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A partial agency shutdown looming, Senate Republicans offered Tuesday to permit a vote on Homeland Security funding legislation stripped of immigration provisions backed by conservatives but strongly opposed by President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats.

"We could have that vote very quickly," Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said as his party struggled to escape a political predicament of their own making involving an agency with major anti-terrorism responsibilities.

McConnell said he did not know how the Republican-controlled House would respond if a stand-alone spending bill passed the Senate. Underscoring the realities of divided government, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada initially said he wouldn't agree to the proposal unless it had the backing of House Speaker John Boehner, in a sign it would be likely to clear the House.

With House Republicans scheduled to meet privately Wednesday to discuss the issue, Boehner's office issued a statement that neither accepted nor rejected the proposal McConnell outlined to end weeks of gridlock.

"The speaker has been clear: The House has acted, and now Senate Democrats need to stop hiding. Will they continue to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security or not?" said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel.

Some House conservatives criticized the proposal, but one lawmaker allied with the leadership predicted it might win approval. Noting that a federal judge in Texas has issued an order blocking implementation of Obama's plan to shield millions of immigrants from deportation, Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma said the court had "effectively stopped the president's executive action," at least for now. "So I don't think we'd run the risk of shutting down Homeland Security," he added.

Even in the Senate, though, McConnell's plan had its GOP critics.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a tea party favorite and potential 2016 presidential contender, called it a mistake. "Congress is obliged to use every constitutional check and balance we have to rein in President Obama's lawlessness," he said in a statement.

Senate Republican officials said McConnell's offer of a vote on a stand-alone funding bill also envisions a vote on a separate measure to repeal a directive from Obama last fall that shields about 4 million immigrants from deportation even though they live in the United States illegally. That measure would almost certainly fail in the Senate at the hands of Democrats.

At the same time, the proposal would eliminate an attempt by the House to repeal an earlier presidential order that allows tens of thousands of immigrants to remain in the country if they were brought here illegally as youngsters by their parents. Officials said Boehner's office had been informed of McConnell's plans before they were made public.

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In a bind, Senate Republicans offer vote on Homeland Security bill

The 1971 San Diego Padres were a wretched lot. The team lost 100 games. Finished in last place, 28-and-a-half games out of first. They were the least-patronized team in the National League. The front office tired of the Padres losing ways and applied pressure on manager Preston Gomez. One day there was a close call at third base which clearly went against San Diego. But Gomez skipped out of the dugout anyway to argue with umpire Harry Wendelstedt. Upon arriving at third base, Gomez told Wendelstedt he knew the call was right but he was on orders from the Padres brass to put on a show. The Padres may not look like much on the field. But maybe the manager could show some spark and get into a good rhubarb with the umpires.

I dont mind, Preston, replied Wendelstedt. Take as long as you want.

House and Senate Republicans may not be as pathetic as Gomezs 71 Padres. But they sure cant figure out a way to avoid a calamitous shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on February 27. And like Gomez, they need to put on a good show and kick some dirt around the infield to show the conservative base they wont cave and will fight President Obama immigration executive orders.

Congress fully funded all federal departments except DHS in December. DHS was the lone stray because conservatives insisted to leaders they use that spending bill to block the executive orders. The House easily passed a DHS bill a few weeks ago. Now the Senate is stymied, unable to even summon the DHS legislation to the floor due to a Democratic filibuster. Democrats are more than willing to consider a clean DHS funding bill. But not one with the immigration attachments.

Senate Republicans have already engineered three procedural votes over the past few weeks to cut off the filibuster. Such an operation requires 60 yeas. Republicans only hold 54 Senate seats. Thus, the votes failed each time. Congress is now on recess for a week. Yet Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has scheduled a fourth procedural vote for Monday, February 23 with little chance of success.

But Republicans will put on a show.

Republicans will use the recess to stir up voters upset about the executive action. Republicans want them to call and write moderate Democratic senators who they think could be pressured into relenting to vote in favor of allowing the DHS bill to come to the Senate floor. For instance, Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN) cut a video message for Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), urging him to switch his vote.

By voting to block debate, youre voting to block the democratic process. If you dont like the bill we sent you, change it. Offer amendments. Let democracy work, beseeched Messer of his fellow Hoosier.

This may not get anywhere. But it boosts the GOP faithful and blames the Democrats. And it comes at a time when the House Republican leadership and Senate Republican leadership cant agree on a path forward.

The House has done its job.Weve passed a bill. Its up to the Senate, said House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).

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Republicans must stage a show on immigration

When it comes to marijuana, the majority of young Republicans are far close to the Democratic view than they are to older members of their own party.

Pew poll data shows 63 percent of Millennial Republicans those born between 1981 and 1996 support legalized marijuana. That's a higher percentage than Generation X and Silent Generation Democrats.

Boomer Democrats still have young Republicans beat, and the gap of support between Boomer Democrats and Republicans is the largest of any age group at 28 points. Overall, Republicans are not supportive of legalization. As of October, only 31 percent of all Republicans supported it.

