In responding to the fact that the prosecution did not support the defense’s motion to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor but rather only did not object to the motion; Judge Stone said, Broidy was given a misdemeanor charge for his role in the scandal that involved New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi who was convicted of accepting gifts from people who wanted to conduct business with the state’s pension fund. Judge Stone said, Broidy was given a misdemeanor charge for his role in the scandal that involved New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi who was convicted of accepting gifts from people who wanted to conduct business with the state’s pension fund.

“It is this Court’s view that… the type of criminality that Mr. Hevesi and his minions indulged in are those that would never have come to the full light of day had Mr. Broidy not volunteered [to cooperate with the investigation],” the judge said.

Broidy not only cooperated with authorities, but paid $18-million in restitution–an amount, according to Judge Stone;  “ which is in significant excess of what he personally received.” The judge added: ”It is quite exemplary that his restitution to the fund exceed any of his own personal gain.”

Prosecutors stood silent as the judge imposed the lightest possible sentence after a three year investigation.

“I would hope that the People would take a more positive view as to what really ought to be done, rather than to avoid the issue on this,” the judge said.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki and Ken Langone, one of New York’s most significant business leaders and philanthropists, are among those who wrote to the court in support of Broidy.

The judge said he took that– and other factors into consideration in the sentencing.

False on both counts…

Elliott Broidy is a civic leader

Broidy is a community and civic leader and philanthropist who has served on many boards including the United States Homeland Security Advisory Council, Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension Fund, Kennedy Center, Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Los Angeles Police Foundation.

Following the tragedy of 9/11, Broidy became interested in protecting the country and helping the leaders he believed in. Because of his substantial ability in finance and his interest in law enforcement, from 2002-2009 he served as a Commissioner of the Los Angeles City Fire and Police Pension Fund and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Police Foundation. In 2005, he was appointed by Secretary Michael Chertoff to serve on the United States Homeland Security Advisory Council as well as the Future of Terrorism Task Force and New Technology Task Force.

Broidy not only gave back every penny he earned, but paid significantly extra funds–even though the law likely could not have required him to do so.

“The court is not clear whether all of that restitution would have been eventually collectable at law, but as part of the plea deal he took up on the moral responsibility in trying to make the state pension fund whole,” Judge Stone said.

Broidy is amazing! Smarter than the lot.

Consider that in 1979 and 1980, Bill Nelson supported President Jimmy Carter only 49% and 68% of the time, respectively.  In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Bill Nelson supported Obama 97%, 98% and 97% of the time, respectively. Bill Nelson is in no way a centrist, and he has become far too liberal for mainstream Floridians.

Aside from his support of the space program, Nelson has never really identified himself with a strong signature issue.  In fact, a Florida magazine once labeled the Democrat an “empty suit.”
So with just over an eleven-week sprint to Election Day, the Bill Nelson of 2012 is in a significantly weaker position than the Bill Nelson of 2006.  In 2006, Nelson’s average ballot score in over 30 polls through the mid-August that year was in the mid-50s.

In 2012, Nelson has been mired in the mid-40s in public polling. In fact, his numbers very recently have been falling into the low 40s, and for the first time this cycle, the most recent series of Real Clear Politics (RCP) averages of the polls has had Mack leading and now this race as close as a race can get at 43.8-43.6.

And as we all know, 2006 was one of the worst elections in the last two decades for Republicans; while it was a banner year for Democrats and a thus banner year for Bill Nelson. Overall, the election resulted in a sweeping victory for the Democratic Party, which captured from Republicans control of the US House of Representatives, the US Senate, and a majority of governorships and state legislatures.

Unlike the political and issue landscape of this election, Nelson focused on safe issues in 2006 portraying himself as a bipartisan centrist problem-solver.  He obtained the endorsement of all 22 of Florida’s daily newspapers and as the election approached, polls showed Nelson ahead by 26 to 35 points.  With a comfortable enough lead in the last weeks, he transferred about $16.5 million of his campaign funds to other Democratic candidates, and won the election with 60.4% of the vote.

The political landscape for 2012 is markedly different from 2006, as are the most important issues on voters’ minds and, much like 2010, it greatly favors the more fiscally-hawkish Republicans like Connie Mack than liberal, big-spending Obama rubber stamps like Bill Nelson.

A closer look at Nelson’s liberal voting record reveals clearly why.

In the slightly more than 10 years that Bill Nelson has been representing the state of Florida, the federal debt has gone from $5.7 trillion to nearly now $16 trillion.  He’s voted to raise the debt ceiling 11 times. The annual federal deficit in his first year in 2001 was $127 billion.  Last year it was $1.3 trillion – more than a 1000% increase!  When Bill Nelson took office, there were over 310,000 unemployed Floridians.  Today, that number is tripled.

It is very difficult for Bill Nelson to claim he is not part of the big spending addiction that inflicts liberal Democrats in the Senate.  He has voted for 88,990 earmarks during his tenure worth a total of $178 billion!  He has sponsored or co-sponsored legislation that, if it all were passed into law, would cost $1.45 trillion.

Remember that self-proclaimed bipartisan, centrist-problem-solver image he wore in his 2006 re-election campaign?  In no way can he effectively project that image anymore; it doesn’t fit.  Because he has voted with Barack Obama 98 percent of the time, and has voted for increasing taxes 143 times.

In addition to an abysmal fiscal record of supporting record spending, record deficits and record debt that has cost Florida desperately needed economic growth and jobs, and despite having warned President Obama that Obamacare was a raw deal for seniors in Florida, Nelson still caved to White House and his party leadership’s pressure to provide the 60th vote for its passage in the Senate.

All across Florida, the Nelson-supported Obamacare is literally killing jobs.  In North Florida, small business owners have said that government-run healthcare is driving up their premiums.  Meanwhile, small business owners in Jacksonville have said the taxes in ObamaCare could force them to sell their business.  Additionally, in Melbourne, medical device companies have stated that the medical device tax is stifling innovation.

Notably, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has stated the healthcare law will kill 800,000 jobs nationwide.

The Nelson record is further littered with more liberal, big spending initiatives including the failed stimulus, bailouts, cap and trade, card check, and the DREAM Act.  And he more recently voted against the pro-domestic energy, pro-jobs Keystone XL Pipeline legislation.

Nelson claimed after his stimulus vote that it would create or save 206,000 jobs.  In fact, Florida ranked dead last in stimulus benefits per resident.  Today versus when Nelson was sworn in in 2001, Florida construction jobs have dropped 33%, and Florida manufacturing jobs have been reduced by 35%.

Connie Mack is a solid alternative to Bill Nelson

In contrast, Connie Mack has a clear record and offers a great contrast to the ever-left-leaning Nelson.  Mack is a vocal supporter of less federal spending and lower taxes, reducing debt and balancing the budget.  He is a signer of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.  Additionally, he is an original co-sponsor of a constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget and has been one of the most outspoken opponents of federal bailouts.

He also has sponsored “The Mack Penny Plan,” a straight-forward, common-sense plan to balance the federal budget by: 1) cutting federal spending by one percent each year for six consecutive years; 2) setting an overall spending cap of 18 percent of GDP in 2018; and 3) reducing overall spending by $7.5 trillion over 10 years.

In addition, Mack has a unique idea for what he calls a “Repeal Congress.”  Each Congress sits for two years and he is proposing that the House and Senate utilize one whole Congress – for two full years – focusing nearly all legislating on repealing and reworking bad, broken and out-of-date laws currently on the books that do much more damage than good to the American people and our Constitution.  Another common-sense conservative idea that is probably too plainly simple and smart to get the traction it deserves.

Mack also maintains a strong, consistent record of voting for pro-growth, pro-jobs legislation throughout his career in the House, legislation that rarely sees a vote these days in the Harry-Reid-Democrat-controlled Senate while they stack up high in a death pile on his desk in the Senate.

This Senate election in Florida is a very clear contrast and Bill Nelson is in serious trouble, as he should be.  Conservatives and fiscal-minded independents should take a keen look at Connie Mack as the clear alternative to replacing the far too liberal Bill Nelson.

