| Jr/sr | Junior Senator |
|---|---|
| State | South Carolina |
| Party | Republican Party |
| Term start | January 3, 2005 |
| Alongside | Lindsey Graham |
| Preceded | Ernest Hollings |
| State2 | South Carolina |
| District2 | 4th |
| Term start2 | January 3, 1999 |
| Term end2 | January 3, 2005 |
| Preceded2 | Bob Inglis |
| Succeeded2 | Bob Inglis |
| Date of birth | September 02, 1951 |
| Place of birth | Greenville, South Carolina |
| Dead | alive |
| Occupation | Marketing consultant |
| Residence | Greenville, South Carolina |
| Spouse | Debbie DeMint |
| Alma mater | University of Tennessee (B.A.)Clemson University (M.B.A.) |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
James Warren "Jim" DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is the junior U.S. Senator from South Carolina, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party movement. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for from 1999 to 2005.
Prior to entering politics, DeMint worked in the field of market research. In 1983, he founded his own research firm, The DeMint Group. He was president of this corporation until 1998 when he entered Congress.
DeMint opposes spending increases of the federal government. He opposed federal bailouts for banks and other corporations.
Senator DeMint has been a consistent supporter of school prayer and has introduced legislation that would allow schools to display banners such as one stating "God Bless America".
DeMint opposes abortion, including in cases of rape and incest. He approves of abortion only when the mother's life is in danger.
DeMint favors requiring all illegal immigrants in the United States to return to their home countries and apply for legal residency. He is in favor of establishing English as the country's official language. He is an advisor to the Atlantic Bridge.
DeMint visited Honduras in 2009 and met with de facto president Roberto Micheletti, a meeting that was opposed by US President Barack Obama's administration. The United States officially viewed ousted president Manuel Zelaya as the legitimately elected president.
Following an attempted terrorist attack on December 25, 2009, DeMint criticized President Barack Obama for lacking focus on terrorism since taking office and for failing to appoint a head of the Transportation Security Administration.
DeMint is a member of the C Street Family, a Christian prayer group which includes mainly Republican members of Congress, but some Democrats, too.
In the Republican primary on June 8, 2004, DeMint placed a distant second, 18 percentage points behind former governor David Beasley. DeMint won the runoff handily, however.
DeMint then faced Democratic state education superintendent Inez Tenenbaum in the November general election. DeMint led Tenenbaum through much of the campaign and ultimately defeated her by 9.6 percentage points. DeMint's win meant that South Carolina was represented by two Republican Senators for the first time since Reconstruction, when Thomas J. Robertson and John J. Patterson served together as Senators.
DeMint stirred controversy during debates with Tenenbaum when he stated his belief that openly gay people should not be allowed to teach in public schools. When questioned by reporters, DeMint also stated that single mothers who live with their boyfriends should similarly be excluded from being educators. In a 2008 interview, he said that while government does not have the right to restrict homosexuality, it also should not encourage it through legalizing same-sex marriage, due to the "costly secondary consequences" to society from the prevalence of certain diseases among homosexuals.
{| |- |Jim DeMint (R) 53.7% |- |Inez Tenenbaum (D) 44.1% |- |Patrick Tyndall (Constitution) 0.8% |- |Rebekah Sutherland (Libertarian) 0.7% |- |Tee Ferguson (United Citizens Party) 0.4% |- |Efia Nwangaza (Green) 0.3% |}
DeMint plans to retire in 2016 after serving his second term.
On October 1, 2010, DeMint, in comments that echoed what he had said in 2004, told a rally of his supporters that openly homosexual and unmarried sexually active people should not be teachers. In response, the National Organization for Women, the National Education Association, the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, GoProud, a GOP group, and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force asked for Demint’s apology.
