Heritage: Unions Ate Your Raise

-By Warner Todd Huston

James Sherk has a very good post over at the Heritage Foundation’s The Foundry blog about how unions have hurt us all by fighting for tax increases.

Unions almost never go on strike anymore. Instead, they fight to get more for their members by lobbying for tax increases. Unions spent tens of millions of dollars last year campaigning for higher taxes across the country: Illinois. California. Minnesota. Washington State. Arizona. In many cases they have succeeded.

Nearly every day now we are visited with more proof of how public employees unions are a danger to this country and Sherk has shown us yet another example.

Sherk reports that in Oregon the public employees unions spent $700 million dollars to increase taxes on the people of Oregon. The unions wanted higher taxes to protect their undeservedly high salaries and rich benefits while the regular folks of the Beaver State lost jobs, had their pay cut, and were generally finding hard times — like the rest of normal, non-government worker America.

Not only are unions working against the best interests of the voters, but they are also working to allow out-of-control spending and irresponsibility in government to grow.

Unions are not only antithetical to good government, they are dangerous to our individual prosperity.
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Heritage: Unions Ate Your Raise”


Americans for Prosperity, Illinois: Needing YOUR Help for the Primaries

AFP-IL is part of broad, growing coalition that has come together in effort to change Illinois politics in a big way.

For the last 3 decades, legislators have created their own districts after drawing a name out of hat!

Illinois is the ONLY state in the nation that allows this magic trick to determine such an important issue. Instead of the people choosing legislators, the legislators choose the people. This leads to a failing system of government that is not responsive to the people.

LETS TAKE BACK OUR GOVERNMENT! The Illinois Fair Map Amendment will take redistricting out of the hands of the legislator and put into the hands of in independent commission, making the process more transparent, fair and accessible to the public.

We need to collect 500,000 petition signatures by April 1, 2010. WE NEED YOUR HELP!
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Americans for Prosperity, Illinois: Needing YOUR Help for the Primaries”


U.S. Senate: John Arrington Presses President, Pentagon for Manufacturing Jobs at Rock Island Arsenal and Across U.S.‏

From the John Arrington for Senate campaign…

On Friday, January 29th at 2:00 p.m. Senate candidate John Arrington will be holding a press conference at the iWireless Center near the Rock Island arsenal. In response to President Obama’s State of the Union speech, Mr. Arrington will be sending letters to the President, Congress, and the Pentagon today demanding that an assessment be taken of defense systems manufactured overseas, and that all defense related products be returned to the U.S. for production. “Discussing jobs without including our disappearing manufacturing industry is like discussing healthcare without tort reform, it’s a Band-Aid approach,” stated Arrington. “Americans must produce in order to sustain our economic future, and that must start with our Department of Defense.”
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U.S. Senate: John Arrington Presses President, Pentagon for Manufacturing Jobs at Rock Island Arsenal and Across U.S.‏”


The Federal Reserve Is Inflating Another Bubble

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Stock market exuberance is symptomatic of a rapidly expanding money supply’s corrosive effect.

In the last two trading days of the week ending January 23rd, the Dow Industrial Index plummeted 430.170 points, the worst decline in a year. Major factors, according to Street gossip, were continuing weakness in corporate sales and growing fears that Helicopter Ben Bernanke might not be re-appointed Fed chairman.

As the Wall Street Journal reported:
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The Federal Reserve Is Inflating Another Bubble”


US Senate: Arrington Challenges Mark Kirk To Debate‏

From the John Arrington for Senate campaign…

U.S. Senate candidate John Arrington has challenged front runner Mark Kirk to a serious debate to discuss critical issues facing Illinois and the nation. “Mark Kirk has not participated in one debate to discuss challenges facing Illinois residents and this is unacceptable” stated Arrington. Arrington strongly believes that a debate focusing on the serious issues of job creation, revitalizing our economy, stances on education, health care, corporate bailouts, and taxes is vital. Without a fair and balanced debate for candidates to discuss their platform and express their differences, Illinois voters will once again be kept in the dark and uninformed on the critical issues facing our nation. Mr. Kirk has thus far has not been involved in a single debate with any other candidates, and John Arrington feels this is an offensive breach of the electoral process.

