Election Day Tomorrow

The Presidential Preference Election is tomorrow, Tuesday, February 28^th. You must be a registered Republican to vote tomorrow. If you are not registered to vote, you may do so for future elections by going to www.servicearizona.com. Your polling place may be found calling 602-506-3535 or by entering your address at recorder.maricopa.gov/pollingplace/. If you received an early ballot, but have not yet mailed it in, you can drop it off at any polling place. The polls are open from 6AM to 7PM on Election Day. If you have any questions about elections, voting, or registration, you may call the Election Office at 602-506-3535, or contact me at 480-232-5305.

My second purpose for writing this letter is to tell you why I am supporting Texas Congressman Ron Paul as our next President, and to ask you to consider voting for him on Tuesday. Our country is in a desperate economic situation, as many of you have experienced. I believe this is the most important issue facing us today. I believe that Ron Paul is the best man to get us on the right course economically because he understands how the economy works, has a consistent 30-year record of fiscal conservatism, and he bases his decisions on Constitutional principles.

Many people don’t know this, but Ron Paul predicted the housing collapse back in 2001. He gave a speech on the House floor warning members of Congress and advising them to withdraw the endless line of credit the Federal Reserve gave to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that promoted the bad loans given, causing a false “bubble” that eventually collapsed. Obviously, they did not listen. It’s time we listened. He advocates a free market, not the corporatism we have today in which certain businesses get special treatment from the government like we saw with the bailout of the big banks, auto industry, and housing industry. As we can tell, these bailouts have not worked and have mostly profited the people who caused the collapse in the first place. Ron Paul is currently serving on the House Financial Services Committee and advocates an audit of the Federal Reserve System which controls the printing and lending of the dollar with no Congressional oversight. The recent printing of billions of dollars out of thin air by the Federal Reserve, (Quantitative Easing or Q.E.), has caused the dollar to become less valuable and therefore we have seen an increase in prices of food, gas, and other necessary goods. No other candidate has fought to restrict the Fed from devaluing the dollar like Ron Paul has, and both Romney and Gingrich supported and/or benefited from the banker bailouts (interestingly, Romney’s top three campaign contributors are employees from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley, all three of which received billions from the banker bailouts).

Ron Paul has never had to apologize for his record as a 12-term Congressman. He has never voted to raise the debt ceiling. Unfortunately, Rick Santorum has voted to raise it 5 times, perpetuating the endless spending. We wouldn’t need a balanced budget amendment if members of Congress were as principled as Paul because he has never voted for an unbalanced budget. He also has never voted to raise taxes. He is quite different from the other typical politicians in Congress which currently has a dismal 9% approval rating. He does not take part in the lucrative Congressional pension plan because he believes it is an immoral use of taxpayer dollars. He has never voted to raise his own income, and has pledged that if elected, he will accept a salary of $39,336 per year, equal to the average US worker’s earnings, instead of Obama’s $400,000 salary. What other politician would do that?? Even people who strongly disagree with him policy-wise admit that he is consistent, principled, and honest. While the other three candidates spend their time in the debates making excuses for their records and bickering about previous positions, Paul is able to discuss the real issues facing our country without wading through a mucky past. We need someone who tells the truth and does what they say they will do to lead our country, not someone who says whatever they think will get them elected. Congressman Paul has a 30-year pristine record to prove that he will get our fiscal house in order.

America is an exceptional nation with an exceptional legacy. Our Founding Fathers were brilliant men who studied history, lived through tyranny, and helped craft a divinely inspired document to ensure freedom for their posterity. In these perilous times, the Constitution is our greatest protection. The only candidate who has consistently stood up for the Constitution and our American traditions even before it was “cool” (with the rise of the Tea Party), is Ron Paul. He believes in protecting life, liberty, and your pursuit of happiness, not controlling these things. He stands up against legislation that “sounds good” like the USA PATRIOT Act, but has hidden abuses of power, like the ability of the federal government to search your bank account records without a warrant. He believes in defending our country against enemies, and that we should only go to war when the Congress declares war, as the Constitution prescribes. The troops support this position; Ron Paul’s top contributors are the US Navy, the US Army, and the US Air Force, and he receives five times more donations from active duty military than all other candidates combined. He also is the only veteran running for president. Paul believes that we can greatly improve the state of our nation by cutting those things which are unconstitutional, and putting that money towards things the federal government is supposed to do, like protect the border and defend our country.

