Current Chapter NeWS

Republicans Abroad Annual Meeting

Washington. D.C.

May 3 and 4, 2010

_________________________________

Republicans Abroad Canada

We are pleased to announce that Mitt Romney will be in Toronto on Thursday, March 25, to speak at a private dinner being held at the Granite Club (near Bayview and Lawrence).  The organizers at the Granite Club have graciously offered Republicans Abroad Canada the opportunity to purchase tables for our group at this special event.  Friends, family and colleagues are also welcome to attend. 

If you are interested in attending, please respond as soon as possible to let me know how many seats you will require.  To hold seats, all tickets ($110 per person) must be paid in advance by cheque (payable to Republicans Abroad Canada and mailed to me at the address in my signature line below) on or before March 8 so that we will know how many tables to reserve.  Futher details appear below. 

Mitt Romney: The Next US President?

Date: Thursday, March 25, 2010

Time: 6:30 p.m. reception, 7:00 p.m. dinner, presentation following

Place: Grand Ballroom

Dress Code: Jacket Required, Tie Optional

Price: $110.00 pp, includes dinner, 2 drinks and a book

Parking: $10 per car

In 2008, Governor Romney was a leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination and distinguished himself as an important voice in favour of strengthening America*s economy, military, and families.

Romney first gained national recognition for his role in turning around the 2002 Winter Olympics. With the 2002 Games mired in controversy and facing a financial crisis, Romney left behind a successful career as an entrepreneur to take over as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. Join us as Gov. Romney makes his bid for the US Presidency.

_________________________________________________________

Republicans Abroad Regional Meeting, hosted by Republicans Abroad France, from 19-22 November, with former Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey as key note speaker at the Gala Dinner Saturday. A Healthcare Symposium with experts from the UK, France, Germany and Switzerland,moderated by Professor  Theodore R. Marmor, held on Friday.

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey speaks at the American University in Paris on November 21, 2009, at an event sponsored by Republicans Abroad. A dinner at Ledoyen Restaurant followed the event where General Mukasey expanded on his remarks and took questions from members of Republicans Abroad worldwide.

_____________________________________________________

From L to R: Chris Fussner, Global Chairman RA, General Mukasey, Cynthia Dillon, (E.D),Stuart Haugen, Chairman, RA France

General Mukasey with Kate Pesey, Chair of Young Republicans Abroad France

Stuart Haugen, RA France Chairman, introduces the panel of experts of the Healthcare Symposium held at le cercle de l'Union interalliée on Friday, November 20, 2009

__________________________________________________

A taste of France, the Nouveau Beaujolais... Thursday, November 19, 2009

De gustibus non est disputandum: Coq au vin!

RA Global Chairman Chris Fussner, RA Legal Counsel Bob Horn. RA France Board Member Christine Brooks and RA Spain Chairman James Levy and Dolores Levy smile for the camera...

________________________________________________

Republicans Abroad in Spain

November 2009

Republicans Abroad in Spain Chairman, James Levy with Conservatives Abroad Chair, Ben Harris Quinney (in background) with friends

Republicans Abroad in Spain's James Dodson and Jacqueline O'Hale

___________________________________________________

From Republicans Abroad Costa Rica...

David Ellis, Chairman

October 21, 2009
Good morning friends and members,

yesterday we had our final lunch/meeting of the year and I thought it would be appropriate to inform you who were unable to attend what transpired.
 
At our previous meeting there were some questions on whether anything was being done to bring Medicare to ex-pats.  Accordingly, I had a conversation with Melissa Martinez, the information officer at the US embassy.  I can only report that at this time Medicare is provided only in the US except for some special cases.  Ms. Martinez emailed me some pertinent info on Medicare outside the US which I will forward to you. One of our members sent me some information of one Blue Cross/Blue Shield medical group which will reimburse medical expenses for their members who travel to Costa Rica for care.  This is an isolated case but may signal a trend. 
 
A new immigration law in Costa Rica will require all residents to become members of the CAJA, the government operated health system.  We don't have a lot of information about this yet but we do know that this law will become effective in March, 2010 and that you will be required to join.  The cost will not be excessive.  Some of our members, who are in the CAJA, say their costs are about $40/month. The cost is a function of your income which you may be required to declare.  I am a member of the CAJA.  I  don't use their services much but I view it as  additonal health insurance particularly if I should have an accident.
 
Mr. Jim Young, a past commander of the American Legion here, came to the meeting and told us of a program he has established with the Hospital Catolica.  This program is primarily concerned with retired veterans of the US military who, contrary to Medicare recipients, are provided medical benefits in Costa Rica.  Aspects of this agreement will benefit other Americans living in Costa Rica whether veterans or not.  Essentially you can register for this program at no cost and this registration will provide you with preferred prices for hospital and physician services at the Hospital Catolica.  For more information you can call Mr. Young at 8836-2328.
 
This lunch meeting this past Tuesday was our final for the year.  Our next scheduled event will be our traditional Presidents Day "picnic" on the second or third Saturday of February but those present opted for an additional evening "holiday" party to be held this year on Tuesday, December 1, 7PM at Brad's Grille.  "Holiday" since December 1 is approximately halfway between Thanksgiving and Christmas. More on this later but we envision this to be a cocktail party with bocas and that RACR will "spring" for your first adult beverage. The price for this affair will be about 5.000 colones.  We thought about having a gift exchange but had another idea.  The books we have used as raffle prizes at our lunches have been very poplular so our thought is to ask those coming to the evening event to bring a book which can be exchanged.
 
Next year the executive board of RACR will be asking for volunteers.  2010 is an election year.  An important function of RACR will be voter registration.  The US embassy will have a voter registrar training session sometime in the Spring.  We hope that several of you will volunteer to be voter registrars and will attend the training session.  We also will be looking for members to help form a committee to plan the Presidents Day "picnic".
 
