Porky Pete must go!!! Thus saith One Nerve Left

The following linked article is excerpted from a post on One Nerve Left!

I do not always agree with this blogger and I have not yet officially endorsed a candidate for Indiana District One (and when I do the initials will not be RP) but the information in the post underlines why we need to work hard to root out Porky Pete!

I think the responsible thing for me to do here is to mention that District One candidates Mark Leyva and Eric L Olson are the leaders in the horse race to be the anti-Visclosky in this year's race as we round the turn to the final stretch.  Peter Lindemulder III and Rob Pastore are dark horse candidates.   The letter writer prefers Pastore and I leave that part in because, hey, the guy has something to say let him say it all, right?

Also, the work of people like Lake County GOP chairwoman Kim Krull was not mentioned.  Kim has been a reform-minded leader intent upon undoing much of the Cantrell damage.  Len Reynolds, the Lake County Right-To-Life Chairman is also an important player in Lake County politics, a good man who is working for a great cause and is also trying to work to clean up the mess that was Lake County GOP. 

With no further ado...

A Letter to the People, Lake County Indiana, Corruption, Pay-to-Play, Pete Visclosky

Below is a letter written by Christopher Mullins which addresses the corrupt state of Lake County, Indiana.  Please link, copy, paste, send to friends, enemies or whatever.  We have very little time to get honest representatives elected in the May primary.

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Christopher Mullins, and I have been active in conservative and pro-taxpayer causes, off and on, since 2000. Over the past ten years, I grew to admire the resiliency of the American public, their ability to stand up for what is right, to never countenance hatred against family values and our cultural heritage, and to glower over those politicians who hold little or no regard for ethical conduct.

I must then appeal to you, as a citizen who is greatly concerned with the direction our beloved country is going, to your belief in holding politicians liable for their machinations and their specious belief systems. As such, I must request you please take a deeper look at the unprecedented corruption, as well as the unsung political reform movement currently taking place here in Lake County, Indiana.

Much can be said of the staggering levels of corruption and graft, which has turned Lake County into a verifiable ‘Tammany Hall’ style syndicate, consequently enabling 80 years of Democratic rule in Indiana’s First Congressional District. For even the late Attorney General Robert Kennedy had remarked that Lake County was one of the nation’s most corrupt counties. U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Merrillville), 26-year incumbent for Indiana-District 1, has the reprehensible distinction of being named one of the 15 most corrupt Congressmen, by the independent watchdog firm Citizens For Responsibility And Ethics In Washington (CREW). For example, Rep. Visclosky’s ties to the troubled, now-defunct lobbying firm PMA Group run deep, having secured more than $23 million in earmarks for PMA Group clients in 2008 (with $117 million total in earmarks for 67 projects), and another $10 million in 2009. Moreover, Visclosky has given other lobbying firms, such as K&L Gates, a similar “swift path to earmarks”. Given all of this, I weep for the people of Northwest Indiana; for Rep. Visclosky has only directed 3% of his earmarks to local businesses and nonprofit entities, depriving his own constituents of sorely needed financial resources.

Municipal governments in the region have also been subjected to such incredible graft. Robert Pastrick, the former mayor of East Chicago for 33 years, along with six shell corporations and two of his allies, was ordered to repay the city $108 million in their 1999 “sidewalks for votes” scheme. In rendering this verdict, District Judge James Moody declared Pastrick-run East Chicago a “corrupt enterprise”, which was the first time any federal judge has used such terminology to describe a city government. Furthermore, Pastrick’s successor, George Pabey, was indicted last month on embezzling city funds for remodeling one of his residences. Last but not least, 38 of 53 officials in East Chicago had been convicted of vote fraud in the 2003 mayoral Primary. Unfortunately, similar occurrences of gross corruption have also occurred in Hammond, Gary and Merrillville.

