Category Archives: Obama
Rep. Quayle Wants Contempt Citation Slapped on Holder
Arizona Congressman Ben Quayle writes …
Nearly a year and a half after the tragic death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, the Obama Justice Department continues to defy a legitimate Congressional Investigation into what went wrong with the tragic “Operation Fast and Furious”. This ill-conceived operation “walked” high-powered weapons across the border into the hands of criminal cartels in Mexico—on purpose.
As you know, one of these weapons was later found at the scene of Agent Terry’s murder, and hundreds of Mexicans are believed to have lost their lives as a result of these weapons. Congress has used its proper investigative function to get to the bottom of this tragic scandal, but Attorney General Eric Holder has evaded every attempt to place accountability on those responsible.
I have been deeply angered by this foot-dragging. Earlier this year, I introduced a resolution in the House calling for a special prosecutor to investigate Fast and Furious and the Attorney General’s role in it. I have also joined with my House colleagues on numerous occasions to push for more action on this issue.
This week, I along with five of my Republican freshmen colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy urging them to immediately bring a resolution to the House floor to hold Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.
The following day, House leadership sent a letter to Attorney General Holder urging him to immediately comply with the Congressional investigation. In my view, the time for more letters is over. Eric Holder has had numerous opportunities to do the right thing and comply with this investigation, and he has refused to do so. Through it all, he has continued to make contradictory and demonstrably false statements to Congress, and has blocked the release of thousands of subpoenaed documents. As you may be aware, I have called for Attorney General Holder to resign. Holder has shown clearly that he will not comply, no matter how many times we ask him nicely.
It’s time to hold him in contempt of Congress. Our founders gave Congress the responsibility of oversight of the federal government, and we would be shirking our responsibility if we allowed the Attorney General to defy investigations at will.
One more letter from House leadership is simply too little, too late, and I said as much upon its release this week. I will continue my efforts to restore accountability at the Department of Justice and seek Justice for Agent Terry and so many others who have been victims of this tragedy. I won’t stop until it’s accomplished.
Securing our southern border is vital. We won’t accomplish it until we stop trying horrible ideas like Fast and Furious, and focus on combating the cartels and using all resources to fight drug smuggling head on. We also need to ensure that law enforcement has the tools it needs to combat the efforts of the cartels.
To that end, I teamed up with Rep. Sylvestre Reyes last year to create a bill that cracks down on the construction and use of illegal cross-border smuggling tunnels. 74 of these tunnels have been found in Arizona alone. As the lead Republican Co-sponsor of this bill, I helped shepherd it to passage out of the House Judiciary Committee, and this week it passed the whole House by a resounding margin: 416-4. When this bill becomes law, it will have the effect of making it much more difficult to construct cross-border tunnels.
To strengthen our efforts to fight the cartels, I have also organized a field-hearing to take place in Phoenix on Monday to discuss ways to properly utilize state, federal and local authorities to combat the drug trade. Members of Congress will hear from a number of distinguished witnesses on how best to accomplish this. I hope these Members will gain a new appreciation for the challenges faced by border states like Arizona and will take that knowledge back to Washington with them in order to create more effective policy.
SHOCKER: Secretary of State Threatens to Ban Obama from Arizona General Election Ballot!
The website “White House Dossier” is reporting this shocking news …
by Keith Koffler on May 18, 2012
Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett is threatening to keep President Obama’s name off the state’s ballot in November unless he receives confirmation from Hawaii that it has a valid birth certificate on file for him.
Bennett, who spoke to Arizona radio host Mike Broomhead Thursday, said he requested the confirmation eight weeks ago and has not gotten it. Hawaii, he said, does not have to supply a certified copy of the birth certificate, merely send him an email confirming that it has one.
Asked by Broomhead if he would remove Obama’s name from the ballot if Hawaii fails to comply, Bennett said: “That’s possible. Or the other option would be that I would ask all the candidates, including the president, to submit a certified copy of their birth certificate.”
Despite overwhelming evidence that Obama was born in Hawaii, the issue of his birth continues to dog him. Thursday, Breitbart Big Government reported on a promotional booklet by Obama’s own literary agency listing him as having been born in Kenya.
Bennett said Hawaii law permits government officials to request verification of possession of a birth certificate in lieu of a certified copy.
“They could say yes tomorrow and the whole thing goes away,” Bennett said. “If they can’t say yes to that simple question, then it makes me wonder if we have to take it to another level. One way or another, we have to have some simple verification that people are qualified for the office if they’re going to be on the ballot here in Arizona.”
