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"I believe that the government closest to its people is the government that can most affect its citizens. It is time for government to be responsible and not look to additional taxes to solve problems but solve problems through effective management of existing resources."
Wisconsin, Unions, Legislatures and the Everyday Worker How to Use Alynski's Rules For Radicals and the Republican Men's Club Clubs, Committees and Lessons NOT Learned BREC Elections, Will It Remain the Same or Will There Be Changes? What Now and Where Do We Go From Here? Getting bin Laden I am extremely happy that the leader of what's left of Al-Qaida is dead but I am more the kind of person that looks at the long term look before celebrating. My flag is flying to commemorate the victory. I may be the nay sayer today but my opinion is that Osama bin Ladin was of little consequence and his death is meaningless in the war on terror. It was a great moral victory for those who lost people in Khobar Bar Towers, the USS Cole the first and second attack of the World Trade Center but when, from Clinton through the Bush eras, bin Laden has been controlling many mass murders of Americans throughout the world. When bin Laden declares war on the United States and lives almost 20 years after making that statement, “we finally got him” is of little consequence. But who was bin Laden other than a figure head? His voice has been heard threatening the U.S. often over those years. What did we do, we said we are for “change in the Middle East”. Can anyone tell me what that is? We have miscalculated what the “change” in a radical Islamists mind really is. Simply stated, its Sharia Law. By supporting and propping up tyrants and even taking one off the banned list, Qaddafi and Libya, what have we really accomplished? Every time we “got” a leader of the Islamic Terrorist the next day another seamlessly replaces him. Should we fear retaliation? No! Their goal has been to take back places like Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemin and other places. Iran is already lost to “democracy”. When we leave Iraq and Afghanistan how long do you think it will be before Radical Islam is the law of the land? Why attack us? After all – they won. They will have North Africa and the Middle East and drag it bag to the dark ages and their threat to Israel will be close at hand. Sharia Law and Muslim Brotherhood will be the ruling body all over the mid east. Let’s not forget Sri Lanka and the problems in France and England. They are winning in every country that we have supported all these years. Once they organize than we had better be prepared. Until than bin Laden was just another puppet of the Muslin Brotherhood and their quest to rule the world under THEIR law. What really bothers me is that we have completely misread what their ultimate goal is and we don’t have much time to make changes to our philosophy towards Islam now. So was it a great day for the U.S by “getting bin Laden” or was it just another reason to give the radicals a motive to persist in their already successful onslaught in the Middle East? I’m glad he’s dead. I worked the area just east of the Towers and my niece’s classmates lost many of their family that worked in the Towers. I fear we will let our guard down, not hear but in their own homeland and mostly I fear for Israel.
Let the Rallies Begin Yesterday, March 8, various Unions organized rallies against Gov. Scott’s proposed budget. These rallies have been in the planning stages for the past few weeks with the assistance of the same group that aided the Wisconsin and other state demonstrations, “Organizing for America” whose website can be found at www.barrackobama .com. Here in Brevard we had our own demonstrations near the government center in Viera. Needless to say I have a few observations about what took place and my own views on what should have taken place and they are vastly different. Unfortunately, no one asked for an opinion and none was given. I only found out about the counter demonstrations the night before the rally. The counter demonstration was then scheduled for 30 minutes after the “Wake up Florida” Rally. Poor planning? That’s being kind. We are still playing catch up with the greatest community organizer this country has ever seen, Barrack Obama and Organizing for America, and they are pulling away. Let’s start with the late notice. Some of us are good conservatives. Notice I didn’t say “Republicans”. To me, most conservatives that hold our common views actually work for a living, don’t take stimulus money, and find ways to support themselves and their families without government assistance. That being said, 24 to 48 hours notice doesn’t give conservative groups time to organize properly. If you have been paying CLOSE attention to what has actually been happening you would know that many of the demonstrators are not the “Teachers” the main stream media has been telling you about. In fact some are not even from Florida. Think about the close proximity of Georgia to Tallahassee. It was not hard for Organizing for America and “Wake up Florida” to bus or van pool down Apalachicola Parkway to the Capitol. Their timing wasn’t well thought out either. Political Science Lesson number 1: SESSION HASN’T STARTED YET AND THERE IS NO SOLID BUDGET TO PROTEST. Having been involved in the process I can tell you that before there is anything to protest about we first have to see the budget that will be proposed by the Florida House of Representatives. Next will be the Florida Senate Budget proposal, which I can almost guarantee will be far different then the House’ proposal. We’ve only seen the Governor’s budget. Step two: Once all three proposals are on the table the differences must be reconciled in CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. What comes out of that will be vastly different than what we will be seeing within the next few weeks. So the timing, if I were planning this, was poorly conceived. The time to hold these protests would be just prior to when the final budget is revealed. Step 3: Remember also, it isn’t the state that negotiates the contracts with the Teacher’s Union; it’s the local School Districts in most cases. What amazes me is that we’ve had all through the primary process and the general election process to listen to what Governor Scott proposed to do. The Democrats and the Independents heard the same message we all heard and Governor Scott is keeping his word and doing exactly what he said he would. He’s operating this state as a business and not as a political entity. Why did the opposition think things would be different once the elections were over? How refreshing to see a “new” politician keep his word! Do we have to agree with him? No! Should we be surprised as what he’s doing? In the word’s of the Geigo advertisement “What? Have you been living under a rock?” Finally, Follow the Money. The Democrats seem to think “they have a lock” on the next gubernatorial and legislative elections because of the Republicans effort to “union bust”. The union bosses can encourage their members to “wild cat” or walk off the job in order to participate in protests. Of course they won’t be penalized; they are “the union bosses” but the youngest and brightest of the teachers in that union’s case will be faced with layoffs if an agreement can’t be reached. They are being asked to contribute to their pensions and their medical benefits. They are being told this is tantamount to a pay cut. In actuality, they will have a slightly (5% maximum) lower pay check, continue to receive medical benefits and upon retirement, receive a pension. The alternative – LAYOFFS and no pay check. They will continue to pay union dues which part of will go into the campaign coffers of those politicians who promise to deliver what the union wants. The “union bosses” will still be receiving their pay checks and have a job which can’t necessarily be said for their members. They union bosses are badly misreading the “tea leaves” and leading the membership down the path to perdition. The union members are happy to hear what they want to hear and are deaf to the real possibility of losing their jobs rather than, like many, take a pay cut that would not drastically affect their family or their lifestyle. To me the choices are clear Pay Check (maybe a LITTLE smaller) or Increase the Unemployment rolls. I know where I'd be. Wisconsin, Unions, Legislatures and the Everyday Worker I’ve been listening to the Bill Mick Show in the morning the last three days and have heard the same mantra – “Unions Bad – No Unions for Government Workers”. I so wanted to call in but I doubt that I would have lasted past a few sentences before the “usual suspects” would have phoned in calling me all kinds of names and saying I am misinformed and unwise in my stand. Let’s remember how Unions were formed. At one time child labor was common, sweat shops were widespread, and wages were so low that if the one bread winner of the family were hurt or worse the family was destitute. Abuses by supervisors and managers were common. So who protected these unfortunates and pushed for fair labor laws, it certainly wasn’t the employers who exploited the worker at every turn. There is no argument that Unions turned to violent tactics at times but the retribution of the major companies with the government backing was far worse. Neither side is innocent when it came to violence. Child Labor laws were instituted, minimum wages were established, and organizations such as OSHA (Occupational and Health Administration) were organized, all to protect the minimum wage workers. And who was responsible for these reforms – UNIONS. If you are over 40 and have worked at one place for any amount of time you have had to deal with managers who were intolerable and demanding. In a right to work state you have no recourse but to look for another job and leave the abuser in place to mistreat your replacement. After 19 years on the police department I’ve run into more than one sergeant or lieutenant who thought you were the lowest form of life that was put in his life to exploit and use for his personal pleasure. I’ve worked as a civilian specialist only to have a supervisor listen into my private conversations, accuse me of using the men’s room too often and many other such ridiculous and ludicrous comments. I’ve worked for a legislator for very low wages but received more compensation from the people I helped with a simple “thank you” then I got from the State of Florida. What