Martha's Blog

Weekly Campaign Update 3/8

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Dear Friends,

What an exciting and busy week it was! I officially filed to run for office on Tuesday, we kicked off our phone banking and door to door, I earned two big endorsements, appeared on three radio shows, and had great events in Tallassee and Troy.

We’re keeping up the pace this coming week when I’ll be hosting a Grab a Mug with Martha event in Hartford, speaking to the Rotary in Dothan, having lunch with seniors in Montgomery, and heading to Eclectic!

I’m having a blast spreading our message to all corners of the district, and we’re getting a great response.

The time is now to get involved in my campaign. We need your help. Would you be willing to make phone calls or go door to door? Would you be willing to help put together an event? Or write a letter to the editor to your local newspaper?  There are many ways to get involved and lend a hand.

Please sign up to be part of our grassroots team today if you haven’t already, or make a financial contribution. It all makes a difference.

Thanks for your support and your help.  I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail!    

Martha

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Come Volunteer for Martha

After a great first week, we’re continuing to phone bank at our HQ on Monday and Thursday nights starting at 5:30 pm. We’ll also be going door to door again next Saturday morning at 9:30 am.  If you have a couple of free hours come make a difference and volunteer. Please email Mike Hamilton or call 239-8660 for more details.

In Case You Missed It

Martha earned two endorsements this week, from the national conservative organization Concerned Women of America, and Women Under Forty PAC. We’re proud to have their support!

New on Martha’s Blog

Check out our new blog post on the potential reemergence of Card Check.  We can’t afford job-killing policies like Card Check. The only way to stop it for good is to send more conservative leaders to Washington.

$20.10 for Victory

Help Martha bring common sense, conservative reform to Washington by joining the 2010 Club. You can make a recurring donation of $20 per month through the election or contribute $20.10 today. Your help is important in making sure we get our message out. Please donate today! 

 Upcoming Events

Phone Bank for Martha

March 8, 2010, 5:30 pm

Martha Roby for Congress HQ, 2876 Zelda Road, Montgomery

Hartford Grab a Mug with Martha

March 9, 2010, 7:30 am

Broxson Grocery, 6139 East State Highway 52, Hartford

Martha Speaks to Dothan-Houston County Rotary

March 9, 2010, 12:00 pm

Dothan Country Club, Dothan

River Region Republicans

March 10, 2010 7:00 am

Farmers Market Cafe, Montgomery

Grab a Mug with Martha: Veterans Roundtable

March 16, 2010 11:00 am

Wagon Wheel Cafe, 1961 Bell Street, Montgomery

Is Card Check Back from the Dead?

This week in Orlando, FL, union leaders are meeting to regroup after a year filled with disappointment from their allies in the Democratic Party.  A year after celebrating a new occupant in the Oval Office who would be sympathetic to their agenda, they’ve seen card check legislation – their pet issue -- pushed to the backburner, while pro-labor nominees to the National Labor Relations Board have been blocked.

Not to worry, though.  Big labor still has plenty of friends in Washington to take care of them.  After all, the unions spent plenty of money to put them in power.  In fact, when the Democratic leadership of the House and Senate decided to hold a behind-closed-doors conference committee (to which no Republican was invited), the labor unions were brought into the negotiations. 

Now, here comes Vice President Joe Biden, ready to promise even more to the unions.  In his recent remarks to the AFL-CIO, Biden promised to help appoint pro-union members to vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board.  When speaking about the Employee Free Choice Act (better known as card check), he said, “I think we’re going to get it done.”

Let’s revisit what the Card Check legislation seeks to do.  In workplaces where a group of workers wish to organize or affiliate with a larger labor union, the work force as a whole must vote, and a positive vote from a simple majority of workers is required in order for the employees to unionize.  Currently, that vote is done by secret ballot, but the Card Check bill seeks to make each worker’s vote a public matter.  The passage of this legislation would allow for workers who voted against organizing to be singled out and intimidated, threatened, and bullied by organizers and other pro-union workers.  Like many of the Democrats’ other proposals, this bill seeks to give control of our choices over to someone else—in this instance, a labor union. 

