Andy McKenna And His Big Money Obama Supporters

January 31, 2010 | Filed Under Campaign Finance, Chicago, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Liberals, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna is trying to claim he is an “outsider businessman” and that he’s the only one not connected to Illinois corruption. But the facts seem to auger against McKenna’s claims.

For one thing, McKenna has been called out for ethics violations by his own party. On top of that, how does one claim to be an “outsider” when one was the head of the state party!? That’s a couple of major dents in McKenna’s claims right there.

But now comes info from the Ryan campaign that Andy McKenna also has a ton of donors and supporters that are big Obama supporters, too. Now, how can someone claim to be the conservative solution to Springfield if he’s getting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Democrat and Obama supporters?
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Dan Proft Visits Fox News Sunday

January 31, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Meanwhile, one of the members of the Sauk Valley Tea Party group has endorsed Mr. Proft:

Dan Proft – met him, looked him in the eye and he brought up Natural Law in our conversation. He is a real conservative that understand our national constitution. I did not meet Andejewski or Brady, both of which sound like great candidates, but neither made the effort to contact our local tea party and Dan did. Dan has a deep intellect of the issues and for this reason he is getting my vote. If you are voting for a candidate that is not one of the 3 above, you are in herd mentality – there is a difference between a conservative or libertarian and being a Republican.

Roger Keats for Cook County Board President

January 31, 2010 | Filed Under Cook County, Cook County Board, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

First Time Voter Chooses Dodge

January 31, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the Jim Dodge for Comptroller campaign…

Take a look at a message we received from Erik Zimmerman, a young man who takes his voting privileges very seriously. We’re honored that after his research, he decided to cast his vote for Jim Dodge.

Erik Zimmerman “When I was 16 I started realizing my love for politics. Unfortunately, I couldn’t vote yet because I wasn’t 18. I had to wait two long years and watched as Democrats began to take over and run things both in Illinois and in the federal government. After seeing what the liberal policies did to our state I realized that I couldn’t responsibly vote for someone who would treat the taxpayers dollars like a lottery windfall.
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Andrzejewski Extends Condolences To Dillard Family, Campaign

January 31, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the Adam Andrzejewski for Governor campaign…

Elmhurst, Illinois – Conservative candidate for Governor, Adam Andrzejewski (And-GEE-EFF-Ski), placed a call to David Carlin, member of the Dillard Campaign, offering condolences to Senator Dillard, his family and his campaign team for the loss of the State Senator’s Father.

“Tonight, I received the news that Senator Dillard’s father passed away after a battle with cancer. My entire team and all of my supporters will keep Senator Dillard’s family in our prayers tonight,” said Andrzejewski.

Tax Problems For 5th District Candidate Ratowitz?

January 31, 2010 | Filed Under Business, Congress, Cook County, Economy/Finances, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

David Ratowitz is presenting himself to voters as the business oriented, conservative candidate for their 5th District Congressional seat. Ratowitz says he represents “hard-fought professional achievement” and “personal resilience,” and says his “genuine free market outlook” makes him the perfect candidate for conservatives. Also, many of Mr. Ratowitz’ press releases state that he’s for fiscal responsibility and have taken the Obama administration to task for its bad fiscal policies. (www.ratowitzforcongress.com)

So, one would assume that Mr. Ratowitz’ own history should be above reproach. If not pristine, one would hope that any past business troubles or tax issues would be few and far between. After all, everyone makes a few mistakes especially if they are active businessmen.

Now, between 2000 and 2007 Mr. Ratowitz was a businessman in New Orleans, Louisiana. On his campaign website he admits that hurricane Katrina wrecked havoc with his business, but he says he “worked on the ground to rebuild his business and community.”
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Heritage: Unions Ate Your Raise

January 31, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Democracy, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Free Trade, Freedom, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Pensions, Rights, SEIU, Senate, Society/Culture, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

James Sherk has a very good post over at the Heritage Foundation’s The Foundry blog about how unions have hurt us all by fighting for tax increases.

Unions almost never go on strike anymore. Instead, they fight to get more for their members by lobbying for tax increases. Unions spent tens of millions of dollars last year campaigning for higher taxes across the country: Illinois. California. Minnesota. Washington State. Arizona. In many cases they have succeeded.

