by Sarah Durand

Most of us were so engulfed in Derby week (at least, I was) that we understandably haven’t kept up with the news.  If you are catching up like I am, I urge you to take some time to read the story of Chen, a Chinese activist who spent several years under false imprisonment only to narrowly escape to the US Embassy in Beijing just days ago.

Chen has been a thorn in the Chinese government’s side for some number of years.  But, his offense that led to his imprisonment was his protest of China’s one-child only policy that was (and probably still is) being brutally enforced in his hometown.  According to an MSNBC article:
“In 2005, the Linyi government started a campaign to “strictly enforce” the one-child policy by arresting and beating up women who broke the family planning law, forcing them to have abortions or sterilizations, heavily fining them and even arresting the relatives of those who had escaped to other cities.”

This type of story should wake up everyone who advocates for socialism, communism, and big government.

Groups like OWS, and the other communist and socialist “May Day” groups, don’t realize where their path leads, should America follow.  They don’t realize that in a society where the government gives you everything for “free” (i.e. oppressively forcing someone else to pay for your stuff), they also give us a society of beatings in the streets, false imprisonment, torture, and the deaths of innocents–all under the guise of protecting their so-called utopia.

Throughout history, communism is synonymous with brutality.  Anything but a free society only leads to poverty, decline, and violent oppression.

As immigrants, and then rebels, our founders fought against such oppression.  And now look how quick we are to trade our freedom for freebies.  Active US communist groups don’t seems to understand how great the cost is for what is “free.”

Somehow, those who advocate for an American government that resembles Communist China call themselves “progressives.”  But, what they ask for is not progress–it is reverting back to the same oppression from which our forefathers fought to free us.   They have been manipulated by a rich, elite ruling class–the 1% they claim to loathe– to destroy our advancement and bring back the chains of big government.

In truth, we are the true progressives (although we cringe at the idea of calling ourselves such), fighting to get back to the progress forged by our founders.

Although history teaches us the dangers of big government, we need not even look to history to see our future if we travel down the road towards communism.  We have a real-time example before us.  And, that should spur us to fight harder.

Unfortunately, the Obama Administration has handed Chen back over to his Chinese oppressors to preserve America’s fragile relationship with China. Obama was faced with the choice of protecting human rights and possibly ticking off China, or keeping the Chinese bank to America open so we can continue deficit spending.  Now, we clearly see where he stands.

Kentucky has already budgeted more money for implementing ObamaCare than any other state but New York. Governor Beshear has been working behind the scenes to set up an ObamaCare health insurance exchange in Kentucky while most people are distracted by the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the ObamaCare mandate.

If he is not reversed quickly, Beshear will be able to run ObamaCare in Kentucky even if the federal law is overturned by the Supreme Court.

The legislature has failed to stop him. We must do it and the time is now.

Tomorrow– Monday, May 7 –in Frankfort, the Beshear administration is holding a public meeting about the future of ObamaCare in Kentucky. As many of us as possible must attend. The Beshear Administration tried to keep this meeting quiet; the idea was to bus their people in and make it look like everyone loves ObamaCare.  If you can make it at 1pm tomorrow to 200 Mero Street in Frankfort (Transportation Cabinet Building Auditorium C105), please come.

The Louisville Tea Party is proud to announce that two former Board members are running for public office. Scott Reed, former LTP Vice President, is running for state House, and Marilyn Parker, former LTP Secretary, is running for Metro Council. Both are taking on Republican incumbents, so they certainly have their work cut out for them.

Scott is running against Rep. Bob DeWeese in the House’s 48th District. DeWeese consistently receives some of the worst marks for a Republican on the Kentucky Club for Growth’s scorecard. His record of voting for new government regulations, and new spending programs we cannot afford, inspired Scott to run, and to fight to restore fiscal sanity to our state.

Marilyn is up against Jon Ackerson in Metro Council District 18. Marilyn recently received unprecedented endorsements from current Council members over her incumbent opponent. District 19′s Jerry Miller told the Courier Journal, “Marilyn is a fiscal conservative who has a philosophical core that is consistent with our belief of how someone should be a responsible council person.”

There also may be a possible third Tea Party board member running for office. The filling deadline is today and her filing is not official as of this email.

