It’s hard for most Americans to understand just what is happening in Washington D.C. most of us know what needs to be done. Some feel we need to raise “revenue” and that would be a code for “taxes”…if you haven’t been paying attention. Others say we need cuts. And still others think we need a combination of the 2…but they are lying to you as they really don’t want cuts…but it sounds good doesn’t it?

Recently I spoke with my Congressman, Robert Hurt. He was concerned about the House plan and wanted to know what I thought and what the Tea Party was thinking. He is very frustrated and said ” I didn’t come up here to cut $1 trillion over 10 years”. If you went to public school like me and were not properly educated and your math is bad that would be $100 billion per year. FYI: That doesn’t even service the interest on the national debt.

I respect my Congressman. He genuinely wants to do good things up in D.C. and he really hates that place. I’ve been in the room and heard him call it ” a cess pool” on more than one occasion. But the problem is that the Republicans have no leadership. They can’t market their ideas in the public square. Not at the party level and not from the Speaker of the House. It’s really sad.

The latest bill as I understand it would have cut 917 billion dollars immediately and would have setup a “committee” to cut an additional 1.8 trillion (over who knows how long). Anyone believe these cuts will happen? Me neither. It’s a joke anyway as no future legislators are bound by any previous legislators. Simply put. They can always rescind these cuts in the future.

Now you are thinking…HUH!?!?!?!

We don’t get to live our lives like this. We must live (to a degree) within our means. At some point our credit card is maxed out and we don’t get to dictate a limit increase.

Not so in D.C. Not only that but it’s your money and your future and your children’s future they are gambling with.

The concern is that we will have our credit rating downgraded. And…doesn’t that happen to average Americans every day? What does that do? It makes them stop spending outside their means. It makes them get responsible. Sometimes it makes them realize that they are insolvent…GASP! Yes we are insolvent. The United States can NEVER pay back +$14 Trillion dollars in debt. NEVER! They talk about the “Full faith and credit of the United States” and it’s a joke. There is no such thing anymore.

What has been taking place over the past several years is a controlled looting of our nations wealth. Where is it going? Your guess is as good as mine.

You might make the case that some deficit spending is a good thing. But for 10 years or more? At what point does “some” become irresponsible?

Default is coming. The question is how bad of a default. I have no intention of paying for this nonsense. I never voted for or authorized my “representatives” to go up to D.C. and ENSLAVE us all and neither did the Constitution.

If you want to see the canary in the coal mine then watch the price of Gold and Silver. Watch closely. It’s going to get bad folks. Get ready!

I understand what the GOP thinks it’s doing. Trying to paint Reid and Obama into a corner. But on a good day they don’t understand the rope-a-dope (boxing term) that is being played on them…this is not a good day.

One day soon Americans may figure out that this “nation of laws” really doesn’t abide by a single one. Look out D.C. when that happens.

I spoke with Congressman Robert Hurt today. I’ve spoken with him enough over the past year to know when he is truly frustrated and this is one of those times. He like many freshman congressman went to D.C. like Mr. Smith. Intent on changing things. Sent there with a purpose and a mission only to have that mission and purpose thwarted. On the issue of spending alone Hurt said ” It’s easy to believe that we won…but now is more important than ever that we stay focused”. He went on to reference that we are borrowing 40 cents of every dollar to the tune of 1.6 trillion every year with a national debt of over 14 Trillion dollars.

It’s “unsustainable” said Hurt, and not just as a platitude. He means it.

If you have listened to some of his floor speeches you can see that he is not the same quiet guy that left Southside back in January.

“Failure to address the problems now will lead to the failure of our nation…I’m not a pessimist as I believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel…I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t” The problem is that, as Hurt puts it, Washington D.C. “moves slow as molasses” .

As I talk to Tea Party leaders across the commonwealth of Virginia they all have the same message. CUT SPENDING. And yet it isn’t getting done. Not for lack of desire on the part of some. The message that isn’t really getting out is what caused this budget crisis? The budget that is being worked on and the “continuing resolutions” that have been passed so far have been for “Fiscal Year 2011″ a budget process that was started under the previous House controlled by Democrats. A Senate Controlled by Democrats. A Whitehouse controlled by a Democrat.

So why is all the blame being focused on the Republicans?

HR 1 the first bill of 2011 cut $100 Billion dollars in waste and abuse. A small dent to be sure, but the number one expenditure in our nation is entitlement spending. ” The big money reforms need to come from Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or those systems will fail ” and he is right.

