Every RINO Needs To Go - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Every RINO Needs To Go Posted: 18 Jul 2017  Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG It looks like the effort to repeal Obamacare is completely dead, and that says a lot about the current state of the Republican Party.  For decades, RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) have been using labels such as “Republican”, “conservative”, “pro-gun” and “pro-life” to get elected, but then once they get into office they govern like Democrats.  There was so much hope when Donald Trump won the election last November, but thanks to the RINOs in Congress not much has actually been accomplished so far.  In fact, this is being called “the most unproductive Congress in 164 years”.  The following is an excerpt from an article published by The Week… Just six months ago, it looked like the Republican Party was about to go on a legislative blitzkrieg, shredding law after law passed by the Obama administration. ObamaCare would be vaporized and replaced with a nickel rattling inside an empty Mountain Dew can. Dodd-Frank was sure to be tossed aside for a transparent giveaway to Wall Street. And Republicans would pass their regressive tax reform, their perplexing border-adjustment tax, and so much more. The GOP hadn’t held total power in American politics since 2006, and the party had become much more conservative in the interim. Most of us were anticipating that so much would get done over the past 6 months, but instead we have seen nothing but gridlock. The most recent example of this has been the Obamacare debacle.  After failing to push through “Obamacare 2.0”, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell decided that he would switch gears and try to get a clean Obamacare repeal bill through the Senate, but unfortunately that effort has already failed… Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s sudden move to try to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan appeared doomed Tuesday as at least three moderate Republicans rejected the idea. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said they will not support a motion to proceed to the bill, which would repeal Obamacare in two years. Without their support, McConnell cannot get the 50 votes he needs to pass a repeal bill. Collins, Capito and Murkowski are perfect examples of what I am talking about when I use the term “RINOs”.  They are essentially Democrats, but they have been able to successfully use the Republican label to get elected. Unless we are able to start kicking the RINOs out of Congress, most of Trump’s agenda is going to go nowhere. Obviously Trump is not happy about what has transpired in the Senate, and now his plan is to basically sit back and let Obamacare fail… Now his plan is to “let Obamacare fail; it will be a lot easier,” he said. “And I think we’re probably in that position where we’ll just let Obamacare fail.” “We’re not going to own it. I’m not going to own it,” the president said. “I can tell you the Republicans are not going to own it. We’ll let Obamacare fail, and then the Democrats are going to come to us.” But will the Democrats come to the Republicans ready to compromise as Obamacare comes apart at the seams? I seriously doubt it. I think that they are convinced that they can successfully point the blame at the Republicans as our health care system continues to deteriorate. Personally, I believe that the more the federal government gets involved in health care the worse it is going to get. Unfortunately, once you establish a program that gives out free goodies to people it is hard to take that back.  For RINOs such as Collins, Capito and Murkowski, one of the biggest obstacles to repealing Obamacare is that it would roll back the Medicaid program to pre-Obamacare levels. Today, more than 74 million Americans are on Medicaid and CHIP, and more than  58 million Americans are on Medicare.  That means that more than 130 million Americans are enrolled in these government programs at this point. That is nearly half the country. Of course many Democrats would like to go all the way and put everyone in such programs, but then we would have a completely socialized health care system. The big problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.   Everybody likes free stuff, but somebody has to pay for all of that free stuff somewhere along the line. And if people are forced to expend time and effort in order to get their free stuff, interest in the free stuff drops substantially.  In Alabama, food stamp enrollment plunged dramatically once work requirements were re-instituted… Alabama began 2017 by requiring able-bodied adults without children in 13 counties to either find a job or participate in work training as a condition for continuing to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. According to AL.com, the number of those recipients declined from 5,538 to 831 between Jan. 1 and the beginning of May – an 85 percent drop. Similar changes were implemented in select counties in Georgia and by the end of the first three months, the number of adults receiving benefits in three participating counties dropped 58 percent, according to the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. In my brand new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters”, I open up about why I want to run for Congress.  For way too long we have had a federal government that has just gotten bigger and bigger and bigger.  We need to swing the pendulum way back in the other direction, and we need to educate people on the benefits of having a very limited central government. If you take the shackles off, the free market system works incredibly well.  And once upon a time, the United States actually had a free market health care system and it was the best on the entire planet. We can get there again, but first we need to get rid of the RINOs in Congress and replace them with people that deeply believe in true conservative values. Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

Are The ‘Toxic’ Democrats Destined To Become A Permanent Minority Party? - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Are The ‘Toxic’ Democrats Destined To Become A Permanent Minority Party?

