The Battle Cry to Allow National Committeewoman Kathleen Berden Into BatlleCry Michigan

This weekend a group of Michigan Conservatives are

Kathleen Berden with Paul Mitchell, Alan Sanborn
and Phil Pavlov at the Blue Water Tea Party
In St. Clair County This summer

spearheading an event called Battle Cry Michigan.

This group though is arbitrarily picking out who they want to attend to this event which will feature scheduled speakers such as Fox News contributor Steven Crowder, WAAM radio host Thayrone X, current State Representative Gary Glenn, former state Representative Tom McMillin and others.

One notable figure that has had her money returned and has been asked not to attend is newly elected and popular National Committeewoman Kathleen Berden.

Many have seen Kathleen as a hard worker and one that has made the effort to reach out to conservatives.   Kathleen over the last year has driven across the great state of Michigan attending Repubican and Tea Party events listening to the concerns of Republicans and Conservatives.

Gary Glenn, Rob Steele and Kathleen Berden

Being a National Committee person is not a paying job.  Kathleen could have easily coasted as her position of National Committeewoman but instead felt it was important to learn what could be improved upon with in the party, so she attended as many of the events across this state that she could.

Now to strike back at the "Establishment" Kathleen is the one that is foolishly being punished.  Why pick a fight with someone that is actually making the effort to have everyone's voice heard?

When you start excluding people does that not make you the same as the "establishment" you speak so ill of?  What is to say that if I agree with you today but not tomorrow, will you exclude me then to protect your power?  How is that a conservative principle?

 I have found Kathleen Offner Berden to be pretty conservative. Has she and I agreed on everything? No. But who agrees with each other 100% of the time?

If you want to build a coalition at the Republican National Committee, it doesn't help when you exclude one of your National Committee members, especially one from the same state.

 Dave Agema can't fix the problems himself, he needs a team.

 If those conservatives who are running BattleCry want to be different than the "establishment" you must act different and be inclusive. 

There is a saying don't throw the baby out with the bathwater and inadvertently that is what Battlecry is doing by being exclusive. There are good people working and have been working for years to make a difference for conservatism in the party.

 I understand there is a committee of 20 people that make this decision but I also know who the true leaders are and that their pull outweighs others. I am therefore kindly asking those leaders to come to reason and allow National Committeewoman Kathleen Offner Berden an opportunity to be at the event. I am also asking speakers to also ask the leaders of the event to allow Kathleen Offner Berden the opportunity to attend the event.

Conservative And Fellow Tea Party Republican Rep. Gary Glenn To Todd Courser - Resign

Part of the Conservative Freshman group Gary Glenn R-Midland MI 98th district,

joined fellow Representative Tom Leonard yesterday on the call  for Todd Courser to resign.    This is a major development as the same Tea Party movement that elected Glenn also elected Todd Courser R-Lapeer

 "There is no possible reasoning or rationale by which their remaining in office will benefit their families or the conservative cause that so many have worked so long to advance," Glenn said in a statement. "The longer the scandal and ridicule continues, the more damage will be done to both their families and to that cause."

Courser has suggested that his former staffers may have been involved in the blackmail scheme, a charge they have denied. If he had resigned at the time, he "essentially would have been submitting to the establishment of the authority machine," he said Monday, arguing that staying on was "essential for the cause of liberty."

Glenn disputed Courser's rationale for staying in office.

"The behavior to which he's publicly admitted has, by association, damaged and discredited the cause of liberty and of conservative, constitutional, and limited government, and the longer political adversaries are allowed to demonize those principles in the media by association with such tactics, the more damage will be done to conservatives' ability to advance those ideals in Michigan," Glenn said."

Michgan Primary Shows Tea Party Is Alive And Well

Although the Tea Party suffered some losses with the election losses of Tom McMillin, Alan Arcand and Peter Konetchy for Congress,  Matthew Maddock for State Senate, Wendy Lynn Day, Angela Rigas, and Deb O'Hagan for State Representative, there were many victories.