There’s funny business brewing in the race for the newly configured 47th Congressional District, which extends from Long Beach to Little Saigon.

A Republican candidate who’s courting Democratic voters has been accused of hiding mail-ballot applications submitted by some of those Democrats. But the evidence is thin and circumstantial, giving the accused candidate, Gary DeLong, leverage in his argument that his opponent is making the whole thing up.

It’s a typically tawdry tale of campaign hanky panky, but the details are unlike any I’ve come across in nearly three decades of covering elections. Including the twist that the accused ended up encouraging me to write about the incident more energetically than the accuser.

On Monday, I received an email from Mike Shimpock, the consultant for the congressional campaign of state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach. It claimed that one of the leading Republican candidates, Long Beach Councilman DeLong, solicited vote-by-mail applications from Democrats but didn’t turn them in to the Registrar of Voters within 72 hours, as required by law.

Really, at this critical time for our nation with record high deficits, outrageous spending, and a US debt at $15.7 Trillion and rising… this is what’s passing for news and what these two so-called front runner candidates are focused on in the race to represent the new 47th district in California?

Instead of inventing clever new ways to garner Democrats votes or waste time crying foul about imagined campaign infractions Steve Foley is talking about the issues that matter most to Americans and providing detailed Bold Solutions:

As a trusted conservative, Steve’s focus in Congress will be to stop the liberal agenda, restore constitutional principles, and get America working again!

2nd Amendment Rights

• BOLD SOLUTION: Restore Authority over Firearms Policy to the States

Economy

• BOLD SOLUTION A: Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment
• BOLD SOLUTION B: Cut Spending Immediately and Significantly
• BOLD SOLUTION C: Replace Our Antiquated Tax Code
• BOLD SOLUTION D: Roll Back Burdensome Regulations
• BOLD SOLUTION E: Advance Energy Independence
• BOLD SOLUTION F: Audit the Federal Reserve

Education

• BOLD SOLUTION A: De-Fund the U.S. Department of Education
• BOLD SOLUTION B: Restore Educational Decision-Making to the States

Energy

• BOLD SOLUTION A: Get Government out of the Way
• BOLD SOLUTION B: End Energy Subsidies and Let the Free Market Work
• BOLD SOLUTION C: Restore Federal Lands to the States

Health Care Reform

• BOLD SOLUTION A: Repeal Obamacare
• BOLD SOLUTION B: Roll Back Other Regulatory Health Care Mandates

Immigration

• BOLD SOLUTION A: Fully Secure Our Nation’s Borders
• BOLD SOLUTION B: Enforce Existing Federal Immigration Laws
• BOLD SOLUTION C: Eliminate Incentives for Illegal Aliens
• BOLD SOLUTION D: Reform the Legal Immigration Process

Jobs

In an April 24th press release, Lowenthal attacked the House Committee on Agriculture’s recent recommendation to cut $33 billion over 10 years from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), this federal food stamp program is, by the agency’s own admission, rampant with fraud. In fact, a March 2011 USDA summary report acknowledged that trafficking alone, defined as the sale of benefits to food retailers for cash, diverted $330 million between 2006 and 2008. That figure doesn’t include additional fraud perpetrated by program beneficiaries, who sell their benefits to others for a profit. Recent investigative reporting by David Goldstein at CBS 2 in Los Angeles suggests that abuses of this latter type are also widespread.

Stunningly, the USDA claims in the first paragraph of the 2011 summary that such fraud comes at no financial cost to the federal government–aka you and me. It is merely, the report notes, a black mark on the program’s mission and credibility. While one can’t deny the credibility problem, waste, fraud and abuse do indeed come at a high financial cost to taxpayers, particularly in the current challenging economy. Elected officials have a fiduciary duty to track and address such problems so that taxpayers do not continue to pay for programs that fail to work as intended. Throwing good money after bad helps no one, including those who legitimately face financial hardship.

Which reveals additional serious flaws in Lowenthal’s attack…

In the past 10 years, SNAP spending has nearly tripled. Much of that increase has occurred just in the last three years, with program spending more than doubling from $34.9 billion in 2008 to $76 billion in 2011. House Ag Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK) acknowledges that SNAP now comprises nearly 80 percent of total USDA spending. These statistics reflect in large measure the Obama administration’s open and active efforts to boost rather than minimize dependence on SNAP through recruitment drives and incentive programs. President Obama did not earn the nickname “the Foodstamp President” without cause.

Ultimately, the $33 billion in cuts proposed by the House Committee on Agriculture represents, over the coming 10 years, a meager 4 percent of this out-of-control, wasteful, and abuse-ridden SNAP spending. More embarrassingly for Senator Lowenthal, the House Committee has plainly stated that the cuts are primarily aimed at closing loopholes and reworking the program’s eligibility triggers in order to minimize precisely this waste and abuse epidemic within the program in order to benefit legitimate SNAP recipients and taxpayers alike. Two incentives for states administering the program would also be on the chopping block. However, in point of fact, not a single dollar of the proposed cuts would prevent the truly needy from receiving SNAP benefits. Nor would the cuts in any way reduce SNAP benefit levels.

Perhaps Senator Lowenthal could explain to us all his particular interest in maintaining fraud, waste, and abuse.

Or is it that, as usual, he just hasn’t done his homework?

Steve Foley
Republican Congressional Candidate, CA-47

From the GOA:

- Sen. Dean Heller blocks anti-gun nomination

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is attempting to push yet another radical anti-gunner through the U.S. Senate. This time it’s Elissa Cadish, who flatly denies that the Second Amendment protects a fundamental right.

Asked in 2008 by a group called Citizens for Responsible Government whether she believed an individual citizen had a constitutional right to keep and bear arms, Cadish answered:

Nevada Sen. Dean Heller puts the brakes on anti-gun judicial nominee

“I do not believe there is this constitutional right. Thus, I believe that reasonable restrictions may be imposed on gun ownership in the interest of public safety. Of course, I will enforce the laws as they exist as a judge.” [sic]

Now, she claims that she was only stating the law as it existed before the Supreme Court’s Heller v. D.C. decision.

But let’s count the “red flags” raised by Cadish:

First, the “militia” theory was not “the law” prior to Heller, either in terms of the Framers’ intentions or in terms of the Supreme Court’s admittedly muddled jurisprudence.

Second, the concept that “restrictions … on gun ownership [further] public safety” is a thinly veiled suggestion that, once on the bench for life, Cadish will do everything possible to thwart gun owners’ rights.

Third, we’ve heard the “enforce the law” lingo from other Obama nominees, including Sonia Sotomayor, who, as soon as she had secured confirmation, went on an anti-Second Amendment rampage.

Thankfully, Nevada’s other Senator, Dean Heller, is using his prerogative as one of the nominee’s home state Senators to keep this confirmation from moving forward.

It’s called the “blue slip” procedure, an informal custom in which the Senate refuses to move on a nominee that does not have the support of his or her own Senators.

But in response to Sen. Heller’s standing firm, every gun-hating liberal in Nevada — including Harry Reid — have crawled out of the woodwork to blast his efforts to protect the right to keep and bear arms.

Sen. Heller is not backing down from this fight, in the face of enormous political pressure from the White House and the powerful Majority Leader. We need to encourage him to continue to hold firm, and to rally other Senators in opposition to this nominee.

ACTION #1: Send Senator Heller an email at info@deanheller.org. Thank him for opposing the confirmation of Elissa Cadish on Second Amendment grounds, and for standing up to Harry Reid and the Obama machine.

ACTION #2: Contact your own Senators and urge them to join Sen. Heller in opposing Elissa Cadish.

Click here to send a prewritten message to each of your Senators.

Cadish survey is posted below. 2nd Amendment portion:

Do you believe the individual citizen has a constitutional right to keep and bear arms?

“I do not believe that there is this constitutional right. Thus, I believe that reasonable restrictions may be imposed on gun ownership in the interest of public safety. Of course, I will enforce the laws as they exist as a judge.”

