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Part 1 – Economy

Part 2 – Jobs/Healthcare

Part 3 – Healthcare/Foreign Policy

Part 4 – Foreign Policy/Closing Statements

Republican Debate Between Peter Schiff, Linda McMahon & Rob Simmons 03/02/2010

Part 1 – Jobs/Economy

Part 2 – Foreign Policy

Part 3 – Health Care

Part 4 – Politics

Part 5 – Closing

The results are in for the controversial 7th District Republican Primary. Somewhere between 4,800 and 7,000 dollars later the entire slate endorsed at the Republican Caucus in February was elected to the Republican Town Committee 7th District Committee.

Final costs for the district primary will be in the range of $50-70 per vote cast with 97 102 (including 5 absentee ballots not yet tallied) of just over 600 Republicans coming out to vote.
I don’t have the vote counts for each candidate but The vote counts are now below. The lowest vote getting endorsed candidate received 70% of the vote while the highest vote getting petitioning candidate got 39% of the vote.

The Candidates were: (* = winner)

Endorsed Slate
George Vernon Barrow Jr.* 78
C. Edwin Carlson* 81
Charles H. Clarke* 76
Esther B. Clarke* 81
Robert J. Damaschi* 86
Lois Gero* 73
Peter R. Gero* 80
Carolyn V. Kronen* 68
Joe Kronen* 68
Vincent J. Mondo Jr.* 82

Petitioners
Michael R. Brinius 35
Victoria Gaudette Brinius 36
Daniel F. Moura Sr. 37

Municipal elections are now past and Councils, Mayors, Boards of Finance, Selectmen and all of the other various forms of leaders we employ in our Connecticut towns are feeling a bit less politically squeezed and, as predicted by myself and candidates in other towns, tax increase proposals from these leaders will be coming fast and furious as they deal with falling revenues in the only manner they have the political fortitude to employ, tax increases.

East Hartford Mayor Melody Currey on Tuesday night presented her budget in what to this observer seemed a nervously defensive tone. No doubt she was well aware that a tax increase of over 9% would not be met with smiles and commendations.

To the credit of the Mayor each year the public availability of budget information has increased and this year is no exception. In fact, this year the Mayor has presented the most complete set of information yet. So Mayor, while I won’t thank you for raising my taxes, thank you for providing me with the details I need to know the how and why behind the increase.

I encourage you to review the budget information on the town website.
BUDGET INFO

Budget sessions continue with the Board of Education on Thursday night at 6:30, an all day session Saturday starting at 8:30 and a Monday night finale starting at 6:30. These can be viewed in person at Town Hall, or on EHCTV Channel 5 on Comcast.

Citizens should keep in mind the public hearing on Wednesday, March 3rd at 7PM where we can express our concerns about this proposal as well as plans to REDUCE spending proportionally to the losses in revenue rather than continuing spending unabated.

I am happy to say that I have heard from a Town Council member who is at least as outraged about this proposal as I am. Maybe there is hope.

Rob Simmons who is the establishment candidate in the race on the Republican side has been traveling the state with a tea bag in his pocket claiming it as his Tea Party credentials. Newsflash Mr. Simmons, a tea bag doesn’t make you a good candidate. Principle does. While Mr. Simmons has a tea bag, Schiff had multiple well known Tea Party folks milling about in the crowd. It appears that although Simmons wants to be the Tea Party candidate Mr. Schiff actually is.

Word is that Schiff is also well on his way to receiving the endorsement of the Independence Caucus, a coalition of various groups formed to vet candidates for office. These are interesting times and it will be interesting to see how many NY-23s pop up across the country in response to establishment GOP candidate choices.

The biggest wild card in this race is still Chris Dodd. Will he stay in? More and more names are coming out opining that Chris ought to retire. It just may happen.

Video: Schiff speech @ HQ Opening & Questions

Picture Slide Show

Just head over to the Contact Elected Officials tab at the top of the page and choose your office.

Dennis Brenner Nomination

Dennis Brenner Second

Dennis Brenner Second (2)

Michael Crockett Nomination

Michael Crockett Second

Cliff Thompson Speech

Dennis Brenner Speech

Michael Crockett Speech

Roll Call Vote

Cliff Thompson Acceptance

Rules Committee

Credentials Committee

Nominations

Seconding

Acceptance

Clinton Speech

Huckabee Speech

Obama Speech

Ron Paul Speech

McCain Speech

Supporter Speeches

Results Announcement

Starting Ceremony

McCain Video/Speech

Huckabee Speech

Giuliani Speech

Romney Video/Speech

Ron Paul Video/Speech

Straw Poll Closing, Results & Interviews

The Capitol, Hartford, Conn.