The long-held position of Louisville Tea Party members is that government officials don’t get a free pass just because they belong to a certain party. Whether they are Republicans or Democrats, we hold our representatives accountable, and expect fiscal responsibility. Although the LTP will greatly miss their leadership on the Board, we are proud to see Scott and Marilyn walk the walk, and take the fight to the next level. We celebrate their courage, and stand to fight with them.

by: Dan Blanchard

As we awaken this morning (Sunday, January 22nd), we don’t know much more about who will be the nominee for the Republican Party than we did three weeks ago. As Senator Rick Santorum observed after yesterday’s primary in South Carolina, “Three states. Three winners. What a country.” Indeed, after a careful re-canvas of the Iowa Caucuses, Rick Santorum, not Mitt Romney, walked away with the win. Then, Romney carried New Hampshire by 16 points over Ron Paul. And last night, Newt Gingrich made a case for his own campaign’s revitalization with 40% of the votes cast, trouncing Romney’s 28% and more than doubling Santorum’s 17%.

To date, only 62 delegates were at stake in the three primaries combined. But the eventual nominee will need 1,144. So, while today’s early political breakfast has been intriguing, it still amounts to scrambled eggs in terms of any real outcome. What has been accomplished (gratefully) is that the sprawling field has been thinned considerably with the exits of Cain, Bachman, Huntsman and, most recently, Perry.

The debates have ranged from pedestrian to predictable to personal. And it has been Newt Gingrich with his often scathing indictments (entirely justified) of elite mainstream media panelists who has most often blown up the Applause Meter. But there is one trend that has been most troubling: The incendiary attacks of each candidate of the other. Predictably, as different candidates have taken turns as the leader-apparent,” the others have turned their collective “barrels” upon him. And the effect has been, at times, a deplorable display of politics at its worst.

Ron Paul declared on late night television of now ex-candidate Michele Bachman: “She doesn’t like Muslims, she hates Muslims; she wants to go get them.”
Santorum’s misrepresentation of Ron Paul’s voting record and therefore, distortion of Paul’s position, on abortion was just plain atrocious.
Both Perry and Gingrich piled on Romney for his role venture capital investments with Bain. While hardly unanimously successful (what business ventures are?), all Bain Capital has done is assume risk and partner with companies like Clear Channel Communications, Domino’s Pizza, Dunkin’ Brands, Staples, Toys ‘R’ Us and other companies you may recognize. Most deplorable about that ambush? Both Perry and Gingrich in any setting other than a high stakes political debate would extol the virtues and historic successes of capitalism!
And then yesterday, Romney’s insiders sent a cake to Gingrich’s campaign to “commemorate” the 15th anniversary of his being censured by Congress in 1997 for his own ethical lapses. Clever? Maybe. Classless? Certainly.

These are all far more consistent with the tactics of the left-to misrepresent, to marginalize and to denigrate their opponents-than they are reflective of sound, healthy conservative principles. Candidates: If you have an argument to make, then make it. Debate the issues. Discuss the facts. And do it in a spirited way. But leave the deplorable tactic of character assassination to the Saul Alinsky lot, who couldn’t make a fair and reasoned argument (one that doesn’t attack the individual himself) if their political life depended on it. The left would like nothing more than to see conservatives (or those who espouse conservatism) to turn on themselves and devour each other and damage their own cause in the process. The “divide and conquer” tactic is as old as the hills, but as effective as ever, IF people abandon principle and become the very thing they claim to oppose.

Finally, to those who are no supporters of “Party Politics”-those of us who believe in Tea Party principles-Constitutionally-limited government, fiscal responsibility, free market solutions-and a relentless drive to hold our elected officials accountable to those principles, may we remember this: That we, too, can be guilty of the same thing among ourselves. On our blogs. On our social networks. Among our various grassroots’ efforts. The only real impediment to the triumph of true conservatism-is we ourselves. We must debate the issues with fervor, but respect one other while doing so. We must not disparage other conservatives while seeking to champion conservative principles! Otherwise, we fall right into that timeless trap and cripple our own cause.

