Adam Hasner Running for Congress in Palm Beach County, FL

These are the words from Adam Hasner who is now running for Congress in 2012 having dropped from the Senate race in Florida to shore up the Houses seats in South Florida:

“We want our leaders to tell it like it is. And if you’re not going to get the job done, we are going to find somebody else who will. We need to tell them: cut the spending, stop the borrowing, balance the budget, and attack the debt. And we sent that message in 2010, but it was only the beginning. In 2012, we need to send principled, conservative reinforcements to Washington D.C. to get the job done.” (April 16, 2011)

Even though he has switched from running for Senate to the House, his words remain as true today as when he said them.  We need a principled conservative like Adam Hasner in the House and you can help make it happen if you are a Florida resident by signing his petition to get on the ballot:

Of all the names that back my campaign, your personal endorsement means the most. That is why I am asking you to take just a moment of your time to fill out the petition to qualify me for the ballot and mail it back to our office. Due to the reapportionment process, any voter of any party who is currently registered to vote in the State of Florida can help me in qualifying for the ballot. You can help us conserve the vital financial resources needed to defeat the Democrat machine in November by filling out a candidate petition- and please have your neighbors fill one out too! 

Get your copy of the petition here.

If you would be so kind, please print, fill out and mail completed petitions to P.O. Box 276093, Boca Raton, FL 33427-6093. If you could include a check made out to Adam Hasner for US House of $5 or $10 along with the petitions, it will go to assist with our Supervisor of Election's petition processing fees and help us reach more voters to assist in this effort. I certainly thank you for your consideration.

Please take a few minutes to print out the petition if you are a Florida resident and mail the petition to the above address.  I am not a Florida resident but have reached out to friends and family who are to please sign the petition -- you don't have to live in his district.  I cannot sign the petition but I can write a check for the petition processing fee which I will be sending on Monday.

Was very concerned about Allen West's seat with the new Florida redistricting but thanks to Cong Pete Sessions (R-TX), and others, it was worked out.  Cong Tom Rooney moved to a new district to the west, Allen West moved to a portion of Tom Rooney's old district and now Adam Hasner is running for the Allen West seat.  It is great when a group of conservatives can work together to do what is best for the people of Florida.  Hasner will be part of the NRCC's Young Guns program run by Cong Eric Cantor (R-VA), Paul Ryan (R-WI), and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) who did so well in 2010 and are back for 2012.

EXCLUSIVE: Adam Hasner Interview, Allen West’s and Marco Rubio’s Reinforcement in Palm Beachby Charles C. Johnson

Present at the Creation: Adam Hasner, with Marco Rubio Against the 

Florida GOP Establishment

“A day in politics is like an eternity. A lot of recent events have altered the political landscape,” Adam Hasner told me by phone. Until last week was running for the U.S. Senate, but he is now running for the congressional seat vacated by Allen West. 

Though Hasner hesitates to compare himself to West, the two have a lot in common. They are both principled, “minorities of minorities” who have to make the case to groups not necessarily receptive to the conservative message. “When you are a black Republican or a Jewish Republican, you have to be even more firm in your beliefs and more principled,” Hasner explains. 

The past year Hasner, the former majority leader of the Florida House of Representatives, has been running in a crowded primary to unseat Bill Nelson, the senior U.S. Senator from the Sunshine State. 

Though Hasner was endorsed by talk show host, Mark Levin, the Family Research Council, and won the Florida straw poll, Hasner struggled to get the attention he needed. He blames the presidential race for “sucking all of the attention out of the room.” There were 350 articles about the Rubio-Crist race in 2010, but less than fifty about the 2012 contest. Hasner had been leading in the polls against George LeMieux, who Governor Charlie Crist appointed before deciding to run in the Senate contest only to lose to Marco Rubio, but Hasner’s lead collapsed when Rep. Connie Mack joined the race in late October and was endorsed by Mitt Romney. 

Now Hasner’s hoping to be Allen West’s reinforcement, not replacement, in Congress. Hasner, who raised $1.3 million in his bid for U.S. Senate still has $666,000 cash on hand and has West’s support. West, in turns, plans to run in a friendlier Palm Beach County-based congressional seat after redistricting made his swing district much more Democratic. All within forty-eight hours, Rep. Tom Rooney moved to a new district in the west; West moved to Rooney’s old district up north. 