Bennett asserted that he is not a “birther” and denied accusations that he is playing to the birther crowd in Arizona because he wants to run for governor. But Bennett also hedged in stating his belief that Obama was Hawwaii-born.
“I believe the president was born in Hawaii – or at least I hope he was,” Bennett said.
Arizona, with its 11 electoral votes, is an important 2012 presidential battleground state. A Real Clear Politics average of recent polling in the state has Mitt Romney ahead by only four points.
One thing I’d like to make clear. This blog believes Obama was born in Hawaii. But it also believes threats by the Arizona Secretary of State to exclude the president from the ballot are newsworthy.
Arizona Celebrates New Religious Freedom Law
PHOENIX – Governor Jan Brewer today signed into law HB 2625, legislation that authorizes religiously-affiliated employers to exempt contraceptive services from their employees’ health insurance plans. The new law will apply exclusively to those entities whose religious beliefs are central to their operating principles, and for whom providing coverage for contraception could pose a moral conflict or religious objection.
“In its final form, this bill is about nothing more than preserving the religious freedom to which we are all Constitutionally-entitled,” said Governor Brewer. “Mandating that a religious institution provide a service in direct contradiction with its faith would represent an obvious encroachment upon the 1st Amendment.
Currently, state law allows a narrow scope of nonprofit, faith-based institutions to opt out of contraceptive coverage, provided that the institution primarily employs and serves individuals who share the religious tenets of the institution.
HB 2625 moderately expands the definition of a “religiously-affiliated employer” to include any organization whose articles of incorporation explicitly state a religiously-motivated purpose, and whose religious beliefs play a fundamental role in its function. It is anticipated that there are few employers who will qualify for this exemption under the bill.
Arizona is among 20 states that allow certain employers to cite a religious-exemption in refusing to offer contraception coverage.
“Let’s not forget why we’re having this discussion: It’s ObamaCare that created this issue by forcing church-affiliated employers and non-profits to offer services in violation of their religious faith,” said Governor Brewer. “With this common sense bill, we can ensure that Arizona women have access to the health services they need and religious institutions have their faith and freedom protected.”
Judge Bolton Acts as ‘Defense Attorney’ for Democrats
In December, Van Irion, lead attorney of the Liberty Legal Foundation, filed suit against the National Democrat Party and its chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Irion asked the court for an injunction to prevent the Party naming Barack Hussein Obama its candidate for President in 2012 by ruling he is not a “natural born citizen,” as required by the Constitution of the United States.
Although both defendants were served with the action, neither bothered to respond or show up in court, something of a standard practice by Obama and his colleagues. When Irion asked the court for a default judgment against the Democrat Party and Schultz, Judge Bolton denied the motion, claiming the Democrat Party had not been properly served according to HER particular interpretation of federal law for the legal service of defendants. As Irion puts it, “Bolton acted more like a defense attorney than a judge,” as she “…denied [a] motion for default judgment by interpreting a procedural rule in a way that it has apparently never been interpreted before.”
Although Irion explained the law to Bolton and provided the proof-of-delivery receipt from the USPS, Judge Bolton still refused to accept the written delivery certification of the Post Office! Irion explains, “What’s disturbing about [this] ruling is the fact that most courts routinely grant default judgments when defendants don’t show up. If a defendant later show up and proves they were not properly served the court can easily vacate the judgment…”
In short, Judge Bolton not only ignored usual court procedure, she became counsel for the interests of the Democrat Party, “…[asserting] defenses that the absent defendant didn’t offer on its own behalf.”
Mitt Romney: We Believe in America, Our Greatest Days are Still Ahead
Speech by Mitt Romeny in New Hampshire
April 24, 2012
Americans have always been eternal optimists. But over the last three and a half years, we have seen hopes and dreams diminished by false promises and weak leadership.
Everywhere I go, Americans are tired of being tired, and many of those who are fortunate enough to have a job are working harder for less.
For every single mom who feels heartbroken when she has to explain to her kids that she needs to take a second job … for grandparents who can’t afford the gas to visit their grandchildren … for the mom and dad who never thought they’d be on food stamps … for the small business owner desperately cutting back just to keep the doors open one more month – to all of the thousands of good and decent Americans I’ve met who want nothing more than a better chance, a fighting chance, to all of you, I have a simple message: Hold on a little longer. A better America begins tonight.
