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A REAL Town Hall on Health Care

August 6, 2009 By 5 Comments

If you are taking part in the ”astroturf” protest at Harry Mitchell’s office on Saturday, here is an event to follow-up with, get out of the heat and have some iced tea! 

 Shadegg Hosts Health Care Town

Please join me for a Health Care Town Hall on Saturday, August 8, 2009.

National health care reform has prompted intense debates in the U.S. Congress as well as at  many kitchen tables around the country.  As we continue to discuss the future of health care in America, I encourage everyone to voice their thoughts on the legislation under consideration.

I would like to hear your recommendations on how we can improve health care in America.  Your input will play a vital role as I consider each and every provision in this legislation.

Please share this invitation widely with family, friends, and anyone who may be interested in attending my Health Care Town Hall on Saturday.  I would be honored if you would join me.

Date:                Saturday, August 8, 2009

Time:                11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Location:          Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center
                       4330 N. 62nd St.
                       Scottsdale, AZ 85251
The event will be held in the cafeteria

If you have any questions, or if you require special assistance, please contact my staff at (602) 263-5300 so that proper accommodations can be made. 

I look forward to seeing you on August 8.

 

 

Filed Under: Constitutional Law, Federal Budget, Freedom of Speech, Health Care

DNC’s New Strategy for Town Halls?

August 6, 2009 By 2 Comments
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There must be a new memo from the DNC floating around urging Democrat members of Congress to avoid “the angry mobs” when they return home to their districts.

We see this in the video below in which CD-8 Democrat, Gabrielle Giffords decided to hold her Douglas town hall by lining up members and meeting them one-on-one. How excruciating.

CD-7 Raul Grijalva is also getting hammered by constituents asking when he will be holding a town hall. It appears that he won’t be anytime soon.

I haven’t seen anything on Harry Mitchell’s website announcing an upcoming town hall. That’s all right. The citizens will be taking their grievances to his office this Saturday (They’ll do the same in Tucson with Giffords.)

In Arkansas, Congressmen Mike Ross and Vic Snyder conducted a town hall in a children’s hospital. They must have thought they could use sick little children as a human shield against angry citizens. Those in attendance were still mad as hell. 

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So the new strategy by the DNC is avoid “those angry mobs” at all costs, hide in your bunkers and hope “the storm” passes quickly. Citizen activists are now viewed as uneducated, informed peasants with torches and pitchforks. Conservative community organizers like myself are cast as agitators because our politics are correct.

If this continues and citizen activists are ignored or even worse, insulted or labeled, it’s gonna get ugly. And it doesn’t matter which party is in power. The people won’t be ignored.

Filed Under: Freedom of Speech

The Town Hall That Wasn’t

August 6, 2009 By 17 Comments

Thanks to Gila Courier  for this gem of a video clip on the recent Gabrielle Giffords Town Hall in Douglas.

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Meanwhile, in the other adjacent congressional district (CD-7), the modus operandi for citizen interaction has subtly changed for liberal Democratic Congressman Raul Grijalva. According to Ted at 3R, Grijalva “prefers to show up at other community events and keep in touch with constituents that way instead of the traditional “town hall” meeting that has become the fashion among congressmen over the last couple of decades.”

Apparently, Grijalva’s office has been receiving requests for the town halls from constituents who want a little citizen participation and input into how Washington DC is being run these days:

But, that hasn’t been enough for the flood of ticked off and sometimes profane callers to Grijalva’s office this week who are angry that Grijalva isn’t holding a town hall meeting on a schedule to their liking. Apparently, it is Grijalva’s job to put on a town hall, so that these guys can show up, jeer, yell and otherwise make it impossible for anyone who shows up hoping to talk to their congressman to do so. Yep, they are angry that he isn’t putting on an event so that they can come and shut it down.

Did I mention that Ted’s post is entitled, “But, You Are Supposed to Give Us a Forum to Act Like Meatheads?”

 

 

 

Filed Under: Freedom of Speech, Health Care, Special Event

Maricopa County GOP chairman Rob Haney responds to Rep. McComish on opposing sanctuary city ban

August 6, 2009 By

Dear Representative McComish,

I was elected as MCRC Chairman by conservative precinct committeemen who wanted someone to speak out clearly within the party to represent their opinions. These PCs believed they were being ignored by most of Arizona’s congressional delegation who were advocating for amnesty and other liberal agenda items, such as closing gun shows and Campaign Finance Reform. They also believed that too many Republican state legislators sided with former Governor Napolitano to pass Democrat budgets and legislation and were not representing the conservative beliefs of the PCs.

