Joe Walsh, Glenn Beck and Herman Cain kumbayah:Stupid People are ruining America

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http://www.suntimes.com/7982604-417/herman-cain-wins-straw-poll-at-first-teacon-in-midwest.html

Herman Cain wins straw poll at first TeaCon in Midwest

BY MAUREEN O’DONNELL

Updated: October 1, 2011 11:06PM

Two darlings of the Tea Party got in plenty of barbs at President Barack Obama, sitting Republicans and what they described as government over-regulation as they basked in adulation at TeaCon 2011, the first Midwestern Tea Party Convention, which drew about 1,000 people to Schaumburg this weekend.

Herman Cain, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO and the only GOP presidential candidate to attend in person, won a TeaCon 2011 straw poll by a landslide Saturday evening.

His blunt comments — including, “Stupid people are ruining America” — were frequently interrupted with standing ovations at the Schaumburg Convention Center. U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) also received a hero’s welcome.

Cain said he would spend money to build up a strong U.S. defense; support Israel; push domestic oil drilling with an “attitude adjustment” for the EPA, and promote his 9-9-9 tax reform plan.

Saying “I kinda like clinging to my guns and Bibles, and I’m not going to let them go,” Cain declared, “this nation is weaker as a result of this administration.”

Cain said his recent win of the Florida straw poll against Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney meant his “message is more important than money. My two competitors that came in second and third, they spent a lot of money.… We rented a bus.”

Walsh zinged the GOP establishment as well as Obama — whose policies he said are suffocating small business — as he rallied the troops for what he called “revolution, not an election.”

“The election in 2012 is the most important election in the lives of your grandkids not even born,” he said.

“Your country right now is teetering. ... I don’t know this president. I’ve met him once — he’s tall,” Walsh said to laughter. But he added, “His policies are destroying what makes this country great.

Walsh said he finds it arduous to be a firebrand, but that he is willing to do it for the Tea Party faithful. “I turn to my wife every night and I literally say to her every night, this job is almost killing me, but thank God I can be a part of it.”

Though he was frequently met with cheers, there was silence when he made an apparent reference to allegations that he is a deadbeat dad and refuses to pay his ex-wife more than $100,000 in child support, saying: “I have had to open up my personal life for the entire world to see. It’s not easy.”

He also took on GOP warhorses. “John McCain, about a month and a half ago, had the nerve to call me a hobbit.” Walsh said. He told the crowd he responded with “Sen. McCain, if I’m a hobbit, you’re a troll.”

He said he personally liked Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Speaker John Boehner, but the problem is they’ve been there too long, and they’re afraid to fight.”

The conference, which began Friday, wound up Saturday night with a speech by conservative radio and TV personality Glenn Beck.

http://www.suntimes.com/7985715-417/chicago-tea-party-director-skips-con-after-prostitution-arrest-revealed.html

Chicago Tea Party director skips con after prostitution arrest revealed

Updated: October 1, 2011 11:06PM

TeaCon was supposed to be the culmination of all the work that Chicago Tea Party Director Stevan Stevlic put into building the party.

But Stevlic, of Cicero, ended up skipping the event Saturday after news broke about his arrest for soliciting a prostitute more than a year ago.

Stevan Stevlic, then 36, was arrested June 25, 2010, in the 1600 block of South Kilbourn for misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution, a police source confirmed to the Sun-Times Saturday.

The arrest was first reported on the website Gawker, which said the charges were dropped after Stevlic agreed to participate in a rehab program.

Stevlic did not return calls and did not answer the door at his Cicero home Saturday night. But in a statement distributed at TeaCon, he said the issue was behind him.

“My family and I dealt with this matter and we’ve successfully moved forward in our relationship,” the statement said. “The charges surrounding this incident were dropped against me over a year ago and with all the issues we are facing in our country right now, I’m not sure why this deserves a headline. I hope everyone can respect my family’s privacy and I apologize for unnecessary pain this has caused my wife and family.”

Denise Cattoni, the state coordinator of the Tea Party, initially was skeptical because of its timing.

“I have known Steve as a person of character. . . . Steve told me it’s not true,” she said.

When Stevlic admitted the arrest later Saturday, Cattoni said in her own statement, “this is old news” because the incident happened a year ago.

“Steve has demonstrated a tremendous amount of leadership and commitment to growing the Tea Party movement in Chicago and TeaCon is the culmination of his efforts,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, who represents the 8th District, described Stevlic as “a good friend,” but said, “TeaCon is a huge, huge deal so any issue with Steve’s not going to” derail their movement.

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Chicago politics rule #9: Never trust a politician from Cicero.

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Chicago politics rule #9: Never trust a politician from Cicero.