Boehner tries to assure caucus he'll require majority GOP vote on immigration
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Speaker John Boehner privately tried to assure conservatives in a closed-door meeting Tuesday that he wouldn’t advance an immigration bill through the House without the support of the majority of Republicans. Boehner acknowledged that he has violated this principle — called the Hastert rule — before, but only when there is “zero leverage,” or a bad alternative, such as on the fiscal cliff and hurricane relief. “Let me be clear,” Boehner said, according to a source in the closed GOP meeting, “Immigration is not one of these scenarios. We have plenty of leverage. And I have no intention of putting a bill on the floor that will violate the principles of our majority and divide our conference. One of our principles is border security. I have no intention of putting a bill on the floor that the people in this room do not believe secures our borders. It’s not gonna happen.” He repeated his comments afterwards, at a news conference. But asked if he would require majority Republican support on a bill that came out of a formal negotiation with the senate, Boehner said “we’ll see when we get there.” [There are so many escape routes in that “assurance,” it’s no assurance at all.]
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| Politico: John Boehner to require majority GOP support on immigration
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You choose Ralph's top story for the day. Tell Ralph what you want him to talk about by casting your vote for a story below.
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Boehner tries to assure caucus he'll require majority GOP vote on immigration
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Speaker John Boehner privately tried to assure conservatives in a closed-door meeting Tuesday that he wouldn’t advance an immigration bill through the House without the support of the majority of Republicans. Boehner acknowledged that he has violated this principle — called the Hastert rule — before, but only when there is “zero leverage,” or a bad alternative, such as on the fiscal cliff and hurricane relief. “Let me be clear,” Boehner said, according to a source in the closed GOP meeting, “Immigration is not one of these scenarios. We have plenty of leverage. And I have no intention of putting a bill on the floor that will violate the principles of our majority and divide our conference. One of our principles is border security. I have no intention of putting a bill on the floor that the people in this room do not believe secures our borders. It’s not gonna happen.” He repeated his comments afterwards, at a news conference. But asked if he would require majority Republican support on a bill that came out of a formal negotiation with the senate, Boehner said “we’ll see when we get there.” [There are so many escape routes in that “assurance,” it’s no assurance at all.]
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| Politico: John Boehner to require majority GOP support on immigration
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CBO projects immigration will would reduce deficits
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A sweeping effort to rewrite the nation's immigration laws would shrink federal deficits over the next two decades, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday in a report requested to help win Republican support for the measure. CBO projects the legislation would save $175 billion over a decade by prompting a labor-force expansion that boosts U.S. income- and payroll-tax collections. In the following decade, the legislation would decrease federal budget deficits by as much as $670 billion, the CBO said. CBO estimated the nation's inflation-adjusted gross domestic product would be 3.3% higher in 2023 and 5.4% higher in 2033 than it would be without the immigration overhaul. The CBO said the bill would increase government spending for refundable tax credits, such as the earned income tax credit and child tax credit, and health insurance subsidies. But it said the spending would be more than offset by new revenue from a larger labor in tax payments, according to the CBO projection. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), a leading opponent of the bill, said its authors used "scoring gimmicks...to conceal its true cost" from taxpayers and the CBO. Sessions said that while many illegal immigrants would be barred from receiving health-care benefits for at least 10 years, they would become eligible in later years. Sessions also said the CBO didn't provide enough information to explain why illegal immigrants who gain legal status under the bill would pay more to the government than they receive in welfare payments or in entitlements, such as Medicare. The CBO projection conflicts with a Heritage Foundation study that projected the long term (75 year) cost of the immigration bill to be $6 trillion.
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| Wall Street Journal: CBO: Senate Immigration Bill to Save $175 Billion
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Senate rejects border fence amendment.
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Senators on Tuesday rejected building the 700 miles of double-tier border fencing Congress authorized just seven years ago, with a majority of the Senate saying they didn’t want to delay granting illegal immigrants legal status while the fence was being built. The 54-39 vote to reject the fence shows the core of the immigration deal is holding. The vote broke mostly along party lines, though five Republicans, including Sen. Marco Rubio and the rest of the bill’s authors, voted against the fence, and two Democrats voted for it. South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune proposed the border fence amendment, which would have prevented the administration from granting any illegal immigrants legal status under the bill until at least 350 miles of double-tier fencing has been erected, and would withhold full citizenship rights until 700 total miles have been built. The border fence vote was one of several key showdowns expected as the Senate works on its immigration bill, which grants most of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. a path to citizenship. The 2006 vote to build the fence came back to haunt some of its supporters, including Obama, who was in the Senate at the time. He was harshly criticized by immigrant-rights advocates back home in Illinois, who said they felt betrayed by the vote. A year after that 2006 vote, however, Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison wrote legislation giving the Homeland Security Department the option to build less fencing. Homeland security officials say they are comfortable with the amount and mix of fencing they have now.
