HOLLYWOOD
12-26-2013, 08:48 AM
All the USUAL SUSPECTS you expect; John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Karl Rove and his campaign money laundering Crossroads GPS & American Crossroads. Going to fund opponents against Tea Party-Conservative representatives AND Boehner to control Committee Chairman those with additional powers to the Fascist-Corporatist establishment Party. Department of Fascism aka Commerce, also to attack Conservatives and Tea Party members/candidates as they call it in this article, "Ron Paul Republicans"
The Imperial Empire has declared war on the people.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304753504579280084264850074
GOP, Business Recast Message
Republican Leaders, Allies Aim to Diminish Clout of Most-Conservative Activists
By Neil King Jr. and
Patrick O'Connor
Updated Dec. 25, 2013 9:37 p.m. ET
http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-BO513_GOP_G_20131225184504.jpg
Republican leaders and their corporate allies have launched an array of efforts aimed at diminishing the clout of the party's most conservative activists and promoting legislation instead of confrontation next year.
GOP House leaders are taking steps to impose discipline on wavering committee chairmen and tea-party factions. Meanwhile, major donors and advocacy groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Crossroads, are preparing an aggressive effort to groom and support more centrist Republican candidates for Congress in 2014's midterm elections.
At the same time, party leaders plan to push legislative proposals—including child tax credits and flextime for hourly workers—designed to build the party's appeal among working families.
The efforts, at the national and state levels, come at the end of a year of infighting and legislative brinkmanship, capped by the 16-day government shutdown in October that drove the party's image to historic lows.
One stark example of the new quest for discipline came this month, when Republican House Speaker John Boehner (http://topics.wsj.com/person/B/John-Boehner/6252) of Ohio publicly lashed conservative advocacy groups that had opposed a two-year budget compromise aimed at breaking the crisis-driven cycle that has governed Congress's budget-writing process.
At the same time, Mr. Boehner's deputies took steps behind the scenes to end internal dissent, including among GOP committee chairmen who had voted against the House leadership in prior fiscal battles. In the run-up to the budget vote, Mr. Boehner's deputies warned chairmen who were tempted to oppose the deal that doing so could jeopardize their committee posts, said people familiar with the discussions.
The goal was to reverse a trend in which chairmen, who typically earn their post by hewing to the party line, voted against priority legislation. Six chairmen had voted against an initial version of a farm bill earlier in the year, causing the legislation to collapse on the House floor, and 11 voted against the pact this fall to reopen the federal government and extend the country's borrowing authority into 2014.
Republican leaders in the House have employed similar tactics to enforce discipline with their rank-and-file. Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp, one of four Republicans to lose a committee assignment in 2012 for consistently voting against party priorities, said he recently approached GOP leaders about returning to the Agriculture Committee. In response, the Kansas Republican said one member of the leadership team made it clear "that until I voted the way they wanted me to vote, they were not going to put me back on the Ag Committee."
Mr. Boehner's spokesman, Michael Steel, said that "the speaker, and the entire leadership team, urged all House Republicans to support the agreement, which lowered the deficit without raising taxes."
Party leaders face two crucial tests with their rank-and-file: in mid-January when Congress considers a bill to keep the government running, and in the spring when Republicans weigh legislation to extend the country's borrowing limit, which most conservatives oppose on principle.
The debt-ceiling debate will play out against the backdrop of a series of Republican primaries set to start in early March. With those contests likely to shape the balance of power inside the party, outside groups say they plan to ramp up efforts to defeat tea-party-inspired congressional candidates.
[B]The U.S. Chamber of Commerce early next year plans to roll out an aggressive effort—expected to cost at least $50 million—to support establishment, business-friendly candidates in primaries and the general election, with an aim of trying to win a Republican Senate majority.
"Our No. 1 focus is to make sure, when it comes to the Senate, that we have no loser candidates," said the business group's top political strategist, Scott Reed. "That will be our mantra: No fools on our ticket."
