Benton County Tea Party

Benton County Tea Party Meeting - March 15th 2012

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:30:00 +0000

Thursday March 15th, 2012 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

If you want to eat please arrive by 5:30.

Country and Western Restaurant, Camden TN 3832

Location

Obama's Prison - Johnny Cashless

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:10:00 +0000

Romney wins BIG in Florida!

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Mitt Romney heads into the next phase of the Republican presidential nominating contest carrying a big win under his belt, after reasserting his frontrunner status with a crushing victory over Newt Gingrich in Florida.

However, Romney and the rest of the Republican candidates will have to fine-tune their approach as they enter a large list of contests scattered all across the country in February, starting in Nevada this Saturday.

There are no historically decisive primaries on the horizon, no big-ticket behemoths that are considered make-or-break for a primary candidate. Instead, the candidates face what could be a drawn-out race for delegates, one that will force the campaigns to make more strategic decisions about where and when to allocate resources.

Romney Pulls Ahead In Florida

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:55:00 +0000

While recent surveys indicated that the race in Florida was tight, with Romney and Gingrich separated by only two percentage points, a poll of 580 likely Republican primary voters released this morning by Hamden, Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University shows Romney pulling away from Gingrich, 38 percent to 29 percent.

The two other contenders lag far behind in the poll. Texas U.S. Representative Ron Paul has 14 percent of likely voters, with 12 percent for former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

Roy Herron NOT running for reelection!!

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:10:00 +0000

Roy Herron has decided not torun for reelection to State Senate or U.S. Congress. Our 24th District StateSenate seat is up for grabs.

http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20120127/NEWS01/201270318/Herron-won-t-run

BCTP Monthly Meeting February 16th - 6PM

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:50:00 +0000

Thursday February 16, 2012 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Country and Western Restaurant, Camden TN 3832

MEETING INFO

Important Benton County Commissioners Meeting

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:25:00 +0000

There will be an important meeting of the BC Commission on January 17 at 6:00 P.M. Please attend if you can and be there to support what are commissioners are trying to do.

Tea Party Meeting January 19, 2012

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:20:00 +0000

The meeting will be held at Country and Western Steakhouse at 6:00. If you want to eat before the meeting please come at 5:00. We will be following our normal agenda with any updates to our local and state issues. Also, we will try to have a video presentation showing part of the Agenda 21 presentation for those of you who were unable to attend the presentation in Dickson last month. This is very important information as there is an Agenda 21 presentation at our state legislature this month. They want to implement their comprehensive plan here in our state. People who are educated as to what this means to rural Tennessee need to be there to stop them in their tracks. Look forward to seeing you at the meeting this month!

Tea Party Meeting December 15th 2011

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:15:00 +0000

The next public meeting of The Benton County Tea Party will be held on December 15th 2011.

Special Guest: Colonel Jim Harding

Col Jim Harding is one of the most decorated men in American military history.

Location: Country and Western Steak House
Time: 6PM
If you are going to eat please arrive at 5PM if possible. (no later than 5:30)

At this meeting we will discuss Local and State Issues and hear our Guest Speaker.

Benton County Tea Party Meeting September 15th 2011

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:00:00 +0000

The next public meeting of The Benton County Tea Party will be held on September 15th 2011.

Location: Country and Western Steak House

Time: 6PM

If you are going to eat please arrive at 5PM if possible. (no later than 5:30)

At this meeting we will discuss Local, State and Federal Issues. We will discuss plans for increasing members and plans for future activities. Please join us for an evening of policital discussion and debate

Benton County Tea Party Meeting August 18th 2011

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:52:00 +0000

The next public meeting of The Benton County Tea Party will be held on August 18th 2011.

Location: Country and Western Steak House

Time: 6PM

If you are going to eat please arrive at 5PM if possible. (no later than 5:30)

NEW ObamaCare Mandate will increase premiums!

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:34:00 +0000

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is praising a recommendation from the Institute of Medicine that insurance companies be required to offer free contraceptives to all women. Having extensive experience in the Health Insurance Industry I assure you this will just cause higher insurance premiums.

The old saying that "Nothing is Free" is very true in this example. If Insurance Companies are required to pay for services that they were previously not required to pay for, what would any logical person think will happen? The Insurance Companies will have not choice but to charge everyone for these services.

To make matters worse a Single Male or a female who does not need or want birth control will still have to pay the higher premiums. Insurance Companies have no way of knowing who may or may not use a particular service so when they are forced to cover a procedure they have to increase everyone's rates.

The bigger question is why must Insurance Companies be forced to cover a prescription or procedure that truly is not necessary to the wellbeing of human life. I understand covering Heart Medication or Cancer Treatment, but birth control treats a voluntary action which without the medication or procedure is preventable simply by the actions of the individual.