Tonight is the start of a new campaign to unite every American who knows in their heart that we can do better! The last few years have been the best that Barack Obama can do, but it’s not the best America can do!
Tonight is the beginning of the end of the disappointments of the Obama years and the start of a new and better chapter that we will write together.
This has already been a long campaign, but many Americans are just now beginning to focus on the choice before the country. In the days ahead, I look forward to spending time with many of you personally. I want to hear what’s on your mind, hear about your concerns, and learn about your families. I want to know what you think we can do to make this country better…and what you expect from your next president.
And I’ll tell you a little bit about myself. I’ll probably start out talking about my wonderful wife Ann – I usually do – and I’ll probably bore you with stories about our kids and grandkids. I’ll tell you about how much I love this country, where someone like my dad, who grew up poor and never graduated from college, could pursue his dreams and work his way up to running a great car company. Only in America could a man like my dad become governor of the state in which he once sold paint from the trunk of his car.
I’d say that you might have heard that I was successful in business. And that rumor is true. But you might not have heard that I became successful by helping start a business that grew from 10 people to hundreds of people. You might not have heard that our business helped start other businesses, like Staples and Sports Authority and a new steel mill and a learning center called Bright Horizons. And I’d tell you that not every business made it and there were good days and bad days, but every day was a lesson.
And after 25 years, I know how to lead us out of this stagnant Obama economy and into a job-creating recovery!
Four years ago Barack Obama dazzled us in front of Greek columns with sweeping promises of hope and change. But after we came down to earth, after the celebration and parades, what do we have to show for three and a half years of President Obama?
Is it easier to make ends meet? Is it easier to sell your home or buy a new one? Have you saved what you needed for retirement? Are you making more in your job? Do you have a better chance to get a better job? Do you pay less at the pump?
If the answer were “yes” to those questions, then President Obama would be running for re-election based on his achievements…and rightly so. But because he has failed, he will run a campaign of diversions, distractions, and distortions. That kind of campaign may have worked at another place and in a different time. But not here and not now. It’s still about the economy …and we’re not stupid.
People are hurting in America. And we know that something is wrong, terribly wrong with the direction of the country.
We know that this election is about the kind of America we will live in and the kind of America we will leave to future generations. When it comes to the character of America, President Obama and I have very different visions.
Government is at the center of his vision. It dispenses the benefits, borrows what it cannot take, and consumes a greater and greater share of the economy. With Obamacare fully installed, government will come to control half the economy, and we will have effectively ceased to be a free enterprise society.
This president is putting us on a path where our lives will be ruled by bureaucrats and boards, commissions and czars. He’s asking us to accept that Washington knows best – and can provide all.
We’ve already seen where this path leads. It erodes freedom. It deadens the entrepreneurial spirit. And it hurts the very people it’s supposed to help. Those who promise to spread the wealth around only ever succeed in spreading poverty. Other nations have chosen that path. It leads to chronic high unemployment, crushing debt, and stagnant wages.
I have a very different vision for America, and of our future. It is an America driven by freedom, where free people, pursuing happiness in their own unique ways, create free enterprises that employ more and more Americans. Because there are so many enterprises that are succeeding, the competition for hard-working, educated and skilled employees is intense, and so wages and salaries rise.
I see an America with a growing middle class, with rising standards of living. I see children even more successful than their parents – some successful even beyond their wildest dreams – and others congratulating them for their achievement, not attacking them for it.
This America is fundamentally fair. We will stop the unfairness of urban children being denied access to the good schools of their choice; we will stop the unfairness of politicians giving taxpayer money to their friends’ businesses; we will stop the unfairness of requiring union workers to contribute to politicians not of their choosing; we will stop the unfairness of government workers getting better pay and benefits than the taxpayers they serve; and we will stop the unfairness of one generation passing larger and larger debts on to the next.
In the America I see, character and choices matter. And education, hard work, and living within our means are valued and rewarded. And poverty will be defeated, not with a government check, but with respect and achievement that is taught by parents, learned in school, and practiced in the workplace.
This is the America that was won for us by the nation’s Founders, and earned for us by the Greatest Generation. It is the America that has produced the most innovative, most productive, and the most powerful economy in the world.
As I look around at the millions of Americans without work, the graduates who can’t get a job, the soldiers who return home to an unemployment line, it breaks my heart. This does not have to be. It is the result of failed leadership and of a faulty vision. We will restore the promise of America only if we restore the principles of freedom and opportunity that made America the greatest nation on earth.