Category:1951 births Category:American Presbyterians Category:Clemson University alumni Category:Living people Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina Category:South Carolina Republicans Category:Tea Party movement Category:United States Senators from South Carolina Category:University of Tennessee alumni Category:Candidates in United States elections, 2010 Category:People from Greenville, South Carolina Category:Republican Party United States Senators
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| Name | Marco Antonio Rubio |
|---|---|
| Jr/sr | |
| State | Florida |
| Term start | January 3, 2011 |
| Alongside | Bill Nelson |
| Preceded | George LeMieux |
| Office2 | Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives |
| Term start2 | January 2, 2007 |
| Term end2 | January 2, 2009 |
| Speaker pro tempore2 | Dennis K. Baxley |
| Predecessor2 | Allan Bense |
| Successor2 | Ray Sansom |
| State house3 | Florida |
| District3 | 111th |
| Term start3 | January 25, 2000 |
| Term end3 | January 2, 2009 |
| Predecessor3 | Carlos Valdes |
| Successor3 | Erik Fresen |
| Birth date | May 28, 1971 |
| Birth place | Miami, Florida |
| Spouse | Jeanette Dousdebes; 4 children |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Before | George LeMieux| |
| Title | United States Senator (Class 3) from Florida| |
| Years | January 3, 2011–present| |
| After | Incumbent |
| Alongside | Bill Nelson}} |
Category:1971 births Category:American politicians of Cuban descent Category:Candidates in United States elections, 2010 Category:Florida city councillors Category:Florida lawyers Category:Florida Republicans Category:Hispanic and Latino American people in the United States Congress Category:Living people Category:Members of the Florida House of Representatives Category:People from Miami, Florida Category:Speakers of the Florida House of Representatives Category:Tea Party movement Category:United States Senators from Florida Category:University of Florida alumni Category:University of Miami alumni
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| Name | Rand Paul |
|---|---|
| Jr/sr | United States Senator |
| State | Kentucky |
| Term start | January 3, 2011 |
| Preceded | Jim Bunning |
| Alongside | Mitch McConnell |
| Birth date | January 07, 1963 |
| Birth place | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Ophthalmologist |
| Alma mater | Baylor University(1981–1984) |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
| Website | RandPaul2010.com |
| Residence | Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Kelley Ashby Paul (m. 1990) |
| Relations | Ron PaulCarolyn "Carol" Wells Paul(parents) |
| Children | William, Robert, and Duncan |
Randal Howard "Rand" Paul (born January 7, 1963) is the junior United States Senator for Kentucky. He is a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Tea Party movement, he describes himself as a "constitutional conservative" and a libertarian. He is the son of Republican Congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul of Texas and had never previously held political office. Paul first received national attention in 2008 when making political speeches on behalf of his father. Rand Paul is the first United States Senator in history to serve alongside a parent in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A graduate of the Duke University School of Medicine, Paul has been a practicing ophthalmologist in Bowling Green, Kentucky, since 1993, and established his own clinic in December 2007. In 1994, he founded Kentucky Taxpayers United, of which he is still the chairman.
In August 2009, Paul officially announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky. Paul won the Republican Party's nomination in May 2010, defeating Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson. In the General Election, Paul defeated Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway on November 2, 2010. As a supporter of the Tea Party movement, Paul has been vocal in advocating for term limits, a balanced budget amendment, and the Read the Bills Act, in addition to the widespread reduction of federal spending and taxation. He has gained prominence for his independent positions on many political issues, often clashing with both Republicans and Democrats.
The Paul family moved from Pittsburgh to San Antonio in 1965, eventually settling in Surfside Beach, Texas in 1968. In 1976, Paul's father was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Paul attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas from fall 1981 to summer 1984. According to a Senate campaign consultant of Paul's, Paul was enrolled in the honors program at Baylor, and had scored approximately in the 90th percentile on the Medical College Admission Test. During Paul's time at Baylor, he became a member of the NoZe Brotherhood.
Kelley Paul is a freelance writer, and she manages payroll and marketing communications for Paul's surgical practice.
As a member of the Bowling Green Noon Lions Club, Paul founded the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic to help provide eye surgery and exams for those who cannot afford to pay. In 1999 Paul founded the Non-profit organization National Board of Ophthalmology (NBO).
Paul stated that Patton's argument for "revenue recovery" was merely a euphemism for taxes and said that KTU would fight reelection of any pledge-breakers; Adams requested in writing that Paul's group release him from his pledge, stating that it only applied to his first term.
Paul often speaks on his father's behalf, and he and his son William attended the third Republican presidential debate of 2007 in New Hampshire, as well as campaigned door-to-door in the state for his father. At a New Hampshire rally with 250 in attendance (plus 30 members of his own family), Paul repeated a campaign meme by pretending to take a call from Rudy Giuliani during his remarks, and joking that Giuliani needed campaigners and wanted to borrow the Paul family.
On December 16, 2007, the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, Paul spoke at Faneuil Hall in favor of small government principles, calling for what CNN termed a "modern day revolution." He continued campaigning across the country for his father in 2008, traveling as far as Montana.
