Chairman's Note
by Michael Huneke
michael@bartowgop.com
Last week started the most dangerous time of the year for us Georgians; yes, the General Assembly is back in session. For us political junkies it is time to watch Law Makers every night on PBS and to read Peach Pundit every day to see what is happening down at the Gold Dome.
On a more serious note this legislative session will be one of the toughest ones ever as many hard decisions are going to have to be made with the budget. First priority will be to make the mid-year adjustment by slashing another $1 billion out of this fiscal year's budget. Next the General Assembly will have to set next year's budget. Some are already saying that taxes will need to be raised but a true conservative knows this is the opportunity to finally cut some of the fat that exists in government (i.e. non-constitutional programs). Also, if one is a true conservative and believes that the people create jobs and prosperity and not the government, now is the time to cut taxes.
So over the next couple of months Georgians, be mindful of what is going on down at the Gold Dome, put your Representative's number on speed dial and get ready for a bumpy ride. |
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When:
Saturday, January 23, 2010 @ 9:00 AM
Where: Slope's BBQ, 1131 North Tennessee St., Cartersville, GA 30120
Speakers:
State School Superintendent Candidate, Roger Hines
and
Insurance Commissioner & Gubernatorial
Candidate John Oxendine
Guest Speaker is Gubernatorial Candidate Ray McBerry
March 27, 2010
Speakers are Candidate for Insurance Commissioner Gerry Purcell and Senator/Gubernatorial Candidate Eric Johnson |
Our 2010 Sponsors
State Senator Bill and Susan Heath
John and Terry Bangert
Rep. Paul and Marijon Battles
Steve & Wanda Cagle-Gray
Ted and Gail Henry
Become A 2010 Sponsor TODAY! |
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State & Local
On Saturday, January 23rd from 9AM-6PM in the gym of the Church at Liberty Square, the Women's Resource Center is holding a local Walk for Life for those that can't make the march in Washington, D.C. Walk for Life is an organization that promotes life and alternatives to abortion.
Support is sought in the form of monetary donations or gifts for a silent raffle. For those interested please contact Team Leader Renee Hibbard by e-mail (reneehibbard@email.com)
or phone (678-325-9351), or go to www.bartowbabies.org and click on "Events". The cause of promoting life is one of most noble we can support, and we would encourage you to do so to whatever extent possible.
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In response to the massive power grab by Obama and the Democrats, people of all stripes have begun to rise up and fight against Washington control of our lives. Grassroots organizations are being formed across America, seeking to impact the political process and return America to the greatness we once knew. As Republicans and conservatives, we have common values and beliefs with a number of these organizations. Locally, we have two groups working hard to accomplish goals that we have in common. They are the Bartow Patriots and the Georgia TEA Party.
The Bartow County Patriots will have their next meeting at the Cartersville Civic Center and will feature Gerry Purcell as the guest speaker.For more information visit www.BartowPatriots.org.
Also on Saturday, January 23rd, The Georgia TEA Party will host an AARP card shredding party from 10AM-12PM in the ballroom of the Country Club of Roswell. The keynote speaker will be Rep. Tom Price (Chairman of the very conservative Republican Study Committee), along with Bartow GOP friend and Georgia Director of Americans for Prosperity, Virginia Galloway. For more information please visit the TEA Party website.
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The 2010 session of the Georgia Legislature has just begun, and Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers and Rep. Tom Graves will be re-doubling their efforts at passing the J.O.B.S. bill. The bill seeks to create a pro-job growth climate in Georgia by reducing taxes and burdensome regulations on businesses that inhibit job growth. For more information, click here. |
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Greetings!
We are only three weeks into the new year and already we see evidence that this will be one of the most momentous in our collective memories. As unfathomable as it might seem, Barack Obama may just be the person who ends up being the catalyst behind returning this nation to its former glory, as I'll explain.
For decades we have sustained a steady crawl towards socialism, with the federal government disregarding the clear language of the Constitution as it spent money and created programs for every concievable effort at promoting the "general welfare". The Democrat Party was the most vociferous in advancing this feel-good agenda (FDR's New Deal, LBJ's Great Society, Jimmy Carter and the CRA, etc.), but the Republican Party also found itself at times engaging in actions that sounded compassionate and good but which were not justified under the enumerated powers of the Constitution (the MediCare Part D expansion, No Child Left Behind, TARP I and the bailouts come to mind).
America was like the proverbial frog in the pot, watching obliviously as government took more of our wealth and encroached more and more on our God-given rights, and we were too busy with sports and American Idol and Entertainment Tonight to bother studying our history or the Constitution. We are now paying a dear price as we try to rein in the all-out sprint to collectivism.
Although this may seem frustrating and demoralizing, hope has reared its head once again. George Washington, facing much more dire predicaments as he wrote a letter to his friend Phillip Schuyler in the midst of the war said "We should never despair; our situation before has been unpromising, and has changed for the better and so, I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new exertions and proportion our efforts to the exigency of the times."
