Dear Mr. Rove,

Are you ready to start appearing exclusively on MSNBC, CNN & the other liberal programs? If you are, then by all means, keep opening your mouth and disparaging the tea party movement. It was bad enough that you went after Christine O’Donnell instead of supporting the Republican candidate that the voters chose. Plenty of times, Conservatives have had to live with moderate choices – but we are adults, and unlike you, we accept and support the nominee that is chosen.

Your latest comment was really the last straw: “If you look underneath the surface of the tea party movement, on the other hand, you will find that it is not sophisticated.”

What do YOU know about what’s underneath the suface of the tea party movement? You are not “one of us”. You are an outsider, looking in. You are just like the Rinos and the Democrats. You are threatened by the American people who are trying to take the country back. It’s sad really. You only know how to operate in a world that’s either controlled by elite ruling class Democrats or elite ruling class Republicans. Those days are over. The Tea Party is not a fad. We are not going anywhere. Get used to it.

We are not just sign wavers who show up to rallies. We are sophisticated, networked & organized Conservatives who aren’t afraid to put in huge amounts of volunteer hours to make sure our country isn’t totally destroyed by the liberals and Rinos currently in power.

We have become precinct delegates in massive numbers and are involved in our local and state politics. We read the bylaws to familiarize ourselves with the rules of the party so that we are ready when the establishment Republicans try to railroad us into something or cheat their way through a procedure (which they attempt at every turn).

We are replacing our local county parties with Conservatives instead of leaving in the same Republicans that have been in charge of our counties for years. We want a more communicative, more principled party and are doing everything in our power to achieve that goal. We are electing better chairmen/women for our local parties who can vote for better chairmen/women for our state parties. Every step is important. Just because we are new to the game doesn’t mean we can’t play it and win.

We go to the state conventions and speak up when “the good old boys” don’t abide by their own rules. We network with like-minded Conservatives when we are there and we share information. We figure out who the snakes are and who actually cares about Republican principles.

Unlike Congress, we actually READ THE BILLS that are written so that we’re educated when we debate liberals. We support national candidates with direct donations because we know we cannot trust the national GOP, our state parties or any other “Republican” groups to do the right thing.

Those of us who are 912 members have meetings and caucuses, we share information on local and state politics, hold candidate forums and meet with our local representatives often. We take minutes at our meetings for sharing and TRANSPARENCY and allow everyone to speak and debate about topics we discuss. We form groups and subcommittees to accomplish tasks. We have vast email lists and different ways of networking between different local, state and national groups.

You have NO idea what’s going on out here in the real world of a tea partier, Karl Rove. Get a clue.

P.S. And since the word “ignoramus” might be a little too sophisticated of a word for you, here are some synonyms to help you out: simpleton, fool, dunce, know-nothing

Let me preface this diary by telling you that I am a Conservative, a precinct delegate, a tea party organizer and participant, and a 912 member. I am more Conservative than Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin and Sean Hannity. I am also in the “animal rescue” field, trying to find homes for homeless cats and dogs so that they aren’t killed in shelters. I don’t agree with most of the things that PETA, The American Humane Society or the Humane Society of the United States do. I think some of them are good at helping animals in disasters and a few other things but mostly they take the money of good hearted people and don’t help a whole lot of animals with the funds that they have. Animal shelters and rescue groups across the country – the ones who need the money – do not get supported by these big national groups even though they are the ones on the front lines doing the real work.

I commit my free time to helping to save cats and dogs, not cows or chickens or other animals that will end up on my dinner plate. I am not a vegetarian nor do I care about the living quarters of animals that I will eat or the condition of polar bears or whales. I am not a hunter but have no problem with people who are.

Animal rescue is one of the few issues (if not the only issue) in this country that is bi-partisan. In our city, about 80% of the rescue people are Republican. In the next city over, only about 10% of the rescue people are Republican. But we all get along great because we work for the same purpose. We have our priorities. Animals first, politics second.

That said, I was totally disgusted when I saw a story today with the headline “Missouri Tea Partiers, Joe the Plumber Joins Movement Against ‘Radical’ Anti-Puppy Mill Legislation.”

