Travis Hankins Campaign

Republicans sell us out again.(here is a list of who stood firm)

2011-03-16T19:47:00.003-04:00

Below is a list of Patriotic Rebublicans who voted against the CR that adds debt, funds obama care, legitimizing and making permanent all of Obama's spending. Any Republican who is not on this list should be thrown out of office.(as they voted for the largest three week deficit in history)

Todd Akin (Missouri)
Justin Amash (Michigan)
Michele Bachmann (Minnesota)
Roscoe Bartlett (Maryland)
Joe Barton (Texas)
Dan Benishek (Michigan)
Dan Burton (Indiana)
John Campbell (California)
Steve Chabot (Ohio)
Jason Chaffetz (Utah)
Jeff Duncan (South Carolina)
Jeff Flake (Arizona)
John Fleming (Louisiana)
Trent Franks (Arizona)
Scott Garrett (New Jersey)
Phil Gingrey (Georgia)
Louie Gohmert (Texas)
Trey Gowdy (South Carolina)
Tom Graves (Georgia)
Ralph Hall (Texas)
Andy Harris (Maryland)
Dean Heller (Nevada)
Tim Huelskamp (Kansas)
Bill Huizenga (Michigan)
Tim Johnson (Illinois)
Walter Jones (North Carolina)
Jim Jordan (Ohio)
Steve King (Iowa)
Raul Labrador (Idaho)
Doug Lamborn (Colorado)
Jeffrey Landry (Louisiana)
Billy Long (Missouri)
Connie Mack (Florida)
Thaddeus McCotter (Michigan)
Mick Mulvaney (South Carolina)
Ron Paul (Texas)
Steve Pearce (New Mexico)
Mike Pence (Indiana)
Joseph Pitts (Pennsylvania)
Ted Poe (Texas)
Denny Rehberg (Montana)
Scott Rigell (Virginia)
Dennis Ross (Florida)
Jean Schmidt (Ohio)
Christopher Smith (New Jersey)
Steve Southerland (Florida)
Cliff Stearns (Florida)
Marlin Stutzman (Indiana)
John Sullivan (Oklahoma)
Scott Tipton (Colorado)
Tim Walberg (Michigan)
Joe Walsh (Illinois)
Allen West (Florida)
Joe Wilson (South Carolina)

Compromise gone wrong

2010-12-17T10:05:00.003-05:00

The political junkie crowd says that those of us who oppose Obama's tax plan compromise on principle simply doesn't get politics. They say politics is the art of compromise and that being strategic is more important than being principled.Can one of them explain to me how this is a good deal politically then? First it let Obama off the mat. He himself said that his presidency is finished if he didn't get this deal.This compromise gives Obama momentum and improves his re-election chances. And if you think his caucus is fractured now just think about how it would have been after the new Congress negotiated a deal. This deal increases the deficit with this extension of unemployment benefits, pork, and subsidies for special interests.The fact that it's only for two years kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? It certainly lets the Democrats off the hook from taking the blame for their tax increase (the largest one in history) that would've gone into effect January 1.

The worst part of this deal is that it gave Harry Reid and Barack Obama the time to advance the rest of their agenda in the lame-duck session. Since the GOP agreed to this deal when they did, the Democrats had time to bring up "don't ask don't tell," the time to try to ratify the start treaty, and the time to try to pass the Dream Act amnesty. Harry Reid was feeling so confident about this deal that he even tried to slip a 2000 page on the base spending bill full of the worst pork imaginable right under our nose.All because the Republicans are wishy-washy on taxes and spending and apparently negotiating.

Even if it was inevitable that the Republicans agree to compromise they should have dragged out negotiations so that valuable time would be lost and the Democrats could not advance their big government, pro-amnesty,special interest, and pro-Russia agenda in a lame-duck. The GOP should have taken their sweet time and run out the clock and if the Democrats break to walk away from negotiations, let them. How would it look if the Democrats were trying to repeal don't ask don't tell and the dream act amnesty when the largest tax recent American history was about to take effect?There is a reason why taxes were the top agenda item for the Democrats in the lame-duck; politically, they could not move on to another item in their agenda until they got a deal on taxes.

Not only is this a horrible deal on principle, it is as bad a strategic move that I can think of in recent history.The GOP establishment who supported this deal is either lazy, ignorant or secretly wanted to help Obama.

Dick Lugar's Third Strike

2010-09-18T10:33:00.002-04:00

With most of the focus on the upcoming loss of Nancy Pelosi’s gavel, this Tuesday’s victory by Christine O’Donnell has reminded us all of the diseased elephant in the room. For the last 15 years, the Republican members of the United States Senate have failed in keeping their oath to preserve and defend the Constitution.

When it comes to an increase in the size of government and a decline in our nation’s traditional moral values, no other group in Washington is more to blame than Senate Republicans. They have not sealed the border but instead promoted amnesty. They have not limited the federal government but rather fought to double it. They have not protected the rights of the unborn but rather urged the status quo.

The Senate has not fought the good fight on any issue but rather they have spent their time passing out favors and back slaps to their special interest friends. With their fingers in the air judging the wind and staring at mirrors in admiration, they are hoping and “praying” that the American people don’t figure out what they are really up to.

Ninety-nine times out of one hundred, Senate Republicans have failed to even remotely do their duty by serving the people and protecting the Constitution. The one issue where the Senate GOP has even attempted to do what they are supposed to do is on the issue of judicial activism. The only thing the Senate Republicans have been good for is standing up to the activist judges who are piece by piece destroying our Constitution and reshaping our country.

Not Senator Richard Lugar. He supports and advocates for activist judges. In fact, Senator Lugar has voted to confirm almost every activist judge currently sitting on the bench. Most recently he voted for Sonia Sotamayor, David (it is ok to pray to Allah but not Jesus) Hamilton, confirmed CZAR Cass (we need to ban hunting) Sunstein…and now Elena Kagan. Senator Lugar votes for them all.

If a courageous Republican questions one of these activist nominees, Lugar goes into overdrive to defend the “nominee” until they become a lifetime judge. He argues that they are good, qualified people and that we should not get political on nominees with litmus tests.

At the same time he publicly throws Sharon Angle of Nevada, the GOP nominee to defeat Harry Reid, under the bus by calling her common sense, mainstream conservative views “extreme.” So Senator Lugar: Angle’s views (abolish the Department of Education, hold the U.N. accountable to reform or withdraw, reforming Social Security so politicians can no longer steal our money) are extreme, but your activist judge friends are “qualified and mainstream?” The truth is Lugar is much more comfortable with Harry Reid and Elena Kagan than he is with real conservatism.

No one is more respected among the Senators than Richard Lugar. The reason is simple: Senator Lugar embodies and represents the Senate unlike any other Senator. He is the Senate.

The United States Senate has a long way to go before we get rid of all the big government compromisers who have sold out to the special interests. But for here and now, we must draw the line against those GOP Senators who year after year and, in this case, decade after decade enable judicial activism by endorsing and supporting activist judges.

We must vote out every activist Senator who supports activist judges and there is no better place to start than with Richard Lugar.

For more than three decades, Senator Lugar has consistently swung and missed on keeping his oath to preserve the Constitution. But now for Lugar, with Justice Hamilton, Justice Sotomayor and Justice Kagan, its three strikes and you’re out.

The future starts now

2010-05-12T09:35:00.000-04:00

Travis will not be running in the ninth district this November and he has no plans to run in the ninth in 2012, though that is an option. Travis will continue with the movement to save this country from corrupt politicians and 2012 plays a big part of that and it begins right now. Please get more involved, just a little bit a day at least, to help us in this cause.

Hankins thanks Sodrel

2010-05-04T19:45:00.001-04:00

The first time I met Mike Sodrel I was a year out of college. I had recently become a Christian and become a conservative and I was very new to politics. The man shook my hand and my brother’s hand and he looked us in the eyes and with great respect took a lot of time out of his day to talk with us. He gave us a pocket Constitution that I still have to this day.

Our paths crossed several times before we became competitors for the ninth district nomination and every time the man treated me with respect. Once my name began to surface as a potential competitor in the ninth district Mike could have easily trashed me and dismissed me as the political class has done on occasion but he did not ; instead he always praised my character and my positions on the issues.
Mike Sodrel has always treated me with respect and always treated me with class. “I like Mike Sodrel”.

Even more his wife Keta is one of the best and classiest ladies I have ever met . The political world is full of phonies but she is the real deal! Having a wife like that says all you really need to know about Mike Sodrel.

Whatever happens tonight I would like to thank Mike Sodrel for his hard work and service to this country.

Hankins on reverse push poll

2010-04-27T14:00:00.001-04:00

Columbus- Today Travis Hankins condemns push polling and reverse push polling. A single supporter of Travis Hankins emailed the campaign with the message that he has received a "push poll."

Hankins since has had two inquiries from reporters asking if he is aware of this “polling” and if he is aware of “Central Research of New York” and here is Travis Hankins’ response:

”I have no knowledge of that poll or that company.“ Hankins continues “My campaign has never hired a pollster nor would we do so. No one on the campaign or any volunteer has ever conducted any survey-related calls to any voter, ever.”

Hankins continues, “Polling in primaries is for political establishment campaigns that don’t have the presence on the ground and want to take shortcuts. We don’t do that. “Push polling” is for campaigns who are simply losers and deceitful. We do not do that. Reverse push polling is something that makes those doing a push poll look like angels. We obviously do not do reverse push polling.”

Hankins continues, “Again, I, my campaign, my volunteers and my whole team had nothing to do with this reverse push polling. If it is to be found out that I or my team, had anything to do with this then I will withdraw from the race and never run for office again. I urge the other candidates to take the same pledge.”

Since the initial media inquiries, one column was published in the Courier Journal newspaper hinting that it was very possible that the Hankins campaign was behind this reverse push polling.

Hankins comments “I would urge the good people at the Courier Journal to get to the bottom of these dirty tricks . Since they brought this issue out into the public, and at the same time named me as a ‘suspect,’ then I believe they are obligated to see this thing through to the end.”

“As for my opponents, after the primary we are all to be a “team” again and after the primary we are all going to get together to find out who made these push calls. Unless someone comes clean then I will never work with, or support, any of the campaigns on their future political endeavors until we get this solved. Nor will I accept their help as I beat Baron Hill."

