Lancaster County GOP

Editorial, 5/17: Attack on press freedom

LCGOP2012 — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:04:36 +0000

“Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”

– Thomas Jefferson

The Obama administration’s fishing expedition into Associated Press phone records is a serious assault on the First Amendment.

So it’s no wonder that the administration hurriedly tried to improve its image by jumping aboard the bandwagon of support for stalled federal legislation that would provide new protection for reporters who refuse to identify sources.

That’s a good idea, but it doesn’t excuse the administration’s misdeed.

The administration’s secret subpoena of the phone records of about 200 AP reporters was disclosed this week. The administration said it was trying to find out who leaked information about a foiled plot by a branch of al-Qaida in Yemen.

News media should take into account national security when reporting on such topics. And they did. In this case, according to AP President Gary Pruitt, the AP held the story “until the government assured us that national security concerns had passed. Indeed, the White House was preparing to publicly announce that the bomb plot had been foiled.”

The phone records subpoenaed by the administration cover a two-month period and include 20 separate office and cellphone lines used by about 100 news personnel.

As Sen. Deb Fischer put it: “The effect of this data gathering is clear — intimidation of the press and suppression of free speech. This is unacceptable. A free and unfettered press is vital to any democracy. Moreover, the scope of this information gathering is simply beyond the pale and likely beyond precedent. The attorney general and the president owe the American people answers, and they owe them now.”

The answers have not been forthcoming. Attorney General Eric Holder said he had recused himself because the FBI had questioned him about the leaks.

The broadness of the subpoenas is especially disturbing because it ignored 30-year-old guidelines designed to strike a balance between the First Amendment and the wishes of prosecutors.

As the Reporters Committee, in a letter signed by Lee Enterprises, owner of the Journal Star, wrote in a letter to the Justice Department, the subpoenas were written so broadly that “prosecutors could plunder two months of newsgathering materials to seek information that might interest them.”

Since the Associated Press, owned by broadcasters and newspapers including the Journal Star, covers everything from al-Qaida plots to agricultural subsidies to lawsuits, the government found itself with a trove of unrelated information.

When President Barack Obama first took office, he pledged “an unprecedented level of openness.” The subpoena of AP phone records shows that promises are not enough. A federal shield law is needed to protect reporters and the public’s right to know.

Judge allows Arizona immigrant driver’s license policy move forward

LCGOP2012 — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:01:15 +0000

PHOENIX – A judge on Thursday refused to halt Gov. Jan Brewer’s order that denies driver’s licenses for young immigrants in Arizona who have gotten work permits and avoided deportation under an Obama administration policy.

The decision by U.S. District Judge David Campbell rejects the argument by immigrant rights advocates who said Brewer’s policy was unconstitutional because it’s trumped by federal law.

Arizona’s refusal to view those in President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as legal residents has become the most visible challenge to his announcement in June that some young immigrants would be protected from deportation. The Department of Homeland Security has said immigrants with work permits issued under the policy are lawfully present in the U.S.

IRS official who oversaw unit targeting Tea Party now heads ObamaCare office

LCGOP2012 — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:59:36 +0000

WASHINGTON – The IRS official who led the tax-exempt organizations unit when Tea Party groups were targeted is now in charge of the IRS office responsible for ObamaCare, two Capitol Hill sources told Fox News.

The acknowledgement comes after the administration announced that the official’s successor Joseph Grant — who had only been on the job a few days — would be retiring. And it fueled criticism of the agency, as the outgoing IRS commissioner prepared to face lawmakers’ questions at a hearing Friday morning.

“Stunning. Just stunning,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in reaction to the latest development.

That official, Steven Miller, will be in the hot seat Friday when he is scheduled to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee in the first congressional hearing on the IRS scandal.

The agency released a memo Thursday night that may give insight into Miller’s talking points at the hearing, although it was written by Grant.

The agency also directed those seeking a possible preview to Miller’s testimony to a frequently asked questions page on their website.

Also scheduled to testify is J. Russell George — the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration — and the man whose report released this week exposed the IRS practice that led to Miller’s ouster (though Miller was apparently planning to leave the agency anyway).

