Tag Archives: Marsha Blackburn

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Do Republicans do anything about de-funding Planned Parenthood?

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Young pro-life women protest Planned Parenthood
Young pro-life women protest Planned Parenthood

I keep getting comments from people on the blog and on the blog’s Facebook page saying that Republicans never do anything about de-funding Planned Parenthood. Is that true? Or is this belief just held in ignorance by people who don’t follow legislation very closely? Let’s take a look at a vote that’s happening today in the Senate.

Life News reports:

The Senate will cast a vote on Monday to try to break the Democrat filibuster against a bill to stop infanticide.

As LifeNews reported, pro-abortion Senator Patty Murray blocked a vote on a bill from pro-life Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska that would stop infanticide nationwide. And in the House, Democrats have blocked a request by Republicans to vote on a bill that would stop infanticide a total of six times.

Earlier this month. Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse had wanted to vote on a bill to protect babies born alive after failed abortions.

The Senate vote would have come days after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law new legislation that allows abortions up to birth and after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam backed infanticide during a radio interview — saying that he’s perfectly content if doctors and parents discuss letting disabled babies die after birth.

Sasse asked of the Senate for unanimous consent to vote on legislation that would offer them appropriate Medical Care and treatment.

However, speaking on behalf of pro-abortion Senate Democrats, pro-abortion Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington State, stood up and objected to the vote.

The truth is, the House Republicans DID pass some pro-life legislation from 2016-2018. Some of it got signed into law, but most of it died in the Senate, because of the Democrats. 

Also, in the Senate, the new Senator from Tennessee (Marsha Blackburn) has already introduced a new piece of legislation designed to stop taxpayer-funding of abortion. The bill is sponsored by 25 other Republican senators.

Excerpt:

Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee introduced her first bill in the Senate. The proposed law, S. 105, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, is a counterpart to a similar bill introduced in the House of Representatives. The legislation seeks to deny funding to abortion organizations, including Planned Parenthood.

[…]”Today, I introduced my first bill in the United States Senate, S. 105, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which strips all abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, of federal funding,” she wrote. “Tennesseans and the American people do not want their tax dollars funding abortions. They have made this position clear time and again. Hardworking taxpayers do not want to subsidize the business of abortion providers and entities such as Planned Parenthood.”

The bill has not yet passed the Senate, which is the first step in making it law.

Meanwhile, at the state level, Tennessee Republicans are advancing a bill designed to ban all abortions after 6 weeks:

Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday to protect unborn babies from abortion once they have a detectable heartbeat.

State House Bill 77, sponsored by Rep. Micah Van Huss, would protect almost all unborn babies in Tennessee by prohibiting abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks. Exceptions would be allowed for medical emergencies. Violators could be charged with a felony and face up to 15 years in prison.

The state’s moderate Republican governor Bill Lee has already promised to sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

Meanwhile, President Trump is doing his part to defund Planned Parenthood as much as he can using administrative power.

Life News reports:

President Donald Trump today finalized an administrative rule that would partially defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business and deprive it of as much as $60 million in taxpayer dollars. This action adds to President Trump’s record of defunding the Planned Parenthood abortion company.

The abortion chain receives about $50 million to $60 million in Title X funds annually, but that could change now that the new rules are being implemented. The administration’s changes to Title X family planning grants have angered the abortion chain Planned Parenthood, prompting a lawsuit, but they provide hope for life-affirming pregnancy centers, which can now compete with the abortion giant for the federal funds.

There really isn’t any point in rank-and-file Republicans complaining about elected Republican legislators. They are doing their jobs of introducing legislation. Sometimes, the legislation passes. Sometimes it’s defeated. The outcome of these votes depends on whether we elect enough pro-life Republicans. Saying that “Republicans do nothing to stop abortion” is not only factually incorrect, but it is actually pro-abortion, because it discourages Republican voters from donating and working hard to be involved in the political process.

In my experience, people who say things like this are cynical losers who have failed at life. Their fatalistic pessimistic outlook makes them feel in control. They justify their inactivity by warning others not to try because the system is rigged. We should oppose these ignorant, conspiracy-minded losers whenever they open their mouths.

