Tea Party Tuesday

The Tea Party movement is on a roll. Being a member of the Tea Party Patriots, I believe that we can make a huge difference in the vote this week on Health Care. There are four Blue Dog Democrats who have voted No in the past but may be convinced, with the pressure being applied this week, to vote Yes. The following information is from http://teapartypatriots.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Rep. John Boccieri, Ohio, 16th
http://boccieri.house.gov/
DC Office Number: (202) 225-3876, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-3059
Local Office Number: (330) 489-4414, Local Fax Number: (330) 489-4448
Voted Yes on Stupak
Voted No on Health Care

 

Rep. Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania 4th

http://www.altmire.house.gov/
DC Office Number: (202) 225-2565, DC Fax Number: (202) 226-2274
Local Office Number: (724) 378-0928, Local Fax Number: (724) 378-6171
Voted Yes on Stupak
Voted No on Health Care

 

Rep. Bart Gordon, Tennessee 6th
http://gordon.house.gov/
DC Office Number:  (202) 225-4231, DC Fax Number:  (202) 225-6887
Local Office Number: (615) 896-1986, Local Fax Number:
Chief of Staff: Donna Pignatelli email: donna.pignatelli@mail.house.gov
Voted No on Health Care

 

Rep. Brian Baird, Washington 3rd
http://www.baird.house.gov/
DC Office Number: (202) 225-3536, DC Fax Number: (202) 225-2478
Local Office Number: (360) 695-6292, Local Fax Number: (360) 695-6197
Voted Yes on Stupak
  
Target these Representatives by calling their offices or, like I did, send them an email via their web site. By exerting enough pressure on these four, we can make them commit to a No vote.

It has been said that Nancy Pelosi will only call for a floor vote on Saturday if she knows for sure she has the votes to pass the bill. Let's make sure she does not have the votes. In fact, I suggest you include her in the above list and let her know via email that you personally oppose this Health Care bill. If she is inundated by emails, she may just back off. It's at least worth a try.

They ram this down my throat on Saturday, they will find something rammed up their ass in November, my ballot voting for somebody else.


Here is the text of the email I sent. Feel free to plagurize at will.

Dear Rep. Boccieri:

Although not a part of your constituency, I urge you as an American who will be affected by your vote to vote AGAINST the current Health Care bill. I am self-employed and I understand the issues that need to be fixed in our health care system. However, cramming this bill down the American public's throat is not the way to do it. The provisions in this bill do not address the issues in an appropriate way. I do not want the debt increased and I do not want any more government intrusion into my life.

Please, I beg you to maintain a NO vote on the Health Care bill and to investigate starting this process over again in a bipartisan manner and being part of the process that produces legislation that the American people can support.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

-Doug Cochran
Sachse, TX

10 Reasons To Vote Out All Incumbents In November 2010

Cleaning house can be cathartic. The feeling you get from a fresh start invigorates and, in some cases, stimulates creativity. New ideas seems to flow more smoothly and new solutions, sometimes very simple in their makeup, reveal themselves. Clutter tends to dull the brain while a clean environment seems to make one refreshed and able to take on projects that may have seemed daunting just hours before.

And so it will be when we replace all the incumbent members of The House of Representatives and Senate in November. Now you may think this is naive or even wrong to promote a complete replacement of the members of the House. There are good Representatives. I know we have one right here in North Texas, Congressman Sam Johnson, an American hero from the Vietnam War. He is both honest and principled. I am sure that he is doing his best for the American people in the House.

Unfortunately, Sam is in the minority. Most House members are pompous fat-cats who sell their vote to the highest bidder. Corruption is the norm in the House as it is in the Senate. Sam has one flaw. He probably, from my reckoning, is more loyal to the Republican Party than he is to his constituency. Love you, Sam, but that is unacceptable. Although Sam is close to the perfect candidate, too much time in the cesspool of Congress and you cannot help but reek of the stench. Contamination is inevitable.

So, the only solution to clean up this mess, as far as I can see, is to clean House (pun intended). Throw the bums out and start over. Here are 10 reasons why I think this is a good idea.

