Phil Kerpen

Here are the links to my three-part series on Pajamas Media:

Part I: Moderate Republicans Key to Stopping Lame-Duck Threat

Part II: Special Election Candidates Promise to Stop Lame-Duck Agenda

Part III: Dems Up for Election in 2012 Can Stop the Lame-Duck Agenda

For even more on the lame duck, check out this summary on the Americans for Prosperity site.

While some lame-duck Republicans might support Harry Reid's schemes, many vulnerable Democrats standing for election in 2012 must be made to feel the heat from back home.

September 4, 2010 - by Phil Kerpen

In my two previous Pajamas Media columns on stopping the lame-duck threat, I dealt with the importance of moderate Republicans and the key special election situations in Delaware, Illinois, and West Virginia. Both of these strategies are bearing fruit, and it’s worth noting that Maine’s Senator Susan Collins was recently asked about the lame-duck session at a public event and said she is “not going to play that game.” That it would be “just wrong” and “blatantly against the will of the people.” It’s also worth noting that the Republican candidates in all of the special election states have taken strong stands against the lame-duck agenda. But it may not be enough.

Read the rest at Pajamas Media.

Races to fill the unexpired terms of Biden and Obama might make the difference in thwarting Harry Reid's plans to ram through a big government agenda during the lame-duck session after the elections.

(Note, this piece features a never-before-published quote from Mike Castle on the lame duck.)

Read the piece at Pajamas Media.

Congressional Dems can't pass leftist legislation between the election and the swearing-in without a few Republican votes.

August 20, 2010 - by Phil Kerpen

The lame duck threat is real, notwithstanding political posturing from Democratic Congressional Campaign chief Chris Van Hollen and others. In fact, Harry Reid has already set the schedule for the lame-duck session: it starts November 15, breaks for a week for Thanksgiving, and reconvenes in December. Perhaps running right up to Christmas Eve, in a frightening replay of last year’s health care disaster.

Read the rest at Pajamas Media.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2010/August/Will-Lame-Duck-Session-Follow-Nov-Elections/

Phil Kerpen and Joe Calomino
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Aug 10, 2010 @ 12:01 AM

Gov. Pat Quinn made it official: Illinois will have a special Senate election just for the lame-duck session. Thus, Illinois joins Delaware and West Virginia (both having special elections) as the three states whose winners on Election Day will — barring a disputed election result — be seated for a lame-duck session in December.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan argued in federal court that the last two months are such a short period of time that elected representation is unnecessary. Judge Diane Wood and a majority of the Seventh Circuit disagreed — and it’s a good thing because Congress may, during that time, convene for what Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad of North Dakota has called “one of the most significant lame-duck sessions in the history of the United States.”