Hosted by Ray McBerry, Republican candidate for governor of Georgia, the first national Tenth Amendment Summit convened for the purpose of bringing candidates together from around the country who are running on a Tenth Amendment platform, each with the goal of restraining the power of the federal government through the assertion of peaceful, constitutional means. The event was co-sponsored by the Tenth Amendment Center in California.

Thursday night’s closed-door meeting included twenty-five candidates from across America who represented thirteen states — more than a quarter of the states that make up the union, including North Carolina’s own Dr. Dan Eichenbaum, Republican candidate for North Carolina’s 11th congressional district. Of candidates participating, there were fifteen running for Congress, one for U.S. Senate, one for state senate, five for state house, and three candidates for governor of their respective states. There were also both men and women present, running for office.

Perhaps more telling, though, was the fact that the candidates included Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and Independents. While it was obvious that all of the candidates did not share the same views on many issues, it was very apparent that each shared the common belief that his or her state should be allowed to govern itself without federal encroachment in any area other than those powers expressly granted to it in the Constitution.

The closed-door meeting Thursday night was a strategy session for the candidates to discuss what is working currently to promote the cause of state sovereignty and how the group can work together to advance the cause more.

Friday’s all-day meeting was open to the public and included speeches from nearly all of the participating candidates, including the keynote speaker — former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who is currently a Republican candidate for governor of Alabama. Dr. Eichenbaum, candidate for congress in North Carolina, spoke of several ways in which the federal government has exceeded the limits set forth in the constitution and the need for citizens to trust in freedom.

One of the important things to emerge from the Summit was a statement presented by the candidates Friday morning as a mutual statement of purpose. It reads as follows:

We The People of the several States created a federal government to serve as our limited agent, delegating to the federal government only those limited and few powers listed in the Constitution, and no others.

We recognize the federal government has seized unlimited power over virtually every aspect of Americans lives in violation of the Constitution of the United States, specifically with respect to the Tenth Amendment.

We call upon freedom-loving citizens everywhere to stand with us, as candidates for state and federal office, to pass meaningful and sensible legislation to restore the most critical check and balance deliberately designed into our constitutional republic: that of strong, sovereign states.

We pledge to limit and restrain all federal government exercise of power that exceeds in any way the plain language of those few powers listed in the Constitution and to nullify all others that exceed such limit.

When we restore the balance of power between the states and the federal government according to the Constitution, our country will enjoy the dynamic blessings of liberty and prosperity.

END RELEASE

For more information about the Tenth Amendment Summit or to schedule interviews, please contact Brian Umbarger, Dr Dan 4 Congress Communications Director, at 828-216-6645 or via email at brian@drdan4congress.comDr. Dan Eichenbaum speaks at the Tenth Amendment Summit

The Founding Mothers and Fathers of the Tea Party Movement to be Honored in Live Webcast by Viguerie Marketing Institute on 1 Year Anniversary Tomorrow

MANASSAS, Va., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Viguerie Marketing Institute will honor the 95 founding mothers and fathers of the Tea Party Movement tomorrow on the 1 year anniversary of the first 52 tea party protests held across the country on February 27, 2009. The names of these 95 founding mothers and fathers will be announced at the end of a free live Webcast that will be held tomorrow, Saturday, February 27, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. eastern. The Webcast will include highlights of the recent training conference of Leadership Tea Party, held in Dallas, Texas on January 29-31, which consisted of 10 sessions, and included the keynote address by Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com.

Among the points Viguerie made were:

• The Tea Party movement should avoid the temptation of forming a third party. It would be a disaster for the cause of freedom and limited government.
• Tea Party leaders should work to be a third force in politics in order to push Republican and Democratic politicians to the right.
• For now, all Tea Party activities should be focused on the 2010 primaries challenging every establishment Republican and Democrat.

Other topics in the Webcast conference include community organizing, dealing with the media, defeating powerful political machines, and protecting members and groups from legal pitfalls.

Nationally renowned presenters include American Liberty Alliance founder Eric Odom; Zen Conservatism author and co-founder of the St. Louis Tea Party Bill Hennessy; attorney Mark Fitzgibbons; Dallas Tea Party leader Lorie Medina; and St. Louis-based radio talk show host Dana Loesch.

The Webcast will be hosted live by Nationwide Tea Party Coalition co-founder Michael Patrick Leahy, author of Rules for Conservative Radicals. Leahy will be joined by other presenters to respond on camera during the Webcast to viewers’ emailed questions. In addition, the Webcast will provide a live report from the Dallas Tea Party in Dallas, Texas, to discover if MSNBC broadcaster Keith Olbermann shows up to accept the Dallas Tea Party’s recent YouTube invitation to attend their tea party celebration of the one year anniversary of the Tea Party Movement.

