Buerkle Meets the Gays

Update: Homophobe KSE heatedly commented here that gay conservative Republican group, Log Cabin Republicans, was not a sponsor for this fundraising event for Buerkle. Blueskygirl's blog post made him blister.

Beep beep ... last minute scramble! Apparently Buerkle was able to get the Auburn blog, auburnpub.com, to print a retraction on the day of the event, Feb. 9. She correctly anticipated having a tough go of it with phobe phans.

Blueskygirl begs to differ as she continues to find evidence on February 27 to the contrary. Also, Blueskygirl doesn't buy that syr.com fabricated the quotes in its article from Mr. Berle. Dear commenter: u mad.


Update: Blueskygirl posted a slightly different version of this post on Daily Kos and has received some terrific comments there. Thanks everyone!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The original article:

Teapartiers, do your know where your US Representative Ann Marie Buerkle, NY 25, is?

Buerkle will be honored tonight in Washington by Log Cabin Republicans for her conservative agenda. Log Cabin Republicans share many values with moderates and progressives. In this case they are, if nothing else, utilitarian, and Blueskygirl thinks they are caught in an awkward position. 

Buerkle personally gets super high points for cynicism on this one.

Buerkle's history on gay issues is anything but stellar. Please read Blueskygirl's article from last year about Buerkle's very short tenure on the Syracuse Common Council eighteen years ago.

From the article earlier this week in syr.com: 

[Christian] Berle [Deputy ED of Log Cabin Republicans] said he understands that Buerkle is a "strong social conservative" but added, "We, of course, look to engage with legislators at every opportunity to discuss our agenda. We have met with members of Congress who have done a complete 180 on gay rights issues." 

Good luck with Buerkle, Mr Berle. How we in Syracuse would love to see a shift.

But folks, don't be offended if she wears surgical gloves tonight. Her belief system is pretty fixed.

See syr.com's article from February 7, reprinted at bottom of this page, for more details.

Side note, of interest: The LCR event tonight is sponsored by One Nation PAC. Its website has almost no content. It actually did endorse Nevada's racist losing Senate candidate Sharron Angle and our own Adirondacker Doug Hoffman in 2010. No new news since then. Languishing, waiting for just that right moment to endorse more nonsense Tea Partiers in the coming election, no doubt. One Nation PAC's mission statement:

One Nation PAC is a conservative political action committee dedicated to limited government, economic prosperity, and traditional values.  We fight for lower taxes, strong national defense, the 2nd Amendment, common sense healthcare, superior education, and right to life.

syr.com article from February 7, 2010 announcing Log Cabin Republicans' honoring of Ann Marie Buerkle tonight, Thursday, February 9, 2012:

Republican gay rights advocates to honor U.S. Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle

Published: Tuesday, February 07, 2012 Mark Weiner

Washington -- As an unwavering conservative, Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle has never supported same-sex marriage or other equality initiatives proposed by the gay community. But that won't stop Washington, D.C.'s largest gay Republican group from honoring her on Thursday.

The Log Cabin Republicans, the only national GOP organization dedicated to representing the interests of gays and lesbians, will honor Buerkle and three other House Republicans at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

The fundraising reception hosted by the Log Cabin Republicans and One Nation PAC will include a keynote speech by former Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich and special guest Grover Norquist, the anti-tax crusader.

Christian Berle, the deputy executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, said in an interview that he is aware that Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, is not a supporter on gay rights issues.

"We're recognizing members of Congress for their positions on fiscal issues, and she has been a hawk on the Balanced Budget Amendment and fiscal matters," Berle said of Thursday's event. "We find ourselves working with many different organizations on fiscal matters."

Berle said he understands that Buerkle is a "strong social conservative" but added, "We, of course, look to engage with legislators at every opportunity to discuss our agenda. We have met with members of Congress who have done a complete 180 on gay rights issues."

The Log Cabin Republicans prominently feature a photo on their Web site of U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna, R-Barneveld, Buerkle's neighbor in the 24th Congressional District. Hanna, a supporter of gay rights issues, is featured as one of the "Republican Champions of Liberty."

Tickets to the fundraising event, billed as a "Scotch and Cigars" reception range from $20 to $1,000 per person.

