Cruz Says No GOP Colleague Supported His Efforts Against Planned Parenthood, Iran; Rand Paul Says Cruz is “Done For” in Senate

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While speaking on the Senate floor yesterday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) implored Republican leadership to defend the right to life – an issue for which many Republican leaders have strongly advocated – and fight for conservative principles. Sen. Cruz’s speech followed Senate GOP leadership’s blocking of his attempt to get a vote on his amendment to end taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood and the Iranian nuclear deal.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is excoriating the Republican leadership in the House and Senate for failing to “lift a finger to defend life” by eliminating taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. Cruz’s speech on the Senate floor comes as the lawmakers voted, 77-19, to advance a bill to authorize government spending that includes funding for Planned Parenthood…Cruz said it is likely that Planned Parenthood has committed multiple crimes that are punishable with imprisonment, yet asked why the Obama Department of Justice and FBI have failed to open investigations into the abortion organization. Similarly, he observed that not one Democrat has asked to have Planned Parenthood investigated.

Cruz, one of several conservatives determined not to see one more taxpayer dollar go to Planned Parenthood in the wake of several disturbing videos, criticized his party after the vote for about an hour, accusing them of failing to show any passion for the causes for which they are supposed to fight. While President Obama and the Democrats have no problem “walking through glass” to defend Big Government programs, Cruz said the GOP has failed to live up to its tenets.

“So what does he say?” Cruz said of Obama. “If you don’t fund this one private organization that’s not part of the government, that’s under multiple criminal investigations, I, Barack Obama, will veto funding for the entire federal government and shut it down.” “And what does Republican leadership say?” he asked. “Well, it will surprise no one. Republican leadership says, we surrender.” He said the result is that Republicans end up funding anything the Democrats want, including Planned Parenthood. The House and Senate are about to pass a “clean” spending bill, but Cruz said that bill is anything but clean.

As the Senate voted Monday on a continuing resolution with taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, Cruz attempted to offer an amendment ending all federal funding for America’s largest abortion provider. The amendment also cut off money to implement the Iran nuclear deal. But in a departure from Senate custom, a quartet of Republican leaders blocked the Texas senator from even getting a vote on his amendment. Only one senator, Mike Lee of Utah, stood with Cruz on the Senate floor.

Ted Cruz couldn’t get anyone in the Senate to back him tonight as he tried to get a ban on Planned Parenthood funding and a linkage of the Iran Nuclear deal in a government funding bill…Cruz’s amendment would place a one-year ban on federal funding for Planned Parenthood. It would also ban the Obama administration from using funds from the short-term bill to implement the Iran nuclear deal or any “assessed contributions” to the United Nations until lawmakers receive the “side deals” between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Tonight Senator Ted Cruz attempted to offer an amendment to the must pass spending bill that would have halted the implementation of Obama’s Iran Deal and public funding to abortionists like Planned Parenthood…Cruz however wanted to make one last effort to put members of the Senate on the record, but GOP Senators were so scared of voting to strike funding for these Obama priorities that they opted to block Cruz from even receiving a vote. (Read original Press Release on “Standing Alone, Cruz Says No to Planned Parenthood, Iran” HERE)
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Senator Rand Paul: Cruz “Done For” in the Senate

By Niels Lesniewski. Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday said fellow Republican presidential candidate Ted. Cruz is “done for” in the Senate.

“Ted has chosen to make this really personal and chosen to call people dishonest in leadership and call them names, which really goes against the decorum and also against the rules of the Senate, and as a consequence, he can’t get anything done legislatively,” Paul told Fox News Radio. “He is pretty much done for and stifled and it’s really because of personal relationships, or lack of personal relationships, and it is a problem”. . .

“I approach things a little different, I am still just as hardcore in saying what we are doing, I just chose not to call people liars on the Senate floor and it’s just a matter of different perspectives on how best to get to the end result,” Paul said in the interview.

Paul backed McConnell’s 2014 re-election bid. Cruz had accused McConnell of lying to him about the way forward for the revival of the Export-Import Bank in the Senate. (Read more from “Rand Paul: Cruz Says No to Compromise, ‘Done For’ in Senate” HERE)

Overwhelming Numbers: Republicans Are Not Just Looking For a New Speaker, They’re Looking for a New Party

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Love him or hate him, John Boehner was by no means the dominant force of nature in American politics. The growing tidal wave of disapproval from GOP voters had nothing to do with Boehner as a person; it had everything to do with what he represents. Republican voters are not just looking for a new Speaker, they are looking for a new party. They are looking for a viable alternative to the Democrats. It’s time for elected Republicans to heed that lesson and forge an entirely new path.

