From The INBOX: Your Next Mission Should You Accept It
Oh, this David Gerson is the Paulbot gift that keeps on giving.
David Gerson to challenge John Kline in Republican Primary
_______________________________David Gerson is running for congress to help continue the transformation of the Republican Party from the party of privileged large corporate interests to the party of the people that started this May 17th and 18th at our Republican State Convention.In congress Mr. Gerson will be a leader in the area of fighting Crony Capitalism or corporatism, the confluence of corporate and governmental interests, that both parties promote at the expense of the average person in this county.The reckless policies promoted by political leaders in both parties have led this country to the brink of a debt crisis. I am running in attempt to assist in the transformation of the Republican Party of Minnesota from a party complicit in the destruction of the country to one that can lead our country back from our current troubles. In order to do this we must not pretend that our current representatives, even those in our own party, who are responsible for this crisis can be re-elected without exacerbating the problems they created. We must be honest about our own party and its leaders.I want to expose the last “elephant”-in -the-room in the Republican party. That the Republican Bush administration and the current Republican controlled U.S. House of Representatives was and is complicit in enacting reckless fiscal policies which have mortgaged our future, disintegrated the middle class, promoted unnecessary wars and increased the size and power of the federal government.John Kline has been complicit in causing these problems with his blind devotion to voting with house Republican leadership. John Kline has had his chance to lead but has proven that he is a follower of Washington D.C. interests at the expense of the average person in his district and Minnesota. His voting record is unacceptable especially his vote for T.A.R.P., the Troubled Asset Relief Program, to bail out wealthy bankers from their poor decisions at the expense average citizen. He also voted for multiple failed stimulus bills such as Cash For Clunkers that further indebted this country and promoted certain businesses over the health and welfare of the people. This penchant for crony Capitalism in Washington D.C. is stealing opportunity from the common man. John Kline voted for $2.4 trillion of increases to the debt ceiling. He has voted for measures to cede our personal civil rights to the federal government including measures to limit our free speech, HR 347, and worse our presumption of innocence by voting to allow the military arrest and indefinite detention of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil without a trial in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.My campaign goal is to provide an opportunity for the people in the the 2nd Congressional District to hold John Kline accountable for his transgressions through my election to congress and to send a message to all Republican statist beholden to the establishment in Washington D.C. that there will be consequences for betraying our core principles.I hope my run will inspire other to make primary challenges in both parties as this is the only way we can really stop electing the same corrupt leaders over and over again.——————————————–David holds a masters degree in engineering and works for a global engineering company.
More information will become available on: davidgerson.org
You know who is a CD2 constituent of Congressman Kline?
US Senate candidate Kurt Bills. Statements, please. Stay tuned.
Mr. Gerson either doesn’t know what’s going on or he is a liar. Neither is a recommendation for the high office he seeks.
What exactly do you dispute? This is John Kline’s voting record…
“Kline’s unacceptable voting record” is not a fact, it is a decidedly minority opinion. The notion that Republicans are the party of “privileged large corporate interests” is just so much cant and, frankly, Democrat boilerplate claptrap. And the statement about the NDAA is absolutely false, though a common misconception. I would expect more from a candidate than simply wanting to destroy the Republican Party, who occasionally gets one right, when the true enemy of “the people” are those in the Democrat Party, who deliberately get everything wrong. Who is the anti-liberty party, given the choice between those two?
Just saying they are both in the wrong doesn’t argue for running to represent one of them.
Unacceptable voting record is a matter of opinion not fact.
The perception of the Republican Party as that of a party beholden to large corporate interests is real. I do not believe the party activists are beholden to large corporate interests but the party leadership is and we are accepting of it because we are generally supportive of business. But giving huge bail outs to the banks, insurance companies, and auto companies are examples of this. Another one John Kline is guilty of is being beholden to large Agricultural companies, the biggest recipients of Ag subsidies. John Kline voted to end the Freedom to Farm act, actually to even override Bush’s veto to do it.
