“Part of why the Tea Party so deeply threatened the elite media is the tea party looked around and suddenly realized, there are more of us than there are of them.” Gingrich
Do you remember the Tea Party? I do..we rallied around the concept of smaller government, less taxes, less intrusion of the government in our daily lives. We met in cities from coast to coast…north, south, east and west to have our voices heard at the local level; a grassroots movement had arisen. We became vocal, holding our candidates, elected officials accountable. With social sites such as Twitter and Facebook we bantered together and marched on Washington in September of 2009 showing our unity, our cause, our strengths as the “New Age Patriots.”
However, today as we are trying to rectify the wrongs of the Obama administration it seems as though we’ve become somewhat disengaged from our initial intent. We have Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich all vying for the nomination of the Republican Party for President, each one claiming to be the “true conservative” to represent us. But I have to wonder if we are so desperate to replace Obama that we are willing to put aside our conservative values and choose one who is least conservative as is Romney with his history of flip flops on many issues we face today. It is the elite media and the establishment within the Republican party that has shoved Romney upon us. If he truly was resonating with the people he would have far larger the support than he does but still after spending millions of dollars he has yet to grasp the support of many conservatives. Many doubt his ability to stand up against Obama who will have far greater resources at hand to go toe to toe with him. Recently Newt Gingrich on Face the Nation spoke of the breathtaking scale of dishonesty why Romney hasn’t won. [h/t The rightscoop ]
One has to wonder why those who are migrating towards Romney and claim to be connected with the Tea Party could overlook his governing record:
Defining mistake: supported abortion law despite opposing it. (Aug 2007)
Would welcome overturning Roe v. Wade. (Mar 2007)
Committed to not change law on abortion as Gov., and did not. (Mar 2007)
Opposes Roe v Wade, but won’t tamper with abortion laws. (Dec 2006)
Vetoed emergency contraception for rape victims. (Jul 2005)
Vetoed stem cell research bill. (May 2005)
Endorsed legalization of RU-486. (Mar 2002)
Rick Santorum is claiming he is the true conservative in this race as well but he too, has a problem with spending. Big spending! He is actually proud of his earmarks. “Politics is a team sport folks.” He endorsed Arlen Specter who was the deciding vote on Obama’s disastrous health care reform. Not only did he endorse but he sent money as well, to the tune of $5,000 but the money was returned after Specter switched parties. But clearly one has to wonder where his conservative heart was in this decision. We’ve heard Santorum’s hard stance on public sector unions but his record reveals otherwise:
1. On June 15th1993, Rick Santorum voted for Cesar Chavez Workplace Fairness Act (HR 5) which prohibits employers from hiring permanent replacements when employees strike over wages or benefits.
2. In the 104th Congress Sen. Santorum joined all Democrats and a minority of Republicans in voting to filibuster the bill S. 1788, the National Right to Work Act of 1995. (“On the Cloture Motion (motion to invoke cloture on motion to proceed to consider S.1788),” Senate Bill Clerk, Vote Number: 188, www.senate.gov, 7/10/1996)
3. During that same congressional session, Santorum also voted to retain the 1930s-era Davis-Bacon Act that forces taxpayers to pay union wages in government-funded construction and gives Big Labor an unfair advantage over non-union companies and workers (“On the Motion to Table (motion to table Kennedy Amendment No. 4031 to S.Amdt. 4000 to S.Con.Res. 57),” Senate Bill Clerk, Vote Number: 134, www.senate.gov, 5/22/1996)
4. He also voted against allowing a waiver of Davis-Bacon in emergency situations.
5. Has flipped flopped on his positions regarding unions. He routinely supported them but then abandoned them as soon as he started running for President.
6. He also voted for Alexis Herman in which she was appointed by Bill Clinton to be Secretary of Labor.
7. He voted for a law to require a union representative on an IRS oversight board and also voted to exempt IRS union representative from criminal ethics laws. He also voted against creating independent Board of Governors to investigate IRS abuses.
8. He voted twice for the Teamwork for Employees and Managers Act of 1995 (HR 743 & S Amdt 4438) which amends the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 to allow employers to form labor-management cooperative organizations with employees without the presence of a union.
9. He also voted twice for the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996 which would have forced Fedex to accept local unions (H.R. 3539)
Does this sound like someone who really is in line with the Tea Party? One article that I read while writing this post seemed to think that a Santorum Presidency would crash and burn the Tea Party stating:
The most remarkable thing of all about the Republican’s “anointed one”, is his strange ideas of fiscal responsibility and tax reform. According to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, Santorum’s proposals would actually exacerbate the very deficits that he so vociferously decries. It is estimated that $1.5 trillion would be added to the national debt after Santorum’s third year in office. This is a very poor proposition by any standard. In essence, the nomination of Rick Santorum as Republican standard bearer in 2012 will most likely result in the final demise of the “Tea Party’s” influence on American politics. This may be the only good news that the elections of 2012 will bring for the majority of the moderate thinking, Republican base.
