Pete Sessions Is A Shameless GOP Hypocrite. But That's Redundant! 6FEB14

NOT as eloquent as Sen Elizabeth Warren D MA, but the truth about the gop / tea-bagger caucus in congress. From Crooks and Liars, and watch Sen Warrren's comments on the US Senate floor at VIDEO Watch Elizabeth Warren Slam the GOP for Blocking Unemployment Benefits 4FEB14 http://bucknacktssordidtawdryblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/video-watch-elizabeth-warren-slam-gop.html

By Susie Madrak February 6, 2014 6:41 am

Remember "jobs, jobs, jobs"? All we got out of a Republican House were a bunch of red-meat bills about abortion, ACORN and guns.

The monkey's in the middle. (Credit: Flickr)

Credit: Jason Seiler

I'm not very fond of the Democratic party, although they sometimes throw the rare bone to working people. But the Republicans? They're just plain evil. So we have to do everything we can to get them out of office, and then we can start kicking the crap out of the Democrats when they don't do what we want. Because this crap has got to stop:

It is immoral to extend a meager monthly allowance to unemployed Americans still looking for work more than six months after losing their jobs, according to Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), which is why he and his fellow House conservatives are blocking Democrats’ efforts to reinstate the safety net program.
“I believe it is immoral for this country to have as a policy extending long-term unemployment [benefits] to people rather than us working on the creation of jobs,” Sessions said Tuesday on the House floor in response to questions about his party’s refusal to allow a vote on reinstating the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program.

If I passed this teabagging asshole on the street, I would spit on his shoes.

There were 1.3 million people receiving EUC when the program’s authorization expired on December 28, 2013. Since then, an estimated 300,000 other job-seekers have exhausted their state-level unemployment insurance benefits, pushing the total number of unemployed left without EUC to 1.6 million. As a group they have over 2.3 million children economically dependent upon them. The number being hurt by the failure to renew EUC rises by tens of thousands every week.
Sessions went on to say that job creation is vital in part because working gives a person “self-respect enough to know that jobs are important,” and that “too much of the time we have been hung up on, instead of job creation, we talk about the symptoms that are related to unemployment and long-term unemployment.” The long-term unemployed know better than most how important a job is, however, and how impossible jobs are to find right now.

Yeah, because hunger's just a fucking "symptom."

These are people who have spent six months and longer sending out job applications by the hundreds without success. It is hard enough for any unemployed person to find work given that there are about three job-seekers for every job opening nationwide. But the long-term unemployed face even higher hurdles. Hiring managers view a lengthy stint of unemployment as disqualifying. Research shows that being out of work for nine months has the same effect as reducing an applicant’s work experience by four full years. A freshly out-of-work applicant gets called back about 16 percent of the time when she applies for a job, but that rate falls to 3 percent for the long-term unemployed. Only a handful of states ban discrimination against the unemployed.
Cutting these people off of benefits doesn’t help them get work. It makes it harder by undercutting the basic income they need to afford to hunt for jobs online, get to interviews and look presentable, and keep themselves and their families from sliding into poverty or homelessness. Unemployed people receiving benefits spend more time on the job hunt than unemployed people without that safety net.

When Republicans say shit like this, I feel like I'm going to blow a gasket. Remember "jobs, jobs, jobs?" I do. And what did they do about jobs? Not a goddamned thing, and we need to rub their noses that pile of crap every time they open their mouths.

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 http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/pete-sessions-shameless-gop-hypocrite

UPDATEDx3: Huff Po: Pete Sessions is House leader who said "I cannot even stand to look at you".& Harry Reid Told Caucus That Pete Sessions Was Behind Obama Insult, Senators Say 22&24OKT13

If Rep pete sessions r TX can't stand to look at Pres Obama, he shouldn't have gone to the meeting with him. Instead, he decided to publicly insult the President, fueling the rabid hatred of his tea-bagger constituency of Pres Obama. What he also accomplished is to show the sane people in his Texas district, those whose politics differ from the President's but who can at least look at him, that he (Rep sessions) plans on continuing the repiglican / tea-bagger obstructionism that caused the federal government shutdown this month, that has made congress the least productive government body in the federal government system, and so the least approved part of the federal government by the American people. Pres Obama didn't take the bait, he responded as a reasonable, mature leader, something Rep sessions will never be. We can only hope the President and the Democratic caucus in congress realizes as long as there are repiglican tea-baggers like Rep sessions controlling the US House there will be no reasonable and honest negotiations on the federal budget and debt ceiling, only demands for draconian cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and to the social safety net programs that have already been severely cut by sequestration. Pres Obama and congressional Democrats MUST stand firm and reject these demands. From Daily Kos and HuffPost.....