Posted: 21 Jun 2017  Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

It has become exceedingly clear that the Democratic Party is in deep trouble.  Close to 55 million dollars was spent on the race in Georgia’s sixth congressional district, and that shattered all kinds of records.  Democrat Jon Ossoff was able to raise and spend six times as much money as Karen Handel and yet he still lost.  This was supposed to be the race that would show the American people that the Democrats could take back control of Congress in 2018, and so for the Democrats this was a bitter failure.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee actually injected almost 5 million dollars into the race themselves, and Planned Parenthood threw in another $700,000.  But after all of the time, effort and energy that was expended, Handel still won fairly comfortably.

The Democrats are trying to spin this result as some sort of “moral victory”, but as Dan Balz of the Washington Post has pointed out, there are “no moral victories in politics”…

There are no moral victories in politics. Republicans won on Tuesday in the most important special election this year. Democrats lost, as they have done in the other special elections in GOP-held seats this year.
For the national Democratic Party, the debate continues about developing a message that goes beyond attacking Trump, or assuming dissatisfaction with the president will be enough.

It has been a very long time since there has been so much national attention on a single House race.  A number of high profile Hollywood celebrities became personally involved in Ossoff’s campaign, and they were absolutely devastated when he lost…

Celebrities who donated time and money to Ossoff’s campaign, including actresses Alyssa Milano and Rosie O’Donnell, used their social media accounts to react to the Democrat’s loss shortly after the election results were confirmed late Tuesday night.
Milano, who personally drove voters to the polls in April’s preliminary election and was actively campaigning for the Democrat for most of Election Day, tweeted simply: “Grouphug” and “Get in.”
Meanwhile, electronic music producer Moby and vocal Trump critic O’Donnell appeared to be frustrated by the results, with Moby questioning how Democratic “still can’t win” even with “buffoon” Donald Trump in the White House. O’Donnell tweeted: “DONALD TRUMP IS THE DARKNESS ITSELF.”

Where does the Democratic Party go from here?

Their anti-Trump message is not working, and their usual divide and conquer tactics are not working either.

At this point either the Democratic Party is going to have to reinvent itself, or they could be facing a long, painful string of election defeats for the foreseeable future.  To say that things have not been going well for the Democrats lately would be a major understatement.  I really like what Rush Limbaugh had to say about this on his radio show…

“You have no idea the degree to which the media and the Democratic Party are destroyed today. I’m talking about how they feel … which is complete and utter defeat, frustration and devastation,” he said on Wednesday, hours after Republican Karen Handel was a multiple percentage point winner over defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff.
“The dirty little secret is the media and the Democratic Party is turning off average Americans. They are not persuading, they are not convincing people Trump is a reprobate,” he continued. “They do not know how to beat Donald Trump. There are depressed and despondent.”

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why Jon Ossoff lost.

All of the anger and violence that we have seen lately has greatly tainted the Democratic Party.

The Democrats have become the party of Kathy Griffin.

The Democrats have become the party of Antifa and mock Trump assassinations.

And the Democrats have become the party of James Hodgkinson.

U.S. Representative Tim Ryan was right on the ball when he admitted that his party’s brand has now become “toxic” in much of the nation…

Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio, who tried to unseat Ms. Pelosi as House minority leader late last fall, said she remained a political millstone for Democrats. But Mr. Ryan said the Democratic brand had also become “toxic” in much of the country because voters saw Democrats as “not being able to connect with the issues they care about.”

