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Senate Republicans are previewing the lines of attack theyll pursue in 2015 against President Barack Obamas immigration, foreign policy and gun regulation policies during this weeks debate on executive-branch nominees.

Today, Republicans anger over Obamas Nov. 20 order granting a temporary reprieve from deportation for undocumented immigrants translated into criticism of Sarah Saldana, Obamas nominee to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Senate confirmed her 55-39.

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed surgeon general nominee Vivek Murthy, a physician who has called gun violence a public health issue, on a 51-43 vote amid opposition from Republicans and the National Rifle Association.

This evening, the Senate will vote on confirming Antony Blinken as deputy secretary of state, though incoming Armed Services Chairman John McCain said hell fight Blinkens nomination on the floor. McCain has said that in hearings for defense secretary nominee Ashton Carter early next year he plans to highlight Obamas feckless foreign policy.

In an interview today, McCain said Blinken is the person whos been wrong on every single issue.

Incoming Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas is among the Republicans who said they would vote against Saldanas confirmation, though he said shes well qualified for the post.

Based on her qualifications alone, we would be hard pressed to find a person better suited for the job, Cornyn said of Saldana. But if she is determined to help the president implement this deeply flawed executive action and refuses to enforce the law that Congress has written and has been signed by previous presidents, I cant support her.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said in a statement, Her experience will be valuable as we continue to work to fix our broken immigration system and implement President Obamas executive action to keep families together.

Republicans in January will take control of the Senate for the final two years of Obamas presidency. In an attempt to install as many Obamas choices for executive and judicial posts as possible before ceding control of the chamber, Reid has teed up votes this week on about two dozen nominees.

Under a rules change that Reid pushed through late last year, Democrats can approve all of the nominees by a simple majority vote, meaning none will need Republican support as Democrats now control 55 seats in the chamber. Republicans will control 54 seats starting in January.

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Republicans Tip Hand on Obama Lines of Attack With Nominees

WASHINGTON Unhappy Republicans say Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has given President Barack Obama a present this holiday season a gift certificate good for confirmation of 12 judicial appointments, not long after the voters had delivered the Democrats a lump of coal in midterm elections.

Cruz, a tea party favorite and potential 2016 presidential contender, disputed the claim through his spokesman on Monday.

But there was no dissent that Democrats, who must turn over power to Republicans in January, were in position to confirm not only the judges, but 11 other appointees before the Senate wraps up work for the year.

Among them are nominees that Republicans have sought to block for two relatively high-profile posts. They are Vivek Murthy to become surgeon general and Sarah Saldaa to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that will oversee the new administration policy on immigration that Cruz wants to defund.

At the root of the dispute lay a combination of the Senate's all-but-indecipherable rules, Cruz's attempt to use their murky corners to his advantage, and a bipartisan desire of many lawmakers to finish work for the year and return home for the holidays.

"My concern about the strategy he employed is that it has a result he didn't intend," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said of Cruz' maneuverings on Friday night, when he sought to force a vote on Obama's immigration policy. Among the consequences, she said, would be confirmation of a number of appointees who are controversial, including some to "lifetime judicial" posts.

Some officials said Cruz was personally informed by GOP aides that Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid was primed to take advantage if he went ahead.

Under the Senate's rules, Cruz's maneuver allowed Reid to begin the time-consuming process of confirming nominations on Saturday at noon when lawmakers had been scheduled to be home for the weekend.

Had Cruz not made his move when he did, according to officials in both parties, Reid would have had to wait until Monday night more than 48 hours later. Disgruntled Republicans said they felt confident that Reid's rank and file would not have been willing to remain in Washington in that case, and only four or five nominees would be confirmed instead of 23.

Other Republican lawmakers were far more forceful than Collins in their judgment of Cruz on Monday. They declined to speak on the record, possibly feeling they had already done so enough during the unplanned, 12-hour Senate session on Saturday.

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Republicans blame Ted Cruz for string of year-end Obama confirmations

June 1, 2014: The coal-fired Plant Scherer is photographed in Juliette, Ga.(AP)

WASHINGTON When Republicans take control of Congress next month, top on their agenda will be undoing environmental regulations they claim will harm the economy, chief among them President Barack Obama's plans to limit heat-trapping carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants.

The results of a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Yale University show their priorities may be misplaced.

Six in 10 Americans, including half of all Republicans, said they support regulation of carbon dioxide pollution, although they weren't asked how. Nearly half of Republicans said the U.S. should lead the global fight to curb climate change, even if it means taking action when other countries do not. And majorities across party lines said environmental protections "improve economic growth and provide new jobs" in the long run, a popular Obama administration talking point.

The picture of Republicans that emerges from the poll runs counter to the monolithic view of Republicans in Washington as a global warming-doubting, anti-environmental regulation party keen on attacking Obama's environmental plans. And the results come as the Obama administration continues to forge ahead on its own with aggressive plans on climate change, even if it means going head-to-head with a Republican-controlled Congress that could derail the administration's environmental legacy.

"The American people have made it clear they know climate change is real, and that we can protect the planet and grow the economy at the same time," Frank Benenati, a White House spokesman, said after reviewing the poll results. "Climate deniers in Congress and those who would try to block efforts to address the climate challenge would do well to listen."

Still, climate change itself ranked near the bottom of environmental problems tested in the poll.

"Global warming was second to last among environmental issues. That is all you need to know," said Mike McKenna, a GOP pollster and consultant.

In recent weeks and months, the White House has announced a deal with China to curb the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming and pledged $3 billion to a fund that helps poor countries prepare for climate change, further irking Republicans after a near sweep in the midterm elections.

The divisions between Republicans and Democrats on global warming are real, the poll shows, and stark. A little over a quarter of Republicans believe global warming is an extremely or very serious problem, compared with 64 percent of Democrats. And while nearly three-quarters of Democrats believe global warming is happening, less than half of Republicans do.

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Half of Republicans back carbon limits, poll says

One colleague called the tactics of tea party-backed Sen. Ted Cruz on the $1.1 trillion spending bill a painful echo of last year's 16-day partial government shutdown.

Another senator said it was a strategy without an end game.

And that sniping came from Cruz's fellow Republicans.

The 43-year-old Texas freshman in a political hurry ? he's considering a 2016 presidential run ? infuriated several GOP colleagues with a last-minute attempt to force a vote on President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration.

The move upended lawmakers' weekend plans and, more troubling for his party, gave Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., an opening to move forward on long-stalled Obama nominees.

When Cruz got his vote Saturday, he lost badly, 74-22, as even Republicans who agree with him on immigration repudiated his effort. Moments later, Congress cleared the spending bill.

"You should have an end goal in sight if you're going to do these types of things and I don't see an end goal other than irritating a lot of people," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said it was a repeat of last year's shutdown showdown over Obama's health care law, when it was engineered by Cruz and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Isakson said it was a movie he had seen before and "wouldn't have paid money to see it again." He called Cruz's move a problem, not a strategy.

Added Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.: "I fail to see what conservative ends were achieved."

For once, Democrats opted not to criticize Cruz publicly, a surefire indication they calculated that he was only hurting Republicans.

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Ted Cruz's Moves on Spending Bill Roil Republicans

Would Jesus Love or Hate Republicans?
The Jesus of history was the exact opposite of everything Fox News host Bill O #39;Reilly thinks, according to religious scholar Reza Aslan. The professor made the remarks while speaking...

By: The Young Turks

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Would Jesus Love or Hate Republicans? - Video