UPDATE 3: Well, it looks like this story continues...The Huffington Post now reports it was Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) who allegedly told President Obama he could not bear to look at him at a meeting earlier this month.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) let his Democratic caucus know last week in a private meeting that a top House Republican told President Barack Obama, "I cannot even stand to look at you," according to two Democratic senators who were present, and confirmed by two Senate Democratic aides who said they independently learned of the exchange from two other senators.

More:

One of the two Democratic senators who spoke to HuffPost said that Reid told the caucus about the incident last Tuesday and named Sessions. He also told the caucus that he was "sorry" to have to tell them about it, per this senator, but gave Obama credit for his "dignified" response to Sessions. Reid reportedly told the caucus that Obama responded to Sessions by saying he understood they disagreed on many issues and he respected their differences.

Sessions' office is denying the charge and the WH is attributing the kerfluffle to a "miscommunication" made during the reading back of the meeting's transcript. UPDATE 2: Hmmmm...now Chad Pergram of FOX is tweeting that he contacted Durbin's office and the Senator is sticking with his story:

Durbin's office says the sen stands by his comments that Hse ldrshp R said they can't stand to look at Obama, even after Carney debunked it

TPM has it, too (h/t eztempo) as does Huffington Post, which included this tidbit in an article earlier this evening:

But two Democratic aides, both of whom requested anonymity, told The Huffington Post that the incident was relayed to members during a Senate Democratic Caucus meeting shortly after it allegedly happened. And Durbin isn’t backing down from the claims he originally made on his Facebook page on Sunday. “Sen. Durbin stands by his comments,” Durbin spokesman Max Gleischman told The Huffington Post.

Thanks for the find, PorridgeGun. The fact that Durbin discussed the incident with others just after it happened seems to indicate the story is legit. IMPORTANT UPDATE:  Thanks to hulibow and Paleo for pointing out WH spokesman Jay Carney denied Durbin's account at today's briefing. Here is the text:

QUESTION: Just to follow up on that. In terms of the president talking to Republicans, can you rule out -- there was the number two Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin, said on his Facebook page that someone in recent exchange with the president said he can't even stand, this member of Congress, that he can't even stand to look at the president. Can you say whether that happened? JAY CARNEY: I will say this, I spoke with somebody who was in that meeting and it did not happen.
QUESTION: Did the White House speak to Senator Durbin about this?
CARNEY: I don't know. My understanding is that, again, from participants in the meeting that that didn't happen.
QUESTION: Did anything like it happen that would --
CARNEY: Not that I'm aware of, Jackie.

This is just a quick diary to call attention to a story published tonight on The Hill's blog site. To put it short, this story, if true, turns my stomach, and says a lot about why Obama needs to continue to stand strong against House Republicans and FOR Democratic priorities. And why we all need to stand with him.
Summary under the jump...

According to The Hill, Sen. Dick Durbin said:

...a leading House Republican told President Obama that they could not 'even stand to look at you' during negotiations over the government shutdown. ...Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a Facebook post that the alleged confrontation happened during a meeting between Republicans and the president.
"Many Republicans searching for something to say in defense of the disastrous shutdown strategy will say President Obama just doesn't try hard enough to communicate with Republicans," Durbin said. "But in a 'negotiation' meeting with the president, one GOP House Leader told the president: "I cannot even stand to look at you.'"
"What are the chances of an honest conversation with someone who has just said something so disrespectful?" the Illinois Democrat added.

Like most of you, I've become sick to death of the "both sides do it" false equivalency thing our press does so well. I used to be a reporter. And an editor. What I was taught in J school was that stories needed to be balanced in that both sides got a say, as in a chance to respond to bad news or allegations. I was never taught not to tell the truth, only to allow comment on both sides, and to present the facts objectively. This is not what has been happening in our media at a national level and I hope stories like this might penetrate a bit. How CAN Obama "negotiate" with people who say they can't even look at him? How is there any equivalency in position when it is so clear one side just "cannot stand" him?
This is a bit of a mess as a diary, but I think this small story deserves discussion and I hope that posting it here will give it some national mention.
Please don't read The Hill comments, which are run over by teabaggers. I did my best trolling as a Virginia indy, but that place is infested.
UPDATE: Here is the link to Durbin's comments. So Durbin stands by them and this is more than gossip.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/23/1249847/-House-leader-tells-Obama-I-cannot-even-stand-to-look-at-you-How-will-CNN-spin-it?detail=email

