To state it plainly, our rock stars in the House are under intense pressure to go along with Boehner’s spending bill surrender to Obama.

And despite what you’ve heard, conservatives in the House have the power to stop this Cromnibus – this 1,603-page turd of a bill that funds amnesty, ObamaCare, and a whole buffet of unconstitutional programs. We know they have the power to stop this and they know it as well. But every hammer in GOP leadership’s arsenal is coming down on them right now telling them not to do it.

They are unlikely to use this power because Boehner, McCarthy, Scalise and the neutered RSC (now run by leadership ally Flores) are telling them to be team players, that they have grand plans to fight at some later date. But we’ve seen this movie before, and tomorrow’s fight never comes.

The time to stop Obama’s bullying tactics is now. Despite historic losses at the ballot box, Obama will continue doing whatever he wants because he knows that Boehner and McConnell lack the balls to do anything about it. He will keep defying the law on immigration, health care, IRS, EPA, you name it, because GOP leaders have been feckless for 6 years in stopping him.

But conservatives can take control today. In order to stop this bill, they need to vote against the rule scheduled for later today. In the House, you usually can’t vote on legislation without first voting on a “rule” that dictates how that legislation will be debated. Traditionally, the majority always votes yes for the rule, while the minority always votes no on the rule. So to defeat a rule, and thus, defeat the underlying legislation from even being considered, you only need a few Republicans to take down the rule.

This should be a no-brainer. It should be a lay-up. But it’s not because our rock stars in the House are wavering.

If you vote against the rule, leadership will get mad. They will yell and scream at you, threaten to kick you off committees, and – this has happened before – threaten to fund a challenger to defeat you in your next election.

These playground tactics actually work. Our rock stars are braver than most of the spineless folks in Congress, but they still wring their hands about getting re-elected and getting plush committee assignments.

Washington is a town that breaks people. It breaks their resolve and their commitment to country, duty, and honor. Some people call it “Potomac Fever” but it’s more insidious than a mere fever – it’s a plague.

And unfortunately, we are witnessing – you and me – the breaking of our rock stars. But they can reclaim their courage and become the leaders we know they can be if the act today.

The good news is that there are a few folks, like Reps. [mc_name name=’Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ)’ chamber=’house’ mcid=’S000018′ ], [mc_name name=’Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)’ chamber=’house’ mcid=’M001184′ ], and [mc_name name=’Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA)’ chamber=’house’ mcid=’M001177′ ], who recognize GOP leaders for who they are – self-serving snakes who only care about power. I suspect all three of them will vote against the rule today. And I bet they even vote against Boehner for Speaker early next year. They deserve our admiration and public support.

But our other heroes, our rock stars, they will likely break under the pressure.

We’ve got a country to save, and they are the only ones who can save it. Maybe there’s a chance I’m wrong. Maybe these rock stars will summon the courage and oppose the rule. I’ll be the first one to congratulate them if they do.