Things are getting heated in Washington as the Saturday (non)vote draws near. Congressman Pence took to the floor today to demand that if the Democrats have the votes for health care passage, then call the vote instead of changes the rules.
Is the Democrats (non)vote something new to the House? No, it’s not. In fact, it was used to pass the New Deal American’s first major entitlement program that still saddles our economy with massive debt and unfunded mandates. Republicans have also used the (non)vote option (mentioning just to be fair). But it wasn’t used to pass major legislation that poll after poll shows American’s don’t want.
This is a bill our country can’t afford now and not ever! It’s time to kill the bill!
(Video H/T – Hot Air Pundit)
Today, Governor Mitch Daniels wrote a letter to Indiana House members to reject Health Care legislation. See the Governor gets it and understands what it will do to our country and state!
I am proud of my congressman, Rep. Dan Burton (IN-5) for rejecting this as well as Rep. Mike Pence (IN-6), Rep. Mark Souder (IN-3) and Rep. Steve Buyer (IN-4). It is the others that need to listen and take heed! Reps. Carson, Hill, Ellsworth and Donnelly are you listening????
Here is the letter that Gov. Daniels sent to the members of the Indiana Delegation
Read more after the leap
The Indianapolis Tea Party
is calling all Hoosiers to rally & tell Congress to…
KILL the BILL!
Featured Speaker:
US Congressman MIKE PENCE
Join us at the Indiana Statehouse as we make a
LAST Stand Against
Government-Run Health Care!
Monday, March 15
4:30 PM
Indiana Statehouse–South Steps
200 W Washington Street
Indianapolis
Please bring signs, patriotic flags, & loud voices.
Today word came out that the House GOP Conference has just adopted a complete earmark ban for the rest of the year in order to curb spending and hold the Democrats accountable.
Here are what some members of the Republican Study Committee are saying, with two of them being a part of the Indiana Delegation.
Rep. Dan Burton (IN-5)
Because of the irresponsible spending and public outrage over largess in Congress, I have sworn to not request, and to vote against, earmarks since 2007. Until today, I was one of just thirty-two members of Congress to take that pledge. Today, with the entire conference of House Republicans adopting our ban on all earmarks, we have sent a clear message to the American people that we are serious about cutting spending, and serious about an ethical appropriations process in Congress
Rep. Mike Pence (IN-6)
No doubt earmarks are being talked about in a different way by the democratic majority. Democrats were cutting “backroom deals” to persuade reluctant House Democrats to vote for the president’s proposal, and said “the American people want us to change business as usual.
Rep. Eric Cantor (VA-7)
Democrats’ promises to clean up Washington politics “is being broken every day.”
Rep. John Boehner (OH-8)
For millions of Americans, the earmark process in Congress has become a symbol of a broken Washington, Today House Republicans took an important step toward showing the American people we’re serious about reform by adopting an immediate, unilateral ban on all earmarks.
You can read the full article here from The Daily Caller and here is the list of t the 32 members in the Republican Study Committee that signed unto this total earmark ban.
Read more after the leap
Congressman Pence was on fire today in his response to the President’s health care speech today. This is the most worked up I’ve seen Pence. He assails the president’s call for health care to be rammed through in the next two weeks and reiterates what poll after poll after poll and the election of Scott Brown have said. And that is American’s don’t want a government run health care system. But the health care line of the day comes from House GOP Leader, John Boehner said “You can’t add some Republican sprinkles on top of a 2,700 page bill and claim it’s bi-partisan”.
Don Bates, Jr. has completed his signature drive and plans to file soon. Rumor has it the Marlin Stutzman and John Hostettler campaigns aren’t far behind. And the bad blood between, mostly, Stutzman supporters and those collecting signatures for former Senator Dan Coats continues to burn white hot.
In the 4th CD the list of Republicans interested in replacing Steve Buyer continues to grow. According to Indiana Legislative Insight some of those names include:
- Former Purdue president Martin Jischke
- Rep. Tim Brown of Crawfordsville
- Hendricks County Commissioner Eric Wathen
- (As Abdul noted) Sen. Mike Young of Indianapolis, who also sought the seat, though unsuccessfully, in the post-redistricting primary in 2002
- Sen. Ron Alting of Lafayette
- Dave Heath the former Lafayette mayor
Currently, Secretary of State Todd Rokita and State Senator Brandt Hershman are the leading contenders, though Rokita, as of this writing, is the only one of the two who has filed.