Coal in Your Stocking, Buerkle

"Naughty or Nice?" by Ed Hall 12/23/11, Kaiser Health News

Ms. Buerkle, thousands of people who live in HR Congressional District NY 25 have nary a reason to wish you a Merry Christmas this year. 

These were to be your Holiday presents to them come January 1 had Speaker Boehner not finally seen the light:

• elimination of Federal Long-term Unemployment benefits for over 13,000 long-term unemployed people in your district; 

• a  cut of 27% in Medicare payments to doctors who treat patients enrolled in Medicare, severely affecting their practices, staffs and patients;

• the loss of $50 on average per paycheck to employed people in your district via payroll tax increases.

Blueskygirl wonders if you have you ever lived in circumstances in which $300 a week was all that was standing between you and poverty? 

No Merry Christmas to you, sad shortsighted woman.

Politics of Tea and Buerkle

It's enough to give Blueskygirl a good day!  

Ann Marie Buerkle's big splash in Washington is drying up because of her own inaction and blinders.

We from her own district knew from before day one that she is from the Triassic. Dinosaur-like, she cannot change and grow. From her simple-minded, uncomplicated hatred of Planned Parenthood and "government get out of our business, women's uteruses excluded" mentality to her flag-waving pandering to veterans, her take on national politics lacks imagination and nuance. 

This is no time in our nation's history to fear brains. It is time to work hard, to really bear down and figure out how to rebuild a future of national stability. It is definitely not time to revert to the tea party tactics of "no".

Thanks to Politico for this commentary by Dan Hirschhorn, 10/30/11: 

They came to Washington to drown the government in the bathtub — and everything else was a distant second.

Within the massive freshman class of House Republicans is a much smaller subset of hardcore, self-styled citizen legislators who have done little to assure their reelection. They haven’t raised enough money or made much headway in building their next campaigns. Locals gripe that they haven’t sufficiently worked their districts. They’ve been reliable “nay” votes on whatever House leadership is pushing. None of them has qualified for the National Republican Congressional Committee’s incumbent-protection Patriot Program.

Many Republicans think they probably won’t be coming back — and say the freshmen will have no one to blame but themselves.

“They don’t care about a campaign or their reelection,” said former New York Rep. Tom Reynolds, a former NRCC chairman. “They got here their way, and they’re following through on what they said they’d do.”

Still, House campaign veterans say the laissez-faire attitude toward reelection will inevitably create some tension with a party campaign committee that has limited resources to prop up its largest majority in decades.

“There are certain standards that just need to be met for a person to win a competitive election, and it’s hard to see how they meet those standards,” said former NRCC Political Director Ed Brookover. “It’s always frustrating because [the NRCC] wants to help members, but members also have to help themselves.”

“It’s fine to bury your head in the sand and say you’re doing it differently, but these people aren’t aware of the millions of dollars that were spent on their behalf to get them there,” said Mike McElwain, another former NRCC political director. “It’s amazing to me the number of people who won and the only thing they recognize is their own campaigns. They don’t think about the state parties, the independent expenditures, the millions of dollars that were spent to get them there.”

Longtime Hill veterans and GOP operatives share the same lament: This happens after every wave election. Former Democratic Florida Rep. Alan Grayson, elected in the 2008 wave, was a bombastic presence on cable news but ultimately fell short in the nitty-gritty of reelection politics. Class of 1994 Republicans recall former Indiana Rep. John Hostettler as someone who never adapted to a two-year campaign cycle and held on to his seat for more than a decade thanks only to consistent bailouts from the NRCC.

“Any time you see a large group of legislators come in on a wave, there are many that aren’t prepared to adapt their message to the new realities without abandoning their principles,” said former Pennsylvania Rep. Phil English, a Washington-based lobbyist who informally advises some freshmen. “You frequently see people who are carried in and don’t want to play the political game. It’s an attractive facade to put up the first time around, but people have an expectation of what they want their elected representative to be, including someone who listens, and in a modern campaign environment, if you don’t have a war chest, you’re not in a position to respond.”

