June-July Campaign Update

WHO'S YOUR DADDY? - Rory Reid is running for Governor of the state of Nevada. But you wouldn’t know his last name was Reid from his bumper stickers, banners and other materials for his campaign which simply say “Rory 2010.” His biography on his campaign website makes no mention of his father, Senator Harry Reid. The two have rarely been seen together this election year and when President Obama showed up to campaign for Harry Reid, his son Rory was hundreds of miles away at a campaign event of his own. Harry Reid has less than a 50% favorability rating in Nevada and much of that is not strong. Son Rory will lose if he is associated with dad Harry.

What happened to Reid after five terms as a Senator? For much of those thirty years he was able to lie to the people of Nevada. He ran as a conservative Democrat and then was a radical on national issues. The liberal newspapers in Nevada did not report on who and what Harry Reid actually was. Then Reid was elected Majority Leader in the Senate and became a national figure; he was headlined for his support of a radical social agenda and his support of the socialist ideas of Barack Obama. The people of Nevada learned what Harry Reid was all about.

Our candidate in the race to oust Senator Harry Reid is former state legislator Sharron Angle. GING-PAC endorsed Angle and sent her funding long before she was “discovered” by the Tea Party. We backed Angle against several wealthy Republicans in the race including the favorite of the Republican establishment, whom they believed would win because he was “moderate.” But Republicans in Nevada were not looking for a lightweight semi-conservative who did not stand up for social conservative principles. Sharron Angle is pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, stands against amnesty for illegals and wants to overturn ObamaCare and shut down the Obama spending spree before the nation is driven into bankruptcy.

Defeating Reid and replacing him with Sharron Angle, who is a true conservative, is at the top of our agenda. As a PAC we can only send Angle $5,000 for the general election. However, GING-PAC can spend as much as can be raised to support her election with advertising, direct mail and telephone campaigns as long as we do not “coordinate” with her campaign. For example, we can call all those known to support pro-life organizations asking them to register and vote for Sharron Angle. The Nevada Senate race will be the number one race for GING-PAC this fall.

OTHER SENATE RACES – In June, Senate candidates supported by GING-PAC also won primaries in California and South Carolina. Senator Jim DeMint is the only Senate incumbent we are supporting, but he is very important to social conservatives particularly now that Senator Sam Brownback is leaving to run for Governor of Kansas. Senator DeMint is a powerful pro-life voice and an advocate in the Senate for the Christian heritage of our nation. He has even authored social conservative books such as Why We Whisper: Restoring Our Right to say it’s Wrong. Because of his strong stand on social issues he will be a Democrat target this November.

CALIFORNIA - Our candidate, Carly Fiorina won the GOP primary in California and will face the far left environmentalist nutcase Barbara Boxer in the General election. In the Senate, Boxer chairs at her own request the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. She is an Al Gore worshipper who believes the entire planet is in meltdown and the only way to save the Earth is to destroy what little industrial base the United States still has. To this end Boxer is a champion of “cap and trade” which is the nutty idea that carbon dioxide can be reduced in the atmosphere if businesses pay a tax into a fund that supports forests in Russia or Brazil. In reality her plan is to make energy so expensive people will use less of it. Of course the poor are hurt by this plan. Boxer is also one of the pro-abortion powerhouses in the Senate.

Carly Firoina has been endorsed not only by GING-PAC, but by the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, “in recognition of her firmly pro-life values.” Gov. Sarah Palin is also campaigning for Carly. As I have mentioned before Carly Fiorina is the only Senate candidate in California to make it clear at her Internet site that she is pro-life, believes life begins at conception and says marriage is only for one man and one woman. If someone with the support of Sarah Palin, who is as socially conservative as Carly Firoina wins in California it will mark a huge shift in American politics and send a wave of fear over the far left. We must win this seat!

COLORADO – Our candidate, Jane Norton, has fallen behind in the polls in Colorado and the reason has stunned me. Although she is the most conservative candidate and a real pro-life social conservative the Tea party movement is endorsing her opponent. The Tea party moved away from Norton because her sister is married to an establishment insider Republican fund raiser in Washington, DC. Although I have great respect for those in the Tea party movement, I really question the logic of turning against a conservative because of who her sister is married to. Norton has held state wide office in Colorado before and can win in November. Her opponent, Ken Buck, is the Weld County District Attorney who has never run for a federal office or operated a statewide campaign. On the abortion issue Buck is on the moderate side but still pro-life.

