17 Senators Voted to "Save the American Dream"

From Heritage Action for America --  (from 5/18/12)

Last night, the Senate voted on five different budgets, including Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) Budget (S.Con.Res.44), a plan based off of The Heritage Foundation’s “Saving the American Dream.”

The Heritage Foundation analyzed the budget dynamics:

“Compare the President’s proposal — and Reid’s total lack of a proposal — with the four plans offered by conservatives in Congress, chief among them being Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) budget, which mirrors the bold and thorough reforms The Heritage Foundation first proposed in its Saving the American Dream plan. That includes limiting the size of the federal government, reforming entitlement programs, and simplifying the federal tax code in an effort to restore our nation’s economic prosperity and ensure that future generations are not saddled with today’s debt.”

Although we cannot reverse decades of mismanagement overnight, yesterday’s vote creates a solid foundation. It is now clear that there are good ideas out there on how to fix our country; unfortunately, none of them come from our President Obama and his partisan allies in the Senate. The vote results are below, along with a list of the Republicans who voted correctly.

The Lee Budget: Rejected by a vote of 17-82
Heritage Action: YES

Republicans Voting Correctly:
Sen. John Barrasso (WY)
Sen. Dan Coats (IN)
Sen. Tom Coburn (OK)
Sen. Mike Crapo (ID)
Sen. Jim DeMint (SC)
Sen. Mike Enzi (WY)
Sen. Charles Grassley (IA)
Sen. Orrin Hatch (UT)
Sen. James Inhofe (OK)
Sen. Ron Johnson (WI)
Sen. Mike Lee (UT)
Sen. Jerry Moran (KS)
Sen. Rand Paul (KY)
Sen. James Risch (ID)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (AL)
Sen. John Thune (SD)
Sen. David Vitter (LA)

Obama's Failed Policies Hurting College Graduates the Most

The anti-business and anti-growth policies of the Obama Administration have continually been proven to be  a failed path for the current crisis our country faces.

And either by design or by President Obama's continued blundering, the future for college graduates entering the already depressed job market appears to be a life of being shackled by government backed student loans when contrasted against their predicted earnings.

While the average earnings of college educated individuals entering the workforce will leave them "Hoping for 'change' in their pocket." This November maybe their college educated smarts will shine through and they will "Hope for Change" in the White House!

From Economic Policy Institute --

During college graduation season, attention often turns toward the labor market prospects of the young men and women preparing to enter the workforce. We can get a sense of the earnings this new crop of graduates might expect by looking at the wages of young (age 21-24) college graduates. In 2011, young college graduates had an average hourly wage of $16.81 per hour, which translates into an annual income of roughly $35,000 for a full-time, full-year worker. Average hourly wages for young female graduates remain substantially less (13.9 percent) than those of young male graduates.

The wages of young college graduates have fared poorly during the Great Recession and its aftermath. Between 2007 and 2011, the wages of young college graduates dropped 4.6 percent (5.1 percent for men and 4.1 percent for women). As the figure shows, however, the wage growth of young graduates was weak even before the Great Recession began; they have fared poorly over the entire period of general wage stagnation that began during the business cycle of 2000–2007. Between 2000 and 2011, the wages of young college graduates dropped 5.4 percent (1.6 percent for men and 8.5 percent for women).

The wage declines since 2000 stand in sharp contrast to the strong wage growth for these groups from 1995 to 2000. During that period of low unemployment and overall strong wage growth, wages rose 19.1 percent for young college graduates (18.7 percent for men and 19.5 percent for women). The stark difference between these two economic periods illustrates how the wages for young graduates vary considerably depending on the health of the U.S. labor market. Young graduates who enter the labor market during periods of strength (e.g. 1995–2000) face much stronger wage prospects than young graduates who enter the labor market during periods of weakness (e.g. 2001 to the present).

For more information on the labor market prospects of this year’s graduates, read our recent report, The Class of 2012: Labor market for young graduates remains grim.

Support HB 380: Bring Balance to Asbestos Cases

Currently in the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee is HB 380 which will reform and promote transparency in the legal process of work related asbestos claims.