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US Senate: Arrington Challenges Mark Kirk To Debate‏”


U.S. Senate: Arrington Defends Educational Choice

From the John Arrington for Senate campaign…

John Arrington, Republican candidate for US Senate (IL), supports the rights of parents to make educational choices for their children, be it through public, private, charter, or home schools. With a varied background that includes private and public school teaching and Illinois certification in educational administration with a superintendent of schools certification, John Arrington has a unique perspective among the senatorial candidates. He deems the choice of educational venue to be the right of parents—the first and foremost educators of their children.
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U.S. Senate: Arrington Defends Educational Choice”


Not All Union Members Bought and Paid By Coakley

-By Warner Todd Huston

On Jan 13, we posted an interesting video showing that union members in Massachusetts were being paid by the union to stand at Martha Coakley rallies and pretend to be supporters.

Well, by way of Smart Girl Politics, we find that not every union member in the Bay State has been turned into an automaton. Check out this great shot of an SEIU member rallying for Republican Scott Brown…

This Mass. special election to fill the people’s seat that Teddy Kennedy left vacant is verrrry interesting, isn’t it?
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Not All Union Members Bought and Paid By Coakley”


Eagle Forum Ill. Primary Endorsements

Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum has made some endorsements in the 2010 Illinois primary.

Here is what the EF folks have thus far…

US Senate

US Congress

Lt. Governor

State Comptroller

State Senate

State House


Book Review: What Are These Tea Parties About, Anyway?

-By Warner Todd Huston

A new book about the Tea Party movement — and a movement it really is — will soon be hitting the shelves. “A New American Tea Party” penned by John M. O’Hara, one of the many folks that helped bring us some of those protests in early 2009, is a book that hopes that the reader will come away understanding and appreciating the Tea Party movement as a truly grassroots happening, a spontaneous outpouring of interest backed by true red, white and blue American ideals.

Author O’Hara, himself an early Tea Party organizer in Washington D.C. and the Chicago area, answers several questions with the book: what sparked the Tea Parties; is the name “Tea Party” itself a proper sobriquet; what do they mean; what does the future hold; and how do you make more?

The first thing one might notice is that O’Hara writes in a crisp, conversational style with short subchapters. This makes it ideal for reading bits at a time. This is not a dense treatment and I think his style makes the book very accessible to people of all ages — without talking down to the young or dumbing it down for the more advanced reader.
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Book Review: What Are These Tea Parties About, Anyway?”


Why This Conservative Wants Harry Reid to Stay Right Now

-By Warner Todd Huston

Of course it would serve Senate Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Democrats right if they found Reid hounded from the Democrat leadership or even from office over his racist comments made about President Obama back during the presidential campaign. After all the faux charges of racism that the left has used to hound Republicans from office, it would be sweet revenge to turn it on Harry Reid. But as a conservative, I do not want to see Reid hounded from his Democrat leadership position and I most especially don’t want him to leave office before the 2010 elections.

Does that sound hard to understand? You might ask why a conservative woud want to protect Harry Reid? Well, it’s all about politics, my friend.
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Why This Conservative Wants Harry Reid to Stay Right Now”


Getting Control of Congress, Permanently

-By John Armor

We are now experiencing a disconnect between national political leaders and the citizenry. Public support for congressional actions is low and falling, as are the president’s numbers. Public opposition to the health care bill, now passed in different forms in the House and Senate, is at 59% and rising.

In various ways, the people are strongly indicating that they think Congress is out of control and needs adult supervision. Particularly galling is the revelation that Senate leaders bought critical votes on the health care bill by dumping hundreds of millions in special benefits into states whose senators had withheld support — until they got their bribe.