Most Republicans agree the freshman class has actually done better than expected at adapting to the permanent campaign necessary to stay in Washington, with the problems isolated to about six rookies. With a 25-seat majority, one top Republican quipped, “We probably have half a dozen to spare.”

“There’s always a small group of folks who aren’t quite there, but it’s a smaller group than I thought it would be, and the good news is there’s plenty of time to get with the program,” said former New York Rep. Bill Paxon, a former NRCC chairman.

“There’s a romance to not raising money and not raising PAC money,” English said. “But as a practical matter, all you’re effectively doing is depriving yourself of the ability to answer criticisms. This is a serious problem.”

Among those drawing quiet scorn on the GOP fundraising circuit are New York Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, a nurse who upset former Democratic Rep. Dan Maffei last year but who raised a paltry $89,000 last quarter and has already drawn a rematch with Maffei; Rep. Joe Walsh, the cable news mainstay buffeted by personal and financial issues who raised just $150,000 last quarter and faces a tough primary against fellow GOP freshman Rep. Randy Hultgren; and Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, who has raised less than $500,000 since upsetting former Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, and now faces a rematch with Kirkpatrick, who is outpacing him in the money race.

The freshmen mostly acknowledge their fundraising challenges and promise things are about to pick up. After a taste of the budget-cutting axe, some political neophytes who would have been happy with one-term Hill careers are now convinced they need more time in Washington to finish a job that will get easier if their party can send President Barack Obama packing.

“I know why I came here,” Walsh told POLITICO. “I don’t want to be a professional politician, and I’m not going to be here for life. But that doesn’t conflict with the fact that I have to raise money to tell my constituents what kind of citizen-legislator I am.”

“I haven’t talked to anybody who says, ‘I don’t care if I get reelected,’” said freshman Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly, who has turned in decent fundraising numbers but also has his own money to draw on from years as a successful car dealer. “Most folks, after being here for nine months, realize there’s so much more work to do and want to stay. Most people are starting to realize the clock is ticking. But there’s real work to be done, and it’s a balancing act,” said Kelly, who so far has drawn no serious challengers.

Some freshmen may win reelection in spite of themselves. North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers has been criticized for skimping on town halls and raised only $97,000 last quarter. But Ellmers, a nurse who squeaked by former Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge last year, was buoyed by a redistricting process that made her mid-state seat significantly safer.

“I’m working hard, but it is difficult with so many freshmen competing for the same dollars,” Ellmers said. “All I can say is next quarter will be better. The only way we’re going to really make the changes we need [is] after 2012.”

Freshmen should consider how better campaigns could make them better lawmakers, said former Virginia Rep. Tom Davis, a former NRCC chairman.

“You’ll never be an effective legislator if you’re always being targeted and people think your tenure could be short-lived,” he said. “That aura of invincibility is just part of being a good legislator. If you’re walking around with a bull’s-eye on your back, you’re not going to be as effective.”

Florida Rep. Allen West, the conservative fundraising star of the freshman class, had similar advice.

“Raising money is the mother’s milk,” he said. “If you’re hoping to come back and fight for fiscal responsibility, you just have to do it.”

And with the White House and Senate up for grabs, operatives close to the GOP’s growing stable of independent expenditure groups are expecting less money to go around for House races on the bubble.

“It’s going to pale in comparison to what was spent on the House last year,” McElwain said.

Some freshmen say they’re doing just fine, contrary to what their Republican critics might say.

“Between working here full time and building a campaign full time,” Gosar said, “I think I’m doing pretty good.”

That's Our Gal: Declaration of Purpose and Policy

When Blueskygirl began That's Our Gal right after the 2010 election, she wanted to track this candidate who barely  ekked out a win over her incumbent opponent.

At the time, Buerkle declared that she recognized her margin of victory was very small and that she would work hard to represent all her constituents, be a good listener, and seek to "find common ground".

Having watched her over the years, her detracters were skeptical. 

Blueskygirl thinks any far right Republican or tea partier would agree that we were correct to be skeptical. They understand very well that compromise has never been Buerkle's strong suit and, furthermore, they certainly wouldn't allow her to move away from her tea party, right-to-life and conservative positions.

