Americans are TEA'd

Americans are TEA'd
~ by Newt Gingrich (more by this author)
Posted 03/25/2009 ET
Updated 03/25/2009 ET


Americans are used to April 15th being the day you’re told to pay up.

This year, Tax Day is the day to say you’re TEA’d -- Taxed Enough Already.

As you read this, liberals in Congress are beginning the process of forcing passage of the $3.6 trillion, high-spending, high-borrowing and high-taxing Obama budget.

President Obama is even mobilizing teams of his presidential campaign supporters, now a political organization called Organizing for America, who are going door-to-door campaign style to pitch his irresponsibly massive government expansion program that will raise taxes on every single American.

And what could they possibly be saying about a budget that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted last week will lead to deficits $2.3 trillion larger than the Obama White House is telling us?

Once again, we see Washington promoting irresponsible spending and expecting responsible taxpayers to foot the bill.

Here’s what you can do to fight back: On April 15, join your fellow Americans at Tax Day Tea Parties across the nation to say no to the Obama budget. I want to tell you about two groups that are helping to organize the Tea Parties. Why these two groups? I will tell you in a minute and explain how you can participate.

Get Involved in a Tax Day Tea Party on April 15

You won’t read about it in the elite media, but tens of thousands of Americans in hundreds of American communities are organizing Tax Day Tea Parties for this April 15th.

Some communities have already held Tea Parties to fight back against Wall Street and Washington insiders who’d rather taxpayers ask fewer questions and write more checks.

Over 4,000 turned out in Orlando this past weekend.

More came out in Cincinnati than at anytime since the Vietnam War protests.

But all of this has been a warm-up act for April 15.

The Reagan Coalition is Reassembling itself to Fight the Obama Budget

Some Tea Party participants call themselves “God-fearing patriots,” and it’s a good description for the movement that is gaining strength.

In outrage against the billions of our dollars being used to pay for the irresponsible behavior of others -- and the trillions more in the Obama budget that will be used to expand government even further into our lives -- the Reagan coalition of the faithful and the fiscally conservative is reassembling.

There’s no super-rich sugar daddy like George Soros pulling the strings.

There’s no special interest group like Moveon.org creating the illusion of a grassroots movement.

And it’s not a taxpayer-funded “protest” group like ACORN.

It’s just ordinary Americans who believe in preserving American values and principles like faith, freedom and smaller government.

That’s why I want to tell you about two groups. Each group is focusing on bringing like-minded people together at the same events.

The first group is TaxDayTeaParty.com, a broad coalition of grassroots groups which has already organized many of the Tea Parties that you probably heard about. They have already confirmed more than 250 locations in all 50 states for the April 15 Tea Parties.

The second group is TeaPartyDay.com which is a joint effort by Renewing American Leadership and the American Family Association. They are committed to bringing people of faith and their families to the Tea Parties. Over 10,000 are already signed up.

Get Your Tea Party Tool Kit at www.AmericanSolutions.com

American Solutions has created a Tea Party Tool Kit that you can download and pass out at your local Tea Party. The Tool Kit is designed to communicate, not just that we’re angry, but that we have a bold agenda with better solutions that will actually get our economy growing again. It’s available here.

The Tea Party Tool Kit’s key component is 12 American Solutions for Jobs and Prosperity, a pro-growth, pro-freedom alternative to the irresponsible policies of the Obama budget.

April 15 is just 20 days away. Go to www.americansolutions.com/teaparty now to find a Tax Day Tea Party near you and get involved.

Secretary Geithner Has Lost the Confidence of the American People -- If He Ever Had It to Begin With

Another reason to come out to a Tax Day Tea Party is to let President Obama know that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has lost the confidence of the American people and needs to resign.

The Geithner nomination for Treasury Secretary was tainted from the outset. In the midst of a crisis of trust in our financial institutions and our government institutions, the last person we needed for a Treasury Secretary was a public official who had deliberately failed to pay his taxes.

And since then, the news has only gotten worse. As I wrote last week, from the beginning of the crisis last fall, Geithner has been central to the Bush-Obama policy of corporate bailouts that has enriched Wall Street firms with the taxpayers’ money.

The Joke’s On Us: Goldman Sachs Never Needed a Bailout

The latest revelation is perhaps the worst yet.

Remember how the Paulson-Geithner-Bernanke bailout of AIG was initially sold to the American people? We were told that failing to prop up the firm with taxpayer dollars would let loose a cascading failure of the entire banking system.

It turns out that this was never exactly true.

That’s right. Goldman Sachs Chief Financial Officer David Viniar announced last week that his firm never needed the taxpayers’ help after all. Goldman Sachs, it turns out, wouldn’t have failed if AIG had been allowed to fail.

The reason Viniar made the announcement was to divert the public’s attention from allegations that Goldman profited handsomely from the bailout of AIG.