Nearly every day now we are visited with more proof of how public employees unions are a danger to this country and Sherk has shown us yet another example.

Sherk reports that in Oregon the public employees unions spent $700 million dollars to increase taxes on the people of Oregon. The unions wanted higher taxes to protect their undeservedly high salaries and rich benefits while the regular folks of the Beaver State lost jobs, had their pay cut, and were generally finding hard times — like the rest of normal, non-government worker America.

Not only are unions working against the best interests of the voters, but they are also working to allow out-of-control spending and irresponsibility in government to grow.

Unions are not only antithetical to good government, they are dangerous to our individual prosperity.
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GoogleMonitor.com Launches Today

January 31, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Free Trade, Google, Inernet, Liberals, Net Neutrality, Policy, Scott Cleland, Technology | Comments Off

-By Scott Cleland

Will spotlight Google’s lack of transparency and accountability

WASHINGTON – A new web site designed to make Google more transparent and accountable launched today. GoogleMonitor.com is a crowd-sourcing site which will keep watch on the Web’s top watcher of everyone.

“Google is the most powerful company in the world, dominates the Web’s business model for information discovery and monetization, and watches most everything that happens on the Web,” Scott Cleland of Precursor LLC and GoogleMonitor.com’s publisher said. “Given all that un-checked power, Google has a dangerous dearth of transparency and accountability.”
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A Warning on Electronic Voting

January 31, 2010 | Filed Under Computers, Crime, Democracy, Elections, Freedom, Government, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Journalism, Media Bias, Radio, Security/Safety, Society/Culture, Technology, The Law, Uncategorized, Vote Fraud, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

(Publius Editor’s note: This is a fairly old report on the troubles with electronic voting so some of the links are no longer valid, but the work was pretty comprehensive so I thought some of it might be of interest to those worried about electronic voting. I had this sent to me by a reader and I told him I’d post it but I have been waiting to post this until we were close to the primary. Since it is only a few days away now, so here it is…)

Pandora’s Black Box, Did it Really Count Your Vote?
Relevance – November 1996 – Vol. III- No. V

Editor: Philip M. O’Halloran

[Editor's Note: When we began researching the integrity of the election process, we wanted to believe that the talk of "votescam" was just overblown hype. However, we have since discovered that the computer voting system in this country is a veritable can of worms, so open to tampering that if there is no organized election fraud going on, the criminals are falling down on the job.]

ELECTRONIC VOTING ON TRIAL

On November 5, 1996, millions of Americans voted by secret ballot for thousands of elected officials from the Presidency to the local dog catcher. What few realized is that a key aspect of the vote-counting was also done in secret. What’s more, they have been legally denied the right to find out precisely how their vote is counted.

How can this be? After all, everybody knows that each aspect of the vote-count is officially conducted by “the government under the microscopic scrutiny of thousands of party officials, anxious candidates, poll workers, curious voters and the media, right?
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A Note on Candidate Press Releases

January 30, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Congress, Cook County, Cook County Board, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

When I first set out to lend this space to Republican candidates for the primary I decided that anyone that sent me a press release would have the courtesy of having it posted here.

I did this for several reasons: 1). because I had yet to make my own endorsements and wanted to see what everyone was saying, 2). so that others out there who, like me, wanted to see what was going on with the field of candidates could do so, and 3). to serve as an open forum for all Republican candidates.

Well, now we are at only two days before the voting begins and since I have made my endorsement (see them HERE) I have decided that from this point forward only those candidates I endorse will get this space. It is crunch time and time for me to put forth only those candidates I feel are the best ones.

Thanks for sticking with Publius Forum through the run up to the primary and I hope you stick around during and beyond.

Yours,
Warner Todd Huston
Editor, Publius Forum

Illini Alliance Website: The Place to Stay Connected

January 30, 2010 | Filed Under Cook County, Government, Illini Alliance, Illinois, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

There is a good resource for Illinois center right, conservative/libertarian perspective on the web, it’s the Illini Alliance website.

There you’ll find all the Illinois conservative websites and blogs you’d ever want as well as links to the various conservative minded political parties such as the Illinois Republican Party, the Constitution Party and the Libertarian Party.