In answer to the public outcry, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shrugs and says that any senator who “does not seek as much as he can” for his own state isn’t doing his job.
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Getting Control of Congress, Permanently”


Sen. Ben Nelson: Say, Maybe We Shudda Waited on Healthcare ‘Reform’

-By Warner Todd Huston

Every week we are seeing another Democrat deciding not to run for re-election or one that is switching parties to the GOP all due to the wild, left-wing overreach indulged in by the Obama Administration and its cohorts in Congress. Connecticut’s Senator Chris Dodd is only the latest heavy hitter Democrat that is looking for an “exit strategy,” if you will. And with all these pols looking to jump ship, the infamous 60th vote on healthcare, Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, suddenly finds that bringing healthcare to a vote so soon was a bit of a mistake!

On Wednesday, Nelson, a master of the understatement, told the Fremont Tribune, “I think it was a mistake to take health care on as opposed to continuing to spend the time on the economy.”

Right after that statement, Nelson pronounced the maiden voyage of the SS Titanic “a bit of a flub,” said that Amelia Earhart made a “miscalculation” in her flight plan, and decided that founding the city of Pompeii at the foot of a volcano was probably “misguided.” But he still thought that his 60th vote for Obamacare was a good one.

So much for his judgment!
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Sen. Ben Nelson: Say, Maybe We Shudda Waited on Healthcare ‘Reform’”


DeMint Decries Union Obstruction in TSA

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Democrats are trying to paint the GOP as “obstructionists” for blocking the appointment of Obama’s choice of Erroll Southers to head up the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Democrats are claiming that by blocking the closure of debate on Southers the GOP is trying to obstruct “tighter security at airports.”

But there is an ulterior motive in play for the Democrats, naturally. And, again naturally, it is an effort by Democrats to hand a victory to unions. One of the things that Senator Jim DeMint (R, SC) is trying to stave off is the unionization of our airport security personnel as the Democrats are trying to slide this by the American people in the guise of “security.”

DeMint brought this up in an appearance on CNN on Dec. 29. When asked why he is putting up a protest about Souther DeMint noted that Obama waited 8 months to appoint someone to fill this spot then wanted the appointment to sail through with no debate.

But DeMint also warned about the stealth unionization that Obama is trying to slide past the American people.
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DeMint Decries Union Obstruction in TSA”


Stop Mark Kirk Rally, Jan 5th

The Folks at ChampionNews.com are supporting a Stop Kirk effort and a rally will be held Jan. 5th in Woodbine, Illinois. Kirk is wrong for this state for sure, so here is the info for the event…

Call the neighbors and wake the kids, it’s time to Stop Mark Kirk

Here’s a group that gets it. The Will County Tea Party Alliance (Joliet Tea Party & Homer/Lockport Tea Party) is hosting a Stop Mark Kirk Rally on Tuesday, January 5th at 7:30 PM at the Woodbine Country Club in Woodbine, Illinois. Admission is FREE.

You can find all of the details here. Mark Kirk’s leading Republican opponent Patrick Hughes will be there.
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Stop Mark Kirk Rally, Jan 5th”


The Choice Between Prosperity and Decline

– By Jeff Lukens

This land of a free people and a free-market economy has generated a great wave of innovation that has benefited all of humanity. The essence of freedom and prosperity that moved around the world in past 200 and some years has been driven primarily by the United States. With our economy now stagnating, it has become more important than ever to return to the basic Constitutional freedoms that have made prosperity possible.

My son came home from college to visit recently. After some time of catching up on things, the conversation turned to topics that interest him — and that means all things electronic. He explained to me why I needed the latest operating system update for the computer and how properly to configure the surround sound system for the HDTV. I could barely keep up with it. Somewhere in the conversation, it occurred to me that in the long view of human history, we have come a long way in a very short time.

Think about it. In the 1600s, the ships that brought the first settlers to our shores, and tools for tilling the soil they brought with them, were not much more advanced than those used by people thousands of years before. In the relatively short time since their arrival in the New World, there has been an explosion in technology and the standard of living for ordinary people.