“Our brand is worse than Trump,” he said.

As I have discussed repeatedly, the left doesn’t have any positive vision for the future to offer the American people.  They cannot win in the marketplace of ideas, and so they use anger, frustration, intimidation and violence as weapons.  For quite a while the Democrats successfully used “the blame game” and divide and conquer tactics to win elections, but now the American people are seeing through the charade.

The more angry and violent the left becomes, the more the American people are going to turn against them.  The following comes from Daniel Greenfield…

But Trump Derangement Syndrome is a symptom of a problem with the left that existed before he was born. The left is an angry movement. It is animated by an outraged self-righteousness whose moral superiority doubles as dehumanization. And its machinery of culture glamorizes its anger. The media dresses up the seething rage so that the left never has to look at its inner Hodgkinson in the mirror.
The left is as angry as ever. Campus riots and assassinations of Republican politicians are nothing new. What is changing is that its opponents are beginning to match its anger.  The left still clings to the same anger it had when it was a theoretical movement with plans, but little impact on the country. The outrage at the left is no longer ideological. There are millions of people whose health care was destroyed by ObamaCare, whose First Amendment rights were taken away, whose land was seized, whose children were turned against them and whose livelihoods were destroyed.

Of course it is quite true that the Republican Party needs to be cleaned up as well.  Many establishment Republicans use labels such as “conservative” and “Pro-Life” to win elections, but then they end up government like Democrats.  And so many members of Congress in both parties spend far more time and energy raising money for their next elections than they do serving the American people.

There is a reason why Congress only has a 17.6 percent approval rating at the moment.  Both major parties should take that as a sign that they need to clean up their acts, because the American people are sick and tired of the status quo.

Is Franklin Graham Leading an Exodus Out of the Republican Party? - GEORGE THOMAS/CBN CHARISMA NEWS

Graham says he will "be urging Christians to vote, to live out their faith in every part of their lives, and to pray for our nation just as Nehemiah cried out to God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and restore hope to His people." (Courtesy)

Is Franklin Graham Leading an Exodus Out of the Republican Party?

1/6/2016 GEORGE THOMAS/CBN   charisma news

Evangelist Franklin Graham is kicking off a national tour of state capitols Tuesday, calling on Christians to repent, pray and uphold Biblical values at home and at the ballot box.

The 50-state tour, called "Decision America Tour 2016," will begin this afternoon on the steps of Des Moines, Iowa's capitol.

On his website, Graham says he will "be urging Christians to vote, to live out their faith in every part of their lives, and to pray for our nation just as Nehemiah cried out to God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and restore hope to His people."

The trip comes ahead of the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses in which Graham is urging Christians who care about social issues to go to the polls and vote for "godly leaders."

"I believe we are perilously close to the moral tipping point for the survival of the United States of America," Graham wrote in the most recent Decision magazine article. "I refuse to be silent and watch the future of our children and grandchildren be offered up on pagan altars of personal pleasure and immorality."

Graham, son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, is not endorsing any presidential candidate and will not allow any of them to speak at his rallies.

Late last month, Graham told followers on Facebook that he was quitting the Republican Party, partly because the GOP-controlled Congress failed to defund Planned Parenthood.

"I have no hope in the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or Tea Party to do what is best for America," he wrote on Facebook. "Unless more godly men and women get in this process and change this wicked system, our country is in for trouble."

So will these rallies turn political? Graham insists they won't.

"Some fear I might be leading an exodus out of the Republican Party. That's not my goal at all," he wrote in a recent Facebook post. "I'm not here to hurt the Republican Party or the Democratic Party—I want to help our nation. I want to stand on capitol steps and lead this nation state by state in praying for America."

Graham insists the Decision America Tour is about rallying Christians to pray for their nation.

"We'll be praying for our leaders and praying that God would give us politicians who will stand for Biblical values," Graham said. "I want to challenge Christians to get involved in the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and all others to make a difference, to get engaged at every level and to vote."

