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CNN, Esquire Blame the 'Right Wing' For Boston Marathon Bombing

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Photo Credit: Getty

By Victor Medina. In the early hours after the Boston Marathon was attacked with multiple bomb blasts, both CNN and Esquire Magazine indulged in speculation that right wing extremists may be responsible for the attacks. In one instance, Esquire Magazine’s Charles P. Pierce attempted to link the bombings to right wing extremists similar to Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber. In another, CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen speculated that the type of bomb device could link it to right wing extremist groups:

Esquire’s Charles P. Pierce wrote in an online post on the magazine’s website that we should not jump to conclusions and blame foreign terrorists, then blames it on right-wing domestic terrorists. He stated “remember that this is the official Patriots Day holiday in Massachusetts, celebrating the Battles at Lexington and Concord, and that the actual date (April 19) was of some significance to, among other people, Tim McVeigh, because he fancied himself a waterer of the tree of liberty and the like.” Read more from this story HERE.

Boston Marathon bombing: The latest Patriots Day tragedy

By Emanuella Grinberg. It didn’t take long Monday for speculation to ramp up online over the timing of the Boston Marathon bombings, which came on Patriots Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts and Maine marking the anniversary of the opening battles of the American Revolutionary War.

The American uprising against British authority in Lexington, Massachusetts, was on April 19, 1775, but Patriots Day is celebrated on the third Monday in April, falling this year on April 15.

“It’s a day that celebrates the free and fiercely independent spirit that this great American city of Boston has reflected from the earliest days of our nation,” President Obama said Monday, a few hours after a pair of bombs rocked the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing at least three and injuring dozens more.

For many New Englanders, it is a day of pride that comes with historical re-enactments, the Boston Marathon, baseball and a day off for schools and government employees.

It’s now a day that will go down in history along with other violent U.S. incidents in April, including the 1993 FBI siege of David Koresh’s compound in Waco, Texas, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, a mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999 and the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007. Read more from this story HERE.

Rubio Works on Selling Conservative Skeptics on 'Secret' Immigration Bill

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Photo Credit: Andrew Harnik

Immigration draft lays out contentious points plan to reward, select immigrants

By Stephen Dinan and David Eldridge. The immigration reform bill that senators are writing in secret would move U.S. policy to a points-based system that would reward immigrants who are taking care of disabled parents at the same level as those who have earned master’s degrees in high-tech fields, according to a draft of the legislation reviewed by The Washington Times.

The eight senators writing the bill plan to announce provisions this week, ahead of a major hearing in the SenateJudiciary Committee on Wednesday, but some details already have been leaked. Among them is the points system to select immigrants.

Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, said his plan would make illegal immigrants wait years to gain citizenship. Republican leaders are counting on Mr. Rubio to sell the plan to skeptical conservatives.

“This is not amnesty. Amnesty is the forgiveness of something,” Mr. Rubio said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We’re going to create an alternative that says, ‘OK, you want to stay here, you’ll have to wait more than 10 years, you’ll have to pay this fine, you’ll have to pay your registration fee, you’ll have to be gainfully employed, you won’t qualify for any federal benefits, and then after all of that you don’t get to apply for anything until the enforcement mechanisms are in place.’”

Mr. Rubio made the rounds of all of the major Sunday political talk shows to pitch the legislation. His appearances marked what one immigration rights advocate called “opening day” for what is expected to be a bruising fight on Capitol Hill. Read more from this story HERE.

Rubio: Illegal immigrants won’t get welfare

By Joel Gehrke. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said that the gang of eight’s immigration proposal will not allow legalized immigrants to receive federal benefits such as welfare or the Obamacare coverage.

“[T]hey don’t qualify for any federal benefits,” Rubio said on Fox News Sunday of the current illegal immigrants slated for legalization under the proposal he helped write. “This is an important point. No federal benefits, no food stamps, no welfare, no ObamaCare. They have to prove they’re gainfully employed. They have to be able to support themselves, so they’ll never become a public charge.”

Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee had suggested that the proposal would add trillions in federal spending because “there is nothing in the framework to apply federal public charge law to those in the country illegally before they are granted legal status.” The committee staff also recalled that Immigrations and Custom Enforcement union president Chris Crane said that officers “are not permitted to enforce that statute.” Read more from this story HERE.

Conservative House GOP Members Come out Swinging on Immigration Reform

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A group of Republican House members led by Iowa Rep. Steve King spoke forcefully in opposition to a mass legalization before first solving the problem of illegal immigration at an event with reporters Thursday.

“We held our powder dry but decided to come forward now because we are seeing the inertia [of immigration reform] and we are concerned about having this wash over us and not have the opportunity for constitutional conservatives in this country and in this Congress to have their voice heard,” King explained.

Pennsylvania Rep. Lou Barletta stressed that the conversation should be about strengthening the borders, not a pathway to citizenship.

“As this issue comes to the forefront here it is interesting that there is any talk at all about a pathway to citizenship. As soon as I hear that I think political — we would not be talking about any type of pathway to citizenship if we were seriously about illegal immigration,” he said, referencing President Ronald Reagan’s 1986 amnesty.

“We’re offering amnesty at a time when we know our borders aren’t secure. And just today, as I said, you have now encouraged people to come here illegally. We’ve given a green light to people all over the world to come to the United States and steal jobs away from the American people when 22 million Americans are out of work,” he added. “When the legal immigrants who are starting here are now going to have to compete for jobs with millions more.”

Read more from this story HERE.

RNC Declares War on Conservative Grassroots

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Photo Credit: Breitbart

At a meeting of the Ripon Society held in Washington, D.C.’s exclusive Capitol Hill Club on Tuesday, new Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Mike Shields effectively declared war on the conservative grassroots. In a strong attack, Shields coined a new derogatory term, “the professional right,” to refer to groups that have publicly criticized the recent RNC “Autopsy” report.

“It’s a term I’ll be using often in the coming months,” he told the crowd of about 40 Ripon Society members, RNC insiders, and Capitol Hill staffers. But Reagan biographer Craig Shirley, who was not one of those in attendance at the meeting, was quick to note that Shields’s new term had already backfired. “As opposed to what, unprofessional Republicans?” he shot back.

“These attacks on conservatism by the Establishment GOP are reminiscent of those made against Reagan all through the 1960’s and 70’s and even into his presidency,” Shirley added.

Read more from this story HERE.

White House Refuses To Denounce Easter Sunday Attack On Conservatives

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Photo Credit: CNN via nomorcocktails

By Joe Newby. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney refused to denounce an attack made against conservatives during Sunday’s service at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., Breitbart.com reported Monday.

“It drives me crazy when the captains of the religious right are always calling us back … for blacks to be back in the back of the bus … for women to be back in the kitchen … for immigrants to be back on their side of the border,” Dr. Luis Leon said at the Easter service attended by the Obamas.

But when asked about the remarks during Monday’s press briefing, Carney refused to repudiate the comments, saying that Leon is not a politician or an elected official.

Jay Carney refuses to repudiate attack on conservatives during Easter Sunday sermon. Initially, Carney brushed off the question by Fox News’ Ed Henry by saying that he wasn’t at the service and had not spoken to the president about it.

But Henry pushed the issue. Read more from this story HERE.

Pastor at Obama’s Easter Church Service: ‘Captains of the religious right’ want ‘blacks in the back of the bus’, women ‘back in the kitchen’

By Madeleine Morgenstern. The pastor at the Washington, D.C. church where the Obama family celebrated Easter on Sunday said members of the religious right want blacks “in the back of the bus,” women “back in the kitchen” and immigrants “back on their side of the border.”

“It drives me crazy when the captains of the religious right are always calling us back…for blacks to be back in the back of the bus…for women to be back in the kitchen…for immigrants to be back on their side of the border,” Rev. Dr. Luis Leon said in his sermon, according to the White House press pool report.

