The following pictures are from the Lincoln Trail College Gubernatorial Debates, provided by Ann Wolven, who was also the Moderator for the event.
For the three candidates that showed up for the Gubernatorial Debate, it was an awesome evening. Myself, Michael While (Independent), and Lex Green (Libertarian) were the only ones to show up. Rich Whitney (Green) was hindered due to weather, and as far as anyone knows, their others such as Andy McKenna (who confirmed attendance) and Dan Proft (who said he was on the way just 30 minutes prior to debate kickoff) who were simply no-shows.
There were many, many more pictures that were taken at the Candidate Debates which included pictures of all the candidates that showed up to the event as well as several more of the Gubernatorial Debate.
January 20th, 2010 / Author: Randall C. Stufflebeam
Dear Family, Friends and Fellow Constitutionalists,
On Saturday, January 23, we will be holding a campaign organizational meeting. The meeting will be held at the Peoria Pizza Works located at 3921 N. Prospect Ave. Peoria Heights, IL 61603. The meeting will begin at 1pm and goes to 3pm.
I know this is a little short fused, but the family and I have been trying to recover from my brother’s sudden death. I want to thank everyone for your thoughts and especially prayers as I know that has been what has sustained us through this time of sorrow. He was 5 years younger than me and suffered a massive heart attack. Consequently, I have a renewed vigor to ensure that my life has meaning and that I leave behind a legacy of virtue and freedom. I know that those of you who have lost a loved one know exactly what I am talking about — life goes on in spite of the tragedies we face or maybe even because of them. So, please forgive this short notice of the meeting and bear with me as I work my way back on top of things.
The primary purpose of this meeting is to plan for February the 3rd (the day after the Illinois Primaries). If Illinois does what Illinois is notorious for doing and giving us the worst possible candidates for the November elections, we want to be prepared to act quickly and efficiently to take in the anticipated exodus from the major parties. For many, many people in Illinois (and across the nation) this election season will be the final straw in their avoidance to joining a “Third Party.” This will be the moment that I have dedicated my life for — the chance to topple the corrupt duopoly that has taken over our governments — to infuse principled men and women who will stand for liberty and restoration of a Constitutional Republic.
There are many positions to fill within the campaign, not the least of which is a campaign treasurer. The campaign is in desperate need of a treasurer so that we can start accepting campaign donations. With the few dollars left in my account after being laid-off in August and the help of some dear friends, I have been traveling across the state of Illinois, championing the cause of liberty, the constitution, the Constitution Party, and the Stufflebeam for Governor campaign. So if you would like to be or know of someone who would make a good treasurer, please send them my way.
VETERANS
Immediately following the campaign organizational meeting (at the same place), there will be a veterans’ meeting. If you are a Illinois veteran, this meeting is especially for you. If you are a friend or family member of a veteran this meeting will be of tremendous interest to you as well.
Illinois has been rated 50th out of 50 states, in support of our veterans. With Illinois government, you hardly have to be a veteran to know why. Be that as it may, I’ve come to realize that as a veteran of over twenty-two years service to our country, IT’S OUR OWN FAULT! A couple of years back when I was getting signatures on our petition, I stopped in a place (that for now, shall remain nameless) where my fellow band of bothers were. I came out of that place without getting one single signature and I could hardly believe the excuses for not signing. Of all the people that I thought I would connect with, it was my fellow veteran who made the same oath I did to “support and defend our Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.” I guess there’s no greater enemy to our Constitution than apathy.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” –Edmund Burke
I won’t say that I was crushed, but it’s hard for me to express my disappointment. They weren’t even willing to give me the opportunity to fight for our Constitution and their liberty. I wasn’t asking for their vote, just a fair shot at getting into the fight.
VETERANS, RISE UP!!
REMEMBER YOUR OATH!!
I am a Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant. I am a leader of Marines. I am willing to come up out of the foxhole and lead the charge, but I can not defeat the enemy alone. I don’t need people “who have my back” (though that’s important too), I need people who will “stand shoulder to shoulder” with me to take back our state and our nation.
I’m “Looking for a Few Good Men and Women” who are ready to take a stand!!
