FREEDOMWORKS 10/08/2015

1. The Consequences of Doing Nothing About Anything - by Adam Brandon via The Daily Caller At the beginning of 2015, I was talking with a congressman who was expressing his frustration with the leadership in Washington. “If we don’t do something about anything,” he said, “we’re going to be in big trouble.” With the announcement that House Speaker John Boehner will resign his seat at the end of October, we’re seeing those chickens come home to roost. And yet, Boehner’s resignation has not come out of the blue. There’s been a long process gradually leading up to this moment. It started last year with Rep. Dave Brat’s historic defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. The establishment was stunned. They couldn’t believe that the number two man in the House could so suddenly be ousted by an economics professor who spent less on his entire campaign than Eric Cantor spent on steak. It was a defining moment when grassroots America rose up to deliver the unequivocal message that no more would they allow their interests to be made subordinate to those of the special interests of the lobbyist class. Read more here... 2. 'Back-room deal' in House Could Kill Oil Exports Bill - via The Washington Examiner Josh Withrow, legislative affairs manager with Freedom Works, told the Washington Examiner that he was "dismayed to hear about" the change. He says the "bill as it stood … is in our view great policy." But the change is an example of a "cynical deal" in which Congress has "managed to find a special interest group to hand [money] out to." Withrow says the addition is a "pretty small dollar" amount, but it's symbolic of the broader problem with Congress. He says the group will notify its supporters that it does not approve of the measure and will not include a "yes" vote as part of the group's Congressional Score Card that rates legislation. Read more here... 3. Activists Support Rep. Jody Hice - by Allen Page Monday was a great day in Georgia as activists showed their support for House Freedom Caucus Member, Congressman Jody Hice! I was pleased to be on hand as activists showed Congressman Hice their appreciation and support with a sign wave in the rain in front of his office in Monroe then headed inside to meet with the Congressman. Participating FreedomWorks activists were also members of the North East Georgia Conservative Republican Women's Club. The activists spoke with Congressman Hice, thanking him for his support of the Freedom Caucus and for supporting North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows and his resolution to "Fire John Boehner". Read more here... 4. States Need to get Serious About Pension Reform - by Adam Brandon via The American Spectator It’s clear that the economy is going to be one of the driving issues in the 2016 presidential campaign, but with the entire country riveted to national politics, it’s easy to forget that state issues are at least as important as what the federal government is doing. Of the 16 Republican candidates, seven have been governors. They understand the importance of state-level reforms, and will be running hard on their records as bold leaders, unafraid to make the hard decisions required of a state’s chief executive. Read more here... 5. Obama Violates the Constitution with Education Appointment - by Logan Albright When I heard that Education Secretary Arne Duncan was stepping down in December, my first reaction was one of elation. Duncan was instrumental in forcing Common Core upon the states, he’s been an advocate for more federal control of education, and, perhaps most troubling, of increased data collection and analysis in violation of the privacy of both students and parents. The following quote illustrates the man’s mentality with chilling, Orwellian clarity: We want to see more states build comprehensive systems that track students from pre-K through college and then link school data to workforce data. We want to know whether Johnny participated in an early learning program and completed college on time and whether those things have any bearing on his earnings as an adult. Read more here... 6. Michigan Unanimously Passes CAF Reforms - by Jason Pye Following passage of the civil asset forfeiture reform package in the Michigan Senate, FreedomWorks Director of Justice Reform Jason Pye commented: "FreedomWorks applauds the Michigan Senate for the unanimous passage of long overdue reforms to the state's civil asset forfeiture laws. This package is grounded in common sense. The reforms will offer significant protections to innocent property owners from government overreach and bring much-needed transparency to the process." "We thank Chairmen Rick Jones and Klint Kesto for their leadership in guiding this package through the Legislature and Attorney General Bill Schuette for his support. We strongly urge Governor Snyder to sign these bills into law." Read more here... 7. 5 Reasons to Support Justice Reform   Iris Somberg Press Secretary, FreedomWorks