Grow local leadership, not the federal bureaucracy
Defend our freedom to choose
against the liberal insurgency in Congress.
Change Congress, Not America
100+ days to go.
Then we can swear in a new Congress, rather than swear at this one.
July 19,
2010 -
Post documents growth of intelligence since 9/11- The
Washington Post has published the first of three planned articles about
the intelligence community as a report which has been researched for the
last 2 years. By a remarkable coincidence, that is roughly how
long the Obama administration and this Congress have been hard at work
undermining our intelligence capabilities.
Is the Washington Post basically doing their bidding
to stir up antagonism against the intelligence community as a proxy for
blaming the Bush administration again in this election cycle? It
certainly dovetails nicely with the latest Democratic mantra about the
choice between going forward or "back" to Bush policies, thus helping to
energize the liberal base.
It also sets the stage, after several failed terrorist
attacks and Obama administration attempts to declare that such threats
were isolated incidents or minimal, for an easy excuse that intelligence
is too big and out of control, rather than leadership too weak and too
intent on defeating the growing domestic political threats rather than
real foreign enemies. If there is another major incident like the
Fort Hood massacre, or the attempted NY subway or Times Square attack,
or the Christmas bomber, etc., will the mantra become that Obama must
reorganize the intelligence community rather than actually fight
terrorists? It looks as though they are already working on a 5
year plan for that purpose. Coincidence??? This would
certainly seem to be conveniently setting the stage for such a further
assault on our capabilities.
Meanwhile, nobody seems to be asking about that
Russian spy swap, and why it was done so hastily at the highest levels
of the CIA and the White House if they were as insignificant a threat as
the official narrative has declared. They were traded for people who had
been imprisoned for years. Odd. If we got such valuable spies in return,
then why didn't we roll up this spy ring earlier to swap them? Why did
it happen so quickly now, at election time?
July 16, 2010 -
Obama: GOP blocking unemployed, small business aid- Even the AP
has finally noticed the "deeply partisan tone" as he demagogues this
issue to attack Republicans even through Democrats could have extended
the benefits by simply following their own "pay-go" rules.
Meanwhile, Republicans talked about the outrageous
recess appointment of Don Berwick.
July 16, 2010 -
Congress acts, but bank bill has work ahead - What's in it? In
effect, it gives such a blank check to the bureaucracy that it is hard
to predict what they will do with that power. In any case, it
doesn't address the big problems such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Instead, it still favors the same Democratic special interest groups and
policies that got us into this mess.
July 15, 2010 -
Lying their butts off - interesting Richmond Tea Party blog post
about the latest Obama administration claims about jobs saved or created
by the stimulus bill and their policies.
July 15, 2010 -
Senate clears sweeping bank bill for final passage- Another
pyrrhic victory, like the healthcare law, which Americans should want to
repeal and replace next year after we defeat enough members of the House
and Senate to stop such legislative atrocities in the future.
No
family should ever have to sell their farm, business, or other assets
which have been earned (and already taxed over a lifetime) just to pay
an estate tax on the transfer of those assets at death to whoever they
choose. Whether the assets go to family, organized charities, or other
individuals or groups is of no legitimate concern to government. It is
up to those who have achieved wealth to determine what to do with it,
rather than up to government to take it away and redistribute it through
taxation as a form of "social justice", as though success were
oppression and needed to be punished by ensuring that the money is given
away to perceived groups of victims according to political priorities.
The death tax is just as repugnant as the idea that
government should be able to take away any of your property while you
are alive and give it to somebody else for political reasons. It's just
easier for them to steal your assets once you are dead, and can no
longer organize to vote them out of office. Raising the exemption
level just limits the number of people whose property is to be stolen
later so that there is less chance of strong public opposition to this
"soak the rich" socialist policy.
If the wealthy liberals of this country wish to donate
a large share of their accumulated wealth to government for
redistribution to others, then they are free to make a donation to the
government at any time during their lives. They are not limited to
paying their required minimum level of taxes. They can donate as much as
they want to the US Treasury or state and local governments, or leave it
to the government in their estate plan if that is their wish.
The point is that, in America, property should still be protected by the
Constitution. We are all free to choose to give as much extra as we want
to the government, but should not be compelled to pay punitive taxes
just because we are successful and save or invest wisely over a
lifetime. We should be free to choose what we do with whatever property
we have managed to accumulate in spite of all the other progressive
taxes we already pay.
July 16, 2010 -
Ethanol industry scrambles to keep incentives - As proven many
times in other countries, the trouble with state-sponsored "infant
industries" subsidized by "industrial policies" is that the infants
never grow up and become competitive. Instead, they just compete
for subsidies, and mainly produce political corruption to sustain what
is unsustainable in free market competition.
July 15, 2010 -
House bill would make school lunches healthier - By what
far-fetched interpretation of the Constitution does the federal
government, through the Department of Agriculture, have any authority to
tell local school districts what food must be served to kids in school?
July 12, 2010 -
Analysis: How 2 million lost jobless benefits- Once again,
Democrats in Congress chose to demagogue the issue to push their agenda,
rather than solve the problem. They could have passed this months
ago, but chose instead to scapegoat the Republicans.
July 12, 2010 -
Critics: US too low-key on Islamic radicalism talk- Remember,
the Islamist radicals are still mad that Spain was taken back from the
Arabs in the 15th century. Did that play a role in the bombing in
Uganda by an Al Qaeda group during Spain's World Cup victory? 64
innocent people are killed because they are still mad about losing their
empire over 500 years ago? Hello? Why are we trying to be nice to such
people? If the moderate Muslims want our respect and support, let them
do something about the radicals in their midst. Don't rationalize this
as though the radicals were some sort of oppressed minority with a
legitimate grievance, or simply a different point of view on religious
theology. We are very tolerant, but we don't tolerate mass
murderers.
July 11, 2010 -
Attorney general: Russian spies posed threat to US- So, Holder
can now admit that these spies were regarded as valuable by the
Russians, and posed a real threat, but the media remains more concerned
about what will happen to their children? Am I missing something?
See more about the latest threats to human
intelligence by this administration.
July 11, 2010 -
Duncan: Congress needs to act now on school money- Back to
using schools as an excuse to push their spending agenda, just like
adding pork to the war supplemental funding. Watch for the
education agenda to come back as they
seek teacher union election help.
July 11, 2010 -
Struggling states seeking more aid from Washington- Straining
to make it look as though there is bipartisan consensus among governors
that they want more money from Washington. Wait until the balance
of power shifts in the NGA
after November. Compare this story to what you can find through
the custom search tool for official websites of
Republican governors or through the
Republican Governors Association www.rga.org
Show your members of Congress that you are doing
active fundraising and campaign volunteer work for their opponents.
Talk to your neighbors about why you are concerned about what Congress
is doing to our country. Make every primary race count this year
so that voters won't be left with a Hobson's choice between lousy
candidates in November.
Invite all
incumbents to defend their record at town hall forums.
If they won't face voters (except at staged "astroturf"
photo ops for media consumption), make sure that all voters can easily express their concerns by meeting and supporting their opponents. Organize "meet and
greet" events in your community to introduce voters to conservative
candidates, and actively support them.
July 2, 2010 -
Thomas Jefferson made slip in Declaration -
Important correction - contrary to the current tendency to make us
all the subjects of an omnipotent federal government and even Supreme
Court nominees like Elena Kagan. She dismissed the concept of
"natural law" and our unalienable rights as stated in the Declaration as
irrelevant to her judicial process, which she says relates only to the
Constitution as it has been reinterpreted by judicial precedents in the
application of new laws or regulations. In effect, that means we
only get those rights which they give to us, so we are back to being the
loyal subjects of a statist tyranny again. It's just more subtle
this time.
We made this July 4 holiday one
to remember! Remind the clueless progressives that we are not
celebrating Immigration Day. We are celebrating our independence
from oppressive rule.
