Dear 8th District Voter,

I’ve said, since I began this race, that as a lifelong Republican, I am a “tea party” conservative first and a Republican second. We found out last night, with Scott Brown’s historic victory, that a majority of voters in Massachusetts are too!

The eyes of the nation were on Massachusetts yesterday and they will now turn their attention to Illinois, in particular the race in the 8th District. As the Chicago Sun Times said yesterday, “The Nation will be watching what goes on in the 8th District on Feb 2nd as it shapes up as a contest between Joe Walsh, a tea-party insurgent, and Maria Rodriguez, the establishment pick. Walsh calls himself a tea party/conservative first and a Republican second. He’s pro growth on business policy, supports gun owners rights, and is going to push for the extension of Route 53.”

The folks in the 8th District get what this “tea party” Republican has been saying because they are tea party Republicans as well. The tea party movement really consists of virtually all Republicans, most Independents, and more than a few Democrats. It’s everyone who is scared and fed up with the life we’re going to leave our children because our political leaders don’t have the courage to stop spending all this money.

Not everyone has been happy with the things I’ve said. Some in the Party establishment have frowned upon such talk. The Daily Herald, Northwest Herald, and the rest of the main-stream media covering this race looked upon me as extreme. Even my opponents don’t quite know how to handle what I have been saying — one responded by saying that ” a politician needs to lead the tea party movement”, the other, well, she thought this movement was just a small insignificant part of the Republican Party.

Well, a funny thing has happened on the way to the February 2nd Primary. All the voters understand what I’ve been saying because they feel the exact same way. Folks in the 8th District are every bit as fed up, frustrated, scared, and yes, as angry as I am. There hasn’t been a single instance when after I’ve launched a speech on this trail with the words, “I feel like I’m losing my country”, that every head in the audience hasn’t nodded in agreement.

Melissa Bean is on the wrong side of history and we will beat her with the right candidate. But we have a clear choice in the Primary as well. We have one candidate who has sprung up from the tea party movement and another candidate who was hand-picked by the Party establishment. A candidate who’s running because she was asked to and a candidate who is running because he wants to get his country back. A candidate who’s touting newspaper endorsements and a candidate who is rallying more and more 8th District folks every day.

I have done nothing more than say loudly and publicly, what we all feel. On Feb 2nd, let’s let the nation know how we all feel.

I need you to do two things these next 13 days: Spread the word far and wide — email, phone call, knock on doors — tell everyone who doesn’t know it already that we’ve got something really different going on in the 8th…we’ve got one of our own running…he’s not like a typical politician, he proudly calls himself a tea party conservative and he’s every bit as angry with the way things are going as you are. At last, we have someone who speaks for the way you feel. Spread the word…spread the word beyond your own circle, encourage those you contact to spread the word to their friends and neighbors.

The nation will be watching this race on Feb 2nd, we need everyone in the 8th District to know what the choice is.

Finally, if you’re able, please make a financial contribution to this cause. Whatever you can spare. All the money we raise in the next two weeks will go toward getting the word out!

Thanks…let’s keep growing this movement!

Joe