House leaders confirmed on May 3, 2012, they have drafted a contempt order against Holder for his refusal to produce to Congress documents requested in the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal.  “We have a few other options (but) to a great extent we’ve been stonewalled by the Justice Department,” said Issa, R-CA.   The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is the executive department of the federal government responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice.   How is justice administered when the head of that department, Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., is found in contempt of the laws it exists to enforce?

The resolution, if approved by the House, could force Holder to release thousands of pages of documents related to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Fast & Furious program.   The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has requested 80,000 documents and been provided with only 7,000 to date, according to Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.  ““We have issued a subpoena.  We have bent over backward to be patient.”

Since last August Senator John Cornyn, R-TX, has been outspoken about his concern that the DOJ knew that guns were sold illegally to members of Mexican drug cartels which resulted in the death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.   “I don’t think we know all the facts because the DOJ has stonewalled. They simply need to come clean. If Holder is implicated, let’s hold him accountable,” Sen. Cornyn said.  Cornyn was adamant that Holder be held accountable for his department’s actions and not be allowed to continue to block access to documents critical to the investigation into the mishandled gun-tracking program.

According to the House Oversight Committee, the Justice Department has not fully cooperated with the investigation into gunwalking that occurred in Operation Fast and Furious.  Although some documents have been produced, Holder has maintained a pattern of denial or non-responsiveness to Congress in the Fast and Furious matter.  He has yet to admit to perjury or prove otherwise by producing the documents.

It remains to be seen whether House Oversight Committee members will cite Holder for contempt.   Attorney General Holder owes it to the American people to provide full disclosure of his knowledge and involvement in the failed program, but it could literally take an act of Congress to make that happen.

Senator Cornyn can be contacted at http://www.cornyn.senate.gov/public/  or at 202-224-2934.

Democratic members of the Wisconsin legislature went so far as to flee the state to block passage of the budget.

The Tea Party cannot sit on the sidelines while anti-democratic forces disrupt the legislative process EVERY TIME they disagree with a policy; nor can Wisconsin afford to have a recall after EVERY SINGLE ELECTION just because the losers want their way.

What happens in Wisconsin will impact the rest of the nation. If the Left is successful in Wisconsin, they will no doubt use their success as a model to spread havoc in other places around the country. We must stand with Wisconsin because if we save Wisconsin, we can save the country. In fact, we’re calling our campaign, Save Wisconsin, Save the Country!

WE need your help today! Whether by heading to Wisconsin for a few days to help out on the ground, or making some phone calls from your home – Wisconsin needs your help. Please Sign up today.

Click here now to volunteer!

Paid for by Tea Party Patriots, Inc., Debbie Dooley (Treasurer) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s agent or committee.

For months they have been writing us off – as the Washington cartoon below aptly illustrates: (Lisa Benson, 5/10/2012; http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/05/10/99134)

But we have not been dying, we’ve been organizing; when Senator Lugar lost, the continued increasing strength of the tea party became obvious causing the media to the opposite extreme. Now they are calling us “Establishment” in stories like this one from ABCNEWS: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/meet-gop-establishment-tea-party/story?id=16314836#.T6vPrMRYvBF.

After the big push of 2010 to re-introduce the longstanding values of Fiscal Responsibility, Limited Government and Free Markets to our representatives in DC, it did not take the tea party long to figure out that even if the majority in the House is willing to stand tall on all our issues, (which they sadly are not), 1/3 of the government is not enough to turn the Ship of State from rapidly steaming leftward to anything resembling where we want to go, which would be straight ahead,  “steady as she goes”.

The problem with the media is deeper than bias, but bias is a part of it. Once they have the “narrative” they want to spin out, they lose all interest in countervailing facts.

To help correct some of these media-generated misperceptions, Jenny Beth Martin has an article on Breitbart today in which she tries to help the media understand what we are doing.  As she puts it, the tea party is not just alive but most important,  it is “organized to fight and win.”

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/09/jenny-beth-martin-tea-party

Anyone checking our websites, talking to our members or asking elected officials if they continue to hear from the tea party, could have told the MSM reporters that, indeed, the wonderful or horrible tea party activists, depending on your point of view, are indeed alive and kicking! (But that would involve research and worse, risk messing up a favored “narrative”.)

From today’s National Journal:

“Lugar’s defeat should wake up Washington,” said Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin.”

And the Wall Street Journal also did a piece about the Tea Party Patriots and its growth:

“It’s brick-by-brick organization building, and the results aren’t easily measured. But the Patriot’s leaders say they’re creating a structure that will last.”

