IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Extreme Right Republicans Prove Yet Again to Be the Flea Wagging the Entire Dog (Congress)
In the past two weeks alone, the House Republicans have been forced to pull two key pieces of legislation at the very last minute, due to the blow-back from the extreme right in their party.
First, the Republican leadership was forced to pull their Interior Appropriations bill and suspend all further consideration of spending bills because some 100 Republicans threatened that they would not vote for the Republican appropriations bills if there were not protections for the Confederate battle flag to continue waving on federal lands.
And just yesterday, House Republican leadership was forced to pull legislation from the floor that would create a commemorative coin to raise funding for breast cancer research at the behest of their Party fringe. Watch for yourself how over 20 House Republicans clamored on the House floor yesterday to have their names removed from the bill funding breast cancer research.
National Journal: House GOP Pulls Another Bill From Floor Over Abortion
By Daniel Newhauser
July 14, 2015
House Republican leaders pulled a commemorative coin bill supporting breast cancer from the floor Tuesday amid conservative outrage that an organization the measure would support is allied with Planned Parenthood.
The bipartisan bill would have funneled some proceeds from the minting of commemorative coins to Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. But conservatives objected, noting that the Komen organization donates money to Planned Parenthood. Heritage Action announced a key vote against the bill, Rep. Justin Amash called for a recorded vote, and just before the House was scheduled to vote, GOP leaders removed the bill from the rotation.
CNN: House Republican leaders cancel vote on breast cancer coin over abortion controversy
By Deirdre Walsh
July 14, 2015
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/14/politics/house-gop-breast-cancer-research-planned-parenthood/
House Republican leaders canceled a vote on Tuesday on legislation that would have created a commemorative coin to raise money for breast cancer awareness…
This is the second time House GOP leaders were forced to yank legislation shortly before a vote because of blow-back from their own members. Last week a vote on the annual spending bill funding the Interior Department was canceled because of controversy over an amendment regarding the display of Confederate flags at federal grave sites.
Talking Points Memo: How The Confederate Flag Could Cripple The GOP’s Plan To Win The Budget Battle
By Tierney Sneed
July 14, 2015
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/house-gop-budget-confederate-flag
The timing of last week’s unexpected fight in Congress over the Confederate flag could not have been much worse for congressional Republicans. If GOP leaders don’t get a handle on the issue soon, the debate could undermine their position on their major agenda issues, particularly in the high stakes budget battle expected this fall.
Their plan was to strengthen their position in the budget standoff by passing a series of conservative spending bills to show that they could govern and to put negotiating pressure on Obama and Democrats in the budget process. But with the standoff over the Confederate flag, none of the spending bills are going anywhere immediately. That has created a roadblock with no clear way around it for Republicans, all due to the party’s reluctance to abandon the flag entirely.
Roll Call: All Appropriations on Hold Until Confederate Flap Fixed
By Matt Fuller
July 14, 2015
http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/appropriations-hold-confederate-flap-fixed/
Don’t expect any more appropriations bills to make it through the House chamber any time soon. Not until Republicans and Democrats work out issues on the Confederate flag.
…
Republicans are looking to avoid another floor situation like the one that occurred on July 9, when Democrats forced votes on the Confederate flag. The Democrats’ action came after an exclusive CQ Roll Call report the night before on Republican efforts to roll back restrictions on the display and sale of the Confederate symbols in federal cemeteries.