SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE

hello friends

It's finally over, and it only took 2 years. Two years of back stabbing, infighting, name calling, and promises most of which most will not be kept. (fill in your side here- D or R) Millions upon millions of dollars spent on advertising, meals and travel. Countless hours of TV and radio talk and advertising. Not to mention all those damn ROBO calls. Millions upon millions of cardboard signs that now line the local landfill. For what ??? A new administration ? A change ? Hope ? I doubt it. It's all about money and ego. We have been doing this for almost 230 years, and nothing really changes. The Right says the Left is wrong, and vise-versa. We can not seem to find a middle ground in order to get things done. Ben Franklin once said “The minute people realize they can vote themselves money, the Republic is doomed” I once asked a congressional candidate, “What's so wrong about something in the middle ?”

Well, we now have the far LEFT in charge. The far RIGHT gave it away. And, for a moment lets think about who will suffer.... Those of us in the middle.

Part of the defeat is in retaliation for what the Republicans did to Bill Clinton. I would have lied too....It is in retaliation for the 2000 election. I don't think anyone “stole” the election, but Al Gore did win that one. (We will save the Electoral College conversation for another time) And frankly, we would have been much better off with Al Gore in the White House. And it is a response to the complete failure of the Bush Administration. As a Republican, I am ashamed. We could have done so much in those 8 years.

The election of Barack Obama will mean many things to many people. To me, I wonder how far to the left the judicial system will go. President Obama may get to choose 2 or 3 Supreme Count Justices. These choices will shape the court for years after he leaves office . Not to mention the long list of federal Judge's Obama will appoint. And what about single party rule? Will Congress now pass far left leaning policies ?

So, how did we get here? Yes the Grand Ole Republican party, as usual, handed it to the Left.

We had to invade a foreign country. I said it was wrong then, and I say it now. The party in charge did a very poor job of communicating to the American people, why we were there and what the price would be. Now, we will also make a mistake. We will tell them when we are leaving. But make no mistake, BOTH parties have been wrong on this mess.

We can argue till hell freezes over about the last campaign. Did McCain make a mistake picking Palin ? Should he have gone with Lieberman ? Did the large difference in campaign spending spell doom for the Republicans ? Was the campaign too negative ? (on both sides) And who is to blame for the economy ? How did our spending get so out of hand?

Yes, we are in a real mess here........ and it is every one's fault. But what can we expect from the left??

My thoughts on the first year... not necessarily in order

1) Soon we will give amnesty to ALL illegal aliens, along with free medial care, free education, and a job (oh, we already do that)

2) The border fence under construction and security systems planned for the Mexican border will not be completed..Thus causing a massive migration north.

3) We will see a MAJOR change in Cuban Politics, again causing a massive migration NORTH. If you don't know Spanish , you better sign-up for a course. Those of us in Central Florida may have to reconsider our location.

4) We will not hear any more talk about overturning Rowe Vs Wade. (One thing that I totally agree with)

5) The left will go after Conservative TALK Radio with a vengeance, and talk about a return to the “Fairness Doctrine” That would be fine with me, but what about the mainstream medias treatment of Sarah Palin ? Was that fair ?? Why did the mainstream media spend TWICE as much money covering Obama than McCain ?? Why did they give Joe Biden a “free pass”? This will be in retaliation for the failure of the “Liberal Radio Network.” I am glad I wont see the media do to Sarah Palin, what they did to Dan Quayle.

6) Taxes will go up on all those evil money making people. And they will be forced to lay off workers. Many people who don't pay a dime in taxes will get a check from the government. We call that welfare. Go back to Ben Franklin's comment about voting yourselves money. Remember the great “Luxury Tax” during Clinton's first term ? “Were gonna tax those evil people that buy yachts.” Well, the rich guy I worked for didn't buy a new yachts that year, neither did many other evil rich people. The yacht makers had to LAY OFF many of their workers. It didn't hurt the rich people I worked for, just the workers who voted for the very people that caused their lay off. WE CALL THAT “TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS” and no, I was not a big Reagan fan.

7) Congress will pass a record amount of legislation, most of which will give away money to those who didn't work for it. This will last 4 years.