HR 6124 Second Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill)
Voted Yes – To override President Bush’s veto. Extended Farm subsidies.
Effectively repealed the Freedom to Farm Act.
President Bush said, “This bill lacks fiscal discipline.”
When President Bush critiques you for lacking fiscal discipline you know it is bad…
While there are some who attempt to justify and explain away the provisions of the NDAA I have not seen any compelling reason for including that language in the bill. Why put that in the bill, and even Obama and Romney have acknowledged the power of the language in the bill by promising not to use that power. Does that make you feel better?
Congresswoman Bachmann even spoke out against that provision in the NDAA.
I would say the perception of the provision of NDAA is a too common to be a complete misconception. I don’t want to believe what is happening either to this country but it sure doesn’t look good.
Kinda feel like disputing whether you’re a Republican….
http://www.krisbroberg.org/?page_id=289
Andy,
I have probably been an active Republican as long or longer than you.
The difference is after about 16-18 years I realized the Republicans don’t do anything about the issues they run on and govern like Democrats. They keep telling us they will get to it someday when something changes. Then they got all in power and quit even pretending. I am not sure but I would suspect in many areas we would agree. Just be willing to step back and take a look at things honestly. I think a little more radically now but that is because the problems have gotten so much worse and there is no major party really dealing with them.
Kris Broberg
But you’re represented by a socialist progressive guy who wants to take away your freedoms. Why not try to beat your true enemy, rather than a guy you just don’t like?
Actually a good question.
The reason is that districts are drawn by the parties to create safe seats. If you want to win in CD 5 you pretty much have to be the Democrat candidate. I totally encourage DFL’ers to replace Ellison if they think he is not representing them well.
Kline is in a Republican district, by MN standards, if we want to promote our ideas and either replace or maybe (less optimistic on this one) move John Kline’s views we need to challenge him.
We need to replace a lot of people, they are all responsible who voted for these things. John Kline critiques Obamacare, but was the deciding vote to pass Medicare part D, the previous largest expansion of a social program since the Johnson administration.
He has no credibility.
Seriously, at the 2011 CD2 convention there was a revolt against John Kline. We had people who worked on his campaign signing the letter to him. John Kline threw them in the garbage. The symbolism there is priceless to what he thinks about the activists in CD 2.
Once you live and knock on doors in Minneapolis you realize what it is like. I will keep up the battle here in Minneapolis but I think different strategies need to be employed. We are trying to move the sentiment through meet ups and town hall issue meetings. Activism, protests, coalition building. The greens hate the Dems as bad as we do so do the Independence party people. A few years ago when I was running for city council Pat Anderson came into my Ward and did some property tax forums, sponsored by the Minneapolis City Republican Committee. She talked about Minneapolis budget issues and pensions and people came in, they were great. We are trying to make little steps, move the issues.
http://m.startribune.com/news/?id=136486333
http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/01tax1214.jpg
http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/02tax1214.jpg
“We need to replace a lot of people, they are all responsible who voted for these things. John Kline critiques Obamacare, but was the deciding vote to pass Medicare part D, the previous largest expansion of a social program since the Johnson administration.
He has no credibility. ”
Really? Where did you learn your critical thinking skills, public schools? Because Kline voted for Part D he cannot (or does not) oppose Obamacare? Would you be unhappy if O’care was undone but Part D stayed intact, or do you have to have everything on your libertarian wish list or nothing? And if you want to replace people, how about starting with those who have done the most damage, like those (100% of them Democrats, 0% of them Republicans) who voted for Obamacare?
Yes, we could all be more effective. That starts, though, with recognizing who the real enemies of freedom are, and John Kline isn’t one of them.
No my point is simply if a Republican administration pushes massive expansion of government provided medical care, John Kline votes for it. If a Democrat administration pushes it, he votes against it.
There is no principle in John Kline, just party loyalty.