The son of two New York teacher union members and liberal Democrats, Hasner came of age during the Age of Reagan. ”I didn’t inherit conservatism in the bloodstream,” he says, but he paid attention, becoming a lifelong Republican at age 18. “I grew up during the Morning in America. That’s where my politics were shaped.” 

Hasner’s bona fides among Jewish conservatives are the genuine article. He likes to joke that he is married into the Jewish conservative movement. His wife, Jillian, worked for the Palm Beach chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition. 

Though the district has gotten more Democratic in redistricting, Hasner is confident that he can win in November. “Every election that I won, I over performed,” says Hasner, the first Jewish majority leader of the Florida house of Representatives. “When John Kerry got 51% I got 58%. I got 60% of the vote, Obama got 52%.” He adds: “The district I represented [in the Florida House of Representatives] is compromised in the new district. I know this people, people know me, where I lived my whole life.” Hasner, running in one of the most Jewish congressional districts in the country, might be buttressed by a new poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Life showing that Jewish-Americans are turning from the Democratic Party. Jewish identification with the Democrats slipped from 72 to 65% between 2008 to 2011. 

Hasner’s likely opponent is Lois Frankel, the former mayor of West Palm Beach. She is, for all intents and purposes, a morph of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the leader of the Democratic National Committee. Wasserman Schultz was Frankel’s protégé. 

Hasner understands his role clearly. ”This is going to be a battleground seat in the sense,” he promises. “Whoever is running for president, whoever is running for U.S. Senate, well, the way you a state election is just don’t get too badly beaten in Palm Beach and Breyer County,” he promises. 

Hasner made a name for himself in Tallahassee, Florida. “You are constantly outnumbered and being challeneged by the status quo and what everybody expects you to believe. I’ve proven that that’s the type of individual I am. I’ve called out the Republicans as many times as I’ve called out the Democrats.” He took on Charlie Crist. Hasner pushed to eliminate property taxes; Crist opposed it. Crist wanted to take stimulus money; Hasner opposed it. Crist supported Cap and Trade; Hasner opposed it with Marco Rubio, then Speaker of the Florida State House. 

Hasner promises to take on the Republicans in Washington, too. He rattles off the issues where the GOP establishment has been disappointing, among them ”our debt and the payroll tax cut.” ”What people are looking for are candidates and representatives that are going to work hard, tell it like it is. I’m unafraid to do things when it doesn’t poll well.” 

It’s up to the voters of Palm Beach to decide what seems evidence: Adam Hasner is Marco Rubio’s and Allen West’s conservative reinforcement. 

Read More:  Big Government

Congress Back in Session -- Hold on to your Wallets

This is not a good start to the year -- debt ceiling needs raised, no budget for FY12, and the estimated amount to deficit with bills passed in the House last year in ten months was $1T.  This is your Congress at work.  Yet they wonder why their ratings are so low.

Looks like big Government Republicans are still in charge in the House like they have been since the GOP originally took the House in 1994, lost it in 2006 and took it back in 2010.  I thought we sent our Representatives to DC to cut the budget not have business as usual and cave to the Democrats over and over again.

Now we learn the  budget from the House of $1T was passed on December 16th to keep the Government open.  You mean to tell me that they couldn't find more cuts.  Bet regular citizens could find a lot of cuts they missed but then they would have to tell their districts no and there was an election year coming up.  Must admit that I missed the passage of the $1T budget bill to keep government open as I was getting ready for Christmas and a trip to Denver and then Phoenix for the Insight Bowl after Christmas.  How convenient to pass all this while people are involved in various activities during the holidays.

Congress should not even be in session after October 1st when the new fiscal year (FY) starts because there should be a budget in place to begin the new fiscal year.  Years ago the new FY began on 1 July but then in the traditional wisdom of Congress, they decided they wouldn't need continuing resolutions if they moved it to 1 October.  Congress still cannot get a budget agreed to and more continuing resolutions are passed even though the date was moved back.  That is no way to do business but it is also wrong to do business as usual when there is such a huge deficit.

Believe we need new leadership in Congress starting with both parties in the Senate.  I am not even a little impressed with the Republican leadership in the Senate and less impressed with the Democrats.  Mitch McConnell from the Republicans and Harry Reid from the Democrats are two leaders who need to give up leadership as neither one has the capability of putting the American people first.  As a whole, Senate leadership is really bad.

