National Republican Congressional Committee » Digital http://www.nrcc.org Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:24:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 The 13 Best Sock Photo Submissions for George H.W. Bush’s Birthday http://www.nrcc.org/2013/06/12/the-13-best-sock-photo-submissions-for-george-h-w-bushs-birthday/ http://www.nrcc.org/2013/06/12/the-13-best-sock-photo-submissions-for-george-h-w-bushs-birthday/#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:37:45 +0000 Digital http://www.nrcc.org/?p=42367

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]]> Today’s President George H.W. Bush’s 89th birthday! President Bush is famous for his choice of socks.

His foundation is asking people to submit photos of their crazy socks using the hashtag #41s89th.

Here are our favorite submissions:

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]]> http://www.nrcc.org/2013/06/12/the-13-best-sock-photo-submissions-for-george-h-w-bushs-birthday/feed/ 0 Most Transparent Administration in History Using Secret Email Accounts for Official Government Business http://www.nrcc.org/2013/06/04/most-transparent-administration-in-history-using-secret-email-accounts-for-government-business/ http://www.nrcc.org/2013/06/04/most-transparent-administration-in-history-using-secret-email-accounts-for-government-business/#comments Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:30:45 +0000 Digital http://www.nrcc.org/?p=41857 Despite Obama claiming he presides over the “most transparent administration in history,” more chilling facts are emerging about just how secretive the administration actually is, even to the point of using secret email addresses for government business to avoid transparency: Via the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake: Some top political appointees in the Obama administration are using ...

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]]> Despite Obama claiming he presides over the “most transparent administration in history,” more chilling facts are emerging about just how secretive the administration actually is, even to the point of using secret email addresses for government business to avoid transparency:

Via the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake:

Some top political appointees in the Obama administration are using secret government e-mail addresses, and several federal agencies have so far failed to disclose their addresses to the Associated Press despite a three-month old request, the AP reported Tuesday morning.

Those making use of secret addresses include Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the wire service said.

What makes it worse: The administration tried to charge the Associate Press $1 million for the information:

AP requested the addresses using a Freedom of Information Act request earlier this year. The AP article published Tuesday morning says the Labor Department initially asked the wire service to pay $1 million to cover the cost of researching the request and providing the information that was being sought.

The American People deserve transparency from their government. Demand that the administration release its secret emails here: www.nrcc.org/transparency

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]]> http://www.nrcc.org/2013/06/04/most-transparent-administration-in-history-using-secret-email-accounts-for-government-business/feed/ 0 When Obama Promised Healthcare Premiums Would Go Down For Everybody http://www.nrcc.org/2013/06/04/when-obama-promised-healthcare-premiums-would-go-down-for-everybody/ http://www.nrcc.org/2013/06/04/when-obama-promised-healthcare-premiums-would-go-down-for-everybody/#comments Tue, 04 Jun 2013 13:09:11 +0000 Digital http://www.nrcc.org/?p=41811 Buzzfeed’s Andrew Kaczynski has a brutal piece detailing Obama’s broken promises of lowering premiums on all Americans: When he was selling his health care overhaul as a presidential candidate and then as commander-in-chief, Barack Obama repeatedly argued that the plan would lower insurance premiums for everyone. But in California, at least, healthy young people — the vast ...

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]]> Buzzfeed’s Andrew Kaczynski has a brutal piece detailing Obama’s broken promises of lowering premiums on all Americans:

When he was selling his health care overhaul as a presidential candidate and then as commander-in-chief, Barack Obama repeatedly argued that the plan would lower insurance premiums for everyone. But in California, at least, healthy young people — the vast majority of whom voted for Obama in 2012 — are seeing their costs go up.

Conservative author Avik Roy at Forbes reported Thursday that ” for the typical 25-year-old male non-smoking Californian, Obamacare will drive premiums up by between 100 and 123 percent.” Roy cited data on eHealthInsurance.com showing that the median cost of the five cheapest health care plans in California was only $92 for young people, while under the ObamaCare exchanges the cheapest plan will cost an average of $184 a month.

Obama himself promised that everyone’s premiums cost would be lower under his health care plan.

“My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less,” Obama said in his May 2007 speech unveiling his health care plan.

“If you are one of the 45 million Americans who don’t have health insurance, you will have it after this plan becomes law. No one will be turned away because of a preexisting condition or illness,” Obama continued. “Everyone will be able buy into a new health insurance plan that’s similar to the one that every federal employee – from a postal worker in Iowa to a Congressman in Washington – currently has for themselves.”

