Republican Roundtable Update for May 2010

Doc Washburn to moderate at May 11 meeting

The open forum at the May 11 meeting of the Republican Roundtable will be moderated by popular conservative talk radio host Doc Washburn (Fox News Radio 94.5 WFLA). Doc is a regular at Roundtable meetings, frequently contributing spice and humor to our free-for-all discussions. Don’t miss this great opportunity to enjoy Doc in person.

Meeting and dinner reservations info

The Roundtable meets at the St. Andrew Bay Yacht Club, 218 Bunkers Cove Rd. , in Panama City . A dinner buffet begins at 6:00 p.m. and costs $15.00 per person, including tax, tip and non-alcoholic beverage. Reservations are necessary so that the Yacht Club staff can plan for adequate food and seating. To make your dinner reservations, please contact Melissa Thompson at 527-7384 or Melissa@efileamerica.com.

A short business meeting will begin at 6:45 p.m., and the program will begin at 7:00 p.m. Bring a guest and your opinion!

Candidate soapbox at every meeting

All Republican candidates are invited to take to the candidate soapbox for three minutes at every Roundtable meeting. This is a great opportunity for candidates to get out their message and interface with voters. Candidates, remember to bring your campaign stuff!

Roundtable membership

The Roundtable’s annual dues are $30.00 per person. If you would like to renew your membership or become a new member, please make your check payable to BCRR and mail it to the Roundtable’s treasurer: Melissa Thompson, P.O. Box 15044 , Panama City , FL 32406 . Or you may simply give your check to Melissa at the May 11 meeting. Thanks for your support!

APO addresses needed

Sue Bynum, 2^nd Vice President and Projects Chair, has collected many items for our men and women in service overseas. If you know APO addresses where these items would be appreciated, please contact Sue at 271-4092 or mikespeaks@knology.net.

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Panhandle Federated Republican Women

The Panhandle Federated Republican Women (PFRW) will meet on Wednesday, May 12, at 11:00 a.m. at the Golden Corral Restaurant on 23^rd Street in Panama City . The cost of lunch is $10.00, payable in the room reserved for the club. (Do not pay at the cash register.) The guest speakers for the May 12 meeting are Congressional District 2 candidates. For more information, contact President Lorraine Odom at lorraineodom@marykay.com or 624-2544.

Bay County Republican Executive Committee

The Bay County Republican Executive Committee (BCREC) will meet on Monday, May 24, at 6 p.m. in the School Board meeting room at 1311 Balboa Ave. For more information, contact BCREC Chairman John Salak at 276-2872 or john.salak@L-3Com.com.

Coffee, donuts and great conversation

Roundtable member Ken Ford opens the Republican Headquarters, located at 1607 Lisenby Avenue in Panama City , every Saturday from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. Bring your coffee cup and your point of view for any part of the three hours you can spend there. You’ll be glad you did! The number at HQ is 763-8656.

Lincoln-Reagan 2010 ignites victory fervor

Over 125 guests enjoyed the annual fundraiser of the Bay County Republican Executive Committee (BCREC), Lincoln-Reagan 2010, on Saturday, April 24, at the Edgewater Convention Center in Panama City Beach . U.S. Congressman Adam Putnam, Republican candidate for Florida ’s Commissioner of Agriculture and the evening’s keynote speaker, delivered a stirring message about the Republican Party’s conservative founding principles and was enthusiastically received. Onward to victory in November! . . . . .

For more information about the Bay County Republican Roundtable,

contact Vicki Doolittle, President, at 319-0105 or doolittlg@comcast.net.

Other Roundtable officers are:

Richard Plantec, 1^st Vice President, Programs Chair

Sue Bynum, 2^nd Vice President, Events Chair

James Waterstradt, Secretary

Melissa Thompson, Treasurer

Republican Roundtable News for December 2009

Doc Washburn Draws Crowd to November Meeting

Over seventy people turned out in November to enjoy Doc Washburn’s turn at the BCRR microphone. Doc recently returned to Bay County to host a weekday radio talk show on 94.5 WFLA. His strong Conservative credentials and adept articulation of the issues were a hit with his Roundtable audience.