The Statue of Liberty is a beacon of liberty,
striding forward as an example of what is possible to inspire the poor
and oppressed of the world to expect the same natural rights and freedom
to achieve their own success in their own countries that we
cherish here. It isn't an open invitation for everyone to flee
here as economic refugees for a better life through "social justice"
programs, or by an "end justifies the means" pursuit of their dreams
here, even if that means violating our laws.
July 8, 2010 -
IMF calls for deficit cuts in US - Welcome to third world
status, with the IMF trying to tell us to raise taxes. Watch out
for that debt commission report right after the election.
July 2, 2010 -
Concerns rising that economic recovery is slowing - Double dip?
Notice the adverse housing report data tucked at the end of the story.
Like cash for clunkers, the end of the temporary incentives for home
buyers in April seems to have been followed by a crash in sales. Once
again, the talk of recovery is just that - more White House talking
points by a leadership team that is as out of touch with economic
reality as they are politically with voters. Delusional.
July 2, 2010 -
House approves $7 billion budget cut - Does this set the stage
for more "budget" atrocities to be passed by simple majority in the lame
duck session after the November election? Watch what gets slipped into
the final version, just like last year's agenda.
Let's see now - $7 billion divided into the trillions they are wasting
.... and the billions in additional spending beyond the budget plan
which they keep tacking onto almost every bill in Congress. Are they
serious? Is it any wonder that the economy is still going nowhere? Do
they honestly think that Americans will perceive this as a "budget
"cut"???
July 2, 2010 -
21 killed in Mexican gang shootout near US border- Note the
matter of fact reference to the massive border area murder statistics of
recent years at the end of the article. Then try comparing that to
the total American casualties in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For reference, even if you add up all of the Iraqi Security Forces
(12000), coalition forces (approx 4700), and contractor deaths (1300,
not limited to US) since the Iraq war started in 2003, they don't even
come close to the Mexico total (23,000 since 2005). Try looking up the
Wikipedia entry on all US casualties in all wars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_casualties_of_war
June 30, 2010 -
Senate GOP again kills jobless aid extension- Democratic
grandstanding. They could change the bill to get it passed, but
would rather use it as an excuse to attack GOP.
June 29, 2010 -
Obama, Hispanic lawmakers discuss immigration- Still no denial
of the rumor that amnesty by Executive Order to circumvent Congress may
be an option under consideration.
June 25, 2010 -
Back door amnesty for illegal immigrants - Tea Party Nation
discussion of the possibility that Obama will circumvent Congress
through an Executive Order to grant amnesty. In effect, this would
be a presidential order to stop the enforcement of federal immigration
law. By what Constitutional authority can he simply pick and
choose which laws he will enforce or not? If he does this, it
should be an impeachable offense as a direct violation of his oath of
office. Although the current Congress might not be willing to
bring articles of impeachment against Obama, the one that is elected
this November might see this very differently. This is
intolerable.
Is there really a chance that Obama
would do this, or is this rumor just a distraction? It seems odd
that the White House hasn't quickly announced that there is no truth to
this rumor. They waste no time in making such announcements
whenever it serves their purposes. Why not deny this yet?
June 24, 2010 - House votes to pass DISCLOSE Act -
Here's the
roll call of the 217 members of the House who rejected their oaths
to defend the Constitution and voted to selectively limit the First
Amendment rights to free speech of some groups of citizens in elections
(such as small grassroots groups) in direct defiance of the recent
Supreme Court decision in Citizens United vs FEC. Although
36 Democrats had political cover to vote no because their votes were not
needed, this atrocity is yet another reason to vote as many of them as
possible out of office this November.
Stop the DISCLOSE Act.
This is a direct assault on the First Amendment, and especially on small
new grassroots groups such as the Tea Party movement. Although it
will almost certainly prove to be unconstitutional, any court challenge
will be too late for the 2010 election cycle. If your member of
Congress voted for this latest atrocity, redouble your efforts to defeat
them in November, and urgently make sure that both your Senators know
how strongly you oppose this bill.
NRA members - you should actively work to get all
the lobbyists who agreed to this bill fired. It is outrageous that
they would defend the 2nd Amendment, but be quite willing to sell out
the 1st.
June 20, 2010 -
GOP debates need for agenda to pitch voters- We don't need
gimmicks and timid ideas to create the illusion that Republicans in
Congress finally "get it". Instead of a focus on marketing and
positioning to seek victory in November, try standing up for the
Constitution and the concept of limited government again, rather than
unchecked government growth, taxes, and debt. We're not looking
for "big ideas" - especially big government ideas. Get out of
our wallets.
Give all Americans the chance to create their own
better futures again, instead of trying to mandate one. Don't you
even see the irony of the GOP party bureaucracy and leadership
trying to come up with a national agenda like a statist progressive
5-year master plan for society? The whole point of our system of
representation is for elected officials to individually listen
locally to voters - not to craft a national master plan to
perpetuate their own party rule in Washington DC or state capitols.
June 23, 2010 -
Senate Democrats struggle to revive jobless aid - The Democrats
don't want to even present a budget plan before the election. They
just want to keep pretending that the Republicans are blocking
unemployment benefits or Medicare reimbursements to doctors.
2011 Budget Plan - The Republican Study Committee (RSC) has
announced their plan, even though the Democrats in Congress are avoiding
announcement of a plan until after the election. The question is
whether the Republicans would stick to such a plan if elected in
November, even if the result might be filibusters in the Senate or face
presidential vetoes to block the plan.
June 23, 2010 -
Times Square car bomber details his chilling plot - largely
ignored by the media while attention is on other stories, this should be
a sobering reminder to everyone of the need to remain vigilant and
defeat these terrorists, rather than rationalize ignoring them again.
June 19, 2010 -
Yemeni militants kill 11 in brazen jailbreak- How is Obama's
plan for dealing with the Yemeni prisoners at Guantanamo working out?
Is he still hoping to send them back to Yemen, or to Saudi Arabia for
retraining? The ones sent back keep turning up as enemies again.
Not to mention the Afghan pilots who have been going AWOL here from
military training over the last two years. Nothing to be alarmed about,
of course. They're just a few more hard-working illegal immigrants on
the loose. Maybe piloting DC taxis now? Remember the Taliban
attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan
back around New Years? Remember Fort Hood? Nothing to worry about,
folks.
June 21, 2010 -
Dems tweak campaign bill to garner support- DISCLOSE Act not
dead yet. Now they're trying to pretend that polls show it has
popular support. Time to scream at Congress.
June 17, 2010 -
More groups exempt from ad rules under House deal - So now the
deal is to limit the campaign activities of small, grassroots groups
while leaving the large special interest groups alone? Hello?
Do any Republicans see the obvious attack on the Tea Parties, or care?
Do they welcome anything which will limit any resistance to their own
power in Washington? Why not rename the
DISCLOSE Act the Stifle Honest Interests Totally Act?
Better acronym. This bill now just exempts their cronies.
See the
Republican Study Committee policy brief yesterday.
If the Supreme Court had a problem with the prior
constraints on free speech, surely they would toss this idea too - but
that would happen after this election cycle, and it might be
dragged out until after Obama has a chance to pack the Supreme Court
with justices more to his liking. This is a deliberate attempt to stifle
free speech by intimidating critics in the 2010 election, and maybe even 2012.
It's time
to scream at your arrogant members of Congress again, like last August.
This is even more outrageous than the healthcare bill. It defies
our Constitution.
Watch
out for Democratic incumbents who are on their way out
of power to do a lot of the dirty work for the party agenda this summer.
That provides political cover for those who are considered to be more vulnerable. They have little to lose, and their cooperation with
the Obama-Reid-Pelosi agenda can still set themselves up for a better
retirement. Don't assume that the damage is over just because they
are likely to lose in November. Stay vigilant about what they are doing.
June 19, 2010 -
Senate fails to spare doctors from Medicare cuts- Don't fall
for this partisan stunt to create an election year talking point for
bashing Republicans. The "doc fix" could have been part of the
health care bill they rammed through, but the Democrats pulled it out to
create the illusion of a less expensive bill and save this as a "must
pass" measure to which they could attach other offensive things later.
