I can see 2016 from my house and i don't like what i'm seeing

[Due to the hundreds of emails I am receiving, I have updated this letter and will continue to do so.]

My name is Lauren Stephens. Iâ€™ve been involved in politics for a long time â€“ mostly just as a pissed off American, but I also own a campaign services company. I do not work for any of the Presidential Campaigns. I am not coordinated with any of them. I have not spoken to any of them. I am not being paid by anyone for this. I am getting absolutely nothing for writing this. I am not seeking publicity and have turned down all media requests. My name is attached to this so people will understand this isnâ€™t some back door hit piece. I am a real person.

First off, I would like to let you know that I have been a huge fan and follower of yours since probably about 2007 or 2008. I have several, but not all, of your books. They are really good stuff. I have even downloaded the majority of your podcasts.

Mr. Levin, for years, I have had nothing but the utmost respect for you. Your word has always been your bond. If you doubt my sincerity, you can ask a former co-worker of yours from the Reagan Administration, Dixie Cassell. You could ask a real patriot, C Steven Tucker, from the Chicago area. You could ask a lot of people. They know me.

For years, you have been a champion of We The People, and maybe today, you still believe that you are. But at this point, I beg to differ. Not because I want to, but because I believe I have a little bit more inside information than you have on certain issues surrounding the Presidential race. And the GOP.

I hope you will keep in mind, my respect and admiration for you, before you respond â€“ IF you respond. Although I am angry, I come to you without malice. I am here simply because I know of no other way to get this message to you.

I lived in Wisconsin during the Reince Priebus reign of terror when he was the State GOP Chairman. Iâ€™ll bet not a lot of people know about his former life. Ask Former Congressman Mark Neumann, or any of the other Gubernatorial candidates, what happened when they dared to run against â€œThe Chosen Oneâ€, Scott Walker, for Governor in 2010. Ask Michael Steele what happened when Reince Priebus decided he wanted Steeleâ€™s RNC Chairmanship. You can also ask Mark Willis the same thing, from 2013.

For that matter, you can also ask Rick Santorum, who decisively had the bulk of the primary support for the Presidential primary in 2012 in Wisconsin. Sorry Rick, you were in the way of the deal between Mitt Romney and Reince Priebus â€“ who was desperate and willing to do ANYTHING to make sure that Wisconsinâ€™s Golden Boy, Paul Ryan, was the Vice Presidential pick. But that could not happen unless Romney was the nominee. And I think we can all agree, Romney â€“ as fine of a man as he is â€“ was by far no oneâ€™s favorite. Everyone who was anyone in Wisconsin is well aware that there was a deal made with Romney which would guarantee him the nomination if Reince could get a Wisconsinite in the VP slot. Since they had already planned to run Walker for President, it could not be him.

By the way, Scott Walker, Reince Priebus and Paul Ryan have all been best buds for years. They all hail from Southeast Wisconsin. That alone speaks volumes, wouldnâ€™t you say?

I FIND GREAT IRONY IN THE FACT THAT WALKERâ€™S DONORS, INCLUDING THE KOCH BROTHERS AND CLUB FOR GROWTH, ARE ALL IN FOR CRUZ NOW!

Reince Priebus is a wannabe Lee Atwater. Remember the Southern Strategy? Well, welcome to the Wisconsin Strategy. Priebus really makes me miss Atwater.

I had Paul Ryanâ€™s number way before you did Mr. Levin. Needless to say, I was happy when you finally realized what a fraud he really is. I cannot think of any other person who has done more damage to the GOP and Conservative values than him.

By the way, there is an OFFICIAL Paul Ryan primary effort and you can find their Facebook page here. That is not my page, nor am I an admin.

As far as the Wisconsin Strategy, You could also ask my dear, sweet friend Jeanne Tarantino what happened to her when she ran for an Assembly seat in Wisconsin recently. And let me tell you, Jeanne is the most ethical, decent, caring, SMART, beautiful and faithful person I have ever had the honor of knowing. At one time, the GOP felt the same way. She worked in Walkerâ€™s administration. She was also the woman who single-handedly got Lt Governor Rebecca Kleefish elected.