Dearborn County Town Hall Meeting

2010-04-25T08:30:00.003-04:00

Travis Hankins, IN-9 candidate for Congress, held a Town Hall Meeting in Dearborn County at the Dearborn Adult Center on April 19, with 100 people in attendance. It was an open forum where people could ask any questions. Travis answered a broad spectrum of questions ranging from education to gun rights to national security to how he would avoid being corrupted once in office. He received a very favorable response from the many new people present. People were excited to see the potential of Travis as their representative in Congress. Travis Hankins is a grassroots Republican candidate that is a true Christian Conservative with conservative policies, not just conservative rhetoric. He is solidly Pro-Life. The first item on his agenda after he is elected is to pass a Constitutional Human Life Amendment. He is vowing to limit himself to three terms and to push for term limits for others to enable us to get rid of corrupt politicians. He wants to abolish the Department of Education which was a creation of the Carter administration. Travis wants to bring the control of schools back to the local level. He will be a consistent vote to shrink the size of the federal government and increase the freedom of the individual. Specific issues can be found on his web site: http://www.travishankins.com .

Debi Ketron
Travis Hankins for Congress
Dearborn County Coordinator

Obama-Pelosi-Hill's America

2010-04-23T22:50:00.000-04:00

Columbus-Travis Hankins, along with thousands of Hoosier families, are tired of the radical changes that have rapidly occurred under the Obama-Pelosi-Hill regime.

Travis Hankins states, “America was founded as a Constitutional Republic where self-government, free enterprise and property rights were extolled and safe-guarded by our Constitution. Yet, today, this current regime of corrupt, career politicians led by Obama-Pelosi-Hill has eroded our moral foundations and has attacked our freedoms leaving us with an America we no longer recognize.”

In just a matter of months, the Obama-Pelosi-Hill regime has socialized the healthcare industry, socialized the automobile industry, socialized the housing industry, socialized the banking industry, socialized the insurance industry and they have socialized the college loan industry. They have partially socialized our energy sector with heavy regulations and restrictions and now they are coming back to finish the job with Cap and Trade. They have nearly socialized every sector of the American economy destroying our free market system and costing millions of jobs. They have bailed out every special interest in Washington imaginable. Record deficit spending and future obligations will leave our children and grandchildren shackled with debt.

Hankins exclaims, “This Obama-Pelosi-Hill trio must be stopped immediately. I am going to Congress to fight against their agenda and restore individual liberty and constitutional restraints on federal spending. Their style of politics will cost us much more if we allow it to continue.”

The trio is not done yet. It is not even close to half-time. In Obama-Pelosi-Hill’s world, eighty percent taxes is just the beginning. They will not stop until they control ninety-five percent of everything we earn. And they have big plans for our money. Plans to pay off special interests, strengthen corrupt unions and monopolize our lives. Next they want to grant Amnesty to millions of Illegal immigrants, pass a Value Added Tax, pass card check, pass Cap and Trade, increase the number of czars and make America a permanent bail out nation. The fairness doctrine will forever silence political dissent and we will not have another chance of turning this around.

My private sector experience: Government is the problem!

2010-04-20T15:09:00.001-04:00

In 2005, fresh out of a year at Kanakuk Bible Institute, I knew what I wanted to do with my life: serve the Lord by spreading the Gospel and save my country by protecting the Constitution and exposing the politicians in Washington as the corrupt careerists that they are. I knew that those two callings would not pay the bills, so in the short term I took a job as a representative of Leadership Institute, a conservative organization based out of Washington, D.C. Long-term, I wanted to do something real and lasting that would work for anyone but myself, so I started to think of areas to invest in and start my own business.

For me, a big part of the American dream has always been home ownership and the right to own property. I learned that if a man owned land and property that he had sound investments. In 2005, everywhere one looked there were people buying homes. The homeowners were happy and so were the real estate agents, construction companies, bankers, retailers, and politicians. The prices of homes were continually going up and there was no end in sight.

My brother and I looked at all of this and decided to start our own company in real estate investing. We were very excited. We had all kinds of plans to start small and very quickly have rapid expansion. In 2005, it seemed like the perfect time to invest in real estate and we did!

Very quickly we saw suspicious signs that things were not as they appeared. When securing financing, the banker offered no-doc loans; a real, true no-doc loan; 103% loans; and sometimes 107% loans. All sorts of gimmick loans were advertised that simply did not make any sense for anyone. When the time came to close on a deal for our investments, we were only offered Freddie or Fannie loans. Being the conservatives that we are, we jumped through several hoops just to find a loan that was NOT government-related, costing us expense and time. The bankers could not believe that we would not accept a Freddie or Fannie loan.

I looked at all of this and in mid-2006 I realized it was all fake. The entire housing boom was not real and there would soon be a bust.

I did some research and I discovered that the Federal Reserve bankers and politicians in Washington, D.C., were to blame. They were driving our whole economy off a cliff and hardly anyone saw it coming.

The politicians and bankers never want a recession. So when the dot-com bust happened, the Fed interfered and artificially lowered interest rates, or the price of money. This would make the economy appear to look healthy, but the appearance was achieved only with short-term gimmicks and “smoke and mirrors” that make the problem worse in the long run.

With the politicians’ eager approval, the Fed artificially lowered the price of money, making it next to nothing to the banks. The banks then gladly lowered the price of money to borrowers. This extra fabricated lending caused risky behavior that led to the housing boom.

You see, there was almost no risk (they thought) to the local bank. The Fed allowed other banks to lend banks money dirt cheap. Therefore, when they gave John Doe a loan, the local bank could turn right around and send the loan to Freddie or Fannie or they could sell to a big financial entity that was buying Mortgage Backed Securities.

The FED was financing all this and the banks went full steam ahead under the premise that there was no risk. If there was risk, the Government Sponsored Enterprises would pick up the bill.

This was and IS a recipe for disaster. For the next two years I would tell anyone who would listen that a big housing bust was about to happen. This bust would be worse than any recession we have seen in several decades. During this time, people like Rush were on the air praising the economy and none of my Republican friends were buying what I was saying.

I knew what was coming and I had time to act. On paper my condos had increased in value and I could sell them to some unsuspecting fellow who did not have a clue. But I could not sell in good conscience, and therefore I held on to my investments.

The crash happened and many lost their homes. Even more lost at least half their worth. In the aftermath, far too many looked to Washington to fix the very problem that they created. The politicians did the only thing they know how: they doubled up on what caused the problem in the first place!

Before the crash, the federal government was involved with approximately 30-45% (depending on your definition) of residential mortgages. After the crash, the federal government is directly involved in 95% of new mortgages. Before the crash, the Fed lowered the price of money, through fiat, to below the rate of inflation. This caused risky behavior and huge, huge market distortion. Since the crash, the Fed has continued the practice of lowering the price of money below the rate of inflation.

Before the crash the politicians spent trillions, and after the crash they are spending trillions and trillions, weakening our dollar and lowering our standard of living.

The solution of both political parties has been to re-inflate the housing bubble and do it all again!

In 2006, knowing what was coming, how could I invest in my business further? How could I invest and build my company when my financial fate was directly controlled by Washington and the Federal Reserve? How could I hire people, secretaries, accountants, and incorporate when I knew it was all fake? I often think of how many people would have been hired and jobs created if the government would simply keep out. The government destroys jobs and prevents new ones from being created.

On paper, my properties have lost a third of their value and I have obligations to the bank that are not small. But by the GRACE of God I was one of the lucky ones! Others did not see it coming and they went deeper and deeper and are probably in financial ruin.

In the year 2010, how can I invest in real estate when I know the whole bust is going to happen again, but worse?

With the government involved at this high a level in the housing market, the price manipulation is such that I simply do not know what my assets are worth. With government price controls in effect, none of us know what any of our homes are really worth.

My private sector experience is similar to that of many who are trying to pursue the American dream.

I had a dream to start a business and the government and the politicians interfered with my unalienable right to property and the pursuit of happiness by involving themselves in areas of the private sector in which they legally had no right to interfere. They had no authority to do what they did. Their gimmicks and shortcuts in the economy made it impossible for me to expand my business without relying on them or watching their moves. I could make a great deal of money by gaming their irresponsible charade of playing the boom-bust cycle, but I would be making profits off of unsuspecting citizens and that would be the only way for my business to grow.

Central planning by the federal government does not work and it causes huge distortion in the free market. This ultimately leads to a lower standard of living for the average American.

The politicians have destroyed the assets and wealth of the American people. They are going to try and wish it all away by putting it all on the giant national credit card. Their hope and promise is that another fake Fed-generated boom will ensue and everyone’s house values will magically rise back to 2006 levels or higher. So will everyone’s 401k, they say. This is their plan and this is all they know how to do. It works every time…UNTIL IT DOESN’T…and then what? Every time the fake boom is bigger, as is the real bust, causing a vicious cycle that will lead to economic catastrophe.

Here is where we are headed:

The residential real estate market will collapse again. So will the commercial real estate market. So will the credit card industry. So will the dollar. We will have hyper-inflation and everyone’s standard of living will decrease. The American dream will be in the rear-view mirror. It might not be tomorrow or one year or ten years, but it will happen. It is not about ideology or politics. It is simple math and economics.

We do not have a free market in this country. We have a controlled, fake market that strives to appear free. Without a free market there are no free people.

The way to prevent this is to quit electing Bush/Lugar Republicans and to start electing Reagan Constitutionalists!

It is not too late to stop the politicians and renew the American dream, but "we, the people" must act now. We can no longer wait!

Lawrenceburg/Dearborn County TAX Day Rally

2010-04-16T19:52:00.002-04:00

Travis spoke at this April 15, TAX Day Rally in Dearborn County.

Open Letter to Baron Hill

2010-04-07T09:53:00.000-04:00

Baron,

You don’t understand. Your “Health Care” vote to grow government, weaken individual freedom, fund abortion, increase the deficit, kill jobs, raise taxes and socialize medicine all in one bill proves that. Clearly you do not understand the American Dream or Hoosier values.

The only question that remains is whether you ever really “got it.” I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt that sometime, somewhere earlier in your life that you did get what makes America great and the Hoosier values that come with that greatness. Hopefully this letter can remind you of that time when you understood what the rest of us clearly still get and fight to protect: The importance of servant leaders and the Constitution.

I hear you used to play some basketball. So let us attempt to remind you of Hoosier values by taking you back to your Senior year in high school.

Remember those big Friday night games? The gym was packed and the whole town turned out to support the team. Everyone knew each other and there was always a sense of Community and Pride. The Church pews were full, families were close and neighbor always knew neighbor. In order to deal with some of the everyday problems of Life that we all face people turned to God, Family, Church, friends, and neighbors, in that order. Corrupt Washington Politicians and incompetent bureaucrats were not in the top ten. In the years since, we have lost some of our Hoosier values and have replaced them with Washington values. You and your buddies in both parties are big parts of the reason.

Back then, if a barn burned down, the whole township would come out to help rebuild it. The people did not sit around and wait on FEMA. If a crop was in danger, fellow farmers helped each other out and they did not rely on a bailout from Washington. People were able to purchase homes without government interference and price distortions. A family could start a business without the federal government all over their back.