The Republicans need to stand firm together to get a better bill.
June 15, 2010 -
House ethics panel seeks fundraising info on 8- Why don't they
look into the fundraising of everyone who has been involved in writing
this new financial industry regulation? It seems odd that they are
going after the Republicans, but not the Democrats on the committee.
Take a look at
OpenSecrets to see how much money has been raised by those who
are not being investigated. At last count (March 31 FEC data) for
the 2010 elections, they show roughly $10 million from PACs and $6
million from individuals related to the financial services industry,
dwarfing all other sectors. Then look at the details by member to
see where the money is going. Not much is actually going to the 5
Republicans who are being "investigated". It's going to the
Democrats.
For example, over $400,000 is going to the #2 Democrat on
the committee, Melissa Bean (D - IL 8th). That accounts for
roughly one third of her total fundraising, and over half of her
money from all PACs, while individual donors from her affluent hometown add up to less
than $40,000. Since this suburban Chicago district isn't exactly a
center of the financial services industry, does that make anybody else
wonder why she is getting more PAC money from this industry than Barney
Frank, and almost as much in total as Nancy Pelosi? Who is she
representing in Washington?
If this bothers you, consider supporting her opponent,
Joe Walsh.
There may be nothing illegal or unethical about it, but voters need to
stand up to the hypocrisy about such special interests.
HR5175 DISCLOSE Act and S3295 - The acronym means "Democracy is
Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act", but
provisions in this bill would basically regulate political speech,
including new constraints on organizations such as 501(c)4's (which just
happens to include some Tea Party groups). As pointed out on
RedState blog on May 6, "This bill would narrow the Citizens United
v. FEC Supreme Court case that allowed for more First Amendment activity
during campaigns. You know, the case that President Obama used as an
excuse to intimidate and bully the court during his State of the Union
earlier this year. Now the Congress is trying to modify that decision
before the fall elections." If you value freedom of speech,
object to Congress now and work actively to defeat the co-sponsors of
this bill in November.
If you doubt how
dangerous this bill is, read
Arlen Specter's PR in favor of it. This is not just about
"big corporations". It will impose constraints on Internet
activity, such as political bloggers.
June 16, 2010 -
Amid deficit worries, Dems trim unemployment bill - It was just
a political trap all along to try to get Republicans to go on record as
voting against this and the Medicare "doc fix" and a few minor tax cuts
while otherwise swallowing a lot of other stuff they don't support.
June 15, 2010 -
Aid to states, the jobless faces Senate hurdles- Once again,
harmful stuff is attached to politically sensitive legislation in order
to try to ram it through over any objections. Republicans need to
stand firmly against such political gamesmanship, and reject this.
June 13, 2010 -
Dealmakers or dealbreakers face financial overhaul- The next
atrocity, which they are still trying to pass by July 4. This is
no time for Republicans to lose their nerve. There is no reason
why any necessary reforms can't wait until we elect a more responsible
Congress, rather than trust the leadership which created this economic
mess in the first place.
June 11, 2010 -
Tea party shaping Republican Party, fall faceoffs- The GOP
leadership still doesn't seem to get it. The media pundits kept
predicting that this movement would fade away, or become ineffective
through internal quarrels, the absence of national leadership, or very
conservative positions taken by some individuals or candidates.
Guess what? Elections matter. Voters are smarter than
many career politicians and journalists seem prepared to acknowledge.
June 9, 2010 -
Fed survey: recovery spreads across country Another
misleading headline, pretending that there must be a recovery just
because the economy isn't still crashing downwards.
June 9, 2010 - Good progress in the latest primaries, but there's
still a lot of work ahead. In particular, voter turnout needs to
improve. This is no time for complacency.
When are union members going to wake up and rise
up to demand that their union dues be cut by reducing the political
action budgets and other resources provided to their leadership?
In effect, they are funding tyrants who now think that they have the
power and right to intimidate elected officials and candidates, rather
than to just lobby on behalf of the interests of their members.
These tyrants gain more power by attracting more
dues-paying members, rather than by better representing those who
already fund their actions. They are more concerned with
"organizing" than actually achieving more jobs and prosperity. As
industries collapse or move away from their endless demands, what is
their solution? They ramp up organizing efforts in other
countries, or in sectors which haven't been killed off yet. Are
they really helping their members? Aren't they really
exploiting their members to advance their own power, influence, and
wealth?
Members should push for their union leaders to show their real concern
for the economic plight of their membership by cutting the union dues
and union costs dramatically. As businesses and families face hard
times, why should the unions remain fully funded to do as the leaders
please, with little effective control exercised by the members? In
effect, every union member is paying an extra tax in the form of
dues to empower a small group of union activists as political tyrants.
June 8, 2010 -
Democrats propose further tax hike on offshore oil - Spend and
tax, tax, tax. Note the $1 billion slipped in there for 350,000
youth jobs this summer, which is in addition to the
$234 million in grants which AmeriCorps just announced (see June
7 news)
June 7, 2010 -
Progressives criticize White House, Democrats - The loons still
aren't happy. As they undermine any "moderate" or "conservative"
Democrats, the choice for voters will be stark.
June 5, 2010 -
Obama dealmaking look like politics as usual- The Chicago way.
Opponents are pushed off the ballot by any means so that voters don't
face a real choice, and so that party insiders can anoint whoever they
please. Isn't this how tyrants run elections as illusory mandates?
June 3, 2010 -
White House defends dealmaking in political races - Isn't it
remarkable how few contested primaries there are this year among the
Democrats by comparison to Republicans? Has anyone noticed how
incumbents have conveniently chosen to retire at a time when it would be
too late for a primary challenge, so that party insiders can simply
anoint their successors? Do Democratic voters even care about
their choices being manipulated by party leaders this way?
June 2, 2010 -
About 2,300 running for Congress, most in decades - We need to
start finding better candidates now for federal, state, and local
offices in the 2012 cycle. This problem was developed over a long
time, and it is not going to be fixed in a single election. We
need to vet candidates for more than charisma, fundraising ability, and
party insider or media support. Almost anybody can run for office,
but that doesn't mean they should. We need to find real leaders
again.
June 2, 2010 -
Obama challenges Republicans to help on economy - Back to his
"blame it all on the Republicans" mantra. "We already know where
their ideas led us". Really? He still seems to be pretty
clueless about what created the most prosperous country in the history
of the world. Those "failed economic policies of the past" are
what created the wealth he is destroying while he pursues his social
justice delusions of "building a stronger future" through truly failed
policies.
June 1, 2010 -
The union pension bailout- Look up information about the
"Create Jobs & Save Benefits Act"
S3157 by Bob Casey (D - PA) and similar proposals to reward unions
this year.
Unification of church and state - using churches and faith-based
non-profits to push the Obama "green" agenda and other initiatives.
Where is the outrage from the left now? See page 55, for example,
about the EPA. Meanwhile, many real charities may soon
lose their tax-exempt status.
June 2, 2010 -
Japan politics shaken by PM Hatoyama's resignation- He didn't
last long. See the background.
Was Obama just a little too eager to bow respectfully to a populist on
the left? What's the opposite of Meiji?
(enlightened rule) Don't expect Japan's economy to recover
quickly.
May 28, 2010 -
WH had Clinton try to ease Sestak out of Pa. race- Why would
Bill Clinton agree to do this for Obama or Rahm Emanuel? Surely he
knew that this action could be illegal. For those old enough to
remember Doonesbury's objective commentary from the Nixon Watergate era
- "Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!" How is any honest journalist going to
spin this one for the White House?
May 24, 2010 -
Obama seeks to force votes on spending cuts- another political
stunt to create the illusion that he is for spending cuts when he is
really just seeking more executive power.
May 24, 2010 -
Landmark overhauls may not help Democrats at polls- We don't
need more "big government ideas" and "solutions". Those just keep
making a bad situation even worse. Does Obama still think we
should all be saying, "Thank you"? No, thanks. You can keep
your changes.
