In control of Washington, GOP-run Congress sees mandate -- starting with end to ObamaCare

The 115th Congress begins Tuesday with a full slate of business, though nothing will be more politically important or pressing for Republicans than repealing ObamaCare.
With Donald Trump set to officially become president on Jan. 20, Republican leaders in the House and Senate will begin repeal efforts shortly after Congress’ 59 new members -- seven senators and 52 House members -- are sworn in and the formalities are concluded.
The GOP, which now controls both Capitol Hill and the White House, has made dismantling the 2010 health care law a priority almost since it was signed by President Obama.
Lawmakers will also look at a tax overhaul, reversing Obama-era environmental regulations and other conservative priorities.
However, such efforts will have to share center stage with the Senate confirmation hearings for Trump’s Cabinet picks in the days and months that follow the president-elect’s swearing-in.
It should be easier for Republicans to move nominations after Democrats changed the Senate's filibuster rules in 2013. Still, Democrats have pledged to fight many of the nominations, highlighting what they call the hypocrisy of Trump’s populist message and his wealthy, corporate-favoring nominees for several posts.
Perhaps the biggest wild card in the new Congress’s early weeks will be what to do about Russia’s involvement in several cyberattacks during this year’s presidential race -- in which Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Trump has been skeptical about Russia’s involvement, while top GOP Sens. including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Arizona’s John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have called for hearings on the issue and proposed sanctions beyond what President Obama imposed last week.
McCain told Fox News on Wednesday that he also wants to permanently station U.S. soldiers in the Baltic Sea countries bordering Russia and increase aid to neighboring Ukraine against Russian aggression -- to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin knows “this kind of interference will be responded to."
How GOP leaders and Trump negotiate the issue will likely depend on the outcome of the president-elect’s meeting this week with U.S. intelligence officials.
Republicans will face other obstacles from Democrats, beyond the Cabinet conformations.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have already made efforts to stop proposed changes to entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid and to ObamaCare. Those efforts include a planned national “Day of Action” on January 15.
“Bring it on,” Schumer said in November, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to make repealing ObamaCare a first order of business.
And Obama is scheduled to visit congressional Democrats on Wednesday to discuss ways to save his signature legislation.
Republicans likely won’t be able to replace ObamaCare in its entirety for several years, considering they would need an alternative program for the roughly 22 million Americans who would lose their current health insurance.
In addition, Trump and both parties have expressed interest in a large transportation bill to create jobs and to fix the country’s aging infrastructure. But a clear plan has yet to emerge, with the estimated, billion-dollar price tag a likely sticking point among fiscal conservatives on the Hill.
The new Senate will have 52 Republicans, 46 Democrats and two Independents who caucus with the Democrats. The House will have 241 Republicans and 194 Democrats.
The Senate plans to begin repealing ObamaCare on Tuesday with consideration of a procedural measure that will shield them from Democratic filibuster legislation annulling much of that statute.
Lawmakers will then spend the next few months working on legislation canceling broad swaths of the law. Provisions that are most likely to go are the law's mandate that people buy health insurance or face IRS fines, as well as its expansion of Medicaid coverage to more lower-earning Americans.
Republicans will then begin the more complicated task of building a new system. The GOP will have to craft new programs for the nation's $3 trillion health care system and make sure insurance markets don't collapse while the transition is under way.
McConnell, Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., also want a massive tax overhaul, with the goal of simplifying a complicated tax code that rewards wealthy people with smart accountants as well as corporations that can easily shift profits and jobs overseas.
It would be the first major tax overhaul in 30 years. Trump has also advocated a tax overhaul, but with fewer details. He promises a tax cut for every income level, with more low-income families paying no income tax at all.
Waiting in the wings will be confirmation hearings to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died 11 months ago.
McConnell blocked consideration of Obama's nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, saying the next president should make the pick. The strategy paid off, and the Republican Senate will consider whomever Trump nominates.