News

Today, your vote will make a difference in these 14 close Senate races

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Toss-up Senate races to be decided on Tuesday
Toss-up Senate races to be decided on Tuesday (Source: RCP)

I think it’s almost beyond dispute that the Republicans will lose the House of Representatives on Tuesday, but the Senate is still in the balance. Above is a list of the toss-up Senate races. If you are in one of these states then you really need to vote today.

Republican candidates (by state)

  • Arizona: Martha McSally
  • Florida: Rick Scott
  • Indiana: Mike Braun
  • Michigan: John James
  • Minnesota: Karin Housley
  • Missouri: Josh Hawley
  • Montana: Matt Rosendale
  • Nevada: Dean Heller
  • New Jersey: Bob Hugin
  • Ohio: Jim Renacci
  • Tennessee: Marsha Blackburn
  • Texas: Ted Cruz
  • West Virginia: Patrick Morrissey
  • Wisconsin: Leah Vukmir

When I look over this list, the names that really stand out to me are Ted Cruz and Marsha Blackburn – two conservatives with proven records on pretty much everything I care about. But there are also some interesting new candidates, especially John James. He’s in a tight race against Debbie Stabenow, a career politician.

John James is an Apache helicopter pilot and business owner
John James is an Apache helicopter pilot and business owner

Fox News talked about him a bit in an article about the 5 of the races where the underdog has a chance at defeating the entrenched incumbent:

Ahead of Election Day, Republican John James gained steam in his quest to unseat longtime incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow. The Michigan Democrat has held her seat since 2001 and led James by double digits last month — but recent polling reflects a tightening race.

Both an EPIC-MRA poll and a Mitchell Research & Communications poll from late October showed Stabenow in the lead by just 7 points. An Emerson poll had her up by 9 points. In comparison, an EPIC-MRA poll had Stabenow ahead by 23 points in September.

“John James is giving 43-year politician Debbie Stabenow the fight of her political life, and there’s zero question she’ll be running scared these final days,” Tori Sachs, James’ campaign manager, told Fox News in a statement.

Jake Davison, the editor of Inside Michigan Politics, told Fox News that James, an Army veteran, is “an absolute star” who has “the base really fired up.”

James has been endorsed by President Trump and multiple people in his administration have hit the campaign trail for the Republican candidate. The Ending Spending Action Fund super PAC, funded by GOP mega-donors, also launched a $1 million advertising campaign buy for James ahead of the election as strategists told Politico the race is closer than some may expect.

Fox News has ranked the race as likely Democrat.

If you’re in Michigan, you really need to make an effort to get this man elected on Tuesday. We rarely get rock star candidates like this, and we need to pull out all the stops to send him to the Senate.

Surprisingly, James isn’t the only pilot we’re running – we also have former squadron leader Martha McSally, who flew the A-10 Thunderbolt in combat. She’s running for Senate in Arizona. Her race is currently a toss-up, because her radically leftist opponent is pretending to be a Republican in spite of her hard-left record.

Patrick Morissey in West Virginia is also seeing a late surge against Joe Manchin, who voted against de-funding Planned Parenthood.

Why should you vote Republican?

Famous conservative Ben Shapiro, an orthodox Jew, listed 10 reasons why people should vote conservative, for Real Clear Politics.

His list:

  1. The Courts
  2. The Investigations
  3. Impeachment
  4. The Economy
  5. Foreign Policy
  6. Polarizing Culture Wars
  7. Attacks on Religious Liberty
  8. The Twisting Of Social Media
  9. The Democrat-Media Complex
  10. Mob Rule

The ones I care the most about are the courts and religious liberty. I do not want to be compelled by leftists (whose salaries I pay with my taxes) to act as if I am a secular leftist. I am not a secular leftist, and I want to be able to work and save without having to act like a secular leftist.

Let’s look at some of his points:

6. Polarizing Culture Wars. We’ve already seen the Democrats suggest that mob politics is the new normal. We’ve seen the Democrats capitalize on racial issues to polarize the country; we’ve seen them try to divide Americans by class and sex as well. With the platform of Congress, look for Democrats to attempt a series of divisive maneuvers intended to relaunch the culture wars in new and frightening ways.

