FREEDOMWORKS 07/03/2014

Hey Conservatives
!
1. Where Are they Now? The Tenuous Legacy of the Bill of Rights
This Independence Day, millions of Americans will gather to watch fireworks, grill some burgers and dogs, and celebrate the hard-fought freedoms of our forefathers. But in the heady rush of red, white, and blue patriotism, it’s important to remember what those freedoms actually mean, and to examine whether they still remain intact today.
The Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, remain the strongest and most revolutionary guarantees of individual liberty in the world, but over the years these protections have suffered considerably at the hands of overzealous lawmakers and the champions of radical progressivism. What follows is a reminder of these ten protections from government abuse, and the ways in which the original intent of the founding fathers is being violated on a daily basis. Read more here...


2. Even Amid Losses, the Liberty Movement Grows Stronger
Chris McDaniel’s narrow loss to 41-year incumbent Senator Thad Cochran, R-Miss., will undoubtedly fuel wishful thinking about the death of the grassroots liberty movement. But even in the wake of  defeat, the sheer enthusiasm and grassroots dedication we saw over the last few weeks proves that our community is now a permanent force in American politics — the most successful social movement since the Civil Rights movement in the fifties and sixties.
The spectacle of the K Street Wing of the GOP running on pork barrel spending and openly soliciting Democratic votes in a GOP primary is a sure sign of their intellectual bankruptcy. It’s disgraceful that self-described GOP leaders like Mitch McConnell, John McCain, the Chamber of Commerce and the NRSC would champion a campaign platform of pork barrel spending and insider deal-making, while recruiting Democrats to show up at the polls. Read more here...
3. Closed Primaries Prevent Mischief

After Sen. Thad Cochran's controversial tactics of recruiting Democrats to secure his nomination in Mississippi's Republican primary, a national dialogue emerged about the open primary process, in which anyone can cross the aisle to vote in the other party's election. It's a terrible system.
Primaries are an opportunity for a party to nominate the candidate who will best carry forward its set of ideological principles. The general election will then allow voters to decide which party has made a better case. It's a two-step process, with each step having a distinct, important function. Read more here...

4. Tea Party Anger Over Mississippi Loss Ripples Across States
“This wasn’t outreach. Outreach is promoting our values in other communities,” said FreedomWorks executive vice president Adam Brandon. He said he believes Cochran wasn’t asking Democrats to “take another look at us.” Instead he was “just spreading cash around,” referring to financial promises they believe have been made to Democratic constituencies.
“Mississippi was a turning point, absolutely a turning point, no doubt about it because it wasn’t a battle for the heart and soul of the libertarian conservative Republican voter,” Brandon said. “We won that, we won it, our arguments carried the day with that voting bloc. It’s the desperation to turn to liberals to bail themselves out, bail their lobbyists out…That’s where they’ve been exposed.” Read more here...
5. FreedomWorks for America Calls on US Attorney's Offices, DOJ, FBI to Investigate Cochran Election Fraud Allegations
In an audio interview released to RedState, a Mississippi reverend revealed text messages and communications allegedly from the Thad Cochran campaign that, if true, catch the campaign breaking election law and buying votes in the GOP runoff election.
FreedomWorks for America’s National Political Director Russ Walker released the following statement in response to the allegations: Read more here...
6. Hobby Lobby Decision Isn't About Birth Control, It's About Bullying
The Supreme Court made the right decision by ruling that the owners of Hobby Lobby are not required to pay for certain forms of birth control that conflict with their religious beliefs. Make no mistake- I have nothing against birth control. Nor do I think that the birth control methods in question are abortifacients. My opposition to ObamaCare’s contraceptive mandate is that the government is forcing people to pay for something against their conscience.
To me, it doesn’t matter what the government is mandating that employers purchase. I don’t even particularly care about why an employer is opposed to providing a specific product or service to their employees. It could be for religious reasons or it could not be. It also makes no difference to whether I agree with their reasoning or not. Read more here...
7. Empower.org "The Awakening"
The freedom movement welcomes any person who believes in economic choice and envisions a future where today’s children have a better quality of life than the generation before.
Economic freedom benefits individuals and families in all communities, not just the privileged few. Less government means more power for people to control their own destiny, to think freely and make economic choices on their own terms. Watch here...

8. Why Not Let Taxis, Uber, Lyft Fight It Out On a Level Playing Field with No Regulations
Taxi drivers created traffic gridlock in downtown D.C. last week to protest app-based ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft.
The organizer of the “Fairness NOW!” caravan protest, the Teamster-affiliated D.C. Taxi Operators Association, is complaining that these private companies have a competitive edge because they do not have to obey by the same regulations as cabbies. Read more here...

In Liberty,
Jackie Bodnar
Director of Communications, FreedomWorks