Paul Johnson for Congress

A message from Paul...

2004-11-03T14:52:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all who have helped with our campaign. Many of you contributed money. Many gave generously of their time. It has truly been “our” campaign.

By now I assume you know we lost. Incumbency and all it brings with it seems insurmountable.

Yet we’ve shared ideas and they don’t go away. Last night a group of young people told me how fired up they were. It reminds me of how I felt when I was their age many years ago.

We’ve asked many questions over the past six months. Why can’t we be better than we are? Why must we act the way we do around the world? Why don’t we do something about global climate change? Why can’t all Americans have health care as a basic right? Why do women still have to fight for reproductive rights? Why must working people still struggle in poverty in the midst of such wealth? Why must small children remain at risk while billions are spent on a bureaucratic “No Child Left Behind” boondoggle? Why can’t gay partners have the same rights that straight partners do? Why can’t we let the wild areas in our country remain wild? Why can’t we accelerate our efforts to protect our water and air rather than allowing things to slip backwards?

The list of simple questions goes on and on. Today, I reflect on the election and wonder if we’ve even had one. Could we have had better discussions? Has the majority really decided to ignore these problems?

We didn’t win yesterday but let’s carry on. We entered this race six months ago because America is better than its leaders. Unfortunately that hasn’t changed. Nor should we.

Thanks again for all your support. Our principles are intact. We are winners too.

Sincerely,

Paul

Today's the day...

2004-11-02T10:50:00.000-06:00

Have you voted yet?

Links...

2004-11-01T14:55:00.000-06:00

To help you out in this historic vote:

Last minute questions? Iowa's Secretary of State has answers.

General Election Candidate List (pdf).

County Auditor Listings (pdf).

There should be results online at the Secretary of State's website, although I'll make every effort to get them up here at votejohnson.blogspot.com as they become available.

Don't forget - you can vote today and avoid tomorrow's lines...although I've been seeing lines everywhere!

**Update**
Check out CNN's tracker here.

Get out the Vote!

2004-10-31T18:46:00.000-06:00

Volunteers and staffers are blazing the phone lines throughout the 4th district on behalf of Paul tonight! Yesterday, I doled out the rest of our yard signs (better late than never) around the district, and talked with a number of Iowans who had already or were planning to vote for Paul.

In the last four days over 40,000 people have logged on to votejohnson.org, watched our campaign commercials, read about the issues, and sent wonderful messages of support.

Paul's feeling confident and excited. Over lunch, we talked about how this campaign has exceeded everyone's expectations. People told us you couldn't run against Latham's warchest, but with help from Iowans we've send out thousands upon thousands of letters and postcards, planned hundreds of events, garnered key endorsements, and even had enough to run our advertisements on television and radio!

And it all comes down to the next 48 hours. Remind your friends and loved ones, and take them to the polls. Make November 2nd historic!

"That hatchet's been buried" (But I'm still raising funds with it)

2004-10-29T13:04:00.000-05:00

The Ames Tribune writes about Congressman Tom Latham's curious relationship with those letters he sent out throughout the district which accused Paul of running a "vicious campaign of lies" and employing "toxic, slash and burn" tactics.

Quoting:

Latham told Larsen that fund-raising letters don't always reflect a candidate's views and that he and Johnson had respect for each other.

"That hatchet's been buried," Latham said.

If a fund-raising letter doesn't reflect your views, then what does it reflect?

What a day!

2004-10-28T18:17:00.000-05:00

As promised, pics from today's events. By my estimate, Paul spoke to approximately 5,000 students at Iowa State University and Simpson College...tomorrow he caps off his campus tour at Luther College, 4:00 p.m. at Olin 101.

Paul: "I'm not a singer. I'm not an actor. But I'd make a darn good congressman!"

Paul and Leonardo DiCaprio

Paul speaks to thousands at Simpson College

By popular demand, Paul and Jon Bon Jovi at Iowa State

Paul rocks ISU

2004-10-28T11:43:00.000-05:00

Well that was something.

Tara is scrambling to get our digital pics of Paul, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jon Bon Jovi up later today. Paul's on his way down to Simpson college to speak with John Edwards. For those who missed the ISU event, there will be coverage by WHO TV at 6:00 (I believe), including an interview with Paul.

