The Westmoreland Watchman

Member Group : Westmoreland Watchman

THE WESTMORELAND WATCHMAN
A PUBLICATION OF THE WESTMORELAND COUNTY CONSERVATIVE COALITION
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VOLUME 2, NUMBER 4 www.conservativecoalitiononline.org APRIL, 2010
160 MAUS DRIVE PHONE: 724-863-2520
IRWIN, PA 15642 E-MAIL: [email protected] 724-875-7024
OUR NEXT MEETING IS TUESDAY, APRIL 20TH
PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN OUR MEETING LOCATION!!
After more than ten years of being guests at the Christian Fellowship Center, we are changing our meeting place to Cornerstone Ministries in Export, PA. Our move is based strictly on the fact that the Conservative Coalition has been growing by leaps and bounds and we have literally outgrown the facilities the CFC has so graciously provided for us these many years. We have been blessed by their kindness and offer profound thanks to Pastor Aikens and his able staff who always made sure that necessary room and equipment was available to us. We also hope that their church members who attended our meetings will follow us over to Cornerstone to continue our educational effort. This change in venue should be a seamless one as the folks at Cornerstone, led by Dr. Donn Chapman and Mike Pierce, have done everything to make the transition as smooth as possible. We trust the travel time to Cornerstone will be about the same or even better than to the CFC and that you will find the new location to be as suitable or more so as we begin a new era at Cornerstone. They are located at 6300 Puckety Road, just off Route 22, at the intersection where the Watson car dealership is located. You can also get there by driving through Harrison City and taking the Harrison City-Export Road toward Route 22 where you will turn left onto Puckety Road. PLEASE spread word about the new meeting location so folks don’t go to the wrong place on April 20th!
We will begin at 7:00PM on April 20th and are planning to have more candidates and speakers at this important meeting. We have confirmed that Keith Rothfus will be there. He is running against Jason Altmire in the 4th District, part of which comprises Murrysville, so this will give our members and friends in that area to hear a bright, young conservative tell us why he is running. Keith will also be facing Mary Beth Buchanan in the GOP Primary on May 18th. Attorney General Tom Corbett can’t make our meeting on the 20th but has agreed to come to North Huntingdon on Sunday, April 25th. That meeting will be held at the Town House beginning at 2PM, and I urge all Coalition members to attend, as Mr. Corbett wants to meet us and answer our questions.
I want to thank Chuck and Rosemary Horvat for running the March meeting in my absence. From all reports, the young people who spoke were excellent along with several candidates vying for various offices. Enthusiasm seems to be growing for the fine list of candidates that are throwing their hats into the ring this election cycle, and we should have some solid choices to make some real change in November.
Looking down the road, our May meeting will be held on the second Tuesday, the 11th, as the third Tuesday, May 18th, will be the all important Primary Election Day. We hope to have a number of candidates attend to make their last minute appeals for support to many of our members who will be manning the polls the following week. So mark your calendars now as we gear up for what should be a very exciting and productive spring!