8. The Twisting Of Social Media. Democrats have made a habit of threatening our biggest social media companies with investigations and regulations should they fail to crack down on conservative perspectives. Democrats, angry at Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss, blamed companies like Facebook for so-called “fake news,” and attributed Clinton’s utter incompetence to the impact of Russian bots. Democrats don’t believe any of that, but they’ve frightened social media companies into cracking down on free speech, as a leaked report from Google to Breitbart News showed this week. Social media companies are deeply afraid of Democrats punishing them for failing to target conservatives. Don’t be surprised if those social media companies escalate their efforts to do just that.

9. Radical Growth of the Democrat-Media Complex. We already know that the mainstream media institutions are dominated by Democratic supporters. And we know that those Democratic supporters will parrot any talking points the Democratic Party pushes. But with Democrats in power pushing every line of attack simultaneously, the media’s never-ending firehose of anti-Republican propaganda will merely widen the nozzle. If you’re worried about media bias now, wait until Democrats control the Congress and put President Trump in their sights.

10. Mob Rule. Democrats believe that they must lash out in anger in order to win in 2018. If they do win, they’ll double down on that anger, hoping it carries them to victory in 2020. Like the mobs invading the Senate and the steps of the Supreme Court? Enjoying top Democratic officials nodding and smiling at crowds harassing Republicans in restaurants? Get ready for much, much more. The only way to shut down the Democrats’ new mob rule strategy is to stop them cold at the ballot box.

Think about the way that things have been going in the culture. The secular left owns the public schools, higher education, Hollywood, hedge funds, the mainstream media, big government, the courts… they occupy all of the commanding heights of culture. If you think that they won’t use that power to coerce you, you’re mistaken. And you only have to look at what happens to Christians and conservatives in Europe, Canada and other countries where the left rules. Be sure that you take time to vote today, and share something on your wall to encourage everyone you know to vote as well.

News

Democrat Phil Bredesen’s staff say he is lying to Tennessee voters to appear moderate

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Conservative Marsha Blackburn is running for Senate in Tennessee
Conservative Marsha Blackburn is running for Senate in Tennessee

I hope everyone knows about James O’Keefe, and the excellent undercover videos that he makes for his Project Veritas operation. One of the most important Senate races in the country is the race to fill an open seat in Tennessee. Regular readers know that I am a huge admirer of Marsha Blackburn – a pro-life conservative. She is running against a far-left progressive named Phil Bredesen.

Here is the latest from Project Veritas:

Project Veritas Action Fund has released a second undercover video from campaigns during this 2018 election season. This report exposes Tennessee staffers from Phil Bredesen’s U.S. Senate campaign revealing his willingness to court moderate voters through deceit. This was especially evidenced by Bredesen’s recent statement suggesting he would, if he was already in the Senate, vote to confirm now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

[…]Maria Amalla and Will Stewart, staffers in Bredesen’s campaign, both say on hidden camera that if he were in the Senate, Bredesen would not actually have voted to confirm then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh. They explained that the statement Bredesen issued in support of Kavanaugh was a political ploy to gain the support of moderate voters in Tennessee.

JOURNALIST: “Like he wouldn’t really vote yes [for Kavanaugh,] would he?”

AMALLA: “No, it’s a political move… He thinks that like we’re down like half a point right now. It’s like really close and we’re losing by a point or two. So he thinks that if like by saying this he’s appealing to more moderate republicans and he’ll get more of them to vote for us.”

JOURNALIST: “I was so confused because I just can’t believe he would actually vote [for Kavanaugh.]”

STEWART: “He wouldn’t. But he’s saying he would… Which I don’t know if it makes it worse or better. No, it makes it better…”

When asked to clarify that Bredesen is only saying he’d vote for Kavanaugh to “get the Republican vote,” Amalla, a field organizer for Bredesen’s campaign, affirmed, “Yes.” Amalla reiterated, “[Bredesen] thought that like by coming out in support [of Justice Kavanaugh] that it would get more republicans on his side. He wasn’t doing as well in the rural parts.”

