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For some time I’ve been wishing there was a list of all the 2010 races and who’s running. Georgia Legislative Watch has put together 2 lists that you absolutely must review before 2010 gets here.
The second Saturday of the month finally arrived, and I headed to the monthly Paulding Republicans meeting. This month’s special guest speaker was Doug MacGinnitie, who is running for Secretary of State.
MacGinnitie spoke about the two big parts of the Secretary of State’s job - working with businesses (mostly small businesses) and overseeing the elections. He didn’t come across as a politician, and I really liked that about him. He seemed like a regular guy who wants to make things better for Georgia. I’ve not yet looked into the people running against him, but I won’t be shocked at all if I end up voting for MacGinnitie in 2010.
He currently serves on the Sandy Springs City Counsel. He was telling us about a budget surplus they had and how the other Republicans on the City Counsel didn’t want to consider returning the money to the tax payers. The room erupted in applause when he spoke of pointing a finger at Republicans spending money based on wants rather than on needs.
That’s the type of approach we need. From our City Counsel all the way up through the government, we need elected officials spending money on what we need and not spending it on what they want.
I won’t be able to make next month’s meeting, but I’ll be looking forward to August’s meeting. If you want to get a chance to meet some of the active members of the Party, we’ve started meeting on Thursday nights at Jim & Nicks in Hiram. It’s a very informal gathering that’s intended as an opportunity to expand friendships within the Party, attract those who might be interested in joining our efforts, and to eat some good BBQ.
Last week I read remarks that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said at the South Carolina Republican Convention.
Graham quoted what he called the 11th commandment by saying “Thou shalt not speak ill of other Republicans” and then proceeded to attack the Libertarian leanings of Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX). He said “Ron Paul is not the leader of this Party” after stating that “we are not going to build this Party around Libertarian ideas.”
He’s partly right - Ron Paul isn’t the leader of the Republican party. The Republican Party doesn’t have a leader. The big government RINO Republicans like Lindsey Graham, Saxby Chambliss, and Johnny Isakson who claim to be real conservatives but whose actions in the Senate say otherwise don’t want to build the party on Libertarian ideas. They know that Republican voters excited about true liberty will fire their Senators for someone ready to get government out of peoples’ lives.
He’s scared. And he should be. He’s part of the problem.
There’s a movement of people - and it’s not just the Ron Paul crowd - that’s sick of big government and is looking for a change. They’re looking for a leader. They’re looking for someone who understands what the role of government in citizens’ lives should be.
The Republican Party is split into 3 very different groups: those who favor and support the government expansion since 2000, those who favor big government legislating morality, and those who want a smaller government that gets out of their lives. We’re divided; we have no leader, and the Party will never succeed until we get solid leadership.
I don’t know who the next leader of the Party will be, but Lindsey Graham is fooling himself if he thinks that Republicans are going to continue to put up with the type big government foolishness that he has been a part of. Lindsey Graham’s ignorance and arrogance will eventually cost him his job.
Great things are happening in Paulding County. We’re working on expanding our base, energizing our existing members, and getting to know people who are seeking election (or re-election, as the case may be) in the 2010 elections.
On Saturday, we heard from Secretary of State Karen Handel, who is seeking the Governor’s office in 2010. She is the third candidate in the gubernatorial election we’ve heard from, and I was really looking forward to the meeting.
It was a great meeting, but I wasn’t overly impressed with Karen Handel. She came across as a big-government Republican, and we’ve already got plenty big-government Republicans in place.
One thing worth mentioning is that she seems to be pretty strong fiscally. She has overcome some pretty big monetary issues in her career, and her approach to government transparency is noble.
She had some time at the end of the meeting for some Q&A. Most questions were softball-style slow pitch questions that she was able to answer with a standard response. Only one question stood out to me: “Why do you believe it is the government’s job to educate our children?” She stumbled through it, but she didn’t really have a decent answer. She responded to the question by saying we could debate that issue all day and then reminded us that she is a product of Georgia’s public school system. Weak.
Even though I wasn’t impressed, I was thrilled for the chance to hear directly from Handel. The monthly meetings are a great way to connect with politicians and to better understand the issues at hand. If you’re in Paulding County, check the Paulding Republicans web site, the Party’s Facebook page, or just email me (ron at uphold liberty dot org) to get more information on our meetings. (The web site or the Facebook page are probably better resources, but if you want to email me, I’ll help get you the information you need.)
This week I received some email asking for a sample letter to send to representatives about H.R. 1866, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act. Here is the letter I sent my representative, Phil Gingrey. Feel free to use it as is or edit it and send it to your representatives in Washington.