OK, I’ll take Party loyalty as a perfectly acceptable reason for voting in ways that I agree with. I EXPECT that when I vote for a Republican they will stand with the rest of the Republicans and oppose the Democrats. You are the folks that keep talking about rejecting compromise. What compromise is worse than compromising with Democrats? They are to be opposed in all things except when they are destroying themselves (politically).
If you are looking for a principle worth defending, Party loyalty wouldn’t be the worst place to start. If you don’t like our Party’s direction you can try to convince the rest of us, but if you can’t why should you expect we will agree with you anyway? You won’t find any better agreement in that Other Party.
We are trying to change the party and the country, that is why we are taking on Kline.
This party over principle – support the party while selling out the activists and the people of this country is not a virtue in any way. It is the problem and exactly why he and most of the others in Washington D.C. need to be replaced. Where is medicare part D in the party platform, where is it in the constitution. Same with TARP… Etc…
Anyway, you can agree or not, I would love your help, but I understand if you don’t agree.
Kris
Again, you say that “most of” [Congress] needs to be “replaced.” If you cannot propose a single candidate that can win an election, how do you propose to change “most of” those in Congress? Would it make some sense to align yourself with the millions of others willing to call themselves Republicans and vote accordingly, rather than telling all of them that they’re stupid and ruining the country? Why can’t you agree with us, rather than we have to agree with you? Why not convince us, rather than shouting us down?
I am not telling anyone they are stupid. We are trying to start a revolution, show that sitting congressmen can be removed in primaries. We are trying to lead; to change what it means to be a Republican to something more like the average Republican thinks than what it is, as demonstrated by John Kline’s voting record.
Kris
That is exactly what you are saying. You are trying to start a “revolution” by claiming that we were stupid to elect him in the first place, and/or too stupid to pressure him to better represent our interests in office, or too stupid to know what our interests are, and ALL because we don’t agree with you on the issues.
Isn’t it more likely that yours is simply a minority viewpoint, and that your revolution won’t start until, by some magic yet unknown, your views become mainstream? Isn’t it better to take what we can have NOW while working in the right direction?
You don’t change what Republican candidates represent until you change what the average Republican believes, and that is nearly impossible if you start by calling them uninformed or stupid. I know, a lot of you Liberty folks start out a discussion (usually more of a harangue, for some reason) with “did you know” but then follow it up with something that I didn’t know because I simply don’t believe it. An assertion without an underlying factual foundation is worthless at changing minds. For example, when you tell me we must “abolish the Fed” I tend to ask WHY, and at that point the conversation and potential for education ends. Or when you tell me that John Kline’s voting record is so bad that he must be replaced, you are unable to prove to me that he votes against my perceived interests (on which I am the ONLY expert) too often (of which I am the ONLY judge). Sorry, but you are trying to kill the donkey by attacking an elephant, and using a slingshot loaded with fresh BS to do it.
I am not saying anyone was stupid. I am not presuming to change minds. I would even be a little happier if Kline was slightly more independent like Bachmann.
If you can honestly say you are fine with all of these votes… Well… We may have nothing to talk about, but I think most Republicans, not just Ron Paul supporters, take great issue with most of these votes.
John Kline’s voting record.
HR 1 Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003 (Medicare Part D)
Voted Yes – Providing the deciding vote on the largest social welfare initiative since
Johnson’s Great Society programs, the bill passed 216-215.
HR 3199 PATRIOT Act Reauthorization – 2005
Voted Yes – To extend the authority of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to
conduct “roving wiretaps” and access certain business records through December 31,
2009, and makes the remaining 14 provisions of the Patriot Act permanent.
HR418 REAL ID Act of 2005
Voted Yes – To establish a national ID card through state mandates.
HR2419 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill)
Voted Yes – Overriding President Bush’s veto which extended farm subsidies and
effectively repealed the Freedom to Farm Act. President Bush stated, “ this bill lacks
fiscal discipline.”
