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Hanging out with GOP owners Bill and Pat Langdon

We had an opportunity last night to visit West Chester, Ohio, a northern suburb of Cincinnati.  Does the name sound familiar?  It might because its home to the next Speaker of the House of Representatives, Congressman John Boehner (R – OH).  It’s also home to the Grand Ole Pub (GOP) – a new bar and restaurant dedicated to American politics and history.

The GOP is the brain child of West Chester residents Bill and Pat Langdon.  They noticed the large number of English and Irish themed bars, but couldn’t find one dedicated to America.  “English and Irish pubs will display the flag and memorabilia from either country. We wanted to duplicate that with an American theme, so we started with the Constitution, the Betsy Ross flag, the Boston Tea Party, ‘Washington Crossing the Delaware’…We just wanted to tell the story of America’s founding on the walls,’” says Langdon.

The GOP is all about the USA.  They hand out pocket-sized copies of the Constitution.  Beyond early American history, they’ve added a contemporary element by displaying portraits of every American President.  They have an entire wall dedicated to the heroes of 9/11.  Even the typical bar paraphernalia has a decidedly American theme.  Instead of the normal beer signs you see at most bars, the GOP has a group of Budweiser mirrors, each dedicated to the major branches of US military service.

We arrived at the GOP at around 7:00 PM.  The bar and restaurant were busy, but not enough to have to wait.  The crowd seemed a bit light for a Saturday night so we asked Bill Langdon about his marketing plans.  He was quick to point out that they opened with a soft launch instead of a major grand opening.  They wanted to make sure their food and service met their expectations before they started really marketing their concept.  They may not get much choice in the matter however.  Two of the local news networks were broadcasting live from the GOP on election night.  That garnered attention from the national news and has been reported by TV affiliates from Maine to California.

The Langdon’s told us that most of the food is made from Pat’s own recipes.  We sampled several items including the hankee pankees, chicken wings, and gumbo.  It you’ve never had them, hankee pankees are made from a mixture of beef, breakfast sausage, and cheese.  The mixture is plopped on tiny pieces of rye bread and toasted in the oven.  Delicious!  The wings were good but not great.  They were breaded (not our favorite) and small.  On the positive side, like everything else we tasted, they did come out piping hot and the sauce (garlic buffalo) was very good.  The gumbo was fantastic.  It’s made with pulled chicken and two types of sausage and served over rice with sour cream and crackers on the side.  It was served in a huge bowl and the portion was so big we had trouble finishing it.

There’s an old expression that it’s more fun to eat in a pub than drink in a restaurant.   The GOP is no exception.  It’s an excellent bar, with tons of big flat screen TV’s and comfortable furnishings.  Most of the TVs were split among several college football games however a few were dedicated to the Fox News Network.  The Grand Ole Pub offers a great selection of draft and bottled beer, wine, and spirits.  They even serve our favorite, American Honey.  It’s Wild Turkey infused with honey and maybe the smoothest sipping liquor available.

We asked Bill if he thought other “American pubs” might spring up as a result of their efforts and all of the exposure.  He seemed to think it was possible.  We then asked the follow-up question: did he plan to expand, or even potentially franchise the concept.  He didn’t rule it out but remains focused on the success of this location.  Based on our experience, we have no doubt Bill and Pat Langdon have a winner on their hands.  If you live in Cincinnati, or have the opportunity to visit, we recommend a trip to the Grand Ole Pub,  West Chester’s newest party headquarters.

If Roles Were Reversed? U.S. Citizens Would be Arrested for Protesting in Mexico

As you’ve probably heard, Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill on April 23, 2010 that gives state police the authority to question whether an individual is in the United States legally and would consider it a crime for people to be unlawfully in the state. She said she was forced to act because Washington has failed to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs from Mexico.  Under the new law, people without proper documentation could be arrested and face jail time of up to six months and a fine of $2,500.00.

Voice of America’s, VOANews.com reports today that Mexico has issued a travel alert for it’s citizens traveling to Arizona.  In a statement, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it urges Mexicans to “act with prudence and with respect to the local legal framework.”  The statement goes on to say that once the law takes effect, every Mexican citizen may be harassed and questioned without further cause at any time.

This brings up a valid question.  Specifically, what laws does Mexico have in place to deal with foreigners within its borders?  According to the San Bernadino Sun, Mexico’s constitution and its General Population Act – its main law addressing immigration – include provisions that make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant and allow for local police to aid immigration authorities in making arrests.