But what is not usually known, is the extent to which such large-scale corruption had permeated into the Lake County Republican Party. The Lake County Democratic Central Committee (LCDCC) had conducted a progressively ruinous campaign to ensure political control of the region, by paying off a handful of Republican officials, and/or respective relatives and business associates. The LCDCC seemed to conduct these efforts simply to sabotage honest, genuinely conservative Republican candidates. In other words, this small yet highly influential (i.e., LCDCC-connected) cadre of Republicans would routinely favor “patsy” candidates in a given Primary election, so that the Democrats could cruise to easy victories in the General election. 

A pointed example of this is former East Chicago Republican chair Bob Cantrell, who was sentenced to 78 months of jail in 2008, for 11 counts of ‘defrauding the public of honest services while working for a public entity’, “insurance fraud using the U.S. Mail”, and filing false tax returns. Cantrell has long been noted as a Democratic plant, claiming ties to the GOP while pulling the rug out from under honest Republican candidates in their Primary elections. What is unfortunate, though, is that strains of this puppetry still rear their ugly head in 2010, with multiple “planted” candidates (i.e., those that have not made any effort of campaigning, who cannot articulate their platform) trying to siphon votes off of candidates of honorable repute.

In general, things are rapidly changing for the better, however, as the extent of the corruption in Lake County has reached critical mass. Over the past twenty years, a highly spirited group of reformers have worked diligently to clean up the corruptors and infiltrators that had turned the Lake County GOP into a token opposition. St. John GOP Chairman Joe Hero and Hammond GOP Chairman Rob Pastore have spent their entire public lives working to make local Primary elections free and fair, without the pernicious tentacles of the corrupt LCDCC getting in the way. Highland GOP Chairman Mario Martini and former Highland Chairman Cy Huerter also strived to support and mentor honest, genuinely conservative candidates, in spite of apparent risks to their reputations. And former U.S. Attorney Joseph VanBokkelen strove to pursue corrupt politicians in every nook and cranny of the region, conducting unprecedented investigations and prosecuting several landmark corruption cases.

Citizens should be able to seek redress from their representatives, without “pay for play”. Yet this is how “politics as usual” has always been in Lake County. I have written several Letters to the Editor and Guest Commentaries, as well as a few dossiers chronicling ethics violations and general corruption, and I try to keep up the faith that things might change here. Though I know that more and more work needs to be done, in order to get the public to realize that graft and avarice from their elected officials is not acceptable, it is becoming more difficult by the day.

Please, I beg of you; there are several pro-reform, pro-taxpayer, genuinely conservative candidates running for local offices in 2010, who desperately need your moral and financial support. In my best estimate, these fine folks have allied themselves with all that is ethical and just, and have never been associated with “pay for play” and other such nefarious schemes. Rob Pastore is an example of such a candidate, in that while he has never run for political office, he has served the people of Hammond and Northwest Indiana without resorting to corrupt practices and ethical lapses. Yet in spite of the lack of mainstream media coverage, Pastore’s (and others like them) consistent message of eliminating the “politics as usual” is starting to gain traction with hard-working people all across Northwest Indiana. For it is this new breed of Republicans, both having an unmitigated commitment to fiscal and social conservatism, and lacking the devilish taint of corruption that had served to poison their efforts here in the past, which will help turn this long-suffering region around.

Thank you for reading this letter, and may God bless you and your families. These candidates, such as Rob Pastore and Cy Huerter, need your support: If you have anything to give, please open your hearts and contribute all that you are able. The time is now; for if we cannot manage to elect such honest, fundamentally good people in the Primary on May 4^th, and subsequently in the General election, we may not have another opportunity to shatter the circle of corruption here for another 20-30 years.

Sincerely,

Christopher Mullins

Some Informative Contacts:

Northwest Indiana Patriots (Local Tea Party Group) – http://www.nwipatriots.com

~



You will hopefully use your time well leading up to the primary.  I hope you will vote in the primaries and that your vote is an informed one!

The St. John Republican Central Committee is hosting a Republican candidate MEET and GREET; Republican candidates running for Federal, State, County and Local races have been invited. All candidates for the United States 1st Congressional District have been invited to attend.

