Happy Thanksgiving!

The Lonoke County Republican Committee would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

We are thankful to live in the greatest country in the world and we are thankful for all of those who continuously strive to make it and keep it so!

May God bless America and all of you on this day of Thanksgiving!

House GOP Leaders Press White House to Allow Governors, State Legislators to Join Health Care “Summit”

by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

Noting that legislation to “opt out” of Obamacare has been introduced in 36 states, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) have sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel asking that the invitation to the planned Feb. 25 health care “summit” at the White House be extended to the nation’s governors and state legislators.

“Will the President be inviting officials and lawmakers from the states to participate in this discussion?” Boehner and Cantor asked Emanuel. “As you may know, legislation has been introduced in at least 36 state legislatures, similar to the proposal just passed by the Democratic-controlled Virginia State Senate, providing that no individual may be compelled to purchase health insurance. Additionally, governors of both parties have raised concerns about the additional costs that will be passed along to states under both the House and Senate bills.”

In a statement released Monday night, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs criticized the Boehner-Cantor letter, but did not address the question of whether state officials would be given a role in the Feb. 25 event.

“One of the fundamental problems with the approach the Obama Administration has taken to health care is that it seems rooted in a Washington-knows-best mentality. Excluding the voices of America’s governors and state legislators from the proposed ’summit’ would compound this error,” Boehner said. “There’s a revolt going on in the states right now against the bills Washington Democrats are trying to impose on America. The White House may want to pretend the revolt isn’t happening, but it’s real.”

Boehner and Reps. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Mike Rogers (R-MI) last year launched the GOP State Solutions project, an initiative aimed at highlighting solutions put forth by reform-minded governors and state officials outside the Beltway. Through the State Solutions project, House Republicans have been working with state officials, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and grass-roots activists to advance state-level legislation declaring individual citizens’ freedom against intrusive health care mandates from the federal government.

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Boehner: GOP has better solutions

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) tells voters where to find the GOP ideas President Obama has repeatedly stated don't exist. Over and over, the President has lied to the American people because he knows these ideas have been presented to, and ignored by leading Democrats in Congress!

Leader Boehner noted that:

"Last week in his State of the Union, President Obama challenged critics of his trillion-dollar government takeover of health care to show him a better plan. I raised my hand.

"Because the fact is, Republicans have offered common-sense solutions to give Americans the health care reform they want. In fact, weve offered the only health care plan that will lower premiums by up to 10 percent.

"Whether the topic has been on health care, the budget, energy or putting Americans back to work, Republicans have stuck with our principles, listened to the people, and offered better solutions to the challenges families and small businesses are facing every day."

Incredibly, at a town hall meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire just yesterday, President Obama was back to peddling the same old myth that Republicans are the party of “no ideas.” Just days after acknowledging repeatedly on live national television that Republicans have offered alternative solutions on the major issues - and that he has read them - the President stood before a partisan audience and said:

"[W]hat I’ve done is I’ve said to the Republicans, show me what you’ve got. You’ve been sitting on the sidelines criticizing what we’re proposing… So here’s my thing: You got a better idea?"

With all due respect Mr. President, House Republicans do have better solutions. In fact, just last week, at the Republican retreat in Baltimore on January 29, the President said of House Republicans better solutions:

"I suspect I will embrace some of them. Some of them I’ve already embraced….I’ve read your legislation. I take a look at this stuff….Actually I’ve gotten many of your ideas. I’ve taken a look at them….I’ve read it. I can tell you what’s in it."

What accounts for the disconnect between the president’s reportedly off-the-cuff comments last week in Baltimore, and his rhetoric in New Hampshire yesterday? One can only conclude that in the eyes of senior White House partisans, the president had an “off-message” moment last week in acknowledging that the GOP has put forth serious alternatives - and the White House staff is now desperate to get the boss back onto the Democrats’ discredited “party of no ideas” talking points.

Last year, following Leader Boehner’s vow that Republicans “will not just be the party of opposition, but the party of better solutions,” House Republicans formed “solutions groups” in key policy areas, including the GOP Economic Recovery Solutions Group, chaired by Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), and the GOP American Energy Solutions Group, chaired by Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-IN). The GOP solutions groups went on to produce detailed legislative alternatives that were presented throughout to President Obama, members of his administration, and the Democratic leadership in Congress over the course of 2009. The summaries of these legislative alternatives are compiled in Better Solutions, a document that which covers GOP reform proposals on everything from jobs and health care to government spending and transparency.