Background/Local Coverage:

Cadish nomination to federal bench in jeopardy after Heller informs Reid he won’t support her

“Sen. Dean Heller has informed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he will not sign off on the nomination of Clark County District Judge Elissa Cadish to the federal bench, an extraordinary move that rarely happens between two senators of the same state, sources confirm.
Heller, I’m reliably told, informed Reid of an issue involving gun rights that arose in a previous Cadish campaign. It apparently has to do with her commitment to the Second Amendment, which caused Heller’s concern. Cadish has not — at least not yet — been asked to withdraw.”

Why Heller opposes Cadish as fed judge: She indicated she does not believe in constitutional right to bear arms

Senator Heller, you blue-slipped up blocking judicial nominee

Cadish defenders arise

Reid: Heller holds cards on Cadish nomination

Jon Ralston’s Twitter:
.@SenDeanHeller tells @DanaGentryLV he “will not waver” on Cadish nomination

Heller may not have told “newspaper,” but he told @DanaGentryLVwhy on F2F, which columnist didn’t acknowledge today:

Senator Heller regarding the Cadish nomination:

Face to Face With Jon Ralston
KSNV (NBC) – Las Vegas, NV
4/6/2012

Face to Face (Dana Gentry sitting in for Jon Ralston):
Question: The nomination of a federal judge from Nevada has you and the senior Senator Harry Reid disagreeing. Judge Cadish said back in 2008 she did not believe there was a constitutional right to bear arms. She now says she said that because there were federal cases that were up in the air at the time. Is that the reason you’re not supporting her.

Dean Heller: Well, i think it has been covered well, by your show, and Mr. Ralston himself. I believe it is not a case-by-case right. That’s my position.

Question: You told the [Las Vegas] Sun that you need a candidate who supports the Constitution. Do you think the judge does not support the Constitution?

Dean Heller: No, what I am saying is I want someone who supports the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms. I will go to Washington, D.C. and voters in Nevada know that’s where I stand and that’s what I’ll protect. I’ll be honest, there’s a lack of support for the Second Amendment back in Washington, D.C. and I am not going to waiver on this position.

Question: Do you have any other litmus tests for a federal judge?

Dean Heller: It is not necessarily a litmus test. I did not go into this determining one way or another… but the bottom line, she filled out a questionnaire and does not believe in the right to bear arms, and I disagree with that.

Question: What about her explanation that the question was up in the air at the time and she was waiting for some settlements?

Dean Heller: Well, that’s what I said earlier. I don’t think it is a case-by-case right. It is a constitutional right and it should remain that way.

Cadish-1

Cross-posted from The Minority Report Blog

Four little words. But they are filled with both history and potential.

It matters that Carter was elected in 1976. It matters even more that Reagan was elected in 1980. It matters that Al Gore lost in 2000. It matters that Marco Rubio, Mike Lee and Allen West went to Washington in 2010. The same significance present in the last 35 years applies in 2012 and beyond. It matters who governs. It always has. It always will.

What changes from election cycle to election cycle is the possibility and the opportunity to change who governs. So many things influence who runs for office which, obviously, impacts who is elected. Things like issues, retirements, scandals and switching parties routinely change the make-up of every level of government from dog catcher to President of the United States. The least frequent, and yet potentially most extensive opportunity for changing the make-up of government comes only once a decade with the constitutionally mandated census of the entire American people and the redistricting which follows.

The redistricting prize is the newly created open seat. Such a prize exists in Southern California. The new district is CA-47. There is a primary for the seat with several candidates running. Which brings us back to our original thought, it matters who governs.

Three candidates represent very different options and real choice. All have an R after their name. But the policy, principle and platform behind that R is quite different.

First up is Steve Kuykendall. He seems the epitome of “career politician.” He was a City Councilman from 1991-1994, State Assemblyman from 1994-1998 and Congressman from 1998-2000. Kuykendall has the distinction of being the only member of that Freshman class to not be re-elected in 2000. Since then, his commitment to Public Service seems a little thin. There is no service, activism or work on behalf of the people of California or the US to be easily found for the last 12 years. Not until this year’s open seat and a shot at returning to power. His website doesn’t list a single position. Not one. There is an extensive list of endorsements. The highlight of that list is the endorsement of John McCain. Which ought to tell you all you need to know about Steve Kuykendall. It should also remind you that it matters who governs.

Then there is Gary DeLong. He’s a second term Long Beach City Councilman. Prior to that he was a businessman for 20 years. His policy positions on key issues can be seen as an object lesson for electing someone whose biggest claim to being qualified for office is that he was a good businessman. DeLong, despite trying to depict himself as a Conservative and despite an entire page on his site dedicated to “Priorities,” seems to personify the term “boiler plate.” It’s when he talks about his positions publicly that a different story emerges. The OC Register notes there are parts of ObamaCare that DeLong would keep, that he believes government bailouts for businesses aren’t all bad and that illegal aliens should be issued driver’s licenses. This is the California GOP’s endorsed candidate. How is a vote for this man a vote to change the political environment in DC? If there is any truth to the notion that it matters who governs, Republicans should flee the good ship DeLong for a more sound vessel.

Finally there is Steve Foley. He’s nothing like the first two guys. He’s never held office himself. But he’s worked hard to make sure people across the nation have solid Conservative representation by working on the campaigns of Doug Hoffman in NY-23 in 2009, Charles Djou in HI-01 and Dan Benishek in MI-01 in 2010. Those nationally prominent races helped define issues for campaigns well beyond their specific districts and Steve Foley was there, championing ideas like life, free markets, limited government, lower taxes, spending cuts, energy independence and the rest of the issues which make up the backbone of Conservative governance.

As a former Marine, Steve knows the value and power of a strong commitment to the 2nd amendment, secure borders and national defense.

He’s not just a campaign machine, however. He’s worked for over a decade to make sure that everyday Americans have a voice – everyday – to go with their vote every two years. His work with The Minority Report Blog, 73Wire.com, Liberty.com, Liberty First PAC and the Patriot Caucus means that thousands of activists, candidates and ordinary Americans around the nation have learned how to engage their government in a practical and effective manner. Steve has trained and equipped citizens to engage their government while the others were busy asking citizens to enshrine them in government.

Others may call themselves public servants. Only Steve Foley can point to a record of real service. In 2012 he’s wanting to move to the next level and bring his record of reforming what’s wrong with Washington from the outside to the inside. He has the experience and the tools to do the job. He has the track record of doing it when given the opportunity. Kuykendall and DeLong like to say they’ll do it. Only Foley has the experience, commitment to Conservatism and strength of character to actually do it.

It matters who governs.

For more info on Steve Foley for Congress or to donate please visit www.SteveFoley2012.com

From CBS Reno:

Gas prices have been rising steadily for the past month and today on the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Nevada’s Dean Heller questioned Interior Secretary Ken Salazar about how high oil prices would get. “The question I guess we need to ask ourselves is this the direction that this department is going, and are we at some point under your leadership will gas prices get to $10 a gallon?”

Salazar responded that the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 caused a significant dip in U.S. production, but that it is ramping up again. He also said the administration is looking at all options to prevent gas prices from getting too high.

According to gasbuddy.com, right now prices are $3.72 on average in Nevada – up almost 14 cents in the past week. And up more than 26 cents in the past month.

Nationwide prices are $3.62 cents on average – also up about the same amount in a month.

Gas prices could reach $5 a gallon in some areas by this summer.

Here’s the email that went out today:

Tired of the political establishment in Washington playing games with the enormous challenges we’re facing as a nation?

Looking for a candidate who’ll do more than just talk about limited government and fiscal responsibility?

There’s only one in Congressional District (CD) 47.

Steve Foley understands the challenges we’re facing today because he’s living them, too.

All of his opponents are career politicians, content to maintain the status quo.

Steve doesn’t want to make a career out of our problems. He wants to solve them.

He’s proposed bold solutions to do just that. At the top of Steve’s agenda:

• Fix the Economy (9-9-9 Plan)
• Create jobs
• Repeal Obamacare
• Secure our borders

A former U.S. Marine and a successful small businessman, Steve Foley has a solid reputation as a consistent, trusted conservative.

