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WILL THE REAL TEA PARTY CANDIDATE PLEASE STAND UP?
Kentucky has become a battleground for the heart and soul of the TEA Party movement.
TEA Party candidate and Gulf War vet Bill Johnson is running for the Kentucky U. S. Senate being left vacant by retiring incumbent Republican Jim Bunning.
Bill Johnson leaves no government pork project unslaughtered or junk science statement left unchallenged and is known for his populist quips such as, “Global warming is on the way to North America. It is call Spring time. Please hurry.”
But just as it appeared that Kentucky might see its first TEA Party U.S. Senator, a Libertarian candidate with a well known Libertarian-leaning father is risking splitting the TEA Party vote by running not as a Libertarian but as a Republican in an effort to ride the TEA Party populist wave.
Libertarian Rand Paul, son of congressman Ron Paul, is running on the GOP ticket in a closed primary that does not allow cross-over voting from his the Libertarian Party, forcing Kentucky Republican voters to choose between a typical compromising ‘big tent’ Republican vs. a Libertarian Republican vs. a TEA Party Republican since there is not as yet an official unified national TEA Party political party.
What makes the matter even more peculiar is that both the Republican and Democrat tickets have 3-way races that include a doctor, a lawyer and a soldier!
So who are red blooded TEA Party minded Kentuckians supposed to vote for? And just what are the ingredients are brewed into a genuine TEA Party candidate and his or her political platform?
According to Bill Johnson, who has internal tracking polls showing himself neck in neck with Rand Paul, a TEA Party candidate is someone who is a freedom-loving moral American who embraces traditional values who is willing to work hard and doesn’t want unnecessary government handouts but is willing to see some sober programs for people truly in need.
Bill Johnson faults Rand Paul’s repackaged Libertarianism in either TEA Party or GOP garb. He says Rand’s states rights Libertarianism is too extreme for most Kentuckians, saying his stands intellectually make some sense but don’t pass the ‘smell test’ of common sense or in some cases of ‘moral sanity.’
Cases in point, according to Johnson, include Rand’s willingness to toss Israel under the bus (David Horowitz article: http://www.newsrealblog.com/2010/02/02/was-sarah-palin-snookered-into-endorsing-a-stealth-anti-israel-candidate/) in the guise of nonintervention, or throwing out preborn babies with the bathwater under the guise of states rights.
While Johnson concedes that Rand’s father Ron Paul’s Bill aimed at auditing the Federal Reserve is noteworthy, he says there are other issues closer to home that need to be addressed including adding some TEA Party common sense to existing legislation regarding mining of coal and protecting the jobs of hard working coal miners so that they can provide food for their families and fuel for Kentucky and much of the United States.
So what exactly is the TEA Party? Americans first heard of the phrase when CNBC anchor Rick Santelli gave a 3-minute Howard Beals-esque rant on Squawk Box that all capitalists should show up for a Tea Party at Lake Michigan to protest Obama's proposed $275 billion deficit-financed homeowner bailout. See WND’s excellent synopsis article:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php/index.php/index.php?pageId=89384
But the movement really garner much media attention until Republican Scott Brown pulled off his Senate upset in Massachusetts, yet by most measures, Brown was still more liberal than Middle American TEA Party grassroots activists.
But regardless of how the TEA Party movement is defined, it is definitely having a big effect: It’s causing non-TEA Party incumbent politicians like Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana to pack their bags to avoid the anticipated embarrassing defeats by the fingers of angry TEA Party minded voters in November.
Others include Chris Dodd (D-CT), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Judd Gregg (R-NH) . . . and this doesn’t even get into the list of dropouts on the House side.
Call Special Guests to schedule an interview with U. S. Senate candidate Bill Johnson and get a completely unique perspective from an individual who shares the grassroots ideal, but is also now on the inside of the revolution.
Visit Bill Johnson’s web site at:
http://kentuckybill.com/
ABOUT YOUR GUEST, BILL JOHNSON:
Bill Johnson was born in Wichita, Kansas, and moved to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in 1975. After completing elementary through high school in Christian County, Bill attended the University of Kentucky (UK) and graduated in 1988 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He earned his Masters in Business Administration from The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1995.
While attending UK, Bill was selected for the prestigious U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program. Commissioned on Sept. 30, 1988, Bill served onboard the nuclear powered cruiser USS Virginia during the first gulf war. He later served on the staff of the Commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and then onboard the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower. During his military service, Bill received the Joint Meritorious Unit Award three times, Sea Service Deployment ribbon twice, Southwest Asia Service Medal with bronze star, Coast Guard Special Operations ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, and Navy Achievement Medal. He received an honorable discharge after 10 years of military service.
Following discharge and accepting a job with General Electric, Bill and his wife Delinda returned home, residing in the Northern Kentucky city of Florence. While at GE, he was a corporate auditor and global information security manager. In addition to GE, Bill has worked for Kroll-O'Gara and Logical IT, both located in Cincinnati. Most recently, Bill was part of an international leadership team at BP, responsible for contracting and buying of over $1.2 billion of 3rd party goods and services. Throughout his career in business, Bill has cut costs, managed multi-million dollar budgets, led international teams, and delivered projects on time.
Bill's military and business leadership has taken him to Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, China, Azerbaijan, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Panama, Belgium, India, and Canada where he interacted with diverse cultures and witnessed firsthand why America is the land of opportunity.
Bill has been a pilot since 1984, earning his private and instrument ratings while in high school. A third generation 'aviation enthusiast', he has worked with his father on aviation projects for as long as he can remember. Bill is an Airframe and Power plant aircraft mechanic with over 25 years of aviation experience. He is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association (AOPA) and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Bill currently owns a 1963 Meyers 200B and flies about 100 hours per year.
Bill, his wife Delinda of 20 years, and their two children, Will (age 14) and Julia (age 10), have lived in Elkton, Kentucky, (Todd County) for 6 years. Delinda, a native of Casey County, is a teacher and loving wife.
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