8) We will make no progress into energy independence. They simply will not take the chance or spend the money. There are some good people in Congress who believe in alternative energy. Their voices will not be heard.

9) Iraq will become another Vietnam. Like many of my friends lost in that war, those lost in this one will also be in vain. We will tell the enemy when we are leaving. The Iraqi government is more corrupt than ours, and will fail.

10) The terrorists will strike again. We will talk a lot, but do nothing. (we have cut 25% of our Military Budget)

11) The economy will continue to slide. The 700 billion dollar bailout will fail, as companies continue to pay outrageous salaries to their upper tier. They will continue their massive spending, while their stock prices dwindle.

12) GUN CONTROL. It will get harder and harder for law abiding citizens to own a firearm. Meanwhile, the bad guys will continue to have as many as they can steal.

13) Universal Health care will happen. This may not be a bad idea. Something needs to be done. It will be expensive, but perhaps we will all benefit.

14) We will end up with some sort of “citizen security force” Now friends, this one scares the hell out of me.

15) Bill and Hillary will NOT be a part of the new administration. Too much bad blood between Obama and Hillary. John Kerry will be a major player. The new President will try to pay back Colin Powell for his endorsement, but to no avail. Caroline Kennedy will get a post as Ambassador to England. (like her Grandfather Joe)

I hope I am wrong. I pray that I am wrong. I hope we re-visit these items in 12 months and so “wow, was I off base”

I was wrong about Clinton, I hope I am wrong again. I just hope is is not too late to fix.

Maybe, just maybe, the Conservative democrats can reach across the isle and join some liberal Republicans (like myself) and defeat some of the FAR LEFT ideas. Then, maybe then, we can find “something in the middle.”

This election, I found myself voting for more democrats than republicans on the local level.

Yes, I voted for McCain. Maybe not the best choice, but in my mind the only choice. He chose as his running mate a newcomer. Someone not beholding to the elite. Like him, she is a maverick not afraid to stand up to her own party. A real shining light. But is was not to be. We will now sit back and give them all a chance. We will be watching and hoping they don't let us down.

all the best

THE DAY HAS COME

Hello friends.

Tomorrow we all go to the polls and exercise our right (as citizens) to cast our ballots in an election. It is perhaps the most important election in the past 100 years.

Congress has an approval rating of 9 % . YES 9 % . This includes both candidates running for President and one for Vice President.

We had fun at Stearnsmustgo.com educating the fine folks in the 6th Congressional district why it is time for our congressman to be retired from office.

The point I want to raise is this. We live in a country where we can agree to disagree. I have a right to try to point out our history with Cliff Stearns, and what his record is.

We must remember, there are many countries in the world where this would NOT be allowed. In those countries, your right to know is suppressed.

Thank God we live , where we live. Yes we have problems and issues, but tomorrow the citizens of our country will be heard.

SO, tomorrow get off your butts and go vote. No matter what your political affiliation is, make your voice heard. If you want to go vote for Stearns, go. Lets make this election the "will" of the people. If you don't vote, then you do not have the right to complain.

NO matter what happens tomorrow, our site will remain and we will blog on a regular basis. We have not mentioned the Presidential race and won't until after it is decided.

Our goal here is to retire Congressman Cliff Stearns. If we are successful in this quest, we can rename our site "STEARNS IS GONE.COM". If not, we shall remain, watching his record and his planted letters to the editor.

I have been voting since 1972. I have voted for both winners and losers. I have voted for many that later I regretted that vote. But I always tried to learn the issues, study the history of the candidates, AND CAST MY VOTES ACCORDINGLY.

One way I have done that was to READ the paper, EVERYDAY. I watch various news programs. Not a fan of mainstream media, I still have faith in Meet the Press. It's all part of a "continuing education" that all adults must go through. Unfortunately many adults do not continue their education

So I have wondered why we keep returning these clowns to office every election? It is because many people who vote, HAVE NOT educated themselves on the issues.

A poll was taken recently and we discovered that 50 % of the people we asked did NOT KNOW who their Congressman was. They didn't know what district they lived in, or how to find out.