Your comments in defense of those Republicans who opposed Sen. Pearce’s bill to end sanctuary cities have been addressed previously by Sen. Pearce here.

Your position on my job responsibilities echos the comment of Senator Kyl after the defeat of the amnesty bill he championed. The bill was defeated through the leadership of party officials and Republican activists who publicly opposed the bill. I was proud to be one of those officials. Senator Kyl stated that the party had exceeded its role. He further stated that the party exists to get Republicans elected, not declare positions on issues. Sen. Kyl’s position is a common misconception by many party incumbents.

I disagree with both of you. The party does exist to elect Republicans, raise money, provide volunteers & resources, etc. But the party must first be guided by our Constitution and the party platform, otherwise our existence is unjustified. Too many Republican officials have supported incumbents who have shown themselves to be unworthy of the Republican name. This has led to disastrous election results in 2006 and 2008. I cite Senator Specter and “Jumpin” Jim Jeffords as only two examples of many.

Republican activists and party leaders must oppose legislation which is unconstitutional, and support legislation which is critical to the very survival of our party and country. Certainly, the Democrats will not. They are advocating for the same legislation as these wayward Republicans. Only party activists prevented passage of the amnesty bill. Only party activists gave us Prop 200 over the objections of our entire congressional delegation. Only party activists gave us employer sanctions over the objections from members of our state and federal delegation. Only party activists stopped the attempt to close the gun shows, and fought against the loss of Constitutionally guaranteed free speech which occurred because of the Campaign Finance Reform bill. This egregious bill was introduced by a Republican Senator, passed by a Republican congress and signed by a Republican president. There are many more examples of party officials and activists finding it necessary to speak out against Republicans who stray from Constitutional and platform principles. Here is a famous party official you will recognize. Tom DeLay: “John McCain has done the most to hurt the GOP”

I would not meet my responsibility as a party leader if I were to ignore the Constitution and platform for the benefit of someone with an “R” after their name who fails to advance a Republican agenda. I will continue to give voice to Republican activists who feel their elected officials have let them down and no longer represent them.

I will not offer an apology where none is warranted, and certainly I will not resign as you request. Instead, I would urge you and others who did not support Sen. Pearce’s bill to realize that the illegal alien invasion has a massive detrimental effect on a myriad of issues. To grant wholesale citizenship to those who would swell the ranks of the Democrat party is political suicide. I urge you to make anti-sanctuary legislation a top priority next session.

Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio, County Attorney Thomas and all the law enforcement agencies which are on record as supporting Sen. Pearce’s bill deserve nothing less than our commitment to achieve these objectives.

You state that you believe the “County Party has some rules regarding endorsements that require 60% approval of the EGC.” You also believe that as a result of these rules, I should obtain 60% approval before I publicly take sides in a policy dispute.

The bylaw to which you refer requires a 60% approval by the EGC members in order for the EGC to endorse a candidate in a primary election. There is no bylaw which restricts the Chairman’s freedom of political speech. In any case, I was representing my own beliefs and not those of the EGC.

A third point you make is that as county party leader I have voluntarily placed restrictions on my free speech. Again, I must disagree. It is wholly inconsistent to believe that I have less freedom to speak after my election than I had before my election. I am confident that our Founders drafted their First Amendment, contemplating that this freedom of speech protection would apply to all citizens, including Republican Party Officials.

My hope is that in the coming session, Republican State legislators will back strong anti-illegal immigration legislation so that party officials will not feel compelled to speak out in opposition. I believe that you can play a positive role in advancing that legislation as we move forward– focused on passing laws in support of the Constitution and the Republican Platform.

Respectfully,

Rob Haney

Filed Under: Illegal Aliens, Illegal Immigration, Legislation

Community Organizers Unite!

August 6, 2009 By 7 Comments

Americans for Prosperity - Arizona

The following email has been issued by the Arizona Chapter of Americans for Prosperity

To Arizona Taxpayers and Tea Partiers:

The Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity is joining allied organizations on Saturday, August 8th to hold protests at the offices of members of Arizona’s Congressional delegation to tell them to keep their HANDS OFF OUR HEALTH CARE!

AFP Arizona activists will join Arizona Tea Party, 9-12 Project Arizona, Smart Girl Politics, Tea Party Patriots, and thousands of citizen activists in Code Blue protests around the state, beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 8th.

Code Blue is asking activists to attend protests at the offices of their Congresspersons and Senators and at the office of the AARP. For locations, see the Code Blue flyer.

AFP Arizona recommends that activists focus their efforts on the offices of U.S. Reps. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Pima County), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Prescott/Flagstaff) and Harry Mitchell (D-Scottsdale/Tempe). Those three members have serious concerns about the initial versions of the Obama-Pelosi-Kennedy “reform” plans.

