Wednesday, February 29, 2012

ICYMI: Santorum Aided Junk Lending and Bailouts—Hurting Minority Families, Launching Recession

Helped lead effort of promoting no-money-down home ownership as the bubble kept inflating
 
LAKE JACKSON, Texas – Here’s one for the history books, and you don’t need to speak as a historian to appreciate it.
 
On the campaign trail, Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum often touts a rigid disdain for government interference in the economy and federal bailouts for the wealthy few at the expense of our most vulnerable citizens.  But as U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania Santorum actively supported the junk lending that put minority families underwater and the subsequent bailouts that shielded unscrupulous non- and for-profit lenders, while leaving middle class minorities and the nation’s entire middle class holding the bag.
 
It remains to be seen whether the nation will have Santorum to thank for the coming inflation tax that erodes purchasing power for low- and fixed-income Americans, since taxpayers have yet to see the full bill for these bailouts.
 
In Bid to Boost Black Homeownership, Rick Santorum Fueled Housing Bubble That Led to Financial Crisis
By Charles C. Johnson
 
One of the consistent refrains from the Rick Santorum campaign is that he opposes government bailouts, but as a senator, he supported the something-for-nothing policy most responsible for the housing bubble. Like George W. Bush and other “compassionate conservatives,” he was naively obsessed with affordable housing for low-income potential home buyers, a mismanaged cause that led to billions in loan defaults and which the IRS called a “scam.”
 
In his book It Takes A Family (2005), Santorum wrote at length and approvingly of the Nehemiah Project, a Sacramento faith-based nonprofit that helped mostly black low-income buyers get access to home ownership through its down-payment assistance program. (The name Nehemiah, who rebuilt Jerusalem, comes from the Bible.)
 
But as Jeff Horwitz and Dave Jamieson report from the Huffington Post’s Investigative Fund, down-payment aid programs like Nehemiah effectively “pav[ed] the way for even riskier subprime loans by private lenders.” How did this happen? Horwitz and Jamieson explained in 2009.
 
A home builder would agree to make a “gift” to the nonprofit in an amount equal to the down payment. The nonprofit would give the cash to the buyer, often earning a generous fee for its role as middleman. In less than a decade, nonprofits had arranged more than a million no-money-down house sales around the country. By 2008, they represented more than a third of all loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).
 
The Santorum-endorsed Nehemiah Project and its nearest competitor, AmeriDream, according to Horwitz and Jamieson, helped set up 392,000 mortgages worth $54 billion, earning tens of millions in fees for itself—and nearly a billion dollars each for Centex, D.R. Horton, and Dominion Homes, the builders who made the donations that made the shaky mortgages possible. The loans to the buyers, which ended up with triple the default rate of other FHA loans, often required no down payment at all from them, something of which Rick Santorum specifically approved. Indeed, Santorum proudly worked with Senator Dianne Feinstein (recipient of $1000 from Nehemiah’s CEO in 2006) and other Democrats to protect the Nehemiah Project from oversight from the IRS and HUD…
 
To read the full article online, please click here.

ICYMI: Carlos Gutierrez: “Obama’s Broken Promises to Young Americans”

Excerpts from the Miami Herald
 
By Carlos Gutierrez
February 29, 2012
 
"Four years ago, the youthful Obama campaign offered young Americans the promise of a hopeful future. Today, the Obama presidency has little to offer the country's newest crop of first-time voters...
 
"Young Americans deserve better. They need an economy that offers opportunities, not roadblocks...
 
"Employment for 18-to-24 year-olds is at the lowest level since the Great Depression. Only 54.3 percent are employed, compared to 62.4 percent four years ago. And 13.3 percent of 20-to-24 year-olds who are actively looking for work cannot find a job - five percentage points higher than the overall unemployment rate.
 
"The president's record of mandates and regulations has placed excessive burdens on small and large businesses alike, increasing their operating costs. That, in turn, makes it more difficult for them to hire new employees-especially those new to the job market...
 