May 19, 2010 -
Calderon fires up immigration row in US visit - Outrageous
interference in the internal affairs of the USA. Look at Mexican
immigration law, and how harshly it treats violators.
May 18, 2010 -
US senators blast Arizona-China rights comparison- Michael
Posner has been a loose cannon on deck in relations with China from the
start. A complete ideological disaster. The fact that he was
confirmed by the Senate just shows how urgently it needs to be changed.
Does anybody else remember Posner's role
last October - November in
preparations for Obama's trip to China, when they were trying to get
China to agree to cap and trade policies as a way to help push it
through the Copenhagen summit and Congress? Was that a "human
rights" issue, as his alleged area of prior expertise and his
responsibility at the State Department?
May 12, 2010 -
Voters' anti-establishment mood bites both parties- Say
good-bye to 14-term Rep. Alan Mollohan (D) after the West Virginia
primary yesterday. Stay tuned next Tuesday when voters in
Arkansas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Oregon get their chance to be
heard.
May 12, 2010 -
Race for Ga. congressional seat heads to runoff- 9th District
runoff June 8 between Republicans Tom Graves
(35%) and Lee Hawkins (23%). Candidates already eliminated in this
special election to finish out Nathan Deal's term were
Steve Tarvin
(15%), Chris Cates (12%), Bill Stephens (4%) and Bert Loftman (2.5%.
May 6, 2010 -
Tea party comes up short in early primaries- NC, OH, IN had a
low GOP turnout, as in prior IL and TX primaries, but the Democratic
turnout was far lower. Although some incumbents are surviving
primary challenges, many have also chosen to retire this year.
May 1, 2010 -
Obama takes direct aim at anti-government rhetoric - It's not
that government is inherently bad. It's that progressive
politicians deliberately create harmful and costly government programs,
regardless of any alleged good intentions. Limited government
limits their damage.
May 1, 2010 -
Liberals struggle to challenge Dems on health care - They're not
really in a position to "punish" those who didn't back their agenda.
Their focus is on saving themselves. They aren't really
going after people like Blanche Lincoln. They realize that she will lose
- and they don't want to lose that seat with her, because it will make
it harder to keep pushing their agenda. They just don't want others to
cave in while they continue to try to ram through as much of their
radical progressive agenda as possible before November. After
that, gridlock is back.
April 27, 2010 -
Mexico issues travel alert over new Arizona law- OK, Americans.
It's time to reciprocate by cancelling discretionary travel or business
meetings in Mexico and suspending any business investment and job
creation plans there. If Mexico wants to target Arizona and try to
harm the state economically for enforcing American immigration laws, we
should similarly target Mexico economically for such interference in our
internal affairs. Our government won't do it, just as it hasn't
addressed the illegal immigration problem for decades, but we can do it
individually.
Obama pleads for bipartisan immigration reform - Partisan
election year demagoguery. Is he supposed to be the president of
all Americans, or just the special interest groups who elected him?
Contrition not an option in financial blame game - Carl Levin as
well as John McCain made fools of themselves. "Wall Street" is not
the enemy of the people or community banks. It is not a "conflict
of interest" to enter into transactions which somebody may later regard
as "unfair" or perhaps "unethical" with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight
just because one side lost money.
April 27, 2010 -
Reid: Senate to act on climate before immigration- Stop both.
Since there has been no bipartisanship, contrary to 2008 election
promises, stall until after the 2010 election. Give voters another
chance to weigh in on this harmful agenda now that it has been exposed.
April 26, 2010 -
Democrats push bank controls; GOP delays action- Republicans
should get a spine and stand up unashamedly for capitalism, including
Wall Street, instead of cowering before this populist political
demagoguery in an election year. We have lived without this law
ever since the Great Depression. We can live without it now - and
then carefully draft something better later.
Obama: U.S. can't afford to see financial reform killed -
Nonsense. We don't need it. What we really need is to fix
how Congress creates financial industry disasters, such as through the
Community Reinvestment Act and Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, destructive
economic policies, etc. This bill will destroy high-value American
jobs, not create them, while expanding government power.
April 26, 2010 -
Democrats dominate list of lobbyist: fundraisers- Note at the
end of the article that the securities industry was one of the largest
contributors to the Obama campaign, and they are also major 2010
campaign donors now as the Democrats now use "reform" to intimidate
them. It is a myth that Wall Street is Republican. Big money
in New York sustains the Democrats.
April 26, 2010 -
AP-GfK poll: Recession helps GOP against Democrats - The
misguided economic policies of the Democrats are hurting the American
people. This isn't about the GOP, which has also caused problems
for us. The Democrats are just making it much worse, not better.
We used to have a competitive advantage over the rest of
the world because we didn't think that more government is the solution
to every perceived need. If we adopt the same reckless statist policies
as those regimes which have demonstrably failed repeatedly around the
world, then we will reduce ourselves to their level. We compete to win,
not to share failure equally.
April 26, 2010 -
Obama asks 2008 coalition to help in 2010- Attack of the
drones? We can't assume that his zealots will lose just because
they should. We have to get better organized in every community
and defeat them decisively with an unequivocal voter mandate to stop
them.
April 24, 2010 -
Candidate for Obama's old US Senate seat undaunted Isn't
it remarkable that, after the problems with Broadway Bank were
well-known for months, the FDIC chose to combine the closure of this
bank with several others in Illinois so that it looked less newsworthy,
and announce it late on a Friday night, when it would typically attract
less media attention?
Of course, Giannoulias'
friendship with Obama had nothing to do with this - just as we are
supposed to believe that the SEC complaint against Goldman Sachs by a
3-2 partisan vote, after months of investigations, just happened to be a
coincidence with Obama's push for new financial industry regulatory
powers. Nothing to see here, folks, move along, move along.
Find a good candidate to support. Volunteer and
donate to help their campaign ASAP.
Pelosi: Kick down this door. No, it's time for us to kick her
out of power in November. The Democrats have inflicted their new
Department of Unhealthy and Inhumane
Services on us just because they had the power to do so. In
November, we must ensure that they will never again have
such power. Then we need to repeal the law - and NOT
replace it with any other federal bill. Instead, we need to start
rolling back government programs so that the economy can grow again.
Let states develop their own health care approaches, rather than inflict
one failure on everyone.
April 4, 2010 -
Top GOP lawmakers want accountability at RNC -
The key point here is for the Tea Party folks to mobilize
donors and voters for individual candidates, rather than for the RNC,
other party organizations, or PACs which want to play kingmaker in
Washington.
If we are ever going to restore
respect for individual voters, we need to make our elected officials far
more dependent on the support of individual constituents and less
subject to monetary pressure from a handful of party and PAC officials
playing power games with other peoples money. If you want to
restore limited government, you won't get it through an unchecked party
bureaucracy.
Instead of consolidating donations in the hands of
others who want to influence candidates to do their own will, donors
should focus on principled candidates and hold them accountable for
their performance in office. No deal with party leaders or PACs
should save them if their constituents turn on them - unlike the present
situation in which a lot of money can be steered by a few party
"leaders" and lobbyists to perpetuate the political careers of harmful
losers - just like the Dems.
April 3, 2010 -
Democrats stand by candidate for Obama's old seat- Don't
Democratic voters have a problem with their party leaders thinking that
they know best, and can replace candidates who won their primary?
After all, they try to make sure that only their friends get onto the
primary ballot in the first place, and work to make sure that their
friends win. At what point in this process do Democrats have to
recognize that voters still have some rights to make their own choices?
Moral of the story:
support Joe Walsh and other principled conservatives who won't just
stick their finger in the air and try to figure out which way the
political winds are blowing today.
March 31, 2010 -
Seniors fear health care remake will hurt Medicare- If you
haven't cut up your AARP card yet, there's still time as they try to
profit by supporting this nightmare for seniors. Instead of being
a member of AARP, choose to join a group which has fought to stop this
atrocity.
