Bringing LIBERTY to
Capitol Hill -- 2008
OZARKS
VIRTUAL TOWN
HALL
Saturday Morning, February 9, 2008, 10:30am
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A Discussion of The President's Saturday Morning
Radio Address
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Click here
to listen to a replay of the February 9, 2008 Ozarks Virtual
Town Hall |
Notes and Summary of the President's Address --
"Senate Confirmation of Presidential Nominees"
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. One of the most important jobs of any
President is to find good men and women to lead government agencies,
preside over our courts, and provide vital services to the American
people. So I have nominated talented individuals for these positions.
Unfortunately, the Senate is not meeting its responsibility to
consider these nominees in a timely manner. More than 180 of my
nominees are waiting for confirmation. Some have been waiting for more
than a year. As a result, careers have been put on hold, families have
been placed in limbo, and our government has been deprived of the
service of these fine nominees.
How the President Differs from the American vision of
"Liberty Under God":
The President has nominated people to hold offices that have no
Constitutional authority
- The Constitution is a document of "enumerated
powers": the Federal Government has only those powers
which are given to it by "We the People" in the
Constitution.
- President Bush's nominees should not be confirmed, because the
offices which his nominees would take upon confirmation should not
exist in the first place.
President
Bush's
Saturday Morning Radio Address
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Another
Perspective:
"Liberty Under God"
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| THE PRESIDENT: Good
morning. One of the most important jobs of any President is to
find good men and women to lead government agencies, preside over
our courts, and provide vital services to the American people. So
I have nominated talented individuals for these positions.
Unfortunately, the Senate is not meeting its responsibility to
consider these nominees in a timely manner. More than 180 of my
nominees are waiting for confirmation. Some have been waiting for
more than a year. As a result, careers have been put on hold,
families have been placed in limbo, and our government has been
deprived of the service of these fine nominees. |
It is true that this is in large
degree a partisan issue: had these exact same people been
nominated by a Democrat President, the Democrat-controlled Senate
would have already confirmed them.
It is also true that the lives of these individual nominees are
being disrespected by the cowardice of senators who refuse to take
a stand and cast a vote on the nominations.
The more fundamental issue is whether these government
positions should be filled at all; whether they should exist at
all. America's founding fathers |
| On Thursday I stood
with many of these nominees at the White House. They are decent
and talented people. The Senate needs to confirm them to address
important issues, from the economy to public safety to national
security. |
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| One of the most
important institutions for America's economy is the Federal
Reserve. The Fed decides monetary policy, and it sets key
interest rates that have an impact on homeowners and businesses
across our country. Yet the Senate has been delaying three of my
nominations to the Fed for nearly 9 months. My nominees have
valuable experience and skills, and I urge the Senate to confirm
them as soon as possible. |
The Federal Reserve is one of the
debasement of currency
refuses to be audited
history shrouded in secrecy. |
| Another important
institution is the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA
plays a vital role in keeping you safe when you fly. In October I
nominated Bobby Sturgell to lead the FAA. Bobby has nearly 20
years of cockpit experience from his time as a Navy fighter pilot,
Top Gun instructor, and commercial airline pilot. He's committed
to addressing problems that have caused airline
delays, and I urge senators to put politics aside and
confirm him to office. |
Should the Federal Government
direct traffic to keep FedEx and UPS trucks from crashing?
Did anyone in Washington D.C. lose their job over the
catastrophic failure of 9/11? In a world of capitalism, CEO's and
managers of Wall Street Corporations would have lost their jobs
and seen stock prices plummet over such criminal negligence.
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| In
this time of war, we need a strong Department of Justice.
Yet the Senate has not voted on nominations for seven senior
leadership positions at the department. One of those vacancies is
for Deputy Attorney General. The Deputy Attorney General helps
lead efforts to detect and
prevent terrorist attacks at home. |
Is Osama bin Laden a criminal or
a military enemy of war? Should the Department of Justice go after
Osama like any other criminal, or should the Department of Defense
treat this as an act of war?
President Bush is obviously completely confused on this vital
issue. |
| I've selected an
outstanding nominee for this position: Judge Mark Filip. This
former prosecutor has earned a reputation for being fair-minded
and dedicated. Several years ago the Senate confirmed him
unanimously for a lifetime position on the Federal bench. Now I
ask senators to confirm him once again so he can help keep
our nation safe. |
Attorney General used to be the
lawyer who represented the United States before the Supreme Court.
Look at the vast scope of the Justice Department today:
USDOJ: About DOJ - Alphabetical List of Agencies
The vast majority of these agencies are beyond the scope of
Constitutional authority: the are unconstitutional
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| As senators confirm
these nominees, they must also confirm judges to the Federal
bench. I have nominated highly qualified individuals who will rule
by the letter of the law, not the whim of the gavel.