"The Bible calls us to be salt and light in this world," he continued. "It's time we got off the sidelines and got involved in actively working and praying to stop the moral decline of this great nation."

You can follow updates on the tour here. 

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here

Decision America Tour Event Draws Only This Many People

5:00AM EST 1/6/2016 BOB ESCHLIMAN  charisma news

Franklin Graham kicked off his 50-state Decision America Tour in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday afternoon. The series of events is meant to call the nation to prayer and to encourage Christians to become more politically engaged. (Video Screenshot Image)

Despite a sunny day, a steady south wind dropped wind chills to just 20° F on the west steps of the Iowa Statehouse on Tuesday afternoon.

That didn't prevent at least 2,000 people from gathering to hear from the Rev. Franklin Graham, who kicked off his Decision America Tour in the capital city of the first-in-the-nation caucus state. Another 1,000 people watched from the warmth of their own homes on a live stream of the event on the Billy Graham Evangelist Association's YouTube channel.

The event has since been archived online for others to view.

Graham opened his speech with a greeting from his father, who at 97 years of age is unable to travel. He then discussed the problems the nation faces.

"No political party is going to be able to turn this around," he told the crowd. "I have no hope in the Democratic Party—listen to me—I have zero hope in the Republican party. I have no hope in Tea Party or any other party. My only hope is in Almighty God and His Son, Jesus Christ. The most important thing we can do as Christians ... is pray."

Graham then spoke about the story of Nehemiah and how it parallels what is happening to America today. He said the steps Nehemiah took should be the template for those who were in attendance:

• prayerfully confess the sins of the nation,

• prayerfully confess one's personal sins,

• prayerfully confess the sins of our fathers,

Graham then asked the audience if their sins were forgiven, and if they really believed it. He said he wanted to be sure that everyone in attendance knew that God loved them, and that they understood the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ.

He then led those in the audience in need of it in a Sinner's Prayer.

Graham next discussed the rise of secularism during the "deep sigh" the nation took following the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union. He said there was little difference between the ideologies, particularly for Christians, and he urged them to fight.

Quoting frequently from his father's past speeches, he laid out a two-point battle plan to fight against the invasion of secularism in the political realm. The first of those is to vote.

"Vote for candidates that stand for biblical truth and biblical principles, and that are willing to live them," he said. "I'm not here to tell you who to vote for. I'm not going to do that ... but I'm asking you to vote. Do it."

The then urged Christians to stand up and answer the call of their communities, their state, and their nation. He said his father believed it was imperative that committed Christians enter public service.

"We need men and women ... of Christian commitment to run for political office this coming year, no matter which political party you belong," he said, quoting from speeches his father made in the 1970s and 1950s. "It is the easiest thing in the world for us, as Christians, to think of national [and] world politics as something only involving men and women of the world. That's where we fail. Our job, as Christians, is to make the impact of Christ felt in every phase of life: religious, social, economic, and political. But we must not do it in our own strength or wisdom. We can only do it as we surrender ourselves completely to God, allowing Him to work in us."

Graham said the choice may not be easy. It may sometimes require choosing the candidate that is closest to the biblical ideal. But, he added, the most important elections are those closest to home: mayors, city council, county commissioner, judges, and school boards.

"Could you imagine, that in the next two or three election cycles, that the majority of mayors and city councils of America were born-again Christians, the impact that would have on our nation and our cities?" he asked. "If men and women of God controlled the school boards of America, think about [the impact] that would have for the next 20 years on the education system of this nation."

Graham urged those who attended the event to go back to their communities and start up prayer groups and to pray for their communities. He also urged them to look for Christians in their communities to persuade to run for office, and to support their campaigns.

In closing, he urged those in attendance to go to the Decision America Tour website and to sign the pledge to both God and country. The pledge incorporates 1 Corinthians 3:11, 2 Chronicles 7:14, and 2 Corinthians 4:5.

Upcoming events include Jan. 12 in Tallahassee, Fla., Jan. 13 in Baton Rouge, La., and Jan. 19 in Concord, N.H.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here