You’ll also finds links to the various state policy groups interested in furthering the conservative, free-market message in the Land of Lincoln.

If you know of a good conservative website that isn’t on the list or you have your own Illinois centric blog that flogs the conservative message, be sure and contact the Illini Alliance to get included on the blog roll.

Americans for Prosperity, Illinois: Needing YOUR Help for the Primaries

January 30, 2010 | Filed Under Americans For Prosperity, Congress, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Freedom, GOP, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Republicans, Senate, State Government, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

AFP-IL is part of broad, growing coalition that has come together in effort to change Illinois politics in a big way.

For the last 3 decades, legislators have created their own districts after drawing a name out of hat!

Illinois is the ONLY state in the nation that allows this magic trick to determine such an important issue. Instead of the people choosing legislators, the legislators choose the people. This leads to a failing system of government that is not responsive to the people.

LETS TAKE BACK OUR GOVERNMENT! The Illinois Fair Map Amendment will take redistricting out of the hands of the legislator and put into the hands of in independent commission, making the process more transparent, fair and accessible to the public.

We need to collect 500,000 petition signatures by April 1, 2010. WE NEED YOUR HELP!
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The Formal Declaration: War on the Middle Class!

January 30, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Joe Biden, Liberals, Norvell S. Rose, Socialism, Taxes, The Law | Comments Off

-By Norvell S. Rose

From Barack Obama and his well-oiled propaganda machine, we have come to realize that truth can be found only in the opposite of what’s said. So, when the President announced his new initiatives to help the country’s struggling middle class, I knew that, in fact, the all-out war on the middle class had formally been declared.

Take cover, America, they’re from the government and they’re here to “help” us.

The first wave of the assault – the media blitz.
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Dirty Trick Robocall Says Dan Proft Quits Governor Race

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Earlier today there was news that a fake robocall was making its way across Illinois with the recorded voice claiming to be candidate Dan Proft. This fake voice mimic said that he (as Dan Proft) was quitting the race for Governor. Even more ridiculously the impersonator claimed that he (as Dan Proft) was throwing his support behind the crook Andy McKenna!!

Proft Responds to False and Illegal Robocalls; McKenna Responsible?
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SEIU Hiding Behind Anti-Tea Party Website

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Jobs, Republicans, SEIU, Tea Party, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Video king Lee Doren has done some great sleuthing to find out who is behind the newest attack on patriotic America by the left. A site called TheTeaPartyIsOver.org has popped up just as the primaries in Illinois get going. Its goal? To destroy the influence that Tea Party groups might have on the political process.

Turns out the biggest contributor to the group that created the site is the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of Obama’s biggest supporters and the union that controls a large number of government employees unions.
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8th District Incumbent Democrat, Remember What We Are Fighting

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Congress, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Liberals, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Palatine Tea Party folks have a very good webpage that reminds us of just what we Republicans are fighting when we are looking for candidates to oust incumbent Democrat Melissa Bean.

Congressman Melissa Bean is a tax and spend, big government, socialist healthcare-supporting, left-winger and needs to be eliminated.
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More Illinois Election Web Resources

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Way back in 2009 (OK, it was Dec. 26) I posted a bunch of websites that can help you with your info needs on the web for Illinois elections and most especially Cook County. I have another website to add to that list so I thought I’d just repost the whole thing.

The new resource is a site called eVoter.com. On the main page they describe themselves as an “unbiased, non-partisan election information site where Voters can instantly generate a personalized Sample Ballot, view Candidate Profiles, make Contributions, view Organizational Endorsements, find Polling Places and more.”

You can find them at www.evoter.com

For a list of the website of all candidates including Democrats, see www.uselections.com/il/il.htm.

And don’t forget the Chicago Tribune’s candidate questionnaire responses.

State-wide and Cook County and Collar County GOP Candidate’s websites:

U.S. Senate

John Arrington – arringtonforsenate.com
Patrick Hughes – patrickhughesforsenate.com
Mark Kirk – kirkforsenate.com
Tom Kuna – w-e-r-co.com
Don Lowery – judgelowery4ussenate.com
Andy Martin – andyforussenator.com
Kathleen Thomas – kathleenthomasforsenate.org
Ed Varga – e-varga.com
Robert Zadek – robertzadek.com
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Which Ill. Candidates Have Signed Taxpayer Protection Pledge?