March 23, 2010 -
Tea partiers vow revenge over health overhaul- and
another version of the same story. This is not a time to make
threats. It is time to organize and work hard for victory in
November. We have not yet adequately demonstrated the capacity to
swing elections. It's time to do it -
massively.
Sarah Palin will speak at the Rosemont Theatre in
the Chicago suburbs on May 12,
2010 at 7pm.
March 20, 2010 - Rally at the Capitol - crowd estimates varied from
25,000 to 40 - 50,000, with reports of more than 100,000 calls per hour
on Saturday to the Capitol switchboard. They were ignored.
March 20, 2010 -
Raucous, ugly buildup to House health care vote - Comment: There
were only "hundreds" of protesters just because the Capitol Police
and Park Service have an official policy of not providing crowd
estimates? Come on, AP, even ignorant reporters can open their
eyes and guess crowd size better than this. As for the emphasis on
a few angry protesters and nasty epithets, where have you been when the
paid HCN / SEIU / Organizing for America astroturf demonstrators have
called us Nazis and worse? They can't win an argument on facts,
because they are just there to collect their paychecks for showing up as
counter-protesters, so they just smear us with epithets. It
happens all the time, but you never report it. These stupid drones
even have to sign in with their OFA organizers so that the turnout can
be reported back to their masters in Washington to justify the payments
for their time as demonstrators. Why don't you do a little
research and see how many conservatives were paid to be at the Capitol
today? A few may have crossed the line by insulting members of
Congress, but the AP deserves worse insults.
Thank you to the volunteers behind the
National Tea
Party Convention in Nashville. It was a great event.
Information is shared at the above link for those who were unable to
attend. Watch for more information soon about future plans.
This was just the next step to prepare for the elections.
Thanks again to Sarah Palin for her grand finale
speech, and to Andrew Breitbart, Tom Tancredo, and other excellent
speakers, including those Tea Party volunteers who led many useful workshops.
March 12, 2010 -
Texas ed board adopts social studies standards - Comment:
Don't mess with Texas history. Liberals may still rule over the
school curriculum in many states, but there is still hope that states
won't be bought out to support the federal
education agenda of the
Obama administration.
March 10, 2010 - Obama is pushing his healthcare
legislation in St. Louis, but the
public is being locked out of another staged astroturf media
event designed to create the illusion of support. Two protests are
being planned in St. Louis to call attention to this charade. See
the St. Louis
Tea Party website for more information.
There is also a staged rally in Washington DC in support of the
legislation, so this would be a good day to call members of Congress and
remind them that if they vote for this bill, you will work hard this
year to assure their early retirement.
March 6, 2010 -
Obama turns up the heat for health care overhaul -
A furious health care push _ but what about jobs? - Comment:
The only new jobs they are creating are for Republicans in November.
The only jobs progressive Democrats really care about saving are their
own. Republicans should advocate a 10% - 20% cut in all federal
employment this year. Let the federal bureaucracy know what it feels
like in the real world.
March 5, 2010 -
Congressional estimates show grim deficit picture - Comment: Worse
than Obama said last month. Could he make things even worse?
You betcha! He's working on it. Don't forget that when
interest rates finally go up again, the debt service costs will
skyrocket.
March 3, 2010 -
Dodd, Corker regulatory offer gets cool reception
- Comment:
Don't rush to create a new financial industry regulatory system now.
Wait until after November. Otherwise, the new rules are being
written by the same people who created the financial disaster in the
first place.
February 28, 2010 -
Pelosi says GOP has hijacked 'tea party' movement - Comment:
Every time that I think she can't possibly say anything more stupid, she
manages to exceed all expectations again. The GOP hasn't hijacked
anything. They're finally listening to conservatives for a change.
Democrats demonstrably aren't listening to anybody other than their
progressive fringe - like Pelosi.
February 26, 2010 -
House Dems, White House push ahead on health care - Comment:
We need to push back. Suggestion: a record Republican
turnout in the Texas primary in districts with Democrat incumbents might
help to shake the will of the "blue dogs" to walk the plank for Pelosi
and Reid on this. That needs to be followed by strong
get-out-the-vote efforts in the primary states listed above.
For example, in the Illinois primary for the 8th
District, Melissa Bean (D) won 60-40 in 2008, but in the Feb 2
primary, Republican votes in this district exceeded Democrats by
65-35. Despite that dramatic reversal, she remains scornful of
"tea parties", and arrogantly remains a loyal Pelosi vote in a district
which had a conservative Republican representative in Congress for 36
years before her. Phone calls, letters, emails and protest rallies
are not enough. We need a strong Republican turnout in every
primary during the next few months, so that they know this legislation
means certain defeat in November.
February 27, 2010 -
Report: Key senators would nix 'cap and trade'
- Comment: They're trying to phase it in through a different
approach. Cap & trade is still
an abomination, inviting economic disaster for nothing, as an outrageous
expansion of federal government regulatory powers and taxes. Kill
the bill.
February 23, 2010 -
Bipartisan jobs bill advances past GOP filibuster
- Comment: Scott Brown (MA) helped Harry Reid to break the
filibuster, as did Olympia Snowe (ME), Susan Collins (ME), Kit Bond
(MO), and George Voinovich (OH). Now that it passed, other
Republicans seem likely to show a similar lack of resolve on the final
vote, apparently for fear of being portrayed as voting "against jobs".
This is a good example of why we need to replace so many Republican
incumbents who still don't get it. It is not the job of the
federal government to pretend to "create or save jobs" by wasting more
money.
February 22, 2010 -
Obama prods states to raise academic standards - Comment: Why
don't the governors prod Obama to stay out of their business? What
has Obama done to demonstrate that he is capable of telling every school
district in the country how to run their own schools better, even if we
were to accept the premise that it is not unconstitutional for the
federal government to even meddle in this? He has been pushing his
education agenda at the states since before
September by dangling a lot of money in front of them at a time of
tight budgets. Will governors now do anything for money?
February 21, 2010 -
Democrats worried about Obama track record - Comment: They seem
to be more concerned about his attack record than his track record, as
though his primary responsibility is to lead the party to election
victory through partisan attacks on Republicans. Don't forget to
blame Bush.
February 20, 2010 -
Getting back lost jobs could take 5-plus years - Comment:
The White House spin machine is already starting to push the idea that
prolonged economic malaise (remember Carter?) is simply an inevitable
systemic American failure, and not the fault of current policies.
On the contrary, it is still an inherited "crisis" for which more of
their "reforms" are urgently needed, like doubling down on a bad bet.
Prediction: November 2010 will help, and November 2012 will be a vital
turning point.
February 15, 2010 -
Hayworth to launch GOP primary challenge to McCain - Comment: Since
John McCain chose to endorse RINO Mark Kirk for Senate in the Illinois
primary, rather than stay out of it, surely he won't be offended if a
lot of Tea Party folks now support his defeat in the Arizona primary.
February 15, 2010 -
Source: Indiana's Evan Bayh to retire from Senate- Comment: Time to retire rather than face
defeat. Watch how quickly the party leadership now anoints a
potential successor, without the need for a messy primary fight that
would confuse Democratic voters with a real choice.
February 14, 2010 -
US debt will keep growing even with recovery- Comment: Read it carefully:
"The president's budget is a best-case outlook, from the
administration's vantage point. It doesn't take into account future
liabilities from the growth of entitlement benefits and is based on
projected economic growth that depends on a solid recovery. It assumes
Congress will pass all of Obama's initiatives, including spending cuts
and tax increases previously rejected by Congress. "
In short, the "best case" scenario for this administration is one in
which they get everything they want, and basically assure our economic
destruction. At the same time, they now propose to ensure that any tax
cuts can only be made if there are corresponding budget cuts, even
though spending on favored programs has skyrocketed and will just be
"frozen" (maybe) at high levels.
Guess what? The road to economic recovery depends on flipping the House
and Senate completely in November. That's the best case scenario, and we
are working hard on it. That's how we will create a real, lasting
recovery. Even if the Democrats lose Congress in 2010, they are
counting on the ability of Obama to veto any attempts to roll back the
damage which they have done - at least until 2012.
