Bay County Republican Roundtable news, October 2010

October 2010

October 12 meeting to feature open discussion
     Representatives from the Scott, Southerland and Rubio campaigns will be on hand at the October 12 meeting to lead discussions about the upcoming General Election.  Sharing information about their respective campaigns' strategies for victory will be Bo Rivard, representing Rick Scott for Governor; Matt McCollough, from the Steve Southerland for U.S. House of Representatives campaign; and Melissa Hagan, for Marco Rubio for the U.S. Senate.
     John Salak, Chairman of the Bay County Republican Executive Committee, will follow up with information about how the local party is helping the entire Republican slate achieve victory on November 2.  If you want to play an active role in making 2010 a transformational election year, the October 12 meeting of the Roundtable will be a great place to start!
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!
LWV Forum on WJHG-TV
     The League of Women Voters' General Election Forum will be telecast on WJHG-TV on the evening of Tuesday, October 12, from the Holley building on the FSU-PC campus.  The telecast will run from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. and will cover races for the State Legislature, School Board, County Commission and U.S. House (in that order).  The public is invited to attend, and campaign t-shirts are permissible.  No campaign signs.
     This forum overlaps with the Roundtable's regular meeting in October.  Adjustments will be made to our usual meeting format so that our members and guests who are also working for campaigns may attend and enjoy both events.
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
       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 turn in your dues at the October 12 meeting.  All new and renewed memberships after September 1 are applied to 2011.  Thank you for your support!
Subscribe to Roundtable newsletter   
     Simply click this link:  http://republicanroundtable.com/subscribe.html

 

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Panhandle Federated Republican Women
     The Panhandle Federated Republican Women will meet on Wednesday, October 13, at the Golden Corral on 23^rd Street in Panama City.  The lunch buffet begins at 11:00 a.m. and costs $10.00 per person.  The meeting begins at 12 noon.  For more information, contact President Lorraine Odom at lorraineodom@marykay.com or 850-630-5678.
Bay County Republican Executive Committee
     The Bay County Republican Executive Committee (BCREC) will meet on Monday, October 25, at 6 p.m. in the School Board meeting room at 1311 Balboa Ave.  For more information, contact BCREC Chairman John Salak at 850-276-2872 or john.salak@L-3Com.com.
Republican HQ needs volunteers
     If you'd like to help staff the Republican Party's headquarters (1607 Lisenby Avenue in Panama City) during the election season, please contact HQ Manager Glen Leirer at 276-2168 or geleirer32@comcast.net.  The number at HQ is 763-8656.

. . . . .

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

. . . . .

Teresa Eaton, Newsletter Editor

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.

Subscribe to Roundtable newsletter

Simply click this link: http://republicanroundtable.com/subscribe.html

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 Liberty Caucus encourages Senators to oppose Federal Hate Crimes Law

Image via Wikipedia

(Chattanooga, TN - May 5, 2009) A resolution called "The Local Law
Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009" (HR 1913) passed the
House this week and is now being considered in the Senate. Under this
new federal hate crimes legislation, Americans who were previously
considered legally equal under Article IV of the Constitution and the
Fourteenth Amendment would no longer be equal under the law. This law
would create privileged groups and crimes against those special
citizens would be treated as more serious than if they were committed
against ordinary citizens. The idea of different legal protections for
different classes of citizens is fundamentally contrary to the values
of this nation.

"Our legal system is based on the idea that all people are equal under
the law and that justice is blind," said Dave Nalle, Chairman of the
Republican Liberty Caucus. "When the government starts to create
special classes of victims or criminals, it is taking the fairness out
of the system and setting some people above others, thereby declaring
their suffering more important because of who they are."

Usually federal criminal legislation applies only to federal
jurisdictions and interstate crime, but this resolution is designed to
blur the line and facilitate federal involvement in crimes within
states, following the often repeated pattern of offering federal
assistance and money in exchange for an erosion of state sovereignty
and independence. In this case, the legislation provides grants of up
to $100,000 for what are effectively incentive bonuses to encourage
the prosecution of crimes as hate crimes. As has been demonstrated in
the War on Drugs, offering law enforcement money to find more crime
almost never results in justice.

The bill also raises the concern that it may only be the first step in
a whole program of similar legislation and may lead to criminalizing
unpopular speech as has happened in Canada and many nations in Europe.
At best it is a law which criminalizes the criminal's thought
processes rather than his actions, which may open the door to
criminalizing thought or speech in other situations, as well. This
resolution is directly contrary to the tradition of common law and the
protections in the Bill of Rights.

