Senator Jim DeMint

President

(P.O. Box 97057, Washington, DC 20077-7315)

Solutions to Strengthen Our Future

April 1, 2014

Dear Sir:

Of all the false accusations against conservatives by liberals, the one that outrages me most is the claim that conservatives just criticize the President's policies and don't offer any solutions.

You hear that claim from liberals ranging from President Obama down to the lowliest MSNBC host.

For example, in a White House news conference on ObamaCare the President said: "They used to say, 'well, we're going to replace it with something better.' There's not even a pretense now that they're going to replace it with something better."

As a Heritage Member you know better than that. You know The Heritage Foundation provides solutions for America's problems to Congress all the time, including a solution to ObamaCare – and members of Congress frequently pick them up and run with them.

So the liberals' game is to block our conservative ideas, don't report on them in the media, and then complain that we don't have any solutions!

Their idea of a great solution for America's problems is to spend nearly a trillion dollars on a stimulus for "shovel-ready projects" and admit years later that there weren't any such projects. Or to push for special privileges for unions. Or to chop off the bottom rung of the ladder of economic mobility by raising the minimum wage.

Or, worse yet, to pass ObamaCare supposedly to help the millions of uninsured people – and in the process create millions more uninsured people at a far higher cost – and ruin the health care of millions more!

Mr . . . we're in a war for America, and the liberals are fighting it with lies, name-calling, and the most disastrous policies this country has ever seen.

I'm going to tell you how Heritage is fighting the war – powerfully, effectively, and in a way you can be proud of.

Far from what President Obama claimed, The Heritage Foundation and conservatives in Congress had health care solutions on the table before ObamaCare was even passed . . .

. . .as well as solutions for every single issue the liberals have managed to mess up!

This 2014 election-year project will drive the liberals crazy.

We've organized our answers to America's most pressing problems into a book, Solutions 2014.

It is a road map for what needs to be discussed this election year – packed with useful, readable information on the issues, including how to replace ObamaCare with patient-centered health care, stop bailouts and cronyism, transform the welfare system, put us on a path to a balanced budget, protect our Second Amendment and religious rights, and many more.

It's available not only to candidates and current members of Congress – but to all elected officials as well as the American people.

See your reply memorandum for how you can get a free copy of our summary booklet Solutions to Strengthen Our Future.

We're using the book to equip an army of candidates and members of Congress with the ammunition they need to fight for conservative principles and policies, and to shoot down liberal ones.

It will have a tremendous impact on what conservatives in Congress can achieve in the next few years – as well as on their confidence to stand up to liberal bullying.

The American people are hungry for alternatives to the ruinous Obama agenda?. And they want articulate candidates who can explain how liberal ideas have driven our country into a desperate state – destroying millions of jobs; adding tens of millions to the food stamp, unemployment, and disability rolls; bringing our influence and reputation in the world to its lowest level in our history.

And the people also seek redress – a reversal of the blatant violations of the Constitution that have led the government to attack conservative organizations through the IRS, close down entire industries through the EPA, pry into our personal lives through the NSA, and take over Congress's functions in a tyrannical way that is far worse than the actions that started the American Revolutionary war.

That is what we are giving every candidate and sitting member of Congress who wants our help – and believe me, there are many of them. And in addition to Solutions 2014, we give in-depth personal briefings, answer their questions, and polish up their talking points. And we give them additional Heritage resources, including access to all of our experts.

The impact of this project is enormous – and I speak from personal experience. At 47 years old, I was a businessman with four children, on the board of the Chamber of Commerce and United Way and countless other volunteer organizations. I had very little interest in politics.

Then a professor friend of mine began to pass along Backgrounder policy papers from Heritage, and I started reading them. I saw in these papers the ideas that related to my own life experiences. I knew Heritage's ideas would work, and they inspired me to want to make more of a difference and to change things in our country.

I was a marketing and strategic planning consultant for many companies, and I had seen that the power of ideas could change things. I thought if I went to Washington and took these right ideas, with a little salesmanship and persuasion we could get these politicians to just scoop them up and run with them. That's why I ran for Congress. (Boy, was I naïve!)

Heritage gave me all I wanted as a candidate both their publications and their personal time – to get myself a crash course in policy.