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Americans for Tax Reform, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Chicago, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Illinois, Republicans, Rights, State Government, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Americans for Tax Reform (atr.org) has a post up today reminding us all just which Illinois candidates have signed ATR’s no tax pledge.

It’s called the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and you can see the pledge HERE.
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GOP’s Hayes Appeals to Black Press: ‘We are not Outsiders!’

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, House of Representatives, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the Issac Hayes for 2nd District Congressional seat, facing Jesse Jackson, Jr. …

The following letter was released today by Rev. Isaac C. Hayes, the GOP nominee for Congress in IL-2, challenging the persistent indifference to Black Republican candidates by Black publications:

“As ‘minorities’ we have always called for diversity and tolerance” said Hayes, “yet within Black press there is no tolerance for Black Republicans and no willingness to embrace Black political diversity. My question is why not? Why are our press releases, letters to the editor, community events, and campaigns ignored? Is it not the responsibility of Black press to keep the Black community informed of what and who is impacting their lives?”
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US Senate: Patrick Hughes Video Ad

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Conservatives, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Republicans, Senate, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

8th District: Dirk Beveridge Video Ad

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Congress, Cook County, Elections, GOP, House of Representatives, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

U.S. Senate: John Arrington Presses President, Pentagon for Manufacturing Jobs at Rock Island Arsenal and Across U.S.‏

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Congress, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Senate, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the John Arrington for Senate campaign…

On Friday, January 29th at 2:00 p.m. Senate candidate John Arrington will be holding a press conference at the iWireless Center near the Rock Island arsenal. In response to President Obama’s State of the Union speech, Mr. Arrington will be sending letters to the President, Congress, and the Pentagon today demanding that an assessment be taken of defense systems manufactured overseas, and that all defense related products be returned to the U.S. for production. “Discussing jobs without including our disappearing manufacturing industry is like discussing healthcare without tort reform, it’s a Band-Aid approach,” stated Arrington. “Americans must produce in order to sustain our economic future, and that must start with our Department of Defense.”
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Obama’s Lobbyist Slams Masks Big K Street Payday

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Lobbyists, Regulation, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

In his State of the Union speech, the president puffed up his chest, fixed his Mr. scornful face, and once again pulled out the populist’s handbook to bash those evil, monstrous lobbyists.

Obama mentioned lobbyists seven times in his address and in every case they were used as a scapegoat to explain away Washington’s inability to get one thing or another done.

Obama promised — again and for the thousandth time — to “end the outsized influence of lobbyists” in Washington. He then praised himself for excluding lobbyists from jobs in his administration and he proposed even more limits on them.

This attack on lobbyists is cathartic and makes for great populist boilerplate, of course, but there isn’t much truth in Obama’s attack on them because the fact is K Street — the D.C. street where many lobbying firms are located — has made more money off the Obama Administration than from any previous president.
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Another Example of Backwards Islamic ‘Culture’

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Afghanistan, Children, Family, Gays, History, Islam, Morals/Sex, Religion, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

U.S. troops in Afghanistan are having a hard time understanding what is a strange Afghan cultural practice to them. The practice can be summed up in the ages old Afghan phrase, “women are for children, boys are for pleasure.”

Yes, that phrase means what you think it means. It has been well known for a long time that some parts of Afghanistan have an odd sexual practice ensconced in its culture. Men have sex for pleasure with boys often eschewing women. Sometimes these men even claim to be disgusted by the idea of sex for pleasure with a woman. Yet none of these Afghani men think of themselves as homosexual because they don’t “love” their male sex partners. They just love the sex.
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Teachers Union Ruins NY Shot at $700M in Stimulus

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Education, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, New York, States, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Being a good conservative, I am torn on this story! It seems that the teachers union in New York State refused to comply with some simple requirements in cooperation with the state government so that New York could qualify for $700 million in federal stimulus money from a program known as Race to the Top.

Now, on my fiscally conservative side I am glad that the federal government won’t be sending this $700 million to New York. In fact, I’d like to see every state be refused this money. In fact, I’d like the federal government itself to be refused this money by the taxpayers!