SPECIAL ELECTION IN THE 12TH DISTRICT
Since the sudden death of Congressman John Murtha several months ago, there has been a lot of interest surrounding who will succeed him. In fact Western Pennsylvania is playing out a mini version of what happened in Massachusetts in January when Scott Brown upset the Democratic plans for an easy win to replace Teddy Kennedy. This Democratic seat that Murtha held for over 25 years is now in play for the Republicans based on the continued backlash from the Health Care vote and other leftist policies being pushed by Obama and Pelosi in Washington. After some heated and contested wrangling within the GOP ranks, businessman Tim Burns was selected to be the Republican candidate over Col. Bill Russell, who ran unsuccessfully against Murtha in 2008. The winner will be sworn in as the new Congressman and immediately head to Washington to serve the 12th District until November when he has to face another election for a full two-year term. To make matters even more complex, both Burns and Russell will vie with each other in the Primary race on May 18th! Unfortunately, during the process that selected Burns, the Russell camp felt the deck was stacked against them, and some of them are trying to mount a write-in campaign against Burns in this special election. I believe this to be very unwise as it seems they are spending more time fighting the conservative Burns than Murtha’s former aide who will be more liberal. It appears to this writer that Russell is losing sight of the objective and will cause the Democrat to win the battle as Russell seeks to take votes away from Burns. This strategy is plain stupid in my humble opinion. Russell has every opportunity to defeat Burns in the Primary and should be focused on that race and not the Special election. As I understand this unusual race, Burns could beat Mark Critz and become seated as another conservative in Congress and still lose the Primary to Russell. This would set up a scenario where Russell would then be the candidate in November for a two-year term and Burns would have to step aside. If Critz wins on May 18th, then the winner of the Burns/Russell Primary would face off with him in November. If you want to get involved in a very interesting race that can pay immediate dividends for the conservative cause, call the Burns campaign at 724-464-8697 and volunteer your help. It is not necessary that you vote in the 12th District, just that you want another conservative in Congress. You can make calls out of the GOP headquarters in Greensburg and play a real part in trying to make a difference before November!
TEA PARTY UPDATE
I did have the opportunity to speak at the Pittsburgh Tea Party held at the landing near PNC Park on Saturday, April 3rd and felt it was an excellent event. It was on that site last April that Alan Keyes spoke to 1500 people in what was the first of many Tea Parties in Western Pennsylvania. About 500 people showed up on this sun splashed Holy Saturday (a wonderful crowd considering all the normal activities that surround the Easter weekend) and showed their many signs and voiced their protests against the Obama Regime. The only TV news coverage was from Channel 11, and they said about 100 people showed up but were quick to point out that last year’s rally had 1500 in attendance. The newspaper coverage indicated that about 200 people were there but from my vantage point on the podium, I can vouch that at least 500 patriots were in attendance. Among my remarks, I dwelt on the growth of the Tea Party Movement and how the Left is frustrated by their lack of control over millions of Americans meeting to take back their country. This has caused the Media to lash out like a wounded animal in attacking us as racists, and hate-filled, violence prone radicals. One or two screwballs can certainly give us a bad name, and I’m sure the Left is sending their ilk into our midst to disrupt our ranks. April will be "Tea Party" month so be on the lookout for those who would taint our ranks! The recent arrests of some militants in MI, IN and OH have caused some pundits to link their goals of killing police officers with those rallies of the various Tea Party folks. If only the Feds would have exerted as much effort to investigate Major Hasan before the Ft. Hood shootings and would put as much pressure on the mosques and jihadist cells spreading hate throughout America. A stronger effort to seal our southern borders would also give comfort to the ranchers who are being assaulted and even killed by illegal smugglers and criminals. As I have said before, I am a Christian, a patriot, a gun owner and I don’t like Obama. Not because he is black but because he is RED! I told the crowd that I would love to have Alan Keyes as my President and Walter Williams as Secretary of the Treasury and Thomas Sowell as Secretary of Commerce. Those comments drew a large cheer and also when I said I want a conservative takeover of the House with Congressman Joe Wilson of SC as the Speaker. Then when Barney Frank, Henry Waxman, Nancy Pelosi and other liberals are giving their speeches, Joe can shout, "YOU LIE!"
I mentioned that we have two main enemies. The first is the Obama Regime and the other is discouragement. Millions of phone calls and countless hours of hard work went into trying to defeat the Health Care Bill, and it was a big letdown when Pelosi and Obama twisted arms and made wild promises to get those last few votes.
While that final outcome may be played out in the courts, we must stay focused on other issues that Obama is trying to ram down our throats. There is far too much at stake for the future of our country for us to stop the fight now. Pseudo pro-life Bart Stupak just announced he will not run again for Congress. His betrayal and sellout of his pro-life supporters is one reason that his Michigan constituents were mounting massive opposition to his re election. That is the correct way to harness anger and frustration by getting true conservatives elected in the fall. Our Founding Fathers didn’t know Obama, Reid or Pelosi, but they knew human nature. Therefore, they made sure that every House member would have to run for office every two years and also that all spending measures must originate in the House of Representatives. This gives us a great chance to reverse the damage that was done to our beloved Republic in 2008 by sweeping in a Conservative Congress in November 2010!
