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OTTAWA La Salle County TEA Party invited two candidates challenging Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-Channahon) to speak Tuesday at the groups monthly meeting.

Democrat Nathan Arroyave from Rockford and Republican Jason Haskell of Peru introduced themselves to the group and then took questions from the audience. Arroyave is one of three Democrats vying for their partys nomination while Haskell is currently the only candidate challenging Kinzinger in the March primary.

Arroyave: I believe that it should be legal and the reason why it should be legal, for me we have bigger battles to fight. We have to make sure we live in a prosperous America, and battling about who can marry whom, we have bigger battles to fight. The biggest reason is theres a moral issue, theres a religious issue and I want to have more of a conversation about it.

Haskell: This is 2017. Its more and more socially acceptable. Ive got several homosexual friends that are outstanding members of the community, that are making a difference, theyre employing people and if they dont have the right to get married, like I said, its 2017. Its more and more acceptable and Im all for it. No one should be discriminated on their sexual orientation. Thats how I feel.

Haskell: I believe that life begins at conception. I also believe that the government doesnt have the right to tell a woman what she can and cant do with her body. Now, in the event, controversial, in the event of sexual assault, it should not be that the victim, if the victim is impregnated by a sexual assault, why should she have to carry the burden of that constant reminder of her attack? She should have the option to choose whether or not she wants to keep that baby. That is her choice.

Arroyave: I strongly support a womans decision to choose on what she can do with her body. Can we help counsel, pray and counsel? Yes. Thats what we can do But I do strongly strongly believe that a female has the right to do with her own healthcare and her own decisions on her body.

Arroyave: If we can get big money out of politics, Im all for it. The reason why thats why: lobbyists do not have term limits Were all aware that Adam (Kinzinger) takes big money but those lobbyists dont have term limits, right? Its their job. So if we could have a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United or we could get back to grassroots funding, yes. But until that happens, lobbyists dont have them. They dont have term limits (Lobbyists) are just going to pay the next person.

Haskell: I absolutely agree with term limits, but theres gotta be some sort of exception to it. If you have somebody that is doing a stand-out job, listening to the people, actually making change, why would you want to limit that person in office? If the approval rating from the voters is showing this person is making a difference, I absolutely agree with term limits Congressmen serve two-year terms, I can see a 20-year span, 10 terms for congressmen. Six years for a senator I can see three or four terms for a senator.

Arroyave: I think we should have automatic registration. There are corruptions, but its very, very minimal You go apply for your drivers license, you have the opportunity to register Most people when you get the drivers license you have to have documentation.

Haskell: I believe that we have our voter ID card and a photo ID to prove who we are When there are more votes tallied than there are voters, thats a problem.

Haskell: I love guns. I love guns There is too much violence against our police officers these days. We have gun legislation right now, what good is it doing in Chicago? How many illegal guns are killing people on a weekly basis? We have to protect our servicemen.

Arroyave: Ive been a FOID card member since I was 18. Ive shot AR-15s, Ive shot long rifles Our gun issue in this country, in my opinion, is not if it has a 30 mag, if its 10 or if its 15. If its a .352, a 9 mil, or a .45. Its how guns come from the legal market to the illegal market. That is the issue. Im not going to challenge or take your guns away because Im taking my own away. Im not taking your AR-15 away because Im taking my friends away. What I want to do is make sure guns and rightful gun owners have that right That is going to have to take some slack from the right side and from the left.

Kevin Solari can be reached at (815) 220-6931 or countyreporter@newstrib.com. Follow him on Twitter @NT_County.

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Congress hopefuls address La Salle County TEA Party - LaSalle News Tribune

Carrollton Tea Party Board members came together last Tuesday to recognize and support Carroltons police department. The members distributed different types of snacks, watermelon, Gatorade, water and goodie baskets to help the officers get through their shifts.

Its just our way to thank them, said Camille Johnson, President of the Carrollton Tea Party. What they do for us, protecting us and risking their lives. We pray for them daily. We just wanted to show our appreciation for them.