So it is with America today. Mistaking weariness of a prolonged war, an unpopular president and a Republican Congress embroiled in ethical scandals and pork spending, as a mandate for their liberal agenda, Obama, Pelosi and Reid immediately embarked upon a full-scale effort to enact every major liberal agenda item that they had been unable to push through for the last forty years. So swift was the rush to enact the socialist agenda that America has not had a chance to catch its breath. Between the takeover of the financial and automotive industries, the current attempt to take over health care and energy, increased taxes and gargantuan deficits, a weakening of our military and intelligence capabilities and a coddling of terrorists, America now sees that it voted for hope and change but instead now hopes to change this Congress and president before more damage can be done.
President Obama's approval ratings have plummeted, Democrats are having to threaten and bribe to enact health care reform, they have lost governorships in New Jersey and Virginia, senior Democrats (Senators Dorgan and Dodd and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter) are announcing retirement (oddly, their desire to spend more time with family coincides with skeletal poll numbers) and others (like Ben Nelson) are on the ropes, and the unthinkable may be about to happen...tonight a Republican could very will win the Senate seat held by the Kennedy family for the last 40 years!
Add to this the fact that the American people are so shocked by the brazen power grab by the Democrats that millions of Americans that have never before been interested in politics are now waking up and becoming involved. A week ago I was invited to attend a meeting with members of the Bartow Patriots, Georgia TEA Party and the 9/12 Group, and was graciously offered an opportunity to speak. Far from the caricature of salivating, furious right-wing Nazis that the MSM likes to portray, this group was a cross section of America. There were people of many races, there were young adults and those well into retirement, and there were lots of people there that were just mothers and fathers concerned that the country our politicians would leave their children would be a ragged scrap of the great tapestry sewn by our Founding Fathers with the inspired hand of Providence.
I will tell you what I told them. Many of us are angry and we have a right to be. Politicians have taken advantage of the ignorance of large swaths of the electorate and with each new tax passed, each new regulation enacted and each usurpation of our liberty have, thread by thread, stitch by stitch, bound the American people like a band of nefarious Lilliputians. It is long past time for us to cut those threads that bind us and remind these petty tyrants that they serve at the will and pleasure of the American people. They are not our masters, but we theirs. With knowledge comes freedom. Go and learn...
Lastly, I want to revisit the theme of hope. Though we have a right to be angry, anger is not a strong foundation upon which to rebuild our nation. As we read the Declaration and the Constitution, as we study the lives of the Founding Fathers, as we learn the heritage of America we find that a belief in individual effort combined with the loving kindess of our God and the rights which he granted each of us to pursue happiness, however we may define that, is what made us, as Reagan opined, that shining city on a hill. As long as we are fighting for our just cause then, as Elisha the prophet told his terrified companion in the face of a massive Syrian army, fear not for "They that be with us are more than they which be with them". |
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The effort to subject sovereign nations in general and American citizens in particular in the name of saving the world from global warming has taken a bit of a setback of late, due in no small part to the fact that more and more scientists are rebuking the global warming alarmists in the face of sustained record cold temperatures and snow and ice storms across the nation and the world. Anyone still believing in global warming should have to sleep outside for the next month in boxers and a T-shirt.
It gets even more embarrassing. Despite a last minute appearance at the Copenhagen climate summit last month, the impending destruction of the world was not enough to get countries to commit to more carbon reductions or giveaways to developing countries as restitution for the industrial emissions of the developed countries. There was no new agreement, no successor to Kyoto, just a promise to meet again soon so that they can make more promises which none of them will ever keep. For all of the rhetoric, they know that agreeing to these emissions restrictions would be the death knell of their economies.
The cherry on top of this well publicized and disastrous environmental sundae was seeing Al Gore rebuked by the very scientist on which many of his claims are made. Dr. Mallowski (whose findings were used to justify the claim that the Arctic ice is melting) rebuked Gore and stated that Gore had used old numbers bandied about in a casual conversation several years ago, and that to use those numbers to justify the claim was "extreme". Now that is an inconvenient truth. |
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Health care reform continues to be President Obama's number one priority. At this point, having put so much of his energy and political capital behind this effort, Democrats are now trying to pass something, anything, in order to declare a success for their man. I honestly have no idea how this is going to turn out. The Democrats seem to expend time and energy in inverse proportion to the popularity of their proposals...the less people like it, the harder they push it.
Democrats have now been able to pass versions of the health care bill in both the House and senate, but must reconcile those bills in conference committee before a final vote by both chambers before sending it onto the president. In the House it passed by only a two vote margin, despite having a 76-vote majority (now down to 75 votes after Parker Griffith of Alabama switched parties and became a Republican), and in the Senate it narrowly passed with Ben Nelson of Nebraska casting the 60th vote.