"When the government provides select groups a superior status in the
eyes of the law, it makes everyone else a second-class citizen,"
proclaimed Nalle. "That may appear to be justice when the law benefits
you, but when it's your thoughts or your unpopular ideas which are
targeted by the government -- it's tyranny."

We encourage RLC members and other concerned citizens to contact their
Senators and ask them to oppose HR 1913.

The Republican Liberty Caucus, founded in 1991, is a political 527
organization dedicated to restoring the principles of individual
liberty, limited government and free markets to government via the
Republican Party.

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.

Bay County Republican Roundtable 12 May 2009

Next BAY COUNTY
Republican Roundtable
will be 12 May 2009
___________________________________________________________

Please make May 12 meeting dinner reservations
The next meeting of the Roundtable will take place on Tuesday, May 12, at the St. Andrew Bay Yacht Club in Panama City. A buffet dinner begins at 6:00 p.m., and dinner reservations are necessary so that the Yacht Club can plan for adequate food and staff. Please make your dinner reservations with 1st Vice President Vicki Doolittle at

319-0105 or gerald.vicki@gmail.com

The program for the May meeting is a free-for-all discussion, beginning with a look at the recent advisory released by the Department of Homeland Security regarding right-wing extremism. (As if we needed a conversation starter.)

April meeting examines nationalized health care
Roundtable members and guests were the lucky beneficiaries at the April 14 meeting of Dr. Michael Reed’s lifetime of experience, research and analysis in the field of medicine. Dr. Reed focused his presentation on the looming prospect of socialized medicine in the U.S., and his comments drew numerous questions from the audience.
We thank Dr. Reed for his efforts and hope he will join us again.

DVDs, CDs needed for soldiers
2nd Vice President Richard Plantec, who chairs the Roundtable’s Projects Committee, reports that more than enough books for our overseas soldiers have been collected, but DVDs and CDs are still needed. For more information, contact Richard at 890-1766 or rgplant1@aol.com.

Planning for next Tea Party underway
Tired Old Man Glen Leirer is working hard on the next Tea Party, which will take place in Tallahassee on Saturday, May 16. A caravan of Tea Partiers from Bay County will attend. Also, Glen is making arrangements for Bay County’s Tea Partiers to take part in the national Tea Party effort on July 4. For more information, contact Glen at 230-9118 or 276-2168 or geleirer32@comcast.net.

Relay for Life plans change a bit
Sue Bynum, organizer of the Republican entry in Panama City Beach’s Relay for Life on May 1 and 2, has asked that walkers report to the Property Appraiser’s station at the Relay. You may wear your Republican shirts in the walk. For more information, contact Sue at 271-4092 or mikespeaks@knology.net.

Roundtable t-shirts available soon!
Thanks to the tenacious efforts of Treasurer Melissa Thompson and Glen Leirer, the Roundtable soon will have t-shirts available to members at the cost of $10 per shirt. The shirts will feature a large version of the club’s logo on the back and a smaller version on the front.

* * * * *
Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you are preparing your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises.
~A. Lincoln, Edwardsville, Illinois, Sept. 11. 1858

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.

Roundtable April 14th

Bay County
Republican Roundtable
Tuesday, April 14
6 p.m. Dinner / 7 p.m. Meeting
Program: Socialized Medicine
Guest Speaker: Dr. Michael Reed
Dinner Buffet $15.00 per person
Please make dinner reservations!*
Contact Melissa Thompson

527-7384 melissa@efileamerica.com

2009 Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner invitations in the mail

Fellow Republicans,

Your invitation to the 2009 Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner should be in your mailbox early next week!

This morning 13 volunteers met at the Republican Headquarters to label, address and stuff over 1,100 invitations. We’d like to thank the following volunteers, whose cheerful help made it possible to finish the job before noon: Rita Acoba, June Anderson, Doris Collins, Linda Dillenschneider, Ken Ford, Alice Leirer, Floy McKenzie, Jean O’Neal, Lisa Parris, Richard Plantec and Carol Potter.

We owe a special thanks to BCREC Chairman John Salak, who printed almost 1,000 address labels for us, and Anita Salak, who spent the better part of last week plowing through the master list updating names and addresses. Also, LRDD Chair Dennis Dillenschneider ran down some sponges for us this morning for envelope sealing, and State Committeeman Jonathan Hayes dropped by to thank everyone for their help.

If you do not receive your LRDD invitation within the next few days, please contact us. A few dozen extra invitations will be available at the Bay Co. Republican Executive Committee meeting this coming Monday, March 23, 6:00 p.m., in the School Board meeting room at 1311 Balboa Avenue .

We hope to see you at the LRDD on April 10!

Vicki Doolittle 784-4772 home / 319-0105 cell

Teresa Eaton 271-3773 home / 832-5689 cell