Last January, however, insurers predicted to the conservative American Action Forum that small employers’ premiums for healthy people 27 and under are likely to increase an average of 169%, while less-healthy people 55 and older would see their costs decrease less than 25%.

This news comes after Obama’s own Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who is in charge of implementing ObamaCare, admitted premiums would go up.

File this under another ObamaCare broken promise…

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]]> http://www.nrcc.org/2013/06/04/when-obama-promised-healthcare-premiums-would-go-down-for-everybody/feed/ 0 This Keystone Pipeline Video by House Democrat Raul Grijalva is Painfully Awkward http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/31/this-keystone-video-by-raul-grijalva-is-painfully-awkward/ http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/31/this-keystone-video-by-raul-grijalva-is-painfully-awkward/#comments Fri, 31 May 2013 18:40:23 +0000 Digital http://www.nrcc.org/?p=41599 See for yourself: Let’s break it down to just the most important moments. First, Congressman Grijalva has Able Assistant do some head bobbing: These guys were pretty impressed: Grijalva drops some serious science on us here. Watch carefully as he demonstrates that rocks don’t float: These guys were in awe by the news: Anyway. Then ...

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]]> See for yourself:

Let’s break it down to just the most important moments.

First, Congressman Grijalva has Able Assistant do some head bobbing:

grijalva2-o (1)

These guys were pretty impressed:

Grijalva drops some serious science on us here. Watch carefully as he demonstrates that rocks don’t float:

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These guys were in awe by the news:

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Anyway. Then Able Assistant gets in a quick workout:

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Grijalva then points out the “Dear Chamber of Commerce” (which they’ve inexplicably labeled as “BIG OIL”) thinks Keystone will create 250,000 jobs:

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Grijalva disputes just how many jobs he is trying to kill by opposing Keystone. His friend “BIG GENIUS” says he’ll only kill 2,500 jobs:
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And then this happened:

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Able Assistant has to stand back.

It made us uncomfortable:

Awkward

After giving us a chance to regain our breath, Able Assistant points out that the rocks still aren’t floating:

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Finally, Able Assistant asks for a tip:

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He’s earned it!

Our review? This painfully awkward science experiment sunk like a rock. The Mad Scientists over at the Progressive Caucus opposing the popular Keystone project and the thousands of jobs it will bring might as well look like this:

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Better luck next time, Congressman Grijalva.

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]]> http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/31/this-keystone-video-by-raul-grijalva-is-painfully-awkward/feed/ 0 IRS Chief Met With White House More Than Any Cabinet Member http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/30/irss-shulman-had-more-public-white-house-visits-than-any-cabinet-member/ http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/30/irss-shulman-had-more-public-white-house-visits-than-any-cabinet-member/#comments Thu, 30 May 2013 19:11:53 +0000 Digital http://www.nrcc.org/?p=41562 The Daily Caller has compiled new damning evidence that shows the White House and the IRS working together closely during Obama’s presidency while the IRS was targeting conservative political groups for extra scrutiny. In fact, IRS Chief Douglas Shulman lodged more public visits to the White House than any Cabinet member: Publicly released records show ...

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]]> The Daily Caller has compiled new damning evidence that shows the White House and the IRS working together closely during Obama’s presidency while the IRS was targeting conservative political groups for extra scrutiny. In fact, IRS Chief Douglas Shulman lodged more public visits to the White House than any Cabinet member:

Publicly released records show that embattled former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman visited the White House at least 157 times during the Obama administration, more recorded visits than even the most trusted membersof the president’s Cabinet.

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Shulman’s extensive access to the White House first came to light during his testimony last week before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Shulman gave assorted answers when asked why he had visited the White House 118 times during the period that the IRS was targeting tea party and conservative nonprofits for extra scrutiny and delays on their tax-exempt applications.

By contrast, Shulman’s predecessor Mark Everson only visited the White House once during four years of service in the George W. Bush administration and compared the IRS’s remoteness from the president to “Siberia.”

This begs the question: “What were the White House and IRS Chief Doug Shulman discussing during his 157 visits?

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]]> http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/30/irss-shulman-had-more-public-white-house-visits-than-any-cabinet-member/feed/ 0 NYT Calls Out Obama’s Jetsetting While his Sequester Causes Pain http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/30/nyt-calls-out-obamas-jetsetting-while-workers-are-furloughed/ http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/30/nyt-calls-out-obamas-jetsetting-while-workers-are-furloughed/#comments Thu, 30 May 2013 15:25:01 +0000 Digital http://www.nrcc.org/?p=41528 Even as his administration continues to stumble through scandal after scandal, President Obama is still traveling the country on taxpayer dime attending high-dollar fundraisers to help Nancy Pelosi become Speaker again. It looks like the New York Times has noticed all of his travels at $180,000 per hour while the White House continues to be ...