"The cost of a college education is at an all-time high. Average tuition at a four-year in-state college has increased 25 percent since President Obama took office from $6,591 to $8,244, according to the College Board.
 
"President Obama has been touring college campuses to promote his plan to tackle student loan debt. But he fails to tell students how little his refinancing plan will actually help them: It will save the average student less than $10 a month at a time when student debt is at an all time high...
 
"Even though young Americans will contribute sizable chunks of their paychecks to Medicare and Social Security, they may not enjoy the benefits of these entitlement programs. Because of Democrats' unwillingness to reform Medicare, its trust fund will be exhausted in 2022. The Social Security trust fund, if the program goes unreformed, will be exhausted in 2036...
 
"Today's college-age voters will be less eager to buy into 'hope and change' than their brothers and sisters were. That's because they know something their older siblings didn't. They know what an Obama presidency looks like..."
 
Click Here To Read The Op-Ed: http://bit.ly/y0wggM
 
Source: RNC

Greens: “Leap” to Register for our National Meeting Today!


Registration is open for the 2012 Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention and Annual Meeting. Today is the last day to take advantage of earlybird registration. Tomorrow registration rates will increase, so make sure to register today!
Not sure if you'll be a delegate to the Presidential Nominating Convention? Remember, registrations are transferable so you can sell your registration to someone else from your state. Register today to take advantage of low rates!
 
Even if you aren't representing your state party at our nominating convention, there will be plenty to do and learn at this year's Green Party national meeting. We are planning a dynamic event for Greens at all levels - delegates, committee members, state and local party leaders, candidates and campaign staff, elected officials, and just folks interested in learning more about our party. In other words - you!
 
The convention will be July 12th-15th, 2012 at the University of Baltimore. Come for workshops on Thursday and Friday, Green Party National Committee business meetings and the Presidential Nominating Convention on Saturday, July 14th. We are also planning special events and fundraisers for Friday and Saturday nights. Baltimore has plenty to do for the whole family!
 
The race for the Green Party's Presidential nomination is heating up - candidates Jill Stein, Roseanne Barr, and Kent Mesplay have all won delegates to our national nominating convention. Make sure to be in Baltimore to see who wins!
 
 
Don't delay - today is the last day for early bird registration rates. Once you register, alert Greens in your area and please keep checking back on the convention website for updates and information.

Source: Green Party e-letter

The Great Recession Continues…

Well, it's official: The "Great Recession" is now the longest recession since the Great Depression. Not only is it the longest - it is the deepest. As capitalism continues to falter, the recessions get longer and longer. The last longest one lasted the majority of George W. Bush's presidency. As you can see by the red line that signifies the current recession, we've got a long way to go before workers can consider the economy "recovered." Of course, we also have to consider how much worse and prolonged the crisis  would be without the weak efforts and stimulus and the auto bail  out. And how much the Republican plans for the economy would have severely  aggravated the economic crisis for working people if they had won out.
 
It's Not the Fault of Workers
Last week we posted and article that showed a link between education and unemployment rates. However, it is clear that even those with advanced education and experience also have trouble finding work. And an article in US News and World Report shows even business sources question attacking unemployment benefits. Rep. Rangel (D-NY) recently wrote an article on unemployment and poverty in the US, illustrating that unemployment insurance is an individual worker's insurance program, not a handout. Jobs are slowly returning, but what sort of jobs have been making a comeback? According to a data brief from the National Employment Law Project, "employment growth has been concentrated in lower-wage occupations, with minimal growth in mid-wage occupations and net losses in higher-wage occupations." In the same vein, Bloomberg agrees that low-wage jobs (like the ones Romney pats himself on the back for creating) aren't helping to end the recession.
 
On the Legislative Front
An article in the Wall Street Journalreports that more than a dozen states are considering legislation to make it illegal for companies to discriminate against the unemployed. This would mean that bosses could no longer legally put "must be currently employed" in the want ad, nor refuse work to someone who is unemployed. Unfortunately, in Colorado an unemployment discrimination bill failed to pass thanks to the Republican-controlled House there.
 