But, when you are going up against one of the establishment â€“ there will be hell to pay. And there was. Mostly led by Wisconsinâ€™s so-called Conservative media. Conservative as in RINO, not Conservative as in you and I. Do you want to guess who gives them their rules of engagement?

Fast forward to 2015: Cruz was the first out of the gate and I was on board right away. Who wouldnâ€™t be, right? He talks the talk, he says what we all want to hear. Butâ€¦ what did I really KNOW about him? What did anyone really KNOW about him? Did anyone bother to do a little deeper digging?

Apparently not, because if they had, and if you had, you would know what I know.

Here is what I can say: Admittedly, I have been a huge fan of Trumpâ€™s since the 80â€™s (remember the Reagan days?!), when I bought â€œArt of the Dealâ€.

Over the years, I have watched him. I have read many of his books. I have seen him on TV. I have seen him in Congressional hearings. I have seen his commercials. I have seen him on the front page of the Enquirer (Marla Maples). I have seen the good and the bad of Donald Trump.

One thing I know for certain and without any reservation whatsoever â€“ Mr. Trump LOVES this country, and dare I say, he is IN LOVE with this country. And, he has always said that he loves the working man, and it is obvious from what we are seeing now, that love goes both ways.

When Mr. Trump says he wants to â€œMake America Great Againâ€ I believe him. I believe him with everything in me. As do millions of other folks. I believe with the right people on board with him, this nation will prosper like never before. Trump is wise to seek the counsel of others. It is something he has done for decades. I donâ€™t recall a time when Senator Cruz ever did any such thing.

Is it possible that Trump is not like you and I? Most definitely. However, I welcome his newer and more conservative positions than he has held in the past. We should always welcome this from anyone. Just as we did from former Democrat Ronald Reagan, and yes, just as we did from former Democrat Mitt Romney.

Mr. Trump has been a VERY, VERY generous donor to the GOP, the RNC, the RNCC, and most every other Republican committee in this country. I did the research. And this isnâ€™t new. He has been a major donor to GOP causes since at least the 80â€™s. And when I say donate, I mean he has given hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That search is just a search by name and the word â€œRepublicanâ€ it is not very detailed, but still, it PROVES without a doubt that he isnâ€™t new around here.

Mr. Trumpâ€™s generosity, kindness and loyalty to the GOP didnâ€™t end there. He has been a major supporter of MANY Republican candidates. You may like to cherry pick those donations a little and make it sound like he has only donated to Mitch McConnell, but the truth is, he has donated to MANY many wonderful incumbents and candidates. Letâ€™s see what he donated in the 2014 election cycle, shall we? Did he donate to RINOs too? Sure. But isnâ€™t it you who always tells us that in the end, a RINO is better than a Democrat?

Make no mistake about it: If not for the generosity of Mr. Trump, not only would the GOP not be who they are today, but there would be MANY Republicans who would have never been elected at all. Imagine that.

I do not suggest that this should buy him any favors. No. Not at all. My point is, the GOP and MANY Republicans are WELL AWARE that Trump has been on our side for a long time, and yet, they knowingly and fraudulently choose to perpetuate these lies. The lies that he just joined the party. The lies that he isnâ€™t Conservative. Lie after lie after lie.

I would like everyone who is reading this to please watch this video of Donald Trump, from 1988â€¦ at the GOP convention. After watching that, you will know that Trump is not a new to the party. You will know you have been lied to. Over and over again.

Now, before I get to the Cruz thing (which is going to be really bad!), there is something that has been bugging the shit out of meâ€¦

But I do not believe the general public understands that ethanol has been around for a very long time and has numerous uses, which can be read about here.