The Better Solutions document and other information on GOP reform alternatives is available at Solutions.GOP.gov.

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Weekly Republican Address

WASHINGTON, DC - Delivering the weekly Republican address, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) marked the holiday season by paying tribute to the men and women of our Armed Forces. A former Marine, Hunter served three combat tours overseas: two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. In the address, Hunter also reaffirmed Republicans’ commitment to offering better solutions focused on putting people back to work and helping families address everyday challenges. Audio of the address is available here; video of the address will be available here once the embargo is lifted today at 6:00 p.m.

Following is the text of Rep. Hunter’s address:

“I’m Congressman Duncan Hunter, and I represent the 52nd Congressional District of California, the area around San Diego. “In this holiday season, I hope we all take time to offer thanks and prayers to the men and women of our Armed Forces. Many of these service members will spend the holidays away from home, on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan, at bases and on ships around the world. “I understand the sacrifices they are making. Shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, I quit my job and joined the Marine Corps. Prior to coming to Congress, I was deployed to warzones on three separate occasions, twice in Iraq and once in Afghanistan. Just last month, actually, I had an opportunity to visit with our troops in Afghanistan. “I know we all wish everyone could be home for the holidays, but this is not a time for sadness or regret. Thoughts of home remind us of why we serve: because we’re proud to be Americans, because we want to pass on to our children the blessings of liberty that we inherited from our forefathers, and because nothing matters more to us than protecting our homes and our families. Our hope is that as a result of this determination and sacrifice, we will never again see our cities and citizens under attack. “I hope we also take a moment this year to reflect on those suffering here at home. For too many families, this will be a difficult Christmas. One in ten Americans are unemployed. Nearly six million of our citizens have been looking for work for more than six months – the most on record. “All year long, Republicans have offered common-sense solutions to put more money back into the pockets of hard-working families and to help small businesses create more jobs. We’ve also outlined a plan to lower health care premiums by up to 10 percent. And we have proposed an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy to create more American jobs, ease the strain on family budgets, and clean up our environment. Just as important, these solutions do not raise taxes, grow government, or add to the already skyrocketing debt burden being placed on our kids and grandkids. “After all the promises and all the spending we’ve seen out of Washington this year, out-of-work families are right to be asking, ‘where are the jobs?’ Republicans believe our top priority when it comes to the economy should be simple: first, do no harm. So let’s resolve in the new year to end misguided efforts to create new laws that will cost even more jobs, whether it’s the “cap and trade” national energy tax, the government takeover of health care, “card check,” or even more tax increases. “Working together, we can make the next holiday season even brighter for all Americans. Thank you, happy holidays, and God Bless America.”

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Coleman for Senate Fundraiser in Cabot

*This post does not constitute an endorsement of any candidate by LCRC. The Committee will be happy to announce events for ANY Republican candidate on this blog in an effort to keep the electorate informed.

On Monday, November 30, Republican US Senate candidate Curtis Coleman will hold a fundraiser in Cabot. Tickets are $25 per person.

Event:	Lonoke County Arkansas Coleman for Senate Dinner
What:	Fundraiser
Start Time:	Monday, November 30 at 6:00pm
End Time:	Monday, November 30 at 8:00pm
Where:	Crossroads Cafe 3472 Hwy 89 South Cabot, AR 72023 (501)843-0297

Curtis Coleman is running for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln (who just voted to move forward with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's version of a government takeover of the US health care system) in 2010.

Download an invitation

LCRC September Meeting Report

Another month has come and gone, as has the monthly meeting of the LCRC at Grandpa's BBQ in Cabot. Next month, we'll meet again at the same location at 7:00 pm on October 12.

Now that fall is officially only days away, our mission is becoming evermore critical, especially with the happenings in our nation's capital. Since January, the US National debt has quadrupled, our money supply has increased at such a rapid, unprecedented pace that many economists foresee hyper-inflation in the near future, the Democrat controlled legislative and executive branches are on the verge of passing the largest energy tax in our country's history and forcing a government takeover of our health care system. And that's not all.

President Obama has appointed dozens of "Czars" with dubious backgrounds, including one who believes animals should have the right to sue their owners and another who believes international gun laws should supersede our 2nd Amendment. With both houses of Congress in the hands of the party of the President, radical Democrats have near total control of the future of our country.

It's important all Lonoke County Republicans, Indpendents, and even Democrats taken aback by the radical moves of their party, know this county committee is working hard to bring Arkansas' and our County's conservative values back to all levels of government. The 2010 campaign season will soon be kicking into gear and we'll do our best to help you sort it out.