Think about our schools back then. Without government interference the communities were free to teach Hoosier values and a strong work ethic. But now our schools are full of progressive attitudes and our educational system is one of the worst in the West, producing disrespectful, liberal, lazy and uneducated students by the millions each year.

Remember our healthcare back then? Everyone knew the town doctor personally and he knew your medical history top to bottom. It did not cost you an arm and a leg to treat an arm and a leg. But today your doctor spends more time with your insurance companies and paper work than he does with you. The politicians brought in the “middleman” special interest (Government and Big Health Insurance) driving prices through the roof and quality of care through the floor.

We, the people, want rid of Washington values and we want our Hoosier values back!

Hoosier values are about faith, family, freedom, Independence, compassion, community, respect and hard work.

Washington values are about greed, corruption, power, fame, wealth, laziness, incompetence and immorality.

Every single time that you politicians expand your role in our lives, we rely on your values a little bit more and we compromise the values that got us where we are today.

We are your master, you are our servant. But every action you take you are reversing this, making us reliant on you. No more! We are getting back to Hoosier values!

If this reminder is not enough for you to get it, then we will remind you again!

We will remind you when we go door to door. We will remind you when you see our signs. We will remind you on the phone. We will remind you at our meet and greets. We will remind you at our people’s town halls. We will remind you all summer everywhere you look and then we will remind you again Labor Day as that panic should set in. If that does not work, then we will remind you Election Day as you lose your job. If you still don’t get the message, then you will get it early January as you pack up your office and hand over the keys.

Travis Hankins for Congress
www.travishankins.com

"The office seeks the man, the man doesn't seek the office."
- Ronald Reagan

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
- Matthew 9:37-38

Ripley County Fund-raiser

2010-04-02T22:25:00.000-04:00

On March 27, 2010, the Ripley County Fundraiser proved to be a huge success with the many supporters of Travis Hankins for 9th District Congress turning out for a delicious dinner, entertainment and an auction. A rousing speech from Travis Hankins brought the crowd to numerous standing ovations. As promised, Travis renewed the hopes for our political future by explaining the focus of his campaign to re-establish the importance of self-government. Travis' core values, morals and vision of leadership match those of most Hoosiers and he will strive to put government back in the hands of voters and out of the hands of the career politicians. Travis Hankins' supporters were fired up and ready to spread the word about this campaign and the character of this man. The organizers and volunteers of this fundraiser were ecstatic with the monetary support, and we will continue to work steadfastly for the victory. You will see numerous Travis Hankins' signs throughout the 9th District, and I encourage you to contact Travis' website and fill out the contact form to get signs for your property, to volunteer or to contribute to the campaign.

Brenda Wetzler
Ripley County Coordinator

Seymour Fundraising Event

2010-03-25T16:27:00.002-04:00

Jackson County campaign coordinators, Jerry and Lisa Mincy and Mark and Lauren Hopkins, hosted a fund-raiser at The Pines Evergreen Room in Seymour on March 13th, 2010. A local band, Elements of Jazz, played as guests arrived and while dinner was served. Pastor Kenny Roberson prayed for the Campaign, the nation and the meal. After dinner, Stan Pennington made an
introduction and Tom Judd of Hayden sang. Travis delivered a rousing campaign speech, after which Tim Goodpastor made an appeal for Travis and prayed for the campaign. Ben Franklin, (Steve Faber), spoke and made the final appeal for supporters to donate money to the Hankins Campaign. The final event of the evening was a fun auction of items donated by the attendees and other Seymour patrons. The fund-raiser was a huge success, raising a little over $6,000 for the campaign.

FAQ on my Court petition

2010-03-22T20:24:00.001-04:00

“Why are you waiting until after the primary to file your petition?”

Until then I am too busy to devote the time necessary to do this right. I have a lot going on and in regards to health care, this petition is just one of the many tools to defeat and repeal OBAMACARE. Immediately after the primary I will take the time necessary to get this job done. In addition finding a good attorney is like finding a unicorn. This takes time and cannot just be thrown together.

There is also the point that I do not want this to be seen as some sort of stunt. I will not make this petition the center of my campaign. This is just one of the tools I will use to help bring down Obamacare.

“So you will file this win or lose in May”

I will not lose this primary. No matter what I will petition the courts to overturn Obamacare on Individual rights grounds in May.

“The US Supreme Court has already ruled that Congress can do whatever it wants to do”

No. This is a new court with a whole new precedent to consider (Individual mandates). It is true that the Supreme Court has ruled very liberally in regard to Congressional power to regulate “interstate commerce”, but the court has never ruled that the Congress could regulate non activity and mandate it into activity.
This is new ground and in fact, the court has struck down other recent attempts for Congress to regulate individuals’ non-activity. Congress pushed too far, even for them.

"The people" do not have standing to sue their members of Congress over "differences of opinion." Otherwise, there would be thousands of pending cases in the courts.”

We certainly do have standing. Not only do “We the people” have the right to petition the courts, but we have an OBLIGATION to do so whenever our Constitutional rights have been violated.

“Back the State Attorneys General lawsuit against the legislation, which will bankrupt the states and they have standing to argue violations of States' Rights.”

You said it yourself; the states are petitioning over states rights. I am doing so over individual rights.
We have different interests. Sadly, many of the states simply want a FED payoff. I also would like the brief to focus on Individual Mandates and tax payer funded abortion; both of which I believe is Un-Constitutional.
I am encouraging this state to assert our tenth amendment rights (another tool in our arsenal) but for the brief I will focus on individual rights.

“Otherwise, there would be thousands of pending cases in the courts.”

Much better to have a court system flooded with questions of restoring freedom and Liberty and holding Congress accountable than the system we have now full of hot coffee lawsuits and ambulance chasing. We need to hold politicians accountable by EVERY means the founders gave us.

“Travis has clearly gone overboard. The legislative process allows for debate and passing legislation that gets approved by the republic. That is the constitutional process. Certainly not something you take the president to court to solve.”

No. When the process breaks down between two branches of Government it is up to the third to stop the other two and protect the Constitution. In this case the courts are the last branch left. The courts will not even hear this case unless a petition is filed. It is up to the people to get the courts to hear this case and we do that by petitioning them. THAT is the Constitutional process!! And we the people are involved EVERY step of the way and in every branch. We never sit it out and leave it up to them…that thinking is what got us here!

“Travis has clearly gone overboard. “

Did I raise our taxes? Did I commit 13 trillion to a bailout of financials? Did I provide tax payer funded abortions? Did I get us 12.6 trillion in debt? Did I make promises to spend 100 trillion dollars with no way to pay for it? Did I socialize healthcare? Did I just create 18,000 new IRS agents? Did I leave our border unsecure? Did I do these things or did Washington politicians?

I believe they are the ones who went overboard. All I am trying to do is use every tool the founders gave me to preserve all of our Liberty.

Yea but “taking Obama and Hill to court”??

Look. It is not like they are facing jail or even a fine. They will not even have to show up. (Obama will not even have show his birth certificate…just a little joke).

All that will happen to those who voted for this thing is that their “work” will be overturned and our LIBERTY restored. So do not feel bad that I named them by name (although I would have not named them by name, I would have used their titles, if we were not talking about tax payer funded abortion in addition to socialized medicine).

When you take away the freedom of my future children and grandchildren expect to be called on it. This is 2010…not 2005…not 2000…It is time to step up. Enough is enough!

Have you got a lot of negative emails about this?

Just two and I quote them here at length. Both these people had problems with my conservative positions before and at least one of them was not a supporter.

Hankins to petition courts against Obamacare

2010-03-22T19:48:00.001-04:00

Columbus-Today, Travis Hankins has announced that he is in the beginning process of filing legal briefs petitioning the courts to repeal “health care reform” on grounds that the legislation is unconstitutional.

Hankins will file a federal suit naming President Obama and every member of Congress that voted for the legislation alleging that they violated every American citizen’s constitutional rights. Hankins believes that Congress did not have the legal right to pass this bill.

Hankins is particularly concerned about the universal individual insurance mandate. Hankins believes this provision is very unconstitutional and would grant the government new powers that they have never had before.

Hankins comments, “When the President and Congress abandon their oath of office to preserve and protect the Constitution, then the Citizens must first look to the courts to restore and revive what the politicians failed to protect.”

Hankins continues, “We can’t wait until the elections in November. We need this legislation reversed now and my petition calls on the courts to do that.”

The Congressional Budget Office has commented on the historic expansion of Government power that the universal individual insurance mandate would usher in:

“A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. An individual mandate would have two features that, in combination, would make it unique. First, it would impose a duty on individuals as members of society. Second, it would require people to purchase a specific service that would be heavily regulated by the federal government.”

Hankins comments on the universal individual insurance mandate, “This is a tax on citizenship. If we give the politicians this power over our lives simply as citizens then it will never end. Someday they will be mandating what cars we MUST buy, what food we must eat, where we must live and on and on. We must put a stop to ever increasing government intrusion now.”

Hankins continues, “The Congress has limited, enumerated authority and they have to justify to the people that their bill is Constitutional and legal before they pass it. For Congress to make any law they must first point to the provision that gives them the right to take action. There is no provision in the Constitution authorizing Obamacare.”

Proponents of Obamacare will point to interstate commerce clause, but even in the Supreme Court’s most liberal interpretation, interstate commerce never gave the authority to regulate inactivity or to mandate inactivity to become activity. If illegally granted this power, there is no limit to potential government intrusion in our lives.

Hankins wants to make it clear that this is not a partisan issue for him. Many Republicans have strongly supported the concept of a universal individual insurance mandate including one of Travis’ primary opponents (another primary opponent supports something eerily similar). Travis has no problem saying that some Republicans are very much a part of the problem when it comes to a universal individual insurance mandate and if any of them had voted on it then their name would be included in the petition.

Hankins supports other petitions by the states and others but Hankins feels to many of them are watered down and not focused on the right Constitutional questions. Hankins’ petition will focus on the Unconstitutionality of the Universal Insurance mandate and Tax Payer funded Abortion.

Travis Hankins believes the court should be valuable piece of the puzzle in restoring and reviving the Constitution from the politicians and bureaucrats who are destroying it. The court must not follow the path of Congress, the President, and activists courts…but they must be the protector of the Constitution.

Hankins plans to file his petition one day after the May primary.

Travis Hankins is a real estate investor and conservative activist seeking the GOP nomination in Indiana’s ninth Congressional district. More information can be found at www.travishankins.com.

Hankins Reacts to Hill Vote

2010-03-22T11:10:00.001-04:00

Columbus- Travis Hankins reacts to Congressman Baron Hill’s vote in favor of ObamaCare.

