We want positive change in Michigan and the nation, especially for LGBT rights, but the difference is that we’re having a harder time making those changes happen here in our state[....]Between The Lines urges you to vote in the primaries for such candidates as Sen. Martha Scott (D), who is running against Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick in Detroit, and Mark Schauer (D), who will try to oust Rep. Nick Smith in the general election, a notorious enemy of the LGBT community.

Against my normal political motives, I will offer the proponents of gay marriage some friendly political advice: going after Nick Smith is probably a bad allocation of their resources.  I mean, there is small chance he’ll run for governor in 2010, but does that really justify campaigning against a retired member of Congress?  It’s just a suggestion.

Read the full article here: http://www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=31349

“Tim has worked overtime to make himself accessible to the citizens of Battle Creek,” Behnke said Friday in a news release. “He has built strong relationships with many people, and has been responsive to the needs of our community. From the health care and public safety concerns of local residents to the national issues of energy independence and fighting against tax increases, Tim Walberg is working for us in Congress.”

Read the full article here: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080802/NEWS01/808020309

Here’s a good excerpt from a press release from his office:

Meanwhile, leaders in Congress will not allow any legislative action to increase American energy production. Instead they continue to push for tax increases on energy and offer silly proposals like having trial lawyers sue OPEC and requiring oil companies to drill on land where oil likely does not exist. This plan to tax, sue and mandate the Jed Clampett oil exploration method (no scientific research, just drill on the ground you have) will surely fail.  In fact, these proposals will likely produce less American energy.

Read the full press release here: http://walberg.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=98001

http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-25/1216821914193240.xml&coll=3

Gov. Jennifer Granholm is endorsing state Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Bedford Township, in his bid for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District seat

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080717/NEWS01/807170312/1002/NEWS01

I’m sure Tim is disappointed…I bet he was really holding out for that endorsement.

Because Tim Walberg needs our support in the blogoshere too.  He has strong, active grass-roots support and a bunch of dedicated volunteers that knock on doors, walk in parades, and make phone calls.  Unfortunately us Walberg supporters have failed to extend our support for Tim to the blogs and the web.  Instead we allow cyberspace to be monopolized by his detractors.  We need to come to Tim’s defense.

I’ve met a bunch of politicians.  I’ve walked in countless parades, knocked on a metropolis worth of doors, delivered yard signs, and otherwise volunteered in the campaigns for a number of them.  Tim Walberg, however, is the only candidate that I have started a blog for.

If you get the chance to talk to Tim, you’ll quickly learn that he isn’t your normal political operative.  Like many politicians, he is a hard working American that cares deeply for his country and his constituents.  What sets him apart is his quiet, serious, principled motivation despite the influences of Washington and its power.  When meeting Tim Walberg, it doesn’t take long to get a sense of his mission.  He votes his conscience in a way few politicians I’ve ever met, from either party, ever do.  His dedication to voting by principle, immunizes him from the bankrupt dealmaking found in Congress, the bullying found in the press, and the abject cruelty of the blogs and uninformed popular opinion.

In the coming weeks and months, I look forward to showcasing, using the public record, how Tim Walberg is a rare and unique candidate that deserves our exceptional support.  The seventh district is lucky to have a Representative in Congress like this.  We need to make sure he stays there for a while….goodness knows Washington needs the influence of people like Tim Walberg.

You’ll have to bear with me.  I am new to writing a blog and I am not a member of the political staffer “industrial complex” that tries to engineer public opinion as a livelihood.  No one pays me for this blog.  I am not on anyone’s campaign payroll and I have a real job and a real life.  My participation in politics, except for a meagre $250 a few years ago, has been exclusively as a volunteer.  Disclosures: I am a Republican, all views on this blog are my own, and I am a big fan of Congressman Tim Walberg.  To some people, this apparently makes me evil…oh well.

Anyways I hope you enjoy the posts that are sure to follow.  As we approach election day, there is sure to be a flury of activity.  I looking forward to a friendly debate and an exciting race.