The live webcast is free. A complete schedule of the February 27 Webcast and registration information is online at www.vmionline.com. Additional registration for on-demand viewing of all ten training sessions is available for $19.95.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called “one of the creators of the modern conservative movement” (The Nation magazine) and one of the “conservatives of the century” (The Washington Times). He is the author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause.

Asheville Tea Party, an organization which was born on a cold and rainy February 27th 2009 in Asheville’s Pritchard Park, is among the listed 95 “founding mothers and fathers.”

Speakers include former superior court judge and Fox News analyst, Judge Andrew Napolitano, and Chief Justice Roy Moore of Alabama, who is widely known for his refusal as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court to remove the Ten Commandments from the courthouse wall.

As a staunch defender of states’ rights, I anticipate the Summit experience will provide me with additional knowledge and ammunition to fight federal overreach as a congressman in Washington.

As a nation, I believe the US must protect and defend its borders, national identity, and sovereignty against all threats external or internal. The push toward globalism sponsored by the current administration and the United Nations is a direct threat to our personal liberties and the rule of law as defined by our Constitution, and, as such, must be fought with all vigor and persistence. When our Constitution was written, treaties consisted of agreements one nation to another nation. For this reason, provisions were made so that no state could opt out of an international treaty agreed to by senate ratification. These provisions are extremely dangerous now that UN “human rights” treaties deal with citizens’ rights inside a nation. Senate ratification of UN treaties such as those concerning Rights of Children, Climate Change, Weapons, Judicial/Legal rights, etc., would allow international law to supersede state law to the detriment of our citizens. This possibility is unacceptable to me. Until this constitutional loophole is removed, we must actively prevent ratification of any international treaty that would contradict or restrict any rights and provision guaranteed by our constitution.

The States created the federal government, not the other way around. The Tenth Amendment is referred to as the “forgotten amendment.” Our founders added the Tenth Amendment because they wanted to make it absolutely clear that anything that was not delegated or prohibited by the Constitution would be reserved to the states or to the people. Individual states must actively and aggressively take the necessary legal steps to reaffirm and regain the rights that have been usurped by the federal government.

Trust in Freedom
Dr. Dan Eichenbaum

Larry Porter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BREVARD, NC – Dr. Dan Eichenbaum, a practicing ophthalmologist and congressional candidate from Murphy, NC, scored another landslide victory in a straw poll conducted immediately following a candidate forum Saturday night in Transylvania County. The candidate forum and straw poll were hosted by the Transylvania County Republican Party and were held in conjunction with the Transylvania County GOP’s annual “Lincoln Day Dinner” at Brevard Middle School.

Other forum participants included candidates Jeff Miller and Greg Newman of Hendersonville, Kenny West of Hayesville, and Ed Krause of Marion. Candidates Jake Howard of Macon County and Dan Ostergaard of Asheville were in abstention.

Although the audience was comprised of voters from throughout the 11th District, voting in the straw poll was limited to registered voters of Transylvania County.

Straw poll results:
Dr. Dan Eichenbaum – 36
Kenny West – 7
Greg Newman – 6
Jeff Miller – 4
Ed Krause – 1

These results make Dr. Dan Eichenbaum the winner of every post-debate straw poll conducted thus far. Dr Dan’s previous straw poll victories were in forums hosted by the Buncombe County GOP on December 7th and another hosted by the Cherokee County 9/12 Project on February 1st.

The next scheduled congressional candidate forum will be at AB Tech Community College on March 5th at 6:30 pm and is hosted by the Asheville TEA Party. A straw poll of audience members will be conducted immediately following.

Dr. Dan Eichenbaum, an Ophthalmologist residing in Murphy, is a Constitutional Republican who is standing for election to congress in North Carolina’s 11th district. As a founding member of the Cherokee County 9-12 Project and Tea Party participant, Dr. Dan is the true grassroots candidate in the 11th district.

###

By C.L. Gray, M.D.
- FOXNews.com

Historically, practicing physicians have shunned politics. If our democracy is to survive, these times demand thoughtful solutions and difficult decisions. Few individuals are better suited to the task than the Hippocratic physician.

Behind the scenes, a quiet and unassuming movement is afoot destined to reshape the future of American health care—and possibly the entire landscape of American politics.

The House currently has fourteen physicians. The Senate has two. This means less than 3% of our elected officials in Washington come from one of the most trusted professions in America—medicine. But that is about to change.