Now I bet many of you think that this is simply a Female issue but not so fast. Under the current recommendation vasectomies would also have to be covered by the Insurance Companies which may I add cost anywhere from $5000 - $10000.

In the end all this new cost will be forced upon the Insurance Companies and in return forced upon everyone paying for Health Insurance.

Thanks again Obama, Pelosi and Reed!

Benton County Tea Party Meeting July 21st

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:09:00 +0000

The next public meeting of The Benton County Tea Party will be held on July 21st 2011.

Location: Country and Western Steak House

Time: 6PM

If you are going to eat please arrive at 5PM if possible. (no later than 5:30)

Benton County Tea Party Meeting - June 16th 2011

Mon, 23 May 2011 15:09:00 +0000

The next public meeting of The Benton County Tea Party will be held on June 16th 2011.

Location: Country and Western Steak House

Time: 6PM

If you are going to eat please arrive as early as possible. (no later than 5:30)

Osama Bin Laden DEAD!

Mon, 02 May 2011 14:18:00 +0000

The U.S. Federal Government reported that Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda leader and mastermind of the terrorist attacks on Washington and New York in 2001, was killed by U.S.Navy Seals Monday in a remote area of Pakistan.

"Justice has been done," President Obama said in a late-evening address to the American People.

Osama Bin Laden, the world's most wanted man, was killed in a gun fight with U.S. Navy Seals when he was located in the Pakistani city of Abottabad.

"The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children," President Obama said.

Osama Bin Laden was shot during the fourty-minute operation, which left 3 other individuals, including one of his sons, dead, U.S. government officials said.

"A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body," Obama said.

Osama Bin Laden's body was identified and later buried at sea, U.S. media reports said.

Immediately there was an outcry for the release of pictures of the deceased leader. Skeptics want proof that Osama Bin Laden is actually dead and will not be satisfied with the words of an administration that is obviously in campaing mode.

We hope that pictures will soon be relased that show the deceased leader and put this issue behind us once and for all.

Benton County Tea Party Meeting - May 19th 2011

Mon, 02 May 2011 13:57:00 +0000

The next public meeting of The Benton County Tea Party will be held on May 19th 2011.

Location: The Catfish Place

Time: 5:30PM - 7PM

At this meeting we will discuss Local, State and Federal Issues. We will also Elect Officers at this meeting. Please join us for an evening of policital discussion and debate.

TN8TPC Meets with Stephen Fincher April 2nd

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:04:00 +0000

The TN8 Coalition will meet with Stephen Fincher on Saturday April 2nd 2011.

We invited several people to attend this meeting but have so far not receive any confirmation as to who wants to attend.

These meetings can sometime last as long as 9am to Noon or sometime longer depending upon how many things we need to address.

The meeting location is kept private for security reasons. If you are interested in attending please let us know ASAP!!! Car pooling is possible but be aware that you will need to stay for the entire meeting. Send an email to jd@bcteaparty.com if you are interested.

Schedule:

7:30AM we leave for Jackson

9AM -Meeting Starts
We will discuss issues to address with Stephen.

10AM - Meeting with Stephen starts
We will have a speaker who addresses our main concern to Stephen.
There will be Q&A afterward.

11AM - Meeting of TN8TPC Starts
We will be electing officers for TN8TPC and addressing other issues.
This should take 2-3 hours.

Each Tea Party is allowed to have 3 people at each meeting. 2 Voters and 1 Observer.

Please let us know if you would like to attend. We need 1 more voter (must be a current member) and an observer.
Please contact jd@bcteaparty.com if you would like to attend.

Letter from Freedom Works regarding SOAR Act.

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Dear Tea Party Members Nationwide

I'm writing you today because urgent action is needed to help us put children first in the education system of our nation's capital. On Wednesday, the House will vote on H.R. 471, the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR). This bill would reauthorize the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, creating education choices for parents and rescuing children stuck in failing schools. Please call Congress and tell them to vote YES on the SOAR Act!

Because the District of Columbia is not a state, Congress has a unique role to determine DC education policy. DC has already become a breeding ground for some of the best conservative education reforms in America and if we can win this education battle in DC, we can push for more state reforms, like our School Choice for Pennsylvania campaign, that save taxpayer money and improve education competition.

The SOAR Act will give students a voucher enabling them to attend the school of their choice. It's important to note that, rather than spending new money, vouchers empower students as consumers. They allow students to take some of the dollars that would have been spent on their education at the local school they would have been forced to attend, and frees them to choose their own school where those dollars will instead pay for their education. Please call Congress now and tell them to vote YES on the SOAR Act!

