Oppose Disclose – Senate Votes Tuesday, July 27th
IMMEDIATE ACTION ALERT:
S. 3628 – the DISCLOSE Act in the Senate
Time is short and we face another crucial vote in the Senate.
The Senate is likely to vote on the First Amendment-shredding DISCLOSE Act (a.k.a. – the Establishment Protection Act) tomorrow at 2:45 PM. This legislation, S. 3628, targets non-profits such as Washington State Campaign for Liberty and seeks to muzzle them during the election season.
Senator Chuck Schumer is using Senate rules to take the bill straight to the floor. It is not by chance that the Senate’s leading fundraiser, New York Senator Chuck Schumer is the sponsor of the Establishment Protection Act, a bill that adds even more regulation to nonprofits like the Washington State Campaign for Liberty.
If Sen. Schumer and his cronies had their way, I might not even be able to send you this message.
Contact Senator Maria Cantwell at (202) 224-3441 and/or by email and contact Senator Patty Murray at (202) 224-2621 and/or by email TODAY and demand they vote against cloture on DISCLOSE (S. 3628).
Authoritarians are trying to muzzle WACFL and other non-profit organizations by attacking our donors for opposing their corporatist agenda.
Time is running out before Congress’ August recess, establishment Senate leadership is making a huge final push to ram through the Establishment Protection Act before the clock runs out.
We’ve fought this First Amendment-shredding, establishment-empowering violation every step of the way, and we now have a chance to turn back the tide and uphold the First Amendment by helping to kill a cloture vote.
The time to act is NOW!
Contact Senator Maria Cantwell at (202) 224-3441 and/or by email and contact Senator Patty Murray at (202) 224-2621 and/or by email TODAY and demand they vote against cloture on DISCLOSE (S. 3628).
Let’s put the establishment Politicians on notice that we won’t give up!
Lawsuit Filed Against Mukilteo Traffic Camera Initiative
Now that Mukilteo City Council wisely listened to their constituents and sent the Traffic Camera Initiative on to the November ballot, are Mukilteo officials conspiring to find a back door way to stop it?
Yesterday we received some astonishing news. A lawsuit has been filed by an associate of Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine and Mukilteo City Executive Joe Hannan against the City of Mukilteo to stop the Mukilteo Traffic Camera Initiative from reaching the ballot this November.
The plaintiff is Christine Preston, who court papers indicate represents “an unincorporated association of Mukilteo residents”. Would it surprise you to learn that Ms. Preston and Mr. Marine are involved with Mukilteo Kiwanis, the organization of which Mr. Hannan is currently president? Cozy, isn’t it?
Curiously enough, the lawsuit asserts the very same argument that Mr. Hannan presented to the Mukilteo City Council in his capacity as Mukilteo City Executive in concert with City Attorney, Angela Belbeck. That argument being that the citizens do not have the authority to use their constitutionally protected right to the initiative process in this matter – a markedly creative interpretation of law!
Who is representing Ms. Preston and her shadowy associates? The very same attorney and law firm that defended traffic camera company American Traffic Solutions in a previous Washington State suit! Of course, ATS is the company with whom the city very nearly engaged to install traffic cameras before the liberty-minded initiative coalition brought this to the attention of the public. Makes you wonder who is footing the legal bills, doesn’t it?
Where does this leave the traffic camera initiative? Who is tasked with arguing our side of the case? Since the City of Mukilteo is the defendant, City Attorney Angela Belbeck would be arguing against the very opinion she asserted. What do you think, doesn’t it seem like we’d be asking the fox to guard the hen house?
Washington State Campaign for Liberty must try to save the initiative we worked so hard to get on the ballot. We need your help! Imagine the dangerous precedent that could be set by failing to fight this challenge to our constitutionally protected right of initiative!
What can you do to help?
- Contact the City of Mukilteo at 425-263-8018 and insist that they retain separate counsel to represent them in this case, independent from the representation of City Attorney Angela Belbeck who has already compromised her ability to defend the city from this frivolous lawsuit.
- Make a donation to Washington State Campaign for Liberty to help us in this fight.
We need to raise $5000.00 immediately to help fund our efforts.
Every donation – of whatever size – gets us one step closer to defeating this suspicious suit and securing your rights.
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-07-18
- Rossi and Didier: On Life http://fb.me/DKr1NJw1 #
- Rossi and Didier on unconstitutionality at the federal level http://fb.me/Bql3I8gk #
- A guest post from Rep. Matt Shea, “WHY WASHINGTON MUST OPT OUT OF NATIONALIZED HEALTH CARE” http://fb.me/DMTYKTPn #
- “Traffic cameras to go on ballot” – Mukilteo Beacon http://fb.me/Dpu1lL7p #
Stop the Federal Reserve Empowerment Act!