On May 1, 2009, Paul officially confirmed that if Bunning, whose fundraising in 2009 has matched his poor numbers in opinion polling for the 2010 election, declined to seek a third term, he would almost certainly run in the Republican Party primary to succeed him, and formed an exploratory committee soon after, while still promising to stay out of the race if Bunning had ultimately decided to run for re-election. Paul made this announcement on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, though the news was first broken by a local Kentucky news site.
On July 28, 2009, Bunning announced that he would not run for re-election, after facing insufficient fundraising. This announcement left only Paul and Secretary of State Trey Grayson as the remaining candidates for the Republican nomination, with Paul announcing on August 5, 2009 that he would officially run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican. The announcement was made through a series of national TV events, radio, and other programs, as well as through newspapers in Kentucky.
A second "moneybomb" was held on September 23, 2009, to counter a D.C. fundraiser being held for primary opponent Trey Grayson, by 23 Republican United States Senators, 17 of whom voted for the bank bailout. The theme was a UFC "fight" between Paul and "We the People" vs. Trey Grayson and the "D.C. Insiders." The money bomb ended up raising $186,276 for Paul in 24 hours on September 23; bringing Paul's Senate campaign's total raised to over one million. Later in the campaign, Paul claimed his pledge to not take money from lobbyist and Senators who voted for the bailout was only a "primary pledge" and Paul later held a DC fundraiser with the same Senators who were the target of the September 23, 2009 "moneybomb." Paul ended up raising some $3 million during the primary period.
On May 18 Paul won the Republican Senatorial primary by a 23.4% margin, meaning he would face the Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, in the November 2 general election.
Paul addressed his feelings about intentions of the legislation relating to public offices, stating that he "overwhelmingly agrees with the intent of the [Civil Rights Act] which was to stop discrimination in the public sphere and halt the abhorrent practice of segregation and Jim Crow laws," and that Constitutional challenges to the law have been settled by the courts.
On May 21, 2010, Paul appeared on The Situation Room and told host Wolf Blitzer that he would have voted for the Civil Rights Act.
Paul stated that he founded the National Board of Ophthalmology after a dispute with the American Board of Ophthalmology over recertification requirements. Paul has also explained his decision to let his recognized certification lapse resulting from "the kind of hypocritical power play that I despise and have always fought against." In interviews before the May 2010 Republican Senatorial primary, Paul stated that he was certified by both boards. and that "you vilify me and make it out to sound, 'Oh, ... there's something wrong with him as a physician because he chose not to register (with the American Board of Ophthalmology).'"
Paul has been licensed to practice medicine in Kentucky since 1993, and his license is in good standing with no history of disciplinary action. The Courier-Journal reported: "There is no indication that Paul isn't qualified to practice ophthalmology." a college secret society described as a cross between Yale's Skull & Bones and the Harvard Lampoon. Coverage of the story died down after Paul denied he had kidnapped anyone or forced anyone to take drugs or worship a so-called "Aqua Buddha". However, coverage of the event was subsequently revived in mid-October when Politico ran a new story on the topic, this one quoting articles from a 1983 NoZe newsletter as well as a different classmate's claim that in those days "Randy smoked pot, he made fun of Baptists." Within the week, Paul's opponent ran a TV ad asking why Paul had belonged to a group that had mocked Christianity and Christ and had tied up a woman and made her worship "Aqua Buddha". The story received widespread national media attention after a contentious October 17 debate between Paul and Conway in which the two candidates sparred extensively over the accusations and exchanged many insults. Paul refused to shake his opponent's hand after the debate had concluded.
According to the Paul campaign, Paul received a 100% pro-life score on a Kentucky Right to Life survey and indicated on the survey that he opposed human cloning. This was disputed by Kentucky Right to Life, however, who endorsed Paul's primary opponent instead and claimed that Paul did not, in fact, answer the cloning question.
He also opposes the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and the Federal Reserve's control of the money supply and interest rates. He has advocated allowing the free market to regulate interest rates, and supports Congress' constitutional role in controlling the money supply. Paul endorses H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, a bill, introduced by his father, mandating an audit of the Federal Reserve. Although Paul would abolish the Federal Reserve, he supports transparency and accountability of the semi-private institution. Additionally, Paul opposes inflation and supports "restoring the value of the dollar that has devalued by approximately 95% since the Federal Reserve's inception in 1913".
