Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary; Pence Breaks Tie

[Oceander]

Good job.  She'll bring a much-needed new perspective to that bat-shit blind department.

[Oceander]

I don't care if mitch 'rammed' this one thing through. He has a history that exists whether you acknowledge it or not. And it is exactly what I said above.

I'm on board with getting conservatism spread and conservative legislation passed, not liberallism empowered. As long as Trump is headed in that direction, I'm there. And Trump could KEEP going in that direction if not for people like Mitch sodomizing him on say national security issues like Trump's fully constitutional terrorist ban or Mitch aiding and abetting the liberals whining about Trump calling an idiot judge on his bullshit.

Trump's chicken-sh't garbage about that judge is why Trump is a loose cannon.  He made the task of getting his own damned S.Ct nominee confirmed more difficult with that childish outburst. 

[Maj. Bill Martin]

I don't care if mitch 'rammed' this one thing through. He has a history that exists whether you acknowledge it or not. And it is exactly what I said above.

I know he has a history.  But how does Trump not being able to get his Supreme Court or cabinet picks confirmed improve anything?

[Norm Lenhart]

Trump's chicken-sh't garbage about that judge is why Trump is a loose cannon.  He made the task of getting his own damned S.Ct nominee confirmed more difficult with that childish outburst.

The judge's chickenshit garbage should be treated with the disrespect and scorn it got. It's about time someone told one of the black robed untouchables they were full of it.

Sorry. I get that it sucks that we have to devolve to that level but thats where liberals have taken the country. They should be minimized every opportunity they earn. As to hurting his nominees, lets be real. Every nominee is going to be a 'hold it over the head' situation like some bastardized sword of Damocles. Democrats, Republicans or those in the middle are ALWAYS gonna find a reason to whine and complain for reasons having zero to do with that nominee's actual worth for the job involved.

F'em.

Gutless cowards and their lesser evil game playing helped get us a government filled with liberals in the GOP, now this is the price to pay. As long as trump governs legally in his authority and conservatively, I hope he pisses off every special snowflake that got America to the state it is.

[Norm Lenhart]

I know he has a history.  But how does Trump not being able to get his Supreme Court or cabinet picks confirmed improve anything?

Considering that the Dems and most of the GOP spent the time between his nomination and today spouting various shades of "Not a chance in hell unless my personal Sacred Cow is fed well", what makes you think he ever had anything positive guaranteed to begin with?

That's how THEY 'negotiate' Their way ot the highway. And their way often ends up blocking anything conservative whether or not Trump is the president. Obama didn't get all his wins because the GOP opposed him.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Considering that the Dems and most of the GOP spent the time between his nomination and today spouting various shades of "Not a chance in hell unless my personal Sacred Cow is fed well", what makes you think he ever had anything positive guaranteed to begin with?

Nothing positive was guaranteed.  But if you think the chances of Trump's Supreme Court and Cabinet picks being confirmed were essentially the same regardless of whether McConnell had 50 GOP Senators, or Schumer had 51 Dems, then I'm not sure what to say.  I think the fact that not a single nominee has yet been rejected is something we would not be seeing if Schumer was in charge.

You're obviously free to disagree with that, of course.

[Just_Victor]

Source:CNSNews
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/devos-confirmed-ed-sec-bill-end-ed-dept-introduced

DeVos Confirmed As Education Secretary; Bill to End Education Dept Introduced

By Michael W. Chapman | February 7, 2017 | 3:14 PM EST

(CNSNews.com) -- On the day that Betsy DeVos was confirmed as the Secretary of Education, House Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced a short bill to abolish the Department of Education, which was established under the Carter administration in 1980.

Massie's legislation, HR 899, simply states, "The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2018."

In a Feb. 7 statement, Massie said, “Neither Congress nor the President, through his appointees, has the constitutional authority to dictate how and what our children must learn."

"Unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. should not be in charge of our children’s intellectual and moral development," he said. "States and local communities are best positioned to shape curricula that meet the needs of their students. Schools should be accountable."

more...

[Norm Lenhart]

Nothing positive was guaranteed.  But if you think the chances of Trump's Supreme Court and Cabinet picks being confirmed were essentially the same regardless of whether McConnell had 50 GOP Senators, or Schumer had 51 Dems, then I'm not sure what to say.  I think the fact that not a single nominee has yet been rejected is something we would not be seeing if Schumer was in charge.