Blueskygirl comes to this blog with a point of view and a purpose. Recent commenters seem surprised at this. Of course she has a point of view. Why would she simply re-report the news? She analyzes the news from a vantage point apart and is informed by her own experience of the world.

You, dear reader, may choose to agree or not. If you do not, tell Blueskygirl why. Or just don't come here if the blog displeases you unbearably.

Of course Blueskygirl maintains the right to delete any comments that are disrespectful or do not add to the dialogue.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Good News Dept.: Boot the Fringe

Blueskygirl has been wondering when the Republican party would wake from its deep sleep and reclaim the party from the tea-stained fringe. It is happening in New Hampshire!

Thanks to correspondent Jon Ward and Huffington Post for this article published August 25, 2011, [emphasis added by Blueskygirl]:

New Hampshire Senator, Congressmen Support Removing State GOP Chairman Jack Kimball

WASHINGTON -- The lone Republican senator from New Hampshire and the state's two Republican members of Congress on Thursday put their names behind a vote on the removal of the state party's chairman, even as the Tea Party-affiliated leader continued to defend himself. ...

The letter to Kimball bore 22 names from the 36-member state executive committee in support of a vote on his remova.... Only 19 votes are needed to oust Kimball as state party chairman.

In a separate statement, the five elected leaders called the controversy around Kimball's tenure as chairman a "serious distraction" and said he should resign.

“We respect Jack Kimball, and appreciate all the personal time and effort he has made on behalf of the New Hampshire Republican Party. But to ensure that all of the party's energy and resources are solely focused on electing Republicans, we believe it is time to move beyond this serious distraction," the statement said. “Therefore, we call upon Jack to put the best interests of New Hampshire Republicans first and step aside as chairman of the party." ...

But, [member of Republican committee Bill] Foley said, "the Chairman continues to refuse to reach out except to a very narrow group of what I consider to be radical fringe element of the Party who have overestimated their value and importance in the last election...."

ClaqueWatch NY: Newest Feature On That's Our gal

ClaqueWatch NY is a new feature here at That's Our Gal for monitoring local teabagger advocacy. 

When you attend Ann Marie Buerkle's in-person "town hall meetings" you find that they are exercises in futility for everyone except Annie's claque of raucous schoolchildren. These folks are simple to spot. They sit up front at the in-person meetings, they plant softball questions, and they are predictably loud and obnoxious when anyone asks a followup question after Annie tries to duck the first one.

The lamentable aspect of this element of Annie's support is that they can be depended upon to intimidate and shout down the opposition, protection which she eats up. Her meetings are conducted in a way that eliminates any real serious discussion of really serious issues concerned citizens have come to discuss.

Blueskygirl wants to thank TeamWatch NY and TeamWatch 25 for their very public contributions to the fun. This includes everyone from downstate claquers who love Carl "Porn King" Paladino to Syracuse locals who think Doug Hoffman and Ayn Rand are the nutz.

This ought to be fun.

August Questions for Buerkle

August Questions for Buerkle

• Without added revenue, how do you propose to pay for our nation's commitments to wars in four countries on two continents?  

• Why are you instilling fear in middle class tax payers by not acknowledging that the only revenue increases on the table are aimed at the wealthiest Americans and corporations?

• Without cutting your own district's discretionary spending, how do you intend to convince your colleagues to cut theirs?

• What will you think about proposed horizontal hydrofracking behind your Skaneateles Lake camp, just over the hill in the Owasco watershed?

• Why did you vote against the final debt ceiling bill when, only a few days before, you were confident something would pass prior to the Tuesday deadline and you were for it?  

• Was your no vote because you fear alienating the last of the people who ever believed in you?

• Have you cashed Sarah Palin's June 29 check to your campaign yet?

• Why haven't you joined Michele Bachmann's Tea Party Caucus?

• Who are your national and international economic advisors?

• When is your next in-person Town Hall meeting?

Education=Religious Sandwich on Technical Bread

This is the intellectual biography of a magical-thinking teapartier who is, right this minute, willing to weaken our country for her own ideology.

Ann Marie Buerkle's education was a religious sandwich on technical bread.

Catholic schooling in Auburn, nursing school at a Catholic hospital, a Jesuit college degree, law school...this is not an education strong in building critical thinking skills. 