Paul supports tax cuts and a Balanced Budget Amendment, and has criticized both Republicans and Democrats on deficit spending.
In October 2010 the Kentucky coordinator for Americans For Fair Taxation stated that Paul would "vote for the FairTax", which would replace federal income taxes with a 23% national consumption tax and includes rebate provisions for taxes on all money spent up to the poverty line. The Associated Press confirmed with a representative of the Paul campaign that the statement fairly reflected Paul's position, saying that while he supports tax reform in general, he hasn't committed to the proposal, adding that it is "a little complicated to administer" and that "it would probably work better at the state level than the national."
Category:1963 births Category:American activists Category:American ophthalmologists Category:American political candidates Category:Baylor University alumni Category:Candidates in United States elections, 2010 Category:Duke University alumni Category:Kentucky Republicans Category:Living people Category:People from Bowling Green, Kentucky Category:People from Brazoria County, Texas Category:Physicians from Kentucky Category:Ron Paul Category:Tea Party movement Category:United States Senators from Kentucky
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| Name | Michele Bachmann |
|---|---|
| State | Minnesota |
| District | 6th |
| Date of birth | April 06, 1956 |
| Place of birth | Waterloo, Iowa |
| Party | Republican |
| Term start | January 3, 2007 |
| Preceded | Mark Kennedy |
| Succeeded | Incumbent |
| Office3 | Member of the Minnesota State Senate from the 56th District |
| Term start3 | January 3, 2001 |
| Term end3 | January 7, 2003 |
| Preceded3 | Gary W. Laidig |
| Succeeded3 | Brian LeClair |
| Office2 | Member of the Minnesota State Senate from the 52nd District |
| Term start2 | January 7, 2003 |
| Term end2 | January 2, 2007 |
| Preceded2 | Satveer Chaudhary |
| Succeeded2 | Ray Vandeveer |
| Spouse | Marcus Bachmann |
| Religion | Lutheran |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Residence | Stillwater, Minnesota |
| Alma mater | Winona State University (B.A.)Oral Roberts University (J.D.) is the U.S. Representative for , which includes the northernmost and eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities and St. Cloud, serving since 2007. She is a member of the Republican Party. She previously served in the Minnesota State Senate. She is the third woman, and first Republican woman, to represent the state in Congress. |
The original bill called for an exploration of whether a mandatory public service program could be established, but that entire section on creating a "Congressional Commission on Civic Service" was stripped from the bill.
In August 2009, political opponents of Bachmann publicized in the local media and the blogosphere what they described as the "ironic" fact that her son, Harrison, joined Teach for America, which is a member of the AmeriCorps program.
On August 31, 2009, Bachmann spoke at an event in Colorado, saying of Democratic health care overhaul proposals that: }} She outlined ideas for changing the health care system, including: “Erase the boundaries around every single state when it comes to health care,” enabling consumers to purchase insurance across state lines; increase the use of health savings accounts and allow everyone to “take full deductibility of all medical expenses,” including insurance premiums; and tort reform.
On November 10, Bachmann released a statement ending her campaign for Conference Chair and giving her "enthusiastic" support to Hensarling.
In a 2001 flyer, Bachmann and Michael J. Chapman wrote that federal policies manage a centralized, state-controlled economy in the United States. She wrote that education laws passed by Congress in 2001, including "School To Work" and "Goals 2000", created a new national school curriculum that embraced "a socialist, globalist worldview; loyalty to all government and not America." She also said that the administration was attempting to govern and run centrally planned economies through an organization called the Minnesota Economic Leadership Team (MELT), an advisory board on economic and workforce policy chaired by Pawlenty.
Prior to her election to the state senate, and again in 2005, Bachmann signed a "no new taxes" pledge sponsored by the Taxpayers League of Minnesota. As a state senator, Bachmann introduced two bills that would have severely limited state taxation. In 2003, she proposed amending the Minnesota state constitution to adopt the "Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights" (TABOR).
In 2005, Bachmann opposed Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s proposal for a state surcharge of 75 cents per pack on the wholesale cost of cigarettes. Bachmann said that she opposed the state surcharge "100 percent—it's a tax increase." She later came under fire from the Taxpayers' League for reversing her position and voting in favor of the cigarette surcharge.
}}
In 2006, Bachmann stated that she would vote to permit abortion in cases of rape and incest. In the state senate, Bachmann introduced a bill proposing a constitutional amendment restricting state funds for abortion. The bill died in committee.
