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March 28th, 2024

Insight

Hey, Paul Ryan: Remember Eric Cantor?

Alicia Colon

By Alicia Colon

Published Oct. 22, 2015

CHUMS: Paul Ryan (l) and Eric Cantor.

One of the most shocking upsets in 2014 was the primary defeat of the powerful Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor by tea party candidate David Brat. Brat was an underfunded unknown economics professor and yet battled successfully against Cantor's multi-million dollar campaign for reelection to Congress. His young campaign managers, Gray Delany and Zach Werrell, have written a great book released this week titled How to Bag A RINO.

(Buy it at a 10% discount by clicking here)

If these two men in their mid-20's could topple a Goliath of the GOP establishment, then why should congressional conservatives settle for putting another RINO in the Speaker's seat. I am referring of course to Paul Ryan who has been crowned the designated next Speaker by the GOP elite.

When the mainstream media touts someone as an ideal Speaker who can reach across the aisle, watch out. That person is a RINO. The authors define RINO as (n) Acronym, literally Republican in name only. While they sometimes talk a good game on free markets, in practice they are dedicated to cronyism and shady deal making….They tend to be sickeningly beholden to the left/liberal media…and quick to be embarrassed by Republicans deemed too aggressively conservative and/or principled.

Republicans are always being accused by the Democrats of obstructionism and the media chimes in looking for someone who can get Congress to work together. When, pray tell, have the Democrats ever tried to work with Republicans, especially conservatives? Remember how they refused to let them in the door while drafting the Obamacare scheme? Democrats vote in a block and the ones that are brave enough to vote with the GOP get punished.

Republicans got elected to a majority in Congress by voters who have been hoping they'd have the votes to repeal the abominable Obamacare, defund Planned Parenthood, cut taxes, increase funds for veterans and rebuild our military. Instead we have John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, John McCain and other RINOs and consequently nothing has been done-same old, same old.

We voters are all to blame for this. If we bothered to take the time and a little trouble, we'd learn that RINOs are easy to spot and could have been ousted from office years ago. Their voting records are online. You Tube carries every remark and lie they've told in their public career. That's what the authors did to Cantor; they ran ads showing his record and his broken promises. Cantor had a conservative rating of F-minus. They did all this on a shoestring. Imagine if the Koch brothers really wanted this country to rebound as it should, they'd be backing the most conservative tea party candidates running in all the states.

The mainstream media and liberal pundits have managed to portray the tea party as a grassroots organization of bigots and extremists. They are neither. They are the salt of the earth and when they show up in rallies by the thousands, they leave the area clean. Compare that with every left wing rally that when over, requires overtime for sanitation crews to clean up their trash.

The whiz kid authors of How to Bag A RINO also give credit to two individuals who supported their campaign against Cantor --- Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin.

The next Speaker of the House should come with the backing of the tea party They are more principled than those sponsored by the establishment. David Brat has proven to be the candidate the authors hoped he would be. He has stood against the Republican leadership by voting against Obama's executive order on immigration, against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, against crony capitalist programs, against Boehner as speaker and increased spending.

There was one unsettling part of the book and that was reading a comment Rep. Brat made at a town hall meeting after his win. He said, "There is only one party in Washington.....In ten years, every dime of federal revenue will be spent on entitlement spending. ..There will be no money for the military, but the Republican leadership and Democrats do not care. They just care about lining their pockets and staying in power."

Chills went down my spine when I recalled that in 2012, I wrote these words in my Irish Examiner USA column: "Soon after his ascent to office he held a town hall meeting to inform his supporters of his first impressions and he said a shocking thing. "Nobody here cares," he said and he was referring to those on both sides of the aisle. Getting reelected is their first priority, he concluded. Those were dangerous words for the freshman congressman to utter and I had a sinking feeling that he would pay for them." I was referring to my Congressman Michael Grimm who spoke at our tea party town hall meeting in 2010. He was indicted last year on trumped up charges of fraud and found guilty this year. Meanwhile Charlie Rangel, tax cheat, gets reelected year after year for doing nothing. The Republican elite was probably delighted to have Grimm removed from Congress. He was very effective getting help for Sandy victims in his district. After the pro-life bill H.R. 3541 known as PRENDA; the prenatal Non-discrimination Act failed to pass thanks to the Dems and RINOs, Grimm said:

"I find it disappointing that legislation to outlaw the barbaric practice of sex-selective abortions failed to pass the House of Representatives. Beyond my religious and pro-life views, I believe to end the life of an unborn baby girl simply because her parents were hoping for a boy is absolutely disgusting and horrific, not to mention the ultimate betrayal of women's rights."

Grimm wasn't the only decent Representative targeted for removal. Florida Congressman Allen West was another target who was savaged in the mainstream media. He was the sole Republican in the Congressional Black Caucus whose chairman Rep. Alcee Hastings had been highly critical of West and wanted him booted out.

Paul Ryan had the nerve to say he will only become the Speaker if the conservatives promise not to make waves and behave.. What gall! what Chutzpah!. Let's all call our congressional representatives and tell them-No More RINOS. Fight for the people.

Good tea party candidates and incumbents need to be protected from the GOP establishment and that will take all our support.How to Bag A RINO tells us how to do just that. I highly recommend it to take down more Goliaths.

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