Andrew Napolitano on DC Swamp Culture

In reaction to revelations that the FBI withheld 30 documents about the July 2016 tarmac meeting between former President Bill Clinton and Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch (when Hillary Clinton was still under investigation for the Hillary Email security violations), Judge Andrew Napolitano revealed an ugly truth about Beltway ethics. 

Napolitano's exhortation for government officials to follow the rule of law and not protect other "members of the club", explains why Values Voters Summit participants repeatedly rallied at allusions to "Drain the Swamp".

Santorum Corrects "The View" on Planned Parenthood

In the midst of the effort to defund Planned Parenthood, longshot Republican Presidential hopeful former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) dared to school "The View" about Planned Parenthood.



Santorum pointed to up to date information showing the Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards lied to Congress about her organization giving mammograms.  The tough questioning in Congress over defunding Planned Parenthood may have wiped the smarmy smile off of Ms. Richard's face.

 Santorum hopes to repeat his values oriented blue collar conservative grassroots success which allowed him to win the 2012 Iowa Caucuses.  Despite his second place finish in 2012, Santorum is barely registering 1% in the polls, did not connect well at the Value Voters Summit (which should be his crowd) and he seems permanently assigned to the undercard table for the GOP debates.

One wonders what good is Santorum's campaign in a crowded field of a baker's dozen of serious Republican candidates.  Is it just Potomac Fever?  Does he honestly believe that his campaign can catch lightning again?

Santorum's factual interaction with Whoopie Goldberg put lie to the persisting Planned Parenthood propaganda about women's health care services like mammograms.  Whether die hard progressives will accept that truth is another matter, but at least their flawed facts were charitably challenged.

Perhaps this is Santorum's moment in the sun in the 2016 cycle. What a fitting moment for an earnest traditional values candidate whose biography emulates living out pro life values. 

On John Boehner Stepping Down as Speaker of the House

Speaker John Boehner's press conference announcing his now pending resignation as Speaker at the end of October was a surreal mixture of cheeriness, candor and subterfuge.  

It was odd to have a politician who is third in line to succeed the President sing "Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah" from Disney's Song of the South (1946) at a somber moment as he contemplates his post-speakership future.  This may to be project a sunny confidence to himself and the public. Yet it is not the first time that Mr. Boehner has sung Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah in the face of hard questions.  Perhaps he likes to see Mr. Bluebird on his shoulder. 

Speaker Boehner showed some candor when speaking about stepping down from the Speakership.  Mr. Boehner revealed that he intended to do so at the end of the 113th Congress, but events during the summer of 2014 changed plans.  What that meant was that Speaker Boehner's hand picked successor to the Speaker's gavel, then Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA 7th)  lost a primary challenge to a small college economist professor now Congressman David Brat (R-VA 7th).  Seeing the House in turmoil, Speaker Boehner decided to continue on in the big chair.

Yet it strains credulity that Mr. Boeher's decision was spur of the moment.  During the parade of cable coverage of Pope Francis' visit to Washington, a political commentator opined that the culmination Mr.  Boehner's  tenure as Speaker was to greet the Pope in the Capitol so why not just drop the mike afterwards and proclaim "I'm outta' here".  Was it prescience or planted pontification by the pundit?

How convenient that the day after the Pope's visit to DC on a dead news day in Washington that Mr. Boehner just decides "I'm gonna' do it."  Sure. 

Speaker Boehner's remarks on resigning glossed over the real reason why he was vacating his chair. Mainly because he no longer had the votes within the Republican Caucus to retain power if Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC 11th) actually filed the Motion to Vacate the Chair, which is a privileged motion for the full House to vote on leadership.  It became crystal clear to Mr. Boehner that he did not have the votes to win by a party line vote.

Republican Establishment politicians in the House loyal to Speaker Boehner, like Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA 22nd) began to attack  to the Freedom Caucus as "Pelosi Republicans", which was an odd turn of phrase, as Boehner would have needed to rely upon the graces of Democrat Minority Leader to engineer a victory for Speaker Boehner (by having some members vote for retaining Boehner as Speaker or merely vote present). 

One suspects that Mr. Boehner is being coy about his future plans.  Maybe he does not want to give out his forwarding address to K Street at the present time. By stepping down instead of being voted out, his name may have more Marquis cache after the one year  cooling off period to comply with the 2007 Lobbying Law ends.

Senator Marco Rubio at 2015 Value Voters Summit 

Whether or not Speaker Boehner's resignation was planned or was spontaneous, this is no argument how it was received by conservatives.  At the Value Voters Summit, which featured a cattle call of Republican Presidential aspirants, the one line which drew the loudest and most sustained applause was when Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced from the dais the news that Speaker Boehner was leaving office.  The next scheduled speaker at the Values Voters Summit had to cancel, as Congressman Mark Meadows was a little busy after that news.

Ted Cruz on How to Turn America Around

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) fires up the crowd about the mid-term elections at the Value Voters Summit held by the Family Research Council.

Sarah Palin on the Lamestream Media

Former Governor Sarah Palin relating the scorn from elites for living one's beliefs with attendees at the 2014 Value Voters Summit held by the Family Research Council.  

h/t: David Horsey

Recognizing Heroic Virtue at the Value Voters Summit

Leo Johnson [C] is lionized for heroism at the FRC terror attack by FRC head Tony Perkins  [photo: BD Matt]

While there were many poignant presentations made at the 2012 Value Voters Summit, the rest paled in comparison to when Leo Johnson took the stage on the first night of the Summit.   Only a month before, Johnson thwarted a mass casualty terror attack on the Family Research Council.

On August 15th, 2012 a  28 year old man disgruntled at  traditional marriage advocacy tried to enter  the FRC headquarters.  The visitor had a backpack with 15 day old Chick-fil-A sandwiches and he pulled out a gun.  Building Operations Manager Johnson ducked as a bullet flew above his head.  A second shot struck Johnson in the arm.  The third shot missed and hit a wall.  Even in his injured state, Johnson was able to wrestle the gun away from the assailant. As FRC President Tony Perkins awarded Leo Johnson the organizations highest award for his heroics, there was a long, loud, sustained and sincere applause from the assembled Value Voters Summit audience.

 

Other speakers, such as Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R-VA), Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and former Republican Presidential candidate Senator Rick Santorum gave more substantive speeches.  But the rawness of the incident, the real peril posed by this domestic terrorist and the stakes which this incident put on Value Voters exercising their free speech supporting their faith made Leo Johnson's rightful lionization most memorable.

SEE MORE from the Value Voters Summit at DCBarroco.com

Views from the Value Voters Summit 2012, Volume 1

[caption id="attachment_3621" align="aligncenter" width="604"] GOP VP Nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI 1st) at Value Voters Summit 2012 [Photo: BD Matt]  

Views from the Value Voters Summit 2012 which featured GOP VP nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI 1st), House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA 7th), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN 6th), actor/director Kirk Cameron et ali.

SSEE MORE at DCBarroco.com