The Tea Party usually operates from a base of knowledge from which to form their opinions but in this case, they have totally lost their minds. I am assuming that there are puppy mill owners in the tea party group and that is what led this this break from reality. The members of the group need to do what they always ask Congress to do – READ THE BILL.

This bill is about COMMERCIAL breeding facilities who are breeding 10 or more dogs. It’s a bill that is going to be on the ballot for people to vote on in November and it makes the puppy mills accountable for the animals in their “care”. For years, these mills have operated without much accountability of any kind, making the dogs live in deplorable conditions. As the act says, the purpose is to prohibit the cruel and inhumane treatment of dogs in puppy mills by requiring large-scale dog breeding operations to provide each dog under their care with basic food and water, adequate shelter from the elements, necessary veterinary care, adequate space to turn around to stretch his or her limbs and regular exercise. OH, THE HORROR. Who would want any breeder to actually have to comply with such repressive rules? You label the HSUS as “radical” for wanting these rules enforced? No, sorry, YOU are radical for not wanting these rules enforced.

So by protesting against this legislation, my dear tea partiers,  I am labeling YOU as people who don’t care about the lives of cats and dogs. I am labeling YOU as people who don’t want these dogs to have food and water, shelter from bad weather, vet care, an adequate space to live in and the ability to leave their crate at least once in their lives. That’s the side of morality that YOU have decided to be on concerning this issue. If the Dems want to use that decision against you, so be it. It is what it is. Next time, educate yourself before you open your mouths.

If the puppy mills in Missouri were doing right by the animals, there would be no legislation needed. But they haven’t for years. Most people are clueless about what breeding dogs go through in those places. The dogs never leave their cage, they breed constantly, medical conditions go untreated, they live in harsh weather conditions, they stand on crates all day which are stacked on top of each other and pee on each other, not to mention many other horrors that they have to endure. It takes years sometimes for rescue groups who are able to save breeding dogs to turn them into “normal” dogs. These don’t know what grass is, stairs, toys or anything else. And they are psychologically damaged from lack of human contact for years and years.

I don’t like the government interfering with the rights of citizens either – or telling people how many dogs they can own. But these are COMMERCIAL breeding facilities that don’t give a damn about anything but making money on the puppies and when the breeding dogs can no longer make money for them, they are killed unless a rescue group is able to buy them or convince the breeders to hand them over to the rescue group to save on euthanasia fluid.

Don’t think this issue is going to do anything positive for the Missouri tea party groups or the rest of the tea party groups across the country. There are plenty of Republicans, Libertarians and Conservatives who own dogs and know that what the puppy mills are doing is disgusting. And the more information that people find out about the puppy mills, the more disgusted they will be.

Sometimes my world of politics and animals collide as it does in this case. And this Missouri Tea Party is doing the WRONG THING for both the animals AND the tea party movement. Idiotic PR move. Just idiotic. You never protest against the welfare of babies and animals.

I know you’re all thinking about the 2010 race next month and your head might not be ready for 2012 yet. However, Gallup’s latest poll showing the front runners in the Republican field for president made me laugh and inspired me to write this diary. Still showing up on the list are Romney, Huckabee and Ron Paul. Seriously, people? As my husband (who is a Conservative independent) says, we need new blood – not someone who’s already ran and lost. Not someone who hasn’t been out there 24/7 for the last two years, loudly and successfully fighting for us. Who are these Gallup people talking to exactly? Well, it turns out that they interviewed a total of 906 Republicans. Wow, Gallup. Don’t hurt yourselves by interviewing more than 18.12 people per state. And the people they interviewed weren’t even all Republicans. They were Republicans AND Republican-leaning independents (we call them Rinos at Redstate).