It's a fiscally conservative plan which reduces the cost of education to taxpayers. Currently, the Washington, DC public school system is the most expensive yet produces the worst results in the nation. Taxpayers pay an average of $28,170 per pupil annually, but only 12 percent of eighth-graders are proficient in reading and only 8 percent in math. The SOAR Act only costs an average of $6,620 per student—one-fourth of the cost that the district currently pays for K-12 schooling.

But the American Federation of Teachers, a teachers' union which has openly opposed reform, gave $1 million to the campaign of new DC mayor Vincent Gray to try and kill any education reforms in DC. Why do teachers' unions want to see this bill fail? Because it takes away their power and puts it back in the hands of parents. Call Congress and help us fight back!

One of our nation's founding principles is the freedom to make economic choices for ourselves. When I was Majority Leader in Congress, I led this education fight because I believed children and parents deserved that freedom. When Congress passed the DC Opportunity Scholarship program in 2004, it gave thousands of DC families hope to send their child to a better school. In fact, the program was so popular that there were four applicants for every one available slot.

We only have until Wednesday to be heard on this critical issue. Help us put kids first in education. Call Congress NOW!

Sincerely,

Dick Armey
Chairman, FreedomWorks

Chuck Schumer Caught Programming His Fellow Democratic Senator Robots

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:27:00 +0000

Um, Senators, ever heard of the mute button?

Moments before a conference call with reporters was scheduled to get underway on Tuesday morning, apparently unaware that many of the reporters were already on the line, Charles Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, began to instruct fellow senators on how to talk to reporters about the contentious budget process.

After thanking his colleagues — Barbara Boxer of California, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Tom Carper of Delaware and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut — for doing the budget bidding for the Senate Democrats, who are facing off against the House Republicans over how spending for the rest of the fiscal year, Mr. Schumer told them to portray John Boehner of Ohio, the Speaker of the House, as painted into a box by the Tea Party, and to decry the spending cuts that he wants as extreme. “I always use the word extreme,” Mr. Schumer said, “That is what the caucus instructed me to use this week.”

A minute or two into the talking-points tutorial, though, someone apparently figured out that reporters were listening, and silence fell.

Then the conference call began in earnest, with the Democrats right on message.

“We are urging Mr. Boehner to abandon the extreme right wing,” said Ms. Boxer, urging the House to compromise on the scale of spending cuts and to drop proposed amendments that would deny federal financing for Planned Parenthood and for government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency.

Mr. Carper continued with the theme, referring to some House Republicans’ “right-wing extremist friends.” Mr. Cardin decried Mr. Boehner giving into “extremes of his party.” Mr. Blumenthal closed by speaking of the “relatively small extreme group of ideologues” who are “an anchor” dragging down the budget negotiation process.

And yet, during their next reelection campaign, they will all claim to be "independent thinkers."

The Battle Over Government Spending: The Endgame Is Near

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:06:00 +0000

The Battle Over Government Spending: The Endgame Is Near

By Chad Pergram

Created 2011-03-29 00:06

You've seen them roaming the streets in apocalyptic movies, screaming gibberish and wielding hand-painted signs that prophesize "The end is near."

The end may not be near. But on Capitol Hill [1], the endgame certainly is.

The term "endgame" is overused. "Endgame" has been used to describe the NCAA's Final Four, the antics of Snooki on Jersey Shore, the status of the debate over health care reform and more recently, President Obama's decision to militarily infuse the U.S. into the crisis in Libya.

But the true endgame in Washington is over spending and whether Congress and President Obama can cut a deal to avert a government shutdown at the end of next week. The government is now running on its sixth patchwork bill to pay for daily operations. Congressional Republicans and some Democrats are signaling there's not only no appetite for another stopgap bill, but there probably aren't the votes to approve a new temporary package.

The endgame is near.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It is said that past is prologue. And what happened last week with the spending battle provides a window into what's ahead this week.

It all played out late last week. At the very, very end of last week. Just when most scribes and Congress-types were switching off their computers, loosening their ties and heading to Capitol Hill watering holes for some liquid cheer at the end of the day last Friday.

On Friday morning, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) appeared on MSNBC and suggested there was reason for optimism. Schumer said there was "some progress" toward an agreement, noting that chances for a bargain were "gaining momentum" and that he was "feeling better about it than (he) was."

But at 5:15 pm Friday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) dashed Schumer's buoyancy with what proved to be the first shot in a House GOP triangulated crossfire directed at the New York Democrat. Such a flurry of emails and press releases exploded onto the BlackBerries of Congressional journalists that they could barely take a sip of their Friday cocktails before another fusillade materialized in their in boxes.

Call it the Miller Time Buzzkill.