HB 380 will, "enact sections 2307.951, 2307.952, 2307.953, and 2307.954 of the Revised Code to require claimants in asbestos tort actions to make certain disclosures pertaining to asbestos trust claims that have been submitted to asbestos trust entities for the purpose of compensating the claimant for asbestos exposure."  (HB 380).

From Ohio.com

By Ralph King

Published: April 18, 2012

In earlier decades, some American workers were exposed to asbestos on the job. Many of them later suffered injury, illness and even death as a result of that exposure. Rightfully, large numbers of these people, many of whom are in Ohio, continue to seek compensation for their losses.

Because Ohio was a heavy manufacturing site in the past, our state has a high number of asbestos-related claims, and particularly so in Northeast Ohio.

The great majority of companies most responsible for asbestos injuries — primarily companies that mined or manufactured asbestos — have ceased operations, declared bankruptcy and established trusts to pay the current and future claims of asbestos-injured workers. These trusts are considered “personal injury settlement trusts.”

Since the first trust was approved in 1986 under federal bankruptcy law, 60 companies have created trusts controlling more than $36 billion to address their asbestos liabilities.

The asbestos trusts assume all of the bankrupt companies’ asbestos liabilities, which effectively removes those companies from the court system in Ohio and every other state where such activity exists.

The asbestos trusts are one way claimants can seek compensation for asbestos-related injury. A second way is through lawsuits — suing solvent Ohio companies still open for business. In most cases, these companies’ involvement with asbestos was marginal at best. However, that does not stop many individuals from suing these businesses, in addition to staking claims from the trusts.
Ohio has a serious problem with these two tracks of asbestos compensation. When it comes to asbestos-related lawsuits, an unfair legal practice is hurting Ohio employers. This is because asbestos claimants in civil court are not obligated to disclose if they plan to pursue awards from a bankruptcy trust.

Ohio businesses trying to accurately defend their actions in an asbestos lawsuit are at a disadvantage when they don’t have access to information filed in the trust case such as work history and medical information. The pursuit of this information by companies often results in delays and appeals that result in a slow process for claimants.

The dual compensation system of trusts and lawsuits for asbestos claims leads to possibly inconsistent claims between both systems. There are cases where asbestos claimants are presenting the trusts with one set of facts, while, as plaintiffs in court cases, filing entirely different information against solvent defendant companies.

For example, in the Ohio case of Kananian v. Lorillard Tobacco Company, a claimant told a trust he was exposed to its asbestos as a World War II shipyard worker. But in his court lawsuit, he said he just “passed through” the shipyard and later suffered asbestos injuries from smoking cigarettes that used asbestos filters.

To ensure fairness in Ohio’s asbestos litigation system, the Ohio Senate is considering legislation that would make the process more transparent for the individuals seeking damages, as well as Ohio employers. House Bill 380 would require claimants in civil cases to disclose information on claims that could be made against bankruptcy trusts. The legislation will ensure fairness and restore consistency.

Establishing predictability in the system is important to note because even though courts may place case management orders that require the disclosure of claims against trusts, the orders would apply only to that particular court. There is nothing preventing plaintiffs’ lawyers from avoiding such an order by filing an asbestos lawsuit in another county. The best solution is to create a uniform system that makes the process consistent for Ohio employers and the awards claimants receive more accurate and fair. House Bill 380 creates such a system.

House Bill 380 also would place no limits on the number of claims that an individual may pursue. It proposes no caps in compensation and would expedite the process by avoiding time consuming requests for discovery. Because of the proposed disclosure requirements, the potential for inconsistent information between trust and lawsuit claims is discouraged. This helps ensure resources will be available for future bankruptcy trust claims.

At a time when the state is working to attract investment and job creation in the manufacturing sectors, businesses need to know they will get a fair shake in Ohio courts when it comes to asbestos lawsuits. Ohio needs House Bill 380.

King is co-founder and coordinator of Cleveland Tea Party Patriots and state co-coordinator of Tea Party Patriots.

Please contact the below listed State Senators and ask them to support HB 380....