Paul gave a great but brief opening speech to roughly a thousand ISU students which ended with the phrase and a huge applause:

Well I'm not a singer...and I'm not an actor...but I know I can make a darn good Congressman!

Thanks to all our readers in the blogosphere. Since last night, we're at about 20,000 visits and counting...people are buzzing about Paul!

Jerome of mydd.com on Paul:

2004-10-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

The blogosphere percolates:

Paul Johnson has run a terrific campaign in Iowa's 4th CD, his stance on wind energy is progressive to the max. And you gotta check out his ads, "Finance" is one of the best grassroots ads of the year... "fancy voiceover guys" what a line. You gotta remember, Iowa voters see the slickest of the slick in ads. This guy smells authentic.

Johnson just got the Des Moine's register endorsement (and we remember what that did for John Edwards), and the Ames Tribune turned away from Latham, and endorsed Johnson. The 4th is a even match-up between Democrats and Republicans, you never know... VoteJohnson.org

How we love our fellow bloggers...

Heatin' Up...

2004-10-27T16:22:00.000-05:00

Kevin over at the American Street on Paul:

[O]ne is a sleeper that’s gathering SERIOUS momentum. It now ranks as my highest endorsement in any House race in the country.

Paul Johnson would be a pickup for the Dems in a race that he’s run beautifully against a 10-year incumbent. The district is about a 39-39 split in party registration and the Des Moines Register endorsement on his site is one of the strongest and most eloquent I’ve seen for anyone...

I’d encourage you to read his bio, the Des Moines Register endorsement and the Ames Tribune endorsement (in the latter, I love the ‘man on the moon’ reference).

This is the type of committed progressive candidate with a serious successful record that’s rare to find and a joy to back: a true conservationist, a commitment to alternative energy that is bold, visionary and practical, who strikes the right tone in conversation that immediately appeals to people.

Those who complain of a party that’s too centrist aren’t likely to find a better guy to back: a sensible progressive, not an extremist. I urge you to help him get elected.

Thanks Kevin! It might be my bias speaking, but I couldn't agree more about Paul...

Des Moines Register Endorses Paul!

2004-10-27T04:25:00.000-05:00

"He has the right experience, temperament and vision."

Click here to read the Des Moines Register's endorsement of Paul!

Click here to read more endorsements of Paul, such as the Ames Tribune.

Paul, Leo, and Jon @ ISU - Thursday!

2004-10-26T21:12:00.000-05:00

ISU students...get your cameras out! Paul will be on campus soon!

Oh yeah, so will Leonardo DiCaprio and Jon Bon Jovi. Look for them on stage together starting at 10:00 Thursday morning.

Location: Design College Atrium (click here for a map)

p.s. Paul will speaking about Iraq & America's role in the world after the event @ 11:30 at Lagomarcino. Stay tuned for more details.

Democracy for Iowa Award

2004-10-25T01:38:00.000-05:00

The good folks over at Democracy for Iowa have given this blog one of their "best blogs" awards...many thanks!

ISU students turned away from the polls...

2004-10-24T16:15:00.000-05:00

From yesterday's Ames Tribune:

Story County Auditor Mary Mosiman says she didn't anticipate the number of Iowa State University students who wanted to vote at an early voting location on campus.

Consequently, 50 to 100 potential voters were not allowed to cast their ballots at Parks Library on Thursday.

Mosiman said election officials ran low on ballots for one of the two most common precincts students fall into.

"This is a learning experience," Mosiman said. "It was a mistake only by me and nobody else. I won't make this mistake again."

Iowa law says anyone who arrives at a satellite voting station prior to the time the site is scheduled to close should be allowed to vote.

Dozens of people standing in line at Parks Library, however, were turned away on Thursday saying they were too late to vote.

"The auditors are required by law to provide sufficient number of ballots for satellite voting stations," Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver said at an appearance on campus. "That would be their problem, not the students', if they ran out of ballots."

More than 1,100 students voted at a satellite location on campus this week, Mosiman said.

When they closed on Thursday, election officials had only four ballots left at the most common precinct students fall into.

"The lines were significantly longer on Thursday," Mosiman said. "We were not prepared for that."

Culver said Mosiman misinterpreted state law when potential voters were told they could not vote because the polling station had closed.