ARIZONA – In Arizona we continue to support J.D. Hayworth for the Senate because we believe that Senator John McCain has served long enough and has switched positions just once too often. In the past McCain was not only a supporter of “comprehensive” immigration reform he helped to write the bill that would have allowed millions of illegals to jump to the front of the line and become citizens while those who acted legally had to wait. Now that parts of his home state have been taken over by gangs of illegals running drugs and other contraband, McCain suddenly sees reality in this election year. I know McCain well and to be honest I don’t trust him on this and other issues. If reelected he will work a deal with Obama on amnesty which will bring millions more to the USA illegally at a time that nearly ten percent of Americans are unemployed.

MISSOURI AND THE REST – I am very encouraged by the progress congressman Roy Blunt has made in Missouri. Currently Blunt is about five points ahead of liberal incumbent Senator Jean Carnahan despite campaign assistance to her from Barack Obama and ACORN. This month I will be meeting with Congressman Blunt again and hope to hand him a check for several thousand dollars for his campaign. GING-PAC plans some independent work in Missouri as well. Roy Blunt is a strong social conservative and will consistently vote on behalf of social conservatives. His primary is August 3rd and he will win by a wide margin. The Kansas primary is also on August 3rd where we are supporting Congressman Todd Tiarht. This race is tight as the GOP establishment wants “moderate” Congressman Jim Moran to replace the very conservative Senator Sam Brownback who is leaving to run for governor.

THE HOUSE – In the July-August update I will cover the House races we plan to work in for the General election. We have numerous questionnaires that are still being reviewed, but I can say that the number of House candidates GING-PAC will support will more than double from those on the enclosed list of supported candidates.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED

To have impact in these races, it is crucial that we have additional funds. Please send a check to help today, or give an online gift or send to GING-PAC, PO Box 77237, Washington, DC 20013

May-June 2010 Campaign Update

WE LOST IN PENNSYLVANIA – THIS TIME

     PENNSYLVANIA: Both “inside the Beltway” and Tea Party activists supported Tim Burns in the special election to take the seat of  Congressman John Murtha who died following complications of a rather simple operation in February. The Republicans were so sure that Burns could win the seat that the GOP spent over $900,000 in the election. Several buses with volunteers, mostly staffers of Republican congressmen, went to the 12^th district the weekend before the vote to knock on doors for Burns. GING-PAC had endorsed Tim Burns in the May 18^th special election.

     No one anticipated the Democrat, Mark Critz, who had worked as an aid to John Murtha, would run a campaign just as conservative as the Republican. Critz campaigned as pro-life and pro-gun, said he would have voted against Obamacare and even went as far as to say he may not vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. Will he actually vote that way? Critz won with 53% of the vote. The GING-PAC candidate, Tim Burns had 45% in a district where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin of two to one. The same day the GOP primary was held and Burns won, meaning there will be a rematch between Critz and Burns in November.

     ARKANSAS: The GING-PAC candidate in Arkansas 1^st District, Princella Smith, lost in the primary election on May 18^th to restaurant owner Rick Crawford with 72% of the vote. Princella Smith was one of a large number of African-American Republican candidates running this year. GING-PAC has supported three African-American Republicans so far including her. This was not a loss for social conservatives as both Smith and Crawford are strong pro-life, pro-family candidates. GING-PAC will move the endorsement to Crawford for the general election.

     IDAHO: Our candidate for one of two House seats in Idaho, Vaughn Ward, lost the primary on May 25^th. Vaughn, a war hero who had also worked for the CIA fighting terrorism, had been recruited to run for the House by the Republican Party and was backed by many major social conservative organizations including ours. However, the winner, State Representative Raul Labrador has a perfect pro-life voting record in the Idaho Legislature. Raul supported Idaho’s constitutional amendment protecting marriage. He can beat the incumbent Democrat who won by less than 5,000 votes in 2008. Born in Puerto Rico, Labrador  is married and has five children.

    PRIMARY ELECTIONS IN GENERAL: The results above make it clear why Government Is Not God – PAC does not get involved in too many primary elections. While sometimes there is a clear difference, too often more than one candidate in a primary is a strong social conservative. As a result we tend not to get involved unless there are other factors such as Vaughn Ward’s powerful military record or Princella Smith’s  devoted volunteer work to the Mike Huckabee campaign. GING-PAC is involved in just a couple of the next round of elections on June 1^st and June 8^th.

     HAWAII: As I predicted in the last campaign update, two heavily funded Democrats knocked each other out, and allowed the election of Republican Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou in the congressional district Barack Obama grew up in. For the last twenty years the entire Hawaiian congressional delegation was Democrat. GING-PAC did not endorse Djou because he believes homosexuals should serve openly in the military and he had the support of several homosexual political action committees including the Log Cabin Republicans.