The WSJ also mentioned the Tea Party Patriots influence in 2012.

“The tea party movement continues to be the most influential force this election year,” Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin said in a statement on Tuesday after Indiana’s result. “Sen. Lugar betrayed the principles of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets that must be addressed this year or the American people will choose new leaders as happened today and in 2010.”

According to C.L Gray, even with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the two primary challenges of healthcare reform persist:

1)  The skyrocketing cost of healthcare continues unabated.
2)  In spite of the extraordinary cost of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), many Americans remain at risk of losing access to their physician.

To reduce spending without providing coverage for the uninsured leaves the crisis unresolved. To cover some of the uninsured through uncontrolled federal spending greatly exacerbates the national debt.

“Lugar’s defeat should wake up entrenched Washington,” said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder and national coordinator of Tea Party Patriots.  ”The tea party movement continues to be the most influential force this election year.  Sen. Lugar betrayed the principles of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets that must be addressed this year or the American people will choose new leaders as happened today and in 2010. This upset is no surprise to tax paying Americans in Indiana.”

On Wednesday, the House will vote on reauthorization of a corporate welfare slush fund known as the Export-Import Bank.  The bill, H.R. 2072, would expand Ex-Im’s borrowing authority from $100 billion to $140 billion, potentially putting taxpayers on the hook for the full amount.

Historically, Ex-Im loans have overwhelmingly benefited one company: Boeing.  Boeing is a great company, but it can compete without help from American taxpayers.

Even worse, in recent years Obama has transformed Ex-Im, which he once correctly denounced as “Little more than a fund for corporate welfare” into the kind of slush fund he can love: one that rewards his cronies in the green energy industry.

Solyndra received $10.3 million from Ex-Im’s “Renewables Express” program on its way to bankruptcy. First Solar, which took a $449 million loss last quarter in a desperate restructuring to attempt to avoid bankruptcy, received Ex-Im backing for sales of solar panels to its own Canadian subsidiary.

Worst of all, three years ago Ex-Im was the pot of money Obama used to massively subsidize offshore oil drilling in Brazil at the same time he was shutting it down here in the United States.

The Republican House was elected thanks to the blood, sweat, and tears of tea party activists dedicated to ending corrupt big government manipulation of economy.  The House must be reminded that the Export-Import Bank is precisely the kind of program they were elected to end, not to expand.

I’ve set up a form here you can use to contact your member of Congress on this key issue. You can also call through the switchboard at 202-225-3121. We’ll find out Wednesday whether House Republicans are listening to us.

In May 2011, HB 369 had been waiting over 3 months for the Health and Human Resources Committee to approve the Health Care Compact, an interstate agreement to return regulatory control of healthcare programs to the state level. By contrast, the Senate counterpart SB 326 had already passed out of multiple committees.  House HHR Committee Chairman Glen Casada tabled the bill out of concern over the political capital invested in the bill to compact activists, saying “We can’t have too many battles in one year. If we push this to January 2012, we can get it right through.”

January 2012 came and went. So did February. In March the HCC bill passed out of the HHR Committee. Over the next 6 weeks HB 369 would move through three more committees, House leadership then scheduled the full house vote on the last day of the legislative session, more than 90 days after Casada’s original January 2012 promise.

According to Mark Herr, President of Tennessee Center for Self-Governance, if during the vote legislators in the room actually voted the Health Care Compact would likely be on its way to the Governor’s desk.

A record number of legislators refused to cast votes. Out of ninety-nine members, forty-five voted for, twenty-six against, and four voted present. Eight more were excused, leaving a sizable sixteen representatives physically in the room but refusing to cast votes of any kind.

Earlier in the day a criminal justice bill passed ninety-four to two, leaving little doubt as to the number of lawmakers present. Other controversial bills had also been voted on the same week, producing far lower non-votes. HB 3576 prohibits colleges from denying recognition to a student organization on the basis of religious content. For that vote, fifteen lawmakers were absent with one present and no representatives refusing to vote.

“Refusing to vote means one out of 6 constituents had no representation on this bill…they were completely disenfranchised” says Lynn Moss, Tennessee State Coordinator for Tea Party Patriots. “Tennessee legislators refusing to push a button right in front of them reminds me of the Democrat Wisconsin legislators who ran away from their jobs. The only difference is the gas mileage.”