What I got was even more than lessons in policy. I learned constitutional principles, and something about the great conservative thinkers. I learned the talking points to express my ideas. I learned what arguments liberals might throw at me, and how to answer them.

And when I stood up for conservative ideas in the House and later in the Senate, I felt I was a part of something larger than myself, because I knew Heritage was in my corner.

I wasn't the only one. Every election year for many years Heritage has run what we call the Candidate Education Project. Many of the senators and representatives you admire most have been its beneficiaries. It was a tremendous resource for Tea Party candidates in 2010, and many have become close friends of Heritage and are warriors on the front lines of battle – like Senators Mike Lee, Rand Paul, and Ron Johnson.

All of us who were helped in this way owe a huge debt to Heritage.

So I'm determined now to give as many legislators and would-be legislators the same intensive level of training and encouragement that I myself received.

I'd like you to help me do that with your financial support.

Your help is urgently needed! Our country is in dire straits with our economy, national security, health care, and constitutional system of government all under attack. Our rights of free speech, freedom of religion, self-defense, privacy, and property are being fast eroded. We're in a war for America. More than ever before, the candidates who come to us for help understand the power of ideas – facts, principles, and policies – and that's what we arm them with.

Heritage has solutions for our problems. We know how America could once again be free and prosperous, secure at home, and safe from our enemies abroad. We know how important it is to restore our rights and freedoms, and to reduce the government to the proper size for a constitutional republic.

We are in a once-in-a-generation political moment – like the late 1970s. The American people are desperate – fed up and angry at the liberal policies that have brought us to the brink of destruction, and they are ready for a change.

We can't let this opportunity pass us by. We need our legislators to be sharp, well-informed, articulate, and courageous to overcome the intense opposition they face and stand up for the solutions we need.

Our Candidate Education Project has made a difference before. But the stakes have never been as high as they are this year! If we don't do everything we can now, I am terribly afraid for the future of our country.

Will you be a part of this far-reaching work . . .?

I'm asking you to give $15, $23, or even $30 so we can equip the conservative candidates to be a fighting force that can take America back.

This is the critical moment. I'm counting on you.

Sincerely

Jim DeMint

President

JWD/jkw

P. S. I'm very interested in which issues you consider most important for candidates and members of Congress to pay attention to. You represent American conservatives, at a more informed level than most, and I'd like you to fill out the enclosed Heritage Members' 2014 Issues Survey. Your responses will be of great help to me as we work with candidates and members of Congress this year. Mr. Rogers, please remember to include your $15, $23, or $30 contribution when you send back your survey. And thank you for everything you've done (THF, P.O. Box 97057, Washington, DC 20077-7315).

214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE • Washington, DC 20002 • (800) 546-2843 • myHeritage.org

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Washington Ruling Class

February 3, 2014

Dear Sir,

Why don't liberal elected officials do what's good for us and for America? Why do they keep imposing laws and rules on us that make us poorer, our lives more uncomfortable and insecure, and our ability to influence our government suppressed? Here's why:

Increasingly those at the top in Washington act like a Ruling Class.

They're not the representatives of the people the framers of the Constitution intended, but a permanent class with its own standards of what is right and wrong, who is bad and who is good, who is to blame, who is to benefit, and most of all, who is to make all these decisions.

As a Heritage Member, you're most likely not in the Ruling Class. Here's a test:

1) Do you believe you deserve special treatment that other Americans are not entitled to?

2) Would you like to command what kind of cars, fuel, light bulbs, appliances, and other items Americans should be allowed to buy?

3) Do you think we should give up the idea of self-governance that has been the hallmark of America?

If you answered "no" to these, that's just what I would expect from a Heritage supporter. But these days many people in power in Washington, especially liberals, would answer "yes" to every question. They believe they're so superior that they're due special treatment. Even worse – they believe they know best how others should live their lives. And worse yet is how out of touch they are with the rest of America, and the contempt in which they hold other Americans.

This cannot stand!

If you're upset by this state of our nation, know that we at The Heritage Foundation share your feelings and are fighting back. This is not what America is supposed to be. We elect people to represent us, not to rule us. We've always been a land of opportunity and we expect to get ahead by our own efforts, not by special privileges from the government.

