The takeaway from the Inspire.com Redstate Gathering for me was clear, but profound: I get it.

I’ve followed Chuck DeVore on the site, and I understood…but after hearing him speak, now I get it.

I’ve read pages and page on Mike Lee in Utah and understood that knocking off Bob Bennett was a good thing…but after hearing Mike speak, now I get it.

I know that getting a young conservative in Tom Graves elected to the house in Georgia was a good thing, but after meeting him personally and hearing him speak…now I get it.

We all know Gov. Perry and Nikki Haley are exciting, conservative candidates…but after meeting them, now I get it.

Inspire.com Redstate is at the forefront of the brewing conservative revolution, driving support for the right candidates in the right places.  The editors, front page contributors, and all of us who write these diaries are laying the foundation for good men and women to build upon.  The folks building things like The Concord Project and Procint, and organizations like American Majority who provides training, are giving us the tools we need not only to support national candidates, but to get ourselves and our friends elected at the state and local levels.

Before the Inspire.com Redstate Gathering, I understood all this.  I believed in what we were doing.  I supported our editors and the people they supported.

But now, I get it.

- Jon (in Wisconsin, but aka IlliniJon)

EPU had a post on Friday about 2 of the Senate candidates here in Wisconsin on Friday, Dave Westlake and Terrance Wall.  He covered those two accurately, but there were two other candidates in the race: Dick Leinenkugel of the Leinenkugel brewing family (mostly midwest I think, but maybe some of you coasters have seen it – Honey Weiss, Berry Weiss, Leinie’s Red, etc), and an OshKosh businessman names Ron Johnson.  Ron Johnson only got in the race last Monday, but has seen his star skyrocketing since he’s spoke recently at some of the Tea Party rallies.  I was completely unfamiliar with him before this morning, except to know that he’s been generating buzz.  Now we know why.

The first surprise during the endorsement process was when our third candidate/speaker, Dick Leinenkugel, gave his speech, and towards the end of it abruptly dropped out of the race.  He then wholeheartedly endorsed Ron Johnson, who was the 4th candidate to speak.  And speak he did.

Ron Johnson wowed us.  He spoke of familiar themes, of the ridiculous attacks on American businesses and the worship of big government.  He spoke about the erosion of our freedoms and losing our liberties.  He spoke about how for the first time in his life, he’s scared of the direction we’re heading.

These are all common themes, but he spoke in such a way that resonated, that got you excited, and that you felt was genuine.  And this was the difference between him and Dave Westlake.  I liked *everything* Westlake had to say.  He was passionate, conservative, intelligent, honorable, you name the adjective.  But whatever “it” is…the “it” that gives you momentum and pushes you over the edge and makes it clear that this job is yours…Dave never had it.  He’s been in the campaign since 2009, and he still doesn’t have it.  And that’s why Dave Westlake was eliminated in the first round of balloting at convention, that’s why he wouldn’t beat Russ Feingold, and that’s why he won’t even be our nominee come September when our primary takes place.

Ron Johnson won the state party endorsement in the second round of balloting with 63.9% of the vote (you need 60%).  Of course, at the end of the day, we all know convention endorsements don’t mean much.  They all have to continue to campaign, and someone has to make it through the primary.  To be honest, I would be happy with any of the 3.  But I think we’ll see in the coming weeks and months that Ron Johnson has the momentum and has the best chance of beating Russ Feingold.  I’m not 100% sold on Johnson yet – a ten minute speech, while leaving a good impression, does not a final decision make.  But the first impression was a good one, he’s got the backing of the state party, and I think he may be our man.

I’ll write up more in the future, as I sort out all the details.  In any event, it was an exciting weekend for Conservatives in Wisconsin.

- Jon

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/90943939.html

“My family didn’t want me to run,” Thompson told the Journal Sentinel moments before he gave a speech to thousands at a tea party gathering on the steps of the State Capitol.

Thompson’s daughter, Kelli, said after the speech that her father wanted to run badly.

“He’d do this more than anything else,” she said. “The family can’t do it anymore. It’s too vicious. It’s too hard.”

Do I think Thompson could have beat Feingold?  Yes, maybe.  Do I think Thompson had a lot of baggage that he brought with him?  Yes, maybe.  Do I think Wall or Westlake or any of the other contenders will knock off Feingold?  One can hope, but I’d have to venture a no on that one right now.

A lot of this will depend on the disposition of the country come November.  Had the election been a month or two ago, before the health care vote, I think we would have had a better chance, but I fear we may lose some of our momentum before November.  That’s just a long time to stay fired up for the average person.

Then again, this administration is the gift that keeps on giving, so we can only guess what they’ll attempt between now and then.

All in all, I think this takes Wisconsin off the table as a potential Senate takeaway, but it’s nice to at least have some direction on the issue, because Tommy’s been dipping his toes in for months, with no decision.

- Jon

“Obama is a lier – he thinks he’s in charge, but he’s not; God is”

Then this morning, we were reading about the new Wisconsin state budget, where spending is going up 6% and our taxes are increasing. My wife was complaining about it, so I said “God bless the Democrats!”.

My son repeats it (totally innocent, which is what made it funny) as:

“God bless the Dumbcrats!”

I’d say he’s figuring things out quickly!

- Jon

My third son:

Jack Eugene
Born 5/5/09
21.5 inches
8 lbs 15 oz

And doing great!