Here was the question that was asked…“I’m going to read a list of people who may be running in the Republican primaries for president in the 2012 election. After I read all the names, please tell me which of those candidates you would be most likely to support for the Republican nomination for President in 2012, or if you would support someone else.” (RANDOM ORDER WAS GIVEN)

So even though people were allowed to pick their own candidate, a field of nominees was offered to them from Gallup. Here were the results: (link to Gallup here)

Mitt Romney 19
Sarah Palin 16
Mike Huckabee 12
Newt Gingrich 9
Ron Paul 7
Tim Pawlenty 3
Haley Barbour 3
Rick Santorum 2
John Thune 2
Mitch Daniels 2
Mike Pence 1
Chris Christie (vol.) 1
Gary Johnson 1
Other 4
Any/all (vol.) 1
None (vol.) 7
No opinion 11

The real story here is that the top vote-getter was actually a candidate called “none/other/any/all/no opinion” That candidate got a 23 share! I call it the NOAAN candidate (sounds kinda like “no one” doesn’t it?) This is the main candidate that we have to take a look at because it’s obviously the most popular.

So who are my top pics in my own little perfect world?

1. Fred Thompson
2. Herman Cain
3. Sarah Palin
4. Jim DeMint
5. Mike Pence
6. Marco Rubio

These choices are based on loyalty to our principles, their ability to inspire and motivate the Republican base to vote, their passion to serve and my trust in their Conservatism.

Who are YOUR top picks for a (Conservative) presidential nominee for 2012?

When I heard about Lisa Murkowski’s selfish and disloyal run for the State Senate of Alaska as a write-in vote, I immediately thought that she would probably lose about half of her votes because I didn’t think her supporters would be able to spell her name correctly. I looked online and read the pertinent parts of the Alaska state constitution.

I didn’t see it stated anywhere that a voter had to spell the candidate’s name right. I did, however, run across an article by someone who was thinking along the same lines as me. The article was called “What happens if you misspell a write-in vote?” and it said in Alaska, the elections director has said that “Lisa M” would pass muster as a stand-in for Lisa Murkowski. According to other articles that I’ve read, it’s all about the “intent” of the voter.

Then then I started to think creatively because I like to beat the idiots at their own game. I think I’ve come up with the solution (And you are all welcome to prove my information wrong or tell me it’s a foolish idea). What I’m thinking is that we need to find someone who is willing to run as a write-in candidate for the Alaska U.S. Senate whose name is Lisa and whose last name starts with “M.” The closer that person’s last name is to Murkowski, the better. There are three qualifications to run to be a senator:

1. Must be at least 30 years old.

2. Must have been a citizen of the U.S. for at least the past 9 years.

3. Must be (at the time of election) an inhabitant of the state he or she seeks to represent.

If there are two Lisa M’s on the ballot, the voter would HAVE to spell the name right so that the election board knew with 100% certainty who they had voted for. From what I have read in the Alaska Constitution, the person who wants to be a write-in candidate needs to file a declaration five days before the election. I read the rules for a write-in candidate here.

Because Murkowski can’t distribute stickers to use on the ballot, she must educate her voters on how to spell her name and the fact that they have to write out her name on the line AND fill in the little bubble next to it.

It’s time to think outside the box, folks. We have to remember that politics is a “game” and use every option that we  have. Miller’s campaign should be ready to mount a legal challenge to disqualify any ballot that doesn’t have her full name spelled accurately or have the “bubble” filled in next to the name.

Here are some possible Lisa’s to recruit to be a write-in candidate: Lisa Moleski, Lisa Malusky, Lisa Morrissey, Lisa Merkey…

So I ask all of the Lisa M’s out there…will you step up to the plate and help us take back the country? You can bet that if my name was Lisa M. and I was living in Alaska, I would be giving them my declaration to run for senator ASAP on Monday, September 20th!

As expected, I’ve seen a lot of half-truths and misinformation in the mainstream media’s account of what happened at the Michigan Republican Convention on Saturday, August 28th. The good news is that I’ve also seen a few truthful pieces on what happened there, thanks to Conservative bloggers and “regular” people who participated as delegates.