I urge you to learn more about Ron Paul, because I have not listed everything about him that I could have (by the way, he is a doctor, and practiced OB/GYN for many years, and yes, he is pro-life). Many resources are available online via Youtube or Google that you can use to find out more about him and his message. I also have literature available you are welcome to have. Even if you have already voted for someone else with an early ballot, please listen to the things he says about the role of government. If you have not yet voted, please consider doing so on Tuesday. Ron Paul is currently in second place in the delegate count; the candidate with the majority of delegates becomes the Republican nominee, so he has a real shot at winning the nomination, and he is the only one who could garner enough support from Independents and Democrats to beat Obama. America would be in a lot better shape if more principled men and women were elected; please don’t cast your vote for the lesser of two evils. If you are registered, but don’t plan on voting, I would ask you to consider voting for Ron Paul. He cured my apathy towards politics because unlike other politicians, he’s been saying and doing the things I have believed in and have been taught my whole life. Thank you for your time.

Pretty Cool Song & Debate Tomorrow!

There have been a lot of pretty interesting songs come out about the Ron Paul/Liberty Movement. Such as this and this. But I found a new song today that I think is really genuinely good. Check it out.



Also, don't forget! The CNN Republican Presidential Debate is tomorrow (2/22) at the Mesa Arts Center! How cool is that!? I will be down there probably for a good majority of the day, but the debate starts at 6PM. Come down to the Arts Center to be in the action and watch on the big screen (tickets are $200 bucks a pop and probably sold out). I'm contemplating setting up a LDS for Ron Paul booth outside, but not for sure. You can be sure to be able to learn lots about Paul there; many of his supporters will be there with brochures, ready to answer any of your questions. To get involved, visit www.meetup.com/ronpaulphoenix. Exciting, huh!

Good Times

It's been a little while since I've posted, and that's because instead of sitting on my butt in my house writing about things I really believe in to an audience of maybe 2 or 3 people, I've decided to get out and do something about it. A while back I joined a Ron Paul Meetup Group so I could get walk the walk instead of just talk the talk but just haven't gone out for one reason or another. Well a couple weeks ago I went to my first Meetup - to voice my concerns about the NDAA 2012.

Last week I went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Performance at the US Airways Center to hand out brochures about Ron Paul in hopes that the attendees would learn a little bit about him (from something other than Fox News sound bites) before defaulting to Romney. I saw a few friends who I think were surprised to see me handing out the literature, but I think their eyes were opened. :) It was fun! I hope they went home and looked him up on youtube and fell in love with his message of freedom because it's what they have believed in all their lives but just never had a candidate that represented that viewpoint. Last night, a bunch of us went to the Mitt Romney rally at the Mesa Amphitheater to show our support for Ron Paul peacefully and positively. We got a lot of love from people driving by, and again I ran into a bunch of people I knew who hopefully say, "Woah wait, Savanna supports him enough to come and wave signs? She's not a pot-smoking, radical liberal! Maybe there is something that the media isn't telling us about him. I think I'll look him up at ronpaul2012.com or on youtube!" Maybe they would have seen that other Latter-day Saints, conservatives, and people that aren't just young, naive followers also support Ron Paul. Even if they didn't, we had a blast trying to convince them.

I don't really expect for Ron Paul to win the AZ Primary come February 28th. We didn't get the word out soon enough and wide enough. We're probably not ready for a Ron Paul, though it would do us some good. But please, look into his message. The more we strive for freedom, liberty, and respect, the better off we will be. If you like what you learn, please spread the message. Show your support by voting for him so other people will take notice and look him up. He's not the only candidate that talks about following the Constitution anymore, but he is the only candidate that really does and has a record to prove it. 

Did you Know?

Ron Paul is pro-life! In fact, he spent much of his life as an OB/GYN and delivered over 4,000 babies! When working with a pregnant woman, he realized he had two patients, and feels that we should fight to protect all human life! The following is a story from someone he helped as a doctor back in the 70s.

Last Day!

Don't forget - today is the last day to register to vote in order to be eligible to vote in the next election! Make sure you're registered Republican (see why here) and that if you moved, got married (changed your name), or had any other of those such changes, that you have updated your registration so that you can confirm your ID with your driver's license at your polling place when you go to vote on February 28th! You can make all of these changes at servicearizona.com. It is pretty easy. I like to sign up for the early ballot so I can have a couple weeks or so to peruse my choices - I usually just drop my early ballot off at a polling place anyway because it's more exciting that way and I get a "I Voted Today" sticker. :)

Don't forget! You have until midnight to make sure you're all squared away to vote for the best candidate we've had since like Thomas Jefferson!