Workplace Victories!
Meanwhile, we're seeing good news reported in the People's World from Oklahoma and Illinois. In Tulsa, city workers win fight against privatization and in Chicago, workers at Republic Windows occupy again and win again.

Please make sure to visit the People's World online for the best in worker's news!
 
In solidarity,            
 
Scott Marshall
Labor Chair, CPUSA

Source: e-letter from CPUSA

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Ron Paul Leads Obama Among Voters in National Poll

New poll shows the 12-term Congressman defeating incumbent President
 
LAKE JACKSON, Texas – 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul beats President Barack Obama in a head-to-head matchup among the nation’s voters, according to a new Rasmussen Poll.
 
Congressman Paul bests President Obama 43 to 41 percent according to voters’ preference.  Obama would beat Newt Gingrich 49 percent to 39 percent and Rick Santorum 45 percent to 43 percent while Mitt Romney would beat Obama by two percent within the poll’s +/- 3 percent margin of error.
 
“This is further evidence of the fact that Ron Paul is the only candidate who can defeat Barack Obama,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.  “Ron Paul was the only candidate to predict the economic disarray we currently face and he is the only candidate to solve these problems.  In order to win back the White House, Republicans must nominate a consistent candidate that offers something besides the status quo.  Ron Paul is that candidate.”
 
The results were collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night and reported on a three-day rolling average. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 1,500 likely voters is +/- 3 percentage points.
 
Full poll results can be found here.

VIDEO: Stepping Up When Duty Called

President Obama invited six special senior citizens to visit the White House to honor as unsung heroes, in recognition of Black History Month. These individuals strengthen their communities through extraordinary everyday acts of service -- reliably committed, but seldom recognized.
Watch our interviews with these six amazing Americans in "Honoring Unsung Heroes":

Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Obama Threatens to Cry “Wolf” Again

With gasoline prices causing unrest among voters, President Obama is considering tapping America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This purely political move would cause more harm than good—including costing American taxpayers $1.5 billion dollars.
 
Gasoline prices have surged 42 cents a gallon in the first two months of 2012, setting new records for the most expensive January and February ever at the pump. Americans now pay an average of $3.72 for one gallon of regular gasoline, a 101 percent increase since President Obama took office. Energy analysts project even higher gas prices this summer, warning us to brace for pain at the pump in excess of $4 per gallon.
 
When faced with voter anger over similar prices last June, President Obama sold more than 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) – a pool created for use only in emergencies to safeguard the U.S. economy and national security against severe supply disruptions. The SPR had sold oil twice before in response to supply emergencies. President Obama’s sale of reserve oil was for strictly political reasons.
 
Now Democrats are urging President Obama again to misuse the SPR in a transparent election-year attempt to look like he is doing something about skyrocketing gasoline prices. The White House has pointedly said that all options, including tapping the SPR, remain on the table.
 
There are five primary reasons why repeating this political draw-down would be bad for the American people.  (Read more)

Monday, February 27, 2012

Why Attack Santorum or Gingrich but not Romney?


Ron Paul’s critics continue to note that Paul seems to reserve more scorn for Rick Santorum than Mitt Romney at the moment. I pretty much do the same on this blog. Does this mean the Paul camp is somehow pro-Romney? Or in “cahoots” with Mitt, as people continue to speculate?

Hardly.

Most observers agree that throughout this election there has been Romney and the campaign to become the anti-Romney, with Romney being the moderate, establishment choice and the anti-Romney being the conservative, anti-establishment choice.

If Republican voters are already supporting Romney then they’ve already made peace with his big government, anti-conservative record. Newt Gingrich wanted to be the anti-Romney, until conservatives could no longer ignore that Newt’s big government record wasn’t much different from Mitt’s. Santorum now wants to be the anti-Romney. The problem is Santorum is every bit the big government politician Romney is. Mr. “politics is a team sport” Santorum was literally a water carrier for the GOP establishment throughout the last decade and then some.

