The man who wants to be Speaker of the House, John Boehner, spoke out against Democratic leadership earlier this week. A string of cheap attacks and tired one-liners, Boehner’s diatribe was pure substance-free political posturing. He called for President Obama to fire his economic team, extend tax cuts for the wealthy and to put the brakes on spending. Lacking any shame, the congressman actually had the temerity to suggest the nation needs a “fresh start,” with “people willing to accept responsibility” in charge — as if he or any of his big-business Republican cronies have accepted one iota of blame for crashing the economy and killing millions of jobs, or for doing everything within their power to stall recovery.

The would-be Speaker, obviously intent upon leveraging public concern over jobs, used every opportunity to label the administration’s programs as “job-killing.”  Weaving the term into every topic, “job-killing tax hikes,” “job-killing regulations,” “job-killing agenda,” Boehner evoked the reaper 12 times in all. Condemning the recent $26 billion stimulus bill, Boehner stated that it, “funnels money to state governments in order to protect government jobs.” Of course, he was referring to 161,000 teacher jobs, as well as 158,000 jobs for police, firefighters and healthcare workers. But those jobs weren’t worth saving to John Boehner. He continued his criticism with, “Even worse, the bill is funded by a new tax hike that makes it more expensive to create jobs in the United States and less expensive to create jobs overseas,” which would be alarming — if it were true, which it’s not. His “job-killing tax hike” was actually the closing of a loophole that encouraged corporations to ship jobs overseas.

What Boehner did reveal of the Republican plan for creating jobs appeared to be vintage Bush. It’s the same old recipe that drove the nation off a cliff the last time around — more tax cuts for the rich and less regulation. Conveniently ignoring the fact that President Obama wants to extend the Bush cuts for everyone making under $250,000, Boehner told the crowd that, “Raising taxes on families and small businesses during a recession is a recipe for disaster — both for our economy and for the deficit. Period. End of story.” He’s right, so if he truly believes what he says, he should stop fighting for cuts for the top 2% and join the Democrats in providing relief to everyone else — including all but 2-3% of small businesses.

Boehner is truly a master at the art of double-talk. He claims to advocate for small business, stating that expiring the cuts for the top 2% would, “affect half of small business income.” But he fails to mention that the “half” he wants to protect are “small business” only in terms of the number of employees. Boehner’s half makes 50% of the money, but consists of the wealthiest hedge funds, law firms and lobbying outlets, and comprise no more than 3% of the actual small businesses.

Amongst the newly formed ranks of Republican deficit hawks, Boehner also called upon President Obama to, “submit to Congress for its immediate consideration an aggressive spending reduction package.”  Of course, being a good Republican, Boehner did specify that the freeze should only be for non-defense spending.  But that’s just the tip of his forked tongue. Avoiding the disproven claim that tax cuts pay for themselves, Boehner is left with no explanation for his logical inconsistency in demanding spending cuts to fight the deficit, yet supporting $678 billion in millionaire tax cuts to choke revenue.

One lie after another, Boehner’s critique of the Obama Administration was as fact-free as his economic plan for the future. But possibly his most egregious distortion was regarding the stimulus. A critic from the beginning, according to Boehner, the program, “has gotten us nowhere.” Sadly, many voters will believe this whopper, even though it has absolutely no basis in reality.

Perhaps Boehner had not yet read the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the stimulus. The CBO analysis found that the stimulus had raised the GDP by 1.7% to 4.5% and increased the number of people employed by 1.4 to 3.3 million. In response to Boehner’s fallacious claim, Mark Zandi, former economic advisor to John McCain, took issue and stated that, “Without the stimulus spending, instead of a 9.5 percent unemployment rate, we’d have an 11.5 percent unemployment rate.”

But, the facts regarding jobs and unemployment really only scratch the surface. The real impact of the stimulus is still in process. It is creating jobs in the present, but it promises to create far more in the future. The program is investing in research and infrastructure, providing seed money to jump start alternative energy, modernize transportation, fund ground-breaking medical advancements and enhance technologies such as broadband and smart grids. And in so doing, the program is also transforming the way government works.