Charlie Sheen's Trump death wish: How Twitter is turning political debate toxic

The politics of hate is getting out of control.
For all the positive aspects of social media, the amount of venom being spewed there threatens to desensitize us all.
Take Charlie Sheen. Okay, he’s a liberal Hollywood guy who hasn’t exactly led an exemplary life. He has a history of alcohol and drug problems. He was kicked off his CBS show and living with a couple of call girls. He belatedly admitted he had HIV as the National Enquirer was about to report it.
Oh, and he doesn’t like Donald Trump.
So after the sad deaths of Carrie Fisher and her mom, Debbie Reynolds, Sheen tweeted this:
“Dear God; Trump next, please! Trump next, please!” And on and on.
That’s right, this screwed-up actor wished death on the next president of the United States.
When I took to (where else) Twitter to denounce this, here are some of the responses I received:
Lanark: ‏ No. Should be listened to. By God.
rjlarios@hotmail.com:Trump is a menace to the USA and the entire world!! He could be the cause of millions of deaths so why shouldn't he go first!
Chris Bavelles: its not about political differences it's about something so much worse. I applaud Charlie for tweeting out. And so should you.
Shawn: It's Trump, he's human garbage, it's just like emptying the trash in your house.
Lovely. So some folks think it’s perfectly all right to urge the death of the president-elect, and joined Sheen in that wish.
And then there were some like this:
michael cuviello: I did not hear the outtrage over what the Trump campaign guy said from the right.
This is unfortunately typical of what passes for debate on social media. If you decry something ugly that someone tweeted, some people say: Yeah, but what about so-and-so saying such-and-such at the other end of the political spectrum? What about that, huh?As if that somehow justifies the offensive words by someone on your side.
In this case, the reference was to Trump’s former New York co-chairman Carl Paladino, a onetime gubernatorial candidate and member of the Buffalo school board, which called for his resignation.
Paladino had said he hoped President Obama would die of mad cow disease. As for Michelle Obama, “I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.”
This racist garbage was followed by a Paladino apology, and the Trump campaign denounced the remarks. I had been on vacation when this was reported.
To be clear, I have no problem with people using strong language and venting their political views. If Charlie Sheen wants to rail against Trump and his policies—his dad, Martin Sheen, joined in an anti-Trump election ad—that’s his right.
But when you start calling for people to die, or unload with racist or misogynist or anti-Semitic sentiments, decent folks have every right to declare that unacceptable.
Sheen’s remarks barely caused a ripple, perhaps because they were aimed at Trump, who has been the target of an unprecedented level of negative coverage. If a celeb as well known as Sheen had called for Obama’s death, there would have been a barrage of headlines.
Or perhaps it reflects the fact that Twitter has become such a toxic stew that even the most outrageous stuff rarely bubbles up to the top.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz. 

Spicer hints Obama's Russian sanctions 'politically motivated'

Sean Spicer, the incoming White House communications director, suggested Sunday that President Obama’s imposing Russian sanctions related to email hacking was politically motivated, considering China recently did far worse without punishment.
“Maybe it was; maybe it wasn't,” Spicer said on ABC’s “This Week.” “China took over a million records. And a White House statement wasn't even issued. … So there is a question about whether there's a political retribution here versus a diplomatic response.”
Obama, a Democrat leaving office next month after two terms, has insisted the hacking probe is non-political, saying, “There is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action."
But he also has made clear his belief that the Russian hacking "create(d) more problems for the Clinton campaign than it had for the Trump campaign."
Obama’s announcement Thursday of the sanctions follows the U.S. intelligence community making statements that connect Russia to the hacking and releasing of emails from the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta, the campaign chairman for 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Clinton supporters argue that the emails contributed to Clinton's defeat by Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Spicer insisted several times Sunday that Trump will decide after meeting this week with U.S. intelligence officials about whether Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin were indeed involved.
Meanwhile, he suggested that Americans, including the mainstream media, immediately and overwhelming accepted the assumption about Russia’s involvement without all of the facts.
“Everyone in the media wants to jump forward and make a conclusion based off...anonymous sources that are coming out of the intelligence community,” Spicer said.
He also argued that the Obama administration’s report on the sanctions was supposed to prove Russia’s involvement but instead pointed out lapses in the DNC’s Internet security.
“What this says is that the DNC had a problem with their IT security and people tried to hack it and that (the DNC) needs to do a better job of protecting it,” Spicer said.
He also seemed to suggest that Obama’s punitive actions on Russia were politically motivated, considering their severity and because they’ll be put in Trump’s lap when he takes over the White House in three week.
“You haven't seen a response like that in modern history for any action,” Spicer said about Obama expelling 35 Russian diplomats and closing separate Russian compounds in Maryland and New York.
He argued that Obama took no known action two years ago when China took the million-plus records that included sensitive data on federal employees including him.
“They sent everyone who had worked in the government a letter saying that you’ll get free monitoring of your credit,” Spicer said. “That's all they did.”

New Year Fireworks Cartoons

‘Black’ Activist Rachel Dolezal Dropped from MLK Event by North Carolina Town

Want to Be.

Really is.