At the lunch/meeting we had a spirited discussion about becoming more activist.  One major concern of those present was the situation in Honduras which was very disturbing to many.  We agreed to express this concern to our parent organization, Republicans Abroad International, and to ask for their assistance in expressing this concern to the US government.

_____________________________________________________

Republicans Abroad Singapore

Gov. Haley Barbour (Ms)

October 1, 2009

Hosts: The Honorable Christopher Fussner, Global Chairman, Republicans Abroad and Mr. Scott Douglas

Gov. haley Barbour (with book) and Global Chairman Chris Fussner share a laugh with a Republicans Abroad Singapore member...

___________________________________

Republicans Abroad UK

GOP Chairman Michael Steele

October 8, 2009

Hosts: Dr. Tom Grant, Chairman,RA UK

Executive Committee of Past Chairmen:

Joseph King, Tim Spangler, Colleen Graffy, Mark Shiels and Miki Bowman.

_________________________________________

Townhall Meeting

Republicans Abroad Switzerland

American Citizens Abroad, Democrats Abroad

Town Hall on US Taxes and Banking in Switzerland

Contact: Ed Flaherty Co-Chairman, RA Switzerland

When: Wednesday 2 September 2009. Doors open at 6:30pm, meeting starts at 7pm

Where: LLC Room at Webster University, Route de Collex 15 , 1293 Bellevue (see below for directions)

Guest speakers:

Charles C. Adams, Jr., Managing Partner, Hogan & Hartson

Geoffrey DeHaven, Enrolled Agent & US Certified Financial Planner (TM), US Tax Abroad

Milan Patel, Senior Associate, Withers LLP

Roy F. Ryan, Partner, Schellenberg Wittmer

RSVP: Please sign up at edward.patrick.flaherty@gmail.com

American Citizens Abroad, Democrats Abroad and Republicans Abroad are holding a Town Hall meeting for Americans living or working in Switzeralnd on the issues of U.S. taxes and banking in Switzerland. We've invited a panel of experts to speak about the U.S. Treasury's proposed modified Qualified Intermediary Regulations set to become effective January 1, 2010 and to new FBAR filing requirements for foreign bank accounts and what effect they have on U.S. citizens. They will also explain the current voluntary compliance initiative that is in place at the moment but set to expire on 23 September 2009. The panel will cover these issues as well as take questions about filing the FBAR, U.S. taxes and more.

The purpose of the meeting in to offer guidance and clarity on these complex issues, as a service to our members. At the meeting, we will have volunteers on hand to assist anyone who wishes to send a letter to their U.S. Representative to raise their awareness on the concerns of Americans living abroad.

This event is open to all American citizens. Please RSVP to edward.patrick.flaherty@gmail.com quoting ''Geneva Town Hall'' in the subject line. For directions, please visit Webster University

_________________________________________________________________________________

DC News

Universal Republican Principles

Republicans Abroad is hosting a group of scholars this summer.  Each week, high school students from around the country come to DC to learn about politics, government and the media through simulations, speakers, curriculum and site visits. 

"The site experience day best accommodates our students’ interests in grassroots and politics.  We feel that Republicans Abroad would be a great resource for our scholars who are conservative and have an interest in international relations as well." 

From 2:00-3:00 PM on Wednesdays, some 400 high school students visit different Advocacy Groups such as the RNC, NRA, the Cato Institute, the DNC and Republicans Abroad. Republicans Abroad hosted 47 students on June 24 and July 1st, 2009!

More... Future Republicans...July 1, 2009

____________________________

Young Republicans... June 24, 2009

_____________________________________

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The audience at this event consisted of 37 NYLC scholars: high-achieving secondary school sophomores, juniors and seniors with avid interests in leadership, community involvement, multicultural learning and current affairs.

_______________________________________

Republicans Abroad in Spain

On Monday June 8th, 2009 at the headquarters of FAES, President Jose Maria Aznar expressed " great joyon the victory of his Party in the European elections and defends a Europe based on conservative values." British Conservatives Abroad in Madrid and Republicans Abroad held a joint event in which both their Chairmen, James Levy (second from Left) and Ben Harris-Quinney (fourth from left) respectively, entertained more than 70 guests to celebrate the launching of the British Chapter.

British Conservatives Abroad Chairman, Harris-Quinney congratulated President Aznar for his "leadership in defense and commitment to peace." For this, he recalled that "Aznar, as President, strengthened the ties between the US-GB-Spain," whereas now, president of the soccer team Real Madrid is better known overseas than Zapatero! Together, in a short period of time, the Popular Party in Spain, The Conservative Party in GB and the Republican Party will govern again!

James Levy, Chairman of Republicans Abroad in Spain, also thanked Aznar for his generosity and recalled that when he first arrived in Spain in 1991, "everything was a scandal. The situatation that only got worse until 1996 that, with the victory of Aznar, changed from black to white. Levy agreed with the rest of the participants for "the need to fight and defend our ideas and freedoms, something for which I thank Aznar."

__________________________________________________________________

Republicans Abroad Costa Rica

Chairman david Ellis, (R), at A luncheon on Tuesday, the 21st of April, 12 noon at the Real Intercontinental Hotel in Escazu with Peter Cianchette, the United States Ambassador.

Next event: Tuesday May 19, 12 Noon, at Brad's Grille 

 We are pleased to have Vanessa Calvo as our speaker. You may recall that two years ago she addressed us on the US/Costa Rica free trade treaty.  Vanessa is a Costa Rican attorney and an astute observer of contemporary Costa Rican politics.  Her observations concerning the free trade treaty were remarkably prescient.  Given the upcoming Costa Rican presidential election and the candidates her talk will be very interesting and informative.
 
    The US go

vernment announced today a record financial deficit which is four times the amount of the previous highest.  We are interested in your views of our government's financial condition which we would like to summarize and pass on to the Republican Abroad (RAI) office in Washington, D.C.Hopefully Susan Tessem our penultimate RACR chairman, who has studied this, andwill say a few words on this subject.
 