In the House, Pelosi and her group have no intention of doing was is best for all Americans as they prefer class warfare.  On the Republican side we have been disappointed that the House under the leadership of Boehner cannot even get the leadership to work together.  It seems that Cantor and Boehner are not on the same side a lot of times and has led to some dysfunctional moments.

Would have loved to see Mike Pence as Speaker of the House but he is running for Governor of Indiana so this will be his last year in Congress.  The people of Indiana are going to be very fortunate to have Mike Pence as their next Governor.  I am hoping that after four years as Governor, he will be our nominee for President in 2016.  He was one of my early favorites this time, but he felt the calling of Indiana.  Please feel free to donate to his campaign for Governor at http://mikepence.com/ to help make sure he is Indiana's next Governor.  He is going to be sorely missed in the House.

Cong Steve King who like Mike Pence can say more in a minute than most can say if five minutes will be there to protect conservative values and try to get more Republicans in the House on the side of cutting the budget and especially regulations.

The amount of regulations that are being added almost daily is mind boggling -- Obama added $9.5B in new regulations just in the month of July 2011.  Through the end of March 2011, the Obama Administration added close to $40 billion in new costs for regulations and rules to the economy, more than twice the Bush rate.  Was disgusted with the rate of Bush regulations and rules but never gave a thought it would double with the next President.  Couldn't find a tally on the end of the year but will post when it is available.

That gets us to the Republican primary where we have three big Government types running against two small Government types.  Romney, Santorum, and Newt by their records are for big Government while Paul and Perry both from Texas are for small Government just disagreeing on how to get there.  The Republican Party looks poised to have our nominee be a big Government type so will regulations/rules continue to cost the taxpayer no matter who wins the Presidency?  Sure looks like it from where I sit.

We see more and more conservatives referring to Romney as Obama lite.  Based on his record as Governor of Massachusetts, we would have to agree with that, but Romney is not running on his record as Governor.  He wants you to only takes what he says today as the facts no matter he was Governor from 2002 to Jan 2007.  Even in 2007, was a member of the moderate Republican Mainstreet Partnership who opposed Sam Alito .  He now is in the hip pocket of Wall Street and K Street lobbyists and we are supposed to believe everything he says when he has flipped flopped on over 30 issues?  Give me a break!

Will someone explain where all these big Government Republicans came from or have they been masquerading as conservatives which seems the logical conclusion.  For every Allen West (R-FL) or James Lankford (R-OK) we have twice as many in the House who believe in earmarks and pork and want to bring home that bacon to their district.  It is time for voters to actually look at who they are electing and vow to stop returning someone to Congress who is a big spender and start electing more small Government types.  In the months ahead those small Government types running for the Congress will be spotlighted on here as people to support.  We will also be going after the big Government types from both parties.  This is not about the left or the right but about electing men and women to Congress who will do the right thing for the American people not line their own pockets.

Hold on to your wallets because Congress is back ready to spend/waste your tax dollars on not only necessary expenditures but a lot that are unnecessary in this election year as they believe more spending for their district is more votes for them.   Time to send the big spenders to the unemployment line.

Shark Tank.net: Allen West Drops the Hammer on Ron Paul

Once again the Shark Tank blog brings us the facts that the mainstream media misses or ignores.  We think that Allen West is 100% correct in his assessment of Iran and anyone who doesn't think so, has their head buried in the sand starting with Ron Paul.  The more I see and hear of Retired Lt Colonel West, the most impressed I have become.  He understands what leadership is all about and just how dangerous Iran is as a Country.  It is about time that someone stood up and took on Ron Paul and Colonel West has done just that.

Allen West Drops the Hammer on Ron Paul
August 13, 2011
by Javier Manjarres

Just a few nights ago, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul stated that he did not have a problem with Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon because ‘everyone else already has one’ at the Presidential Debate in Iowa. This assertion did not sit well with Congressman Allen West (R-FL), as he expressed his strong disagreement with Paul’s statement during a Tea Party social event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Paul’s McGovernite-inspired foreign policy signals just how disconnected he is to the reality of Iran the mortal threat it poses to the United States and the world. 

“That’s not the kind of guy you need to be sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.”- Congressman Allen West