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The Choice Between Prosperity and Decline”


Tea Parties: The Biggest Mistake We’ll Make in 2010

-By Warner Todd Huston

It’s the end of 2009, the “aughts” are over, and we are about to embark on a new year — and what else are they but the “aughts”? Well, besides mostly a horrible and thankfully passed decade. In any case, we are at the end of the year and that means two things: lists about this year and predictions for the next. I’ve chosen the prognosticator’s art for this piece with the subject of what will likely be our biggest failure or mistake in 2010: the Tea Party movement.

We all know that just saying the words “Tea Party” is enough to raise American’s blood pressure. Some will become suspicious or even enraged by imagining I am about to attack the Tea Partiers, some on the left will be filled with disgust even thinking about the Tea Partiers at all, and still others will get their blood up thinking about why the Tea Party movement started in the first place. For 2009 “Tea” and “Party” were two words that raised American’s passions in a myriad of ways, for sure. That won’t change in 2010.

But with the Tea Party movement we are likely headed for a huge mistake in 2010, one that I fear will stretch into 2011 and one that has the potential to hurt us all, right, left and center — but especially right.
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Tea Parties: The Biggest Mistake We’ll Make in 2010″


‘Excuse Me…Can You Help Me Out with Some Change?’

-By Nancy Salvato

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” – Lao Tzu

Every evening on my way to Union Station, the same set of street hustlers are hanging about, soliciting for a handout. Some line the sidewalk, perched on the foldable camping chairs one would expect to see toted by soccer moms en route to children’s’ organized sporting events, not associated with placards that read homeless or jobless. Others play instruments; one man strategically situated on the bridge playing plastic buckets for drums, another accompanies himself with some kind of Karaoke machine. There is also a Saxophone player on occasion and I have sometimes thought to myself that they should all get together and form a band. One fellow simply whines, using the same line every time I pass him, “Please, can you help me buy a meal at McDonalds, please?” Once in awhile, if I have stayed for dinner in the city and need to take a cab to the station, there are hustlers that magically appear to open the passenger door upon my arrival, expecting a tip for their efforts.

The cynical side of me rationalizes away their plight by thinking if these people can spend this much time figuring out ways to relieve me of my spare change, why not just apply for a legitimate job providing some type of service? Is it that they can clear more money working on the streets? Would earning a paycheck cause them to lose their welfare or unemployment? Do they not want to work for someone? What drives this practice? Most don’t appear incompetent. And they are out there regularly, as if they were putting in regular hours on the job. While I can walk past these people, without feeling compelled to give them a contribution, I find it particularly unsettling, when hustlers are accompanied by their children, who must watch their parents, beg for money.
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‘Excuse Me…Can You Help Me Out with Some Change?’”


The Debt Limit Made Simple

The Heritage Foundation brings us “The Debt Limit Made Simple. This video takes you to the United Estates–a gated community in sunny Florida–to help you understand the impact of Congress decision to annually raise our nations debt limit without addressing the out-of-control spending that keeps us buried in debt.


Idiot We Call Senator Makes Fool of Self

-By Warner Todd Huston

Seat warmer Roland Burris, the doddering Illinois pol that bought his Senate seat from the criminal Governor that now sits awaiting to be sent to jail wanted to give the Senate some good cheer today during the socialist helathcare debate.

Burrie thought maybe a poem would help bring the Senate together in its hour of bickering…

… so much for the congeniality of the Senate, eh? This creep thought he’d use the Christmas spirit for partisan name calling and vitriol.

What a jerk.

But my friend Moe Lane had a better version that trades tit for tat…
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Idiot We Call Senator Makes Fool of Self”


The Lobbying Army in Congress for Healthcare

The Chicago Tribune has an excellent resource reporting the number of lobbyists that are involved in the healthcare debate as it winds through Congress.