Mr. Levin â€“ it is absurd to go to Iowa, a state that obviously depends on the industry (thanks to Congress), an industry that employs what â€“ 50,000 people supposedly â€“ and announce, â€œThe GOP says I am a jerk unless I come here and say we must get rid of ethanolâ€! I mean, who DOES that? Someone who is pandering to the GOP without any real consideration of the immediate consequences.

Does the President of the United States of America have the constitutional authority to end all subsidies? Without a pen and a phone of course. You know damn good and well that there is not one sitting Congressman who is going to allow that to happen.

So, Trump is â€œpanderingâ€ to Iowa, while Cruz is â€œpanderingâ€ to someone more evil, the GOP. Please tell us Senator Cruz, just how many jobs have you created in your entire life? Campaign staff not included.

I admit, I believe Mr. Trump is not on the right side of this issue, but I also believe it is possible that he clearly doesnâ€™t understand why that is. And that is okay, he can be educated. He is a reasonable and intelligent man. I believe that in his heart of hearts, he just wants Iowa to prosper. After all, if you take away all those â€œsubsidizedâ€ jobs, we will end up subsidizing those folks in the welfare system.

In the end, no one has the balls to eliminate ethanol subsidies, and we must blame Congress for that.

Now, what is so ridiculous here is that all this subsidy bashing seems to be limited to ethanol for some reason! Why?

Do we expect our candidates to go to Wisconsin and say â€œI am here to take away dairy and farms because you are subsidizedâ€! How absurd would that be? I donâ€™t hear anyone railing on and on about that. Why not?

Senator Cruz sure is taking in a lot of money from â€œbig oilâ€, so I am going to challenge him to get his butt down to Texas as soon as possible and proclaim to all those donors that he will be immediately working to END ALL OIL SUBSIDIES (which are far bigger than ethanol subsidies). Mr. Cruz, please, show us what a real conservative you are â€“ tell your donors you are going to cut them off if they elect you. By an Executive Order if need be. If you are not willing to do that, then you are a hypocrite and by your own standards, not a real Conservative.

The sad fact is, nearly everyone and every thing is subsidized. And we are just going to have to give Congress the blame for this because, as you know, they are the ones with the power of the purse.

Now, I am going to tell you, and anyone else reading this, why I dropped my support of Senator Cruz.

First of all, the way I see it, Mr. Trump was truly kind to Cruz. I believe the bromance was genuine, on Mr. Trumpâ€™s behalf. So let us not forget it was Cruz who fired the first shot by speaking so horribly of Trump in the undercover audio, which was later released to the public. It proved, without a doubt, that Cruz saw Trump as nothing more than another vehicle to take him where he wanted to go. You can click here to hear it.

Just from that, we learned how disingenuous and manipulative Senator Cruz really is. He is no victim here.

Having said that, I believe someone in the establishment purposely set that up. I know they wanted those two to fight so it would clear the field for their chosen one, Marco Rubio. Sadly, Cruz fell for it. He just couldnâ€™t help himself.

I will not address the birther issue, mainly because it isnâ€™t valid, and if we really wanted to talk about birthers, we MUST look to Cruzâ€™s own father. He is the most egregious birther I have ever seen. Letâ€™s not go there.

When I first heard about the campaign finance issue, where Cruz claimed that he simply â€œforgotâ€ to report those loans, I knew it wasnâ€™t true because it was impossible. It is impossible because Cruz is a very smart man. He also has a legal and compliance team. He also has a treasurer. Ted Cruz lied to the American people. And I am very sorry that some people still refuse to accept this.

I immediately started doing my own research. What I found was pretty unsettling Mr. Levin. I believe if you happen to be reading this, you will agree that the prima facie evidence is strong. I have also verified this with the Enforcement Division of the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Let us all remember what Ted Cruz and his wife first told us when they said they cashed out everything they had. Was there any mention of a bank loan?

If you go to this story from 2013, you will see that not only was he on the record as making that claim (as he has made numerous times before), but there is also an audio clip of them (on the left side of the page).