State Senator Gayle Manning (District 13)
Phone: (614) 644-7613
Email: Click Here

State Senator Frank LaRose (District 27)
Phone: (614) 466-4823
Email: Click Here

State Senator Scott Oelslager (District 29)
Phone: (614) 466-0626
Email: Click Here

To keep track of the status and results of your calls, please click here to fill out the HB 380 Contact Form to record the response of your call(s) to the above State Senator's offices.

This is NOT What Democracy Looks Like! (WI)

The residents and patriots in Wisconsin have been subjected to a two year assault from the left who are disappointed with the results of the 2010 elections.

Doing what the big union bosses and the left does best, they've learned how to use the political process to abuse the political process. This pattern of political abuse will continue across the states if we do not rise to the challenge of meeting this dangerous political trend of the left head on.

The Tea Party Patriots are amassing Tea Party members from across the U.S. to meet this challenge in Wisconsin head on! To learn more on how you can help with phone calls from your own home, or if you are interested in going to Wisconsin to be part of the Tea Party Patriots ground team, please click here.

The below is from our Tea Party Patriots State Coordinator for Wisconsin, Michael Hintze.

From Bear Witness Central --

By Michael G. Hintze, State Coordinator Wisconsin Tea Party Patriots


For the second year in a row, the people of Wisconsin are being subjected to a series of recall elections that cost money for which the State and its local communities have better uses. More importantly, the recall elections distract Wisconsin’s politicians from doing the jobs to which they were elected, create uncertainty in the business community that hinders job creation and economic growth, and increase rather than smooth over the sense of division between the people of Wisconsin and the public employee unions.

Why are the people of Wisconsin being subjected to these recalls? Because a minority of Wisconsin’s electorate has decided it does not like the results of the election of 2010, and will do anything to overturn those results, including abuse of the democratic process. Make no mistake about it that is exactly what these recall elections represent—abuse of process. Recall elections should be the people’s method of impeachment of government officials for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” not a last resort for those who have policy differences with political officeholders. Policy differences should be settled according to the regular electoral process, and should not be the subject of continual “do-overs” forced by the losing side. Nothing but anarchy lies down that path.

Those who think that a successful recall effort will lower the divisions among the people of Wisconsin and bring peace and tranquility to Wisconsin politics are engaging in self-delusion of the most flagrant kind. A successful recall effort will have precisely the opposite effect. It will heighten tensions, not relieve them. It will increase frustration, not alleviate it. It will lead to a solidification of positions that will make it impossible for anything to be accomplished by State government. And it will solve nothing.

Recent polls indicate that the recall election is becoming a referendum on job creation in Wisconsin. If that is the case, then defeat of the recall effort is an imperative pre-requisite. For business to be willing to create more jobs in Wisconsin, or anywhere else, it must know that it is dealing with a State with a long-term plan for economic growth and opportunity, and a government whose position does not change with every passing whim of political demagogues who feed on the people’s misery. Stability and predictability in a business friendly environment are the keys to job growth and economic prosperity. Neither will be the case if the recall effort is successful.

This is not just Wisconsin’s battle. This is the nation’s battle. It is a battle to ensure that the will of the majority as expressed through the normal election process will prevail, and that the United States will retain its democratic republic form of government. And it is a battle to return control of government to the taxpayers, and not leave it in the hands of the government employee unions.

If the unions win in Wisconsin, they will have created a strategy and proved it effective for the overturn of election results with which they do not agree, and they will use that strategy in every other state in the Union. The citizens of Wisconsin are fighting to take back control of their government from the greedy and arrogant union bosses. Please join us and help us help you!

Together, we all win.

Sign Up Here To Help Save Wisconsin 

Grassroots Tea Party's Derail Tea Party Express Establishment Candidate in Nebraska Senate Primary

A big congratulations to all the grassroots Tea Party groups in Nebraska for derailing the Tea Party Express establishment candidate, NE Attorney General Jon Bruning, and walking away with a big grassroots Tea Party victory!

