Conservative Blogger
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Democrats heckle Ryan on House floor day after Orlando nightclub massacre
A day after a mass shooting in Orlando, Democratic lawmakers erupted on the House floor with loud criticism of House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., and other Republican leaders for leaving the nation's gun laws untouched.
The disruption came after Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-SC, attempted to ask Ryan on the floor when bills curbing gun use would be considered after the House paused for 16 seconds to honor those killed in the terror attack. Clyburn was going to note that Friday is the one-year anniversary of the Charleston, S.C. mass shooting.
Before Clyburn could finish, Ryan ruled his question out of order and directed the House to move to the next vote.
Some protested by leaving the House floor during a moment of silence honoring the victims, while other Democrats yelled "Where's the bill?" and "No leadership!"
After the disruption, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters Democrats have "had enough" of moments of silence after mass shootings when Congress does not act to tighten gun laws.
A handful of Democrats left the House floor during the moment of silence, including Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes. Himes said earlier Monday in an interview that he's done with the moments of silence typically held on the House floor after mass shootings, calling them "obnoxious expressions of smug incompetence." His district is close to Newtown, where a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six adults at an elementary school in 2012.
Leaving the House chamber, Ryan, R-Wis., declined to comment on the exchange. Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong tweeted that Democrats were politicizing the moment of silence, and called that "disheartening."
Hines is not the first Democrat to complain about the ritual. When a moment was held to honor victims of a deadly shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California, in December, several Democrats criticized it.
"We need to stand up, speak up, and take actions rather than another moment of silence," said Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., in a House floor speech at the time. "It is deafening, and it is killing us."
The Islamic radicals want to kill all of us -- gay, straight, Christian and Jew
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| America's at war with enemy Obama won't acknowledge |
That is the war cry of the modern-day jihadist.
The Islamic Radicals want to exterminate all of us -- Gay and straight, Christian and Jew.
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“They target each and every one of us,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote in a powerful call to action. “Their objective, which they broadcast worldwide, is to murder or forcibly convert every single American.”
And as we saw in Orlando, Florida -- this enemy shows no mercy.
The death toll is staggering – 49 dead, dozens wounded – mostly young people enjoying a night of dancing and music at a popular gay nightclub.
More bodies piled on the altar of political correctness. I say enough!
“What we need is for every American – Democrat and Republican – to come together, abandon political correctness, and unite in defeating radical Islamic terrorism,” Cruz wrote.
But America is at war with an enemy our president refuses to acknowledge.
President Obama went on national television and told us he has no "definitive judgment" on the motive of the Orlando jihadist.
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So let’s review the facts. The gunman had reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS in a 911 telephone call. He reportedly referenced the Boston bombers in that conversation. And he reportedly and screamed “Allahu Akbar” -- as he massacred innocent Americans.
And still the president seemed baffled over the jihadist’s motivations..
It was similar to his behavior in the aftermath of Chattanooga and San Bernardino and Boston and Fort Hood.
“We need a commander-in-chief who will speak the truth, and who will unleash the full force and fury of the American military to utterly destroy ISIS and its affiliates,” said Cruz. “We need to pass the Expatriate Terrorist Act, so that known ISIS terrorists cannot use U.S. passports to return to America and wage jihad. We need a President who is serious – who will identify the enemy by name and do everything necessary to defeat it.”
But the White House does not seem all that serious about naming the enemy or admitting that Radical Islam inspired the carnage.
And that brings me to something that happened during the first post-shooting press conference.
They invited a Muslim religious leader to speak.
They did not invite a Christian minister. They did not invite a Jewish rabbi. But by golly – they made sure to invite the senior Imam for the Islamic Society of Central Florida.
Now, why would they do that? Why invite the local imam if the shooting had nothing to do with radical Islam?
Instead of denouncing radical Islam he told us not to rush to judgment. Instead of affirming and announcing solidarity with the LGBT community, he told us not to sensationalize the massacre.
Instead of urging Muslims to wage war on the Islamists, he advanced the Mainstream Media’s narrative about getting our guns.
With all due respect -- Americans did not need a lecture from the Senior Imam of the Islamic Society of Central Florida -- especially after an Islamist had just slaughtered Americans on American soil.
But amid the carnage and devastation came acts of bravery and compassion.
Police officers and first responders ran into harm's way to save lives. Hundreds of citizens lined up to give blood. Churches hosted vigils and prayer services.
What happened in Orlando is not about the political community or the religious community or the LGBT community. It's about the American community -- our community.
And not even a jihadist can destroy that.
Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary, heard on hundreds of radio stations. His latest book is "God Less America: Real Stories From the Front Lines of the Attack on Traditional Values." Follow Todd on Twitter@ToddStarnes and find him on Facebook.
Clinton under fire for earlier remark that Muslims had ‘nothing’ to do with terrorism
Hillary Clinton is coming under fire for a tweet last year in which she claimed Muslims have “nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism.”