These are the voters that are too busy watching "Biggest Loser" , "Desperate Housewives", or "Deal or No Deal" to learn the issues. These same people do not take the time to read the local paper, or watch the News.

We have taken a few shots at the Star Banner over at Stearns Must Go . com . They did publish the last letter that my wife submitted. For the most part, I think they have been fair and balanced. We have seen a pretty good balance of pro and con Cliff Stearns.

They did completely drop the ball in one area. It was discovered in print that Stearns was in favor of term limits, and vowed to leave after 6 terms. The Star Banner (and others) completely ignored it. I doubt if Woodward and Bernstein would have thrown away a great story. (for those of you that were educated in a Government schools, try Google search)

It has been fun, now let's go VOTE !!!!

all the best

MORE LETTERS

We have been busy over at the www.stearnsmustgo.com web site. More letters , more quotes about and from Cliff Stearns. Check it out.

It was nice to see a letter from Wilbur Hatcher in the Star Banner a couple of days ago. Wilbur has been quiet since we busted the Stearns camp for planting letters to the editor. They used Wilbur's name many times on letters written by Stearns' press secretary.

In this letter (that looks like Mr. Hatcher actually wrote) he talks about ALL THE jobs that Cliff Stearns has brought to the 6th district. Yes, Stearns did own a few motels in the area, and he probably had a number of employees, most of them earning minimum wage. But lets not make it sound like he is the second coming of Sen. Robert Byrd (W.VA). Now there is someone who brought JOBS (a Biden 3 letter word) to his state.

Why didn't Mr. Hatcher list the industries that Mr. Stearns has brought to this area in the last 20 years ? A couple of motels was all he could come up with ?

I give Mr. Hatcher credit, he is being honest that he worked for Stearns. We don't dispute Stearns civic activity. That what Politicians do.

I know of several letters from former employees that have been sent to the Star Banner supporting Cliff Stearns' opponent. These have not yet been published.

The other letter published recently by the pro Stearns press was from George Shuman. Mr. Shuman has submitted many many letters this year in support of Mr. Stearns. Some letters he even wrote himself. In this letter, he goes on about how he met with Cliff about a LOCAL road problem. "In minutes, the congressman lifted his phone and spoke to the proper authorities." He goes on to say "Congressman Stearns works for all the people, even the smallest ones"....Remember the last last line.

First off all, why is a U.S. Congressman sticking his nose in a LOCAL issue. That is NOT his job. This is a job for whoever is in charge of this particular road. And I doubt that S.E. 50th Terrace is a national US highway. Cliff used his NATIONAL influence to meddle in a LOCAL matter. Mr. Shuman (this little guy) should have been referred to his local county or state official.

Let's return to the last line of his letter. "little guy" ? Yes, he is one of the little people, who not only is a MAJOR contributor to the Stearns' campaign, but Shuman's son held an "intern" position in Stearns' office.

The last line should have read "Congressman Stearns sticks his nose in local issues for large contributors and parents of staff members"

Friends, it's time we had a real congressman.

Our stand is that Cliff Stearns has done LITTLE for this district in his 20 years in Washington. Along with his "beltway buddies" he has allowed us to to be mired in a war we never should have started, the ruining of our economy, and the total world wide disrespect for our nation. I have watched his Telecommunications Act of 1996 (that he helped write) completely ruin the Broadcasting industry.

It's time for Cliff Stearns and all his cronies to be retired.

regards

DID STEARNS LIE ????

September 15 update !!!

We have been waiting for years for someone to find this.......and it finally happened !!!! I received the following press release from Tim Cunha this morning..It's a long read, but WELL WORTH IT !!!!

From: Tim Cunha, Democrat for U. S. Congress, District 6

To: News Media

Re: Clifford Stearns' Broken Promises to serve only 6 terms and then retire from Congress by the year 2000

Everyone recalls but no one has been able to document incumbent Clifford Stearns' promises to rid Washington of "professional politicians", to be a "citizen congressman," to support term limits, to honor term limits even if they were not enacted into law, and, specifically, to serve no more than 6 terms (12 years). First elected in 1988, his time was up in 2000. To this day, when he and his staff are asked about his term limit pledge by the public and by the press, his standard answer is that he was in favor of term limits but only if they applied to everyone-that is just blatantly untrue.