was the difference in these jobs? On the Nassau County Police Department I was in a union. I had delegates I could go to in order to negate the unfair treatments I sometimes received from abusive supervisors. I had my union’s attorneys to represent me at internal affairs investigations, I had union representation when the County I worked for tried to extend our hours with no compensation and broaden our scope of responsibilities with no protection from frivolous law suits. The other jobs were in a right to work state. No protection afforded, none given. Have the collective bargaining agreements gone too far in wage negotiations. In some cases, absolutely. But how much do you think a good teacher is worth. However there are far too many bad teachers with tenure that we are stuck with in our classrooms. You can’t blame the unions for all the problems the government now faces but I will admit that unions have changed and have brought about intolerable situations. However, there were two sides sitting at the bargaining table. We wouldn’t be in this predicament if the side representing the employers (the taxpayer) did their job and stood strong. Fair hourly wages, reasonable health insurance, partial payments into pensions systems and realistic days off are all negotiable items. It wasn’t the Unions who failed the Taxpayers it was the government negotiators who failed. Now we have Wisconsin where they have a governor who never hid his agenda. I don’t believe in his stance to do away with unions but that isn’t what he was doing. The Governor wants to take away the unions ability to negotiate wages. Why is that? Could it be because the elected officials failed to do their due diligence and represent the public properly? Could it be that these same elected officials don’t trust themselves to stand firm against the unions who now fund their campaigns? What about the cowardly democrats who are literally hiding, not because of the governor’s stand but because, in the words of the President’s trusted advisor, “never let a good crisis go to waste”. Grandstanding is better than facing a problem. I remember when I was in the Navy and we were deploying to Vietnam which required that we all be inoculated for various exotic diseases. There were some who were afraid of needles so shots were dispensed at the end of the pay line. That tactic would start months before deployment. How long would these elected officials last if all their benefits and pay were with held until they actually came to the Capitol to receive them? If it were Republicans doing this rather than Democrats I firmly believe the story would be completely different. In any case, let’s not focus only on the wages and benefits the unions negotiated but let’s focus on the solutions that may be available. Unions, in their time, served noble purposes. They have now learned the rules to extort the workers they were once protecting. They have learned to “buy” the government officials that were elected to protect their constituents. In other words we have a lose – lose situation with no one working towards a solution. Case Against High Speed Rail Just prior to Christmas and Chanukah, in the middle of holiday season like a wolf sneaking around the hen house Charlie Crist called a special session to push the High Speed Rail, a project, if truth be told, was for Orlando. Truth being the operative word here because it’s definition is often lost in the halls of Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. The voters of this state turned down High Speed rail with over a 60% margin. It was a boondoggle when proposed and the idea that we were turning down Federal money that would have been used for jobs is a proposal that only the most gullible would fall for. In the short time that this has been on the table the amount that we were going to get ranged anywhere from $3.6 billion to $1.4 billion, the jobs created went from as many as 45,000 down to around 23,000. All the state was going to be responsible for would be somewhere around $300,000 and the rest would be made up by private industry. Notice all the vagaries I used in the previous paragraph because no one knows which shell the pea is hidden under. First there was no real money coming from the Federal Government. In case people have been living on another planet, we are broke and printing more money only devalues that money in circulation now. Second, few if any private industries showed interest in what has been historically a losing proposition when it comes to rail. Who is going to sink hard cash into a high speed rail between TWO, that’s right only TWO cities, and expect high ridership and make a profit at that? The so called high speed rail didn’t have enough distance between these two cities to reach high speed. And once you reach either city I would like the Avis Rent A Car franchise across from the station because neither city has the infrastructure to support what is being foisted on us as a commuter style rail system. Anyone who has lived in a major city knows what’s needed to have a successful Subway, BART or D.C.’s Metro system, a way to transfer to other commuter transportation within the city. Neither city has that. I wasn’t a supporter of Governor Scott but I would like to say thank you for turning this down.
