For the sake of transparency, I wanted to let my readers know that I’m now volunteering with the Todd Tiahrt for Senate campaign as the Labette County coordinator and as part of the broader Southeast Kansas Power Team, headed by my good friend Michelle Hucke. I also wanted to say up front that I am receiving no financial or other compensation for this volunteer position or for any Tiahrt articles, images, or other items on my blog, Facebook, or Twitter.
But while we’re on the subject, I want to tell you why I support Todd.
I hope it’s become apparent to my longtime readers and Twitter followers that I’m not about furthering any one person’s agenda just because their rhetoric sweeps me off my feet. For me, it’s all about the conservative movement and how we, as citizens, can bring our government back inside the bounds we’ve set for it.
Every once in a great while, there comes about a candidate that truly has the ability and backbone to work for this same grand goal. In this Senate primary, that man is Todd Tiahrt.
As I hope you have seen, I don’t back candidates lightly. If you recall, it took me weeks to decide whether or not I would help the (pre-Palin) McCain campaign by doing anything besides voting for it. It wasn’t until after Palin was named VP nominee that I even campaigned for it instead of simply against Obama.
Once you meet Todd and his family, you instantly understand. Instead of the usual political garbage, you get authenticity and a feeling that you’re speaking with someone who’s actually listening, not just doing the head-bob that politicians are so good at. Fifteen seconds later, and after his surprisingly firm handshake, you realize he’s just like you; you come to understand that he could just as easily be your children’s football coach or the man who owns the local real estate agency. That’s because that’s who Todd is: a genuine, caring, and intelligent man who is one of us. Instead of D.C. changing Todd, Todd has changed D.C.
For me to support, endorse, and actually work for a candidate, I have to truly and wholeheartedly believe in them and what they stand for. #RealDeal is not just a Twitter slogan. I hope my support solidifies that idea for you, because it’s completely true.
Todd Tiahrt is that man, and he’s the real deal, Kansas.
Tags: #realdeal, Kansans for Tiahrt, kansas, Labette County, mccain, Michelle Hucke, obama, Palin, Presidential Election 2008, real deal, SEK Power Team, Senate, Southeast Kansas Power Team, Todd Tiahrt
Posted by caleb on Jan 31, 2010 in
Local and State Politics Before last year, I’d never heard of anything called “Kansas Days.” I’ve lived in our fair State since right after I turned eight, and think of myself as a Kansan, albeit with some experience in the “Outside.”
Then, when I started college in the fall of 2008 and decided to transform my TV-screaming into real action and became (heavily) involved in politics, I realized the school lunch theme week of “Bison Burgers” and “Sunflower Shortcake” and “Prairie Potatoes” wasn’t the only modern-day celebration of our Statehood. Thank goodness.
This year, thanks to my good friend and political mentor Virginia Crossland-Macha, I attended Kansas Days in Topeka for the first time this weekend. My fellow CR, President (and Vice Chair-elect of the Kansas Federation of CRs) Michelle Bringle-Hucke and her husband, Josh Hucke (of local fame) joined in for the fun, as well.
At the first annual Brownback Red Boots event (that thankfully pre-empted an event where that blasted former governor of Kansas was speaking), we heard a very enthusiastic Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels tell of how his state has managed to do relatively well through the current recession by using some financial common sense and spending less than they take in. Our group was the first to mob meet him after his speech.
George Weston, Sen. Sam Brownback, Michelle Hucke, Gov. Mitch Daniels, and Me
We attended the Second District Meeting the next morning with Virginia and my favorite former national delegate, Mary Alice Lair. It was relatively normal, until it wasn’t: our own Rep. Lynn Jenkins mistakenly said “Senator Tiahrt,” much to my pleasure, and much to the chagrin of Rep. Jerry Moran, who is Tiahrt’s primary challenger, and retiring Secy of State Ron Thornburgh endorsed my family reunion relative, Libby Ensley, to replace him (that’s more of a disclaimer than an endorsement. I’m only related by marriage).