Our founding fathers all worked for a living. They were farmers and merchants, doctors and lawyers, and pursued a variety of other occupations. Those who served in the federal government returned to their life's work when they were finished. They didn't become lobbyists or contractors taking advantage of their connections or try to hold on to power forever.

That's how we want public service to be. Ending the permanent Ruling Class with its cronyism and favoritism and restoring opportunity for all who are willing to work are the real paths to hope and change for the American people.

That's what heritage is working toward, and as the most influential conservative organization in Washington, we are leading the way in the fight. In a minute, I'll tell you more about what we're doing – and why I need you to help us with your financial support. First, let me give you some examples to show just what we're fighting against.

Special treatment

ObamaCare has turned out to be wildly expensive. Many families lost their insurance plans and the new ones offered by the ObamaCare exchanges are sometimes thousands of dollars more a year than the old ones. Lower-income people get a subsidy to help . . . and so do members of Congress and their staffs! But not middle-class Americans.

The subsidies were ordered personally by the President, who has no constitutional authority to do such a thing. He simply took that power for himself.

There's nothing in the Constitution to prevent him from flying off with his family on countless multimillion-dollar vacations. But it's unseemly at a time when millions are out of work and struggling to get by. The President even took a vacation during last fall's government shutdown, after he ordered national parks and monuments closed to the public, including World War II veterans who had come to Washington to see their memorial.

Knowing what's best for you

The Ruling Class forced ObamaCare through because they were convinced that you couldn't make your own health care decisions as well as they could. They believed their wisdom and foresight were far greater than yours and that of the free market. The consequences of their arrogance are only beginning to be seen – there has never been such a disastrous law in all our history.

Their know-it-all attitude extends from great matters to small – from the ethanol mandate that tells us what kind of fuel we must use to the law banning the inexpensive, safe, traditional light bulbs that we've used all our lives.

Out of touch and filled with contempt

For a perfect illustration of just how out of touch the Washington Ruling Class is from the rest of us, think back to Barack Obama's first presidential campaign in 2008, when he described his impression of small-town people who were different from him:

"It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment . . . as a way to explain their frustrations."

That pretty well telegraphs the liberal agenda: attacking our Second Amendment rights and our religious rights while trying to cram amnesty for illegal immigrants down our throats, all with the greatest contempt for those who oppose their agenda.

But as maddening as this and other signs of privilege and contempt of middle America are, the disconnect between Washington and the American people goes far deeper.

Backscratching and lining pockets

The government in Washington has control over so much money that it's no surprise to learn how wealthy those with access can become.

Out of the 10 U.S. counties with the highest incomes, seven are in the Washington area! And while incomes in the rest of the country have been stagnant, in Washington D.C., the median income has gone up about $10,000 in the last five years.

Private enterprise, risk-taking, entrepreneurship, and ingenuity are no longer the best paths to wealth. Now it's knowing how to play the Washington insiders' game.

No wonder so many Americans despise and distrust our rulers in the nation's capital!

And there's much more to despise. There's long been an unhealthy relationship between favor-seeking businesses and the government. But under the Obama administration, this has become a dense and sometimes hidden web of subsidies, grants, tax breaks, and waivers for favored companies, unions, organizations, and individuals.

Do you remember the GM and Chrysler bailouts in 2009? These were actually bailouts of the United Auto Workers union, giving them billions of dollars of auto company stock and preserving their members' high pay and benefits.

Meanwhile ordinary citizens whose money was invested in auto company bonds got pennies on the dollar. Who was the Ruling Class favorite? The union, of course.

And you're probably well aware of solar companies like Solyndra, which swallowed up billions in government money and then went bankrupt. Many of the company officials were friends and donors of politicians. You can bet they didn't suffer personally!

Large payments to undeserving beneficiaries are too numerous to count. And the lobbyists who know how to help those special interests obtain their government favors are well compensated by their Ruling Class bosses.

And you, the patriotic citizen, the taxpayer, the bedrock of our nation, are left more powerless, less free, and wondering what happened to the America you knew and loved.

