23. January 2010 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

Candidate Press Release, dated January 21, 2010.

George Erdel; Democrat candidate for the United States House or Representatives, Tennessee 6th District.

Last night we witnessed history in the making as the U.S. Senate Seat formally occupied by Senator Edward Kennedy was lost to a somewhat conservative Republican candidate.  This upset, in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin greater than 3 to 1 should send a strong message to our party leaders that business can not continue as it has for the past year.  While we have been the party in power with solid super majorities in both houses of congress our party has fallen victim to the actions of the most liberal members of our party.

The Massachusetts election told us that a vast majority of Americans, whether Democrat, Republican, or Independent, are fed up wit the status quo in Washington.  They have clearly told us that pending legislation such as the health care reform which our party has passed in the House and Senate is the wrong way to go in our efforts to improve the best health care system in the world.   They also express their dissatisfaction with the extreme Liberal legislation such as the Cap and Trade bill, the record government deficits as a result of government bailouts of major industries in the nation.  America by I large has not supported these programs, and in Massachusetts they said they still do not like the manner in which Pelosi and Reid have ignored the electorate while pushing forward at break neck speed with their far left agenda. 

Their message is right on target.  While we are the party in power we could have passed reasonable and logical health care reform, had we not allowed the leadership under Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid to force upon the nation a bill that was crafted by the most Liberal members of our party, and special interests groups while shutting out all conservative Democrats as well as both the liberals and conservatives of the Republican Party.

As the only candidate having qualified by the Tennessee Department of State, to run for the Tennessee 6th District being vacated by Congressman Bart Gordon next year, I respectfully ask of our County, State and National Democrat party leaders that they take a long hard look at their contributions to the actions which led up to the Loss of this Senate seat in Massachusetts.  This loss, coming only months after suffering similar major losses in Virginia and New Jersey in November, is nothing more than a restatement of the same message voters sent in those elections. 

Failure to heed the warning of these voters will come at great peril to the Democrat Party, should our party power brokers and Congressional leaders continue on the same reckless path they followed during 2009.

As a Democrat I am ashamed and disgusted of the manner in which the House and Senate leadership under the command of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.  For leaders having promised at the beginning of their reigns to be the most transparent, and voicing plans to maintain the highest level of integrity and government ethics, they have instead resurrected the corrupt smoke filled back room politics from years past, as well as demonstrating that political prostitution is alive and well within our party. 

Americans are tired of this and they are demonstrating their dissatisfaction by turning out during bad weather in record numbers to clearly state their case.  Will our Democrat leaders take heed and begin to behave in a manner consistent with their promises during the 2008 campaign or will they continue on the same shameful track to our own detriment.

The Massachusetts Election clearly demonstrates that there are many more rank and file conservative Democrats than the party leadership wishes to acknowledge.  As a Conservative Democrat Candidate I certainly hope that the message sent by these recent losses to conservative candidates gets through to our party leadership.
George Erdel is the only candidate to have qualified to be on the ballot for the Tennessee 6th Congressional District Primary election I August.

Web site: http://www.georgefortennessee.com

Posted in Candidates - 2010, Congress, The Democratic Party, Politics | No Comments »

23. January 2010 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

Murfreesboro’s George Erdel (pronounced er-dell) is the first candidate in Tennessee to qualify for a federal race this year. He is running for Tennessee’s Sixth District U.S. House of Representatives position that’s being vacated with Congressman Bart Gordon’s retirement. The local Democrat filed his petition and application with the Rutherford County Election Commission on Thursday (1/7/10). He told WGNS News that within an hour and half, the Election Commission’s Anita White notified him that all 39 names on the petition were validated. Erdel then presented a confirmation letter from the county to the State Election Commission in Nashville. “That’s when I learned about being the first candidate in the state to qualify.”

Erdel supports the right to bear arms, in fact he was armed and wearing a shoulder holster during the interview at WGNS. He noted his strong opposition to abortions and feels that global warming is a farce. He said, “It’s just another way for liberals to tax us for the energy we use.”