It's is the second time in the past two years Mosiman has misinterpreted the same election law, he said.

In October 2002, State Deputy Auditor Rob Berntsen sent Mosiman a letter after a complaint was received about early voting sites from the chair of the Story County Democratic Party, Jan Bauer.

"If this were the first incident we may or may not have handled it the same way," Culver said. "But if you look back at the record here, it is very troubling."

Culver, a Democrat, is sending a letter to Mosiman regarding the incident. In that letter, he asks Mosiman to provide him with a written explanation of what happened by noon on Wednesday.

"This is very troubling," Culver said. "This doesn't happen in Iowa. It should disturb all of us."

Mosiman, a Republican, is up for re-election on Nov. 2. She is being challenged by Jim Hutter, a Democrat.

Isn't the primary job of the auditor to be prepared for handling votes? With a torrent of articles reporting record registration on college campuses, shouldn't we be a bit better at anticipation? I just hope that this election is not just a learning experience for Ms. Mosiman, but a chance for people to vote as well.

ISU Forum Wrap-up

2004-10-22T17:35:00.000-05:00

Paul had a great time at the ISU candidate forum held on the 20th at the Memorial Union. By my count, around 80 students and Story county residents showed up. Unfortunately, Congressman Latham wasn't able to attend but a good discussion was had nevertheless.

For those of you who may have missed your local forum, or haven't yet had the chance to hear Paul speak at length, I thought it'd be good to stream some audio from the ISU forum. It's not the best quality, and cuts off after about an hour (when my batteries died), but it'll do. You'll need Realplayer) to listen to it.

Click on the photo to listen.

The Libya Line...

2004-10-22T14:22:00.000-05:00

In a recent interview with KCCI NewsChannel 8, Congressman Latham indicated that the war on Iraq has caused Libya to give up its weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons, repeating one of the greatest canards put forth by the current administration.

Let's take a look at recent history and see if we can't put this into clearer terms.

Last December, President Bush and British PM Tony Blair announced that Libya's Mu'ammar Qaddafi decided to give up his weapons and allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to enter his country. This was the culmination of nine months of secret talks between the three countries, and came as quite a surprise to many.

Libya, as you might remember, was approaching an economic crisis after disastrous economic domestic policies and waning oil revenues. This was in large part due to UN and U.S. sanctions on the country that prevented it from importing technology to develop and expand production in its oilfields.

Indeed, Qaddafi has recklessly led Libya throughout his lifetime, but it's wrong to suggest that he opened the doors to inspectors out of his fear of U.S. military action. As Martin Indyk, who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs under the Clinton Administration, made clear, "Libyan representatives offered to surrender WMD programs more than four years ago, at the outset of negotiations with US officials. In May 1999, their offer was officially conveyed to the U.S. government at the peak of the '12 years of diplomacy with Iraq' that Mr. Bush now disparages."

Interestingly, what the inspectors found in Libya points to a much more damning indictment. Though the program was not advanced, Qaddafi had been able to purchase hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of nuclear parts on the black market, which was spearheaded by the Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan. The current administration has repeatedly boasted that the network of A.Q. Khan has been "brought to justice," an inexplicable statement considering that the scientist now lives in a spacious villa in Pakistan after a laudatory pardon by our friend Pervez Musharraf. Just last month on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, Musharraf was asked about whether he would let the U.S. question the head of the international black market of wmds…here was his reply:

Nobody has asked, number one. Number two, we don't want to make him available because we have good interrogators. I mean, it undermines our own capability. We can do it ourselves. And we have done it. We have shared all the information that we have. So not only is it a lack of confidence in our capability, but it also shows mistrust in us. It doesn't make us so happy.

Remember...just because you say someone has been "brought to justice" doesn't make it so - the Pakistani President himself has said that we've not even sought interrogations with A.Q. Khan!

Finally, suggestions that Libya disarmed because of our war on Iraq reflects a great misunderstanding of both recent history and diplomacy.

Ames Tribune endorses Paul!

2004-10-21T16:13:00.000-05:00

Iowa's 4th Congressional District stretches across 28 counties through the center of the state and reaches east to the Mississippi River. It covers some of the richest farmland in the nation and harbors what candidate Paul Johnson calls "the best land-grant institution in the world." It is the heart of the heartland.