â€œTed Cruz recalled saying to his wife in the weeks before his Senate primary, when he was still behind in the polls, â€œSweetheart, Iâ€™d like us to liquidate our entire net worth, liquid net worth, and put it into the campaign.â€

â€œWhat astonished me, then and now, was Heidi within 60 seconds said, â€˜Absolutely,â€™ with no hesitation,â€ said Mr. Cruz, who invested about $1.2 million â€” â€œwhich is all we had saved,â€ he added â€” into his campaign.â€

Ironically, even Mrs. Cruz seemed uncomfortable with such a story, as she tried on several occasions to change it. The only reason to even bring this up on the campaign trail was to make people believe that not only did they have the money, but that they were so confident of Cruz, that they were willing to risk it all! This is one of the best fundraising strategies there is. And his campaign finance reports indicate that it worked.

Now, about the â€œforgottenâ€ loans. Were they really forgotten? No. Here they are:

As you can see, he reported loans. He reported them back then. He reported them on time. So that Sir, is another lie that he continues to tell to this day. He didnâ€™t forget anything. What he did was lie to the FEC, claiming they were personal loans from his personal money. He had no choice. That is what he told the public he did. Additionally, he never filed ANY loan documentation, which is a requirement no matter WHAT the loan source is.

Now, he wants us to believe that he is â€œforgetfulâ€? That his legal and compliance team are inept? That his Treasurer might be crooked? INCONCEIVABLE!

If this is the case, then he has NO business seeking the Presidency of the United States.

In fact, the more I think about it, the more ridiculous and irresponsible it is for someone to take a loan for over a million dollars just to run for office that pays less than $200,000.00 a year. Is this part of our new conservative principles? Nah, it is just politics and it is acceptable if Cruz does it, but no one else.

By the way, the public needs to understand that the money was paid back, however, it was paid for with campaign donations, not his own personal money. The Cruzâ€™s were out nothing.

Later on, his Senate campaign transferred a LOT of Senate campaign funds to his Presidential campaign account. There is no presumption that just because someone donates money to you for one office, means that they support you to run for a different office. I think Sarah Palin can back me up on this one. See this here?

In addition to that, I allege Ted Cruz violated other campaign finance laws, such as the ones that pertain to declaring a candidacy and filing appropriate documents when you plan to run for office. We require candidates to do this because we deserve transparency.

When you look thru Cruzâ€™s Senate campaign account, you will see that, at least since December 2014, Ted Cruz started spending a LOT of money in preparation of his Presidential run. He spent a lot of money in â€œearly statesâ€. He certainly exceeded the $5,000.00 threshold reporting requirement. He had 15 days to report. He waited at least THREE months. Although he started spending at least by December 2014 (and probably a lot earlier), he did not file his candidacy until March 23, 2015.

11 CFR 110.8D2 (2) No funds, goods, or services, including loans and loan guarantees, may be transferred between or used by the separate campaigns, except as provided in 11 CFR 110.3(c)(5)

There is also another issue where the very forgetful Senator Cruz forgot to disclose another one of his financial connections.

It would appear, that Senator Cruz believes that he is above the law and that the laws do not apply to him.

The issues that I discovered with Ted Cruz run way deeper than this. While you and others continue to slam Trump for donations to RINOs, Ted Cruz has been a major donor to RINOs himself. We certainly donâ€™t hear about that, now do we?

Ted Cruzâ€™s Leadership PAC, the Jobs, Growth and Freedom Fund, which he is directly in control of, has been handing out RINO money since he took office. For this cycle though, despite the fact that he has plenty of money in it, the only money he has been handing out is toâ€¦ you guessed it â€“ Iowa lawmakers. Click here for that. No pandering to see here folks! Move along!

Letâ€™s take a look and see whose palms he was greasing in the 2014 election cycle shall we? Click here to see the list.

Hmmm, is that John Cornynâ€™s name I see on that list? Joni Ernst? Dan Sullivan? Yep. And once again, he greased every Republican palm in Iowa, didnâ€™t he. That is what career politicians do.