Taking to the Candidate Soapbox at the November meeting were Carl Meece (R-Suwanee Co.), candidate for the U.S. House (FL Cong. Dist. 2), Derrell Day (R), candidate for the open Bay Co. Commission, Dist. 4, seat; and Chuck Tucker (R), also a candidate in the Bay Co. Commission, Dist. 4, race.

Our thanks to Doc for sharing his talents with us, and a special thanks to him for introducing us to his lovely mother, Sara. Be sure and listen to Doc from 6 to 9 a.m., Monday through Friday on 94.5.

January 2010 Speaker

Bill Husfelt, Bay Schools Chief, will be the guest speaker at the January 12, 2010 dinner meeting.

Republican Party to Have Float in Dec. 5 Christmas Parade

The Bay Co. Republican Party will have a float in the Panama City Christmas parade this Saturday, Dec. 5, and volunteers are needed to walk with the float. This is a great opportunity to let Bay Co.’s Republican voters know that their party’s local leadership is still in the fight, representing their Conservative values.

The float’s parade position is #19, in lot A in front of the Civic Center. Walkers need to be in place by 5:15 p.m., and the parade begins rolling at 5:45 p.m. Please bring a quart or gallon bucket to hold the candy you will be distributing to children along the parade route. It could be cold, so dress warmly.

At the pre-parade position in lot A, long-sleeved Bay Co. Republican Party t-shirts will be available for a $15 donation. The shirts also will be available for a $15 donation at the Republican Headquarters on Saturday morning from 8 to 11 a.m.

Decorating of the float will take place on Thursday, Dec. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. at 1715 Maple Ave. in Panama City. This location is next to a flea market and an old bowling alley that’s now a bingo hall. It’s just east of the Police Department and the National Guard Armory in Panama City.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Bay County Republican Christmas Party - December 11

Friday, December 11, is the date of this year’s Bay County Republican Christmas Party, and the Edgewater Convention Center is the site. The social hour begins at 6 pm, and the buffet dinner ($25.00 per person + cash bar) will begin at 7:00 At 8 o’clock, popular local DJ Jim Lawson will spin the discs as we dance the night away.

Our special guests will be Bill and Dorothy Randall, who recently announced their retirement after decades of political activism. Also present will be some 2010 candidates who would like to meet you and make their case for your vote.

Please scroll down to the end of this newsletter to find out how to make your reservations for this special event. Important note: reservations are due by December 7.

No Roundtable Meeting in December

The Roundtable will not have a regular dinner meeting in December. We hope to see you at the Bay County Republican Christmas Party on December 11.

Officer Elections at January 12 Meeting

Per the Roundtable’s bylaws, the first order of business at the January 12 meeting of the Roundtable will be the election of the 2010 officers. All nominations will come from the floor, and if more than one person is nominated for any given position, the vote will be by secret ballot. All offices are one-year terms.

If you’ve ever been tempted to become politically active, now is the time to pull the trigger. In 2010, the Roundtable’s officers will be critical players in the local Republican Party’s efforts to get Republicans elected locally and statewide.

The Roundtable meets at the St. Andrew Bay Yacht Club on Bunker’s Cove Road in Panama City. The buffet dinner ($15.00 per person, including tax and tip) begins at 6 p.m., and the program begins at 7 p.m. Dinner reservations are necessary. To make your reservations, please contact Melissa Thompson at Melissa@efileamerica.com or 527-7384.

Panhandle Republican Women to Meet December 9

The next meeting of the Panhandle Federated Republican Women will take place on Wed., December 9, at 11 a.m. at the Golden Corral restaurant on 23^rd St. in Panama City. The cost of lunch, including tax and tip, is $10.00, and reservations are not necessary.

Following lunch, a musical program will be performed by students from Patronis Elementary. Instead of a gift exchange, attendees are asked to donate a $10.00 international calling card for our overseas troops and contractors. For more information, contact PFRW 1^st Vice President Betty Malin at 235-3286.

BCRR Presentation to Bay County JROTC

The presentation of $100 donations to support the JROTC has been rescheduled for December 9 at 1p.m. Bay County School Board meeting, at the school administration building. Be there or be square!

