Candidates Attend AFP's Regulation Reality Tour in Cabot

On Tuesday, Americans for Prosperity stopped in Cabot along their Regulation Reality Tour. AFP is using the tour to educate voters to the danger of President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency's attempt to impose job killing taxes on American citizens through new regulations. Several candidates, for local and federal offices, were present.

Arkansas Director of AFP, Teresa Oelke introduces AFP President Tim Phillips

This new regulatory scheme was developed when Obama's infamous Cap & Trade stalled in the US Senate after scandals revealed the dishonesty and flaws in the arguments of scientists who earned their living researching Global Warming. As the alarmists evidence was shattered, the President's legislation ran out of gas in the US Senate.

Now our Socialist President who just effectively nationalized the US health care industry, and previously nationalized large portions of the US financial and auto industries, seeks to impose the same job-killing, tax-raising components of Cap & Trade through regulation instead of legislation.

The turn out was great for the middle of a work day in Cabot. Approximately 50-75 protesters came out to stand against this latest unconstitutional scam. Several running for office showed up to participate, protest, and promote their candidacies as well.

Two US Senate campaigns were represented. Republican Senate candidate Colonel Conrad Reynolds was there and one of his Republican primary challengers, Curtis Coleman was represented by his Scheduling and Press Contact Alex Reed. Reynolds is following the Regulation Reality Tour and visiting with voters at every stop. The retired US Army Colonel said he's making the rounds with AFP because "this is just another way the people of Arkansas are waking up to a government that is overreaching its bounds." Reed said Coleman wanted his campaign represented at the tour's stops because, as a small businessman, he'd "fought the EPA for seven years and spent $27 million navigating their duplicate bureaucracies and turf wars when all he wanted to do was make the world's food supply safe."

Colonel Conrad Reynolds (left) speaks with John Allison of the Tea Party of Lonoke County	Alex Reed (left) with Curtis Coleman's campaign speaks with Trent Eilts, candidate for Lonoke County JP, District 6

Several local Republican candidates were also present. Jack McNally, candidate for Lonoke County Tax Assessor, brought an American flag and worked the crowd telling voters what he hoped to accomplish when he replaces the incumbent double-dipping Democrat Jerry Adams. Chuck Graham, candidate for Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney was also there listening to voters' concerns. (We thought we had a better picture of Chuck, but it looks like a rally-goer's arm was in the way when we snapped the picture. Sorry Chuck!)

Jack McNally (left),candidate for Lonoke County Tax Assessor visits with Col. Reynolds and another Lonoke County voter	Chuck Graham (center left), candidate for Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney listens to voters' concerns

And both Republican candidates for Justice of the Peace District 6 were present. Incumbent District 6 JP Alexis Malham arrived with her sign, ready to protest. She also carried with her The Communist Manifest by Karl Marx, and pointed voters to sections in the book that show Obama and his Democrat henchmen are carrying us down the road mapped by Marx. Her Republican challenger, Trent Eilts was also present and spent his time hearing voters' concerns. http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs458.snc3/26193_379598049658_246614274658_3616714_5574610_n.jpg

JP District 6, Alexis Malham (left) with her protest sign	Trent Eilts (right) speaks with Alex Reed

The Regulation Reality Tour continues tomorrow en route to hit 14 Arkansas cities in two and a half days.

Rallies Tuesday against Obama/EPA power grab in Lonoke, Cabot, Beebe

Tomorrow, Americans for Prosperity will be making three stops in our area to inform voters of the dangers posed by the Obama administrations latest attempt to enslave the American people. Because the President has been unable to move Cap & Trade legislation in the US Senate, he's moving now to have his Environmental Protection Agency implement these job-killing, tax-increasing policies through regulation.

Our President showed no respect for the US Constitution when he strong-armed members of Congress to support his Socialist takeover of the US health care system, and now he's bypassing it and the Legislative Branch by regulating what he can't pass through legislation.

Checks and balances be damned! Obama is acting more like a dictator than an American President!

So join us to get informed and help us put the brakes on Obama's Socialist train!

UPDATE: GOP Senate candidate Colonel Conrad Reynolds has issued a press release stating he will be attending every one of these events. Kill two birds with one stone: 1) Get informed and 2) Get to know one of your US Senate candidates.