February 12, 2010 -
Senate Dems ax bipartisan jobs bill - Comment:
Republicans: Just Say NO! Do not accept this trap of political
gamesmanship. Trust the American people to be smart enough to see
through it, even if you weren't.
If you want to
"reach across the aisle" this year, do it to slap Reid and Pelosi and
tell them to wake up and start paying attention to voters instead of
trying to frame Republicans into votes which can be used for deceptive
attack ads in their next election campaign. That game is over.
These weasels will lose.
February 10, 2010 -
Dems seek quick fix on campaign finance - Comment:
Action alert! The Democrats in Congress, and Obama, are
determined to undermine the recent Supreme Court ruling which reversed
some campaign finance laws as a clear violation of the First Amendment.
Don't let their efforts to demonize businesses to voters persuade
"moderate" Republicans to waffle on this issue. This is a direct
fight to defend the integrity of the Constitution against those
who prefer to ignore it.
Contact your members
of Congress, urgently, to say that you do NOT support any attempt to
undermine this Supreme Court decision or our First Amendment rights to
political free speech. It is a very slippery slope to let members
of Congress use populist attacks on corporations or particular interest
groups as an excuse to make such campaign finance "reforms" as a way to
limit our freedom.
They have NO AUTHORITY under the Constitution
to mess with our freedom of speech, no matter how justifiable they think
it may be. The Supreme Court got it right. Make it
clear that we will vote out of office any Republican or Democrat who
violates their oath of office by trying to undermine our freedoms under
the Constitution in this manner. They must learn to respect
Constitutional limits on their power.
Illinois
primary election results from Feb 2 - highlights
Congress - 8th District - Joe Walsh
- a Tea Party favorite won 35-25 in a crowded field of candidates
News media and party insiders had favored other candidates, but Joe
organized many energetic volunteers who worked very hard to achieve this
victory, and will do so again. There is a very good chance of
defeating incumbent Melissa Bean (D) in November. Please help his
campaign!
Congress - 11th District - Adam Kinzinger
-
won the race to replace incumbent Debbie Halvorson (D). This is another important
campaign which Tea Party folks can enthusiastically support.
Congress - 10th District - Robert Dold
- won the race to replace Mark Kirk in a field of many candidates.
He is also a conservative who should attract strong support to hold this
seat in 2010.
Congress - 14th
District -
Randy Hultgren - surprised many observers by winning the race against Denny Hastert's son Ethan
Hastert, for whom Newt Gingrich had done a fundraising appearance.
Several other conservative candidates had dropped out of this race
fairly early, which helped Hultgren. Hopefully the party
organization will get the message about how they anoint their friends as
candidates.
US Senate:
the RINO party insider and liberal news media favorite
Mark Kirk won decisively. On the Democratic side, he will be
up against Obama friend Alexi Giannoulias for the Senate seat previously
held by Barack Obama. Various Tea Party and 9/12 groups had
favored Patrick Hughes, who finished second (losing roughly 56% - 19% -
not yet final), and conservative Judge Don Lowery, who finished far
behind (around 8%).
Illinois
Governor -
Bill Brady may have narrowly won the race against Kirk
Dillard and former IL GOP chairman Andy McKenna in a crowded
field. It is still too close to call as this is written, but at
least Andy McKenna lost (after running attack ads against the other
leaders, while ducking debates). There were popular conservative candidates
favored by Tea Party groups, such as
Dan Proft and
Adam
Andrzejewski, but they finished far behind, and that just split away
conservative votes in this race. That led to a 20% - 20% - 19%
split among the three leaders.
The Democratic
race for Governor was also very tight. Incumbent Pat Quinn won by
a narrow margin. Republicans have a good chance to win in
November, by which time the trial of former Governor Rod Blagojevich
will remind voters of his tenure.
Illinois Lt.
Governor - Jason Plummer
won in a crowded Republican field, and also deserves support in November.
The winner of the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor was
promptly coerced into abandoning his campaign because of allegations
about his prior conduct.
Illinois Comptroller -
Judy Baar Topinka
won decisively. Too bad. Conservative Jim Dodge finished third.
Like her or not, at least Judy Baar Topinka is in a good position now to
win this important race.
"Search: Illinois Politics"
to search websites and blogs which focus on Illinois political
issues and campaigns. For example, try looking up any of the
candidates of interest.
"Search: Illinois Candidates for
Congress" tool for research through the websites of
Illinois Republican candidates for the US Senate or House of
Representatives.
Check what others are saying about them - not just the
hype or attack ads, campaign websites, or news media and party endorsements -
by using the
"Search: Illinois Politics"
tool
February 3, 2010 -
Why I'm speaking at Tea Party convention, by Sarah Palin -
column in USA Today - Thank you, Sarah Palin, for speaking out in
response to the uninformed criticism of this event. There's a
related comment on her
Facebook page - plus many comments by her fans.
January 29, 2010 -
"TheTeaPartyisOver.org" = SEIU (follow the money trail) - blog post
by Lee Doren exposing the latest front which is being used to attack Tea
Party groups as well as primary candidates in Illinois during the final
week of the campaign. See OpenSecrets.org data about their
sponsors, including past contributions by the Democratic Governors
Association. More statist astroturf, anyone?
January 27, 2010 - State of Delusion Address - Do Obama, Reid,
and Pelosi "get it" yet?
Republicans
should have laughed like a sitcom laugh-track, rather than shout "You lie!"
(or whisper "not true!"),
during the State of Delusion address. Who is taking his rhetoric seriously now? Don't
be the "party of no". Be the party of "Are you kidding?" Laugh at the
insanity of his proposals. Then, pull a classic Reagan move, as
with Gorbachev. Smile and say, "Let me tell you why we don't trust you."
Congratulations to the people of
Massachusetts!
The election of
US Senator
Scott Brown is
the political shot heard round the world - a victory for the people over
political arrogance, and humiliating to the Democratic leaders who had portrayed their health care
atrocity as a tribute to Ted Kennedy.
America Rising - entertaining video, but we have to get organized
and ensure that better candidates win their primaries and achieve
victory in November. Deterrence requires a credible capability as
well as the will to deliver the feared retaliation. Emotional
words and protests are not enough.
Musical satirist Ray
Stevens produced this entertaining message about the health care
bill.
January 19, 2010 -
Evidence-based health care reform? Lessons from Massachusetts
- Comment: Democratic policies are not driven by what
demonstrably works. They are driven by what expands their own
political power and influence to impose their latest ideas for societal
change.
January 28, 2010 - The AP reported that Michele
Bachmann has cancelled her appearance at the National Tea Party
convention in Nashville.
2 lawmakers drop out of Tea Party Convention
January 11, 2010 -
Sarah Palin to join Fox News as contributor - Comment:
Another savvy move. This should drive her liberal critics
absolutely crazy in 2010. Reloaded and aiming ...
GOP chairman doubts Republicans can retake House - I've got a
news flash for you, AP. It's not the NRCC or the RNC which are
going to drive victory in 2010. It's local leadership - not
necessarily within the GOP party bureaucracy, which has become part of
the problem, rather than the solution..
December 17, 2009 -
WSJ - Democrats' blues grow deeper in new poll - Comment:
The "Tea Party" movement is now outpolling both political parties -
higher "favorables" and lower "unfavorables". That is no reason
for complacency or arrogance. It just means the base is forming
for 2010 blowback.
I may not always agree with Newt Gingrich (as in NY 23rd), but this is a
good speech worth hearing.
Labels for Christmas cards and letters : Do you support the Tea Party movement?
If so, mention it when you send out Christmas cards or letters to
friends, and let them know how to find your own local group or sites
like this one. Follow the link for more details and sample labels.
December 12, 2009 -
Senate GOP denied on spending filibuster attempt - Comment:
Another $1.1 trillion in spending for major increases in government
spending programs, including 5,224 pet projects costing $3.9 billion.
Lots of earmarks for Christmas! Remember this in 2010
elections!