Later on, at the tense KSGOP Winter Meeting, Moran didn’t even show.What DID show, though, was the complete lack of articulated direction. It’s not that the party doesn’t have direction; it’s that they have no way of getting their message out. Their idea of “new media” is a template website and rarely updated Facebook and Twitter pages. Their email newsletter was a great idea, until it died sometime over Christmas. It was recently resurrected, but apparently not as a daily, as before, since I’ve only gotten one this year. We also saw first hand the political might of the tea party movement in the state, as a one group is mounting a campaign against the current platform and, in reality, the process itself. Expect some terse words to fly.
My favorite event by far, though, had to be the Todd Tiahrt for Senate rally. As I’m sure you’ve gathered by now, I’ve chosen to personally endorse and support Todd in the race for Sen. Sam Brownback’s seat. You could positively FEEL the electricity and excitement in the air. Everyone in that room seemed to just know that we didn’t just have a shot at winning; we all knew we were going to.
These events are always filled with networking and new names. Many you leave feeling that the other person could really care less about who you are personally and instead only wants what you can give them. That’s to be expected, at least somewhat, since this is politics. That’s why I enjoy meeting other activists and why my favorite new activist acquaintance just happens to be Vicki Tiahrt. Both she and Todd and their family are some of the most genuine people I’ve ever met in politics. They’re no more assuming than my next-door neighbors. In fact, they could very well be my next-door neighbors. That’s how authentic they are. It was refreshing.
In all it was a great weekend. We made some new contacts for our organization and learned so much. Michelle gained a new position, and I met some very helpful and interesting people. I can’t wait to see what God does in 2010.
Tags: College Republicans, jerry moran, kansas, Kansas Days, KSGOP, Libby Ensley, Lynn Jenkins, Mary Alice Lair, Michelle Hucke, Mitch Daniels, Pitt State, Pitt State College Republicans, republican party, Ron Thornburgh, Sam Brownback, Senate, Todd Tiahrt, Vicki Tiahrt, Virginia Crossland
Tonight, the U.S. Senate will vote on Obama’s so-called “stimulus” plan, a bill that is really just a left wing wish list in disguise. Even though it passed the House, we as Conservatives one a sort of ideological victory: not a single Republican voted for H.R. 1. It looked like our stalwart opposition would continue in the Senate.
That is, until Sen. Collins (R-ME) decided for some reason that she would like to support such a spending bill, under the guise that she’d helped to trim off around $100 billion. While that’s a great feat, she’s missing the point. What’s occurring here isn’t stimulus, it’s generational theft. We are stealing from the younger generations, from our children’s and grandchildren’s generations. How will we ever pay this off?
Thanks to President Obama, and now Sens. Collins, Snowe (R-ME), and Specter (R-PA), we’re about to fall off the cliff into the cesspool of European-style socialism. So much for capitalism, free-markets, and plain ol’ American success.
Luckily, unlike what President Obama would have you believe, all is not lost; there is still hope (and I thought he was the one who owned that word!). The Senate will not vote on this bill until this evening, so we still have a few precious hours to stave this thing off.
Below is the entire text of the email I sent to the three fence-sitters, replacing “Maine” for “Pennsylvania” when necessary.
Dear Senator,
I am writing in complete disgust. While I appreciate your efforts to work with others, frankly, this is not the time for cooperation across the aisle, unless it means the defeat of this so-called stimulus package. I laud your efforts to cut spending from this spending bill; truly $100 billion is a large number. However, when you compare this figure to the monstrosity of spending that still exists, you can surely understand my frustration.
Senator, the future of this bill depends on you. If you support it, you will catapult our nation into a world of European-style big government socialism. If you oppose it, we may still fall off the deep end into the cesspool Obama is creating, but at least when it falls apart, the world will know you stood for what is right. On the other hand, with your opposition, we may very well defeat this so-called stimulus once and for all and save capitalism and our free-market system.
