"SPRINGFIELD -- Lawmakers made Illinois the last state to allow concealed carry of firearms in two quick votes Tuesday that formalized the deepening rift between Gov. Pat Quinn and the legislature. 

"The House and Senate voted to override Quinn's amendatory veto of a legislative compromise aimed at satisfying a federal court deadline for legalizing some form of public possession of firearms. Illinois was the last state without some form of legal concealed carry, but the appeals court ruled late last year that the ban was unconstitutional. 

"While Tuesday's court deadline for passing a law was a major motivating factor, the 77-31 House vote and 41-17 Senate roll call were more than a rejection of Quinn's efforts to toughen the regulations — they were a repudiation of the Democratic governor's leadership style by a Democratic-led legislature."

"We are conservatives who have differed in the past on immigration reform, with Kristol favorably disposed toward it and Lowry skeptical. But the Gang of Eight has brought us into full agreement: Their bill, passed out of the Senate, is a comprehensive mistake. House Republicans should kill it without reservation. 

"There is no case for the bill, and certainly no urgency to pass it. During the debate over immigration in 2006–07, Republican rhetoric at times had a flavor that communicated a hostility to immigrants as such. That was a mistake, and it did political damage. This time has been different. The case against the bill has been as responsible as it has been damning. 

"It’s become clear that you can be pro-immigrant and pro-immigration, and even favor legalization of the 11 million illegal immigrants who are here and increases in some categories of legal immigration – and vigorously oppose this bill."

"Senate Democrats are inching ever closer to pulling the trigger to limit the filibuster, even after a notable spate of bipartisanship in the chamber to pass the comprehensive immigration bill. 

"And the liberal base is cheering them on. 

"A coalition called Fix the Senate Now is launching a full-court press urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to move forward with the so-called nuclear option — changing the Senate rules to prohibit the filibuster, and its 60-vote threshold — for some of President Barack Obama’s nominees. ... 

"How this all plays out will be determined behind closed doors at Senate Democratic Caucus lunch meetings, the first of which is on Tuesday. After huddling with his membership, Reid will determine which nominee comes to the floor first to face a likely GOP filibuster."

“I am apt to believe that [Independence Day] will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

"In a blatant exercise of arbitrary rule, the Obama administration announced this evening that it has unilaterally decided not to implement a key provision of ObamaCare on schedule.  By law, ObamaCare’s employer mandate — its requirement that businesses with 50 or more workers provide federally sanctioned health insurance — should go into effect next year.  By executive fiat, it won’t go into effect until 2015.

"In addition to being a naked display of lawlessness, this action is an embarrassing setback to the Obama administration and — more importantly — to President Obama’s centerpiece legislation.  More than three years after ObamaCare’s passage — a passage marked by such shady backroom deals as the Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, and Gator Aid — the administration is now admitting it has failed to get ObamaCare up and running on time."

"I don’t know if Members of Congress will be hearing about it in town hall gatherings and other meetings back home over the Fourth of July recess, but the rolling thunder of the approaching ObamaCare train can be heard in the distance.  Smart Democrats are beginning to get frantic about the need to suppress the confusion and hide the cost of ObamaCare between now and the 2014 midterm elections.  We are just three months away from the October 1st enrollment start date and so far, nothing about the ObamaCare implementation process should be politically encouraging for Democrats.  In fact, the more people learn about ObamaCare, the more frightened they become. ... 

"One of the worst sins you can commit in politics is to say something that’s different from what people can see for themselves. There is no chance that ObamaCare will perform as promised and when it doesn’t, voters will be looking for relief."

"Even those who believe that emissions of carbon dioxide are causing unacceptable warming of the earth — and frankly the evidence for that is thus far less than convincing — should be ashamed of President Obama’s demagogic arguments for action. 

"The fact sheet on the president’s speech this week said carbon 'pollution' is 'contributing to higher rates of asthma attacks and more frequent and severe floods and heat waves.' His measures would 'protect the health of our children.'  

"'For the children' usually means the orator has run out of good arguments."

"[T]he Senate is finished, at least for now. Over the last several months, beyond deferring to Rubio, the only other thing some Republicans would say about immigration was, 'We need to put this issue behind us.' They were speaking politically, in the hope that they could vote for the Gang of Eight bill and then begin to reap benefits with Hispanic voters. 

"That's highly unlikely, but one thing is for sure: They have disappointed a lot of their conservatives supporters, most likely for a long time."

"There hasn’t been much evidence of 'global warming' for at least 15 years. If anything, 'cooling' has kicked in as part of an eternal cycle that stretches back through history. But President Obama is not one to let the facts stand in the way of a beautiful theory. Especially when it rallies his restive liberal base. 

"During (what else?) a speech at Georgetown University on Tuesday, Obama announced that he’ll use his favorite leadership tool, executive orders, and the powers of the unelected, Nixon-era Environmental Protection Agency to end-run Congress and crack down on one of his favorite whipping boys, coal. All in the name of fighting the phantom menace of climate change and in particular carbon emissions."

"Meet Ryan Patrick Winkler. He’s a 37-year-old liberal Minnesota state legislator with a B.A. in history from Harvard University and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School. He’s also a coward, a bigot, a liar, and a textbook example of plantation progressivism.

"On Tuesday, Winkler took to Twitter to rant about the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down an onerous section of the Voting Rights Act. The 5-4 ruling overturned an unconstitutional requirement that states win federal preclearance approval of any changes to their election laws and procedures. Winkler fumed: 'VRA majority is four accomplices to race discrimination and one Uncle Thomas.'...   

"After being called out by conservative social media users for his cheap attack on Clarence Thomas, Winkler then revealed his true color: yellow. He deleted the tweet (captured for posterity at my Twitter curation site, twitchy.com) and pleaded ignorance. ... 

"Just another day at the left-wing racist office."