Hankins says, "Baron Hill just voted to weaken individual freedom, fund abortion, increase the deficit, kill jobs, raise taxes, and socialize medicine all in one bill."

“The American people are sick and tired of career politicians who put their own career and the needs of their special interest friends ahead of the oath they took to preserve and protect the Constitution.”

Hankins continues, "Our voices will be heard in November."

Hankins will continue the fight against ObamaCare through grassroots activism, educating the public, petitions to the courts, calls for action by the state and recruiting conservatives all across the country to run against Big Government politicians of both major parties.

Travis Hankins is a real estate investor and conservative activist seeking the GOP nomination in Indiana’s ninth Congressional district.

Stupak sells out

2010-03-21T16:15:00.001-04:00

Bart Stupak has just sold out the unborn in exchange for more power.

Hankins Calls on Indiana and Gov. Daniels to Act

2010-03-21T14:48:00.000-04:00

Columbus- Today, Travis Hankins has asked Governor Mitch Daniels and the Indiana state Legislature to convene a special session to exclude Indiana from any and all pieces of the Federal legislation potentially passed in Washington concerning healthcare.

Hankins comments, “I am calling on Governor Daniels and the state legislature to do the right and legal thing and preserve our state’s tenth amendment rights.

Regardless of whatever else the other states are doing, in Indiana we must have legislation outlawing a federal individual health insurance mandate. I am calling on the state to pass legislation making ObamaCare illegal in Indiana.”

Hankins seeks specific and clear legislation passed that makes an individual mandate to purchase health insurance illegal.

Hankins also requests that Attorney General Greg Zoeller take legal action against any potential “health care reform” in order to have it overturned by the courts.

Travis Hankins, as an individual, is also in the process of beginning to prepare legal briefs to petition the courts to overturn any “health care reform” passed in Washington.

Travis Hankins is a real estate investor and conservative activist seeking the GOP nomination in Indiana’s ninth Congressional district.

More information can be found at www.travishankins.com.

Baron Hill to vote for Obamacare

2010-03-20T17:09:00.000-04:00

Hill to vote for Obamacare
Columbus - Travis Hankins reacts to Baron Hill's announced support for the health care bill before Congress.

Travis comments, "Baron Hill’s announced support for government run health care, tax payer funded abortions, half a trillion or more in new taxes on individuals and businesses and billions and trillions added to the deficit and debt will cost him his seat in November." Hankins continues, "Support for this bill confirms that Baron Hill is in the back pocket of the Washington special interests and the Pelosi-Obama administration. Baron Hill still has time to do the right thing and vote against this bill."

Hankins believes that this bill is nothing but a government takeover of health care that will lead to higher prices and lower quality of care. Travis Hankins had previously pleaded with Hill to vote against this bill due to the certainty that it will lead to tax dollars being used for abortions.

Travis Hankins is a real estate investor and conservative activist seeking the GOP nomination in Indiana’s ninth Congressional district. More information can be found at www.travishankins.com.

Open letter to Baron Hill on healthcare

2010-03-15T17:06:00.002-04:00

Congressman Hill,

My name is Travis Hankins and I am seeking the GOP nomination to replace you this November. I am writing to humbly ask you not to vote for this Health care bill. You believe government should have a bigger role in healthcare than it already does. I disagree strongly, but I respect your political position. You believe all individuals should be mandated to acquire health insurance. I disagree, but I can respect that position. Yet, in voting for this bill you would agree that tax-payers should be forced to pay for abortions. With that Sir, I cannot respect you or your position.

Without the Stupak language protecting the rights of the unborn, a vote for this bill would cross a line. A line would be crossed in civility and morality.

Millions of us across party lines are Pro-Life Americans. We believe that life begins at conception, that unborn life is innocent and must be protected from abortion. Since Roe, Pro-Life Americans have respectfully disagreed with the left’s attempts to promote Abortion on demand. We have stood our ground, educating the public on the damage abortion has done to our society.

Now you want tax-payer funded abortion? No, Sir. This is too far. It is immoral to force Pro-Life Americans to pay their hard earned tax-dollars to fund the ending of life of innocent unborn children.

Health care is a political issue(compared to abortion) but abortion is not. Abortion is about Life, faith, and morality.

November 7th 2009, you voted for the original Stupak Amendment. This means you know that the amendment is necessary to stop tax-payer funded abortions! Now that Speaker Pelosi has thrown out the Stupak Amendment you must fight to get the amendment back and protect innocent Life. Beyond the immorality of forcing Pro-Life Americans to fund abortions, you know that when the Government subsidizes something you get more of it. This bill, without the Stupak Amendment, will lead to more abortions in America. You cannot in good conscience, support or vote for this bill and claim you represent the family values and fiscal principles of the people in the 9th District.

Please Sir, do not vote for a bill that leads to tax-payer funded abortions.

Respectfully for now,

Travis Hankins

Tax-payer funded abortions:

http://www.thecloakroomblog.com/2010/03/eight-reasons-abortion-is-in-the-health-care-overhaul/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,588104,00.html

http://www.lifenews.com/nat5862.html

http://www.nrlc.org/AHC/HouseLetteronAbortionProvisions.html

http://www.nrlc.org/AHC/AbortionPolicyHCRBackgrounder.pdf

The healthcare bill

2010-03-12T18:47:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Pastor Bob Loretz for passing this along!

An Indianapolis doctor's letter to Sen. Bayh about the Bill (Note: Dr.

Stephen E. Frazer, MD practices as an anesthesiologist in Indianapolis, IN )

Here is a letter I sent to Senator Bayh.. Feel free to copy it and send it

around to all other representatives. -- Stephen Fraser

Senator Bayh,

As a practicing physician I have major concerns with the health care bill

before Congress. I actually have read the bill and am shocked by the brazenness

of the government's proposed involvement in the patient-physician

relationship. The very idea that the government will dictate and ration

patient care is dangerous and certainly not helpful in designing a health care

system that works for all. Every physician I work with agrees that we need to

fix our health care system, but the proposed bills currently making their way

through congress will be a disaster if passed.

I ask you respectfully and as a patriotic American to look at the following

troubling lines that I have read in the bill. You cannot possibly believe that

these proposals are in the best interests of the country and our fellow

citizens.

Page 22 of the HC Bill: Mandates that the Govt will audit books of all

employers that self-insure!!

Page 30 Sec 123 of HC bill: THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what

treatments/benefits you get.

Page 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill: YOUR HEALTH CARE IS RATIONED!!!

Page 42 of HC Bill: The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC

benefits for you. You have no choice!

Page 50 Section 152 in HC bill: HC will be provided to ALL non-US citizens,

illegal or otherwise.

Page 58 HC Bill: Govt will have real-time access to individuals' finances & a

'National ID Health card' will be issued! (Papers please!)

Page 59 HC Bill lines 21-24: Govt will have direct access to your bank

accounts for elective funds transfer. (Time for more cash and carry)

Page 65 Sec 164: Is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families

in unions & community organizations: (ACORN).

Page 84 Sec 203 HC bill: Govt mandates ALL benefit packages for private HC

plans in the 'Exchange.'

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans -- The

Govt will ration your health care!

Page 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill: Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services.

(Translation: illegal aliens.)

Page 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18: The Govt will use groups (i.e. ACORN & Americorps

to sign up individuals for Govt HC plan.

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans. (AARP

members - your health care WILL be rationed!)

Page 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill: Medicaid eligible individuals will be

automatically enrolled in Medicaid. (No choice.)

Page 12 4 lines 24-25 HC: No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No

"judicial review" against Govt monopoly.

Page 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill: Doctors/ American Medical Association - The Govt

will tell YOU what salary you can make.

Page 145 Line 15-17: An Employer MUST auto-enroll employees into public option

plan. (NO choice!)

Page 126 Lines 22-25: Employers MUST pay for HC for part-time employees

ANDtheir families. (Employees shouldn't get excited about this as employers

will be forced to reduce its work force, benefits, and wages/salaries to cover

such a huge expense.)

Page 149 Lines 16-24: ANY Employer with payroll 401k & above who does not

provide public option will pay 8% tax on all payroll! (See the last comment

in parenthesis.)

Page 150 Lines 9-13: A business with payroll between $251K & $401K who doesn't

provide public option will pay 2-6% tax on all payroll.

Page 167 Lines 18-23: ANY individual who doesn't have acceptable HC according

to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income.

Page 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill: Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual

taxes. (Americans will pay.) (Like always)

Page 195 HC Bill: Officers & employees of the GOVT HC Admin.. will have

access to ALL Americans' finances and personal records. (I guess so they can

'deduct' their fees)

Page 203 Line 14-15 HC: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be

treated as tax." (Yes, it really says that!) ( a 'fee' instead)

Page 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill: Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid

Seniors. (Low-income and the poor are affected.)

Page 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill: Doctors: It doesn't matter what specialty you have

trained yourself in -- you will all be paid the same! (Just TRY to tell me

that's not Socialism!)

Page 253 Line 10-18: The Govt sets the value of a doctor's time, profession,

judgment, etc. (Literally-- the value of humans.)

Page 265 Sec 1131: The Govt mandates and controls productivity for "private"

HC industries.

Page 268 Sec 1141: The federal Govt regulates the rental and purchase of power

driven wheelchairs.

Page 272 SEC. 1145: TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients -

welcome to rationing!

Page 280 Sec 1151: The Govt will penalize hospitals for whatever the Govt

deems preventable (i.e...re-admissions).

Page 298 Lines 9-11: Doctors: If you treat a patient during initial admission

that results in a re-admission -- the Govt will penalize you.

Page 317 L 13-20: PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. (The Govt tells doctors

what and how much they can own!)

Page 317-318 lines 21-25, 1-3: PROHIBITION on expansion. (The Govt is

mandating that hospitals cannot expand.)

Page 321 2-13: Hospitals have the opportunity to apply for exception BUT

community input is required. (Can you say ACORN?)

Page 335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339: The Govt mandates establishment of=2

outcome-based measures. (HC the way they want -- rationing.)

Page 341 Lines 3-9: The Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Advance

Plans, HMOs, etc. (Forcing people into the Govt plan)

Page 354 Sec 1177: The Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of 'special needs

people!' Unbelievable!

Page 379 Sec 1191: The Govt creates more bureaucracy via a "Tele-Health

Advisory Committee." (Can you say HC by phone?)

Page 425 Lines 4-12: The Govt mandates "Advance-Care Planning Consult."

(Think senior citizens end-of-life patients.)

Page 425 Lines 17-19: The Govt will instruct and consult regarding living

wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. (And it's mandatory!)

Page 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3: The Govt provides an "approved" list of

end-of-life resources; guiding you in death. (Also called 'assisted

suicide.')(Sounds like Soylent Green to me.)

