Secure Arkansas/Tea Party Health Care Protest In Little Rock

by John Allison III, Tea Party of Lonoke County

Today, outside of Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office, Secure Arkansas held a rally/protest calling on the AG to; 1) join the many other states in filing lawsuits to challenge the constitutionality of the recently passed federal health care legislation; and 2) immediately approve Secure Arkansas' ballot measure concerning Freedom of Choice in Health Care for Arkansans.

Secure Arkansas director Jeannie Burlsworth told the crowd the recently passed health care bill is unconstitutional and a step toward a Socialist America. Now that President Obama has signed the bill into law, our next step must be through the judicial system. McDaniel said Arkansas will not join the dozen or so Attorneys General from other states who filed suit to stop the unconstitutional law. The Arkansas AG says any such suit would be frivolous and has "more to do with politics than the law."

Burlsworth then offered her microphone to any protester who wished to address the crowd. And, as those of us who've been involved in the Tea Parties all along would expect, not one racial slur or derogatory comment toward any minority group was uttered. Though the mainstream media would have you believe these protesters are rabid racists and hate-mongering homophobes, the protest was completely peaceful.

A young Iraq War veteran took the mic and explained to the crowd that he didn't fight "for Socialism, or Communism." Several mothers stood in front of the crowd and said they only want their children to grow up free as they did. A woman who said she was a doctor's wife said her husband wanted to be at the rally, but was busy treating patients in his clinic. She relayed his messages for the crowd via text message, explaining Obamacare would drive patients to government insurance options, raise costs, lower reimbursement rates, and eventually drive doctors from the field, leaving fewer providers to treat more patients. A recipe for disaster.

Several political hopefuls were present as well. Both Republican candidates for Arkansas' 2nd Congressional district seat, Scott Wallace and Tim Griffin, showed up to announce their support for the Secure Arkansas and Tea Party initiatives, as did Republican US Senate candidate Jim Holt. All three spent quite a bit of time visiting with rally-goers, explaining what they would do to relieve protesters' fears for the future of their country.

Scott Wallace greets voters	Tim Griffin and K. Ryan James

Jim Holt addresses protesters

Lonoke County's own Jack McNally, aspiring to replace double-dipping Tax Assessor Jerry Adams in November, also made the trip to Little Rock. Describing himself as a Tax Assessor who hates taxes, McNally worked the crowd and said he was surprised at the number of Lonoke County voters he met there.

Jack McNally (left front) speaks with voters	McNally (center) holding protest sign

Attendees from Lonoke, Carlisle, Cabot, Conway, Russellville, Benton, and McRae were all present. And of course, there were many from Pulaski County also. All in all, it was a pretty good crowd for the middle of a workday in downtown Little Rock.

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Now that I'm through the report, I would like to thank the local media for covering this event.

What a difference a year (and a government takeover of the US health care system) makes!

I've been working with multiple conservative groups since April of last year. Comparable to the national trend, our several events last year were mostly ignored by the local media. Events at the state Capitol, Senator Lincoln's office, Riverfront Ampitheater, and Marion Berry's office here in Cabot went virtually unnoticed last year by all 4 central Arkansas television stations and the only newspaper with statewide circulation. Even the numerous tense interchanges between constituents and legislators at town hall forums last fall were resigned to social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube instead of traditional media.

But today everybody came. All the press I mean.

All four Little Rock television stations showed up. KARK, KATV, KTHV, and KLRT were there. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the Associated Press were there.

We held rallies with hundreds and even thousands sometimes last year and could manage little more than a line or two in the local media. Today we had somewhere around 80-100 show up and received all this attention.

In the past, the few reporters who showed up snapped a few photos and maybe asked a question or two. But today they actually stuck around, and did real interviews with protesters.

Suddenly, we're newsworthy, and it's about time.

LET'S RUMBLE PATRIOTS!!!

ACTION ALERT!!!!!!!!

