For generations, presidents have used inaugural addresses to unite the nation. But yesterday, President Obama chose to deliver a harshly ideological, aggressively partisan speech more appropriate for the campaign trail than the solemn occasion of our nation's 57th inaugural address. Obama's speech read like a liberal laundry list with global warming and more spending at the top. You and I have only one good choice -- stand and fight this President's big government agenda while holding Republicans accountable to their promises. You share my disappointment over the events of 2012, but you are not a quitter. You have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our movement and Americans for Prosperity over the past few years – even when the odds have been against us. Together you and I, along with our allies, beat cap-and-trade, stopped card check and fought a long battle against ObamaCare ultimately losing in Congress but winning decisvely with the American people and leading to dramatic change in November of 2010. At the state level, we had Governor Scott Walker's back in Wisconsin on his historic budget reforms and just this past December our staff and activists in Michigan helped push through Right to Work legislation in Michigan. You've petitioned Congress and the President, rallied at state capitols and local town squares, knocked on doors, made the phone calls, posted our message on your Facebook and email accounts and put your good name on the line for the cause of freedom and prosperity. It hasn't been easy. There have been tough setbacks. But, we've also made a big difference. Now, we face a renewed battle. Yesterday, the President laid out his agenda in stark terms: more spending on the same failing big government programs and another push for his global warming agenda to drive up energy prices and take away more of our freedoms in their name of their ideology. No issue is a bigger threat to our economic prosperity than government overspending. In coming weeks we possess three crucial opportunities to make our voice heard when it comes to reining in government overspending. You've heard the term "sequestration." Well, here's what it means -- the President and Congress promised spending cuts as part of the last debt limit deal in 2011. They're still $85 million short of the promised cuts and the deadline for making them is March 1. It looks like the President and some members of Congress from both parties are attempting to edge away from these small cuts which are less than one half of one percent of the federal budget! We must make sure that at least these small cuts are made on time and in full. On March 27, the continuing resolution which funds the federal budget for the current year is set to run out. It's been almost four years since Senate Democrats even passed a budget and so these stop gap measures are in effect. We must use the continuing resolution to force significant spending cuts from Congress and the President. It won't be easy. The President will threaten a "government shut down" saying that we're trying to "hold the American people hostage" by simply demanding spending cuts at a time when the federal government is running a $1 trillion plus deficit. Some Republicans will want to cut a deal that makes phantom spending cuts in order to avoid the Left's threat. Our challenge will be threefold: 1) blunt the President's message with the American people by pointing out how Obama's disastrous government overspending is stopping job growth and hampering economic prosperity for our citizens; 2) hold Republicans in the House especially accountable to their promises to us to cut spending and get our nation back on track; and 3) go into priority congressional and senate districts held by Democrats to deliver our message that they need to put party and ideology aside and do what's right for our nation's prosperity by finally cutting spending. On the debt limit increase front, AFP will continue to oppose raising the debt limit without a verifiable, enforceable plan to balance the budget without tax increases. While governmnet overspending is the top problem we face, longterm debt is the most dangerous symptom of this problem. Some have asked, "With the problems so and the odds stacked against us how can we truly make a difference?" These three issues coming up in the next 6 weeks offer us exactly the kind of clear choice we need between taking initial steps to stop government overspending right now or continue down the same old tired path toward decline and bankruptcy. We know how to defeat bad bills. We’ve proven it in the past. Remember the cap and trade and card check I mentioned earlier? Those wins were not an accident but instead the result of going into the trenches and fighting even when on the surface it seemed difficult to see clear a path to victory. But to do so, I need to be sure you are still on our team. I hate to be so blunt, but we really need to know if you’re standing with us in our all-hands-on-deck effort for 2013. To win, it will take more than just the 2.2 million grass roots folks we’ve identified, motivated, trained and organized. It will also take the funding to run our ground game. Funds for telephones, offices, mailings, and yes, especially our on-line efforts. Our website is one of the most relied on political resources on our side. It is the best way to go over and above the heads of the Left-leaning “mainstream” media directly to folks like you and all the rest. The 2013 budget for support of our email, website maintenance and other online activities is $1.2 million. That’s $100,000 per month. Just $25,000 per week. I know that sounds like a lot of money. Believe me IT IS. And, I’m responsible for raising a lot of it! If you already renewed your support for AFP as a 2013 Freedom Fighter, thank you. If not, please click here to maintain your active status and help me raise the funds necessary to run avibrant and powerful online operation. With your donation of $10 or more today—and I’ll send your 2013 AFP ID card and a window sticker identifying you as a Freedom Fighter. Of course, if you can send $25, $50, $100 – or even $100,000 to fund January’s online budget – that would be much appreciated. Every contribution counts! Richard—your renewal couldn’t come soon enough. It’s easy to forget, with everything that happened last year, that this fight isn’t about one political party or about one president—it’s about the future of our nation. A few weeks ago, I was thinking about my four kids. And I’m sure you thought the same things about your kids and grandkids. Coming of age in the 1980s with Ronald Reagan my parents knew that my opportunities were limited only by my imagination, talents and work ethic. Today, our kids and grandkids dreams are in danger of being limited by a massive government whose spending chokes off dreams and nullifies work ethic. That’s why I'm completely committed to going all out in 2013. With you standing with AFP once again, you can make the critical difference at the time when we need it most. Time and time again, you and other AFP activists have led the fight in re-energizing our side, and winning policy battles not just in Washington but in state houses and city halls nationwide. It's time to do it once again. Thank you so much for your help. Sincerely, Tim Phillips, President Americans for Prosperity P.S. Have you renewed your 2013 support for AFP? Click here to make your donation of $10 or more—and receive your 2013 AFP Freedom Fighter ID card and an AFP window decal. When replying to this message, plz cc: [email protected] to assure prompt reply. TEA Party Nation Top Ten Tips For Getting The Most From Your TPN Membership! http://www.teapartynation.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it any more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_qgVn-Op7Q Mrs. Richard "Peggy" Martin (1935 - 2012) http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dfw/obituary.aspx?n=margaret-irene-martin-peggy&pid=159081400&fhid=12241#fbLoggedOut http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/dfw/guestbook.aspx?n=margaret-martin&pid=159081400&sort=1 <> <> <> -- -- To join RichsRants, send email to: [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/richsrants?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RichsRants" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