Today, the hill before us is a little steep but we have always been a nation of big steppers. Many Americans have given up on this president but they haven’t ever thought about giving up. Not on themselves. Not on each other. And not on America.
In the days ahead, join me in the next step toward that destination of November 6th, when across America we can give a sigh of relief and know that the Promise of America has been kept. The dreamers can dream a little bigger, the help wanted signs can be dusted off, and we can start again.
And this time we’ll get it right. We’ll stop the days of apologizing for success at home and never again apologize for America abroad.
There was a time – not so long ago – when each of us could walk a little taller and stand a little straighter because we had a gift that no one else in the world shared. We were Americans. That meant something different to each of us but it meant something special to all of us. We knew it without question. And so did the world.
Those days are coming back. That’s our destiny.
We believe in America. We believe in ourselves. Our greatest days are still ahead. We are, after all, Americans!
God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
Supreme Court Argument on 1070 Goes Well for Arizona, Badly for Obama
You know President Obama’s on shaky ground when the left-stream media’s champion, the New York Times, says Supreme Court justices seem sympathetic toArizona’s border enforcement law, SB 1070.
NYT’s Adam Liptak wrote after today’s oral arguments on SB 1070 at the U.S. Supreme Court: “Justices across the ideological spectrum appeared inclined to uphold a controversial part of Arizona’s aggressive 2010 immigration law, based on their questions on Wednesday at a Supreme Court argument.
To arrive at that conclusion, Liptak only had to listen to one of Obama’s left-wing Court appointees:
“You can see it’s not selling very well,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said of a central part of the argument made by Obama’s Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. ““Why don’t you try to come up with something else?”
The Drudge Report posted a huge headline Mr. Verrilli will not be saving for his scrapbook. It declared Obama’s lawyer had laid another egg in the Supreme Court, as he did last month arguing for Obamacare: “Obama’s Lawyer Chokes Again.”
The Washington Times’ Stephen Dinan reported: “Supreme Cour” justices took a dim view of the Obama Administration’s claim that it can stopArizona from enforcing immigration laws, telling government lawyers during oral argument Wednesday that the state appears to want to push federal officials, not conflict with them.”
The bias showed in the reporting by left-stream media Associated Press: “Verrilli did not mention Wednesday that the administration has deported nearly 400,000 people a year, far more than previous administrations, although the information was included in written submissions to the court.” Perhaps the AP regrets not assisting Verrilli prepare for orals.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined with colleagues who took issue with Verrilli’s remarks on theArizonalaw, noting the state only wants to inform federal authorities when it apprehends illegal aliens. “It seems to me that the federal government just doesn’t want to know who’s here illegally and who’s not,” Roberts said.
Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed SB 1070 into law, released this statement today:
“Today, more than two years after I signed SB 1070 into law, the State of Arizona had its opportunity to defend this measure before the United States Supreme Court. Many people never gave us a chance to get this far, and it is only due to the continuing support and encouragement of the American people that it was possible.
“Of course, we likely will not know the Court’s decision for weeks. But I am filled with optimism – the kind that comes with knowing thatArizona’s cause is just and its course is true.
“On the day I signed SB 1070, I called it ‘another tool for our state to use as we work to solve a crisis we did not create and the federal government has refused to fix.’ Those words still hold true – as I was reminded last week when I returned to the border to visit law enforcement and ranchers who live and work in southeasternArizona.
”Their message: The job of securing the border is not done, not so long as drugs and humans continue to be smuggled north in large numbers at the direction of violent cartels and armed gangs. As Governor, I have a duty to uphold the Constitution and a responsibility to protect the people ofArizona. With SB 1070, I am confident we can do both.”
Unbelievably, left-wing JusticeElena Kagan recused herself from the case. She refused to demonstrate the same integrity last month in the Obamacare oral arguments.
Thank you for reading! Tell your friends to bookmark The Arizona Conservative. We’re scooping other blogs and providing the best coverage on 1070, Obamacare, elections and other top-of-mind topics to Arizonans.
Arpaio to Release More Information on Obama Eligibility Investigation
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is planning a second press conference in the next few weeks to announce more findings about President Barack Obama’s birth place controversy and eligibility to serve as president.
Last month, Sheriff Joe announced his investigators had confirmed what graphic designers had previously reported: there is probable cause that Obama’s long form birth certificate was doctored.