Say no to the status quo. Stop the career politicians.

Decimate Nancy Pelosi’s plan to use newly created congressional seats to recapture the U.S. House of Representatives for the radical left.

Send Steve Foley to Washington, D.C. to represent the people of CD 47!

Steve can’t get to our nation’s Capitol to make a difference without your personal investment in his campaign.

To guarantee Steve’s place on the ballot in the District 47 race, please donate $10, $25, $50, $100, or more to his campaign today.

Thank you for your commitment to restoring the principles of limited government and fiscal responsibility in Washington.

Below are the filing documents from Barry Ellsworth:

// 12020010013 –

Little is known about Barry Ellsworth at this time but stay tuned as we will be following this race with great anticipation…

Here’s our interview:
1.  Can you tell our readers what the catalyst was, for you, to make the leap from Business owner to starting a PAC and getting involved in politics?

Both my wife and I were offered opportunities to make a career in Government in our 20′s.  After a short time, we felt more driven to raise a family and become part of the local community, so we left the “promise” of Washington in 1976.  Each of us in our own way found unique and personally fulfilling career paths in the private sector, despite personally having 3 offers to become a lobbyist in the 1980′s.

My path focused around helping businesses going through transitions and emerging opportunities.  For eight years I primarily assisted Fortune 100 companies, combining insights and skills in business operations, global and national economics, technology, and fiscal management.

In 1991 I shifted the focus of my skills from multinational corporations to small and mid-sized businesses.  It was very rewarding, and allowed me to work intimately with almost every facet of Mainstreet American, from the business owner to their teams, their families, and their communities.

As patterns began to emerge from my experiences I began to write, to do platform speeches, hold workshops, and multi-day training events.  A few years ago I co-authored a book with Katherine (my wife and college sweetheart) titled “Building Your Multi-Million Dollar Practice” from Dearborn Press.

Four years ago I launched ProfitSee Inc., a Cloud software company that provides CPAs and their small and mid-sized business clients the reporting and projection tools that CFOs and analysts provide within multinational corporations.  Fiscal and asset management was the “weakest link” in most smaller companies.

Thirty years of fixing broken businesses combined with thirty eight years in assessing what was wrong with the country’s economic and legislative policy came to an apex in the 2008 Presidential and Congressional elections.  I was terrified of the impact of unfettered Progressive and entitlement policies taking over the country; I knew the consequences it would have on the thousands of businesses I had touched in my career.

I wound up having a collection of very dear people showing up at my house each week asking me to discuss what was going on.  This has continued unabated on Saturday nights.

My frustration with the Republican Party was large.  I have been a true economic conservative all my adult life, but growing up on the South Side of Chicago also made me a pragmatist. The most basic elements of explaining to regular people what is really going on, and what has to be done about it were missing.  It was beyond the messaging being flawed.  Fundamental definitions of key words, like “capitalism”, were being falsely defined by Liberals, and I learned long ago, that if you play a game in which you opponents have defined the rules, even an act of God will not allow you to win.

A mutual friend I was introduced to felt I had some characteristics that could best be leveraged by leading a Super PAC.

That was a little over two months ago.  Today our Saturday night group has turned into an 18 person team that is just about to launch our website, built the research and fact finding, helped me create over 40 articles, and actually allowed me to teach them how to write effectively!

The response to our content in early “trails” has been profound, converting both “Independents” and some life long Democrats.  I don’t ever want our efforts to become nothing more than “talking points” for “true believers”.  They must be both the message and the policies strategies than can persuade all but the 22% of the radical left wing.  One thing is for sure: beliefs trump the truth.  We must be effective in our writing, messaging, and communications in transforming their beliefs…  I have done it successfully for 30 years in business.  Hopefully I can do it again to many millions in the critical 2012 election.

2.  What is the mission and goal(s) of your PAC?

This question is easy; our tag line is “Rebuilding the US Economy, one person at a time.  I wrote the more formal Mission Statement for our website.

Here is a copy of it:

Welcome to American Citizens for Economic Freedom.  We hope you enjoy our website, and will become a part of our team.  ACEF is made up of every-day people from a broad spectrum of places, careers, nationalities, educational levels, and races.  My name is Peter M. Vessenes.

I grew up in an immigrant family in Chicago.  Since 1982, I have been a business advisor to companies ranging from the largest multinational corporations to small businesses launched by entrepreneurs. Since the 1970s I have also been a student of economics, international banking and trade, a writer, an author, and for the last 20 years, a platform speaker to thousands of companies.

Along with the many people that make up ACEF, I felt compelled to write and speak on the real truth about what is happening in our economy and our communities.  Particularly, I am driven to show the true underlying causes and beliefs that have been relentlessly shifting the nation away from things that are the very genetic nature of mankind.

People in our country MUST understand things as simple as sharing the real definition of “Capitalism” – an economic system of barter in which all the trading partners believe they are receiving equal or greater value in exchange for what they traded – to proving why it is instinctive in us as a creature. Confusing people about what capitalism is has been the ticket to disaster for the past 30 years.

Voters in the next election must clearly see how politicians and bureaucrats in government that give unfair advantage to companies and businesses that are friends and supporters are cheating all of us as citizens.  We must also understand that those businesses are NOT Capitalists practicing Capitalism.  They are nothing more than the collusion between the federal government and business.  In other words, they are Washington Inc.

We will cover a broad spectrum of topics:  Banks, Foreign Affairs, Education, Entitlements, Health Care, Energy, Government Debt, and even basic elements of living that make for a stronger, safer nation.

We are not supporting any individual candidate, or even any specific political party.  We are certain that if you read the articles in our website daily, you will see clearly how we have all been “cheated in the trade”. We hope you will be able to clearly evaluate all the candidates you can support and vote for in your district.

Who knows; if enough of us can be heard, we can change the laws, policies and federal budget fiascos that have brought our nation to such a terrible precipice.

I hope you will find some way to join us in strengthening the impact of our messages. Whether you simply refer others to visit the website, become a contributor, or even a contributor of articles, we hope together we can truly influence the next Congress, President, and his administration, to put the nation back on track to be the true shining light of hope and prosperity for the rest of the world.

I am also including an introductory statement that new visitors to the website will initially land on:

The country and the world are in a state of despair. The atmosphere crosses almost all boundaries and barriers.

Governments are in a state of economic crisis caused by decades of poor policies.  They have been driven by faulty beliefs, the addiction of remaining in power, and the willingness to trade favors to benefit themselves and a few. Government employee unions collude with politicians to provide unsustainable wages, benefits, and pensions to their members.

Progressivism, Washington Inc., nationalized health care, entitlements, European style socialism, and global banking flaws are all to blame.

America’s unnecessary foreign energy dependence over the past fifty years has destroyed our formerly strong position of exporting more than we import.  We ship the wealth of our citizens internationally rather than strengthen ourselves because of it.

Environmentalists accuse our nation of polluting the world, and devise “slight of hand” policies to get us to pay for other nations pollutions and industrialization.  Wall Street frequently is willing to bend or ignore the rules to make a fast buck, and Senators and Congressmen shamelessly take advantage of insider knowledge to generate incredible stock returns with Wall Street cronies.

We are also challenged by core beliefs among radical Islamic factions, destabilizing peace and safety in the world.  Traditional approaches to foreign affairs and international policies are not working.

The United States of America was created to provide a means of upending and changing these types of activities.  The Founding Fathers were not naïve. They did not believe a Representative Republic would eliminate politicians that did not serve the best interest of all the people.  They believed that the structure of our government would always provide its citizens the means of systematically replacing such people with those of sounder mind and greater wisdom.

ACEF is a collection of regular people.  We have come to believe that our nation (and the world), is at such a critical stage that we had to speak up.  Very few people understand the facts; despite the breadth of information available outside the “mainstream” media, clarity, facts, sound reasoning, and basic wisdom are seldom found.

