Over 280 people came to the Babcock BBQ in Helena on AUgust 26.  Thank you, all of you! Because of your efforts, your generosity, and your support, we were able to send a resounding message of appreciation to former Governor Tim Babcock and former first lady Betty. Plus we got to meet legislative and county candidates from Helena, Bozeman, and more! Here are the individuals and organizations who sponsored the barbeque:

Anderson, Baker & Swanson PLLC; Tom Beck; Bob Brown; Frank Cote; Clyde Dailey; Steve & Cindy Daines; Davis Business Machines, Inc.; Stuart Doggett; Dean & Hope Folkvord; Rick & Betti Hill; Key Decisions – Steve Yeakel, CAE; Sound Health… Imaging; Employees of Northwestern Energy; Jonathan & Beth Ries; Bill & Bobby Spilker; Lloyd Teigen

Tester Town Hall Tomorrow

If you live anywhere near Helena, Senator Jon Tester will be holding a town hall meeting tomorrow! If you have questions,  this is the time to make sure your voice is heard!

It’s on Tuesday, August 31st, from 11:30am-12:30pm in the upstairs conference room at the Helena airport.

This is our chance to ask about Obamacare, the failed stimulus, or anything else that’s on your mind.

Rehberg Report

Montana’s Congressman Denny Rehberg is still working hard and making a difference in Washington.  Most recently he took the Health and Human Services Secretary to task over Obamacare’s targetting of Montana small businesses for tax increases, more regulation, and higher expenses.

“Unfortunately, the unpopularity of Obamacare is only a symptom of the serious deficiencies in the bill itself,” said Rehberg.  “Far from fixing the problems we face, this job-killing bill makes things worse.”

National Politics

On a national level, the cause of conservative ideals is advancing fast.  Republicans stand a good chance of gaining majorities in one or both Houses of Congress. Here’s a web site that keeps track of that effort in the House of Representatives:  www.40seats.com

New Poll

The results of our last web poll are in. More than 2/3rds of MTGOP.org users have been to a TEA party rally.  Now, we’re looking for your feedback again. We’d like to do another fun, grassroots barbeque like we did here in Helena honoring Governor Babcock.  Which town do you think it ought to be in? We’ve narrowed it down to three choices; your vote will be the deciding factor in picking the next destination. Vote here.

Follow the MTGOP on Facebook or Twitter

Please bring a pie, cake or political memorabilia to auction for the Central Committee.

Homecoming is Saturday September 25th, and we plan to have a float again this year.  Please contact the Chairman, Will Deschamps if your campaign would like to participate.

The event is being held in Helena at “Babcock Park,” the property owned by the Babcock family just west of Helena at the intersection of Highway 12 and Williams Street.  The gates will open at 5:00 PM on Thursday, August 26.  We’ll be serving food at 6:00 pm and the speeches will start about 7.  Please come!

The event will raise money for voter registration drives to help Republican candidates around Montana!

You can RSVP by calling (406) 442-6469 or by e-mailing hillary@mtgop.org.  The cost is $35 per family or $20 per individual.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for $200 as well.

These are the generous Montana businesses and individuals who have sponsored the event so far:

Anderson, Baker & Swanson PLLC

Senator Tom Beck

Secretary of State Bob Brown

Frank Cote

Clyde Dailey

Steve & Cindy Daines

Davis Business Machines

Stuart Doggett

Dean & Hope Folkvord

Congressman Rick & Betti Hill

Key Decisions – Steve Yeakel, CAE

Sound Health Imaging

Employees of Northwestern Energy

Jonathan & Beth Ries

Bill & Bobby Spilker

Lloyd Teigen

If you would like to dine with us, please arrive before 6:30pm and please have cash (exact change appreciated) or check (made out to MCRCC) in the amount of $15.

Here is this month’s Agenda.

Karl Rove is headlining an event to honor Senator Conrad Burns for his 18 years of service in the U.S. Senate. Scheduled for July 25 at Beartooth Harley Davidson in Billings, this event is going to be a great time with good food, good company, and a chance to see Karl Rove and pay tribute to Senator Burns. Tickets are $100, and there’s a round table limited to 12 seats for $1000. Get yours before we run out by calling 442-6469 or e-mailing hillary@mtgop.org

Rehberg Report

Montana’s Congressman Denny Rehberg is the only member of Montana’s Congressional Delegation with a consistent record of actually listening to constituents. Now, he’s scheduled his most recent listening sessions in Cascade, Hill, Blaine, and Valley Counties. “Government transparency is only useful if it’s coupled with accountability,” said Rehberg

Meanwhile, Denny voted to end the useless waste of taxpayer dollars that comes from stimulus road signs. Any project that gets federal stimulus dollars to “create jobs” is required to immediately waste those dollars by putting up signs advertising the stimulus. Denny cosponsored the bill to end that practice.

Don Fredrikson, former Helena GOP Volunteer of the Year, Passes Away

Don Fredrikson passed away this week. Many Republicans knew him from his long history of activism in the Lewis and Clark Republican Central Committee, which recognized him as the volunteer of the year at their 2008 Lincoln Reagan Day Dinner. Our prayers and thoughts are with all those who were close to him.

The Poll Everyone’s Been Waiting For!