The voters have spoken. If you view the latest polls, you will see that you are not on the side of the American public, your bosses. If you do not stand for us now, why do you expect any of us to stand for you when you run for re-election? I don’t live in Maine, but I support out-of-state politicians running for national office. I don’t, however, support cowards.
The choice is yours.
Thank you,
Caleb Hays
#tcot Operation Fight the Stimulus
Please contact these Senators while there is still time! Feel free to use my email, above. Just make sure you replace my name with yours.
Contact information for the three fence-sitting Republicans.
If this passes, it will fail. I want to be able to tell my grandchildren I did everything I could to stop it. I pray you’ll do the same.
Tags: #TCOT, Arlen Specter, Maine, obama, Olympia Snowe, Pennsylvania, pork, Senate, Spending, stimulus, Susan Collins, Waste
It’s official, Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) has won re-election after a hard-fought general election campaign and subsequent run-off election, and hallelujah! But, that’s old news by now. What’s just emerging, however, is the reason for it: us. Dedicated, grassroots conservative Republicans are the reason Saxby won (not to mention a little help from Gov. Sarah Palin, one of my personal heros). You see, it wasn’t the powers that be that won this election as much as it was regular, everyday Americans like you and me who cared enough about their country to donate a few bucks or make a few calls (also not to mention a few concerned PACs: HuckPAC, National Republican Trust).
The point is, this is our strategy for 2010. It obviously does not involve putting up moderate or even liberal Republican candidates for election to any office. We’ve seen how that can go. Our plan for 2010 must be built from the bottom up, with the ideas and full-fledged support of committed Americans like us. No more of this “accept the bailouts and deal with it” mumbo jumbo. The conservative movement must be the steering wheel of the GOP, although we shouldn’t be married to it. (from our friends at The Next Right and Patrick Ruffini, author of RebuildtheParty.com).
We’ve got a lot of work in front of us, but the 2008 season isn’t even over yet. Louisiana’s Congressional elections are still later this week (Saturday, December 6). ) LA-06 (Joseph Cao, whom I’ve mentioned before) and LA-04 (John Fleming, whom I haven’t) are up for grabs. If you can make a last minute donation to either campaign (Cao, Fleming) or even just Twitter about them (including their links), it would help (while you’re at it, follow @calebhays for my updates).
In the end, congratulations to newly-reelected Senator Saxby Chambliss on a landslide of a victory. We need your voice in the U.S. Senate, but I urge everyone not to lose sight of our bigger goal: restoring America and the conservative movement in the GOP. Rebuilding isn’t a one day process. It’s a slow journey that happens every single day, with bumps in the road and harsh setbacks, but I believe we will prevail.
Tags: 2010, Congress, Congressional elections, Conservatism, election, Election 2008, GOP, HuckPAC, John Fleming, Joseph Cao, LA-04, LA-06, Louisiana, mccain, National Republican Trust, Palin, run-off election, Saxby Chambliss, Senate
Posted by caleb on Nov 30, 2008 in
Uncategorized Just wanted to send a quick reminder out to everyone that this Tuesday is the Senate run-off election in Georgia involving Fair-Tax supporter Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Saxby, as you should know by now, won the general election by 3% but failed to break the 50% mark, triggering a mandatory run-off election.
Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Norm Coleman are the only two Senators that stand between us and a full-fledged, unhampered (no, we’re not quite there yet) onslaught of Liberal attacks.
At this late date, probably the best thing we can do is continue to phone bank for Saxby. Mike Huckabee’s HuckPAC has an online phone bank set up that can be accessed here. It does take a quick sign-up, but restricting Obama’s power is worth it.
Tags: Al Franken, election, Election 2008, Fair-Tax, Georgia, Huckabee, HuckPAC, Norm Coleman, run-off election, Saxby Chambliss, Senate