Local grocery stores like Sprouts donated the watermelon. Johnson said the Tea Party would have not been able to distribute an adequate amount of goods without their help.

Last Monday the members also visited city hall and distributed goods to staff. Last month the members gifted the fire department with watermelon and treats.

The Carrollton Tea Party is active in the communitys political affairs. They encourage citizens to vote and be active in the political system as well as educate the community of the Partys core values. Johnson said the Tea Party recently has desired to do more outreach in addition to its other

This year we wanna do some community outreach, Johnson said.

Last year the Tea Party was involved with Back the Blue. The members, pastors, officers and other community members came together to pray for officers who lost their lives in shootings across the country.

Johnson said the Tea Party doesnt want to support officers or fireman just on special occasions like the holidays. She said they want to do it when no one is thinking about them.

The members also plan to do something special for the K9s who work with the police officers. Johnson said they didnt give them anything this time because they want to make sure they give them treats compatible with their diet.

The Tea Party wants to continue its efforts and support. They will be making plans to do at least two to three outreaches a year. They ask for the communitys and members support.

People need to know whats going on and they need to pray for them, said Johnson. People need to back them up.

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President Donald Trump spent about 87 minutes on the ground in Yuma before taking off for his rally in downtown Phoenix on Aug. 22, 2017.(Photo: Rafael Carranza/The Republic)

Just days after non-interventionist Steve Bannon was ousted asWhite House adviser, it looks like we're about to let loose with some intervention. But along with a troop surge in Afghanistan, are we about to get another push for the Great Trump Wall? Let's get to it in your Tuesday edition of OnPolitics Today.

President Trump unveiled his "path forward" in Afghanistan in a nationally televised speech Monday night before a military audience at Fort Myer, Virginia. USA TODAY

When he was a citizen,Donald Trump spoke out against America's military presence in Afghanistan.But now that he's in charge of the aforementioned military presence, it looks like we're gonna ramp things up.

"My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like following my instincts, but all my life I've heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office," he said Monday night in a speech at Fort Myer, Virginia. Trump said bailing out of Afghanistan altogether would create a power vacuum like the one that fostered the rise of ISIS.

The speech was light on details, and that wasby design, Trump said. "I will not say when we are going to attack, but attack we will, he said.

Trump wouldn't be the first guy to stick out a lousy situation, even if it goesagainst every instinct he has. Sure, you could blame it on someone who sat in your chair before you did, but they're long gone, man.

Prior to his Tuesday night rally in Phoenix, Trump visitedthe U.S.-Mexico border for the first time since taking office. In Yuma, he'll seea predator drone, Border Patrol river patrol boat, andsurveillance truck -- but no "great, great wall."

The issue, as it has been for months, is funding. Mexico says they're not paying, the U.S. Senate has yet to pass anything, and none of the other 193 countries on earth have offered to foot the bill either.

The trip likely won't be a complete disappointment for Trump, however. The topography of the border in many areas will make wall construction difficult, but the area around Yuma already has 62 miles of fencing built. Customs and Border Patrol officials said Yuma is a"good example" of "securing the border through a wall."

Now it's just a matter of finding $70 billion ...

(Photo: Isaac Brekken, AP)

Democrats have a plan to take back the House of Representatives in 2018: Copy the GOP's 2010 playbook. Party leaders hope to kick-start a Tea Party-style grassroots effort by recruiting several new-to-politics candidates to run in so-called Obama-Trump districts -- the ones President Trump flipped red in 2016.

We are now at a critical turning point in the story of our country, said Brendan Kelly, a first-time candidate from Illinois. The outcome will be determined by people who are willing to step forward and show a little courage.

Democrats need to win 24 seats to retake the majority in the 435-seat House, and 23 of theseats in Republican hands are in districts that Hillary Clinton won last November. Manufacturers of silly hats are cautiously optimistic.

Louise Linton, the wife of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, tried really, really hard to channel bothAyn Rand and Mr. Rogers on Instagram yesterday, letting a critic know that they could be friends even though Louise is a maker and her critic is a taker. The social media response was swift and brutal.

