Dear friend,

Thank you!

Because of the flood of phone calls from WTP supporters and our allies, Barack Obama failed in his effort to quash political speech by his opponents. 

The misnamed “DISCLOSE Act,” which uses mountains of paperwork and brute intimidation to bog down and bully groups that speak out on political issues, but exempts Obama’s biggest supporters, won the support of 57 senators.

While 57 senators supported Obama’s efforts to use the government to pursue his political opponents, thankfully Senate rules require 60 votes to overcome any effort to filibuster a bill.

So the “DISCLOSE Act” has been stopped, but not killed.  Using a political trick, Harry Reid voted with Republicans which allows him to bring back the bill at any time.  That “any time” is usually in the dead of night when both reporters and his opponents aren’t in the Senate chamber.

So stay alert.  We may need you to jam the Senate switchboard again.

And the DISCLOSE Act isn’t our only federal legislative project.

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) has introduced an amendment to a Senate jobs bill establishing what is known as a “point of order” to the impending Senate energy bill.

As we’ve already told you, your NoCapAndTax.com petitions and phone calls stopped Harry Reid from putting Cap and Tax into the Senate energy bill that will be voted on in the next couple of weeks.

But that hasn’t stopped them from passing it.  The radical greens’ plan is to pass something, anything, relating to energy.  It doesn’t have to have Cap and Tax in it right now.

Since it’s different from the Waxman-Markey Cap and Tax bill the House passed, both bills would go to a closed-door “conference committee” which produced a compromise bill.

FoxNews.com reports Henry Waxman has stated that’s when he’ll stick Cap and Tax into the Senate bill and force senators to vote on a “conference report” that enacts “the full-blown cap-and-trade program.”  In other words, radical greens can pass Cap and Tax without having a direct vote on it.

Well, the Johanns amendment, if we can pass it, would declare any conference report with Cap and Tax in it to be “out of order.”  That means Obama and Reid would need 67 senators (two-thirds) to suspend the rules of the Senate and vote for Cap and Tax.

Can you call your senators right now at 202-224-3121 and tell them to vote FOR the Johanns Cap and Tax amendment?

It could be voted on any day now, so please call immediately.

And can I count on you to chip in and help fund our fight to stop Cap and Tax by clicking here or going to https://secure.westerntradition.org and give your best gift of $10 or $25, or whatever you can afford?

Thanks to you, we’ve stopped the radical greens at every step so far.  But that fight is long, hard and expensive.  They only need us to fail once in order for them to destroy our economy and tax and regulate away our freedoms.

So please call now, and if you can click here or go to https://secure.westerntradition.org and give your best gift of $10 or $25.

Sincerely,

Donny Ferguson
Executive Director
Western Tradition Partnership

P.S.  Thank you!  The DISCLOSE Act, intended to silence criticism of Barack Obama by WTP and our allies, couldn’t get the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.  “Only” 57 Democrats voted to outlaw free speech they disagree with.

But Harry Reid used a political trick that allows him to bring it back up at any time he wishes.  So stay alert as we may need you to call again.

Speaking of calling your senators, I need you to call them now at 202-224-3121.  Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) has an amendment to a jobs bill that would help thwart Obama’s plans to use a “lame duck” session of Congress to quietly slip Cap and Tax into the energy bill that would come back to the Senate.  If passed, Johanns’ amendment would require 67 votes to pass an energy bill with Cap and Tax in it.

So call now.  And if you can, click here or go to https://secure.westerntradition.org and give your best gift of $10 or $25 and help WTP keep up the fight.

Dear friend,

Last week I told you about the DISCLOSE Act, a scheme by Barack Obama to silence his political opponents before the November election.

Well, Harry Reid has scheduled a vote on it THIS AFTERNOON.

In just hours.

Can I count on you to call your two U.S. senators at 202-224-3121 IMMEDIATELY and tell them to vote no?

Please hurry.

As I told you, the purpose of the DISCLOSE Act is to use the force of law to bully, silence and intimidate Barack Obama’s political opponents.

It forces groups like WTP to fill out mountains of paperwork before they can comment on Obama’s radical agenda.

And it forces groups like WTP to hand to the government a list of our donors, complete with their home addresses.

But pro-Obama groups like The Sierra Club and the AARP do not have to comply.

It’s a sick, naked and shameless assault on the First Amendment and free elections.

That’s why Harry Reid wants a rushed vote today.

So please, call your two United States senators at 202-224-3121 right now.  Tell them to vote NO on the DISCLOSE Act.

Act right now,

Donny Ferguson
Executive Director
Western Tradition Partnership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Contact: Donny Ferguson, donny.f@westerntradition.org or 703-200-3669

Public opposition to Kagan’s radical green views fuels near-historic low approval ratings
Polling data show Kagan’s support mirrors that of SCOTUS flop Harriet Miers

WASHINGTON — Public support for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is among the lowest ever recorded for a potential justice, a disturbing lack of faith fueled by national opposition to President Barack Obama’s radical green policies, the nation’s largest grassroots opponent of environmental extremism noted Tuesday.

“With economic recovery long overdue and delayed by Obama’s radical policies, Americans do not want an activist like Kagan on the Court whose job is to enforce the ‘green’ belief that American prosperity is a threat that needs to be eliminated,” said Donny Ferguson, Executive Director of Western Tradition Partnership.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Kagan’s nomination Tuesday by a 13-6 vote, with “cap and trade” advocate Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) joining the panel’s Democrats.