Page 427 Lines 15-24: The Govt mandates a program for orders on "end-of-life."

(The Govt has a say in how your life ends!)

Page 429 Lines 1-9: An "advanced-care planning consultant" will be used

frequently as a patient's health deteriorates.

Page 429 Lines 10-12: An "advanced care consultation" may include an ORDER for

end-of-life plans.. (AN ORDER TO DIE FROM THE GOVERNMENT?!?)

Page 429 Lines 13-25: The GOVT will specify which doctors can write an

end-of-life order.. (I wouldn't want to stand before God after getting paid

for THAT job!)

Page 430 Lines 11-15: The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will

have at end-of-life! (Again -- no choice!)

Page 469: Community-Based Home Medical Services = Non-Profit Organizations.

(Hello? ACORN Medical Services here!?!)

Page 489 Sec 1308: The Govt will cover marriage and family therapy. (Which

means Govt will insert itself into your marriage even.)

Page 494-498: Govt will cover Mental Health Services including defining,

creating, and rationing those services.

Senator, I guarantee that I personally will do everything possible to inform

patients and my fellow physicians about the dangers of the proposed bills you

and your colleagues are debating.

Furthermore, if you vote for a bill that enforces socialized medicine on the

country and destroys the doctor-patient relationship, I will do everything in

my power to make sure you lose your job in the next election.

Respectfully,

Stephen E. Fraser, MD

Dear Reader,

I urge you to use the power that you were born with (and the power that may

soon be taken away) and circulate this email to as many people as you can

reach. The Power of the People can stop this from happening to us, our

parents, our grandparents, our children, and to following generations

another debate canceled

2010-03-11T18:56:00.002-05:00

We have just been informed that another debate has been canceled. The people of Jefferson County(and the entire district) have just been short changed.

We wanted this debate to happen!

Debate canceled

2010-03-11T17:40:00.003-05:00

The SCHEDULED debate in Jasper has been canceled. I am not happy about this as I was eager to share my views and get others on the record.

I believe I represent the Reagan/Constitutionalists wing of the party. At this debate you would see all the views from left to right of the GOP.

In our party many call themselves Reagan conservatives but when you break it down their views are status quo and Big Government.

A debate could either be a talking point fest or we could turn the corner and really tell the truth to the GOP electorate about the problems and solutions facing us today. I would push during a debate to really get people on the record about the role and size of Government.

Travis

My private sector experience: Government is the problem!

2010-03-10T10:51:00.003-05:00

In 2005, fresh out of a year at Kanakuk Bible Institute, I knew what I wanted to do with my Life: serve the Lord by spreading the Gospel and save my country by protecting the Constitution and exposing the politicians in Washington as the corrupt careerists that they are. I knew that those two callings would not pay the bills, so in the short term I took a job as a representative of Leadership Institute, a conservative organization based out of Washington, DC. Long term I wanted to do something real and lasting that would provide for my family in a way that was consistent with my goals in life. I did not want to work for anyone but myself, so I started to think of areas to invest in and start my own business.

For me, a big part of the American dream has always been homeownership and the right to own property. I learned that if a man owned land and property that he had sound investments. In 2005, everywhere you looked people were buying homes. The homeowners were happy and so were the real-estate agents, construction companies, bankers, retailers and politicians. The prices of homes were continually going up and there was no end in sight.

My brother and I looked at all of this and decided to start our own company in real estate investing. We were very excited. We had all kinds of plans to start small and very quickly have rapid expansion. In 2005, it seemed like the perfect time to invest in real estate and we did!

Very quickly we saw suspicious signs that things were not as they appeared. When securing financing, the banker offered no doc loans, a real no true doc loan, 103% loans, and sometimes 107% loans. All sorts of gimmick loans were advertised that simply did not make any sense for anyone. When time came to close on a deal for our investments, we were only offered Freddie or Fannie loans. Being the conservatives that we are, we jumped through several hoops just to find a loan that was NOT government related, costing us expense and time. The bankers could not believe that we would not accept a Freddie or Fannie loan.

I looked at all of this and in mid 2006 I realized it was all fake. The entire housing boom was not real and there would soon be a bust.

I did some research and I discovered that the Federal Reserve bankers and politicians in Washington D.C. were to blame. They were driving our whole economy off a cliff and hardly anyone saw it coming.

The politicians and bankers never want a recession. So when the dot com bust happened, the FED interfered and artificially lowered interest rates, or the price of money. This would make the economy appear to look healthy but the appearance was achieved only with short term gimmicks and smoke and mirrors that make the problem worse in the long run.

With the politicians’ eager approval, the FED artificially lowered the price of money to next to nothing to the banks. The banks then gladly lowered the price of money to borrowers. This extra fabricated lending caused risky behavior that led to the housing boom.

You see there was almost no risk (they thought) to the local bank. The FED allowed other banks to lend banks money dirt cheap. Therefore, when they gave John Doe a loan, the local bank could turn right around and send the loan to Freddie or Fannie or they could sell to a big financial who were buying Mortgage Backed Securities.

The FED was financing all this and the banks went full steam ahead under the premise there was no risk. If there was risk, the Government Sponsored Enterprises would pick up the bill.

This was and IS a recipe for disaster. For the next two years I would tell anyone who would listen that a big housing bust was about to happen. This bust would be worse than any recession we have seen in several decades. During this time, people like Rush were on the air praising the economy and none of my Republican friends were buying what I was saying.

I knew what was coming and I had time to act. On paper my condos had increased in value and I could sell them to some unsuspecting fellow who did not have a clue. I could not in good conscious sell and thus I held on to my investments.

The crash happened and many lost their homes. Even more lost half their worth or worse. In the aftermath, far too many looked to Washington to fix the very problem that they created. The politicians did the only thing they know how: they doubled up on what caused the problem in the first place!!!!!

Before the crash, the Federal Government was involved with approximately 30-45% (depending on your definition) of residential mortgages. After the crash, the Federal Government is directly involved in 95% of new mortgages. Before the crash, the FED lowered the price of money through fiat below the rate of inflation. This caused risky behavior and huge, huge market distortion. After the crash, the FED has continued the practice of lowering the price of money below the rate of inflation.

Before the crash, the politicians spent trillions and after the crash they are spending trillions and trillions, weakening our dollar and lowering our standard of living.

The solution of both political parties has been to reinflate the housing bubble and do it all again!

In 2006, knowing what was coming, how could I invest in my business further? How could I invest and build my company when my financial fate was directly controlled by Washington and the Federal Reserve? How could I hire people, secretaries, accountants, and incorporate when I knew it was all fake? I often think of how many people would have been hired and jobs created if the government would simply keep out. The government destroys jobs and prevents new ones from being created.

On paper my properties have lost a third of their value and I have obligations to the bank that are not small. But by the GRACE of God I was one of the lucky ones! Others did not see it coming and they went deeper and deeper and are probably in financial ruin.

In the year 2010, how can I invest in real estate when I know the whole bust is going to happen again, but worse?

With the Government involved at this high a level in the housing market, the price manipulation is such that I simply do not know what my assets are worth. With government price controls in effect none of us know what any of our homes are really worth.

My private sector experience is similar to many who are trying to pursue the American dream.

I had a dream to start a business and the government and the politicians interfered with my unalienable right to property and pursuit of happiness by involving themselves in areas of the private sector that they legally had no right to interfere in. They had no authority to do what they did. Their gimmicks and short cuts in the economy made it impossible for me to expand my business without relying on them or watching their moves. I could make lots of money by gaming their irresponsible charade of playing the boom-bust cycle but I would be making profits off of unsuspecting citizens and that would be the only way for my business to grow.

Central planning by the Federal government does not work and it causes huge distortion in the free market. This ultimately leads to a lower standard of living for the average American.

The politicians have destroyed the assets and wealth of the American people. They are going to try and wish it all away by putting it all on the giant national credit card. Their hope and promise is that another fake FED-generated boom will ensue and everyone’s house value will magically rise back to 2006 levels or higher. So will everyone’s 401k they say. This is their plan and this is all they know how to do. It works everytime…UNTIL IT DOESN’T…then what?? Every time the fake boom is bigger, as is the real bust, causing a vicious cycle that will lead to economic catastrophe.

Here is where we are headed:

The residential real-estate market will collapse again. So will the commercial real estate market. So will the credit card industry. So will the Dollar. We will have hyper inflation and everyone’s standard of living will decrease. The American Dream will be in the rear view mirror. It might not be tomorrow or one year or ten years, but it will happen. It is not about ideology or politics. It is simple math and economics.

We do not have a free market in this country. We have a controlled, fake market that strives to appear free. Without a free market there are no free people.

The way to prevent this is to quit electing Bush/Lugar Republicans and to start electing Reagan Constitutionalists!

It is not too late to stop the politicians and renew the American dream but "we the people" must act now... we can no longer wait!

Travis Hankins to speak at Rising Sun Rotary Club

2010-03-01T16:13:00.002-05:00

Travis Hankins will speak to the Rotary Club on April 19, at 12 noon. The meeting will be held at Heritage Hall at 214 Main Street in Rising Sun. The meeting is open to the public.

Switzerland County Meet and Greet

2010-03-01T10:11:00.001-05:00

Switzerland County Campaign Coordinator’s Brian and Kristen Earls hosted a “Meet and Greet” event for Travis Hankins at their home in East Enterprise, on Sunday February 14, 2010. After his campaign speech, Travis opened the floor for a lively discussion of the concerns that attendees had regarding Washington politics.

One of the major sticking points for voters is accessibility to their representatives. Attendees voiced frustration with the lack of access to their current representatives, indicating that they typically get no response, or get a standard form letter, stating that their concerns would be taken into consideration, or insulting letters indicating that representatives have a better understanding of the issues than their own constituents.

Travis agreed that this is a major problem with our current political process, indicating that the power of government has been taken away from the people and placed in the hands of a few in Washington. His desire is to return the power to the constituents of the 9^th District. Travis stated that he would spend the majority of his time in office in the 9^th District, not in Washington, allowing constituent’s accessibility to their elected representative.

Jennings County Tea Party and Debate

2010-02-24T23:16:00.001-05:00

Saturday, April 10, at 12 noon, Travis will be speaking at the Jennings County Tea Party at the North Vernon City Park on SR 7. Here is a map to the location:

http://www.nvpr.org/pdfs/parkmap10.pdf

Later that day, please try to be at the Jennings County Fairgrounds on S.R. 3 from 5-7 p.m. to visit with other folks and share why you are supporting Travis. That will be followed by the Jennings County Debate at 7 p.m. We hope to see you there in your Hankins for Congress T-shirt!