HR1429 Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007
Voted Yes – Inserting the Federal Government into Education by authorizing $8 billion
per year which is $7,300 per child per year. Studies have shown this program has no
beneficial effect on future test scores.
HR1424 Financial Asset Purchase Authority and Tax Law Amendments (TARP) – 2008
Voted Yes – $700 billion bank bailout.
HR6331 Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008
Voted Yes – To override President Bush’s veto. The bill includes “end of life planning”
and expands Medicare coverage and compensation.
HR3435 Supplemental Appropriation for the Cash for Clunkers Program – 2009
Voted Yes – Spending tax dollars to destroy perfectly good cars (productive capital),
demonstrating a lack of understanding of basic economic principles.
HR3548 Extending Federal Emergency Unemployment Benefits and
Providing Business and Homebuyer Tax Credits – 2009
Voted Yes – Consistently voting in favor of counter-productive government distortions
to the markets.
S 365 Budget Control Act of 2011
Voted Yes – For a $2.4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling.
HR 347 Federal Restricted Building and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011
Voted Yes – To further reduce our freedom of speech.
S 990 PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011
Extends the expiration date of the USA PATRIOT Act to June 1, 2015.
HR1540 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
Voted Yes – For the indefinite detention for Americans on US soil without a trial.
HR3523 Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act – 2012
Voted Yes – For government controls on the internet.
You don’t even realize you are doing it, do you? :-0 You aren’t calling me stupid, but you then launch immediately into a long list of things that you assume I don’t know and am supposed to condemn if I did. Despite the length of your list, though, and your obvious arduous opposition, it is certainly not an exhaustive list of the Congressman’s votes (probably less than 5%) and many of them I don’t disagree with, having studied them for myself rather than taking somebody else’s opinion as fact.
Don’t feel bad; I have the same complaint about a lot of my fellow Republicans and conservatives. That is, a Congressman can take 1000 votes that exactly match his constituents’ wishes, but let him make one “wrong” vote (even if it was objectively the correct one) and “nope, never going to vote for that guy again.” Sorry, but put me in the Ronald Reagan camp of allowing that somebody who agrees with me 80% of the time shouldn’t get tossed under the bus. And when they agree 95% of the time you should be out working your tail off to get them re-elected.
I just happen to think the votes on these issues more than offset any good votes he has made. This list is in no way exhaustive, these are just a few I thought to be the worst and most likely to surprise other people who think he is a conservative.
It just comes down to you are OK with those votes on balance, but CD 2 could do so much better than Kline.
If you are OK with it, good for you, you have your candidate… I know for a fact many others disagree, I just hope we can find enough of them and get them out to vote on August 14.
We have a primary system, I would be ok with not having one, but as long as we have it why not use it when there are serious issues to be dealt with?
I appreciate the thoughtful debate.
[...] in this comment thread right here on RF, we get the perfect example of why the Marrianne Stebbins lead invasion (dare I say hostile [...]
[...] in this comment thread right here on RF, we get the perfect example of why the Marrianne Stebbins lead invasion (dare I say hostile [...]
I have no desire to carry a debate or discussion past its usefulness, either but I have a couple more points I do wish to raise. Yes, “on balance” is exactly the way you should be evaluating a candidate’s performance, but when challenging an incumbent a very large factor called “electability” must be added in. The incumbent has proven that they are electable; the challenger must somehow prove they are at least equally so, or their stated principles and issue positions aren’t going to matter.
Again referring to your list, I need to ask whether or not you asked the Congressman about these votes, or did you simply accept someone else’s characterization of them? I have for years asked those questions and have found that in every case there is a valid conservative principle underlying those votes. It may not be the principle on which YOU might have based your vote – real legislation often embodies a conflict between two or more – but it is no reason whatsoever to call those votes anything other than principled and conservative.
Yes, given enough of these votes for which there has not been a good explanation forthcoming AND the availability of a clearly superior candidate ideologically who is almost certainly electable in their own right, an endorsement battle (NOT a primary) is appropriate. I just don’t see that being the case here