Coffee, Donuts and Great Conversation!

Coffee and donuts are a bonus, but the real reason to come to the Bay County Republican headquarters on Saturday morning is the great conversation and camaraderie. BCRR member Ken Ford opens the doors every Saturday morning from 8 to 11, and others of us show up to greet visitors, keep Ken company and talk about the latest political news. Recent topics of conversation included the CD2 race, the foreseeable problems with nationalized health care, the messed up state of Florida's homeowner's insurance market and how the two might be related, plus other topics of interest to a bunch of grassroots Republicans.

Bring your coffee cup and your point of view with you on Saturday mornings to the Republican headquarters for any part of the three hours you can spend. You’ll be glad you did! The number at HQ is 763-8656.

Republican Party of Florida - Annual Meeting January 8-9

The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) will hold its annual meeting in Orlando on January 8-9, 2010. Attending the meeting from Bay County will be John Salak, Chairman of the Bay Co. Republican Executive Committee; Jonathan Hayes, Bay Co.’s Republican State Committeeman; and Melissa Hagan, Bay Co.’s Republican State Committeewoman.

Governor Crist's Message on Closing of Florida's 2009 Legislative Session

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Governor's Message on Closing of Florida's 2009 Legislative Session
May 8, 2009

As the 2009 Florida legislative session comes to a close, I applaud the House and the Senate for putting together a budget that addresses the priorities of the people of Florida. I am grateful that during these challenging economic times, we have been able to avoid drastically reducing services.

I want to thank the Senate President and House Speaker for approving the use of $5.3 billion made available to us as a result of the federal stimulus package. These recovery dollars are helping us prevent deep cuts that would further burden Florida’s families and businesses.

We have also maximized dollars for education. We are able to increase per-student funding for Florida’s 2.6 million students. In addition, this summer I will begin negotiating an agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida based on the guidelines developed by the Legislature. The resulting compact can help create even more dollars for students and teachers in our schools.

I also commend the Legislature for approving the higher education reform that I proposed last November. These reforms will move Florida’s higher education system into the 21st century by helping them compete on the national level. Now our universities will have the resources they need to retain top faculty and researchers. They will also continue to provide access for low-income students and families.

In this tight budget year, we are continuing to invest in economic development and workforce training to strengthen our economy. We have been able to avoid deep cuts in services for our most vulnerable – and our children, the elderly and persons with disabilities. And we are maintaining Florida’s commitment to restore America’s Everglades and conserve public lands through Florida Forever.

Last year, voters approved the largest tax cut in Florida history by lowering property taxes by an estimated $25 billion over five years. I remain committed to reducing the tax burden on Florida’s homeowners and property owners even more. And we are lowering the tax burden of Florida’s property owners.

I applaud the Legislature for proposing Constitutional amendments that will allow the voters of Florida to choose whether to lower the annual property-tax increase on non-homesteaded properties from 10 percent to 5 percent. Voters will also choose whether to grant first-time Florida homebuyers a 25 percent property-tax exemption. And we have leveled the playing field between taxpayers and property appraisers when a property owner challenges the appraiser’s assessment.

I look forward to carefully considering the Legislature’s budget proposals during the next several weeks. I am confident that Florida’s brightest days are ahead of us. I am committed to working hard to improve the quality of life for the people of Florida.

Thank you, and God bless Florida.

How the GOP can rebuild a big-tent party

By Sen. JIM DEMINT

Sen. Arlen Specter's defection to the Democratic Party this week is no reason for Republicans to cheer. But his reason for leaving -- he faced an unwinnable primary election next year -- is no cause for soul searching. There is a question Republicans do need to ask: What is it that binds our party together?

In the wake of two successive electoral defeats and the likelihood of a 60-vote Democrat majority in the Senate, what does it even mean to be a Republican today? Moderate Republicans are right to remind conservatives that they cannot build a center-right coalition without the center part. And conservatives are right to remind moderates that Republicans only succeed when we rally around clear principles.

The real mistake is that Republicans became more concerned with staying in D.C. than reforming it.