Its diversity is reflected in the candidates who vie to represent it. Somewhere around 39 percent of voters in the district are steady Democrats. The same amount are Republicans. About 22 percent in the middle go back and forth.

This year, they will choose between Johnson, a Democrat and a long-time conservation leader and legislator, and Tom Latham, Republican incumbent.

The Tribune's editorial board is impressed by Johnson's character and vision. A former director of the Department of Natural Resources, chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, formerly the Soil Conservation Service, and an Iowa legislator, Johnson is known for his conservation ethic.

But he's far from one-dimensional. Indeed, his conversation with The Tribune ranged from international relations to a novel idea for national service. His experience in state and federal government give him the experience to be an effective congressman.

He says he was propelled into the race by his frustration over a cadre of issues including foreign policy, education, the environment and renewable energy.

In international relations, he says he's saddened that the U.S. is "using our incredible strength in such an arrogant fashion ... We Iowans don't act like this in our own personal lives. Why should we tolerate it in our national leadership?

In education, Johnson calls for a program that provides more funds for buildings, computers, special needs and teacher training, but less federal control.

On the environment, Johnson would push to make conservation on private lands something landowners see as positive through restructured incentives. "You can stop some people from doing really bad things, but you can't get them to love God's creation without rewards."

He also calls for a "man on the moon" national effort to promote alternate energy sources such as wind. And there's no better place for such an effort to come from than this district.

Johnson also favors a privately-delivered, universal national health care system, a living wage, a progressive tax system and publicly funded elections. His national service idea would roll together service for young people in the military, Peace Corps or AmeriCorps with rewards including college tuition grants and low interest home and business loans.

Latham was elected to Congress in 1994. He serves on the House Committee on Appropriations, a post that has put him in good stead to serve his district.

Federal funding for Cy-Ride is one such example. But topping the list of successes, he counts full funding for renovation work at the National Centers for Animal Health here in Ames. That project, beyond its $460 million construction, will bring to the nation increased food safety and homeland security, and to Mid-Iowa an engine of economic development and research for years to come.

In his next term, if elected, he hopes to find ways to support technology transfer from Iowa State University to businesses such as Etrema and Thin Film Technologies.

He's also supportive of the Des Moines Area Community College efforts to work with local high schools in establishing a consortium to train potential employees for the bio-tech companies now fledging in the Research Park and around Mid-Iowa.

He says he would seek more funding for biomass energy and a continued tax credit for ethanol. And he noted that President Bush, in Des Moines several weeks ago, signed bills that included a tax credit for wind energy production.

Internationally, Latham has been a supporter of Bush. He believes that much of the rancor in the country over the war is currently driven by election politics. And he's hopeful that elections in Iraq and an increasingly stable government will eventually lead to peace.

On the deficit, he blames the dot-com market crash of 2001 and the 9-11 attacks for falling government receipts. He supports the tax cut as necessary for economic recovery. Expenditures are being held down, he argues, except for homeland security and the military. Long-term economic growth is the only way to relieve the deficit.

On farm policy, Latham says he agrees with Johnson in that more incentives must be attached to conservation practices and less emphasis placed on price supports. Johnson is critical of Latham's work on the Conservation Security Program which passed through his committee, arguing that Latham "gutted" the funding program that could have sent relief and a positive message back to his own district.

Latham responds that Conservation Security still received an increase in funding and that Congress must be good fiscal stewards.

This campaign has been marred somewhat by charges from the Latham campaign that Johnson is conducting a "slash and burn" negative campaign. It is The Tribune's judgment that nothing could be further from the truth. Johnson's demeanor has been nothing if not statesmanlike. And this week, Latham acknowledged that "as far as I'm concerned, it's a dead issue. I have the highest regard for Paul." His campaign material responded to a statement from Johnson that Latham had failed to author any legislation, a statement he later withdrew.

The Tribune's editorial board was conflicted on these candidates. Two years ago, The Tribune endorsed Latham for his potential to deliver for the district. Indeed, he has done so. Yet we were very impressed with Johnson for his vision and character. He is a man who can grab hold of big issues and carry them forward. The Tribune's endorsement in this election goes to Paul Johnson.

We have commercials!