But it's a divisive topic if the applause during Thursday's pot debate at CPAC, an annual gathering of conservatives, is any indication. Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson argued for its legalization, casting it as a safer alternative to alcohol; "Having a debate right now over whether or not to legalize marijuana is kind of like having a debate over whether the sun is going to come up tomorrow," Johnson said. On that same panel, Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle of New York said marijuana today is stronger and more dangerous than in the past.

Public opinion sides with Johnson, with steady increases in support for legalization for all age groups since 2005 (Sidenote: it's interesting to see the change in public opinion among Boomers. Support hovered around 40 percent in the '70s, but dropped during the "War on Drugs" '80s. Today, it's higher than ever). Millennials are far and away the most supportive, at 69 percent.

Alaska became the first red state to legalize marijuana in November, and it won't be the last. The way public opinion is trending, it looks to be only a matter of time before a majority of Republicans born in the last 50 years are pro-legalization.

Washington Post

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Young Republicans are remarkably liberal on pot

By DAVID ESPO and ERICA WERNER Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Bordering on dysfunction, Congress passed a one-week bill late Friday night to avert a partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department, as leaders in both political parties quelled a revolt by House conservatives furious that the measure left President Barack Obama's immigration policy intact.

The final vote of a long day and night was a bipartisan 357-60 in the House, a little more than an hour after the Senate cleared the measure without so much as a roll call.

That sent the legislation to the White House for Obama's signature, which the president provided just a few minutes before midnight, capping a day of bruising political battles and rhetoric to match.

"You have made a mess," House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said at one point to Republicans, as recriminations filled the House chamber and the midnight deadline neared for a partial shutdown of an agency with major anti-terrorism responsibilities.

Even some Republicans readily agreed.

"There are terrorist attacks all over world and we're talking about closing down Homeland Security. This is like living in world of crazy people," tweeted Rep. Peter King of New York, a former chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.

Hours after conservatives joined with Democrats to vote down a three-week funding measure, 224-203, the Senate presented a one-week alternative to keep open the agency, which has responsibility for border control as well as anti-terrorist measures.

That amounted to a take-it-or-leave it offer less than three hours before the deadline.

Some Republican opponents - members of a "Freedom Caucus" - sat together in the chamber as the vote total mounted in the legislation's favor.

Continue reading here:
Republicans prepare to pass Homeland Security funding

By Senate Democratic Leader Tim Lanane (D-Anderson)

The performance Statehouse Republicans put on surrounding the removal of Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz was one for the ages. One by one, they approached the microphone and avowed their actions werent in any way about wrestling control from the only statewide-elected Democrat. Dissect the precarious argument they constructed to justify her removal and its glaringly obvious what her ouster is truly about: politics.

First, Republicans are confusing debate with dysfunction. State Board of Education meetings chaired by Superintendent Ritz are often impassioned, complete with discussion between board members and public testimony from concerned Hoosiers. Why? Because education policy matters. Because half the state budget is earmarked for education and it impacts more than one million Hoosier students across the state. Frankly, we ought to expect a thorough vetting of these issues. Debate makes our democracy stronger, by removing Ritz, Republicans are moving to silence it.

Second, Republicans claim Ritzs inability to lead puts the educational progress of Indiana students in jeopardy. Well, the facts dont lie. More schools are rated A, fewer are failing and more students are graduating. Her leadership guided us successfully through the No Child Left Behind waiver process and defused the situation concerning the length of ISTEP testing. You want the culprit for tumult over education policy in our state? Its the endless meddling of self-styled education policy wonks in the legislature and in the governors office. Its burdening our teachers and burying our students.

Third, they contend removing Ritz as chair aligns the State Board of Education with board governance best practices. The chief executive officer rarely serves as chair of the board in the corporate world they say. Yet no effort has been made to align the Indiana Economic Development Corporation Board with supposed best practices even as the states CEO, Governor Mike Pence, also serves as that boards chairman.

So why then are Republicans relentlessly pursuing Ritzs removal even when their reasoning fails to hold water? It boils down to unbridled arrogance. Two years on, Republicans still cant stomach an electoral defeat at the hands of a Democrat.

Republicans hold supermajorities in both the Indiana Senate and House. The governor is a Republican. Every statewide-elected office is occupied by a Republican but one: the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Six amendments that would have removed political appointments and directed the issue a thorough study were offered. All six were voted down on strict party line votes.

But no matter how super the Republicans majorities are, Hoosiers voted in 2012 for Glenda Ritz and her policies, rejecting former Superintendent Tony Bennett and his divisive reforms. Most egregious is that Republicans have opted to strip Superintendent Ritz of her authority in the middle of her term. The results of that election must be respected. This is about a political power grab. To achieve it, Republicans are willing to erode democratic principles and invalidate the voices of 1.3 million Hoosiers who voted for Ritz to assume the full duties ascribed to her as the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Sen. Lanane represents Indiana Senate District 25 which includes portions of Madison and Delaware counties, including the City of Muncie and the southeastern portion of the City of Anderson.

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Republicans suppress democratic process to get even with Supt. Ritz