Date: Saturday, April 24, 2010

Time: 8am to 1pm

Location: 1515 W. Lincoln Highway (US 30), Schererville, IN 46375
Next to Paragon Restaurant on Route 30.

Fair Tax, Unfair Charges and Americans Speak Out!

Do you want to support a candidate for office this year that is a promoter or at least willing to be a supporter of the Fair Tax?  

Senate Race

Don Bates Jr http://www.donbatesjr.com/
Richard Behney http://www.richardbehney.com/
Marlin Stutzman http://www.gomarlin.com/

Congressional District races:

District 1
Mark Leyva http://www.markleyva.com/
Eric Olson
Rob Pastore http://www.robpastore4congress.com/
District 2
Jackie Walorski http://www.standwithjackie.com/
District 3
Congressman Mark Souder-Current Co-sponsor
http://www.souderforcongress.com/
District 4
Todd Rokita http://www.toddrokitaforcongress.com/
James T. Hass http://www.hassforcongress.com/Issues.html
Eric Wathen http://www.ericwathen.com/Brandt Hershman http://www.hershman4congress.com/

District 5
Congressman Dan Burton--Current Co-sponsor http://indianadan.com/
Mike Murphy - http://www.mikemurphycongress.com/
District 6
Congressman Mike Pence- Current Co-sponsor http://www.mikepence.com/
District 7
Carlos May http://www.carlosmayforcongress.com/
Dr. Marvin Scott http://www.marvinscott.org/
District 8
Larry Bucshon http://www.bucshonforcongress.com/
Kristi Risk http://kristiriskcongress.com/
John Lee Smith http://www.johnleesmith2010.com/FairTax.htm
Dan Stockton http://www.stocktonforcongress.com/
Steve Westell http://westellforcongress.com/
District 9
Fmr Congressman Mike Sodrel http://www.meetmikesodrel.com/
Todd Young http://toddyoungforcongress.com/

Are you a member of any Tea Party organizations?  You are being demonized by the administration. Are you a rich racist white guy over age 45?  This is what the Tea Party is to the Obama Administration.  But what is the Obama Administration to the average American?

WASHINGTON (AP) - America's "Great Compromiser" Henry Clay called government "the great trust," but most Americans today have little faith in Washington's ability to deal with the nation's problems.

Public confidence in government is at one of the lowest points in a half century, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center. Nearly 8 in 10 Americans say they don't trust the federal government and have little faith it can solve America's ills, the survey found.

The survey illustrates the ominous situation President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party face as they struggle to maintain their comfortable congressional majorities in this fall's elections. Midterm prospects are typically tough for the party in power. Add a toxic environment like this and lots of incumbent Democrats could be out of work.

The survey found that just 22 percent of those questioned say they can trust Washington almost always or most of the time and just 19 percent say they are basically content with it. Nearly half say the government negatively affects their daily lives, a sentiment that's grown over the past dozen years.

This anti-government feeling has driven the tea party movement, reflected in fierce protests this past week.

"The government's been lying to people for years. Politicians make promises to get elected, and when they get elected, they don't follow through," says Cindy Wanto, 57, a registered Democrat from Nemacolin, Pa., who joined several thousand for a rally in Washington on April 15 - the tax filing deadline. "There's too much government in my business. It was a problem before Obama, but he's certainly not helping fix it."

Majorities in the survey call Washington too big and too powerful, and say it's interfering too much in state and local matters. The public is split over whether the government should be responsible for dealing with critical problems or scaled back to reduce its power, presumably in favor of personal responsibility.

About half say they want a smaller government with fewer services, compared with roughly 40 percent who want a bigger government providing more. The public was evenly divided on those questions long before Obama was elected. Still, a majority supported the Obama administration exerting greater control over the economy during the recession.

