Osceola County Grassroots News

Pelosi's Powerful Push for Reform

2010-03-01T11:39:00.000-08:00

Tea Partiers on 'Alert' as Democrats Lay Groundwork for Health Care Passage

2010-03-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

From: FoxNews.com

Democrats appear to be gambling that a perceived lull in Tea Party activism, combined with an eight-month window to the November midterm election, is going to buy them enough time to muster the simple majorities they need in the Senate and House to give President Obama at least partial victory in his push to remake the nation's health care system.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that Obama will have a proposal on the table "in a matter of days."

"Time is up," she said in an interview Sunday.

But conservative activists, particularly the Tea Party groups, are gearing up for a fight to the last vote, even if political judgment day may seem far off.

"Health care is right now our first priority because we know ... it's so close to passing, and if we look away for one second, it will," said Shelby Blakely, a leader with Tea Party Patriots and executive director of its media arm, New Patriot Journal.

The all-fronts push for health care reform by top Democrats in Washington is a sharp turnaround from late January, when President Obama declared in his State of the Union address that "jobs must be our number-one focus in 2010" while burying the section on health care. But Blakely argued that Obama was "intentionally" playing down the issue to make the debate less toxic.

"I think they created the lull on purpose," she said. "Just because it's not front-and-center in the news cycle does not mean it's gone away."

The third Tea Party Express tour -- a road show of anti-tax, anti-spending activists -- is set to start March 27 in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's home turf of Nevada and wend its way toward Washington, holding rallies at dozens of stops along the way. More than 1,000 Tea Party rallies are planned nationwide for the April 15 tax day demonstration. Both the tour and the tax day rallies are expected to focus heavily on health care reform.

Blakely said April 15 is "the next big thing" in the health care reform battle, but that the Tea Party groups will be watching the debate carefully, ready to jump in with carefully applied pressure to key lawmakers.

Tea Party Express spokesman Levi Russell said the group, and the 400,000 people on its mailing list, will be on a "high degree of alert" in the coming weeks.

Pelosi, in an interview Sunday with ABC's "This Week," appeared to be trying to mollify the Tea Party movement by appealing to its anti-establishment instincts.

"We share some of the views of the Tea Partiers in terms of the role of special interest in Washington, D.C.," she said, adding that the Republican Party was "hijacking the good intentions" of those in the movement who "share some of our concerns" about special interests.

While Tea Party groups say they're no fans of a number of Republicans in Congress, it's highly unlikely they'd see a friend in the Democratic leadership team either.

Republicans say that if Democrats go through with plans to pass the health care reform bill without major revisions, they can kiss their majority goodbye.

"It is my belief that the Democrats will lose their majority in November if they ram this thing through without any bipartisan support," House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., told Fox News on Monday.

But top Democrats are signaling that that may be the price to pay for a historic piece of legislation that could fundamentally reshape the health care industry.

Asked Sunday what she says to members afraid of losing their seats in November, Pelosi said, "We're not here just to self-perpetuate our service in Congress. We're here to do the job for the American people."

Obama concluded his daylong White House summit on health care reform Thursday by telling Republicans that his party may have to "go ahead and make some decisions," and if so, "then, that's what elections are for."

Article Weblink:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/01/tea-partiers-alert-democrats-lay-groundwork-health-care-passage/

CRIST SAYS HE WOULD NOT SCRAP DEMOCRAT HEALTH CARE REFORM

2010-03-01T11:25:00.000-08:00

Miami, FL – U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio today issued the following statement in light of Governor Charlie Crist’s declared position that he would not scrap the current Democrat health care reform, as reported by the Palm Beach Post (article below):

“Once again, Charlie Crist has shown why Floridians can't trust him to go to Washington and stand up to the misguided agenda of President Obama and Congressional Democrats. At a time when Americans are pushing back against the government takeover of health care and calling for a complete reset to this flawed bill, Charlie Crist says he would not scrap it. Even more problematic, he claims he would approach health care in the same way he handled the stimulus. Floridians know all too well the soaring debt and expansion of government that resulted from that misguided approach.

“Make no mistake, the current health care proposal is a deeply flawed plan that should be scrapped entirely in favor of a truly bipartisan approach that won't sacrifice the things that have made our health system the best in the world."

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Palm Beach Post
http://www.postonpolitics.com/2010/02/crist-says-he-would-not-scrap-dem-health-care-reform-cant-identify-part-worth-keeping/
By Michael C. Bender
Saturday, 2/27/2010

Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate, told The Palm Beach Post editorial board on Friday that, unlike many Republicans in Washington, he didn’t think President Obama should scrap his health care reform proposal:

“There may be parts of it that you don’t have to scrap. There are three parts of it that I would like to see scrapped: It would raise taxes significantly, it would raise rates significantly and it would take half-a-trillion dollars out of Medicare.

“I think the real issue here, as it relates to health care, is that people want it to not cost so much and people want to have access to it. I think there is a consensus of agreement that the health care that is delivered in America is good. But it’s not easy to get it and it’s too expensive when you do get it.”

Asked if there were any parts of the bill he liked, Crist said:

“I don’t think a whole lot. Watching the discussion yesterday (Thursday) you get a chance to sort of see more of it be ferreted out. You know, I’m the kind of guy … I’m pragmatic. The stimulus is a great example. We needed the money. Every other Republican governor took it, too. I was just maybe a little more honest and straight forward about it. Well, shame on me for being honest. But, you know, as it relates to health care, if there are good ideas, I’m willing to look at them. And I would take that same approach to any issue in Washington.”

Asked again if there were any parts he liked he said:

“Not at present. No.”