Ever the champion of the status quo, it’s easy to see why John Boehner doesn’t appreciate the progress funded by the stimulus. When Boehner says it, “has gotten us nowhere,” what he means is that it has prevented the huge drop in wages his corporate cronies so desperately desire, and that it’s also paving the road away from dependence on fossil fuels. A green America with well-paid Americans working in new industries is Boehner’s worst nightmare. He and his Republican brethren are just fine with things the way they are.

In Boehner’s own words, “It’s time to put grown-ups in charge,” and since it’s obvious that the congressman never even learned the most basic rules of adulthood, like telling the truth and practicing what you preach, he must not be referring to himself. So, let’s all hope he gets his way and voters make the intelligent choice in November —  they put the grown-ups in charge and vote Democrat.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joined an array of Republican lawmakers who feel we should examine whether to rescind all or part of the 14th amendment to the Constitution to prevent some children born in the U.S. from being granted U.S. citizenship. The pro-life, pro-family Republicans are now pro-neonatal detention and deportation. It isn’t enough to drive out the people not born here, now they want to drive out the ones that were.

Actually, I agree with Senator McConnell. We absolutely should hold hearings as soon as possible to discuss whether we should amend the U.S. Constitution to make newborns deportable. We need a high-level national discussion in both Houses of Congress on the issue of whether to station federal ICE agents in every maternity ward and delivery room right between the OB-GYN and the expectant father.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Congressman

Great, so Rep. Gutierrez is already fear mongering up a storm with scenarios of Gestapo enforcers stomping around in maternity wards. I can’t help but wonder how liberals separate this type of fear based campaigning from the Sarah Palin death panels. Both contrive wildly extreme possibilities in order to discredit legitimate concerns, and neither attempts in any way to identify a solution.

I’m sorry, but I find it poetic that the one amendment to our Constitution that was enacted without rightful ratification and is also unconstitutional in its inclusion of ex post facto law, should now be the subject of such debate. The 14^th Amendment obviously did the right thing in providing citizenship to blacks and guaranteeing due process and equal protection, but the way in which it was enacted was an abomination. And now, the Party that illegitimately enacted the amendment wants to review and possibly rescind it. Now that’s poetic!

Personally, I‘d like to see the amendment changed, but that certainly doesn’t mean that I would support any retroactive application. The truth seems evident that the enacting Congress didn’t address the potential for abuse from illegal immigrants having children in order to obtain citizenship. That’s the just the way it is.

People like me, who believe that the abuse warrants a change, have but one form of recourse — amend the Constitution. That’s the way we do it in the United States. To do otherwise is to subvert the very spirit of our democracy.

I for one would welcome a national conversation on this topic. I’d like to hear the reasoning of people who believe that a child born of parents in the United States illegally should be granted citizenship. Is there an ethical argument? Is it simply a position of practicality? I’m sorry, but to me it wreaks of defending the rights of litigation for the guy who climbs on somebody’s house to burglarize them and falls through their skylight and gets injured.

I know, I know — there’s a child involved. But what I don’t understand is why there’s not more outcry against parents who would use their child this way. Break the law and hide behind a child . . .  now that sounds unethical to me.

Whatever side people are on, wouldn’t it be great if we could all just state our piece and work together toward a solution? It would be quite remarkable, but we’ll never get there so long as every issue is met with all the fear-mongering hyperbole currently waged by conservatives and liberals alike. How about instead, we stop the posturing, listen to one another and open a dialog?

The stage is set and the lines are drawn for this November when the siege of the U.S. Congress will conclude in the battle for America. Under cover of the darkness of their deception, the Republican Party, backed by their corporate overlords, will attempt to unleash hell on the Democratic Party and the American middle class. The deployment of their arsenal of lies, half-truths and distortions began months ago, and has already carried a staggering payload of misunderstanding and fear. Now, as we march toward the election, their generals are marshalling the troops, and their foot soldiers, ignorant and enthusiastic, are poised for victory.

I fear that liberals who underestimate the severity of the damage done by Republican obstructionism and fear mongering are in for a rude awakening come November. Polls are not elections, but when all indicators are pointing in the same direction, it’s wise to take notice. It’s common knowledge that midterm elections are all about voter turnout, and democrats would be well served to look back at the last midterm for a hint of what will happen if they cannot rally their faithful and get out the vote.