2012 is a crucial year. There is so very much at stake. The very future of the republic and our liberties hang in the balance. Let us band together. Seek common ground. Steel ourselves. Rally ourselves. And form anew a united front for freedom. The motto of our own Commonwealth was never more urgently needed: “United We Stand, Divided We Fall.”

by Sarah Durand

A few days ago a friend forwarded me an email she received from MoveOn.org. The email was in response to South Carolina’s attempt to change their voting laws, recently struck down by the Department of Justice. In a tone of sheer panic, the good people of MoveOn.org begged for money because South Carolina wants to require voters to show ID at the polls.

MoveOn.org’s apocalyptic prediction was that by requiring voters to show photo IDs, Republicans would “steal” the elections, because the “laws shamelessly target key segments of the Obama coalition from 2008, including first-time voters, poor people, and people of color, and could easily tip a close election to Mitt Romney or whoever the Republican nominee is.” They even went so far as to call it “the most sweeping attack on voting rights since Jim Crow.”

I couldn’t help but wonder why they are so panicked over this ID law, but not others.

Earlier this month, Illinois passed a law requiring consumers to present a photo ID in order to buy Drano. Yet, MoveOn.org has remained silent. The government is limiting poor people’s access to Drano, while George Soros’ people just sit by idly. They don’t care about all the clogged kitchen sinks that will eventually get so bad, those poor people will have to leave their homes. Where is the MoveOn.org email asking me to send them money because of the homelessness this law could cause? After all, we can’t expect a poor person, who can’t even afford an ID, to be able to pay a plumber $75 to come unclog a drain.

And, what about other ID laws, like needing to show an ID to buy Claritin-D or Sudafed? MoveOn.org has never been concerned about all the poor people, Latinos, and African Americans walking around with stuffed up noses and no way to unstuff them. They want poor people to have free health care, so long as that free health care doesn’t include Zyrtec. Don’t all people, regardless of race or class, deserve relief from seasonal allergies?

By requiring an ID, poor people are also being denied their constitutional right to bear arms. They can’t cash a check, open a bank account, buy cigarettes, drive a car, get on an airplane, or, in most states, apply for government programs like welfare or food stamps. That’s a lot of discrimination.

Perhaps MoveOn.org is only concerned with voting laws. If so, many states have election laws that no one can buy or serve alcohol until after the polls close. Isn’t that voter discrimination against alcoholics who can’t function without a drink? How do you expect someone to get to the polls when they are suffering through detox because of oppressive laws? Alcoholism is a mental illness–shouldn’t MoveOn.org be asking what group of the mentally ill will be disenfranchised next?

Instead, MoveOn.org is only concerned with ID laws meant to prevent voter fraud and protect our elections. MoveOn.org is shocked that a state would want to have the same requirements for voting as they have for buying Sudafed, while yawning at Black Panthers, holding night sticks, standing outside the polls to intimidate voters.

Here in Kentucky, the new Secretary of State, Alison Lundergan Grimes agrees with MoveOn.org. She even ran on voter ID laws, using her grandma in her commercials. Apparently, Granny doesn’t have an ID, and Grimes needs to protect her right to vote.

I drive my husband’s 79-year-old grandmother to the polls every election year (even though her votes usually just cancel out mine). I would have no problem driving her to get an ID, and even paying for it if needed. Maybe Grimes could do the same for her grandmother. That seems like a much quicker, easier way to protect her grandma’s right to vote than running a costly SoS campaign.

Perhaps MoveOn.org could start a charity providing IDs for the people with whom it seems so concerned. Or, they could push for a law where states provide them one for free. That’s one government welfare program I can get behind.

Unfortunately for them, I am not going to send MoveOn.org any money to stop laws like South Carolina’s. However, I would consider sending them money if it went towards handing out free augers to all those poor people with clogged up sinks.

by Sarah Durand

The 2008 Republican Party presidential primary left many Republicans scratching their heads, wondering how Senator John McCain ended up with the nomination.  One would think that after President George W. Bush nearly destroyed the Republican Party with his government-expanding, big spending ways, Republicans would choose a more Reaganesque conservative.  Yet, Senator McCain was the least conservative, embodying everything wrong with George W. Bush, while lacking Bush’s redeeming qualities.  Instead, McCain ran as a self-described “maverick,” which is a nicer way of saying he’s a RINO who often votes with the Democrats.

Because McCain was seen as a moderate, or liberal in some circles, he was less than energizing for the party.  Conservatives donate money, not the moderates McCain catered to, so fundraising became an issue.  At the time, many voters saw very little difference between Obama and McCain–that was before Americans discovered Obama was a full-fledged socialist.  Inescapably, McCain lost his presidential bid.