However, on Monday the presumptive Democratic nominee acknowledged the threat of “radical Islamism,” one day after an apparent Islamic State sympathizer killed 49 people and wounded dozens of others inside an Orlando, Fla., nightclub.
“I have clearly said we have terrorist enemies who use Islam to justify slaughtering innocent people,” Clinton said on NBC’s “Today” show.
“To me, radical jihadism, radical Islamism, they mean the same thing. I'm happy to say either but that's not the point.”
Her remarks were a departure from her tweet in November 2015, between the November 2015 Paris massacre and the December 2015 San Bernardino, Calif., terror attacks, both linked to ISIS.
“Let’s be clear: Islam is not our adversary,” Clinton tweeted. “Muslims are peaceful and tolerant people and have nothing to do whatsoever with terrorism.”
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“Hillary Clinton, for months, and despite so many attacks, has repeatedly refused to even say the words ‘radical Islam,’ ” Trump said. “Just a few weeks before the San Bernardino slaughter, Clinton explained her refusal to say the words. She said Muslims are peaceful and tolerant people, nothing to do with terrorism. That is Hillary Clinton.”
On Sunday, Trump criticized Clinton and President Obama for not using the words “radical Islam” in speaking about the Orlando attack amid evidence that shooter Omar Mateen was indeed an ISIS sympathizer.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Monday dismissed suggestions by reporters that Clinton had broken with the president on the issue.
“Having worked in this administration for four years, she is somebody who agrees strongly with the president's approach to ensuring that we are not giving legitimacy to a terrorist organization that would love to advance the narrative that they are somehow holy warriors advancing the cause of Islam by waging war against the United States,” Earnest said. “That is an utterly baseless myth. It is false.”
Trump, Clinton trade blows on terror and guns in wake of Orlando attack
While investigators try to piece together what led the Orlando gunman to carry out an unspeakable act of terror, the attack is upending the 2016 campaign debate as the two presumptive rivals go toe-to-toe on terror with two very different messages.
In back-to-back speeches Monday, Donald Trump doubled down on his call for a Muslim immigration ban while decrying what he described as a "deadly ignorance" that is hurting the country -- and Hillary Clinton renewed her call for an assault-weapons ban while vowing to stop "lone wolf" terrorists.
Trump, speaking in New Hampshire, focused largely on his plans for an immigration crackdown. Trump said he wants to "suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism" against the U.S. or its allies.
“We have no choice,” Trump said of the proposed ban. It wasn't immediately clear whether Trump was revising his long-standing proposal to temporarily bar foreign Muslims entering the U.S., which he also defended, or referring to the same plan.
The New York businessman also called the Orlando shooting “an assault on the ability of free people to live their lives, love who they want and express their identity.”
“It we don’t get tough, and we don’t get smart – and fast – we’re not going to have a country anymore – there will be nothing left,” Trump said.
Trump, speaking at St. Anselm College, was quick to slam his Democratic rival, claiming she “is in total denial” and that her ultimate plan is to “disarm law-abiding Americans” while admitting immigrants who could pose a threat.
A few hours earlier at her speech in Ohio, Clinton called for an "intelligence surge" and a ban on assault weapons as part of a multi-pronged strategy to confront homegrown terrorism.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, following the Orlando terror attack, called on Americans to fight terrorism at home with “clear eyes” and “steady hands.” She delivered a carefully calibrated message, calling for America to get tougher on terrorists while also renewing gun control proposals that have failed to gain steam in Congress.
At the Cleveland campaign event, she drew cheers from the crowd after calling for a ban on assault weapons.
“Weapons of war have no place on our streets,” Clinton said.
Clinton also said if she were in the White House, a top priority would be “identifying and stopping lone wolves,” like the Orlando shooter.
She also called for increased efforts to remove Islamic State messages from the Internet and said “peace-loving Muslims are in the best position to help fight radicalization.”
Trump’s speech was originally supposed to focus on his case against the Clintons – but Trump changed his focus following the attack in Orlando that left 49 people dead and dozens injured. The gunman died in a shootout with police.
On Monday, President Obama said investigators believe the gunman was not directed by external extremist groups, instead saying the shooter “was inspired by various extremist information that was disseminated over the Internet.”
He added that there is “no direct evidence” the shooter “was part of a larger plot.”
Clinton warned earlier Monday against demonizing an entire religion, saying doing so would play into the hands of the Islamic State group.
"We can call it radical jihadism, we can call it radical Islamism," Clinton said on CNN's "New Day." "But we also want to reach out to the vast majority of American-Muslims and Muslims around this country, this world, to help us defeat this threat, which is so evil and has got to be denounced by everyone, regardless of religion."
The horrific shooting consumed the White House race just as Trump and Clinton were fully plunging into the general election. It served as a reminder to the candidates and voters alike that the next president will lead a nation facing unresolved questions about how to handle threats that can feel both foreign and all too familiar.
Trump said Monday he was revoking the press credentials of the Washington Post after the newspaper published an article with a headline "Donald Trump suggests President Obama was involved with Orlando shooting."