President Obama, meanwhile, maintained Thursday that he didn’t know about the investigation into the IRS program until it was made public.

The ObamaCare official in question, Sarah Hall Ingram, had been serving as commissioner of the office responsible for tax-exempt organizations from 2009 to 2012 — the division included the group that targeted Tea Partiers — and has since left to serve as director of the IRS’ Affordable Care Act division. That unit is responsible for enforcing parts of the health care law, including the fines associated with the so-called individual mandate — the requirement to buy health insurance.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, citing her current position and history with the scandal-marred unit, reinforced his call Thursday for the IRS to be blocked from implementing the health care law. “Now more than ever, we need to prevent the IRS from having any role in Americans’ health care,” he said.

While still the commissioner of the Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division, Ingram was assigned to head the implementation of ObamaCare at the IRS in 2010 after the law was enacted. It is not clear when she stopped being the head of the tax-exempt office or how active her role was there while she was implementing ObamaCare.

But the official who succeeded her, Joseph Grant, is now leaving the agency in the wake of the scandal. His retirement was announced Thursday, even though he only took the job May 8.

Meanwhile, President Obama appointed a new acting commissioner after the prior IRS chief announced his resignation.

The revelations at the Friday hearing could add more headaches for the Obama administration, as it tries to juggle its response to several scandals at once.

It’s unclear whether more officials will resign at the IRS in the days to come.

An internal memo Thursday stated that Grant — at the tax-exempt unit — will retire on June 3. Grant oversaw the IRS division being called out for holding up applications from Tea Party groups applying for tax-exempt status. He was appointed to his position on May 8 by Miller.

The Senate side holds its first IRS-related hearing on May 21.

This week’s clean-up at the agency is part of the Obama administration’s mad dash to save face and regain footing after being hammered by a series of scandals this week, including new questions over the Benghazi terror attack and the Justice Department’s seizing of journalists’ phone records.

Johanns sees farm bill flaws as fixable

LCGOP2012 — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:54:13 +0000

It may not bode well for breathing life into a five-year farm bill this summer that a former secretary of agriculture and current senior senator from the nation’s fourth biggest farm state voted against the initial Senate version earlier this week.

Or maybe, as Mike Johanns insisted on Thursday, it’s just a matter of mending and amending what was done and not done at the committee level when the bill hits the Senate floor next week.

“I am confident we can get a five-year bill,” he said during his weekly conference call with the news media.

However, in the same session, Johanns hammered away at target prices for corn and other crops as an outdated idea and at budget gimmicks as another problem that needs fixing.

“This farm bill, in my judgment, represents a step backward in farm policy.”

The centerpiece legislation and safety net for the farm and ranch sector languished for months after the Senate and House failed to compromise on their differences late last year and passed a nine-month extension of the 2008 farm bill instead.

But both agricultural committees took their foot off the brake, hit the accelerator and advanced proposals this week that would adjust crop insurance, food stamps, conservation programs and other influences on the daily lives of both food producers and consumers.

Johanns said his no vote also is directed at what he sees as budget gimmicks, including a $9 billion exaggeration of how much the Senate bill would save.

“If you look at the bill closely, it counts as saving $6.4 billion that’s not even in the legislation.”

Not voting, but watching developments closely on Thursday, are Steve Nelson, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation, and John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union.

Nelson thinks the farm bill finish line is still within reach.

“I think Sens. Johanns and Thune (R-S.D.) and others on the Senate Agriculture Committee voted against it trying to make a point that they believe that some of those issues are very important and need to be worked on,” Nelson said. “And we think there’s a very good chance those things will be worked out yet.

Click here for entire article.

Local View: Pipeline criticism puzzling

LCGOP2012 — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:50:35 +0000

Bruce Boettcher (Local View, “Stand against pipeline,” LJS, May 13) has been a long-standing opponent of the Keystone XL Pipeline and I can respect that. As a Nebraskan, I share his concern for all of the special resources and places in the state.