The mtgop.org web site has a poll for you to express your opinion about who ought to be our Presidential nominee for 2012. Is it way too early? Yes. But we all care about our nation’s leadership, or we wouldn’t be involved in the MTGOP. So let’s have some fun and vote on who we want to see in the White House after Barack Obama leaves in January, 2013.

On Sunday, July 25, Karl Rove will join us in Billings to celebrate former Senator Conrad Burns’ 18 years of service in Washington. Conrad is recovering beautifully from his stroke, and Karl Rove is the perfect choice to celebrate the good news about Senator Burns’ health and about his loyal service to Montana and the United States as a Senator. The event will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 at Beartooth Harley Davidson in Billings. Not only do we get to see Senator Burns and Karl Rove, but some cool bikes as well!

Seating at this exciting event is limited to 200 people, so hurry up and reserve your place! Tickets are $100 and can be bought by calling (406) 442-6469 or by e-mailing hillary@mtgop.org.

There is also a round table and photo opportunity for $1000 donors to the event, and a sponsorship opportunity for $2000.

Rehberg Report

While Democrats claim they’ve got no intention whatsoever of the federal government locking up Montana land, the truth is different. Congressman Denny Rehberg organized an investigation that uncovered e-mail after e-mail where extreme environmental partisans hold high level talks with the Obama administration about up to 4.5 million acres of Montana land that they would like to see off-limits.

Denny stood up immediately to protest. He’s invited Obama’s interior secretary to come to Montana and justify any such federal land grab.

“Montanans expect a high level of transparency when it comes to their government’s plans,” said Rehberg. “But even more important than transparency, they expect to have a say in the end result.”

Paid for by the Montana Republican Party. PO Box 935, Helena, MT 59624. Shirley Warehime, Treasurer.
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

MT GOP Convention A Huge Success

After all the effort and all the publicity, our convention turned out better than anyone hoped. More than 300 people attended, we had one of the first joint appearances between Supreme Court candidates, and the Billings group of TEA Party Patriots Montana Shrugged honored us by organizing a chance for GOP candidates to interact with their members and the public.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele impressed the crowd and singled out Jocelyn Galt of the College Republicans and Adam Gilbertson of the Young Republicans, highlighting the key role that their organizations play in the GOP. We also heard from Sue Lynch, President of the National Federaltion of Republican Women, and from Neil Livingstone, one of this nation’s preeminent authorities on terrorism.

Thank you to everyone who attended. Not only is the convention fun and educational for Republican activists, it’s the state party’s major fundraiser for the whole year. And it was a roaring success.

Legislative Candidate of the Week

Art Wittich is running for State Senate District 35. His legislative priorities are encouraging growth in Montana’s private sector, controlling state spending, improving the tax system, and utilizing the State’s unique constitutional authority to improve federal government decisions.

Art attended law school at University of Montana, and has practiced business, real estate, natural resource, and constitutional litigation for over 25 years. He also served as Counsel to Governor Stan Stephens from 1989-1992.

He resides outside Bozeman with his wife Candace, where they raised 2 daughters.

Rehberg Report

When the U.S. House voted for the so-called financial reform bill that perpetuates “too big to fail,” Denny Rehberg stood firm against it. He said, “this bill creates a huge new government bureaucracy and will lead to decreased credit availability for Montana’s small businesses.”

Instead, Denny supported auditing the Fed, another common sense reform killed by Democrats. Denny said, “While Speaker Pelosi is more than willing to stretch the Constitution to give the federal government the authority to control, bailout or even seize private companies, she won’t allow a clean up-or-down vote to push back the curtains at the Federal Reserve. The consequences of not shining the light on the Fed is too great to ignore.”

Kagan Should Not Be Confirmed

HELENA, MT – Montana Republican Party Chairman Will Deschamps released a statement today calling on Montana’s Senators to act on their stated support for Supreme Court rulings protecting the individual right to keep and bear arms. The statement follows:

On Monday Senators Baucus and Tester praised the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonald vs. Chicago. They said it was good for the Supreme Court to recognize an individual right to keep and bear arms. If they want to act on that belief, the best direct action they can take is to vote against the confirmation of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.

Both Senators Baucus and Tester have voted for gun control Justices at every single opportunity they have been given. But the most relevant case is that of Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Senators Baucus and Tester both voted to confirm Justice Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. In her hearings, Justice Sotomayor promised under oath that the question of whether the Second Amendment guaranteed an individual right to gun ownership was settled law.

Once on the court she voted against that right – she broke her promise. In the McDonald ruling, she concurred in a dissenting opinion that read as follows: I can find nothing in the Second Amendment’s text, history, or underlying rationale … to protect the keeping and bearing arms for private self-defense purposes.”

Today, once again, an Obama court nominee is promising the Senate that the question of an individual right to gun ownership is settled law. But Kagan’s record indicates a very strong likelihood that, should she become a justice, she will break that promise exactly as Sotomayor did.

If Senators Baucus and Tester want to avoid once again voting for gun control in their Supreme Court votes, they should vote against the confirmation of Elena Kagan.

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Paid for by the Montana Republican Party. PO Box 935, Helena, MT 59624. Shirley Warehime, Treasurer. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

• New theme
• New info pages: (including the County and State Committee rules, the recent updates to the Precinct Captain List and the Montana GOP Platform

If you happen to notice any errors or if there’s anything missing, please drop me a line: dogiakos-at-gmail-dot-com.

Thanks!