Archive for the 'Conservatives' Category

Rhode Island Republican Assembly | March Meeting

Rhode Island’s largest conservative organization (and sponsor of this blog), the RHODE ISLAND REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY, will hold its next general meeting on Thursday, March 11th, 2010.

The meeting will be held in the lower-level of the Tri-City Elk’s Lodge No. 14, at 1915 West Shore Road, in Warwick. For those wishing to eat before the RIRA meeting, a pasta buffet dinner is available between 6:00pm and 7:00pm. The cost for dinner is $7.50 per person. It is “all you can eat” and generally includes pasta, meatballs, soup, salad, and dessert. There is also a Cash Bar available. The RIRA business meeting starts promptly at 7:00PM, and generally lasts until around 9:00PM.

The guest speakers for the meeting will be John Robitaille, GOP candidate for RI Governor, and Terry Gorman, founder of Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement (RIILE). In addition, several candidates for General Assembly will be speaking with us, including Doreen Costa, who is running in House District 31.

The RIRA is the Rhode Island affiliate of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, a thoughtful national organization of GOP conservatives working to grow and strengthen the Republican Party in the tradition of President Ronald Reagan. This is a dinner meeting, and if you want to eat, you pay for your own meal. Any like-minded conservative Republican is welcome to attend.

For more information, please contact RIRA President Ray McKay at president [at] ri-ra [dot] org or NFRA Northeast Region Vice President Will Ricci at NEVP [at] ri-ra [dot] org or visit the RIRA web site at http://www.ri-ra.org.

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California Republican Assembly Endorses DeVore for Senate

The California Republican Assembly is the 75-year old sister organization of the Rhode Island Republican Assembly. The CRA held their Endorsing Convention and 75th Anniversary Gala this weekend, in conjunction with a national board meeting of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies.

The following is a press release from DeVore for Senate:

DeVore for California today welcomed the overwhelming, first-ballot endorsement of Chuck DeVore by the California Republican Assembly’s 75th annual convention. DeVore’s endorsement, by a margin of 194 votes to 89 for distant-second Carly Fiorina, was the first by a statewide Republican organization in the California U.S. Senate race.

The CRA endorsement of Chuck DeVore was the more remarkable for the tremendous effort the Fiorina campaign put into blocking it. With a 2/3 majority required for an endorsement, that campaign needed to secure the support of only a small minority of delegates. To that end: Carly Fiorina herself spent all day Saturday at the convention; delegates found anti-DeVore materials slipped under their hotel room doors; three of Fiorina’s endorsing U.S. Senators wrote a letter to the delegates; Fiorina’s supporters helped secure a procedural change allowing for a secret ballot; and during voting, delegates were supplied with Carly for California-branded pens.

Carly Fiorina had every advantage money could buy, and the conservative activists of the CRA decisively endorsed Chuck DeVore on the first round.

“I’m sincerely humbled to receive the endorsement of my fellow members of the California Republican Assembly,” said Chuck DeVore, “The CRA is, as Ronald Reagan said, ‘the conscience of the Republican Party.’ That’s why I’ve been a member for 22 years, and that’s why I’ll keep fighting for the core principles it advances — all the way to the United States Senate.”

Leisa Brug Kline, DeVore for California campaign manager, said, “When Chuck DeVore addressed the CRA yesterday, he said, ‘I submit to you that being right beats being rich every time.’ With his tremendous first-ballot victory, he’s proven right. California’s conservatives know who’s been with them from the beginning — and they’ll stick with him right through till he beats Barbara Boxer.”

The California Republican Assembly website is CaliforniaRepublicanAssembly.com.
The DeVore for California campaign website is ChuckDeVore.com.

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RI Young Republicans Event w/ Dan Yorke | Thursday

If you haven’t been able to make a RIYR event yet, please do your best to come on Thursday night. The Republican movement needs to continue to build upon the conservative momentum, backlash, and awakening here in Rhode Island. It is vitally important that we continue to network, expand our Party’s base, and express our cause.