Back in May 2014, when Dave Brat shocked the political world by resoundingly defeating sitting Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the GOP empire moved with swift agility and within 24 hours had blithely rallied around the “next in line.” There was no period of introspection or regard for what had just occurred. They pompously anointed Kevin McCarthy, the poor man’s Eric Cantor, as the next majority leader.

Now the House conference has a second chance to right the ship. It’s time for their colleagues across the Capitol in the Senate to heed the same lesson as well. According to a recent NBC/WSJ poll, 72% of Republican voters were dissatisfied with both Boehner and McConnell’s ability to achieve their party’s goals. A Fox News poll shows that 62% feel betrayed by their party. McConnell and Boehner are not dominant medial or cultural personalities like Newt Gingrich, Nancy Pelosi, or Hillary Clinton, yet their own party’s voters want them out. It was never about Boehner; it was about what he lacked. And what he lacked is the same thing McConnell and Kevin McCarthy lack—a desire to fight for issues concerning conservatives.

In many respects Mitch McConnell has been worse than Boehner this year. He has used control of the Senate to sabotage conservatives on every major battle, block conservative amendments, and undermine our leverage in an even more pernicious fashion than Harry Reid did during the last session.

As it relates to McCarthy, now is his time to shine. He is majority leader and Boehner is a lame duck. If he cannot stand up on the Sunday talk shows with his iPad in hand and play the Planned Parenthood videos and speak with moral conviction about why the president should not shut down the government in order to fund barbarism, he is unfit to replace Boehner.

Conservatives lack the votes to affirmatively push for the nomination of any particular candidate for Speaker, but they have enough votes to veto any choice. Even if a majority of the conference nominates a bad candidate in the private party conference, a group of about 30 members can always veto the decision on the floor because a Speaker must receive a majority from all those present and voting in the House body.

Nobody is going to get everything they want in a party leader and everyone is going to have to compromise, but the establishment is greatly mistaken if they seek to simply anoint a leader rather than allow all the candidates to air out their ideas over the next few weeks. This is not about personalities; it’s about laying out a vision for confronting Obama over the next 15 months and laying the groundwork for a conservative in the White House.

To that end, here are three overarching concessions conservatives must secure from any candidate for Speaker.

1. Restore Deterrent of the Power of Purse: At present, the biggest problem with leadership is that they have conveyed the message to Democrats that there is nothing they will ever fight for in the budget process that would possibly risk a shutdown. That must change. As we’ve noted before, Republicans will have to eventually use budget brinkmanship to get things done even if they win back the White House. The next Speaker has to be willing to draw a line in the sand on fundamental and easy-to-message issues and be willing to publicly fight for them and let the Democrats know there’s a new sheriff in town.

2. Focus on Meaningful Ideas: Aside from the obdurate refusal to block Obama’s agenda with the purse strings, the current leaders have no positive message of their own on meaningful issues. Most of the House schedule is wasted on naming buildings, trivial suspension bills, or downright liberal priorities. As we’ve observed before, there are numerous consequential issues that work in our favor and should be brought to the floor to draw a sharp contrast with Democrats. Drawing that contrast and highlighting liberal extremism should be a priority for the next Speaker.

3. Returning Power to the Committees: The House has been run like a plantation straight out of John Boehner’s office. The committee process has become irrelevant and even the good legislation that passes out of committee, such as the Davis-Oliver immigration enforcement bill, has never made it to the floor. The next Speaker must allow the committees to do their work and conduct votes on conservative legislation that is able to pass the committee process. They must also follow through on their promise to allow an open amendment process on the House floor.

If Republican members think that by merely shunting the current failed leaders to the next level on the totem pole they will assuage the concerns of voters, they are mistaken. Voters are looking for a clean slate. The longer the Republicans carry on with their tone deaf actions the more severely they will suffer repercussions in the long run.

(This article on the grassroots looking for a new party first appeared HERE)

In Interview Yesterday, Trump Reveals The One Thing That Would Cause Him to Drop Out

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While appearing as a guest on NBC’s Today on Tuesday morning, Trump revealed the one scenario under which he would leave the presidential race. . .

Host Matt Lauer pointed out to the billionaire candidate that his unrivaled place atop the GOP field seems to have changed with Ben Carson pulling within one point. A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released this week finds Trump at 21 percent support, Carson at 20, and Carly Fiorina and Marco Rubio also gaining ground, both polling at 11 percent. . .

