It is time for the Republican Party to Take Charge!

The Republican Party controls the United States House of Representatives which is one half of the Congress of the United States. The Democratic Party controls the United States Senate the other half of the Congress and the Presidency. The President has Veto power and with a super majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate being required to override a Presidential Veto; the upper hand in terms of power in terms of the Government lies with the Democratic Party, or so one would think.

The Constitution provides that the spending and taxing authority begins in the House of Representatives. The government cannot perform it's day to day operations without the funding approved by appropriations from the House of Representatives. The Senate cannot act until it receives legislation from the House. The President cannot sign a bill into law or veto it, until it has been passed by both houses of Congress. So, if a political party is going to have control of one of the two bodies in Congress, the power certainly is in the House of Representatives. That is not to say that the Senate does not have exclusivity, but when it comes to spending money, nothing happens unless it happens in the House.

The Senate is a fickle place with lots of rules. The minority in the Senate has many protections. These have been developed over the years by all parties who have had control of the Senate because they knew at some point they would lose control and would be once again in the minority. The most effective tool in the arsenal of the minority, say of any one Senator is the Filibuster. A single Senator can stop all legislative business for as long as that Senator can hold the floor. There are some fairly significant records when Senators have spoken on and on and on to make their position clear and generally gain some sort of compromise from the Senate. Whether it is a concession for a Senator's state or for a Senator's party this tool can be very effective. However, it is rarely ever used in this manner. What is used in the modern day Senate is an implied Filibuster. The threat of a Filibuster is enough to get the attention of the majority. If the Minority decides not to participate, the Majority cannot move forward without them if the Minority has at least 41 votes. If the Majority has 60 votes or more, then it is impossible for an implied Filibuster to be used.

Currently the Republican Party has 47 seats in the US Senate. This is 6 seats more than is needed to use an implied Filibuster. If all 47 Senators stay together they can effectively stop all Senate business, or they can prevent particular Senate business from being considered. This provides a considerable position for negotiation. The Majority cannot run rough shot over the Minority. In effect The Democratic Party cannot do anything unless at least 7 Republicans go along with them.

With Control of the House of Representatives, and the ability to shut down business in the Senate, the Republican Party has much more power than it has been exercising and much more than they have been putting forth to President Obama. It is time to take off the gloves. It is time to stand up and take charge. The Democrats cannot beat the Republican's into submission with lies about starving children, elderly, and poor. The Republicans can force the President and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to tell the truth. They can force them to come clean about spending and about taxes. They can force the President to lead or get out of the way.

I call upon Speaker Boehner and Senate Minority Leader McConnell to get on with it and pull out all the stops. Stop going along to get along. Make the hard choices and show the American people that THEIR government can function in a way that is responsible and responsive. Stand up to the Media and tell them that business as usual is over and that the days of rhetoric have passed. Give us a government that will deliver to us a future we might not like but that we know our country will be proud of, one that does not rob its citizens of a dime more than is necessary to accomplish that goal, and one that spends not a penny more than is required to do a proper job.

We don't need a political campaign. We need someone to get off their ass and do the job! Thank you!