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When: Saturday, June 27, 2009 @ 9:00 AM
Where: Slope's BBQ, 1131 North Tennessee St., Cartersville, GA 30120
Speaker: Secretary of State and Gubernatorial Candidate Karen Handel
Future
Meetings:
July 25 - Congressman and Gubernatorial Candidate Nathan Deal
August 22 - Candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture, John Wilkinson
September 26 - TBA
October 24 - Candidate for Commissioner of Insurance, Harold Logsdon |
Our 2009 Sponsors
State Senator Bill and Susan Heath
Former Rep. Jeff and Kim Lewis
State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine
John and Terry Bangert
Rep. Paul and Marijon Battles
Wanda Cagle-Gray
Susan Crockett
Ted and Gail Henry
John and Kerry Howard
Douglas and Joan Jones
Rep. Barry & Desiree Loudermilk
Become A 2009 Sponsor TODAY! |
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Become a Bartow GOP Member  If you have not joined the Bartow County Republican Party, please take the time to do so now. Click the button below to join at the $35 Family level, or you may print a PDF membership form and send it in by clicking here. All membership dues will help in electing Republicans in 2010 and informing voters of how their elected officials are representing them. Join today and be a part of the Bartow County Republican Party.
You may join at the $35 Family level now by clicking on the PayPal button or visit BartowGOP.com to become a sponsor or join for two years. |
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Greetings!
I read an article last month that was commenting on the Republican response to the Obama agenda, and how it did not seem to be focused in its message. I thought about that and came to the conclusion that the reason is that Obama has tried to move the country to the left so far and so fast that Republicans and conservatives have been temporarily stunned by the scope and brazeness of his agenda. I read between 100-150 news/commentary articles each week in an attempt to stay informed on the major issues of the day, so that I can in turn keep you informed in a constructive, and hopefully entertaining, way. Those articles that I find important enough to want to pass on I print out to be able to reference here, and as I watched my stack quickly grow it was then that I realized just how broad a spectrum the Dalai Bama's reach has covered. It truly is stunning. For that reason I wanted to send out an early newsletter to outline the state of some of the major issues of the day. I hope you find this worth your time and instructive, but please, don't let this overwhelm you. Just remember that we survived the Carter years and it brought us Reagan. We'll make it through the Obama years as well. The only question is how painful the recovery will be. As conservatives and Republicans we need to be the loyal opposition, supporting and commending our president where he is right (changing his mind on the release of the Gitmo photos, surging troops in Afghanistan, refusing to attend the U.N. Convention on Racism), and offer not only resistance to policies we disagree with, but legitimate alternatives that move us towards long-term fixes for the problems our country faces today. I for one do not want to endure another four years that mimics the last eight years of "Bush is Hitler, Bush Lied People Died" rhetoric, only this time directed at President Obama. A large part of the reason he was elected was because so many people are weary of political vitriol, so let us rise above the tactics of the left and oppose him where appropriate (and there are a lot of areas that are appropriate) in a thoughtful, respectful way. We will not always succeed in tempering our comments because we believe so strongly in the founding principles of this country which are now under attack, but we should try the best we can, and let us use thoughtfulness and humor rather than anger.
Sincerely,
Louis DeBroux
Vice Chair of Communications, Bartow County GOP |
The Economy - Part 1 (Global Warming and CAFE)
One of the least talked about yet most dangerous pieces of legislation circulating the halls of Congress right now is The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES), co-authored by Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA). Under the guise of reducing our dependence on foreign oil and combating global warming (despite the fact that NASA and NOAA data show the earth has been cooling for almost a decade), the Democrats are trying to rush through a bill while blocking Republican amendments and writing much of the legislation in secret, which will cripple the economy enough to make the current recession look like a blip. According to a study by the Heritage Foundation, the bill if enacted would have the following effects by 2035:
- decrease the GDP by almost $10 trillion
- destroy almost 2.5 million jobs
- raise electricity rates by 90% (even adjusted for inflation)
- raise gas prices by 74% (also adjusted for inflation)
- raise natural gas prices by 55%
- raise the average family's yearly energy bill by $1500
- increase federal debt by an additional $29,150 per person, which is 26%!
And what do we get for all of this pain? According to climatologists we get to reduce the earth's average temperature by...a whopping 2/10 of one degree Fahrenheit by the end of the century. Sure, let's wreck our economy for a change so small that it will not even register on our thermostats.
The way this would be accomplished is by limiting the amount of carbon dioxide/greenhouse gases that a company can emit (cap) and then allow those that do not use their full allotment to sell their unused amount (trade) to other companies. Here's the shocker. The government (Democrats) gets to decide how much each industry gets to emit (good for the government owned car companies, bad for the coal and oil companies that produce around 3/4 of our nation's electricity), and they also get to act as the middleman and get a cut of the traded allowances. Once again the government has manufactured a problem and devised a solution that expands their power and allows them to choose the winners and losers; the winners being those that help them get re-elected. Obama claims that this will help us create 5 million new jobs in the "green energy" sector, but the reality is that it will drastically raise the cost of doing business for American manufacturers and other businesses and drive American jobs overseas ( according to Obama's own EPA report) to countries without these assinine policies.