..........The following quotes are from St. Petersburg Times, in the late 1980s and early 1990s: Cliff Stearns says he'd be a "citizen congressman" and says ... getting "professional politicians" out of Congress leads to a more ... effective government.

[In 1988, Stearns said that his opponent Florida Speaker of the House, Democrat John] Mills' 10 years in the Legislature make him a "professional politician." Stearns, who has no government experience, says Washington needs more citizen congressmen.

Stearns attacked his Democratic opponent Jon Mills during a debate Thursday, saying he's been in office too long and has become a professional politician.

Stearns calls Mills, the speaker of the Florida House, a professional politician. Stearns says part of the problem with the nation today is Congress: too many professional politicians in office, not enough citizen congressmen.

[Stearns] also supports term limits. "I'm not a professional politician," he said. "I'm going to do this for a short amount of time and then go back to business."

Another Florida congressman, Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns of Ocala, says he supports term limits and will hold himself to 12 years even if there is no law requiring him to leave. "I believe in term limits and I'm going to abide by it myself," said Stearns, first elected in 1988. "I plan to be out of the House after 12 years."

Tim Cunha's statement:

The voters must be able to trust their elected officials. Mr. Stearns' pledge to his constituents and his party represents a covenant between him and the people. It must not be taken lightly, it must not be ignored when it becomes inconvenient, it must no be evaded out of expediency or conceit. Promises from public servants must be kept. Period.

Mr. Stearns should do the honorable thing and withdraw from the race so that the Republican State Committee can appoint a suitable alternate. I'm sure that one of Stearns' arguments for hanging on past the year 2000 is that he thinks no one else is more qualified to run than he. Does he truly believe that there is no other Republican from Jacksonville to Leesburg who is qualified to run for Congress? Do Republicans believe that?

Do the voters believe that Washington has failed us, and that, after 20 years, Stearns (who was born, raised, and educated through college in Washington D.C.) is partly responsible for that failure? Do the voters question the motivation of a career congressman who receives so much money from energy producers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and telecommunications companies that you can predict his votes just by following the money? Are they appalled that he has spent the last eight years--the eight years beyond his promised twelve--supporting the Bush administration in destroying our economy, spending us into horrendous debt, and making us all less secure financially and militarily? I believe the voters have had enough of failed policies and broken promises. I am running to wrest control of Washington from the professional politicians, to serve as a citizen congressman, and to change Washington to make it work for the people once again.

ABOVE COMMENTS FROM TIM CUNHA

As you know, my wife and I had an inside look at the Stearns' camp for 18 years....We have talked about this statement many many times. Altho we came to Ocala shortly after Stearns went to Congress in January 1989, it was common knowledge (then) that he would retire in 2000. Well friends, 2000 came and Stearns wondered if that statement was ever "PRINTED" ... They looked, and looked and looked..They scoured the archives of the Star Banner and Gainesville Sun.....but they couldn't find it.....Therefore, he never said it....

We used to laugh at the fact that no one was smart enough to realize that the district was DIFFERENT in 2000 than in 1988. The district moved after the 1990 Census.. (that's a whole story in itself) Maybe if Stearns had a real Press Secretary they would have found the article.

I can not believe that reporters covering local Politics never went to the trouble to find this..They all knew it was out there.....Stearns' former opponent couldn't find it...... But TIM CUNHA DID !!!

Now the fun begins !!! How will the Stearns' camp spin this one ???? Will the Star Banner/Gainesville Sun and other media outlets use this information?? Do we have any "REAL REPORTERS" out there...????

Tim Cunha and his staff has led the horse to the water.......will they drink ??????

Lee J Freshwater 9-15-08

ENERGY REPORT

CLIFF’S ENERGY REPORT

We all received a nicely printed 4 page “energy report” from Cliff Stearns the other day.