Not one good idea?

“There may be. There may be. You know, I’m pretty focused on Florida right now. I mean, after the session I’ll be more focused on the issues in Washington. But I’ve got to do my first job first.”

A Sit Down With Osceola County Commissioner Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr.

2010-03-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

By: Jeremy Fetzer (2/25/2010, 1:45 p.m.)
After his first year in office, newly elected County Commissioner Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr. understands the importance of hard decision making to address critical issues facing Osceola County comes at a price.

Fred Hawkins Jr. was elected as Osceola Commissioner District 5 in 2008 and has had a tough first year facing major policy decision regarding the county budget, the increase of county millage rates and fire fees, and the controversial vote by the Florida State legislature regarding the commuter rail system known as SunRail.

Through all these tough decisions, Chairman Hawkins realizes his conservative and free market principles which he holds dearly to his heart will help Osceola County find real, long term solutions to job creation here locally and will be able to limit the tax burdens on each family in the county.

Chairman Hawkins’ top priority for 2010 is not to increase taxes, focusing on economic development to create long term employment opportunity for county residents, and focusing on creating a smaller/smarter local government.

During our conversation I asked Chairman Hawkins about the unanimous vote to increase millage rates and fire fees which he stated, “He did not feel if he voted against the increase it would have changed the outcome but he understands it was the wrong solution and he still gets heartburn over it”. He went on to say he is not going to vote on a fire fee increase the next time around until the fire budget has been thoroughly reviewed and all options have been put on the table first. He stated he would rather cut back services than increase the financial burdens on families during these hard economic times.

As for the controversial SunRail legislation which Osceola County residents have a $121 million dollar bill, he stated while the County Board of Commissioners supports mass transit the County cost for the system is unaffordable and voted against the final resolution because of the price tag. While the Florida Department of Transportation is working with the county to lower some of the cost, Chairman Hawkins still believes the county just can’t afford the SunRail system at this time.

Chairman Hawkins went on to say, “If it is in the yellow pages, government should not be doing it!” He believes the government’s role is to provide the basic services to the community which they cannot provide for themselves and doesn’t mind if people say he is to the right wing Commissioner…

When looking back at the first year in office I asked Chairman Hawkins what inspired him to run for office? He stated, “His 6 year old daughter”. He said when he looks around Osceola County and thinks about every father’s dream of having their child go to the best college, get the best degree, and have the opportunity to fulfill the American dream he believed those opportunities where not available here in Osceola County. He said his goal and reason for going into public service is to rebuild the trust with the citizens of Osceola County and to provide an opportunity for economic development so one day his and everyone’s children can come home to Osceola County to build the American dream.

Lt. Col Allen West @ CPAC

2010-02-22T09:10:00.000-08:00

White House: If GOP Filibusters, We’ll Pass Health Reform Via Reconciliation

2010-02-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

From: Greg Sargent's blog
The game of chicken commenceth — right now.

In the course of unveiling Obama’s new health reform proposal on a conference call with reporters this morning, White House advisers made it clearer than ever before: If the GOP filibusters health reform, Dems will move forward on their own and pass it via reconciliation.

The assertion, which is likely to spark an angry response from GOP leaders, ups the stakes in advance of the summit by essentially daring Republicans to try to block reform.

“The President expects and believes the American people deserve an up or down vote on health reform,” White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said on the call.

Pfeiffer said no decision had been made how to proceed, pending the outcome of the summit. But he added that Obama’s proposal is designed to have “maximum flexibility to ensure that we can get an up or down vote if the opposition decides to take the extraordinary step of filibustering health reform.”

Translation: If the GOP doesn’t cooperate with us in any meaningful sense, we’re moving forward on our own.

Also on the call, White House advisers detailed Obama’s new proposal, which was just posted on the White House web site, and discussed the ways it seeks a compromise between the Senate and House proposals. Among the details:

* As expected, the plan has no public option — but this does not preclude a reconciliation vote on the public option later.

* The proposal boosts the threshold for the “Cadillac” tax on the most expensive health plans from $23,000 for a family plan to $27,500. That’s actually a better deal than some labor officials were expecting, though some House Dems will still be angry that the tax is being included at all.

* The proposal also preserves the Senate bill’s state-based exchanges, and does not have a national exchange, as the House bill did.

* However, House Dems will be cheered by the fact that Obama’s compromise closes the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole” coverage gap.

* Also, the bill nixes Ben Nelson’s Nebraska deal and boosts Federal financing for Medicaid expansion in all states.

* And finally, as expected, Obama’s proposal creates a Federal panel to monitor and block exorbitant rate hikes and other unfair practices by the insurance industry.

One final note: On the call, Pfeiffer was careful to note that the proposal is not the product of an agreement between the House and Senate, but rather is “the President’s bill.” This is meant to preclude GOP efforts to cast the proposal as the product of a backroom deal. The lines are drawn.

**************************************

Update: Eric Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring emails a response:

The Obama plan costs a trillion dollars, puts government in control of personal health decisions, and allows the government to set prices in the private market. That mirrors the Pelosi/Reid plans that have already been soundly rejected by the bipartisan majority of Americans.