Mark Kennedy, the 6th District's congressman since 2001, announced in late 2005 that he would be running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mark Dayton of the DFL. Bachmann states she was called by God to run for the seat, and that she and her husband fasted for three days to be sure.
According to Bloomberg.com news, evangelical conservative leader James Dobson put the resources of his organization behind her 2006 campaign. Dobson's Focus on the Family planned to distribute 250,000 voter guides in Minnesota churches to reach social conservatives, according to Tom Prichard, president of the Minnesota Family Council, a local affiliate of Dobson's group. In addition to Minnesota, Dobson’s group also organized turnout drives in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey and Montana.
During a debate televised by WCCO on October 28, 2006, news reporter Pat Kessler quoted a story that appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and asked Bachmann whether it was true that the church she belonged to taught that the Pope is the Anti-Christ. Bachmann stated that her church "does not believe that the Pope is the Anti-Christ, that's absolutely false... I'm very grateful that my pastor has come out and been very clear on this matter, and I think it's patently absurd and it's a false statement." At the time Bachmann held membership at a church that is part of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, whose doctrine teaches that the Roman Catholic papacy is the Antichrist identified in Scripture.
Bachmann came under scrutiny by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) for speaking at Living Word Christian Center (LWCC), a large charismatic church located in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. CREW went on to file a complaint with the IRS against LWCC's senior pastor, Mac Hammond. CREW took issue with Hammond's using church equipment and facilities to declare "We can't publicly endorse as a church and would not for any candidate. But I can tell you personally that I'm going to vote for Michele Bachmann." It was later reported that Hammond does not live in Bachmann's district and could not vote for her. CREW maintains that this was a violation of US tax law 501(c)(3) that says if a church wants to be exempt from paying taxes then "religious leaders cannot make partisan comments in official organization publications or at official church functions." Fellow LWCC pastor Rev. Tim Burt said Bachmann had been invited to speak about "her spiritual journey" and "there was no intent for this to be a political event."
Bachmann received support from a fundraising visit in early July 2006 from Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. On July 21, 2006, Karl Rove visited Minnesota to raise funds for her election. In August, President George W. Bush was the keynote speaker at her congressional fundraiser, which raised about $500,000. The National Republican Congressional Committee put nearly $3 million into the race, for electronic and direct-mail ads against DFLer Wetterling. The amount was significantly more than the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent on behalf of Wetterling. However, Wetterling outraised Bachmann nearly 2:1 in individual contributions.
Category:1956 births Category:American anti-communists Category:American evangelicals Category:American Lutherans Category:American people of Norwegian descent Category:Female members of the United States House of Representatives Category:Intelligent design advocates Category:Living people Category:Winona State University alumni Category:William & Mary Law School alumni Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota Category:Minnesota State Senators Category:Minnesota Republicans Category:Oral Roberts University alumni Category:People from Washington County, Minnesota People from Stillwater Category:Tea Party movement Category:Women in Minnesota politics Category:Women state legislators in Minnesota
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| Name | Dick Armey |
|---|---|
| Caption | Dick Armey in 1997 |
| Order | 22nd Majority leader of the United States House of Representatives |
| Term start | January 3, 1995 |
| Term end | January 3, 2003 |
| 1blankname | Speaker |
| 1namedata | Newt GingrichDennis Hastert |
| 2blankname | Whip |
| 2namedata | Tom DeLay |
| Predecessor | Dick Gephardt |
| Successor | Tom DeLay |
| State2 | Texas |
| District2 | 26th |
| Term start2 | January 3, 1985 |
| Term end2 | January 3, 2003 |
| Predecessor2 | Tom Vandergriff |
| Successor2 | Michael C. Burgess |
| Birth date | July 07, 1940 |
| Birth place | Cando, North Dakota |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Susan Armey |
| Profession | Economist |
Richard Keith "Dick" Armey (; born July 7, 1940) is a former U.S. Representative from Texas's (1985–2003) and House Majority Leader (1995–2003). He was one of the engineers of the "Republican Revolution" of the 1990s, in which Republicans were elected to majorities of both houses of Congress for the first time in four decades. Armey was one of the chief authors of the Contract with America. Armey is also an author and former economics professor. After his congressional career he worked as a consultant, advisor and lobbyist.
Armey was an economics professor at Austin College and North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) in Denton.
