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Mark Kelly Warns that GOP Efforts to Block Gun Control Legislation Will Hurt Reelection Efforts; GOP's Flake Disagrees

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photo credit: R0Ng

By Fox News. Senate Democrats recently removed bans on semi-automatic weapons from pending gun-control legislation in apparent hopes of passing the more politically acceptable universal background checks — even referring to the checks as the “sweet spot” of the proposal.

But the issue has turned into the new sticking point in Congress with a top Republican saying Sunday the plan is “going nowhere” and Democrats and other gun-control advocates pressing the issue.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham repeated the argument among gun-rights advocates that the federal government should not add new checks when existing ones are not enforced.

“The current system is broken,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Why in the world would you expand that system if you’re not enforcing the law that exists today. … So I think that legislation is going nowhere.”

Leading gun-control advocate Mark Kelly warned Republican senators that trying to block a vote on new firearms legislation that includes universal background checks could hurt their re-election efforts. Read more from this story HERE.

Sen. Jeff Flake: Universal background checks ‘a bridge too far’

By David Sherfinski. Sen. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, said Sunday that universal background checks on all gun sales are “a bridge too far for most of us” as Democrats try to cobble together a package that can win 60 votes in the Senate.

“We do need to strengthen the background check system, but universal background checks, I think, is a bridge too far for most of us,” Mr. Flake said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The paperwork requirements alone would be significant.”

Mr. Flake — along with Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, and Democratic Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska and Mark L. Pryor of Arkansas — has introduced legislation intended to clarify issues surrounding mental illness and which people are legally barred from buying or owning a firearm.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, has introduced a bill that would require near-universal background checks for all gun sales, but said he’s still hunting for a measure that can get 60 votes in the Senate. His bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a straight party-line vote after bipartisan talks on compromise legislation broke down over the issue of record-keeping on gun sales. 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.

Will Rand Paul Do What’s Right and Help Primary McConnell?

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Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore

Rand Paul really struck a chord with many conservatives when he declared at CPAC that “the GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered,——I don’t think we need to name any names here, do we?” But will he adhere to his own admonishment?

The imagery of stale air and moss-covered vegetation serves as the superlative metaphor for the way so many of us view the current crop of GOP leaders. Many of them are not necessarily liberal Republicans-in-name-only at heart; they just fail to inspire a following and fail to articulate conservative principles in a way that provides voters with a bold and exciting contrast. They are content to grow old in office, cutting backroom deals with Democrats to grow government, so long as their seat of power is protected.

At its core, the lack of fresh leaders and ideas is born out of the lack of choice and competition in primaries. The bedrock belief of conservatism is that choice and competition lead to better outcomes in the marketplace. The GOP – the party that is supposed to promote that belief – has been run like a country club for years. Our presidential nominees have always been the “next in line;” our congressional nominees have always been the ones with the most money and name recognition. Once elected to office, nobody has dared to challenge 95% of these individuals. Such a lack of rivalry would leave even the boldest conservative a bit complacent and moss-covered after several decades of free rides with Republican voters. Someone who was never a bold conservative to begin with is certainly rendered irredeemable after decades with no competition.

Hence, if we want to clean out the mildew within the GOP tent, we must open the door with some fresh air of healthy primary competition.

If you want a dictionary definition of the GOP establishment, it is Mitch McConnell and those who surround him. If you want to know the paradigm of stale, moss-covered leadership, it’s Mitch McConnell. Nobody could assert with a straight face – even those who personally admire him – that Mitch McConnell is an inspiring leader who has provided bold leadership against the big government establishment in Washington. He has voted for all of the things Rand Paul has inveighed against for years. He has cut backroom deals with Biden to raise taxes and the debt ceiling. He has been running around ridiculing Obamacare while doing nothing do defund it through the budget process until Ted Cruz forced his hand – and even then, he voted for the CR which ultimately contained that funding.

Read more from this story HERE.

Rush Limbaugh: Amnesty A “Death Sentence” For GOP

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On his March 19th show Rush Limbaugh declared that amnesty for illegal aliens would be “a death sentence for the Republicans.”

That’s because amnesty includes the ability to legally vote, Limbaugh reasoned. Citing poll data, Limbaugh said that 70 percent of Hispanics “say that they believe that government should be the primary source of prosperity.” Therefore, Rush says, “Let’s say you have ten million illegals, seven million of them are automatically gonna vote Democrat. Republican Party’s finished.”

“It’s a mathematics conclusion. It’s not any more complicated than that. And there’s nothing that the Republicans can do,” Rush continued.

Rush went on to point out a blatant contradiction in the arguments of those in the Republican Party who push for full amnesty:

“If you listen to the Republican proponents for immigration reform, amnesty, what have you, whatever you’re gonna call it, they always say that Hispanics are Republicans-in-waiting. That these are big family value, churchgoing, largely Catholic, I mean, they are Republicans-in-waiting, okay? Accept that.

