Another Self-Inflicted Wound for the GOP

Below is a great article by Emery McClendon (Tea Party Patriots State Coordinator for Indiana) on the shameful behavior of the GOP in Mississippi.....

From Breitbart --

Republican National Committeeman Henry Barbour gave black Americans a slap in the face when he orchestrated a cynical, race-baiting campaign targeting fellow Republican Chris McDaniel in the Mississippi Senate primary runoff against incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran. It was insulting to African-Americans, unfair to McDaniel, and dirty pool by any reasonable measure. But the refusal of the Republican National Committee to censure Barbour’s actions shows an astonishing tone-deafness by RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and portends continued failure by the GOP to attract black voters.

If Priebus wants to understand what’s happening in black communities and learn how to draw them closer to the GOP, I invite him to join me for a visit to Roger’s Barber Shop on Maumee Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where I’ve been getting my hair cut for the last quarter-century. It’s something of a landmark in the local African-American community, a hotbed of political discourse and a place where visitors are guaranteed to get an earful and an education.

What Priebus would learn at Roger’s is what black Americans actually think about politics. When many blacks hear of a candidate or party that wants to “prevent you from voting,” or eliminate particular social programs – as happened in Mississippi – a red flag goes up in their minds, reviving images of the civil rights era of the 1960s. It even happens among younger blacks who did not witness the tyranny of Bull Connor and George Wallace (both of whom were staunch Democrats) but learned the stories from their elders.

For many black Americans, there is an almost reflexive opposition to the GOP that surfaces any time there’s an accusation of racial bias by Republicans, a message Democrats have pounded on for decades. So when Republicans go out of their way to reinforce the lies told about their party, it plays right into the hands of liberals. Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz must be doing cartwheels for joy because of Henry Barbour’s actions.

Regardless of where they live, a lot of blacks don’t see Barbour’s racially incendiary campaign as an isolated, parochial incident. Instead, it is seen as validating the false narrative promoted by Democrats about Republicans, making it a lot tougher for black conservatives like me to explain and defend conservative principles among other blacks.

As one of the original members of the Tea Party, I have worked with hundreds of black community leaders across my home state since 2009, trying to educate and engage them on the critical issues confronting our nation and how Tea Party Patriots has proven, principled policies to tackle those issues.

But when we start getting a little traction, the Republican establishment pulls a stunt like we saw in Mississippi and we wind up losing momentum. The folly of Barbour’s antics is compounded when Priebus and other RNC members refuse to even entertain a motion censuring Barbour, indicating that what he did was just fine. Small wonder that some refer to the GOP as The Stupid Party.

There are vast numbers of African Americans who are willing to stand up against the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons of the world and acknowledge that they do not speak for all black Americans. They are looking for political inspiration, and with black unemployment more than double the jobless rate of whites, many are dissatisfied with Democrat policies, providing a tremendous opportunity to advance conservative principles.

Instead, the opportunity is wasted because the chairman of the Republican Party would rather promote the falsehoods of the opposition than discipline a fellow member of the RNC. The only thing new about Barbour’s tactics is that they were set in motion by a Republican who simply borrowed a few pages from the Democrat playbook. But whether Barbour realizes it or not, his efforts smeared more than McDaniel; they smeared the entire Republican Party.

Republicans will fail to attract more blacks to their party as long as they abide by the cheap politics of race hustling and refuse to hear what the community is saying. Whether it’s in Roger’s Barber Shop or any of the thousands of others across America, Republicans need to start listening to what’s being said instead of administering more self-inflicted wounds.

Emery McClendon is the Tea Party Patriots state coordinator for Indiana.

Phyllis Schlafly Turns 90 Today

Phyllis Schlafly Turns 90 Today

Jeff Lipkes at American Thinker reports:

Very few individuals who were not politicians or generals have had a major impact on American political history.  Phyllis Schlafly is one of the exceptions.  Twice.  In 1964, she helped launch the grass-roots conservative movement that flourishes today, transformed by the internet, and in 1972 she inaugurated what came to be called “social conservatism.” 

More than any other individual, she was responsible for the nomination of Barry Goldwater, and thus, indirectly, Ronald Reagan.  And virtually single-handedly, she defeated the so-called Equal Rights Amendment.

Schlafly was born 90 years ago today in St. Louis, the daughter of John and Odile Stewart.  Her father was a machinist who was unemployed through most of the Great Depression.  But the Stewarts were not Democrats.  “We left the party under Grover Cleveland,” Schlafly says.  Her mother worked as a librarian and teacher to support the family, and Schlafly put herself through college (Washington University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa) working in a munitions plant during the war, test-firing .30 and .50 caliber rifles and machine guns 48 hours a week.