"Trust in government rarely gets this low," said Andrew Kohut, director of the nonpartisan center that conducted the survey. "Some of it's backlash against Obama. But there are a lot of other things going on."

And, he added: "Politics has poisoned the well."

The survey found that Obama's policies were partly to blame for a rise in distrustful, anti-government views. In his first year in office, the president orchestrated a government takeover of Detroit automakers, secured a $787 billion stimulus package and pushed to overhaul the health care system.

But the poll also identified a combination of factors that contributed to the electorate's hostility: the recession that Obama inherited from President George W. Bush; a dispirited public; and anger with Congress and politicians of all political leanings.

"I want an honest government. This isn't an honest government. It hasn't been for some time," said self-described independent David Willms, 54, of Sarasota, Fla. He faulted the White House and Congress under both parties.

The poll was based on four surveys done from March 11 to April 11 on landline and cell phones. The largest survey, of 2,500 adults, has a margin of sampling error of 2.5 percentage points; the others, of about 1,000 adults each, has a margin of sampling error of 4 percentage points.
In the short term, the deepening distrust is politically troubling for Obama and Democrats. Analysts say out-of-power Republicans could well benefit from the bitterness toward Washington come November, even though voters blame them, too, for partisan gridlock that hinders progress.
In a democracy built on the notion that citizens have a voice and a right to exercise it, the long-term consequences could prove to be simply unhealthy - or truly debilitating. Distrust could lead people to refuse to vote or get involved in their own communities. Apathy could set in, or worse - violence.

Democrats and Republicans both accept responsibility and fault the other party for the electorate's lack of confidence.

"This should be a wake-up call. Both sides are guilty," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. She pointed to "nonsense" that goes on during campaigns that leads to "promises made but not promises kept." Still, she added: "Distrust of government is an all-American activity. It's something we do as Americans and there's nothing wrong with it."

Sen. Scott Brown, a Republican who won a long-held Democratic Senate seat in Massachusetts in January by seizing on public antagonism toward Washington, said: "It's clear Washington is broken. There's too much partisan bickering to be able to solve the problems people want us to solve."
And, he added: "It's going to be reflected in the elections this fall."

But Matthew Dowd, a top strategist on Bush's re-election campaign who now shuns the GOP label, says both Republicans and Democrats are missing the mark.

"What the country wants is a community solution to the problems but not necessarily a federal government solution," Dowd said. Democrats are emphasizing the federal government, while Republicans are saying it's about the individual; neither is emphasizing the right combination to satisfy Americans, he said.
---
On the Net:
Pew Research Center: http://people-press.org/

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

That is the first amendment to the Constitution, folks!  That Obama doesn't like the National Day of Prayer is irrelevant.  The Founding Fathers, when this was ratified, declared a National Day of Prayer in thanks for the act!   It would be nice if Barack Obama and Judge Crabb would actually READ the Constitution and obey it!

Stutzman derides the Coats philosophy concerning Supremes and More April Events!

"Dan Coats is not fit for the fight on Supreme Court Justice

"There was a centuries-old tradition of respecting national electoral  results by granting the President latitude in selecting nominees  for the bench."   Dan Coats