GOP leaders hope a less restive Republican caucus will allow the House to pass a farm bill and push ahead on at least incremental overhauls of the immigration system. But conservatives groups, including Heritage Action, already promise to fight both initiatives.
The head of Heritage Action, which has encouraged conservative lawmakers to challenge GOP leaders on a number of fiscal measures, questioned the effectiveness of the drive by leading Republicans to impose greater discipline on conservative lawmakers and pledged to continue broadcasting the group's views to grass-roots activists.
"Lawmakers do not have a monopoly on information, and we will continue to communicate directly with their constituents on important legislation as it moves through Congress," said Michael Needham, chief executive of Heritage Action, the political arm of the Heritage Foundation think tank. He said that most lawmakers "will find it difficult to go back home and defend votes that increase spending, increase deficits and undermine the rule of law."
The quest for order has seeped into the party's rule-making for the next presidential nominating contest. Bruised by the messiness of the 2012 presidential primary elections, which sprawled across five months and more than 20 live TV debates, the Republican National Committee is laying plans for a far more regimented nominating process in 2016.
The aim, party officials say, is to whittle the contest down to less than four months, with an intricately organized series of initial contests and tough penalties for states that break the rules.
*******
The new regimen would start the primary calendar in February in four states, bar winner-take-all elections for the first half of March and wrap up in late April. It also would curtail the unruly and drawn-out party caucuses that have traditionally given a leg up to the grass-roots campaigns of candidates like former Rep. Ron Paul (http://topics.wsj.com/person/P/Ron-Paul/6588).
*******
Some GOP leaders are looking for a legislative agenda to unify the party. Majority Leader Eric Cantor (http://topics.wsj.com/person/C/Eric-Cantor/6639) of Virginia is working to rally House Republicans to support moves meant to appeal to middle-class Americans: modest proposals to lower health-care costs, make higher education more affordable and expand domestic energy production. His efforts also include a more controversial drive to revamp social-welfare programs, starting with food stamps.
"Working middle-class families are struggling to find a good-paying job, get ahead and keep more money in their pocket," Mr. Cantor said. "House Republicans will continue to offer conservative solutions that help create better conditions for them to succeed."
The other goal is to unite factions within the GOP. Focus groups conducted by YG Network, a nonprofit founded by former Cantor aides, suggest conservatives and centrists alike are drawn to many of the pocketbook issues addressed by this agenda.
Any legislation to emerge from these talks would be little more than a footnote to the Republicans' yearslong drive to dismantle the 2010 health law, but the bills represent the most concrete steps GOP lawmakers have taken to address voters' concerns since last year's election.
No Republican lawmaker in Washington has undergone a starker turnaround on this front than Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a close ally of Sen. Ted Cruz (http://topics.wsj.com/person/C/Ted-Cruz/7753) of Texas in the fight to hamper Mr. Obama's health-care law, which sparked the October government shutdown. Mr. Lee is now calling for the GOP to embrace a positive policy agenda.
"There is a hole within the Republican Party that is exactly the size and shape of a conservative reform agenda," Mr. Lee said in an interview. He said the GOP hadn't updated its policy prescriptions since Ronald Reagan won the White House in 1980.
In a speech this month to a conservative women's group, Mr. Lee said Republicans "have to avoid getting caught in the loop of perpetual 'no.' Our 'yes' button has to work."
Mr. Lee and his allies argue the GOP must move beyond its traditional economic agenda—built around spending cuts, corporate deregulation and income-tax reductions—that has failed to resonate among enough voters to win national elections.
The senator has introduced bills since October to expand the number of institutions that can grant college credits, shorten the sentences of nonviolent criminals and rewrite the tax code to shift tax benefits from the wealthy to working families with children. But even these small-bore proposals have faced resistance. House conservatives forced Mr. Cantor to shelve an early centerpiece of his "Making Life Work" agenda—a bill to expand insurance pools for high-risk individuals.