Thursday night, bring a friend. And come see what the Young Republicans and the RIGOP have been up to. And find out how you can help. Get involved in 2010!

Cost – $0.0

Where – Two Forty-Two Restaurant | 242 Atwells Avenue (Federal Hill), Providence

When – Thursday, March 4th, from 7:00pm-9:00pm

Guest Speaker – Dan Yorke (630 WPRO)

Travis Rowley
Chair, Rhode Island Young Republicans

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Ann Coulter Does Stand-Up at CPAC

Ann Coulter polks fun at Democrats on the final day of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC.

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VP Dick Cheney Makes Surprise Appearance at CPAC

Liz Cheney was on the speaking program this morning, and in a “surprise” move brought out her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, to make some closing remarks. The former VP got a rousing reception and a two-minute standing ovation.

“…A welcome like that is almost enough to make me want to run for office again,” said Dick Cheney. “But I’m not gonna do it.”

The former vice president made several references “to passing the torch to a younger generation.” Very Kennedyesque…

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Sen. Scott Brown Makes Surprise CPAC Appearance

Attorney Jay Sekulow was scheduled to introduce former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at CPAC this morning. However, in a typical CPAC surprise move, Sekulow instead introduced Massachusetts’ brand new Republican Senator Scott Brown instead, who then introduced Gov. Mitt Romney. He was warmly received. It wasn’t the only surprise of the morning…

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Senate Candidate Marco Rubio Wows Them at CPAC

Florida Senate candidate and conservative grass-roots darling Marco Rubio spurred on the tea party movement Thursday in his highest-profile speaking engagement yet.

Rubio, using the keynote speech kicking off the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, heralded the “greatest political pushback in American political history.”…

“Americans want leaders who will come to Washington, D.C., and stand up to the big government agenda, not be corrupted by it. After all, the United States Senate already has one Arlen Specter,” he added…

Read More: Politico

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Can’t Attend CPAC This Year? Follow Along Online!

There are a number of Rhode Islanders who will be attending the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference, but for those who cannot…

While nothing is the same as attending the annual convention of the biggest conservative audience in person, Townhall.com and its partners will bring you the next best thing.

At http://www.townhall.com/CPAC, you’ll be able to follow along with every major speech, every breaking news item, every quick-hit reaction that comes out of the famous gathering of conservative activists.

At Townhall.com’s CPAC page, you can watch live streaming video of CPAC speeches, panels and conferences while getting live feedback from the biggest names in conservative media.

You’ll be able to chat with other users, sharing your thoughts about the proceedings and offering your take on the content of the speeches. Townhall.com’s CPAC page also features Twitter interactivity, featuring thoughts from the biggest speakers, conference organizers and conservative commentators, as well as live updates from Twitter-enabled conference attendees.

Just in case you missed the chance to attend this year’s CPAC, remember that you can follow along online. There will never be a replacement for attending the conference in person, but if you’re stuck in an office somewhere, know that Townhall.com’s CPAC page will be right there providing you with such in-depth online experience of CPAC that you’ll know you’re as close to being at the conference as you could get!

Source: Townhall.com

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Conservatives Unveil ‘Mt. Vernon’ List of Principles

With polls and recent elections suggesting a possible comeback for Republicans, a group of prominent conservatives unveiled a statement of principles Wednesday called Constitutional Conservatism that they hope will guide a new era of governing.

“A year ago, some pundits claimed that conservatism was effectively dead. But today, as revelations about Washington’s futility in addressing America’s problems continue to mount, the movement is alive and poised for a resurgence of Constitutional Conservative leadership,” former Attorney General Edwin Meese said.

Meese, who served under President Ronald Reagan , was one of several dozen conservatives who drafted and signed the statement, dubbed the Mount Vernon Statement because they introduced it at a museum that once was part of George Washington’s Virginia estate of the same name.

Others noted that they were following in the footsteps of the late conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr. and others who signed a similar statement in 1960.

