Cathie Adams, who is the elected Chair of the State GOP in 2009, will be the guest speaker at the Tuesday, March 16 meeting of the Lake Travis Republican Club. The buffet luncheon will be held in the dining room of the Hills Club on Tuesday, March 16 at 11:30 a.m., with speaker to follow. The cost is $15 for members and $20 for guests.

Adams has been involved in the Republican Party in many ways: as an election judge, a member of the district, state and national resolutions/platform committees; a delegate to every senatorial and state convention since 1988; and a delegate to five Republican National Conventions. At the 2008 State Convention, she was elected as the Republican National Committeewoman for Texas. She was also elected Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas in October 2009 by members of the State Executive Committee.

Adams served as a member of the National Platform Committee in 2000, 2004 and 2008 where she led on issues such as the right to life, border security, tort reform, limited government, lower taxes, sanctity of marriage, photo ID to vote, U.S. Sovereignty and many others.

She serves on the Advisory Board for the Young Conservatives of Texas, an independent, non-partisan, youth organization dedicated to the preservation of Individual liberties and freedoms through limited government. Cathie is also a strong supporter and donor for Texans for Lawsuit Reform, Texans Alliance for Life and the National Rifle Association.

She joined the board of the Dallas Eagle Forum in the mid-198Os, and then served as president for 5 years until being appointed president of the Texas Eagle Forum (www.texaseagle.org) in 1993 by the national affiliate's leader Phyllis Schlafly. Adams also serves on the board-of the national Eagle Forum.

As a frequent speaker to Republican clubs and other conservative groups, she has helped to enable thousands of conservative Republican men and women to participate in the process of self-government and public policy-making so that America will continue to be a land of individual liberty, with respect for family integrity, public and private virtue, and private enterprise.

Please make reservations by calling 261-0722 or emailing travis.republican@sw.bell.net.

Fred Barnes, author, editor of "The Weekly Standard" magazine and television political analyst for Fox News, addressed a large group of Lake Travis Republican Club members and their guests at their monthly luncheon, February 8. Dr. Alan Sager introduced Barnes and praised the experience to be gained on "The Weekly Standard" sponsored ship cruises.

Barnes reviewed the events that have followed the 2008 presidential election and their impact on the current political scene. His belief is that misunderstandings and mistakes by Democrats in the White House and in Congress have opened opportunities for the Republicans to return to a position of strength in national and local governments. Washington insiders such as Democrat James Carville had believed that Republican power in Washington was wiped out for a generation by Osama’s strong election victory.

One year later, Democrats are now in dismay over their failure to pass Obama’s agenda and their recent election losses. This dismal mood of Democrats is reflected in the recent Obama "pep-talk" to the Democratic National Committee. Barnes sees these presidential remarks as a desperate plea to a losing team. Many of the problems of the president and the democratic Congress is the result of their misreading the 2008 election as a mandate for a "center-left" philosophy of leadership when Americans are instead leaning "center-right," The polls continue to show that "conservative" programs are supported by a majority of the public.

Barnes believes the Obama administration also misread the 2008 election as an endorsement for his "Star" power in belief that his personality could carry any "liberal" program to popularity with the public. Instead, this belief in the power of the Obama’s personality has led to his overexposure to the public. In Fred’s thinking, this overexposure actually demeaned the office of the presidency.

To capitalize on these Democratic mistakes, the Republicans must articulate a clear alternate program on national issues this summer if they expect in the fall to win back some of their 2008 election losses. They should not depend only on the Palosi/Reid bungling in pushing unpopular programs to carry through to the fall elections. In answer to a question, Fred Barnes indicated that even Presidential Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel believes now that Congressional Democrats should move more slowly on Democratic "progressive" legislation.