Specific provisions state that:

The U.S. State Department has recently issued its own travel advisory for American citizens traveling to Mexico.  The most recent travel warning, dated April 12, 2010 states that:

“U.S. citizens traveling throughout Mexico should exercise caution in unfamiliar areas and be aware of their surroundings at all times. Bystanders have been injured or killed in violent attacks in cities across the country, demonstrating the heightened risk of violence in public places. In recent years, dozens of U.S. citizens living in Mexico have been kidnapped and most of their cases remain unsolved. U.S. citizens who believe they are being targeted for kidnapping or other crimes should notify Mexican law enforcement officials and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City or the nearest U.S. consulate as soon as possible. Any U.S. visitor who suspects they are a target should consider returning to the United States immediately. U.S. citizens should be aware that many cases of violent crime are never resolved by Mexican law enforcement, and the U.S. government has no authority to investigate crimes committed in Mexico.”

In March of 2010, prominent Arizona rancher Robert Krentz was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant.  Foot tracks were identified and followed approximately 20 miles south to the Mexico border by sheriff’s deputies, U.S. Border Patrol trackers and Department of Corrections dog chase teams, authorities said.

But it’s not a problem only border states like Arizona must deal with.  Citizens across the United States have been victimized by violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants from Mexico.  In August of 2006, Kevin Barnhill, a Cincinnati, OH native and employee of the Cincinnati Reds was stabbed to death by Enrique Torres, an illegal immigrant who authorities believe slipped back across the Mexican border.  He remains at large and is on the FBI’s most wanted list.

The State of Arizona is looking to fight fire with fire.  In Arizona, the biggest concern for Mexican nationals is that a police officer might ask for identification.  At home and abroad, U.S. Citizens must provide documentation, but also have to fear kidnapping, violent crime and potentially murder.

To protect our citizens we must secure our borders and ensure visitors to the United States are documented and here legally.

First, President Obama spoke at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser on tax day, April 15th and said that tea party activists should “be saying thank you” for the tax cuts enacted by his administration.

Then Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner appeared Sunday, April 18th on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”  He was asked about the tea party protests and responded by saying “We’ve just been through eight years where many people said deficits don’t matter. We can pass huge tax cuts, pass huge new programs without paying for them. That debate has changed fundamentally.”  “You don’t hear people say anymore deficits don’t matter. You don’t hear people saying we can pass enormous expansions in government without paying for it. That’s an important change.”

Obviously these statements are in direct contradiction to everything the Democrats have done since taking control of the White House and Congress.  Taxes are going up, at least for those of us who pay them.  And we’re not just talking about the federal income tax.  Politicians keep looking for new and creative ways to take our money.  Health care reform?  Tax.  Cap & trade?  Tax.  Financial reform?  Tax.

What about controlling the size of government?  Well, the IRS plans to hire 16,000 additional agents just to make sure we’ve all got health care.  In addition, the Washington Times reports that federal government payroll will grow to 2.15 million employees this year.  That number includes 80,000 census workers, but doesn’t include approximately 600,000 postal employees or the millions of government contractors.  Government today is by far the nation’s single biggest employer and the average government employee makes $79,197 compared to the $50,028 made by the average private sector employee.

So what about the deficit?Just one look at US National Debt Clock is enough to make most people’s head spin.  Members of Congress have voted to extend unemployment benefits twice in the last two months, with the most recent extension contributing an additional $18 billion to the deficit.  Some Republicans, including Senator Jim Bunning (KY), attempted to block the measures until Congress figured out how to pay for it. Rep. Sander Levin, a Democrat from Michigan said “They seem to have discovered fiscal responsibility when it comes time to extend unemployment benefits but not when it came to paying for tax cuts for the rich and the Iraq war.”

It’s enough to make you wonder if the politicians really think people are that stupid.  A recent Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 52% of U.S. voters believe the average member of the Tea Party movement has a better understanding of the issues facing America today than the average member of Congress.  Hopefully we’ll remind our current Congress not to insult our intelligence by voting them out of office this November.  Then in 2012 we’ll have an opportunity to say “thank you” to Barack Obama…as in “thank you for your service…now get out!”

Not so fast.  On March 10, 2009, federal judge Nina Gershon of the Eastern District of New York made permanent her temporary injunction prohibiting Congress from cutting off funding for ACORN.  The Department of Justice is planning to appeal Gershon’s ruling and seek a stay pending appeal.

About the ruling, ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis said: “ACORN has faced a series of well-orchestrated, relentless, well-funded right wing attacks that are unprecedented since the McCarthy era,” she said. “The videos were a manufactured, sensational story that led to rush to judgment and an unconstitutional act by Congress.”