Web Link: http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/white-house-if-gop-filibusters-well-pass-health-reform-via-reconciliation/

Glenn Beck Keynote Speech at CPAC Pt 6 of 6

2010-02-22T08:31:00.002-08:00

Glenn Beck Keynote Speech at CPAC Pt 5 of 6

2010-02-22T08:31:00.001-08:00

Glenn Beck Keynote Speech at CPAC Pt 4 of 6

2010-02-22T08:26:00.000-08:00

Glenn Beck Keynote Speech at CPAC Pt 3 of 6

2010-02-22T08:25:00.002-08:00

Glenn Beck Keynote Speech at CPAC Pt 2 of 6

2010-02-22T08:25:00.001-08:00

Glenn Beck Keynote Speech at CPAC Pt 1 of 6

2010-02-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

Marco Rubio @ CPAC

2010-02-22T08:20:00.000-08:00

RPOF Elects John Thrasher

2010-02-22T08:10:00.000-08:00

By: Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel
After weeks of angst over lavish spending and secret deals, Florida Republicans turned to a GOP stalwart Saturday to help lift the cloud of financial scandal hanging over the party.

State Sen. John Thrasher, a 66-year-old former House speaker from Clay County who helped build the party to prominence in the 1990s, was tapped to serve the remaining 11 months of ousted Chairman Jim Greer's term — and right a party rocked by subpar fundraising, intra-party bickering and allegations of financial mismanagement.

Thrasher captured 135 votes out of the 222 eligible on the Republican Party of Florida's executive board, compared with 85 votes cast for his toughest challenger, Broward National Committeewoman Sharon Day, and two votes for Osceola committeeman Mark Cross.

After the vote at a special meeting at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Thrasher and GOP leaders pledged to launch a "forensic audit" immediately to unearth whether any illegal or improper spending and enrichment occurred within the state party.

"I hope that it's as clean as a whistle, but we're going to find out," Thrasher told the GOP executive board after his election.

Most of those questions have swirled around Greer, who appeared at the Rosen Centre to preside over the election but refused to answer any questions.

Greer was forced to resign in January amid complaints about party finances and rumors of his high-flying spending.

But the situation exploded after the Orlando Sentinel reported two weeks ago that Greer had inked a secret fundraising contract with his 30-year-old executive director, Delmar Johnson, that boosted Johnson's total pay last year to at least $408,000. Legislative leaders forced Johnson to resign after learning of the deal – which included a confidentiality clause to keep information from the party's own finance committee and major donors.

The news prompted Democrats and even some GOP leaders to call for outside legal reviews and possibly criminal probes into the financial dealings.

"Everything will be examined, whether that's credit cards, airplanes, questions about a contract," said Attorney General Bill McCollum, a GOP candidate for governor. "If there is any illegal behavior they discover, and I don't know if there will be, I stand ready to assist … in recommending that to the appropriate law enforcement agencies in our state."

Thrasher and party brass hoped to leave Saturday's election with a new sense of unity heading into what appears to be a promising election year for Republicans nationwide.

But the GOP clearly still has some baggage to handle first.

At its quarterly business meeting following Thrasher's election, Lee County GOP Chairman Gary Lee accused party general counsel Jason Gonzalez of telling him there was a secret severance agreement to keep paying Greer — then denying it in public last week.

"Gary, I just can't even believe you're suggesting that," Gonzalez said to Lee. "You asked me if there was an agreement, and I told you no agreement was reached."

Thrasher then said even if there were one, he wouldn't enforce it.

"The fact is Jim Greer is gone, and there's no commitment to provide him with anything further," Thrasher said. "If there were any agreements to that effect, I would not enforce them."

A few on the RPOF board were also irate that House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon and Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos had yanked close to $1 million from party coffers in the last month after Greer's resignation. The RPOF finished the month of January with $670,000 in cash on hand — a staggeringly low amount considering the party had $9.8 million in the bank heading into the 2006 election year.

When Treasurer Joel Pate was asked who approved the lawmakers' transfers, he said "As far as I know, it was Delmar Johnson."

"That was their money, and they have the authority to use it," Pate said.

Thrasher again jumped in to say he would get briefed on that soon and hoped the two powerful lawmakers could be convinced to give back the money, which they had raised for Republican campaigns and have deposited into a pair of political funds that they control.

"I'm hopeful our friends in the House and Senate will be willing to reconsider that," Thrasher said.

Thrasher will also have to rebuild bridges within the party at the grassroots level.

In the days leading up to the vote, Day had called Thrasher a Tallahassee insider who had known of Greer's woes and tried to cover them up. She said Thrasher's fundraising prowess — he'd help collect $1 million for the party in the weeks leading up the vote — was too much to overcome, and her supporters "heard it constantly" as they reached out to other committee members.

"We're in a tough place financially," she said. "And they played that hand very well — that fear factor."

But, Day said, she worries that once the legislative session opens, Thrasher will have to put his role as a fundraiser on hold. Lawmakers are prohibited from raising money while they are in session.

She also begged off a chance to throw her full confidence behind Thrasher. Asked if she was optimistic about the party's future, Day said, "I'm absolutely optimistic about our values and beliefs."

Thrasher will also have a chore winning over the grassroots activists that supported Day. To many, his election simply confirms their suspicion that party elders anointed Thrasher and that their desire for new blood wasn't taken seriously.

Greer's tenure, coupled with the same frustration helping fuel the Tea Party movement, has made many rank-and-file activists wary of anyone with ties to the "establishment."

Matt Nye, a Brevard Republican Executive Committee member and a Tea Party organizer, said Thrasher will have to reach out to Day supporters to demonstrate he understands the frustration at the local level.

"There's going to be a ton of resentment out there, especially among the people who aren't here today," Nye said. "They're going to see this as just more of the same."

A common complaint among county activists is that the GOP leadership is too quick to compromise conservative principles in the name of pragmatism.

"It's great to be united," Nye said, "but first you need something to be united behind."

Orange County GOP Chairman Lew Oliver said Thrasher can build confidence quickly if he immediately contacts local party members and adopts a series of policies to promote transparency at RPOF headquarters.