Some bills that have passed, like one to provide more flexible work schedules for hourly wage-earners, have yet to advance in the Senate. But in a sign of potential progress, the House passed the most recent installment—legislation redirecting federal dollars to pediatrics research—by an overwhelming margin. All but one Republican supported it.
Write to Neil King Jr. at neil.king@wsj.com
The Imperial Empire has declared war on the people.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304753504579280084264850074
GOP, Business Recast Message
Republican Leaders, Allies Aim to Diminish Clout of Most-Conservative Activists
By Neil King Jr. and
Patrick O'Connor
Updated Dec. 25, 2013 9:37 p.m. ET
http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-BO513_GOP_G_20131225184504.jpg
Republican leaders and their corporate allies have launched an array of efforts aimed at diminishing the clout of the party's most conservative activists and promoting legislation instead of confrontation next year.
GOP House leaders are taking steps to impose discipline on wavering committee chairmen and tea-party factions. Meanwhile, major donors and advocacy groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Crossroads, are preparing an aggressive effort to groom and support more centrist Republican candidates for Congress in 2014's midterm elections.
At the same time, party leaders plan to push legislative proposals—including child tax credits and flextime for hourly workers—designed to build the party's appeal among working families.
The efforts, at the national and state levels, come at the end of a year of infighting and legislative brinkmanship, capped by the 16-day government shutdown in October that drove the party's image to historic lows.
One stark example of the new quest for discipline came this month, when Republican House Speaker John Boehner (http://topics.wsj.com/person/B/John-Boehner/6252) of Ohio publicly lashed conservative advocacy groups that had opposed a two-year budget compromise aimed at breaking the crisis-driven cycle that has governed Congress's budget-writing process.
At the same time, Mr. Boehner's deputies took steps behind the scenes to end internal dissent, including among GOP committee chairmen who had voted against the House leadership in prior fiscal battles. In the run-up to the budget vote, Mr. Boehner's deputies warned chairmen who were tempted to oppose the deal that doing so could jeopardize their committee posts, said people familiar with the discussions.
The goal was to reverse a trend in which chairmen, who typically earn their post by hewing to the party line, voted against priority legislation. Six chairmen had voted against an initial version of a farm bill earlier in the year, causing the legislation to collapse on the House floor, and 11 voted against the pact this fall to reopen the federal government and extend the country's borrowing authority into 2014.
Republican leaders in the House have employed similar tactics to enforce discipline with their rank-and-file. Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp, one of four Republicans to lose a committee assignment in 2012 for consistently voting against party priorities, said he recently approached GOP leaders about returning to the Agriculture Committee. In response, the Kansas Republican said one member of the leadership team made it clear "that until I voted the way they wanted me to vote, they were not going to put me back on the Ag Committee."
Mr. Boehner's spokesman, Michael Steel, said that "the speaker, and the entire leadership team, urged all House Republicans to support the agreement, which lowered the deficit without raising taxes."
Party leaders face two crucial tests with their rank-and-file: in mid-January when Congress considers a bill to keep the government running, and in the spring when Republicans weigh legislation to extend the country's borrowing limit, which most conservatives oppose on principle.
The debt-ceiling debate will play out against the backdrop of a series of Republican primaries set to start in early March. With those contests likely to shape the balance of power inside the party, outside groups say they plan to ramp up efforts to defeat tea-party-inspired congressional candidates.
[B]The U.S. Chamber of Commerce early next year plans to roll out an aggressive effort—expected to cost at least $50 million—to support establishment, business-friendly candidates in primaries and the general election, with an aim of trying to win a Republican Senate majority.
"Our No. 1 focus is to make sure, when it comes to the Senate, that we have no loser candidates," said the business group's top political strategist, Scott Reed. "That will be our mantra: No fools on our ticket."
GOP leaders hope a less restive Republican caucus will allow the House to pass a farm bill and push ahead on at least incremental overhauls of the immigration system. But conservatives groups, including Heritage Action, already promise to fight both initiatives.