Here’s the full video:

I have written about Marsha Blackburn 68 times since I started blogging in early 2009. She is one of my favorite conservatives. In all honesty, I would vote for her against pretty much anyone running against her. She is endorsed by the NRA , the Chamber of Commerce, and the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List.

Other Senate races: (current polls from Real Clear Politics)

Poll averages for critical Senate races
Poll averages for critical Senate races

The Tennessee Senate race is one of the most important races, but there are other close ones. If you live in one of these states, make sure you get registered and get out to vote. If you can put up a yard sign (I have three of them, one for each Republican candidate) then you should do that. I also got bumper stickers from the campaign office, and bought magnet stickers to stick them on, so that I can switch them back and forth between my cars.

Look, I believe that if we can get another 2-3 more conservative senators into the Senate, then we might see judges even more conservative than Brett Kavanaugh. My favorite candidate is Raymond Kethledge, but I’d like Amy Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We could get these two justices on the Supreme Court, but only if we take Senate elections seriously. Yard signs are good. Bumper stickers are good. Going door to door is good. Making calls to get out the vote is good. Do all you can if you’re in one of these critical states.

News

Diane Black is running for governor of Tennessee

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Heritage Action Scorecards show most conservative legislators
Heritage Action Scorecards show most conservative legislators

Exciting news in Tennessee!

Previously, I blogged about how my favorite Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn had entered the Tennessee Senate race for the seat being vacated by squishy moderate Bob Corker. I have blogged about Marsha Blackburn’s activities many times on this blog, going back for many years. Although Marsha Blackburn is a wonderful candidate for the Senate, Tennessee still needs a conservative governor.

Here is the latest news from Fox News, authored by Diane Black – another Congresswoman I admire.

Excerpt:

I became chairman of the House Budget Committee one year ago and have been proud to serve in that role along with our new president. He has pushed an agenda of action – responsible budgeting, repealing ObamaCare’s worst mandates, and aggressive tax-cutting to get our economy going. This has been exactly the kind of work I came to Congress to do and we have done it.

But my heart has always been at home. This why today I’m announcing that I will now step down as chairman of the House Budget Committee, while continuing to serve in Congress, to devote more attention to my next challenge: seeking the governorship of Tennessee.

When I was elected to Congress in 2010, I had three main goals: repeal ObamaCare, reform the tax code and start attacking the growing federal debt and deficits. In just one year, the Budget Committee has taken significant steps to achieve all of these goals.

She’s the current Chair of the House Budget Committee and probably had a lot to do with the splendid House version of that tax cut bill that I liked so much. But she’s not only good on fiscal issues, she’s also a member of the House pro-life caucus, and was involved in the Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood – an investigation of the selling of unborn baby body parts. Marsha Blackburn chaired the panel.

The Washington Examiner says that she has a few rivals – but none of them were recognizable to me:

The gubernatorial race is slated for Nov. 6, 2018, the same day as the midterm elections in Congress. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, the incumbent, is prohibited by Tennessee law from running for a third term. Black joins a field of other Republicans who have announced their candidacies, including former state Sen. Mae Beavers; Randy Boyd, former commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development under Haslam; Rep. Beth Harwell, speaker of the Tennessee House; businessman Bill Lee; and realtor Kay White.

Black will continue to work on the Ways and Means Committee. Before being elected to Congress, she was a Tennessee state representative and senator.

In a statement from the House Budget Committee’s office, Black urged her colleagues to address “unsustainable mandatory programs.”

“Without question, it is critical that lawmakers take real action to reverse the trajectory of our nation’s growing debt,” she said.

I always support the candidates with the best record of achieving conservative results in the teeth of opposition. That’s why I liked Scott Walker and Ted Cruz in the GOP primary. It’s good to see Marsha Blackburn and Diane Black running for Senate and Governor, respectively. They also both have experience fighting for conservative principles and achieving results in the teeth of opposition. I am very happy to see people with records of achieving results running for higher office. I noticed that Diane Black has a degree in nursing, and a private sector career as a nurse, prior to entering politics. I think gives her a practical, evidence-based background, which so many non-STEM politicians lack.

