FreedomWorks

Republican Senator John Cornyn boo'd at Austin Tea Party

ckinnan@freedomworks.org (Chris Kinnan) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:26:32 -0400

At yesterday’s Austin Tea Party at the state capitol, politicians who voted for TARP were not welcome. Witness the reception of Republican Senator (and RINO-endorser) John Cornyn. The message for politicians? People are watching your votes carefully, and if you vote for big government while trying to convince us that you are for limited government, the people will not buy it. Cornyn tried to criticize Washington, but the people in Austin were well aware that Cornyn had become part of the problem.

Pictures from the July 4th DC Tea Party

ckinnan@freedomworks.org (Chris Kinnan) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:16:29 -0400

I just walked over from Upper Senate Park to my office to upload the pictures from the DC Tea Party held today in Washington. There were probably a thousand people there, although I’m not great at estimating crowd sizes.

Below are some pictures from the event. People were fired up and ready to take on socialized medicine. The CNN crew that came to cover the event was not well received. Many were angry at CNN’s coverage of the tea parties, the Honduran situation and never-ending Michael Jackson coverage.

There were some great signs there, and a sea of “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadsen flags. Congrats to Patrick Beck and Lisa Miller for putting on an outstanding event!

UPDATE: CNN says 2000 people showed up today.

Happy Dependence Day

ckinnan@freedomworks.org (Chris Kinnan) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:43:09 -0400

Do you work for AIG or GM? For Citigroup or the Department of Education? If so, then I wish you happy Dependence Day. Same if you work at a company which uses lobbyists to steer federal earmarks your way…or if you are that lobbyist. And, not to sound cruel, but if you’re on welfare (especially if you could with a little effort get off it), or if you’re getting unemployment benefits or food stamps, then welcome to Dependence Day.

And if you voted for Barack Obama and Democratic congressional candidates and still are proud of your vote, most of all I welcome you to Dependence Day.

You are the antithesis of this nation’s founding, the antidote to liberty and free markets, the source of the smiley-faced fascism which creeps further into our lives daily while the politicians you voted for saddle us and our children and grandchildren with unsustainable debt and perpetual dependency on government largess and the politicians who dispense it – which is to say you support the theft of one person’s property to give to another person.

Yes, the US is still the greatest nation on earth, but that status is rapidly diminishing thanks to you, supporter of Democrats, bailouts, and stimulus programs.

While I will celebrate what independence I have left, I’ll always have in the back of my mind the destruction that you and yours are wreaking on our republic. You have a lot to answer for, and I trust that history – and my children and yours – will judge you no more kindly than I do.

You may think I sound angry and bitter. Well, I am. I’m angry at our politicians, particularly the Democrats who go along with the biggest tax increase in world history without reading it even though they know it’s wrong, being easily bought off by power-grubbing committee chairmen. I’m bitter with our media and the liberal elite who are so enamored of their second black president (at least we were all told that Bill Clinton was the first) that they let his ability to swat a fly trump his destruction of our children’s futures.

None of this is to say that the GOP of recent years was anything but disastrous. They certainly did great damage as well, not least by not standing up for capitalism. But a major difference in my view: Obama, Pelosi, and friends WANT to destroy the nation’s economy and our economic liberty. Bush, although he earned my enmity for “abandoning free market principles to save the free market” was at least a reluctant anti-capitalist unlike the joyful one we now have in the White House.

You may think I sound angry and bitter. But when it comes to how I really feel about Barack Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress, I haven’t come close to saying how strongly I truly feel. Let me put it in a few simple words: Obama and Congressional Democrats are intentionally destroying all that makes America great.

By the way, if you’ve forgotten due to your public school education (in the last 20 years) or your watching of any of the major old-line networks’ “news” broadcasts or your reading the NY Times, here is a large part of what America means – in a one-page document: The Declaration of Independence

And in case reading that one page is too much of a distraction from playing with your Wii, or in case standing up for your liberty is just too damn inconvenient when the government will give us “everything for everyone” for free (as seen on a banner at the Democratic National Convention), let me remind you of the price of freedom which has allowed Americans to become lethargic and apathetic: “Our Sacred Honor”