In addition to essentially legalizing worker intimidation by union organizers and pro-union employees, this bill would also kill jobs by enforcing binding arbitration on employers—allowing a government bureaucrat to make decisions rather allowing employers to decide how their companies should be run.  If this bad legislation passes, don’t be surprised when hundreds of small businesses in our communities close, leaving thousands of workers unemployed.

While it may seem like Card Check has fallen off the radar and won’t see the light of day, we must never underestimate the Obama/Pelosi leadership’s willingness to ram legislation through to satisfy their political patrons, at the expense of the American people (see health care). The only way we can ensure Card Check and other job-killing policies will be stopped is to elect more conservative leaders to Congress. You can count on me to fight tooth and nail against Card Check and other anti-jobs policies.

ICYMI: Endorsement Edition

Earlier this week Martha received two exciting endorsements.  The first was from Concerned Women of America PAC, a leading national conservative group that “is committed to the values of religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, American sovereignty, and traditional values.”  We are proud to have their support! You can view their website here.

Martha was also endorsed by the Women Under Forty PAC (WUFPAC), which is “the nation’s only non-partisan organization that identifies, encourages, and supports women forty years of age and under running for local, state and federal office.”

Our campaign is continuing to gain momentum and build support.  Get involved today. Join our grassroots team  and help us spread the word!

Just Start Over

Americans have sent a very clear message on health care.  We’ve all seen what the Democrats are selling, and we’re just not interested in buying.  Still, despite Scott Brown’s overwhelming victory in Massachusetts and poll numbers indicating that a majority of Americans oppose the health care legislation in its current form, President Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress continue to ram this legislation through. 

Yesterday’s “Health Care Summit” proves that President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Leader Reid are not interested in hearing or truly considering conservative, free-market approaches to reforming health care.  More than ever, it is abundantly clear that this health care reform legislation is not really about reforming health care in America—it is about increasing the size and scope of the federal government, increasing the amount of control the government has in our daily lives, and increasing our dependence on the government for our basic needs.  In fact, while the leadership trumpeted their “bipartisanship,” they were still conducting Democrats-only negotiations behind closed doors.  This is exactly why people are fed up with Washington.

The Obama Administration sold the Health Care Summit as a chance for both sides to have their voices heard, but at one point, Senator Mitch McConnell correctly noted that the Democrats in the room had been given nearly twice the amount of time to speak that the Republicans had.  Why are our conservative ideas and opinions not allowed to be represented at this meeting?

There are many major problems with President Obama’s proposal. The biggest of which are the criminal and financial penalties for individuals and families who either choose not to or cannot afford to purchase health insurance.  Simply put, I believe that this provision is unconstitutional, as well as an unprecedented use of power.  Never before has the federal government mandated to the millions of hard-working families that they must purchase a product or service from private industry. 

During Thursday’s meeting, Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA) brought up the issue of cost.  “We just can’t afford this,” he told the room.  While President Obama acknowledged that the cost issue is legitimate, he again swept it under the rug and tried to pull focus back to all the different “reforms” that the plan would implement.  I understand that the President wants everyone to focus on all the things that his plan would do, but it is irresponsible government not to consider how much a proposal will cost. 

A majority of Americans believe that some version of health care reform is necessary, but bankrupting the federal government (and the taxpayers who fund it) is just not the answer.  Our representatives in Congress must be honest and realistic about how much their reforms will cost. 

Just like families across the country who look at their budgets, our government must weigh the costs and benefits of any reform plan.  If it costs too much and we can’t afford it, then we must look for other options.  As a nation, we cannot afford to borrow or spend any more money.  Let’s scrap the bill and start over.