(1) It will stop Washington corruption dead in it's tracks. The special interests will have no one to go to. These big money organizations will find no takers with average Americans in there. We need ethical and moral people running our government. People who are not for sale. These groups can make their requests known but they will not be able to buy influence. Yes, people do have their price. We need to make sure we elect people with principles who, hopefully, do not have a price tag on their vote.

(2) It will remind the current members of Congress that "We The People" hold the power in this country. Do you think they need a subtle two-by-four-to-the-head reminder? If Nancy Pelosi talks to me one more like I'm a third-grader who can't possibly understand these big, bad pieces of legislation, I may just end up taking a short vacation to Washington, D.C. and get in her face about it.  Preferably, I would just like to see the citizens of San Francisco handily vote her out of office this November. That would save me a trip.

(3) The Nanny State will be stopped. Entitlements will be more easily phased out. There are too many government entitlements. We are Americans, not third-world, uneducated, poverty-stricken people who can't take care of themselves. We can do just fine on our own. No government intervention needed. Entitlements breed slavery and sloth. Americans need to be stimulated to stand on their own. And when assistance is needed, that is what organizations like The Salvation Army and Red Cross are for. We are the most generous and giving nation on the earth. Both at home and abroad.

(4) Spending can easily be cut to stimulate job growth. Can I get an AMEN on this one? Congress cannot spend our way out of this economic crisis. Reducing government spending and reducing the size of government will make this deficit we have shrink faster than a deflated balloon. Bloated government is a leach sucking the life out of America. There are too many agencies and bureaucrats. The average government salary is above $70K. $70K! How many Americans earn $70K or above? Less than 50% since the average American salary in 2009 is less than $50K. Since when do the servants earn more than the masters? They are Public Servants, you know. I could live with it being equal but that disparity, on top of the whopping benefits and retirement package government employees have, makes me angry. And they aren't even that good at their jobs. How many competent government bureaucrats do you know?

(5) Taxes can easily be cut to stimulate job growth.Another hearty AMEN? Taxes in this country are ridiculously high to support our bloated government and all the pork and special projects that our lawmakers waste money on. A flat tax, like a national sales tax, is more fair. He who consumes pays tax. Those who consume more, pay more tax. Simple and clean.

(6) The deficit will be reduced. Cutting spending and lowering taxes will have a positive effect on our deficit. By increasing our GDP, we can start applying money to knock out the deficit in short order. We can also start utilizing our natural resources to break our dependency on foreign oil and have enough left over to export it and further reduce the deficit.

(7) Term limits will be able to finally be instituted for Congress. I think 4 terms in the House and 2 terms in the Senate should be sufficient. It is the lawmakers that have 20+ years in Congress that are our worst problem. They believe they are entitled to their positions of power and have lost touch with the American people. Term limits also makes sure fresh blood flows through the halls of Congress on a pretty regular basis and opens up more opportunities for citizens to server our great nation.

(8) The size of government can be shrunk significantly. Average Americans elected to office will hunt down the waste and fraud in our government. Returning certain rights to the States will also shrink the Federal government. Reduced spending and removing unnecessary government agencies could possibly reduce the size of our government by as much as 75%.

(9) Common sense will finally reign in Washington. Pork will only be used for making bacon. Waste and fraud are common in our government. Stupidity seems to be the order of the day. We need people in office with some good old-fashioned common sense. Never have I heard so much absurd talk from such educated people as I hear from our Congressmen and Congresswomen as of late. Finally, our government would get a clue.

(10) It will feel REALLY good to kick those guys out. What else can you say? Doing the right thing feels great and stopping the bad guys is as American as apple pie. I would like to be proud of my government for once.

435 seats in the House and 1/3rd of the Senate are up for election this year. This is historic. We can fundamentally transform America overnight. Wouldn't that be great? You wake up on the day after Election Day in November and have real HOPE. Real hope because the CHANGE we just made in our government is going to reap benefits for this generation and for generations to come.

Ah, fall. What a fantastic time for cleaning House (and Senate). Vote anti-incumbent this November. Elect people of character to Congress. Only then will we be able to trust our elected officials to vote as their constituency directs.

Good night, American. Dream of an America where we are governed in truth and honor.