You're obviously free to disagree with that, of course.

Honeymoon? You said it yourself. Nothing positive was, or IS guaranteed.

All I know is that the EDIT: CHANCES for conservative governance go down in direct proportion to the number of liberals in the GOP. We should revisit this discussion when Mitch sticks it up Trumps, and by association, America's whazoo in the weeks to come.

[mountaineer]

Good job.  She'll bring a much-needed new perspective to that bat-shit blind department.

Amen.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

We should revisit this discussion when Mitch sticks it up Trumps, and by association, America's whazoo in the weeks to come.

Fair enough.  But what about revisiting it also when Trump's cabinet and Supreme Court nomination are confirmed?

[Norm Lenhart]

Fair enough.  But what about revisiting it also when Trump's cabinet and Supreme Court nomination are confirmed?

Thats fine as well. Though thats a pretty thin hope to hang on to. Trump may get most or all his nominees. But the odds of Mitch standing behind all of them if it gets ugly isn't great, nor are the odds that he won't extract his price later if he does. Look at the pprice Ted Cruz paid for his 'insolence' with Mitch and his fellow liberals in the GOP. I feel supremely confident based on his record that over the next 4 years, Mitch will prove more a hinderance than a help.

[Oceander]

The judge's chickenshit garbage should be treated with the disrespect and scorn it got. It's about time someone told one of the black robed untouchables they were full of it.

Sorry. I get that it sucks that we have to devolve to that level but thats where liberals have taken the country. They should be minimized every opportunity they earn. As to hurting his nominees, lets be real. Every nominee is going to be a 'hold it over the head' situation like some bastardized sword of Damocles. Democrats, Republicans or those in the middle are ALWAYS gonna find a reason to whine and complain for reasons having zero to do with that nominee's actual worth for the job involved.

F'em.

Gutless cowards and their lesser evil game playing helped get us a government filled with liberals in the GOP, now this is the price to pay. As long as trump governs legally in his authority and conservatively, I hope he pisses off every special snowflake that got America to the state it is.

Sorry, but the president has an obligation to show respect to a coequal branch of the government, and that includes the judiciary.  The judges decision wasn't bat-shit, it was substantially more reasoned than Trumps half-a$$ed ban.  If Trump would tend to his knitting instead of trying to throw stitches in everyone else's, he might make a halfway decent president.  I'm not holding my breath. 

[Norm Lenhart]

Sorry, but the president has an obligation to show respect to a coequal branch of the government, and that includes the judiciary.  The judges decision wasn't bat-shit, it was substantially more reasoned than Trumps half-a$$ed ban.  If Trump would tend to his knitting instead of trying to throw stitches in everyone else's, he might make a halfway decent president.  I'm not holding my breath.

And the judiciary has a constitutional obligation to not advocate from the bench while flatly pretending that 70+ arrests never happened. They have an obligation to their oath to judge fairly and when they flush it, I don't care how they get treated. I'm tired of the same song and dance every 4 years by people making excuses about how 'we' have to act civilized when dealing with a bunch of barbaric animals. This judge is acting like his courtroom is immune from law. And if Trump acts like a cad, my heart bleeds.

Again, this is what people brought on themselves so they should get the full measure of it whether electing those that allow judicial activism without sanction or Trumps ranting on Twitter. Perhaps next time they won't flush a conservative and help trash him and his entire family.

But if Trump gets it done legally and conservatively, so be it.

[Bigun]

Sorry, but the president has an obligation to show respect to a coequal branch of the government, and that includes the judiciary.  The judges decision wasn't bat-shit, it was substantially more reasoned than Trumps half-a$$ed ban.  If Trump would tend to his knitting instead of trying to throw stitches in everyone else's, he might make a halfway decent president.  I'm not holding my breath.

I'm sorry to say that you and I find ourselves in fundamental disagreement once again!  When the judiciary begins to behave as they should they will again deserve respect!  Until that happens NO ONE owes them one bit of respect and that includes the president!

[IsailedawayfromFR]

If we have a reliable and conservative GOP, YOU could have fooled ME.

Why don't you appreciate the real conservatives we already have there rather than trashing them all?

I believe that conservatism has been strengthened, not weakened lately.

You do not it appears.

[Norm Lenhart]

Why don't you appreciate the real conservatives we already have there rather than trashing them all?

I believe that conservatism has been strengthened, not weakened lately.