Will you be one of them?
I believe we have an unprecedented opportunity to finally do something about the way this state treats her veterans and I’m going to need your help and support to do it. Please join me at the Peoria Pizza Works this Saturday, so that we can plan our battle strategy.
EVENTS
I had an awesome weekend, last Friday and Saturday. The 9/12 group sponsored a candidate event in Peoria and the Rockford Teaparty held a “Voter Speak Out,” where they vetted all the primary candidates and gave them all a grade, A though F. In spite of the fact that this was solely for the candidates in the primaries, there were several who stood up and voiced their support for my candidacy, including one of the panelists. Then at the close of the meeting, I was afforded the opportunity speak and received a standing ovation.
There are two significant Gubernatorial Candidate events happening prior to the Primaries on the 2nd of February. Both of the events are likely to get televised coverage.
January 27
Free & Equal is sponsoring a debate to be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Booth School of Business, 5807 S. Woodlawn Ave., at the University of Chicago. Six candidates so far have confirmed that they would be there.
“This debate will be a proud continuation of our efforts to give all candidates a voice, a tradition we started during the 2008 elections when we held the only nationally televised presidential and vice presidential debates for independent and third-party candidates,” Christina Tobin, Free & Equal founder and chief executive, said.
January 29
Lincoln Trail College Political Society is sponsoring a candidate forum. All candidates who are running for Governor of Illinois have been invited to participate. Though not listed below, I am told that Govern Quinn has confirmed his attendance as well.
Candidates running for office in the State of Illinois will have a chance to discuss current issues during a Candidates’ Debate from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Jan. 29 in the Zwermann Arts Center Theater at Lincoln Trail College. Sponsored by the LTC Political Society, the event will feature candidates currently running for the offices of U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and Illinois governor, lieutenant governor, state senator and state representative.
The debate will feature a moderated question-and-answer session followed by a public reception in the Lincoln Room. LTC students have formulated questions to be asked during the session. Topics of interest include: gun control, health care, state economy, transportation, economic development, and more.
Confirmed candidates include:
Governor – Andy McKenna, Dan Proft, Randy Stufflebeam, Michael White and Lex Green;
Lieutenant Governor – Ed Rutledge, Mike Boland, Thomas Castillo and Brad Cole;
U.S. Senate – Robert Marshall, Tom Kuna, Kathleen Thomas and Robert Zadek;
U.S. House – Dr. David Gill;
Illinois Representatives – Roger Eddy and Dale Righter.
For more information, call Lincoln Trail College at 618-544-8657, ext. 1117.
On January 16th, Randy Stufflebeam and campaign members attended the Rockford Tea Party Voter SpeakOut, an event designed to educate voters about conservative candidates, and let them share opinions about candidates they support.
There was a bit of miscommunication (or rather, communication that didn’t happen at all), and so I didn’t realize Randy and Russell Dill, his Event Coordinator were going to be there, and was happily surprised to find I wasn’t the only Randy Stufflebeam for Governor supporter at the event. Russell set up a very nice display of literature and info about Randy, and I helped put fliers on all the chairs, as we were considerably early, and nearly all the seats were empty.
The event was organized so that the Tea Party leader, David Hale, listed all the candidates in a particular race, then announced the Tea Party’s choice of the best one, and a panel of representatives from various groups (Concerned Citizens of America, etc…) spoke about their endorsements and why they chose particular candidates to support. Then there was time for members of the audience to come up and speak about which candidate they would vote for. So when it came to the gubernatorial race, I got up and endorsed Randy. And then at some point later (not sure how it came about, I was out of the room at the time), Randy had the opportunity to come up and address the audience. Suffice to say, he gave a rousing speech, and it was met with great enthusiasm from the crowd. He spoke about the importance of not being trapped in fear of “wasting a vote” and voting for the Republican Party just so the Democrats wouldn’t win. Principle should come before pragmatism.
Although the Tea Party focused on only Republican candidates, Randy was quite popular and and event was very successful. Randy has also been invited by the Rockford Tea Party to a full-day event in February as their keynote speaker. I think there were some pictures taken, but I don’t have them, so we’ll have probably have those out later.
