That's a question that will be answered Tuesday, May 18, when Arkansas holds its primary election.
Some would have you believe the opportunity to make a difference will come not on Tuesday, but in November, when we can replace enough Democrats in Washington with Republicans. Others think the way to make a difference is to shun both major parties, selecting 3rd party or independent voters when possible. Neither of these theories hold water.
It's simply not enough to replace the current crop of Democrats with just any Republican, and history proves protest votes for third party or independent candidates strip votes from the most ideologically similar major party and help the other cruise to victory.
But ours is not a generic Republican movement. We haven't spent so much of our time, treasure, and energy only to play the role of spoiler that will not only guarantee a continuation of Obama's offensive policies, but will embolden him and intimidate those Republicans who do manage to squeak out victories.
Our movement seemed to spontaneously spring to life when it became clear President Obama's policies would hasten the bankruptcy of the United States, and send the US Constitution to the trash heap. But the conflagration that became impossible to ignore on April 15, 2009, began smoldering long before most of us ever heard of Barack Hussein Obama.
Republicans held control of both houses of Congress from 1994-2006--12 years. Many of those Republicans are running for office now, claiming they will change things in DC. From 2001-2006, a Republican sat in the White House while these same supposedly conservative Republicans controlled the Congress. Let's compare what they did with what they claim to stand for.
Here are the bullet points from the 2008 Republican Party Platform:
- Defending Our Nation, Supporting Our Heroes, Securing the Peace
- Reforming Government to Serve the People
- Expanding Opportunity to Promote Prosperity
- Energy Independence and Security
- Environmental Protection
- Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First
- Education Means a More Competitive America
- Protecting Our Families
- Preserving Our Values
This exhaustive list sounds like the Republican Party would be the hands-down choice of conservative voters everywhere. And it likely would have if the establishment Republicans in office and other positions of power in DC would have honored these principles when they had control!
But, with Republicans in control of the Executive and Legislative branches of our government, Americans were disillusioned when our political leaders brought our brave soldiers and Marines home in chains to face charges for killing the enemy. We, the people, were horrified when our Marines and soldiers were forced to wait and watch the enemy dig into firing positions and open fire before our defenders of freedom were permitted to engage the murderous enemy bastards!
Virtually everyone currently running for office is proclaiming that Washington is broken, but what some are not telling you is they helped create the problem! Democrats like Blanche Lincoln and Republicans like John Boozman all voted FOR the $700 billion Wall Street bailout in October 2008. Though TARP was opposed by a majority of the American electorate, these political elite rulers obviously thought themselves omniscient and took American taxpayers' dollars to save the careers of countless Wall Street fat cats.
Democrats AND Republicans in the political establishment, who now have the gall to promote themselves as conservatives created the tragic situation in which we find ourselves as a nation today.
There's no doubt since Barack Hussein Obama has occupied the Oval Office the pace to destroy American values and traditions has picked up. And there's no doubt that if Democrats retain control of the Senate and the House this fall, President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid will be reignite the engine that will power us to a new era of a Socialist America. And they'll do so with a renewed sense of empowerment, believing once again they will have received a mandate from the American people to convert the United States to something akin to Chairman Mao's China, or Comrade Lenin's Soviet Union.
So we must not allow Democrats to retain control!
But neither can we revert to control by the same Republicans who charted the course that placed Obama, Pelosi, and Reid in power!
Tuesday will determine the effectiveness of the Tea Party movement in Arkansas. And it matters not who wins the Democrat primary. Whether we, the formerly silent majority, have an impact will be decided by whom we select as nominees on the Republican ticket.
The Washington Republican establishment has interjected itself into several races in Arkansas, hoping to determine whom conservatives will have the opportunity to vote for in November. Tim Griffin in Arkansas' 2nd District sees nothing wrong with the strong support he's received from Washington insiders. He said months ago on Dave Elswick's show he's glad his race is attracting nationwide attention, and that he was garnering the support of national Republicans.
State Senator Gilbert Baker was chosen by the DC Republican establishment to run for US Senate, though he delayed his decision to enter the race until Fred Ramey, Curtis Coleman, Colonel Conrad Reynolds, and others had already significantly weakened Senator Lincoln in the polls. And the Senate candidate most tied to the Washington establishment, US Congressman John Boozman, only announced his intent to run for the seat after Jim Holt entered the race and polled better than Baker.
When the Tea Party movement leaped into protest mode, those of us on the ground were as mad at the Republican Party as we were at the Democrat Party. Many of us still are. Democrats made no secret of their intentions and desires for the future of this country, but the Republican party betrayed conservative Americans by failing to implement substantive change when it had the opportunity.
The political environment that gave us Obama, Pelosi, and Reid at the helm of our ship of state was made possible by some of the very Republican candidates, or their DC backers, who are now claiming to be agents of the very change they resisted or opposed when they had the opportunity.
Will we, or won't we, make a difference in the 2010 elections?
That depends on which candidates win the Republican primary on Tuesday.
If the most conservative, non-establishment candidates win, we will have made a giant leap toward righting the course of our nation. If those who've betrayed us in the past, or those selected by such betrayers, win on Tuesday, our time, monies, and energy will have been all but wasted.
So Tea Party activists, members, and sympathizers, go to the polls on Tuesday and choose THE MOST conservative candidate for every race. Do that and we'll be moving once again in the right direction.
Do that, and we'll have made a real difference.
...make a difference in the 2010 elections? We, the people who make up the numerous Tea Party organizations in Arkansas, that is.