In the past several months, speakers at the committee members have included candidates for county, state, and federal offices. This month we were pleased to welcome two of the [many] Republican candidates for Democrat Blanche Lincoln's US Senate seat, Fred Ramey and Curtis Coleman.

Neither Ramey nor Coleman is a professional politician. Ramey lives in Searcy and works for FedEx, and Coleman lives in Little Rock and runs Safe Foods, a business he built from the ground up. It's really heartening to see regular folks like Ramey and Coleman stepping up to the plate to take on the incumbent Lincoln, especially when you look back and realize the Republican Party didn't even field a candidate against Arkansas' other Democratic Senator Mark Pryor in last year's election.

Ramey told us he decided to run to fight against the radical changes being forced on us by the Democrats in the Capitol and the White House. He sees Obama's push to put our health care system in the hands of government bureaucrats and the huge energy tax Democrats refer to as "Cap & Trade" as symptoms of an increasingly intrusive federal government. The Democrats' runaway spending is another factor that persuaded him to throw his hat in the ring. Ramey says of his 4 young daughters, "They're going to get the bill!"

He says of the crowded field vying for the coveted spot on the Senate floor, "There are a lot of good people in this race and a conservative message won't set us apart." But Ramey does believe he has an advantage that makes him a better candidate to defeat Lincoln next November. His explanation included a reference to a recent John Brummett column titled "Farmer's Daughter" in which the left-leaning columnist argues that Arkansan's would be foolish to vote against the Senator who recently called many of them "un-American."

Ramey claims he has what it takes to neutralize Lincoln's ties to agriculture. He, too, is the child of a farmer and says, "I'm a farmer's son and farmed myself, rice and soybeans, for 5 years before going to work for FedEx." Ramey says he's always believed next year's general election will come down to Arkansas' agricultural areas, and he says "I speak the language of East Arkansas." Of the race with Lincoln, Ramey states emphatically "I'm going to compete with her, rice levee to rice levee."

Coleman spoke next and told members of the committee his wife "prayed that God would show him he was crazy" when he first informed her he was thinking of entering the race. It didn't take long after the Democrats took control of DC and began implementing their radical agenda, before she saw the need for good people to run, and agreed to support his decision to run.

He decided to enter the race because we're "facing the most egregious erosion of our liberties in history." Coleman worries that his 7 grandchildren "don't have a ghost of a chance of growing up with the same liberties" he had. He says he wants to go to Washington to slow down the Democrats' high speed march to dismantle our capitalist, free-market system. "The next 3 years will be as critical as any period in our history," he said.

Like Ramey, Coleman was also complimentary of his adversary for the Republican nomination. He told the committee he and Ramey had attended several of the same events and have become good friends. Also like Ramey, Coleman believes he has the best chance to beat Lincoln.

He points to a recent Public Policy poll that showed him beating Lincoln 41%-40% at this early stage in the campaign. Another poll he pointed out was conducted by Democrats that showed him trailing the Arkansas Senator 45%-37%. Coleman believes at this juncture in the campaign, for a poll commissioned by Democrats to show him within an 8 point margin and Lincoln unable to break above the 50% level, these numbers bode well for his shot in the general election next year.

Coleman went on to admonish Lincoln for bragging that she returns to Arkansas 10 times a year. He also made the point "she had to be forced to hold town hall meetings" during last month's congressional recess. He promised, if he is elected, he'll hold a town hall meeting in every county at least once per year.

Thanks to Mr. Coleman and Mr. Ramey for taking the time to address the committee and letting us get to know you. We wish you both the best of luck in your campaigns.

After the candidates spoke and fielded questions from attendees, the discussion turned to local affairs. For the past several months, the committee has been working to restore partisan elections in Cabot. This battle is ongoing, but we believe voters want to know the party affiliation of candidates on the ballot, even in local elections. Next Monday, September 21 at 7:00, the Cabot City Council will meet. We're not certain yet if this issue is on the agenda, but the committee plans to make a good showing in case it is. We encourage everyone who wants to know the party affiliation of those running for local office to attend this meeting.

Again, next month's meeting will take place October 12 at 7:00 pm at Grandpa's BBQ in Cabot. Hope to see you there!

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog of the Lonoke County Republican Committee. You can also check out our brand new website. It's a work in progress, so please bear with us for a few days.

Whether you're a lifelong Republican, a discontented Democrat, or just interested in learning more about our party, members, and values, we'd love to have you join our organization.