This is an article by Frank Shostak of the Mises Institute, commenting and responding to Ben Bernanke’s speech on Dec. 7th to the Economic Club in Washington, a different take on Bernanke and his actions than what Time magazine says.
I’ve asked myself this question numerous times since mid-November, when I volunteered to help Randy.
“Why?”
I am known to be very cynical about government and politics–I enjoy political activism, but try to maintain a safe distance of oh, maybe a few miles at least, between me and a politician. In fact, when my friends had to pick a saying that best described me, they chose, “Trust no one.”
So I ask myself, what am I doing on a political campaign, for someone who–if elected–will be a politician, by virtue (or curse) of his office?
This made me stop and think about what I believe.
There have been people who have either asked, or hinted, at me helping on their campaign, and I am not saying I entirely disagree with them, it was just that I wasn’t all “fired up” to devote my time to their campaign. Either I had too much going at the time, or I felt that others could contribute more effectively, or that there were a few issues we didn’t see “eye-to-eye on”, and I couldn’t give them my support.
So why Randy?
• Part of it is because he’s running in the Constitution Party. Being a young person, I like to go against the grain and do things differently. Rebellion, some might call it, and that’s okay. But that means I am tired of the Democratic and Republican parties being my only choice. They’ve both disappointed me, and I can’t support either of them. So I’d really have to think hard before supporting someone in the Republican Party because of that.
• Also, I was able to meet Randy at the Northern IL Campaign for Liberty Candidates’ Forum, and that helped. I saw his style of speaking–extremely passionate…and that’s an understatement–and talked with him, and was pleased with what I saw. He probably didn’t know at the time, but he had some tough conditions to meet, I must confess, I hold nearly
impossible criteria for politicians. At any rate, I studied his website, looked over the notes I took from the forum, and decided I would give him my time and energy because 1) I liked his message, and 2) I liked the way he presented his message. Maybe not everyone likes his “passionate” style, but it appealed to me because I can get fired up about some issues too, and I like to see that in other people.
So, that’s why I’ve decided to support Randy Stufflebeam for Governor.
I wanted to publish something under the category “Words from Randy”…and since he’s a bit busy at the moment to write something, I am going to be posting a series of articles from Randy off his current site that cover some fundamental issues and what he believes about them. – Savannah
The Sanctity of Life - ALL Human life is precious!!
I am 100% “Pro-Life” no exceptions. I believe that the first premise of government is the responsibility to protect the lives of both the unborn and those who are unable to protect themselves.
In the “Declaration of Independence” we find these words, “…unalienable rights, that among these are LIFE, LIBERTY and the pursuit of HAPPINESS.” I believe that these three precepts are the premise to our constitutional society and are in precedent order – LIFE comes before Liberty, Liberty comes before Happiness; and the pursuit of happiness is the least of these three, though still a very important premise to our way of life.
In the discussion of the life issues, I have divided them into three sections, “Abortion,” “Embryonic Stem Cell Research” and “Euthanasia.” Now I realize that embryonic stem cell research is actually a part of the abortion discussion, but I felt there were certain dynamics that I wanted to discuss separately.
ABORTION
As previously stated, I am 100% Pro-Life no exceptions. “100%, no exceptions,” means that I am against ALL abortions where the expected result is the termination of the life of the unborn child.
Definition of Abortion
In the purest sense of the term abortion, it only means an early termination. It is used in the military as in “abort the mission.” It only means an early termination of the mission.
The early delivery of a child in order to save its life is an abortion in that it is an early termination of the pregnancy, as in “abort the pregnancy.” However, in this case the expected (or HOPED) result of this type of an abortion is in preservation of the life of the unborn child.
The way that the term abortion is used in society today means that the expected result of the early termination of the pregnancy is the expected death of the unborn child. In this context the term abortion is synonymous with murder. Where the term abortion is synonymous with murder is the way that the term abortion will be used throughout the rest of this writing.
Options
I understand that “Pro-Life” can be quite the cliché, but for me it is a way of life. Although I have not always been able to personally participate, I have been able to contribute through my wife, Lisa. While we were stationed in California, Lisa was able to become a counselor with “Birthright International.” Birthright is an awesome organization that not only stood against abortions, but provided options.