For instance, did you know that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev.) has 13 of his former staff members now working as lobbyists for the healthcare industry? Our own Senator, Dick Durbin (D, Ill.) who is also the Majority Whip, has 8 of his former staffers lobbying for the healthcare industry and GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has seen 5 of his staffers quit to lobby for healthcare.

The webpage is interactive and you can search by lawmaker and committee. You can also search by client and download all the data.

It is some very interesting info that you should check out.

The information was assembled by the Trib staff and the Medill News Service of the Northwestern University School of Journalism.


Govt Healthcare Will Give us ALL Pay Cuts

-By Warner Todd Huston

Big Labor has, for the most part, fallen all over itself to help its patron President get his Obamacare policies passed in Congress spending millions to do so. If Obamacare should pass many millions will lose their healthcare and will be forced into government healthcare. According to the CBO at least 10 million will lose their insurance in short order. The CBO is likely lowballing the number, too.

That means many people that now have insurance through their employers will lose it and, thereby, lose some of their compensation and that brings up a major point that few people are talking about. I’ve mentioned it offhandedly in the past, but reader D. Harrison brought the issue before me in a recent email and I thought we should make it a point here.

Mr. Harrison wrote:
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Govt Healthcare Will Give us ALL Pay Cuts”


A Message to Senators Landrieu and Reid form the Louisiana Tea Partiers

-By Warner Todd Huston

This past Saturday, hundreds of people gathered in the pouring rain in New Orleans, Louisiana, to tell Senator Harry Reid (D, Nev.) and Senator Mary Landrieu (D, Loius.). As you may know, Senator Reid was supposed to attend a fundraiser in New Orleans, but canceled his plans to attend when he started taking heat for “asking Republicans for the weekend off.” [The Hill Blog also covered this]

Once again we see Harry Reid’s hypocrisy. but the tea party folks won’t let him forget it! News is Reid is having trouble with his Nevada reelection bid, too. Wouldn’t it be grand if another Senate Majority Leader was Daschled!


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A Message to Senators Landrieu and Reid form the Louisiana Tea Partiers”


Unions Again In DC Arguing Against ‘Cadillac Plan’ Tax

By Warner Todd Huston

The Associated Press reports the words of Lily Eskelsen, vice president of the National Education Association, who went to Washington D.C. to protest the so-called Cadillac healthcare plan tax currently in the Senate’s healthcare bill. “We should tax the millionaires, not teachers and bus drivers,” she told reporters.

This has been the constant refrain from Big Unions since Senator Max Baucus (D, Montana) included the taxing plan into his Senate version of Obamacare earlier this year. This 40 percent tax plan would kick in for any employee whose healthcare plan reaches $8,500 per year for individuals or $23,000 for families.

Of course, there is a fatal flaw in the Democrat’s assumptions of what this tax will do. As the AP reports, “The tax would raise some $150 billion over 10 years to help pay for the Democrats’ nearly $1 trillion health care bill.”
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Unions Again In DC Arguing Against ‘Cadillac Plan’ Tax”


Rauschie Beats Challenge

-By Warner Todd Huston

Former State Senator, long-time Republican operative, and member of the famed “fab five” cadre of conservative State Senators of 1990s vintage, Steve Rauschenberger is officially “allowed” to be a Republican.

The Illinois State Board of Elections has announced that it has thrown out the objections of Rauschie challenger Noland (D) who was trying to get him thrown off the ballot. Thankfully, here’s the last time I have to explain this idiotic challenge…

This from my previous post on the subject:

As it happens, Rauschie pulled a Democrat ballot last election in order to help elect his sister win an Elgin Council seat. This, say the local Dems, means that he is no longer a Republican. As idiotic as this challenge seems, it has a stupid precedent created by the moron Illinois GOP itself that launched a similar challenge, and won, against a Democrat in the past. (And this is but more proof that the petty petition situation in this state is bad for everyone)

Fortunately, the ISBE realized how downright stupid this particular challenge was. After all, Steve Rauschenberger has a 20-year record as an active and respected GOP lawmaker and pulled one… I say again, ONE… Democrat ballot out of familial love to help his sister (that’ll teach ‘im).
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Rauschie Beats Challenge”


Senate Race: Hughes Got in Over Kirk’s Cap and Trade Vote

-By Warner Todd Huston

Conservative Senate candidate Patrick Hughes told the Daily Herald that he wasn’t even interested in throwing his hat in the ring of the junior Illinois Senate seat until Mark Kirk voted for one of the most destructive tax plans in American history with his yes vote on Cap and Trade.