But this story also reveals how illegitimate these unions are because the requirements were very simple. All the union had to do was agree with teacher merit pay. But, you see, the United Federation of Teachers doesn’t believe that its membership should be held to any standards. Why should a bad teacher be able to be fired they wonder?
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Sex, Lies, and the State of Union

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, John Armor, Taxes | Comments Off

-By John Armor

I’m just a semi-retired lawyer, living on a gravel road in the Blue Ridge Mountains. But I am also an avid consumer of news in all forms. This is a test. I read none of today’s analyses of the State of the Union speech. Here are the obvious lies I saw, off the top of my head.

Lie 1: “one in ten… cannot find work.” Government statistics show that unemployment is almost double that; 17% are out of work. But the “official” rate ignores the 7% who have given up looking for a job.

Lie 2: “to get a government that matches [Americans] dignity.” Is he totally unaware of the members of his Administration, or of his supporters in Congress, who are currently under investigation as tax cheats, perjurers, or other felonies? Or, does President Obama assume that they will all beat the rap?

Lie 3: “we made the [financial recovery] program more transparent and accountable.” Is he unaware that Congress is currently trying to find out where the now-$850 billion bailout money went? Who got it, and why, and how?
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Supermarket bans PJs and bare feet

January 29, 2010 | Filed Under Ann "Babe" Huggett, Britain, Business, Society/Culture | Comments Off

-By Ann “Babe” Huggett

On the Culture Wars front, the British supermarket chain, Tescos, struck a blow for sartorial dignity in its St. Mellons in Cardiff, Wales branch by posting a “Customer Dress Code Policy” banning shoppers coming in clad in pajamas, barefoot and/or both.

Signs saying, “To avoid causing offense or embarrassment to others we ask that our customers are appropriately dressed when visiting our store (footwear must be worn at all times and no nightwear is permitted).” have been placed at the entrance to the store in what Americans will recognize as a variation on our “No Shoes, no shirt, no service.” domestic stores policy although here in open-carry Arizona, “No weapons allowed” signs give a regional variation that must make the Nervous Nellie crowd feel better.

Back at the St. Mellons Tescos, outraged customer, Elaine Carmody, was actually turned away when she tried to buy cigarettes because of her sloppy and routine PJ bottoms and slippers wear.
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Ryan Slaps McKenna: Andy McKenna Needs to Come Clean — or Withdraw

January 28, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

I don’t support Mr. Ryan’s bid for Governor, but I sure as heck sign onto THIS question he’s asking. From the Ryan for Governor campaign…

Why Illinois voters should be concerned about this issue

Andy McKenna needs to answer all questions related to an ongoing ethics probe — or withdraw from the race.
We have learned that Andy declined to answer questions posed to him as part of an ethics inquiry that ultimately concluded he violated the Illinois Republican Party’s code of ethics by ordering a $28,000 self-serving poll while he was party chairman.
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14th District: Left-Wing, Anti-Tea Party Group Attacks Hultgren

January 28, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, House of Representatives, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, States, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

From the Randy Hultgren for Congress campaign…

Just a few days before the Illinois Primary on February 2nd, a group calling itself “The Tea Party is Over” identified 14th Congressional District Candidate Randy Hultgren as possessing “dangerous ideas of the Tea Party.”

“If your enemies are any indication of your standing in the world, Randy’s honored with being labeled an enemy of these special interest, big government unions like the SEIU and AFL-CIO who have backed this radical-left group with tens of millions of dollars.” said Hultgren Campaign Manager John Cooney.
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Comptroller: Homer Lockport Tea Party Endorses Jim Dodge

January 28, 2010 | Filed Under Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the Dodge for Comptroller campaign…

Jim Dodge, Republican candidate for Illinois Comptroller, is proud to announce he has received the endorsement of the Homer Lockport Tea Party.

“I would like to thank the members of the Homer Lockport Tea Party for their support,” Dodge said. “This group held one of the largest Tea Party gatherings in the country on Labor Day of last year. They know what is at stake this election for our state and our country, they are working very hard to get the word out, and I couldn’t be happier to have their support.”
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