Throughout January (and before), Ron Paul pointed out how Gingrich differed little from Romney. Paul now points out how Santorum is no different from Romney.

Only Ron Paul is drastically different from Romney, Gingrich and Santorum, with a limited government record that is without compare. The other candidates never attack Paul on his record because they can’t.

Paul’s primary task at the moment is to remind conservatives that the latest supposed anti-Romney, Santorum, is no conservative.

And once Paul becomes the anti-Romney, then we’ll finally see the war for the heart and soul of the Republican Party that needs to happen. If Romney thinks it’s tough debating phonies like Santorum and Gingrich over who has a marginally less big government record, wait until Mitt has to face the only Republican candidate who has no big government record.

There has been only one anti-Romney in this election the entire time. Ron Paul’s job at the moment is to remind conservatives of this otherwise glaring fact.

Source: Paulitical Ticker

ICYMI: Editorial: “Unstimulating”

Excerpts from the Columbus Dispatch
 
February 27, 2012
 
"With the recent marking of the third anniversary of the first federal stimulus bill's passage, it's hard to argue that taxpayers got their $800 billion worth. If anything, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - passed along party lines, with the aid of all sorts of side deals and kickbacks to woo holdout lawmakers - ultimately might have delayed and extended the pain of the recession by providing only short-term and inefficient fixes to a much-larger economic problem, while significantly increasing the nation's burden of debt...
 
"Despite all the promises of transparency, there were problems with the full disclosure and oversight of stimulus funds from the outset...there were far fewer 'shovel ready' projects poised to create jobs than initially promised; and the 'saved and created' method of reporting jobs supposedly tied to the stimulus was quickly recognized as a sham, over reporting job numbers or including jobs that never were in danger...
 
"Today, saddled with an ever-ballooning debt and a national unemployment rate that has remained above 8 percent - and is much worse if one takes into account the number of people who simply have given up trying to find a job or are underemployed - the absurdity of the argument for the stimulus is apparent to the majority of Americans who continue to be faced with tough choices in their own household budgets..."
 
Click Here To Read The Full Op-Ed: http://bit.ly/y8ZGjq
 
Source: RNC Press

VIDEO: Backstage at White House Red, White & Blues Concert

Legendary American music duo, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks were on hand in the East Wing, for our "In Performance at the White House: Red, White & Blues" concert.
Check out this behind the scenes video of the two performing "Rollin' and Tumblin' " at the White House.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Star Wars and the Austrian School: A Brief Overview

By Zach Foster
This article was originally published by Young Americans for Liberty
 
Star Wars is unquestionably a brilliant saga that touches the hearts of many through its incorporation of timeless literary archetypes and humanist themes.  Adventure, love, loss, spirituality, good vs. evil, and the triumph of the human (and humanoid) spirit...
 
Yet there are other characteristics standing out that demand attention and respect, such as the saga’s inclusion of patterns of history (great wars and economic or political disasters) and of the interactions and exchanges of societies and individuals.  One could practically point to passages from Mises’ Human Action or Theory and History while watching any given Star Wars episode!
 
Everyone knows the basic storyline that spans six episodes and numerous television and novel tie-ins.  A once prosperous and peaceful republic decays over time from corruption and then war.  Victory over secessionists in a great galactic war only serves to undermine the Republic’s ideals of liberty and hastens its demise and overt reorganization into the Galactic Empire.  Following two decades of imperial rule and repression, a guerrilla army dedicated to reestablishing the Republic and maintaining its founding principles of liberty fights a lengthy campaign, pursuing only the help of willing parties, eventually destroying the Empire and restoring republican democracy to the galaxy.
 
While the whole republican democracy vs. imperial rule theme is incredibly broad and universal, there are a number of factors that tug on the heart strings of any Austrian economists.  The saga begins with the Trade Federation, involved in a dispute over taxing trade routes, launching a blockade of the planet Naboo.  This is unquestionably an aggressive action inflicted on a sovereign people for the purpose of maintaining protectionist taxes and other economic interventionism—a crime not only against a sovereign people but also a violation of the free market.
 
