I feel betrayed, bitter, and have lost hope. It saddens me that my party who I work hard for, sacrifice for, and the party I constantly promote taking actions like this. The quality of our leadership will be important in these next few months and throughout this next election year. We will either see a party come together or we will see all out civil war in the political sense of course.

I applaud Senator Darwin Booher and Representative Ray Franz who which currently represents me for voting no on this expansion of government. 

Unity could be lost with so many within our party drawing the line in the sand on this topic. Personally, I was at the steps of our National Capital and on stage for the protests when Obama Care was passed. I have participated in numerous walks and Tea Party rallies in Michigan and Washington D.C. This issue may save the state money but it does not save us money. Obama Care costs the nation billions. We the tax payers will not save. It saddens me to see elected GOP officials, party members, county chairs and others make the argument that this saves our state money. 

This is not just a financial issue. This is a moral issue. This is an issue where most will not compromise. We can all find compromise to some level on financial issues. Unfortunately, this will divide us and will be a major factor in 2014. We will see division in our county, district and state party. We will see primary challengers step up against incumbents. We will see some of the most divisive conventions we have ever seen.

Our leadership in the house, senate, and our governor has taken up this issue. They passed it without even getting a majority of the GOP caucus. We the precinct delegates, county executive boards and district leadership will have a tough time over the next year. Divisive primaries will not be our only issue. Our local groups will be hit by turned off activists who will no longer sacrifice their weekends and evenings working for our candidates.

Decreased local support will hurt our candidates up and down the ballot.  2014 was looking promising and now I fear it may be in jeopardy. Medicaid expansion (Obama Care) could likely alter this state and country. We could end up losing the vacant senate seat and thus cost a GOP majority in the US Senate. We could lose our slim majority in the state house. We will likely lose our governor race because our own party sits it out or votes third party. 

Unfortunately, I do not have the answers to solve these problems. I could not directly control this outcome. I fear that my local party will take a major blow and this could also lead to Dr. Dan Benishek’s loss of a close race. We need our grassroots and we need our activists. Money cannot solve all problems. The vote on Medicaid Expansion will cost us and will cost us in a very important time.

LANSING, MI — Tea party leader Wes Nakagiri, a vocal critic of Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, is looking to replace him at the MRP State Convention August, 2014.

The Hartland resident & founder of ReTakeOurGov announced Monday morning that he has filed paperwork to form a candidate committee and will seek the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in 2014.

“I am running to bring a conservative voice to the current Lansing administration,” he said in a release. “Having a grassroots conservative on the 2014 ticket will energize the base of the GOP to come out and work hard on its behalf. This energy and enthusiasm will pay dividends up and down the ballot.”

Calley, a former banker who previously represented Portland in the state House, also faced a tea party challenge at the 2010 Republican convention after he was tapped as a running mate by current Gov. Rick Snyder. A roll call vote was not held, however, and Calley went on to appear on the winning ticket.

Speaking Friday on WKAR-TV’s “Off The Record” with Tim Skubick, Calley acknowledged disagreement within the Republican party on a few prominent issues but said he is “definitely a conservative voice” in the Snyder administration.

“I don’t take anything for granted,” he said of a possible convention challenge. “I’m old fashioned that way. At the end of the day I do feel I have very strong support within the convention and will continue to develop those relationships as we move forward.”

Watch: Calley on “Off The Record” | Nakagiri on “Off The Record”

Nakagiri’s announcement comes as the Michigan Senate prepares for a possible vote on a House-approved plan to reform Medicaid and expand eligibility under the auspices of the Affordable Care Act.

The proposal has led to a rift between the Republican administration and some of the party’s most conservative members. Gov. Rick Snyder supports the Medicaid plan, and Calley said Friday that he is prepared to cast a tie-breaking vote if necessary, which would only happen if a significant majority of Senate Republicans vote against it.

Nakagiri, who will be in Lansing this week to urge opposition to Medicaid expansion, said he would vote against the proposal if he were in Calley’s position.

“It is mind-boggling to many that we as a society would even think about piling more debt on the backs of future generations,” he said. “We really need to focus on expanding freedom, not government.”