Rising from the ranks of my home state, three North Carolina physicians are running for Congress to address our nation’s daunting challenges. Dr. B. J. Lawson, Dr. James Taylor, and Dr. Dan Eichenbaum seek to represent the 4th, 6th, and 11th Congressional districts. Should they be elected, North Carolina would have a larger physician representation than any state in the Union—three of thirteen Congressional seats, nearly 25%. But why should America care?

In “Precepts” Hippocrates once wrote, “For if love of men is present, love of the art is also present.” In “On Breaths” he added, “The physician sees terrible things, touches what is loathsome, and from others’ misfortunes harvests troubles of his own.” For the Hippocratic physician, the well-being of the individual was of primary concern—not power, not money, not personal gain, and most assuredly, not the supremacy of the State. The Hippocratic physician was born to serve his fellow man.

But such servant leaders are in short supply in Washington today. An air of entitled aristocracy permeates our political class. Rather than guarding hard-earned taxpayer dollars with sacred trust, politicians spend with reckless abandon. Rather than leaving Washington to live under the laws they pass, most politicians cling to power for as long as possible.

Washington has become a city where pork and payoffs rule the day. Where backroom deals and buried earmarks are accepted as they way things get done. Where health care reform becomes about politics, power, and payoffs, not patient care. Americans chafe against this sad perversion of power. To reclaim our representative government, We the People must find new leadership.

Historically, practicing physicians have shunned politics—and for good reason. As we open the clinic door or push aside the emergency room curtain, our patient’s political leanings never cross our mind. Nor should they.

However, our nation now moves into complex and perilous waters. Trillions of dollars of unfunded Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security obligations must be addressed. The exploding American debt now threatens our very independence. If our democracy is to survive, these times call for thoughtful solutions and difficult decisions. Few individuals are better suited to make these difficult decisions than the Hippocratic physician.

To save the patient the surgeon must sometimes cut to cure. To fight some cancers the oncologist must prescribe chemotherapy. Physicians must not only understand the details of a complex system and make the correct diagnosis, they must treat the illness, even if the patient does not want to hear what the physician has to say. Physicians know that alleviating symptoms does not address the disease, that more is needed however difficult.

The behavior of two prominent physician/politicians, Senators Bill Frist and Tom Coburn demonstrate the credibility of the physician statesman. In sharp contrast to today’s permanent political aristocracy, Senator Frist stepped down after achieving the position of Senate Majority Leader. Why? He had promised the voters he would serve for 12 years and no more—he kept his word. Few individuals can walk away from such power. In contrast to Washington’s common but corrupt practice of earmarks, Senator Coburn has opposed wasteful spending (by both parties) so aggressively he earned the nickname Dr. No. Like Senator Frist, he too has pledged to relinquish power after 12 years of service.

In the fall of 2010, North Carolina may serve as a bell-weather state. North Carolina’s state motto, “esse quam videri”—to be, not to seem to be, distinguishes the politician from the statesman. The politician is concerned with perception; the statesman is driven by character. Voters must decide if these three physicians can be statesmen. If elected, these three men must prove that they are.

Facing overwhelming debt, we need politicians willing to make tough decisions. In dealing with a subject as complex as health care reform, we need men and women who understand how decisions in Washington impact patient care at the bedside. Americans desperately seek elected officials committed to financial responsibility, Constitutional fidelity, and the sanctity of the patient/physician relationship. Two questions remain:

1) Will such servant/leaders rise to the fore?
2) Will We the People recognize who they are and send them to Washington?

C. L. Gray, M.D., is president of Physicians for Reform.

Click here: http://libertyslate.com/candidates/candidates-by-rank/ to view the ranking (rest assured that Dr. Dan does not favor unconstitutional entitlement programs).

Some would argue that, without an increase in the debt ceiling, the government will not be able to fund next month’s social security checks, medicare reimbursements, military pay checks, and interest payments on the national debt. The obvious answer is to immediately eliminate all funding for useless, non-essential earmarks that serve only to protect the careers of our corrupt politicians. A recently-released list of these projects reveals an obscene waste of taxpayers’ money. Maintaining the current ceiling on the national debt could have forced congress to make the hard decisions necessary to move toward the fiscally responsible, balanced budget needed to avoid financial catastrophe.

Trust In Freedom
Dr Dan Eichenbaum

On the evening if the first day, we gathered in the main hall for mingling and hors d’oevres. There, we ran into good people from Cherokee County, Cleveland County, Henderson County, and Polk County. Meet Debbie Arceneaux of Polk County 9.12 Project:

The speech would likely have been objectionable to Progressives, Socialists, supporters of amnesty for illegal immigrants, and opponents of the preservation of American culture, but it was not racist. If I could find the entire speech anywhere online, I would post it here. Apparently, it doesn’t serve the media’s purpose to publish the entire speech in context. Here is part of the speech.

