10 Dynamics That Will Shape the Next Two Years of American Politics | BillMoyers.com

What’s past isn’t necessarily prologue, but the outcomes of some recent political battles – and a look at who will be coming and going when Congress reconvenes in January – give us a pretty good sense of the dynamics that will shape the next two years of American politics.

So while we don’t have a crystal ball, here’s our preview of what you can expect in the final quarter of Barack Obama’s presidency.

1. Gridlock, and an Endless Game of Chicken
2. The Clash of the Republican Establishments
3. A Smaller, More Progressive Democratic Caucus
4. A Not-So-Lame-Duck
5. Republicans Will Continue to Overpromise, and the Tea Party Base Will Be Furious
6. Democrats Will Make Concessions, and Their Progressive Base Will Be Furious
7. Fewer Backroom Deals
8. BenghaziGruberFastandFuriousGate
9. The Issues -Immigration, the Keystone XL pipeline, new EPA regulations,,,
10. The Wildcard: King v. Burwell

10 Dynamics That Will Shape the Next Two Years of American Politics | BillMoyers.com

America’s worst new congressman: Why Georgia’s Jody Hice is so frightening - Salon.com

It’s official: in January, Jody Hice will be sworn in as the next Congressman from Georgia’s 10th District. This is a man who has called Islam, the second-largest religion in the world, “a totalitarian way of life with a religious component” that “does not deserve First Amendment protection.” In his book he calls legal abortion “worse than Hitler’s six million Jews or Mussolini’s three hundred thousand,” adding that “the genocide in America is inexcusable!” In 2004, he told the Athens Banner-Herald that he doesn’t “see a problem” with women running for office “if the woman’s within the authority of her husband.” On his radio show he blamed Sandy Hook and other school shootings on “kicking God out of the schools, and… kicking God out of the public square.” He once misquoted a satirical essay by a gay writer as evidence that homosexuals preying on children was “part of the ‘gay manifesto’” and part of the “radical agenda that is currently threatening our nation.”

As Matthew Pulver of the Flagpole writes, Jody Hice believes a lot of things that make him sound insane. Last night, he won a seat in Congress.

A Baptist minister and former talk radio host, Hice is filling the hole left after Paul Broun’s failed run for Senate. You might remember Paul Broun as the Congressman and medical doctor who stood in a room festooned with deer heads and told a gathering of Baptists and hunters that evolution, embryology and the Big Bang were “lies straight from the pit of Hell.” Broun set an incredibly high bar for mindboggling insanity, but Hice just might be able to clear it.

America’s worst new congressman: Why Georgia’s Jody Hice is so frightening - Salon.com

House Whip Sends Bible To Every Hill Office For 'Decision-Making' Guidance

A Republican congressman recently sent a copy of the Holy Bible to every member of Congress "to help guide you in your decision-making," according to a letter obtained by TPM.

Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) enclosed the Bible in his letter dated July 29 and sent to all House and Senate offices. The letter, written on an official letterhead in his capacity as assistant majority whip, was confirmed by Capitol Hill aides whose offices received it.

"On a daily basis, we contemplate policy decisions that impact America's future. Our staffs provide us with policy memos, statistics, and recommendations that help us make informed decisions. However, I find that the best advice comes through meditating on God's Word," Palazzo wrote.

"Please find a copy of the Holy Bible to help guide you in your decision-making," the congressman continued, saying the Bibles were donated by one of his constituents from South Mississippi named J.B. Atchison.

House Whip Sends Bible To Every Hill Office For 'Decision-Making' Guidance

See also:  

Bible-Based Laws?: Miss. Congressman Mails Calls For Policy Anchored In Scripture

AU’s executive director, Barry Lynn, explained to TPM why the representative should have refrained from sending the Bibles. “When a politician calls for using the Bible as the basis for public policy, what he or she is really saying is, ‘Let’s use the Bible as I interpret it as the basis for public policy,’” Lynn said.

He added, “When it comes to religion, our nation is pluralistic and diverse. Rather than look to the Bible or any other religious book to craft our nation's public policy, we would do well to examine another source instead, one that was actually created to guide governance. It's called the Constitution.”

[,,,]
It’s a matter of concern that Palazzo seems to prioritize the Bible over other sources of guidance. As a legislator, his responsibility is to make sure that laws adhere to the Constitution – including the First Amendment – not the Ten Commandments. While he, and indeed every other public official, is certainly entitled to find spiritual solace in any religion’s holy text, dogma has no place in the policy-making process.

VFW attacks the three Republicans who voted against Senate VA bill - The Washington Post

 So remember yesterday when I posted this little gem (summarized):

"At this point, congressional Republicans no longer even try to justify the rhetorical contradictions. When Democrats want to make any kind of public investment, even after a natural disaster, GOP officials insist every penny must be fully paid for without raising anyone’s taxes by any amount at any time."  But yet the House went on to  pass two bills to permanently extend tax credits that expired at the end of 2013 with ZERO offset.  In other words, "if Democrats want to invest in the public, the deficit is paramount. When Republicans want to pass a tax break, the deficit is irrelevant."

Well it seems that Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) have held fast to that mindset in a vote against a bipartisan veterans’ benefits bill this week. Sessions going so far as to say, "I feel strongly we've got to do the right thing for our veterans. But I don't think we should create a blank check, an unlimited entitlement program, now."