Please join us in our effort to put people into political office at all levels that will take an uncompromising approach to stopping this current madness.

3.  Will your PAC be more in line with Tea Party/Liberty Movement conservatives or main stream republicans?

Without question, we are philosophically, economically, and governmentally aligned with the Tea Party/Liberty Movement conservatives.

4.  Is the PAC primarily about supporting candidates, issue advocacy, or both?

We are about issues, policy, exposing the reality of what is going on, how it takes place, and what we must do to change it.  We are not supporting individual candidates; rather, as we get closer to the election, we will have a candidate thermometer to assess how all candidates stack up to what we believe must take place to turn around the nation.  We are also trying to drive our readers to real-time, practical action both during the election and after, to help elect the people that will not flinch or “go inside the Beltway” in their activities as elected officials.  Fundamentally, we want to remove or cripple the “politicians” whichever party they live in.

5.  Who do you envision your audience to be and how do you intend to reach them?

We are already gathering quite a following from a very diverse collection of people just by networking.  So far they include physicians, employees of large corporations, small business owners, airline pilots, “stay at home” moms, union workers, college and high school students, and many other “every day” people.  In other words, the Tea Party people.  There seems to be a large “buzz” around the launch of our website.  Hopefully it will go viral…

We also are working hard to extend our messages to Democrats who are Democrats primarily because “they have been one all their lives” or those that have believed the talking points and spin of the left without the facts.  We have actually become pretty good at those efforts.

Beyond that, I have done a lot of public speaking.  I hope to become part of the Tea Party and other gatherings during the course of the campaign.

We also anticipate the ability to raise sufficient funds to sponsor both radio and television ads in key races nationally.

I want to thank Mr. Vessenes for taking time to speak with us and let you know that we’ll follow-up when the website is ready to launch!

Cross-posted from The Minority Report

Gingrich has a long history of debacles and unethical behavior from sideways deals that got him in trouble in the House of Representatives. A few include, while he condemned his colleagues over the House overdraft scandal, it turned out he did the same. As he criticized President Clinton’s personal life, he himself, suffered from similar behavior. As he has been critical of Fannie and Freddie Mac, it comes out that he took nearly two million in consulting fees. As the nation struggles, Newt kept up a half million dollar Tiffanys line of credit and went on luxury cruises as a nation suffers… not to mention his public overtures and embrace of Nancy Pelosi.

None of this compares to the shameless attempt for Newt to pretend to be an advocate of the Tea Party and to suggest that he is our ideal candidate. Quite the contrary, he is the candidate not of the Tea Party but of the “inside the beltway” mentality that has seemingly corrupted him.

Those in our movement cringed when he attacked Congressman Ryan for “social engineering” and many of us were breathless when it became clear that Newt profited from Fannie and Freddie to the tune of almost two million dollars as Americans face record foreclosures.

Gingrich is NO “Braveheart” or a William Wallace but rather is a calculated political tactician, who should be ashamed for this reckless self promotion and appeal to those of us in the Tea Party. Candidly, as Christmas approaches, Gingrich should not embrace the role of Braveheart to compare himself to, but I would suggest Mr. Potter, the corrupt banker from It’s a Wonderful Life whose only interest is lining his pockets no matter how deceitful his behavior is or who it hurts. I encourage all of my fellow Tea Partiers to not be yet another opportunistic species for Newt to try to prey upon on.

I enclose below the shameless attempt of another Gingrich, used car salesperson promotional tactic and encourage all of us to object to his horrific attempt to get our vote.

Gingrich Casts Himself as ‘Braveheart‘ — ‘Perfect’ Tea Party Candidate

I saw this interesting post of opposition research on Newt and although it’s clear it came from some Ron Paul/Alex Jones types who fear the CFR, Bilderbergers, and the Illuminati… save for some of that crazy it does put quite an impression of Newt out there that is in no way favorable to Tea Party support!

Newt Gingrich is a political chameleon that has inexplicably managed to fool conservatives for 30 years. He is a globalist to the bone and supports every opportunity to erode American sovereignty and the constitution. He disguises his statist positions with an abundance of flip-flopping and pandering as needed. He has a long history of expanding the Federal Government and deficit spending. He is the very definition of an Establishment Insider.

- Card-Carrying member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a globalist think tank
- “Distinguished member” of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (neocon, pro-interventionism group)
- Member of Bohemian Grove
- Member of the World Future Society
- Voted for NAFTA, a blatant circumvention of Congress’ exclusive power to regulate commerce with foreign nations. Took power from American people and put it into the hands of unelected Binational panels, made mostly of foreigners.
- Supported GATT
- Supported WTO
- Continually supported increased federal spending.
- Supported the National Endowment for the Arts;
- Voted for the creation of the Federal Dept. of Education in 1979 under Jimmy Carter.
- Big supporter of Foreign Aid — even to Soviets through the Export-Import Bank.
- In one year (1994-1995) Gingrich voted for nearly $45 billion in foreign aid.
- He helped push through Federally-funded loan guarantees to Communist China.
- Urged the House to repeal the War Powers Act and give the Presidency more power.
- Urged Clinton to expand military presence in Bosnia.
- Supports Afghan War
- Supports Iraq War
- Calls for Iran War
- Supported Clinton’s welfare programs, education programs, labor programs, and environmental programs, as well as most of his foreign affairs programs.
- Supported spending $30B for the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 that shackled gun owners with new restrictions, federalized a number of crimes, and handed the feds police powers that the Constitution reserves to the states.
- Voted to give billions of dollars to United Nations “peacekeeping” operations;
- Pushed for a School Prayer Amendment
- Mentored by Henry Kissinger
- Bailed out savings and loan institutions in 1991. $40B Bank bailout
- He was a draft-dodger during the Vietnam War, yet pushed aggressive foreign interventionism his entire political career, and did say that Vietnam was the “right battlefield at the right time.”
- He cheated on one of his wives while she was suffering from cancer, delivered divorce papers to her in the hospital.
- Worked on the Rockefeller presidential campaign in 1968.