The results of the most recent Pew poll on the topic are not encouraging for Democrats. Taken in mid-June, the poll leans heavily in favor of Republicans, showing significant margins in voter enthusiasm and attention, both critical indicators in a mid-term. Republican voters are currently winning the enthusiasm battle by a score of 56% to 42% and show a similar margin in those who are “closely following campaign news,” with 64% compared to 50% for the Democrats.

Republicans also show a sizable lead with older voters — who happen to be more engaged and likely to vote. And in possibly the most significant metric of all, Republicans have managed to turn the tide of independent voters. Where Democrats enjoyed a 47% to 32% preference amongst independent voters in June of 2006, the tables are now turned, with independents supporting Republicans by a 44% to 36% margin.

Nearly everything is already leaning in favor of the Republicans, and we’ve yet to face the juggernaut of corporate backed advertising that will soon descend upon the American airwaves. Led by a $75 million pledge from the U.S. Chamber, the Republicans already have over $200 million in commitments from conservative organizations. Couple this with the Supreme Court’s release of the Corporate Cracken, and it’s hard to deny the possibility of a conservative route.

If Democrats are to have any hope of retaining a majority in the Congress, they must do something to excite voters and rally them to the liberal cause — and they must do so NOW.

It’s time for Democrats to drop their cool demeanors and start fighting fire with napalm. Democrats need to stand and refute the lies perpetuated in the Republican campaign of fear and distraction, and they need to take bold action. With the economy still in the toilet and the Gulf being turned into one, these are historic times — and historic times call for historic measures.

The Democratic majority in the Senate can be the catalyst to mobilize liberals across the nation. But in order to do so, they need to immediately stop reserving power for the future and take decisive action for victory today. They are the majority, and they don’t have to allow the Republicans to control the Senate with a minority. To sit with a 59/41 majority and play victim, and to do so without ever even requiring an actual filibuster is so cowardly as to demand disrespect. The Republicans have threatened filibuster on every major issue, including the extension of unemployment benefits to the very people whom their corruption has put out of a job. Such a drastic attempt to obstruct the legislative process is without precedence and should be met with an unprecedented response. The Democrats can and should invoke the nuclear option today and take real control of the Congress.

Match this act of leadership with an all-out campaign to educate the American people on the contemptuous tactics and behavior of the corporate betrothed conservatives, and the pending Republican route will become their Waterloo.

The problem right now is that there’s only one voice that’s being heard — the conservative voice. Sure MSNBC is carrying the liberal message, and places like Huffington Post are doing their part. But the rallies belong to the conservatives, and Fox News reels in as many viewers as all other sources, liberal and centrist combined. With the Cracken sure to attack soon, Democrats are in desperate need of a countering force.

Like a collective of Paul Reveres, it’s time for liberals to mobilize before it’s too late. The corporatists are coming . . . the corporatists are truly coming! Democrats need grassroots support, and we need to call upon liberal celebrities from sea to shining sea to help make it happen. Celebrities can reach and activate younger voters who swing Democrat in large numbers. They may not have the bully pulpit, but they do command the limelight.

What might happen if liberal celebrities gathered together for an event like Band Aid, Farm Aid and Live Aid? What if Democrat performers like Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Eddie Vedder, Cher and Streisand used their celebrity to engage others and come to the aid of the average American? There’s a long list of musicians, actors and other performers who support the Democratic Party. Where are celebrities like Tim Robins and Susan Sarandon, like Madonna, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and many others who all speak out actively against Republican politics? What about Clooney? How about Oparah?

We’ve had celebrity aid for farmers, and we’ve rightfully had it for the truly needy. I respected and supported these efforts, but now I contend that there’s an even more important battle to be fought. The battle is for the very fabric and spirit of the culture that makes these other efforts possible. Conservatism is strangling the life out of the vast majority of American people, and far too many are unwittingly leading themselves, their family and friends to slaughter. The voice of truth must be heard. The lies must be revealed. The time for those who can reach the masses to stand and be counted is now. America may not survive another round of Republican government.