The event was rather intimate – just about 80 people.  I sat at the table next to Paul Ryan.  Did I feel like a teenage girl with front row seats to a Jonas Bros. concert?  Well, maybe not quite, but it was really pretty darn cool.  In fact, this was the highest ranking political figure I’ve ever seen in real life (i.e. not on TV).  I had never seen a congressman before this, and I’ve still never seen a senator, VP, or Pres in person.  Paul Ryan may ultimately have all 4 of these under his belt before things are said and done.  But I digress.

This post isn’t really about Paul Ryan, but he did say he’ll have his own federal budget proposal out in about 2 weeks.  It’s something we should all look forward to.

Who I really want to talk about is Scott Walker, current Milwaukee County Executive, and likely candidate for Governor in 2010.  Scott is a strong conservative, who opposed the bailout and and opposes tax increases.  He has not raised taxes in the 6 years that he’s been in office, and is strongly pro-business.  He caused an absolute commotion when he refused to submit a wishlist for the federal stimulus money.

The current governor of Wisconsin is Jim Doyle.  He defeated his Republican rival in 2006 53% to 45%.  He won his initial election in 2002 45% to 41%.  A poll from Feb puts Doyle ahead 50-43, which is good news for Scott given that he’s relatively unknown outside the Milwaukee metro area.  Doyle has mediocre approval ratings and has left the state finances in shambles.  Wisconsin has one of the largest budget gaps as a percentage of the general fund in the country, and a potential overall deficit of over 5 billion by 2011.  This would be the worst deficit in the history of the state.

From the Racine Journal Times, reporting on last night’s event:

Friday [Walker] repeatedly told an audience of about 80 that Doyle’s “failed leadership and inability to make tough decisions” are largely responsible for the state’s daunting budget deficit. That deficit, estimated at $5.7 billion for the next biennium, is the nation’s fourth-largest, Walker said.

He said Doyle’s budget proposal would take $2.5 billion of the federal stimulus money to help plug that gaping hole and add almost $3 billion in new taxes.

“This governor’s taking us down the wrong path at the wrong time for the wrong reasons,” Walker said.

“History has shown us how to get out of this (recession),” he said: with tax cuts.

Emphasis mine.

4th largest deficit…anybody that knows their geography realizes that Wisconsin isn’t the 4th largest state; nor do we have the nation’s 4th largest economy.  Train wreck.

Scott Walker has suggested suspending the state’s 5% sales tax through the end of the year.  This would draw shoppers from all the surrounding states, including Illinois and therefore Chicago.  Says Walker:

“We would put Wisconsin on the map as an economic haven.”

I’m a FIB* – I was was born in Illinois and spent 28 years of my life there.  But I moved to Wisconsin** almost 4 years ago, and I support anything any anybody who wants to lower our taxes and build the economy in our state.  This state leans liberal, but not so far that common sense has been thrown out the window.  Scott Walker can win this election, and I hope you’ll join me in supporting Scott Walker for Governor of Wisconsin in 2010.

IlliniJon

*Warning; profanity

**However, I’m still a Bears and a Cubs fan.  Hey, it’s in my blood…you can’t change that.

I want to take this to the next level now.  I have an engineering background…so I know very little about political science or history, save for whatever I tried to ignore in Social Studies in school.  Yes, I know the common stuff that everyone knows, but not much beyond that.  So while I know I’m a conservative, I have a hard time articulating that beyond the standard talking points.

I’d like to know how you learn, especially you front pagers and others who are intelligent, active contributors.  I’m looking for concrete suggestions – so not “read books”, but rather read xyz specific book.  There was a blog a week or so about about the Federalist Papers – I had no idea what those even were, but it was mentioned those were a good starting point.  Maybe there’s a website you really like that have intelligent, educational articles.  Those are the kinds of suggestions I’m looking for.

Also, are there any conferences/seminars/training events that people recommend?  2 days here or there…whatever.  Something in person, where you can be immersed in what you’re learning and not be distracted by work, family, life.

I want to be able to hold my own in a discussion, and persuade people that conservatism is the best way to keep America strong, and to best protect ourselves as individuals.  I’m willing to put in the work – I just want to make the best use of my limited time to build and better understand my foundation.

Thanks for your help, 

- Jon

I know I can visit the archive, but that’s not really what I’m after. I barely have time for page 1, let alone reading through the whole entire archive of posts.

Please?

No really, pretty please?

Thanks!

Jon

So why is Obama leading McCain by 10 points in Iowa?

Is this purely a question of support for ethanol, or are there other factors in play here? Why is Iowa so in the tank for Obama?

Thanks,

-IlliniJon

Anyway, it was a nice little message talking about reforming Washington, stopping out of control spending, and ending corporate giveaways (I supposed it’s always popular to rail against the evil corporations, nevermind they actually provide the jobs we need, and contrary to recent articles, pay taxes, and a lot of them at that).

What was interesting, though, is the other half of the thing was two official Wisconsin Application for Absentee Ballots, pre-addressed with the address of the city clerk in my little Wisconsin town and everything.

Maybe this has been done before, but I’ve never seen it, and I thought that was a creative way to get in front of people and ensure their vote would be counted in November. It probably doesn’t apply to many people since I assume most will be heading to their physical polling place on election day, but even if it gathers a few thousand people, in Wisconsin, that could be important given the way this race has started to tighten up.

Nice work.

-IJ

Thanks,

Jon