Harry Reid Told Caucus That Pete Sessions Was Behind Obama Insult, Senators Say

Posted: 10/24/2013 10:51 am EDT  |  Updated: 10/24/2013 4:15 pm EDT

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told his Democratic caucus last week in a private meeting that a top House Republican said to President Barack Obama, "I cannot even stand to look at you," according to two Democratic senators who were present.
The account was confirmed by two Senate Democratic aides who said they independently learned of the exchange from other senators.
A White House official said Thursday that the administration did relay such a message to Reid, but that it was the result of a miscommunication.
“While the quote attributed to a Republican lawmaker in the House GOP meeting with the President is not accurate, there was a miscommunication when the White House read out that meeting to Senate Democrats, and we regret the misunderstanding," the official said in a statement.
Asked to clarify, then, what the White House meant to tell Senate Democratic leaders about Obama's meeting with House Republicans, the official said only, "Not going to read out the details of private meetings with the President, or private meetings between WH and Dem leaders."
The two senators who spoke to HuffPost did not hear the Republican make the remark, but said a top White House aide who was present later told Senate Democratic leaders that the lawmaker who made the remark was Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Rules Committee.
Reid then told the caucus about the incident on Tuesday and named Sessions, according to one of the two Democratic senators who spoke to HuffPost. Reid also told the caucus that he was “sorry” to have to tell them about it, per this senator, but gave Obama credit for his “dignified” response to Sessions. Reid reportedly told the caucus that Obama responded to Sessions by saying he understood that they disagreed on many issues and he respected their differences.
Two Senate Democratic aides told HuffPost that White House deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors was the one who told Democratic leaders about the Sessions incident.
The revelation from the senators sheds new light on a Capitol Hill whodunit that burst into the public sphere when Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) shared the exchange on his Facebook page on Sunday. The alleged incident took place in the throes of the government shutdown, when Obama was meeting with different factions of lawmakers to try to find a resolution to the debacle. (Neither of the two senators who spoke to HuffPost are Durbin.)
On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney flatly dismissed the story.
“I looked into this and spoke with somebody who was in that meeting and it did not happen,” Carney said during his daily briefing.
Sessions spokeswoman Torrie Miller said Thursday that the lawmaker never made those comments.
“He did not,” Miller said. “I think it was made clear yesterday from Jay Carney that the exchange you are referring to did not happen.”
Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), has been demanding an apology from Durbin.
“Senator Durbin’s accusation is a serious one, and it appears to have been invented out of thin air," Buck said in a Wednesday statement. "The senator should disclose who told him this account of events, retract his reckless allegation immediately, and apologize."
But Durbin isn’t backing down from his original claims.
"Sen. Durbin stands by his comments," Durbin spokesman Max Gleischman told HuffPost Wednesday.
A request for comment from a spokesman for Reid was not returned.
This story has been updated with comment from a senior White House official.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/harry-reid-pete-sessions_n_4156453.html 

11 GOP convention speakers who actually ‘didn’t build that’ 28AUG12

CONTINUING lies, deception, misinformation, propaganda and hypocrisy from the gop / tea-baggers who claim to detest and despise the federal government, government spending (in someone else's district) and who continue to misrepresent Pres Obama's comments about America's social contract. Here are 11 gop / tea-bagger hypocrites who are speaking at their convention in Tampa with examples of their soliciting, supporting and taking credit for federal and state tax dollars being spent in their districts supporting the public and private sectors....

 

 