But in trying to tamp down one scandal, Viniar has revealed another: The ground on which Paulson, Geithner and Bernanke sold the $170 billion AIG bailout was -- at least partially -- a lie.

The Top Four Beneficiaries of the AIG Bailout? Goldman Sachs and Three Foreign Banks

So if we didn’t avert a banking crisis with the AIG bailout, what exactly have the taxpayers gotten for their $170 billion? Well, nothing so far. But here’s the list of the top four beneficiaries of the AIG bailout:

1. Goldman Sachs: $12.9 billion
2. Société Générale (France) $11.9 billion
3. Deutsche Bank (Germany) $11.8 billion
4. Barclays (United Kingdom) $7.9 billion

This is the real scandal of the AIG bailout.

Add the other TARP funds Goldman Sachs received to the AIG pass-through money and you get an astounding total of $23 billion from the taxpayers.

All for a company that now says it never needed help to begin with.

If that’s not a reason to come to a Tax Day Tea Party on April 15, I don’t know what is.

See you there.

Your friend,





P.S. Today, I will testify in front of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Alongside former Justice of the Supreme Court Sandra Day O’Connor and former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey, I will discuss the recommendations in the Alzheimer’s Study Group’s National Strategic Plan to overcome the mounting Alzheimer's crisis. Earlier this month, I appeared on the “Today Show” discussing Alzheimer’s and will be on “Nightline” this evening. In my next newsletter, I’ll provide more details on the recommendations. I want to thank our members of the ASG.

P.P.S. Those of you who follow my “tweets” on Twitter have already heard my call for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to resign. I’m having a lot of fun with this new technology. If you’d like to correspond with me and follow my “tweets” on Twitter, just go to http://www.twitter.com/newtgingrich. Oh, and you can also follow me on facebook as well.



Mr. Gingrich is the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and author of "Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works" and "Winning the Future" (published by Regnery, a HUMAN EVENTS sister company). Click here to get his free Newt Gingrich Letter.

NEWSWEEK Cover: Enough! A Conservative's Case Against Limbaugh

In the March 16 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, March 9): "Enough! A Conservative's Case Against Limbaugh" David Frum examines Rush Limbaugh's impact on the GOP and what conservatives need to do to assure people that Rush is not the voice of the party. Plus: female suicide bombers who denounced Al Qaeda but are ostracized in their town; how the recession is helping the environment and how the funeral business is not recession-proof and the Julia Roberts era: over?. (PRNewsFoto/Newsweek) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES 03/08/2009

8 Mar 2009 17:26 Africa/Lagos


NEWSWEEK Cover: Enough! A Conservative's Case Against Limbaugh

David Frum on the GOP and Impact of Rush Limbaugh: 'From a political point of view, Limbaugh is kryptonite, weakening the GOP nationally'

'We are accepting the leadership of a man with an ego-driven agenda of his own, who looms largest when his causes fare worst'

On Newsweek.com: Gingrich, Cantor, Ryan and Sanford on Reinventing the GOP

NEW YORK, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Conservative David Frum writes in the current Newsweek that radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh is a seriously unpopular figure among the voters that conservatives and Republicans need to reach. Forty-one percent of independents have an unfavorable opinion of him, according to the new Newsweek Poll. "Limbaugh is especially off-putting to women: his audience is 72 percent male, according to Pew Research. Limbaugh himself acknowledges his unpopularity among women. On his Feb. 24 broadcast, he said with a chuckle: 'Thirty-one-point gender gaps don't come along all that often ... Given this massive gender gap in my personal approval numbers ... it seems reasonable for me to convene a summit'."


CLICK HERE FOR THE HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOGRAPH OF THE NEWSWEEK COVER


"Limbaugh was kidding about the summit. But his quip acknowledged something that eludes many of those who would make him the arbiter of Republican authenticity: from a political point of view, Limbaugh is kryptonite, weakening the GOP nationally," Frum writes in the March 16 Newsweek cover, "Enough! A Conservative's Case Against Limbaugh" (on newsstands Monday, March 9). Frum, the editor of NewMajority.com and a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, writes, "No Republican official will say that; Limbaugh demands absolute deference from the conservative world, and he generally gets it. When offended, he can extract apologies from Republican members of Congress, even the chairman of the Republican National Committee. And Rush is very easily offended."


Above all, Frum, writes, "We need to take governing seriously again. Voters have long associated Democrats with corrupt urban machines, Republicans with personal integrity and fiscal responsibility."