 
 

______________________________

Republicans Abroad Taiwan

Dr.  E.  F.  Einhorn

Chairman

The next  dinner  meeting  will  be  held  on  Thursday,  April  30,  at  the  American  Club,  at  6:30  p.m.

The  Guest  Speaker  will  be  Ambassador  Muzaffer  Eroktem,  Representative,  Turkish  Trade  Office,  Taipei.  He  will  speak  on  the  “Implications  of  President  Obama’s  visit  to  Turkey.”

RE:  PRESIDENT  OBAMA’S  FIRST  100  DAYS     
========================================

Millions  of  People  Jobless
Billions  of  Dollars  in  Bailouts
Trillions  of  Dollars  in  U.S. Debt

And  yet,  for  the  first  time  in  years,  more  Americans  than  not  say the  country  is  on  the  right  track.  [Associated  Press]

All  present  will  be  invited  to  participate  in  the  discussion.

_____________________________

We  will  also  bid  farewell  to  the  following:

Maurice  and  Helene  Marwood  who  will  be  leaving  in  May.

Paul  and  Kana  Thurston  who  will  be  leaving  in  June.

_________________________________________________________________________

From Republicans Abroad Hong Kong

____________________________________________________________________________

Steve Forbes speaks to Republicans Abroad Hong Kong, March 2009-Courtesy of Chris Exline, Chairman

_____________________________________________________________________

Global Chairman Chris Fussner to DC from April 1-11, 2009.  

In September 2008, President Bush appointed Mr. Fussner to be Member of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Education Foundation. He will be in DC to attend Board Meetings and catch up with friends in the political, professional and educational fields. 
Republicans Abroad is in the process of re-organization. There is great interest in Republicans Abroad around the world, a result of the tumultuous times-financial and otherwise- we are living in.
At the request, of Mr Fussner,  Cynthia Dillon, executive director, visited Mexico,  from March 10th -15th where approximately 1.200.000 Americans reside.  Cynthia visited with Larry Rubin, Country Chairman; Beverly Dawson Lake Chapala President, and Randy Sloan, former President of Lake Chapala and now interim Chairman of Puerto Vallarta.
On February 4th, Republicans Abroad launched Republicans Abroad Radio, a new medium to keep members informed and involved. Ideally, the program will include Washington and international personalities and will give members a forum to talk about their chapters, host countries and  the global financial, environmental and last but not least, social crisis....

 Overseas Americans Week from March 30-April 3 

...In search of a Democrat to sponsor the Working American Competitiveness Act..Listen to interview with RA legal Counsel, Robert Horn on this issue. Chris Fussner to attend  various events while in DC.

______________________________________________________

"U.S.-Mexico Relations: Opportunities to Enhance
Regional Competitiveness"

On Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 Larry Rubin, Chairman of Republicans Abroad Mexico and Cynthia Dillon, executive director,  attended the American Chamber of Commerce's  INAUGURATION OF THE 8TH NATIONAL CONVENTION. Leslie A. Bassett, Chargé d'Affaire, and Honorary Vice President AMERICAN CHAMBER/MEXICO opened the convention with a speech on the present relationship between Mexico and the US and President Obama's position. Jon E. Huenemann, Partner at Miller Chevalier, spoke about the FUTURE OF U.S.-MEXICO RELATIONS.
On the 11th, Myron Brilliant, Sr. Vice President of International Affairs  at the US Chamber of Commerce spoke at the breakfast, on the OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS .
 
Obama will be in Mexico April 16-17

Listen to  Republicans Abroad Interview with Larry Rubin and Beverly Dawson

_______________________________________________________

Beverly Dawson, President, Lake Chapala-Ajijic and Randy Sloan, interim Chairman for Puerto Vallarta organize events...

  Republicans Abroad Meeting, La Nueva Posada, March 11, 2009

 According to Todd Stong, PhD, P.E., a  part-time resident of  Lake Chapala  for the past 15 years, the former president  of the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) estimates  that 25% of the expats in the area  join the LCS, with a total count  of approximately 16000 Americans and Canadians.  He sees a 60/40 split, Am/Ca, thus, 9600 may be Americans. Assuming that, at the very least, 25% are Republican, "then, there is a hunting base of 2400"...and counting...the way things are developing ... 

 
______________________________________________________________________

Randy Sloan, interim Chairman for Puerto Vallarta, organized a gathering of Republicans to cement the foundations of a new city chapter. Puerto Vallarta is a destination of preference for Americans.

 
___________________________________________________________________ 

Republican Principles Are Universal

Todd Stong, member of Republicans Abroad Lake Chapala, has volunteered his time and professional services for the last 15 years. At present, he helps the village of El Chante where there is very little, if any, infrastructure- water, sewage, roads and schools are minimal. And a major concern of the villagers is that they "do not trust government to use any money the village contributes for a project. Many, in the past, gave 400 Pesos for a well project and nothing came. Citizen feeling is that the government listens to few, and ignores the villagers, with an example being, the real need for water -while the government money is being put into building a fancy "malecon" (boardwalk) along the lakefront."

 
Todd Stong, Licensed Professional Engineer, Volunteer Advisor
tdstong@juno.com 

______________________________________________________________________

Republicans Abroad Radio

launched on February 4th, 2009.

Weekly shows on wsRadio.com. Visit our websites to listen to the Archived Shows.

We hope you join the conversation on international and domestic issues! 

The Voice of Republicans Overseas

The Economy... on February 4

 
Republicans Abroad Global Chairman  Chris Fussner calls in from Malaysia: "...as one of my friends says, we are approaching a nuclear winter...different regions in Asia were hit at different times.."

Professor Walter E. Williams, Columnist and guest host for the Rush Limbaugh Show, is always teaching...."These problems that we have, have nothing to do with deregulation and free market capitalism." 