A Department of Defense teaching guide meant to fight extremism advises students that rather than “dressing in sheets” modern-day radicals “will talk of individual liberties, states’ rights, and how to make the world a better place,” and describes 18th-century American patriots seeking freedom from the British as belonging to “extremist ideologies.”

The guide comes from documents obtained by Judicial Watch and is authored by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, a DoD-funded diversity training center.

Under a section titled “extremist ideologies,” the document states, “In U.S. history, there are many examples of extremist ideologies and movements. The colonists who sought to free themselves from British rule and the Confederate states who sought to secede from the Northern states are just two examples.”

Besides a brief reference to 9/11 and another to the Sudanese civil war, the guide makes no mention of Islamic extremism.

The guide also repeatedly tells readers to use the Southern Poverty Law Center as a resource in identifying hate groups. The SPLC has previously come under fire for its leftist bias and tendency to identify conservative organizations such as the American Family Association as hate groups.

In August 2012, an attempted terrorist attack occurred at the Family Research Council, another conservative organization the SPLC has branded a hate group. FRC president Tony Perkins said the SPLC’s designation prompted the attack, stating the gunman “was given a license to shoot … by organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center.”

In a statement, Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton slammed the Department of Defense documents for what he described as their bias against conservatives.

“The Obama administration has a nasty habit of equating basic conservative values with terrorism. And now, in a document full of claptrap, its Defense Department suggests that the Founding Fathers, and many conservative Americans, would not be welcome in today’s military,” said Fitton. ”And it is striking that some the language in this new document echoes the IRS targeting language of conservative and Tea Party investigations. After reviewing this document, one can’t help but worry for the future and morale of our nation’s armed forces.”

Triston Cole, who came in a close second to the current 105th State Representative – Greg MacMaster in the 2010 primary election, is announcing his intent to seek that seat in 2014.

“After an overwhelming response from constituents across the district, encouragement from past and current community leaders, consultations with my family, friends, and prayer; I am officially announcing my candidacy for State Representative of the 105th district”.

Following the 2010 election, Triston stayed active in the political process by serving a successful term as Antrim County Republican Party Chair.

Triston also served on the Michigan Farm Bureau State Policy Development Committee and helped create an agriculture program at Ellsworth Community School where he served as an instructor.

Additionally, Triston worked with State Representative – Greg MacMaster in 2012 to pass HB5228 that originated on his Chestonia Township family farm. The bill reduced burdensome regulations for some commercial vehicles.

Triston lives on a small farm with his wife Stacy, and his 3 daughters, Etta, Mae and Ruby.   He is currently working as a HAZMAT certified semi driver delivering petroleum to service stations across Northern Michigan.

“I am honored and humbled to have the following endorsements, with the list growing everyday”:

Kevin Elsenheimer, former 105th State Representative
Ken Bradstreet, former 105th State Representative
Dave Agema, Michigan National Committeeman and former 74th District State Representative
Christian Marcus, Antrim County Commissioner
Ken Borton, Otsego County Commissioner
Matt Muladore, Otsego County Under Sheriff
Tom Stillings, former 1st District vice Chair
Lynn Spearing, Ellsworth Community School Superintendant (retired)
Richard Friske and family
Kevin Johnson and Family
Marv Rubingh and Family

Along with this growing list of supporters and endorsements, State Representative Greg MacMaster had this to say about Triston Cole:

“I have enjoyed a working relationship with Triston Cole. After our primary election in 2010 he has shown persistence, strong conservative principals and the ability to work together in a unifying capacity regarding AG related issues. I respect and admire his assertiveness to always improve in areas that need attention. Triston is a proven leader”- State Representative Greg MacMaster.

If you have any questions or comments please contact Triston directly at: 231-631-6659 or email him at: tristoncole@gmail.com

Are you opposed to the expansion of Medicaid?

Are you opposed to the expansion of government assistance of any kind while the majority of taxpayers are already struggling to make ends meet?

Do you believe that our state policies should seek to benefit ALL 10,000,000 citizens rather than a select few?

Would you like to reduce the budget for the State of Michigan by as much as $7B?

Would you like to provide employers in our state with the opportunity to reduce healthcare expenses by as much as 50% while improving the quality of healthcare?