THE SENATE

     A GOP SENATE?:  Just about every week I sit at a luncheon literally across the table from Senator Jim Inhofe, R-OK, who in my opinion is one of the great conservative heroes of our day. He believes not only that the Republicans can pick up several seats in November, but that they could actually win control. The GOP would have to pick up nine seats to tie, and ten to win control of the Senate. That is a mighty big change for the Senate. But there is new hope.

     The front runner in Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, the state's Democrat Attorney General, received five draft deferments, before joining the Marine Corps reserves in 1971. (Keep in mind how George W. Bush was ridiculed by the media for being a reserve officer during the Vietnam War.) Blumenthal was on active duty for just six months, all in the USA, but video clips have him stating: "We have learned something very important since the days that I served in Vietnam.” This was not the first time be claimed to be a Vietnam veteran. Since the revelation, he has dropped from a 24 point lead to a 3 point lead. While we will watch the race closely, GING-PAC will not support Republican Linda McMahon, a political unknown and an ex-wrestling executive, because of her social views. At her Internet site she says: “I am pro-choice; however, I oppose partial-birth abortion and federal funding of abortions unless the life of the mother is at stake.”

     CALIFORNIA: I have mentioned that I attended an event with former HP executive Carly Fiorina in her bid to win a Senate seat from left-wing nut Barbara Boxer in California. I was specifically at that event to talk to her about social issues and to see where she really stood on abortion and “gay” issues. She answered all my questions satisfactorily, but we did not endorse her because of some issues while she was heading HP.

     Since then Carly has been endorsed by the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, “in recognition of her firmly pro-life values.” Carly has also received a high profile endorsement by Gov. Sarah Palin. Carly Fiorina is the only Senate candidate in California to make it clear at her Internet site that she is pro-life, believes life begins at conception and says marriage is only for one man and one woman. In light of these developments and the fact that she is now number one in the polls for the GOP nomination, GING-PAC is now endorsing Carly Fiorina for Senate in California.

     ARIZONA: I have great admiration for the service Senator John McCain has given this nation as does former congressman J.D Hayworth, who is running against him in the Arizona primary. GING-PAC is supporting J.D. Hayworth, and the current immigration mess in Arizona makes it clear why Senator McCain needs to retire. It was Senator McCain who just a few years ago introduced legislation to give amnesty to millions of illegals who have invaded our nation. Now McCain is on TV virtually every day telling Arizona voters that Obama needs to secure the border and get tough with the illegals. This is the same Senator McCain who wrote the “campaign finance” reform law that tied the hands of conservative organizations and allowed all the leftwing nuts to give as much money as they wanted to Barack Obama to become our first socialist president. (At left Photo of JD Hayworth and GING-PAC's William J. Murray in May, 2010)

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED

            To have impact in these races, particularly the general election this fall, GING-PAC must have funds. It is crucial that we have at least an additional $50,000 as primaries continue. Please send a check to help today, or give an online gift at www.gingpac.org.      

William J. Murray, Chairman
Government Is Not God - PAC
P.O. Box 77237, Washington, DC 20013

March 2010 Campaign Update

THE SENATE

 

COLORADO: There is a very good chance that Colorado, which was a red state turning blue, may be mo v ing back to the conservative side. In late February I met with a very strong social conservative who is running for th e Senate slot on the Republican ticket. The election process in Colorado is very convoluted. On March 16th precinct caucuses are held to elect delegates to the county conventions. The county conventions are held in April to elect delegates to the state convention. At the state convention candidates receiving more than 30% of the votes of delegates are then placed on the primary ballot which is held in August. Thus, the c andidates must work to get their delegates elected at the precinct and county level to win the 30% plus votes needed at the state convention to even appear on the primary ballot. Got that?

In any event, I have met with former Lt. Governor Jane Norton who is running for the very winnable Senate seat in Colorado. I can report that she is 100% pro-life and an ideal social conservative candidate. Norton believes that life begins at conception and that marriage is an institution ordained by God as a union between one man and one woman. She is also an economic conservative who would be well suited to the ranching and mining interests in Colorado.

Government Is Not God - PAC has endorsed Jane Norton for Senate in Colorado, and our first check to her for $1,000 was issued in February. As additional funds are raised we will do our best to support Jane Norton in both the primary and general elections. (In photo above GING-PAC chairman William J. Murray presents Jane Norton an offical "Government Is Not God" bumper sticker.)