I will start this off by saying that for the first time ever in my life, I ran for a political office this year. I campaigned to be a precinct delegate in my district in Grand Traverse County, Michigan (Traverse City). I am a graphic designer, not a politician. I read about becoming a precinct delegate on Redstate and thought it was a great idea. I already knew that the Democrats are bad news but I was also hearing that the Republican party needed to be fixed, starting at the local level. I wanted to be a part of the process to make the Republicans represent the people and not their own self-interests. I ran to be a delegate and was clearly the only one in my district who thought the position was worthy of a campaign – complete with yard signs, bumper stickers, a postcard mailing and a Facebook page. I won one of the four seats available.

I joined the local 912 group pretty soon after becoming a delegate. We kept in touch pretty regularly and passed along information back and forth so that we knew what would be expected of us and what the rules were for both the county and state conventions. While many of us ran to be a delegate to be a representative of our district, we found out that the McManus campaign (for Secretary of State) had actually sought out people to run as delegates in Leelanau and Grand Traverse Counties specifically to vote for her – http://www.leelanaunews.com/drupal/index.php?q=node/20829 and http://leelanaunews.com/drupal/index.php?q=node/20304

This kind of “planting” of delegates did not sit well with those of us who were new to the process. As the county convention got closer, we heard that the McManus people were putting together a voting block so that only those candidates supporting her would be voted in to go to the state convention, leaving the rest of us out in the cold. The 912 group had no such litmus test. In fact, our group had supporters of every candidate. We didn’t necessarily care who our fellow 912 member supported. We just didn’t want to vote for someone who became a delegate specifically to vote for McManus. Although recruiting delegate candidates is legal and may be something that’s been going on for years, it’s just the sort of dirty politics that Tea Party voters are against.

At our local county convention, there were 23 spots open for delegates to go to the state convention and 23 spots open for the alternates. Because the McManus group had organized well (and early), they got most of the 23 delegate spots and a few of the alternate spots as well.

Moving on to the convention weekend…Even though a majority of our 912 members were alternates and most likely were not going to vote at the state convention, a lot of us went anyway. Even if we couldn’t vote, we wanted to see what went on and observe the process. I considered it a scouting mission for 2012.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Tea Party Caucus the night before in Holt, Michigan, the town that I grew up in. The caucus was organized by the Michigan Tea Party Alliance and held at the Capitol City Baptist Church. It turned out to be quite an interesting night. I had no idea what to expect. When I arrived, all of the parking lots were full and there were yard signs, busses and candidate volunteers everywhere. The entrance to the church was lined with candidates and volunteers handing out their stickers and trying to win our support. After registering, I went into the sanctuary of the church and found some local 912 members from Traverse City to sit with and was lucky enough to end up in the front row. We said the pledge of allegiance, sang the national anthem and listened to prayers by the pastor.

After we all got settled in, the night was all about the Secretary of State and the Attorney General candidates trying to win our support. Even though they all had their own parties that night, they stayed at our meeting for quite a while to win us over. And there were quite a lot of us to win over. The Michigan Tea Party Alliance estimated that there were 600 delegates there. Considering that there were 2065 delegates who would be voting at the state convention the next day, that made our voting block at the church pretty big. And we knew there were even more of us who didn’t make it to the caucus that night.

The candidates were well aware that to get a nomination, they would need a majority of the votes on Saturday – which would be a total of 1033 votes.

There were some straw polls taken at the end of the night. A lot of people didn’t vote but it still gave us an indication of how people were thinking. The first vote put Mike Bishop and Bill Schuette pretty even in the run for the Attorney General. Bishop had 100 votes and Schuette had 93. For Secretary of State, Ruth Johnson won handily with 97 votes. After her, Anne Norlander had 42 votes, Cameron Brown 40, Paul Scott 28 and Michelle McManus 15.

What was very interesting (at least to me) was that the final voting at the state convention turned out pretty close as it had gone down at the Tea Party Caucus. Bill Schuette won the AG nomination with 1072 votes. Bishop trailed closely behind with 971 votes. For the Secretary of State nomination, there were two votes. After the first vote, the top two winners have a run-off. The first vote netted the following results: Ruth Johnson 625, Cameron Brown 454, Anne Norlander 412, Paul Scott 335 and Michelle McManus 237. The run-off between Ruth and Cameron went in Ruth’s favor. Ruth received 1089 votes and Brown received 974.