Throughout the Clone Wars, part of the C.I.S. (Separatist) war effort is paid for by Trade Federation revenues, as well as profits generated by the Intergalactic Banking Clan (secretly controlled by the emperor-to-be Palpatine).  Can anyone say Intergalactic Federal Reserve?  At the same time, the Republic’s war effort is paid for by inflation by its own central bank, and probably also by raising taxes on Republic member worlds.
 
The end of the Clone Wars is met the rise of the Empire and Darth Vader—warnings of what happens when great leaders and great societies sacrifice their principles under an end-justifies-the-means mentality and invariably become what they originally set out to fight against.  In order to carry out the Wilsonian fantasy of “making the world [err, galaxy] safe for democracy” the Republic had to become an Empire, a threshold from which there was no return.
 
Then comes the Rebel Alliance, a coalition resembling that of thirteen autonomous states during the American Revolutionary War, fighting the Empire so that the Republic and its Constitution could be restored.  This Republic would be one that respects individual rights and the self-determination of worlds.  What did the Rebels give to the galaxy? “A republic, if you can keep it” (Benjamin Franklin).
 
Across the journey the audience is introduced to fascinating commercial centers.  Two such places, radically different from each other, are Coruscant and Tatooine.  Corsuscant and its booming skyscrapers represent the hustle and bustle of Wall Street, while the desert spaceports of Tatooine are a haven for the black market—some would call the black market the free market.  Whatever drugs, technology, equipment, and other goods are off the market where the Republic  rigidly enforces its prohibitionist and protectionist laws can easily be obtained in the unregulated bazaars of Tatooine—for the right price of course.  There’s a whole galaxy thriving with exchanges and movement and all sorts of human and humanoid action to explore!
 
Let this serve as an introduction to a series of glimpses into the Star Wars universe through the eyes of an Austrian economist.  Feel free to come along for the ride, and may the Force be with you.
 
 
Image edited by Zach Foster. Background taken from a U.S. government photo and in the public domain.

ICYMI: Taxpayer Group Says Ron Paul is “without peer”

Tax policy expert says that on the whole, Ron Paul’s record is “exemplary,” suggests Santorum’s Mesa debate claim based on fuzzy math
 
LAKE JACKSON, Texas – 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul earns high praise for being a taxpayer watchdog, and works to ensure that federal government revenue is collected in a manner consistent with Washington’s constitutional limits to collect it.
 
The 12-term Congressman from Texas supports the notion that the federal government’s personal income tax is unconstitutional and equates all taxes with pilfering from one group and using force to redistribute private property to others.  Dr. Paul’s voting record on taxes is starkly different from those of his moderate-establishment rivals for the Republican nomination.  So much so, that one is hard pressed to successfully claim ignorance of them.
 
That’s why last Wednesday at the Republican debate in Mesa, Arizona it was quite awkward when Rick Santorum claimed to be a sort of taxpayer’s BFF.  (Sigh, we know…)  The National Taxpayer’s Union (NTU) recently published a piece on Santorum’s odd claim, arriving at the two-pronged conclusion that the former Pennsylvania Senator sourced a ratings system that used flawed methodology, and that of the three candidates onstage who served in Congress, Dr. Paul scores the best—lifetime.
 
NTU Rates Congress and Presidential Candidates
 By Andrew Moylan
 
*Important note: NTU has not endorsed and will not be endorsing any Presidential candidate, nor is this post intended to suggest support or opposition for any Presidential candidate.*
 
There’s been a lot of attention paid to NTU’s annual Rating of Congress recently with regard to the Republican Presidential candidates. Since 1979, NTU has performed an annual Rating of Congress where we look at every vote on tax and fiscal policy, weight it from 1 to 100 based on importance, and calculate a percentage score indicating a Member’s support for limited government (We did ratings before 1979 too but used a “key vote” system that’s not directly comparable to our modern Rating). You can look at the entire record post-1992 (the year we began issuing letter grades) on our website, and our 2011 analysis will be available in a few weeks.
 
