Bay Co. Republican Roundtable News, July 2009

Tom Neubauer speaks at July meeting
Tom Neubauer, President of the Bay Defense Alliance, spoke at the July 14 Roundtable meeting about the BDA’s efforts to offset the economic impact of the current drawdown at Tyndall AFB. The information he shared was well received and generated numerous questions from the audience.

Gibbs wins membership drive award
Barry Gibbs, BCRR Secretary, was awarded a beautiful cloisonné elephant at the July meeting for his dedication to membership recruitment for the Roundtable. Barry maintains an email distribution list with hundreds of names. His enewsletters, meeting announcements and updates on local Republican activities have drawn many visitors and new members to the Roundtable. Our sincerest thanks, Barry!

Resolution unanimously adopted
The Roundtable’s general membership unanimously adopted at its July meeting a resolution calling on Florida’s Republican leaders to uphold Rule 8 of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Rules of Procedure. Rule 8 provides for the endorsement of one Republican candidate over another in a contested primary only with the unanimous approval of RPOF’s Executive Board and 60% approval of its Executive Committee.

Books for Soldiers project makes second shipment
2nd Vice President Richard Plantec and his wife Barbara recently met with Door Prize Co-Chairs Sue Bynum and Mike Speaks to pack up six boxes of donated books, CDs, DVDs and candy for U.S. soldiers in service overseas. Another set of boxes will be shipped soon. Richard and the Projects Committee are also working on ways to assist Junior ROTC programs at local high schools this fall.

August, September programs set
The program for the August 11 Roundtable meeting is a discussion free-for-all. Bring a friend and your opinions, and join us for the fun! 1st Vice President Vicki Doolittle has arranged for Lt. Col. (Ret.) Don Arias to speak at the September 8 meeting. Don now works for Air Force Special Operations at Hurlburt Field. His brother died in the 9/11 WTC terrorist attack, and Don has dedicated himself to counter-terror efforts.

#RPOF Statement on their Grievance Hearing held today in Orlando

Tallahassee–Tony DiMatteo, Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida’s Grievance Committee, released the following statement regarding the RPOF Grievance Committee Hearing held today in Orlando.
“This weekend’s Grievance Committee Hearing has received a significant amount of publicity at the hands of those involved with the individual grievances. Though the grievance process is an internal party matter, I believe it has become necessary to explain the proceedings and the Grievance Committee’s role within Republican Party of Florida.
“The Grievance Committee is comprised of members of the RPOF State Executive Committee. Our involvement with the RPOF is in a volunteer capacity. Grievances are a formal complaint from one member of the Republican Party of Florida’s county leadership structure to another member of the county leadership structure. All grievances originate at the county level and are filed with the State Party and then referred to the Grievance Committee.
“All parties involved are informed that a grievance as been filed, and given ample time to prepare for the Grievance Committee Hearing. At the hearing, the petitioner and the respondent are given an opportunity to present their arguments. In the weeks following the meetings, the committee members compile a recommendation for final resolution on each grievance and then present the recommendation to Chairman Greer.
“Several recent news stories have mentioned a “purge” of certain members of county Republican Executive Committees. There is no ‘purge.’ To date, Chairman Greer has only removed one person from the leadership structure of the State Party. The removal came at the unanimous recommendation of the Grievance Committee. Contrary to what has been reported, there have been numerous circumstances when the committee has recommended removal and the Chairman has chosen not to remove a member.
“Additionally, the grievances in question do not “kick-out” members of the Republican Party. The parties involved with the grievances are members of the Republican Party of Florida’s leadership structure. Like any organization, we have an obligation to our members to ensure that our leadership abides by the rules of the organization. Our formal grievance process is the mechanism for this review of the conduct of Republican leaders. A removed member is still a Republican and eligible to participate in Republican activities, but prohibited from holding a leadership position for a set amount of time.
“The RPOF Grievance Committee heard two grievances today. The private meeting was closed to the media for the benefit of those involved, as well as members of the grievance committee, who are all private citizens serving in a volunteer capacity. Like any organization, we have a right to conduct this internal party business in private. This is a political party, not a public entity. As private citizens with full time jobs and lives outside of politics, the members of the grievance committee request the courtesy to conduct this private political business without having our images spread all over television and the newspapers without our permission. Over the past several weeks, the State Party has been more than willing to speak to media outlets about this process, while keeping the specific details of the grievances private for the sake of those involved; however, today’s meeting was private, and it would not have been appropriate to discuss the proceedings.
“I think it is worth reiterating that these grievances originate at the county level. The State Party is involved only in order to facilitate the formal mechanism for maintaining organization within the ranks of our county leadership.
“In closing, this process and the publicity it has received at the hands of those involved, certainly detracts from the true business of the RPOF, which is getting Republicans elected.”