_____________________________________________________

Republicans Abroad Mexico... on

February 11
 
Larry Rubin, Chairman and Beverly Dawson, City President, Lake Chapala,
talk about Americans in Mexico, the economy, immigration, trade and other issues 

__________

From Hope to Doomsday... on February 19

The American Conservative Union -
David Keene, Chairman. Mr. Keene speaks candidly about the Democrats and the Census, the unions and the Fairness Doctrine and how it can affect Talk Radio.

Fighting Tyrannies -
Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty, "an organization dedicated to fighting the petty tyrannies of government."

____________________________________________________

UK Agenda March 2009

From: RA-UK Chairman, Miki Bowman

March promises to be a busy month for RAUK with the new officer elections, resumption of Pub Night on Wednesday 4 March, Annual General Meeting on 26 March and reception with Conservatives Abroad on 30 March. Please note that many of these events are restricted to 2009 RAUK members only.

Annual General Meeting
Please mark your diary for the RAUK 2009 AGM on Thursday 26 March. All current 2009 members are invited and encouraged to attend. In addition to other business, we will introduce and transition to the newly elected officers at this meeting. If you would like to confirm or update your membership status, please contact our Membership Co-Chairmen at membership@republicansabroad-uk.org RAUK's membership term runs from 1 January to 31 December annually.

Election
Current 2009 RAUK Members who are US Citizens are eligible to vote in, nominate candidates for, and stand as a candidate in RAUK's election process. This process is outlined below in accordance with Republicans Abroad International By Laws.

Nominations
Although current 2009 membership is required to participate, all 2008 and current 2009 RAUK members will receive an email later today from RAUK's Nominating Committee seeking nominations for RAUK 2009 members to stand for the following offices: Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. Nominations will be conducted by email and the call for nominations will be open for 15 calendar days from today. Nominations received after the 15th day will not be considered.

Please read the email carefully, as it will contain specific information regarding nomination and candidate requirements in accordance with Republicans Abroad International By Laws. Please also note that only US Citizens may be nominated for officer positions and candidates must meet specific requirements described in the Nominating Committee's email to stand for office.

Please direct any enquiries regarding the nomination process to Nominating Committee Chairman Joseph King at Nominations@republicansabroad-uk.org

Voting
In accordance with the RAI By Laws, voting will be conducted by postal ballot. Upon closing of the nominations period, a ballot will be drafted containing the list of candidates and posted to all current 2009 members (who are US Citizens) to the address listed on their membership form. Please note that it is each member's responsibility to ensure that the address on the form is current and legible.

Completed ballots must be returned by post to RAUK by the deadline identified on the ballot. Members will have 15 calendar days from posting to complete and return ballots. Ballots not received by the 15th day will not be counted.

Ballots will be counted by the RAUK 2009 Election Committee and results will be announced to the membership at the RAUK AGM on Thursday 26 March.

________________________________________________________

Philippines Agenda March2009

From RA-Philippines Chairman, Dave Stout

As a part of their Philippine wide “OutReach Program”, the Republicans Abroad Philippines has approved an informal social, a “Meet and Greet” cocktail party;

Details:

• ·         Thursday 12 March, 2009 Corinthian
• ·         Heritage Room, Elks Club, Plaza
• ·         6-8pm
• ·         Smart casual or normal business attire
• ·         Cost: Bring a guest. RA Philippines is the host.

Our RAP members and supporters have always been important to our organization and with the new program, we need your continuing help and assistance. We want to use this occasion to say “Thank You” for joining and working with us in the past and we hope that you will continue to support and help us grow.

We are encouraging our current members and those that are on our email listing to attend and bring a guest.  During the  event we will have a brief introduction of RA Philippines, members, recognition of guests and a brief introduction to our 2009 jump off for the vitally important and indeed ambitious ‘OUTREACH PROGRAM”. We expect to briefly discuss and introduce to you and our guests, the expanded efforts that have resulted in a new Republican Abroad web site, an interactive Blog and our new satellite RAP representatives and conduits in locations where we have lots of American citizens. These locations will include Angeles City, Baguio, Cebu, Davao, Olongapo, Subic and other locations. 

We trust that you will join us. It will be a fine “mixer” and informative evening. Don’t forget the guest and it would be helpful if you would RSVP with a quick telephone call or email to Charmaine at the AmCham.

__________________________________________________

January 2009

China: Alexa Chiang (waisu972@yahoo.com) will revitalize RA  chapter in Shanghai, China.  Alexa Chiang is based in Pamir’s Shanghai office. She is a U.S. attorney licensed in Washington and Colorado. Her practice is focused on international private equity and corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, as well as international corporate law and corporate re-structures. She has extensive experience in structuring different types of commercial deals…
 France: New Board. George Yates, former Chairman of RA- France has moved to the UK but will remain as Regional Chairman.  Stuart Haugen (stuart.haugen@certus-executives.com) is the new Chairman for RA-France
Officer/Directors

Directors

Senior Advisory Board

Hong Kong:
 Christopher Exline (chris.exline@homeessentials.net) is the new Chairman

Philippines:
 Doyle Stout is now Chairman having replaced Carlyn Manning.

Russia:
Joe Rice Johnson III. jrj20oz@gmail.com
“…Just finished a 3 year stint as Country Director/Russia for the International Republican Institute, headquartered in DC, and works in about 60 countries around the globe. …Senator McCain is Chairman of IRI. [Joe] left IRI to open a representative office  in Moscow for a privately held company in the petroleum business, headquartered in Florida.

South Africa:
 Brian Robinson is the new Chairman for RA( briansrobinson@ufl.edu)
“Brian is steeped in education, attached to the Univ. of Florida with a strong background in architecture and preservation.   Brian's wife is with the Center for Disease Control with current concentration on AIDS. 
 His immediate predecessor, Brooke Whitaker, is in Singapore for 2-3 years and is hooking up with Chris Fussner's group.” Reed Clark, Regional Chairman, Africa and Middle East.
New Chapters in the near future:
Argentina, Australia...