Robert Hurt was one of 47 Republicans that has stood his ground on spending according to Heritage.

47 Members (all Republicans) showed a rock-solid willingness to cut spending by voting for every spending cut:

* Amash, Bachmann, Broun, Campbell, Chabot, Chaffetz, Coffman, Duncan (TN), Duncan (SC), Flake, Fleming, Franks, Garrett, Gowdy, Graves (GA), Heller, Hensarling, Herger, Huelskamp, Huizenga, Hurt, Jenkins, Jordan, Lamborn, Mack, McClintock, McHenry, Miller (FL), Mulvaney, Myrick, Neugebauer, Paul, Pence, Pompeo, Price (GA), Ribble, Rokita, Royce, Scalise, Schweikert, Scott (GA), Scott (SC), Sessions, Walsh, Wilson, Woodall, and Young (IN).

In addition to that first 100 Billion Robert Hurt voted for almost $40 Billion more that was shot down by…say it with me…Democrats.

In a statement released via email today Hurt said:

We have taken important first steps to change course in Washington. I have voted to cut over $136 billion in government spending. I have voted to repeal and replace the Democrats’ health care law in its entirety, to repeal the onerous 1099 provision that burdens small businesses, and to de-fund provisions of the law when the House passed H.R. 1.

With rare exception such as his vote to extend the Patriot act I’ve not seen a lot that I should be concerned about.

The real blame needs to be focused on who is responsible for this mess: The Democratic Party.

I’m no friend of the establishment GOP. Their biggest problem is they think in terms of political calculations and not always about doing whats right. They like to throw out the “11th Commandment” and then throw solid representatives under the bus. All that said they are not the wrench in the gears here. Their biggest problem here is they think the truth alone is good enough. That you don’t need to sell the truth. Why? The democrats and Obama sell us lies all the time. Look at Libya. Look at the President today on TV criticizing the oil companies for not drilling when his administration won’t let them drill. A is A, unless you are Obama.

Schumer said he was:

“agonizing over whether to give in to right-wing demands that they abandon any compromise on their extreme cuts.”

“Extreme”? How about you cut 1.6 Trillion Dollars of the money we don’t have? I wouldn’t call that Extreme Chucky! I’d call that RESPONSIBLE!

The GOP Leaders need to hammer this point home at every opportunity:The Democratic leadership had over 1 year starting back in April of 2010 to begin and complete this budget which was supposed to be completed back in October. Instead they’ve been living on borrowed time and borrowed money. Our time and our money!They have been blaming the GOP for “not passing a budget” when it was the 111th Congress that didn’t get it done. Further they are demanding that the debt ceiling be raised to fund their insanity. As a Father I’m constantly telling my kids “money doesn’t grow on trees” but nobody has told these children running the ship of state. Instead, as usual after a game of kick the can, they are pointing the finger at the Republicans who dare to touch their third rails of politics. Sadly we haven’t even started on the Fiscal Year 2012 budget yet. 2 more great examples of the failures of Liberalism.

It’s too soon to throw out the representatives that are trying to get the job done. They are out there. Likely there are a few that are long past their expiration date. Robert Hurt isn’t one of them and anyone that thinks so after 3 months needs to get out of politics.

When the time comes to “shut down” the government my advice to Robert Hurt and anyone else that is serious would be to LET IT! Stand strong and confident that we support you. When it does shut down and the finger pointing begins make sure THE PEOPLE know the cold hard truth and nothing but the truth.

The following is a playlist of 4 videos that were loaded up by Kurt Feigel – LTP Vice Chair to our Youtube Channel.

June 9th, 2010 – With the close of the GOP Primary race, the Lynchburg Tea Party is drawing a line in the sand. “We congratulate Robert Hurt on his recent victory. However, we cannot and will not endorse a candidate that does not align with our core principles,” said Kurt Feigel the LTP Communications Vice Chair.
Being an organization that stands on a set of principles forces the Lynchburg Tea Party to look long and hard at this race. “ More than anything,  our membership is hard set against Tom Perriello, but as an organization, that does not mean we will compromise our core principles and values in exchange for pragmatism” said Dana Hale, LTP Logistics Vice Chair
For some, this will raise the question of how determined the Tea Party in the 5th is in defeating Tom Perriello, Nancy Pelosi and Obama. Some point to this split as evidence of division within the tea party. On the contrary, standing firmly upon our core principles shows evidence of solidarity and strength within the organization.