Feb.5

On the second day, after breakfast and a short speech by Memphis Tea Party organizer Mark Skoda, we broke out into sessions. We attended the Leadership Institute’s training session on using new media. This class was led by one of the media directors of the wildly successful Scott Brown campaign. In it, we learned more about the effective use of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter Google AdWords, Google Docs, Google Forms, Google News Alerts, online petitions and polls, Ning, Drop.io, and text messaging services such as Tatango. This class was a great value and many of the ideas put forward are things that Asheville Tea PAC will be able to use effectively in the upcoming Congressional campaign.

We then went to lunch where we heard speeches by Judge Roy Moore, candidate for Alabama Governor, and Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch. Tom Fitton’s speech was extremely informative. Asheville Tea Party members should definitely avail themselves of the information provided by Judicial Watch at their website.

After lunch, David DeGerolamo and I conducted a breakout session on “How To Unite State Tea Party Groups.” The session was well attended and received. After we finished our presentation (without PowerPoints because the IT guy never showed up) we took questions. When the hour allotted for our session was up, the participants agreed that they wanted more of this topic and material. We inquired of Judson Phillips, the convention organizer, if it would be possible to hold another session during the free period the next day and he provided us a room and a three hour time period.

At dinner, we heard from Congressional Candidate and media personality Angela McGlowan and WND founder Joseph Farah. McGlowan’s speech was inspiring. Farah’s speech was almost entirely devoted to challenging the authenticity of the President’s birth certificate. This was a disappointment to me and, I believe, a negative contribution to the Tea Party Convention.

Fortunately, what followed eclipsed Farah’s speech completely. We had the privilege of screening an as-yet-unreleased movie, Generation Zero. This movie which will be released in select theaters in the coming weeks, is a jaw dropping assessment of our current economic straits, presented in a way that holds you visually captive. I had the opportunity to speak to Stephen K. Bannon, the man behind the movie, at the close of the convention and found him to be sincere and passionate about his work. He wants this movie to not only be a tool for education and motivation, but a source of pride for the Tea Party movement which he feels is heir to the Ronald Reagan legacy. As soon as the film is available on DVD, Asheville Tea Party will host a public viewing.

Feb.6

On the morning of the third day, we heard from Amy Kremer, early leader in the Tea Party movement and one of the organizers of Tea Party Express. We also were treated to a speech from Andrew Breitbart, founder of BigHollywood.com, BigJournalism.com, BigGovernment.com, and Breitbart.tv. Andrew’s speech was amazing and, as he brought the crowd to its feet over and over again, his words brought the mainstream media to its knees. We are so pleased and proud that Andrew Breitbart counts himself among us. I had a chance to speak to him and, hopefully, have persuaded him that Asheville should be one of his next stops in his busy travel schedule.

After Breitbart’s total evisceration of the the mainstream media, we had a Panel Discussion. Our own David DeGerolamo, founder of NCFreedom, was a member of the three person panel answering questions from the general audience. The other two panelists were Amy Kremer of Tea Party Express and Mark Skoda of Memphis Tea Party. Videos of the panel discussion are available here and here.

After the panel discussion and lunch, we returned to the meeting rooms for our second session of “How To Unite State Tea Party Groups.” We presented the material with PowerPoint slides this time and took a few questions. Then, we broke up into four geographical regions to discuss amongst ourselves what works, what doesn’t, and what’s next. After a half hour, we reconvened and Judson Phillips joined us. At this session, we discussed how to use Tea Party Nation’s website as a hub of communication for the nation’s Tea Parties and where to begin with networking. In the coming weeks, we will be developing this network further with Tea Party Nation and devising a Toolkit for Tea Party organizers to use in their efforts to organize their states for improved communication. Also at this session, we had a chance to utilize a new media tool we learned about in the Leadership Institute session.

The day was capped off by dinner, a performance by singer/songwritier/patriot Jon David, and a rousing speech by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Governor Palin’s much anticipated speech carried no hint of an attempt to coopt the Tea Party movement for personal or political gain. Much to the contrary, Governor Palin extolled the benefit of the Tea Party not having a national leader or spokesperson in that we are a force for change in both parties and across ideological boundaries. You can see her entire speech here.

Much to my great pleasure, the convention ended without a single mention of the formation of a Tea Party political party. It was entirely devoted to opening up lines of communication among patriot groups, encouraging the movement, and moving forward using strategies that work. There was no heavy handed partisanship on display and no divisiveness or conflict among members. If my schedule permits, I will gladly accept the invitation I received from Judson Phillips to present another session on “Uniting a State” with David DeGerolamo at the next Tea Party Convention in July.

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