As the land manager for Keystone, my team goes out and works directly with landowners to provide them with information regarding our projects and operations, and acquires easements when we build new ones.

We work hard to listen to the feedback we receive; our only regret is we can’t always achieve what every landowner wants. Most Nebraskans understand that building a pipeline involves the feedback of thousands of people and one request can impact many others.

TransCanada has been in Nebraska since the early 1980s — important parts of our U.S. pipeline operations have been based here for decades. We have a vested interest in how the state develops and in making sure that our pipeline network is built and operates safely. Many of the people I work with here are lifelong Nebraskans, or have moved to the state to work and become part of a community that is welcoming to them and their family.

So at times it is puzzling to see some of the criticism that is leveled at TransCanada. For example, when a land agent moved to rural Nebraska, he became part of that same community. He got involved in his local church, just as many Nebraskans are.

When he is working, he is there to talk to people about our company and the work we do. When he is on his own time, he is free to choose if he supports his local church, Future Famers of America, Rotary Club, community baseball team — or whatever he and his family decide to support. That’s part of the freedoms we all are supposed to enjoy.

Likewise, if local law enforcement asks us what to expect if some people (often from out-of-state as we’ve already seen in Oklahoma and Texas) decide to trespass and break the law, most reasonable people would expect us to share what we know. We do not direct local law enforcement activity — nor would we ever want to.

We want to make sure our worksites are safe and we minimize the impact on the land where we are working. Law enforcement wants to make sure that the communities they care for are safe and protected.

Boettcher talks about the importance of protecting property rights, and we agree. If Keystone XL moves ahead, property ownership never changes hands. The landowner retains ownership of their property at all times and are fairly compensated for a 50-foot easement that is needed to build and put this pipeline into operation.

As soon as the land is restored, landowners can grow crops or graze cattle on the right-of-way — and they maintain the economic rights to the surface.

Andrew Craig of Omaha is the land manager for Keystone Pipelines.

Christensen, Gaylor Baird, Fellers win council seats

LCGOP2012 — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:53:45 +0000

The first thing Christensen wants to do “is get to know the other council members as individuals, so we can work together as a group,” he said Tuesday after his win. Another priority in his first year would be to move up the start date of the proposed south beltway.

Christensen, a Republican, had broad name recognition among seniors, who know him from his hearing aid center. “And seniors tend to vote more faithfully than any other group in town,” he said.

Leirion Gaylor Baird, the mom who ran marathons and did her homework for planning commission meetings, and Trent Fellers, a Republican who positioned himself to the left of the conservative wing of his party, were next in line for the three at-large seats.

The three new council members, two Republicans and one Democrat, erode the super majority — five Democrats to two Republicans — that put Mayor Chris Beutler on easy street, politically speaking, for the past two years.

But Democrats still maintain a 4-3 majority, with Fellers and Christensen joining veteran Councilman Jon Camp as the Republican minority.

Gaylor Baird, who raised the most money and ran a well-organized campaign, survived an assault from the Republicans and two conservative groups that tried to paint her as too liberal for Lincoln.

In her acceptance speech Tuesday night, Gaylor Baird said hers was a bittersweet victory since the other two Democrats did not get seats.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve. I am honored and humbled,” she said.

Fellers was obviously soliciting the votes of more progressive Lincoln residents with his recent campaign fliers mentioning “environmental responsibilities” and the need for “green space” in Lincoln. He also raised the ire of Beutler with photos of both on a flier that the Democratic mayor said implied he endorsed the Republican.

Voters “do not want an incredibly partisan council,” Fellers said Tuesday night. He moved up from fifth in the April 9 primary.

Fellers said he had been “very diligent in going door to door,” spending every weekend since Super Bowl Sunday and most nights after work knocking on doors and introducing himself. Fellers, a former Marine, is the deputy director for the Nebraska Energy Office.

“Tomorrow I’m going to go buy a new pair of shoes,” he said.

Gene Carroll, the only incumbent in the race, came in sixth, just as he did in the primary.