Tuesday, March 22

When	City	Address
12:30pm-1:00pm	Lonoke	Remington Gun Club 2592 Arkansas Hwy 15 N
2:00pm-2:30pm	Cabot	Knight's Grocery 906 S. Pine Street
3:30pm-4:00pm	Beebe	Knight's Grocery 1701 W. Dewitt

Iraq Veterans for Congress Endorse Crawford and Reynolds

Hat Tip: ARRA News Service

Iraq Veterans for Congress PAC is a political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of veterans in Congress. IVC's mission is to "Recruit, Fund and Elect to Congress conservative Republican Veterans."

The organization is backing two candidates of concern to Lonoke County voters.

Rick Crawford is IVC's choice for Arkansas' 1st Congressional District.

Rick is a US Army veteran who now owns and operates a small business based in Jonesboro. He was the first conservative Republican to throw his hat in the ring to run for the seat now being vacated by Democrat Marion Berry. Some have said Rick "ran Berry out of the race."

Conrad Reynolds is the organization's pick for Arkansas' 2010 US Senate race.

Colonel Reynolds retired from the US Army in January 2009 and entered this race long before anyone considered Lincoln vulnerable. His army career as an intelligence officer spanned 29 years. He's served in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters. Reynolds is the only US Senate candidate currently endorsed by IVC.

Blanche Lincoln files for re-election amid Tea Party protesters

Hat Tip: The Tolbert Report

The Pulaski County Tea Party organized a protest to correspond with Blanche Lincoln's filing for reelection at the State Capitol today. As Lincoln filed, protesters chanted "Bye, bye Blanche!" and "Hey, hey, ho, ho Blanche Lincoln's got to go!"

The Senator seemed to be living in a dream world when she told reporters at the Capitol she's not worried, and in fact feels "really good about this race."

Beebe--Lincoln needs to "educate" Arkansans to win

The folks at Politico caught up with Arkansas' Governor Mike Beebe on Monday and peppered him with questions on health care and Senator Blanche Lincoln. The popular governor ducked and bobbed on several questions, but when asked if he thinks the embattled Lincoln's seat is still winnable he replied, "Yes, I think it’s winnable and yes, I think she can win."

Lincoln's pitiful polling of late recently led conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer to remark, "Poor Blanche Lincoln couldn't even compete with Mussolini" on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor. The last several polls by Rasmussen have shown Lincoln trailing at least four potential Republican opponents, and the latest had all four ahead by at least 8 points.

Beebe believes Lincoln's campaign cash will be enough to overcome her lack of popularity in Arkansas by November. "She’s got a lot of money, she needs to spend it wisely to educate," said the governor.

But we would argue the electorate is educated on Lincoln, and her money won't be enough to "reeducate" us.

The Senator's popularity has consistently collapsed with virtually every vote she cast in support of President Barack Obama's Socialist platform. On TARP, the auto industry bailout, budgets that created record deficits, increasing the federal debt limit, and Obamacare, Lincoln has stood with Obama and against the will of a large majority of Arkansas voters. Each time her "Yea" was heard by Arkansans, her poll numbers plummeted.

Lincoln's willingness to abandon the clear will of the Arkansas electorate and walk arm-in-arm with Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to support their proposed government takeover of the US health care system was likely the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

Because passage in the Senate required 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster, Reid and Obama needed every single Democrat. Lincoln's status as one of the final two holdouts indicates she understood the tightrope she was walking. She understood the people of Arkansas were strongly opposed to Obamacare, but she succumbed to the pressure of Reid and Obama.

She could have chosen to represent the clear will of Arkansas voters, and cast the vote that would have killed Obama's dream of socialized medicine in America. But instead she chose to stand with her liberal buddies from Chicago and Las Vegas, against her constituents in Arkansas.

Governor Beebe and Blanche Lincoln may think voters in Arkansas can be "educated", but we've been educating ourselves on Lincoln ever since she began marching in lockstep with Reid and Obama.

Krauthammer was right, and Arkansas voters are already educated on the upcoming Senate race.

Senator Lincoln should start packing.

