Wednesday, February 24, 2016
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
No Hearings
We reported yesterday that Senator Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was holding firm in his opposition to hearings for any Obama nominee to the Supreme Court. In fact, Grassley invoked the so-called “Biden Rule.” (In 1992 then-Judiciary Committee chairman Senator Joe Biden warned President George H.W. Bush against making any nominations to the Supreme Court in the election year.)
Late yesterday afternoon, the Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee announced that they had unanimously agreed that there would be no hearings on any Obama nominees to the Supreme Court this year. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, they wrote:
“We wish to inform you of our intention to exercise our constitutional authority to withhold consent on any nominee to the Supreme Court submitted by this president to fill Justice Scalia’s vacancy. . . this committee will not hold hearings on any Supreme Court nominee until our next president is sworn in on January 20, 2017.”
House conservatives reportedly met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last night. Pressed by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan on whether the GOP Senate caucus would back down again as it has before, McConnell answered, “There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that’s gonna happen!”
Needless to say, the left is apoplectic. Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid blasted Chairman Charles Grassley as “inept.”
I am surprised to see Senate Republicans holding firm. While the president has a duty to name a replacement, the Senate is under no obligation to grant a hearing or to vote on that nominee.
Yes, Obama and his allies will holler about “obstructionism” but they would do that anyway. If the nominee got a hearing, the pressure to provide a vote would be enormous.
The stakes are simply too great. A line in the sand has been drawn. The American people will decide who replaces Justice Scalia in November.
TAKE ACTION: Here is a list of Judiciary Committee Republicans who signed the letter to Sen. McConnell. Please contact them at 202-224-3121, and thank them for taking such a strong stand at this most critical time.
Charles Grassley (IA)
Orrin Hatch (UT)
Jeff Sessions (AL)
Lindsey Graham (SC)
John Cornyn (TX)
Michael Lee (UT)
Ted Cruz (TX)
Jeff Flake (AZ)
David Vitter (LA)
David Perdue (GA)
Thom Tillis (NC)
Trump Runs The Table In Nevada
Donald Trump scored a “YUGE” win in the Nevada caucuses last night. He took 46%, followed by Marco Rubio (24%), Ted Cruz (21%), Ben Carson (5%) and John Kasich (4%).
Continuing the trend, turnout in the GOP caucuses set a new record, and was double that of 2012. Trump won more votes than Rubio and Cruz combined. In fact, Trump has received more primary votesat this point in the race than Mitt Romney and John McCain did in their respective campaigns.
According to various media surveys of caucus goers:
- 61% wanted the GOP nominee to be a political outsider. Trump won 70% of those voters.
- 58% were angry at the federal government.
- Evangelical turnout was significantly higher this year (39%) than it was in 2012 (28%) and 2008 (24%). Trump carried 40% of the evangelical vote.
- While Hispanics were a small part of the electorate, Trump carried 45% of Latino voters.
The GOP candidates will meet tomorrow night for a debate in Houston, Texas. After that, the primary race becomes a national competition as more than a dozen states are set to vote on Super Tuesday, March 1st.
Obama Letting Illegals Vote
If you need another example of why so many Americans are disgusted with the political system and are lining up to vote for a non-politician, consider this: The Obama Administration got smacked down Monday by a federal judge for attempting to let illegal immigrants vote. That somewhat oversimplifies the situation, but it is essentially what happened.
Several states are asking the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to help them enforce state laws requiring proof of citizenship when someone registers to vote. That seems only logical and fair. I suspect most Americans would be shocked to find out that it is not routine behavior.
Predictably, several left-wing groups rushed into federal court attempting to stop this effort.
Now when federal agencies like the EAC are dragged into court, it is standard practice for the Justice Department to defend the agency. But in this case, the Obama Administration sided with the left-wing groups, essentially giving a pass to illegal immigrants voting in U.S. elections.
Some may argue that this is a non-issue, but it is about to become a huge issue.
The left is pushing for universal voter registration. Last year, California and Oregon took the first steps by automatically registering everyone to vote when they get a driver’s license. Liberal politicians have introduced similar laws in a number of states. You can see where this is going.
California is among 12 states that allow illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses. Now they will be automatically registered to vote. (Oregon’s voter-approved ballot initiative banning driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants is being challenged in court — by illegal immigrants who shouldn’t be here!)
Back to Monday’s federal court case. . .
Not only did the Obama Administration refuse to defend the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the Justice Department sent a letter to the chairwoman of the EAC informing her that she could not even hire outside counsel to defend the EAC.
Judge Richard Leon was stunned and called the administration’s actions “unprecedented” and “extraordinary.” He told lawyers representing the various left-wing groups that there was “no chance at all — zero” that he would agree to the restraining order they were seeking to prevent the EAC from helping the states.
Judge Leon also ripped into the Justice Department’s attorneys and ordered them to present new arguments in two weeks.
It’s hard to see this case as anything but the left’s attempt to rig the elections. The best thing we can do to fight back, in addition to exposing this corruption, is to make sure all our friends and family members are registered to vote.
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