Through Lisa and her training with Birthright, I learned that most women do NOT want an abortion, but they feel trapped and have no idea what their options are and how to act on them.
What do you tell a pregnant teenage girl who comes to you and says that unless she has an abortion, her father is going to kick her out of the house????? What do you tell a pregnant wife who comes to you and says that unless she has an abortion, her husband is going to divorce her??? In times like these you better have something better to say than simply “do not kill your baby!” You better be able to help her with options or that unborn child will be aborted.
Personhood
I’ve heard it said, “I believe that life begins at conception.” For years that was my stance as well. But over the past 6 months of discussion with people through out the state of Illinois I have learned a lot and have been able to clarify the issue.
Actually, when you think about it, life is neither created or begins at conception. There was only one time in the history of this world when life was created and that was when God created Adam and Eve. Ever since then, life has been a continuum. It was pointed out to me that even the sperm and the egg are “alive,” and you have to agree that that is true. When the sperm and egg merge (conception) and new person comes into being. You can say that a new person is created in that conception, but life itself has not been created.
This point is incontrovertible. No matter what you call “IT” (fetus, tissue, blob of flesh, embryo, or unborn child), “IT” is alive. The whole abortion debate is NOT about whether that “tissue” inside the mother’s womb is alive, but whether that living tissue is a person.
The only matter that is up for debate is at what point in this “New life” becomes “a person.” For the pro-abortionist, personhood begins once that life has been able to escape the womb. As if something magical happens in that moment and the life that has been developing inside the mother’s womb is now something more than it was inside. Both medical and scientific data shows that the only thing that is different once the baby is outside the mother’s womb is that it now breathes air and consumes food through the mouth. Apparently, for some, this is the defining element of personhood. It certainly seems to hold true in the Terri Schindler-Schiavo case. Since she was not able to feed herself, she must no longer have been a person.
To boil down the “Sanctity of Life” discussion, the whole controversy is about when personhood is conferred and when it is removed.
Exceptions
Any time someone refers to exceptions to the abortion issue they are usually talking about three: Rape, Incest and Life of the Mother.
First, I do not believe that the “life of the mother” is an exception to the 100% Pro-Life stance. In cases involving the life of the mother, the purpose for an early termination of the pregnancy is not to terminate a life, but to save a life. The most typical situation in which a woman’s life is threatened by pregnancy involves ectopic (tubal, cervical, or abdominal) pregnancies. More often than not, the unborn child is already dead in these cases. I further believe that when it comes to the “life of the mother” (not the health of the mother) versus the “life of the unborn child,” it is an issue that has to be determined by the woman in consultation with her doctor, counselor, and family.
EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH
I stand firmly against EMBRYONIC stem cell research. There is no way to harvest a stem cell from an embryo, without killing the unborn child. So far, there has been no positive results achieved from embryonic stem cell research.
However, not all “Stem Cell Research” is bad. There have been positive results achieved through adult stem cell research and it is this research that is beneficial. And adult stem cell research does not kill the host from which the stem cell is harvested.
EUTHANASIA
Terri Schindler-Schiavo’s road to death made it appallingly evident how far removed our government has become in this MOST IMPORTANT of responsibilities; the protection of LIFE.
With the marvels of modern scientific and medical technology there is no necessity for a “Mercy Killing.” So I stand against this abhorrent practice.
As Governor of Illinois, I will stand for life. I will do everything within my power to protect life. I will repeal the unconstitutional executive orders that Blagojevich has issued (circumventing the legislation) that have funded EMBRYONIC Stem-cell Research and forced pharmacists to provideabortifacients (The “Morning after Pill”/”Plan B”) against their moral conscience.
There are others across the country who are running against the establishment, creating a new revolution–such as Rand Paul, the son of Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. Rand Paul is running for Senator in Kentucky as a very conservative–dare I say, libertarian?–candidate against the nominal Republicans. And as this blogger from Campaign for Liberty points out, Rand Paul is gaining much ground.