9th District GOP Candidate Debate (Jasper)

2010-02-24T23:10:00.001-05:00

Travis Hankins will participate in a debate between the Republican candidates for 9^th District Congressman. The debate is to be held on Wednesday, March 17, 2010, in the Jasper Inn & Convention Center beginning at 7:00 p.m. The debate will be held in the Walnut Room.

The debate will be moderated by Mr. Paul Knies, General Manager of WBDC Radio and WJTS TV. Joining Mr. Knies in asking questions of the participants will be Mrs. Kathy Tretter, Co-Owner of the Ferdinand News and Spencer County Leader, and Brandon Elliott, News Director for WITZ Radio. The event will be open to the public.

Each candidate will be given two minutes to make an opening statement. The order for the opening statements will be drawn prior to the debate. Each panelist will be given the opportunity to ask three to four questions (as time allows) of each candidate. Candidates will be given three minutes in which to answer each question. Time limits will be strictly enforced. If a panelist wishes to ask a candidate a follow-up question, the candidate will have two minutes to answer. Finally, each candidate will have three minutes to make a closing statement. The closing statements will be made in reverse order of the opening statements.

The debate session will end at 8:30 pm. If time remains after the panelists and candidates have exhausted their allotted time, members of the audience may ask questions. To ask a question, audience members will be asked to place their name on a card and the cards will be drawn randomly to determine who can ask questions and in what order. We need all hoosiers for Travis Hankins that can possibly be there to attend to show our support. We'll look for you in your blue Hankins for Congress T-shirt!

Travis Speaks with Gen J Club of Dearborn County

2010-02-24T14:10:00.001-05:00

This past Sunday, Travis Hankins came to speak to the Generation Joshua Club of Dearborn County, Faithfully Fighting For Freedom. We were encouraged by his testimony and passion, and especially his willingness to speak of his love for God. As Mr. Hankins spoke, he had a very strong message and plea that “now is the time to act”, not tomorrow, not when we are voting age, not when we are married and have children--but now. He encouraged us, that even though we are young, and many of us are under voting age, that we can still make a difference in the government and politics. We were privileged that we were able to hear Mr. Travis Hankins speak.

Brown County Freedom Group

2010-02-24T10:27:00.000-05:00

On Monday, February 22, Travis brought his message on conservative leadership to the Brown County Freedom Group in Nashville, IN. There were approximately 40 people in attendance. Travis presented his message in a positive and professional style devoting most of the time to questions and answers. The group had many questions which showed me they were well educated on the issues and concerned about the direction our country is headed. Travis did an excellent job in answering questions and listening to the concerns on the group. His answers flowed effortlessly and with great confidence which showed the group that he was knowledgeable and articulate on the issues. Travis told the group his goal as a congressman was to listen to what the people were concerned about and act upon their concerns. He expressed his thoughts that federal government is TOO big and needs to downsize and returned to the people that he will represent. Washington is out of control in their spending of our money and deficit spending is not acceptable. From the comments after the meeting, I believe Travis’ message was well received and many in the group left with new insight on Travis Hankins.

Fed raises discount rate

2010-02-19T11:08:00.004-05:00

Too little too late

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/02/19/business-dollar_7370182.html?boxes=Homepagetopnews

This is what is going on:
The special interest banks borrow lots of money from the Fed(who creates this"money" out of thin air) at a nominal rate of FREE(it is below the inflation rate), they then buy Bonds from from our Treasury(our debt) and with the yield they reap a nice profit.

So the FED creates money and gives it to banks for free and the banks use their free money and lend it to the government to pay the governments debt.

We the tax payer has to pay the interest on the debt and our standard of living declines from the weaker dollar as a result of this process. Soon our dollar will decline even further from this whole deal lowering the standard of living of all Americans and devaluing all our savings.

update

2010-02-18T21:21:00.002-05:00

Travis does not ever solicit support from any individual politician or political group for the purposes of a political endorsement.

Travis is more than willing to share his views with all but it is a fine line we walk when it is a competition of sorts for an endorsement and if it becomes clear that a group is seeking a typical political vetting process then we take steps away and refocus our efforts on direct grassroots contact with voters.

Again, Travis is more than willing to share his views with any group or individual but he does not seek the endorsement of anyone except individual voters.

Any politicians or political group that seeks Travis' time is more than willing to sit in with him while he calls voters or knocks on voters' doors. We mean that!

An important message from a supporter

2010-02-18T17:11:00.001-05:00

To Jackson County Friends of Travis Hankins,

We have set the next Jackson County Precinct Leader training meeting for Monday, 2/22, 6:30 pm, again at our home: 451 Lasher Dr., Seymour. If you have already received your precinct packet, you do not need to attend this meeting, but if you have fund-raiser ticket money to turn in or need tickets, please take this opportunity to stop by.

If you are still on the fence about whether you will volunteer for the Travis Hankins for Congress campaign, please give this your prayerful consideration. This may be your best opportunity to stand up and make a difference in Washington. I believe God is working through the Tea Party Movement to bring this country back to Him in order to save it from failure. I believe God inspired our Founding Fathers to write the US Constitution in a way that relies on Christian principles and values to keep it.

If you haven’t yet, please read The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World, by W. Cleon Skousen, (1980). It will open your eyes as to how far we have strayed from our constitution and how much we need to limit government and uphold traditional Christian morals, principles, and values for this precious country to survive.

Working with this passionate group of volunteers has been the most rewarding experience for me already, and we are just beginning. Travis is running a unique campaign; strictly grassroots, neighbor to neighbor contact, which is way more effective than the typical politician’s fund-raising and pandering to special interests. We already have more volunteers in Jackson County than any other candidate has for the entire 9^th District. We have the power of the people on our side. Money and special interest groups can’t vote! All of your Christian Conservative neighbors will vote for Travis once they learn he is the real deal! We just have to get the word out and the rest will fall into place. This is how our Founding Fathers intended the election process to work in order to prevent what has happened to our government over the last 100 years. Our Founding Fathers warned us about big government, predicted it would inevitably happen, if we didn’t stick to our Constitutional limits, and now, see what we’ve got. We lost our way, but it’s not too late to save this country, if we turn it back to God. Please take advantage of the opportunity Travis is giving us to help turn this country around.

Tell all your friends and neighbors about Travis and invite them to meet him in person at the Seymour fundraiser on March 13^th. Don’t forget to send your fund-raiser ticket money in as soon as possible. March 13^th will be here before you know it. Please pray for the campaign daily.

God Bless,

Lisa Mincy

RNC quotes (from Braveheart)

2010-02-17T22:21:00.002-05:00

Robert the Bruce: A rebellion has begun.

Robert Bruce, Sr.: Under whom?

Robert the Bruce: A commoner named William Wallace.

Robert Bruce Sr.: We will embrace this rebellion. You will support it from our lands in the north while I gain English favor by condemning it, and ordering it opposed from our lands in the south. Sit down. Stay a while.

Robert the Bruce: This Wallace, he doesn't even have a knighthood, but he fights with passion and he inspires.

Robert Bruce, Sr.: And you wish to charge off and fight as he did.(with a mocking laugh) So would I.

Robert the Bruce: Well, maybe it's time.

Robert Bruce, Sr.: It is time to survive. You're the 17th Robert Bruce. The 16 before you passed you land and title because they didn't charge in. Call a meeting of the nobles.

Robert the Bruce: But they do nothing but talk.

Robert Bruce, Sr.: Rightly so. They're as rich in English titles and lands as they are in Scottish, just as we are. You admire this man, this William Wallace. Uncompromising men are easy to admire. He has courage, so does a dog. But it is exactly the ability to compromise that makes a man noble.

Robert Bruce Sr could easily be RNC chair someday as he is most of the Republican establishment's role model.

Hankins files with the state

2010-02-06T09:41:00.000-05:00

Travis Hankins filed for Congress yesterday.

Spelling (lol)

2010-02-06T09:20:00.003-05:00

Travis' brother Aaron apparently can not spell....and perhaps he was in such a hustle to get back on schedule to the voters that he did not have time for spell check. In Aaron's defense he had the voters of Clark county on his mind (and a basketball tournament).

Either way Hankins for Congress is hiring for a secretary who can write, send and edit press releases; we can only pay you with blew Hankins shirts and used (but nice) baskitballs. Bring your own dictionary.

Travis Hankins Victory Strategy (Hankins Supporters Only)

2010-02-04T13:42:00.022-05:00

My name is Chris Denney and I am the former campaign manager for Travis Hankins. I still help out as a volunteer and since I still have the codes to this blog I am going to let you all in on some insider information: Travis Hankins' campaign strategy and how Travis Hankins will win this primary.

Will it be through fundraising? No. The other candidates will do better there. Will it be through media coverage? uh...no. The other campaigns will win there. Will it be through online activity? i.e. facebook, emails, twitter...uh, no. We want the other candidates to win here as well. Will it be through reaching out to the GOP establishment at the federal, state, and local level? No. Will it be by attending GOP sponsored events and meeting with the usual crowd? No. Will it be by focusing and solidifying our current supporters? NO!

Travis Hankins will spend the next 80+ days making direct contact with as many PRIMARY voters as he can. He will put his focus on reaching directly voters that he has not spoken with before. Travis can make calls to about 375 Primary voters on the phone each day. You can do the math on how that adds up (there will be about 40,000 primary voters this May). Travis will reach out and connect personally with the voters and share conservative leadership with them.

There are GOP events Travis will skip in order to stay on schedule. There are media "opportunities" that Travis will skip in order to stay the course. Travis will skip some Lincoln Day dinners and other events that are supposedly "can't miss" events. I simply want to warn his supporters now that Travis has a strategy that will work if he can stay focused and execute it. Travis needs his supporters to stand firm and do not waver.

There is no problem now!!!! I am writing this so Travis' supporters will understand the plan and they will not get insecure if Travis is not at their counties' event or the media does not cover Travis equally, or it appears (on the surface) that Travis is not as active as the other campaigns.
Travis will not conduct a typical campaign! He is committed to the grassroots!

I bring this up now because approximately 3-5% of our supporters think we should be more visable and conduct more politics as usual campaign activity. Obviously with that low a number there is no problem but with Travis planning to miss certain events heading down the stretch that number may grow so I want to address it right now.

There was a debate on Saturday put on by the Jennings County Republican Party for the Senate candidates challenging Bayh. Travis did not attend but his two primary opponents did. We received two complaints from supporters, one in private by email and one publicly on Travis' www.facebook.com account:

"Travis---you have been and remain my choice for a run at Barron Hill but I've got to be honest with you and voice my dissappointment at your lack of visibility lately. You weren't at the debate in North Vernon and from what I'm hearing your staying cloistered some where for some reason!

