problem whether the know it or not.
The fact is, the Democrats have been infiltrated by far-left, anti-American hate groups and the marching orders given to their useful idiots urges them to disagree simply for the sake of disagreeing. Fortunately, there remains a few folks on the left who still do think for themselves but one wonders whether their numbers are sufficient enough to restore anything resembling sanity in their party.
Of course, this rapidly growing ultra-left faction of the Democrat problem only becomes a problem to the Democrats if Republicans capitalize on it! But, therein, lies the rub. Do “We the (rational) People” possess enough energy to capitalize on what has been given to us?
Fortunately, for those of us who gather under the Republican banner, we are realizing that many people who once proudly aligned themselves with the Democrats have also become concerned with the way their (dare we say “former”) party is headed, and those liberal-minded folk who once voted for the party of the jackass are walking away. Hence, the movement we are hearing about called the #Walk Away movement has arrived. The #Walk Away movement, which now boasts of more than 100,000 members on Facebook, and is growing every day, reminds us of a saying we all know by rote: Nature abhors a vacuum.
Think, if you will, of a beautiful, ripe, plum hanging low on a tree. All one needs to do to claim it as their own is to reach out and pluck it.
The fact is, every last one of those souls adrift who have taken refuge in the “#Walk Away” movement are folks crying out in desperate need of new political allies – they are seeking good people who will invite them into the fold and lead them into the light of our campfires. Their new friends could well become the Republican Party!
Yes, they are different than we are and they have some strange ideas, after all; most of them have been liberals for the greater part of their lives and they’ve been deluded by those who made promises they never intended to keep! But, with patience and understanding and a willingness to listen to their concerns in order to help them learn that conservative values are their best and greatest hope for their future happiness and opportunity, we can show them a better way . . . if only we will reach out.
To learn more about the #WalkAway movement, visit these links: https://townhall.com/columnists/erichreimer/2018/07/09/the-walkaway-movement-is-taking-america-by-storm-n2498426
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiVQ8vrGA_8
LAGNIAPPE
When reading about the legislative activities of our representatives in Congress, one of the more challenging aspects is overcoming the language barrier. In the following series of articles several terms relating to various works will be defined and discussed.
House Resolutions (abbreviated as “H. Res” and not to be confused with “H.R.” which is used to designate a bill from the House of Representatives), are generally best described as “trial balloons” to assess the opinions of either chamber of Congress and statements offering the opinions of the sponsors of such. The Senate also engages in the presentation of such statements and those are called “Senate Resolutions,” abbreviated as “S. Res.”
Even when agreed upon, resolutions do NOT have the force of law and they do NOT have to be agreed upon by BOTH Houses of Congress. Following are some examples of how House Resolutions are used:
Mark Meadows (R-NC) introduced H. Res. 970, a four-page Resolution entitled Insisting that the Department of Justice fully comply with the requests, including subpoenas, of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the subpoena issued by the Committee on the Judiciary relating to potential violations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act by personnel of the Department of Justice, and related matters.
Often Resolutions are used to either temporarily or permanently change a particular chamber’s rules of order or to express that chambers recognition of, appreciation for, or disagreement with any particular person(s), achievement, or circumstance, respectively.
A resolution recently introduced by Karen Bass (D-CA) that expresses Congress’ disagreement with a condition is H. Res. 644, 5 pages in length, and entitled Strongly condemning the slave auctions of migrants and refugees in Libya, and for other purposes. This resolution is merely intended to speak against an action undertaken in a foreign government but makes us aware of a condition we should decry.
Sometimes resolutions are used to raise awareness of, or assess potential support for, legislation that is in the draft process; an example could well be H. Res. 983. (Cheney, R-WY, 4 pages). Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Nation now faces a more complex and grave set of threats than at any time since WWII and that the continued use of Continuing Resolutions to fund defense-related activities puts service men and service women at risk, harms national security, and aids the adversaries of the United States.
It is not unusual to see more than one resolution on a given topic raised simultaneously with another; an example of this strategy is that Liz Cheney’s H. Res. 983 was closely followed by H. Res. 984. (Taylor, R-VA, 2 pages). Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the use of continuing resolutions to fund defense-related activities erodes military readiness and poses an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.
Most recently, H Res. 990, Supporting the officers and personnel who carry out the important mission of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement was introduced by numerous Republicans. This Resolution was in response to numerous Democrats who have recently advocated for the elimination of ICE and thus was a challenge to the Democrats to get them on record for their numerous egregious remarks against that agency. The resolution, which required a 2/3 vote by the Members passed but many of those Democrats who had advocated for the elimination of ICE evaded going on record by voting “Present.” The vote results were as follows: “Yea” – 226 Republicans and 18 Democrats, “Nay” 34 Democrats and 1 Republican (Justin Amash was the only Republican to cast a “Nay” vote!) 133 Democrats and 0 Republicans voted “Present.” 8 Republicans (including Diane Black and Marsha Blackburn), and 8 Democrats did not vote.
NOTE: House Concurrent Resolutions and Senate Concurrent Resolutions – “H.Con.Res” and “S.Con.Res.”, respectively– are legislative measures adopted by both houses and the “H” or “S” indicates whether they originated in the House of Representatives or Senate. As with House and Senate Resolutions, these measures do not carry the force of law, they are intended to express ideas or opinions of a majority of the Members of the House and Senate.
CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES
| President Donald Trump
The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington D.C. 20500 Phone: (202) 456-1414 Fax: (202) 456-2461 |
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 40 – Suite 2 Washington D.C. 20510 Phone: (202) 244-4944 Fax: (202) 228-3398 http://www.alexander.senate.gov http://alexander.senate.gov/contact.cfm
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| U.S. Senator Bob Corker
Dirksen Senate Office Building SD-185 Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-3344 Fax: (202) 228-0566 http://corker.senate.gov/contact.cfm
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U.S Representative Dr. Scott DesJarlais
2301 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-6831 Fax: (202) 226-5172
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| Governor Bill Haslam
Tennessee State Capitol Nashville, Tennessee 37243 Phone: (615) 741-2001 Fax: (615) 532-9711 http://www.state.tn.us/governor
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Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House
https://www.speaker.gov/contact Link above provides all methods of contact.
Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact
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| State Representative Ron Travis
301 Sixth Avenue North Suite G-3 War Memorial Building Nashville, Tennessee 37243 Phone: (615) 741-1450
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State Senator Ken Yager
301 Sixth Avenue North Suite G-19 War Memorial Building Nashville, Tennessee 37243 Phone: (615) 741-1449 Fax: (615) 253-0237
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