Clearly, it's not every member of Congress or every lobbyist who is corrupt - not at all. There are talented and honorable lobbyists working on legitimate causes like repealing ObamaCare, cutting spending, and protecting our rights to free speech, freedom of religion, and self-defense on behalf of Americans like you and me. And there are many legislators who do not abuse their power and who consistently vote in America's interest. Sometimes that takes courage – as when Sen. Ted Cruz incurred the anger of the Ruling Class for trying to get ObamaCare defunded with his 21-hour speech on the Senate floor last September.

I worked with many of these honorable lawmakers during my 14 years in Congress, and at Heritage we work with them every day for our common goal – the good of our country.

But there are also those legislators who think they deserve special extras . . . like employing family members at high salaries . . . buying portraits of themselves . . . flying to luxury destinations around the world under the pretext of fact-finding . . . and countless other ways of looking out for themselves instead of the Americans they represent.

A real emergency – we've got to act!

This kind of systemic corruption can't go on. You and I know that America has reached a tipping point. We need Congress to focus on real solutions, not their own wealth and power! We need leaders who put America's interests first. Look what the government has caused:

· Our shrinking workforce has fewer Americans employed than at any point in the past 30 years. Jobs are disappearing or becoming part-time. Millions of young people wonder if they will ever have a career, and millions of long-term unemployed men and women despair of ever holding a job again.

· Government spending has skyrocketed. Our debt is now more than $17 trillion. That amounts to nearly $55,000 of debt for every man, woman, and child in the nation.

· ObamaCare has put America on a short-cut to destruction. I don't have to tell you how disastrous this law is to our national economy, our personal finances, and our very health and well-being. We're seeing the results play out like a horror movie every day.

· Yet in the face of these enormous problems, the federal government is incompetent, even lawless. The President issues unconstitutional commands, his bureaucracies like the IRS and the EPA run roughshod over our rights and freedoms, and Congress lacks the leadership and the gumption to reclaim its rightful role and tackle our problems.

The Heritage Foundation is fighting for the American people

If you're like the majority of Americans, you don't trust the government in Washington one bit. You can see that our problems have been building for a long time, and both Republicans and Democrats have contributed to the mess we're in. Many citizens feel politically homeless, with no representation in Washington.

That's why so many Americans joined Tea Party groups. Finally there was a way to express the frustration with the government and the political parties on the critically important issues that nobody was dealing with.

The Washington Ruling Class panicked at the idea that citizens would organize in this way, without direction from the top. Elites of both parties did everything in their power to discredit the Tea Party and anyone else who fought for smaller, more limited government.

No wonder they did! Think what limited government would do to the financial prospects of those whose fortunes depend on milking the taxpayers on behalf of special interests.

But The Heritage Foundation is delighted that citizens are taking self-government seriously. We're an independent policy organization, not connected to any political party or special interest. We want to discredit the destructive liberal ideas that are putting us on the road to ruin – beginning with ObamaCare and going on to big spending, high taxes, outrageous regulations and laws . . . contempt for the Constitution, cronyism, political correctness, apologizing for America . . . and the rest.

For example, our health policy experts studied every page of the ObamaCare bill and came up with a detailed critique. We predicted the disaster we now see unfolding before our eyes. At the same time other Heritage experts analyzed its constitutional problems such as its attack on religious liberty.

But we don't just criticize and analyze; we also develop solutions. Our detailed plan, The Conservative Alternative to Obama Care, is making big waves with its practical and principled recommendations that would put Americans in charge of their health care with a minimum of government interference.

We publish top-notch research reports and put out op-eds and blog posts, TV interviews, and videos. We testify in front of Congress. And we are working closely with our conservative allies in Congress and in state legislatures to discredit liberal ideas and push conservative ones as far as possible. In the coming year that could be very far indeed.

We have strong connections to the American people, including Tea Party and other groups, state legislators, and governors. And we have a big communications project using our creative young staffers and our seasoned communicators to come up with messages that bring our ideas to people in a way that resonates with them and makes them think. We're using humor, videos, talk radio, social media, and much else – even a billboard in Times Square.

We have a tremendous opportunity to take America back

Many Americans are sick of living under this kind of arrogant, self-serving government that is so disconnected from them, yet so intrusive in every part of their lives.

They are looking for better solutions to America's problems – and Heritage can show them the paths to good health care, economic growth and new jobs, prosperity, and greater control over our lives.