________________________________

Brasil/Rio de Janeiro

Upcoming Event

October 10

The American Society of Rio de Janeiro, in association with the United States Consulate General of Rio and the EA will host a Mock U.S. Presidential Debate on Friday, 10 October between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m

The event will feature the participation of EA's 52 sister schools from the Association of American Schools of South America (AASSA).

Steve Spencer, Executive Director of the Brazilian Public Radio Association (ARPUB) and former manager of member stations of National Public Radio in the U.S., will represent Democrats Abroad; while Kevin Ivers, an independent consultant and former Director of Public Affairs for Log Cabin Republicans, will represent Republicans Abroad.

The debate moderator will be award-winning journalist, Mac Margolis, staff correspondent for Newsweek who resides in Rio and reports on Latin American affairs.

EARJ will offer live streaming of this event via its website and a complete archive will be made available for on-demand viewing on YouTube, thereafter.

The current presidential race in the United States is attracting global interest, making the elections an opportune teaching topic for classes of U.S. History, History of the Americas, Debate or Public Speaking classes, Economics, World History, etc. Preparing students to watch this debate will help spur engagement overall. Questions from students of the participating schools will be posed to the debaters via video.

A lot of interest on the part of international press has already been expressed. The campaign organizers for both political parties are being informed and enthusiasm is growing even as we prepare. What is catching their notice is the uniqueness of this project and focus on a timely instructional event as a digitally shared resource on a national and continental basis among American international schools abroad.

____________________________

Panama/Panama City

October 7

After that fantastic job by VP Candidate Sarah Palin, Republicans are energized. 

Republicans Abroad Panama and friends watched the Presidential Debates with "our" candidate Senator John McCain. 

Our "Watch" events, starting with the conventions have been informative,exciting, and fun.  Once again, the City Club was the location and there was a no host dinner and private room with big screen TV.  The room will be available for you starting at 6:30
The debate will began at 8:00 Panama time. 

 Jose Brito, Chairman
 Alice Kittredge, Secretary

France/Paris

September 29

Kate Pesey, Chairman of Young Republicans Abroad France, debates CNN!

__________________________________

Spain/Madrid

September 27

Republicans Abroad (Spain) participated in a very successful event in Casa de America, in Madrid on Saturday evening. A retransmission of the debate was followed by a roundtable debate where Republicans Abroad as well representatives from Democrats Abroad and the Spanish civic platform,Spain for McCain, participated. (www.SpainforMcCain.com)

The media coverage was very heavy, both Spanish and international.

James M. Levy,Chairman of Republicans Abroad Spain, attends a delayed transmission of the first U.S. presidential debate in Madrid September 27, 2008.

__________________

Canada/Toronto

September 26

Mark Feigenbaum, Chairman of RA Canada, and Kelli Wight, Member of the Board, hosted Sec. James Nicholson (former Sec. of Veterans Affairs, Ambassador to the Holy See and Chairman of the RNC) at a dinner in his honor at the conservative albany club, in the heart of Toronto. Following the dinner and speech by the Secretary on the elections, the 40 plus guests and invited media watched the first debate between Sen. John McCain and Sen. Obama.

Sec. Nicholson with members of RA Canada

____________________

HUNGARY/Budapest

September 26

Sean Tonner, Phase Line Strategies, Highlands Ranch, Colorado, spoke about the

“US Campaigns and Elections ’08: An Insider’s Look at What to Watch in the Race”

The founder and president of Phase Line Strategies, Sean Tonner has worked on numerous political campaigns in the U.S. and abroad including Dole for President, Bush-Cheney, Bill Owens for Governor, Ben Nighthorse Campbell for Senate, Coors for Senate, and numerous local and state efforts.

In 2002, he was named a national rising star by Campaigns & Elections magazine after he engineered a nationally recognized get-out-the-vote program that resulted in the largest gubernatorial vote received in Colorado history. 

Prior to founding Phase Line, Tonner served as the deputy chief of staff to Colorado Governor Bill Owens. He was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the office as well as managing intergovernmental affairs and external relations with various constituencies including political, minority, and business organizations. Reported by Patrick Egan,Chairman,Republicans Abroad Hungary

________________________

Mexico/Lake Chapala

September 22, 2008

After several organizing and general membership meetings in the spring, we held an Independence Day picnic on July 4 at a local hotel. It was our biggest turnout so far this year, with 75 people in attendance. With ticket sales, membership sales, and a raffle, it was also our biggest moneymaker so far this year. Everyone had a great time: The food was sumptuous, the weather great, and we had fun with pinatas and door prizes.

Since then, we have been holding general membership meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at the same hotel.

At the August meeting, we distributed contest ballots and asked each attendee to write in the names of who they thought would be (not wanted to be) the Republican and Democrat VP candidates.

By the September meeting, both VP candidates had been named. A review of the ballots found that most people thought Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton would be the choices. Other names were suggested as well, including Snoopy, Mickey Mouse, and Who Cares for the Democrats. However, only one person (out of 27 entries) picked Sarah Palin and only one person (out of 26 entries) picked Joseph Biden. Amazingly, not only was there only one correct selection for each party, it was the same person who got them both correct! He won 2 $10 gift certificates for lunch. By the way, he is predicting a runaway victory -- by either candidate -- on November 4 instead of a close race, as the polls now indicate. He's leaning toward McCain as the winner.

Our next meeting is October 7. We will discuss our ballot collection efforts and plans to work with the Democrats to deliver all collected ballots to the US Consulate in Guadalajara on October 21 for forwarding to the US by October 25.

Whereas all of our meetings thus far have been open to the public, our final meeting of the year will be a victory party for members and guests at the home of one of our members on November 4. We look forward to a rousing evening!