That's a question that will be answered Tuesday, May 18, when Arkansas holds its primary election.
Some would have you believe the opportunity to make a difference will come not on Tuesday, but in November, when we can replace enough Democrats in Washington with Republicans. Others think the way to make a difference is to shun both major parties, selecting 3rd party or independent voters when possible. Neither of these theories hold water.
It's simply not enough to replace the current crop of Democrats with just any Republican, and history proves protest votes for third party or independent candidates strip votes from the most ideologically similar major party and help the other cruise to victory.
But ours is not a generic Republican movement. We haven't spent so much of our time, treasure, and energy only to play the role of spoiler that will not only guarantee a continuation of Obama's offensive policies, but will embolden him and intimidate those Republicans who do manage to squeak out victories.
Our movement seemed to spontaneously spring to life when it became clear President Obama's policies would hasten the bankruptcy of the United States, and send the US Constitution to the trash heap. But the conflagration that became impossible to ignore on April 15, 2009, began smoldering long before most of us ever heard of Barack Hussein Obama.
Republicans held control of both houses of Congress from 1994-2006--12 years. Many of those Republicans are running for office now, claiming they will change things in DC. From 2001-2006, a Republican sat in the White House while these same supposedly conservative Republicans controlled the Congress. Let's compare what they did with what they claim to stand for.
Here are the bullet points from the 2008 Republican Party Platform:
- Defending Our Nation, Supporting Our Heroes, Securing the Peace
- Reforming Government to Serve the People
- Expanding Opportunity to Promote Prosperity
- Energy Independence and Security
- Environmental Protection
- Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First
- Education Means a More Competitive America
- Protecting Our Families
- Preserving Our Values
This exhaustive list sounds like the Republican Party would be the hands-down choice of conservative voters everywhere. And it likely would have if the establishment Republicans in office and other positions of power in DC would have honored these principles when they had control!
But, with Republicans in control of the Executive and Legislative branches of our government, Americans were disillusioned when our political leaders brought our brave soldiers and Marines home in chains to face charges for killing the enemy. We, the people, were horrified when our Marines and soldiers were forced to wait and watch the enemy dig into firing positions and open fire before our defenders of freedom were permitted to engage the murderous enemy bastards!
Virtually everyone currently running for office is proclaiming that Washington is broken, but what some are not telling you is they helped create the problem! Democrats like Blanche Lincoln and Republicans like John Boozman all voted FOR the $700 billion Wall Street bailout in October 2008. Though TARP was opposed by a majority of the American electorate, these political elite rulers obviously thought themselves omniscient and took American taxpayers' dollars to save the careers of countless Wall Street fat cats.
Democrats AND Republicans in the political establishment, who now have the gall to promote themselves as conservatives created the tragic situation in which we find ourselves as a nation today.
There's no doubt since Barack Hussein Obama has occupied the Oval Office the pace to destroy American values and traditions has picked up. And there's no doubt that if Democrats retain control of the Senate and the House this fall, President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid will be reignite the engine that will power us to a new era of a Socialist America. And they'll do so with a renewed sense of empowerment, believing once again they will have received a mandate from the American people to convert the United States to something akin to Chairman Mao's China, or Comrade Lenin's Soviet Union.
So we must not allow Democrats to retain control!
But neither can we revert to control by the same Republicans who charted the course that placed Obama, Pelosi, and Reid in power!
Tuesday will determine the effectiveness of the Tea Party movement in Arkansas. And it matters not who wins the Democrat primary. Whether we, the formerly silent majority, have an impact will be decided by whom we select as nominees on the Republican ticket.
The Washington Republican establishment has interjected itself into several races in Arkansas, hoping to determine whom conservatives will have the opportunity to vote for in November. Tim Griffin in Arkansas' 2nd District sees nothing wrong with the strong support he's received from Washington insiders. He said months ago on Dave Elswick's show he's glad his race is attracting nationwide attention, and that he was garnering the support of national Republicans.
State Senator Gilbert Baker was chosen by the DC Republican establishment to run for US Senate, though he delayed his decision to enter the race until Fred Ramey, Curtis Coleman, Colonel Conrad Reynolds, and others had already significantly weakened Senator Lincoln in the polls. And the Senate candidate most tied to the Washington establishment, US Congressman John Boozman, only announced his intent to run for the seat after Jim Holt entered the race and polled better than Baker.
When the Tea Party movement leaped into protest mode, those of us on the ground were as mad at the Republican Party as we were at the Democrat Party. Many of us still are. Democrats made no secret of their intentions and desires for the future of this country, but the Republican party betrayed conservative Americans by failing to implement substantive change when it had the opportunity.
The political environment that gave us Obama, Pelosi, and Reid at the helm of our ship of state was made possible by some of the very Republican candidates, or their DC backers, who are now claiming to be agents of the very change they resisted or opposed when they had the opportunity.
Will we, or won't we, make a difference in the 2010 elections?
That depends on which candidates win the Republican primary on Tuesday.
If the most conservative, non-establishment candidates win, we will have made a giant leap toward righting the course of our nation. If those who've betrayed us in the past, or those selected by such betrayers, win on Tuesday, our time, monies, and energy will have been all but wasted.
So Tea Party activists, members, and sympathizers, go to the polls on Tuesday and choose THE MOST conservative candidate for every race. Do that and we'll be moving once again in the right direction.
Do that, and we'll have made a real difference.
Tags: Election 2010, Primary, Democrat, Republican, Arkansas, US Senate, US Congress, TEA Party, Conservatives, Conservatism
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