To clarify the record given the recent coverage, we released this statement yesterday where we published the entire Rating history for Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich going back to 1979.
 
In last night’s debate, Rick Santorum cited NTU in an exchange with Ron Paul…
 
“Ron, The Weekly Standard just did a review, looking at the National Taxpayers Union, I think, Citizens Against Government Waste, and they measured me up against the other 50 senators who were serving when I did and they said that I was the most fiscally conservative senator in the Congress in the — in the 12 years that I was there.
 
My — my ratings with the National Taxpayers Union were As or Bs.”
 
The analysis to which Santorum is referring was performed by Jeffrey Anderson, a writer for the conservative Weekly Standard. Anderson did a couple of interesting things with the data, some of which I think are insightful and some of which I think are misguided…
 
To read the full NTU post online, please click here.

New American magazine quotes LP’s attack on Mitt Romney's High Government Spending record in Massachuse​tts

Libertarian Party Executive Director Carla Howell is quoted in the current issue of the New American which suggests that many Tea Party members remain unaware of Republican Mitt Romney's voting record (as well as that of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich) - all Big Government:
 
Carla Howell pointed out, "The Massachusetts state budget was $22.7 billion a year when (Romney) took office in January of 2003. When he left office four years later, it was over $25.7 billion — plus another $2.2 billion in spending that the legislature took 'off budget.' (Romney never reminds us of this fact.) The net effect of budgets proposed and signed into law by Mitt Romney? An additional $5.2 billion in state spending — and a similar increase in new taxes. Every year.”
 
2012 Libertarian candidates for federal office, and especially the eventual Libertarian presidential nominee, have a huge opportunity to inform voters of how Republicans and Democrats are equally guilty of reckless, dangerous high government spending.
 
Libertarian candidates will offer Tea Party enthusiasts and voters everywhere a real choice for much lower government spending, lower taxes and a more stable dollar - all conditions that promote private sector job growth.
 
##
 
P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party with a mission to give voters a choice to downsize Big Government, to do so in the most humane way possible, to greatly reduce taxes, and to slash high government spending. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can simply make a contribution.

Greens Racking Up Ballot Access Wins!


The Green Party of the United States announced this morning that the Maryland Green Party will be defending its latest ballot access petition in court on Friday, March 2nd. The state party, which has been ballot-qualified since 2000, collected significantly more signatures than necessary to maintain its status as a political party but has been in court for almost a year defending them against harsh verification standards. According to analysts, this case - in Maryland's highest court - will "impact elections in Maryland for years to come".  
 
Another successful ballot access case would cap off a month of huge wins for the Green Party across the United States. On February 3rd, a U.S. District Court ruling struck down restrictve portions of Tenneessee's ballot access law and ordered the Green Party to be placed on the ballot. 
 
On February 15th, reports indicated that volunteers had collected enough signatures to put the Green Party on the ballot in Utah. Supporters turned in three thousand signatures, a thousand more than the state requires to recognize a political party.
 
Then on February 21st, Greens in Hawaii turned in the signatures necessary for ballot access in the Aloha State. The Green Party has a long history of ballot access and electoral success in Hawaii, having elected several members to county office.
 
The Green Party is currently on the ballot in 20 states and is working on being placed on over 45 state ballots for the 2012 election. We will send further updates as the quest for ballot access unfolds, so keep reading and thank you for your support of the Green Party.

Source: Green Party e-letter

Weekly Address: An All-Of-The-Above Approach to American Energy

President Obama talks about how important it is to embrace an all-of-the-above approach to addressing our nation’s energy challenges.
 
Watch the weekly address.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Veterans March on the White House


On February 20th, President’s Day, several hundred veterans marched, in formation, from the Washington Monument to the White House. When they arrived they did an about face to turn their backs to The White House and held a salute for eight minutes, one second for every soldier that has committed suicide since President Obama took office. After the salute the soldiers stood in silent prayer for twenty minutes, one second for every soldier that has been died overseas since President Obama took office.
 
