By Nate Noy
Most Americans agree that our current 435 “representatives” in Congress are collectively one of the most vile and untrustworthy groups in this great nation’s history. Those of us that have inside knowledge of how Washington DC “really” works know that most politicians at that level are bought and paid for by special interest groups. Sure there is the occasional honest Congressman, but for the most part the character of the members is fairly consistent with recent approval ratings (which hover somewhere around 20% or below.) I for one KNOW that Tom Brinkman does not fit the “norm” for this group.
I personally have had two memorable discussions with politicians in the past 18 months. The first was when I had the pleasure of deposing our “esteemed” Congresswoman Jean Schmidt. I had a number of questions that Jean was forced to answer under oath since my case was before the Ohio Elections Commission. When Schmidt was asked about October 24, 1993 she remembered the day as if she had just watched a movie about it. She stated that she “had to use the restroom [sic]’ before the race and that the line was too long. She added that she thought she would use it during the race but decided to hold it for 3 hours and 19+ minutes.” This recall ability was consistent with an article the Cincinnati Enquire wrote on July 31, 2005 stating that Schmidt had a “file card memory.”
The perplexing thing about Schmidt’s incredible memory was the sworn testimony she gave before the OEC on April 20, 2006. Excerpts from this include:
Q. Is that a B.S. or a B.A.?
A. I'm not sure. I think it's a B.A., or is it a Bachelor of Science? I don't know. I would have to say I don't know.
Q. And when did you start pursuing, then, the master's of education degree at UC?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. When did you stop attending the classes in pursuit of the master's?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. Do you know what years -- after 1974, do you know what years specifically you attended classes at UC?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. To your knowledge, did you attend any classes after 1986?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. And have you ever received a degree in social studies?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. What classes would you have taken that would make you unsure or make it a possibility that you would have obtained a degree in social studies?
A. I don't know.
Q. You completed some course work in 1986 at UC, is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. That was in pursuit of the master's degree, is that right?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. Have you ever had a teaching certificate?
A. Yes.
Q. When was that?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. When you completed your course work, then you also had to do certain hours of teaching, isn't that correct?
A. I don't know.
Q. What is your understanding of the certificate that you had?
A. I don't have any understanding of the certificate that I have.
We ALL know how the above turned out for Jean Schmidt, the OEC found her GUILTY of lying about her FAKE college degree and gave her a public reprimand for a “reckless disregard for truth” and making "false and misleading statements."
Of course this is par for the course for Schmidt who also taken campaign contributions from lobbyists trying to bring a nuclear waste dump to Pike county, plagiarized another congresswoman’s opt ed piece, and voted to destroy our economy by raising the rates of unemployment and inflation with her support of the minimum wage increase. Jean Schmidt fits right in with Congress from any honest person’s perspective.
My other memorable moment was a meeting I had with Tom Brinkman in June. I had only actually met Tom once prior at the Anderson Township GOP picnic in August 2006; I had called Tom and asked for a few minutes of his time in Columbus to discuss the 2008 election. Tom got caught up in a subcommittee meeting and I arrived early, so I sat in the lobby on the floor he shares with 8-10 other State Reps in Columbus for about 1 ½ hours. During that time I saw about 20 different lobbyists come and go, all had meetings with the other 8-9 State Reps that share the same floor as Tom, NONE had meetings with Tom. I also had a chat with Tom’s assistant and it became pretty clear that the lobbyists KNEW they were wasting their time playing “politics as usual” with Tom, because Tom simply does not play that game.
While I was researching Jean Schmidt I reviewed about six years worth of the official record of the Ohio House. I wanted to see how Jean voted and I personally verified that she had in fact been a puppet for Bob Taft and Larry Householder and voted for every single tax increase and expanded government intervention proposed by her puppet masters. However, the thing I remember the most from reviewing these votes was the number of 98-1 votes in the record. The topics of legislation ranged from tax increases to expanding the reach of various state government agencies and programs, and I was amazed how many times a single vote was cast for NO TAX INCREASES and limited government. Tom had stood against the lobbyists, the Democrats and even his own Republican Party on so many occasions it was almost mind boggling. That’s when I thought to myself, “Wow, here is a politician that actually has a set of beliefs and sticks to them.”
When I actually sat down with Tom and had a talk ALL of my initial perceptions about his beliefs and character were reinforced. Talking with Tom was like sitting down and talking with one of my friends, he came across as a genuine and honest person, and I NEVER would have taken him for a politician if I did not already know what his job was. The other thing that stuck with me from the meeting was that Tom had to wrap it up about 3:30pm because he was going back to Cincinnati for the night, like he did EVERY night to spend time with his wife and kids. While the other State Reps spent the afternoon meeting with lobbyists and being wined and dined after hours, Tom was in his car driving back to Cincinnati and later at home enjoying his nightly quality family time.
“Change” has become a hop topic as of late. I KNOW that Tom Brinkman would bring a serious change to Congress by adding an individual that actually can be trusted, believes in the same type of government that our Founding Fathers believed in and will stand for the beliefs of the conservatives that overwhelmingly make up the base of Ohio-2. Jean Schmidt on the other hand (who likely will not even survive the general election if she does win the primary) is THE candidate for those in the controlling elite and lobbyists that want the “game” to go on as usual.
Most Americans agree that our current 435 “representatives” in Congress are collectively one of the most vile and untrustworthy groups in this great nation’s history. Those of us that have inside knowledge of how Washington DC “really” works know that most politicians at that level are bought and paid for by special interest groups. Sure there is the occasional honest Congressman, but for the most part the character of the members is fairly consistent with recent approval ratings (which hover somewhere around 20% or below.) I for one KNOW that Tom Brinkman does not fit the “norm” for this group.