12 noon – 3pm

Our grievances with the state of government in Washington, DC go well beyond one administration, a few policies, specific politicians, or a particular political party. The fuel behind our passion derives from the bipartisan destruction of our individual liberties, disrespect for our economic, social, and political well-being, and the shredding of our constitution.

To reclaim our independence and American civic traditions, the following are four key principles and positions that we must demand from our representatives.

PRINCIPLES

Bailouts, Taxes, and Spending Responsibility

There should be no taxpayer bailouts of corporations, and government should never grant private organizations license to commit criminal or fraudulent acts. We must also seek greater transparency of the Federal Reserve System through investigation, evaluation, and audit of its relationships with banking, corporate, and other financial institutions.

Respect the Integrity of the Constitution

We believe that the Constitution was instituted to restrain the arbitrary exercise of government power and to safeguard liberty. A government that routinely disregards the Constitution for the sake of political expediency cannot long remain a defender of the rights of its citizens.

Reducing the National Debt

We believe that there should be no increase in the national debt. The burden of debt placed on the next generation is unjust; it has greatly diminished the power of our dollar and threatens to undo decades of economic progress.

Individual Freedom

We must protect the privacy and civil liberties of all persons under US jurisdiction. We must repeal or radically change the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, and the FISA legislation. We must reject the notion and practice of torture, eliminations of habeas corpus, secret tribunals, and secret prisons.

http://connecticut.reteaparty.com
http://www.freeandequal.org

From their page:

The event was a success. There were hundreds at the protest. Everyone I talked to said they had a great time. We must thank a lot of people:

The Hartford Police. They were a big help and treated us well.

Campaign for Liberty. Huge help in promoting the event.

Scott Adamsons for filming the event.

Pam Fowler, Jim Azzola, Papa Possum, and Joe Visconti for speaking.

Michael Marcucci for co-authoring the Declaration of Independence from King Dodd II.

We pulled all this off without any help from the Republicans.

I caught the event on video using my new Blackberry  8900 (I know why they call it crackberry now) and attempted to stream it but QIK, the streaming application, seems to have borked most of the video. I do have one of the two best parts of the protest. Sadly I lost the second which was an analysis of Dodd’s Iowa caucus results. Did you know only 2 in each 10,000 caucus voters cast a ballot for Dodd?

I look forward to more from Sean Murphy in the future.

Check out around the 7 minute mark for a funny poem from Papa Possum.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLQWHdFrtvY]

East Hartford Republican Town Committee

East Hartford GOP Seeks Candidates

The East Hartford Republican Town Committee (EHRTC) is seeking candidates for the following offices.

Mayor
Town Council
Selectman
Board of Education
Constable

Registered East Hartford Republicans with questions or interest in these offices should contact Valentine Povinelli, Chairman of the EHRTC Selection Committee, by phone at (860) 568-5373 or by email at vpovinelli@aol.com or contact Paul Roczynski, EHRTC Chairman, by phone at (860) 569-7006.

The EHRTC Selection Committee is currently conducting interviews with interested individuals. Candidate endorsements by the EHRTC will occur in July so time is limited.

Now National and State Republicans are demonstrating exactly what the problem is in American politics. Rob Simmons with the unofficial nod of both the State and National Republican party has jumped in the ring. In case you aren’t from eastern Connecticut Mr. Simmons was the eastern Connecticut U.S. House Representative who lost to Joe Courtney two cycles ago. Are we following the principle of the political ladder/treadmill in this state or do we just not have an honestly worthwhile Senate candidate?

Here is Simmons’ unremarkable and unprincipled voting record courtesy of the Washington Post:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/s001152/votes/

Here’s a Republican who didn’t vote for Obama or McCain who won’t vote for Dodd or Simmons either.

Sadly, a vast majority did not feel as I did that it was important to make a stand for the United Stated Constitution on this issue.

Text of the proposed resolution:

Whereas, Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution states “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”; and

Whereas, On March 4^th 2009 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown announced sitting Senator Edward Moore Kennedy, also known as Ted Kennedy, was given an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II entitling him to be known as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire; and

Whereas, On March 4^th 2009 Senator Edward Moore Kennedy publicly acknowledged his acceptance of an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II entitling him to be known as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire; and

Whereas, The United States Congress passed no resolution to permit Senator Edward Moore Kennedy to receive a title of any kind whatever from Queen Elizabeth II; and

Whereas, The above mentioned facts evidence a willful violation by Senator Edward Moore Kennedy of the United States Constitution and his oath of office to defend the United Stated Constitution; Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the East Hartford Republican Town Committee, That the East Hartford Republicans –

(1) Demand Senator Edward Moore Kennedy resign from the United States Senate within 14 days.

(2) Demand the United States Senate initiate proceedings for removal of Senator Edward Moore Kennedy upon failure to resign within 14 days.

We must stand on the Constitution or we will find ourselves being stood on.

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