You do not it appears.

When I see conservatism enacted, I support it. What you or I 'believe' matters not at all. The only thing that matters is results.

What conservatives do you see in Congress and the senate that don't have a documented history of selling out their country to either the Democrats or to Mitch/Jonbon/Ryan? How did Obama get all those wins of his with this vast army of stalwart conservatives you imagine exist in DC?

Trump has managed to pass several EOs through his desk and the senate has made a couple procedural votes. We have yet to see any of his actions face a real challenge, save his EO on immigration that the GOP leadership were quick to sprint to a microphone to denounce and a judge ignored law to block outright.

Lest we forget, the big one, The USSC... Mitch ALREADY said he would not change senate rules if the dems cry. Where are the howls of protest about that from that conservative army? They will line right up with the same fervor behind Mitch they lined up to flush Obamacare reform and flush any meaningful Iran action. Lest we forget Mr Conservative Paul Ryan, House Speaker, already said the toothpaste is out of the tube! Too bad, so sad!

All the big issues now have either been torpedoed or may well be thanks to that overwhelming conservative army we have in DC.

I find it odd that Trump, the one guy I never thought would act like a conservative is about the only guy in DC that actually is governing like one.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

When I see conservatism enacted, I support it. What you or I 'believe' matters not at all. The only thing that matters is results.

So celebrate the victories that we both support as loudly or louder as those we do not support.

I see way too much whining on what-could-be rather than appreciating progress we are making.

Think of the hellhole we were in during the last few years.

And stack up the cabinet members approved so far on who they replaced.  Good grief is that progress to get a bonafide military man to run Defense rather than a physicist who transformed our military into some type of weird social experiment, or a shrewd negotiator as SOS rather than a spouse of a ketchup magnate who knew nothing but how to downgrade the USA abroad?

Or those what you consider 'results'?

[jmyrlefuller]

Anyway, back on topic...

I have my concerns about DeVos, but if the caterwauling temper tantrums and hissy-fits from my public school teacher friends are any indication, this could be a really, REALLY good hire.

[DCPatriot]

I've got ex-inlaws on FB whose wives and mothers are teachers.

Without exception, they think they're underpaid and underappreciated.

....and are all union members.   

[Norm Lenhart]

So celebrate the victories that we both support as loudly or louder as those we do not support.

I see way too much whining on what-could-be rather than appreciating progress we are making.

Think of the hellhole we were in during the last few years.

And stack up the cabinet members approved so far on who they replaced.  Good grief is that progress to get a bonafide military man to run Defense rather than a physicist who transformed our military into some type of weird social experiment, or a shrewd negotiator as SOS rather than a spouse of a ketchup magnate who knew nothing but how to downgrade the USA abroad?

Or those what you consider 'results'?

The hellhole of the last 8 years happened because Bhoner and Mitch , With a last quarter assist from Ryan, ALLOWED IT TO BECOME THE HELLHOLE.

All on them. They fought Ted Cruz just fine though. Did token voting on Barrycare.  AND GAVE OBAMA ALL THE MONEY HE WANTED to enact the things they went 'oh boo hoo!" over. The GOP quite literally funded Obama's reign of error.

I'll celebrate when we win. As we win. Not before. These idiots do not deserve our trust. They threw that away. Now they get to earn every inch of it back the hard way. Until they produce and produce consistently WITHOUT Donnie having to EO his way through governing, then I'll call it what it is.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

The hellhole of the last 8 years happened because Bhoner and Mitch , With a last quarter assist from Ryan, ALLOWED IT TO BECOME THE HELLHOLE.

All on them. They fought Ted Cruz just fine though. Did token voting on Barrycare.  AND GAVE OBAMA ALL THE MONEY HE WANTED to enact the things they went 'oh boo hoo!" over. The GOP quite literally funded Obama's reign of error.

I'll celebrate when we win. As we win. Not before. These idiots do not deserve our trust. They threw that away. Now they get to earn every inch of it back the hard way. Until they produce and produce consistently WITHOUT Donnie having to EO his way through governing, then I'll call it what it is.

So in your world, we need to just rant and rant without improving a thing.

Ok, I see where you are coming from, but excuse me for liking a few things that come down just fine.

[Norm Lenhart]

So in your world, we need to just rant and rant without improving a thing.

Ok, I see where you are coming from, but excuse me for liking a few things that come down just fine.

Not sure how you get that from my post but whatever.