And if somehow, Mr. Liberal, you don’t need to go somewhere in your Prius, you could learn a lot about the philosophy behind the founding of this nation. It’s a philosophy you don’t understand, but I hold out hope that you may be capable of learning. And for my libertarian and conservative friends, this article is a great reminder of what we’re fighting for: “Independence Forever”

Unions and Free Market Activists Find Common Cause on Health Care, For Now

ckinnan@freedomworks.org (Chris Kinnan) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:21:49 -0400

President Obama has stepped up his rhetoric against the health care system, but fiscal deficiencies in his plan for a government take over have become increasingly apparent in recent weeks. Now, some on Capitol Hill are toying with the idea of taxing employee health benefits to subsidize the cost of government-provided care. But, as Americans learned during the collapse of GM, many union labor agreements provide extremely generous benefit packages to workers who are unlikely to support any proposal that might put their compensation at risk.

To voice that growing concern, 30 different groups, from the Air Line Pilots Association to the United Transportation Union, have signed an open letter urging Congress to consider alternative sources of funding. Unfortunately for President Obama, they seem to make a case for keeping or expanding the current employer tax exemption rather than reducing or eliminating it.

An excerpt:

The President campaigned against eliminating the tax exclusion of health care benefits and the public overwhelmingly agreed with his position. It’s obvious the American people want health care costs lowered, not increased. They expect the Congress to make coverage more affordable, not less. Any result to the contrary may undermine their support for the program.

Other vocally disaffected groups, including the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), have negotiated a temporary cease fire with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, but this issue may yet be the silver bullet that brings down President Obama’s socialized medicine scheme. Without the support of unions, it is unlikely that many in Congress will be comfortable raiding employee benefits, and without raiding employee benefits it is unlikely they can find the necessary funding for such a massive new entitlement.

However, though opponents of socialized medicine and union leaders agree on the need to preserve or expand employer tax exemptions, that probably will not remain the case. A grand bargain could still be struck between Congress and Big Labor to leave union benefits intact and just punish workers who lack the lobbying clout to defend themselves. Ironically, if that happens and union membership becomes the only way to protect health coverage, it may prove to be an even more effective recruiting tool than card check.

Fight For Property Rights Advances: New York Appeals Court Accepts Atlantic Yards Case

ckinnan@freedomworks.org (Chris Kinnan) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:59:33 -0400

Some residents of Brooklyn felt like Padme in this scene of Star Wars Episode III this past May when four New York appellate judges, according to the New York Daily News, unanimously:

“ruled that Forest City Ratner’s use of eminent domain to take private property to build a new home for the Nets does not violate the state Constitution.”

Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards real estate proposal is described by The New York Times as a

“giant development planned for 22 acres near Brooklyn’s downtown that will include 8 million square feet of apartments, offices, stores and an arena for the New Jersey Nets.”

A New York post analysis found that this enormous real estate proposal

“is boosted by so many sweetheart deals that the public stands to pay for more than half the cost of his controversial $4 billion plan…”

Furthermore, The New York Observer noted in February of 2008 that:

“Forest City Ratner paid former U.S. Senator Al D’Amato’s lobbying firm $400,000 in 2006 and 2007 to lobby federal legislators regarding eminent domain and other issues important to the developer of the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project in downtown Brooklyn.”

Apparently, Ratner is unhappy that the area he intends to develop is already inhabited by families who do not wish to sell their homes and other properties. Determined, Ratner considers this a surmountable obstacle.

Opposition to the plan has been primarily organized by Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB). DDDB is a 501(c)(3) organization devoted to protecting the property rights of the owners of the businesses and homes targeted by Ratner.

Following the unanimous decision by the court that Ratner’s eminent domain maneuver does not violate state law, he stated

“this is really the last hurdle that we have and now we can do what our company does best and build an arena and houses.”

Ratner was mistaken. This past Monday, according to The New York Times, the New York Court of Appeals announced that it

“has agreed to hear a case challenging the state’s use of eminent domain on behalf of the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn.”

In response, Matthew Brinckerhoff, representing the appellants, declared:

“We are gratified that the State’s High Court will hear this important case about whether our State’s Constitution protects the homes of its citizens from the wrecking ball of greed wielded by influential developers and the public officials who do their bidding.”

The two cornerstones that form the legal foundation for capitalism are the enforcement of contracts and the protection of private property. When either of these fundamental principles is violated the integrity of the free market system is compromised. No doubt, the New York Court of Appeals must rule according to the New York State Constitution and any applicable laws.