Her becoming a political activist was entirely fortuitous, she says.  She had married attorney Fred Schlafly and the couple had moved across the Mississippi to Alton, Illinois.  In 1952, some local Republican leaders came to their home to invite Fred to run for Congressman.  The district was heavily Democratic, Fred’s practice was flourishing, and he was not interested.  They turned to his wife.  Phyllis agreed.

Female candidates were a novelty in those days, and she was invited to address the state Republican convention.  She gave a dynamic speech to the 10,000 delegates sweltering in the unairconditioned Armory in Springfield, and received a lot of media attention.  Schlafly lost the race in November, but was hooked on politics.

She was frustrated, though, that the party’s Presidential nominees were invariably selected by a handful of “king-makers.”  They didn’t share the convictions of the rank-and-file, nor aggressively attack the opposition where it was vulnerable.  Frequently, they were not even Republicans:  Hoover, Wilkie, Eisenhower.  She was particularly irked by the way Robert Taft was shunted aside in 1952.

In 1964, she was dismayed to see that once again an East Coast liberal, Nelson Rockefeller, was about to be crowned by the party’s establishment.  In a white heat, Schlafly wrote A Choice, Not an Echo, had it privately printed, and began selling copies from her garage. 

The book caught fire like no other political manifesto since Tom Paine’sCommon Sense.  By the time the Republicans convened at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, about 3 million copies were in print.  Virtually every delegate had read it.

After indicting the Democrats for craven policies overseas and corruption at home—what else is new?—A Choice, Not an Echo takes a close look at Republican conventions from 1936 to 1960 and argues that the nominee was selected very much as the hemlines of women’s dresses were determined.  Just as women have no say in the new season’s fashions, so the wishes of the Republican rank-and-file have been ignored or subverted by powerful men meeting in corporate offices and private clubs in Manhattan.  The chapter on the marketing in 1940 of the insipid, unknown Wendell Wilkie, the RINO prototype, is particularly instructive.  So is her account of the manipulation of the Texas and other delegations at the 1944 convention.

Schlafly has recently updated A Choice, and a new edition, with chapters covering the nominations from 1968 to 2012, will be out in November.

Not long after the success of this book, Schlafly was contacted by Admiral Chester Ward, who told her she must write about the Soviet missile threat.  They worked together on a book, and it sold two million copies.  Schlafly wound up collaborating on five books with Ward, and toured the country warning about the danger posed by the Russians.

When a friend invited her to talk to a library group in Connecticut in 1972, she was prepared to give her standard lecture on the subject.  But the friend said her group didn’t want to hear about the missile threat, but about the Equal Rights Amendment.  Schlafly replied that she’d hardly thought about the issue, and didn’t even know if she was for or against it.  The friend said she’d send some literature, and predicted, “You’ll be against it.”  She was right.

The amendment sounded innocuous.  But as with the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, there was an agenda not publicly acknowledged (or consequences not recognized, in the case of the Civil Rights Act) by its sponsors.

Schlafly saw that the amendment would grant no new rights to women, while it threatened to abolish two privileges women enjoyed:  immunity from the draft and the legal guarantees in every state mandating that a husband support his wife and family.  Also seemingly endangered were laws against sexual assault, and legal precedents awarding alimony and child custody to women.  With American troops still in Vietnam, these possibilities struck a resonant chord both with young single women and with married homemakers.  Funding for single-sex colleges might also be in jeopardy, critics pointed out, and quotas in the workplace might be mandated by judges. 

As Schlafly saw clearly, the hidden objective of ERA was to deny women any legal claim on their husband’s earnings.  Homemakers, for the first time in history, were to be deprived of the support of society.

The talk Schlafly gave at the library in Connecticut (Ann Coulter’s brother was in the audience) became the basis for a speech she would deliver countless times across the country.

It was peppered with humor  (“Women,” she would note, are not mentioned in the ERA, only “sex”—“presumably the sex you are, not the sex you do”) and her trademark candor (the act was “a cheat and a fraud”).

By the time STOP ERA got underway in 1973, 30 states had ratified the amendment, and five more would do so.  But legislators, obliged to hold public hearings, began having second thoughts.  As Section 2 made explicit, the rights of states would be over-ridden by Congress and federal judges in legislation concerning families and the workplace.  States stood to be big losers.

Five states repealed their endorsements, and despite a three-year extension to the time limit ordered by Jimmy Carter, the amendment was dead in the water.

ERA had almost no opposition before Schlafly swung into action.  It had been endorsed by three presidents and their wives, and by both parties.  The campaign to get the GOP to oppose the amendment could be said to mark the beginning of social conservatism.  Schlafly then lobbied to include a plank in the party’s platform calling for the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

She would spend much of the rest of her life defending the traditional family.