After heavy Republican losses in the 1998 elections, Armey had to fend off a bruising challenge for his majority leader post from Steve Largent of Oklahoma, a member of the Republican class of 1994. Although Armey was not popular in the Republican caucus, Largent was thought to be far too conservative for the liking of some moderate Republicans, and Armey won on the third ballot. Soon afterward, Speaker-elect Bob Livingston of Louisiana announced he wouldn't take the post after the revelation of an extramarital affair, Armey initially seemed to have the inside track to become Speaker. As majority leader, he was the number-two Republican in the chamber. However, he was still badly wounded from Largent's challenge, and opted not to run. The post eventually went to Chief Deputy Whip Dennis Hastert of Illinois.
Armey served another four years before announcing his retirement in 2002. In his last legislative effort, he was named chairman of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security and was the primary sponsor of the legislation that created the Department of Homeland Security.
After Armey's retirement, fellow Texan and Republican Tom DeLay, then House Majority Whip, was elevated to Armey's Majority Leader position. Armey's son, Scott, ran for his father's seat in the 2002 election, but lost in the Republican Party (GOP) runoff to Michael C. Burgess, who would go on to hold the strongly Republican 26th District for the GOP in November.
According to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barton Gellman, former Vice President Dick Cheney told Armey that Saddam Hussein's family had direct ties to Al-Qaeda and that Saddam was developing miniature nuclear weapons. Armey then voted for the Iraq War, but after it became clear this was not true, stated that he "deserved better than to be bullshitted by the Vice President." Robert Draper's Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush recounts a conversation in late summer 2002 between Armey and Cheney. Armey insisted that American forces would get "mired down" in Iraq if they invaded, but Cheney offered this assurance: "They're going to welcome us. It'll be like the American army going through the streets of Paris. They're sitting there ready to form a new government. The people will be so happy with their freedoms that we'll probably back ourselves out of there within a month or two."
In August 2009 Armey was asked to step down from his lobbying position at DLA Piper, which was doing lobbying work for the pharmaceutical industry regarding health care reform legislation. Armey was simultaneously chairing the conservative group FreedomWorks which was actively working to defeat health care reform by encouraging and organizing high conservative turnouts at congressional and senatorial town hall meetings. DLA Piper was concerned about the conflict of interest particularly since their clients were spending millions in advertising and lobbying money to support the passage of health care reform and FreedomWorks was linked to demonstrations at town hall forums where health care reform was being discussed.
Referencing a piece entitled "On Private Conference Call, Tea Party Organizers Say No Reform At All is Goal" on Greg Sargent's liberal blog The Plum Line, Rachel Maddow argued in her opinion piece "TRMS Investigates FreedomWorks" that the right's strategy was to disrupt and shut down the August 2009 town hall congressional meetings on health care reform At many of the town halls Democratic "members of Congress have been shouted down, hanged in effigy and taunted by crowds" in an apparent organized effort to rattle the congresspeople presiding over the meetings rather than to seek a compromise solution to health care reform.
The phone conversation cited by Sargent in "On Private Conference Call . . ." was moderated by The Tea Party Patriots, a national co-partner of Dick Armey's FreedomWorks, according to FreedomWorks itself. The Tea Party Patriots website later called for Patriots to begin making calls to melt Congress' phone lines and to weigh in on the health care debate actively, aggressively, and with big numbers. In addition to being the chair of FreedomWorks, Dick Armey was a senior policy adviser for DC-based lobbying firm DLA Piper, whose recent and/or current clients include "pharmaceutical maker Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, ... health care provider Metropolitan Health Networks, and the pharmaceutical firm Medicines Company,". However, Pharmaceutical companies generally supported and lobbied in favor of the Democratic health care agenda, since it is expected to increase their profits. In the report cited above, Maddow also cited the example of The American Council of Life Insurers, which paid DLA Piper $100,000 shortly before FreedomWorks lobbied to deregulate life insurance, as one instance of a possible conflict of interest involving Armey and the two organizations.
Addressing DLA Piper's role in the situation, chairman Francis Burch said “…DLA Piper represents clients who support enactment of effective health care reform this year and encourages responsible national debate." Amid what Politico called "the health care flap", on August 14, 2009, DLA Piper asked Armey to resign, and he left the firm.