I have laid out to you why I feel Newt Gingrich is the one who is most credible and worthy of the office of the President. I made the claim that Newt The Logical Most Responsible Choice 2012 and that Newt…Bold Ideas..Strong Leadership…One That is Proven.. Now let me share with you Newt’s credentials:
As a congressman, Gingrich was a Reagan Coalition member and Reagan Revolution fighter. As Speaker, he led the Republicans to their first House majority in over 40 years and the GOP finally broke the New Deal coalition that had dominated American politics for more than a half-century, moving policy substantially to the right for our nation. We all benefited as a result. This Reagan, Gingrich, Republican majority-aligned coalition also directly led to the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union.
As Speaker, he allied himself with Ronald Reagan to build the Reagan Coalition, the Religious Right and led his new Republican majority (the Republican Revolution) to pass the Contract with America, cut the deficit, cut taxes, reformed welfare, blocked Clinton’s agenda including HillaryCare, balanced the budget four years running, and extended the great, long-standing Reagan economy throughout the nineties. By comparison, Romney, a one-term MA Governor, vehemently denied Reagan; aligned himself with Ted Kennedy; and lost the most legislative seats for Republicans in MA since the Civil War.
Gingrich’s pro-life voting record is sterling at 98.6%, 70 out of 71 votes, and twice helped pass the end of partial-birth abortion in Congress, before Clinton vetoed it; a true encouragement for anyone who cares about babies being protected in the womb. His lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union rings in at 90%. And the National Taxpayers Union’s Annual Scorecard on reduced spending and taxes gave Gingrich an “A”, for his last four years in office, ranking him #1, #4, #2 and #11 and as one of the most conservative members in Congress for the Republican party.
Of all candidates, Gingrich’s record “stands alone” in his policy achievements and successful leadership portfolio. During his Speakership, a blistering 11 million jobs were created (nearly 3 million per year), $400 billion in debt was paid off, 60% of welfare rolls were reduced, and taxes were cut for the first time in sixteen years – including the largest capital gains tax in history. That’s an immovable fact. Taken together, as a Reagan conservative, Gingrich has already proven his high office credentials as U.S. House speaker.
Gingrich’s 21st Century nine-point “Jobs and Prosperity Plan” borrows a page from Reagan’s 1980 economic platform. It is not just Reaganesque, it is Reaganomics, cryogenically frozen in 1981, thawed 30 years later, and pumped full of Newt-style steroids in order to save the American people from our nations slow systemic job growth. The pro-growth, pro-job, economic recovery plan features massive tax cuts, less government spending (through privatization of entitlement programs), interest-rate hikes, and rampant deregulation.
Gingrich, who blames excessive regulation for the 2008 financial crisis, also wants to advance Reaganomics by repealing the Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley laws governing the financial sector. He would reorient the Federal Reserve entirely toward taming inflation, axing the pursuit of full employment from its congressional mandate. He would cut spending by fundamentally restructuring safety-net programs, turning Medicaid into block grants to states and allowing Americans to opt into privatized accounts for Medicare and Social Security, eventually phasing out payroll taxes in the process.
The foundation is classic supply-side, trickle-down, Laffer-curve economics, which Gingrich’s economic advisers predict will unleash a Reagan-like boom that will eventually generate enough tax revenue to balance the federal budget. Gingrich calls for a Balanced Budget Amendment; and would move to zero-based budgeting, where every dollar must be justified domestically and in foreign aid; and his plan outlines how he’ll cut government waste, inefficiency and duplication all across the board. Notably, anyone planning to introduce ‘Lean Six Sigma’ into government is serious about slicing the bureaucracy.
Finally, no other candidate has listed a Day One Plan. As part of his 21st Century Contract with America, Gingrich has pledged to issue a series of Executive Orders to create jobs and help undo the damage of the Obama administration on the first day of his administration. Altogether, one could reasonably expect a President Gingrich to lead America in a pro-growth, limited government direction who understands the significance of the founding principle that we were created equal by our Creator (God) and endowed with certain unalienable rights.
[ h/t @KLSouth ]
This morning while listening to Newt speak I was moved by message he conveyed to a large crowd before him.
“Callista and I didn’t come here today to ask you to help us we came to ask you to help America”
Let’s help America by sending the one man who can stand up against Obama, one with the intellect, the strength and the fortitude to restore America once again to the oval office. That folks is why I am … #withNewt
