The Next Speaker of the House is….Wait, Who???

     With the news that John Boehner will be resigning as Speaker of the House at the end of October, it will be a race to see who takes the gavel from him. While many are confident the next Speaker will be a  man, I am sure the Republican Party will voice their support for a woman to take the Speaker's gavel. Given the highly-charged issues of women's rights, attack on family values, and other rhetoric of the Republican Party, it will fall to someone that can go toe-to-toe with the candidate Republicans all hope will be the Democratic Nominee. Out of the twenty-two women within the Republican Party who serve in the House, I have narrowed my predictions to three women. They are all qualified based on their merit and tenure. Each candidate brings a unique perspective to the position and if elected by their peers, would able to take command once the gavel is in her hands. I will present them not only on longevity, but also on who is best qualified. The three women that are ready to take the Speaker's gavel are:

1)     Llena Ros-Lehtinen (Representative of Florida's 27th Congressional District)

        She has been in Congress since 1989 representing Florida as the first Cuban American elected, the first Latina elected. She has had prominent "rising stars" on her staff including the current Republican Presidential candidate Marco Rubio. She is already in a position of leadership within the House as the Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a vocal member within the following caucuses - Pro-Life Women's, International Conversation, Hispanic, and Taiwan. She is just enough of a proponent of LGBT individuals that wouldn't register with Republicans during a primary and would be able to carry women and hispanics during a general election. Her stances on pro-life women's issues and Planned Parenthood would guide the next Congress into ways to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood (even though no tax dollars fund abortions). She would be the resolute leader the Republicans are clearly lacking after the ongoing departure of Speaker Boehner - who couldn't control members of his own party including those aligned with the Tea Party Caucus.

2)     Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Representative of Washington's 5th Congressional District)

        She has been in Congress since 2005 and she hails from the state of Washington - a great state to retire to by the way…it's the New Hampshire of the West Coast.  She has given the State of the Union Response back in 2014 and many political pundits stated she did an amazing job and great response. She is the highest ranking woman serving as the House Republican Conference Chairwoman - which makes sense for her to be the next Speaker if the former mentioned Congresswoman declines the position. She is a member of  the Energy and Commerce committee which will play a big role regarding domestic issues in the 2016 election. She receives high praise from the Family Research Council, Gun Owners of America (as of 2014) and other Conservative groups throughout the nation. She is also a member of the Tea Party express of 2010 election cycle.

3)     Marsha Blackburn (Representative of Tennessee's 7th Congressional District)

        She is a well-known member of Congress within the Tea Party Caucus and those that identify as Tea Party members within the Republican Party. She is an avid opponent of Planned Parenthood, a staunch supporter of traditional marriage and doesn't support any politics that favor LGBT Americans. She has a favorable rating with all of the known conservative groups. If the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party does indeed want to overtake the party - Congressman Marsha Blackburn would be at the head of the line with the flag "Don't tread on me" waving and proclaiming strong conservative values that make Reagan look liberal. For the record, Marsha Blackburn is only one of a few female members of Congress that use the term "Congressman" to identify herself.

     Out of all of these members, the most logical choice would be Congresswoman Llena Ros-Lehtinen.  For the Tea Party Caucus to proclaim "victory" - without a naval warship - then Marsha Blackburn is the choice. For a new voice while bridging the gap between the establishment republicans and new age republicans, the choice would be Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

If the Republicans want to attempt to challenge Hillary Clinton (who is their only person running in a democratic primary apparently) in next year's election and have Republicans take the House, the Senate, and the White House, then the logical choice would be Congresswoman  Llena Ros-Lehtinen.


I guess time will tell. How interesting would a Latina Speaker of the House be if it came from the Republican Party. It would cover two political demographic bases and maybe secure the White House…unless those groups actually do research on the current Republican Party and then a Democrat will win since they have nothing to justify their stances on such issues.

Time for the Next Generation of Politics

Next year will be my ten-year reunion from high school. At twenty-seven years old, I’ve been apart of many campaigns, have attended two inaugurations, have attended a political convention, and have demonstrated in a major Supreme Court case that ended in the favor of which I was demonstrating for given the case. I have also run for, unsuccessfully, office twice.  I do like campaigns and I do like fighting for what I believe what is right; at some point I will be elected and when I do, I hope that I will able to make the decisions that represent all of my constituents. Until then, I will continue to work on campaigns and be hold an active role in shaping the political landscape, both on the state and national levels.