Category:1940 births Category:Majority Leaders of the United States House of Representatives Category:People from Towner County, North Dakota Category:People from the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Category:Living people Category:University of North Dakota alumni Category:University of Oklahoma alumni Category:Texas Republicans Category:American Presbyterians Category:American economists Category:University of North Texas faculty Category:Tea Party movement
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| Name | Alvin Greene |
|---|---|
| Nominee | United States Senator from South Carolina |
| Election date | November 2, 2010 |
| Opponent | Jim DeMint (R) |
| Incumbent | Jim DeMint |
| Birth date | August 30, 1977 |
| Birth place | Florence, South Carolina |
| Residence | Manning, South Carolina |
| Party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of South CarolinaBA, political science, 2000 |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Occupation | SoldierPoliticianIn-home caregiver for aged father |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Air ForceArmy National GuardUnited States Army |
| Awards | *Global War on Terrorism Service Medal*Air Force Good Conduct Medal*Korea Defense Service Medal*National Defense Service Medal |
| Website | Alvin Greene Official Website |
Alvin Michael Greene (born August 30, 1977) was the Democratic Party's nominee in the 2010 United States Senate election in South Carolina. He was defeated by incumbent Republican Sen. Jim DeMint by a margin of 61.46% to 27.65%, with the remaining votes going to third-party and write-in candidates. He was the first African-American to be nominated for U.S. Senate by a major party in South Carolina. In the general election, Greene faced DeMint, Green Party candidate Tom Clements and write-in candidates Nathalie Dupree and Mazie Ferguson. Greene won the Democratic primary race against candidate Vic Rawl on June 8, 2010, with 59% of the vote, despite very limited campaigning and campaign spending, and having no website and no yard signs. The executive committee of the South Carolina Democratic Party voted 55 to 10 to reject Rawl's request for a new Senate primary after questions were raised about Greene's surprise victory.
Greene graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2000 with a degree in political science. He is a United States military veteran who served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force before receiving an involuntary honorable discharge in 2009. He is currently unemployed and lives with and cares for his father in Manning. On August 13, 2010, it was announced that he had been indicted on criminal charges of showing pornographic pictures to an 18-year old female college student. On December 24, 2010, Greene filed as a candidate in the Democratic primary special election for the South Carolina House of Representatives seat left vacant by the death of Representative Cathy Harvin.
Greene graduated from Manning High School in 1995 and received a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of South Carolina in 2000. He served as an intelligence specialist and a unit supply specialist in the U.S. Army During Greene's time in the Air Force he received numerous poor evaluations from his superiors. The evaluations stated Greene was an ineffective leader who lacked organization and was unable to express thoughts clearly. Greene received an honorable but involuntary discharge from the Army in 2009 after a 13-year career and has been unemployed since.
Greene said that he originally got the idea to run for office in 2008 when he was stationed in Korea. In the South Carolina Democratic primary held June 8, 2010, he received 100,362 (59%) votes out of 170,215 votes cast, while 69,853 (41%) went to Vic Rawl. Voter turnout in most counties was in the range of 20-30%.
After Greene was declared the winner and after his opponent congratulated him on his win, officials in the Democratic party began to voice opposition and to raise questions about Greene and his campaign. South Carolina Democratic Party chairwoman Carol Fowler said she had not seen Greene since he filed to run. He did not attend the state Democratic party convention, did not file the form with the Secretary of the Senate and the legally required form for the Federal Election Commission, and attempted to pay his $10,400 filing fee with a personal check, rather than a check from a campaign account. She then called campus police. The mother of the victim has claimed that USC authorities had warned Greene not to visit certain parts of campus in the past. As a result of these charges, Fowler issued a statement calling for Greene to drop out of the race, saying }} Greene refused to bow out of the race and announced that, "The Democratic Party has chosen their nominee, and we have to stand behind their choice. The people have spoken. We need to be pro-South Carolina, not anti-Greene." The executive committee of the South Carolina Democratic Party voted 5 to 1 to reject a call for a new Senate primary after Alvin's surprise victory.
Greene appeared on various news programs after his primary victory. He responded with short answers, refused to comment on the obscenity allegations, and rejected allegations that he is employed by the Republican political party.
On August 12, 2010, a Richland County grand jury indicted Greene for disseminating, procuring or promoting obscenity — a felony — as well as a misdemeanor charge of communicating obscene materials to a person without consent. The incident took place November 4, 2009, at the Bates House residence hall on the University of South Carolina's campus. A female student, Camille McCoy, reported that a man later identified as Greene, sat down beside her in the computer lab. He asked her for her name, room number, and phone number, but she did not give it to him. She told officers that five minutes later, he told her to look at his computer screen which contained pornographic images on it. McCoy told him that it was "offensive and not funny". The incident report states that Greene proceeded to ask if he could come to her room, and she told him to leave her alone. McCoy described the event: "It was kind of scary. He's a pretty big boy. He could've overpowered me." She then went up to her room and told her resident mentor about the incident. McCoy also reported the incident to the campus police and her parents who demanded that the police press charges.