We must take advantage of this opportunity. Heritage is your representative in Washington, and I'm grateful to have you as a Member standing with us in our fight.

Your participation is crucial in the fight to take America back from the Ruling Class.

That's because you can't be corrupted. Countless sincere Americans over the years have gone to Washington as elected officials – and in a few years have become part of the corrupt system. The prestige, the money, the power . . . it's too much for many to resist.

Citizens like you are the heart of our fight. It's people like you who saw three years ago that ObamaCare was a danger to our freedom as well as our pocketbooks . . . who blew the whistle on the Obama agenda – the outrageous spending and debt, the cronyism that enriched the friends of the Ruling Class while impoverishing the rest of the country.

That is why it's so important for you to take part in our battle for America with your gift of $15, $30, or more.

I am grateful for every dollar you give, because I know it comes front your heart and you are sacrificing to support the principles and ideas you believe in.

If your gift is $100 or more I'll sign you up for our Patriot's Club. You'll receive the best-selling book We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future by Matthew Spalding, and other benefits you can check out on your reply memo.

The Heritage Foundation is not like the liberal organizations that are funded by government grants, leftist foundations, unions, and radical billionaires like George Soros. We rely on you for our support, and we're grateful for the financial sacrifice you have made.

As a Member you are playing a crucial role in fixing what's wrong with America . . .

I want to send a powerful message that the American people want real conservative change, not watered down by Washington elites. Every new member adds to the force of that message – and I hope you'll add your voice. Thanks in advance for your help and thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything that you've already done for Heritage and for America.

Sincerely

Sen. Jim DeMint

President

JWD/jkw

[Please request for "Members' Survey on the Washington Ruling Class" (THF, P.O. Box 97057, Washington, DC 20077-7315)!]

214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE • Washington, DC 20002 • (800) 546-2843 • myHeritage.org

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TAX INCREASE IMPACT

Dear Sir,

[Requested] Enclosed is a confidential survey to determine your concerns about the impact on... area taxpayers of proposed tax increases on families, businesses and senior citizens, and the effect such increases may have on your tax bill. For example:

· President Barack Obama's latest budget calls for $1 trillion in higher taxes — and liberals in Congress are also pushing for almost $1 trillion in tax hikes. Do you think NEW tax increases are a good idea?

· Liberals in Washington have supported plans to hit taxpayers in Louisiana with an average tax increase of $2,253... and now, the liberals' NEW calls for trillion-dollar tax hikes could hit people hard in the... [your] area. Are you concerned by the impact of huge tax increases in Louisiana?

· President Obama has increased the Death Tax on grieving families — and now he wants to push it even higher, despite the fact that the Death Tax discourages investment and savings, undermines job creation and hurts family businesses. Do you support the Death Tax?

...during my years in the U.S. House and Senate, I always turned to The Heritage Foundation for unbiased analysis showing how tax relief helps taxpayers and our economy. And I've always trusted Heritage to fight off the liberals' tax hikes by proving that higher taxes hurt businesses and families in Louisiana and everywhere. I'm honored to lead this fight as the president of The Heritage Foundation — and I'm sending you this Survey to make sure you are fully informed on the liberals' endless demands for higher taxes.

YOUR INDIVIDUAL ANSWERS WILL BE KEPT STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. So please answer and return this important Tax Increase Impact Survey within the next 72 hours. And please include with it a tax-deductible contribution of $20, $35, $100, $250, or more if possible, to help The Heritage Foundation lead the charge against efforts to raise YOUR taxes.

With your gift of at least $35, you will receive a personal copy of Saving the American Dream: Highlights from The Heritage Plan. This overview of Heritage's bold fiscal reform plan will help you further increase your knowledge of the best ways to restore U.S. economic security without raising taxes. Designed to guide and inspire the work of conservatives in Congress, Saving the American Dream features data being used by lawmakers and conservative commentators who are leading the charge against tax increases.

The ongoing crusade by President Obama and liberals in Congress to raise YOUR taxes is a top priority for The Heritage Foundation.

Through our renowned Center for Data Analysis, Heritage is able to analyze every important tax proposal and provide elected officials, the media and taxpayers with an objective look at the real impact of proposed policies — NOT the political spin or media bias. This is important: Heritage research shows that tax increases hurt ALL taxpayers — from seniors who have worked hard all their lives to young Americans just starting their careers and businesses.