“Fifty years ago, the federal government threatened to grow exponentially,” said Edwin Feulner Jr. , the president of the Heritage Foundation , a conservative research center. “Visionaries then gathered in Sharon, Connecticut , to articulate essential principles of American governance. Today, that threat is even greater, and so we must articulate anew the nature of Constitutional Conservatism in the 21st century.”

The statement reaffirms their goal of a limited government coupled with a strong national defense…

Read More: Newsmax.com

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Rhode Island Republican Assembly | February Meeting

Rhode Island’s largest conservative organization (and sponsor of this blog), the RHODE ISLAND REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY, will hold its next general meeting on Thursday, February 11th, 2010.

The meeting will be held in the lower-level of the Tri-City Elk’s Lodge No. 14, at 1915 West Shore Road, in Warwick. For those wishing to eat before the RIRA meeting, a pasta buffet dinner is available between 6:00pm and 7:00pm. The cost for dinner is $7.50 per person. It is “all you can eat” and generally includes pasta, meatballs, soup, salad, and dessert. There is also a Cash Bar available. The RIRA business meeting starts promptly at 7:00PM, and generally lasts until around 9:00PM.

The RIRA is the Rhode Island affiliate of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, a thoughtful national organization of GOP conservatives working to grow and strengthen the Republican Party in the tradition of President Ronald Reagan. This is a dinner meeting, and if you want to eat, you pay for your own meal. Any like-minded conservative Republican is welcome to attend.

For more information, please contact RIRA President Ray McKay at president [at] ri-ra [dot] org or NFRA Northeast Region Vice President Will Ricci at NEVP [at] ri-ra [dot] org or visit the RIRA web site at http://www.ri-ra.org.

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Rhode Island Republican Assembly | January Meeting

RIRA-WEB-SM0-3Rhode Island’s largest conservative organization (and sponsor of this blog), the RHODE ISLAND REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY, will hold its next general meeting on Thursday, January 14th, 2010.

The meeting will be held in the lower-level of the Tri-City Elk’s Lodge No. 14, at 1915 West Shore Road, in Warwick. For those wishing to eat before the RIRA meeting, a pasta buffet dinner is available between 6:00pm and 7:00pm. The cost for dinner is $7.50 per person. It is “all you can eat” and generally includes pasta, meatballs, soup, salad, and dessert. There is also a Cash Bar available. The RIRA business meeting starts promptly at 7:00PM, and generally lasts until around 9:00PM.

We anticipate a very full agenda given recent events within the party.

The RIRA is the Rhode Island affiliate of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, a thoughtful national organization of GOP conservatives working to grow and strengthen the Republican Party in the tradition of President Ronald Reagan. This is a dinner meeting, and if you want to eat, you pay for your own meal. Any like-minded conservative Republican is welcome to attend.

For more information, please contact RIRA President Ray McKay at president [at] ri-ra [dot] org or NFRA Northeast Region Vice President Will Ricci at NEVP [at] ri-ra [dot] org or visit the RIRA web site at http://www.ri-ra.org.

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NFRA Spring Board Meeting in California | March 5-7

An important message from NFRA President Rod Martin:

I trust you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s.

I’m sure most of you have already registered for the NFRA Spring Board Meeting and California Republican Assembly 75th Anniversary Celebration. As we announced in Reno, we will be celebrating three-quarters of a century of the Republican Assembly movement this March 5-7, 2010. It is a tremendous milestone, and like nothing we’ve ever done before.

REGISTER NOW: http://californiarepublicanassembly.com/

As always, Board Meeting attendance is mandatory without an excused absence — several people lost their office last fall for this reason, and we hope that never happens again. But more to the point, you won’t want to miss this anyway. In addition to our NFRA Board Meeting — at 4:00 PM on Friday, March 5th — the CRA will be putting on an incredible show, including many events your state can learn from, all at the legendary Knott’s Berry Farm, one of the world’s most famous theme parks and home to eleven roller coasters!