These veterans marched to show solidarity against the continued war mongering of Washington and their support for Ron Paul. The main stream media largely ignored this event with only a handful of articles appearing online. Revolution PAC was there to bring you firsthand reporting and video of this historical event in the fight against these unconstitutional wars and continued hawkish stances from both sides of the aisle.
 
Revolution PAC will be uploading more video taken from that event as soon as possible. Please be sure to check our youtube channel, http://www.youtube.com/therevolutionpac for more videos.

Source: Revolution PAC

TV Ad Debunking Rick Santorum’s Alleged ‘Conservatism’

“Santorum touts his ‘conservative record’ all too often.  It’s time that his real record makes its way into the national conversation.” – Jesse Benton


LAKE JACKSON, Texas – The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign announced today the release of its latest television ad ‘Fake’ to debunk the oft-parroted myth that Dr. Paul’s rival Rick Santorum is a fiscal conservative.
The energetic 30-second ad will begin running on broadcast and television in Michigan and is part of the Ron Paul campaign’s major ad blitz set to hit next month’s ‘Super Tuesday’ states to be announced Wednesday.
The upbeat ‘Fake’ begins with the central question of whether or not the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania is even remotely a fiscal conservative, and it pulls no punches when answering the question.  (Hint: the answer is “no.”)
‘Fake’ recites just a portion of Rick Santorum’s decidedly un-conservative scorecard: He voted to raise the federal debt ceiling five times, he voted to double the size of the Department of Education through the costly and wildly unpopular No Child Left Behind initiative, and he voted for the behemoth Medicare Part D – the biggest such entitlement expansion since the 1960s.  The ad also notes that the vest-wearing Santorum voted in favor of giving anti-American dictators in North Korea and Egypt billions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer-supplied foreign aid, and he even voted to give notorious abortion provider Planned Parenthood millions of dollars in funding.
“Our new ad ‘Fake’ contains just a snippet of evidence against Rick Santorum being a fiscal conservative, but because these examples are so damning it makes the case convincingly,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.  “Santorum touts his ‘conservative record’ all too often.  It’s time that his real record makes its way into the national conversation we’re having about which Republican presidential candidate is the authentic, consistent conservative.  That man is Ron Paul.”
To view the television ad online, please click here.

The Green Party welcomes presidential candidates Roseanne Barr and Jill Stein

The Green presidential nominee will be chosen at the party's 2012 convention in Baltimore, Md., July 12-15
 
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States welcomes two candidates into the race for the 2012 Green presidential nomination, Jill Stein and Roseanne Barr. Ms. Barr and Dr. Stein submitted paperwork to meet the Green Party's requirements as of the evening of the Feb. 1 deadline.
 
"We are thrilled to have two strong women running for President as Greens," said Darryl! Moch, national co-chair of the Green Party. "We look forward to a race based on Green ideas and values, and to showing the Democrats and Republicans how to run without the corrupting influence of fat corporate campaign checks and corporate-funded attack ads."
 
"Anyone hopeful about the Occupy Wall Street's challenge to the status quo or disappointed by the Obama Administration's broken promises of change now has a pair of candidates to watch. Anyone bored or irritated with the Mitt Versus Newt Show by now will be relieved by the breath of fresh air -- maybe a Green gale force of righteousness -- that's about to come," said Tamar Yager, also a national co-chair of the Green Party.
 
For more information about the candidates, visit the following sites:
 
Jill Stein: http://www.jillstein.org
Roseanne Barr: http://www.roseanneforpresident.com
2012 Press Information for Green Candidates http://www.gp.org/candidates/index.php
 
The nominee will be chosen at the Green Party's national convention, July 12-15, in Baltimore, Maryland (http://www.gpconvention2012.com)
 
State Green Parties in California, Arizona, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and possibly Ohio are participating in primary elections. Other state Green Parties will choose the nominee they support and apportion delegates during statewide Green conventions. The Green Party currently has ballot access in 17 states. Greens expect to have the presidential nominee and other candidates on the ballot in at least 46 states and the District of Columbia on Election Day 2012.
 