As usual, and expecting nothing less, the Tea Party Express went into Nebraska and supported the establishment candidate - Bruning - in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate and worked against the efforts of the grassroots Tea Party groups who supported State Senator Deb Fischer.

State Senator Deb Fischer, who was also supported by Sarah Palin, will face off against former Democrat Senator Bob Kerry to replace the retiring Senator Ben Nelson.

From SF Gate -- (emphasis added)

An insurgent Republican lawmaker in Nebraska will square off against former Sen. Bob Kerrey this fall in the state's U.S. Senate race, as Democrats look to hold onto the Senate seat and control of one part of Capitol Hill.

In Tuesday's Republican primary, state Sen. Deb Fischer rode a wave of discontent with the GOP establishment to best Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, the preferred candidate of Washington, D.C.-based Republicans, and Treasurer Don Stenberg in a race that drew national attention from outside groups in its final, unpredictable weeks.

Fischer's victory marked also another win for the party's anti-establishment movement just a week after a Tea Party-supported Richard Mourdock beat Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar in that state's GOP primary.

And they said the Tea Party was dead!

How You Can Help Save Wisconsin!

The FINAL HOUR is fast approaching for the June 5th recall election in Wisconsin and EVERYTHING is at stake! 

Grassroots activists in Wisconsin have worked tirelessly over the last several years to promote fiscal responsibility, but the opposition is waging a war to tear it down!

Tea Party Patriots are mounting a massive ground operation to end the Wisconsin recall once and for all, but we can't do it without you!  With your help - we can take it to the left - and we can win!

 Wisconsin needs YOUR help now!  

From going to Wisconsin to door knock, making calls from your home, giving a financial contribution, or sharing our efforts on social media, YOU can have a huge impact! 

For Patriots with the time to go and knock doors and help in Wisconsin, Tea Party Patriots will cover your room and board. For others, you can make calls from home, help with blogging and social media efforts.  There is something everyone can do - are you ready to help save Wisconsin?

This recall election is about much more than any individual candidate. It is about protecting our representative democracy to ensure that the democratic process is allowed to work. If the opposition is successful in Wisconsin, they will replicate this abuse of recall laws in states across the country - AND you can be sure Ohio will be one of them!.

Click Here to Help Wisconsin

Holder in Contempt over Fast & Furious?

From Tea Party Patriots --

House leaders confirmed on May 3, 2012, they have drafted a contempt order against Holder for his refusal to produce to Congress documents requested in the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal.  “We have a few other options (but) to a great extent we’ve been stonewalled by the Justice Department,” said Issa, R-CA.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is the executive department of the federal government responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice.   How is justice administered when the head of that department, Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., is found in contempt of the laws it exists to enforce?

The resolution, if approved by the House, could force Holder to release thousands of pages of documents related to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Fast & Furious program.   The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has requested 80,000 documents and been provided with only 7,000 to date, according to Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.  ““We have issued a subpoena.  We have bent over backward to be patient.”

Since last August Senator John Cornyn, R-TX, has been outspoken about his concern that the DOJ knew that guns were sold illegally to members of Mexican drug cartels which resulted in the death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.   “I don’t think we know all the facts because the DOJ has stonewalled. They simply need to come clean. If Holder is implicated, let’s hold him accountable,” Sen. Cornyn said.  Cornyn was adamant that Holder be held accountable for his department’s actions and not be allowed to continue to block access to documents critical to the investigation into the mishandled gun-tracking program.

According to the House Oversight Committee, the Justice Department has not fully cooperated with the investigation into gunwalking that occurred in Operation Fast and Furious.  Although some documents have been produced, Holder has maintained a pattern of denial or non-responsiveness to Congress in the Fast and Furious matter.  He has yet to admit to perjury or prove otherwise by producing the documents.

It remains to be seen whether House Oversight Committee members will cite Holder for contempt.   Attorney General Holder owes it to the American people to provide full disclosure of his knowledge and involvement in the failed program, but it could literally take an act of Congress to make that happen.

Senator Cornyn can be contacted at www.cornyn.senate.gov/public  / or at 202-224-2934.