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| Washington Times: Senate rejects border fence
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House committee passes illegal alien enforcement bill
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A House committee has approved a tough, enforcement-focused immigration bill that would boost criminal penalties against anyone in the U.S. illegally. The House Judiciary Committee voted 20-15 Tuesday night to support the legislation, which would make it a federal crime to be in the country illegally, instead of a civil offense. It would also empower state and local officials to enforce federal immigration laws. Democrats denounced the bill as “dangerous and disappointing,” and protesters shouted "Shame, shame!" as the committee began its consideration of the bill earlier Tuesday. As the Senate considers a comprehensive immigration bill, the House is considering (among other things) passing some smaller bills targeting specific immigration problems. The enforcement bill was sponsored by Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina.
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| Fox News: House panel passes tough enforcement-focused immigration bill
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NSA, FBI defend NSA programs
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The director of the National Security Agency on Tuesday mounted his most vigorous defense of two controversial data-surveillance programs, saying they helped thwart more than 50 terror plots and contending the agency might have been able to prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks had it had such capabilities. Testifying before a mostly receptive House Intelligence Committee, Gen. Keith Alexander, flanked by four other top government officials, said the programs have helped the U.S. stave off another major attack on its soil. He and his colleagues disclosed two new examples of known terrorist plots they said were disrupted by the programs, including a planned attack on the New York Stock Exchange. The precise value of these programs in thwarting the 50 attacks identified by Gen. Alexander remains unclear. Later in the hearing, he said the ability to review phone records played a key role in about 10 of those cases, with the ability to track Internet communications from foreigners abroad—an NSA program more in line with its traditional mission—proving critical in about half of the 50 cases. Sean Joyce, deputy director of the FBI, described two newly disclosed examples of how the programs helped foil attacks, including one instance in which the FBI was able to detect and disrupt a nascent plot to bomb the NYSE and arrest the individuals on lesser charges. The second example concerned a 2007 terrorism-financing case involving the al Qaeda offshoot in Somalia. Earlier, officials had said the programs had helped thwart a 2009 New York subway bombing plot and another plot that year against a Danish newspaper. Critics of the agency's programs said the hearing failed to adequately probe them. "This hearing isn't a fact-finding mission, it's a PR stunt," said Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. "It's clear that leadership of the intelligence committees consider themselves part of the intelligence community, not an independent body tasked with its oversight."
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| Wall Street Journal: Officials Amp Up Spying Defense
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U.S. to begin peace talks with Taliban
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Representatives from the United States and the Taliban will engage in Afghanistan peace talks Thursday in an office that has opened in Qatar, senior U.S. administration officials say. The Taliban’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that the group opposes the use of Afghan soil to threaten other countries and supports the negotiating process. Afghan President Hamid Karzai's High Peace Council is expected to follow up with its own talks a few days later. State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said during a press briefing Tuesday "You know, these statements represent an important first step towards reconciliation, the outcome of which must be that the Taliban and other insurgent groups break ties with Al Qaeda and violence and accept Afghanistan's constitution including its protections for women and minorities." The announcements came on the day that Afghan forces took the lead from the U.S.-led NATO coalition for security nationwide, marking a turning point for American and NATO military forces, which will now move entirely into a supporting role. It also opens the way for the full withdrawal of most foreign troops in 18 months.
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| Fox News: US, Taliban to hold Afghanistan peace talks in Qatar office this week, officials say
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House votes for 20-week abortion limit
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The Republican-led House voted Tuesday to impose new limits on abortion. The vote, on the bill to ban abortions after the fetus is 20 weeks old, was 228-196, with 6 Democrats joining 222 Republicans in support. Six Republicans voted “no.” The bill is given no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate and faces a veto threat from the White House. The vote aligns the House with 11 states that have passed laws specifically restricting abortion 20 weeks after conception. Some have been challenged in court. The bill lays further groundwork for the ongoing legal battle that abortion foes hope will eventually result in forcing the Supreme Court to reconsider the 1973 Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, that made abortion legal. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in May struck down an Arizona law barring abortion 18 weeks after conception. Backers of the abortion legislation feel they have gained momentum from public outrage at the trial of Kermit Gosnell. The Philadelphia physician was recently convicted of murder for killing three babies with scissors after they were born alive at his clinic. But the GOP message was muddled last week when the lead sponsor, Rep. Trent Franks (R., Ariz.), opposed an amendment that would have exempted pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. Franks drew criticism when he suggested that the incidence of pregnancies resulting from rapes is "very low." GOP leaders tried to quell that controversy by adding exceptions for rape or incest in cases where victims reported the crime to police. And they selected Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.), to lead debate on the bill on the House floor, an honor that traditionally would have gone to Franks, the lead sponsor of the legislation.