December 11, 2009 -
Dem leader urges debt limit increase of $1.8-1.9T - Comment:
Pretending once again that the "blue dogs" are fiscal conservatives
while setting the stage to ram through this huge debt limit increase now
so that it won't be necessary to raise it again just before the 2010
election.
December 11, 2009 -
US health care tab to keep growing under overhaul - Comment:
Health care costs are predicted to go up more with the proposed bill
than without it. Leave it to government to figure out how to make a bad
situation even worse - and that's just the initial projection of the
damage. Imagine how bad the eventual reality could be.
Kill the bill - before it kills us.
December 10, 2009 -
House approves $1.1 trillion spending measure - Comment:
Complete with 5000+ pet projects - everything except a partridge in a
pear tree to try to buy votes in 2010.
Reach out to independent voters in
your community. Listen to their concerns.
Get organized for the primaries. Tea Party groups -
endorse specific candidates.
Get to know your precinct committeeman, and volunteer to help better
candidates win in the primary.
Take action -
become a Republican Precinct Committeeman in your county. Learn
about taking the country back at the grassroots level by helping to
select and turn out the vote for better candidates. For more
information, refer to
The
Precinct Project's Blog. Network with conservative
committeemen. In Illinois, look at
http://www.conservativeprecincts.blogspot.com/ All the Tea
Party rallies, petitions, and online networking to share information and
organize locally have been helpful to attract public attention to
harmful national policies and to limit the damage, but at the end of the
day it is the next election results through effectively organized party
work at the local level which will determine the outcome. Do it
today. Deadlines are approaching. There are many local
vacancies in such volunteer positions.
Welcome your Senators and Representatives home.
If they dare to plan any local public appearances during this holiday recess,
show up - as in August town halls. If they voted against the
health care legislation, thank them. If not, show that you are
getting ready to defeat them.
Organize local political career "death
panels" now to prepare for their next election. Don't
wait until fall 2010. Get organized behind candidates now to win
primaries - in one state after another.
It's time to send a "dead fish" message to every
Democrat in the House and Senate in their primaries. That's the
Chicago way. What are you
prepared to do? Get to work on
primary campaigns.
Urgent - try to stop the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act" in the Senate now. Details
and background about the health care debate: "Department of Inhumane and
Unhealthy Services". The debate will go forward, but we need
to focus on preparing to defeat many of these Senators in 2010, starting
with work on the 2010 primaries to line up and actively support much
better candidates. It isn't enough to call and complain about
their actions. We have to get organized to defeat them.
They must fear that their political careers and power will reliably end
in their next election. Then we need to work to repeal (and NOT
replace) this legislation.
How many jobs can Pelosi and
Reid save in 2010 - in the House and Senate? Not even their own?
The Tea Party movement will create new jobs for principled
candidates. Get ready for the primaries.
It's the
"Chicago Way".
Start sending dead fish messages to Congress.
Read the speech at West Point by Obama
about his latest strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, with commentary
and related news. We can only pray that our troops will be
successful despite him.
The West Point cadets had to applaud politely on cue and
try to stay awake or stifle yawns and appear respectful during the
speech, but Rumsfeld is under no such constraints now - like Cheney.
November 21, 2009 - What is Glenn Beck
doing?Yet another book launch? Enough already!
As said here back in August, we don't need more candidate pledges,
protest rallies, or to be educated by the "best minds in the country" in
his opinion, nor do we need a "100 year plan". We already know, at
the local level, who deserves defeat in 2010. We just have to do it - now - with better candidates.
November 16, 2009 - Congratulations to Sarah Palin on her "Going Rogue"
book launch tour and interviews
(schedule and coverage).
Well done - including the artful dodging of the questions about her 2012
plans by keeping the focus on individuals in 2010. It will be
interesting to see what the initial sales figures turn out to be for her
book, "Going Rogue". One report
in the Wall St. Journal indicates that the press run has already been
increased to 1.6 million copies. The book tour is taking her
to over 30 locations, where crowds of 1000 or more are seeking signed
copies (which are also available by a donation of $100 or more to
SarahPAC - See
Sarah's
message to supporters).
Think about that as some
try to convince you this holiday season that greedy, evil capitalists
with no sense of charity are the problem. Great social injustices
are done through government abuses of power. Dickens perceived
that moral individuals had a conscience, and might solve the social
problems around themselves through their own actions - rather than by
trusting government programs to care for everyone. Note that
Scrooge didn't run for office or become a civil servant to bring change
to his community.
Tea Party Accountability - Money,
Political Campaigns, and Quality Control - Suggestions for local Tea
Party enthusiasts nationwide about how to create a process for greater
accountability by candidates and political parties to the local voters,
and especially to the active independent voters who may be frustrated
with both parties and their incumbents or candidate endorsements.
Action ideas.
Tea Money
- set up your own local network of principled independent political
donors.
November 4, 2009 - Iran protest news - Display green ribbons or balloons as a
personal gesture of solidarity with protesters in Iran as Obama does
nothing - again. They are risking their lives to protest tyranny.
November 3, 2009 - see news
highlights for reports on the New Jersey, New York and Virginia
races.
November 1, 2009 -
GOP ex-candidate endorses Democrat in NY race - Comment:
So much for the party loyalty which Michael Steele and Newt Gingrich
were so worried about when they supported her. We shall soon see
whose endorsement carries more weight with voters in the NY 23rd
district.
Perhaps Republican leaders will
finally wake up before making such endorsements for 2010 primaries.
We have a similar problem in Illinois with the Mark Kirk campaign as a
liberal Republican candidate for US Senator to replace Roland Burris.
Hopefully voters will not follow party leadership in their support of
his campaign, in which case the February 2 primary in Illinois may help
to change "the Chicago way" of deals among party leaders who are out of
touch with voters and play power games with other people's money.
Newt Gingrich is in damage control mode now - endorsing Hoffman,
and "deeply disappointed" with Dede. Perhaps he would like to
encourage Illinois Republican Party leaders to
endorse
Senate Bill 600 in the Illinois legislature so that Illinois
Republican voters can finally pick their party leaders directly?
While public attention is concentrated on the attack on our health care
system, this is an attack on our entire economic system, creating an
enormous hidden tax burden and transfer of wealth to destroy our
economy.
October 18, 2009 -
White House advisers say Fox News is not news - Comment:
Yes, Fox News is making money, and that's not evil. They do good
reporting and commentary. Thank you, Fox News! The
blowback from the arrogant, clueless attacks on Fox News will be to
draw even more loyal viewers. Since that is self-evident, it
clearly doesn't concern the White House. It is just a ploy
to distract their critics as work proceeds behind closed doors
on the takeover of our health care
system and economic climate change.
That money will be better spent than
than higher federal spending and taxes for decades.
Don't keep these clunkers.
Invest in a new Congress now. Money talks. Speak up.
They will only change their behavior
if they fear the loss of their power and careers.
This fall is the turning point. You gave them a fair chance to
listen to you.
Decide whether this is a politician who you can support, or
must actively oppose.
Remember to work hard in 2010 to ensure that they
don't return to Washington again.
Was the "silly fuss" over the Obama
speech in schools a mistake? Get Schooled by Obama
Let
Freedom Ring is pushing the
We The People Can Read initiative to support H.R. 554, which would
require non-emergency legislation to be posted for 72 hours before
passage.
By
a remarkable coincidence, September 8
coincides with a TV event that evening to kick off the "Get
Schooled: You Have the Right" program. The "Get Schooled"
website was launched in April 2009.
Look where this is leading - into Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking initiatives to organize direct reach to kids and parents nationwide.
The initial focus is on lobbying governors about the Obama
education agenda. Many are up for election in 2010. No
hidden agenda in that, right?
Call your members of
Congress and ask them to investigate
this. Tell your PTO, friends, and neighbors about it. Talk
to your teachers and principals. Tell your local school board
members that they should not tolerate this federal political intrusion
into local school curriculum, regardless of any alleged good intentions
to encourage the children.
