Grassroots in Michigan

Remembering Reagan…
(To purchase “Return to Reagansim” items Click HERE )

As we remember “the Gipper” today on the anniversary of his birth, lets not just recall one of the most successful presidents in the history of our country but the man, a man of ideas, principals and faith. And then carry on with those principals, ideas and faith for only then we will be successful in saving our country from the current regime.

Our party must be based on the kind of leadership that grows and takes its strength from the people. Any organization is in actuality only the lengthened shadow of its members. A political party is a mechanical structure created to further a cause.

The cause, not the mechanism, brings and holds the members together. And our cause must be to rediscover, reassert and reapply America’s spiritual heritage to our national affairs.

Then with God’s help we shall indeed be as a city upon a hill with the eyes of all people upon us.

Ronald Reagan, 1977
40th President of the United States

To learn more about Ronald Reagan visit The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation

A wonderful tribute book about Reagan, “When Character was King”

Ronald Reagan Speech – 1964 Republican National Convention

The most egregious action was before I could whip out my trusty Flip camera. However, the pudgy man, Erin Fox, in the extreme close up (sorry) is a usual suspect, “community organizer” and MoveOn.org operative

I have encountered him at other actions and his modus operanti is always the same, trying to get in your face to disturb and/or name calling. Although his physical intimidation is getting more aggressive as he realizes that his “religion” the Health Care bill is in big trouble.

The young man with the dark hair that I point out as another “usual suspect” is either a MoveOn.org operative or works for the Democrat party. I recently had another “close encounter” with him at the Sanctity of Life Rally January 22 at our state Capitol, where he was counter-protesting life in favor of abortion.

We had formed a line in front of the counter-protesters and so our backs were turned to them, (not really a good idea when dealing with progressives). His tactic was to come from behind and lean in as close as possible without actually touching to yell things like, “Keep your rosary off my body” (odd coming from a man?) and “pro-family, pro-life”. He can be seen carrying the sign “Keep Abortion Legal” while clutching his upscale brand coffee I am sure Biggy’s is grateful for the pro-abortion “advertising”

See video below of Sanctity of Life counter-protest by these usual suspects

What is really disturbing about this is how militant against life these people are at such a young age. Hearts hardened and conscience seared. However when we realize that these young people have known nothing but legalized abortion in this country, the acceptance of what is “legalized murder” is sadly understandable. Seeing and knowing this, we must consider giving greater time and energy to the pro-life movement. Its a historical facts history that when any civilization no matter how great loses its moral underpinnings then that civilization falls.

The upshot of all of this is that if progressives do not respect life, how can they be expected to respect free speech? Obviously answer, they can’t and they don’t

Michigan Patriots,

2010-the year we TAKE MICHIGAN BACK! Part 1

2009 was a momentous year because We the People went to war. Not just with those outside our country but from within.  We are at war with those who have methodically worked to dismantle our Constitution, torn apart our representative Republic, and who wish to put another form of government in its place.

We have made progress in the “court of public opinion” with President Obama’s popularity plummeting at the polls as we have held tea parties, town halls, protested, called, faxed and e-mailed. The liberals/ socialist /fascists are on the run and we will continue to keep the pressure up…the winning of governors’ races in New Jersey, Virginia, and most recently, the election of Scott Brown to Ted Kennedy’s US Senate seat prove that people are fed up…We have the momentum NOW!

The 2010 elections are one of the most important in our life time.

For 2010 we must turn our attention to home, to our beloved Michigan. As Michiganders we have seen the results of the same liberal’s policies that the Obama regime is now trying to implement. After 8 years of liberal “leadership” Michigan is in shambles. Unemployment is at almost 15%, the Car Capitol of the World has seen a government take over of GM, jobs evaporate, foreclosures rise and families leave.

Michiganders, 2010 is the year that we must and will TAKE MICHIGAN BACK!