In order to get this corpulent, seeping, cankerous pustule of teeming corruption to pass in the Senate, Harry Reid had to beg, bribe and threaten to get those sixty votes, with the second cloture vote being taken at 1AM the day before Christmas Eve when he knew America would be focused on Christmas, family and football. Some examples of the bribery include:
- Ben Nelson (D-NE) was promised that Nebraska would be exempt from paying the cost of new Medicare enrollees...forever. That means you and I get to cover the cost for Nebraska's new Medicare recipients in what has become known as the "Cornhusker Kickback".
- Mary Landrieu (D-LA) negotiated an extra $300 million in federal dollars for her state in the newest version of the "Louisiana Purchase".
- Chris Dodd (D-CT) negotiated a $100 million grant to the University of Connecticut to be used...for whatever they feel like!
- Bernie Sanders (D-VT) dropped his threat to vote against the bill unless it contained a public option in exchange for a $10 billion grant for "community health centers" in his state, money which could then be used to pay for facilities that perform abortions.
- Carl Levin (D-MI) won a $7 billion tax exemption for the insurance companies in his state.
- Ron Wyden (D-OR) received a promise from Harry Reid that the bill would cover an expansion of Medicare eligibility.
- Tom Harkin (D-IA) had language inserted in the bill that would increase Medicare payments to "low-volume hospitals" in Grinnell, Keokuk, and Spirit Lake, all of which treat a limited number of Medicare patients.
- Pennsylvania, New York and Florida all won protections for their constituents enrolled in Medicare Advantage when those enrolled in the program in all other states will be seeing significant cuts in benefits.
- Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota get the "Frontier Freebie", which means an INCREASE in Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals.
Collectively, this has become known as "Cash for Cloture" and is a stain on the integrity of this once great institution. The Democrats promised us integrity and transparency, and we get neither. Even though Democrat Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) complained about the open bribery and Kent Conrad (D-ND) called it "a Ponzi scheme of the first order, the kind of thing Bernie Madoff would have been proud of", they and all other Democrats marched in lockstep to Comrade Harry Reid and voted for this abomination. Yet as bad as all this is, it is just the start! Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) said that "What we're building here is not a mansion, it's a starter home...it has room for expansion and additions in the future...this is not the end of health care reform, this is the beginning of health care reform." Estimates for the first ten years are $2.5 trillion and climbing, and this is just the beginning!? Unbelievable!
Yet all this is still not enough to secure passage. Democrats are terrified of losing their seats in the upcoming election and some have started to waiver, which has caused the Democrat leadership to skip the normal procedures for a conference committee bill and instead Obama, Pelosi, Reid and a few senior Democrats have holed up in the White House to finalize the bill with no input from any Republicans, or even from the rank and file of their own party, and then to rush a final vote before anything could be done to stop it. Of course, if the Senate race in Massachussetts goes to the Republicans, that would be a huge, possibly insurmountable, monkey wrench in the gear of the noxious Democrat machine. |
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The Economy, Taxes and Deficits
Recent polls show that whether you are encouraged or discouraged about the economy is directly related to the sector in which you work. If you have a job with the government then you probably feel good. It (with health care) is just about the only sector of the economy adding jobs. And not only are they adding jobs, but they are paid lavishly compared to the private sector and they continue to get raises despite the struggling economy; raises that are paid with taxpayer dollars. The 2010 federal budget increases spending more than 12% over 2009 levels, a year in which we saw government hemmorage more than $1.8 trillion dollars in red ink. Then again, when you can print more money, who cares...right?
As you watch more and more taxes being taken out of your paycheck, money which most desperately need to provide for their families, remember a few little statistics that were recently released. Like the fact that the number of government workers making over $100k per year has increased by 30% since the start of the recession, or that the three wealthiest ZIP codes in the nation are suburbs of Washington, D.C. Or how about the fact that the average salary (including benefits) is $71, 206 for government workers, but only $40,331 for the private sector.
What makes this all the more painful is that every job added to the government sector, every lavish benefit package, every dollar spent by the government must first be confiscated from the private sector and the taxpayers. Governments do not create wealth, they consume it, so every dollar taken by government is one less dollar that can be used by families to provide for themselves and their children, one less dollar that can be used by businesses to purchase equipment or hire new employees or give raises, and one less dollar to put into rebuilding the economy.
Obama promised us that if we passed the stimulus package the unemployment rate would not go above 8%, and we are sustaining 10% plus unemployment right now with a very bleak near term. Capital investors are keeping their money on the sidelines until they figure out how to protect it from the gaping maw of an insatiable government. Until we get government under control, reduce spending, reduce handicapping regulations on business, and in general create an environment conducive to free enterprise and individual liberty, we will continue to struggle. |
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National Security and Defense
By now most everyone has heard about the Christmas Day panty-bomber. Coming on the heels of the leaked TSA training manual (so now the terrorists know our airport security procedures), the effort to bring terrorists onto American soil for civilian trials, and the massacre at Fort Hood, America should now understand that a policy of self-debasement, apologies, and hugs and kisses for terrorists and their supporters is not a wise course of action for us to take.