Randy Sloan
President
Republicans Abroad Lake Chapala
Mexico

______________________________

Switzerland/Lugano

Regional Meeting: September 19-22

Keynote Speaker: Sec. James Nicholson

_________________

RNC Convention

September 1-4, 2008

____________________________________________________________________________

Panama
Sandra Snyder, former Chairman of Repubicans Abroad, writes:

“To keep you up to date from our group:  Last week we did a voter registration together with Democrats Abroad   at  the local English language theater, the American Society.  It was very successful and the play was wonderful.  We will also offer voter registration and help with requests for ballots at a brunch on July 6th. 
On June 27, we hosted a coffee and met with the Republican representative of the state legislature from New Mexico, Nora Espinosa.  What a wonderful, interesting woman.  I wish every state had someone like her!

L to R:  Arturo Laureano, Debby Brito, Hunter Schultz (Vice Chairman),Sandra Snyder (Past Chairman), Rep. Noral Espinoza, Jose Brito (Chairman),Cristina Beech, Alice Kittridge (Secretary), Dr. Wallace Snyder

Republicans Abroad Panama  Celebrates  Independence Week on July 6th!”

 RSVP: panama@republicansabroadpanama.org
____________________________________

Mexico
Randy Sloan
President
Republicans Abroad Lake Chapala

India

Renee Nielsen
Chairman
Republicans Abroad India

The American Embassy in India is linking DA and RA  to participate in programs scheduled at the American Center in Churchgate. Listed below are  the upcoming digital video conferences and debates. During the DVCs, a panel of speakers will participate together with the   American guest speaker.  These events would serve as well to  "get out the vote" campaign for both RA and DA.   There wil be a discussion and Q &A session.
Upcoming DVCs
 August 14 – "American Women in Politics: Issues and Challenges" – Geraldine Ferraro can participate from a studio in New York.
 September 25 – "Campaign Finance and the Role of Media" – Georgetown University Professor Clyde Wilcox – he can participate.

October 22 or 23 – "Who Will Make it to the White House and Its Impact on Policies on Afghanistan, Iraq, and India" – will send list of candidates shortly.

Czech Republic
Roger Johnson, Chairman

 
Costa Rica
David Ellis, Chairman
March -- David Ellis and Ramon Cabezas were certified by the American Embassy to be Voting Assistance Officers (VAO)
 April -- RACR hosted a luncheon with Carol Vargas, the vice consul in charge of voter registration for the Embassy.  All of our members in attendance were trained by Carol to assist in voter registration.

 June -- David Ellis was interviewed by the Tico Times for an article on voter registration.  This article should be published in the Tico Times 4th of July special supplement.

June -- We are placing ads in both the Tico Times 4th of July supplement and in AMCostaRica (to run each of the six days prior to the 4th of July) advertising RACR and inviting people to stop by our booth at the 4th of July picnic. 

We write these ads with the following themes in mind: patriotism and pride in being Americans and Republicans

Republicans Abroad France welcomes Ed Gillespie, Counselor to the President, and former Chirman of the RNC

June 13, 2008

Ed Gillespie and George Yates, European Regional Chairman and Chairman RA France

Ed Gillespie with Kate Pesey, Chairman of Young Republicans Abroad France (second from Right) and members.

____________________________________________________________________________

Republicans Abroad Costa Rica

Summer 2008

Here is what the Republicans Abroad of Costa Rica have done so far this year in marketing, voter registration and advertising.

March -- David Ellis and Ramon Cabezas were certified by the American Embassy to be Voting Assistance Officers (VAO)

April -- RACR hosted a luncheon with Carol Vargas, the vice consul in charge of voter registration for the Embassy.  All of our members in attendance were trained by Carol to assist in voter registration.

May --  We hosted a luncheon with the featured speaker, Gabriel Solano, a former US Marine and an American/Costa Rican who had served two tours of duty in Iraq.  We advertised this luncheon in both the Tico Times and AMCostaRica (attached is a copy of the AMCostaRica ad).  The luncheon was well attended.  Even the chairman of the Democrats Abroad and his wife came.  The Tico Times sent a reporter and a photographer and published an article about the lunch and the speaker the following Friday. 

May -- We wrote and published a one page, two sided flyer designed to folded in threes promoting the Republicans Abroad of Costa Rica (a copy of the flyer is attached) which we plan to distribute at the American Colony 4th of July picnic where we will have a booth.  This flyer has also been distributed to the American Legion and the Costa Rica Residents Association.

June -- David Ellis was interviewed by the Tico Times for an article on voter registration.  This article should be published in the Tico Times 4th of July special supplement.

June -- We are placing ads in both the Tico Times 4th of July supplement and in AMCostaRica (to run each of the six days prior to the 4th of July) advertising RACR and inviting people to stop by our booth at the 4th of July picnic.  The Tico Times ad is attached.

We write these ads with the following themes in mind: patriotism and pride in being Americans and Republicans.  We recognize that our modest efforts pale in comparison with those of the more prestigious chapters but we are presently pleased with the results.

___________________________________________________________________________

Annual Meeting

March 6-8th, 2008

Republicans Abroad celebrated its 30th Anniversary by holding its Annual Meeting in  Washington, D.C., from March 6th- 8th , 2008.

Invited guest speakers:  Karl Rove,  RNC Chairman Robert (Mike) Duncan, Senator Jim DeMint and Lorne Craner, surrogate for John McCain,)and   scholars from the Heritage Foundation.

Mr. Craner, current President of IRI, (International Republican Institute),  was the first  to speak, on Thursday, March 6th, to the group of chairmen  and representatives from  about  15 countries as different and as  far as Israel, Iraq, Bangladesh, on the reasons why he is personally supporting John McCain.   He recounted an interesting and compelling  story: the fact that his father had been imprisoned at the same time as Senator McCain in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton,”   and  had communicated only through the wall for at least  two years, before meeting face to face.  Mr. Craner, spoke of  John Mc Cain’s integrity, leadership and maverick spirit. He stressed McCain’s commitment to maintaining tax cuts and his aversion to earmarks, “pork barrel spending and waste that leads to corruption.” He also spoke of McCain’s conservative credentials: that throughout his career in the senate he had voted as a conservative at least 80% of the time.  Senator McCain has spoken in the past to Republicans Abroad  UK and most recently via teleconference, with RA-Germany.  At the moment of writing this report, McCain was on his way to Israel, France and England, where  members of local chapters  had  the opportunity to meet with him.