2004-10-20T23:51:00.000-05:00

13 days to go, folks. We could not have reached where we are today without your help...and we've still got a ways to go. A $10 or $20 donation will help us run one of these commercials on tv, helping us to spread Paul's message!

Some of you might have heard the radio spots this week. If not, you can catch them here.

You can email this message to friends by clicking the envelope button below...

Easy come, easy go....

2004-10-20T09:11:00.001-05:00

Well, we should have known it was too good to be true. Yesterday's ISU Daily newspaper reported that Tom Latham would be joining Paul Johnson in a job interview at the ISU Memorial Union this evening at 6:00 p.m.

We were delighted, of course--as we have been holding forums in each county in the 4th congressional district and Tom hasn't given the voters the chance to see him in person alongside Paul. However, today the newspaper published a correction and it now appears Paul will only be joined by Latham's seed cap--again. Well, Tom, at least it's keeping your seat warm for you.

There are several more voter forums planned--Tom, you have the schedule--how about dropping by to meet your employers face to face?

Guess who's finally going to show up?

2004-10-19T14:52:00.000-05:00

We're all in shock here at the Ames field office...the ISU Daily is reporting that Tom Latham is going to attend our Story County forum! Finally, the voters of the 4th district will have a chance to see the two candidates side by side in a true job interview! Join Paul and Tom at the ISU Memorial Union Campanile Room at 6:00 p.m. on October 20!

Sugar Cane and Iowa

2004-10-19T13:08:00.000-05:00

Opensecrets has the updated FEC filings here.

Tom Latham (R)*

Raised: $930,267
Spent: $478,981
Cash on hand: $493,738
Last Report: 9/30/2004

PACs: $607,806 (65%)
Individuals: $307,868 (33%)
Candidate: $0 -
Other: $14,593 (2%)

Paul W. Johnson (D)

Raised: $218,913
Spent: $172,995
Cash on hand: $45,917
Last Report: 9/30/2004

PACs: $8,900 (4%)
Individuals: $202,503 (93%)
Candidate: $0 -
Other: $7,510 (3%)

A fourth district voter recently recounted going to an event at which somebody asked Congressman Latham about his practice of accepting exorbitant amounts of PAC money. Latham responded by saying that he doesn't take money from anyone unless they walk in to his office with an Iowan. I wonder how many Iowans had to walk in with representatives of Louisiana's American Sugar Cane League, or Florida's Sugar Cane Growers Co-Op, which are among dozens of out-of-state special interests that have swelled Latham's war chest.

Then again, maybe the interests of sugar cane PACs constitute the "main-stream" Iowa that Latham claims to represent.

Don't Mess With Our Texan!

2004-10-18T14:55:00.000-05:00

Last night the Ames-based field staff handed out flyers advertising Paul Johnson's Story County forum (October 20, 6 p.m. at the ISU Memorial Union Campanile Room) to the people who were waiting in line to see Michael Moore's "Slacker Uprising Tour" in Ames.

A handful of protesters wandered about, getting more than their fair share of media attention. One of them, a young man from the national College Republicans organization, held a life-sized cardboard cutout of George W. Bush and kept yelling that Michael Moore is a liar.

He made the mistake of calling Kerry a liar too--and our fearless Texan, field staffer Rose K., took him on! She pointed out some of George Bush's distortions and mistakes...at which point the College Republican said, "Well, I am not all that familiar with that."

Seems like the guy should spend more time reading the newspapers and less time shouting about filmmakers who are encouraging young people to get out and vote!

More "Radical" Ideas from Paul...

2004-10-13T13:06:00.000-05:00

Paul and Congressman Latham's hat at the Floyd county forum

(Photo from the Charles City Press)

As we mentioned yesterday, Latham spokesman James Carstensen says that Paul's positions are "radically out of step" with mainstream Iowa.

The Charles City Press, in its coverage of the recent forum in Floyd county, wrote about some of Paul's radical positions:

"We're doing something different. We're doing something what we're supposed to do when this country was founded," Johnson said of his town-to-town-style campaign.

Among the bevy of issues discussed, Johnson often returned to the importance of renewable energy and a national health care system.

"Health care is the issue (people) really open up and talk a lot on," Johnson said.