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| Wall Street Journal: House Votes to Put New Limits on Abortions
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Obama family Africa trip to cost $100 million
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The Obama family vacation to Africa this month is projected to cost taxpayers as much as $100 million (the sum of the annual income of 2,000 median income households). Among the related costs will be fighter jets; hundreds of Secret Service agents; a Navy ship with a full trauma center; and military cargo planes to bring 56 vehicles including 14 limousines and three trucks loaded with sheets of bulletproof glass to cover the windows of the hotels where the first family will stay. The details were reported by The Washington Post, based on a confidential planning document. The president and first lady did save some the taxpayers some money by cancelling plans to go on a safari that would have included the additional expense of a sharp-shooting team, responsible for putting down a cheetah, lion or any other wild animal that became a threat. The news is naturally sparking criticism. “For the cost of this trip to Africa, you could have 1,350 weeks of White House tours,” Rep. George Holding, a North Carolina Republican, said last week. “It is no secret that we need to rein in government spending, and the Obama administration has regularly and repeatedly shown a lack of judgment for when and where to make cuts. … The American people have had enough of the frivolous and careless spending.”
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| Fox News: Costly Obama family trip to Africa under fire amid sequester cuts
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Dear Daughter, Dear government
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June 13, 2013 - Good parenting and good citizenship follow parallel paths for good reason. It's up to you to judge whether you would give this advice to your 16-year-old daughter and your government.
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Kentucky Linemen visit studio
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May 31st, 2013 - The Kentucky Linemen, another of the great volunteer performers who stepped forward on Armed Forces Day, come to the studio for a visit, and to debut a song for a cause that's near and dear to them. Enjoy the visit, the song, and visit emesarmy.org for more information on the girl who inspired the song.
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Tour the new Nashville USO lounge
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May 26, 2013 - Under the headline, everything old is new again, we finally have a USO lounge at the Nashville Airport. It opened just a few weeks ago.
The USO has been supporting American troops since 1941, an offspring of WWII. The goal has always been to bring a little happiness into the lives of active duty military men and women.
Sometimes, that’s in the form of live entertainment in the battle zone. Sometimes, it’s the only enlisted recreation lounge on an Army base, like it is at Ft. Campbell. Sometimes, it’s a comfortable place for a travelling soldier, sailor, marine, airman or coastee to take a load off, have a snack, watch some TV, play video games, use the Internet, or talk with his or her spouse.
The latter is what the USO Lounge at the Nashville Airport is, and it is dependent on public support for donations and volunteers.
After my Armed Forced Day concert (which I may try to make an official USO show next year), American Legion Post 88 and I donated the proceeds to the Nashville USO, and I shamelessly used the small $1,060 donation as leverage to get Ft. Camptell and Nashville USO Director Kari Burgess to give Gary Drennon, Tom Lacroix and me a tour of the new USO lounge. Gary is a past state commander of the American Legion. Tom is Post 88 commander.
While Gary and Tom visited with the volunteer on duty at the front desk, I got Kari to give me the tour.
If you would like to donate money, you can do that online at uso.org/donatenashville.
You can contact Kari about volunteering or making donations in kind at:
usoftcampbell@uso.org or phone 931-542-3078
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Meet the next famous 'Taylor'
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May 24, 2013 - One of the volunteer performers at my Armed Forces Day celebration, 17-year-old Taylor Bennett, and her parents, joins me in the studio. Here's one to keep an eye (and ear) on.
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Ralph Rant: Get to the 'top' of this
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May 22, 2013 - To preserve the Republic, Republicans in Congress cannot stop until they get, not "to the bottom of this," but "to the top of this."
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ABC Analyst: IRS decision goes close to Obama
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May 21, 2013 - ABC political analyst Trey Hardin talks about his blunt assestment of the origin of the IRS scandal. “I can say with a very strong degree of certainty that people very close to the president not only knew but authorized that,” said Hardin, and much more.
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Ralph's Steeplechase experience - part one
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May 13, 2013 - Here's the first of my two-part report on my first Steeplechase experience, and what may be the best steeplechase rase in the nation.