Unfortunately, the Senate continues to delay votes for 28 of my
judicial nominees. Three of my nominees for the Court of Appeals
have waited nearly 600 days. These delays are irresponsible, they
undermine the cause of justice, and I call on the United States
Senate to give these nominees the up or down vote they deserve. |
Most judicial nominees of
Republican Presidents, confirmed by Republican Senators, have not
kept their oath to support and protect the constitution.
Republican judicial nominees have been pro-abortion and
anti-constitution.
Democrats in the Senate are afraid to confirm these nominees,
or else they are playing the nominees for publicity: the nominees
claim they will defend the Constitution on issues which are
contrary to Democrat directions, so the Senate Democrats resist
confirming their nomination, even though they know that the
nominees are really not going to act on the issues that gain
publicity for Democrats. |
| When men and women
agree to serve in public office, we should treat them with respect
and dignity, and that means giving them a prompt confirmation
vote. When the Senate fails to give nominees a timely vote, it
leaves important positions in our government vacant, and it makes
it harder for Presidents of both parties to attract good men and
women to serve in these vital posts. |
If the nominees are unqualified,
why doesn't the Senate deny them?
But less important than the qualifications of the nominees, the
Senate wants to do the nominating itself.
The Senate refuses to ask the big Constitutional questions
about whether the offices (which these nominees would fill) should
exist in the first place.
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| By working together,
Republicans and Democrats can chart a better course. We can bring
every nomination to the floor for a vote, and give the American
people the kind of public servants they deserve. |
Democrats and Republicans are
committed to preserving an unconstitutional tyranny. The best
course is Liberty Under God. |
| Thank you for
listening. |
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Additional Resources:
Kevin Craig's platform:
Neal Boortz has suggested
attaching "The Boortz Addendum" to every appropriation bill
offered in Congress. This addendum would read something like this:
Every sponsor or co-sponsor of this legislation hereby affirms his
or her belief that the need for the federal government of the United
States to spend taxpayer funds on the purposes outlined herein is of
greater importance and urgency than any spending needs which the party
or parties who actually earned these funds may have; such needs being,
but not necessarily limited to, spending for medical care, child care,
housing, food, clothing, transportation, education, insurance, savings
and retirement planning, and religious tithes or conscientious
charity.
It became common during the Clinton Administration to speak of
government spending as an "investment." Congress might also
therefore attach the following to each spending bill:
By voting for this legislation I hereby affirm my belief that the
information and knowledge possessed by me and 434 other
Congressman-"investors" is greater than the collective
knowledge and information possessed by a Free Market of 150 million
individual investors, pension fund managers, insurance company
executives, mutual fund administrators, and brokers, all of whom do
not have the luxury of obtaining investment funds by passing a law,
but must earn their investment dollars.
Communicating with Government and Media
- Contact Congress -- this
is from the JBS website, powered by "CapWiz," from Capitol
Advantage. Lots of organizations use capwiz. If you don't want to go
through the JBS, search for capwiz
on Google and find another organization that uses it.
Notice that you can also contact media through this webpage.
- Action E-List
Sign up for the JBS Action E-List and be notified when you can
make a critical difference on important issues.
John Adams once wrote that the American
Revolution began in 1761, when Massachusetts attorney James Otis
began legal challenges to the Writs of Assistance. He lost the case, but
"American independence," Adams wrote, "was
then and there born." Now do the math. That means it took 15
years to convince the rest of America to declare Independence (1776).
Then another seven years of war was required before a Peace Treaty was
signed (1783), and then six years before the Constitution was finally
ratified (1789). That's almost 30 years. (And Jefferson said we
shouldn't go 20
years without another rebellion!) How can we hope to convince
Americans to fight for principles they were never taught in government
schools? We need to be in this battle for the long term. "Eternal
Vigilance is the Price of Liberty."
The Democrat Party Radio Address:
This week, New York Congressman Charlie Rangel, chairman of the House
Ways and Means Committee, delivers the
Democratic Radio Address, speaking on the "bipartisan"
"Economic stimulus package"
Rebates are good, but
not enough. Why does the economy need to be stimulated? What can
prevent Americans from needing rebates in the first place?
- equitable tax system
- unemployment compensation
- public safety net - universal care, education, old folks
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Good question; bad answers. None
of these suggestions are going to prevent people from needing
assistance. In fact, they are all examples of assistance or
compensation. A healthy economy is one where there is an abundance
of goods and services at low prices, enabling people to enjoy a
prosperous standard of living. Universal health care is not going
to provide additional goods and services at lower prices. Neither
will taxing the rich more and the middle class less. The Democrats
simply don't understand what it takes to create wealth. |
Click here
for a replay of this edition of the Ozarks Virtual
Town Hall
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