“I had no interest in this race. I hadn’t considered running … then Mark Kirk voted for cap-and-trade,” said Hughes, a Hinsdale real estate developer.

Hughes is right to be concerned. Kirk is running around the state telling people he wants to build a “center right” coalition. The problem with his plan is that the person at the center of that coalition, Kirk himself, is center left NOT center right!
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Senate Race: Hughes Got in Over Kirk’s Cap and Trade Vote”


Guv’s Race: Rauschie Picks Proft!

-By Warner Todd Huston


This is a bit of a shocker. Former State Senator Steve Rauschenberger (R, Elgin), famed as one of the “fab five” conservative Senators from the late 1990s , has endorsed Dan Proft for governor.

On the Don Wade and Roma radio show on WLS on Dec. 8, Rauschie said Proft is his man.

“I am proud to endorse Dan Proft’s candidacy for Governor because Proft is the only candidate who has properly diagnosed what afflicts state government and is prescribing the right policy remedies,” said Rauschenberger, who is seeking to regain his old senate seat currently held by State Senator Michael Noland (D-Elgin)

“The other candidates believe we have a management problem in state government. Proft correctly understands that it is a system problem.”

I have to say this is a bit shocking to me. I didn’t expect Steve to go for Proft, not because of his positions (most of which is very straight line conservative) but because of the whisper campaign launched against Proft’s Cicero baggage.
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Guv’s Race: Rauschie Picks Proft!”


Complete Vernon Township Endorsement Session Results

Further Information: Don Castella, Vernon Township Republican Chairman, 847-275-5542 or email: dcastella@vernongop.org

Lincolnshire, IL Dec 8, 2009: Vernon Township’s Monday evening GOP endorsement session surprised local incumbents Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL 10) and IL State Senator Matt Murphy (R-27), who both failed to garner the nod in their respective state-wide races for US Senate and Lt. Governor. Kirk lost the US Senate endorsement outright to Hinsdale Businessman Patrick Hughes who grabbed the Vernon endorsement with 64.3% of the committeeman vote. Senator Matt Murphy finished ahead of Pastor Randy White in the Vernon Lt. Governor endorsement voting with 57.1%, but failed to garner the requisite 60% for the endorsement.
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Complete Vernon Township Endorsement Session Results”


11th U.S. Congressional and U.S. Senate Candidate Forum “Tea Party Style”

-By Warner Todd Huston

One of our local Tea Party groups is sponsoring a candidate’s forum On Dec. 9th. I find it a bit telling that these folks invited the local Democrats to participate in the forum and they all declined, yet all the republicans accepted the invitation. So, uh, what are the Dems afraid of?

Here is the press release for the event:

Sponsored by Joliet Tea Party & Homer/Lockport Tea Party
Wednesday – Dec 9th 6:00 – 9:00 pm
The Holiday Inn (Louis Joliet Ballroom) 411 S. Larkin, Joliet IL.

The Joliet Tea Party & Homer/Lockport Tea Party are joining forces once again and holding a “Tea Party” Forum for the 11th US Congressional and US Senate Candidates. Tea Partiers have asked the candidates to “hear their voices” and they have responded. Congressional and Senate Candidates are coming to our area for a Town Hall /Forum to answer some important questions and meet the people. The event is free, with live music, tea party slide show, Candidate Forum, Meet & Greet the Candidates, Streaming Video Live on the Internet, Cash Bar, and Fellow Patriots.
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11th U.S. Congressional and U.S. Senate Candidate Forum “Tea Party Style””