Do you want to stop incentivizing employers to cut employee hours and encourage them to start hiring?

Do you believe that patient information should be only be accessed by doctors and their patients?

Do you think fondly of the days when the practice of medicine was more about relationships like those in Marcus Welby, MD or Norman Rockwell paintings rather than insurance forms?

If you answered YES to all of the questions above, I urge you to support my Patient-Centered Care Act (SB 459 and 460) by signing this petition at this link:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/patient-centered-care-act/

Gov. Rick SNYDER and the four legislative leaders are moving toward a package that raises money for the roads, without forcing lawmakers to directly do it, and hike state support for education at the same time.

There is movement toward a one-penny sales tax increase that voters could decide on this November. They are not there, yet, but the signals all appear to be good at this read.

MIRS has also learned that as part of the ballot language to boost the sales tax from six to seven cents would be a provision to protect the state’s prevailing wage law, which Democrats, in this post Right to Work climate, are seeking to nail down and reportedly have the Governor’s blessing in so doing.

Negotiations among Snyder, Senate Majority Leader Randy RICHARDVILLE (R-Monroe), House Speaker Jase BOLGER, Senate Minority Leader GretchenWHITMER (D-East Lansing) and House Minority Leader Tim GREIMEL (D-Auburn Hills) continued this past week.

The plan’s selling point is that lawmakers will not be forced to vote for any gas tax or fee increase to come up with the $1.2 billion the Governor requested almost 18 months ago.

By using all of the sales tax now collected at the pump and diverting that from schools and cities to the roads, that would provide the $1.2 billion.  The one-penny sales tax, if approved by the voters, will raise enough to replace the $700 million and $500 million that the pump sales tax now provides for schools and cities.  In other words, they would be held, harmless but that would depend on lawmakers putting up a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate to place the plan before voters and giving it their final blessing.

Internal polling data suggests placing a tax hike on the ballot for the roads is a non-starter or as Whitmer put it the other day, “It doesn’t get you to the finish line.” There is optimism that a sales tax hike for schools would get more favorable support at the polls.

Among the items yet to be ironed out is defining where the extra education dollars will end-up. Some want a piece for higher education and the school lobby would likely want more for the foundation grant, which has taken some hits in recent years.

One source familiar with the talks suggest Bolger may have a “problem” getting that two-thirds vote in the House. One insider suggests the same formula that was used on the Medicaid expansion bill could be used here.

Recall, Democrats put up most of the votes with Republicans contributing between 25 and 30. They are all working against an early Sept. 6 deadline for placing the sales tax question on the November ballot.

Lawmakers are slated to be back in town at the end of August with a likely vote on the sales tax package tentatively set for Sept. 4.  Should the vote come that day it would likely take place before sundown, which marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah.

And no, it’s not going to be stopped by Pelosi and Boehner – or Roberts and Scalia.  It’s going to be stopped by people like you – pressing your state to resist.  In fact, Obamacare’s ability to become reality in the long term is like a house of cards.  The act is not viable economically and unstable politically.  The only way it can gain a foothold at this point is through compliance in the states.  Resistance will kill it.

In fact, there are 4 ways that you can resist Obamacare on a state level.   Here’s a quick overview of each:

1.  Reject the Exchanges.   States were “given an option” – run the exchange, partner with the feds on running it, or leave it to DC to figure out.  It doesn’t matter what “cards we were dealt” – as some governors are saying.  Running an unconstitutional program for the feds is just plain wrong.  And the first – and easiest – thing for states to do is to just say no.

Shifting the burden for health insurance exchanges to the feds effectively sabotages the implementation of Obamacare.

The federal government needs states to be complicit to pull this off.  Otherwise, these decisions on who was creating exchange wouldn’t even have been included in the first place.  The fact of the matter is that DC doesn’t have the resources or the manpower to run these exchanges in every state.  Some analysts are saying that they only have the capacity to do so in 30 states, and any more than that will lead towards a collapse of the system.