Attacking the current system, Johnson told his audience that many people feel legislation got it wrong when they didn't allow Medicare to bargain for pharmaceuticals, such as Canada does.

"It's a huge expense, and we're going to have an awful lot of senior (citizens) who are not going to be able to afford their prescription drugs," Johnson said.

"It's not just that," he continued, "businesses are saying that they can no longer afford health insurance for their workers; school board saying 'we can't afford to provide health care for our teachers.

Johnson added that people trying to get off the welfare system are finding it better for their families to continue receiving welfare benefits.

"They look down that ladder and find that their kids no longer have Medicaid, so what do they do? What would you do? You can't afford it on that rung you're on, so in some cases it's easier to step back and stay on welfare.

"None of us want that, and people trying to get off (welfare) don't want that. We have a system that's really a mess, and it's time we look at a national health care system ... this business of putting a bandage here, a bandage there, the hemorrhaging is occurring everywhere right now."

As always, we want you to read and discuss Paul's positions...that's how this whole democracy-thing works. Click on the links under the "Blog Discussions" section to your right to weigh in.

The Wrong Response

2004-10-12T21:22:00.000-05:00

The Globe Gazette's weighs in on Congressman Latham's unwillingness to attend any of the remaining 28 forums between now and election day. As Iowans are well aware, Mr. Latham has decided that two brief chats on tv and radio present Iowans with a suitable enough opportunity to hire their Congressman. So far, the total time so far that the two have appeared together is less than thirty minutes, with each candidate speaking for approximately ten minutes.

From the Globe Gazette:

James Carstensen, an aide to Latham in Washington, responded that regardless of the number of forums that Johnson’s campaign sponsors, “it will never change the fact that Paul Johnson is radically out of step with mainstream Iowa.”

That, of course, will be up to the voters to decide. But we think it’s the wrong response. We believe Latham should join Johnson for two, perhaps three, forums at strategic locations in the district.

Boy. If holding a forum and inviting your opponent to join you in answering Iowans' questions is "radically out of step," I don't want to march with Mr. Carstensen or Mr. Latham.

Interestingly, Carstensen's barb illustrates exactly what's wrong with so many campaigns these days: you breathe in massive amounts of PAC monies, and breathe out negative ads. See how it works? If you don't have to defend or explain your positions in front of Iowans, you can get away with these one-liners.

Can you imagine Mr. Carstensen saying this in front of Paul and other Iowans? If he did, he would be asked to elaborate.

Which is exactly what we don't see much of from Mr. Latham.

LWV, AAUW, DN - What?

2004-10-11T15:18:00.000-05:00

LWV = League of Women Voters
AAUW = American Association of University Women
DN = Decorah Newspapers

What do these things all have in common? They sponsored a political forum in Decorah yesterday. What a terrific event! Several candidates (in addition to Paul Johnson) were in attendance:

Art Small (D) for US Senate
Paul Johnson (D) for US Congress
John Beard (D) for IA Senate
Mark Zieman (R) for IA Senate
Arnie Boge (R) for IA House
Brian Quirk (D) for IA House
Chuck Gipp (R) for IA House

Questions from audience members were posed to the state and national candidates and covered topics ranging from animal confinement to civil unions to campaign finance. This forum was a wonderful opportunity for voters to hear from both candidates vying for positions. Unfortunately, Charles Grassley and Tom Latham were unable to attend. Hopefully they will give voters a chance to hear from them in the near future.

Greg Brown, Iris DeMent, and David Zollo concert!

2004-10-09T01:47:00.000-05:00

Whew! It's over! We've been looking forward to this show for what seems like ages. Finally, tonight, all the hard work paid off. The music was great, the crowd was energized, and the support for Paul was unmistakable. I'll leave it to someone more musical than I am to describe the show itself...what do you say, gang?

Greg Brown during last night's concert

To top it all off, people took stacks and stacks of postcards to write (hooray--again--for Story County volunteers!), bought a bunch of t-shirts, and contributed lots of money. I know this will be like a stiff wind for that fundraising windmill on our webpage!

From left to right: Iris, Greg, Paul, and Dave

Well done, Green Team! And a million thanks to Iris, Dave, and Greg for performing--and to the generous crowd for coming out in support of Paul and of good music! We Want Our Country Back...and we're going to get it!