Obama has already made major concessions regarding our national security in a foolish and traitorous treaty with the Russians. He is hell bent on pushing through Congress the insane Cap & Trade legislation that has no real purpose other than further destroying our free enterprise system. His recent rhetoric about allowing more off shore oil drilling is bogus as are his comments about encouraging more nuclear power plants. His anti-business environmental team will see that any real efforts to make us energy independent will be stalled and stopped in the courts. Moderates like Lindsay Graham seem to be sucked in to all this rhetoric, and Obama is counting on him and a few other Republicans to fall into his trap to pass Cap & Trade and also to close GITMO. If Obama backs off trying Shiek Khalid Mohammad in NYC, Graham seems willing to help close GITMO. To me, GITMO is one of the best tools we have in dealing with the terrorists, and I think it should be closed only after every one of those terrorists is water-boarded for information and then executed for their crimes against America!
Obama is giving us conservatives all the ammunition we need to run on solid principles to offset his Communist agenda. As this election season unfolds, we must also be aware of deceivers and neutralizers who will enter our ranks to stall our momentum and cause us harm. Beware of those promoting Third Party movements and calling to "Throw all the bums out." There are many fine men and women in Congress who hold deep conservative values and are trying to make a positive difference. We need to keep them and add to their numbers! "Divide and conquer" is an age old tactic in warfare, whether on the battlefield or in politics, so be cautious before supporting those elements that want to make wholesale changes. There will be many Tea Parties held in the area between now and November, so attend as many as possible to take in the whole range of ideas and sift the wheat from the chaff in the process so you can use your time and talents wisely for positive action and commitment. THE SOUTHWEST PA TEA PARTY, SATURDAY, APRIL 17TH
The last two events were held at Bushy Run Battlefield, but the one on April 17th will be held at the Greensburg/Jeannette Airport. It is located outside the little town of Boquet and can be reached off Route 22, off Old Route 66 or through Harrison City, two miles past Schramm’s Farm and Market. There will be a one dollar charge per automobile, collected by the airport owners. Former Senator Rick Santorum will be the featured speaker along with Professor Mark Hendrikson from Grove City College. They will be joined by columnist and radio talk show host Jeff Kuhner and PA Landowners President Keith Klinger. A Special appearance will also be made by George Washington riding in on his horse to give a special lecture. Gates open at 9:00AM and the program begins at 11:00AM and will be over by 1:00PM. Food vendors will be present to meet your every need, and there will be ten booths with a variety of literature and materials to add to your war chest of information. While I have been exhorting many of you to get more involved than ever, I’d like to share the following remarks from one of our members who went to Washington on March 21st in a last ditch effort to stop the Health Care Bill. This is what Doctor Robert DeJesus had to say and I urge you to listen to his words!
"On March 21st, as I stood with fellow Americans next to the Capitol building to protest the health care bill, I saw two Americans standing next to each other. One was a man holding an American flag on a long pole, standing there for hours not wavering or putting the flag down. The other was a lady veteran with a sign that said, ‘I did not serve so that dictators could rule.’ Thousands of Americans from all walks of life came together in unison protesting peacefully, singing American patriotic songs, and praying next to the Capitol so that all Congressmen could see and hopefully stop the passage of the health care bill. Unfortunately, the arrogance of power prevailed and now we have become the properties of the federal government. Although we were all dismayed that the bill passed, I felt that all of us together as a powerful force made a loud statement—we will overcome threats that will forever undermine our freedoms and the American way of life. Make no mistake, we are in troubled times, but together we will see to it that the arrogance of power will not prevail again! Come join your fellow Americans on April 17th at the Southwest PA Tea Party and share that same patriotic feeling that I had on that March day! You will be better for it!" Please listen to this valuable prescription being offered by the good doctor and be there! In his final comments, he quoted the patriot Edmund Burke who said, "The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing."