Was the young mother Buerkle an involved, curious student at LeMoyne? More likely Buerkle was the student who made everything she learned fit into her own, already solidly forming, ideology.

Shortly after graduating LeMoyne she entered the uber-ideological world of Randall Terry and right-to-life-at-any-cost.

For allies she has always turned to those who give her certainty. Deaf to facts, she does not question. She is always right, and she will fit any situation to her narrow interpretation. There is no room in Buerkle's sphere for doubt, nuance, debate, individual autonomy.

And now she runs with a pack of know-nothings who would bring the United States to its knees and vote death to our strong democracy and to our precious values of individual freedom and opportunity.

Buerkle and Other Anti-Choice Tyrants: Who Will You Choose To Be Today?

Some Conservatives and all tea partiers have excised the word "choice" from their vocabularies, to their peril. 

They forget that even drinking the tea is a choice.

"Teach Your Children Well" ... and bravo to this school, whatever the choices.

Buerkle and Other Truth-Challenged tea baggers: Put the Blame Where it Belongs

Comedy and Tragedy, tea party style

Blueskygirl is both amused and horrified at the choices folks at a local tea party internet site that supports Ann Marie Buerkle recently made.

Blueskygirl is amused that the tea baggers took a swipe at her and thought they identified her. 

They maligned her as they inserted their own words, unattributed, into a reproduced syr.com article about redistricting. The syr.com reporter may not be so amused by their deliberate alteration of the article. 

Blueskygirl is also horrified.  She is horrified that these tea baggers very publicly named the wrong person. Unfortunately they may have damaged someone professionally or personally by their deliberate stupidity.

The tea baggers would be wise to make a retraction and a public apology, although we know real tea baggers are congenitally incapable of admitting their mistakes.

Chuckle of the Day

Governor Nikki Haley speaks during a meeting of the Tea Party in Columbia [SC] Thursday night at the Statehouse. A.L. Geddings and Louise Geddings of Columbia were representative of the low turnout. Turnout was low at the event due to Donald Trump canceling his expected appearance.

- Tracy Glantz /Tracy Glantz/tglantz@thestate.co

Tea Party Wants to Control Who Runs on Their Line..Is This an Oxymoron?

On May 11, Blueskygirl wrote about the rise and possible win in the vote next Tuesday of Democrat Kathy Hochul in NY 26 Congressional District between Rochester and Buffalo. 

Today the NYTimes published the second article in a week about the race for the 26th, this time particularly about Jack Davis, who is running as a third candidate on a Tea Party line and splitting the vote with Conservative Jane Corwin, giving Hochul a gift from heaven.

Here's the NYTimes article from this morning. Blueskygirl linked to the first NYTimes article on May 11.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/nyregion/jack-davis-makes-tea-party-bid-in-ny-congressional-race.html?_r=1&hp

Davis has created alarm among Republicans and Conservatives, so much so that John Boehner came to the 26th last week on behalf of Corwin. Karl Rove has sent Corwin a bunch of tea-colored money. The Tea Party is calling in ever-classy baseball batman Carl Paladino to denounce Davis.  

Better yet, tea partiers all over NY are up in arms about Davis. They are angry and trying, at the last minute, to organize (not their best skill) resistance to him and support for Corwin. It is a refreshing turn of events,. Blueskygirl is totally enjoying herself.

Blueskygirl doesn't think Davis is deliberately trying to create a win for the Democrat. Still, could intentional Trojan horses become an election tool next time around? Anything could happen, given the tea partiers inate inability to organize. Ah, can relegation "to the dust bin of history" be far off?

Industrial Conglomerate Tea Party Sponsor Has NO Sense of Humor

Koch Industries can buy and sell the Tea Party and its puppet teabaggers with loose change from the sofa. Good to know they don't always win in court.