Do I need to remind people that for the majority of his adult life, Ted Cruz has had one government or political job after another?

Although Ted Cruz runs on a social conservative, evangelical platform, this is yet another deception. When Ted Cruz had the opportunity, THE opportunity, to nip gay marriage in the bud â€“ did he? Nope, he turned and walked away. And what he chose NOT to fight for, is the exact case that led directly to gay marriage. You can read more about Lawrence vs Texas right here. You can read Supreme Court Justice Scaliaâ€™s response, right here. It sums it all up.

I am very disappointed by all the people who now own Ted Cruz, including his Super PACs. From the get-go, Donald Trump made it clear to others that he was adamantly opposed to Super PACs, and in fact, he sent letters to them, demanding they cease and desist.

Why wonâ€™t Ted Cruz stand up against this? Why does Ted Cruz allow these PACs to exist on his behalf? Is it because he received a lot of money from Citizens United, the organization responsible for the existence of Super PACs? If I am not mistaken, I believe there are more Super PACS and corporate money backing Cruz than any other candidate.

While Donald Trump is willing to fight his own battles and not hide behind Super PACs, Ted Cruz has been a coward, cowering in the corner, letting everyone else fight his battles for him. So he can then pretend to be a victim. It is repulsive and it doesnâ€™t show strength or leadership.

One great example of this is how the OFFICIAL Ted Cruz campaign just put out a video implying that Donald Trump bulldozed an old ladyâ€™s house in New Jersey to make a parking lot out of it. Not only did he not buy the house, but the house is STILL THERE.

Furthermore, the one who created the problem in the first place was Bob Guccione, who first bought the surrounding property and actually built a construction cage around her home. Trump came in years later and tried to save the day â€“ yes, even if it benefited him. The house finally ended up selling in 2014. To someone else.

I am very upset that people affiliated with Cruz are now fraudulently claiming that Trump is now a favorite of the establishment. How does anyone believe such nonsense? Trump is leading by a long shot, he certainly does not need favors from the GOP.

If the establishment is indeed warming up to Trump, you can believe it isnâ€™t sincere. I can only imagine that it is either because they are hoping Trump will line their pockets or because Trump has put the fear of God into them and they are terrified that Trump will jump ship and run third party. I also believe it is entirely possible that, as I predicted months ago, they realize the only way to take Trump down is by trying to make the public believe he is aligned with them.

If we want to talk about establishment connections, we really need to look to what Cruz is doing now.

A couple of weeks ago, Cruz bragged on Twitter that he was helping failed candidate Scott Walker raise money to pay off his disastrous campaign debts. This is about as insider as you can get. Walker, Preibus and Omnibus Driver Paul Ryan have been tight for a real long time.

And recently, Ted Cruz has been attending events with party insiders, as can be read here, which tells the story of a recent fundraiser in the home of Mary Matalin and Democratic Strategist James Carville, which was attended by none other than S. Scott Sewell, a Bush insider.

Typically, I would just write off this sort of behavior to being â€œjust politicsâ€ but it just doesnâ€™t set well with a lot of people when you have someone like Ted Cruz out on the campaign trail, trying to pretend he is some perfect little angel and that he is being bullied by the big, bad Donald Trump.

And what about this? A real swell Wall Street Journal piece by none other than â€“ Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan. Yes, Ted Cruz teamed up with none other than Paul Ryan. And this was less than a year ago.

I am also bothered by Ted Cruz taking in so much money from Warren Buffettâ€™s Berkshire Hathaway, who is affiliated with Heinz, which of course is related to John Kerry. What the hell is that all about? Just politics, right? What about all that railroad money? Will we ever see the Keystone Pipeline under a Ted Cruz presidency? Probably not if his donors have anything to say about it and why wouldnâ€™t they? He owes them now. Thatâ€™s just politics and Ted Cruz is a career politician.