Congressman Gingrey,
Our federal government is too large. It has grown beyond the scope that our founders intended and is a regular threat to personal liberty.
One way that the federal government is overreaching its intended scope is in the War on Drugs. Determining which substances should be legal or illegal is an issue for each state to determine - not the federal government.
I ask that you review and cosponsor H.R. 1866, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009. This legislation will not end the War on Drugs, but it is an important step in removing power from the federal government where it has overstepped its bounds.
Thank you for your service to our district and our country.
Ron
Those of you who are also represented by Phil Gingrey can contact him here. If you’re not in the 11th district in Georgia, you can find your representative’s contact information here.
This is one of the areas that the hint of a Libertarian in me really comes out. Since today is 4/20 and given the “420″ term for marijuana, and since I’ve decided to make myself more politically active, I wanted to take a few minutes to address the War on Drugs.
First, I’ll say that you probably shouldn’t smoke marijuana. It’s been proven to be a bad idea. It’s just not smart. Maybe it has medicinal uses; maybe it doesn’t. Either way, you should have the right to smoke it.
The prohibition of marijuana costs the federal government billions of dollars (dollars they don’t have) to enforce. What’s worse is that the War on Drugs is a blatant theft of personal liberty.
I’ve been doing a lot of research on this topic so that I can write an eloquent, rationally reasoned post on why we need to end the War on Drugs, but realistically, if you disagree with my premise, you would not be convinced. And if you agree with me, then I would just be preaching to the choir.
For those of you who disagree, I’d encourage you to consider the 10th Amendment, which reads:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The 10th Amendment is very clear that states have the right to restrict marijuana use, but the federal government does not. If you believe marijuana should be a controlled substance, then let’s get it done the right way - where your state’s law is the law that bans it and the federal government stays out of the way.
To those of you who agree with me, I’d encourage you to take a moment and make sure your representatives in Washington understand how you feel about the issue of the War on Drugs. Earlier this month, representative Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009. This legislation won’t end the War on Drugs, but it’s a good start. The Industrial Hemp Farming Act will remove industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana, returning the power of allowing (or banning) industrial hemp to the states, where it belongs.
The opposition to a bill like this could be very strong because opponents may argue that support of the legalization of what is currently a controlled substance is an endorsement of drug use. This issue is about limiting the size and scope of the federal government, not about promoting drug use.
Contact your representatives today! Ask them to join the other cosponsors H.R. 1866, and let them know you support ending the War on Drugs.
But don’t smoke marijuana, mkay?
I am thrilled about the upcoming 2010 elections for two reasons. First, I’m confident that true conservatism is on the move and that some non-RINO Republicans will take office. Second, I’m excited to campaign for whoever will run against Johnny Isakson.
Recently Isakson wrote me (because I’m on his mailing list) to ask what I thought about President Obama’s budget. I responded to say how I found it ironic that he was thrilled to oversee government growth under the Bush administration but now that there’s a Democrat in the White House, he’s opposed to massive government growth.
Isakson sent another message to his mailing list this morning. Basically it was a follow up to his obviously loaded question about the budget. He’s running for reelection, and he needs your money.
Um, no thanks.
This behavior in email correspondence is nothing more than partisan politicking that we need to get away from. Quoting Isakson in his most recent email:
Thanks in large part to the astronomical budget that unfortunately passed, the estimated deficit will be $1.75 trillion this year.
Isakson is rightly upset about a bad budget being passed, but is this the same Johnny Isakson that voted on bad Bush budgets? Apparently, deficit spending is only acceptable when your party is doing the spending. Isakson is pointing the finger at the Democrats’ bad spending (rightfully so) but is conveniently forgetting the bad spending that happened during the majority of his term in the Senate.
I’ve not yet found anybody running against Isakson in the Senate election. Is there a real conservative who wants to represent Georgians in the Senate? You’ll have my support.
Every Friday night before the Paulding Republicans meeeting, I think to myself that I’m crazy for planning to be anywhere regularly on a Saturday morning. Then after every meeting, I find myself excited about the things that are going on at local levels inside the Republican Party.
People are getting vocal about tax-and-spend practices, they’re organizing and working together, and they’re getting tired of the massive growth in government.
More importantly, Republicans are waking up and seeing that the Republican politicians have strayed from true conservatism. They’ve seen how the massive government growth under President Bush is typical of Democratic leadership, and they seem ready for a return to true conservative principles.
Granted, this sudden urge for fiscal responsibility in many of the party members is likely brought on by the fact that there’s a Democrat in the White House, but there are some who are waking up to the fact that the Democrat and Republican Parties have mostly become the same bunch of liberals. I stand proudly with that crowd.
