One of the objections to making Paul Ryan the replacement for the retiring John Boehner as Speaker was the fact that he was too close to the former leader philosophically and politically. It was believed that he would be nothing more than a John Boehner 2.0.
On Thursday, Ryan validated this concern when he “pulled a Boehner” by holding a show vote on a piece of legislation meant to “pause” the flow of refugees from Syria and Iraq. While giving the appearance of actually doing something about this vital issue, it accomplishes nothing while granting Obama exactly what he wants and giving America the shaft.
While the vote was 289-137—including 47 Democrats—critics of the legislation said that is fails to stop a single Islamic refugee from entering the country.
There were much tougher bills sitting in committees, including HR 3314, a proposal by Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) that would have stopped all refugee resettlement until Obama gave a full accounting of the costs and national security risks. But just a Boehner would often do when he was about to cave to Obama, Ryan blocked any amendments or alternatives to his show vote; a move that runs contrary to his pre-Speaker promise that the House would be run differently than it was under Boehner.
William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC summarized it this way:
Speaker Paul Ryan is trying to protect Obama’s Syrian refugee resettlement programs today by passing a bill that only ‘pauses’ the program instead of stopping it. Also, Ryan’s bill is based on the false premise that refugees from Muslim countries can be adequately vetted when the cant…”
The legislation will now go to the Senate where it will die at the hands of Harry Reid, who absurdly stated that “the problem is not with the refugees” — a sentiment that flies in the face of reality.
For instance, a new report just released has verified 66 cases of ISIS attacks in the past 18 months, most of them foiled by the FBI, including many orchestrated by former refugees. But that’s just one of the inconvenient truths on the topic. Check out these little tidbits:
- ISIS has promised to infiltrate the ranks of refugees coming into the West
- Some of the attackers in Paris entered Europe posing as Syrian refugees
- Syrian passports are available on the black market in the Middle East for as little as $100
- Anyone can obtain one of these passports and claim to be a Syrian refugee
- Obama is bringing 85,000 refugees from various Third World countries in FY2016
- Obama plans on bringing another 100,000 in FY2017
Even all of these facts are beside the point. Even if by some miracle it were to pass the Senate and signed by Obama, the bill has no teeth because it still depends on the administration to “certify” that EVERY refugee is not a terrorist; an impossible task according to FBI Director James Comey.
Using the type of fake tough talk we’ve come to expect from the Republican establishment when they are covering up the fact that they are not doing their job, Paul Ryan said:
“If our law enforcement and our intelligence community cannot verify that each and every person is not a security threat, the they shouldn’t be allowed in. We cannot and we should not wait to act. Not when our national security is at stake.”
Of course, there was no mention that this legislation does nothing to cut off funding for a single refugee. But as we already know, McConnell and now Ryan, are too spineless to use the power of the purse granted to them under the Constitution.
And with that reality, this bill guarantees that Obama gets his way once again, and America moves one step closer to the next 9/11.
David Leach is the owner and publisher of The Strident Conservative, where you will find news and opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” He is also a frequent contributor at RedState.com.
His political commentaries can be heard daily on KLZ560 AM at 5pm MST and on other Crawford Broadcasting stations throughout the day.
