Google Hangout with @JohnCornyn today 12 pm CT

Later today, Texas Senator John Cornyn is hosting a Google Hangout, and I've been invited to participate.

Should be fun. The festivities kick off at 12 pm CT, and if you want to watch, click here to RSVP.

Schadenfreudalicious

Republicans in 2008: "Obama's ideas for health care reform are not good. We don't like this."

Democrats in 2008: "No, this will be awesome. Just wait."

Hooray for BOTH of my Senators!

So, the shutdown's over...at least this particular fight is over. We'll probably be right back here in a few months because they only managed a short agreement, but whatever. This image sums up what I, and I think many Americans, are thinking:

Hat tip: Twitchy

Anyway, in the various conservative corners of the internet, a lot of the most impassioned discussion has focused on the roles of certain Republican members of Congress and whether they were "sellouts," "unrealistic," "radical," "RINOs" or a million other unflattering descriptions. Far too much of this chatter was not only petty, it was unproductive or even destructive.

My friend Kathleen McKinley has written a very thoughtful piece for the Houston Chronicle today, focusing on the two Senators from the great state of Texas:

Senator John Cornyn: Obama's shutdown strategy is to "maximize the pain" of the American people

Cornyn from his days on the
Texas Supreme Court

Last night, Texas Senator John Cornyn held a conference call with conservative bloggers and journalists. As we enter Day 2 of the government shutdown, his comments from just a few hours ago are becoming even more relevant as the day goes on. Thought I'd share some of my notes from the call with you.

Senators Cruz and Rubio mount new attack on Obamacare; opposing new continuing resolution [VIDEO]

Today, Texas Senator Ted Cruz introduced legislation, co-sponsored by Senators Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), Roy Blunt (R-MO), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Paul Isakson (R-GA), and Dean Heller (R-NV), to fully defund Obamacare. The bill is appropriately named the "Defund Obamacare Act of 2013."

Immigration reform poll shows Floridians support secure borders and "registration for undocumented immigrants"

Public Policy Polling conducted a poll of Florida voters earlier this month regarding immigration reform, and there are a number of interesting results. I'd also like to highlight the specific wording used in the poll, because the actual questions asked have a big impact on how people respond to the very complicated issue of immigration reform.

First, immigration reform is definitely a priority for Floridians, with 86% of respondents saying that it's "very" or "somewhat" important to "fix the immigration system" this year. 

The poll also shows that Floridians want immigration reform to include secure borders and a process for people who are here illegally to register for legal status, with a "long list of requirements" to be met for over a decade before they could be eligible for citizenship.

Rubio on #IRSscandal - "These are the Tactics of the Third World" [VIDEO]

Florida Senator Marco Rubio had harsh words for the Obama administration in a floor speech he delivered today [video of full speech and text of selected excerpts after the break]:

CNN Fail: Where's the #filibuster news?

It's now 12:30 am ET after over twelve hours of Senator Rand Paul's historic filibuster, and this is the front page of CNN:

Marco Rubio vs. Lil Wayne

When he's not busy being a champion of free market principles or a water bottle entrepreneur, Florida Senator Marco Rubio is helping all of us decipher the complicated hierarchy of the rap world.

In this fun interview with TMZ as he walked through Reagan airport, Rubio rejects a recent boast by rapper Lil Wayne ("I ain't 2Pac, I'm the new 'Pac"), saying that "There's only one Tupac":

Huh? Senate Prez Don Gaetz compares opposition to Medicaid expansion to segregation

This is one of those "Did I just read what I think I read? No way. Seriously, there must be something wrong with my eyes" type of articles. 

Florida Senate President Don Gaetz has compared those opposed to Medicaid expansion to segregationists. Yes, really.

From the Tampa Bay Times:

Sean Bielat not running for MA Senate, launching PAC & supporting conservative candidates instead

Sean Bielat announced this afternoon that he had decided not to enter the race for the special election for the Massachusetts Senate.