Weekly Campaign Update 2/22/10

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Dear Friends,

Today, on George Washington’s birthday, I think of all the great leaders our country has been blessed with, from the Founding Fathers to President Reagan. These leaders have shaped this nation in a meaningful way, leading us through good times and bad. It also reminds me of the void of leadership we see in Washington today. We face many challenges – from our economy to our national security – and we are seeing neither leadership nor solutions. We need real conservative leadership and more common sense in Washington.

I’m so thankful to the many people who have joined me along the way. In the last week I’ve seen old friends and met new ones at stops in Troy, Chapman, and Lowndesboro. Travelling all over the district has allowed me to meet with and hear the concerns of folks from all different walks of life. This has been the most gratifying part of the campaign, because it reminds me just why I’m running. The people of the Second District deserve someone who will fight for their values in Washington, and I will do just that.

I hope you’ll join me in this fight. I need your support now, whether it is signing up to be part of our grassroots team, contributing financially, or your prayers and moral support. Please join our team today and help us send a message to Washington. Thanks for all you do.   

Martha

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Phone Bank Kickoff!

We’ll be kicking off our phone banking efforts next Monday evening, March 1 from 5:30 to 8:30 at our headquarters at 2876 Zelda Road in Montgomery. Person to person contact is the most effective way to get our message out and identify voters, and we need your help. Please email Mike Hamilton or call 334-239-8660 to let us know if you’re coming. There will be fun, food, and prizes so come join us!

Happy Anniversary?

Last Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of President Obama signing the $787 stimulus package into law. One question comes to mind: where are the jobs? See Martha’s statement here . 

No Climate Tax

Martha signed the Americans for Prosperity “No Climate Tax” pledge this week, because she knows Cap and Trade is bad for Alabama and it will kill jobs. We need to find a way to end our dependence on foreign oil, but there is a better way that won’t hurt our economy. Read more at www.noclimatetax.com...

Martha’s Blog

Check out our new blog post  on the growing threat from Iran and their nuclear weapons program. Check back at www.martharoby.com regularly to see Martha’s blog posts and updates.

$20.10 for Victory

Help Martha bring common sense, conservative reform to Washington by joining the 2010 Club. You can make a recurring donation of $20 per month through the election or contribute $20.10 right now. Your help will allow Martha get her message out and counteract the liberal special interests. Please donate today!

Upcoming Events

Geneva County GOP Meeting
February 25, 2010, 6:30 pm
Geneva County Farm Center

Elmore County Meet and Greet
February 27, 2010, 2:00 pm
Emerald Mountain Community Clubhouse, Wetumpka

Phone Bank Kickoff!
March 1, 2010, 5:30 pm
Martha Roby for Congress HQ, 2876 Zelda Road, Montgomery

The Growing Threat From Iran

Last Thursday, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that his country now has the ability to produce enriched, weapons-grade uranium.  While he claims that the country has no intention of building a nuclear bomb and instead plans to use the substance as an energy source, he noted that when Iran wants to build an atomic bomb,“it will build it and is not afraid of you."

These pronouncements, combined with American acknowledgement that Iran may be turning into a military dictatorship run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), are not good news. Iran’s nuclear ambitions and political instability pose a very serious and growing threat to the United States and to our allies in the region, including Israel. It is clear that the Obama Administration’s greater emphasis on engagement with Iran is not working.

Considering the severity of the threat against our nation and interests in the region, we must impose serious, meaningful sanctions on Iran that target the IRGC, and will limit Iran’s ability to pursue nuclear weapons. Both houses of Congress have already passed versions of the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, which would prevent foreign companies that do business with Iran from also doing business in the United States.  Included in the bill are measures designed to eliminate loans from American banks to companies that help expand Iran’s oil-refining capacity (like building oil and gas pipelines) or that export gasoline to Iran.  This legislation has the ability to derail Iran’s nuclear program and is an important first step toward keeping America safe.

The United States, along with other responsible nations, must join together to stop Iran from pursuing its destructive path. Nuclear weapons and an unstable regime bent on confrontation with America and the West is a dangerous mix. This threat must be addressed with a seriousness and toughness equal to this danger.