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]]> Even as his administration continues to stumble through scandal after scandal, President Obama is still traveling the country on taxpayer dime attending high-dollar fundraisers to help Nancy Pelosi become Speaker again. It looks like the New York Times has noticed all of his travels at $180,000 per hour while the White House continues to be closed to tours because of  his sequester:

Perhaps it is nothing more than an accident of timing that as federal workers brace for a summer filled with unpaid furlough days, their leaders are traveling the nation and globe on trips that exude luxury.

On Wednesday, President Obama left the White House for two Chicago fund-raisers in the hope of helping Democrats retake the House in next year’s elections. The cost of flying aboard Air Force One to his hometown: $180,000 per hour.

President Obama seems to be the least affected out of anyone:

Almost by definition, Mr. Obama lives a life foreign to most Americans, with the big white house and the ushers and chefs and the airplane fueled and ready to go. When he wants a weekend away, he can fly to Florida to golf with Tiger Woods. When his daughters take spring break, they head to Aspen to ski. He winters in Hawaii and summers on Martha’s Vineyard.

 

But this summer’s trips come as federal employees are tightening their belts. Last Friday, four federal agencies closed down — the Environmental Protection Agency, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and even the Office of Management and Budget — as employees were ordered to take the first of several unpaid days off.

 

Many workers are canceling summer vacations of their own. Across the government, cutbacks are everywhere. The Blue Angels did not fly at the Naval Academy commencement, Head Start programs are turning away children, and there are no summer jobs for college students to cut the grass at Antietam.

 

It’s clear that President Obama’s main focus is helping Nancy Pelosi back into power rather than governing. That won’t happen on our watch. Click the tweet below to join us:

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]]> http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/30/nyt-calls-out-obamas-jetsetting-while-workers-are-furloughed/feed/ 0 Tea Party Lawyer Who’s Suing IRS: “The idea that this is a couple of rogue agents in Cincinnati is not correct.” http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/29/tea-party-lawyer-whos-suing-irs-the-idea-that-this-is-a-couple-of-rogue-agents-in-cincinnati-is-not-correct/ http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/29/tea-party-lawyer-whos-suing-irs-the-idea-that-this-is-a-couple-of-rogue-agents-in-cincinnati-is-not-correct/#comments Wed, 29 May 2013 14:44:56 +0000 Digital http://www.nrcc.org/?p=41410 It turns out claims by officials that the IRS’s political targeting of conservative groups was confined to a single rogue office are false. Senior IRS officials including the IRS’s Department of Exempt Organizations Chief Lois Lerner, who pleaded the fifth at her recent Congressional testimony after claiming she “did nothing wrong”, were directly involved in ...

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]]> lerner

It turns out claims by officials that the IRS’s political targeting of conservative groups was confined to a single rogue office are false. Senior IRS officials including the IRS’s Department of Exempt Organizations Chief Lois Lerner, who pleaded the fifth at her recent Congressional testimony after claiming she “did nothing wrong”, were directly involved in seeking information:

Via NBC News:

Additional scrutiny of conservative organizations’ activities by the IRS did not solely originate in the agency’s Cincinnati office, with requests for information coming from other offices and often bearing the signatures of higher-ups at the agency, according to attorneys representing some of the targeted groups. At least one letter requesting information about one of the groups bears the signature of Lois Lerner, the suspended director of the IRS Exempt Organizations department in Washington.
 
Jay Sekulow, an attorney representing 27 conservative political advocacy organizations that applied to the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status, provided some of the letters to NBC News.  He said the groups’ contacts with the IRS prove that the practices went beyond a few “front line” employees in the Cincinnati office, as the IRS has maintained.
 
“We’ve dealt with 15 agents, including tax law specialists — that’s lawyers — from four different offices, including (the) Treasury (Department) in Washington, D.C.,” Sekulow said. “So the idea that this is a couple of rogue agents in Cincinnati is not correct.”
 
