2009 Annual Picnic: A Celebration of Liberty

The 2009 Liberty Celebration was a blast. Despite rains that persisted throughout the morning, the skies cleared up in time for a lovely afternoon of burgers, hot dogs, and politics. In addition to the tent full of Rock County Republicans, several notable guests drove in from other counties to join in the celebration. Dave Westlake, candidate for U.S. Senate attended. Dave is running against our current Democratic State Senator, Russ Feingold. Second Congressional District candidate, Peter Theron, came in from Dane County. First District Congressman, Paul Ryan brought out his whole family. Wisconsin State GOP Chair, Reince Priebus, attended with his family, and Mark Block from Americans for Prosperity (AFP) joined in. For a photo gallery of the event, check out the Rock County Republican Party Facebook group page.

Had enough Tea? How about a few pints?

The Rock County Republican Party is pleased to announce the summer "Pints and Politics" schedule. Pints and Politics is a casual gathering of like-minded individuals to discuss politics over a few pints. Pints and Politics will gather twice each month: the first Monday of the month at the Rock in Beloit, and the second Monday of the month at the Timeout Pub in Janesville (Main Street and Milwaukee Street). Both will occur from 5pm to 7pm. You do not need to be a member of the party, just stop by for a break from the liberal insanity with friends. Speaking of friends: feel free to bring some yours!

Janesville City Council Candidates Answer Our 5 Questions

Spring elections are almost here and while the contests are non-partisan, we set out to help members of the Rock County Republican Party learn a little bit about each of the candidates in the race for the four available Janesville City Council seats. Each of the candidates in the race was asked 5 questions that we felt would help voters understand their thought process.

• Question 1: Rock County currently ranks #1 in the state for unemployment. Much of this is due to business closings and layoffs in the City of Janesville. What will you do to bring jobs back to the City of Janesville?
  
• Question 2: Janesville is known for its automotive heritage, however, much of that industry is now gone. If you were to define Janesville’s heritage for the next 20 years, what would it be?
  
• Question 3: During the past year, several projects surfaced and were met with a great deal of public debate: the bike tunnel, the childrens’ museum, the aquatics center, and the ice arena. Please explain what guidelines you will use to make decisions on projects such as these.
  
• Question 4: What steps should the City of Janesville take, if any, in redeveloping the downtown area?
  
• Question 5: Explain your approach to budgeting and taxation: do you start with adding the expenses up and then setting taxes based on those expenses? Do you start with setting a cap on taxes and then working backwards? Do you strike a balance in between? Please explain.
  

The responses received from the candidates are reprinted on this site, unedited. To see each candidates response, click on their link below.

• Julie Backenkeller
• K. Andreah Briarmoon
• Bill McCoy
• Frank Perrotto
• Spencer Potter
• Dan Straasburg

Back to Basics for the 2009 Lincoln Day Dinner

The Republican Parties of Rock and Walworth County celebrated Abraham Lincoln’s birthday with a renewed commitment to get back to the basics. The featured keynote speaker, Michael Zak, knows a thing or two about Lincoln, the birth of the Grand Old Party, and getting back to basics. After all, he wrote “Back to Basics for the Republican Party.” Zak reminded Republicans that it is the Republican party, radical Republicans particularly, that stood against slavery. Since the Republican Party’s birth, the party defended civil rights while Democrats enacted Jim Crow laws, shrouded themselves in white cloaks as KKK members, and perpetuated the institutions that would deny all Americans rights granted to them in the United States Constitution. Today’s Democrats continue the tradition: as the elite, they seek to keep the non-elite under their control through such schemes as government health care, global-warming inspired programs, and first-amendment crushing efforts to silence their critics—hey, why not just redistribute the wealth? The Republican Party is the party that stands for the individual, whether the individual is the “little guy” Democrats pretend to care about or the CEO generating jobs for others, this is the party they all know will stand up for and fight for their dreams.

Major Turnout at 2009 County Caucus

The 2009 Rock County Republican Party Caucus, held on February 7th at the Beloit Inn, was a huge success. Almost twice as many people attended the event than in years past. As a result, many caucus attendees occupied an overflow room adjacent to the primary meeting room. WIBA talk show host and a long time key player in the state Republican Party, Brian Schimming, presented a rousing keynote speech.

In addition to Brian Schimming, several other notable guests graced the audience, including Senator Glen Grothman from the state’s 20th senate district, Beloit School Board members Pam Charles and John Acomb, Janesville School Board candidates Karl Dommershausen and Diedre Richard, and Janesville City Council candidate Daniel Straasburg.

Members voted unanimously to adopt these nine resolutions. See the accompanying article for the new Executive Committee members.