Lauer followed up, asking: “If the polls change and you are no longer the person everybody is talking about, Donald with all the great things going on in your life in other areas, do you have the stomach to stick this out?”

“I’m a practical person,” Trump responded. “If I see things aren’t going well, like for instance there are people right now in the Republican Party who are not doing well I don’t think it’s going to change for many of them, at some point you have to get out. Right now, I’m leading every poll…I get the biggest crowds by far. I had 20,000 in Dallas I had 35,000 people in Mobile, Alabama, you know so far it’s looking good…So I will go and if I think for some reason it’s not going to work, I’ll go back to my business.” (Read more from “Trump Reveals the One Thing That He’d Drop Out Over” HERE)

40 Religious Leaders, Pastors Lay Hands On and Pray for Trump

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By David Brody. GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump met and prayed with about 40 religious leaders and pastors in his Trump Tower office Monday afternoon.

Among the attendees were televangelists Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, conservative evangelical Christian Pastor David Jeremiah, TBN religious broadcaster Jan Crouch, Pastor Paula White, Jews For Jesus Rabbi Kirt Schneider and Pastor Darrell Scott.

The meeting lasted roughly two and a half hours and ended with pastors gathering around Trump and laying their hands on him in prayer. Kenneth Copeland, Paula White, and Rabbi Schneider prayed during that time, asking the Lord to give the GOP presidential frontrunner wisdom, stability and knowledge necessary to pursue this endeavor. They also prayed for America and for God’s will to be done. . .

As for additional subject matter, Trump told the religious leaders and pastors that he will be a strong supporter of Israel and that defeating ISIS would be a strong part of his agenda. He also discussed trade, balancing the budget, eliminating the deficit and tax reform.

As for faith issues, he talked about how religious liberty and Christianity is under attack in America and that there is a lot of religious intolerance for Christianity in today’s society. (Read more from “Religious Leaders Gather to Pray for Trump” HERE)

Planned Parenthood Paid Protesters to Do This Disgusting Thing to Carly Fiorina

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By Alex Swoyer. Planned Parenthood paid some of its supporters who threw condoms at GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina and at her supporters during an Iowa Hawkeye tailgate on Saturday.

The payments were briefly mentioned in a story by the New York Times. “On Saturday, women wearing pink, some of wh [om were paid by Planned Parenthood, protested Mrs. Fiorina at a campaign appearance in Iowa, throwing condoms and chanting, ‘Women are watching, and we vote,’” reported the New York Times . . .

Abortions comprise roughly three percent of medical services provided each year by Planned Parenthood [but, along with related “services” – including the baby body parts trade – comprise a much, much greater percentage of the organization’s annual revenue]. The group completed 327,653 abortions during its 2013-2014 financial year. Planned Parenthood receives roughly $542 million dollars from tax-payers each year. (Read more from “Planned Parenthood Paid Protesters to Do This Disgusting Thing to Carly Fiorina” HERE)

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Conservatives Wonder: Why Aren’t Planned Parenthood’s Poll Numbers Falling?

By David Weigel. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) was perplexed. Two long months had passed since the Center for Medical Progress started releasing undercover videos in which current and former Planned Parenthood employees described the grim economics of fetal tissue harvesting. Since then, a long congressional recess had come and gone and Republican-run states had redoubled their efforts to defund the family planning titan. Yet in the most recent poll from Reuters/Ipsos, 54 percent of voters still favored federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

“Those numbers are news to me,” said King. “I haven’t paid any attention to the polls. But am I surprised? Yes. That would explain some of the reasons why the leadership is not committing to defund.”

Since King made that analysis, the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has returned from the field, with even better news for Planned Parenthood. The full poll, to be released today, will find that the group’s favorable rating is slightly up since the July release of the videos, from 45-30 percent favorable-unfavorable to 47-31 percent. Going into Tuesday’s 10 a.m. congressional hearing on the group, a well-hyped showdown between the GOP and Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, the video campaign appears not to have shifted public opinion on federal defunding.

“This is something the pro-life movement has been trying to educate people about for many years,” said Mallory Quigley, spokeswoman for the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List. “I’ve seen polling that finds even some people who consider themselves pro-life don’t know that Planned Parenthood performs abortions. When you’ve got President Obama and Miss America telling the lie for you, it goes a long way. I grew up with Judy Blume books, where the last couple pages would tell you that you should go to Planned Parenthood for health services.”