04/02/1987 – He cosponsored the 1987 Fairness Doctrine (anti 1st Amendment legislation)
10/22/1991 – He voted for an amendment that would create a National Police Corps.
03/–/1993 – He was “passionately in favor” of sending $1.6 Billion in foreign aid to Russia.
11/19/1993 – He voted for the NAFTA Implementation Act.
11/27/1994 – He supported the GATT Treaty giving sovereignty to the U.N.
08/27/1995 – He suggests that drug smuggling should carry a death sentence.
01/06/1996 – He himself conceived a secret CIA mission to topple the Iranian leadership.
04/25/1996 – Voted for the single largest increase on Federal education spending ($3.5 Billion)
04/10/1995 – He supported Federal taxdollars being spent on abortions.
06/–/1995 – He wrote the foreword to a book about tearing down the U.S. Constitution and implementing a Fascist World Government.
06/01/1996 – He helped a Democrat switch parties in an attempt to defeat constitutionalist Ron Paul in the 1996 election.
09/25/1996 – Introduced H.R. 4170, demanded life-sentence or execution for someone bringing 2 ounces of marijuana across the border.
01/22/1997 – Congress gave him a record-setting $300,000 fine for ethical wrongdoing.
11/29/2006 – He said that free speech should be curtailed in order to fight terrorism. Wants to stop terrorists from using the internet. Called for a “serious debate about the 1st Amendment.”
11/29/2006 – He called for a “Geneva Convention for terrorists” so it would be clear who the Constitution need not apply to.
02/15/2007 – He supported Bush’s proposal for mandatory carbon caps.
04/04/2007 – He says that there should be a clear distinction about what weapons should be reserved for only for the military.
04/17/2008 – Made a commercial with Nancy Pelosi on Climate Change.
09/28/2008 – Says if he were in office, he would have reluctantly voted for the $700B TARP bailout.
10/01/2008 – Says in an article that TARP was a “workout, not a bailout.”
12/08/2008 – He was paid $300,000 by Freddie Mac to halt Congress from bringing necessary reform.
03/31/2009 – Says we should have Singapore-style drug tests for Americans.
10/16/2009 – He angered conservatives by endorsing super liberal Dede Scozzafava.
07/30/2010 – Says that Iraq was just step one in defeating the “Axis of Evil”.
08/03/2010 – Advocates attacks on Iran & North Korea.
08/16/2010 – Opposes property rights of the mosque owner in NYC.
08/16/2010 – Compares mosque supporters to Nazis
11/15/2010 – He defended Romneycare; blamed liberals
12/02/2010 – He advocates a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens.
12/05/2010 – He said that a website owner should be considered an enemy combatant, hunted down and executed, for publishing leaked government memos.
01/30/2011 – He lobbied for ethanol subsidies.
01/30/2011 – He suggested that flex-fuel vehicles be mandated for Americans.
02/02/2011 – He says we are “losing the War on Terror”; the conflict will be as long as the Cold War
02/10/2011 – He wants to replace the EPA instead of abolishing it.
02/13/2011 – He criticized Obama for sending less U.S. taxdollars to Egypt.
02/15/2011 – His book said that he believes man-made climate-change and advocated creating “a new endowment for conservation and the environment.”
03/09/2011 – He blames his infidelity to multiple wives on his passion for the country.
03/15/2011 – Says that NAFTA worked because it created jobs in Mexico.
03/19/2011 – He has no regrets about supporting Medicare drug coverage. (Now $7.2T unfunded liability)
03/23/2011 – He completely flip-flopped on Libyan intervention in 16 days.
03/25/2011 – He plans to sign as many as 200 executive orders on his first day as president.
03/27/2011 – He says that America is under attack by atheist Islamists.
04/25/2011 – He’s a paid lobbyist for Federal ethanol subsidies.
05/11/2011 – His campaign video said that he wants to “find solutions together, and insist on imposing those solutions on those who do not want to change.”
05/12/2011 – He was more supportive of individual health-care mandates than Mitt Romney.
05/15/2011 – Said GOP’s plan to cut back Medicare was “too big a jump.”
05/15/2011 – He backed Obama’s individual mandate; “All of us have a responsibility to help pay for health care.”
05/16/2011 – He also endorsed individual mandates in 1993 when Clinton pushed Universal Health Care.
05/17/2011 – He has an outstanding debt to Tiffany’s Jewelry of between $250K – $500K.
06/09/2011 – His own campaign staff resigned en masse.
07/15/2011 – His poorly managed campaign is over $1 Million in debt.
08/01/2011 – He hired a company to create fake Twitter to appear as if he had a following.
08/11/2011 – His recent criticism of the United Nations is United Nations by a long, long history of supporting it.
09/27/2011 – He says that he “helped develop the model for Homeland Security”
10/07/2011 – He said he’d ignore the Supreme Court if need be.
11/12/2011 – He advocates assassinating Iranian scientists and covert war with Iran.

MORE SOURCES
The Grinch Who Stole Conservatism
Newt World Order Gingrich supported GATT, NAFTA and WTO while in Congress
Gingrich, Toffler, and Gore: A Peculiar Trio
Newt’s Contract with the Earth: Pseudo-Science, Big Government
Newt Gingrich: The Establishment’s Conservative
Newt Gingrich: The “Anti-Romney” or the “Other Romney”?
Slideshow: The Many Flip-Flops of Newt Gingrich
‘Newt’worthy or Not? Is Newt Gingrich the Best Candidate for President in the Republican Primary?
Good Newt, Bad Newt
Newt Gingrich and his Record

QUOTES
“The idea that a congressman would be tainted by accepting money from private industry or private sources is essentially a socialist argument.”- Newt Gingrich

“[O]ur government, at all levels, must be modernized to successfully partner, let alone compete, with the private sector.” – Newt Gingrich, A Contract with the Earth (p.196)

“The U.S. government operates endowments for the humanities and the arts…Perhaps, it is time we consider a new endowment for conservation and the environment.” – Newt Gingrich, A Contract with the Earth (pp. 115-116)

“We agree that there is plenty of evidence that global climate change is occurring…While humanity is certainly causing its fair share of the change, scientists are still not able to precisely pinpoint the extent of the change, or the margin of error in their estimates.” – Newt Gingrich,A Contract with the Earth (p. 200)

“In spite of the demonstrated liberal leanings in academia, we have nothing but respect for the nation’s scientists. They represent America’s best hope to protect the environment. We support a dramatic increase in science and technology research and development because we desperately need to understand global climate change and other environmental phenomena.” – Newt Gingrich, A Contract with the Earth (p. 201)

“If you import a commercial quantity of illegal drugs, it is because you have made the personal decision that you are prepared to get rich by destroying our children. I have made the decision that I love our children enough that we will kill you if you do this.” – Newt Gingrich (source)

“What we’re being told is that free trade with Mexico would devastate the U.S. economy. With its low wages, Mexico would unleash a flood of cheap imports into our markets. There would be a mass exodus of U.S. factory jobs, as hordes of American companies fled across the border…. All this is scare talk.” – Newt Gingrich, on the House floor 9/22/1993. (source)

Q: “Will you rally the troops for GATT and the World Trade Organization?”
A: “Yes. In the first place, the Administration has accepted amendments of Senator Dole and myself giving Congress dramatically more oversight of the WTO, including the right to bring up a vote on withdrawal every five years in perpetuity, so at any point that we think it is out of control or inappropriate, we can simply withdraw.” – Newt Gingrich, 11/11/1994 (source)

“The American challenge in leading the world is compounded by our Constitution. Under our [constitutional system] – either we’re going to have to rethink our Constitution, or we’re going to have to rethink our process of decision-making.” He went on to profess an oxymoronic belief in“very strong but limited federal government,” and pledged, “I am for the United Nations.” – Newt Gingrich, July 1995, speech at the Center for Strategic & International Affairs (source)

“I think we’re seeing around the world an emerging Third World War from North Korea to Pakistan to India to Afghanistan to Iraq and Iran to the increasing alliance between Venezuela and Iran to the British terrorists who are getting trained in Pakistan.” – Newt Gingrich, 2006, interviewwith Greta Van Sustren

In March 1993, I got an assistance program I could support: $1.6 billion in direct aid to help Russia stabilize. Although a public poll said that 75% of the American people were opposed to giving Russia more money, and we were already in a hard fight for the economic plan, I felt we had no choice but to press ahead. American had spent trillions of dollars in defense to win the Cold War; we couldn’t risk reversal over less that $2 billion and a bad poll. To the surprise of my staff, the congressional leaders, including the Republicans, agreed with me. At a meeting I convened to push the plan, Senator Joe Biden, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, strongly endorsed the aid package. Newt Gingrich was passionately in favor of helping Russia, saying it was a “great defining moment” for American and we had to do the right thing. – Bill Clinton, 2004 (My Life, p. 506-507).

“Professor Gingrich hopefully will never be called upon to teach a course in the proper role of our federal government. His rare votes against bloated big government usually have been prompted by the partisan wrangling of the moment, not by any great respect for, or understanding of, the Constitution.” –James Toft of “Tax Reform Immediately” (TRIM)

Some Videos that help shine light on the matter:

Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi on Global Warming:

Although this is an open seat my Republican and Democrat career politician opponents will have a significant early advantage in fundraising…

That’s where YOU come in.

By reaching out to my online friends, readers and networks we can make huge impact on this campaign.

Five dollars for Foley Friday’s will be rallying cry and every Friday I hope you’ll all consider a $5 donation and encourage all of your friends and networks to do the same!

Together we can send a Consistent Trusted Conservative to Congress… not just another career political “Yes Man” for the leadership to push around.

It’s time to fix the problems that have been thrust upon us by far left liberals and a complicit left leaning Republicans.

Please Donate Now!

 

 

P.S. Check out SteveFoley2012.com, Join the Mailing List, “like” my Facebook page, and follow @Foley4Congress on Twitter!