Rick Crawford Meet & Greet in Lonoke County

The Tea Party of Lonoke County is proud to sponsor a meet & greet so voters can get to know a conservative candidate who stood up and announced his candidacy for Arkansas' 1st District Congressional seat BEFORE Marion Berry chose not to run again this year. Rick has been a true friend and ally of the Tea Party movement. He's participated in and spoken at Tea Party events across the 1st District since last spring.

Join us in Cabot to meet and visit with conservative Republican candidate for Congress Rick Crawford in Arkansas' 1st Congressional District.

• Crawford for Congress Facebook Page
• Crawford for Congress Official Campaign Website
• Donate to Crawford for Congress

We'll be serving hot dogs and hamburgers at 6:00 pm on Thursday, March 11 at the following address:

903 Southhaven Ave.
Cabot, AR 72023

Please RSVP at our event page on Facebook if you plan to attend because this location will only accommodate 30 or so people. If more wish to attend, we'll find another location large enough to accommodate everyone.

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*The Lonoke County Tea Party has not endorsed any candidate for the 2010 election cycle. This is posted by the editor for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an endorsement of any candidate.

To win in 2010, GOP needs statewide participation

The election year is now upon us, and polls undeniably show a strong majority of Arkansans are mad as Hell about what’s been happening in Washington.

Democrats in our Congressional delegation have overwhelmingly voted to support nearly every plank in President Obama’s platform that failed to stimulate the economy, failed to create jobs, and failed to take a strong stand against our terrorist enemies around the globe.

Two of those Democrats, Vic Snyder and Marion Berry, realized they’d followed President Obama too far down his Socialist path and have already chosen not to run for reelection. But Blanche Lincoln and Mike Ross believe they can use their millions in out-of-state cash to convince voters to ignore their votes for Obama’s Socialist agenda.

Other Democrats are stepping into the voids left by the Snyder and Berry announcements. These will claim to be different than those they hope to replace, but we’ve seen how effectively Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid bend Democrats to their will.

We need clear alternatives, candidates who will go to Washington and represent us. Candidates who will challenge the establishment and stand up for what’s right.

The problem is that Washington, DC establishment Republicans also failed to uphold Arkansas’ conservative values when they had the opportunity.

That’s why we need real change in 2010; ordinary men and women who will go Washington and take the extraordinary step of challenging the status quo, men and women who understand their job is to uphold the US Constitution and make the country a better place for our sons, daughters, and grandchildren.

Since both parties have dropped the ball recently, some are tempted to support independent or third party candidates. But history shows us these candidates have almost no chance to win. This year, they are more likely to split the conservative vote and guarantee at least two more years of the Obama Hell that we’ve suffered these past months.

Fortunately, we have an opportunity to accomplish our goals. But it will take a concerted effort on the part of conservative voters across the state.

Historically, participation in Arkansas’ Republican primary has been extremely light.

In 2004, only 54,000 of Arkansas’ 3 million residents voted in the GOP primary. More importantly, fully 41% of those reside in three counties. Eight of Arkansas’ 75 counties supplied over 67% of voters in the 2004 GOP Senate primary. This resulted in voters from a handful of counties actually selecting the GOP nominee.

If the same pattern holds this year, voters in 67 Arkansas counties will have virtually no say in who will run on the Republican ticket. If we hope to nominate a conservative candidate who can win statewide, we need that candidate to be chosen by voters statewide.

If we again allow only 8 counties to choose the GOP nominee, Arkansas will likely send another crop of Obama-Pelosi-Reid lap dogs back to Washington to continue on the path of destroying our country.

The Republican Party is counting on the Tea Party energy and emotion to deliver in the fall for whatever candidate wins the GOP nomination in May. But they may well be counting their chickens before they hatch.

Most Tea Party activists aren’t looking for Republican candidates to support, they’re looking for conservatives. And not just Republican candidates who say they’re conservative during the campaign. These disgruntled voters have had enough of experienced politicians who say one thing on the campaign trail but go to DC and play the game.

2010 could be an historic year for the Republican Party of Arkansas. There are more candidates running as Republicans than we’ve ever seen. The US Senate race alone has 9 declared candidates even though the GOP couldn’t field an opponent to run against Mark Pryor in 2008.