If we are honest with ourselves we must take responsibility for not being educated and active in the polices that have shaped our lives and hurt Michigan. We need to change that, for our state, our families, and our future. We must muster all soldiers in the Constitutional Conservative army.

But how do we accomplish that?

WE MUST:

ü      Identify Constitutional Conservative Candidates with character, in all offices, local, county, state, school boards, and court system, who believe that holding office is a civic duty and that the government is the problem not the answer!

All Michigan House and Senate seats are up for re-election – we have a tremendous opportunity in 2010!

ü      We at Grassroots in Michigan are working on a site that will be “one stop shopping” for information on candidates, races and issues in Michigan as well as tools to  research candidates, voting records and ballot initiatives.

ü      We also ask Michiganders to send us information about what is going on in your District to grassrootsinMI@gmail. You may have a sneak preview by  going here: http://micc.grassrootsmichigan.com/

Campaigns need two things: People and Money

ü      We must support these candidates with time and/or money. It doesn’t matter if you have 1 hour of 40 hours to give, $5 or $5,000. What matters is that you become engaged. Any campaign will plug you in, in an area that you are comfortable with. Literature drops, phone, banks, admin, door-to door etc are opportunities.

Part Two:

Take over your Party

Like it or not, we have a two party system, despite the talk of a 3^rd party. Third parties historically have either disappeared or simply can not win. And to TAKE BACK MICHIGAN we must win.

So how do we, as Constitutional Conservatives take over a party?

You want to change the direction? Then find other people who think like you do and get organized “within” the party. Focus on the next set of Republican precinct organizational meetings and county conventions where local party officials are elected, as well as delegates to district and state conventions. Identify the dates and locations and share them with your friends

ü      County (Republican) precinct organizational meetings can be found here : http://www.migop.org/index.php/site/contactCountyRep/a/

The little secret among party insiders (of either party) is that the number of people that participate in the actual organizational meetings where leadership is elected is incredibly low. Far lower even than the small percentage that participates in primary elections

Most precinct delegates require little to no campaigning and some are elected with just one vote! Deadline for filing to run in Michigan is no later than 4:00pm May, 11, 2010 at your county, city, or township clerk office.

ü      Requirements for becoming a precinct delegate in your county can be found here: http://www.scribd.com/word/embed/25453902 (Printable and downloadable)

ü      Application to become a precinct delegate can be found here: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Aff-ID_Precnt_139901_7.pdf

ü      Identify those who currently have jobs within your county party and where they stand on our core conservative principles. Then either support them or replace them. It’s as simple as that.

ü      Continue to go to your county party meetings, form a coalition with other constitutional conservatives there, vote, go to the state convention, get on the executive committee, run for vice county chair, and then county chair, then you will be helping to pick the candidates on your party ticket!

When you change who is driving, you’ll change where the vehicle is headed. And in the process you’ll build critical infrastructure for the party, which will make it more likely to be successful for the issues you care about – and help build the conservative movement at the same time!

Elections have consequences, as they say, and that applies not just to public office but also to party office. If you’re really committed to conservative principles, then don’t make it any easier for liberals to win – GET INVOLVED!

• If you want real change, then focus on the real problem. Change the personnel.

In a nutshell precinct delegates:

What is a Precinct Delegate?
The role of Precinct Delegate is extremely important and is as “grassroots” as you can get. Precinct Delegates are elected by that precinct’s voters to serve as a liaison between voters and the Democrat or Republican Party in your neighborhood.

What is a Precinct?
The precinct is the smallest political unit in the country and it is where elections are won or lost. All voters in a precinct vote at one location. It is your neighborhood, where you know the people and the issues most important to them.

What do Precinct Delegates do?
As a grassroots leader for your party in your precinct, a Precinct Delegate might:
1. Help people get registered to vote; take information on issues and candidates to voters
2. Identify and recruit others interested in your party
3. Help turn out your party’s vote in your neighborhood on Election Day; or inform party leaders about the issues that concern voters.

