Republican Candidates

Posted on March 12th, 2009 by rjedda under "Election, Madison County" | No Comments »

It was just a little over 4 months ago the 2008 election cycled ended.  Well, in about 6 months the 2010 election cycle will begin in Illinois, with candidates getting petitions signed.  Republicans in Madison County need good conservative and hard working candidates to run in the county board races and for countywide office.   Keep this in mind as you speak with people.   Or think about running, yourself.  I know some people planning on running in county board races.   Let’s make it a goal to have a competitive race in every county board district in the county.

By the way, Fred Bathon, Treasurer is up for election in 2010.  He is  a top target of the Republican party. 

Other countywide officials up for election are Sheriff Hertz, Clerk Von Nida, and Superintendent Daiber. 

Republican Outreach-The Way to Victory

Posted on March 4th, 2009 by rjedda under "Madison County, National" | 2 Comments »

A great article from the Weekly Standard on Republican outreach to minorities.  What can we do in Madison county to further the outreach effort?

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Rush Limbaugh under attack

Posted on March 2nd, 2009 by rjedda under "National" | 1 Comment »

Rush Limbaugh has been in the news lately, under criticism from Obama and now on a regular basis from press secretary Gibbs.   I am not sure why the Obama administration would want to attack one individual, as a spokesperson for Republican principles.  This is sort of unprecedented in Presidential behavior.  If the Obama administration attempts to demeam Rush, then don’t they take themselves to the level of bloggers and pundits? Why is Obama so obsessed with Rush LImbaugh?  Either Obama has a strategy(fairness doctrine) or his is winging it like most of his policies in the first 6 weeks in office.  

What do you think of Rush?  Should Rush LImbaugh’s message be listened to by Republican elected officials?   Is Rush Limbaugh the conscience and spokesperson for the Republican party at this time?  Is Rush filling a void?

 

 

Republicans in Charge

Posted on February 24th, 2009 by rjedda under "Madison County" | No Comments »

The Madison County Board operates under a committee structure.  Legislation is  formulated,discussed, and voted on in committee and then sent to the full county  board for a final vote.   Legislation can be sent back to the a committee for further review, after the legislation is sent to the full board.

Republican board members serve as Chairs of the following committees

Information Systems - Jean Myers 667-6577

 Judiciary- Michelle Ruppert 465-2586

Personnel & Labor Relations -Stephen Adler 550-9539

Planning and Development- Bill Meyer 633-2252

If you have  legislation you would like to see passed at the Madison County board, these are the Republicans you need to talk with about it.

 

 

 

Kyle McCarter is named as Watson’s replacement

Posted on February 22nd, 2009 by cslusser under "Local, Madison County, State" | No Comments »
 

 

DECATUR - Kyle McCarter of Lebanon was appointed to the 51st Illinois Senate District seat Saturday evening at the Decatur Club.

McCarter fills the seat left vacant by the retirement of Greenville Republican Frank Watson, who suffered a stroke last year and stepped down shortly thereafter as Senate Republican leader. He later cited his health for his retirement.
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3% Why it Matters

Posted on February 19th, 2009 by rjedda under "Local, Madison County" | 7 Comments »

The Madison County board voted last night to give its employees a 3% raise. 

All Republican board members, except for Bill Meyer voted for the pay raises. Thanks Bill Meyer. All the democrats, except for Jack Minner voted yes.   Dunstan immediately stated there will be layoffs in the future.  What kind of leadership is this?   Maybe Dunstan is hoping for some of that stimulus money to bail us out.  Except those are our tax dollars already.

At a time when millions are losing there jobs, having wages and benefits cut, the Madison County board votes for pay and benefit increase, as though we live in  vacuum immune from the economic problems. 

The public sector continues to grow and expand regardless of the state of the economy and our Republican board members vote for the status quo.

I have stated time and time again, unless the Republicans on the county board vote as principled fiscally responsible Republicans, the public will continue to view Republicans in Madison County no differently than democrats.  Republicans will be ineffective in getting anything of substance done on the board. 

Stimulus Bill

Posted on February 13th, 2009 by rjedda under "Local, Madison County, National" | 1 Comment »

The US House of Representatives passed the Obama/Pelosi/Reid stimulus bill this afternoon, with Senate expected to pass it tonight.  Obama will sign it shortly and it will become law.

One can discuss the benefits or problems  of passing this bill.   Whether it works or not will  be subject to much debate in the coming months and years.

All house Republicans voted no, along with 7 democrats.  Democrat Lipinski from Illinois voted present.  What is that all about!?  In the senate, 3 Republicans are expected to vote with the democrats to  allow passage of the legislation.

The question I raise is what do you think about the 3 Republican senators?

Before you respond, if you are a Republican living in Madison County, remember  our local Republican board members generally vote with democrats on  major issues like the annual budget, judicial reform, and taxes.   Why would you be upset with the 3 senate Republicans and not be upset with the local Republican board members votes?  Conservative fiscal principles and philosophy should start at the local level shouldn’t they? 

Remembering Blago

Posted on February 7th, 2009 by amaher under "Uncategorized" | 1 Comment »

Democrats are desperately hoping we’ll all forget about their man Rod.  The Illinois Republican Party has set up a website that chronicles the actions and connections of many prominent Democrats, before they started running away from their problem(s).  Bookmark this one for 2010, and use it to help remind your friends and families of the people who were supporting Governor Blagojevich D-IL (for some reason that party designator was left out of many, many media stories) before, during and after his scandal-ridden early years in office.  http://www.friendsofblago.com/index.htm 

Tax Question

Posted on February 2nd, 2009 by amaher under "Uncategorized" | 2 Comments »

I am in the process of gathering all the documents I will need to prepare my tax returns for 2008, and as I go through the process, I am pondering this question:  Should I pay all my taxes?  I’m no financial wizard, working for the IMF like Tim Geithner; and I didn’t help write the tax code, like Tom Daschle, so it would certainly be understandable if I underpay by a little (or even a lot).  I mean really, who can keep up with all those little rules and regulations and laws and stuff?  Odds are I’ll never be nominated for a cabinet post, and if I am, no big deal–I’ll just pay the back taxes with interest, no penalty, no problem. 

Oh, wait, I think I’ve identified one potential problem–if I am nominated, I’ll have an R behind my name, and for some reason that seems to turn innocent mistakes that any financial wizard could commit, into unforgiveable sins.  I guess I’d better fire up my calculator and check all those numbers, the government has to pay for all these new programs somehow.  Since we can’t count on members of President Obama’s cabinet to jump in and be a part of the deal, I have to make sure I pay my fair share to help get America out of this rut.  I feel so patriotic!

[Attribution:  I freely acknowledge that I borrowed a couple of phrases from Vice President Joe Biden–they’re “just words” (also borrowed, from Governor Deval Patrick and President Barack Obama, in that order) but you know how it goes when an R commits a sin.] 

Gone - Blagojevich, Now Watson

Posted on February 2nd, 2009 by rjedda under "Local, State" | 1 Comment »

Frank Watson announced today he will retire from the State Senate to concentrate on his health issues.  Watson has served the citizens of Illinois for over 30 years.   He service and conservative principles will be missed.  Now, the jockeying will begin to replace Watson.  This decision will be important, since the new person will become a target for the democrats in 2010.  

Watson’s   retirement is  a true loss to the citizens.   Best Wishes Senator Watson.