What is most frightening is that in the face of all of this evidence, the Obama administration seems more determined than ever to do what they accused Bush of doing...staying the course when it becomes obvious that the current course is failing.
The panty-bomber, Umar Farouk Abulmutallab, came within seconds of destroying an airliner, killing all 288 souls aboard, plus countless lives on the ground below (he purposely planned to detonate the bomb over Detroit to increase collateral damage). Leading up to that moment, we had plenty of opportunities to stop him. This is a Nigerian man whose father had alerted the U.S. embassy that he was dangerous, who purchased a ticket for an international flight with cash, carried no luggage. whose visa renewal had been denied by the British, who studied Arabic (and apparently bomb-making) in Yemen, and whose name was on the counterterrorism watch list. As even NYT columnist and uber-leftist Maureen Dowd points out, if we can't catch him, who can we catch?
Stunningly, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet "Incompetano" Napolitano's first public statement claimed that "the system worked"! Apparently the new counterterrorism system in the United States is to allow known terrorist suspects to get as close to their targets as possible and then hope civilians (like the Dutch passenger that subdued the panty-bomber) stop them before they can carry out their plans. Several days later Obama said that it was a systemic failure...but that no one was in trouble for the failure. Great job guys! I feel really safe now. On top of that, we now know that the planner behind the attempted bombing, Said Ali Shari, was a detainee that was released from Guatanamo in November 2007 and sent to Saudi Arabia for "art therapy rehabilitation". I guess the color-by-numbers program was not enough to rid him of hatred for the infidel. He's not the only one. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, at least 74 terrorists released from Gitmo have returned to the battlefield to kill more Americans.
As if all that were not bad enough, Democrats are trying to force through Senate confirmation of Obama's nominee for Director of the Transportation Security Administration (the agency in charge of keeping these flights safe, among other things). The nominee, Erroll Southers, wants to allow TSA workers to unionize (as if they are not bad enough already), which would force TSA managers to give them access to sensitive security information. He also recently admitted to submitting "misleading information" to the Congress concerning the fact that he once used his law enforcement position in the FBI to do a background search on his estranged wife's boyfriend. This is the guy Obama says can keep us safe? We're apparently not even safe from the appointee! |
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Informational Miscellany
Obama continues to show us how drastically different his values and those of his subordinates are from the vast majority of the country. This is reflected in his governing (ruling?) philosophy, and the trype of people he appoints.
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...and Justice For All?
On December 16th, with no fanfare and little notice, President Obama issued a revision to Executive Order 12425, which amendment gives Interpol immunity from the laws and restrictions which govern domestic law enforcement agencies. In essence, this allows Interpol to function within U.S. Borders and yet gives them immunity from U.S. laws, including the Freedom of Information Act. Interpretations of this action include the possibility that this was done to allow the Obama administration to store records with Interpol that would then be protected from American legal and investigative discovery. So much for transparency... |
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The Culture of Corruption...it's the Democrats Turn!
Shocker! A recent study by the University of Michigan shows that there is a direct link between donations to politicians and a company's access to bailout money. According to the report, "Political connections play an important role in a firm's access to capital". No surprise there. This is yet another reason why we should not be bailing out companies or engaging in any type of corporate welfare.
In another sop to the unions, the Obama administration has announced it will take control of GMAC and inject $3.8 billion in taxpayer dollars to keep it from collapsing. Of course, that is a drop in the bucket compared to the $111 billion already given to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, with more to come. The Treasury Department recently eliminated the $400 billion limit on bailout money, which means that US taxpayers are on the hook for unlimited loss coverage. |
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A Little Good News and Comic Relief
The Dept.of Defense briefed President Obama this morning, telling him that two Brazilian soldiers were killed in Iraq. To everyone's surprise, all the color drained from Obama's face. Then he collapsed onto his desk, head in his hands, visibly shaken and in tears. Finally, he composed himself and asked, "Just how many is a brazilian?" This is not surprising since he obviously has no understanding of billion or trillion either.
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Reading for Extra Credit
Keeping Up With the World of Politics, Government, and the Social Issues of the Day
William Tam, an outspoken opponent of gay marriage and official litigant in the California Prop 8 lawsuit, has removed himself from the lawsuit because he fears for the lives of himself and his family. Tam was subjected to repeated death threats, harrassment and vandalism by pro-gay marriage advocates during the 2009 run up to the vote, and fears it could get worse. Where is this tolerance that liberals are always so fond of demanding of others? | |
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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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