Both strategies, he said, are needed to "correct the errors of the previous administration."

In talking with Thrasher and the other chairman candidates, Oliver asked for a commitment that they would return his calls — something he said Greer didn't do.

"People here aren't different than anywhere else," Oliver said. "They want some attention. They want to feel like they have access to their chairman."

Bob Reid, a Day supporter from Putnam County, said despite his disappointment, he's ready to get behind Thrasher.

"As far as I'm concerned, once we leave here today, he's got the grassroots' support," Reid said. "We move on united."

Florida GOP gathers in Orlando to elect new chairman

2010-02-22T08:07:00.000-08:00

By Aaron Deslatte and Jim Stratton, Orlando Sentinel
A month ago, Florida Republicans met in Orlando amid demands for a new party chairman, rumors of lavish spending and rising discontent among grass-roots activists.

In hindsight, it seems pretty tame.

Since January, the GOP has been rocked by a financial scandal that has stunned its members. Reports of private jets, five-star hotels and secret contracts have tainted the party, delighted Democrats and spurred calls for a criminal investigation.

And as the party meets todayin Orlando to replace ousted Chairman Jim Greer, the revelations threaten anyone tied to the party's establishment.

"There's a black-helicopter conspiracy out there with some people," said Jason Steele, chairman of the Brevard Republican Executive Committee. "It's like if you're an incumbent or had anything to with leadership, you're bad."

The tension has surfaced in e-mails from state Sen. John Thrasher and Broward County National Committeewoman Sharon Day, two candidates vying for Greer's job.

Day, a grass-roots favorite, blasted Thrasher when word leaked that Thrasher and others may have cut a deal with Greer to force him out. Thrasher, a consummate Tallahassee insider and ex-House speaker, called the accusations "outlandish." He said some party leaders spoke with Greer, but he was not involved.

Thrasher, tapped by elected officials to replace Greer, swiped at Day, writing that he would never step "into the gutter with those who would attack their fellow Republicans."

The exchange sets up a potentially explosive showdown at the Rosen Centre Hotel when GOP members meet to elect Day or Thrasher as party chief. Thrasher had twice as many publicly pledged votes among the 250 or so executive-committee members, and the backing of the governor, House speaker and Senate president, who appoint an additional 30 votes.

But as activists arrived in Orlando on Friday, the outcome wasn't certain.

A Thrasher win would put a well-connected operative in charge, but it would anger activists demanding new blood.

"People desperately want leaders who value principles over politics," said Matt Nye, a Day supporter and member of Brevard's executive committee. "The way this whole thing with Thrasher evolved smacks of how Jim Greer came to power."

Greer, a former Oviedo council member, has become the iconic "fat cat" to many grass-roots Republicans. Picked in 2006 by then Gov.-elect Charlie Crist to run the party, Greer inherited the keys to a fine-tuned political machine used to raising hoards of cash and winning big. He leaves the organization in a financial fog.

After the 2008 elections, the RPOF had just $785,000 in the bank, according to its annual audit. The party came out of the 2006 election year — in which it had a governor and U.S. Senate race — in much better shape, with nearly $1.7 million in cash.

Greer was angling for a national-leadership post or a congressional run but said Crist convinced him to stay. He continued to travel to national GOP events and hold fundraisers in far-flung locales.

In the first quarter of 2009, Greer filed reimbursement claims for $16,386 for hotels, flights and rental cars. He charged $10,176 to his party American Express card in the month period leading up to Crist's U.S. Senate announcement, buying meals at the Blue Fin on Broadway in New York, The Ritz-Carlton in Washington and Citrus Club in downtown Orlando.

Normally, a state party builds its war chest heading into a busy election year such as 2010. But while the RPOF raised $15.2 million last year in state and federal money, it burned through the cash almost as fast. It spent $14.4 million, finishing the year with $124,129 in its federal account and $466,978 in debts.

The full financial picture might not be known until the party files its annual audit next month. But based on the assets and liabilities the RPOF had on its books in 2008, campaign-finance reports suggest the party finished 2009 with a total of about $1.5 million in its federal and state accounts.

That was before House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon, R- Winter Park, and Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, yanked nearly $1 million from party coffers. For comparison, heading into the 2006 election year the RPOF had $9.8 million in the bank.

The numbers raised questions about Greer's management.

"Whether he did anything wrong or not, he had lost the confidence of a tremendous amount of elected officials and party leaders," said Ken Plante, a GOP lobbyist and former chief of staff to Gov. Jeb Bush.

Greer's support of Crist didn't help matters.

When Crist entered the Senate race, Greer angered Marco Rubio backers by trying to funnel national-party resources to Crist. Day, who serves as RNC secretary, blocked him. Meanwhile, Crist's Senate run hurt the RPOF because the governor was not available to raise state party money.

What few knew last summer was that Greer had turned fundraising over to 30-year-old Executive Director Delmar Johnson, a former Crist campaign staffer.

Johnson's secret contract would boost his total pay to at least $408,000 even as fundraising suffered. Johnson would charge about $1 million to his AmEx card on $3,000 meals, greens fees at Torrey Pines and charter jets. After Greer dramatically cut up his own card — as a display of fiscal restraint — Johnson charged things for him. The two were reimbursed for $106,000 in out-of-pocket expenses last year, the party's federal reports show.

As criticism mounted, Crist stuck by his chairman. Chris Kise, a former adviser to the governor, said Greer "abused" his position and "made himself a sycophant." Kise said Greer told the governor, "Don't listen to these people. They're your enemies."