____________________

A visit to the offices of Senator Jim DeMint was the next stop.   Chris Fussner congratulated and voiced  support to  the  Senator for  introducing   a bill  to eliminate the foreign earned income exclusion. (As is well known to any expatriate working and living abroad, the foremost concern is the heavy tax burden by the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, (TIPRA) signed into law in May 17, 2005.  A last minute amendment, attached to the bill, curtailed, -and for some expatriates, effectively eliminated- Section 911 benefits.  While   the amendment retroactively increased the amount of  foreign-earned income that could be excluded, from  $80,000 to $82,400  and raised up to $85,000, last year- it  now requires     housing benefits  to be included as income. In addition, the amendment    now requires expatriates to consider their residual income and excluded amount, when determining their tax rate.
On April 18, 2007 Senator Jim De Mint (R-South Carolina), introduced bill S. 1140, and co-sponsored by Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Ne), the “Working American Competitiveness Act.”   It proposed to eliminate the foregoing limitations  on the foreign earned income exclusion.  This bill is  identical to the measure proposed in the 109th Congress: S 3496 or the “Working Americans Competitiveness Act”  and the bill introduced in the House by Rep. Chris Chocola (R- Indiana), HR. 5986.

Republicans Abroad supports Senator Jim De Mint’s bill. On December 17, 2007 Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), introduced HR 4752, the Working American Competiveness Act, which would eliminate the foreign earned income exclusion under section 911 of the US Tax Code and is the companion piece to S. 1140, introduced last year by Senator De Mint.

And something is finally being done…read on….

Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers (APCAC) and Several American Chambers Abroad Lead Coalition to Eliminate Unfair Taxation of U.S. Citizens Working Abroad

Who:               Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY)
                        Tami Overby, APCAC Representative and President & CEO, AmCham Korea
Bill Oberlin, Chairman, AmCham Korea
Members of newly formed Alliance for a Competitive Tax Policy

What:              A group comprising American Chambers of Commerce in Asia, U.S. corporations and other US based business groups has formed the Alliance for a Competitive Tax Policy (ACTP).  ACTP and its members will generate support for proposed policy change to create a level, global playing field for U.S. companies and work to prevent further unfair tax burdens on Americans working overseas. Congressman Meeks (D-NY) and Sen. DeMint (R-SC) have introduced HR 4752 and S 3496 – the Working American Competitiveness Act – to eliminate unfair taxation of the foreign income of U.S. citizens.

 
When:              Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 10:00 a.m.

Where:                        188 Russell Senate Office Building

Background:   The United States is the only industrialized country in the world to tax its citizens on income earned internationally.  U.S. citizens working abroad are therefore taxed both by the country where they live and work, and by the United States.
For nearly three decades, U.S. tax laws provided a limited exclusion of this tax on foreign-earned income (under Section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code); however, the passage of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act (TIPRA) of 2006 narrowed the already partial exclusion. The result is a system that unfairly penalizes American working overseas and that ultimately harms America’s competitiveness in international trade by:

• Creating an economic disadvantage for U.S. corporations wishing to place key personnel/top performers abroad;
• Causing additional barriers-to-entry for smaller companies seeking benefits/advantages of globalization; and
• Making foreign workers more attractive as options at a time when the U.S. economy is suffering

On the evening of March 6th, members of Republicans Abroad dined at the National Republican Club of Capitol Hill. The invited guest speaker was RNC Chairman, Robert (Mike) Duncan. On the right, Chairman Duncan with Bob Gebhardt,  Chairman, RA-Switzerland. Mr.  Duncan shared his views on the elections and what is at stake-our national security, wasteful spending, earmarks, social security, healthcare, etc.

Some members of Republicans Abroad posed for a photo in front of the White House after meeting on Friday, March 7th, with Barry Jackson, Assistant to the President and Director for Strategic Initiatives at the Executive Offices Building.
It was a privilege for the members to hear Mr. Jackson comment  on the President’s Agenda, the importance of the tax cuts for the economy,
Other issues discussed by Mr. Jackson were the President’s stand on Iraq and the WOT, and the importance of the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, being stalled by the Democratic Congress and  fellow supporters, Big Labor.

Members of Republicans Abroad spent part of Friday afternoon at the Heritage Foundation and were briefed by  the foundation’s experts on subjects as different as the present economy, the elections and FISA.  Bridgett Wagner, Director of Coalition Relations hosted the conference. The first to speak was J.D Foster, Ph.D., Norman B. True Senior Fellow in the Economics of Fiscal Policy, Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies.  His previous job before joining Heritage was at the White House’ s Office of Management and Budget, where he was Associate Director for Economic Policy. He spoke about the effect of the  tax cuts on the economy.  Some of what he spoke to Republicans Abroad can be read in his recent article for Heritage, Tax Cuts, Not the Clinton Tax Hike, Produced the 1990s Boom.

Brian Darling, Director, U.S. Senate Relations, Government Relations. Before joining Heritage in 2005, Darling served as counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez, (R-FL). He previously served as general counsel to former Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH).  While with Smith, Darling was chief strategist for legislation that allowed commercial airline pilots to carry firearms in flight.  In January 2000, Darling accompanied Smith on a visit to the home where Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez was staying and he also crafted legislation to grant him permanent residency.  Mr Darling spoke about the election process and the particular situations of the Republican and Democratic campaigns-where they are at the moment and possible outcome scenarios.