In the 5th CD, backroom deals have been attempted to “thin the field”. According to Howey:
“Dr. John McGoff told HPI on Friday (Feb. 5th) that he had been offered an Indianapolis City-County Council seat to get out of the race. McGoff said he is committed to staying in the 5th CD race.”
This was done after fellow 5th CD challenger Luke Messer was quoted as saying “”The other guys have to look in the mirror and reach their own decisions. But we have to reach out. There’s no backroom way to get this done.” (emphasis mine)
In the 9th CD, Congressman Mike Pence will be endorsing Mike Sodrel this coming Saturday morning at the Clark County GOP headquarters. This comes after fellow 9th CD challenger Todd Young has racked up plenty of endorsements of his own from most of the statewide elected officials. Travis Hankins is also still making a run of it in the 9th.
Contentious primaries, all! And apparently, there could be more news today! So feel free to discuss your particular race of choice. Just keep things civil.
A message in the email bag from the Sodrel campaign:
A message from our good friend Mike Pence
I am pleased and honored to be in the Ninth Congressional District this Saturday with my good friend Mike Sodrel. I would be honored if you join us for a very important announcement at 10:45am at the Clark County GOP Headquarters in Jeffersonville (2946 E. 10th Street B5 behind the Jeffersonville License Branch).
Please also join us at 12:00pm noon afterward at The Grand in New Albany (138 East Market Street) for a luncheon. Please see the link below to RSVP or you may call the Sodrel office to RSVP for the luncheon event, the office number is 812-282-2002.
We are at a crucial time in our nation’s history. We need strong conservative leaders in Washington, D.C. House Republicans are fighting hard to keep our liberty intact and we need Mike Sodrel’s help.
Mike shares our conservative values and understands that we are engaged in the biggest fight for freedom and liberty that our country has seen in a long time. We need someone who can hit the ground running in the battle to preserve our Constitutional rights and conservative principles. Mike Sodrel has proven his ability to win the 9th District Congressional seat.
This year when Republicans will do well nationally, Sodrel will win again!
I need your help to stop the Obama-Pelosi-Reid one-party rule of our federal government. I need your help to elect Mike Sodrel back to Congress. Will you please join us on Saturday so I can talk to you about electing my good friend and patriot, Mike Sodrel?
The future of our country is at stake in this election.
Sincerely,
Congressman Mike Pence
He was in Iowa last year, and will speak at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in April.
Now, he’s going to New Hampshire.
From the Indy Star:
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, who has left the door open to running for president in 2012, is heading to New Hampshire next month as the keynote speaker for a GOP fundraising dinner.
It will be the Indiana Republican’s first trip to New Hampshire, the state that typically holds the first presidential primary.
“We feel that he’s somebody in politics who is an up-and-coming voice for the Republican Party,” said Steve Stepanek, chairman of the Hillsborough County Republican Committee, which is holding the dinner. “We want to make sure we give our constituents and members of our party the opportunity to meet and converse with all of the important candidates who are coming to New Hampshire.”
Pence, the third-ranking member of the House GOP leadership, has said he is focused for now on helping Republicans in the 2010 elections and will consider other possibilities after that.
The House Republicans are holding their annual policy summit this weekend in Baltimore, Maryland. Each side does it. The Democrats had theirs last week. The GOP decided to invite President Obama to attend so they have a question and answer session with him and open some dialogue between the White House and the House Minority. After the President’s less than gracious State of the Union address, Republicans were finally able to respond to some of the President’s allegations.
Many times House Republicans have heard that they haven’t offered any alternative legislation to bargain with when it came to health care, energy and the budget. Today, Mike Pence and the rest of the Republican leadership brought a neatly bound copy of every single bill that the GOP has offered in the House. This is the very same legislation that gets stuck in committee and never sees the light of day thanks the Democratic leadership in the House. Mike Pence presented a copy to the President and called him on the carpet for saying the Republicans haven’t offered any alternatives. Honestly, it was thing of beauty.
Then he followed it up with then gem of a presser.
And Congressman Pence is right. It was nice of President Obama to finally admit that Republicans have offered positive alternatives over the past year of his administration to every major legislative initiative considered in the Congress.
