Grandview Area Republican Club

Want to know what the Fair Tax is all about?  Want to make sure the tax cheats have no way to cheat with a Fair Tax?  How about learn how everyone is taxed fairly regardless of income level?

Then attend this Fair Tax Event held in Upper Arlington.

What:                 The Fair Tax
When:                Wednesday, April 7, 2010
                             6 pm – 8 pm
Where:               MCL Cafeteria
                             3154 Kingsdale Center (between Macy’s & Jeffrey Thomas)
                             (Tremont Rd. side)
                             Upper Arlington OH 43221
Phone:               614-457-5786

The GARC’s September 2009 speaker and our very own State Senator Jim Hughes has been appointed to the Senate Finance Committee yesterday as reported by the Columbus Dispatch’s Daily Briefing Blog:

Sen. Jim Hughes, a Columbus Republican, was appointed to the powerful Senate Finance Committee today in a round of seat shuffling that lightened the load for Sen. Mark Wagoner, R-Toledo.

Both Wagoner and Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, were removed from the Finance Committee today by Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland. Hughes sat on the panel for the first time this afternoon.

“With the many economic challenges facing our state, it is imperative that state government uses its resources wisely to best meet the needs of its citizens while encouraging job creation,” Hughes said. “I am honored to be chosen to serve on this committee and pledge my best efforts to ensure Ohio’s continued fiscal stability and that tax dollars are spent appropriately.”

Congrats Senator Hughes!

Thank you to all who joined the GARC and the Cap City YRs Thursday, January 26nd for the Kasich House Party!  We had over 65 people join us including many new faces – WELCOME!

The GARC received the Lincoln Award for Overall Excellence and Outstanding Club of the Year by being more than your grandmother’s Republican club.  We are an active group that…

• Helps to elect Republicans
• Brings new people into the party
• Defeats local Democrats in softball games
• Bowls for charity
• Hosts the local, state, and national GOP chairmen at our events
• Throws picnics with other GOP clubs in the area and has a good time socializing, tailgating, and generally communing with likeminded individuals!

This year, we hope your New Year’s resolution is to get more involved in the GARC and make a difference in the 2010 statewide races.  We are here to help you accomplish that goal!  ACTION ITEMS:

• Read our emails
• Forward these emails to friends and ask them to subscribe
• Join our Facebook Group
• Follow us on Twitter
• Get updates from the GARC Blog
• Become a GARC officer – elections for President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary are February 23, 2009 at 7PM.  If you are interested in running, please email the GARC President here to request an Officer Candidate Form (this form is not an application but a way for us to make copies and disburse to club members at the February meeting so they can read about the candidates).

The GARC Christmas party was a wonderful success this year full of merriment, friends, and lots of holiday cheer.  Over 50 people made it out to the Quarry Clubhouse including the entire 10th District Court of Appeals Judges and many Municipal and Common Please Judges!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

On Tuesday, December 15th at the Franklin County Republican Party Victory Reception, the GARC was awarded the Lincoln Award for Overall Excellence and Outstanding Club of the Year 2009.

This award is the result of the hard work and dedication of all GARC members who have made the organization a vibrant, energetic, grassroots, philanthropic, social and educational club.  While we were only founded in February, the GARC has emerged onto the county political scene as a genuine force within a rising national mainstream conservative movement.

Join us in celebrating this award and the holiday season at our GARC Christmas Party this Thursday, December 17th at 7PM at the Quarry Club House on W. 5th Avenue just West of the Scioto River.

Election Analysis

Last night’s Election Analysis meeting with Dr. Herb Asher, Mark Niquette, and John Damschroder was one of the GARC’s best meetings yet!  With over 50 people in attendance, we listened to a lively panel discuss the political environment in the 2009 elections and paint a picture and pose interesting scenarios for the 2010 elections both statewide and nationally.  Thank you to our panelists and members for the great discussion and questions.

Hunger                                                 

13.3% of Ohio households struggled with hunger last year alone – and this before the big financial collapse.  Catherine Candisky with the Columbus Dispatch reports on these findings in her column entitled: “Hunger has Ohio firmly in its grip, stats show.”  Candisky reports:

To cope, families are skipping meals, eating less-diverse foods, seeking food stamps and other assistance and visiting food pantries.

Hamler-Fugitt said higher demand and limited financial support has caused pantries, like those her group serves, to stretch their supplies and lighten the bags of food they give out.

 The Mid-Ohio Foodbank states that 44% of the people they serve have had to choose between food and utilities. 29% have had to chose between food and shelter.

The GARC and the Grove City Republican Club are teaming up to “Knock Down Pins to Knock Down Hunger.”  We are having a canned food drive to benefit the Mid-Ohio Foodbank at the Grove City Lanes, a local bowling alley.  We ask that participants contribute $5 to cover the costs of the bowling and bring AT LEAST TWO Food Items from the list below:

• Boxed dry foods—such as pasta and instant potatoes
• Canned meats—such as chili and stew
• Canned fruits and vegetables

Please join us in Knocking Down Pins to Knock Down Hunger Tuesday, December 1^st at 7 PM.  Carpool leaves the Grandview Krogers on Chambers Road at 6:30 PM.