Read more from this story HERE.

RINO Fundraisers See Big Cash Opportunity In Gay Marriage Shift

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Photo Credit: AP

Republican fundraisers say the changing views of gay marriage in their party could unlock big money from GOP donors in places like New York, California and Florida — where some Republicans have kept their checkbooks closed over what they saw as misplaced priorities, at best, or intolerance, at worst, at the highest ranks of the party.

Several Republicans pointed to Sen. Rob Portman’s switch in support of gay marriage as a watershed moment for the party. And more than two dozen high-profile GOP-ers asked the Supreme Court to back gay rights. And even Foster Friess, Rick Santorum’s top benefactor, has softened his stance on domestic partnership.

“Republicans’ intolerance to marriage equality has been detrimental to winning,” said Aaron McLear, a California Republican strategist. “Big donors understand that they don’t want to invest in campaigns focused on a losing issue, and I think certainly the fiscal issues for Republicans are much more marketable.”

Republican fundraiser Jim McCray agreed. “I think it will open up donors across the board, because it demonstrates Republicans are trying to recreate the big tent they were known for,” McCray said.

It’s not clear how much money could come from donors supportive of the party’s move toward new thoughts on gay marriage. Pro gay-rights donors have long been an important source of campaign cash for Democrats, including after President Barack Obama pushed through a repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which barred openly gay people from serving in the military.

Read more from this story HERE.

GOP Lawmaker Proposes that Congress “Telecommute” to Reduce DC’s Control and Bring Local Accountability

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Photo Credit: Steve Snodgrass

Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) wants to create a “virtual Congress,” where lawmakers would leverage videoconferencing and other remote work technology to conduct their daily duties in Washington from their home districts.

Under a resolution Pearce introduced on Thursday, lawmakers would be able to hold hearings, debate and vote on legislation virtually from their district offices.

While Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer may have recently nixed the Web company’s work-from-home policy to boost its performance, Pearce believes a remote work arrangement may benefit Congress and make lawmakers more accountable to folks in their home districts.

Pearce says the resolution would eradicate the need for members to jet back and forth from their districts to Washington each weekend. This would allow lawmakers to spend more time with their constituents rather than the armies of lobbyists from K St., he argues.

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.

Sessions, GOP Allies Ask For Hearings On Super-Secret Immigration Bill

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions and five other Republican senators are trying to stop the Senate’s Democratic leaders from rushing a huge business-backed amnesty and guest-worker bill through the Senate before it can be debated by the public.

On March 19, Sessions and the other senators sent a letter asking Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, to schedule hearings on the complex bill.

“We respectfully request that the public be given adequate time, consistent with past practice in handling complex comprehensive immigration legislation, to read and analyze the contents of the any such bill” before it is approved by the majority-Democratic panel, said the letter.

The letter was signed by six GOP committee members: Sessions, plus Sens. Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Mike Lee, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. It was not signed by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jeff Flake, two committee members who are helping to write the controversial measure.

So far, the draft bill is being kept hidden until the Spring recess ends in the first week of April. Major media outlets have given little coverage of the bill’s contents and likely impact on Americans.

Read more from this story HERE.

Tea Partiers Express Concern Over RNC ‘Autopsy’ Report

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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.

House GOP Witness: Reading Bible Can Cause Violence

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Photo Credit: Breitbart

This morning, VA Rep. Frank Wolf convened a hearing of the Commerce Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee he chairs. The subject of the hearing was youth violence and, specifically, the role video games play in encouraging violent behavior. A star witness, however, Psychologist Brad J. Bushman, has a tendency to see lots of things contributing to violence. One paper he wrote a few years ago even found that exposure to Biblical stories caused an increase in violent behavior, especially among believers.

Psychologist Brad J. Bushman has made a career of out preconceived notions and sweeping generalizations. Bushman is best known co-authoring an article with Brigham Young Professor Robert Ridge entitled, “When God Sanctions Killing” which appeared in the March 2007 issue of Psychological Science magazine. The study found “compelling evidence that exposure to a scriptural depiction of violence or to violence authorized by deity can cause readers to behave more aggressively.”

Even though in the study Bushman et al even acknowledge a variety of factors could mitigate or cause violence, they persist with their conclusion. The Bible is the best-selling book of all times and more recently, a top TV show. So nearly everyone has been exposed to the Bible, so it has to be a factor.

The authors were quick to point out their study was not meant as Bible-bashing yet they compared followers to terrorists noting, “when you think about terrorists and they say, ‘God will sit in judgment,’ and they sometimes refer to a scripture, our question was, ‘Could that really make a person behave more aggressively?’ And the answer is, yes, it could.'”

If Mathew, Mark, Luke and John can cause violence, according to the logic of Dr. Bushman, it makes sense to believe that can “Call of Duty” can, as well.

Read more from this story HERE.