Mediaboss Marketing

New House Republican Conference rules prevent members seeking higher office to hold committee and subcommittee chairs. Rep. Tom Cole (R) of Oklahoma said, the idea is not to have major committees, appropriations or subcommittees chaired by people who are running for the Senate. If youre shuttling back and forth, thats just a huge problem for us.

My colleague Mark Harkins argued this rule was likely the product of Rep. Jack Kingstons (R) run for Georgias Senate seat. Though he lost the primary, his bid for the Senate took the Labor-Health and Human Services subcommittee chair away from his legislative duties in the 113th. Labor-HHS was the only appropriations subcommittee not to report its appropriations bill in 2014, and only one of two subcommittees not to report its bill in 2013.

Several commentators noticed the rule could have consequences for other members, specifically Rep. Paul Ryan (R) of Wisconsin. In addition to his potential ambition for higher office he also has his sights on the Ways and Means gavel. If he does decide to run for higher office in 2016, he would need a waiver exempting his chairmanship from the new restriction.

However, it is unclear leadership would grant him one. Ways and Means figures to be at the center of Republicans legislative strategy in the 114th Congress. Without a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, many billswill have to go through the reconciliation process, which allows bills to pass the Senate with a simple majority.This places Representative Ryans political and policy ambitions at a crossroads.

Reconciliation has limited applicability. It can only be used on measures that affect direct spending, revenue, or the debt ceiling. In other words, most of the bills the reconciliation process would instigatefall in Ways and Means jurisdiction in the House. Since 1989, 11 of the 12 reconciliation instructions directed Ways and Means to draft and report bills. In short, the primary process Republicans will use to pass policies changing everything from Obamacare to tax reform would go through Paul Ryans presumptive committee.

If Republicans thought Representative Kingstons absence was a nuisance to the appropriations process, Ryans absence would surely be intolerable, particularly in the run up to the 2016 elections. Failing to chair the preeminent committee Republicans political and policy strategy centers upon would fundamentally undermine their majority. Today, House leaders may lay this rule at Kingstons feet. But it is not likely an accident the rule also complicates Ryans political future.

Joshua Huder publishes his Rule 22 blog at http://rule22.wordpress.com/.

More here:
House Republicans throw wrench in Paul Ryan's potential presidential plans

Colorado Senate Republicans, who now have an 18-17 majority, celebrated during caucus leadership elections by donning No. 18 Peyton Manning jerseys. Democrats have been in power since 2005 but will be in the minority next year. (Senate GOP)

Colorado Senate Republicans, who will be in charge for the next two years, have announced their committee chairs and members for the next two years.

The biggest surprise for Democrats might be the Senate Education Committee, where some of the chambers most conservative Republicans are assigned. In other words, this is not a teachers union friendly crowd.

Sen. Owen Hill

Democratic Sen. Andy Kerr of Lakewood, the current education chair, said he looks forward to working with the new education chair, Republican Owen Hill of Colorado Springs.

Ive served with Hill on two different committees and found his intelligence and humor to be uplifting, Kerr said. Although we dont agree on every issue we certainly enjoy working together.

Likewise, Hill said.

Andy and I talk and text regularly, Hill said. There are very few people in politics I enjoy working with more than Andy Kerr.

Republicans, who have been in the minority since 2005, will have an 18-17 majority next year and will be led by Senate President Bill Cadman of Colorado Springs.

The Senate Republicans have a dedicated and talented team committed to ensuring a fair and open process for all committee hearings, said Senate Majority Leader Mark Scheffel, R-Parker. We look forward to working with our Democratic colleagues to build a better Colorado in the upcoming legislative session.

View original post here:
Colorado Senate Republicans announce committee chairs

Children from 21 countries wear Halloween costumes as they recite the Pledge of Allegiance after becoming American citizens during a naturaliSation ceremony in Baltimore, Maryland on October 31st. Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Republicans are preparing a response to Barack Obamas plans to change the immigration system. The aim to block the presidents go-solo actions, which are expected to help up to five million illegal immigrants, but not alienate a public fed up with dysfunctional national politics with too extreme a reaction.

Hurt by last years government shutdown over their opposition to Mr Obamas signature healthcare law, the party is weighing how to counter his expected executive actions that would bypass Republican opposition in the House of Representatives and their refusal to take up a cross-party Senate immigration bill.

Mr Obama has long threatened to fix a broken immigration system on his own terms if House speaker John Boehner and his fellow Republicans in Congress fail to draft their own legislation.

Mr Boehner has refused to take up a bill on immigration, a lightning rod issue in the stormy partisanship of Washington politics, and has warned the president that executive action would poison the well.

He will make a televised address at 8pm tonight on his plans, he said, laying out the things that I can do with my lawful authority as president to make the system work better.

Mr Obama plans to make a speech at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas tomorrow to rally support for his initiative. The location points to the significance of the announcement the president gave a major speech on immigration at the school in January 2013, a week after his second inauguration.

Nevada is also the home state of Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid, who will make way for Republican Mitch McConnell as the next Senate majority leader after the GOP won back the chamber in this months midterm elections.