But despite this devastating impact, the liberals in Congress are still determined to impose higher taxes — and they've even cast supporters of tax relief as un-American. Powerful liberals in Congress have claimed that tax relief "does great damage to our country," and that tax cuts are "fiscally reckless" and "morally irresponsible."

With this debate raging fast and furious and with so much at stake for you — your Impact Survey reply today is critically important. If we let the liberals "spread the wealth around" with their tax-and-spend agenda, YOU will pay the price. Here's how:

Overall Tax Increases – President Obama is calling for $1 trillion in higher taxes. Senate liberals also want a $1 trillion tax hike.

ObamaCare – it's packed with tax increases, at a cost to taxpayers of more than $1 TRILLION over the next 10 years.

Energy Taxes – Left-wing interest groups support tax hikes that according to Heritage research would raise electricity rates 90 percent, increase gas prices by 58 percent and raise an average family's annual energy bill by $1,241.

Clearly the stakes are higher than ever, and the debate over taxes is – as usual – tainted by political partisanship. But there is good news: Principled conservatives in Congress share Heritage's concern over the liberals' tax agenda – and using Heritage research, they are standing firm against higher taxes. And The Heritage Foundation is hard at work evaluating tax proposals and reporting objective data – not the political spin or media bias – so Americans and our elected leaders will know the real impact of tax policies up for debate in Congress.

Your input today is critical to gauging public awareness of tax policies now being debated, and determining grassroots opinion on tax increases being proposed by the liberals in Washington that will affect YOU for better or worse...

Thanks to the support of hundreds of thousands of Americans like you, Heritage is the nation's most respected public policy foundation. We will use the results of this survey to inform newspapers, key news programs and talk shows, and most importantly, lawmakers on Capitol Hill of the grassroots opinions of taxpayers like you. In short, we will expose the details and costs of proposed tax increases and force lawmakers to be honest and open about the true impact if they refuse to put a stop to the liberals' plans for higher-and-higher taxes.

So please [request for and] complete your Survey and return it to Heritage right away along with a tax-deductible contribution. Fighting tax increases that cost you money will be one of my top priorities as president of The Heritage Foundation. I'm counting on your support.

The Heritage Foundation is non-profit and non-partisan. We have a proven record of protecting the interests of taxpayers like you. By giving people the facts and energizing support for lower taxes and less spending, Heritage has shown the power of individual taxpayers to have a huge impact on policy debates taking place in Congress.

With so much at stake in the debate over your tax bill — and with the liberals in Congress pushing harder than ever for higher taxes — there is no time to delay. Please respond with your Survey and contribution... Thank you.

Sincerely,

Senator Jim DeMint

President

[Please request for "Tax Increase Impact Survey" (THF, P.O. Box 97057, Washington, DC 20077-7315)!]

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By the Numbers: The Impact of Tax Increases

$5.3 Trillion: The new deficit spending imposed by the Obama budget over the next 10 years. The President makes no effort to balance the federal budget.

$1 Trillion: The tax increase being pushed by President Barack Obama in his latest budget proposal.

$1 Trillion: The tax increase being pushed by liberals in Congress who claim to support "fiscal responsibility." Such a massive tax hike is the most irresponsible policy that Congress could impose.

1.5 Million: The number of jobs destroyed by the Death Tax.

$1 Trillion: The cost of ObamaCare tax increases over the next ten years.

$1 Trillion: The federal budget deficit for 2012, fueled by out-of-control spending that wastes the taxpayers' money. This was the fourth straight year of $1 trillion deficits – and the liberals want to raise taxes to spend even more of our tax dollars.

$16 Trillion: The federal debt that will only grow larger as Congress and the Obama Administration hurt the economy by raising taxes and pushing unsustainable spending.

$113,000: Your share of the federal debt as a U.S. taxpayer.