Complete printable and downloadable copy here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/25453283/What-is-a-Precinct-Delegate

Michiganders, 2010 is the year that we must and will TAKE MICHIGAN BACK!

Have you recently moved to Michigan or just became of voting age?

Please don’t forget to register to vote. 2010 is an important election year!

Information below on how to register to vote in Michigan

Monday, Jan. 25 is the last day to register to vote for the Feb. 23 election.

To register, applicants must be at least 18 years old by Election Day and be U.S. citizens. Applicants must also be residents of Michigan and of the city or township in which they wish to register.

Voters may register by mail; at their county, city or township clerk’s office; or by visiting any Secretary of State branch office.
The mail-in form is on the Department of State Web site at www.Michigan.gov/sos.

First-time voters who register by mail must vote in person in their first election, unless they hand-deliver the application to their local clerk, are 60 years old or older, are disabled, or are overseas.

To check their registration status, residents may visit the Michigan Voter Information Center at www.Michigan.gov/vote. Residents can also find information on voting by absentee ballot, Michigan’s voter identification requirement, using voting equipment and contacting their local clerk. In addition, they will find a map to their local polling place and a sample ballot.

Voters who qualify may choose to cast an absentee ballot on Election Day. As a registered voter, you may obtain an absentee ballot if you are:
• age 60 or older
• unable to attend the polls without the assistance of another
• expecting to be out of town on Election Day
• in jail awaiting arraignment or trial
• unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons
• appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence.

Those who wish to receive their absentee ballot by mail must submit their application by 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20. Absentee ballots can be obtained in person anytime through 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22. Voters who request an absentee ballot in person on Monday, Feb. 22 must vote the ballot in the clerk’s office. Emergency absentee ballots are available under certain conditions through 4 p.m. on Election Day.

Residents are reminded of the voter identification requirement when at the polls on Election Day. They will be asked to present photo ID, such as a Michigan driver’s license or identification card. Anyone who does not have an acceptable form of photo ID or failed to bring it with them to the polls can still vote. They will sign a brief affidavit stating that they’re not in possession of photo ID. Their ballots will be included with all others and counted on Election Day.

Voters who don’t have a Michigan driver’s license or identification card can show the following forms of photo ID, as long as they are current:
• Driver’s license or personal identification card issued by another state
• Federal or state government-issued photo identification
• U.S. passport
• Military identification card with photo
• Student identification with photo from a high school or an accredited institution of higher education, such as a college or university
• Tribal identification card with photo.
Additional election information can be found at www.Michigan.gov/sos.

A recent article in the New York Times covered the growth of state-level resistance to a future national health care plan. For example, in 2010, voters in Arizona will have a chance to approve a state constitutional amendment that would effectively ban national health care in that state. Legislators in Florida and Michigan have already introduced similar legislation, and potentially, 15 other states will do so in the 2010 legislative session. But heres something fundamentally important that NYT writer Monica Davey claims in her article:

the Constitutions supremacy clause ordinarily allows federal law to, in essence, trump a state law that conflicts with it

A best, this is a highly-misleading statement.

There are two main points to make here:

1. The supremacy clause does not allow federal law to trump state law in all situations, or even ordinarily as Davey claims. It only does so when both laws are in pursuance of a power that has been delegated to the federal government by We the People. in the Constitution.

2. We know that this is the case because Monicas version of the supremacy clause was actually proposed by leading founders and rejected. When the Constitution was being drafted, James Madison and others proposed what came to be known as the Virginia Plan. A major part of this plan was to give the congress a veto over state laws. It was defeated. That means, in plain English, the founders considered this idea, and said no. And Davey is irrefutably wrong in her claim.

So we know from this short lesson that the supremacy clause did not authorize the power that Davey is claiming. In reality, things are pretty much the other way around. The biggest Constitutional problems that actually exist in this country are those times when the federal government exercises powers not delegated to it by We the People. And that happens far more often than not.