     It really don’t surprise me that Congressman John Dingle, democrat representing the constituents of the twelfth district of Michigan, is retiring from the United States House of Representatives. He was first elected to congress back in the 1950s…1955 to be exact.  To date, this retirement marks the ninth one for the democrats and the republicans are not immune to retirement, as eleven of their members will not see re-election. While some will be missed for their service, if not all of them, it paves the way for the up-and-coming generations to take their place.  Another important point is that it provides opportunities for Congress to truly be more representative of the country. With all of these retirements unfold, and I don’t believe they are over as I image at least five more members will not seek re-election, it will only boost the profiles of women, Hispanics, and other minorities (of both race and beliefs) will be elected to office.  In fact, we are already seeing “the establishment” starting to evolve into younger and more diverse candidates and their points of views regarding the best course for the United States.  In fact, states are even breaking traditions and we will see by the end of the night of the 2014 Election Day. Hopefully, there will be more candidates elected to office that are of a third party as the current political parties can’t seem to agree on anything except no raising of taxes and continuing resolutions.

     The midterms will hopefully break up the “lame duck” status that has frozen Washington into a stalemate. Since Congress is unwilling to work with the President (which is interesting because the past shows that Congress manages to work with the President regardless of administration) and trying to say just enough to get re-elected, it only make sense for this President to use his Presidential authority to get things done that benefit the people he represents. The republicans can’t afford to jeopardize their already minimal relationship with the general public; furthermore, they cannot go into upcoming presidential election cycle with high partisanship and old century ideas. The democrats could also learn that partisanship is just as bad for them as their friends across the aisle – the best course is to talk and explain one’s position instead of looking at someone and going, “well, they are a republican so they must be stupid and don’t (or won’t) understand my position on this issue.” Going back to the republicans for a minute, they have to understand that not every American is living in the earlier part of the previous century.  In the twenty-first century, people are tired of partisan bickering. They want real solutions to the problems facing the country they live in and are proud of since their childhood. Let the new generation of politics come crashing in by the end of the 2014 midterms!

“Then Shut It Down” – Unintended Consequences

This shutdown also has unintended consequences for every American. Due to a budget not passed by Congress, the government has had to close down some important parts of its government. I’ve already discussed the national parks; now, I’d like to touch a more personal area of the government shutdown: Education.

            I know many teachers, professors, and people who love education (whether it is teaching or just learning). I am still considering the teaching profession within the next five or ten years. Teachers are always getting the short end of the stick. Since the shutdown has taken place, the Department of Education (and the Departments of Public Instructions & Auxiliary)  has had to cease funding of grants and other funds. Why you may ask…because the two departments within the Department of Education are subsidies.  All subsidies within the Federal Government have ceased (which is why many are concerned that the Women, Infants, and Children – or W.I.C. program will hurt many Americans because it isn’t being funded at the moment).  This shutdown is severally hurting those educators that are trying to better the education of their students through grant funding. Not only are teachers in North Carolina getting….shafted...but now they are getting it from their own government!

            One of the “solutions” proposed by Congress is to back legislation called a “continuing resolution” (to clarify, I think I covered in the last post but if not then I’ll explain again), which essentially continues funding the government until a certain time period. The problem with this is that is postpones the political debate over funding by the same time period. In layman’s term, it “kicks the can down the road” which doesn’t benefit anyone. Now, if the House of Representatives could pass a continuing resolution with no riders attached (again, a “rider” is an amendment – so to speak – put into the legislation) because once a rider is attached, it will immediately create controversy resulting back to square one. If the House passes it, then the Senate should pass it as well so the President can sign it and the shutdown will be over.   This may sound very easy and should be easy to do, but when you have 435 voting members of one body (The House of Representatives) and fifty members of another body (The Senate) all trying to agree on one issue AND THEN having to have the President sign off on it as well, it becomes extremely challenging to accomplish.  This is why Political Science is in the “Arts & Sciences” category. It is an art and there is definitely science involved to alleviate the problems of government. Well, so go the theory.