Despite notable successes at both ends of Pennsylvania Ave., it seems to me that Republicans in Congress and in the Bush administration forgot a simple truth. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, if you aim for principled reform, you win elections in the bargain; if you just aim for elections, you get neither.

No Child Left Behind didn't win us "soccer moms," but it did cost us our credibility on locally controlled education. Medicare prescription drugs didn't win us a "permanent majority," but it cost us our credibility on entitlement reform. Every year, another Republican quality was tainted: managerial competence, fiscal discipline and personal ethics.

To win back the trust of the American people, we must be a "big tent" party. But big tents need strong poles, and the strongest pole of our party -- the organizing principle and the crucial alternative to the Democrats -- must be freedom. The federal government is too big, takes too much of our money, and makes too many of our decisions. If Republicans can't agree on that, elections are the least of our problems.

If the American people want a European-style social democracy, the Democratic Party will give it to them. We can't win a bidding war with Democrats.

Freedom will mean different things to different Republicans, but it can tether a diverse coalition to inalienable principles. Republicans can welcome a vigorous debate about legalized abortion or same-sex marriage; but we should be able to agree that social policies should be set through a democratic process, not by unelected judges. Our party benefits from national-security debates; but Republicans can start from the premise that the U.S. is an exceptional nation and force for good in history. We can argue about how to rein in the federal Leviathan; but we should agree that centralized government infringes on individual liberty and that problems are best solved by the people or the government closest to them.

Moderate and liberal Republicans who think a South Carolina conservative like me has too much influence are right! I don't want to make decisions for them. That's why I'm working to reduce Washington's grip on our lives and devolve power to the states, communities and individuals, so that Northeastern Republicans, Western Republicans, Southern Republicans, and Midwestern Republicans can define their own brands of Republicanism. It's the Democrats who want to impose a rigid, uniform agenda on all Americans. Freedom Republicanism is about choice -- in education, health care, energy and more. It's OK if those choices look different in South Carolina, Maine and California.

A Republican recommitment to freedom and limited government will foster an agenda that will strengthen and invigorate our party. Freedom has worked for our party and our country before. It will again, if we let it.

Chairman Greer Marks First 100 Days

Chairman Greer Marks First 100 Days

Tallahassee–Chairman Jim Greer today marked the conclusion of the first 100 days of his second term as Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. Chairman Greer was elected to serve a second term at the RPOF’s Annual Meeting on January 10, 2009, with 77 percent of the RPOF State Executive Committee’s vote.

“I realize that the honor of serving as Chairman comes with a great responsibility to lead our Party with energy, new ideas and an unwavering commitment to our Party’s longstanding values and principles of less government, less taxes and more freedom,” said Chairman Greer. “Over the last 100 days, we have made great strides towards reaching the goals I laid out during my campaign, and I appreciate the great support members of the State Executive Committee and Republicans across Florida have provided as we move forward with this effort.”

“I am grateful to the members of the State Committee and to Florida Republicans for putting their trust in my leadership at this critical time in the history of our great Party,” said Chairman Greer. “I am humbled by their confidence and look forward to working hard to build our party and elect Republicans throughout the rest of my term.”

Please see below for a summary of Chairman Greer’s First 100 Days:

RNC Transition
Chairman Greer was a strong supporter of current RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s candidacy. Chairman Greer endorsed Steele and served as a whip during the RNC Chairman’s Election. Chairman Greer later served as a Co-Chairman of Chairman Steele’s transition team, overseeing the transition of the Communications Department.

RNC Regional Roundtable
Florida hosted the Southern Regional Roundtable for the Republican National Committee, showcasing the close relationship Florida will have with the RNC moving forward.

Youth Outreach
Chairman Greer recently appointed Tim Nungesser and Kathryn Salerno to serve as RPOF Youth Outreach Coordinators to implement the RPOF Youth Outreach Initiative. The RPOF Youth Outreach Initiative is a comprehensive program aimed at encouraging young Floridians between the ages of 15 and 35 to consider joining the Republican Party. The program includes multiple voter registration and technology components and will culminate with a statewide conference this summer. Outreach to younger voters is one of the Republican Party’s highest priorities for 2009.