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2010 11:00 AM - 1:00 pm Office of the Attorney General 323 Center Street, Suite 200 Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 WE NEED STATEWIDE PARTICIPATION, THIS IS LIKE CUSTER'S LAST STAND

Dustin McDaniel needs to feel the pressure from all of you demanding that he join the many other states in filing lawsuits to challenge the constitutionality of this legislation. He is running for re-election unopposed, which is a shame! Governor Beebe needs to feel the pressure to pass legislation that opts out of the federal health care bill. Governor Beebe does have the power to call a special session to deal with this. I have put contact information for the attorney general and the governor at the bottom of this e-mail. Of course, your state representatives and state senators need to hear from you about proposing legislation to nullify the federal bill.

FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN HEALTH CARE AMENDMENT

• This amendment guarantees that things will be as they have always been.
• This amendment preserves state sovereignty.
• This amendment protects Arkansans freedom of choice.
• This amendment prohibits Arkansans from being forced to participate in government run health-care.
• This amendment prohibits Arkansas employers from being forced to participate in government run health-care.
• This amendment prohibits Arkansas health-care providers from being forced to participate in government run health-care.
• This amendment guarantees that Arkansans can pay their doctors directly for the treatment they receive.
• This amendment guarantees that private insurance companies can continue to operate business as usual.
• This is amendment is about preserving Choice.
• This amendment preserves the free-market principles of competition in health care.
• This amendment is Arkansan centered or patient-centered health care.
• This amendment leaves patients and doctors in control.
• This amendment prohibits putting government in charge of the doctors you can see and the types of treatment you can receive.
• This amendment does not affect Arkansas workers’ compensation laws.
• This amendment does not affect those on ARKids First; Arkansans may still choose to participate in ARKids First.
• This amendment does not affect the Arkansas “any willing provider law.”

Contact Governor Mike Beebe
Phone: (501) 682-2345
Fax: (501) 682-3597

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel
Phone: (501) 682-2007
Fax: (501) 682-8084

Send Free Faxes Now!

From America, You Asked For It!

Note: As of March 18, David Dayen at FireDogLake has the vote count currently at 191 Yeas, 206 Nays on Obamacare. With leaners, it goes to 203 Yeas, 210 Nays.

Keep up the pressure, emails, phone calls, and faxes! They're working.

Citizens in Action always offers everyone the opportunity to send free faxes to their legislators, but now you can send their "Vote NO!" fax to 30 undecided members of Congress to help convince them we the American people don't want the Obamacare tragedy visited upon us.

1. Click here to visit the CIA fax center.
2. Complete the required info and check "Vote NO!" in the fax list.
3. Click the "Request Fax" button at bottom of form.

And, voila! You just sent the following fax to 30 undecided Congressmen.

TO Representatives Harry Mitchell; Gabrielle Giffords; Ann Kirkpatrick; Jerry McNerney; John Salazar; Jim Hines; Alan Grayson; Bill Foster; Baron Hill; Mark Schauer; Gary Peters; Dina Titus; Carol Shea-Porter; Tim Bishop; John Hall;Bill Owens; Mike Arcuri; Dan Maffei; Earl Pomneroy; Steven Driehaus; Mary Jo Kilroy; Zach Space; Kathy Dahlkemper; Patrick Murphy; Christopher Carney; Paul Kanjorski; John Spratt; Tom Perriello; Alan Mollohan; Nick Rahall; Steve Kagen: For the past year and a half, we, the American people, have repeatedly told our elected officials that we do not want Healthcare Reform legislation in its present form. For the past year and a half, our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. PLEASE LISTEN TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE! Please vote NO on HR 3962! How you vote on HR 3962 will determine how we, the American people, will vote in November 2010! VOTE NO ON HR 3962! VOTE AGAINST HEALTHCARE REFORM!

Thanks and please help spread the word!

Stop Obamacare w/ Free Faxes to Legislators

Grassroots protests, town hall meetings, and even a Republican victory in one of the most Democrat Senate seats in the country have all failed to finish off today's great threat to the America we know and love. But the good folks at Citizens in Action are arming American voters for the next battle in this all out war for our way of life!