In a March 16 memo (White House) Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Peter Orszag updated federal agencies on the ruling.  While not directly telling federal agencies to resume funding, the memo opens that door.

Some ACORN affiliates, including ACORN New York and ACORN California have even changed their names to ditch the tarnished image of their parent organization.  Between the name changes, and Judge Gershon’s ruling, it looks like ACORN may be back.

In 2008, ACORN was successful at registering hundreds of thousands of low income voters, though their efforts were dogged by fraud allegations, including that some workers submitted voter registration forms signed by “Mickey Mouse” and other cartoon characters.

Organizations like ACORN have proven they will do anything possible to tilt election results in their favor.  We have to continue the fight against ACORN, but we must also level the playing field.  To remove the incumbents crooks from political office in 2010, every patriot must do their civic duty and vote.   It’s up to us to make 2010 a November to Remember!

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

If we only had two choices, keep all of the current lawmakers in office or vote out every incumbent, a new Fox News poll shows that 68% of respondents would clean house, while only 20% would keep the status quo.  Not surprising considering Congress’ approval rating has been hovering around 18%.  What is surprising is that 52% of the respondents who described themselves as Democrats would get rid of all incumbents.  All of this spells bad news for incumbents in 2010.

Here’s more interesting, though not shocking, data.  17% think Congress cares what the American people want, compared to the large 79 percent majority who think Congress does whatever it wants to do.

We’ve all heard the argument that we need experience in Congress and that term limits will do as much harm as good.  Opponents to term limits say they eliminate people with wisdom and experience from political life. They ask, WHAT IF you have a really great public servant and want to keep him?  You can’t.

The real problem with term limits is that they have to be made into law.  That’s a major conflict of interest for politicians that want job security.  After all, the benefits of serving the people are pretty good.  Free health care, great retirement package, and virtual immunity to anything from tax evasion to fraud and everything in between.  So what Representative or Senator is going to stand up and propose term limits?

It’s time for our elected officials to do their civic duty and return to private life.  If they can’t figure it out on their own, we’ll have to show them all the door in November.  Unless they can dramatically change public perception in the next 180 days, that’s very likely to happen.  Good riddance!

Rene Oberer

We received an email today from Rene Oberer, a Conservative challenging Rep. Mike Turner (R) for US Representative of Ohio’s 3rd District.  The email challenged Mr. Turner’s use of earmarks.

Certainly, in a perfect world any conservative would be opposed to earmarks, but in today’s Congressional politics they seem inevitable.  The practice is ingrained.  So, while we understand Rep. Turner’s desire to return some of that money to our community, we agree that earmarks do more harm than good.  To stop the earmarks, you have to change the system by removing the people enabling the status quo.

That said, we applaud Rene’s efforts to bring light to this issue and support her in trying to get rid of earmarks entirely.  Maybe the earmarks that litter this god forsaken health care bill will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back?

We at BeHeardNotHerded.com have no allegiance to career politicians.  We believe that citizens should do their civic duty by serving public office, then return to their private lives.  To that end, we support Rene’s efforts to challenge Mr. Turner.  Congress needs an enema!

To read the email from Rene Oberer, click the link below.

Hello fellow patriots,

Turner has been in the news lately.  He finally joined the House Republicans on a one year ban of earmarks.  According to the DDN (March 13, 2010), Turner hopes the ban will serve as “a means to developing a more transparent process”, meaning more earmarks in the future.  He was also quoted as saying that he wants to work with the House members “to make the Dayton region’s earmark process a national model.

In my opinion, earmarks are the most inefficient way to spend our money.  Why should we send our tax dollars to Washington to be squandered so that a few bureaucrats can decide what projects we need done in Dayton.  Why should other states subsidize our spending and vice versa.

Who benefits most from earmarks,  the people who pay no taxes, the political contributor who benefits from the project, or the politician that is buying and selling votes (in a transparent way?)???  I know for sure that it isn’t us (We the People), the responsible, hard working citizens of this great country.

I realize that earmarks are just a small part of the over spending by Washington, but it demonstrates Mr. Turner’s lack of understanding of the basic principle of individual Liberty.  He claims to be a fiscal conservative.  He brags about his no votes, but he is proud of his earmarks.  Every dollar he votes to redistribute is a slice of your life he is stealing away.

I am a true fiscal conservative.  I will uphold and protect the original intent of the Constitution.  Please help me clean up our little corner in Washington.  I need people to go door to door in their neighborhoods to spread the word.  If you are ready for the fight, just reply to this email.  Thank you.

Rene Oberer

Candidate for US Representative, Ohio’s 3rd District
www.obererforcongress.com