Not only did this bill receive an enormous amount of support, but on Tuesday (just two days before my 44th birthday) it passed the House on the bipartisan vote of 234-190 and was sent over to the Senate.  That’s right, they may have the “Gang of 6″ in the Senate, but we have the “Gang of 234″ in the House.

Unfortunately, many in the Senate aren’t interested in cutting government spending.  In fact, giving the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act the best endorsement we could have hoped for, Senator Harry Reid called it the “worst legislation” ever.  Yes, the same Harry Reid who fought so hard to protect earmarks for cowboy poetry festivals, thinks that a plan to balance the budget is the worst bill ever.

His speech reflects the attitude of many in Washington who do not want to see the government live within its means.  They refuse to ask “Can we afford it?”  Instead, they take the “we can’t afford not to” approach.  And that’s why we have the largest deficits in history and a $14.3 trillion national debt.

It will take a lot of work to push back against the big-spenders’ extreme message, and we need your help to do it.  You can click here to make a $44 donation for my birthday or a $234 donation in support of the “Gang of 234.” With your support, we can work together to change the way Washington does business!

These “Magnificent Eleven” ran for Congress to get things done, not to get pats on the back.  But now we need your help to keep up the effort, get our conservative message out, and make sure folks hear the truth about what we’re doing to fix things.

But as they try to balance the budget and save seniors’ benefit programs, some groups are playing politics instead of actually helping to fix things.  Consider this recent AARP ad dialogue:

Man #1—“If Congress really wants to balance the budget,”

Woman #1—“They could stop spending our money on things like…”

Woman #2—“A cotton institute in Brazil,”

Man #2—“Poetry at zoos,”

Woman #1—“Treadmills for shrimp,”

Man #1—“But instead of cutting waste,”

Man #2—“Or closing tax loopholes.”

Woman #1—“Next month Congress could make a deal that cuts Medicare…”

Woman #2—“even Social Security.”

Man #1—“I guess it’s easier to cut the benefits we earned, than to cut pickle technology.”

And take a look at what The Washington Post (not the most likely paper to stand up for conservatives) had to say about this ad:

“The AARP ad perpetuates the worst stereotypes about how easy it would be to balance the budget. At a time when the nation’s fiscal crisis — amid the looming retirement of the baby-boom generation — demands informed and reasoned debate, the AARP misinforms its members about the choices the nation faces. The choice is not between shrimp treadmills and Medicare; the question is how growth in the big entitlement programs can be restrained to accommodate the baby-boom generation without harming the elderly already receiving benefits. If AARP has identified real spending cuts worth $100 billion, it should have made an ad promoting those ideas, not an ad perpetuating myths.”

To read the rest of this fact-check, or what the ad yourself, you can click HERE.

In the interest of keeping folks armed against outrageous claims (especially the new “Mediscare” tactics), I thought I would bring three of the biggest whoppers to your attention:

1- Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, head of the Democratic National Committee, has said that conservatives want to “take the people who are younger than 55 years old today and tell them, ‘You know what? You’re on your own. …We’re going to throw you to the wolves and allow insurance companies to deny you coverage and drop you for pre-existing conditions.’ ”

2- Under her leadership, the Democratic National Committee also released a TV ad immediately after the House budget vote which claimed that “Republicans voted to end Medicare.” (Remember, these are the same folks who said I would throw grandma in jail for taking Social Security…)

3- Finally, President Obama stated that the House budget “ends Medicare as we know it.”

I firmly believe that the best way to counter these lies is to present people with the hard facts.

So, what EXACTLY does the House budget say?

“Policy on Medicare Reform- It is the policy of this resolution to protect those in and near retirement from any disruptions to their Medicare benefits and offer future beneficiaries the same health care options available to Members of Congress.” [click here to read the bill]

The simple truth is that the president needs to look in the mirror when he’s talking about “ending Medicare as we know it.”  Obamacare not only changed current seniors’ Medicare benefits, but it also sets up a committee of unelected bureaucrats who – starting in 2015 – can make any changes to Medicare that they see fit. (Without the approval of Congress.)

Mick Mulvaney

A life long Carolinas resident, Mick lives in Indian Land, Lancaster County SC.

Mick graduated from Charlotte Catholic High School, where he wrestled (not well) and golfed (better than most). He attended Georgetown University and majored in International Economics, Commerce and Finance. He was an Honors Scholar, the highest level of academic achievement awarded to members of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, and ultimately graduated with honors. He counted Madeline Albright among his professors (although her politics didn’t rub off). After graduation, he took advantage of a scholarship opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a candidate for the Chancellor’s Scholarship. His standing earned him a full scholarship to attend law school, where his focus was on anti-trust law.