A Gallup poll released July 15 shows public support for Kagan’s nomination stands at just 44 percent.  Only Robert Bork (38 percent) and Harriet Miers (42 percent) recorded lower approval than Kagan.  Bork’s nomination was defeated and Miers’ was withdrawn.  Gallup cites historical ratings showing public support for a Supreme Court nominee virtually never increases, but opposition usually grows.

“It’s no coincidence Harriet Miers and Elena Kagan are identical twins when it comes to approval ratings.  One was an unqualified presidential crony whose only purpose on the Court would have been to enforce the president’s personal views.  The other was Harriet Miers,” said Ferguson.  “Elena Kagan is being sent to the Supreme Court with marching orders.  ‘Use your lifetime appointment to impose a job-killing Cap and Tax system, give the EPA unquestioned authority and kill any constitutional challenges to radical green authority.’”

“Americans know the radical green agenda calls for the downsizing of American prosperity and our standard of living and they’re angry Obama is actively working to make a bad economy even worse.  Americans aren’t supporting Obama’s pick because they know her job is to eliminate theirs,” said Ferguson.

As president of Harvard University, Kagan created the school’s “environmental law” program.  “She left a nationally visible mark on environmental law at Harvard,” Jim Rossi, a visiting environmental law professor at Harvard, told The New York Times upon her Solicitor General nomination last year. “For many years, Harvard was not known for a primary expertise in the environmental jurisprudence, and that changed under Dean Kagan’s watch.”

The Times reported “expanding regulatory enforcement of wetlands under the Clean Water Act and broadening the applicability of the Endangered Species Act to include the effects of climate change” may be at the top of her agenda.

“Under Kagan, we are likely to see the government take a less hostile approach to environmental enforcement,” a jubilant Matt Kenna of the Western Environmental Center told the Times. 

“If confirmed, Kagan would be the first successful nominee in recent years whose nomination was backed by less than a majority of Americans in the final poll before the Senate confirmation vote (or, in the case of Harriet Miers, before her nomination was withdrawn),” Gallup notes.

Supported by grassroots members, WTP is a fast-growing, grassroots-supported non-profit organization dedicated to fighting environmental extremism and promoting responsible development and management of land, water, and natural resources.  The citizens’ group educates the public and lobbies legislators on issues of environmental extremism and promoting responsible development and management of land, water, and natural resources.

For more information, go to http://www.westerntradition.org.  For more information on this issue, or to schedule an interview, contact Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or at donny.f@westerntradition.org.

Link to Gallup poll: http://www.gallup.com/poll/141329/Americans-Favor-Confirming-Kagan-High-Court.aspx?utm_source=tagrss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_term=USA

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WTP criticizes, corrects Unsworth comments
Political Practices Commissioner unfairly, incorrectly attacks federally-protected speech

BILLINGS, MT — Western Tradition Partnership, a IRS-approved 501(c)(4) public information and citizen lobbying organization, criticized Thursday  comments made in the media by Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Dennis Unsworth.  Unsworth stated publicly that WTP’s lawful and legal activities violate Montana law.

“Commissioner Unsworth’s factual and legal characterization of WTP’s programs is flat-out wrong.  What we do is fully authorized and protected by federal law, the First Amendment and right to privacy court decisions, and our activities do not fall within the bounds of Montana’s campaign practices laws,” said Fuchs. “The legal right to inform voters where candidates stand and to urge candidates to support responsible policies is necessary for a healthy democratic process.”  We are very disappointed that Commissioner Unsworth is making unsupported legal decisions in the press and doing so without knowing all of the facts.  The Commissioner’s public statements demonstrate he is not carrying out his duty to be a fair and impartial administrator of Montana’s election and campaign practice laws.

“The reality is this” Free people joining together to publicly discuss issues isn’t just authorized by law, it’s what this country was founded upon and is further protected by the First Amendment,” said Fuchs.

WTP takes issue with Unsworth’s characterization in a Jun. 8 article printed in Montana papers of grassroots lobbying as campaign activity subject to campaign finance disclosure laws, a characterization that is not supported by federal or Montana law.   It should be pointed out that Unsworth happens to be a defendant in a First Amendment lawsuit brought by WTP and Bozeman employer Champion Painting after Unsworth stated his office would not allow political speech by employers as authorized under the United State’s Supreme Court’s Jan. 21 Citizens United ruling.  The fact calls into question Mr. Unsworth’s impartiality as to WTP’s activities.

As one of countless groups organized under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that do not urge voters to vote for or against a candidate, WTP does not fall under the reporting authority of Montana’s Office of Political Practices because it does not engage in express advocacy for or against candidates.  501(c)(4) organizations may lobby for legislation; they may also participate in political campaigns and elections, as long as campaigning is not the organization’s primary purpose.

“We organize the grassroots to lobby for responsible pro-jobs, pro-property legislation in Congress and state capitols.  Seven of the ten items on our 2008 Montana state survey, for example, were introduced as bills in the state legislature last year.  We advocate for constitutionally protected activities, such as protection of private property right.  That’s our primary  purpose,” said Fuchs.

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