Kise also took exception with the rationale Greer and Johnson used that to make money, you had to spend big money.

"If you spent in the corporate world like that, you would be fired."

The Enemy Play Book

2010-02-11T08:23:00.000-08:00

By James Marshal, Commentary
For most, watching the NFL Super Bowl can be quite exciting, especially when the fourth quarter begins to wind-up with the score still close enough to provide a real nail biter ending. Fun indeed! However, this type of situation isn't nearly as much fun for us politicos where it's much more exciting to actually see the other side be completely routed in a landslide victory. Of course, a Super Bowl game like that would have people heading home early or turning the TV channel to catch a Sunday movie. Not as much fun especially for those companies with high dollar commercial segments airing in the second half.

After the game, a thought occurred to me. Would the score have been any different had the Colts been offered a copy of the Saints playbook a week or two before the Super Bowl? My answer… certainly! How different? My answer… by a landslide margin!

With the election season of 2010 now hard upon us, and with so much more at stake in our Nation than simply a years' worth of bragging rights or lucrative commercial contracts, perhaps an honest introspection is in order. Is your organization fully trained and conditioned for the war that team Obama, Pelosi, Grayson, and Kosmas will be bringing to the field against all conservatives? Is your coaching staff fully prepared? Are you sure?

Even the most skillful teams will have difficulty playing against a lesser skilled team who has acquired a copy of your playbook well in advance of the game. If you're like me, you're not looking to have a "nail biter field goal with 3 seconds left on the clock" styled win in November… you want a landslide win in November! Therefore, I have some good news and some bad news for you.

First the good news – Your team and coaching staff can actually get a copy of the Obama playbook! Furthermore, by having Obama's playbook you also have access to the same plays currently being used by every community organizer, every radical leftist, and nearly every Democrat in Washington DC (some of them can't read).

Now for the bad news – You have to open up the playbook and read it. Study each play and tactic. Understand why the tactics work and how they can easily unravel the very best of our efforts. Failing to do so will only serve to increase the odds that we'll see a nail biting fourth quarter finish in November. In politics, that's not fun.

To paraphrase some sage advice, "keep your friends close; keep your enemies (playbook) closer."

This political life changing book comes highly recommended not only by Obama but also by the esteemed National Education Association (NEA) specifically for their teachers:

Here is the review of the book Rules for Radicals from the largest teacher’s union in the country:
"Saul Alinsky, who was a labor and civil-rights activist from the 1910’s until he died in 1972, has written here a guidebook for those who are out to change things. Alinsky was hated and defamed by powerful enemies, proof that his tactics worked. His simple formula for success…“Agitate + Aggravate + Educate + Organize”

Born to Russian-Jewish parents in Chicago in 1909, Saul Alinsky was a Marxist who helped establish the dual political tactics of confrontation and infiltration that characterized the 1960s and have remained central to all subsequent revolutionary movements in the United States.
Though Alinsky is generally viewed as a member of the political left and rightfully so, his legacy is more methodological than ideological. He identified a set of very specific rules that ordinary citizens could follow, and tactics that ordinary citizens could employ, as a means of gaining public power. His motto was, "The most effective means are whatever will achieve the desired results."
In the Alinsky model, "organizing" is a euphemism for "revolution" -- a wholesale revolution whose ultimate objective is the systematic acquisition of power by a purportedly oppressed segment of the population, and the radical transformation of America's social and economic structure. The goal is to provoke enough public discontent, moral confusion, and outright chaos to spark the social upheaval that Marx, Engels, and Lenin predicted -- a revolution whose foot soldiers view the status quo as fatally flawed and wholly unworthy of salvation. Thus, the theory goes, the people will settle for nothing less than that status quo's complete collapse -- to be followed by the creation of an entirely new system upon its ruins. Toward that end, they will be apt to follow the lead of charismatic radical organizers who project an aura of confidence and vision, and who profess to clearly understand what types of societal "changes" are needed.

As Alinsky put it:

"A reformation means that the masses of our people have reached the point of disillusionment with past ways and values. They don't know what will work but they do know that the prevailing system is self-defeating, frustrating, and hopeless. They won't act for change but won't strongly oppose those who do. The time is then ripe for revolution."

But Alinsky's brand of revolution was not characterized by dramatic, sweeping, overnight transformations of social institutions. As Richard Poe puts it:

"Alinsky viewed revolution as a slow, patient process. The trick was to penetrate existing institutions such as churches, unions and political parties."

He advised organizers and their disciples to quietly, subtly gain influence within the decision-making ranks of these institutions, and to introduce changes from that platform. This was precisely the tactic of "infiltration" advocated by Lenin and Stalin. As Communist International General Secretary Georgi Dimitroff told the Seventh World Congress of the Comintern in 1935:
"Comrades, you remember the ancient tale of the capture of Troy. Troy was inaccessible to the armies attacking her, thanks to her impregnable walls. And the attacking army, after suffering many sacrifices, was unable to achieve victory until, with the aid of the famous Trojan horse, it managed to penetrate to the very heart of the enemy's camp."

In 1946 Alinsky wrote Reveille for Radicals, his first major book about the principles and tactics of "community organizing," otherwise known as agitating for revolution. Twenty-five years later he authored Rules for Radicals, which expanded upon his earlier work. His writings, and the tactics outlined therein, have had a profound influence on all "social change" and "social justice" movements of recent decades.

Winning was all that mattered in Alinsky's strategic calculus:

"The morality of a means depends on whether the means is being employed at a time of imminent defeat or imminent victory."

"The man of action … thinks only of his actual resources and the possibilities of various choices of action. He asks only whether they are achievable and worth the cost; of means, only whether they will work."