Let your Senators know that the “Financial Reform” bill is not the kind of reform we’re looking for!
Patty Murray
173 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2621
Fax: (202) 224-0238
Email Patty Murray
Maria Cantwell
511 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3441
Fax: (202) 228-0514
Email Maria Cantwell
Please see the message below from Campaign for Liberty.
July 14, 2010
Dear Friend of Liberty,
Fresh from the July 4 recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying his best to ram through another big government powergrab as quickly as possible.
A cloture vote on H.R. 4173, the so-called “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” (which should really be called the Dodd-Frank Fed Empowerment Act), is expected in less than 24 hours.
Your help is needed to stop this latest attack on the market. Please contact your senators right away and urge them to reject the Dodd-Frank bill by voting against it at every opportunity, including cloture.
The “Dodd-Frank Fed Empowerment Act” deepens the government’s interference in the economy, creates additional layers of bureaucracy (including a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau housed at and funded by the Federal Reserve), institutionalizes bailouts, and even allows the government to seize firms if it deems them to be a “threat” to the economy.
H.R. 4173 would also prevent the Fed from being fully accountable by watering down Audit the Fed.
Here’s some language you can use when contacting your senators.
Senator,
I urge you to vote against H.R. 4173, the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform bill, which not only fails to address the causes of the current economic crisis but sets the stage for even worse ones down the road.
This dangerous legislation would reward those who helped wreck our economy with more power. The Federal Reserve, whose loose money policies fueled the boom and brought about the bust, would house and fund the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The legislation may also lead to further takeovers of private businesses based on nothing more than assurances from the government that they could pose a threat in the future.
This is not the way the economy works in a free society.
If Congress is serious about real financial reform, it must pass S. 604 to completely and thoroughly audit the Federal Reserve and find out what has been done with the taxpayers’ money.
I again urge you to vote against H.R. 4173 and to do everything in your power to seek a standalone vote for S. 604. I will be sure to let my fellow constituents know how you vote on these critical issues.
Sincerely,
You can also let your senators know that Campaign for Liberty will regard any vote in support of H.R. 4173 – including cloture – as vote to empower the Fed when reporting to our members.
Your senators need to hear from you right away. Please contact them today!
In Liberty,
John Tate
President
Exerting Tenth Amendment Rights on Health Care
This is a guest post from a Washington State Representative from the Spokane area, Matt Shea.
At the beginning of the last legislative session, Matt submitted a package of 10th Amendment bills including the Washington State Health Care Freedom Act which would exempt Washington State citizens from nationalized health care. You can sign a petition in support of this bill here.
WHY WASHINGTON MUST OPT OUT OF NATIONALIZED HEALTH CARE
I, like many people, believe that the Constitution is not a living document. The corollary to this principle is that if it is not living then it cannot die. However, the question of whether the Constitution is followed and enforced depends on you and me.
If imposed, nationalized health care will crush our economy. According to the Washington Policy Center “The number of people on Medicaid will increase by 280,000 for a total cost of Medicaid to WA taxpayers in excess of $30 billion over the next 10 years.” Currently the operating budget in the state of Washington is a little over $30 billion.
This federal regulatory program is also clearly unconstitutional, creating government powers beyond those enumerated by the Constitution. It also violates our system of dual sovereignty protected by the 10th Amendment which the United States Supreme Court has reaffirmed time and again. In the New York v. U.S. (1992) and Printz v. U.S. (1997) the court specifically stated that “Congress cannot compel a state to enact or enforce a federal regulatory program.” Yet, that is exactly what is contemplated under Nationalized Health Care. As if those reasons aren’t enough Nationalized Health Care proponents argue that the federal government can force you to by a product under the Commerce Clause (Article 1, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution). There is one problem, inaction or the failure to buy is not commerce.
For these reasons I, along with Rep. Bill Hinkle, introduced HB 2669, the Health Care Freedom Act, opting Washington State out of Nationalized Health Care. The House Democrat leadership refused to even give it a hearing and predictably many defenders in our state House protested the legislation and began calling us racist and secessionist. In fact, the quote from our Speaker Pro Tem Jeff Morris (D – Mount Vernon) was “We want to lead the state out of recession. They want to lead the state out of the country.” Obviously, this is absurd. The intent of the state sovereignty Bills are to erect barriers against an ever-encroaching federal bureaucracy, while keeping the nation unified. That said, Washington D. C. is on a course that will destroy our Constitutional Republic. If the federal government would get out of the way, we would be free as individual states to fix our own problems as the founders intended. Remember this in November.
Matthew T. Shea
State Representative
4th Dist. (Spokane Valley)