Wow - Please Read!

Wow. People if you don't know this is going on, please wake up. The mainstream media is generally not talking about this, and I was so surprised to hear this question come up in the debate last night. I have not had a chance to watch the whole thing, but this part of it floored me.

I have been contemplating my choices here. Many Ron Paul supporters say they can't support anyone else in the general election and say they would write-in Paul's name if he isn't the nominee. I strongly believe that we shouldn't just settle for the lesser of two evils and that it's wrong to vote against your conscience; however, I have been trying to rationalize because yes, I would love to get Obama out of the White House. I figure if Ron Paul doesn't win, it's safe to say that Romney will be the nominee based on the polls. I am fighting 100% for Paul to win but also thinking ahead to the general elections and what I would do in case he doesn't. I was starting to possibly consider voting for Romney because, well maybe he isn't that bad. Last night's debate just made this really hard for me.

So, what happened exactly?

Ok, for those of you that don't know, the NDAA is a bill that allows the military, under direction from the President, to detain American citizens indefinitely without a trial on suspicion of terrorism. The 4th Amendment has been effectively destroyed through the Patriot Act, and now the 5th Amendment has effectively been destroyed through the NDAA which was passed from Obama's Hawaiian getaway on New Year's Eve. The media is bashing him for the recess appointments he made (also unconstitutional) but not saying hardly anything about this Constitution-destroying piece of legislation. Jon Stewart is one of the only ones in the mainstream who has made a big deal about this as far as I can tell. 

Point of the story - Mitt Romney would be just like Obama. We can't keep letting them use the war on terror as an excuse to take all of our freedoms away! They are destroying America from the inside, and because of that, the terrorists are winning! I can't word it better than Jon Stewart does in the above link, it just kinda makes me sick that he's joking about it, but at least he's getting it out there. Romney justifies his support in a couple ways. One, that it's treason to join al Qaeda - that's arguably true, but even treason is a crime people should all have the right to be tried and hung for, especially American citizens on US soil! We tried and hung Saddam Hussein - what's so hard about capturing criminals and giving them the right (or writ) of habeus corpus (established in 1215 by the Magna Carta I believe - pre-American, pre-Constitution even!) and trying them and then sentencing them instead of assasinating or locking them up forever without any charges or trial?? People, this could be you!  This flier was produced by the FBI and Bureau of Justice Assistance to notify members of the community who could possibly be considered a terrorist. Of course as a disclaimer on the flier, it says, "some of the activities, taken individually, could be innocent and must be examined by law enforcement professionals in a larger context to determine whether there is a basis to investigate." Too bad this new law takes away your right to a trial so you're at the mercy of the law enforcement, unprotected by a jury trial of your peers. My writing of this blog (which really is my first amendment right and motivated by a love for my country), combined with purchasing a year-supply (more than seven days to be exact) of food (Mitt just sold out his fellow Mormons!), paying with cash (we try to avoid debt that may come with a credit card), and my husband shaving his beard for a wedding this weekend could lead to him being locked up as a terrorist without trial, for however long the military feels he is a threat!

Another thing Romney says to justify his support is that the people should elect a President they feel is moral enough to not abuse the power this law gives them. These days, I wouldn't trust anybody with that kind of power, let alone the people to be aware enough to elect a person that strong. No offense, Newt, but you aren't exactly the most moral person and you still garner a lot of support from Americans. And I guess Mitt trusts Obama with that power. "In questions of power...let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." --Thomas Jefferson: Kentucky Resolutions, 1798. The founders went through all this tyranny that we're seeing and constructed a government to protect their posterity from having to be subject to it. They did the work for us, we just have to be diligent in standing for it! Why are people applauding Mitt's answer? Do they not know that he just said, in effect, "Yes, I would like to help destroy the Constitution just as Obama and many people in power before him did." Where do we draw the line?

Important Reminder!

Don't forget - the last day to register to vote is January 30th. This includes changing your address if you've moved (makes sure it matches the address on your driver's license so you can confirm your ID at the polls), changing your political affiliation (I highly recommend registering Republican and explain why here. Register to vote online at servicearizona.com. (Also a great resource to renew car registration and other stuff so you don't have to spend a whole day at the MVD!)