#RPOF News: The Florida GOP—In A Sunshine State

By Raynard Jackson
Any political analyst will admit that the Republican Party is in a serious downward spiral, but the Florida GOP and its governor, Charlie Crist, give me some hope for the future.

Jim Greer, the head of the Florida GOP, is the best party chairman in the country (Democrat or Republican) and their governor, Charlie Crist is by far the best governor in the country (bar none).

Greer will be my featured guest on my radio show this Saturday to discuss what he and Governor Crist are doing in the state of Florida and whether he believes this can be done on a national scale.

Greer has made the issue of diversity—getting more minorities involved in the Republican Party—his priority and it is paying big dividends.

Greer recently appointed John F. Davis Deputy Executive Director of Operations. In addition to his role as Director of Minority Outreach and Coalitions, as Deputy Executive Director, Davis will oversee the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Operations, aiding Chairman Greer and Executive Director Delmar Johnson with the long and short term management of the organization.

Greer has begun to have regular dialogue with Black newspaper owners, including discussions of buying advertising in their papers.

He has established an African American Leadership Council to build relations with the Black community. He has done similar things in the Hispanic community

In past columns I have been very critical of the Republican Party for their race baiting. But, Governor Crist has been the opposite in every way. In every office held, he has made a commitment to represent everyone, not just those who voted for him. I am fond of saying that “Republican’s actions speak so loud that I can’t hear a damn thing they are saying.” Well, Governor Crist is just the opposite. His actions speak so loud I can (and want to) hear everything he is saying.

As governor he has already worked with his cabinet to restore felons' voting rights after they complete their sentences, bringing Florida in line with most other states. The change has a disproportionate effect on blacks, who make up nearly half of new inmates. Pushed through a law that requires a paper trail for all ballots cast, helping allay fears that votes in black communities were being undercounted by computerized voting machines.

As if that wasn’t enough, he recently appointed a Black Justice to the Florida Supreme Court. Governor Crist elevated Judge James E.C. Perry from Chief Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit to the state Supreme Court a few months ago.

Governor Crist also appointed former Baltimore Raven linebacker, Peter Boulware to the State Board of Education.

Crist has been honored twice by the NAACP of Florida as the recipient of the Dr. Marvin Davies Civil Rights Award for his dedication to ensuring civil rights and accessible, affordable higher education to all Floridians (he is the first Republican governor to attend their annual dinner). As Attorney General, Crist co-sponsored the annual National Conference on Preventing Crime in the Black Community for three years, drawing over 6,000 participants from more than 25 states.

Here you have a state party chair and a governor who are putting their money where their mouths are. They have created an open dialogue with the Black community, even when they disagree on certain issues. They have placed Blacks throughout their administrations, in decision making positions. They have renounced the “Southern Strategy,” in word and in deed.

Chairman Greer and Governor Crist have created the model for the national party to follow. These two are the only political team who have actually brought their states together without creating animosity from one group to another (Black vs. White or Black vs. Hispanic).

I find it ironic that these two white guys have done something that Republican presidents haven’t done nor the so called Black Republican leaders. Most Black Republican elected officials rarely put Blacks in key positions and when they do they are typically not right for the positions they are placed in.

Why is it that the House and Senate campaign committees and the Republican Governor’s Association have no Blacks on their staffs? Why is it that there are no more than 100 Black staffers between House and Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill?