Part of what I’m resolved to do politically is to help bring a conservative change to the Republican Party. Granted, I’ve not been able to do a whole lot yet, but attending these meetings has given me the opportunity to offer feedback to elected officials and to hear what those campaigning for office have to say. I’m noticing that elected leaders really pay attention to constituents they meet at these local meetings.
For example, last month I had the opportunity to share some of my concerns with Congressman Phil Gingrey. Since then, I emailed Gingrey and asked him to cosponsor H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, and he did it. Gingrey’s a good conservative with a level head on his shoulders, so it’s likely he would have cosponsored H.R. 1207 without my urging, but I suppose it’s possible that my email helped push him toward making that decision.
Today we heard from Austin Scott, candidate for Georgia Governor in the 2010 election. I haven’t looked at all the candidates in that race yet, but I really liked what I heard today.
First, Scott is a proponent of small government, and he appeared to be more for small government than many of the other Republicans I’ve heard from lately.
Also, Scott is pushing hard for an amendment that will require a balanced budget. This is critical because if government expenses continually exceed revenue, our government will bring a total collapse of our monetary system.
Finally, Scott is young. I know youth isn’t really a critical factor in choosing a Governor, but I’m convinced that part of the change we need in the Republican Party is a rise of younger conservatives.
The one thing that Scott said that I really didn’t like was that he doesn’t favor a state sales tax to replace the state income tax. His reasoning was that they have problems collecting sales taxes and that the added number of tax collection points (and their inability to collect revenue efficiently) would prevent the change from being feasible.
We’re seeing some exciting things here on the local level in Paulding County Georgia. Next week I’ll be at the District Convention. I’m not sure what to expect there, but I’m really looking forward to it. Meanwhile, if you’re in Paulding County and want to get involved politically, let me know (ron [at] upholdliberty [dot] org), and I’ll try to put you in touch with the right people. If you’re somewhere else and want to get involved locally, I’ll be glad to try to help you find your local party’s leadership.
Today the House voted 328-93 in favor of taxing the bonuses given by companies that received TARP funds. Granted, it’s only for some employees of some of the recipient companies, but it’s still a big deal.
I wrote my Congressman (Phil Gingrey) this morning to encourage him to vote against the bill. I was happy to see that he did, but I was not surprised. Gingrey has a pretty level head on his shoulders when it comes to voting on bad legislation.
(You can see how your representative in the House voted here.)
In my letter to Congressman Gingrey, I outlined 3 reasons for opposing the bill:
First, I oppose any further government involvement in companies in the private sector. If companies handle TARP funds poorly, the members of Congress who voted to give them that money must be held responsible. The solution to this problem is not more government involvement in companies; the solution is for citizens to elect fiscally responsible politicians to represent them.
Second, large companies attract good leaders by offering aggressive bonus structures. If these companies are going to succeed, they need to attract good executive teams. Government regulation of their bonus structures will make it harder for these companies to attract and retain good executive leadership.
Third, I oppose any taxation based on income.
The unfortunate thing that I see (outside of the House-approved additional government involvement in companies) is that the Republicans were almost split 50/50 on this issue. The Party still needs to figure out what it stands for and start portraying unity and direction if it hopes to have any hope of gaining (or even retaining) seats in 2010.
Where’s the direction? Who’s the leader? Does anyone know?
I had a great morning today. My friend Chris and I carpooled over to the Paulding Republicans HQ for the monthly meeting, followed immediately by the county convention.
Phil Gingrey was on hand to speak for a few minutes about what’s going on in Washington and to answer some questions from the crowd. I was excited to hear him and to finally get a chance to meet him. I told him that I appreciated him voting against the EESA last year and how disappointed I was in Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson when they voted for that atrocity of a bill. Gingrey is one of the good guys in Washington, and I’m proud to have him representing me in Washington.
In the county convention, Speaker Glenn Richardson was with us. He had some good things to say, and though I’m not sure how crazy I am about all of his ideas, it is refreshing to hear politicians thinking outside the box looking for ways to cut spending. After he spoke, Richardson sat in the empty seat next to us, and we got to chat with him at various points during the convention.
(Did you know that every school day costs the state of Georgia $50 million? That number is startling, but it’s not even as startling as something else the Speaker said - 80% of Georgia’s budget is for education and health care. That’s 4 out of every 5 dollars the state spends!)
We finished up the convention and then had lunch. I had to leave without speaking to some folks. If you’re one of those, I’m sorry. We’ll catch up at the next meeting.