Thank you,

-Steve

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

I received this in the mail today from a concerned citizen of NV… thought you all might like it as much as I did:

As a citizen of NV, I’m outraged, in the era of Obama, or so we were told, that she is launching such over-heated partisan attacks against rival Dean Heller over China. She even went so far as to call him “shameful.”

News flash Shelley: stop trying to act “astounded” as a way to deflect from your own scandal, which truly is astounding and shameful.
China is a debatable issue, with your own President not backing you or your party on it, nor did several Democrat Senators who voted against it as well. Are you equally astounded and scornful of them?

You and your husband benefited, extensively from our tax dollars to his kidney center. That is sickening and someone should get me a doctor!

We are hurting in NV and all you seem to do is attack Dean Heller, why don’t you attack your President over his NOT backing your position or your boss, Reid for his turning his back on the nation’s highest unemployment as he lives in the Ritz Carlton in DC.

Everyone sees through your being a hypocrite but at least fight for issues that matter: unemployment, not your tax & spend insane policies or lining your family’s coffers, with my family’s and other hard working American family’s tax payer dollars.

I was devastated to learn how your inside favors and influence peddling benefited, of all coincidence, your husband and for once I applaud the NY Times for bringing it to light.

Related articles

• Meet Dean Heller, Again (redstate.com)
• Lawmaker Wields Influence for Husband’s Gain (politicalwire.com)
• Heller Leads in Nevada (politicalwire.com)

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Nevada has become a critical swing state in the delicate balance of the national political tug-of-war between Republicans and Democrats. Dean Heller must win the Nevada U.S. Senate seat in 2012 for several important reasons.

First is the goal of Firing Harry Reid from his perch as Senate Majority Leader. We fired Nancy Pelosi from her position as Speaker of the House during the last election cycle and we must do the same for Harry Reid in 2012. A great perspective is that a vote for Senator Dean Heller is a vote to fire Harry Reid. This mantra cannot be restated too many times. Dean Heller is a proven fiscal conservative who’s conservative voting record has been impeccable as a U.S. Congressman from Nevada District 2 and as a U.S. Senator.

We must not allow Heller to be replaced by a proven Liberal/Progressive like Shelley Berkeley who has all but officially announced her bid to unseat him.

The damage done to Nevada and the nation by Dean Heller not winning the Nevada U.S. Senate seat would be enormous as would Harry Reid remaining as Senate Majority Leader with a majority of Democrats in the U.S. Senate. Under Harry Reid leadership, or lack thereof, as the senior senator from Nevada, The Silver State has lost much of its luster under Harry Reid’s tenure. Nevada suffers from the nations highest unemployment rate which is presently at 12.9%. The housing mortgage crisis has hit Nevada hardest in the nation based on the number of foreclosed homes. Harry Reid has used his position to become wealthy because his contacts and influence have allowed him to manipulate property zoning and to change endangered species protective areas to make himself millions in personal profit while regular Nevadans suffer. To allow Harry Reid to remain as the Senate Majority Leader where he is able to control the agenda and squelch any useful job creating legislation would be horrendous. Nevada was a “Red State” before but went to President Obama in 2008 by a narrow margin.

We must take the Senate majority away from the Democrats and one of the most important places to signal that change is to turn Nevada “red” again!

Second, if God forbid, Obama is reelected in 2012, we must have a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate to prevent the President from even more encroachments by the Federal Government into our economy and daily lives. Nevada along with a few other states with critical U.S. Senate races like Wisconsin and Florida are the key terrain which must be held for Republican candidates or taken from Democratic candidates. The damage being done to our economy and to middle class Americans has to stop and the 2012 elections will define whether the Federal Government tells Americans what to do or if Americans tell their government what to do. Those are the stakes on the important battles that are already starting to take place to “Fire Harry Reid” in Nevada and the other key states of Wisconsin and Florida.

Check out my exploratory committee site, donate and give your endorsement.

Trusted Conservative

 About Dean:

Dean Heller was sworn in to the United States Senate on May 9, 2011. Prior to Heller’s service in the Senate, he served as Nevada’s Representative to Second Congressional District, served state-wide as    Nevada’s Secretary of State for three terms and served two terms in the Nevada State Assembly representing Carson City.

Since Dean’s election to Congress, he has been at the forefront in the fight for fiscal responsibility in Washington. He has voted against hundreds of billions in tax increases, expansion of government and out-of-control spending. Dean was also the only member of the Nevada delegation to vote against the Wall Street bailout. With skyrocketing spending and record deficits in Washington, Dean continues to advocate for balanced budgets and fiscal sanity in Washington. Heller also recognizes the fiscal policies in Washington have hurt economic recovery and more needs to be done to get Nevadans back to work. Controlling spending and getting government out of the way of will allow for long-term economic growth.

As a former member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Heller has fought for responsible policies that preserve Medicare and Social Security for seniors, advocated for tax reform to get our nation’s economy moving, and a more accountable government for the American public. As Vice Chairman of the House Western Caucus which is compromised nearly 40 Members of Congress he helped lead to the fight to defend private property rights and promote balanced public land management. Dean continues to provide strong leadership for Nevada on issues such as mining, public lands access and wildfire prevention. He continues to be successful in moving public lands legislation beneficial to local communities throughout Nevada.

In the Senate Heller continues his fight to reign in excessive government spending that crowd out private investment and stop burdensome regulations that stifles job growth. Dean has vocally advocated for an energy policy to combat high gas prices, and promotes pro-growth tax reforms. These efforts in conjunction with reducing government spending will create the environment for economic growth and job creation.

Raised in Carson City, Dean grew up with five brothers and sisters and graduated from Carson High School. In 1985 he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, specializing in finance and securities analysis, and worked as a stockbroker and as a broker/trader on the Pacific Stock Exchange.

Dean and his wife Lynne have been married more than twenty-five years and have raised their four children — Hilary, Harris, Drew, and Emmy — in Carson City.

Here’s Dean’s first speech from the floor of the United States Senate:

Dean’s Senate Voting Record:

In the relatively short time Dean’s held his Senate seat he’s had a chance to make his opinion known and or vote on some of the biggest issues facing our nation including Defunding ObamaCare, the Patriot Act, The Debt Ceiling, and supporting a Balanced Budget Amendment:

Why Dean is Running for Untied States Senate:

Your past support has meant a lot me and for this reason I wanted you to be among the first to know that I am running for the United States Senate.

It is difficult to see so many people hurting in my home state. As many of you know, I grew up in Nevada and my wife Lynne and I have raised our family here. We see the tough choices our friends, neighbors, and family members are making every day and I see how poor decisions in Washington are impacting their lives.

This is not the first time that Nevadans have endured tough times and it won’t be the last, but I know that there are better days ahead.

Our strength as a state and a nation is bigger than the troubles of today. However, it is also incumbent upon us to affect change in difficult times to create a better future.

As families across Nevada struggle to pay their bills and fight to keep their homes, Barack Obama and his beltway allies are proposing record spending that will add to America’s job killing debt from a stratospheric $14 trillion to a staggering $20 trillion.

We cannot allow this to happen.

We can change the course we are on by taking action today. The choices we make can lead to big changes in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. This is a crossroad that will not only change Nevada, but significantly change the direction of our nation for years to come.

If we are to turn our economy around, we must remove impediments that have caused economic stagnation and the inability of businesses to create new jobs. Not continue with business as usual.

We cannot ignore our nation’s very serious fiscal problems and continue to allow Obama’s big government job killing agenda to continue.

I have long been an opponent of reckless government spending and continue to support a balanced budget. In 2008, I stood up to former President Bush, then Senator Obama, and Washington special interests and said no to the Wall Street bailout. In fact, I was the only member of the Nevada delegation to vote against the Wall Street bailout, not once but twice. My view then, just as it is now, is that debt fueled bailouts only hurts long-term economic growth and places taxpayers on the hook for the excesses of Wall Street.

Now I want to take this fight to the United States Senate.

Congress can no longer refuse to make tough fiscal decisions and stick our children and grandchildren with the massive debt that has been allowed to accrue for far too long. We must take control of government spending to instill long-term economic growth in our country.