I personally have had two memorable discussions with politicians in the past 18 months. The first was when I had the pleasure of deposing our “esteemed” Congresswoman Jean Schmidt. I had a number of questions that Jean was forced to answer under oath since my case was before the Ohio Elections Commission. When Schmidt was asked about October 24, 1993 she remembered the day as if she had just watched a movie about it. She stated that she “had to use the restroom [sic]’ before the race and that the line was too long. She added that she thought she would use it during the race but decided to hold it for 3 hours and 19+ minutes.” This recall ability was consistent with an article the Cincinnati Enquire wrote on July 31, 2005 stating that Schmidt had a “file card memory.”
The perplexing thing about Schmidt’s incredible memory was the sworn testimony she gave before the OEC on April 20, 2006. Excerpts from this include:
Q. Is that a B.S. or a B.A.?
A. I'm not sure. I think it's a B.A., or is it a Bachelor of Science? I don't know. I would have to say I don't know.
Q. And when did you start pursuing, then, the master's of education degree at UC?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. When did you stop attending the classes in pursuit of the master's?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. Do you know what years -- after 1974, do you know what years specifically you attended classes at UC?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. To your knowledge, did you attend any classes after 1986?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. And have you ever received a degree in social studies?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. What classes would you have taken that would make you unsure or make it a possibility that you would have obtained a degree in social studies?
A. I don't know.
Q. You completed some course work in 1986 at UC, is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. That was in pursuit of the master's degree, is that right?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. Have you ever had a teaching certificate?
A. Yes.
Q. When was that?
A. I'm not sure.
Q. When you completed your course work, then you also had to do certain hours of teaching, isn't that correct?
A. I don't know.
Q. What is your understanding of the certificate that you had?
A. I don't have any understanding of the certificate that I have.
We ALL know how the above turned out for Jean Schmidt, the OEC found her GUILTY of lying about her FAKE college degree and gave her a public reprimand for a “reckless disregard for truth” and making "false and misleading statements."
Of course this is par for the course for Schmidt who also taken campaign contributions from lobbyists trying to bring a nuclear waste dump to Pike county, plagiarized another congresswoman’s opt ed piece, and voted to destroy our economy by raising the rates of unemployment and inflation with her support of the minimum wage increase. Jean Schmidt fits right in with Congress from any honest person’s perspective.
My other memorable moment was a meeting I had with Tom Brinkman in June. I had only actually met Tom once prior at the Anderson Township GOP picnic in August 2006; I had called Tom and asked for a few minutes of his time in Columbus to discuss the 2008 election. Tom got caught up in a subcommittee meeting and I arrived early, so I sat in the lobby on the floor he shares with 8-10 other State Reps in Columbus for about 1 ½ hours. During that time I saw about 20 different lobbyists come and go, all had meetings with the other 8-9 State Reps that share the same floor as Tom, NONE had meetings with Tom. I also had a chat with Tom’s assistant and it became pretty clear that the lobbyists KNEW they were wasting their time playing “politics as usual” with Tom, because Tom simply does not play that game.
While I was researching Jean Schmidt I reviewed about six years worth of the official record of the Ohio House. I wanted to see how Jean voted and I personally verified that she had in fact been a puppet for Bob Taft and Larry Householder and voted for every single tax increase and expanded government intervention proposed by her puppet masters. However, the thing I remember the most from reviewing these votes was the number of 98-1 votes in the record. The topics of legislation ranged from tax increases to expanding the reach of various state government agencies and programs, and I was amazed how many times a single vote was cast for NO TAX INCREASES and limited government. Tom had stood against the lobbyists, the Democrats and even his own Republican Party on so many occasions it was almost mind boggling. That’s when I thought to myself, “Wow, here is a politician that actually has a set of beliefs and sticks to them.”
When I actually sat down with Tom and had a talk ALL of my initial perceptions about his beliefs and character were reinforced. Talking with Tom was like sitting down and talking with one of my friends, he came across as a genuine and honest person, and I NEVER would have taken him for a politician if I did not already know what his job was. The other thing that stuck with me from the meeting was that Tom had to wrap it up about 3:30pm because he was going back to Cincinnati for the night, like he did EVERY night to spend time with his wife and kids. While the other State Reps spent the afternoon meeting with lobbyists and being wined and dined after hours, Tom was in his car driving back to Cincinnati and later at home enjoying his nightly quality family time.
“Change” has become a hop topic as of late. I KNOW that Tom Brinkman would bring a serious change to Congress by adding an individual that actually can be trusted, believes in the same type of government that our Founding Fathers believed in and will stand for the beliefs of the conservatives that overwhelmingly make up the base of Ohio-2. Jean Schmidt on the other hand (who likely will not even survive the general election if she does win the primary) is THE candidate for those in the controlling elite and lobbyists that want the “game” to go on as usual.
UPDATE: For anyone that may have missed it, this is one of the best websites I have found regarding this primary (be sure to watch the 2nd video if you have never seen it.)
3 comments:
That's powerful stuff in terms of lobbyists knowing not to even waste their time. How rare that is and how much our country suffers for that rarity.
--Rick
Excellent post. I know Tom as well. I've always referred to him as Ohio's version of Ron Paul.
Thanks Jason and great blog entry by the way: http://yearningtobreathefree.blogspot.com/2008/02/tom-brinkman-ohios-ron-paul.html
You are 100% on the money regarding Hurley and the WMD site. It will be interesting to see what he does if Tom does win on Tuesday, I’m sure that would be a fantastic conundrum for him.
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