Obama can post whatever message of encouragement he
wants on the White House or Department of Education or other websites - and parents can decide whether to
show it to their kids and discuss it as appropriate. Schools
should not give him this direct, unchallenged reach to influence the
trusting children of every household in America to "help" him, regardless of any
alleged good
intentions.
Once again, this initiative
coincides with with a TV event on the evening of September 8 to kick off the "Get
Schooled: You Have the Right" program. Pay
attention to where that initiative is leading - including the social
networking links ("Get
Schooled" on Facebook and on
Twitter) to organize children
and parents nationally and
communicate directly through those private channels.
9/11 is now being promoted as a "National
Day of Service" by the Obama administration. We weren't
attacked by terrorists because of any lack of voluntary community
service among Americans. On the contrary, we were attacked by
terrorists who rationalize killing anyone with whom they disagree.
We don't need to be apologizing about America to the rest of the world.
We need to stand up to tyrants, rather than embrace the worst of them
around the world as though their grievances against us were just.
See "Tea Party Tactics"
for local action suggestions. Don't just call or write your
members of Congress. Get in their face. Make it personal.
Check their schedule of public appearances. Show up. Speak
up. Talk to your friends and colleagues. Get involved
locally. Stand up and be heard. Find candidates who you can
enthusiastically support, and work hard to defeat those who lost your
trust.
Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize. Consolation
prize for losing the Olympics? The good news is that Carter lost
to Reagan, Gore lost to Bush, and Obama is now on track to lose
decisively in 2012.
Congratulations to Rio de Janeiro
for winning the 2016 Olympics. Chicago put together a good bid.
As much as one may detest Obama and his policies or his friends here,
this was never about him.
August 28, 2009 - Glenn Beck of Fox News launched his "In
or Out 2010" pledge proposal - and see our reply to his
suggestions. The American people are way ahead of you, Glenn.
It's too late to "ask boldly" for pledges from
specious politicians. We know
them now by their actions. We won't be fooled again. It's
time to focus ASAP on the hard work to find and replace them with better
candidates. They won't listen and change unless they become very
afraid of losing their jobs and their social agenda.
August 21, 2009 - What really happened when Obama visited Bozeman,
Montana to push his health care agenda at a staged town hall
meeting? Read a local eyewitness
account - provided by a local resident whose identity has been
protected since the White House is looking for conservatives to
demonize, rather than looking for real feedback from Americans who
aren't embracing his "astroturf" world.
AARP members: Save your money, and your life. If you
oppose how AARP has handled the health care legislation, including their
ad campaign and mailings to promote it with your money and in cooperation with SEIU while pretending to be a non-partisan advocate for seniors, then
please cancel your membership and let them know why you are doing so.
Spend your money more wisely. Encourage every senior you know to
wake up to what AARP has done lately, and resign. Check out
American
Seniors Association, as mentioned in this August 18 Fox News story
about the
AARP losing 60,000 members already. Another option is the
60 Plus Association
Welcome to market competition, AARP!
August 23, 2009 -
Millions face shrinking Social Security payments - Comment:
October surprise. Maybe AARP should talk more about this, rather
than promoting the Obama health care program? See this
June article
in Newsweek about Obama "kicking the can" on the Social
Security bankruptcy issue. The CBO Director posted a
blog update on
August 7 about the impact of the recession on Social Security.
This issue may not be all doom and gloom, as this
other article from May 2009 explains, but it clearly merits
attention as Congress starts to talk about the lack of a COLA increase
for beneficiaries this year.
August 24, 2009 -
Remember me? Wall Street repackages toxic debt - Comment:
Interesting story. Where's the Congressional or Obama oversight on
this? Meanwhile, Bernanke gets to keep his job.
Please support the independent Iraq and Afghanistan war reporting by
Michael Yon, such as this moving "No
young soldiers" post from August 10.
Click here to support his work.
Welcome to Surge USA
(SurgeUSA.org) -
dedicated to empowering individual conservatives.
Find out what your elected officials, conservative peers,
and commentators
in any state are saying or doing about the issues which matter to you.
Our
Conservative Search tool makes it easy. Similar political
research tools cover Republican
Governors, Senators, and
House members.
Our Strategy and
Call to Action is simple. We
cannot wait quietly and hope for a better economy after elections in
2010 or 2012. This country is being radically and rapidly changed
in many ways. Conservatives need to get organized and speak up
now, before irreparable damage is done.
News Highlights features selected news articles
about US politics and foreign policy issues.
The Surge by State
feature provides links for every state, including local Tea Party
protests.
Other links below are to our own comments or more
details on selected current issues or news.
Are corporate executives expecting economic recovery? See our
CEO Survey analysis.
Cap and Trade: A solution for
political climate change - Let the Democrats hang themselves.
November 23, 2009 Rasmussen Reports - Daily Presidential
Tracking Poll goes to -13. It has been solidly negative since
early July.
July 9, 2009 -
Rasmussen Reports - Daily Presidential Tracking Poll goes to -8.
You can still fool some of the people ... but not as many as before.
Watch what happens when women and seniors turn against him. Their
covert assault on Medicare benefits should soon enrage seniors.
Display green ribbons or balloons as a
gesture of solidarity with the
protesters in Iran
Iran's struggle between liberty and
tyranny Even if Obama and US government officials
still don't want to be perceived as "meddling" in the internal affairs of
Iran, the support of the American people for the people of Iran in their
struggle against tyranny should be unequivocal. We may only be
able to offer our moral support for their struggle, but as they risk
their lives in opposition to ruthless tyranny, surely we can use our
freedom as individuals to honor them.
Remember all the yellow ribbons across America for the
"Free the Hostages" campaign to show solidarity with our captive
diplomats in Tehran in 1979-1980? This time, use green ribbons or
balloons to show
solidarity for the cause of Iranian liberty (not support for Mousavi)
and victims like Neda.
August 26, 2009 -
Mass. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy dies at age 77 - Comment:
Mind your manners, folks. You may disagree passionately with many
of the policies he espoused, but he fought hard to advance the liberal
causes in which he so fervently believed, and represented Massachusetts
well as a public servant in that regard. He had a very different
vision for America than conservatives, but it was still about America,
not himself or advancing his own political career and power by any
available means. He stood firmly for his beliefs. We should
respect that, even though we disagreed and opposed him with equally firm
convictions.
This is not anti-Obama or anti-anybody, nor driven by political parties
or special interest groups. This is about standing up for
individual responsibility and limits on federal government power
and political or bureaucratic intrusion into state, local, and individual
decisions.
This isn't about venting anger at those who disagree
with us. It is about standing up for what we firmly believe as
fundamental American principles which should not be hastily changed
after serving us well for so long. This is about taking individual
responsibility for America's future.
Our Surge by State pages will share
local Tea Party information and other relevant links. If you are
planning a Tea Party - regardless of date - or are responsible for any
other local conservative organizations which we have not yet listed, we
welcome suggestions to help us update these pages.
June 21, 2009 - Obama's poll numbers finally
turned negative. That has continued.
Rasmussen Reports - Daily Presidential Tracking Poll- Buyer's
remorse since the election. Despite personal charisma, spin, and
high hopes for change, people are waking up to the harmful Obama agenda.
Note that young people who had high hopes for Obama may quickly become
disillusioned with his performance as the dismal economy and
unemployment picture gets worse rather than better. Meanwhile,
seniors finally woke up to their own risks during the health care debate
in July and August.
Generic
Congressional ballot poll
- Comment: The obvious point
is that the country has roughly been split 40-40 for a long time, with 20% uncommitted to
either party. Last time, frustration favored the Democrats.
Not likely in 2010. You can't fool all of the people all of the
time. They're waking up. It is also possible that many
frustrated people who usually don't vote may finally choose to
participate.
Keep it simple. Send a clear message
to Washington.If you do this, we will work hard to defeat you
in 2010.
They have already rammed through new spending and their social agenda at
a high cost which will hurt generations of Americans, but keep ramping up
the pressure.
