A lively evening in Pinehurst with Renee
On paper, the idea of a Republican politician holding a town hall in the heart of Pinehurst looks pretty good. Pinehurst is in the heart of Moore County — one of the whitest, most yellow-dog Republican communities in the state. It’s pretty safe to assume that the GOP pol will be preaching to the choir.
I am sure Renee Ellmers thought it would be a pretty cushy event. Gatherings in Pinehurst tend to be very cordial, polite, docile, civil affairs. (Especially if cocktails are being served.) Things started off well for the 2nd district congresswoman Tuesday night. She got some polite applause and some cordial words. Things started falling apart when the discussion turned to ObamaCare.
Ellmers has publicly come out against the idea of using the upcoming vote on a continuing resolution as leverage to defund ObamaCare. She’s criticized her congressional colleagues who are leading the defunding fight, and has had some sharp words for Tea Party groups like FreedomWorks and Heritage Action.
On Tuesday night, Ellmers was sticking to her guns. She distributed to the audience a report from The Congressional Research Service suggesting that standing and fighting at the continuing resolution vote will not stop ObamaCare. A Google search reveals that she is one of many establishment GOP figures promoting this report around the country.
(Here is some info from The Heritage Foundation about how Congress CAN use appropriations bills to defund ObamaCare.)
I am sure many of you don’t have time to view all of the 2.5 hours worth of video from the Tuesday evening town hall. So, I’m happy to offer up an executive summary:
- Gaffes: During the early minutes of the meeting, Ellmers appeared to be stumped over how far Randolph County — which has been in her district for more than a year — is from Pinehurst. She also appeared to not immediately recognize some Lee County — which she has represented for three years — GOP leaders who were sitting a few feet in front of her. She also struggled mightily with pronouncing the word antithesis. (She abandoned the effort after three or four tries.) Ellmers touted a rather vague ObamaCare “replacement” plan she will be introducing. Yet, she struggled to explain the details of the plan, how many pages it is, or even offer up an idea as to when it will be introduced. She also told the audience that North Carolina “elected Mitt Romney president.” (President of WHAT? )
- A One-Way Conversation: “I want to have a conversation,” the congresswoman started off with. “I want to go back and forth with some friendly conversation. No question is off-limits.” Shortly into the town hall, Ellmers began interrupting and talking over voters trying to ask questions and make points. One exasperated man, tired of being interrupted by his congresswoman, exclaimed: “Look, we’re never going to make it through this if you don’t actually listen to the questions!”
- Barry Obama always ONE STEP AHEAD. Ellmers said Obama and his friends in the media always appear to be one step ahead of congressional Republicans — making it tough to accomplish the GOP agenda. She said standing and fighting at the continuing resolution debate would lead to a government shutdown that would be politically devastating to the congressional GOP: “It would put us in a weak position. It would give Barack Obama what he needs politically.” There is ZERO evidence to support this theory that standing and fighting would harm the GOP. They fought in 1995 — failing only after Bob Dole caved to Clinton. The GOP kept its majority in Congress until 2006.
- Barry-O will just move the money around. Ellmers suggested that Obama would simply move money around from other accounts to pay for ObamaCare, if funding is cut from the continuing resolution. He gets stopped from spending money on abortion by the Hyde Amendment. When confronted with the Hyde Amendment-like strategy proposed by congressman Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), Ellmers continued to spin the details of the CRS report. One audience member suggested that Ellmers should get an exemption from ObamaCare for her constituents — like the one being worked out for Congress and its staff.
- Mitt lost, and we’re stuck with ObamaCare. Ellmers told the audience that the actual last chance to beat ObamaCare was the 2012 presidential election. She said failing to beat Kay Hagan in 2014 will further screw us. She then pivoted into some cheerleading for the GOP, encouraging people to write checks to the RNC and to stop fighting with other Republicans: “We can’t change the process. But we can change the Senate. We need to stop fighting among ourselves, and talking about who is more conservative than who.”
I have some friends over in Moore County and I guarantee they are not fond of Renee Ellmers. They are particularly teed off since they worked their butts off to get her elected, and then her failure to grow a spine against the cretins in DC that pretend to be conservatives. Hopefully the district will find someone to primary Renee to the boonies where she belongs. It’s apparent she’s not capable of handling the pressures of the District of Corruption.
We in the Tar River Tea Party supported Renee with some trepidation only because of her position on Obamacare – repeal, repeal, repeal. As feared and discussed at length, a few CNN interviews and a couple of unwarranted committee chairs and she was reeled in the the RINO establishment leadership. Now she is nothing more than a lap dog for the establishment leadership. She is being used to spread the same old tired excuses for the GOP caving in on every communist effort by the Democrats. Dole, Boehner, Snow, Burr, Graham, McCain, and many others need to be sweep from the hall of Congress along with Renee. If it takes a government shutdown to stop obamacare, then that’s what it takes. What the ignorant masses don’t understand is that essential services continue and the super majority of Americans will never even notice. The alternative is 8 new taxes coming online this year alone, expansion of the bureaucratic nightmare of obamacare, huge increases in insurance premiums and in general more government burden. Poor Renee, she doesn’t even realize that she is one of the “useful idiots” Lenin referred to. Thanks Renee, now do the right thing and step down and let someone with some backbone take a shot.
What do you expect from the Boehner Girl!? Renee is a political hack who appears to be flat-lining when it comes to the conservative values that she ran on. Her elitism knows no bounds. Learned it from Boehner, Burr and the rest of the establishment “French Republicans” as Levin likes to call them.
Not only do many NC Republicans want to see Ellmers bounced in a primary, but a new poll in Boehner’s own Ohio district shows that 50% of Republicans there want Boehner himself challenged in a primary. The GOP grassroots is getting fed up with the Washington Beltway Dodo Dance on issue after issue.