This will be a great time for the whole family, and a tremendous educational opportunity for your leadership team, with top conservative speakers, the CRA Endorsing Convention for Governor, U.S. Senate and all statewide races, a Conservative Youth Celebration with DJ and dancing, all drenched in 75 years of the history of our great movement. You will NOT want to miss it.

Board Meeting aside, we are full-steam ahead here at Republican Assemblies Central, and delighted every day by the news coming in from all parts of the nation: Democrats are losing to Republicans, RINOs are losing to Reagan conservatives, and America is repudiating socialism and embracing the values of the American Revolution.

But you and I know that in politics, nothing moves unless it’s pushed. November — and the primaries between now and then — will only be a success if activists like us make it so.

America is counting on us. And I’m counting on you. Register today for the NFRA Board Meeting and 75th Anniversary Celebration. Let’s celebrate our heroes, and then let’s carry their values to victory.

For the cause,

Rod D. Martin, President
National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA)
“The Republican Wing of the Republican Party”
http://www.RepublicanAssemblies.org

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Observations on the Ongoing RIGOP Platform Debate

I would like to thank a member of the Platform Committee for making a most accurate and telling observation that several Conservative members of the Platform Committee were not in attendance for the last several meetings. Now we know that without the Republican Conservatives present, the Platform Committee’s remaining members abandoned or provided contradictory support for the Social Issues and brought forth a document that could have been printed from the Moderate Party’s website.

The vote to send the Platform to the full membership was 8-8 with the Platform Chairman breaking the tie in favor of sending the document forward. There was an attempt to keep this in Committee and keep this issue out of the spotlight that we now find ourselves in.

Issues such as Life are supported in the opening paragraph and then in the closing paragraph the proposed platform stated there is no Party view on Social Issues. Well, if you are trying to run with that as a Platform, we will continue to be pummeled by the electorate for being incompetent.

Other issues like costly Social Service systems and illegal aliens never made it to the Platform. Other items like Voter Initiative were shot down. The proposed Platform looked more like the Moderate Party – If that is indeed what the RIGOP wants to put forth, why have a Republican Party.

If you are Pro-Abortion, Pro-Big Government, Pro-Socialism, Pro-Big Government Health Care, and Pro-Fascism now that we own two car companies and an Insurance Company, there is a Party for you called the Democrat Party.

If you wish to have no opinion on Social issues, even though they cost Rhode Islanders and businesses in Rhode Island hundreds of millions of dollars per year, then there is the Moderate Party for you to tag along with.

I hear the soft-spine opinions that why should I push my beliefs on someone else. The answer is simple. We are a society of rules and laws that places someone’s opinion on the backs of another. Without such opinions in place (The Constitution), we would live in Anarchy. Our Country is supposed to be based on the rule of law of the majority, not the Politically Correct.

It is time for politicians to stop being politicians (oh how am I going to sneak my way into office disguising who I am), and become Statesmen: The type of Statesmen that founded the United States of America; The same type of Statesmen who wrote the Constitution that put our Rights as Americans to paper. There are no Rights in the Constitution to allow any person to take the legally earned money and/or assets from one American and give this money or asset to another American or entity, where such entity may or may not be American.

If you live in Rhode Island and you are Pro-Constitution, or Pro-Life, or Pro-Second Amendment, or Pro-Traditional Marriage or Pro-Smaller and more efficient government, or Pro-Legal Immigration and Pro-Immigration Law Enforcement of the laws on the books, or Pro-Capitalism, where do you go if the Rhode Island Republican Party is not willing to take a stand as the other two Parties have already said they are not interested.

I agree with the statement that any “Republican” who wishes to add their opinions to the discussion should send the RIGOP an e-mail (lvargas [at] rigop [dot] org).

Voters who are Independents, Cool Moose, Green Party, Libertarians, Moderates, and Democrats have no role or opinion in establishing the Platform for the Rhode Island Republican Party.

Raymond T. McKay
President, Rhode Island Republican Assembly

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