West Chester Tea Party

Americans for Prosperity and the Ohio Liberty Council are joining together to get the word out about potential threats we face from big government politicians during the upcoming lame duck session of Congress. Please read the below Action Alert explaining the threats and how we will fight back if lame duck Congress members ignore the clearly expressed will of the American people and try to pass job and liberty-killing legislation on their way out the door.

Lame Duck Threat: Democrats don’t know when they will control the House again, and they expect more Senate losses in 2012 and 2014, because 2006 and 2008 were such big Democratic years. So the narrow window of the lame duck session is the last best chance for Democrats to pass big-ticket, far-left agenda items.

Dates of Lame Duck Session: The House and Senate are set to return November 15 for a one week session, followed by a one-week break for Thanksgiving, and at least one more week at the beginning of December. It is possible it could stay in session throughout December in a replay of last year’s Christmas Eve health care vote.

Battles We May Need to Fight:
The first vote on funding ObamaCare. Instead of simply passing a continuing resolution to fund the government until the new Congress is sworn in, Democrats may try to pass a last minute appropriations bill to fund big government programs like ObamaCare and EPA global warming regulations and to grant earmarks to defeated members.
The tax cuts fight. Taxpayers face a steep tax increase on January 1, unless Congress extends the expiring tax cuts. Democrats may try to extend tax cuts only for those taxpayers earning $250,000 or less, which would mean enormous tax hikes for employers, investors, and upper-income workers. These tax hikes would further stifle job creation and economic recovery.
Energy Regulation. Although cap-and-trade is no longer a real threat, the threat of a damaging energy bill does still exist. Lame duck Senator and Kansas Governor-elect Sam Brownback is pushing for a Renewable Electricity Mandate bill, that would would require electricity companies to produce 15 percent of their electricity from wind, solar, geothermal and a list of other green sources by 2021. This legislation would cause electricity prices to rise and likely kill jobs in Ohio’s coal industry.
Union Pension Bailout. Unions will likely demand sweeping union pension bailout legislation.
Other Potential Threats. A recent article in The Hill confirmed Democrats may try to pass as many as 20 bills in the lame duck session, and there is still some risk of an all-out push on everything from energy to card check to enormous Social Security tax hikes based on the president’s deficit commission recommendations.

Fighting the Threats: If the big-government politicians in Congress ignore the clearly expressed will of the American people and try to pass job and liberty-killing legislation on their way out the door, we need to be ready to fight back. Please watch for notices of protests at key district offices and requests to contact specific elected officials. Senator Sherrod Brown and each of Ohio’s Congress members are up for re-election or a potential re-match in just 2 years, and we need to let them know their votes in this lame duck session are the first votes of the 2012 cycle, and we are watching! Please see below for contact information and some key message points.

*Congress members who were defeated in their bid for re-election on November 2, 2010.

Key Message Points:
1. These are the first votes of the 2012 cycle and public anger is not going away. Do not disrespect the American people by pursuing the same far-left, big-government policies they just decisively rejected.
2. You have no right to raise taxes on any American while the economy remains weak and after class-warfare, tax-the-rich ideas were decisively rejected in a national election.
3. It’s wrong to cheat the American people by voting to fund ObamaCare before a new Congress elected to de-fund it can be seated.