Though President Barack Hussein Obama has promised to listen to and incorporate opposition ideas with his planned government takeover of the US health care system, it's now becoming obvious his promises were nothing more than a feint intended to lull the US electorate into believing We the People had stopped him and his latest planned intrusion into our lives.

Obamacare is still very much alive, and moving.

Congressional Democrats and their unscrupulous Chicago gangster who leads them are once again promising to ram their Obamacare bill down our throats. Tomorrow, President Obama has promised to reveal his "compromise" plan which he says "will include the best parts" of the two different bills previously passed by the US House and Senate. Harry Reid promised yesterday he will pass this bill within 60 days using a parliamentary maneuver reserved for budget bills that will enable him to bypass a Republican filibuster.

The jackass party is abandoning one of the most essential ideals that led our founding fathers to break with England and form these United States. They are completely ignoring the unequivocal statement in the preamble of our Declaration of Independece that "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..." Instead, Democrats are giving the American electorate the middle finger and telling voters, "We don’t give a damn what you want!”

Our last hope to stop this train wreck is to communicate to our elected Senators and Representatives they WILL lose in November if they stand with Obama and his henchmen against the American people! Citizens in Action has made it easy for everyone to do just that.

The organization has a free Fax Center (they do accept donations) that allows you to send up to three faxes on different matters to all your elected officials with a few simple clicks! Their latest fax (text below) demands our legislators refuse to go on ignoring OUR will, and refuse to vote with Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and President Obama to destroy our health care system.

Please click here to send your fax(es) today!

The text of the FREE health care fax CIA will send in your name can be read below:

TO: [Representatives’ names go here] “All may be quiet on the Healthcare front”—making it appear that Obama’s Healthcare Reform legislation is stalled or even dead, but the American people are not fooled! We are well aware that the silence surrounding the reconciliation of the House and Senate versions of the Healthcare Reform bills and the talk of “bi-partisanship” is nothing more than a smoke screen designed to fool us into thinking our representatives are actually listening to us. As for the healthcare “summit,” it is merely a propaganda tool and has nothing to do with creating a bipartisan solution. Furthermore, a “bipartisan solution” is meaningless unless both parties are listening to the citizenry. Currently, the representatives of both parties are doing a very poor job of listening to their constituents. Perhaps you remember Speaker Pelosi’s comments that Healthcare legislation would be passed—even if it means, as she stated, “pole-vaulting in…” Senator Reid is busy “twisting arms” and making sweet “back-room” deals in order to change the minds of any would-be no votes. And now, as the Democrats have lost control of the 60th Senate vote, they are, once again, talking about employing the “Nuclear Option,” which would require only 52 votes to get Healthcare Reform passed. And you want us to believe you are actually listening to the American people? As OUR elected representatives, we demand that you listen to us! WE elected you to office—NOT Obama, Pelosi, and Reid! We do NOT want any part of the Healthcare Reform legislation currently being considered for reconciliation! We want the whole mess thrown out and started over from scratch! You see—we are not stupid! We recognize the need for some type of Healthcare Reform…BUT, we want any Healthcare legislation to actually concern Health and Care…not PORK! We do not want the unconstitutional, government-controlled, mandatory Healthcare that is being considered. We DO want Healthcare Reform to address TORT Reform and the ability to buy insurance across state lines. We do NOT want our tax dollars used for abortion funding and we certainly do not want to provide coverage for illegal immigrants! These are just a few of the many issues we would like addressed when considering Healthcare Reform. We’ve been voicing our opinions concerning these issues and others for over a year now. Except for the sneaky, manipulative moves of Obama, Pelosi, and Reid, Healthcare legislation, as currently written, doesn’t appear to be going anywhere—so…. Isn’t it time to try something different and actually LISTEN TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE? Don’t patronize Obama, Pelosi, and Reid “just because…” They WON”T be there for you when you need them in November—do the right thing and vote against Healthcare Reform reconciliation—and the American people WILL be there for you!

Thanks! And keep up the good fight!