The #TCOT Report
Fastbreaking news from the conservative world
February 4, 2009
#TCOT to Senate Republicans:
NO to Porkulus
NO to Compromise
NO to Turncoats
#TCOT Aims to Defeat Socialism in the Senate with Logic, New Media, and Good Manners
February 4, 2009
Michael Patrick Leahy, co-founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter, today announced that the conservative netroots movement is focusing it's OPERATION MOVE OVER MoveON.org on Republicans in the Senate.
"Led by #TCOT Project Servant-Leader Wendy Hermann, a work-at-home mom from Corpus Christi, Texas, #TCOT's MOVE OVER MoveOn.org project is focused on defeating the "Porkulus" Bill in the Senate (S.1), in any form." Leahy said today.
"We intend to communicate that message to all 41 Republican Senators in the most direct way today and through the rest of the week. We know that Senate Majority Leader Democrat Harry Reid is trying to ram this bad bill through the Senate without a sufficient discussion of all the truly wasteful mini bail-outs to the Democrat Party's political allies it contains."
"Our message to every Republican Senator is clear and simple."
"Stand firm, and don't fall for false promises of 'bi-partisanship' that are being used to merely provide political cover to the Democrats. This is a clear example of the Democrats' wasteful economic policies, and we need to let the Democrats own their foolhardiness."
"The history of compromise in the US Congress is easy to understand. When Democrats coerce Republicans to abandon their principles, they call it 'bi-partisan' compromise. We conservatives call that fundamentally wrong."
"Anyone who wants to help us in this higher calling in the defense of American free markets can take an advantage of an innnovative interactive tool that allows the average person to view the most recent spending elements of the "Porkulus" Bill, and register your approval or disapproval of each item. We will be periodically be sending out press releases highlighting your opinion of the most wasteful and extravagant elements of the bill."
"This great tool has been developed by Aaron Day, of Daylight Networks. To use the tool right now, simply go to:
www.daylightnetwork.com/senate-stimulus
"Once there, you can register and vote on whether or not a specific line item included in the bill will help improve the economy or will hurt it."
MoveOn.org, the liberal activist group funded by George Soros, is focusing an ad
campaign to turn around 5 Republican Senators. They are using radio and television
ads to encourage people to contact these Senators and tell them to vote for S.1. The
targeted Senators are:
(1) Collins - Maine
(2) Snow - Maine
(3) Newmann (yesterday appointed to replace Judd Gregg) - NH *
(4) Murkowski - ALASKA
(5) Grassley - Iowa
Leahy continued by adding that now all Republican Senators will be contacted.
"We've seen reports that various Republican Senators are offering a few ideas to make the bill seem more palatable. This simply won't work. Adding a few elements to placate moderate Republicans while keeping 90% of the $825 billion of pork included in the House version of the bill does nothing to help the economy. If Republican legislators want a historical model to guide them, they need look back only a few months to the disastrous vote in the fall in which many of them supported the ill advised and ineffective $700 billion Wall Street Bailout."
Leahy pointed to the extensive list of wasteful spending in the most current Senate bill as outlined by Heritage Foundation today:
* $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions
coal power plant in Illinois that the Dept. of Energy defunded last year
because the project was inefficient
* $650 million for the digital television (DTV) converter box
coupon program
* $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker
(arctic ship)
* $448 million for constructing the Dept. of Homeland Security
headquarters
* $248 million for furniture at the new Dept. of Homeland Security
headquarters
* $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees
* $400 million for the CDC to screen and prevent STD's
* $1.4 billion for a rural waste disposal programs
* $125 million for the Washington, D.C. sewer system
* $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities
* $1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost
overrun of $3 billion
* $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges
* $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI
* $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction
* $500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi
River
* $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas
* $6 billion to turn federal buildings into "green" buildings
* $500 million for state and local fire stations
* $650 million for wildland fire management on Forest Service
lands
* $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities
* $1.2 billion for "youth activities," including youth summer job
programs
* $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health
Service
* $412 million for CDC buildings and property
* $500 million for building and repairing NIH facilities in
Bethesda, MD
* $160 million for "paid volunteers" at the Corporation for
National and Community Service
* $5.5 million for "energy efficiency initiatives" at the VA
"National Cemetery Administration"
* $60 million for Arlington National Cemetery
* $850 million for Amtrak
* $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint
* $75M to construct a new "security training" facility for State
Dept Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities
of other agencies.
* $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer
systems
* $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy
vehicles for use on military installations.
* $275 million for "watershed and flood prevention operations"
* Unspecified assistance for "nonambulatory cattle"
#TCOT has released the following details of their plan of attack:
1. Phones. As we did in Operation Melt the Phones in DC, we are going to keep up a
steady stream of phone calls to these Senators offices and report back on the TCOT Ac-
tion Project site what the senators are saying. This time, however, we want to also call
their local state offices. Each Senator has several in their state and they should be
pressured as well. The numbers are listed by state at the bottom of the page as well as a sample script. We recommend calling each of the Senators offices every day. We will be issuing daily talking points for you to question the senate aid about. Be polite, but assertive.
2. Faxes. This time we will add faxes to our blitz. Many out of state people wishing to
send a letter to a senator were stymied by the Senate e-mail system not allowing them.
We have posted fax numbers next to phone numbers for those wishing to use that
method. A sample text is listed at the bottom of the page for use in drafting e-mails and faxes. Again, we would like each person to fax each office daily emphasizing that days talking points.
3. E-mail. If you live in the senators state, we encourage you to send daily e-mails to
the senators giving them reasons to vote against this piece of legislation. Links to each Senator’s webpage are on the Phone/Fax list at the bottom of the page. Use the Fax/E-mail text suggestions to know what to say.
4. Blogging and local media. We do not have George Soros’ money. We will have to
be more grassroots than that. We are wanting all conservative bloggers to post this Ac-
tion Project on your blog and give your opinion or perspective on the talking point of the day.
5. We are also asking "TCOT members to call their local talk radio programs, send letters to the editor and notify local media of what you are doing. Our hope is that some will be picked up as human interest stories and we can rebroadcast them over the internet. We have made an outline/talking points list available to you for your reference. Please use that list as a starting point. We are working to build this media list, so please report back whomever you talk to and how they reacted.
6. We are looking for people with video experience that will write and produce short videos that can be posted on youtube that counter the ads being run by MoveON.org. Please contact us if you are interested in this project.
7. We are looking to target moderate or blue dog Democrats in the Senate that could be swayed to our side. Please let us know if you find any Democrats on the fence about S. 1.
Above all else, be polite. Passion is encouraged, foul language is not. Be aggressive,
but not abusive.
Resources:
Senate Phone/Fax numbers (with links to e-mail) can be found at:
http://moveovermoveon.posterous.com
To volunteer directly, and receive more detailed instructions, go to http://tcotprojects.ning.com
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