Charles Stimson, Senior Legal Fellow, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies , touched on a very important and transcendental issue: FISA and the Protect America Act. His insight on the subject was interesting considering  the fact that before joining Heritage in 2007 he served as Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Detainee Affairs where he advised the Secretary of Defense on detainee issues worldwide, including at Guantanamo, Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Karl Rove, “the Architect,” as President Bush once referred to him and now often called by that same  name by fellow pundits and talk show hosts at  Fox News,  captivated the attention of the 55 Republicans Abroad members and friends   on Friday night by delivering  some witty remarks and commentaries on the  physical and mental state of the Democratic Party; his new role as television pundit in the realm of Bill O’Reilly, Hannity, et.al; his experience  and his personal insight on the Administration, President Bush, the Iraq War and the million issues and happenings facing conservatives, not so conservatives and the like- What a privilege and treat it was to listen to Karl Rove in person, and  who is affable, extremely witty and funny! 

________________________________

Memorandum from the Republicans Abroad Philippines

December 3, 2007

The Manila-based organization of the Republicans Abroad met on Monday 3 December to elect officers,  discuss the way forward and to formalize a program for the ensuing busy presidential election year. Ms Carlyn Manning and Doyle Stout were elected to co-chair the organization for CY 2008.

Indeed with the US Presidential election occurring in November 2008, the local chapter of the Republicans Abroad must sharpen the focus and increase the dialogue as we increase our knowledge of the issues, the various candidates and their platforms. Collectively, we believe that the 2008 election will be a difficult one and that the Republican overseas voters will play an even more significant role in the final outcome of the vital Presidential election.

We are changing the monthly meeting process. In the past we had speakers at most of the first Monday meetings of the Republicans Abroad. We will now have a speaker once a quarter. The intent is to have the speaker enlighten us with discussions that pertain to the election, the issues and to the candidates. We will use the normal first Monday  meeting to discuss the major issues, the candidates and to increase our membership and attendance.

Our next monthly meeting will be January 7 at 1200 hours at the Manila Room of the Elks Club, 7th floor of the Corinthian Plaza building in Makati. Our focus and agenda for that meeting will be to discuss the following:

1.       “A Simplified Process for U.S. Voters abroad-Initiatives offer hope for 2008 election” an informative article by Brian Knowlton that was published in the 29 November issue of the International Herald Tribune.  If you need the article please respond and give us your email address and a copy will be sent.

2.       Republican Presidential Candidates Debate- we will have a copy of the debates for review and discussion.

3.       Additional agenda items that you might want to discuss. Please give us the topic and a brief description of the item and we will add it to the agenda.

We also need your assistance. The organization needs a corresponding Secretary and a small committee of perhaps two people to do the spade work and preparation for the monthly meetings by researching and recommending topics for the monthly meetings. If you have an interest in assisting the organization please call either Carlyn (887-0050) or Doyle (0916.273.5986) so that we can better discuss the need with you.

We would also like to take the time to thank Mr. Tom Hoesy, the outgoing Chairman of the Republicans Abroad who ably served the organization for the past two years. Thanks Tom for a job well done.

Please put the 7^th of January on your calendar and we welcome your participation.

Republicans Abroad European Regional Meeting

October 11-14, 2007

Luxembourg

Republicans Abroad celebrate at La Lorraine restaurant in the heart of Luxembourg... Corinne Sinclair,  on the left and Jeff Hook, far right, share a moment with James O'Neal from Florida

Roger Johnson, Czech Republic, Sharon March, Luxembourg and Mr. and Mrs. Crites, UK, pose for the cameras...

From L to R: Maria Dolores and RA Chairman James Levy, Spain, Robert Horn, RA Counsel and speaker par excellence, Executive Director Cynthia Dillon,Member-At-Large, Elayne Ghiron and Global Chair Chris Fussner are enjoying a good time!

Co-Chairman Joan Hills (Left) stands with Switzerland's Chairman Bob Gebhardt, Helene and  Regional Chairman George Yates, Hermione Proctor, the Netherlands, Pamela Moore, Czech Republic's  Chairman Roger Johnson and UK's Chairman, Miki Bowman.

Czech Republic Chair,Roger Johnson shares a laugh with William, RA Luxembourg.

UK's Chair Miki Bowman with great friend of Republicans Abroad, Laertes Boechat,from Luxembourg

Members of Republicans Abroad and friends visit the headquarters of CSV (Christian Socialist People's Party) in Luxembourg

Members of Republicans Abroad stand with Executive Director Pierre Gramegna (left) of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce

Luxembourg's Deputy Mayor Xavier Bettel candidly talks to members of Republicans Abroad.

Lt. Governor Michael Steele speaks to RA members of the challenges ahead, while Chairs Chris Fussner and Joan L Hills smile approvingly!!

See more photos of the March, 2007 Annual Meeting

Speaker Newt Gingrich poses for the camera with RA Chairman Chris

 Fussner and Mrs. Fussner  at a party held in his honor in Singapore

See more photos

Tony Snow shares a laugh  with RA Chairman Chris Fussner

Singapore, 2006

See more  photos for 2006

Vice President Dick Cheney with RA Co-Chairman Joan Luke Hills

From L to R:

Voter Registration, Norway; Governor Gilmore with German MP Gunter Nooke; Washington Annual Meeting with Directors and Members -at -large. Amongst them, second from left, now Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy, Colleen Graffy  and Bob Pingeon, (5th in the row) next to  George Yates and Elaine Ghiron.

From L to R:

Voter Registration in Berlin, celebrating Bush-Cheney ticket inLuxembourg; Senator Warner visits with RA at HQ

France's Chair Bob Pingeon and Mrs. Pingeon  celebrate, as well as Costa Rica's Chair Susan Tessman with  Joan Hills and friends

Israel's Chair Kory Bardash  and friends from Pennsylvania and Congressman Jim Gerlach salute President Bush