For Alinsky, all morality was relative:

"The judgment of the ethics of means is dependent on the political position of those sitting in judgment."

Alinsky studied criminology as a graduate student at the University of Chicago, during which time he became friendly with Al Capone and his mobsters. Ryan Lizza, senior editor of The New Republic, offers a glimpse into Alinsky's personality: "Charming and self-absorbed, Alinsky would entertain friends with stories -- some true, many embellished -- from his mob days for decades afterward. He was profane, outspoken, and narcissistic, always the center of attention despite his tweedy, academic look and thick, horn-rimmed glasses."

Conservatives have been subject to Alinsky tactics and rules by and for radicals for several decades now. It is only with clear understanding of these tactics and rules that conservatives can then begin to understand the forces being applied against traditional America. To then map out counter strategies that can help other Americans realize just how close we are to loosing the very freedoms previous generations fought so hard to keep.

The campaign to immunize conservative people and organizations from any further impact of radical tactics begins with your willingness to study one book. To frame the importance of this appropriately, one would say that if we are asking a soldier now or in the future to pick up a rifle and fight for our liberty, we should all be willing to pick up at least one book to stave off the tactics of impending tyranny.

The Key to Sustainable Job Growth for Florida

2010-02-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

By James Marshal, FloridaToday.com, Commentary
Putting Florida back on the path to sustainable state GDP growth and employment will require a significant measure of fortitude during this year's legislative session. To succeed, we must be willing to take the road less traveled that includes doing the things that other states won't do or can't do. Florida can become the primary hub of entrepreneurial activity and economic growth in the US if legislators are willing to reposition our state to become the "Capital" of capital investment. For investment capital is like sunshine to a Florida orange tree. Without sunshine, you'll have no growth and the economic winter will simply be unbearable.

To achieve this, we must first understand that capital investment will always flow to the places where it is treated best. Where the proverbial 'red carpet' is rolled out for it and given celebrity status in such a fashion that it wouldn't ever want to leave. On the other hand, capital that is treated poorly and beaten upon with whips and chains in the form of taxes and heavy regulation, shall flee as refugees would from a war torn country. This can be exemplified by noting the day in which President Obama unveiled his intent to wage war upon the banking industry whereby a ten month rally in asset prices immediately reversed course as capital fled for the boarder.

Strengthening Florida's economy doesn't need to be complicated. We simply need to do more of the things that attract capital and less of the things that make it run in fear. We need to understand that investment capital represents a fundamental ingredient in the evolution of an idea into a sustainable job producing entity that in turn will reward its surrounding communities with sustainable consumer activities. The key word here is "sustainable". Spending borrowed money to create jobs that ultimately end when the task is done or when the money runs out is unsustainable and only favors politicians who need stronger job numbers to win their reelections. Their short term game is at the long term expense of our collective economic prosperity.

Long term jobs are created and sustained by those who provide goods and services that other states and nations want and need and will purchase. Therefore, for Florida to strengthen its own GDP, leadership must develop more of the products and services that the world wants and focus less upon that which the world doesn't want. We must become the absolute best in our identified economic strengths. Recognizing the areas where we shall have a huge competitive advantage within the world while avoiding those areas where we won't.

Economic life isn't too far detached from the natural cycle of wildlife populations. As many may recall from their days in science class, we long ago learned that nature as a way of keeping animal populations in balance. In an environment where a given species has too many predators, the population will be reduced until the point that the predators either leave or starve from lack of food. In the opposite environment where the population has grown too large, predators increase in numbers as their food source remains abundant which ultimately brings the population back into proper balance. If this weren't the case, the species could grow beyond its available food capacity and both the species and predator would starve. Government is represented as the economic predator while private industry is represented today as a deer in the headlights of an oncoming bullet train (pun intended).

Government, both state and national, has grown too large to be sustainable as its food source population (private industry) is being over harvested (taxes, fees, regulation, etc). Government, or rather predator payrolls and new hires have grown while the private sector has steadily lost. This cycle will certainly end in tears as it always has and always will for those who have become dependent upon a strong predatory Government. It's just a matter of time before the predators turn upon themselves for food as what remains of the private industry retreats into less hostile lands or into hibernation so as to survive what shall become a long cold economic winter.

WebLink:
http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/opinion/2010/02/key-to-sustainable-job-growth-for.shtml#comments

Rep. Mike Horner receives VFW Legislative Achievement Award

2010-02-08T09:45:00.001-08:00

Dockery says RPOF should release all credit card reports now

2010-02-08T07:15:00.000-08:00

Posted by Mary Ellen Klas, The Buzz at 04:15:27 PM on February 5, 2010
State Sen. Paula Dockery, a Republican candidate for governor, today demanded that state party officials release all financial records, including the credit card statements given to any party leader since RPOF Chairman Jim Greer took office in 2007. "If there is no improprierty, we remove the cloud of suspicion,'' she told the Herald/Times. "If there is impropriety, we own up to it and rebuild the trust.''

She said she will be calling on the two candidates who are hoping to replace Greer at the party meeting on Feb. 20 -- state Sen. John Thrasher and Broward Republican Executive Committeewoman Sharon Day -- to agree to release all credit card statements and conduct a financial audit "to remove this shroud of secrecy.''

Dockery said the party "can't move forward until we have transparency.'' The Orlando Sentinel reported today that since Greer cut up his party credit card in response to complaints about party spending, the spending continued as his deputy, Delmar Johnson, used Greer's credit card to pay for many of the expenses through him.