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Trump visits Wall-y World; Dems try the Tea Party approach: OnPolitics Today - USA TODAY

Brendan Kelly, a Democrat, is running for Congress in Illinois.(Photo: Sam Barrett)

MURPHYSBORO, Ill. If there is a Democratic wave election in 2018, the tide will probably bring in individuals like Brendan Kelly, a state'sattorney in St. Clair County and former Navy officer whos never run for state legislature or Congress.

For Democrats like 41-year-old Kelly a clean-cut Irishman and University of Notre Dame alum whos prosecuted corruption on both sides of the aisle and sat on the school board entering national politics is no longer distasteful. Its necessary.

The things that have made us unique and special in history the institutions of democracy and rule of law are threatened in a way they probably havent been in our lifetime, Kelly told USA TODAY during a recent 90-minute car ride through his southwestern Illinois district with vast rural pockets.

While Kellys desire to run has gathered for four years, We are now at a critical turning point in the story of our country, said Kelly. The outcome will be determined by people who are willing to step forward and show a little courage, he said.

Much like the Republican men and women who swept into Washington in the 2010 Tea Party wave, the majority of Democratic candidates are new to state-level or national politics. Unlike the Tea Party, many of these Democrats have a long record of public service. Theyare former public prosecutors, doctors, CIA operatives and veterans, and they are concentrated in heartland states like Kansas, Iowa, Indiana and Minnesota.

Even as the Democratic Party is being far out raised at the national level by the Republican National Committee, Democrats hope top tier recruits like Kelly will give them a shot at contesting so-called Obama-Trump districts to win back the House. The Democratic primary is next March.

After supporting Obama by four points in 2012, residents in this working-class district bordering the Mississippi River to the west backed Trump by 12 points even as they elected a Democratic senator, Tammy Duckworth, by nine points. Republican Mike Bost has held the seat since 2014. When Kelly entered the race last month, several of the nations top political handicappers moved the race to competitive for Democrats. Bost's campaign office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the summer of an off-year election, a number of candidates similar to Kelly in Trump districts have already decided to run.

Others include MichiganSixth District's Matt Longjohn, who recently stepped down from his role as the first national physician executive in the YMCAs 170-year history and is challenging incumbent Republican Fred Upton. Elissa Slotkin is a former CIA official and acting assistant secretary of Defense who lives on a cattle farm in Holly, Mich., and whose grandfather invented the famous Ballpark Frank first sold at Tiger Stadium. She is challenging Mike Bishop.

These are what the Democratic Partys version of outsiders look like in 2017.

The Democratic Party wants individuals who cant be tarred as career politicians or party insiders. Kelly was more than willing to find fault with both parties. He criticized the presidents handling of the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville and condemned some Tea Party members as bordering on anarchy, while declining to commit to supporting Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., continuing as party leader.

Kelly and other challengers have so far avoided saying they will vote for Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California as speaker if Democrats retake the House next year.(Photo: Cliff Owen, AP)

The party has lost its way in terms of acting on the economic concerns of people who, traditionally, the Democratic Party has fought for, he said. Whats more, the nations campaign finance system is forcing candidates of both parties to bow to the same big industry donors they are supposed to be policing, said Kelly.

Democrats need 24 seats to retake the House, and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won 23 of them. Even so, theres no way Democrats will win them all, because a number are occupied by popular incumbents.

That means they also need to win more than a handful of Trump House districts.

There have been a number of Democratic candidates throwing their hats in after declining to do so during the Obama years, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan newsletter at the University of Virginia. What Democrats are looking for are people who are not easily identified with the national Democratic brand, he said.

Like many days this week, after finishing his day job, Kelly fired up a white Chevy Town and Country minivan, which his sons nicknamed Beyonce, and drove himself a couple hundred miles through corn fields and small towns to events including a round table on opioid abuse and a barbeque. Several times, his cell phone blinked with potential donors and other supporters returning calls.

If he got to Congress, he would make a signature issue a constitutional amendment overturning the Citizens United Supreme Court decision finding political spending is protected speech under the First Amendment, in addition to pushing for tougher enforcement of trade agreements and a major infrastructure spending plan.