I can happily report to you that after the first vote at the state convention, a large number of our district’s McManus supporters left after she didn’t make the top two for the run-off. That said, EVERY alternate that was still there from our district got to vote in the second secretary of state election. We were probably the most excited people in the entire building!

Going back to the Tea Party caucus the night before, we were able to learn a few things. One was that there was a rumor that the rules committee might try to get rid of the secret ballot. We were given the time and location of the rules committee meeting for the next morning for anyone who wanted to attend. We also learned that members of the Tea Party of West Michigan would be nominating Fruitport businessman Bill Cooper for lieutenant governor. Cooper gave a good speech towards the end of the evening and many of us had decided to support his candidacy, if only to show Rick Snyder and the Michigan GOP machine that we were the ones to choose the candidates, not them. The Michigan GOP had other plans though and even had their Snyder/Calley campaign signs printed up and ready to go.

Finally…the day of the convention…I got up early on that Saturday because I intended to go the rules committee and make sure they didn’t pull any shenanigans. That turned out to be quite a blessing as I only had to stand in line about 20 minutes for my credentials to get into the building. Later, I would learn that people were standing in line up to an hour to get in. An audience was gathering to watch the rules committee meeting. I would estimate about 40 or 50 of us were standing around the committee, observing. Senator Jason Allen was chosen to preside over the meeting. I had talked to him before the meeting regarding the rumor about nixing the secret ballot. He said he supported the secret ballot and that it was already in place. He didn’t think a motion to remove it would pass and didn’t seem too concerned about the rumor. At the beginning of the meeting, one of the members of the rules committee asked that they reaffirm the secret ballot rule just to get the rumor out of the way right from the get-go. It was UNANIMOUSLY supported (Please keep this in mind for the Cooper/Calley part of the story later).

There was also a motion that didn’t go through after receiving a 15-15 split with the vote. Apparently, if there is an incumbent running for a position and there are two or more challengers, the challengers get to decide whether they want to run on ballot A against the incumbent or on ballot B. These are called slots. Stupid idea, to be sure. I just assumed (along with most delegates) that we’d get one ballot with all the names on it. No such luck. Well, I guess in one of the races, one of the candidates changed their mind about which slot they wanted to run on. So if the motion would have passed, this candidate would have been able to be on both ballots. I don’t like that solution at all – but the real problem is that there are separate ballots to begin with. Which leads me to a question for future reference…HOW DOES SOMEONE GET TO BE ON THE RULES COMMITTEE?

I would also like to point out that the Michigan Party Chairman, Ron Weiser, was at the rules committee meeting and said a few words. He seemed a bit frustrated by the motions being made and what I saw was a person who just wanted to keep everything as it was and to rush through the whole thing as fast as possible. Even with the age of technology and fast copiers, printing extra ballots seemed out of reach for these people. Someone from the rules committee finally asked if they were there to do the right thing or the expedient thing. That brought some applause from people in the crowd. So what if we had to be there for a few extra hours while they printed and counted new ballots? No one expected to get out of East Lansing’s Breslin Center on time to begin with.

After that meeting was over, I went upstairs and joined my district in our pre-determined section of the room. Flyers were being passed out about voting for Cooper over Calley for lieutenant governor. These were the same flyers that were handed out at the Tea Party caucus the night before. The Convention started almost an hour late and aside from the lieutenant governor flap, it was one big yawn. It was hours of nominations, seconds of nominations and then speeches or videos by the candidates. Honestly, the whole convention could have taken place in about three or four hours without the “show” that was put on. It didn’t inspire us – it only made us bored and agitated. The fact that the Breslin Center proceeded to run out of food and water didn’t help anything.