The head of Heritage Action, which has encouraged conservative lawmakers to challenge GOP leaders on a number of fiscal measures, questioned the effectiveness of the drive by leading Republicans to impose greater discipline on conservative lawmakers and pledged to continue broadcasting the group's views to grass-roots activists.
"Lawmakers do not have a monopoly on information, and we will continue to communicate directly with their constituents on important legislation as it moves through Congress," said Michael Needham, chief executive of Heritage Action, the political arm of the Heritage Foundation think tank. He said that most lawmakers "will find it difficult to go back home and defend votes that increase spending, increase deficits and undermine the rule of law."
The quest for order has seeped into the party's rule-making for the next presidential nominating contest. Bruised by the messiness of the 2012 presidential primary elections, which sprawled across five months and more than 20 live TV debates, the Republican National Committee is laying plans for a far more regimented nominating process in 2016.
The aim, party officials say, is to whittle the contest down to less than four months, with an intricately organized series of initial contests and tough penalties for states that break the rules.
*******
The new regimen would start the primary calendar in February in four states, bar winner-take-all elections for the first half of March and wrap up in late April. It also would curtail the unruly and drawn-out party caucuses that have traditionally given a leg up to the grass-roots campaigns of candidates like former Rep. Ron Paul (http://topics.wsj.com/person/P/Ron-Paul/6588).
*******
Some GOP leaders are looking for a legislative agenda to unify the party. Majority Leader Eric Cantor (http://topics.wsj.com/person/C/Eric-Cantor/6639) of Virginia is working to rally House Republicans to support moves meant to appeal to middle-class Americans: modest proposals to lower health-care costs, make higher education more affordable and expand domestic energy production. His efforts also include a more controversial drive to revamp social-welfare programs, starting with food stamps.
"Working middle-class families are struggling to find a good-paying job, get ahead and keep more money in their pocket," Mr. Cantor said. "House Republicans will continue to offer conservative solutions that help create better conditions for them to succeed."
The other goal is to unite factions within the GOP. Focus groups conducted by YG Network, a nonprofit founded by former Cantor aides, suggest conservatives and centrists alike are drawn to many of the pocketbook issues addressed by this agenda.
Any legislation to emerge from these talks would be little more than a footnote to the Republicans' yearslong drive to dismantle the 2010 health law, but the bills represent the most concrete steps GOP lawmakers have taken to address voters' concerns since last year's election.
No Republican lawmaker in Washington has undergone a starker turnaround on this front than Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a close ally of Sen. Ted Cruz (http://topics.wsj.com/person/C/Ted-Cruz/7753) of Texas in the fight to hamper Mr. Obama's health-care law, which sparked the October government shutdown. Mr. Lee is now calling for the GOP to embrace a positive policy agenda.
"There is a hole within the Republican Party that is exactly the size and shape of a conservative reform agenda," Mr. Lee said in an interview. He said the GOP hadn't updated its policy prescriptions since Ronald Reagan won the White House in 1980.
In a speech this month to a conservative women's group, Mr. Lee said Republicans "have to avoid getting caught in the loop of perpetual 'no.' Our 'yes' button has to work."
Mr. Lee and his allies argue the GOP must move beyond its traditional economic agenda—built around spending cuts, corporate deregulation and income-tax reductions—that has failed to resonate among enough voters to win national elections.
The senator has introduced bills since October to expand the number of institutions that can grant college credits, shorten the sentences of nonviolent criminals and rewrite the tax code to shift tax benefits from the wealthy to working families with children. But even these small-bore proposals have faced resistance. House conservatives forced Mr. Cantor to shelve an early centerpiece of his "Making Life Work" agenda—a bill to expand insurance pools for high-risk individuals.
Some bills that have passed, like one to provide more flexible work schedules for hourly wage-earners, have yet to advance in the Senate. But in a sign of potential progress, the House passed the most recent installment—legislation redirecting federal dollars to pediatrics research—by an overwhelming margin. All but one Republican supported it.
Write to Neil King Jr. at neil.king@wsj.com