"Based on the incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record setting Trump campaign, we are hereby revoking the press credentials of the phony and dishonest Washington Post," Trump posted on his Facebook page.
Authorities identified the killer in Orlando as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old American-born Muslim. FBI officials said they had investigated him in 2013 and 2014 on suspicion of terrorist sympathies but could not make a case against him.
Mateen opened fire at the Pulse Orlando club with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. He called 911 during the attack to profess his allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organization though it was unclear whether he had any direct contact with ISIS or was just inspired by them.
Monday, June 13, 2016
Trump, Clinton clash in dueling DC speeches
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, now at the starting line of a general election race, traded shots across the capital Friday in dueling addresses before two very different D.C. audiences -- each warning the other would take the country backward.
Trump headlined the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” summit while Clinton addressed a Planned Parenthood national conference.
Trump, looking to solidify his standing with evangelical Christians, offered assurances Friday that he would “restore respect for people of faith” -- and stressed the “sanctity and dignity of life.”
If there was any doubt he wanted to throw Clinton's Planned Parenthood speech into sharp relief, he took on his presumptive rival later in his remarks. Trump warned Clinton would "appoint radical judges," eliminate the Second Amendment, "restrict religious freedom with government mandates," and "push for federal funding of abortion on demand up until the moment of birth."
Clinton, meanwhile, in her first speech as the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, said a Trump presidency would take the country back to a time “when abortion was illegal … and life for too many women and girls was limited.”
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Clinton made it clear that women’s issues would be a staple of her campaign, promising abortion rights supporters that she would “always have your back” if elected president.
Clinton repeated claims that Trump wants to “take America back to a time when women had less opportunity” and freedom.
“Well, Donald, those days are over. We are not going to let Donald Trump -- or anybody else -- turn back the clock,” she told the cheering crowd.
Before arriving at the event, Clinton held a private meeting at her D.C. home with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has been rumored to be a consideration for running mate.
Echoing some of the attacks Warren has made in recent days, Clinton attempted to elevate the importance of this election.
“We are in the middle of a concerted, persistent assault on women’s health across the country,” warned Clinton, who said the 2016 election was “profoundly different” than previous elections.
In what is a campaign trail staple of hers, Clinton highlighted Trump’s insults toward women and asserted that it would be “hard to imagine depending on him to defend the fundamental rights of women.”
Trump, meanwhile, continued calling Clinton, “crooked Hillary” and referred to her ongoing email scandal. He took her to task on her domestic and foreign policy stances.
Trump was interrupted by protesters at the annual gathering of evangelical Christians. The protesters shouted “Stop hate! Stop Trump!” and “refugees are welcome here.”
Trump called the chants “a little freedom of speech” but added it was also “a little rude, but what can you do?”
3rd time a charm? San Francisco to try yet again to give illegal immigrants voting rights
After two failed bids to grant voting rights to illegal immigrants, some San Francisco officials believe they have found the man who can make it happen: Donald Trump.
A proposed charter amendment drafted by Board of Supervisors member Eric Mar would give illegal immigrants with kids in the public school system the right to vote in school elections. Voters have rejected two previous ballot proposals, but Mar is betting on anti-Trump sentiment to carry the pro-illegal immigrant proposal if he can get it on the November ballot.
“With Donald Trump’s racist and anti-immigrant sentiments, there is a reaction from many of us who are disgusted by those politics," Mar said. "I think that’s going to ensure there is strong Latino turnout as well as other immigrant turnout.”
A key promise in Trump's campaign for the Republican nomination for president has been to build a wall on the Mexican border. This week, Trump claimed a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against Trump University wouldn’t be impartial because he is of Mexican heritage.
Mar staffers confirmed the measure will go before the rules committee within weeks, and could then be presented to the full board of supervisors. If a majority support it, the charter amendment will be on the ballot Nov. 8 when the city and nation votes for president.
“The time is right for San Francisco to make history, to pave the way for immigrant parents to have a say in the policy decisions that impact their child’s education and who gets to sit on the Board of Education,” Mar said in a written statement.
The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the biggest name in politics. See Latest Coverage →
Chiu believes Trump's presence on the ballot, and the fact that one of every three children in the system is now the child of an immigrant parent could make the third time a charm.
The plan is “bad public policy,” according to Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation and former Federal Elections Commission member.
“It is wrong to extend the vote to individuals who have not entered the American social compact or made a commitment to the our Constitution, our law, and our cultural and political heritage by becoming citizens,” von Spakovsky said. “It is even worse to extend the franchise to illegal aliens whose very first act is to violate our laws; that encourages contempt for the law.”
While laws in all 50 states bar noncitizens from voting in state elections, and federal law makes it a felony for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, there is an opening in local elections, von Spakovsky acknowledged.
Seven jurisdictions - including 6 in Maryland and one in Chicago – afforded voting rights to noncitizens, Ron Hayduk, a political science professor at Queens College of the City University of New York, told the Chronicle.
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