-Shelby Blakely is a Tea Party Journalist and coordinates Government Accountability News. She can be reached at shelby.blakely@tppjournalism.org

One day I expect to look in the dictionary and find Bank of America listed under Crony Capitalism. This is a company that posted quarterly loss after loss when the government bailed them out. This banking giant, despite the fact that they had just received a $25 billion dollar bail out, agreed to purchase Merrill Lynch. After realizing how staggering Merrill Lynch losses were, Bank of America then decided to back out of the deal. However, according to sworn testimony our government threatened to remove the banks board of directors and management if they didn’t complete the purchase of Merrill Lynch. After receiving over $100 billion in taxpayer bailouts and having a Treasury Secretary threaten to remove top executives if they didn’t run the bank correctly, I really wonder who is in charge here.

Fast forward to 2012 and find Bank of America telling McMillan Firearms Manufacturing (after doing business with BofA for 12 years), that they no longer wanted McMillan as a client. Why? Because they were in the firearms manufacturing business. When does a bank turn down profitable business?

I believe that EVERY American who believes in the U.S. Constitution should close their personal and business accounts at Bank of America. If you own guns or not, it does not matter. This bank is in cahoots with an administration who is set on taking away our second amendment rights.

Remember, Bank of America was one of the first financial institutions to allow illegal aliens to open checking accounts and get credit cards. They are knowingly aiding illegal aliens who have broken our immigration law. BofA has also removed American Flags from their locations for fear of offending customers. I question the kind of America Bank of America is promoting.

Is this the type of company you want to do business with? It is these ‘little’ things that are coming together to rob us our freedoms as American citizens. Do the right thing, do not bank with Bank of anti-America.

TPP Citizen Journalist Larry Killion

After nearly 40 years in office, Rep. Norm Dicks (71) WA 6^th Dist. Democrat has announced he will not run for another term.  There were already a number of GOP candidates waiting to try another run at him in the next election but the Democrats seemed stunned by the announcement. Puget Sound voters will decide where we go from here in November.

In an article in the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, Lary Coppola said, “This community certainly owes an enormous debt to Norm, who has brought home the bacon for almost four decades. His ability to accomplish the seemingly impossible for us presents an enormous set of shoes for any congressional newcomer to fill.”

One Democrat candidate has come to the top.  He is State Senator Derek Kilmer from Gig Harbor.  Kilmer appears groomed by his party for bigger things than State Senate and Congressman Dicks has now endorsed him.  U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., announced his endorsement of Kilmer at the same time as Dicks.  The field has abruptly shortened as a rash of other endorsements came in from various Democrats once rumored as possible Dicks successors. Kilmer endorsements include unions, greens, feminists, county and city officials, and colleagues from the State Legislature.  By looking at Kilmer’s record and political bedfellows, it appears that he would continue the status quo.

“Derek is someone who understands every part of this district because he has lived it.” said Dicks, noting that thePrincetonand Oxford-educated Kilmer is a graduate ofPort AngelesHigh School.

Two familiar names among Republicans running for the position are Doug Cloud and Jesse Young.  They both ran in the 2010 race with Cloud losing to Dicks in the November election.  Like Kilmer, both Cloud and Young are fromGig Harbor,WA. Cloud is an Attorney and Young is a Software Engineer.

A new GOP candidate for the 6^th Congressional District is David Eichner.  David said, “The primary weakness of Derek Kilmer running for Congress in a military district is that he never served in the military. The 6th Congressional District has many current military personnel, veterans, and employees of companies that are impacted by our local military bases. Since both of our Senators are not on committees with any influence in terms of those bases, we need to send someone to represent the 6th Congressional District who has the highest probability of getting on a defense committee. We need a representative who would have credibility in the eyes of military leadership and would be able to communicate effectively with them regarding our local military bases… Additionally, Derek has demonstrated by his voting record in Olympia that he is willing to put the interests of the Democratic Party over the will of the people. We need a representative in Congress who will represent the will of the people in his district.”

Washington State Tea Party Patriot Coordinator Woody Hertzog said, “Local Tea Parties are eager to support either a Democrat or Republican that uphold the three tea party core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Free Markets and Limited Constitutional Government.  Derek Kilmer does not appear in alignment with the tea party core values and disappointment spread among activists and tea party coordinators as they looked over his voting record closely.  A candidate’s business voting record usually is a good indicator if they stand for a Free Market and Fiscal Responsibility.   Derek Kilmer’s business voting record is dismal, and reflects the one sided education he has received by IDF, Institute for Democrat Future, a narrowly focused progressive organization. “

Yes, Norm will be missed by many in the 6^th Congressional District and it remains to be seen if we will continue as we have or if voters will demand more accountability from the next man.