If you believe everything you read, Sarah Palin is the worst thing that has ever happened to America. She has proven that women aren’t, in fact, victimized by a male-dominated society to the extent that organizations such as N.O.W. and Planned Parenthood would have you believe.

[image via Dreams Time]

She has proven that you CAN, in fact, win a fight against the media. She has taken the best of their beatings while they have made it abundantly clear for nearly 3 years now that their number one goal has been to denigrate and destroy her (and drag her family through the mud for good measure). They have done everything in their collective power, to defame and discredit her no matter what she endeavors to do, and yet she keeps smiling and flipping them off at every opportune moment.

She has proven that you really CAN carve out a living for yourself, even in these economic times, by working hard and making the necessary sacrifices of long hours and sufficient effort (as well as putting up with the usually unfounded personal attacks) to put a meal on your family’s table (while being chastised with impunity for it by media and politicians -from both sides – alike).

And, she has proven to have more sack panache than most of the men I have ever met.

I love this woman, and whether she’s the right person to be our next President or not, she ought to be America’s SoulKeeper™ for what she endures and what she gives back in the abject lessons she’s helping us learn about how evil people really CAN be when someone comes along that doesn’t fit into their tidy little mold of how people should think and act. God bless her for that.

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On May 31, 2011 the US House responded to the President’s request to increase the statutory limit on the public debt with a resounding NO… to the tune of 318 to 97. Interestingly, unlike in recent years, 82 Democrats stood with the GOP majority this time around.

I had the honor of getting to ask Freshman Rep. Dan Benishek (R, MI-01) a couple quick questions about what happened just before that vote.

Our conversation follows:

An article in “The Hill” quoted you, from your floor speech prior to the vote, as saying “shame on you” when you addressed those that are ‘trying to scare America’s Seniors’ by suggesting the GOP wants to hurt them.

Click on image for YouTube clip

Q-What is the true reality facing all of us, including seniors, regarding the debt crisis and where Medicare (and the larger American entitlement system) fits into that bigger picture?

Congresman Benishek: The reality is we have to act now. We can’t afford to wait until our country is bankrupt. People in Northern Michigan, and the rest of the country, understand you can’t spend money you don’t have. What we have to do is decide the smartest way to reform our spending programs so they are sustainable. I believe the way to do that is keep our promise to seniors and not make any changes to Medicare for those at or near retirement. But I think we can agree that we need serious reforms in order to ensure Medicare is available for our children and grandchildren.

Q-Do you believe the Democrat message…the smoke screen you referred to in your speech… has been effective? And why/how?

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I recently had the opportunity to ask North Carolina’s 2nd District Freshman Rep. Renee Ellmers a few questions about the state of affairs in Congress in the wake of the battle between Speaker Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Reid, and President Obama over what to do with the budget for the remainder of the fiscal year. What follows are her responses, and a brief wrap at the close.

The debate over the budget for the remainder of this year was very contentious. There’s been a tremendous amount of pressure; from the media, to the President and the Democrats (including a great deal of rancor within the Republican caucus itself), the Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1473) to fund the Government through September 30 had the attention of the entire country.

Many people have been very critical of Speaker Boehner and the process that got this deal done as well as what it actually contains. A great deal of attention has been paid to this fight by Tea Party folks and many others. A lot of Americans, both left AND right, believe they were “played” by Leadership on both sides of the aisle – sold a bill of goods filled with what we once called “fuzzy math” – and they are not happy. But the vote is done now, the bill has passed, and we’re moving ahead.

Q: In 2010 Americans sent a lot of new faces to Washington to change the direction of the country. Right now, people are feeling they’ve been sold out. Were they?

Congressman Ellmers – The American people are angry and they should be. We had an overwhelming mandate in the 2010 elections to stop the reckless spending, government over reach, and unsustainable debt and since my freshman colleagues and I have come to Washington, we have faced opposition every step of the way from the Administration and leadership in the Senate. Our first vote in office was to repeal Obamacare and since then have continued week after week to send forth powerful legislation to cut billions…and now trillions of dollars in government spending and waste. The problem is we are merely one half of one third of the government and because of this, we have to first block any new spending proposals and then move on to more dramatic initiatives.

Q: What happened, how are you going to handle negotiations differently going forward, and what do we all need to be paying closer attention to?

Congressman Ellmers – The real fight going forward will be the debate over the debt ceiling. While we were able to cut billions from this year’s budget during the continuing resolution an even more important battle looms over the debt ceiling.

Q: Do you think the Leadership fully understands just how strongly the American people feel about jobs, the economy (including the crisis with fuel prices), the need to reduce spending, put an end to Corporate Welfare, the Ethanol scam, unconstitutional lawmaking power in the cabinet departments, endless trillion dollar deficits, and the need for Congress to restore the rule of law?

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I recently had the opportunity to ask Michigan’s 1st District Freshman Rep. Dan Benishek a few questions about the state of affairs in Congress in the wake of the battle between Speaker Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Reid, and President Obama over what to do with the budget for the remainder of the fiscal year. What follows are his responses, and a brief wrap at the close.

[Lead in to Rep. Benishek]
The debate over the budget for the remainder of this year was very contentious. There’s been a tremendous amount of pressure; from the media, to the President and the Democrats (including a great deal of rancor within the Republican caucus itself), the Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1473) to fund the Government through September 30 had the attention of the entire country.

Many people have been very critical of Speaker Boehner and the process that got this deal done as well as what it actually contains. A great deal of attention has been paid to this fight by Tea Party folks and many others. A lot of Americans, both left AND right, believe they were “played” by Leadership on both sides of the aisle – sold a bill of goods filled with what we once called “fuzzy math” – and they are not happy. But the vote is done now, the bill has passed, and we’re moving ahead.

Q: In 2010 Americans sent a lot of new faces to Washington to change the direction of the country. Right now, people are feeling they’ve been sold out. Were they?

Congressman Benishek: People should not feel sold out. They can be frustrated. I am frustrated that the cuts were not bigger, but we have to remember Democrats still control the Senate and White House. I believe the Speaker did the best he could with the resources he had. I was not directly involved in negotiating with President Obama and Senator Reid, but I can tell you that as long as I am given the opportunity to vote for significant reductions in spending, I will be a “Yea” vote every time.

Q: What happened, how are you going to handle negotiations differently going forward, and what do we all need to be paying closer attention to?

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