Hennessy's View

Ed Martin Jr. of St. Louis has redirected his fire to the Attorney General race, and this is great news for everyone except Chris Koster.

Back when Ed Martin was talking about running for the Republican nod to take on Claire McCaskill, I had another thought.  Well, a bunch of people had another thought: Ed would make an outstanding Attorney General.

*********UPDATE*********

HUGE list of endorsements on Ed’s official press release. 

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I guess I was right.

I wasn’t disappointed that Ed chose to run for Todd Akin’s US House seat. Ed would make a great conservative legislator.  And as I said before, so will Ann Wagner, who can now focus on  . . . whichever Democrat decides to give a concession speech at 7:01 pm on November 6.

But, at this pivotal moment in history, as Attorney General, Ed Martin will be Missouri’s general in the war on Washington abuse.  Here’s why.

First, Ed has used his law license for the good of society, to protect life, to defend the wrongly accused, and to advance his—our—conservative principles.  He’s not a lawyer who’s in it for the money.  I’ve met some of the people he’s helped, and I’ve heard their stories.

In these battles, including a nationally covered battle against Illinois’s criminal Governor Rod Blagojevich, Ed Martin was tenacious, principled, and victorious.

Missouri needs an AG who will fight for the right things. 

Second, Ed understands that the battle for liberty over the next 12 years will be fought between the states and Washington. The states—and only the states—have the Constitutional power and the economic leverage fight Washington and win. 

The Several States vs. US Government will be ugly,long, and painful. [Insert your analogy here.]  Most people will lose their stomach before it’s over. People—even good conservatives—will want to throw in the towel and heel to the Washington monster.

Ed won’t.  He understands that Congress, with its entrenched establishment and elitist snobbery, is as close to a lost cause as you’ll find.  He wants to be one of 50 state attorneys general who, with their governors and secretaries of state, beat Congress into submission.(I said “ugly.”) 

Ed Martin has a clear path to take on turncoat Democrat Koster in November.  That fight begins today. When Ed prevails in November, Missouri will have an Attorney General who actually has read and understands the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution—and a man who’s smart to know it matters.

Previously on Hennessy’s View about Ed Martin:

Give Me 5 Minutes, And I’ll Give You a New Friend

Name the One Tea Partier in the Race

11 Minutes of Exactly What We’re Talking About

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U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson today ruled Obamacare directly violates the Constitution by mandating that citizens buy health insurance. 

This ruling goes further than the previous Virginia ruling. Judge Vinson declared the entire Obamacare bill unconstitutional because the individual mandate portion is not severable from the rest of the law.

Third, Judge Vinson granted the plaintiffs “declaratory relief,” the functional equivalent of an injunction, freeing them from the burden of compliance. From the Wall Street Journal:

Meanwhile, Republicans are drafting a series of bills targeting particularly unpopular pieces of the law, include its requirement that larger employers provide coverage or pay a fee. And they’re laying plans to choke off funding to hire federal workers to enact the law.

More broadly, Monday’s decision sharpens the battle lines over the broader issue of whether the federal government can require Americans to purchase something solely because they are living on U.S. soil.

The Department of Justice said it would appeal the ruling. 

This is great news for everyone who believes in the rule of law.  It also points out how critical it is that we regain control of the U.S. Senate before one of the Supreme Court’s conservatives leaves the bench.  The 5-4 balance of power currently favors (slightly) the rule of law. Any vacancies will be filled by an Obama appointee who would effectively overturn the idea of limited government.

For now, though, share this great news with friends:  ObamaCare is unconstitutional.  And a federal judge said so.

Meanwhile, Gateway Pundit reports that the Obama administration has come unhinged over the ruling. Michelle Malkin has the full ruling. Relive the healthcare battles on stlouisteaparty.com.  Brooks Bayne has more on The Graph.

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My hat’s off to Bob Anders and the crew from Creative Video Services for this 3-part series of the St. Louis Nationwide Chicago Tea Party protest held February 27, 2009. If you need videography, you can’t go wrong with Creative Video.

Part I:

St. Louis Tea Party (Part 1) from CR8VDO on Vimeo.

Click here for Parts 2 and 3.

Dana has lots of great links.  

*UPDATES*

1.  It was a 3-part, not 4-part video. Sorry, my math.

2.  The STL Tea Party made Drudge!!!!  How flippin’ cool is that?

St. Louis Tea Party Makes Drudge

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Dangerous Thoughts Standing in the Wings

Why are you here? I thought.