A North Carolina town has nixed Rachel Dolezal from its Martin Luther King Jr. Dreamfest next month, saying her scheduled appearance would “take away from the goals” of the event.

Charming Cary, North Carolina, had originally booked Dolezal to speak on a panel about racial identity and race relations. The former president of the Spokane, WA NAACP chapter, Dolezal drew nationwide controversy after news broke that she was born to white parents. She says she identifies as black.

Dreamfest organizers originally said they had chosen Dolezal because she had “been depicted as a major villain through media because of her racial identity, yet she didn’t steal from anybody. She didn’t murder anybody. She didn’t rob anybody. She only had an affinity for a group of people, and she served her community well.”
But local backlash quickly built around Dolezal’s appearance, with eight clergy decrying her “sensationalized presence” in a letter and saying that her participation would “not honor the stories, voices, and experiences of the people for whom the Rev. King gave his life.”
The Dreamfest’s organizers quietly removed Dolezal from the scheduled panel in mid-December.
Doug McRainey, Cary’s parks, recreation and cultural resources director, told Heat Street the town supports this decision.
“While we were hopeful that her being part of a panel discussion of discrimination could be meaningful, we heard concerns from pastors and citizens that her presence would result in a negative notoriety that would overshadow all of the good Dreamfest is set to deliver – something no one wanted to see happen,” McRainey said.
Through her publicist, Dolezal declined to comment.(Shes got a publicist? :-))

Trump wishes 'Happy New Year' to all, including his 'many' rudderless 'enemies'

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday wished a “Happy New Year” to friends and enemies -- sort of.
“Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me,” Trump began on Twitter.
He ended the tweet by wishing everybody “Love,” but not before making sure that all those who “lost so badly” to him knew the New Year’s message was also intended for them.
“They just don't know what to do,” he wrote.
To whom Trump was speaking is unclear. But he and supporters have since Election Day argued that backers of defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and others continue to search for excuses and others to blame for her stunning defeat.
Trump tweeted again at midnight, wishing all Americans a "Happy New Year."
Trump has roughly 18 million Twitter followers and continues to use the social media site to bypass conventional media outlets like TV and newspapers to send unfiltered, sometime combative messages to Americans.
Trump spent his New Year's Eve at his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Weed, guns and catfish: 2017 brings new laws, big changes

Just because Congress ground to a virtual halt in 2016 doesn’t mean the country stopped making new laws.
From taxes to minimum wage to gun control, a broad range of changes is coming at the state level as Americans ring in 2017. And, as has been the trend lately, the new year will bring far broader legalization of marijuana.
It’s what The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, in a letter to Vice President-elect Mike Pence arguing against pot prohibitions, called an “unprecedented schism between state and federal law in regards to … cannabis statutes.” While that debate will play out anew as the Trump administration takes office with a law-and-order mandate, the “schism” grows wider in 2017.
Already, revelers in Massachusetts and California will have the legal option of pairing their New Year’s Eve champagne with a joint. Approved by voters in November, legal recreational pot use took effect on Dec. 15 in Massachusetts; legal personal use of the drug took effect in California shortly after voters approved it there, though retail sales are still months away from implementation.
Nevada legalized recreational pot on Jan. 1, and Maine will follow soon after.
Voters in the last election approved legalizing the drug for medical purposes in North Dakota, Montana, Florida and Arkansas. In Colorado, one of the first states to legalize pot, licensed medical marijuana growers will now be allowed to sell pot as well.
Colorado voters also backed an increase in the statewide minimum wage.
Starting Jan. 1, the wage increased from $8.31 to $9.30 per hour for non-tipped workers and will increase by $0.90 per hour every year until it reaches $12 an hour on Jan. 1, 2020.
Voters in Maine, Arizona and Washington also voted in favor of minimum wage hikes. An appeals court in Arizona recently rejected an effort by state businesses to delay the Jan. 1 implementation.
As wage hikes enter the pipeline, so have tax hikes:
In Portland, Ore., the city council passed a so-called CEO tax, a first-in-the-nation ordinance to put a tax surcharge on publicly traded companies whose CEOs earn 100 times more than the median wage of other company employees. According to the National Law Review, a surcharge of 10 percent of the base tax liability would be imposed on those companies beginning on Jan. 1.
Buying presents next Christmas or anything from Amazon also will be more expensive for Utah residents in 2017 thanks to a new law requiring online retailers to charge consumers a 4.7 state sales tax at the point of sale, rather than relying on the honor system.
On the tax relief side of the ledger, Illinois approved a measure tossing out a 6.25 percent “luxury” tax on tampons.
Illinois passed dozens of other laws, including changes so that starting Jan. 1 it will no longer be illegal to catch catfish using a pitchfork, speargun or bow and arrow. Critically, the term “public hunting ground for pheasants” will be replaced by “public hunting ground for game birds.”
On the West Coast, gun owners in California will face new restrictions after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law banning the purchase of semiautomatic rifles with so-called “evil features.”
The “evil features” include pistol grips, flash hiders and bullet-buttons that make it easier to remove and replace ammunition magazines. The Los Angeles Times reported an increase in gun purchases in the lead-up to the Jan. 1 implementation.
The gun measure is one of the few new California laws that do not have roots on the desk of state Sen. Jerry Hill, the sponsor of 17 bills taking effect in the new year. The laws run the gamut from how police store their weapons in their vehicles to tour bus safety to restrictions on water use.
While Congress itself largely was inactive over the past year, a new regulation stemming from the Affordable Care Act, and set to take effect Jan. 1, could have far-reaching implications across the country.
Under the change, states will have the option to seek so-called Section 1332 waivers to try to modify parts of ObamaCare for their residents. A number of states have sought to get that process started – though the incoming Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress want to repeal and replace the law as a whole next year.