Right now? Contact your governor and urge him or her to reject the creation of an exchange.  Or, get your state representative to introduce a bill banning it.  You can even use this bill in states where Governors have made the wrong choice.  Make a state exchange illegal with a veto-proof majority and you’ve just made your DC-loving governor irrelevant.  You can find model legislation online at;  tenthamendmentcenter.com/banexchanges

Also, share this short video on the issue from the Goldwater Institute:  [youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/cOooZNOg7XU”]

2.  Reject the Medicaid Expansion.  During the Obamacare case before the Supreme Court, Rob Natelson and his colleagues at the Independence Institute argued that the law’s provisions forcing the states to expand Medicaid were unconstitutional. Neither the Constitution nor case law, they pointed out, permits the federal government to use federal spending programs to coerce the states.  Seven of the nine justices agreed with them, essentially adopting the arguments advanced in their brief.

As a result, the states may consider freely whether or not to accept additional federal funds for the Medicaid expansion. Accepting federal funds might seem to bring the states short-term fiscal benefits. But the fiscal risks of doing so are very great—perhaps eventual bankruptcy.  Financial and practical matters aside, helping the federal government run an unconstitutional program by participating in it on a state level is just plain wrong.

Get model legislation for your state HERE.

3.  Pass a Health Freedom Act or Amendment.  Already passed in more than a dozen states – three of which were in November, well-after the Supreme Court ruled on the Constitutionality of Obamacare, the Health Freedom Act is a powerful step towards the nullification of Obamacare.  It is introduced as either standard legislation or as a proposal to your state’s constitution, often requiring a vote of the people.

It often includes language such as this:  “An act banning the imposition of any penalty, tax, fee or fine on those who do not purchase health insurance.”

According to Michael Cannon of the CATO Institute, in order to operate an exchange, state employees would have to determine eligibility for ObamaCare’s “premium assistance tax credits.” Those tax credits trigger penalties against employers (under the employer mandate) and residents (under the individual mandate). In addition, state employees would have to determine whether employers’ health benefits are “affordable.” A negative determination results in fines against the employer. These are key functions of an exchange.

Thus, if the state establishes an exchange, then that law would violate state law by indirectly compelling employers and individual residents to participate in a health care system. That sort of law is precisely what the Health Care Freedom Act exists to prevent.

But it’s not just exchanges.  This would prevents the adoption of any health care policies that are inconsistent with the Health Care Freedom Act.  Under Obamacare, that will likely be many.  Get more information at; tenthamendmentcenter.com/obamacare/

Get the New Documentary Today!

4.  Pass a Federal Health Care Nullification Act.  If you like the idea of being on the side of the Constitution, then this step is for you.  It’s the toughest to get through for sure, but it doesn’t hurt to try to get this introduced and debated while working on any of the previous three steps, the low-hanging fruit.  This Act, model legislation from the Tenth Amendment Center, takes the constitutional view that the federal government doesn’t have the delegated authority to run a health care system as proposed in the Affordable Care Act.

This bill not only declares the entire federal act to be null and void within your state, but provides for actions to prevent its enforcement in the future.  Get it online at tenthamendmentcenter.com/obamacare

THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW

In many states, even the simplest – rejecting the exchange – is an extremely difficult proposition.  And in others, you can move right to step four.  While each one of these steps alone won’t result in a nullification of the act, they’re all an important piece of the puzzle.  An act of resistance in one state leads to courage and doing the same in another.  At the same time, some courageous types might get the notion that they can turn it up a notch and take a stronger stand in their state than you have in yours

Action leads to action.  And, as our motto says, Concordia res parvae crescunt.  This is a Latin phrase taken from a letter written by John Dickinson, who was known as “the penman of the Revolution.”  It means small things grow great by concord.

Either way, if you do nothing, you know what will happen.  So, get going now, and stand up for your rights!

ACTION ITEMS:

1. Model Legislation for all 4 steps available here:
http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/obamacare

2. Contact your state reps and senators and urge them to introduce one or more steps to your state legislature

3. Volunteer to help the movement grow:
http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/volunteer

Charlie Koop, (our Antrim County Prosecutor since 1990),  unexpectedly passed away earlier today.

As more information becomes available, we will update this post.

Our prayers and thoughts are with Charlie’s family and friends.