10: The number of questions on your Tax Increase Impact Survey. By completing your Survey and returning it to The Heritage Foundation today, you can help Heritage and our Center for Data Analysis expose the devastating impact of tax increases AND educate elected officials on the need for continued tax relief. So please [request for and] send your -completed-Survey and-your-support-to:

The Heritage Foundation

214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE

Washington, DC 20002

(800) 546-2843

myHeritage.org

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[Dis- Mis-] Trust in Government

Dear Fellow American:

Do you feel as if the federal government is at war with conservatives? Look at the double standards you face:

· If you've been open about your conservative beliefs, you may have been a target of the IRS. You may have been singled out for an audit – as The Heritage Foundation and many other conservative organizations have been over the years. If you're well known, your tax information may even have been leaked to liberal groups or the media.

Meanwhile, at least 41 Obama administration officials – including former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis – were shown to owe a total of $831,000 in back taxes. IRS officials who have recently admitted wrongdoing have been promoted and received bonuses.

· If you own a gun, you have been endlessly demonized in the media and by scores of liberal politicians. You've been blamed for causing an atmosphere of violence that causes mass murders. You've been called a bitter clinger by the president.

Meanwhile, under Attorney General Eric Holder the Department of Justice ran Operation Fast and Furious, in which some 2,000 guns were sold illegally to Mexican drug lords. At least 200 Mexicans and an American border agent were killed by these guns. The operation was covered up and lied about for years.

· If you own a business, you might be damaged by any number of government actions – forced to downsize because of the crushing financial burdens mandated by ObamaCare . . . raided by dozens of heavily armed federal agents because you were suspected of violating an ambiguous law . . . or shut down by EPA regulations whose benefits have not been proven.

Meanwhile, if you have the right friends and make the right donations, you can be showered with tens of millions of government dollars to build a solar plant that never produces a single job or even opens its doors.

I'm Jim DeMint, President of The Heritage Foundation, America's leading conservative organization. I'm writing to you because I believe you are far more politically aware than most Americans. You understand what's going on in our country and you can put facts together to reach conclusions.

I'd like you to tell me what yj think about the federal government and its relationship to you as a citizen. So I'm asking you to fill out the Trust in Government survey I've enclosed.

And when you do, I hope you will send a contribution to support Heritage's efforts to combat government intrusion in our lives, because I've never seen anything like the current level of mistrust and fear of the federal government.

The revelations of illegal activity and targeting groups of Americans have shocked even some of the cynical media.

Between the IRS audits targeted against conservatives . . . lying to Congress and the American people about the ambassador's death in Benghazi . . . spying on private citizens . . . illegitimate executive orders giving amnesty to young people . . . and much more . . .

. . . many believe (as I do) that the Obama administration is waging war on conservative Americans and on the Constitution itself.

Millions of citizens now see the government as working against them, not for them. This is disastrous! Americans have always been bound together by our respect for our institutions such as the Constitution, the armed forces, law enforcement, education, and much more.

Now we fear many of our institutions or hold them in contempt. And most of the blame lies with liberals who have dismissed the Constitution as irrelevant and turned the government into a bloated and destructive body that enriches some while oppressing and impoverishing others.

They have used education to indoctrinate our children and enrich teachers' unions, suppressed religious expression in favor of a militant secularism, weakened the military through political correctness, and taken hundreds of other steps to destroy the America we've known and loved.

Under the Obama administration, for the first time we are faced with a ruling class that openly acknowledges its goal is the transformation of America. And it's all in the direction of bigger and more powerful government . . . more arbitrary and intrusive than anything we could have dreamed of just a few years ago.

What can we do about it?

The only solution is a much smaller government, one that is limited to the functions named in the Constitution. One with just enough employees to do these specified jobs. One that costs vastly less money.

I want you to know that The Heritage Foundation is working hard every day, forming alliances with Tea Party conservatives in Congress and conservative officials in the states to fight the liberal agenda and build a bulwark against government tyranny.

Here are just some of the programs and projects where Heritage, with your support, can make a difference right now:

ObamaCare. When this terrible law goes fully into effect, countless new bureaucracies will have unprecedented control over our very life and death. Yet Congress has arrogantly exempted itself1. Our goal is to repeal it and until that is possible to defund it. We're reaching the public, members of Congress, and state legislators about the law's threats to our freedom, our well-being, our pocketbooks, and our jobs – and on how urgent it is to get rid of this monstrous law and replace it with patient-based, not government-based, health care.