Among the letters were several that bore return IRS addresses other than Cincinnati, including “Department of the Treasury / Internal Revenue Service / Washington, D.C.,” and the signatures of IRS officials higher up the chain. Two letters with ”Department of the Treasury / Internal Revenue Service / Washington, D.C.” letterhead were signed by “Tax Law Specialist(s)” from Exempt Organizations Technical Group 1 and Technical Group 2. Lerner’s signature, which appeared to be a stamp rather than an actual signature, appeared on a letter requesting additional information from the Ohio Liberty Council Corp.

Drip, drip, drip…

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]]> http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/29/tea-party-lawyer-whos-suing-irs-the-idea-that-this-is-a-couple-of-rogue-agents-in-cincinnati-is-not-correct/feed/ 0 Chairman Greg Walden’s Statement on Rep. Michele Bachmann’s Retirement Announcement http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/29/chairman-greg-waldens-statement-on-rep-michele-bachmanns-retirement-announcement/ http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/29/chairman-greg-waldens-statement-on-rep-michele-bachmanns-retirement-announcement/#comments Wed, 29 May 2013 13:38:12 +0000 Digital http://www.nrcc.org/?p=41402 WASHINGTON – National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) released the following statement today in response to Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) announcement that she will not run for re-election in 2014: “Since her election to Congress in 2006, Michele has been a tireless advocate and dedicated Representative for the people of Minnesota’s Sixth District. ...

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]]> WASHINGTON – National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) released the following statement today in response to Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) announcement that she will not run for re-election in 2014:

“Since her election to Congress in 2006, Michele has been a tireless advocate and dedicated Representative for the people of Minnesota’s Sixth District. Michele was the first Republican woman elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives, and she has worked hard each day to ensure that her constituents’ voices are heard in the halls of Congress.

“As a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Financial Services Committee, Michele has devoted herself to keeping our country safe and has fought for fiscal responsibility in Washington.

“As Michele, Marcus and their children head into the next chapter of their lives, I wish them all the best and thank Michele for her service in Congress.”

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]]> http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/29/chairman-greg-waldens-statement-on-rep-michele-bachmanns-retirement-announcement/feed/ 0 Area Lawmaker Can’t Figure Out Why Company Doesn’t Want to Pay More Taxes http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/28/area-lawmaker-cant-figure-out-why-company-doesnt-want-to-pay-more-taxes/ http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/28/area-lawmaker-cant-figure-out-why-company-doesnt-want-to-pay-more-taxes/#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 13:56:00 +0000 Digital http://www.nrcc.org/?p=41331 Looks like Democrats are using another play from the ‘You Didn’t Build That’ playbook:   Via Andrew Johnson at National Review:   Representative Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) just can’t wrap his head around why Apple wouldn’t “step up” to pay more in taxes.   “It seems to me they ought to want to help to pay ...

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]]> Looks like Democrats are using another play from the ‘You Didn’t Build That’ playbook:
 
Via Andrew Johnson at National Review:
 

Representative Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) just can’t wrap his head around why Apple wouldn’t “step up” to pay more in taxes.
 
“It seems to me they ought to want to help to pay the expenses of this country, so that everybody can have a fair shot,” Ellison said on MSNBC’s The Ed Show over the weekend.
 
Ellison found it “really disappointing” that Apple wasn’t willing to pay higher taxes, arguing that it “wouldn’t be a multi-billion-dollar corporation but for the fact that the United States of America made it possible for them to be that successful.”

Keith Ellison also apparently doesn’t understand irony, either. Here he’s citing a book preview from Apple iTunes on Twitter yesterday after attacking them:

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]]> http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/28/area-lawmaker-cant-figure-out-why-company-doesnt-want-to-pay-more-taxes/feed/ 0 19 Photos That Show How Truly Amazing Our Soldiers Are http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/27/19-amazing-photos-of-our-armed-forces/ http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/27/19-amazing-photos-of-our-armed-forces/#comments Mon, 27 May 2013 11:49:16 +0000 Digital http://www.nrcc.org/?p=41287 Memorial Day is when we honor the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice and the families who cope with that sacrifice. Not only should we remember the fallen, but it is immensely important to thank those serving in our armed forces to protect the freedoms we hold dear. Here are 19 photos from the  Army, ...

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]]> Memorial Day is when we honor the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice and the families who cope with that sacrifice. Not only should we remember the fallen, but it is immensely important to thank those serving in our armed forces to protect the freedoms we hold dear. Here are 19 photos from the  Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard Facebook pages showing how truly amazing our soldiers really are:

 

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]]> http://www.nrcc.org/2013/05/27/19-amazing-photos-of-our-armed-forces/feed/ 0