Dockery's opponent, Bill McCollum, has called for a thorough audit and tighter internal party controls but he has stopped short of endorsing the release of the controversial American Express credit card statements.

UPDATE: McCollum spokeswoman, Kristy Campbell would not say whether McCollum would agree to release the statements or not. "He believes we should take measures that that what happened never happens again,'' she said.

Sharon Day, however, said that if she is elected "I would do a forensic audit to see what has happened but whether we release it out, I would decide at that time,'' she said.

Dockery aid the party should come clean on all its credit card expenses since 2007. "We learned yesterday about the obscene salaries that one person was making. What else is out there?'' she said.

She expects that would include former House Speaker Marco Rubio, now Republican a candidate for U.S. Senate against Gov. Charlie Crist, former House Speaker Ray Sansom, speaker designate Rep. Dean Cannon as the Senate's former, current and incoming presidents -- Ken Pruitt, Jeff Atwater and Mike Haridopolos.

"I see no reason why anybody should have these cards,'' she said. "There seems to be a concerted effort to keep these records confidential. If there is nothing to hide, release the records. If there is something to hide, release the records."

Web Link: http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2010/02/dockery-says-rpof-should-release-all-credit-card-reports-now.html#more

Marco Rubio on the "dark period" of Jim Greer's GOP leadership

2010-02-08T07:13:00.001-08:00

GOP fundraiser charged huge sums to AmEx card

2010-02-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

By Aaron Deslatte ORLANDO SENTINEL TALLAHASSEE BUREAU
TALLAHASSEE — From golf-course fees to charter jets to the nation's capital, Republican Party of Florida Executive Director Delmar Johnson racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel, food and expenses to his party-issued American Express card last year.

He flew to Las Vegas and San Francisco, to New York and Boston.

He picked up $3,000 tabs at posh restaurants such as Del Frisco's steakhouse in Orlando and at cheaper spots such as Regina Pizza in Boston; he chartered jets; bought flowers for the wife of party Chairman Jim Greer; and charged greens fees at the Torrey Pines championship golf course in San Diego, according to internal RPOF accounting records and credit-card invoices obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.

Johnson and Greer have said the travel and spending were a requirement in order to move in big-league political-fundraising circles, and the party says many of the charges covered travel and meals for big donors or party staffers, as well as day-to-day operating expenses such as phone bills and copying fees.

But they have also steadfastly refused calls to open the party's finances to outside auditors in the wake of accusations by GOP critics that money was being misspent.

"It all has to be taken in perspective," Johnson said Thursday. "I'm sure it's nothing compared to a big corporation. Everybody used that card."

Grass-roots party members and big donors have been fuming for months over what they call lavish spending at a time when fundraising has been hampered by the economy and a string of political controversies. The party's federal account, which pays for much of its operating expenses, ended last year with a $342,000 apparent deficit, while a larger state account spent most of the $13 million it raised.

Johnson was laid off along with 18 other staffers last month after GOP elected leaders — Attorney General Bill McCollum, House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon of Winter Park and Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos of Merritt Island — found out about a contract signed by Greer that hired Johnson as the party's chief fundraiser in return for 10 percent of all "major donor" contributions.

The contract, which the party leaders said they were never told about, paid Johnson $199,000 last year on top of his party salary of $153,000. Johnson received an additional $56,750 from a fund Greer set up to promote his own re-election as party chairman — bringing his total compensation to $408,000.

Greer, a former Oviedo city councilman handpicked by Gov. Charlie Crist as party chair, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Accusations that Greer and party staffers used GOP resources to live the high life have been at the heart of the months-long effort by Republican dissidents to oust him — an effort that succeeded last month when the elected party leaders convinced him to resign effective Feb. 20.

In return for agreeing to step down, Greer is expected to be paid severance roughly equal to his current annual salary — $130,000 — along with continued health-insurance coverage, two sources briefed on the arrangement said.

A campaign spokeswoman for McCollum refused Thursday to directly confirm the severance agreement.

"General McCollum is as shocked and outraged as anyone. He hopes that the money that was spent can be accounted for and was legitimate," spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said.

"We were aware of [severance] negotiations taking place as Chairman Greer announced his resignation. We were unaware of any specific details."

In August, Greer chopped up his own AmEx card in a public display of fiscal restraint that followed news accounts of how former House Speaker Ray Sansom, R-Destin, had used a party-issued card to rack up $173,000 in expenses on equipment, flowers, Starbucks and a trip to Europe.

"I am tired of reading this garbage that's been promoted by people who ultimately want this party to fail," Greer told the party executive committee at its quarterly meeting.

"There is nothing inappropriate about a multimillion-dollar organization with senior staff traveling around the country to have credit cards," he said, adding at one point that "if you're going to ask major donors to write $100,000 checks, I hope you bought them dinner."

Indeed, Johnson did just that, racking up in a month almost as much as Sansom did in a year.

From mid-July through mid-August, Johnson charged $133,763 to the party-issued card.

The charges include paying former Olympian-turned-motivational speaker Bruce Jenner $22,500 to speak in August at a youth conference called "Drive the Discussion" at the Gaylord Palms resort near Kissimmee — an event that cost more than $100,000 to put on.

Johnson also charged tickets to Disney World and Orlando Magic games. And he charged office supplies, campaign materials, rental cars, hotel rooms and plane trips for himself, RPOF staff and staffers of campaigns whose expenses were being charged to the party.

The internal accounting records indicate that after chopping up his own card, Greer used Johnson's AmEx card to pay for his own travel, and trips taken by Crist campaign staffers and a handful of state legislators.