He continues, "Every day, Rush Limbaugh reassures millions of core Republican voters that no change is needed: if people don't appreciate what we are saying, then say it louder. Isn't that what happened in 1994? Certainly this is a good approach for Rush himself. He claims 20 million listeners per week, and that suffices to make him a very wealthy man. And if another 100 million people cannot stand him, what does he care? What can they do to him other than ... not listen? It's not as if they can vote against him. But they can vote against Republican candidates for Congress. They can vote against Republican nominees for president. And if we allow ourselves to be overidentified with somebody who earns his fortune by giving offense, they will vote against us. Two months into 2009, President Obama and the Democratic Congress have already enacted into law the most ambitious liberal program since the mid-1960s. More, much more is to come. Through this burst of activism, the Republican Party has been flat on its back."


Frum writes that decisions that will haunt American taxpayers for generations have been made with hardly a debate: paying more for Medicaid, expanding the SCHIP program for young children, borrowing trillions of dollars to expand the national debt to levels unseen since WWII. "To stem this onrush of disastrous improvisations, conservatives need every resource of mind and heart, every good argument, every creative alternative and every compassionate sympathy for the distress that is pushing Americans in the wrong direction. Instead we are accepting the leadership of a man with an ego-driven agenda of his own, who looms largest when his causes fare worst."


"In the days since I stumbled into this controversy, I've received a great deal of e-mail. (Most of it on days when (radio host Mark) Levin or (Sean) Hannity or Hugh Hewitt or Limbaugh have had something especially disobliging to say about me.) Most of these e-mails say some version of the same thing: if you don't agree with Rush, quit calling yourself a conservative and get out of the Republican Party. There's the perfect culmination of the outlook Rush Limbaugh has taught his fans and followers: we want to transform the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan into a party of unanimous dittoheads -- and we don't care how small the party has to shrink to do it. That's not the language of politics. It's the language of cult."


As part of the cover package, Newsweek spoke with four GOP leaders about how to reinvent the GOP: Newt Gingrich; Rep. Eric Cantor; Rep. Paul Ryan and Gov. Mark Sanford. Their interviews are on Newsweek.com.


(Read cover essay and interviews at Newsweek.com.)

http://www.newsweek.com/id/188279 - Frum essay

http://www.newsweek.com/id/188303 - Newt Gingrich interview

http://www.newsweek.com/id/188302 - Eric Cantor interview

http://www.newsweek.com/id/188300 - Paul Ryan interview

http://www.newsweek.com/id/188301 - Mark Sanford interview

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090308/NYSU002
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
PRN1
Source: Newsweek

CONTACT: Jan Angilella, Newsweek, +1-212-445-5638


Web Site: Newsweek


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Newt Gingrich: The Democrats' $1.14 Trillion Bet On Big Government.

The Plan
by Newt Gingrich (more by this author)
Posted 02/17/2009 ETUpdated 02/17/2009 ET

Democrats in Congress have made a $1.14 trillion bet on big government.With less than 48 hours notice, they passed a 1,073 - page collection of special interest spending and dared to call it a “plan.”

With interest, the $787 billion bill will cost us, our children and their children about $1.14 trillion. That works out to about $30,000 in new debt for each American household. Worse, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) asked the Congressional Budget Office to estimate the cost of permanently extending the twenty most popular provisions in the bill. The cost? $3.27 trillion.

But we’ve seen Washington bet on big government and big bureaucracy over the American people before. In each case these bets have failed. And when this latest wager fails, America will need a plan.

I’m writing today to tell you about such a plan.

The Bush-Obama Spending Frenzy, Part IVLike I said, we’ve seen this kind of high stakes, big spending, big government and big bureaucracy gambling before.

This isn’t the Obama-Pelosi-Reid Spending Frenzy , this is the Bush-Obama Spending Frenzy, Part IV.

The first three parts of the Bush-Obama Spending Frenzy were on President Bush’s watch. The $180 billion stimulus program in the spring of 2008 failed.

The $345 billion housing bailout from the summer of 2008 failed. And the $700 billion Wall Street bailout from the fall of 2008 failed.

All told, just last year, Washington wagered $1.2 trillion in spending and lost. And like a problem gambler, Washington isn’t walking away from the casino, it’s doubling down. What Would Reagan Have Done? Bet on the American People.

My nonpartisan, citizen-based organization, American Solutions, has developed an alternative plan, called “12 American Solutions for Jobs and Prosperity.”

It takes its inspiration from Ronald Reagan. Our plan doesn’t bet on government. It bets on the American people.

Callista and I recently completed a movie about the life and vision of Ronald Reagan. And what we found was that Reagan’s approach to the economy was more thoughtful than most of his critics -- and even some of his admirers -- give him credit for.

President Reagan had great compassion for the victims of economic crisis. He spoke often of the Christmas Eve in the midst of the Great Depression when his father learned that he had lost his job. “To be young in my generation was to feel that your future had been mortgaged out from under you, and that's a tragic mistake we must never allow our leaders to make again,” he said.