The sturdiness of support for Planned Parenthood stands out in a field of anti-abortion victories. For seven years, until 2015, more Americans told Gallup pollsters they were “pro-life” than “pro-choice.” Activists have credited even the omnipresence of social media, and the attendant photos of babies and sonograms, for building a culture of life. It’s allowed the movement to talk over the mainstream press and the dominant, progressive cultural voices. It hasn’t been able to talk over the Planned Parenthood defense squad. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Obama: Gay Rights MORE Important Than Religious Freedom

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As Pope Francis flew back to Rome, President Obama issued a stern warning to Christians, warning them their attempts to assert their religious liberty to oppose gay rights would fail.

“We affirm that we cherish our religious freedom and are profoundly respectful of religious traditions,” he insisted during a dramatic speech at a LGTB fundraiser in New York City on Sunday night, praising the progress made on gay rights under his administration. “But we also have to say clearly that our religious freedom doesn’t grant us the freedom to deny our fellow Americans their constitutional rights.”

The fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee was specifically billed as an “LGBT gala” held in New York City in coordination with Obama’s trip to the United Nations Assembly.

During his speech, Obama asserted that his administration was respecting what he described as “genuine concerns” of religious institutions but suggested that Republicans were using the issue just to earn more votes, as they did in 2004 . . .

He ridiculed Ben Carson for suggesting that “prison turns you gay” and added that another Republican candidate had boasted of his introduction of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, likely referring to Sen. Ted Cruz. (Read more from “Obama: Gay Rights MORE Important Than Religious Freedom” HERE)

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NASA Announces Incredible Discovery on the Surface of Mars

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In a groundbreaking announcement Monday, NASA officials confirmed their discovery of liquid water on the surface of Mars.

“Today,” NASA Director of Planetary Science Jim Green said, “we’re revolutionizing our understanding of the planet.”

While scientists have largely agreed that the planet consists of ice, the discovery of salty, flowing water represents a new chapter in our understanding of Mars.

“Mars is not the dry, arid planet that we thought of in the past,” Green continued.

While he went on to qualify that the liquid water was observable “under certain circumstances,” Green described the discovery as “tremendously exciting” and “a great opportunity” to learn even more. (Read more from “NASA Announces Incredible Discovery on the Surface of Mars” HERE)

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Political Operative: This Is How Bill Clinton’s Sexual Assault Victims Were Silenced

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Long time political operative and strategist Roger Stone appeared on Breitbart News Sunday, broadcast on SiriusXM patriot radio channel 125, with Breitbart’s senior investigative political reporter Matt Boyle.

Stone told Boyle that Hillary Clinton promoting herself as an advocate for women and children is hypocrisy. The author reminded Breitbart News Sunday listeners that as recently as last week Hillary spoke about the rape issue and that raped victims should be believed.

“Unfortunately, this doesn’t match her own history,” Stone pointed out. “She has been an enabler of rape. She has been the person to enable the serial rape and sexual assaults by her husband Bill Clinton. Some of which are known publicly: Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick, and Kathleen Willey” . . .

Stone accused Bill Clinton of violating the women physically and that Hillary came to his rescue and hired detectives, to gather information on the women. She then used the information to “run a terror campaign to intimidate Bill’s victims into silence” . . .

Stone added that the book includes not only the serial rapes committed by Bill Clinton and Hillary’s cover up, but the “horiffic things” that were done to his victims. “Pets Killed. Tires slashed. Windshields Smashed in and bullets left in the front seat of cars. Late night phone calls: We know where you’re children go to school,” all of these threats were part of the Clintons intimidation tactics. (Read more from “Political Operative: This Is How Bill Clinton’s Sexual Assault Victims Were Silenced” HERE)

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OPINION: Trump Is a Danger to Free Speech

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Last week Hillary Clinton has threatened a conservative political action committee with a lawsuit, angrily boycotted Fox News, complained about unflattering media photos, and demanded that a National Review editor be fined for making politically incorrect comments about her.

Oh, wait. That wasn’t Hillary Clinton doing any of those things. That was Donald Trump.

Trump’s seemingly endless capacity to bully and insult his critics has been entertaining, sure, but is quickly becoming dictatorial. His calls for (mostly conservative) political pundits to be silenced, fined, and boycotted should give pause to anyone in America who cares about free speech.

The Club for Growth, a political action committee dedicated to supporting free-market, limited-government conservatives [Editor’s note: The Club for Growth has an apparent hatred for genuine, Tea Party candidates as evidenced by its penchant for supporting Establishment candidates in a number of recent contested GOP primaries] recently produced an ad critical of Trump over his past comments promoting a socialized healthcare system, higher taxes, and Wall Street bailouts. How did Trump respond? With a cease and desist letter warning that a lawsuit would follow if the ads didn’t stop.