Howe, IN - Dan Coats has a terrible track record when it comes to judicial  confirmations.  He has even stated the reason for his bad votes as a matter of  "respecting national electoral  results by granting the President latitude in selecting  nominees for the bench." Dan Coats  used this flawed logic as a reason for voting  for such liberals as Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, two of the most liberal  judges on the bench. Now, with Justice John Paul Stevens set to retire, we can't have  a U.S. Senator from Indiana giving Obama a pass on Supreme Court nominees. Sen. Marlin Stutzman stated, "Mr. Coats is simply wrong on this crucial issue of  our time.  If the founding fathers intended the President to have unchecked authority  on judges, why do we have the judicial nominees approved by the Senate? Conservatives  need a fighter now more than ever. We don't need a Senator who will give cloak room  deals to the other party and vote for more liberal justices. This is really an issue that  separates me from my opponent."" Baby baby, where did our love go?  Oh, not THOSE Supremes!  Lake County and especially South Lake County, you need to think carefully about who you  believe to be the best candidate on the Republican side of the Senate race who can also  win in November.   Both Marlin Stutzman and John Hostettler are polling above any Democrats  for a fall election in 2010.     ~ Chances to rally with others and meet candidates  locally below:    APRIL 14TH TAX RALLY   *** T-MINUS 1 - NWIPs TEA PARTY *** Wednesday, April 14, 2010 3:00pm - 6:00pm Valparaiso Courthouse For more information check out facebook page below http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/event.php?eid=372620448539    APRIL 15TH TAX RALLY   APRIL 15TH  TAX RALLY - Mid Day 12-1pm in front stairway of East Door entrance Lake County Government Center 2293 North Main Street Crown Point, IN 46307-1854 Google map: Click HERE PS- Tea Party caravan through the square after rally APRIL 15TH  TAX RALLY - Evening 5:30pm - 6:30pm Blue Top Drive-In 8801 Indianapolis Blvd. Highland, IN 46322 www.bluetopdrivein.com Google map click HERE    APRIL 16TH    U.S. CONGRESS  CAND. FORUM   Volunteers needed for event and ladies to bake or bring cookies. Friday, April 16th 6:00 PM -- 8:00 PM CST St. John Township Center   1515 W. Lincoln Hwy. , Schererville, In46375 Google map: Click HERE  (Doors will open at 5:15 pm CST to "Meet &Greet" with Candidates. Event starts at 6:00pm CST.) ~ I also got an informational email from Beth Shaw, who is associated with some new blog links you will see on my links bar: Just want to drop a quick note and let you know about a couple of things going on at  Right Pundits. Right Pundits is proud to present an exclusive interview with Max Keiser. Part 1: Wall Street Fraud and Virtual Markets. Do you know how much Glenn Beck made last year? All I can say is we should all learn  to 'Brand it like Beck'!! Who will be Obama's Supreme Court pick? And as always, we have the latest polls. You can see the links to them in the left sidebar.  Just click and keep up with the latest polling data. Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Beth Shaw Thanks, Beth, Right Pundits and Blue Star are old friends...

Katz versus Klein. Programs, get your programs here!

It all began with an odd phone call a few months back when an East coast polling company asked me a bunch of questions concerning what I thought of several local political races and one of the candidates was Dan Klein.  Dan Klein?  Is he running for anything?  I believe that was in early January?  Late December?  Can't remember for certain.  They asked me about Todd Rokita and a couple of other candidates but Klein stuck out in my mind because I didn't think he was involved in politics anymore.  Habitat for Humanity, right?

No, he was not.  I checked.  I called a couple of people to give them a head's up and forgot about it.
But later on I realized that the Indy Republicans (who in particular?) were testing the waters in District 19.  The polling service was about three blocks too far to the West or so for district 19 questions.  With February came the news that Luke Abbott was withdrawing from the race and Dan Klein was stepping in =Klein in, Abbott out in HD19 while VanDenburgh cries.  Excerpt:  "Lost in the stampede as Evan Bayh runs away from Washington and Democrats in Southwest Indiana play musical chairs to replace him (and then replace Brad Ellsworth, and then replace Trent Van Haaften, and then replace Bob Deig) is the huge developments in House District 19.

Yesterday, extremely popular ex-Crown Point mayor Dan Klein filed to run against freshman Rep. Shelli VanDenburgh after Luke Abbott quietly exited in the last week."  (from Frugal Hoosiers)

Meanwhile, Fran Katz was also running for district 19 on the Republican side and it turns out that Katz and Klein have one of those family feuds developing.   Allan Katz, Fran's hubby, was (apparently) the only CPDC guy who voted against the Plasmatronics deal that was investigated by the FBI back during the days of Klein's one term as mayor of Crown Point.  As of April 1st, that particular issue has not yet gone away.