The old adage out of site out of heart is soooooooooo true in this world of FICKEL VOTERS THATI SEE YOU CHANCING YOUR ELECTION ON A HIATUS.

Please give me some encouraging words to feel very confident that you are still the man I want to trust and depend on to get us back to honesty and integrity.

Pastor Bob Loretz... See More
Butlerville Baptist Church
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Here is my response:

"Travis was busy calling voters with who he had not already spoken with. He called 375 GOP primary voters that day. Almost all of them couldn't even tell you that there was a debate going on. Why preach to the choir that you already know and who knows you when you can make contacts with voters who are not active but yet will vote?

Travis is not running to attend debates of other candidates and see the same people over and over again. He is running to reach out to everyone.

Travis' supporters need to stay the course and understand that he is trying to reach every GOP primary voter....

If he attends all the GOP events then he will meet the same people over and over again. If he calls 375 new people a day then after a 100 days he has sure made a lot of calls to new voters directly while the other guys simply talk with the same 1000 or so over and over again.

Now if there by chance is someone at this debate who didn't know Travis then he trusts his supporters will fill the gap and spread the word.

IMO, Travis trusts God with this election...and he knows the people will get the representative they deserve. Make no mistake, Travis Hankins works harder than the other three candidates combined.

God Bless,
Chris Denney
Romans 5:1, James 1:2"

I thank the Pastor for making this public so we can fill all Travis' supporters in on the strategy so they can be prepared.

Travis Hankins IS the hardest worker in this race and the Saturday in question Travis worked harder than any candidate.

Lets take Jennings County for example:
Travis and Aaron Hankins have personally canvassed all of North Vernon and Jennings county. Our team last summer canvassed all of North Vernon AGAIN. In addition Travis Hankins has called all GOP voters 2.5 times in Jennings and he is not done.

The only way for Travis to lose Jennings County (and of course this race as a whole) is if some of his supporters get insecure and they do not stay the course on a grassroots strategy. As long as they remember that Travis is SIMPLY running a different race than the other guys...and that he is running the right race...then Travis WILL win huge in Jennings and district wide. If Travis is not in their papers or at their local GOP event his supporters need to remember the truth, that Travis is out there working on their behalf. And while the other guys may get more superficial contact with voters, no one will be able to touch Travis on direct, real and personal contact with the electorate...That is the right way to do it and that is the strategy to WIN!

I know Travis and I know that he does not feel entitled to any one's vote. He feels strongly that he has to earn your vote...but I also know that he feels that he can only earn your vote ONCE for this to work...Once he gets your support he is on to the next one and you have to deal with whatever insecurities the establishment throws at you.

Travis Hankins has based his campaign on the premise that he really does not have any soft support...all or nothing...and once he gains all their support, then the people will stand firm. That is 95% true and I am writing this to keep it at 95%.

So to Travis' supporters please remember that Travis' focus is to target new voters everyday and not to solidify old supporters. Travis will do the best he can with his old contacts but for Travis to win he needs to spend 90% of his time getting a hold of new people.

Who is Travis targeting?

Lets say there are two guys: Joe Conservative and Jim Freedom.

Both Joe and Jim are hard core conservatives down the line on every issue. Both watch Beck and listen to Rush. Joe is not politically active and could not tell you the name of his GOP county chair and he could not pick Mike Pence, Dan Coats, or John Boehner out of a lineup. Jim on the other hand is a precinct committeeman and has his county chair on his email list...he goes to EVERY GOP function and convention and he loves election day.

If you ask Joe what he thinks about candidate X it will all be issue based and probably end with "I wouldn't vote for that guy ever."

Ask Jim what he thinks about the same candidate X and his reply will be part issues part personal. Jim would say "I don't agree with X here, here and here...and wow especially here...
but you know I have met him 29 times, he knows my name, he is a good guy, I like him, I sat by him at the convention and he attended my third cousins birthday party...that was nice of him...so I might give him another chance...I don't know I will call him up a couple times and see...although I do agree with that candidate Y on everything and I know he will be the real deal"

Travis LOVES both these guys! He works hard for BOTH of their support. But who is he targeting? And who is the key to victory??? Joe Conservative!

Number one, there are 5x more Joe Conservatives in the ninth district than Jim Freedoms. Number two, Jim is ACTIVE and Travis has already met him. Since Jim is politically aware, Hankins for Congress can count on him to evaluate the field and make his own decision. We do not have to reach out to him over and over (I should say WE SHOULDN'T have to).

Joe Conservative ain't going to any debate to see politicians. He would rather be fishing or spending time with his family. You call Joe up, he will be mad and he WILL hang up. Jim Freedom loves it when you call and he will talk all day.

Travis is the only guy willing to call Joe and Jill Conservative back continuously until they hear the message and understand that Travis is for real.

So Travis loves Joe and Jim equally but the key to winning is getting Joe Conservative on board.

Travis has many precinct leaders in this district going door to door in the winter-no other campaign has that...if you want to help then email the campaign and be a precinct leader...if you don't want to do that email the campaign and ask for a certain number of Yard signs to put up...if not that then send us a Walmart card...if not that then JUST DO WHATEVER you can to help out do not wait to be asked just do it!

Travis' number one problem to victory is not the establishment or Lugar Republicanism, nor is it money or media or getting his message out...Travis' only real potential threat at this point is that his soft support becomes no support and that his hard support becomes soft. Right now this is a 3-5% problem(which is WAAAAYYY better than a typical campaign) and we want to keep it that way and not let it grow. Travis' supporters not all being on board with Travis' strategy is the only potential threat to victory.

If you support Travis and you are at an event but Travis is not there and his two opponents are and you are thinking (or publicly saying) "Where is Travis? Does he think he has somewhere better to be?" then you need to remember two things: One, Travis loves you and your family, he loves the Lord, and his country. Two, Yes, he DOES think he has somewhere better to be and you should agree with him. He is on the phone calling Joe who already hung up twice.

Travis is busy campaigning doing it the right way.

Therefore, if you support Travis, then it is your duty and responsibility to talk him up at the events not wait for Travis to do it. Travis is doing his job, we need you to do yours.

If Travis does his job right (with your help) then Joe and Jim will be standing together at the next T.E.A party...and that is the cause.

2010-01-30T11:03:00.000-05:00

"None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free."-Goethe

Hankins issues debate challenge

2010-01-29T18:47:00.005-05:00

Columbus- Today Travis Hankins proposed a series of debates with his two primary opponents for the GOP nomination for the Ninth Congressional District. Hankins believes there should be ten debates all in April and early May. Hankins proposes that the debates could be put together and hosted by a combination of Republican Party county leaders and local T.E.A. party activists. Travis Hankins suggested that the debates should be held in the counties that have in the past been neglected the most by campaigns.

Hankins believes that these debates should be focused on deep
conservative principles and not politics as usual stump speeches.

Hankins comments, " These debates should be about conservatism. Every candidate in this race has said he is a conservative but so has every other Republican wanting to go to Washington in the last fifteen years and we know how conservative they all turned out to be."

Hankins continues, " What better way to get a candidate's beliefs on
the record than a debate for all to see. We need bold, specific, and
principled conservatism and not typical vague GOP talking points."

Hankins believes if all the candidates spend the next two months making direct contact with voters then the base will be energized for the debates and beyond.

Hankins and Schansberg join forces

2010-01-15T22:29:00.005-05:00

Columbus-Travis Hankins announced today that Eric Schansberg has joined his campaign team and will officially serve as his Campaign Chairman.

Schansberg’s duties as Campaign Chairman include advising Travis personally on public policy, giving campaign stump speeches on Travis’ behalf and keeping the media informed on the campaign’s progress.

Regarding his support for Hankins, Schansberg states, “I think he’s an excellent candidate and I think he’ll be effective at uniting fiscal and social conservatives. He’s very strong on social issues and strong on fiscal issues. He can be a great unifier for the party because the party is divided on these things.”

Travis Hankins believes that the key to success for a political party is to expand its numbers without compromising any of its core principles and beliefs. Hankins asserts that the establishment Republicans in Washington and a few in Indianapolis simply do not understand that. That is why the GOP has been in the political wilderness.

Hankins will continue to implement his strategy by reaching out to former Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians,Constitutionalists, and independents all the while maintaining and energizing the current conservative Republican base.

By reaching out across party lines and naming a former Libertarian nominee as Campaign Chairman, Travis Hankins has proven that he is the only candidate seeking the GOP nomination that can form a broad-based,non-partisan/bi-partisan coalition that is necessary for victory.

Travis comments, “No Republican will beat Baron Hill if Eric Schansberg is also on the ballot. The fact that I do not have to worry about that problem is a real sign of strength for my campaign. My teaming up with Eric is just one example of the fact that I will win a lot of support from voters in November who would otherwise not trust nor vote Republican.”

Hankins continues, “The historic elections of 2006 and 2008 prove that the Republican base alone is no longer enough to win the 9th District Congressional seat. Republicans must reach outside the party and form a coalition of other like-minded voters in order to win. By joining forces with Eric, my campaign has proven that we have the coalition necessary for victory in November 2010.”

Eric Schansberg has been the Libertarian candidate for the 9th Congressional District in 2006 and 2008. Dr. Eric Schansberg has been a professor of economics at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany for 17 years and has written two books on public policy.

Dr. Schansberg is an evangelical Christian who has taught Bible studies for 18 years. Eric is married to Tonia and is the father to four boys-two by adoption. In 2008, Schansberg won the Libertarian Party’s Thomas Paine award, recognizing him as one of the nation’s greatest communicators of the principles of limited government and individual liberty.

Join Travis Hankins this month!

2010-01-15T16:06:00.002-05:00

Saturday, January 16, 2010

March for Life in Columbus, IN

Meeting at Indiana Bank & Trust

11th and Washington

Columbus, IN

Time: 1:30pm

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Bartholomew County Right to Life Rally

Location: City Hall

123 Washington St.

Columbus, IN 47201

Time: 2:00pm

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Fundraiser in Rising Sun

Hosted by We the Hoosiers and Patriots for Christ

Location: Rising Sun Senior Center

510 S Mulberry St.

Rising Sun, IN 47040

Time: 7:00pm

Questions? Please contact us here.

Hankins for Congress 2009 Numbers

2010-01-08T12:00:00.003-05:00

Columbus - Today Travis Hankins released his campaign’s numbers for the year 2009 asserting that Hankins for Congress is the most active Congressional campaign in the ninth district and perhaps in all of Indiana.

In the year 2009, Hankins for Congress knocked on over 21,000 doors, made over 28,000 phone calls, hosted 32 Campaign cookouts, 18 meet and greets, and 12 campaign rallies. The campaign was able to attend numerous county fairs, parades, and political rallies/events hosted by others. Travis Hankins personally spent over one hundred full days canvassing door to door this year knocking on the door of over 7,700 Republican primary voters. Hankins also personally spent over 110 full days placing over 18,500 phone calls to Republican primary voters.