To clarify, In 'my world', AKA reality, politicians are expected to govern to the wishes of their voters. In the case of the GOP, at least in theory, that means they were elected by those voters to follow said will. That will closely aligns with the Party Platform.

Now as they are our employees, there is an expectation that they serve us. Not Mitch. Not Ryan. Not whatever a bunch of lobbyists demand, the UN demands or to the point, the Democrats demand of them through the UN, lobbyists OR Mitch and Ryan.

These people are in theory, adults and are compensated EXCESSIVELY for their job. They do not need pats on the head for actually doing that job. We will be happy to give them an 'Atta'boy' when they do exceptionally well in the face of Democrat evil, but like a soldier in war, They signed up for this and knew the risks going in. We should not have to handhold them.

Now if they carry out their oaths, then God is in his heaven and all is right with the world. The country has proper governance as the founders intended, the voters haZ lots of happy, the democrats haZ a sadZ and they get re-elected. they then keep doing their job, getting compensated for a job well done and maybe retire on that excessive bennies package we, their bosses, provided them.

If they do not perform to expectations, side with Dems, side with Mitch and Ryan over their voters or work against the party platform whether directly or through negligence, they get fired come election day or recalled where applicable.

If you find any fault with the above, please feel free to point it out and we can discuss where your perception is grossly mistaken.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Not sure how you get that from my post but whatever.

To clarify, In 'my world', AKA reality, politicians are expected to govern to the wishes of their voters. In the case of the GOP, at least in theory, that means they were elected by those voters to follow said will. That will closely aligns with the Party Platform.

Now as they are our employees, there is an expectation that they serve us. Not Mitch. Not Ryan. Not whatever a bunch of lobbyists demand, the UN demands or to the point, the Democrats demand of them through the UN, lobbyists OR Mitch and Ryan.

These people are in theory, adults and are compensated EXCESSIVELY for their job. They do not need pats on the head for actually doing that job. We will be happy to give them an 'Atta'boy' when they do exceptionally well in the face of Democrat evil, but like a soldier in war, They signed up for this and knew the risks going in. We should not have to handhold them.

Now if they carry out their oaths, then God is in his heaven and all is right with the world. The country has proper governance as the founders intended, the voters haZ lots of happy, the democrats haZ a sadZ and they get re-elected. they then keep doing their job, getting compensated for a job well done and maybe retire on that excessive bennies package we, their bosses, provided them.

If they do not perform to expectations, side with Dems, side with Mitch and Ryan over their voters or work against the party platform whether directly or through negligence, they get fired come election day or recalled where applicable.

If you find any fault with the above, please feel free to point it out and we can discuss where your perception is grossly mistaken.

I do not discount what you are saying about some politicians; however, to throw all categorically into the abyss is not fair to those who do indeed fight it out to preserve conservative values.  We have all seen actions in the past couple of weeks that have proven that conservatism is alive and well, and good conservatives are coming forward to lead our country.

That is what I mean to celebrate victories.

Yes, we need to stay vigilant to rebuke those who do not adher to conservative principles, but do not throw all into the same group.

I believe some understandable frustration is being expressed by you.  I feel the same way at times.

[mountaineer]

Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, public school students (no doubt, egged on by members of the teachers' union) are protesting DeVos's confirmation. After the fact.

KDKA:

PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) – Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Education Secretary on Tuesday, which prompted students to protest in Pittsburgh.

This morning, 150 Pittsburgh Public Schools students marched to Sen. Pat Toomey’s office in Station Square. As they marched, the students chanted “No ifs, no buts, no education cuts.”

Yesterday’s confirmation vote was split 50-50 in the Senate, which prompted Vice President Mike Pence to cast the deciding vote.  ...

One of the participants (teacher?) was seen in a BLM shirt.

[txradioguy]

This is the time when the Administration needs to spin this in their favor and put the Dems and the unions on their heels.

Tell people that the Democrats and the Teachers Unions who fund them want to force you to keep your children in under performing inner city schools instead of letting you have the decision to send your child to a better school.  We want too provide students with a way out...not a continuing spiral down.

Repeat that simple message over and over.  Point out the areas where vouchers have been successful.  Maybe even play into a little class envy and point out that the D.C. Liberals have no problem sending their kids to expensive private schools while telling you that you don't get to make the same choice with your childs education.

And then repeat that every time the issue comes up as long as it takes.