Sean is continuing his work with OneClickPolitics.com, as well as "[l]aunching a Political Action Committee (PAC) focused on vetting and supporting New England candidates who can do the most to revitalize the GOP and begin to give voters real choices at the polls."

He had formed an exploratory committee but ultimately decided that this year's election was "simply not the right time for our family:"

New Americans for Prosperity Congressional Scorecard released today

Just got an email from Americans for Prosperity announcing that they have launched their own Congressional scorecard, to evaluate "how focused your legislators are on promoting economic freedom."

What Sean Bielat is Doing [UPDATED]

The exciting roller coaster of Massachusetts politics continues...

Ever since Scott Brown shocked the heck out of everyone by declining to run for this year's special election for the Massachusetts Senate race to fill John Kerry's seat (despite all indications that he was in a strong position for that race), there has been a lot of speculation about who would run for the seat, and whether any of the Republicans had a chance.

Today, my phone and email blew up with reporters wanting to know if Sean Bielat, for whose Congressional campaign for MA-4 I had worked on last year, was indeed running for the seat.

A number of media outlets reported today that Sean is running; however, that is not quite accurate.

Ted Cruz is Not Impressed

Too funny. From Twitchy: 

Awesome SOTU GIF: Ted Cruz is not impressed with Obama; McCain does the ‘Shamnesty Shake’ 

There’s no contest. This is the best image to come out of Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.

Just because it's called "Violence Against Women Act" doesn't mean it helps fight violence against women

Today, the Senate voted on the misleadingly-named "Violence Against Women Act," and a number of conservative Republican Senators voted against it. Predictably, the Left is in a self-righteous fury over this, and are falling all over themselves to see who can be the one to call these Republicans women-hating jerks in the loudest voice.

Marco Rubio demands end to "Washington's reckless spending"

Senator Marco Rubio published an op-ed in USA Today yesterday, emphatically stating that any increase in the debt ceiling must be accompanied by real and significant spending cuts, as well as entitlement reforms:

New poll shows Scott Brown in "strong position" for special election

New reasons to smile

Boston's NPR radio station, WBUR, conducted a poll earlier this week that shows Scott Brown is in a "strong position" to rejoin his colleagues in the Senate, assuming John Kerry is appointed to be Secretary of State, triggering a special election.

The poll was conducted with 500 registered voters on Monday and Tuesday, and Brown's favorables are very high, even though it is less than two months after he lost a brutal campaign battle against Elizabeth Warren. 

Rubio-sponsored amendment to protect military voting rights passes unanimously

Senator Marco Rubio's office just sent out a press release, touting an amendment he co-sponsored with Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) to the NDAA bill that is designed to streamline the process for getting absentee ballots to military personnel deployed overseas. The amendment passed the Senate unanimously. 

This is the type of issue that should be a no-brainer: the men and women who are literally putting their lives on the line to protect our country should have their rights to vote protected as well. 

Marco Rubio: We still need answers on Benghazi

Senator Marco Rubio has a new op-ed posted on CNN.com this morning regarding the many unanswered questions about the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012:

Another shameless power grab coming from MA Dems?

It's been an interesting time for me in Massachusetts this year, seeing the differences (the many, many, many differences) between that state and Florida. 

Both states have a legislature dominated by one party, but with wide variation in how much autonomous power the controlling party really has. When the Republicans who control the Florida House and Senate push their luck too far, the Florida press corps howl in protest and voters in even heavily-Republican districts tend to reject anything really outlandish (case in point: the failure of many of the constitutional amendments, which originated in the Legislature, on the ballot this year).

In contrast, in Massachusetts, when the Democrats try something nutty, it's met with shrugs  and mostly ignored as simply business as usual. At best, media outlets like the Boston Herald may cover a story here and there, but it rarely seems to slow down the Democrats' appetite for abusing government power.