Another thing I feel compelled to inform people of is Ted Cruzâ€™s new support of the Convention of States, which certainly does not coincide with his wifeâ€™s views on sovereignty, which you can read about here on the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) website article, Building A North American Community. I couldnâ€™t help but notice that right after Ted Cruzâ€™s long time buddy and mentor, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (Who is labeled a 2016 Kingmaker) came out in favor of the Convention of States â€“ you changed your tune on Donald Trump. Did Cruz persuade Abbott to take up this issue as a favor to you or vice versa? The timing is pretty crazy.

Mr. Levin, this open letter is not meant to be disrespectful or to suggest that you are being dishonest. I believe that you have simply been too busy to do a lot of deep digging. I hope I donâ€™t have to face your wrath, but I am willing to, because 2016 is important.

I also call on both candidates to knock this shit off. It is childish and unproductive. I appreciate that Trump is willing to take the heat for his past and ongoing positions. Mr. Cruz, I wish you would do the same, but the lies about Trump will only harm your candidacy. You can make it stop.

Think of it like this Senator, if Trump wins and you are VP, youâ€™ll potentially have EIGHT years as VP and then guess whatâ€¦. youâ€™ll likely get EIGHT more as his successor. You win.

At the end of the day, I will vote for any Republican who is on the ballot in November, even if that happens to be Ted Cruz, but I believe that only Donald J. Trump can Make America Great Again.

PS Yes, I am a real person and yes this is my real name. Everything above links to a legitimate reference or news story. You can check the www.fec.gov website yourself.

PSS No I am not interested in doing any interviews, feel free to use the resources I have cited above. I am not doing this for publicity, which is why I removed the link to my business, which was only there to â€œproveâ€ I am a real person.

No, it isn't my top priority.

I guess you are having trouble distilling it down, so let me.

Cruz is against a program that costs tax dollars, redistributes wealth, and harms every American driver.

Trump is for that program, supports the continued existence of the administrating agency, and supports the continued harm it does to every driver and taxpayer--an obvious pandering to the Iowa Ethanol Lobby (including the Governor), OR, just selling America down the river for the status quo.

I don't consider anything about the latter "Conservative".

Cruz's stance against the ethanol mandate and subsidies is a stance against redistribution of wealth and a one-size-fits-all policy that costs Americans a tenth of their fuel mileage for an 'emissions problem' that might not even be a problem where they live, regardless of where they live--and he's taking heavy flak for it, in a state where the Ethanol Mandate is seen as big bucks for the state.

Does that clarify the issue any?

First, anyone elected to office is free to do whatever it is that they would like to, within their power. There is no guarantee that someone who is bought or unbought will do as they previously promised. Anybody, especially a politician, has the potential to be a liar. Welcome to life on planet Earth.

Second, the mere fact that Donald Trump has borrowed probably billions of dollars from various banks, does not mean that he is owned by them. When you take out a loan, the only thing that you are required to do is to repay it according to the terms laid out. I would not expect that any good long term investor in real estate would put themselves in a position of having their loans called back earlier than they knew for certain that they would have the ability to pay them back - that would leave them in a position of incredible vulnerability, and could even leave you in a position where the bank itself could by Design seize your property and virtually all of your equity in it. Trump is not that stupid. Plus, I would find it difficult to believe that someone like Trump owes the banks anything except principal and interest on his loans, and that he needs to jump through any hoops for them in order to keep the loans going.

In short, if you are going to criticize someone, then at least have your facts and assumptions be correct. If you don’t like Donald Trump, that’s just fine with me. I’m not him, I don’t work for him, and I don’t know anyone who ever has. However, Trump is entitled to at least have criticism of him be fair and reasonable. Criticizing him for being a potential liar, when every other person running for president has that exact same potential, is neither fair nor reasonable. Criticizing him for being owned by banks, is not fair and reasonable when you do not know the facts of the individual financing arrangements. For that matter, I don’t know them either. However, common sense and some knowledge of how business operates suggest that all he needs to do to stay in the good graces of his banks is to continue to repay the loans that he took from them. Frankly, he probably owes so much money that he owns the banks more than they own him.

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