As many as five million people are reportedly expected to benefit from the move, out of the estimated 11.4 million illegal immigrants in the US.

The executive actions represent an expansion of the 2012 measure introduced by Mr Obama to allow children who were brought to the US illegally as children, known as Dreamers, to remain in the country.

Read the original post:
Republicans plan response to Obamas immigration move

Shortly after he was sworn-in as governor last month, Fayose ordered the closure of a petrol station in Ado Ekiti giving a standard made-in-Nigeria excuse. That filing station belongs to one Adewale Omirin. Omirin also happens to be the Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly and one of the progressives in the state. Last weekend, Mr Omirin retaliated by promising Fayose a second dose of impeachment before Valentines Day, 2015. Clearly, these two are not lovers. Ayodele Fayose

But the Federal government and Fayose moved in first. 24 hours later, Mr Omirin was impeached by seven House members and a battalion of heavily armed Federal police. I guess when the Peoples Democratic Party promised Ekiti voters more Federal presence in their state they werent kidding.

A few days before that, the judge presiding over a lawsuit looking into Fayoses eligibility to contest the governorship removed himself from the case. His reason? He got a couple of death threats. Ekiti seems determined to keep itself in the news bad news.

Fayoses second coming was always going to play out like this. If you are a dealer in boxing gloves, Id suggest you relocate your business to Ado Ekiti.

Theres no doubt that Ekiti is suffused with redoubtable men and women. But an Ayo Fayose is their governor, for the second time. You could see why there would be tension. But because of that tension, some folks down there are giving the word Progressive a bad meaning.

The first time Fayose called the shots in Ekiti, the place was in a mess, the state became an object of ridicule. But his people wanted him back. He was, surprisingly, their choice as leader. Well, the peoples choice must be respected always. This is one bitter pill, one fact with which the elite and the progressives have got to come to terms and quickly too.

Fronting for the progressives in Ekiti at the moment is a group that christened itself, E11. Immediately after Fayoses victory in June, E11 rushed off to the Press and issued a congratulatory message, pledging to work with Fayose for the progress of the state. Then something funny happened. A few days later, the same E11 recanted. They declared that they will not accept Fayose as governor.

It was the same with the All Progressives Congress (APC). Following his defeat, ex-governor, Fayemi who led that Party in Ekiti promptly announced that he accepted the peoples verdict. Fayemi was rightly hailed as a true democrat and a progressive. However, a few days afterwards, his Party declared that the result of the election was unacceptable and headed to court. All of that, in my view, is sour grapes, and in fact, makes all these folks look bad. The APC might feel that it is doing what an opposition Party is supposed to do after an electoral loss, but at some point, political Parties in Nigeria have to recognise a defeat as just that, congratulate the winner and move on to prepare for other opportunities.

I understand that E11 has been in court challenging Fayoses eligibility to contest, prior to the election. If this was the case, then it was very strange for the same group to congratulate Fayose publicly via a Press statement, only to return to court pushing their case. The whole thing is a joke, and if this is how the progressives practice their trade in Ekiti, you can see why Fayose had an easy victory there.

The Ekiti people have spoken and have (overwhelmingly) made their choice. Thats democracy warts and all. When Fayose drops the ball again (and he will), the same people have the choice and the mechanism to reject him. The current manoeuvrings by the progressives come dangerously close to attempting to override the peoples mandate, and it makes Fayose look like a combative saint. In other words, it stinks and its clumsy. All their exertions now look like class warfare. For all we know, the kerfuffle in the state could be from Fayoses camp or could be emanating from a disgusted and frustrated citizenry who sees what appears like an elite judicial coup against them. Heck, I would be upset too!

See the article here:
Fayose, Ekiti And The Progressives By Michael Egbejumi-David

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal

Thousands of All Progressives Congress members, led by the National Chairman of the party, Chief john Odigie-Oyegun, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, and other stalwarts, stormed the Force headquarters, Abuja on Wednesday, in protest.

They said they were protesting against the withdrawal of the security aides to the Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who defected to the APC a few days ago.

The prostest started shortly after a rally organised by the APC in Abuja. The protesters, who carried different placards disrupted activities at the Force headquarters as they prevented policemen, vehicles and visitors from entering the premises.

The crowd, which sang various anti-Police songs, caused serious traffic jam at the Asokoro end of the Shehu Shagari Way, Abuja, before they departed.

The Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, however, frowned at the blockade of the Force headquarters by the party members.

The IG described the incident as provocative and uncivilised, but added that it ended without any confrontation.

According to him, the Police exhibited maximum restraint in the face of ceaseless provocation by these leaders and their motley crowd.

The IG urged members of the political class and their followers who have grievances to seek redress in the court of law, rather than disturb the peace of innocent and law-abiding citizens.

A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, advised politicians to take their campaigns to the electorate, rather than engage in disruption of government activities and daily chores of Nigerians who engaged in the pursuit of their lawful businesses.

View post:
Amaechi, Oyegun, others protest withdrawal of Tambuwals aides