Finance
In late January, Chairman Greer announced the appointment of Ambassador John Rood as the Party’s new Finance Chairman. Ambassador Rood is both a longtime supporter of the Party and a successful entrepreneur. Ambassador Rood and the RPOF Finance Team are working to secure the resources necessary to elect Republican candidates across Florida. Chairman Greer also appointed Steve Burton who will serve as Co-Chairman of the RPOF Statewide Finance Committee during the 2008-2010 Election Cycle. Steve has been an active member of the RPOF Statewide Finance Committee for the last two years and is a longtime supporter of the Party. Steve has a great deal of experience in organizing and coordinating major fundraising events.

Minority Outreach
Chairman Greer recently hosted an organizational meeting of the African American Leadership Council for the 2010 Election Cycle. Led by Representative Jennifer Carroll (R-Jacksonville), the Council worked to develop a strategic plan for the 2010 election cycle. The plan incorporates numerous events across the state during the coming months.

The RPOF held a grassroots event with RNC Chairman Steele and Co-Chairman Jan Larimer, during which Chairman Steele, Chairman Greer and Co-Chairman Larimer met with over 100 Miami residents to unveil the Republican Party’s efforts to forge coalitions in South Florida’s communities as a means of spreading the Party’s message and winning elections in the state.

Chairman Greer also held a strategic planning session to discuss Hispanic outreach efforts. The planning session focused on cultivating relationships with Hispanic voters by expanding the Republican message in Florida’s Hispanic population through community service based grassroots initiatives.

Also, the RPOF sponsored a bilingual event during which Osceola Pastors’ Coalition met with Attorney General Bill McCollum to discuss consumer protection issues. The event helped to raise awareness of fraud, an ongoing problem in the Central Florida Hispanic community. The RPOF believes that faith-based organizations are a critical component of maintaining an awareness of this type of crime in communities across our state.

Business Leaders Fly-In
Chairman Greer and the RPOF recently hosted the RPOF’s Third Annual Business Leaders’ Fly-In and Forum, providing an opportunity for business leaders from across Florida to gather in Tallahassee and meet with lawmakers for a dialogue on issues important to Florida’s business community. This event is always a great opportunity to thank Florida’s business leaders and to introduce them to Republican leadership in state government and the Florida Cabinet. For the third year in a row, we more than doubled the number of participants, confirming that Republicans’ support of entrepreneurs and efforts to promote a healthy business climate continue to resonate in Florida’s business community.

Board Workshop
The RPOF hosted a Saturday workshop for the RPOF’s Executive Board. The board received briefings from each RPOF department and participated in a strategic planning session that focused on technology, voter registration, messaging and Hispanic outreach. It is imperative that we continue to energize and empower the local Republican Executive Committees in each county to work with the State Party and build their memberships.

Club Re-Chartering
Organizations using the name “Republican” must re-charter with the RPOF every two years. Thus far, we have re-chartered close to 200 clubs and other organizations – up from previous years.

Voter Registration Task Force
RPOF is preparing to deploy teams of Voter Registration trainers into all 67 counties. The goal is to hold a voter registration event in each county by the end of the summer. The trainers will work with Republican leadership at the county level to provide local grassroots activists the tools they need to carry out voter registration initiatives once the RPOF team has moved on.

Technology Task Force
Chairman Greer appointed a technology Task Force to work on a variety of programs to upgrade RPOF’s website and new media capabilities. The Task Force is also working to re-launch a Spanish language site that will be more user friendly.