Johnson said charges to his card increased after Greer recalled all the party's other credit cards and that "only a small fraction" of the travel was really his. However, he refused to be specific about how much of the travel charges were his own.

In several instances, Greer used a charter pilot to fly him in his own plane across the state, the records suggest. Just two months of charges billed by Baer Air in Merritt Island, where Greer keeps his plane, totaled more than $45,000.

Johnson also used the card to charter a $15,000 flight to Washington for U.S. Sen. George LeMieux's swearing-in ceremony in September.

"It is incredible to me that they would have the audacity to do that after the wake-up call that has been Speaker Sansom," said GOP lobbyist Brian Ballard, a longtime party fundraiser. "It leaves you speechless."

Broward Republican National Committeewoman Sharon Day, who is running to replace Greer in the election later this month, called it "smoke and mirrors" for Greer to continue to use Johnson's card after publicly chopping up his own. And she said she — like most members of the party's executive committee — had no idea how Greer was running the party's finances.

"It was a very secretive operation," Day said. "I don't know if that's reasonable, not reasonable … I wouldn't even know where to start."

Crist expects more federal money for rail

2010-02-07T12:11:00.001-08:00

Fox News 35
Gov. Charlie Crist says he expects more federal money to pay for a high speed rail system between Tampa and Orlando.

Crist on Friday called President Barack Obama's announcement that Florida would get $1.25 billion in stimulus money for the project a "down payment."

The governor was on hand Thursday to greet Obama in Tampa where the president announced high speed rail grants for Florida and other states.

The $1.25 billion, though, is only about half of what Florida requested.

Fox News 35 Sit Down W/ Marco Rubio

2010-02-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

Carey Baker drops out of Ag Commissioner race

2010-02-05T14:25:00.001-08:00

State Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, just sent out e-mail saying he’s withdrawing from the race for Agriculture Commissioner. This leaves U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow — who’s got roughly $1 million in his campaign warchest — as the only major Republican in the race.

Baker, who raised about $500,000, didn’t mention Putnam in his announcement.

Here’s what Baker said in his e-mail:

“As with any campaign, you have to achieve certain objectives to set yourself up for victory. I had to prepare myself to wage a full-scale campaign that would give Floridians a chance to see what I had to offer them if elected Commissioner of Agriculture. This would not be an easy task in a big state like ours, but nothing ever worth pursuing is easy.

Unfortunately, I was unable to meet those goals. And so I was faced with a difficult decision, but ultimately a necessary one. With so many other challenges to address in our state, particularly in the Legislature, it would be wrong of me to continue a campaign when I have not met the goals I need to win. It’s time for me to choose where I am most prepared to help the people of Florida.”

Bill McCollum tackles health-care reform, while Alex Sink manages office supplies

2010-02-04T09:39:00.000-08:00

Aaron Deslatte Capitol View
It makes little sense these days for politicians to be creatively frugal when this is how the polls — i.e., the voters — respond.

Look at Florida's race for governor. The Republican running, Attorney General Bill McCollum, has been seizing on big, national issues that the Governor's Office has little direct involvement in — primarily, the national health-care debate — and lambasting Democratic positions on them. Meanwhile, Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has been playing small ball.

Two weeks ago, Sink said that with advice from businesses like Publix, Disney World and Rosen Hotels & Resorts, she had revamped her office's risk-management procedures in ways that could save the state $12 million a year by, among other things, reducing injury risks to state employees.

Last week, she announced her office was hoarding paper clips. Seriously. She gathered the Capitol press corps to announce she had saved taxpayers $200,000 by ordering her workers to stop buying "non mission-critical office supplies" and instead stockpile extra paperclips, pens and notepads.

"Obviously, times are tough here in state government," Sink said.

If other agencies took the same approach to paper clips, Sink estimated the state could save $14 million a year. "Think about how many schoolteachers that is," she said.

At least in theory, voters demand that politicians be responsible stewards of the taxpayer dime and search for "common-sense solutions" to budget problems.

But it looks like McCollum got some sage political advice — and lots more public attention — when he decided to challenge the legality of the proposed federal health-care overhaul.

The issue has helped vault him to a 41 percent-to-31 percent lead over Sink, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. Sink held a 38 percent-to-34 percent lead in the same poll last June.

For sure, a number of factors can explain the shift, and McCollum is benefiting from both the anti-Democrat animus as well as his better name-recognition.

Sink, meanwhile, has refused to wade too deep into the health-care debate. Instead, she talks about nickel-and-dime cost-savings.

Florida Republicans were quick to pounce with a video mocking Sink's paper-clip management, asking, "Are these the best ideas Florida Democrats have to offer?"

On the other hand, though, McCollum hasn't yet proposed a single budget-cutting or job-creating idea, focusing instead on his virulent opposition to the Democrats' health-care expansion.

McCollum cites constitutional issues, declaring that Congress has no enumerated power to impose a tax on individuals who don't buy health insurance, as the current version of the bill would do.

But he was annoyed when asked by a reporter last week if he would also object to Florida instituting a state-run health-insurance program to cover its 4 million uninsured residents similar to what Massachusetts has done.

Voters thus far take McCollum's side.

The Quinnipiac poll found that Florida voters disagreed 57 percent to 32 percent with the health-care-reform plan being considered by President Barack Obama and Congress. And 73 percent of Republicans thought it was a "good idea" for McCollum to sue if the plan mandates that individuals buy health insurance.

But is Sink's problem the lack of coverage, or are voters genuinely less impressed with a politician scrounging for pocket change?

"Voters want governors that handle big things," said Peter Brown, Quinnipiac's assistant polling director. "They like her; they just like him more."