Some would say that the prestige of being elected to the office of mayor in Crown Point is why the Indianapolis Republicans wanted Klein to run versus Shelli VanDenburgh, the Democratic incumbent.   The article linked above includes a scene featuring Shelli V crying in a hallway.  Tears because she expects an influx of Republican support and monies to push her out the door in November?

The funny thing is that both the pro-Klein and anti-Klein forces both point to his one term as mayor of Crown Point.   So perhaps that record deserves your scrutiny in order to decide whether he is or is not a good candidate for the Indiana House?

It is fair to say that the internet is divided on the issue:  Link and link and link and link and link and...well, you get the idea.   Dan Klein was either a popular mayor or a giant mistake depending upon your point of view/spin/side of the story.

Your friendly neighborhood blogger has had phone conversations with people on both sides of this debate and received emails and etc.   The interesting latest development from my own point of view was a Republican meeting at the beginning of the week where Dan Klein stood up to speak for himself and Fran Katz's husband Allan had come to promote his wife's candidacy.  Since I am a stand-up guy (when I'm not in my comfy chair) I had relayed to Klein's campaign staff a few charges that had been leveled against him by opponents.   So as the meeting ended it was a bit surreal when Dan Klein came up to me, handed me a campaign brochure and said, "I've never been investigated by the FBI."

Interesting.  Well that didn't quite answer all those questions but then again nobody gave me any new evidence one way or the other that hadn't been posted on the internet somewhere already.  Let me say in defense of Dan Klein that he has a couple of campaign staffers who seem like very nice people.   Also, it is very interesting how much Frances Katz knows about the rapid reproduction of oysters for bulk sale.  If this was about Agronomy or being a successful business person Fran Katz would run away with the plaudits as a big wheel in Agronomy circles and a Fortune 500 executive. 

By the way, since you really do not care, I had a top secret clearance while in the military and I did get investigated by the FBI.  I remember my aunt calling my mom asking what kind of trouble I was in after a couple of guys in suits showed up at her door and grilled her about my habits as a young person.  Ah, memories!

What do we therefor conclude?  I do not post unsubstantiated rumors but I do not mind posting entries on an online message board that run hot and cold on the race.   I am quite sure Frances Katz was a tremendous management force at American Maize.  Naturally her husband thinks she is the best person for the job.  And Dan Klein?  I would say that your understanding of his record as the head honcho in Crown Point will tell you whether he would be a good State Representative or not.  If you like him as mayor, you will love him as State Rep and vice versa?   If you didn't like him as mayor you aren't going to be a fan of his second go-round in politics.  That's the way I see it!

I live in district 15 so hey, I can't vote for either of them.  But it is kind of tempting to quote from the NWI message board - 

"I hear if you turn off the lights in your bathroom, look in the mirror and say Plasmatronics three times, Linda Decker will appear and empty your pockets."


C'mon, no matter whether you are a Klein guy or not, THAT is a funny line!!!

Know your candidates! Hoosier candidate?

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita announced today the launch of a new online service developed by his office to provide Hoosier voters with a complete list of candidates who will appear on their upcoming primary and general election ballots. “Who’s On Your Ballot?” will be available to all Hoosiers online at www.indianavoters.com.

Here comes the lead up to the Primary

Check out NWI Pundits...

Kim Krull reported on the Lincoln Day Dinner


Chairman's Comments Wow! What a great Lincoln Day Dinner this year! Thanks to John Moos and his committee for putting on a spectacular evening. We were proud to have not only the Lieutenant Governor as our guest speaker, but also in attendance were State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, Attorney General Greg Zoeller, and our next Secretary of State Charlie White. We also had most of the US Senate Candidates Don Bates, Dan Coats, John Hostettler, and Marlin Stutzman all enjoying Millie’s chicken and polish sausage! Congratulations to Genny Gasparovic for winning Republican of the Year! Genny has been involved with the Lake County GOP for more years than I am sure she wants me to say. She has run for office, managed campaigns, worked on many committees including the Lincoln Day Dinner committee for several years, is a hard working member of Midlake Republican Women’s Club and also works hard in the Board of Elections office. 