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Ralph's Steeplechase experience - part two
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May 13, 2013 - This report includes interviews with the track announcer, the veteranarian, a horse owner and the man in charge of logistics for the race.
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Opponents rise against BRT
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May 15, 2013 - In this premeditated Ralph Rant, I break the news of a new group that has formed to oppose Nashvill'e planned Bus Rapid Transit on West End Ave.
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Rick Williams, BRT opponent, speaks out
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May 15, 2013 - Rick Williams is a member of the steering committee for TNResponsibleTransit, the group opposing the planned Nashville Bus Rapid Transit on West End Avenue. You can reach him at TNResponsibleTransit@gmail.com. This is the group's debut media interview - in its new campaign to stop BRT.
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Tennessee Tea Party leaders respond to IRS scandal
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May 13, 2013 - Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party and Mark West, President of the Chattanooga Tea Party, respond to the IG report that busts the IRS for targeting Tea Party Groups for harassment in 2011, prior to the 2012 election.
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Legislative Townhall Meeting in Franklin - part 1
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April 27, 2013 - First half of the state legislative townhall meeting in Franklin with the Williamson County delegation - Sen. Jack Johnson, Rep. Charles Sargent, Rep. Glen Casada and Rep. Jeremy Durham.
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Legislative townhall meeting in Franklin - part 2
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April 27, 2013 - Second half of the legislative townhall meeting in Franklin, covering the 2013 legislative session with Sen. Jack Johnson, Rep. Charles Sargent, Rep. Glen Casada and Rep. Jeremy Durham.
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Sen. Rand Paul on guns, immigration, taxes
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April 18, 2013 - U.S. Sen. Rand Paul discusses the failed gun bill, the immigration reform bill ahead, and the right strategy on taxes.
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Leahy launches 'The Real Conservative National Committee'
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April 4, 2014 - Author, Breitbart correspondent and tea party activist Michal Patrick Leahy discusses a new organization formed to improve the ground game needed to help elect more conserative candidates to Congress, starting in 2014 with the GOP primary for U.S. Senate
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Corker sees positive signs in Obama outreach
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March 6, 2013 - Sen. Bob Corker discusses spending reforms on which Republicans and Obama might agree, and should, he says, be working on. Corker is one of a handful of Republicans to which the president has reached out with phone calls and dinner meetings to try to seek common ground on fiscal reforms.
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Ralph Rant - Woodward v. Obama
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March 4, 2013 - Anatomy of the sequester - the closing arguments in Woodward v. Obama.
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WEB EXCLUSIVE: EEOC Commissioner slams new guideline on criminal BG checks
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Feb. 23, 2012 - An EEOC commissioner levels damning charges against her fellow commissioners' action to issue updated guidelines that pose the threat of lawsuits against private businesses that conduct criminal background checks on employee prospects - even if state law demands it. This is a major challenge to the 10th Amendment by a seemingly rogue group of federal regulators.
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Duet: Fudge and Obama
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Jan. 22. 2013 - Enjoy (and share) this short montage featuring Rep. Marcia Fudge, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and President Barack Obama. Fudge was participating in a Washington University Panel discussion and Obama is delivering his 2nd inaugural address.
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Analysis: Obama's 2nd inaurugal
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Jan. 22, 2013 - Here's my analysis of President Obama's 2nd inaugural address. George Washington, he ain't. High marks for the poetry - the "music" if you will, but the message, the "lyrics" didn't match the music.
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PARODY ALERT - The future of Day to Pray
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Jan 17, 2013 - The inventor of the time machine offered me a ride to the future. I chose Jan. 17, 2060 to see what kind of world my grandchildren would be living in when they're my age. Please don't tell Mike Huckabee what I found.
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Sen. Jack Johnson suggests local control of wine in grocery stores
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Jan. 15, 2013 - Among other things, Sen. Jack Johnson of Franklin discusses a new wrinkle in the wine in grocery store debate. He also reacts to the news that a $125 million state investment in a solar company is in jeopardy.
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Rep. Carr announces 10th amendment caucus
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Jan. 15,2013 - Rep. Joe Carr discusses the 2nd amendment debate through a 10th amendment prism and announcec the formation of a 10th Amendment Caucus.
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Age highlights economic freedom
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Jan 12, 2013 - Things start happening to people in their late 50s and early 60s that are fairly remarkable. This premeditated Ralph Rant just might be the prologue to my (eventual) audio book.
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Sen. Jack Johnson opposes open meetings move
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Jan. 9, 2013 - State Sen. Jack Johnson (R-Williamson Co.) calls "foul" on a Democrat colleague over the question of the General Assembly exception to the Open Meetings law.