“If the other tea party groups in the fifth district are not serious about standing on principle, then as Samuel Adams famously said, ‘Let your chains set lightly upon you, and let posterity forget you were ever our countrymen.’” said Feigel “This is bigger than one man. If we don’t take a stand now, then when exactly do we plan to do it?”
Mark Lloyd, the LTP Chairman said, “The LTP encourages individual members to get involved in the process to unseat Tom Perriello from Congress. We encourage our members to support the candidate they believe will best accomplish this goal in keeping with our core values which are limited government, fiscal responsibility, free and fair markets, personal liberty based on personal responsibility, and Constitutional governance.” He went on to explain that all LTP members must, “…choose for themselves, the right candidate for that role.” For some, it is clear there is going to be a struggle between pragmatism and principle. “At this point, as a Tea Party organization, I don’t foresee the endorsement of any candidates during this election cycle.”
“The leadership of the Lynchburg Tea Party believes  the ignorance and apathy of so many who call themselves Americans has led the nation and the 5th district to where it is. It is time we educate citizens to their duty. It is quite a sad situation that less than 10% of voters made the decision for the rest of the district…this has got to stop,” said Feigel.
The LTP will begin seminars and movie screenings starting in July that will facilitate this educational process.
The lack of a candidate endorsement this election cycle does not mean the LTP and it’s members are not going to be actively following this race. All candidates are invited, and welcome to visit, including Tom Perriello. However, the Lynchburg Tea Party will dictate the forum.  Any candidate that chooses to accept our invitation will be treated with respect, allowed time to make prepared remarks, but required to spend time answering direct questions from the members in attendance.
“It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.” — Daniel Webster

Here are some videos of the debate if you missed it.

Thanks to our communications Vice Chair, Kurt Feigel and his company Central Virginia Studios for taking the time to edit these videos down and get them online. More are being added HERE

Now Senator Hurt has stated he will not participate in the debates, even though he personally gave his word to the 5th District tea parties and confirmed his participation with a local tv station only 24 hours ago for the January 23 debate! This date was specifically picked in order to facilitate Hurt’s General Assembly session.

It seems that Senator Hurt and his consultant, Chris LaCivita, are determined to have a repeat of NY-23 if they continue to lock out the participation of the grassroots and tea party. Please see the press release below from Mark Lloyd, Vice-Chair of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation.

Tea Party Patriots of the Virginia 5th District “Very Disappointed”

with Senator Hurt’s “Snub” of Charlottesville Debate

Lynchburg, Va. – Lynchburg Tea Party activists are disappointed that Republican candidate for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, State Senator Robert Hurt, has cancelled his appearance at the first of three Tea Party Debates in Charlottesville, VA.

“Mr. Hurt gave me a commitment on the phone just after Thanksgiving,” said Mark Lloyd of the Lynchburg Tea Party, and organizer of the VA 5th District Tea Party Debates.

“We had a pleasant conversation and checked the calendar together,” Lloyd explained, adding, “Mr. Hurt told me that date should work since it was early in the legislative session, that things would get difficult for him after that. We agreed to hold the first of the three Tea Party Debates in Charlottesville so Mr. Hurt would be able to travel from Richmond easily. I really thought we had a deal. We’re very disappointed in his decision.”

Lloyd said his group had “worked really hard to create a public forum for the candidates to lay out their vision for the voters in the 5th district.”

Lloyd continued, “We regret that Mr. Hurt won’t be there to explain his positions on the issues — especially his controversial tax votes in Richmond that so many of our members are concerned about. We will have an open chair for him, just in case he can work us into his schedule.”

In 2004, Robert Hurt voted to increase taxes $1.5 billion in Virginia, and was only one of 15 Republican state delegates to vote in favor of it, joining every Democrat in the legislature.

Lloyd held out hope that Hurt would attend future debates. Lloyd said, “I hope that he will make himself available for the debates in Lynchburg in February and Southside in March. I guess we’ll just have to see. The campaign does know of these following debates.”

Lloyd said the dates and times for the upcoming debates would be announced shortly, saying he still wanted to work with all candidates to find mutual availability.

Roger Schweikert of the Jefferson Area Tea Party of Charlottesville, said “Virginians, like people for all across the country are tired of this sort of game playing from professional politicians.”

“Mr. Hurt is making a mistake. The Tea Party movement is growing in the 5th district and all over the country, and to not make himself available may really hurt him in the upcoming primary and election,” said Nigel Coleman of the Danville Tea Party Patriots.