When asked what’s the biggest change in the country that she’s witnessed during her lifetime, she doesn’t hesitate:  “it’s the decline in marriage.”  And the most pressing problem today is “the decline in the number of intact families.”

A new book—her 21^st—will be out on this subject in a few weeks:  Who Killed the Family. 

Read the rest here. 

Cuyahoga County Council will consider charter amendments, 40-year extension of hotel tax

As of 5:45pm:  Cleveland.com is reporting

Cuyahoga County Council will consider charter amendments,

40-year extension of hotel tax

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County Council is meeting at 5 p.m. to consider a 40-year extension of the county's bed tax, as well as possible amendments to the county's governing charter, and we'll be covering it live.

Northeast Ohio Media Group Andrew J. Tobias will attend and provide live updates in the comments section at the bottom of this post. The meeting will be council's first at the new county building at East Ninth Street and Prospect Avenue.

Council is also expected to approve the proposed 40-year extension of a portion of the county's bed tax to provide additional funding to Positively Ceveland, the local convention and tourism bureau.

The tax was initially proposed as a 20-year extension.

Council is expected to consider seven different possible charter amendments.

Among the proposed amendments:

• Requiring approval of a majority of county council to fire the county sheriff. Currently, the county executive can unilaterally fire the sheriff without giving any reason.
• Changing the county charter to make the county agency of inspector general a permanent feature of county government and give the position similar protections to those contained in the sheriff amendment.
• Making the protection and promotion of the right to vote a permanent part of the county charter.
• Requiring those running for county executive to live in the county for two years prior to officially filing as a candidate.

These proposed amendments received preliminary approval from a council committee last month. However, each individual amendment needs 'yes' votes from eight members of council -- a higher threshold than the preliminary approval -- in order to be sent to the November ballot for final approval from voters. 

Council also is expected to vote to approve leasing a warehouse just east of downtown Cleveland to hold the county's archives.

That deal has been on ice since last October, when council members raised concerns over the condition of the property and questioned County Executive Ed FitzGerald's overall plan for storing records.

# # #

Hillary Slams Obama: "Don't Do Stupid Stuff" is Stupid!

I guess after failing to protect Americans in Benghazi, Hillary now feels she would have better foreign policy than the Chief Bumbler in the White House. 

If elected POTUS, instead of using the board game RISK to set foreign policy, she will be using the electronic Battleship game.

From Yahoo News --

Ahead of a possible presidential run, Hillary Clintonappears to be distancing herself from what she called President Barack Obama's foreign policy "failure": the decision not to intervene during the early stages of the Syrian civil war.

“The failure to help build up a credible fighting force of the people who were the originators of the protests against Assad — there were Islamists, there were secularists, there was everything in the middle — that failure left a big vacuum, which the jihadists have now filled,” Clinton said.In an interview with the Atlantic published on Sunday, the former secretary of state says the "failure" of the United States to help those protesting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad led to the rise of al-Qaida-inspired groups like ISIL, the militants currently creating havoc in Syria and Iraq.

The former first lady and U.S. senator said she fears the jihadist groups currently gaining strength in the Middle East will expand their sights to Europe and the U.S.

“One of the reasons why I worry about what’s happening in the Middle East right now is because of the breakout capacity of jihadist groups that can affect Europe, can affect the United States,” she continued. “Jihadist groups are governing territory. They will never stay there, though. They are driven to expand. Their raison d’etre is to be against the West, against the Crusaders, against the fill-in-the-blank — and we all fit into one of these categories. How do we try to contain that? I’m thinking a lot about containment, deterrence and defeat.”

Commenting on another Middle East conflict — the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel — Clinton strongly defended Israel.
View gallery“I think Israel did what it had to do to respond to the rockets,” Clinton said. “Israel has a right to defend itself. The steps Hamas has taken to embed rockets and command-and-control facilities and tunnel entrances in civilian areas, this makes a response by Israel difficult.”

She called the deaths of civilians, including Palestinian children, "dreadful," but said, "Ultimately the responsibility rests with Hamas."

“It’s impossible to know what happens in the fog of war," Clinton said. "Some reports say, maybe it wasn’t the exact U.N. school that was bombed, but it was the annex to the school next door where they were firing the rockets. And I do think oftentimes that the anguish you are privy to because of the coverage, and the women and the children and all the rest of that, makes it very difficult to sort through to get to the truth.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that Hamas initiated this conflict," she added. "So the ultimate responsibility has to rest on Hamas and the decisions it made.”

Clinton was asked about President Obama's recently coined slogan (“Don’t do stupid s---") to describe his administration's foreign policy doctrine.

“Great nations need organizing principles," Clinton replied, "and ‘Don’t do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle.”