But the moral issue at stake is whether the government should be able to forcibly confiscate private homes and businesses from owners who do not wish to sell and then transfer their properties to a new owner.

If the government fails to protect private property when it is politically inconvenient, then it is not a protected right but an inclination occasionally preferred. If the New York Court of Appeals rules in favor of Bruce Ratner, then New Yorkers should lobby to change the law.

Protest planned outside Wexler's Boca Raton office

ckinnan@freedomworks.org (Chris Kinnan) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:28:50 -0400

Demonstrators who oppose universal health care and the government-option in health-care reform plan to protest outside U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler’s office in Boca Raton on Thursday.

The protest is organized by FreedomWorks, a conservative political organization founded by former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey. On its website, the group says it wants “lower taxes, less governement and more freedom.” Demonstrators will gather 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. outside Wexler’s office on Military Trail. They will ask the Boca Raton Democrat to oppose a “single-payer, government–run health care system.”

On Wexler’s congressional website, he outlines his support for universal health coverage and a government option.

“I strongly believe that a public option must be included in the larger reform package as it is the most effective way to ensure competition within the private health insurance market and provide access to the 47 million Americans without health care.”

FreedomWorks is staging similar events at offices of congressional members throughout the state.

Tea party sequel planned for Easton's Centre Square

ckinnan@freedomworks.org (Chris Kinnan) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:20:13 -0400

Political junkies now have their own summer sequel to ponder: Tea Parties 2, Independence Day.

Local conservative and libertarian political activists, who threw ”tea party” protests on April 15, will rally again Friday in Easton as part of hundreds of demonstrations across the nation this weekend.

While their numbers are smaller this time around, their target is again big government, in particular President Barack Obama’s cap and trade energy proposal and plan to overhaul health care.

Kim Schmidtner, one of the group’s leading local organizers, said she thinks more people are beginning to embrace the concerns her group raised more than two months ago.

”A lot of the language in Washington and some of the polls are showing more and more Americans are becoming concerned about the spending and the deficit,” said Schmidtner, of Lower Saucon Township.

The goal of Friday’s protest — to be held 7 p.m. in Easton’s Centre Square — is to remind politicians of that, she said.

How much political weight do the tea party activists wield? That remains to be seen, said political experts.

They evoke supporters of past third-party candidates such as John Anderson and H. Ross Perot, said G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College.

”It’s kind of an outlet for people who in the past might have congealed around a third party, and it’s not there,” Madonna said. ”There is no Ross Perot on the scene. You get the sense that its roots kind of lie in the Perot discontent.”

While Perot ultimately failed, his focus on federal deficits forced Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican President George H.W. Bush to address the issue in the 1992 campaign, he said.

As it looks to revive the party after a rough 2008, the GOP should heed the tea party protestors, said Harrisburg Republican consultant Charlie Gerow.

”I think these tea parties are a significant political movement, and anybody who fails to pay attention to them does so at their own political risk,” Gerow said.

Less sophisticated than Obama’s Organizing for America volunteer group, the networks the tea party protestors are building could be help the party in 2010 and 2012 elections, he said.

”It’s a movement that percolates underneath the radar screen,” Gerow said.

Nationally, the organizations promoting the events are a hodgepodge, ranging from Freedom Works, an advocacy group headed by former GOP House Majority Whip Dick Armey, to the Christian conservative American Family Association.

Local activists affiliate with a variety of efforts, from radio talker Glenn Beck’s ”9/12 Project” to local taxpayers associations.

Lehigh County Democratic Party Chairman Rich Daugherty said he appreciates the tea party protesters’ right to express their opinions and their focus on containing costs.

But he said some government programs are helpful. Some provide important protection to the environment, or regulate financial markets. Medicare, for example, makes it possible for senior citizens to afford medical care, he said.

”I think [the tea party protesters] tilt it in the other direction so far that it doesn’t make sense any more,” Daugherty said. ”In terms of socialism, I don’t see Obama doing anything in that realm.”

Schmidtner said she has an e-mail list of about 900 people and growing, and expects about 100 people at the Friday rally in Easton. The group has set up a page on the Meetup Web site and has a Facebook page with 44 members.