From 1992 until early 1997, Mick practiced law with the highly regarded firm of James, McElroy & Diehl in Charlotte. While originally trained in corporate litigation, his area of concentration turned in large part to commercial transactional work. In 1997 he forwent the partnership track in order to to start his own firm, where he continued to mix transactional work with the occasional commercial trial.

Mick and Pam got married in 1998, and are the proud parents of triplets. As much as he enjoyed running his own law firm, Mick knew that if he wanted to be home with his new wife and quickly-growing family, a career change would be in order. So, he sold his firm in 2000, quit the law, and joined the family homebuilding and real estate business.

While there he participated in the Owner’s and Presidents Management Program at Harvard Business School, which he completed in 2006. Mick added restaurant operations to his resume when the real estate slump forced another change in his professional career. He had been a minority shareholder in Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina, a privately held regional restaurant chain, for many years, but became an owner operator within that same organization in early 2009.

Mick was elected to the SC House in 2006, his first foray into politics, becoming the first Republican ever elected to that position in his District. In 2008 an unexpected retirement created a vacancy in the SC Senate, and Mick ran for and won that office in what was widely regarded to be the hardest fought legislative race in South Carolina that year.

Mick serves on the Judiciary, Labor/Commerce/Industry, Medical Affairs, Agriculture/Natural Resources, and Corrections Committee. He was identified as the Freshman Legislator of the Year in 2006 by the Palmetto Family Council for his work on the South Carolina ultrasound bill. In 2010 he was named Legislator of the Year for his work in support of the State’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS). He has received one of only a handful of A+ ratings in the entire legislature.

He is active locally, as a founding member of the Indian Land Rotary, a youth baseball coach for Lancaster County Parks & Rec, a former Board member at Springs Memorial Hospital, a member of the Board of Visitors at USC-Lancaster, a member of the Fort Mill Area Chamber of Commerce, and a member of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church and Our Lady of Grace Catholic Mission.

Mick is running for Congress because he does not think the federal government is taking this country in the right direction, and doesn’t think Mr. Spratt – or anyone representing the 5th District – should be voting for the Obama-Pelosi agenda 98% of the time.

Mick is 43. Pam is (has been, and shall remain for many years) 29, and the triplets are now 10.

These organizations have stepped up to the plate to endorse Mick:

• Can-Do Conservatives of America
• Catholicvote.org
• Club for Growth
• FreedomWorks
• Gun Owners of America
• National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
• National Rifle Association
• National Right to Life Committee
• Republican Liberty Caucus
• Responsible Youth PAC (RYPAC)
• The Sportsmen’s and Animal Owners’ Voting Alliance (SAOVA)
• Of By & For PAC

WASHINGTON, D.C. Oct. 28, 2010 – Today the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s leading small business association, announced its full support and endorsement of Mick Mulvaney for election to the U.S. House of Representatives in South Carolina’s 5th District.

“Small business knows that Mick Mulvaney is the proven, pro-small business candidate in this race,” said Lisa Goeas, NFIB vice president of political operations. “He has actively supported small business since he was first elected to the state house, and was recognized as a pro-business leader on several occasions. We know he would be a successful advocate for South Carolina’s small businesses in Washington.”

Especially outspoken on healthcare, Mulvaney is a strong opponent of the new healthcare law, advocating instead for reforms that truly lower costs, and offer more choices and flexibility.

“He also believes that the federal debt must be reduced and that Washington must rein in government spending. Small businesses and families have to live within their means; he believes that government should do likewise,” said Goeas.

There are more than 81,000 small employers in South Carolina. Nationally, small businesses create more than half of the nation’s non-farm gross domestic product and have created more than 60 percent of net-new jobs in the U.S. over the past 15 years.

Small business owners and their employees vote in high numbers and are known for actively recruiting friends, family members and acquaintances to go to the polls. NFIB will encourage its members across the district to help turn out the small business vote on Mulvaney’s behalf on Election Day.

Today’s endorsement comes from NFIB’s Save America’s Free Enterprise (SAFE) Trust, the association’s political action committee, and is based on candidates’ positions on key small business issues including healthcare, taxes, and labor and regulatory issues.

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With just 12 days left until Election Day, the schedule is filling up fast. Now more than ever, we need to get people fired up about voting for Mick Mulvaney on November 2^nd.

A big part of that effort will be a bus tour Monday through Wednesday of next week. At various points during the tour, Mick will be joined by U.S. Senator Jim DeMint and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Please forward this email to your friends and family so they can join the tour and meet Mick, Senator DeMint, and Governor Romney. Also, be on the lookout for details of the tour as they are posted to our website.