The power of the states. The federal government has taken over powers that were not given to it in our federal system. We're working with governors and other officials to show states how they can take the initiative in fighting the grip of federal bureaucracies and reclaiming their rightful constitutional powers – through the courts and by their own legislative actions.

Too many laws and regulations. In a traditional legal system, crimes are well-defined, obvious, and few – such as murder, rape, and arson. But now, Congress has created 4.500 criminal laws. Even worse; the bureaucracies have created 300,000 criminal regulations with the force of law! Many Americans have become criminals without knowing it – but have incurred huge fines and even gone to jail. You may have broken one of these laws yourself! We've helped make Congress aware of the problem and we're giving them concrete steps they can take today.

Our freedoms and our conservative values are truly under attack, and defending them is our top priority. Heritage is having a tremendous impact in all these areas and many more such as gun rights, right to work, and freeing up our energy resources. This is all thanks to our members who have made these things possible.

I need your help

I need you to be a part of this effort to fight the massive government assault on the conservative beliefs we hold dear. When you join The Heritage Foundation with your financial contribution, you will become part of a strong organization that can change America's course.

With our need to fight back against the government's constant assaults on Americans' freedom, jobs, well-being, and sense of justice, our budget is stretched to the limit.

I'm asking you to give generously to help Heritage carry out our fight. We need to raise $300,000 in the next three weeks, and I am counting on you to help.

We conservatives have a real opportunity right now. Many Americans are stunned and horrified by what they have learned about the Obama administration – the Department of Justice, the IRS, the intelligence agencies, and much more.

Even people who voted for Barack Obama are now looking at his hard core commitment to the leftist agenda, which turns out to mean a big loss of freedom and a government that is thoroughly untrustworthy.

This could be our time. A time for conservatives to capture hearts and minds that are more open to us because of the corruption and misdeeds of the Obama administration and other liberals in government and public life.

But it depends on you. You've seen how the IRS illegally obstructed Tea Party and other conservative organizations, to the point that they couldn't carry out their work. We can only guess how different the political situation might be today if they had been able to mobilize millions more Americans in the cause of freedom.

Now it's up to The Heritage Foundation to make up for this outrageous miscarriage of justice. Millions of Americans hold conservative views and principles. They need a voice – and we have a responsibility to represent them.

Becky Gerritson is an Alabama woman whose Tea Party group was harassed by the IRS. She came to Washington to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee at their hearing on the IRS's actions. Here is part of her inspiring statement:

"I am not here as a serf or vassal. I am not begging my lords for mercy. I'm a born free American woman, wife, mother, and citizen. And I'm telling my government that you've forgotten your place . . . Your post, the post that you occupy, exists to preserve American liberty. You've sworn to perform that duty. And you have faltered."

She speaks for many of us. But I'm sorry to say there is no political party dedicated to coming to her rescue by protecting and restoring our freedoms. That is why I resigned my Senate seat and came to lead The Heritage Foundation. We are the organization that is fighting for your freedom every day.

And that's why I'm asking for your contribution. A gift to The Heritage Foundation is the most effective action you can take right now.

Please send $50, $100, $250, $1,000, or whatever you can . . .

Heritage must have the resources to carry out our ambitious agenda. We're the organization that can do it – but only with your support.

Thanks in advance for your help and thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything that you've already done, for Heritage and for America.

Sincerely,

Sen. Jim DeMint

President

JWD/jkw

P.S. Please [request for and] fill out your Trust in Government Survey right away. I am eager to know what you think about the questions I have for you.

And please help The Heritage Foundation fight for our freedom with your generous contribution – that will give you membership in Heritage. I'm counting on your support (THF, P.O. Box 97057, Washington, DC 20077-7315).

214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE • Washington, DC 20002 • (800) 546-2843 • myHeritage.org

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(Sample Survey)

TRUST IN GOVERNMENT SURVEY

1. Do you feel as if the federal government is at war with conservatives?

yes □ no □ unsure □

2. Do you think laws and regulations are applied equally to every American?

yes □ no □ unsure □

3. Is it reasonable to fear some of our government agencies, such as the IRS arid the EPA?

yes □ no □ unsure □

4. Do you think the Obama administration is subverting the Constitution? ?

yes □ no □ unsure □