Members are involved in a variety of efforts, including researching politicians’ records.That doesn’t mean the group will be recommending its members get behind a particular politician.

”I don’t know if support is the right word, but we are trying to find them and give them an individual rating,” Schmidtner said. ”…one thing we are encouraging our members to do, if they feel so compelled to step up, is to run for office.”

It's that TEA time again

ckinnan@freedomworks.org (Chris Kinnan) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:59:16 -0400

Isn’t it funny how a string of good old fashioned, car-burning riots in the middle east has become a trendy global cause celebre for freedom, while peaceful protests against government waste and exorbitant taxes in America were dubbed “unhealthy” by the president’s top adviser and “racist” by some in the media?

In any event, somebody better warn Janeane Garofalo, because the TEA partiers have planned a sequel to their infamous tax day rallies. This time they chose Independence Day, and at websites like www.reteaparty.com and www.teapartypatriots.org, there are hundreds of July 4th protests advertised with more being added every day. For an interactive display of the planned party locations, FreedomWorks has brought back its popular map with the most comprehensive and helpful listing of all.

A number of the events are planned in the D.C. metro area, but those eager to maintain a non-partisan image should get ready for Republican politicians to try to highjack the TEA party image as a shortcut to populist credibility. Those inclined to credulity should remember that just because someone speaks at a rally and claims to be for individual liberty and small government does not mean they vote that way when the time comes.

But there are some who stand by their principles. On September 12th, FreedomWorks will be hosting a taxpayer protest featuring leaders from both sides of the aisle who have demonstrated a commitment to fiscal discipline and personal responsibility. More on that march later, but for those who choose to attend TEA parties over the 4th of July weekend, just remember that while America’s government spending may be out of control and its leaders shockingly arrogant, America is not yet Iran. It is up to you to make sure she never is.

Outcry Over Ballpark is Loud, Upset, Yet Resigned

ckinnan@freedomworks.org (Chris Kinnan) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:54:34 -0400

Nobody is happy that the city will have to pay an extra $15.7 million to finish the baseball stadium downtown, but cries of dismay yesterday were mixed with calls for stadium construction to continue.

The Winston-Salem City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday to discuss and possibly take action on a deal to finish the stadium.

“I’m still struggling with it,” said Council Member Robert Clark, who represents the city’s West ward. “It is very complicated, and there is no win-win answer. Every answer has terrible consequences.”

The choice is to go forward with the deal or have “a half-built stadium that sits there forever,” Clark said. “It has no market value. Nobody would buy it.”

Billy Prim, the owner of the Winston-Salem Dash, the city’s single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, said Thursday that the collapse of his business partnership with Andrew “Flip” Filipowski and the global credit crunch has made it impossible for him to borrow enough money to go forward with stadium construction without the city’s help. The total cost of the stadium, which was initially expected to cost $22.6 million, is now estimated at $40.7 million.

The city has already given Prim $12 million to help build the stadium. Under the new deal, the city would take out a $12.7 million loan from BB&T and then turn the money over to Prim and the stadium developers. Prim’s stadium-development company would pay the city’s loan payments — principle and interest — over the next 25 years.

The city would also give the development company another $2 million from a federal grant. The city would give the money back to itself if the grant comes through. And the city would also finance the purchase of land for the second phase of the project, which would be a multi-use development with retail and office spaces. The company would pay the city $980,361 for that land over 5 years.

Under the proposed deal, the city would take ownership of the stadium in 25 years.

More than a hundred people — most of them angry about the deal — vented their feelings yesterday at JournalNow.com, the Web site of the Winston-Salem Journal.

While most of those who commented were against the deal, about 79 percent of the respondents to the site’s unscientific opinion poll were in favor of the city’s action.

Around town, people were talking about the deal.

Many were critical of the city’s leadership for getting into such a bind, but others questioned how else the stadium would get finished.

“It is really embarrassing in a city that wants to attract business and development to have a stadium sit empty for year,” said Heriberto Martinez, who lives in Ardmore.

“I guess the only other option is to cut your losses, let it die and bulldoze the site.”

Some residents said they didn’t like that the city has to be more involved in the deal, but others said that a new stadium would be good for the city when it is finished.

“It’s a little silly not to continue,” said Claudia Turner. But Turner said it may be hard for people to enjoy the stadium once it is finished because the project “has such a negative connotation.”