Sprinting across the finish line

We need your help as we sprint toward victory on November 2^nd. Please sign up to be a poll observer on election day, or volunteer your time to make phone calls or go door-to-door on behalf of Mick Mulvaney in your town. Over 110,000 calls have already been made. You and your friends can help us keep up that level of effort for the next 12 days.

Find an office near you or contact Patrick Sebastian at (803) 526-4392 or patrick@scgop.com for details about opportunities to volunteer in your county.

Darlington County
101 Pearl Street
Darlington, SC

Lancaster County
300 N. Main Street
Lancaster, SC

Sumter County
1108 Broad Street
Sumter, SC

York County
2865 Celanese Road, Suite 119
Rock Hill, SC

Kershaw County
519 DeKalb Street
Camden, SC

With $567,990 cash on hand and $598,334 raised this quarter alone, the Mulvaney campaign is well positioned for a strong finish.

Lancaster, S.C. – State Senator Mick Mulvaney, Republican candidate for Congress (SC-5), announced today that his campaign has raised more than $1.2 million from 3,500 individuals to date, and raised $598,334 in this quarter alone.

“Folks in the 5^th District, South Carolina at large, and all across America have stepped up to invest in our campaign to defeat one of the biggest of the big spenders in Congress: John Spratt,” said Sen. Mulvaney. “Our efforts to provide a check against the Obama Administration, and reign in the big spending is clearly resonating with voters. Folks are fed up with the direction John Spratt is taking the country, and they are working hard to change their congressman.”

“Voters know that they can trust me to make the tough decisions in Washington and fight for their shared values. They know that if John Spratt goes back, then he will continue to support President Obama’s agenda – an agenda they strongly disagree with,” continued Mulvaney.

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“A Medicare official concedes that seniors may have to dig deeper into their wallets next year thanks to the health care law. The new analysis obtained by POLITICO finds the health care overhaul will result in increased out-of-pocket costs for seniors on Medicare Advantage plans.” ~ Politico, 10.13.2010

Lancaster, S.C. – State Senator Mick Mulvaney, Republican candidate for Congress (SC-5), today released the following statement calling on John Spratt to explain why he would sponsor a piece of legislation that is so harmful to seniors:

“News reports on Obamacare continue to read like a broken record of bad policy. First, we learned that the law would cost the government more, then we learned it would cost businesses more, then we learned the same about families, and now seniors.

“This most recent White House admission, that health care costs will increase for seniors, is just another reason to repeal the law and start over.

“Medicare Advantage, a program first begun as ‘Medicare+Choice’ under the the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, is now being destroyed by Mr. Spratt’s health care takeover. Cutting Medicare Advantage and increasing seniors’ health costs during a recession is not reform, it’s cruel.

“This new report begs the same questions that this District’s voters have been asking for months: Did John Spratt know that these cuts and cost increases were in the bill when he sponsored it? If he did, why in the world didn’t he vote against it? If he didn’t, why would vote for a bill he hadn’t read and didn’t understand?

“Either way, if folks want to change these harmful cuts and cost increases then they need to change congressmen.”

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If this election was determined by who received the most campaign contributions from individuals, Mick Mulvaneywould win in a landslide. With more than 3,500 individual investments, Mick’s message of shared values and commonsense solutions is clearly resonating with voters. Additionally, Mick has received many more donations from local small businesses and local manufacturers who recognize that he is the best choice to help them grow and create jobs.

But John Spratt’s campaign of lies and mudslinging is earning him support from one area: special interest groups. Indeed, Spratt is depending heavily on special interest groups and party bosses to fund his campaign. He received more than $300,000 from DC insiders this quarter alone!

This election won’t be decided by money, though, it will be decided by you. And now is the time for you to get involved. If you want to change Congress, then there is a checklist of things to do:

• Tell all of your friends and family to vote for Mick on November 2^nd,
• Send in a letter to the editors of all the papers in your area telling folks in your community why they should elect Mick,
• Forward this e-blast and previous e-blasts to your email list, and
• Finally, don’t take empty seats to the polls on November 2^nd. Fill your car, SUV, truck, or minivan with several people when you go to vote for Mick. This will be a close election and every single vote is crucial.

If each of you completes this checklist, we will change Congress and we will change the direction of this country by sending a proven conservative leader to Congress: MickMulvaney. There are only two weeks left. Please work hard over the next two weeks so that you can be better represented over the next two years.

Team Mulvaney