Unfortunately, though, not enough people know this important history of the Virginia Plan, and this basic premise of the Constitution, so they’re easily swayed by patently false statements by people like Davey and the New York

Nullification is a constitutional theory that gives an individual state the right to declare null and void any law passed by the United States Congress which the state deems unacceptable and unconstitutional. The concept is most well-known in the context of the sectionalist crisis that plagued the Union in the 40 years preceding the Civil War.

The origins of nullification are found in the Federalist-Republican debate of the late 1700s. James Madison and Thomas Jefferson in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (1798) declared that the states had the right to nullify laws by which the federal government overstepped its limits of jurisprudence.

Gateway Pundit

December 23, 2009 Jim Hoft

Senator Mike Johanns asked consent today to strike the special carve-outs from the Senate health care bill. Democrats immediately objected, thwarting the effort.

“There should be no special deals, no carve-outs for anyone in this health care bill; not for states, not for insurance companies, not for individual senators.

“All of the special deals should be removed. If the bill cannot pass without carve-outs, what further evidence is needed that it is bad policy? No senator should vote for the final cloture vote until all of the carve-outs and special deals are removed.

“Nebraskans don’t want a special deal, they want good policy. They don’t believe the Federal Government is the answer to every problem and they don’t like backroom deals.”

Below is a sample of special deals he offered to strike:

** Eliminating or reducing the Medicaid unfunded mandate on Nebraska, Vermont, and Massachusetts (starting on page 96, line 9) ** Exempting certain health insurance companies in Nebraska and Michigan from taxes and fees (starting on page 367, line 6) ** Providing automatic Medicare coverage for anyone living in Libby, Montana (starting on page 194 – section 10323) ** Earmarking $100 million for a “Health Care Facility” reportedly in Connecticut (starting on page 328) ** Giving special treatment to Hawaii’s Disproportionate Share Hospitals (starting on page 101, line 6) ** Boosting reimbursement rates for certain hospitals in Michigan and Connecticut (starting on page 174 – section 10317) ** Mandating special treatment for hospitals in “Frontier” States like Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming (starting on page 208 — Sec 10324)…Excerpt..Read More at http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2009/12/dems-strike-down-gop-effort-to-strip-bribes-from-health-care-bill

My intent is to provide projects of “armchair activism” that can be done from home yet still send the message to our Representatives that we will not give up until the ObamaCare Bill is killed. This abomination of government control is a nail in the coffin of our Constitutional personal liberties and in fact our very Republic.

…Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings…. Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! Patrick Henry – March 23, 1775

“Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.” Thomas Jefferson

Send a Christmas Greeting to our “dear leaders”!

Front and back of postcards (& list of Senators) can be printed off from this site OR you can download both

Directions:

Click print, you MUST USE LANDSCAPE setting in your printer when you print both the front and back

I also used the “Fast” color setting in my printer to save on colored ink and the front graphic turned out fine
After printing out front of postcard, place GRAPHIC SIDE UP back in paper tray and print out the back of card DON’T FORGET TO CHOOSE LANDSCAPE OPTION in your printer settings

Cut on lines for 4 postcards, address to our “dear leaders (printable addresses for President Obama & senators by state below) sign your name, if you do not wish to use your Street address, please consider your state and zip code to legitimatize your postcard as from a private citizen instead of a Astroturf-type organization

Slap a stamp on ( this is an oversize postcard and only needs postcard postage) and your ready to mail your Christmas “greeting” to our “dear leaders!” Merry Christmas!
Christmas Postcrd

Text on postcard back: “I already have a Savior and its not the government. And I do not want “ObamaCare” under my Christmas tree!

Christmas Postcard Back

Senators by State

Three not to miss!

President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylviania Ave NW
Washington D.C. 20500

Speaker Nancy Pelosi
235 Cannon HOB
Washington D.C. 20515

Sen. Harry Reid
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washinton D.C. 20510