Hankins for Congress directly campaigned in all of the 20 counties of the district except for one, and went door to door in every major city or town in the district except for one. In addition to that, the campaign was able to raise over $130,000 in contributions putting the campaign ahead of its Primary campaign fundraising needs.

Hankins comments, “As a candidate for Congress, I feel obligated to personally talk with as many voters directly as possible. I have spent the last year doing just that and it will continue for 2010. To me, an active campaign means direct contact with the people and not time spent with political party operatives, special interests, multi-millionaire donors, and Indianapolis and Washington insiders.” Hankins continues, “I believe you can judge a candidate on how he spends his time campaigning because if he will not knock on your door and talk face to face with the people as a candidate then he certainly won’t do it once elected and that is part of the problem.”

Travis Hankins for Congress Update

2009-12-21T16:00:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I hope this letter finds you and your family well. I want you to know that I have been working hard to get our country back on the right track. I continue to be highly encouraged by the overwhelming response of support. As you know, most Hoosiers, despite political affiliation, are fed up with politicians and politics as usual. We want Conservative Leadership. We want someone who will be bold and courageous who will stand up and fight on behalf of the American people. That is exactly why I'm running for U.S. Congress.

It's been a busy couple of months and I wanted to take some time to catch you up on my Campaign. Here are some highlights from this Fall:

-Corydon T.E.A. Party in Corydon, IN

-We the People Indiana "Meet Your Candidate" forum in Columbus, IN

-Kent Christian's Annual Fall Festival in Kent, IN

-Pumpkin Show and Parade in Versailles, IN and Meet and Greet at John Vollmer's in Osgood, IN

-Commiskey Parade and Fall Festival and Meet and Greet at Mark and Janice Holwager's

-"Hands off Our Healthcare" rallies in Jasper and Madison, IN

-TEA Party Express in Bloomington, IN and Louisville, KY

-"We the Hoosiers" meeting/protest in Lawrenceburg, IN

The resounding theme that I continue to hear from voters as I travel across Southern Indiana are these words, "I have never been involved with politics before besides casting a vote. But I can't do it anymore. I can no longer sit on the sideline and allow these politicians in Washington to run our country into the ground. I must get involved!" If you feel this same sentiment, then I encourage you to get involved. We cannot sit back. We have to stand together to take back our country. Now is the time!

Please volunteer your talents and time to the Campaign. Click here to help out now!

Please contribute financially to the Campaign. Click here to help out now!

Please continue to spread the word about our Campaign to your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers and church members. Please encourage people to visit my website (www.travishankins.com) so they can learn more about our Campaign and the kind of leadership that I am going to provide for Southern Indiana. Feel free to forward this email on to your circle of influence.

I want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas. Please take time to give thanks to God for the many blessings He has given to us and our country. Thank you for all your prayers and support, I really appreciate it. Please let me know if I can ever be of any service to you and your family. Take care and God Bless!

Travis Hankins

Corydon T.E.A. Party- November 7, 2009

2009-12-07T15:28:00.000-05:00

Last month, Travis met with many people at a TEA Party in Corydon, Indiana- home of the state's first Capitol. Everyone met at the square and listened to the speakers on many issues Americans are either fed up with or fighting for. We are thankful for the time the Campaign was able to spend getting to know the people of Corydon and gaining new supporters!

Travis' brother, Aaron, was able to stay by the booth talking with people interested in the Campaign.

Travis spent most of his time walking around the square getting to talk with the people personally and share more about his Campaign.

"We the People Indiana" Candidate Forum - October 30, 2009

2009-11-09T12:57:00.000-05:00

On Friday, October 30, Travis spoke at the first of the Bartholomew County We the People Indiana Candidate forums. It was held at the Columbus Municipal Airport. The We the People Indiana group is hosting Candidate forums so that the voters in Bartholomew County can hear from those running for office personally and have the opportunity to ask questions in order to be well-informed come election day.

Before the meeting began, Travis spoke with the We the People Indiana members, formally introducing himself and getting to know them individually.

After beginning the meeting, Phil Weick introduced Travis to speak.

Travis shared a little about his Campaign and then opened the floor up for questions.

Afterward, Travis went around the room to answer personal questions and get to know everyone a little better, while also squeezing in plenty of goodbyes in-between.

A special thanks to Bro. Bob Loretz and Mark Holwager for rolling up the banner that night! :)

We would also like to thank We the People Indiana for all of their support and for having Travis speak. It was great getting to visit with current supporters and having the opportunity to gain new ones!

Kent Christian Fall Festival - October 25, 2009

2009-10-28T14:59:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, Travis was invited to Kent Christian's annual Fall Festival. The church gets together each year for a potluck lunch, corn- hole tournaments, and lots of good company!

After enjoying the lunch and fellowship, Travis shared his testimony and answered questions.

We would like to thank Pastor Danny for inviting us and the Hancocks for hosting it!

Osgood Meet and Greet at John Vollmer's house - September 26, 2009

2009-10-13T13:29:00.000-04:00

After the Pumpkin Show parade, John Vollmer hosted a Meet and Greet at his house in Osgood. Travis shared with everyone about his campaign and how they can get involved, opened it up to questions, and then met personally with each person who attended. This was one of our first Meet and Greets, so we were very pleased with the great turn out! If you are interested in hosting a Meet and Greet in your area, please feel free to contact the campaign through our website, www.travishankins.com, or by calling our office at 812-418-0778. Travis enjoys this time to get to know the people personally, answer their questions, hear their advice, and gain their support.

Pumpkin Show Parade~Versailles - September 26, 2009

2009-10-02T20:41:00.000-04:00

Although the Versailles Pumpkin show started on Thursday, the highlight of the weekend was Saturday. It started off with the a parade, followed by the actual pumpkin show and contest. This parade was, by far, the biggest we have taken part of. Even though it was a cold and rainy morning, there was a huge turn out for the parade! The crowds were just under the usual 12,000 and we had lots of supporters from all over Ripley county join us in walking in the parade.

Commiskey Fall Festival - September 19, 2009

2009-09-23T18:21:00.000-04:00

After the parade we walked around to all the booths talking with the people, then headed over to the Holwager's house, where they were holding a fundraiser lunch for Travis. During lunch Travis spoke to the group and then opened it up for questions. We had a good crowd and really great questions. Afterwards Travis talked with supporters individually and answered more questions. We all enjoyed meeting and getting to know the people of Commiskey. Again, we want to thank all of our supporters who made it a great day!

Commiskey Parade - September 19, 2009

2009-09-23T16:27:00.000-04:00

Commiskey held their Fall Festival this past weekend. On Saturday there was a parade, donkey calcutta, and a greased pig contest. Churches, businesses, and individuals set up tents and booths all along the parade route. Supporters from North Vernon and Commiskey joined us in walking in the parade. Travis talked with the crowd and the line-up before the parade. Thank you everyone who came to the parade and a special Thank you everyone who walked in the parade with us.

"Hands off our Healthcare" Rally, Jasper IN - September 16, 2009

2009-09-21T16:16:00.000-04:00

After the Madison rally, we followed the bus over to Jasper. This rally was held in a Kimball International parking lot. This was the first time our campaign had been to Jasper, and we really enjoyed our time there, at the rally and later canvassing.

"Hands off our Healthcare" Rally, Madison IN - September 16,2009

2009-09-21T15:51:00.000-04:00

The Americans for Prosperity "Hands off our Healthcare" bus came through Indiana again. We met up with them in Madison and Jasper. The rally was held at Broadway Fountain in downtown Madison. Although it was held early on a Wednesday morning, there was a good sized group of dedicated Hoosiers in attendance.

Tea Party Express, Bloomington IN - September 6, 2009

2009-09-21T14:43:00.000-04:00

Early Sunday morning we headed over to Bloomington once more, to attend another Tea Party Express rally. Although it was a very rainy and chilly, the rally was still attended by almost 800 people from all over Indiana and the surrounding states. We were able to connect with many voters and like-minded patriots.

Tea Party Express, Louisville KY - September 5, 2009

2009-09-20T15:01:00.001-04:00

The Tea Party Express traveled from California to Washington DC, holding 34 rallies in 17 states over 15 days. There were about 2,500 people at the Louisville rally. Our team enjoyed meeting so many people who are ready and willing to stand up for our freedom and personal liberties.

Lawrenceburg- September 3, 2009

2009-09-18T10:33:00.001-04:00

Every Thursday and Friday from 3:30-6:00 the "We the Hoosiers" group quietly protests the direction our government is headed. They invited Travis to come and speak to the group after the protest on Thursday September 3. We met at Newtown Park in Lawrenceburg and Travis addressed a group of over 100 people from all over Dearborn County. Thank you everyone for your questions and your support!

Canvassing in Bloomington

2009-09-03T11:22:00.000-04:00

Four days a week, two times a day, for the past few weeks we have taken the scenic 37-mile drive through Brown County to Bloomington.We have knocked on doors in most of southern Bloomington and we're moving on to the northern part of the city and Monroe County.

"Hands off our Healthcare" Rallies, August 18-19, 2009

2009-08-20T09:39:00.000-04:00

The Patients First "Hands off our Healthcare" bus traveled all over Indiana holding healthcare rallies this past week. We attended rallies in Columbus, Bloomington, and Jeffersonville. We enjoyed talking with all our fellow Hoosiers who came out to stand together against the recently proposed Healthcare Bill.

The Bartholomew County Courthouse, Columbus IN

The Monroe County Courthouse, Bloomington IN

Warder Park, Jeffersonville IN

We saw our friends Brad and Maegan DeVore at the Jeffersonville rally. Brad and Maegan work with the Young Republicans in Harrison County.

V-J Day Parade, Seymour - August 9, 2009

2009-08-18T11:09:00.001-04:00

We were able to be a part of one of the last Victory in Japan Day parades in our nation. We had a great time walking in the parade and meeting the people who came out to support and honor our Veterans. We want to say Thank you to all of our supporters who walked with us in the parade! We also want to say a huge Thank you to all of the Veterans. Thank you for your service and dedication to our country!

Brown County Fair - July 31, 2009

2009-08-13T20:58:00.000-04:00

July 20, 2009 Ripley County Fair

2009-07-25T22:29:00.000-04:00

July 15, 2009 Ohio County Fair

2009-07-24T16:49:00.001-04:00

July 15, 2009 Switzerland County Fair

2009-07-24T16:19:00.000-04:00

July 10-18, 2009 Bartholomew County Fair

2009-07-21T11:41:00.000-04:00