In case you missed it, we renamed the Chairman’s Award to the John B. Curley Chairman’s Award for Public Service. Chairman Curley initiated the award a few years ago, and with his inspiration of always being involved in his community (most of the time without anyone knowing) we thought this was appropriate. This year’s recipient was Griffith Council President Rick Ryfa. Rick helped his community through not only a flood but also a tornado in the past year. 

Thanks to Kevin Van Linden for organizing our two big raffles: the gun raffle and the Sarah Palin book raffle. And a big thanks to Deb Astor for organizing the basket raffle. Those 3 raffles brought in a large amount of money to help pay for the donut machine. And I would also like to thank Susan Hammond from the Indiana Republican Party and Alex Mele for assisting with ticket sales. 

A few people learned a very important lesson these past months. Republicans should vote Republican in primaries. I had several requests from people who voted D in the past primary to authorize them to run as a Republican for local office or as a State Delegate. We need to show our strength and part of that is by voting Republican in the primaries. Since Indiana does not register anyone to a particular political party, the only way we know if you are Republican is by your voting record. I heard all the excuses. “I vote D because we have no one to vote for.” “I vote D because I know they’re going to win in the fall so I vote for the weaker candidate.” Well, ladies and gentlemen, those attitudes will keep us stagnant and will definitely NOT win races. So as I encouraged people to run for office, I now encourage you to support those who have heard and responded to that call. Vote REPUBLICAN on May 4th! 

We have had several new faces sign up to run for office this year. As a consequence of that, we have several competitive races in the Republican primary. The next step is to organize get out the vote campaigns which I encourage not only candidates to work on but city and town chairmen as well. There are voter registration forms (registration ends April 4th) and absentee ballot applications on line and on our website. Precinct committeemen need to contact their chairman for walking lists and forms if you need them. 

Let’s hope that our increased Lincoln Day Dinner attendance is a sign of great Republican voter turnout not only in the primary but also in the general election. Let’s keep the momentum going to elect qualified Republican candidates to office this year! However you can help, please do so because as ancient Greek philosopher Plato once said, “The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”

Kim

If you want to work the polls we may still have some openings, please contact the Lake Co GOP

I enjoyed the LD Dinner.   Found out that candidate Scott Burrell's son is getting married the same day our Amanda is getting married!  May 29th...so our family and the Burrell family will not be attending each other's big day.  Why did we go?  Because we (my wife and I) have been motivated since 9/11 to find ways to help our country and since the election of Barack Obama we found ourselves joining the Tea Party Patriot movement and came to the realization that only by identifying the best candidates at the grassroots level could we get the kinds of people needed in office who would not be likely to become Beltway Boys.

You have to get a gut instinct for people.   My gut tells me Kim Krull is the real deal and that the Lake County Republicans are on the right track.   The mess happening in Portage County right now is in part due to "Operation Chaos", a last gasp effort to stop Barack Obama by voting for Hilary in the primaries by normally Republican voters.   It did not work and is now being used to attack good conservatives of being closet Democrats.  Here in Lake County the Democrats managed to put some of their operatives in positions of power but it looks like those days are going, going...

We have some identifiably strong candidates for office in the US Representative district one race now.  

Future events as listed in the GOP calendar: The Waffle Breakfast at the Dyer Presbyterian Church‎ - 2501 Hart Street, Dyer, IN‎ - (219) 865-8660‎ beginning at seven AM and forum beginning at nine AM on Saturday the 10th of April is the next chance to hear the Representative candidates speak and answer questions.

In addition to the Liberty Straight Up at Sheffields on Friday night (April 9th) from five to nine PM, there are several other things going on and I will also be posting Tea Party oriented events as we move along.  Naturally also giving out candidate information to help you make your decision.   Be thankful, we get to vote freely for whomever we choose.