Why is it that Republicans tend to promote and showcase Blacks who come across very effeminate or are so far out of touch with their own community that they are ignored. I know John Davis (deputy executive director of the state party) and he can speak the “king’s English,” but can also walk into the Black community with credibility and respect. But, most importantly, they know he has a direct line to the chairman and the governor.
Florida is called “The Sunshine State” and is known for their oranges. But, Greer and Crist have given Blacks around them the “juice” to make things happen and have made this point very plain in the most public of settings.

The Florida GOP and its governor, Charlie Crist, have demonstrated that the Black vote can be won, but are national leaders willing to follow the Greer/Crist principle? They are the reason Florida is “In a Sunshine State” for Republican politics.

Bay County Republican Roundtable July 14

The next meeting of the Bay County Republican Roundtable will take place on Tuesday, July 14, at the St. Andrew Bay Yacht Club, 218 Bunkers Cove Road in Panama City .

The dinner buffet begins at 6:00 p.m. and costs $15 per person (includes non-alcoholic beverage, tax and tip). The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. If you plan to dine with us, please make reservations so that the Yacht Club can prepare for adequate seating and waitstaff.

You may make your dinner reservations by contacting Teresa Eaton, the Roundtable’s president, at 271-3773 (home), 832-5689 (cell) or ardentheart@bellsouth.net.

Next Tuesday’s guest speaker is Tom Neubauer, president of the Bay Defense Alliance. Tom will share information about the BDA’s efforts to minimize the impact of the F-15 retirement at Tyndall AFB. He has had a distinguished career in community service, and we look forward to hearing from him.

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.

Republican Liberty Caucus encourages Senators to oppose Federal Hate Crimes Law

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(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.

Tea Party letter to the editor

By Teresa Eaton

Kelly Miller, in an April 15 letter to the editor (“Tax protests were fake outrage being aimed at invisible issues”), characterized the Tax Day Tea Parties’ organizers as believers in an “extremist ideology.” I was an organizer of the local Tax Day Tea Party, and the beliefs that drove me to help organize this event are freedom, less government and lower taxes. If that’s an extremist ideology, then I proudly embrace it, since this also was the extremist ideology of America’s founders.

Miller mistakenly asserts that the organizers of the local Tax Day Tea Party followed the lead of Fox News. In fact, we, like thousands of our fellow citizens across America, followed the lead of our consciences. Fox News simply jumped on the idea months after it had taken root. Miller further asserts that the purpose of the Tax Day Tea Parties was “to stir up populist rage with no direction” and to “direct that anger at Obama.” Untrue.

The local Tea Party organizers met in late February to discuss what was happening in Washington, D.C. Anger was not the overriding emotion of the organizers. Rather, we were deeply worried, and still are, that our children’s future has been mortgaged in the trillions of dollars spent on pork disguised as crisis relief. Miller may believe that the coming decades of onerous taxation are “a lie,” but the local Tea Party organizers knew the lessons of history.

Miller opines about supposed conservative “heroes” like Bush and Cheney, asserting that Tea Parties are “really a move to fire up conservatives AGAINST the current administration.” First of all, conservatives don’t worship politicians; we cherish freedom. Second, if conservatives take to the streets, it’s because their freedoms have been threatened. And third, if President Obama is the leader of a government bent on burdensome regulation and taxation, conservatives will not shy away from holding him accountable for the subsequent erosion of freedom.

Miller objects to “a news network like Fox leading a protest and lying to its constituency.” Elected officials, not news networks, have constituencies, and those elected officials have been lying to people a whole lot longer than news networks have. Conservatives cast a wary eye at all “news” media and simply turn off their TVs if they think someone is lying to them. Unfortunately, lying elected officials who tax and spend their constituents into bankruptcy are not so simply turned off.

However, it is touching that Miller is worried about Fox News lying to unwitting conservatives. Maybe she should write to President Obama about that, and maybe he’ll yank Fox News off the air. Then we could all go back to the good old days of national unity when CBS’ Walter Cronkite assured us every evening, “And that’s the way it is.”

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!