Thanks to Huffington Post for this:

Koch Industries Climate Change Spoof No Grounds For Suit, Judge Finds

First Posted: 05/ 9/11 06:55 PM ET Updated: 05/ 9/11 06:55 PM ET

Tom Zeller Jr. 

tom.zeller@huffingtonpost.com

A U.S. district court in Utah effectively shut down an effort by Koch Industries, the Kansas-based industrial conglomerate whose namesake brothers are vocal skeptics of global warming, to unmask a group of anonymous climate activists who spoofed the company in a mock press release last December. [Here is the fake announcement:]

December 10, 2010     Contact: 

Kate Anderson

kate.anderson@koch-inc.com 

281-305-8418

KOCH INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES NEW ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENTS WICHITA, Kan. – Koch Industries remains committed to environmental responsibility and stewardship, announcing today that it will restructure its support for organizations that undertake climate change research and advocacy. Since its founding, Koch Industries has been focused on achieving environmental excellence and using resources efficiently. Through extensive and award-winning efforts and investments, Koch Industries has implemented innovative practices that reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the manufacture and distribution of our products. Based on recent internal evaluations of Koch Industries priorities, the company will be restructuring its support of climate change research and advocacy initiatives and will discontinue contributions to groups whose positions on climate change no longer match those of the company’s leadership, beginning in January 2011. Koch Industries is proud of its charitable history, particularly with regard to organizations such as Americans for Prosperity, Fraser Institute, Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, and the George C. Marshall Institute.  These organizations have done much important work to advance science and policy on the issue of climate change. However, based on a recent internal and thorough company review, Koch Industries has decided that its best course forward includes a discontinuation of funding for these organizations, and organizations like them, whose positions on climate change could jeopardize America’s continued global competitiveness in the energy and chemical sectors and Koch Industries’ ability to provide high-quality products and services to the American people. “Koch Industries is proud of its environmental record, as well as its long history of providing trusted goods and services to its customers,” said CEO Charles Koch.  “Our top priority has always been to create real, long-term value in society through principled behavior. It is the only way a business can survive and prosper.” More complete information is available at www.koch-inc.com. ### Page 1 of 1 The fake statement, posted to a hoax Web site similar to Koch Industries' own, purported to be an awakening of sorts, in which the company admitted the error of its ways on climate change and committed to cease funding of groups seeking to undermine prevailing climate science.

Unamused, Koch sued for a variety of claims, including infringement of trademark, unfair competition and cybersquatting, among others. Koch had also sought to serve subpoenas on the company that hosted the sham website in order to obtain the identities of the activists.

The defendants, represented by the advocacy group Public Citizen, sought to have the subpoenas quashed, the activists' identities protected and the lawsuit -- along with all of its claims -- dismissed.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball granted all three requests.

"We're gratified that the court affirmed our clients' First Amendment right to engage in anonymous political speech and rejected Koch's baseless legal theories," said Deepak Gupta, Public Citizen's lead attorney, in an emailed statement. "This lawsuit was nothing but a well-financed attempt by Koch to bully its political opponents into submission. The court was right to stop this lawsuit in its tracks."

In a follow-up phone call, Mr. Gupta said that Koch almost certainly obtained some information on the activists though the subpoenas it served to the hosting company, which complied before Public Citizen became involved in the case. But Koch is now enjoined from disclosing whatever information it had managed to gather.

"We are disappointed by the judge's decision and continue to stand by our earlier statements about this case," said Melissa Cohlmia, a spokeswoman for Koch Industries, in an email message. The company, she added, was reviewing its options.

...yes, there is a god

Tea Party: Today...live stream with Carl Paladino! What an opportunity!

Carl Paladino lives! at least in the minds of certain teabaggers. Never mind that he is a racist, homophobic, hypocritical man who widely forwards hard core pornography including beastiality, thinks poor people should live in prisons and in his "concession speech" threatened to bring a baseball bat to Albany:

          Said Paladino to Andrew Cuomo: "You can grab this handle and bring the people [the bat, metaphorically?] with you to Albany, or you can leave it untouched, and run the risk of having it wielded against you. Because make no mistake. You have not heard the last of Carl Paladino."

He's a gangster. You go, Sheryl Thomas of Orange-Sullivan [NY] Tea Party!