Ray Quesnel of Pfafftown said he was disappointed about the extra costs, but predicted the stadium would be a success.

“As soon as the stadium opens, people will flood the area,” he said.

The city has no choice but to move forward with the stadium for the good of the community, said Gayle Anderson, the president and chief executive officer of the Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.

“We can’t afford to have a half-finished stadium sitting there and what it would say about this community and what it thinks about itself,” she said. “You can’t change the past and you can’t change the economy. We need to move forward and get some games played there.”

But Anderson said that the chamber is not going to mount a campaign to support the stadium deal. She said she will be talking with the chamber’s volunteer leadership, but that it would be up to individual members to make up their minds.

Anderson said she’s not surprised that Prim had trouble finding money in the private sector to finish the stadium.

“Certainly I have talked with business leaders, some of whom are people who might have considered investing, who said to me that their own personal portfolios are down considerably and that they have no funds to invest in anything right now,” Anderson said.

Prim’s getting a deal that most business people couldn’t get, said Joyce Krawiec of Kernersville. Krawiec is the North Carolina grassroots coordinator for Freedom Works, a group that works for lower taxes and smaller government.

“The small business owners of Winston-Salem are footing the bill for these guys,” Krawiec said. “If you are going to bail out one, when do you stop? Why do our elected officials pick and choose winners and losers in the business industry? It’s totally unfair.”

And the council shouldn’t handle the matter on such short notice, she added.

Forsyth County Commissioner Walter Marshall said that people he’s talked to are upset but see no way out for the city.

“I don’t know what else we can do,” Marshall said. “You can’t just let it sit there. Some people think (the deal) was bad, and some people are saying what options do you have left. Nobody likes it.”

The county has no money tied up in the stadium, but has promised tax incentives worth $12.5 million over 25 years for a second phase of stadium-area development that would include offices, stores and housing. No timeline has been set for that part of the project.

Forsyth Commissioner Debra Conrad, part of a 4-3 commission majority that approved the county’s involvement in the project’s second phase, said she is glad the county did not get involved in the stadium part of the deal.

“I don’t want the citizens to jump all over Billy Prim because Filipowski is the problem here and Billy is doing the best he can,” Conrad said. “I certainly don’t want to see the project fail. I don’t envy the mayor and city council having to make the decision during a recession. I don’t know how much more the public can take.”

Nathan Tabor, the chairman of the Forsyth County Republican Party, said that the city is giving stadium owners “a blank check.”

“They’re not even putting in any type of what I would consider stoppers, guarantees that a standard bank would put into any other deal,” Tabor said. “You make a bad investment, you pay for it. You don’t get bailed out. And this is a bad investment.”

Philip Mahan of Lexington said he grew up in Daytona Beach, Fla., and remembers how the local baseball team created a sense of community.

“”I think they should finish it,” he said. “However, I’m not happy about public funds going to a private industry.”

City Council Member Nelson Malloy said he supported the stadium in the beginning because of its potential to spur economic development. Now, he’s not sure how he will vote. “I haven’t changed my mind that much, but I will have to wait until Monday to see which way I am going with it,” he said.

Tea Party Group Co-Opts Communist Symbol

ckinnan@freedomworks.org (Chris Kinnan) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:42:32 -0400

FreedomWorks, the conservative organization that had a big hand in the Tea Party rallies this past April, is gearing up for a new “Taxpayer March On Washington” for September 12 — with a very interesting logo.

The intriguing thing here, as Ron Gunzburger pointed out, is that the logo makes use of left-handed fists, colored in red — a traditional symbol all around the world for communism and militant socialism.

In an interview with TPM, FreedomWorks press secretary Adam Brandon said the group is aware of this symbol’s traditional meaning. “Well, when you start working here at FreedomWorks, the first book you read is Saul Alinsky’s Rules For Radicals. We’re avid students of the political left,” he said. “I’ve spent years living in Eastern Europe. I’m aware of of it, but I guess the symbolism we’re going for is angry taxpayers as a group. So I guess the symbolism is kind of fun.”

If anything, the Tea Parties and similar events are efforts to tap into the energy of the left. “I’ve gone to a number of left rallies, and they tend to be fun,” said Brandon. “People go out protesting, and spend some time with some like-minded folks, and we’re looking to do that on our side.”