Although you’d think Republicans would have learned from the 2008 John McCain mistake, the party is going down the same road in 2012 with Mitt Romney.  Mitt Romney is the farthest left candidate on the Republican ticket, yet he is on the path to victory–and has even been deemed the inevitable winner.

So, how can conservative Republicans turn around their primaries to ensure a conservative candidate wins the nomination in the future?  There are three basic changes needed so that the primaries leverage the best Republican candidate.

First, all primaries should be closed primaries so that only Republicans are permitted to vote in the Republican primary. 

17 states are still on track to hold open primaries this year.  Ron Paul recently touted that those states are what will push him to victory, as he is popular with Independents and Democrats.  However, if John McCain’s candidacy taught us anything, it’s that these states help the most moderate Republican candidate.  In fact, Senator McCain did not win a single primary among registered Republican voters up to Super Tuesday.  But, since Democrats and Independents moved him to front-runner, public opinion changed, and he won the nomination because of open primaries.

Unfortunately, many of the states with closed primaries are the most liberal states.  States like Rhode Island, California, and New York have closed primaries, yet you expect those Republicans to lean towards the most moderate candidate.  More conservative states like Mississippi, Idaho, and South Carolina end up going with the biggest moderate because they allow non-Republican voters to help choose their candidates.

Why should Democrats get to decide who will be the Republican candidate?

Open primaries affect the Republican Party much more than the Democratic Party.  Unlike in the Republican Party, there are no moderate Democrats, so they know they will always end up with a liberal candidate whether Republicans can vote in their primaries or not.  And, the influence of Democrats and Independents is especially strong this election cycle because they don’t need to vote in a Democratic presidential primary.

The second needed change is to hold all primaries on the same day.  Why should Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina have more influence over the nominee than other states?  

Every voter in every state should have equal opportunity to vote for the same candidates that are on the early primary ballots.  Instead, candidates suspend their campaigns before the rest of the country has had their say.  Or, public opinion shifts as the media convinces us of who the “obvious” winner will be, causing many voters to shy away from the supposed losing candidates they may have otherwise chosen.

Third, states should all have proportional primaries instead of winner-take-all.  Proportional primaries allow each candidate to take a number of delegates based on the percentage of votes they win.  However, many larger, and more liberal states, like New York, have winner take all rules, and these rules tend to favor moderates. 

In 2008, John McCain won New York and took all 101 delegates even though he won just under half of the popular vote.  California, another large, liberal state,  has district winner take all primaries.  This means that the winner of each district gets all the delegates of that district.  John McCain won only 42% of California voters, but he walked away with 92% of the delegate votes. 

In Florida, John McCain received only 36% of the votes (and 57% of those votes were from Democrats), but walked away with 100% of the 57 delegates.  36% of the people should not get to choose how 100% of the votes are awarded; at least, not if Republicans want to elect conservatives.

Democrats in office are always moving the country to the left.  And, a moderate for president like John McCain or Mitt Romney would also move the country left.  Conservatives need to rally behind a candidate that will move this country right–at least enough to get us back near the center.  But, the rules of the primaries work against conservatives. 

Consider Einstein’s definition of insanity as “doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.” The only way for Republicans to get true conservatives elected is stop using the same process over and over that isn’t working. The best way to get conservatives elected is to change the rules.

We’re inviting all you Ghouls and Ghosts to join us this Sunday at Austin’s Restaurant for the Louisville Tea Party’s Election Night Spooktacular! The way we’re going these days, it’s scary enough as it is. Why not have a little fun on this night of horror? Dress up and come out for an evening with your friends, the Tea Party! Please join us as we host our three endorsed candidates: John Kemper for State Auditor, Bill Johnson for Secretary of State, and Todd P’Pool for Attorney General. We will also have a Costume Contest, 50/50 Raffle, and The Voter Guide will be unveiled for the 2011 Election. So come out to this Halloween Spooktacular Election Night and have a little fun and education with some like minded people. Hope to see all you “Scary” people there in your best Halloween Garb. Happy Halloween!

Sunday October 30, 2011 From 6:00 – 8:00 pm Austin’s Restaurant 4950 US HWY 42 Louisville, KY 40222