"Senator Schumer's comments this morning that the negotiations on a long-term solution to fund the government for the remainder of the year are going well are completely farfetched," scoffed Cantor in a statement. "(Senate Majority) Leader (Harry) Reid (D-NV), Senator Schumer and the White House continue to abandon their responsibility to get our fiscal house in order."

At 5:38 pm, the office of House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) joined the fray with an emailed statement.

"We still haven't seen anything resembling a serious proposal from the White House or Senate Democrats," said McCarthy

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) weighed in with his missive at 5:59 pm.

"If Democrats don't have a plan, do they intend to shut down the government because they can't agree among themselves?" asked Boehner in his release.

Schumer's office offered a rebuttal at 6:25 pm.

"After days of positive negotiations, with significant flexibility shown by the speaker, the House Republican leadership is back to agonizing over whether to give in to right-wing demands that they abandon any compromise on their extreme cuts," responded Schumer. "Instead of lashing out at Democrats in a kneejerk way, we hope House Republicans will finally stand up to the tea party and resume negotiations that had seemed so full of promise."

TGIF. I think.

++++++++++++++++++

The roots of this impasse run deep. Last fall, voters dispatched an unflinching corps of freshmen Republicans to Washington to slash spending. In early February, the House Republican brass produced an initial bill to run the government through fall and trim $32 billion in spending. But those cuts weren't deep enough for many freshman and lawmakers supported by tea party loyalists. So they implored the GOP braintrust to cut even deeper. The new figure ballooned to $61 billion. The House passed that bill in mid-February. But it had little chance making it through the Democratically-controlled Senate. The odds were even more scant that President Obama could sign it into law.

The Senate still hasn't approved anything. Which is why House Republicans are carpet-bombing Reid and Schumer. And if anyone thought there was a chance of approving another short-term measure, think again. Only six Republicans bolted from the GOP ranks and voted against an interim measure to avoid a shutdown a few weeks ago. But that figure billowed to 54 Republican "nay" votes on the latest makeshift bill.

So this is the endgame. And this is the classic case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.

The stakes are perhaps highest for John Boehner. Boehner is now locked at the $61 billion level. Tea party supporters are watching closely to see if Boehner and the GOP deviates from that figure. Anything less could be interpreted as "caving" and could ignite a firestorm among tea party supporters. Freshmen who won their seats with tea party backing are under the microscope, too. Expect tea party faithful and other conservatives to promise primary challenges to Republicans who don't toe the line. And this is to say nothing of the political peril that Democrats could face for not backing the cuts conservatives are demanding.

Some Republicans are banking on the idea that the release of a budget blueprint for the NEXT fiscal year by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) could be the antidote to ease conservative unrest. Ryan's budget plan is expected to boast even deeper cuts and feature significant changes to entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security [2]. Republicans hope that Ryan's prototype satiates the demand for cuts, while simultaneously doing something concrete about the broader fiscal turmoil.

But the electorate is anxious. And some voters may not view cuts down the road as a substitute for cuts now. Especially when a potentially toxic vote looms to raise the debt limit later this spring.

"My patience has run out," said freshman Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) when explaining why he won't support any more short-term spending bills. "And so has the patience of the people at home."

Plus, there is another factor at work here. This is the hockey fight phenomenon in politics. There are plenty of people who attend hockey matches because they enjoy the sport. But there are plenty of others who go just because they like to watch a good melee and see blood spilled on the ice.

The turbulent, confrontational town hall meetings of August, 2009 were the hockey fight of politics. And they served a harbinger of the 2010 midterm elections. The public forums with everyday people seizing microphones in VFW halls to castigate their Member of Congress made for compelling television. And like those who show up just for the hockey fights, there are certainly some Americans who are spoiling for a brawl between the Obama Administration and Congressional Republicans. Some constituents back home are rooting for a government shutdown and have made no bones about telling that to their lawmakers.

Which is why the endgame is near.

And in reality, the endgame may be closer than many think.

The government is scheduled to run out of money at 11:59:59 pm on Friday, April 8. On its face, that gives lawmakers a solid week-and-a-half to negotiate their way out of this cul-de-sac.

But that's a bit of a mirage.

Under Republican control, the House has a requirement to post all bills online for 72 hours before consideration. That alone shifts that deadline to next Tuesday. And by design, the House is the "hare" of Congress's two legislative bodies. The Senate is the "tortoise." In order to meet the April 8 deadline, the House could conceivably have to move even a little earlier than next Tuesday to allow the plodding Senate to act on any legislation.

Of course, that scenario is predicated on the hypothetical that the sides actually reach consensus.

Which is why the endgame is not only near. The endgame is in fact here.