Despite the fact that the Republican National Convention is held in a stadium that was financed with $86 million in public funds, the theme this year is “We built this!”
The theme is designed to be an affront to President Barack Obama’s supposed claim that those with successful businesses don’t deserve credit. The Romney campaign has dug in with an attack ad that says Obama’s message to business owners is “you didn’t build that,” despite the full context of the quote, which he used in a Virginia speech in July.
“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help,” Obama explained. “There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”
And the theme has been taken to heart by numerous candidates and delegates invited to speak at the convention. Looking at the prepared remarks for Tuesday alone, a number of speakers skipped over ways that their accomplishments had been supported by the government.
1) Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, when touting this Congress’ record of “implementing free enterprise policies that create jobs, cutting spending and repealing Obamacare,” failed to mention that — despite his very public opposition to the American Recovery Act in 2009, he secretly requested $81 million in stimulus money from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
2) When Host Committee Chairman Al Austin thanked attendees for stimulating the Tampa Bay economy with the Republican National Convention, he failed to mention the $50 million federal grant provided to make the convention possible. An estimated $2.7 million of that grant went to spending on security alone.
3) Ricky Gill , a Republican Candidate for Congress for California’s 9th district, called himself “a proud son of California’s San Joaquin Valley.” The valley is a robust farming community in central California, which, in addition being a recipient of some of the billions in farm subsidies that framing communities receive annually, has been dealing with a desperate drought. Republicans on the Natural Resources Committee in the House put forth legislation “to prevent future California man-made droughts” through public allocation of water to the valley.
4) Rep. Tim Griffin, representing the 2nd congressional district in Arkansas, said that a private company in his district awaits the building of the Keystone pipeline, a project that has even been opposed by Republicans because of it’s hefty $260 billion estimated price tag. “In Little Rock, we have a company with over 500 miles of pipe ready for the Keystone pipeline – but that pipe is sitting in a stack,” and will be, apparently until the federal funding comes through.
5) Rep. Francisco Canseco from Texas touted the fact that his district included “800 miles of U.S.-Mexico border,” which is secured by the U.S. Border Patrol, which has a workforce of nearly 20,000 employed directly by the federal government. The size of the Border Patrol has doubled since 2004. (Incidentally, Canseco isn’t so friendly with every U.S. security agency, since he claims to have had an intimate encounter with the Transportation Security Administration earlier this year.)
6) Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn not only touted the city’s immigrant population — even though at least 30 percent of immigrant-led households in Florida participate in at least one major welfare program — but also touted the city’s home to MacDill Air Force Base, which faced a 7 percent cut this year to its $10.5 billion annual budget.
7) Keith Rothfus, running for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 12th district, said he was a cancer survivor, has been a beneficiary of some of the research subsidized by the National Cancer Institute, which receives some $5 billion annually from the federal government. The Romney-Ryan budget proposes cuts to the funding of cancer research.
8) Andy Barr, running for Kentucky’s 6th district in Kentucky, cited Toyota’s “7,000 jobs in Georgetown, Kentucky,” made possible in part by $6.5 billion in tax incentives provided by the Kentucky Business Investment program, a state-funded program.
9) Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett admitted that there’s “a role for Washington in addressing our city’s critical infrastructure needs,” but cited the fact that his city “was recently named as the most entrepreneurial city in the country, with the most start-ups per capita.” That could be in part due to the $30 billion in federal grant money allocated by the Oklahoma City Small Business Administration district office.
10) Lisa Stickan, chair of the Young Republicans, studied law at Cleveland State University, a public university that received some $210 million annually from the state until 2010, when a Republican-legislature cut 34 percent of its budget. Stickan probably would have found paying for college difficult without federally funded student loans and/or grants, or a tax-free college savings plan.
11) Utah’s Rep. Jason Chaffetz touted a “$500,000 grant under the Small Community Air Service Development Program” in 2010 given by the U.S. Department of Transportation, but didn’t mention that when he applauded the generations who “quietly rolled up their sleeves and built a stronger, more prosperous nation. The government didn’t build it. They built it.”
But it seems that those triumphs wouldn’t have been possible without help from the government.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/28/11-gop-convention-speakers-who-actually-didnt-build-that/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29

Whoops! GOP violates Constitution the day they read the Constitution 6JAN11

THIS is just too perfect to be true, but it is, and typical of the ignorance and hypocrisy of the gop and the tea-baggers in the House......

AP

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-TX

No, they didn't refuse to extradite some fugitive slaves. They just acted like duly elected Representatives without being sworn in!
The new Republican majority already committed a major boehner on the second day of the new Congress. Representatives Pete Sessions of Texas and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were busy attending a fundraiser when all their colleagues were actually sworn in as members of Congress. So, whoops, they're not members yet. No biggies, right? Wrong! Because then they both showed up to work and cast some votes, in direct violation of our Constitution, which they then participated in the official reading of, on the floor of the House.
Sessions even chaired the Rules Committee while he wasn't a member, because in 2011, all jokes will officially write themselves.
AND from the WP's Happy Hour Roundup
Did anyone else notice that GOP Reps. Michele Bachmann and Steve King -- both Tea Party chieftains who routinely wrap themselves and their policy preferences in the Constitution -- were conspicuously absent from today's reading? My understanding is that the arrangement was first-come-first-serve, so all you had to do to read is show up early.
Maybe they had good reasons for missing the reading. But given that Bachmann and King never miss a chance to bask in the Constitution's reflected glory, you'd think they would have done all they could to ensure that they participated in such a momentous ritualistic honoring of our founding document. After all, many of those Constitution-despising Democrats were able to find the time to show up.