Happy New Year or I'm so glad my idiot neighbor and their Idiot kids didn't burn my house down.

By Blls Bailey

If you are like me and live in a rural neighborhood you also had to go through a night with dumbass neighbors shooting off fireworks into the early morning hours supposedly bringing in the new year.  Don't get me wrong I'm all for expressing my happiness but in more constructive ways and one of them is not by setting fire to mine and my neighbor's house or running their livestock through the fences and scaring the hell out of all the pets. And what about the feeling of others like war veterans that have gone through hell in combat, how do you think they feel when the fireworks are so loud it seems to be in the room with you. Yep I'm all for celebrating but it's not by keeping little newborn babes awake crying, or someone with a ready awaiting water hose up all night worrying about some idiot next door setting fire to the countryside. Late night partying with fire crackers and loud music going into the wee hours of the morning is great, that is unless you're one of the people who was raised up in the country and know what it's like to have to get up at 4:00am in the morning to hunt up your lost livestock and care for them. Subdivisions and City people should come into the countryside to live with the understanding that they should leave the bright lights and noises of the city behind them or stay where they are. Yep Happy New Year America and here's to leaving the holidays behind us :-)

Deplorable Cartoons :-)

2016 was the year of the deplorables

My father was a member of the Silent Majority and had he been alive he would’ve cast his vote for Donald J. Trump. He would’ve been one of those people Hillary Clinton called a "deplorable."
I’ve lived in New York City for more than a decade now – and I’ve seen firsthand the contempt for country folks like my father – people from rural America.
Click here to pre-order Todd’s new book, “The Deplorables’ Guide to Making America Great Again”!
As I write in my new book, “The Deplorables’ Guide to Making America Great Again,”  I feel like a "Duck Dynasty" guy living in a "Modern Family" world – where right is wrong, wrong is right – it’s as if our values have been turned upside down.
President Obama called us "bitter." He said we were the kinds of people who cling to guns and religion.
Time and time again he stood on foreign soil and apologized for our nation. And to this day it remains unclear whether he believes the United States is the most exceptional nation on Earth.
And how can we forget what Miss Hillary said?
"To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call the 'basket of deplorables. Right? Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it."
The only thing deplorable was Hillary Clinton's basket of grossly generalistic comments.
"And unfortunately, there are people like that and he has lifted them up," she went on to say. "He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people, now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets offensive, hateful, mean-spirited rhetoric."
Her campaign portrayed conservative Catholicism as a “bastardization of the faith” and seemed to imply that Evangelicals are a bunch of impoverished country bumpkins.
We were mocked by Hollywood and dismissed by academics. We were marginalized by the media – bullied and belittled by sex and gender revolutionaries.
But all that changed on Election Day – when Donald Trump became a champion for the Silent Majority. He gave us a voice.  And now the Silent Majority is silent no more.
We the People have decided that it’s time to drain the swamp.
It’s time to restore traditional values. It’s time to protect the Constitution. It’s time to defend our sovereignty. It’s time to save unborn babies.
It’s time to stand up for the American working man (and woman) and bring jobs back from China and Mexico. It’s time to eradicate the scourge of ObamaCare.
And that, my friends, is the top story of 2016.
Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary, heard on hundreds of radio stations. His latest book is “The Deplorables’ Guide to Making America Great Again.” Follow Todd on Twitter @ToddStarnes and find him on Facebook.