I was standing on the steps of the Arch fully aware that my fingers were painfully cold when the wrong thought crossed my mind.  By “wrong thought,” I mean that one thought that will subconsciously sabotage the important or dangerous thing you are about to attempt.  Like thinking, “what if the front wheel just fell off?” as you’re cruising down a winding road on a motorcycle, or “what if I forget my lines?”  just before stepping onto the stage.

Before and behind me stood 1,500 people, most of whom I’d never seen before.  They had traveled from as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio, Scottsdale, Arizona, Rolla and Kansas City, Missouri, to St. Louis on one to three days notice on a cold workday with snow flurries spitting on their heads.  Winds gust to 30 miles per hour, slapping the the tea bags they’d taped to their signs. 

But why were they here? Why would they sacrifice to attend a rally called by some blogger they’d never heard of and a conservative radio talk host?

Answers Emerge

Jackie Smith, the hall of fame tight end, took the megaphone and asked, “How many of you are at a protest for the first time in your live?” 

Ninety percent raised their hands and hollered.

A Voice, For Once

A small business owner provided the answer to my question:  we’ve been afraid to say anything for years.

Political correctness–a Nazi-like, liberal speech suppression technique begun in the 90s–cowed average Americans into keeping their mouths shut for 20 years.  Not since the early days of the Reagan administration have conservatives felt free to say, “I love this country because we’re free.”  The truth is, if we’re not free even to speak our minds, then there is now “America” to love.  There is only a European socialist quasi-dictatorship a little too far west. 

The Next One

The Tea Party was only the first step in a march that ends with a Congress that understands that America is not a land, it’s an idea. That idea is that human beings are the best judges of what will achieve happiness.  Free to follow that judgment, some will fail, but more will exceed their wildest expectations.

On February 27 in cities from coast to coast, a few hundred people pretended we still have the freedom to pursue our own dreams.  We ignored the shackles of political correctness and a semi-fascist president.  We hoped to draw out 50 to 100 like-minded souls to begin a movement.

Our humble expectations were exceeded by a factor of 15. 

And, as the Gipper might say, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Claire McCaskill?  Freshen up your resume.

Other Reactions:

• Event Speaker Shamed Dogan
• WORLD Magazine’s Megan Dunham
• Jenn Q Public was on hand for the largest protest in the country at Greenville, SC

Side Notes:

• I finally met Gateway Pundit in person.  It was an honor, much like meeting Dana Loesch and Jackie Smith.  
• Dana Loesch and I met for the first on Friday at about 10:00 a.m.  What better testimony to the power of new tools like Twitter and Facebook and email that two perfect strangers would coordinate, split duties, and manage an event for 1,500 people in 4 days. 
• The next even will be different, bigger, and far more threatening to the left and the national medial.  Not violently threatening; politically threatening.  They will not be able to bury the story, nor will they escape the consequences.  But they will try to prevent it.  In other words, this story will have legs.

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Thanks to the 1,000+ patriots who stood in the snow at the Arch, Dana “The Energizer” Loesch, Doug Saur, the speakers, Michelle Moore and Jeff who managed the fairgrounds, Desiree’ the Poster Party Lady, and the true leaders at #TCOT who held my hand after I stumbled into this event.  

Today at the Arch in St. Louis was simple patriotic magic.  I have to do some wrapping up of the event, but I’ll say this:

America’s future is not in the White House; it was on the steps of the Gateway Arch and dozens of other Tea Party locations today.

This was not an event; it was step in a march that ends with Repealing Pork by Retiring socialists.

The scene was simply unbelievable.  Dana Loesch electified the crowd, and Hall of Famer Jackie Smith had them roaring.  In between, American Issues Project President Ed Martin, conservative blogger Shamed Dogan, responsible mother and former candidate for State Senate Gina Loudon, and State Senator Lemke (sp?)  sent a clear message that the 1,000+ adored. 

The Republic will be in great hands. . . soon.  

Thank you all.

If you were at the St. Louis, event, upload photos and videos to Photobucket.com.  See you Facebook messages for details.

Photos & Videos:

Here

Here

Here

Keep this movement growing; going isn’t enough.  Tell your friends to watch the news feeds, read the blogs, monitor #tcot.  Don’t stop.  This wave won’t crest until we have a conservative Congress, President, and SCOTUS.

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