T.E.A. with Carl Paladino Paladino For the People and the Tea Party Movement    (Carl Paladino)    Listen LIVE as Sheryl Thomas, founder of Tea Party Works and former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino take a more personal look into the 2010 campaign, NYS politics,   and the role of the Tea Party. **Tea Party Works On The Air**    Debut Show @ BlogTalk Radio   Thursday May 5, 2011 MAKE A NOTE OF THE NEW TIME!! 5:30-6:30PM       Call in number to listen: (714) 202-XXXX Hosted by   Tea Party Works Orange-Sullivan Tea Party TeamWatchTM NY  If you have a question for Carl or for more info contact: Sheryl Thomas    sthomas@teapartyworks.com

Editorial Cartoon by Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press

Ann Marie Buerkle, Let's Talk Men's Issues!

OK, so the budget stalemate is all coming down to the issue of abortion, is it?
Everybody knows, or ought to understand by now, that the War on Abortion is a war on women.
How about this: let's talk men's issues!
Henceforth:

• all prostate surgeries will take place in the town square (to put another slant on Live Action Princess Lila Rose's talk).
• any user of Viagra will have to be licensed. Any user will be required to view the results of his labors via ultrasound.
• all sperm must be accounted for daily (and I do mean every single one).
• sperm banks will go into mandatory bankruptcy.
• all rapes will be tried by female tribunals
• men will be 100% responsible for birth control
• men will spend 2 hours a week in community service teaching boys to respect girls and women, and handing out condoms at malls and high schools
• boys and men will voluntarily clean the toilet bowl rims at home every day
• boys and men must live with a Baby Think It Over Infant simulator doll for 3 months; if anyone neglects the "baby", he has to start over.

Florynce Kennedy said: "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament."


I have no idea who wrote this; I cannot take credit for it. It's good:

               If men got pregnant:

• Maternity leave would last for two years...with full pay.
• There'd be a cure for stretch marks
• Natural childbirth would become obsolete
• Morning sickness would rank as the nation's number one health problem
• All methods of birth control would be improved to 100 percent effectiveness
• Children would be kept in the hospital until they were toilet trained
• Men would be EAGER to talk about commitment
• They wouldn't think twins were quite so cute
• Fathers would demand that their SONS be home from dates by 10:00pm
• Men could use THEIR briefcases as diaper bags
• They'd have to stop saying,"I'm afraid I'll drop him."
• Paternity suits would be a line of clothes
• They'd stay in bed for the entire nine months
• Menus at most restaurants would list ice cream and pickles as an entree
• Women would rule the world!

Finally, Florynce Kennedy, amazing and beautiful woman, said, "There are very few jobs that actually require a penis or vagina. All other jobs should be open to everybody." 

Another great Florynce Kennedy quote: "When a system of oppression has become institutionalized it is unnecessary for individuals to be oppressive."

A biography of Flo Kennedy is here:  http://revcom.us/a/v22/1090-99/1095/flo_kennedy.htm

Ann Marie Buerkle, Where Do You Stand?

This is to you personally, very personally, Ann Marie:

Shutting down the government tomorrow is a bad idea. Make no mistake, if that happens John Boehner and the Tea Party pressure groups will be to blame, and you will surely be blamed in the next election.

I used to think that Tea Party folks were arrested at the developmental level of "black and white" thinking. Now I think that would be preferable to the monochrome thinking of Tea Party extremists.

I find it shameful that tea partiers in Washington were cheering yesterday at the call to close the government. I wonder who will be complaining the loudest when the shutdown hits their pocketbooks?

I surely hope you, Ann Marie, do not expect to be paid if you are a part of this catastrophe.

Look around and you will see that the vast majority of citizens in this country do not want a government shutdown. You and all of your fellow Congresspeople were entrusted to act with the best interests of all of us in mind regardless of the margin of your win.

The enormous economic damage that a shutdown will cause will be laying right at your doorstep when next you go outside.

Ann Marie, Do These New Friends Make You Proud?

Abortions make up no more than three per cent of Planned Parenthood's services. Yet you, Ann Marie, would cut ALL federal funding despite the fact that using federal funds for abortion services is already disallowed by the Hyde amendment.

The current amendment to defund Planned Parenthood is co-sponsored by several US House representatives including Buerkle. These are among the most powerful people in the nation. Who, exactly, are these people?