Trump also launched a boycott against Fox News this week because the network had allegedly been “unfair” In its coverage. The issue? The network reported CNN poll numbers that found Trump’s winning margin over the other Republican candidates dropping from 35% to 24%. In response, Trump said he’s refusing interviews until he is guaranteed favorable coverage.

One Fox source told The Hill Trump decided to boycott because he “doesn’t seem to grasp that candidates telling journalists what to ask is not how the media works in this country.”

Despite the boycott, Trump was still watching and dictating orders from afar.

Last Wednesday, National Review Editor Rich Lowry made a somewhat crass remark about Donald Trump’s manhood on Fox News. Trump responded with a furious tweet: “Incompetent @RichLowry lost it tonight on @FoxNews. He should not be allowed on TV and the FCC should fine him!”

(Never mind that the FCC doesn’t issue fines against cable news.)

There you have it. In just a few days, Trump offered three draconian responses to political speech he deemed unfriendly. And that barely scratches the surface. He also went on a tirade against CNN, the New York Times, Politico, and the Associated Press for citing the empty chairs at a campaign event in South Carolina. And who can forget his calling Fox’s Megyn Kelly a “bimbo,” and his endless stream of insults against well…any idiot loser who fails to clap loud enough every time Trump speaks?

Although he’ll use any format to issue broadsides, the courts are, by far, Trump’s preferred remedy for conflict.

The Daily Beast recently posted a piece about his long-documented history of deploying lawyers to combat anyone who speaks ill of his name. And that piece doesn’t even include his threats to fellow Republicans for copyright infringement if they utter Ronald Reagan’s well-known 1982 campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” which Trump trademarked for himself after stealing it from the Gipper. Or the fact he also fired off a cease and desist letter to a Boston-based t-shirt maker selling shirts that said, “Donald is Dumb” and “Stop Trump.”

You want tort reform? Start by limiting the number of lawsuits Donald Trump can file against political enemies.

It would all be fun and games if Donald Trump weren’t actually campaigning for the highest office in the land—and leading in the polls, a fact he believes earns him the right to laudatory media coverage.

One can only imagine how many press passes would be revoked by the Trump White House, if he deigned to keep a press corps around at all. Much more likely a Trump-approved reality TV camera would simply follow him around, unquestioningly documenting his greatness, similar to how President Obama restricted independent media access in favor of government-controlled media. WHTrumpTV! It’ll be yuuuuuge! NBC will pay for it! Right?

More seriously, Trump’s eagerness to use the courts and other agents of government power against his political opposition is not the mark of a leader. It’s a common trait among tyrants.

Trump may be campaigning as a Republican but his actions don’t reflect any understanding or appreciation for the core values enshrined in the First Amendment that guarantee Americans the right to criticize politicians.

His actions are much more aligned with far-left Democrats who want to pass rules and regulations to keep conservative personalities such as Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin off the air.

Conservatives have suffered through the era of Obama where the IRS was used as a political weapon against Tea Party groups, a filmmaker’s attempt to air an anti-Hillary Clinton film went all the way to the Supreme Court with Citizens United v. The Federal Elections Commission, and Democrats have relentlessly campaigned to silence those who donate to conservative causes.

Donald Trump is telling us he, like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, also believes in using the brute machinery of government to savage political enemies. Pay attention. Free speech is at stake. (For more from the author of “Trump Is a Danger to Free Speech” please click HERE)

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Pope Francis: Refusing to Sign Same-Sex Marriage Licenses Is a Human Right

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Pope Francis gave clear approval of Kim Davis’ stance against issuing homosexual “marriage” licenses as he traveled back to Rome Monday, calling it a “human right” for government officials to refuse to conduct a duty that violates their conscience.

On the flight home from his first visit to the U.S., the pope was asked whether he supported individuals, including government officials, who decline to obey certain laws, for instance issuing “marriage” licenses to same-sex couples . . .

Religious liberty has been a hot-button issue in recent months in the United States as various small businesses across the country have been targeted with fines, prosecution and attack on social media for declining to take part in homosexual “weddings” based upon their owners’ religious and moral objection.

The headlines of late have been focused on the case of Rowan County, KY Clerk Kim Davis, who went to jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to any couples so as to avoid discriminating against homosexual couples. She has asked for an accommodation where her name and title would be removed from the licenses.

“I can’t have in mind all cases that can exist about conscientious objection,” Pope Francis told journalists on his flight, “but, yes, I can say that conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right.” (Read more from “Pope Francis: Refusing to Sign Same-Sex Marriage Licenses Is a Human Right” HERE)

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