THE FACE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY TO BE REMADE ~#s 1 and 2

Senator Lindsey Graham, SC

NEWSMAX:  Wednesday, 27 Oct 2010

Lindsey Graham: GOP Should Work With Obama

As Republicans prepare for their likely takeover of the House and possibly the Senate after next Tuesday’s elections, at least one prominent GOP legislator thinks the party should prepare to work with President Barack Obama. That’s Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, The Hill reports. He says Republicans should engage the president on issues such as an energy bill that doesn’t include cap and trade, Social Security, and job creation.

 Congressman Fred Upton, MI

Paul Mirengoff, Power Line, Wednesday, 27 Oct 2010

Rep. Joe Barton, the Ranking Member of the [House Energy and Commerce] Committee, faces a tenure limitation problem — the service limit Republicans impose on a member’s eligibility to be the ranking member or chairman of a committee expires this year. Thus, Rep. Fred Upton, currently the ranking member of the Energy and Environment subcommittee, is making a move for the chairmanship, and is considered the front-runner.

The problem is that Upton is not a conservative. His voting record leaves no doubt of this. For example, Upton was one of only three Republicans to oppose extending the Bush tax cuts. He also voted with the Democrats in their effort to make future tax cuts harder to pass. And he opposed Republican amendments to the stimulus bill which would have substituted tax cuts for stimulus money. Upton also voted against an amendment to cut $355 billion out of the stimulus legislation.

By the same token, Upton voted in favor of the Democrats’ $409 billion Ominbus Appropriations Act of 2009, which increased federal spending by 8.4 percent and gave President Obama $19 billion more than he had requested. Twenty Democrats voted against this Act, but (as Hubert Humphrey might have said) not Congressman Upton.

Upton’s record is also decidedly non-conservative when it comes to energy and environmental issues. He has voted consistently to place more federal land off limits to domestic energy production. He voted for a bill to eliminate 1.2 million acres from mineral leasing and energy exploration in Wyoming, thereby withdrawing an estimated 331 million barrels of recoverable oil and 8.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from domestic energy supply. In addition, Upton helped Democrats pass an omnibus energy bill that imposed new regulations on energy companies and created dozens of new government energy programs.

On the question of climate change, Upton is no skeptic. “Right or wrong,” he proclaimed in February 2009, “the debate over the modeling and science appears to be over.” Right or wrong?

Upton is also the co-author, along with liberal Democrat Jane Harmon, of the ban on incandescent light bulbs.

Now we must not let either of these plans happen. I’m not saying Senator Graham or Congressman Upton can be remade. Republicans must be remade in a way these men and other examples do not have their way in these specifics or more broadly.

We must write to Senator McConnell explaining We the People are not interested in compromising with Obama on energy, Social Security or job creation. And we must write Congressman Boehner with the message that the Energy and Commerce Committee must not be led by Congressman Upton. Indeed, all committee chairs must be committed to turning away from the Obama direction and listening to the voice of the people.

Contact Senator Mitch McConnell at               Contact Minority Leader John Boehner at

361-A Russell Senate Office Building              Office of the House Republican Leader

Washington, DC 20510                                       H-204 The Capitol 

                                                                                Washington, DC 20515

Update: The Senator Graham statement seems a perfect example of my “Vested Interest” post October 14th where I made a point that Republicans and Democrats come and go but vested interests stay. There can be no doubt, concerning the issues Senator Graham highlighted, He was listening to vested interests.

Update: On today’s program, Sean Hannity Chastised Senator Graham. “Let President Obama come to you,” Hannity said.