In an affidavit against Greene, police say they have surveillance video which shows the interaction. When campus police arrived, they spoke to residence staff, who said Greene had been entering the Bates House for some time using an old university ID card with his picture on it. The staff had been told not to allow him inside the building anymore, but the person working that day had not been made aware of this information, and let Greene in as he normally did.
The first charge, of disseminating, procuring or promoting obscenity, is a felony and carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000. The second charge, communicating an obscene message to another person without consent, is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum of three years and a maximum fine of $10,000.
A study by the Pew Research Center released in late July found that Greene's campaign had received the most media attention of all of the 2010 political campaigns.
Greene hired South Carolina attorney Suzanne Coe as his campaign manager. Coe said she offered to assist Greene after being struck by his honesty and selfless motivation. She said that "If Alvin tells you he's hiking the Appalachian Trail, he really would be hiking the Appalachian Trail. You can believe what he says."
A Rasmussen Reports survey released in early August of 500 likely South Carolina voters found that 20% of them backed Greene while 62% supported DeMint. As well, 51% of those polled said that they had a very unfavorable opinion of Greene. Although Greene repeatedly expressed interest in a debate, DeMint declined to participate.
The progressive watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Greene to their list of the 11 most crooked candidates vying for federal office in 2010. Greene took exception to this designation, saying that "I think my opponent should be on this list. He’s not doing his job and he doesn’t care about South Carolina or the United States of America."
In an editorial published in The Guardian as "The Alvin Greene manifesto for a fairer America", Greene explained his political views in more detail and attacked the political establishment. Greene advocated free universal health care, saying that the United States should model its system on Austria, Britain, or Canada. He also stated that the United States should adopt a free college education policy modeled after the system that had been in place in Britain. Greene stated that the government should break up large banks, shut down payday lenders, and reform the debt collection industry. He also pledged to work to end free trade by enacting tariffs or banning the importation of foreign goods to the United States. Greene cited the example of mismanagement at the Pentagon as proof that greater accountability in government is needed. He criticized corporate influence on politics, saying that "Half the members of the US senate work for BP. The other half work for Halliburton."
Some commentators raised questions about the source of Greene's funding for the $10,440 filing fee. Federal and state law requires a candidate to pay a filing fee out of his own pocket. Greene claimed that he paid the filing fee by saving two years of his service pay. However, Greene qualified to be represented by a public defender in his obscenity case. South Carolina law requires defendants who want to be represented by the public defender's office to file an "affidavit of indigency" in order to prove they cannot afford to hire a lawyer. On this affidavit, the applicant must disclose all income and assets, including checking accounts. Former state Democratic Party chairman Dick Harpootlian told NPR that this revelation raises doubts about whether Greene could afford the filing fee. He also said W. Barney Giese, the solicitor (district attorney) for the 5th Judicial Circuit, which includes Columbia, will likely bring Greene before a judge to explain how he could pay the filing fee if he needs a public defender. Clyburn also doubts that Greene could have paid the filing fee on his own.
In response to an official protest filed by Rawl, the executive committee of the South Carolina Democratic Party conducted a formal hearing on June 17, 2010, to review questions regarding the legitimacy of the primary election results. Greene neither attended nor sent a representative to the hearing.
On June 27, 2010, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the 5th Circuit Solicitor's office announced that they were investigating Greene's finances. On the same day, it emerged that Greene's public defender had been replaced by a private attorney.
On July 9, 2010, during a South Carolina investigation, it was determined that the filing fee of $10,440 had come from his personal funds. Greene was cleared and no charges were brought against him.
At one point, YouTube administrators had removed the video due to a copyright claim by Frank Strategies, LLC. The video featured footage from a Tea Party rally in 2009 that is owned by Frank Strategies, LLC.
Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:African American politicians Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Candidates in United States elections, 2010 Category:People from Clarendon County, South Carolina Category:People from Florence, South Carolina Category:South Carolina Democrats Category:United States Army soldiers Category:University of South Carolina alumni
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