CALIFORNIA: In California there are two very strong candidates who are running in the GOP primary. Senator Jim DeMint formed the Senate Conservatives Fund to assist conservatives running for the Senate. In Florida he has backed Marco Rubio, as has GING-PAC. In California Senator DeMint’s PAC has backed Chuck DeVore who is a member of the California State Assembly. He ended a twenty-four year career in the military as a Lt. Colonel and served as a Reagan White House appointee in the Pentagon as a Special Assistant for Foreign Affairs. He is 100% pro-life. The rest of the GOP Senate establishment, even pro-life Senators such as my friend Senator Jim Inhofe, are supporting Carly Fiorina. As mentioned above, DeMint also bucked the establishment and backed Marco Rubio in Florida.

The establishment theory is that a “true conservative” can’t win in California and a more moderate candidate is needed to beat Senator Barbara Boxer in November. I have not as yet met with Chuck DeVore, but I did meet with Carly Fiorina during her last trip to Washington, DC in late February and talked with her extensively. The establishment has a problem if they are supporting Carly because they think she is a moderate. She is pro-life and believes that marriage should be only between one man and one woman. On the life issue she publicly sides with the official Republican party platform that is against abortion “except in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother.” She does, however, believe that life begins at conception. While this is a contradiction, it is not the point I am trying to make. (Left photo of William and Nancy Murray at a social event in Washington, DC with Carly Fiorina.)

The Republican establishment is no more going to be able to sell Fiorina to Californians as a “moderate” than they would be able to sell Chuck DeVore as a “moderate.” Real conservatives can win in California and there is no need to label someone a “moderate” to win. After all, Ronald Reagan was the governor of California before he was President of the United States.

I am not promoting Carly Fiorina, and GING-PAC has not endorsed her. GING-PAC will probably stay out of the California primary, but I can proclaim that either Chuck DeVore or Carly Fiorina would be a welcome replacement for the far left, people-hating environmentalist, Senator Barbara Boxer. Boxer has helped destroy tens of thousands of lives in California by helping take water from farms to support a fish less than an inch long. Boxer needs to go.

THE HOUSE

FLORIDA: We have now added Colonel Allen West for Congress in Florida’s 22nd District. We have supported Allen West in previous campaigns. He would have won in 2008 had it not been for the Democrat landslide in the House because of the economy. Now people realize that the economic problems were far deeper than politics, and the Democrat controlled Congress’ wild spending did nothing but create debt for our children and grandchildren to pay.

As I mentioned in the February campaign update, GING-PAC will also step forward to defend great conservative spokesmen who will be under attack from wealthy far left organizations such as Moveon.org this year. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota is going to be a major target of the far left. In Virginia radical left organizations have already begun a campaign against my good friend Eric Cantor who is the Republican Whip in the House. We want to get more conservative congressmen elected but we have to watch our backs and make sure that some of the conservative workhorses we have in the House are not defeated by the far left with their huge cash reserves.

PLEASE HELP

To have impact in these races GING-PAC must have funds. It is crucial that we have at least an additional $50,000 as primaries begin in earnest. Please send a check to help today, or give an online gift.

William J. Murray, Chairman
Government Is Not God - PACP.O. Box 77237,  Washington, DC 20013

December, 2009 - Campaign Update

“FINGERS WERE BURNED AND LESSONS WERE LEARNED”

            Those were the exact words of one of the GOP leaders in the House when he spoke about the GOP loss in New York’s 23rd congressional district. Republican leaders had pushed the district’s Republican voters to accept liberal Deidre Scozzafava as their candidate regardless of her strong support of abortion and same-sex marriage. Economic conservatives could not support her either because of her long voting record for profligate spending and higher taxes.

      Scozzafava raised very little money from individuals, but had the support of the AFL-CIO and ACORN. As social and economic conservative groups rallied to support Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, she sank in the polls like a rock and was forced to withdraw just days before the election. Showing her true colors, she then endorsed Democrat Bill Owens. Even then, Doug Hoffman came within a point of winning and may yet be the victor.

            The “mainstream media” claims that we conservatives sunk the chances of the “moderate” Republican, Scozzafava. That is untrue. Scozzafava voted to the left of 46 Democrats in the New York House. GOP leadership accepted the line that only a liberal can win in the Northeast. Conservatives could have worked with a real “moderate,” but Scozzafava was no “moderate.” Other than on the issue of gun ownership she was as far left as Nancy Pelosi.

