Our side lost yesterday and in a big, dramatic fashion.  We are now going to spend billions of money that the country does not have to not solve a critical problem–the growth of healthcare costs.  You can read about the specifics elsewhere:  as Paul Ryan said, this is not who we are as a country:  http://article.nationalreview.com/428833/paul-ryan-is-not-ready-to-give-up-on-health-care/robert-costa

But you can’t blame your opponents for doing what they said they were going to do (and the Moveon.org/Pelosi types were very clear that they were going to do this).  And you can’t blame your opponents for having the willpower and tenacity to follow through (if nothing else, the Democratic leadership put on a clinic on how to pass this monstrosity in the face of anti-Obama-care majorities). 

You may agree that this healthcare reform bill is awful.  That may be so.  But we now know that awful policies do not defeat themselves.  No one should ever wonder again what will happen if each and everyone of us is not engaged and willing to do our part.

All the tea parties and all the opposition were not misguided.  They came very close to stopping this thing.  But it just wasn’t enough (or at least it wasn’t on Sunday).  This will not be easy.  We will need to get more organized and we will need to work harder and smarter, and we will win through.

What we need to do:  (1) get other people on the email list and invite others to join us for events–this why we have them, to get new people on the list,(2) send an email to cypmilwaukee@gmail.com and help us plan and grow the network, and (3) help us get people connected to campaigns where they can make a difference.

I’m going to post the next month and a half of events and things are starting to heat up. With the end of healthcare reform (courtesy of Mr. 41, Scott Brown), we’re really seeing some excitement out there.

It’s a miracle compared to when Jake and I started this group in August 2008.

In any case, thanks to our CYP team, who has put together some excellent stuff to attend (see the upcoming events page on top). In addition, some of the campaigns are now understanding what we’re doing, and so they are willing to host events that interest our members–so we’re going to invite you to those events, as well.

Just make sure to invite a friend. That’s the most important thing to do–make sure to add them to the email list.

Join me in congratulating Jake Curtis for having his commentary published on the WPRI website.  WPRI.org is the best place for fiscal conservative commentary focused on Wisconsin issues.

–Jason Kohout

On Thursday, we had another awesome social hour.  We toasted the 41st vote against healthcare, soon to be Senator Scott Brown and we heard our special guest Russ Darrow, who kindly stopped by the bar to share a drink with CYPers.  Russ shared his unique perspective on Wisconsin politics, having been a U.S. Senate Candidate (the “Right Russ”).

We had a great crowd of about 100 people.  Thanks for coming.  Thanks to Heather Treptow for the great location–the HiLo Martini Bar was great.

We have awesome events coming up (things you will not want to miss).  Please tell others to get on the email list so they’re not missing out. 

Jason Kohout
jason.kohout@gmail.com

CYP:

We’ve had a heck of a year.  We started with a great Scott Walker event, and never let up.  We had a several notable events, and we met a ton of new people.  Right now, the number of people our group reaches totals somewhere north of 900 people.  We are beginning to move the scale, and nationally, it appears that the conservative movement is gaining strength.

We had a great turnout in December for Pat McIlheran.  His latest article.  I put a few pictures on the “past event page”. 

Next year will be crucial, because it’s an election year.  We will be working hard to increase activities–to get more people together and to begin pointing them towards activities that they can undertake to make a difference politically.  As always, if you’re interested in taking on a leadership role, please let me know:  jason.kohout@gmail.com 

You can already beginning planning for the following events next year:

January happy hour (tentatively scheduled for January 21st, speaker to be announced).

Friday, February 12th:  Admirals Game with Abe Lincoln
You read it right!  Friday, Feburary 12th is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.  CYP will celebrate by going to the Admirals Game where each ticketholder receives an Abe Lincoln bobblehead.  Help us celebrate this liberty-loving patriot. 
 
Tickets are $14.  Payment is required in advance.  Please send  a check to Brandon Henak at 904 E. Pearson St. #301, Milwaukee, WI  53202.  Email communications@milwaukeeconservatives.com for more information.

February 25th social hour:  former U.S. congressman and gubernatorial candidate Mark Neumann will speak to CYP at 5:30-8:00 at the Water Buffalo. 

March happy hour (to be scheduled):  We’re working on getting the other gubernatorial candidate, County Exec. Scott Walker, scheduled.

Also, some CYP members are putting together a bowling fundraiser for Rep. Leah Vukmir, who is running for State Senator in Wauwatosa, Brookfield, and West Allis.

“On the Lanes with Leah Vukmir “
Saturday, January 30, 2010, 1:00pm – 4:00pm
AMF Lanes, 10901 W. Lapham, West Allis 
$10 for 2 games and shoes, suggested donation $20

We hope that you’ll join us for one or more of these events, and invite others to our events.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Jason Kohout

• He writes a weekly column for the Jounral centered on business issues (including the limitations of healthcare reform).
• He wrote a provocative report for WPRI about Gov. Doyle’s lack of leadership in promoting the state’s economy. 
• He is chairman of BizStarts Milwaukee, an organization promoting entrepreneurship in the Milwaukee region.

CYP now has a logo.

I wanted to go with VRWC (Vast Right Wing Conspiracy), Junior Class, but I guess this is better.  Special thanks to Luke.

State Sen. Jim Sullivan would have learned a few things if he would have attended the CYP tour at the Great Lakes Distillery last week.  Guy Rehorst told us all about the many challenges he faced in building a successful business.  It is sad to hear an entrepreneur explain that against all odds he succeeded…sad because the “against all odds” part has nothing to do with stiff competition, lack of start-up capital, or sluggish consumer activity.  No, here in the great state of Wisconsin all too often the “against all odds” part is our very own state and local government. 

Instead of creating an environment receptive to growth and ingenuity (which can be done by implementing reasonable and targeted regulation, as opposed to burdensome and broad policies, and by encouraging wealth creation and job growth by cutting taxes), government often targets the very sectors of the economy which are growing. 

In a desperate attempt to appear bipartisan, Sen. Sullivan attacked both Republicans and Democrats for not immediately embracing a job-killing 58% increase in the state liquor tax.  What affect does he think this will have on local business?  Obviously something needs to be done in this state with respect to the terrible culture of drunk driving.  However, reflexively beginning the analysis with a call for a job-killing tax is not the way to go about it.

Fortunately, in one year the voters in Sen. Sullivan’s district will have a choice between continuing the reflexive tax increase philosphy embraced by Sen. Sullivan or the outside-the-box-thinking of Rep. Vukmir.  I think you can guess who has my support.

DATE: Tuesday, Oct. 27th

TIME: 5:30-8:00pm

LOCATION:  Upstairs at the Palms on 221 N. Broadway (or visit them at:  http://www.palmsbistrobar.com/)

J.B. will speak for about 15 minutes around 6:30.

Join us and invite your friends. We’ll be upstairs at the Palms Bistro in the Third Ward. 

Thanks to Heather Treptow for arranging this great location.