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Rep. Joe Carr opposes bill sponsor limit
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Jan. 9, 2013 - Rep. Joe Carr (R-Rutherford Co.) explains his opposition to the proposed 15-bill sponsor limit for House members.
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Attorney Ross Booher argues case for Charter School "state authorizer"
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Jan. 7, 2013 - Ross Booher, the attorney for a charter school who battled the Metro Nashville School Board, makes the case that the state would make a more objective judge of charter school applications.
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Bonfire anyone?
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Jan. 7, 2013 - In this premeditated Ralph Rant, I invite Tea Party groups to join me at a bonfire April 15th. Let's all pour some fuel on to the grassroots fire it will take to eliminate the corruption in the federal income tax system. Symbolically burn your own rewards to let Congress know we want them to eliminate deductions and credits - and lower rates accordingly.
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School Security Roundbatle
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Dec. 20, 2012 - This is the "raw" tape of the roundtable we broadcast in seven parts on Nashville's Morning News. (It's 38 minutes long, so it will take a while to load)
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Tennessee to consider Texas 'armed teacher' plan
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Dec. 18, 2012 - Rep. Joe Carr of Lascassas says he will pursue a plan in the next session of the general assembly to allow local school district to train and arm teachers if they so choose. Texas already does this, and at least one Texas district is taking advantage of the local control.
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New monster a 'committee' production
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Dec. 18, 2012 - There is a growing population of a new menace walking among us, and he may be a unique product of the "village" it supposedly takes to raise our children.
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Parents, wake up! Your children are killing your children
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Dec. 17, 2012 - The Connecticut massacre of first-graders turned up the spotlight on a relatively new menace unleashed on society, and regardless of who or what created it, only parents can stop it.
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Johson warns: Medicaid is going to expand
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Dec. 13, 2013 - State Sen. Jack Johnson warns Medicaid is going to expand in Tennessee, through the "woodwork effect" when Obamacare chases reluctanct people (alaready qualified) into the program - regardless of whether Gov. Haslam accepts the expansion of Medicaid prescribed by Obamacare. I sneak in some analysis of the legislature's posture on the issue.
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Sen. Jack Johnson opposes, but holds out final judgment on Medicaid expansion
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Dec. 12, 2012 - State Sen. Jack Johnson has all the reasons - including one no one else has discussed before - to turn down President Obama's "offer" to expand Medicaid, but he's leaving his powder dry in respect for Gov. Haslam's perceived predicament on the issue.
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Tennessee needs 10th Amendment Caucus
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Dec. 5, 2012 - Ralph challenges State Rep. Joe Carr to instigate a 10th Amendment Caucus in the legislature.
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Ralph Rant: Bipartisan gang attacks producers
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Dec. 14th, 2012 - This fiscal cliff negotiation may be the second worst performance in modern Republican history.
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Ralph Rant: Corker crowned King of means testing
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Nov. 30, 2012 - The headline pretty much speaks for itself.
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Medicaid expansion more than budget issue
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Nov. 1, 2012 - I respectfully disagree with Gov. Bill Haslam that the decision whether Tennessee should accept the expansion of Medicaid prescribed in Obamacare is "largely a budget issue."
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Alexander on coal regs - Round 2 |
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June 14, 2012 - Sen. Alexander returns to respond to some of the reaction to his stand on new coal plant regulations.
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Alexander defends coal regulations, says he will run again |
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June 13, 2012 - Sen. Lamar Alexander defends his stand in favor of new coal plant regulations - explains why he belives Medicaid is to blame for higher college tuition - and says he intends to run for reelection in 2014.
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Exclusive: The first hand account of "The Last Man to Die" |
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May 11, 2012 - A 92-year-old Cookeville, TN WWII veteran solves a 67-year secret behind one of the most famous WWII photographs.
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Click here to see view the albums in Ralph's photo gallery.
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 Ralph Bristol is a 30-year veteran of radio and TV broadcasting. He is a US Air Force veteran and holds a BS degree from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Ralph was a radio and TV reporter, anchor and news director in Missouri and Illinois before joining WORD Radio in Greenville/Spartanburg, SC in 1995.
In the spring of 2007, Supertalk 99.7 WWTN beckoned Ralph to Nashville. Ralph defies political labels, and has no partisan loyalties, but can best be described as a libertarian/conservative. Ralph writes and speaks extensively on education, tax and economic issues. In his spare time, Ralph terrorizes golf courses, invents useful things with sharp tools and dead wood, and entertains audiences with irreverent humor and contrarian insight. Invite him to speak to your group at your own risk. |
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