BEWARE ANY CON-CON RESOLUTIONS
As the Tea Party Movement grows around the country, many ideas are being floated at these meetings and rallies. One that is being raised in many quarters is to have Constitutional Conventions to correct some of the grievous errors that have been made in Washington. This same cry is coming from some that have discovered the 10th Amendment and want to enforce state’s rights. While many of these people proposing such action are well intentioned, there are those forces waiting to seize the moment and turn and twist such Con-Cons to their own advantage and actually make things worse. As usual, it is always wise to consult what our forefathers had to say on the subject and Phyllis Schlafly of Eagle Forum has done just that. She writes, "Speaking to us from across the years, the Founding Father of the Constitution, James Madison, wrote this warning on November 2, 1788, against calling another Constitutional Convention. ‘If a General Convention were to take place for the avowed and sole purpose of revising the Constitution, it would naturally consider itself as having a greater latitude than the Congress appointed to administer and support as well as to amend the system. It would consequently give greater agitation to the public mind. An election into it would be courted by the most violent partisans on both sides and would probably consist of the most heterogeneous characters. It would be the very focus of that flame which has already too much heated men of all parties and would no doubt contain individuals of insidious views who under the mask of seeking alterations popular in some part but inadmissible in other parts of the Union might have a dangerous opportunity of sapping the very foundations of the fabric.
‘Under all these circumstances it seems scarcely to be presumable that the deliberations of the body could be conducted in harmony or terminate in the general good. Having witnessed the difficulties and dangers experienced by the first Convention which assembled under every propitious circumstance, I should tremble for the result of a Second, meeting in the present temper of America, and all the disadvantages I have mentioned.’
Phyllis does an excellent job of further summarizing how Madison’s warnings apply to us today. She warns that the "insidious individuals" are those promoting views and policies that would eat away at the foundations of liberty and our sovereign republic. Pressure groups could seek to eliminate the Second Amendment and delete the requirement to have a 2/3 majority in the Senate to ratify treaties. This is already being suggested by the Council on Foreign Relations. Madison trembled for the result of another convention in the "temper of America" in his time. We should, indeed, tremble for the result " in the present temper of America." Think about Obama’s proclaimed goal of "fundamentally transforming the United States of America." Say no to Con-Con!
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
• A Pro Gun Rally will be held in Harrisburg on Tuesday, April 27th. Buses will leave from the McKeesport Sportsman’s Club at 5AM and the cost is $30 per person. This is a great chance to spend a day with fellow gun owners and also make personal contact with your Representatives, demanding that they always vote to uphold our Right to Keep and Bear Arms! Call Jim Kerr @ 724-331-1880 to reserve a seat.
• Eagle Forum reports that the Texas Board of Education voted 10-5 to reverse the liberal bias that has been in school history books for a decade or more. Since Texas is the nation’s largest purchaser of books, this decision will have national ramifications by allowing more true American history to be taught in the public schools. True heroes, important dates and significant events will once again be taught with emphasis on the Bill of Rights, Capitalism being a good thing and America being a "Republic" and not a "Democracy"! This is a major step forward to giving our students good information and the taxpayers some value for their dollars. Thanks Texas for paving the way to some sanity in a world almost gone mad!
• Another reminder to meet Attorney General Tom Corbett, who is running for Governor, on Sunday, April 25th at the North Huntingdon Township Townhouse beginning at 2:00PM.
• Kudos to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for boycotting the Nuclear Summit Obama called for in Washington on April 12th. He has the courage and wisdom to see that what Obama is planning is to destabilize the Middle East, weaken Israel and strengthen Iran and other haters of Israel.
• Thursday, May 6th, is the annual National Day of Prayer. Contact your local officials and pastors to organize a public outpouring of ardent prayers to God to save our country from the dangers we face on a daily basis. If we humble ourselves and make sure we are on God’s side, who then can defeat us!