Reuters reporter Jeff Mason tweeted that Leon also said the religious right wants gays in the closet. Read more from this story HERE.

Mike Huckabee, Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer Threaten To Leave GOP Over Gay Marriage (+video)

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Photo Credit: On Top Mag

Social conservatives Mike Huckabee, Tony Perkins and Gary Bauer are threatening to leave the Republican Party if it softens its stance against gay marriage.

After the Republican National Committee (RNC) released a report which called for less vocal opposition to gay rights, several conservatives reacted angrily.

“The vast majority of the GOP base believes that marriage is a non-negotiable plank of the national platform,” said Perkins, president of the Christian conservative Family Research Council (FRC). “If the RNC abandons marriage, evangelicals will either sit the elections out completely, or move to create a third party. Either option puts Republicans on the path to a permanent minority.”
In an interview with Newsmax, Huckabee, a former GOP candidate for president, said the GOP risks alienating its base over the issue.

Read more from this story HERE.

Rush Limbaugh Says Homosexual Marriage ‘Is Lost’ For Social Conservatives, ‘It is Now Inevitable’ (+video)

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Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is throwing in the towel on the issue of gay marriage. He said “it is now inevitable” that “the issue is lost” for social conservatives…

Many people who oppose gay marriage have “no animosity” towards gay people at all but want to preserve their values, Limbaugh explained. He went on to say that it appears gay marriage will be legalized at the federal level in the future.

Watch video here:

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Rand Paul and Ted Cruz Threaten Filibuster on Guns (+video)

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Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are threatening to filibuster gun-control legislation, according to a letter they plan to hand-deliver to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office on Tuesday.

“We will oppose the motion to proceed to any legislation that will serve as a vehicle for any additional gun restrictions,” the three conservatives wrote in a copy of the signed letter obtained by POLITICO.

Reid plans to bring up a gun-control measure that focuses on broadening background checks and cracking down on interstate gun-trafficking after the current Senate recess.

Conservatives are concerned that once that bill reaches the floor, amendments could stiffen restrictions on gun control.

Watch the video here:

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Read more from this story HERE.

Tony Perkins Urges Conservatives To Halt GOP Contributions, Consider Third Party

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Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore

Angered by back-to-back presidential candidates who were squishy on social issues, some conservatives are warming to the idea of a third party while urging activists to stop funding GOP groups.

“I would not give my money to the national party, to the national Republican Party,” said Tony Perkins, president of the influential Family Research Council. “I would not give it to the RNC, I would not give it to the Republican Senatorial Committee nor to the Republican Congressional Committee,” he added on his new radio show, “Washington Watch.”

Rick Santorum, the 2012 conservative presidential candidate considering another run in 2016, called the GOP establishment “detached from the grass roots of America.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Tea Partiers Express Concern Over RNC ‘Autopsy’ Report

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Photo Credit: AP

After the Republican National Committee released its “autopsy” report highlighting the path forward for the GOP on Monday, conservatives blasted the RNC for proposing changes they feel would blunt the ability of grassroots conservatives to beat establishment candidates at the presidential level.

The report proposes shortening the primary calendar for the next presidential cycle and holding a series of regional primaries that would be a series of “super primaries.” Critics claim it is heavy on process, metrics, and outreach to celebrities and minorities while being short on conservative substance—which, they fear, would ensure more Mitt Romneys are nominated over insurgent Tea Party and grassroots candidates like Ted Cruz.

Brent Bozell, chairman of ForAmerica, said there was not much that excited him about the report and accused the Republican establishment of being “obsessed with identifying problems and solutions from the top-down instead of from the bottom-up.”

“It’s the exact same thing as (GOP strategist) Karl Rove saying they’re going to pick candidates. That ensures that establishment candidates are the only ones with a chance,” Bozell told The Hill.

Jenny Beth Martin of Tea Party Patriots said the RNC fails to understand that Republicans lost because they “failed to promote our principles,” and the party does not need to wait on the “RNC to promote our winning principles at places like CPAC, and across the country.”

Read more from this story HERE.