Citizens United is probably the worst decision made by the modern Supreme Court, he said. Its tearing our country apart. Everywhere I go people have a visceral and enthusiastic response to that message, he said.

The delicate challenge Kelly faces in running in a Trump district was on display.

Pressed several times on Trumps missteps, he put the emphasis on Congress, including its role in the opioid epidemic. In June, Kelly called Trump a "blowhard" in a meet-and-greet with Democrats. In addition to highlighting his ties to law enforcement, Kellys making the heroinand opioid crisis ravaging rural areas a major focus.

He said Washington lawmakers ignored pleas for action by the Drug Enforcement Administration in both Democratic and Republican administrations while big pharmaceutical companies lining congressional coffers benefited from the over-prescription of pain killers like Oxycodone.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., is the man Brendan Kelly is seeking to replace in Washington.(Photo: Seth Perlman, AP)

When asked about Bosts liabilities, Kelly didnt hesitate. The bill they voted for would take away health care from 38,000 people in the 12th district. To deliberately choose to support that, I cannot live with that, he said.

Voters in his district like Autum Cullers, a 33-year-old medical assistant from Harrisburg, illustrate why that may be the right approach.

Cullers, who has family in coal mining, supports Trump because she says hes bringing jobs back and working on border security. Yet she also voted for Democratic Sen. Duckworth because of her military service and said shed be open to learning more about Kelly.

For her, health care will be the top voting issue, and she had plenty of criticism of the GOP bill Bost supported that drastically cut Medicaid benefits. There's a lot of single moms that work, and they need that, she said. Something has to be done to make health care more affordable without just dropping people, she said.

Janet Belles, a 64-year-old retired home health aide who also voted for both Trump and Duckworth, also said health care will be her top voting issue. She blamed congressional Republicans and defended Trump, whom she said is doing the right thing. On Bost, she said: He could do a lot better job in some ways.

As Kelly seeks to appeal to such rural Trump voters, he is also making his ties to law enforcement and fighting corruption a major focus.

As states attorney since 2010, Kellys taken on several of the nations largest banks for fraudulent mortgage lending and sued big pharmaceutical manufacturers for maximizing profits by deceiving patients about the dangers of certain opioids.

The epidemic of opioid overdoses has hit southern Illinois particularly hard.(Photo: Patrick Sison, AP)

On a sunny Thursday, he met in Murphysboro at a Plumbers and Pipefitters Union hall with a couple dozen voters to discuss the opioid epidemic. While personal stories were shared, Dr. Thomas Kupferer, a family practice doctor, excused himself for arriving late. As county coroner, he was delayed after receiving a 32-year-old female who arrived DOA, or dead on arrival, from a heroin overdose.

Theres not a single family that I know that hasnt been impacted by the epidemic, Kelly told the group.

Kelly said he is confident Trump voters can be won over with an aggressive message on the economy and health care that is essential to curing the opioid crisis.

We have to hear and listen and understand why folks voted the way they did and not look down on people, not judge people, he said.

They are in some ways out of desperation looking for help, he said.

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Kansas Democratic candidate vows to vote against Nancy Pelosi for leader

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Dems' first wave of recruits 'outsiders' in 2017 version of Tea Party - USA TODAY

HUNTINGTON - Growing into one of the Cabell County Public Library's most anticipated and beloved events over a decade and a half, scores of dazzlingly dressed young royalty graced the library's main branch for the 15th annual Princess Tea Party on Saturday in downtown Huntington.

Arriving as their favorite fairy tale figure, be it Snow White, Elsa, Cinderella or the like, children and parents were treated to magical storytime tales and games, all capped off by afternoon tea courtesy of the library.

For those wanting to enjoy Monday's solar eclipse, the Cabell County Public Library will next host an eclipse glasses giveaway beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20. Approximately 200 glasses will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis to library card holders. Those without a library card may sign up for one at the event.

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Princesses take over Cabell library for 15th annual tea party - Huntington Herald Dispatch