The current plans would result in massive new taxes, failure to control costs, and potentially a single-payer, Canadian-style system of government-directed health care (under which Washington bureaucrats would decide which doctors you can go to, and which medical procedures you can and can’t have).

Giffords, Kirkpatrick, and Mitchell are under intense pressure from President Obama, from their hard-left colleagues in Congress, and from radical activist groups that want to destroy what remains of America’s private health insurance system. We need to make sure that Giffords, Kirkpatrick and Mitchell hear loud and clear from grassroots supporters of health care freedom!

To sign up for a Health Care Tea Party, please take the following five steps:

1) Decide which Congressional office you wish to visit on August 8th. The offices are listed on the Code Blue flyer.

2) Reply to this email (or write to tjenney@afphq.org) to let AFP Arizona know which office you plan to visit.

3) Let your local Tea Party organizer know which office you’re going to, by signing up at www.arizonateaparty.com.

4) Get talking points, policy updates, and ideas for signs at: http://joinpatientsfirst.com/

5) Email and call your friends and family members, and urge them to join us on August 8th.

This is the fight of the decade for American liberty. Now is the time to take a stand.

President Obama and the leftists in Congress wanted to hurry up and complete the national government’s takeover of American health care–before the public got a chance to find out what was in the legislation. We are grateful to report that the legislation does not look like it will go to a final vote until after the August recess. That means we have a very limited window to act.

The same people who have taken over private banks and much of the auto industry now want to take over even more of the health care sector. The same people who make you wait in line at the Post Office want to create a system in which you will have to wait weeks, months, or even years for life-saving or life-improving medical services. The same kind of people who run America’s very expensive and very ineffective public schools claim that they will (somehow) maintain quality and control costs in the health care sector.

Some of the central planners in Washington want to give government the power to say which doctors you can go to, and which medical procedures you can and can’t have. President Obama is not sure whether the government should have allowed his own grandmother to get a hip replacement. Imagine how Washington bureaucrats will treat YOU!

We must take a stand NOW to protect elderly patients, to maintain the high quality of health services in America, and to preserve the essential doctor-patient relationship. Government has already distorted US health insurance markets by making private health insurance too expensive for many Americans, and by making American workers dependent upon on employer-provided insurance. But if you think things are bad now, wait until government completes its takeover of the medical sector. We must STOP the rapid march of socialist health care! 

For Liberty,  

–Tom 

Tom Jenney
Arizona Director
Americans for Prosperity

Filed Under: Freedom of Speech, Health Care, Press Release, Special Event

Maricopa County Supervisors implement even MORE diversity efforts

August 6, 2009 By 3 Comments


Just three months after instructing county agencies in a memo sent June 1 to step up their efforts promoting diversity, the Board of Supervisors now feels the need to step up efforts even more. According to this article in the Republic, the reason for the new push is because of a complaint the county received about discrimination. The complaint came from an Hispanic activist organization, Valle del Sol, regarding questions it received while discussing a proposal for housing for the elderly at a Community Development Advisory Committee meeting. The committee is composed of volunteers. Examples of the “offensive” questions provided by the Republic were, “”Are all the officers in your organization Latino?” and “This (program) is ‘gonna be just for Hispanic?’”

Do these questions seem discriminatory or something that would require the county during this budget crisis to implement even more diversity training? Of course not. Sounds like the commission members were curious to learn about Valle del Sol, and probably also concerned that preferring one ethnic group over another is wrong – the AZ Civil Rights Initiative to ban government race and gender preferences will be on the ballot in 2010 and is expected to pass easily.

Yet the liberal County Supervisors have decided that asking those questions now requires implementing diversity training for Maricopa County’s 31 boards and commissions. When is enough enough? We are in the middle of a budget crisis and the Supervisors just want to ram diversity down everyone’s throat due to a radical organization that decided to be offended by perfectly normal questions?

Fortunately, not everyone bought into the bizarre accusations of discrimination. “My honest opinion is there wasn’t anything out of line,” said then-committee Chairman Richard Painchaud, who added that he would not attend diversity training if offered. “That would be a direct insult to the rest of us. We’re trying to do a decent job.”

The Maricopa County Supervisors should not be setting up a re-education camp with our tax dollars. It sends a clear message to citizens who want to be active in county government via boards and commissions: toe the politically correct, liberal line, or you will be made an example of publicly and subject to humiliating re-education classes. Whatever you do, don’t offend any of these loony left ethnic interest groups, or the powers that be – which include liberal Republicans on the Board of Supervisors – will come down on you like a ton of bricks.

Filed Under: Uncategorized