Tax Day Tea Party in Panama City April 15th

Tax Day Tea Party organizers Glen and Alice Leirer were the first on the scene to set up Command Central out of the back of their truck directly across the street from the Sherman Avenue post office. They had a sign-in table, iced tea and a truck bed full of signs and American flags, and by the start of the Tea Party at 3:00 p.m., about 200 people had already signed in and assembled along Sherman Avenue.
The media arrived at the beginning of the Tea Party, and by the time they left, around 4:00, a hundred more people had already poured out of their cars to join the Tea Party. This is why the media under-reported the Tea Party attendance. From the very beginning, something dynamic clearly was happening, but the media chose not to stay for the entire event, or even a third of it, and they chose not to return to the scene later in the afternoon to see if and how things had changed.
In fact, things HAD changed, and dramatically so. By 4:00, organizer Glen realized that the rapid growth of the crowd was soon going to overwhelm the post office block of Sherman Avenue. Thus he took to a megaphone to ask the Tea Partiers to spread themselves out over three blocks on Sherman Avenue and to start another line of sign-waving on 15^th Street. And spread out they did! At the height of the Tea Party, people were on both sides of 15^th Street for several blocks.
Around 5:00 p.m., the Sheriff’s Deputy assigned to keep order at the Tea Party reported to Glen that attendance had reached, by his experienced count, some 1,400 people. By that time all the sign-in forms were full, and Glen and Alice were having people sign in on the backs of the forms. Plus, the iced tea had run out, and they had had to call Melissa Hagan to bring in a fresh batch, which she gladly did. Long story short: No one had to tell Glen that the Tea Party crowd had mushroomed!
For almost four hours, the Tea Partiers politely but emphatically made their case for freedom, less government and lower taxes. Some arrived in American Revolutionary garb. Others handed out tea bags, and a few even WORE tea bags. Hundreds held American flags and homemade signs, waved and smiled to motorists, chatted enthusiastically among themselves and made connections that no doubt will produce far-reaching waves beyond Tax Day.
A few of us joined Glen and Alice for dinner afterwards at Sonny’s (whose owner, Wayne Lindsay, has been a stalwart supporter of and good friend to Bay County’s conservatives). After all of us had ordered and finally caught our breath, we just looked at each other and said, practically in unison, “I can’t believe what just happened. Was that awesome or what?!!!” What a gratifying experience it is to see the love of freedom so enthusiastically demonstrated by so many.
Tea Party volunteer Melissa Thompson is doggedly working her way through the sign-in sheets to create an email blast list for announcements about future Tea Parties in Bay County, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. It’ll take a little time for her to do that, and for the new names to be incorporated into our email blaster’s system, so I hope our Tea Partiers can keep their fires burning in the meantime.
This was truly a grassroots phenomenon. Fourteen hundred citizens, who have been sitting in front of their TVs fuming for the last three months, made a decision on April 15 to exercise their rights to assemble and to speak freely of their disappointment, dissatisfaction, and disgust with their government. This is still a free land where its citizens can peaceably assemble to criticize their government without fear of government retaliation.
Tea Partiers, thank you for your courage, your help, your encouragement, your support. Keep spreading the Tea Party message, and Glen and his team will keep working on the next Tea Party. Hope to see all of you, and many, many more, at the next one!

Text of Anti-stimulus bill resolution passed

BAY COUNTY (FLA.) REPUBLICAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
RESOLUTION 2009-001


ASSERTING THE BAY COUNTY Republican Executive Committee's RESOLUTION AGAINST THE HR1 “SO-CALLED STIMULUS BILL”

WHEREAS all Republican Congressman voted against the Stimulus Bill. and

WHEREAS all but three Republican Senators voted against the Stimulus Bill. and

WHEREAS the Florida Legislative body is, in the majority, conservative Republicans who oppose the Bill. and

WHEREAS the Bay County Republican Executive Committee overwhelmingly rejects the concept and content of this exorbitant spending bill, recognizing it as an unprecedented extension of government control into the lives of us average citizens, and the largest single deficit increase in the history of our Republic, and

WHEREAS the content of the “Stimulus Bill” will enable the Democrats who now control the Legislative and Executive Branches of our Federal Government , to change our Nation from a free-enterprise democracy to a government-controlled socialist society, and to achieve control of many aspects of our daily life without debate or recognition in the normal legislative process,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE BAY COUNTY (FLA.) REPUBLICAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, IN REGULAR SESSION hereby records a strong objection to Governor Crist's actions and speech in supporting President Obama's plans and the “Stimulus Bill” by his appearance with him at the Fort Myers Town Hall, and requests that the Florida Legislature thoroughly examine the terms and conditions of any funds offered to the State as part of the Stimulus Package to be assured that requirements for ongoing funding by the state or further Federal intrusion into the affairs of Florida are not part of the funding package.