Also arguing,

We need to resist the temptation to create more entitlements and more entitlements, which is one of the reasons we are heading recklessly toward fiscal crisis,” Sessions said on the Senate floor before the vote.  He said Congress should instead focus on “reforms and solutions that improve the quality of service and the effectiveness that is delivered.”

Now bare in mind, the purpose of this entitlement program bill is to ease "healthcare delays for veterans by giving them more access to private care and allowing the Department of Veterans Affairs to open more clinics and hire more medical staff."

As Steve Benen writes, and I agree,

So, on the one hand, politicians routinely say the nation must do “whatever it takes” to care for our veterans. On the other hand, here are three conservative Republicans effectively arguing, “But let’s not go overboard.”

I am sorry but no amount of money should be spared when it comes to the health and well being of our military personnel.  Combat loss is one thing, but when you have veterans dying while in the que for help, that is a sad commentary on what we as a nation value.  This should not be happening:

The "cost of war" for me: Missing 1/2 of my left ham string, permanent nerve damage, diabetes from Agent Orange, joints shot from humping super heavy ruck sack, PTSD (nightmares, night sweats, 5 failed marriages, alienated from my family and friends, flashbacks, depression, unable to hold a job because of anger), feet drawn to hammer toes from being shot through both legs, constant pain, two shoulder surgeries, three stomach surgeries. Even after 40 years I am still not considered 100% disabled by the VA even though the Social Security administration does. I am still trying to get a higher disability rating after being denied 4 times. These requests take over a year to get an answer. Currently I am waiting a year on my latest request. (Spitzerone)

VFW attacks the three Republicans who voted against Senate VA bill - The Washington Post

Farm Bill Agreement Reached By House, Senate Negotiators

We shall see, ",,,preserves food stamp benefits for most Americans who receive them and continues generous subsidies for farmers."

A House plan to make major cuts to food stamps would be scaled back under a bipartisan agreement on a massive farm bill, a near end to a more than two-year fight that has threatened to hurt rural lawmakers in an election year.

The measure announced Monday by the House and Senate Agriculture committees preserves food stamp benefits for most Americans who receive them and continues generous subsidies for farmers. The House was expected to vote on the bill Wednesday, with the Senate following shortly after.

The compromise was expected to cut food stamps by about $800 million a year, or around 1 percent. The House in September passed legislation cutting 5 percent from the $80 billion-a-year program. The House bill also would have allowed states to implement broad new work requirements for food stamp recipients. That has been scaled back to a test program in 10 states.

The Democratic-led Senate had twice passed a bill with only $400 million in annual food stamp cuts, and had signaled it would not go much higher. The White House had threatened to veto the House level of food stamp cuts.

The final bill released Monday would cost almost $100 billion a year over five years, with a cut of around $2.3 billion a year overall from current spending. Committee aides said they were still waiting for final numbers from the Congressional Budget Office to assess exactly how much the bill would cost.


Farm Bill Agreement Reached By House, Senate Negotiators

KUHNER: Christians must oppose Obamacare - Washington Times

Second line, first paragraph. Not a great start to and Op-Ed if the initial premise is false: "The reason is simple and macabre: Obamacare enables U.S. taxpayer funds to pay for abortions for members of Congress and their staff."

Coverage of Abortion Services
Under OPM’s final rule,no Federal funds, including administrative funds, will be used to cover abortions or administer plans that cover abortions.  Unlike the health plans for which OPM contracts pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 8902, 8903 and 8903a, OPM does not administer the terms of the health benefits plans offered on an Exchange. Consequently, while plans with such coverage may be offered on an Exchange, OPM can and will take appropriate administrative steps to ensure that the cost of any such coverage purchased by a Member of Congress or a congressional staffer from a designed SHOP is accounted for and paid by the individual rather than from a government contribution, consistent with the general prohibition on Federal funds being used for this purpose. (p.3, September 30, 2013::Subject: Final Rule for Federal Employees Health Benefits Program,,,) 

"As with much else about the law, Mr. Obama lied. He deliberately deceived the American people."

No Mr. Kuhner YOU are lying. Either that or you can not read. The OPM's ruling (pertinent part quoted above) is that members of Congress and their staffers purchasing health insurance coverage on the new health insurance exchanges would be able to purchase a plan that includes abortion coverage but only with their own personal contribution to premium costs.

The rest is just painful to read,,,

Devout Christians are obligated to oppose Obamacare — including those who champion social justice and universal health care. Christian teaching is crystal clear: The killing of innocent human life is wrong, a heinous transgression of one of God’s most sacred commandments. Abortion is murder; it is state-sanctioned infanticide. Obamacare is ensnaring Christians in its nefarious web, making them culpable in the killing of unborn babies. Their tax dollars will pay for the abortionist’s knife. Unwitting Christians will have the blood of innocent children on their hands.

This should come as no surprise. Progressivism is at war with traditional Christianity. Liberals seek to create a society without God. Their goal is personal liberation — the destruction of the family, Christian culture and all the other social bonds that act as bulwarks against radical individualism. Abortion clinics are liberalism’s Gulag Archipelago, death camps scattered across the landscape. For liberals, abortion is key to erecting a society without sexual consequences. If a pregnancy is unwanted, liquidate the baby. Secular progressives believe that nothing — including innocent human life — must stand in the way of the sexual revolution. It is genocide masquerading as “choice.”

KUHNER: Christians must oppose Obamacare - Washington Times