Carroll was pummeled by a well-financed political action committee, Citizens for a Better Lincoln, funded primarily by business owners and Republicans, including a number of leaders in the Lincoln Independent Business Association.

The campaign against Carroll neatly juxtaposed his political and private life, saying he voted to raise property taxes but got values on his own commercial property reduced, and voted to raise the wheel tax while driving a company car.

Despite a well organized and well-funded campaign, Carroll couldn’t overcome the damage inflicted by those messages.

Mark Whitehead, president and CEO of Whitehead Oil, which operates 19 U-Stop convenience stores in Lincoln, placed fourth.

The Democrats targeted Whitehead with a barrage of advertising that linked Whitehead to Lincoln’s gas prices, which are generally higher than Omaha’s prices.

Today is Election Day!

LCGOP2012 — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:12:13 +0000

It’s Election Day!

Please vote for our three City Council Candidates:

Roy Christensen

Trent Fellers

Mark Whitehead

and in LPS District 5:

Lanny Boswell

After voting, join for an Election Night Party at NEGOP HQ (1610 N St). We’ll have some snacks and beverages and watch the results come in!

GOP Election Night Party!

LCGOP2012 — Tue, 07 May 2013 05:14:10 +0000

After voting in Tuesday’s election,

please join for an Election Night Party!

Tuesday, May 7th

NEGOP HQ

1610 N St.

7:30 p.m.

We’ll have beverages and light snacks

South Carolina bill would make it a crime to implement ObamaCare

LCGOP2012 — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:17:16 +0000

The Supreme Court may have ruled ObamaCare is constitutional, but implementing the controversial federal law would become a crime in South Carolina if a bill passed by the state House becomes law.

The bill, approved Wednesday by a vote of 65-39, declares President Obama’s signature legislation “null and void.” Whereas the law that Obama pushed and Congress passed is known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, South Carolina’s law would be known as the Freedom of Health Care Protection Act.

It would prohibit state officials and employees from “enforcing or attempting to enforce such unconstitutional laws” and “establish criminal penalties and civil liability” for those who engage in activities that aid the implementation of ObamaCare.

The Supreme Court ruled last year that ObamaCare’s underlying provision, requiring all Americans to obtain health insurance, is constitutional, though lawsuits still are pending that argue against certain parts of that mandate – in particular, contraceptive coverage, which some Christian employers argue violates their religious beliefs.

In South Carolina, the nullification bill would allow the state attorney general to take action against anyone causing harm by the implementation of ObamaCare. It proceeds to the state Senate for committee review, according to The Washington Times.

Gov. Nikki Haley has rejected the expansion of Medicaid insurance rolls under a joint federal-state program for low-income Americans, which is an anchor of the law Obama signed in 2010.

“Not in South Carolina,” Haley declared at the Conservative Political Action Conference in March. “We will not expand Medicaid on President Obama’s watch. We will not expand Medicaid ever.”

Other parts of ObamaCare have already started to fray, even before full implementation.

Boston Marathon bombing suspects originally plotted July 4 attack, sources say

LCGOP2012 — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:16:05 +0000

The suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing originally planned to target a July 4 celebration, but chose the prestigious race as a “target of opportunity” after the bombs came together more quickly than expected, sources tell Fox News.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev allegedly assembled at least four types of improvised explosive devices in the home Tamerlan shared with wife Katherine Russell, sources tell Fox News. Typically, in cases of homegrown terror, only one type of explosive is constructed.

Additionally, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told investigators the building of the bombs happened more quickly than expected, according to sources. The brothers reportedly had planned to set off the explosives on July 4, but changed their plans when the bombs were finished early.

After the Boston bombings, the brothers still had a pressure-cooker explosive and four pipe bombs and were bound for New York City before they were stopped by authorities, New York officials say. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed after a shootout with police days after the Boston attack. Dzhokhar was captured alive but wounded and now is in federal custody facing a charge of use of a weapon of mass destruction that could get him the death penalty..

Sources say the planning for the April 15 attack showed “clear premeditation,” including the decision to target the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Three people died in the attack, and more than 200 people were wounded.