Action Alert: Remember Mississippi! Tell Reince Priebus & RNC to Censure Henry Barbour

Dear Patriots, 

Today we have a very important series of actions we are asking you to take. The Republican National Committee (RNC) is having their summer meeting in Chicago today and during that meeting there will be a discussion on the series of events that happened in Mississippi. 

You remember - where Republican establishment types used race-baiting tactics to smear Chris McDaniel and fire up Democrat voters using hatred and lies to get them to go out and vote for Thad Cochran?

The continued silence of RNC Chairman Reince Priebus over what happened in Mississippi makes him complicit by inaction. Allowing the GOP establishment to race-bait and smear a fellow Republican, an elected official mind you, to gin up Democrat voters to sabotage a Republican primary and disenfranchise a majority of conservative voters is beyond reprehensible.

Read our case study on what happened in Mississippi

Read why Ed Martin, Chairman of MO GOP is moving to censure Henry Barbour

Today we need to make sure the RNC hears from the grassroots all across this country.

Call to Action: 

Join with your fellow patriots across the U.S. for a Tweet Reince Priebus Day and send tweets to @Reince all day today Friday August 8th and demand that he censure Henry Barbour for his vile actions!

Twitter - 

Reince Priebus (@Reince & @RNCPRBS)

Henry Barbour (@HenryBarbour)

 using hashtags #CensureHenry and #RememberMS

Call & email the RNC and demand that they take up and pass the resolutions offered by Ed Martin, Chairman of the MO GOP to 

A.) Censure Henry Barbour (nephew of former RNC Chair Haley Barbour)

B.) Censure any other Republicans involved in the race-baiting in Mississippi.

RNC Phone: (855)987-7019

Email: Click Here

Sign our petition to censure Henry Barbour

The actions in Mississippi cannot be ignored by the RNC. Doing so would make them complicit in the despicable acts that occurred.

Please make your voices heard today and forward to your friends who value freedom, election integrity, and simple human decency.

Remember Mississippi!

Steve King Owns "DREAMERS" / Rand Paul Runs Away [VIDEO]

Rep. Steve King owned these two DREAMERS who clearly do not understand, do not want to understand and do not respect the laws of our country. 

And it should be noted, as pointed out in Wayne's comments below - Senator Rand Paul slid away and abandoned King with the DREAMERS.

From Wayne Dupree --

Great job by GOP Rep. Steve King!

He was ambushed by two “DREAMERS” while eating during an event, along with GOP Sen. Rand Paul. The two shook hands with King and Paul, and then launched into their diatribe. Rand Paul melted away almost immediately, leaving King to deal with the two on his own. He held up very well. He calmly, politely listened to their statements and questions, and answered them all. They were hoping to embarrass him and get him to say or do something they could use against him. They didn’t get what they wanted!

Governor Kasich Supporting Illegal Aliens at Expense of Ohio Citizens

For Immediate Release

August 5, 2014

Contact: Ralph King (440)465-1834
Clevelandteaparty@gmail.com

Governor Kasich Supporting Illegal Aliens at Expense of Ohio Citizens

Refuses to Resist Relocation of Illegals in Ohio

OHIO - With the current border crisis spinning out of control, and as waves of illegal immigrants continue to flood across our southern borders, an overwhelming majority of U.S. citizens believe these illegal border crossers should be returned to their countries of origin and not be relocated in cities across our country.

On July 21, 2014, the Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, received a letter from (40) forty conservative and liberty groups asking him to use his authority as Governor to prevent any forced relocation of illegal immigrants in Ohio; these groups reminded him that he was elected to represent the interests of Ohio citizens first.

To date, Governor Kasich has refused to respond.

His refusal stands in contrast to a growing number of Governors who are putting the well-being of their state citizens first and are speaking out against the secretive federal relocation efforts in their states. In his recent comments to the media, Governor Kasich not only refused to put Ohio citizens first - he effectively rolled out a welcome mat to the relocation of illegal immigrants to Ohio.

"Governor Kasich's refusal to respond and refusal to stand and put the well being of Ohio citizens first, is yet just another example of him failing our state and our citizens, stated Ralph King, Co-founder of the Cleveland Tea Party Patriots and Tea Party Patriots State Co-Coordinator for Ohio. "

"Governor Kasich's first duty is to the citizens of this state," continued King, "not the appeasement of President Obama and his failed border policies."

"We are a leaderless country, and now a leaderless state," stated Marianne Gasiecki, Founder of the Mansfield Tea Party and fellow State Coordinator. "It would appear, once again, that the federal coffers are more important than the citizens of this country and state."

Acknowledging the negative fiscal, social, educational and health impact the accepting of these illegal immigrants in our state will have on every day citizens, along with the impact it will have on local municipalities and school districts, Gasiecki & King both applaud the efforts of State Rep. John Adams & State Rep. Wes Retherford proposed legislation that will put the concerns of all Ohio citizens first.

-- ## --