That doesn't matter though because this was never about efficiency, global warming or protecting the environment. It is about ideology. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (a Republican!) admitted that he wants to " coerce people out of their cars". We've seen the same problem with the great ethanol scam, which we now learn uses more fossil fuel to produce than it provides in new energy, is dirtier to burn than gasoline, and it destroys the engines that burn it.
In summary, the Democrats have shown they are willing to cripple the economy, send jobs overseas, take more money out of the taxpayers' pockets, and put their lives at risk in order to gain power and reward those that helped get them elected.
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The Economy - Part 2 (GM, bailouts and the Road to Socialism)
Another anchor on the economy has been the bailouts of AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Goldman Sachs, GM, Chrysler, et al. After all of the fiery rhetoric and claims of inheriting the worst economy since the Great Depression (I guess he forgot the Carter years), Obama is doing his level best to make it even worse. After spending tens of billions of dollars to keep GM and Chrysler solvent when many were calling for bankruptcy, the Obama administration has not decided on a structured bankruptcy settlement that gives the government and the UAW almost 90% of the company while offering secured creditors less than 30 cents on their dollar for what they are owed. This is in direct violation of established bankruptcy law, and will have the long-term effect of making the credit crisis even worse because there is only so much credit available, and if those that would normally loan money now know that the law will be cast aside when convenient and they will be villified if they try to recover what is rightfully theirs, they will make requirements for receiving credit even more stringent than before.
This is nothing more than the Democrats staying with those who brought them to the dance...the UAW, SEIU, AFL-CIO, ACORN, and all their other friends. No matter how you scramble the letters of these Democrat supporters, it spells one thing for taxpayers...S-C-R-E-W-E-D. According to the Wall Street Journal, while millions of private sector employees are getting laid off and small businesses are going under, there is one growth sector...public sector unions (government workers and teachers unions) are using their voting power to protect them from layoffs and wage cuts, all on the backs of the taxpayers.
But even that is not enough for them. They are also trying to pass the Orwellian named Employee Free Choice Act, which would take away secret ballot elections and make it easier for union organizers to intimidate workers into allowing unions to form in their shops. It would also cause unemployment to rise even more as companies refuse to be extorted and just move more jobs overseas. Former RINO and newly re-minted Democrat Arlen Specter has unshockingly changed his mind and now says he would support the deal (after unions promised to campaign for him and fund him). Luckily, there is hope as some newly elected Democrats from Republican leaning districts are expressing reservations about the bill. | |
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The Economy - Part 3 Taxes and Miscellaneous
Our elected officials are either oblivious of history or consider it just an inconvenient truth that interferes with their political objectives. For example:
After the near trillion dollar "stimulus" bill, a half trillion dollar 2009 budget, repeated bailouts for AIG, GM and Chrysler, and on and on, Obama now tells us that our current long-term debt load is "unsustainable". Gee, ya think? In other breaking news, scientists have discovered that fire is hot and water is wet. Stay tuned for more stunning revelations...
California, that liberal utopia that is now $42+ billion in debt, whose voters just rejected tax increases, now wants the federal government to back its loans.
As if we weren't struggling enough, Obama has asked Congress to give $100 billion to the International Monetary Fund to help support third-world thugs and dictators with a " global bailout fund".
If Obama and the Democrats truly want to ween our dependence on foreign oil, how about letting us drill for the massive, newly-found reserves within our borders.
Brazil and China (two of our largest trading partners) are working towards moving away from the dollar for trade transaction. China has already expressed worry about America's ability to repay its debt, and has begun diversifying into gold and commodities. If they won't buy our securitized debt (i.e., Treasury bills, etc.), then the only way to pay the bills is to print more money, which causes inflation, which is a hidden tax increase. We are in danger of losing our AAA credit rating, which means that future loans would come at significantly higher rates. |
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A Little Good News!
If you watch the news or follow politics too closely, it's easy to forget how much good is in the world. There has been plenty to be happy about though. Here are a few:
The California Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8, which defended the traditional definition of marriage. Worried about being expose for their weakness on national security issues, the Senate voted to withhold money for the closing of Guantanamo until we have a plan for where to put the terrorists.
The Interior Secretary has decided not to use the polar bear (whose numbers have grown significantly over the last 30 years) to force global warming policies. | |
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May God Bless You,
Louis DeBroux, Vice Chair of Communications
Bartow County Republican Party
Michael W. Huneke II, Chairman
Bartow County Republican Party |
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