            Doug Hoffman would have won except for absentee ballots that had been cast for Scozzafava before Hoffman even entered the race. Had she not been the Republican candidate, Hoffman would have had an opening to win the seat. If he runs again next November, GING-PAC will be there to support him again.

MORE HOUSE ELECTIONS

            Two “centrist” Democrats have announced that they will not run for reelection. While they gave various reasons, the truth is that polling shows Barack Obama has moved the Democrat Party so far to the left that they can’t get reelected in their districts. Dennis Moore in the Kansas-3rd, where Bush got 55% of the vote in 2004, has said he will not seek reelection. John Tanner in the  Tennessee - 8th also will not run. Tanner supported Pelosi 94.6% of the time. His district voted 53% for Bush in 2004 and 56% for McCain in 2008. Tanner had been so strong in the conservative 8th District that in previous races no Republican ran against him. Unless the Republican Party picks yet another Scozzafava type liberal to run, this seat can be won. GING-PAC is reviewing questionnaires from candidates to determine who to support.                                    

            I can not emphasize enough that there are 63 House seats currently held by Democrats in districts won by George W. Bush in 2004. There are an astonishing 40 Democrats in districts won by John McCain just last year.                                                                        

            Many of the Democrats in these conservative districts have supported Nancy Pelosi over 90% of the time. A case in point is Congressman John Spratt in South Carolina’s 5th District. Bush won the district with 57% and McCain with 53%, yet Spratt has supported radical Speaker Nancy Pelosi on 98.1% of votes. In Tennessee’s 6th District, John McCain received 62% of the vote yet Democrat Congressman Bart Gordon has voted 96.2%  of the time with San Francisco radical Nancy Pelosi. In Missouri’s 4th District, Congressman Ike Skelton has voted with Pelois 95.5% of the time, even though the 4th District went to McCain with 61% of the vote.

            I am enclosing a chart showing all currently held Democrat seats in the House which went for Bush in 2004, McCain in 2008, or both. Names in bold indicate first term freshmen members.

            There is also a lot of corruption in the Democrat Party that will hurt them in 2010.  Rep. Rangel of New York is just one example. He failed to disclose to the IRS $75,000 in rental income he made overseas since 1988, and that is not his only transgression. Then there is the mini marijuana farm belonging to Congressman Barnie Frank’s live-in gay lover. And yes, the lover does have a “spouse” congressional access ID and lapel pin. On the Senate side Senator Baucus, who is 68 years old, dumped his second wife for a young staffer. Then, as chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, he tried to appoint his mistress, Melodee Hanes, as a U.S. Attorney.

            I am very impressed with Vaughn Ward, who is running for Bill Sali’s seat in Idaho’s 1st District.  Raised on a farm by a single mother, he graduated from college with a degree in political science and then served in the Marine Corps. He later served with the Marines as liaison to Capitol Hill and then went to the CIA. After the 9-11 Jihad attack on the USA, he left a promising career in the CIA and returned to the Marines to serve in Iraq. Reaching the rank of Major, he earned a Bronze Star. More about Major Ward can be read at www.vaughnward.com.

            We must also play defense to help incumbents who are important to us. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is a target for the far left. She is hated because she is a pro-life woman with five children, a good marriage and a successful career. GING-PAC stands behind Michele Bachmann and we have already supported her next campaign with a generous check. (In the photo Michele is holding a copy of my latest book.)

THE SENATE

            Right now I am watching Senate races closely but have not gotten really involved. In several states there is more than one social conservative running. With our limited funds, I do not want Government Is Not God - PAC to commit funds in a primary where there is more than one good social conservative. Also, because of the cost of campaigns it is hard to tell who will stay in. A candidate I liked in Illinois has already dropped out.

            California is interesting; businesswoman Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP, is running for the Senate. While there is no mention of social issues at her Internet site, she told the Wall Street Journal that she is "proudly pro-life" and an opponent of taxpayer funding of abortions. On the other hand, while she led HP the company developed a strong “domestic partnership” program. That said, California and the nation would be far better served with Fiorina, than with Barbara Boxer in a Senate seat championing her extreme anti-people “environmental” agenda for yet another six years.

            GING-PAC will probably spend most of its resources in 2010 on conservative House candidates running in the districts carried by both Bush in 2004 and McCain in 2008, and which now have Democrat congressmen.  In the last update I said that the elections were too far away for us to endorse any specific candidates, but that is beginning to change, as viable, godly candidates step forward.

 Please send a check to help today, or give an online gift at www.gingpac.org

William J. Murray, Chairman

Government Is Not God - PAC

P.O. Box 77237,  Washington, DC 20013

www.gingpac.org