Past Green Party convention sites and nominees:
 
2000: Denver, Colorado; Ralph Nader
2004: Milwaukee, Wisconsin; David Cobb
2008: Chicago, Illinois; Cynthia McKinney
 
"We consider it important to have strong women candidates at a time when women's reproductive rights are under assult, from the Obama Administration's decision on the morning-after pill to the Komen Foundation's withdrawal of funding for breast cancer screening from Planned Parenthood. We're proud that our presidential nominee in 2008 was a woman," said Carl Romanelli, Pennsylvania Green and member of the Green Party's International Committee.
 
132 Greens hold public office in the United States, including five mayors. The largest city with a Green mayor is Richmond, California, with Mayor Gayle McLaughlin. The Green Party and its candidates accept no money from corporate PACs.
 
Many Green candidates are promoting the "Green New Deal" in their campaigns (http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2010/08/11/62-green-candidates-endorse-green-new-deal). Greens have been active participants in the Occupy Movement; both Ms. Barr and Dr. Stein have appeared and spoken publicly at Occupy rallies.
 
For information about the Green Party's positions on important issues, visit the party's press release page (http://www.gp.org/press.php) and platform page (http://www.gp.org/committees/platform/2010/index.php).
 
See also:
 
"The Green Party chooses Baltimore, Md., for the 2012 Green Presidential Nominating Convention," Green Party press release, Dec. 1, 2011
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=464
 
Green Party Watch: blog with inside news about the Green Party and Green candidates
http://www.greenpartywatch.org

Monday, February 20, 2012

RNC Chairman and Co-Chairman Sharon Day Message Commemorating Presidents Day

WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus and Co-Chairman Sharon Day released the following message commemorating Presidents Day:
 
“This Presidents Day, we pay tribute to the men who have served as America’s Commander-in-Chief for their leadership and their sacrifice,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. “We honor especially the two pillars of the American presidency: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, whose birthdays we celebrate this month. Under George Washington’s command, our nation was born. Through Lincoln’s perseverance, our republic was saved.
 
“February is also the birth month of President Ronald Reagan, the conservative visionary who saved America from economic stagnation. Today, America is once again mired in a difficult economy. With families hurting and businesses struggling, it is time we embrace the principles of Ronald Reagan once again.”
 
“Reagan understood that a thriving free market offers opportunity to all Americans,” said RNC Co-Chairman Sharon Day. “He also understood the dangers of a heavy-handed federal government, famously observing that ‘government is not a solution to our problem; government is the problem.’
 
“When Americans go to the polls in November, they will be looking for a president who ensures government exists to preserve and protect freedom and opportunity. They will seek an individual who, like Lincoln and Washington, will serve selflessly and in the interests of all Americans. I’m confident that, like Reagan, our Republican candidate will do exactly that.”

Ron Paul Leads Obama in Key Swing State of Iowa

Holds largest margin of victory among GOP rivals
 
LAKE JACKSON, Texas – GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul beats President Barack Obama in a head-to-head matchup in the key swing state of Iowa according to the latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll.
 
Congressman Paul bests President Obama 49-42 percent, the largest margin of victory for any of the other GOP contenders. Obama would beat Newt Gingrich 51 percent to 37 percent, while Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney would beat Obama by four percent and two percent, respectively, both within the +/- 4 percent margin of error for the poll. In 2008 President Barack Obama beat Senator John McCain by nearly 10 percent in Iowa.
 
Notably, Paul wins 55 percent of the under-30 vote, a demographic that Obama won 66 percent of in Iowa in the 2008 general election.
 
“This is just more evidence of the fact that Ron Paul is the only candidate who can beat Barack Obama,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton. “In order to win back the White House Republicans must nominate a candidate who can provide stark contrast with the failings of the current administration and Ron Paul is the only candidate advocating for something other than the dismal, status quo policies.”
 
The poll surveyed 611 likely Iowa voters between February 12th and 15th.
 
Full poll results can be found here.