“Then Shut It Down” – The Rippling Effect

This shutdown isn’t just about which budget to pass…it is so much more. It affects every American in some way or another. Let’s start with the obvious things: let’s start with the national parks service, for example.

Due to a Government shutdown, all national parks and monuments will be closed because the staff that maintains these places are federal workers.  They will not work as it would be in violation of a law (and I can’t remember the law but I’ll double check). Now since there are national parks, and monuments, are in every state, it will affect every citizen in the states. It’s really sad because for all the members of Congress, it seems like they don’t want to stand by their constituents.  Here me out on this: National parks and monuments generate a lot of revenue for surrounding areas and businesses with souvenirs, restaurants, and even hiking trails provide camping opportunities and money-raising goals for upkeep of such trails.  When these places close, none of these places get tourists, which hurts local economies.  As much as each party says, “we can manage without them”, in the end, the local communities that depend on tourism revenue can’t survive without business.  It is simple, and a very practical basic rule to remember: all politics is local.

Yes, the shutdown is about not passing a budget by the Legislative Branch. A budget, as many know, has the main topic of money and funding allocations. There are certain things that will still continue during the government shutdown time. The first thing to note is that if an American is on social security, Medicare, and disability, then they will continue to be sent out (like those people will still get their checks).   Even the Affordable Care Act Law will still be funding because its funding is not tied to appropriations budgeting (its funding comes from another source).  Now one of the things about the shutdown does is that is ceases all forms of new applications and stalls all current stuff. So as stated, people will still receive their social security checks, but if people apply to get a check, then they will be postponed since there is nobody to process the requests.  The same thing goes for hunting licenses, driver’s licenses, passports, etc.

            Staying on the topic of money, it is important to realize that funding cuts don’t just stop with national parks and monuments.  How long do you think it will take for Congressional leaders to cut funding, or just not fund, other areas of government without thinking about the bigger picture (while still remembering the smaller pieces that make up the bigger picture).  What’s next to not fund…education? Transportation? Science? It’s already starting to happen with education in other states. In a really sad way, maybe this is “the trickle-down effect” that the Republican Party loves to remind us about; or, maybe it’s the Democratic Party’s version of “spreading the wealth” even though the wealth is drying up because the United States government has shutdown. Okay, time for a quick break so sit tight and the next blog piece will up soon enough. In the meantime, if you have questions, feel free to e-mail me – timoteohines@gmail.com

“Then Shut It Down”

It seems like I’m living in season five of The West Wing, only I’m not.  The United States Government has been shut down for over twenty-four hours now.  I know plenty of people who work within the federal government and they are not working or getting a furlough if they do work.  I honestly figured a deal would be struck in the eleventh hour – just like all the other times the United States has encountered “close calls” of a government shutdown.

            Now that the government has shut down and it doesn’t look like it will re-open any time soon, it is important to understand how Congress has failed to represent the people that elected them to govern.  Some would say it is a partisan gridlock but when one looks further into the situation, they will see that the gridlock and overall failure of this Congress falls on bipartisan lines.  While it is true the House of Representatives is controlled by the Republicans, the Senate is controlled by the Democrats, it is not true that they can’t get along and pass legislation.

            The Republican-led House of Representatives tried to pass legislation dubbed as “continuing resolutions” which would fund the government for a certain amount of time. The thing that is often overlooked by the general public is that they also attached riders to the legislation. A “rider” is simply an attachment to a piece of legislation that has a specific goal to either undermine a standing law.  Now I’m not going to get into the specifics of what the national news networks are reporting. The bottom line is both parties failed to come to an agreement to fund the government; which ironically, is one of their sole purposes of the legislative branch of government. The Legislature makes the budget and the Executive Branch either signs it or vetoes it (hence the system of checks & balances).

            Now there are a lot of things going through my head. So to alleviate this, I’m going to go ahead and post this piece and start on the next one. If anything, it will keep you coming back to see what I’m thinking and to see my point of view on this historic time during the first half of the twenty-first century. Personally, I think the government shutdown of the United States Government will last at least four week…then again, I’ll address that soon enough.