-Doug Cochran

What This Is Really All About

For some time now, I have been disappointed that no one will really step up and just say what the REAL conflict in this country is over. The fact that Pres O and his band of 60's radicals are trying to turn our country into a socialist utopia is a symptom of the real conflict going on. Corruption in Washington, Congress ignoring the will of the people, the arrogance of elitists like Nancy Pelosi, almost daily revelations of scandals at all levels of government, political correctness gone to the extreme of suppression of free speech and the general assault on our American history and heritage are also just symptoms of the real conflict.

This is the biggest issue American's have to face up to. It is bigger than we are as a nation and even bigger than the international rancor about us. The issue reaches deep into the heart of who America is as a country and who her people claim to be. If this issue is not resolved correctly, we will lose a part of ourselves and a part of our heritage. The issue is critical to the survival of this nation as we know it.

Pundits seem to be reticent to put their finger on the issue. I have heard Glenn Beck mention it only in passing but never has he identified it as the main issue facing America. He, and others, seem to concentrate on the first symptom I brought up. Namely, Pres O and his cronies.

Our real conflict in this country is will we be one nation under God or not? Christianity versus Atheism, pure and simple. Are we a Christian country or not? Our Founding Fathers saw us as one. Only a Christian country can have true freedom of religion because in protecting the rights of others to practice their religion, Christians are free to worship as they choose. To quote George Washington from his Farewell Address, "Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government."

Religion and Morality are called "indispensible supports" of political prosperity. He also warnns that "reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." Religion and morality are inescapably linked. They must both be present for our system to work. Therefore, although not creating a state-run religion, our government should be advocating that all men find some form of religion to practice. Preferably one which teaches morality as Christianity does. Virtues like honesty and compassion need to be taught. Character traits of courage, kindness and generosity need to be encouraged. Basically what Christianity calls the "fruit of the spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23): love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Imagine teaching these values in our schools. Can you imagine what kind of generation we would raise?

In Christianity, these principles come from God. Not Allah or Buddah or Mao or Marx. The God of the Bible. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of Israel. The God that created everything in this world according to the Bible. The God of our Founding Fathers.

Most importantly, our Founding Fathers believed that our unalienable rights came from our Creator, the God of the Bible. These rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" were not granted by any government except that of the Most High God. America was founded as a Republic inheriting our rights from God's theocracy in Heaven. Just as God gives life to each soul through man, God gave birth to America through men. God created this country to be a beacon of freedom, opportunity, justice and morality to the world. True freedom reflective of the Christian's freedom in Christ. And what is the watchman of our morality? Religion. Without Religion, we will wander into the amoral, repressive wasteland of rule by men. Where God rules, there is justice. Where man rules without God, there is despotism.

You want moral, responsible, trustworthy men and women in Congress? Then vote for those candidates who are religious and who are dedicated to their religion and to the righteous teachings of that religion. Our Founding Fathers did not want a state-run religion but they fully intended for religion to influence government and to keep those governing us on track.

Ask the hard questions of the candidates. Will your faith and religious values influence your votes in the legislature? The answer better be a resounding "Yes".

Screw political correctness. All we get are wishy-washy candidates who will say whatever they think the voters want to hear. Vote for people who will vote their convictions.

Screw partisanship. Vote for those that do not put their party's platform ahead of the wishes of their constituents. We want people of character in Washington. Once elected, we want people in Congress who will shed their identity as a Republican or Democrat and work for the good of the American people.

Demand this of your candidates. Tell them outright that they may not count on your vote unless you can count on them. Make them convince you that they will sincerely serve their constituency and always tell you the truth. We too often assume too much of what candidates believe or will do. Make them commit in writing or in person to doing what is right.

And above all else, demand honesty and transpanency from your candidates.

Just to be safe, keep a recall petition handy in case your elected official betrays your trust. Gather all the signatures you need but leave the name blank. Send a copy to whoever is elected with a note saying that this petition is waiting for their name to be filled in and a recall to be filed if they should stray from what they have promised. Let them know that the American public will pull the plug on their political career in a heartbeat if we feel betrayed. Remind them that they are just borrowing our power for the moment. Ultimately, we the people, are in charge and hold all the power according to the Constitution.

More to come in keeping God in American government. Separation of church and state has only to do with a state-run church and that is not what I am advocating here. I am advocating that we make sure that we are governed by God-fearing people and the rest should take care of itself.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please comment and let me know what you think.

-Doug Cochran