He said, “If elected, I’m there for the people of the sixth district, not for Pelosi or her cronies.” There is more information about George Erdell at http://www.georgefortennessee.com

Posted in Candidates - 2010, Running For Office, Congress, The Democratic Party, Politics | No Comments »

12. January 2010 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

A significant amount our Democratic Party Congressmen are consistently voting against efforts to support Israel in its continual struggle against terrorists. These votes demonstrate that anti-Israel views are a minority in Congress — but a minority composed primarily of the most left-leaning members of the Democratic Party Caucus.

During the Lebanon War in 2006, Congress voted to confirm its support of Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism. While the measure passed overwhelmingly in the then-GOP-majority House, 11 Democrats and only one Republican voted “no” or “present.”

Some of the most liberal (and often powerful) members of Congress regularly appear on the “no” or “present” side of these and other Israel votes. Leading Democratic Party figures have also been dismissive about U.S. efforts to support Israel.

Outside Congress, some of the most vociferous criticism of Israel comes from the hard-core left within the Democratic Party, including Cindy Sheehan (”You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine, and you’ll stop the terrorism”). Other Democratic Party left-wing Iraq war critics have also taken aim at Israel.

Posted in Anti - Israel, Congress, The Democratic Party | No Comments »

12. November 2009 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

Even in tough times, it’s good to be a lawmaker: According to a report released this week by the Center for Responsive Politics, there are 237 millionaires serving in Congress, according to 2008 figures.

That’s a slight decline from the previous year, when there were 239 millionaires in the House and Senate. But it still reflects the fact that the average lawmaker is far wealthier than his or her typical constituent. While about one percent of Americans are millionaires, 44 percent of those serving in Congress can claim as much.

“The biggest takeaway from all of this is that even thought the collective wealth of members of congress appears to have declined, members of Congress are still so much more wealthy than the average American – and even more wealthy than a lot of wealthy Americans,” CRP spokesman Dave Levinthal told Hotsheet.

The richest member of Congress is Republican California Rep. Darrell Issa, whose net worth is estimated to be in excess of $250 million. He’s followed by four Democrats: California’s Jane Harman (approx. $245 million), Wisconsin’s Herb Kohl (approx. $215 million), Virginia’s Mark Warner (approx. $210 million) and Massachusetts’ John Kerry (approx. $209 million).

Among the top 25 wealthiest legislators – which includes boldface names Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein and Olympia Snowe – there are 14 Democrats and 11 Republicans, suggesting no clear wealth divisions between party.

The net worth calculated for the lawmakers is not exact, and CPR offers a wide range of possible net worths for each member. Levinthal said that lawmakers tend to report assets and liabilities, income, gifts and asset transactions, as required by law, in very broad ranges; the listed figure, he said, represents an estimate between two possible extremes. (Primary residences and government salaries are not reported, and thus not included.)

The least wealthy member of Congress, the report found, is Florida Democrat Alcee Hastings, whose net worth is calculated to be negative $4,732,002 (!). Other lawmakers to make the bottom 25 are Montana’s Max Baucus and Ohio’s Dennis Kucinich. Keep in mind, however, that these lawmakers likely have substantial unreported assets, including their residences.

In the executive branch, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the second wealthiest, with a net worth of about $21 million; she trails only Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. The least wealthy administration figure is Vice President Joe Biden, whose net worth is estimated at just $27,012. (President Obama comes in at $3,670,505.)

The median reportable net worth of senators declined from $2.27 million to a still-robust $1.79 million between 2007 and 2008. Kerry, Warner, Feinstein and Sen. John McCain all experienced double-digit percentage declines in their average, estimated wealth between the two years.

The median reportable net worth for members of the House in 2008 was $622,254.

Levinthal notes that “in some cases, [lawmakers’] wealth is being derived from the very companies that in many cases benefit from the taxpayers.”

“The top companies at which members of Congress are investing, many of them are TARP recipients that have received billions and billions of dollars from you and me,” he said.

Among the companies in which members of Congress hold assets are Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.

Posted in Congress, Politics | No Comments »