News

Tennessee Senate candidates Phil Bredesen and Marsha Blackburn differ on sexual harassment

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A conservative lady is running for Senate in Tennessee
A conservative lady is running for Senate in Tennessee

Let’s take a look at the differing records of the two leading candidates for the open Senate seat in Tennessee on the issues of sexual harassment and sexual assault. First, the Democrat candidate Phil Bredesen and then second, the Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn.

Here’s the Washington Free Beacon.

Excerpt:

The Tennessean, a Nashville-based publication owned by Gannett, first began investigating the ethical processes of Bredesen’s office after the May 2005 news that a top official appointed by Bredesen was being suspended for workplace harassment. Reporting on the incident proved difficult as state investigators shredded all the notes taken during the investigation, with the top investigator admitting to being “keenly aware” that documentation could later be requested as public records.

The details of the 2005 harassment claims against Mack Cooper, Bredesen’s senior adviser for legislation and policy, were never revealed.

Bredesen denied that shredding documents was part of a “cover up.” Instead he argued it was part of an effort to protect the identities of victims. He admitted, however, that there was no way to prove his point.

“There’s nothing to be covered up here,” Bredesen told the AP in reference to the Cooper case. “I don’t have any way of proving that to you.”

Equally damning for Bredesen’s office was the case of Quenton White, appointed commissioner of Tennessee’s Department of Corrections by Bredesen shortly after he was elected governor in 2002.

White resigned from the post in July 2005, just two months after Cooper’s suspension, due to “mounting questions about a sexual harassment allegation against him, his handling of a sexual harassment case against his executive assistant, and circumstances surrounding his relationship with a former subordinate,” the Tennessean reported.

White, reporters discovered, had been accused of sexual harassment a year before his resignation. Bredesen confirmed the 2004 sexual assault allegation but said investigators found “no corroboration” of the claim.

Bredesen again had to explain to reporters, however, that he could not give any proof for his statement because the top investigator shredded her notes and had no written report on what was found.

[…]The Tennessean‘s then editor, Everett J. Mitchell II, slammed Bredesen’s secrecy on high-profile cases, writing in his paper, “How is the public to be assured that the problem has been appropriately and adequately addressed if the public business is done in secrecy?”

Mitchell argued “the shredding of documents raises the specter there was more to it and that there was something to hide.”

The paper even sued the state of Tennessee for access to sealed sexual harassment files, but had its case dismissed by a state judge who ruled Bredesen could withhold documents on grounds of attorney-client privilege. Bredesen had previously told the paper he would “consider” opening withheld case files.

So there’s the record of the Tennessee Democrat on sexual harassment and sexual assault.  The striking thing about all this is that the Nashville Tennessean is actually left-of-center on political issues.

The record of the Tennessee Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn, is very different from the Democrat candidate.

The Washington Times explains:

Rep. Marsha Blackburn said Thursday that any member of Congress who used taxpayer dollars to fund sexual harassment-related settlements needs to refund that money.

“They need to pay that money back with interest,” Ms. Blackburn, Tennessee Republican, said on Fox News.

She said she did not know who or how many congressmen are on the list of those who have used this money for such a purpose, but said the issue needs to be addressed.

“It is inappropriate that there has not been transparency with members of Congress and the American taxpayer. So let’s clean this up,” Ms. Blackburn said.

Ms. Blackburn is helping push forward a bill sponsored by Rep. Ron DeSantis, Florida Republican, to end these so-called “hush funds” used to fund sexual harassment settlements.

So far, Rep. John Conyers is the only member publicly known to have used this money to settle a sexual harassment claim. He was accused of harassment by a former employee and settled a lawsuit with her using taxpayer money.

John Conyers is, of course, a Democrat.

So, Marsha’s position on sexual harassment and sexual assault is that the investigation documents should not be shredded, but that they should be made public. The names of the accused should be made public. The settlements paid to the accusers at taxpayer expense should be made public, and paid back with interest. And payouts to accusers should stop being made using taxpayer dollars. That all sounds good to me.

Just so you know, the payouts for these sexual harassment claims is not a small amount of money. Democrat congressman Alcee Hastings paid out $220,000 to his accuser. Well, he didn’t pay it out, the taxpayers paid it out for him with our money.

Tennesseans certainly have a clear choice to make in this Senate race. There are clear differences.