Tea Party and Christen victories included; Justin Amash, 3rd District Representative in Congress who battled a tough primay, 7th District State Senator Patrick Colbeck, Lana Theis, 42nd District State Representative, Jim Runestad, 44th District State Representative, Cindy Gamrat, 80th District State Representative, Todd Courser, 82nd District State Representative, Gary Glenn 98th District State Representative, Triston Cole, 105th District State Representative, Lee Chatfield 107th District State Representative.

These victories were hard fought as the Establishment  branch of the party did everything they could to prevent the Tea Party and Christian Conservatives from winning .

In the 3rd Congressional District Brian Ellis, a business man was chosen by the Establishment Republicans to challenge Sophmore and Tea Party Favorite Justin Amash.  Brian Ellis was endorsed by Retiring Congressman Mike Rogers. Rogers had been at odds with Justin Amash over Amash's stance against the NSA spy agency, the NDAA where American's deemed terrorists can be held indefinitely and lose their constitutional rights.  Justin bucked many in his party and voted against the Continuing Resolutions that kept funding Obamacare.   Former Congressman and 2012 Senate Candidate Pete Hoekstra also supported Ellis.  The nastiness in the campaign was so bad that yesterday at his victory party Justin told Brian Ellis and Pete Hoekstra how he really felt.  

"Brian Ellis, you owe my family and this community an apology," Amash said. "You had the audacity to try to call me today after running a campaign that was called 'the nastiest in the country.' "I ran for office to stop people like you."

"I want to say to lobbyist Pete Hoekstra, you're a disgrace," said Amash, noting the former U.S. representative who appeared in a TV ad for Ellis. "I'm glad we can hand you one more loss before you fade into total obscurity and irrelevance."

In the 107th District the Establishment was so desperate to keep power and their Representative Frank Foster that they courted the Democrat party and asked for their help to take a stand against the Tea Party.

Chatfield's challenge came as a result of Foster's overall liberal voting record (Obamacare-Medicaid expansion, Common Core) but primarily his advocacy for the homosexual activists' top agenda item.

Gary Glenn who is a strong voice for marriage between a man and a woman also won his seat easily. In the race in the 98th Gary Glenn's religious beliefs were attacked for his Christian beliefs on gay marriage. Former Michigan Gubernatorial  Dick Devos' family donated heavily to Glenn's opponent and Devos' right hand man, Greg McKnielly, Dick Devos' right hand man and who quickly got married to his gay partner when the window for gay marriage was briefly opened earlier this year, also worked hard against Glenn.

In the 44th House District there was no love lost between conservative favorite Jim Runestad, who has a conservative record to stand on, versus Liz Fessler Smith, a relative new comer that came from a rocky political family , rose quickly through the ranks and was supported by many Establishment Republicans. 

Liz Fessler Smith stated to tea party members  and Christian Conservatives that she was conservative while at the same time she had committed to amending the Elliott-Larsen Act to include special protections for sexual orientation.  Many false accusations were thrown at Jim, including calling him a racist, which many know to be farthest from the truth.  The police were also called on the Fessler Smith campaign at a precinct in White Lake for what some perceived as voter intimidation.  However one Facebook user advised that Ms. Fessler-Smith decided to post on her facebook wall that the police were called on her opponent.

In Michigan the campaign finance reports where due on July 25th,2014, but as of this writing no complete campaign filing has been given to the Michigan Election Commission.  As previously reported Ms. Fessler Smith stated that her campaign finance information was stolen out of her mother's car the day it was due. 

Former candidates for Michigan Republican Chair and Vice Chair, Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat also won their respect races and one can only wonder what will happen in the State House once they team up again should they when in November.

Overall with all the drama, the Establishment Republicans who have had their hands in pockets of those that support Common Core, Medicaid Expansion, and the gay marriage agenda to a hit with the election of Christian Tea Party Candidates yesterday.