But even as he understood the need for leadership to help Americans suffering from economic hard times, Reagan also understood that government’s role wasn’t to create economic prosperity -- it couldn’t then and it can’t now. “Government Can and Must Provide Opportunity, Not Smother It”Government’s role, as Reagan understood it, was to give Americans real incentives to work hard, invest and create jobs -- incentives like keeping more of what we earn and the power to create and own our own businesses.

This is how Reagan put it in his first inaugural address:“Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.”

In the spirit of Ronald Reagan, 12 American Solutions for Jobs and Prosperity puts its faith in the people, not the government. Our plan isn’t more money for more government, more power for politicians and more make-work for bureaucrats.

It’s a clear and decisive alternative that creates jobs, rewards work and encourages savings and investment.

12 American Solutions for Jobs and Prosperity

1. Payroll Tax Stimulus. With a temporary new tax credit to offset 50% of the payroll tax, every small business would have more money, and all Americans would take home more of what they earn.

2. Real Middle-Income Tax Relief. Reduce the marginal tax rate of 25% down to 15%, in effect establishing a flat-rate tax of 15% for close to 9 out of 10 American workers.

3. Reduce the Business Tax Rate. Match Ireland’s rate of 12.5% to keep more jobs in America.

4. Homeowner’s Assistance. Provide tax credit incentives to responsible home buyers so they can keep their homes.

5. Control Spending So We Can Move to a Balanced Budget. This begins with eliminating congressional earmarks and wasteful pork-barrel spending.

6. No State Aid Without Protection From Fraud. Require state governments to adopt anti-fraud and anti-theft policies before giving them more money.

7. More American Energy Now. Explore for more American oil and gas and invest in affordable energy for the future, including clean coal, ethanol, nuclear power and renewable fuels.

8. Abolish Taxes on Capital Gains. Match China, Singapore and many other competitors. More investment in America means more jobs in America.

9. Protect the Rights of American Workers. We must protect a worker’s right to decide by secret ballot whether to join a union, and the worker’s right to freely negotiate. Forced unionism will kill jobs in America at a time when we can’t afford to lose them.

10. Replace Sarbanes-Oxley. This failed law is crippling entrepreneurial startups. Replace it with affordable rules that help create jobs, not destroy them.

11. Abolish the Death Tax. Americans should work for their families, not for Washington.

12. Invest in Energy and Transportation Infrastructure. This includes a new, expanded electric power grid and a 21st Century air traffic control system that will reduce delays in air travel and save passengers, employees and airlines billions of dollars per year.

I’ve already heard from thousands of Americans who believe that this is the kind of change our economy needs right now. I’d love to hear from you.

Please send me your thoughts about 12 Americans Solutions for Jobs and Prosperity using the suggestion box at www.americansolutions.com/jobs.

It’s not too late to be a part of real change for America. When Washington’s latest big government gamble fails, we’ll be ready to put our money on a sure thing:

Real solutions for the American people.

Your friend,
Newt Gingrich

P.S. If any readers use Twitter, you can now follow my updates at http://twitter.com/newtgingrich.

Mr. Gingrich is the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and author of "Winning the Future" (published by Regnery, a HUMAN EVENTS sister company). Click here to get his free Winning the Future e-mail newsletter.

A Letter from Bill Clinton

Mr. Bill Clinton

Thanks to you, 2009 is going to be an amazing year of progress for America. I know we will all feel a sense of pride and achievement as we watch the new Congress get sworn in and get to work with President Obama.

I'm so proud of the way Hillary, poured herself heart and soul into helping Barack Obama and so many other Democratic candidates last year.

And, like you, I'm looking forward to all the change and progress that those victories will lead to in the weeks and months ahead.

As historic as 2008 may have been, there is no time to rest. Now is the time to keep our momentum going by showing the new Congress that we're here to support them in 2009 right from the very beginning.

Contribute $5, $10, or more today to provide essential early support to translate the promise of 2008 into progress in 2009.

The reason we won so big last year is because House Democrats had the early support from people like you. That early strength we built together put our party on a trajectory for success, and we kept going!

With Barack Obama's inauguration fast approaching, we need to make the same powerful show of strength as the new Democratic Congress gets to work with the new Administration to solve the greatest challenges of our time.

Contribute $5, $10, or more today to provide essential early support to translate the promise of 2008 into progress in 2009.

All of us are anticipating what an emotionally powerful day January 20th is going to be. So many dreams will be fulfilled, so many barriers overcome, and so much history will be made. A bold new era of American leadership is about to begin. However, we shouldn't wait until Inauguration Day to get to work.

All the best,

Bill Clinton

P.S. January 20th is going to be a day like few others in the entire history of our nation. But it's going to take a strong show of early support to meet the deep and serious challenges that await in 2009. Contribute $5, $10, or more today to provide that essential early support and ensure fulfilling the promise of this moment.