But not all of these candidates will satisfy the Tea Party activists’ hunger for honesty, integrity, and responsibility in their candidate of choice this year. In races across the state; veterans, small business owners, and other non-politicians stood up last spring and said “I’ll stand up for limited government, fiscal responsibility, and accountability against the Obama-Pelosi-Reid lap dogs” --before establishment Republicans realized Berry, Snyder, and Lincoln were vulnerable.

Over the last few weeks we’ve had several professional politicians and other Washington insiders jumping in these races, attending out-of-state fundraisers and claiming they’re the best candidates because they’re “electable.” Our question to them is, “Where were you when Tea Partiers and Town Hall attendees were challenging these once powerful politicians last year?” These are the candidates who will turn off Tea Party voters.

If we hope to elect “real people” who will represent Tea Party activists at the state and federal level, we need voters statewide to participate in the GOP primary. We need GOP nominees who voters in every county can support and we’ll only achieve that if voters in every county take part in their nomination.

If you agree with the 60% of Arkansans who want to stop the Obama-Pelosi-Reid train to Socialize the American economy, encourage your friends and family to vote in the GOP primary on May 18.

Help us nominate real conservatives who will represent Arkansas values in all levels of government.

AR GOP Senate candidates hit the airwaves

Two of the GOP candidates for Arkansas' Senate seat this year have launched the first TV ads of the campaign. Col. Conrad Reynolds and Curtis Coleman both claim to be the first of the nine announced candidates to take their message to the television.

Reynold's ad announces his upcoming campaign tour featuring Sam Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, later this month. Coleman's ad is titled "Conservative Comment" and takes on wasteful government spending. Both candidates keep their message positive without mentioning their Republican Challengers or Sen. Blanche Lincoln. (D-AR)

Here are the two 30 second ads followed by a poll where you can select which candidate's ad is more effective.

You decide: Which ad is the most effective?

Let's get this ball rolling!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Whether you participated in the Tea Parties that shook the political landscape up last year, or whether you're just now becoming so fed up that you feel the need to get involved, I'm glad you've showed an interest in the Tea Party of Lonoke County!

Early on the Tea Party organizers decided not to create a centralized national organization, but chose instead to let small, local organizations lead at the grassroots level. Mainstream media reports that protests you've seen were organized and orchestrated by caviar eating elites in distant penthouses are completely false. However, from time-to-time a local Tea Party organizer will come up with an idea for a protest that will become popular across the country.

Such was the case last August with the protest we organized in Cabot outside Rep. Marion Berry's office. Eric Odom of Chicago threw out the idea for a Recess Rally, named so because it was intended to take place during Congress' annual August recess. Without any advertising, or reports in local media, we managed to get about 100 protesters on the street to let our elected officials know we're tired of them representing Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid instead of Arkansas voters.

Since then, we have participated in other events across the state with other local Tea Parties, but haven't moved forward to organize the Tea Party of Lonoke County.

Now that the election year has arrived, our time has come. I and others believe this year's election is a pivotal point in our nation's history. WIll we vote to turn back to the constitutional principles that made the United States the greatest country in the world? Or will we vote to continue down the path to ruin via Socialism that we're currently traveling?

Our mission is simple. We intend to seek, support, promote, and endorse candidates who will fight for a return of

1. Limited Government
2. Fiscal Responsibility
3. Accountable Elected Officials

We believe our current representatives in Washington have taken us in the wrong direction. From the takeover of private industry, to the infamous bailouts, to our own elected officials calling us un-American for practicing our constitutional rights, they have proven they have little understanding of the Constitution or the people of Arkansas.

It's up to us to change that. We can (must) find candidates who will go to Washington and represent us!

I hope you'll join us and get involved. Until now, the extent of my political activism has been to vote in November, and sometimes in the May primary. Since these Socialists gained power in 2008, that has changed dramatically. I realized that I could no longer stand on the sidelines and let others determine the course of our nation.

It's up to each one of us to make sure our elected officials never forget who they represent, and that they work for us. So please join us and help make that happen!

Join Us!

If you are fed up with politics as usual, if you are looking for a place where you can make a difference, if you want to help stop the mad dash to becoming the United Socialist States of America, then sign up to join the Tea Party of Lonoke County.

Complete the form below and you'll receive email updates on events, candidates, and threats to our values by politicians at the local, state, and federal level. You can also let us know to what level you'll be able to assist in our efforts.

We appreciate your interest and participation and look forward to working with you!