There are those who believe government spending is not the problem and we should simply raise taxes and treat American public as an ATM. Let me assure you that I believe Washington has a spending problem—not a revenue problem—and that tax increases are not the answer especially in our current economic environment.

Just like many families across our state, Lynne and I sit around the table and discuss the direction of our country, the future of our children, and the needs of the people of our great state who have endured in this struggling economy for far too long.

It is time to move beyond the failed policies of the past and create real economic growth in Nevada.

I know that the tough times are not yet over. However, I also know that there are better times ahead.

Together we can move our country in a new direction, get Nevadans working again, and create a more prosperous future for us and our children.

It has been an honor to serve you and our great state in the House. I hope I can count on your continued support. With your help, we can bring a new conservative majority to the United States Senate.

Dean Heller needs our support but more importantly we need to hold onto this seat in order to achieve our collective goal of regaining a majority in the Senate. Dean Heller’s Democrat opponent, Shelly Berkly, has been fused to the hip of Harry Reid in NV for so long that her standard operating procedure is being ethically bankrupt, using her office and power to make her family wealthy, with seemingly no concept of wrong doing or remorse. This country needs Shelley Berkley in the Senate like it needs another failed stimulus bill… and that’s just what you’ll get with a Sen. Berkley — an Obama, Reid, Pelosi, clone!

It’s absolutely imperative that the Republican Party gain control of the Senate, fire Harry Reid, and add to our majority in the House of Representatives. Failure to do so might have devastating consequences as our country continues to be horribly impacted by failed liberal policies forced upon us by Democrats and President Obama.

This issue came to a head yesterday when SBA List called out the two Republican candidates in the pages of Politico and has the interwebs a buzz with so-called conservatives accusing the two of wavering on their Pro-Life stance for not signing the pledge. Nothing could be further from the truth, in my opinion, and if the goal of the pledge was to identify a candidates Pro-life status it would have simply asked that question and been done with it… it did not.

What this pledge does do is demand and then lock-in candidates to hire and appoint only those people who meet a certain criteria over those who are the most qualified for the job. I don’t know about you, but to my mind, this is a form of affirmative action and is not a conservative position, it’s unfair, and Un-American.

The pledge required the following:

* Only nominate to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal bench judges who are committed to restraint and applying the original meaning of the Constitution, not legislating from the bench;

* Select pro-life appointees for relevant Cabinet and Executive Branch positions, in particular the head of National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health & Human Services, and the Department of Justice;

* Advance pro-life legislation to permanently end all taxpayer funding of abortion in all domestic and international spending programs, and defund Planned Parenthood and all other contractors and recipients of federal funds with affiliates that perform or fund abortions; and

* Advance and sign into law a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion.

There is also a separation of powers issue that Cain sited today:

Cain has said he opposes abortion and that he supports cutting funds for Planned Parenthood.In a statement issued Saturday, Cain said his respect for the separation of powers prevented him from signing. “[T]he fourth requirement demands that I ‘advance’ the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. As president, I would sign it, but Congress must advance the legislation,” the statement said, adding that Cain remains “a consistent and unwavering champion of pro-life issues.”

Look, I understand SBA List’s motivation here but their execution was way off, in my opinion, and I think the candidates that rushed to sign this pledge, politicians all, have locked themselves into bad policy right from the get go… if they think this wont come back to haunt them, should they win the White House, they have another thing coming. Of course, they have the option of doing what most politicians do once they get elected and ignore the pledge but that’s not going to win them any points either.

Not signing this pledge does not make one less Pro-Life, it does however prove a couple of things…
1) You don’t support any form of affirmative action!!!

2) That your smart enough to know this will be used as club to beat you over the head with if you hire or appoint someone who is not pro-life or thinks the issue isn’t black or white.

Cross-Posted from The Minority Report

Citizens4Cain is building a grassroots online army solely dedicated to getting Herman Cain the GOP nomination in 2012 and we need your support. Please go to Citizens4Cain.com, sign the mailing list, follow us on Twitter and like our facebook page. Together we can bring some sanity back to the White House.

Today, the Tea Part Express, announced it’s full endorsement of Christine O’Donnell for U.S. Senate in Delaware.  This powerful and welcome endorsement comes as Christine has experienced a wave of support and outstanding coverage from a number conservative groups, bloggers, media, and grassroots individuals from across the country.

The release stated:

“Christine O’Donnell has established a reputation as a strong voice for conservative constitutionalists principles consistent with the ideals of the tea party movement,” said Amy Kremer, Chairman of the Tea Party Express and one of the founding activists of the modern tea party movement.

and

“We’re so excited to see the strength behind Christine O’Donnell’s campaign,” said Joe Wierzbicki, Coordinator for the Tea Party Express.

“We long ago announced our intention to hold Mike Castle accountable for his failed record in Congress, and now we have an excellent shot to make sure he is defeated by a solid conservative candidate,” Wierzbicki said.

The full release can be seen below or as a web page here

You’ll note that many races this election cycle that have benefited immensely from a Tea Party Express endorsement, most notably, Sahrron Angle’s campaign for the GOP nomination to run against Harry Reid in Nevada. Tea Party Express supported Sharron while she was polling around 5 or 6 percent and were instrumental in her rise and eventual win.

Likewise, this endorsement may prove to be a pivot point in the campaign,  a game changer perhaps,  that will trigger other large organizations to throw their support and endorsements behind a common sense conservative who’s mission is to protect the Constitution for the people of Delaware as well as all freedom loving Americans.

We thank the Tea Party Express for their support and look forward to waging a great primary fight.

********************************************************************************************************************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 21, 2010

CONTACT: Levi Russell at (509) 979-6615  (509) 979-6615 or Levi@FrontLineStrat.com

TEA PARTY EXPRESS ENDORSES CHRISTINE O’DONNELL

FOR U.S. SENATE – DELAWARE

The Tea Party Express (website: www.TeaPartyExpress.org) is pleased to announce its endorsement of Christine O’Donnell for U.S. Senate in Delaware.

O’Donnell is battling liberal Republican Congressman Mike Castle for the GOP nomination.

“Christine O’Donnell has established a reputation as a strong voice for conservative constitutionalist principles consistent with the ideals of the tea party movement,” said Amy Kremer, Chairman of the Tea Party Express and one of the founding activists of the modern tea party movement.

In contrast, Mike Castle has proven himself to be one of the most liberal establishment Republicans who has repeatedly turned against conservatives and those in the tea party movement.

“We’re so excited to see the strength behind Christine O’Donnell’s campaign,” said Joe Wierzbicki, Coordinator for the Tea Party Express.

“We long ago announced our intention to hold Mike Castle accountable for his failed record in Congress, and now we have an excellent shot to make sure he is defeated by a solid conservative candidate,” Wierzbicki said.

A recent Rasmussen Reports poll shows O’Donnell polling ahead of Democrat candidate, Chris Coons by a 41%-39% margin.

During the Tea Party Express’ first national bus tour, Wierzbicki declared to CNN and other media outlets that Castle was one of the worst-offenders who needed to be defeated by the tea party movement.  The CNN report can be found online here:  http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/08/tea-party-express-takes-aim-at-lawmakers/?fbid=iwlPMpEotVu

The Tea Party Express has been one of the leading tea party organizations impacting the 2010 elections.  The Tea Party Express helped propel Sharron Angle to the Republican nomination against Harry Reid (spending over $550,000 and providing her a massive boost in the polls).  The Tea Party Express similarly supported Utah Senate Republican primary victor, Mike Lee, as well as Massachusetts Republican Senator, Scott Brown – with over $350,000 spent in that race alone.

The Tea Party Express also launched a $250,000 “Defeat Bart Stupak” campaign and tea party rallies in Congressman Bart Stupak’s district immediately prior to his decision to resign from Congress.

Additionally the Tea Party Express supported Kentucky Republican Senate nominee, Rand Paul, and worked to defeat Pennsylvania Senate candidate Arlen Specter (first as a Republican and then as a Democrat) as well as working to defeat West Virginia Democrat Alan Mollohan.