Christmas Party

Please join the GARC for our first Christmas Party on Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 7 PM at the Quarry Clubhouse and Billiard Room on W. 5^th Avenue.  Please bring yourself, some friends, and a dish or drink to share.

To the Nobel Peace Prize Committee:

It has come to my understanding that you have elected to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the 44th President of the United States, the Honorable Barack H. Obama. At the risk of sounding either slanderous or treacherous (as our great and wise President has all-but-made opposing viewpoints a characteristic of treason against his high crown), I would like to question the means by which President Obama was awarded this particular honor.

The Nobel Prizes for Peace & Science were founded by the last will and testament of Alfred Nobel, declaring that his estate would go to awarding those who give Outstanding contributions in Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Physiology or Medicine, and towards World Peace. Indeed, there have been several laureates which have done amazing things to deserve such a high honor. Among them: Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Jr., and UNICEF, to name a few. However, there have been several individuals whom have done very little to receive this award, and seem to be honored more as a publicity stunt than anything else. Among them: former President Jimmy Carter, former Vice President Al Gore, and President Barack Obama.

To earn this award, one must be nominated by a qualified member of the community – which includes National Government Leaders, Professors, and former Nobel Peace Laureates. Once nominations are made, they are reviewed by their peers, who are specially selected from the community. Once the reviews are complete, the candidates are voted on, with the majority candidate receiving the Nobel Prize.

To begin my argument, in order to be nominated, President Obama would have to be nominated by a qualifying member of the community by February 1 of this year. Considering that, by that date, President Obama would only have had 11 days in office by which to make any qualifying achievement towards world peace, this award is simply unfounded. That being written, one could argue that the President could be judged, once nominated, based upon what he would complete in office between his time of nomination, and the time of awarding. By those standards, the President of the United States would have 8 months by which he would do something to qualify.

In the original will of Alfred Nobel, he states that his prize for Peace shall be awarded “..to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.” If that is the criteria by which the award is to be presented, then allowing President Obama to be a Nobel Laureate is a grave mistake against the spirit and nature of the award. Consider his contributions to mankind in the past year:

• During his campaign, President Obama promised to end American hostilities in the nation of Iraq, and to focus less on war, and more on anti-terrorism campaigns. Since taking office, President Obama has spent an additional $156 Billion USD in the nation, and has outlined plans that would continue to leave American soldiers in the country, in addition to extending his campaign promises.
• President Obama’s current crusade, a nationalized Health Care system, has done more to divide the citizens of the United States than to unite them under one goal. Furthermore, when questions are asked, ambiguous answers are given by both members of the Congress of the United States, as well as the federal administration.
• In his time as President, Barack Obama has interfered with the Laissez-Faire marketplace the United States has had since its inception, and has facilitated the purchase of the largest motor company in America, General Motors, with taxpayer money. The Government of the United States now owns 60% of the company, with no say going to the taxpayer on how to run the new company. The result kills several lines of successful automobiles (including Pontiac and Saturn), and over 100,000 jobs have been completely lost as a result.
• Unemployment in the United States has hit record-breaking highs under the Obama Administration, topping out at 9.8% nationwide in 2009. The last time we have seen national unemployment at these levels were during the recession of 1982, with 10.8% unemployment nationwide. This has been a significant rise since the President took office (at the time of President Obama’s inauguration, unemployment was down to 7.2%).
• The rise in Unemployment figures accounts for over 2 million jobs being lost since President Obama’s inauguration. When championing for his Economic Stimulus Plan, the President estimated his plan would save or create 4 million jobs.
• Despite spending millions of dollars and making a personal visit to the International Olympic Committee meeting, President Obama failed to help Chicago champion themselves as the 2012 host Olympic city. Chicago was voted out in the first round of Olympic voting.

In this spirit, I challenge the Nobel Prize Committee to acknowledge how, in fact, President Barack Obama qualifies for this award. Aside from being the first President of minority in the United States (which is a remarkable feat in itself), President Obama has done absolutely nothing to either 1) foster international peace, or 2) foster peace in the United States. Awarding the President an award of this caliber makes a mockery of the spirit of the award, and devalues it both for those laureates previous, and those that will receive the award in the future. I am incredibly disappointed in the judgement of the committee, and find no merit in this award based on the criteria given.

I would like to congratulate the committee on another controversial decision. This one will have grave effects on the award, and its validity in the international community, for years to come.

Sincerely Yours,
-Joe Cortez

Joe Cortez is a freelance writer and video production professional in Columbus, Ohio. He serves as the Chairman of Technology for the Grandview Area Republican Club. He can be contacted via Twitter @JoeCortez.