Back to the lieutenant governor nominations….As expected, Cooper was nominated from the floor and the guy on stage wanted a show of hands to vote between the two. SERIOUSLY, people? Are you actually able to count 2065 hands and somehow figure out which of those people are delegates, alternates or guests? Give me a break. We shouted “no” very loudly. We shouted “roll call” and “secret ballot” and “card check.” The Michigan GOP tried again and asked if we could stand up instead of doing a show of hands. And how is that more accurate exactly???? We shouted “no” again. Discussions were going on, back and forth, down on the floor. The guy on stage threw up his hands because he knew he wasn’t going to make us happy. However, before we knew it, Cooper was taking himself out of consideration for the nomination. We were bummed. We’re pretty sure we had the numbers for Cooper to win but even if we didn’t, we still wanted a fair election by secret ballot – something that was guaranteed to us in the rules.

After the Cooper/Calley event, I went out into the main lobby area of the Breslin Center and I tracked down one of the members of the rules committee. I reminded him that they had just voted UNANIMOUSLY for the secret ballot to be used today. I asked him if that rule would have been upheld if Cooper had kept him name in as a nominee. Well at least I got the right answer. He said yes. But he also said that that’s what they were trying to avoid (I’m not sure who “they” were). He also said a a deal was brokered. Well, obviously.

I don’t know much about Cooper and what kind of deal was made. It’s possible that he could have run just to get a deal. Or maybe he did what he thought was best for the party by dropping out. Who knows. What I do know is that I don’t like a sell-out. I don’t like someone who is supposed to be “one of us” and then caves in when the heat is on. There was a principle at work here and we should have been able to have a secret ballot on the vote. We were sold down the river by Cooper AND the Michigan Republican party. And all because of a candidate preference by our state party – or because of time issues that they didn’t want to deal with. The end result was delegates not being allowed to vote for candidates of their choice for lieutenant governor – and also not being allowed to vote for candidates of their choice because they were slotted on separate ballots. These are issues that need to be addressed before the 2012 election.

All in all, I did have a good weekend and met some fantastic Conservative Tea Party Republicans. Anyone who thinks we aren’t a force to be reckoned with is crazy. We’re learning how the political system operates and how to change it for the better. We’re gathering information and sharing it with each other. We will no longer allow our local parties or the Michigan GOP to operate with unchecked power just because things have always been done a certain way.

That said, you don’t have to worry about us all uniting as Republicans. That’s a given. The battle within the Michigan GOP is over for the time being and now the war against the Democrats has begun.

Politics. Ain’t it grand?!

Here are some additional links that seem to be pretty accurate accounts of the Michigan Republican Convention and the events relating to it…

Smoking out the rats in a snake pit – Calley vs. Cooper

Michigan GOP Convention in 2 Words: Charlie Foxtrot

Republican Michigander: The Convention

So I’m plodding along, minding my own business, noticing that there are a LOT of Republicans running to be precinct delegates in Michigan, especially in my own county, which is Grand Traverse County. I think that is great. Then I get wind of an article in the Leelanau Enterprise (not published online yet) that Mike McManus, the father of Michelle McManus, who is running for secretary of state, was actively recruiting precinct delegate candidates who would vote for his daughter. He actually says in the story, “Yes, I have been going around encouraging people to put their names on the ballot as precinct delegates to support my daughter.”

While this is legal and probably done in some degree every year by politicians, it just smells bad to me. And why would he admit to it in a newspaper? Doesn’t he think that it would shine a bad light on his daughter’s campaign?

So then I started thinking…what if this is happening all over the country? Tea party people like me who jumped into the precinct delegate race think we’re going to be able to vote for Conservative people at our state conventions – but reality sets in and tells us that people in our own party are working against us to benefit themselves.

So what is a precinct delegate to do? The answer I’ve come up with is for everyone who is running is to make a list of all the precinct delegates who win in your counties. Then cross-check the names with tea party friends, 9-12 groups, etc. and figure out who is “safe” to send to the state conventions – i.e. true conservatives and not on board to get certain politicians elected. And for the rest of you…FIND OUT WHO YOUR PRECINCT DELEGATES ARE and what they stand for before you vote in your primary!!