It’s a bunch of statistics and facts about energy independence. The most important fact in this four page color mailing is directly below the return address. “THIS MAILING WAS PREPARED, PUBLISHED AND MAILED AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE”

Where was this report a year ago ? Or 6 months ago? Here we are, just a few short months from Election time and they send this out. It’s a campaign brochure, plain and simple.

Molly Anne Walker says in a letter published today in the Star Banner, “If Cliff Stearns was so concerned about spending the taxpayers’ dollar wisely, then why didn’t he pay for his campaign brochure and the mailing of it from his campaign funds, instead of having you and I pay for it?"

And the Congressman has admitted that he is a CAREER POLITICIAN. He says “I have tried my entire career to ensure your tax dollars are wisely spent."

It’s a good point. AS mentioned here, Cliff Stearns has over 2.5 MILLION dollars in his fund, and he is making you and I pay for this? Yes, it is legal to do this. He is in office and has a right to do mailings. But let me ask, “Cliff you can afford to pay for this. If this was not an election year, this mailing NEVER would have gone out.”

Molly also says, “So here we have an example of what a career politicians do best, and that is, they lie.”

I had just finished reading this large mailing when another one showed up on our doorstep. Titled “Washington Report”, it is another campaign brochure. It outlines a number of things that Stearns “wants” to do, and what he believes. My question is, “What have you done?”

In one part of this report, he talks about the Democrats wanting to bring back the “Fairness Doctrine” Up until the Reagan years ALL broadcasting stations had to give the same amount of air time to all issues. Stearns says “I am a co-sponsor of H.,H. 2905, the Broadcaster Freedom Act.” Makes it sound like ole Cliff is actually doing something. Here are the facts. The bill was sponsored by Mike Spence, (R-IN) In fact, he represents my home town of Muncie.

Co-Sponsor ? Yes, Cliff Stearns is a co-sponsor, ALONG WITH 207 OTHER CONGRESSMAN. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2905 Again, do nothing, but try to take some of the credit.

It’s more of the same.

I know I promised to talk about town meetings, but this was too good.

Best to you all

IT'S A "DO NOTHING CONGRESS"

IT’S A “DO NOTHING CONGRESS”

I noticed a small article in yesterdays Parade Magazine, titled “Why is Congress Doing So Little.”

The current (Cliff Stearns) Congress has enacted less legislation than any Congress in the past ten years. The 110^th Congress has passed just 260 laws and 74 of those were to rename some post offices.

A Republican from Illinois actually introduced legislation to declare June 30 as “Corvette Day.” Now, I am a big fan of old Corvettes, but it is a complete waste of my time to have Congress declare a “Corvette Day.

REP John Shimkus (R-Ill) said , “but we have to do something. These resolutions make it look like we’re working”

Rep. Shimkus should be ashamed, as should all members of Congress. I hope the voters of his district think long and hard before they vote for him again.

We should also think long and hard about our choice for Congress. Are these the kind of people we want serving our district……????? I think not.

Next, we will talk about filming at town meetings….Seems someone is a bit nervous ???

WHERE WAS THE STAR BANNER

Good morning.

It was with great anticipation that I opened up Sundays edition of the Ocala Star Banner. I was wondering how the Town Meetings went with Cliff Stearns. But coverage was no where to be found.

So, were was the Star Banner ? I thought, maybe it will be in Mondays paper. So I waited, again with great anticipation for this mornings edition. But I was disappointed again.

I used to do two to three sets of town meetings a year. There was ALWAYS a reporter and a photographer in the audience. This was always followed by a Sunday article and picture.

Did the Banner not think that this was important enough to warrant an article? Did they not care?

The answer is neither one. The newspaper and broadcasting industries are suffering from a bad economy. So in their zest to cut costs, they simply don't have the staff to cover these events anymore.

They are going about it entirely in the wrong way.

While the fat cats in the big offices continue to draw major paychecks, these organizations are cutting their lower end staff members. Take a look at the stock prices for the major broadcasting and print companies. They are all in the toilet, while the big boys on top get major bonus's.

Maybe if the New York Times did some cutting at the top, they could have the staff to put out a quality newspaper. If they are not going to cover local events, why should I buy the paper ?

best to you all