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) Tea Party Caucuser with Michelle Bachmann; happy to have a total government shutdown (possibly by this Friday) rather than compromise (black and white thinking is immature on any developmental scale); explained his sponsorship of the amendment with fabrications, distortions, and lies because he can't make his arguments using the truth

Jean Schmidt (R-OH) "Mean Jean" to many people in Ohio; birther; Gulen (worth Googling) charter school pusher; undergoing House ethics investigation for accepting free legal services; she is the person who famously called decorated Marine and Rep. John Murtha a coward; graphically described abortion to a group of school children as young as 6

Virginia Foxx (R-NC) made the news by calling Matthew Shepard's murder a hoax, with his mother present as witness; says Obamacare will put elders to death; also claims there are no Americans who do not have health care; purple hair 

Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)  another rabid pro-lifer from Missouri; Tea Party Caucuser; wrote Running God's Way, a religious guide to winning elections ("This one-stop, easy to use resource outlines the winning strategies needed to succeed on Election Day. It combines the time-tested campaign strategies and wisdom outlined in the Bible with real-life insights and practical advice acquired from Vicky Hartzler's twelve years of on-the-ground campaigning as a three-term state representative and former campaign spokesperson for the Coalition to Protect Marriage in Missouri."); totally pro-hetero marriage; thinks if the gays have rights, then everyone will want them 

Renee Ellmers (R-NC) will be blaming the Dems if the government shuts down; to her credit, "voted to fund Obamacare" and is getting lambasted for it by her local militia; Islamophobe; confused about the definitions of "terrorist" and "Muslim", thereby engendering fear mongering, hatred and racism with her campaign ads 

Andy Harris (R-MD) member of Michele Bachmann's Tea Party Caucus; endorsed by the Club for Growth; motivated to run for Congress to counter his predecessor's vote to set a timetable for drawing down troop levels in Iraq; a doctor himself, he thinks universal health coverage is wrong, wrong, wrong, yet threw a fit when government coverage for his Congressional staff didn't start on day one; has buckets of money

and our own Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY)  strong connections to Live Action and Susan B. Anthony List; was local Operation Rescue spokesperson and colleague of Randall Terry (who celebrated the murder of Dr. George Tiller); Palin endorsement in 2010 (this is becoming more damning every day); millionaire

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Here is Right Wing Watch's [big thanks to this site; it is an invaluable source] take on the credentials of these extremists:   http://www.rightwingwatch.org/    (if you move your mouse over topics in the following list, live links will become underlined.)


Pence (R-IN) is using the discredited [Live Action]videos to promote his bill that would end federal funding of Planned Parenthood, imperiling women’s health services;

Schmidt railed against reproductive rights in a speech to 1st graders in an elementary school; 

Buerkle served as the spokesperson for the extreme group Operation Rescue; 

Hartzler backed bills that would compel women seeking an abortion to view their sonograms and even supported legislation that would force the state to file murder charges against women and their doctors if they performed a late-term abortion; 

Foxx wants to ban emergency contraception like RU-486 and Ella; 

Harris wanted to allow pharmacists to refuse contraception to customers and challenged a moderate pro-choice Republican incumbent in 2008, and 

Ellmers is an avowed opponent of legal abortion who recently justified receiving taxpayer-subsidized health care by claiming that Washington DC is too expensive to live in with a $174,000 per year salary, while pushing to defund health services for low-income women.

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How does cutting any health care for women make this a better country? Who will provide these services if you cut Title X money to Planned Parenthood? Do you seriously think your predecessors who created Title X were wrong? Who do you think the government should be helping if it helps anyone at all? Corporations or people?

I ask you all, also, what have you done about jobs? You promised jobs. Where are they? What are you doing to increase expenditures where there will be a net gain of jobs? 

How does withdrawing government money from communities create stronger communities? How does cutting money for the education of children create a stronger nation, competitive in the coming decades?

Ann Marie, why are you wasting taxpayer time hurting real people? Why aren't you finding ways to use your taxpayer funded power to make this a strong, healthy, productive nation?

If you truly desire to find common ground with half of your constituents up here in Central New York, you might like to look over the credentials of the people with whom you are consorting in D.C. They are not helping anything, and we want so much more from you.