After listening to the socialist-in-chief last night, it was obvious that Obama doesn’t know WHAT to do and almost just as importantly, he doesn’t know what Americans want to hear from him. So I have written the speech for him – for free. He can use it at his leisure (which we know he has a lot of)…

My fellow Americans,

By now, it is apparent to everyone that BP was not adequately prepared for an oil leak of this magnitude. It is also equally apparent that our own Federal Government was not prepared to respond swiftly in a manner that our own laws dictate. We completely misjudged the scope of the problem from the beginning and made bad, irreversible decisions that did not allow us to contain the situation as we should have. However, from THIS point forward, we will be working in a proactive manner with governments, private industry, individuals and foreign countries in order to resolve the challenges we face.

The first and most important thing we will be doing is to divide and conquer. For the most part, BP will be responsible to seal the leak. We will, of course, provide any necessary support and resources needed to help in this effort. But the Federal government’s MAIN priority is Homeland Security. Our efforts will be focused on two things – stopping as much of the oil from reaching our coastlines as possible – and removing the oil that DOES reach our shores.

We will open four clearinghouses in each of the gulf states that are affected by this oil spill. This will be a place where businesses can file claims for help, where citizens can volunteer their time to assist in the clean-up and where daily updates are given on the status of what is being done in their region, among many other responsibilities. The military commanders in charge of these clearinghouses will report directly to the governors, who will report directly to me.

We will respond to offers of help from every business and foreign government who presents their assistance to us. Red-tape will not be an issue. We will fast-track all permits and requests by the governors so that they can protect their shores, economy and way of life. No request will go unanswered for more than three days. Decisions must be swift and forthcoming.

Lastly, but just as important, we will immediately open access to the oil in Alaska so that the people and businesses from the Gulf are offered an opportunity to make a living Although I have shut down any future employment in the Gulf with my deep water drilling moratorium, everyone must realize that oil is a vital, domestic resource. Do you drive a car? Do you fly in a plane? Do you eat food delivered by a truck? Oil is the engine of our freedom and is a part of our daily lives. We need to find sustainable ways to produce our own energy so that we don’t have to rely on foreign countries. While we drill for oil in safer areas of our country, we will at the same time be developing nuclear energy, working with natural gas and other PROVEN energy sources.

Good night. And God Bless Obamaland…um, I mean America.

Since Obama became president, we have seen a steady loss in our income, investments, future opportunities and freedoms. We have all united over the simple concepts of limited and constitutional government among many other BIG ideas that define our country. The Obama administration has the country headed in the wrong direction on every front, both inside and outside our borders.

The Democrats bring out a constant parade of “victims” to promote their cause. They can’t win on facts, so they try to use emotional arguments from people who are often found to be frauds telling stories that are inaccurate at best.

There are hundreds of thousands of REAL stories out there. Things are really happening in our country that our government tries to cover up and the MSM ignores. But these true stories exist all the same. We see it. We hear it. We live it. I am a middle-class, average, 41 year old woman who already has a long list of how the Obama regime has affected me personally. The list keeps growing. I know you have a list too. Sure, I want less taxes, less government, less spending, better security and everything else the rest of you do. But this is also VERY personal…

Since Obama has been president, I have had: a loss of $800 over the past 8 months from a raise that my boss couldn’t afford due to the Obama’s economy; a loss of my husband’s 2009 Christmas bonus of $200 (given every other year he’s been there); $600 loss of husband’s income from a raise he didn’t get in 2009; a loss of $40/week from my husband’s income due to everyone where he works having their hours cut to 35 per week; $3000 loss from stocks and penalty for early withdrawal; three close friends have lost their jobs; $10,000 depreciation in the value of my house; I have to put off starting my own business even though I have a very viable idea because of the unstable economy and banks who don’t want to lend money to start-ups; and I have far less money to donate to animal welfare charities in my state that I support to save cats and dogs from being killed in shelters.

So that’s what Obama has done to me personally. And the Dems and the MSM wonder why we’re angry. REALLY?! As the government continues to subsidize losers (individuals and companies), give bribe money (our money) to their political friends and destroy our country…they REALLY wonder why we’re angry?? No they don’t. They KNOW whey we’re angry. They are stealing our “present day” AND our future. And they purposely continue this destruction each day. This is my real cost of the Obama Presidency. It’s my story. What’s yours??