How to Use Alynski's Rules For Radicals and the Republican Men's Club A close acquaintance of mine heard of a situation that occurred with the Republican Men’s Club of Brevard. This incident happened in October and it resulted in a Democrat being elected to the Board and a Republican who was registered in Texas and can’t even vote in our County being elected as Vice President. Over the past months certain Board Members have been using Alynski’s Rules for Radicals to use a “crisis” to further their purpose in order to discredit me and put me on the defensive so as to redirect the egregious error away from them. As the former Secretary of the club I kept meticulous minutes and as someone who has been accused of being too much of stickler for rules I made sure that the Board new of the mistake. Rather than correcting the error the next meeting focused on how to cover up the mistake. Who to blame became the obsession of the President of the Club. What disturbed me the most was my naiveté. I believed this man, and I used that term loosely, was a friend. I sponsored him to be a member of my church, we opened our home to him, his “significant other”, their children and one friend of each child and their dogs during the Palm Bay fires. We “dog-sat” whenever they needed someone to watch their two dogs while they vacationed. I guess I’m as angry at myself as hurt by their treatment. When I made suggestions as to how to correct the Constitution, Rules and By Laws it was looked at as an attempt to change the rules in order benefit the “looser”. Words use by my so called friend. Since I was the “looser” on the Board I was astounded that certain Board Members were more interested in keeping this private rather than admitting the error and correcting the Rules so that this might not happen again. I was shocked at the vehemence aimed at the Secretary and the effort to say the responsibility lies with the office of Secretary. I felt the only honorable thing to do when attacked in such a manner was to resign. I also feel that when the Board voted 6-1 to invalidate the election and the President didn’t feel he was bound by the vote of the Board he should also do the honorable thing and resign. I admire the two men in question. They were honest and forthright. They both voted to invalidate the election feeling they would win again. A few days after this the deflection began. Accusations of falsifying the minutes were spread. Reasons that I resigned were made for me – “he’s upset because he lost”. People, I am a Conservative and a Republican. I ran more than once for Chair of the Brevard Republican Executive Committee, lost and remained on the Committee and worked hard for the Party. We are talking about a Club here. We’re talking about a club that had potential but because of their lack of true leadership has now devolved into another social club. We’re talking about a club that has in its leadership someone who feels that he alone can direct the future of the club. Of course there is a lot of revisionist history going on too. During the election for President I was asked by no less than 4 people to run for President of the club but declined. I nominated the current President who then nominated me for Vice-President. During the first year I was asked to step aside so that someone that had potential as a future leader could step in and I did for the good of the Club and took on the position of Treasurer. Shortly thereafter I was again asked to step aside from that to allow someone who wanted to be Treasurer to do so and take the position of Secretary. So, much of the failure of the Secretary must lie with the former Secretary as I had only been the Secretary for a few months. Here we are almost 6 months later and the attacks are beginning again. I have been slandered, my name smeared and all so that someone with aspirations to be an elected official can try to maintain his “integrity” for the future bid for office. I can only say I have received notes and calls of support and being told, once again, I must be a poor judge of character to think this person had any character at all. Thank you to all those who have faith in me, have remained true and know what honor really means. Clubs, Committees and Lessons NOT Learned I recently attended a Brevard Republican Executive Committee meeting. This is a committee that the long time Secretary and myself were threatened with having charges filed against us for violation of the Loyalty Oath because we divulged the disrespectful and threatening treatment of a sitting State Senator. We pointed out that we disagreed with much of the Senator’s votes and don’t necessarily hold the same views as he does. This caused us to resign from such an organization that doesn’t allow for independent thinking. We have seen the transformation of this committee from one that quietly, over the years, changed this county from a predominantly a Democratic County into a Republican County. The “old guard” committee, quietly, changed the County Commission from a predominantly Democratic lead Commission to a Republican Commission. The “old guard” committee did the same with the state and federal offices. The transformation is from a committee that had members that sometimes disagreed with each other but were not disagreeable to a committee of zealots that don’t allow for varying views and one that entitles members to express their views as long as those views agree with their agenda. If not you are subjected to threats, whisper campaigns and outright ostracism. This attitude has become viral. Its contagion has extended to some republican clubs where people are put in place on Boards that are chosen not necessarily elected. I have witnessed one club president mold the board into one that will allow the President to put in place an agenda that he has shaped and took overt steps to make sure his board would be one that does not pose objections. In fact in one case when the board voted one way he over road the board’s decision as if they didn’t exist except to do his will. As for the BREC, I watched as the Committee was told the financial reports are completely transparent so that everyone on the Committee will know exactly where the money is being spent. REALLY? I took a copy of the report and saw no dates, no vouchers reported, payments that were made with no explanation as to what the amount reported was actually used for, no check numbers or accounting as to how the money was paid, in short, no transparency. I even held it up to the light, coated it with lemon juice, looking for secret writing. Nothing! I witnessed some senior members of the “old guard” ask questions and be castigated because “we’re not speaking about that right now.” I heard the back stabbing remarks made about members who, on their time, create a new club and some of those same zealots spoken of earlier start the whisper campaign even before the organizers of the club were finished explaining what the purpose of the club was. I listened as credit was taken for a successful 2010 election as if the Committee had something to do with it. As an outsider, what I saw was that very few members did work for their preferred candidates as individuals, not as members of the Committee. What I didn’t see was coordination. No “clearing house” for organized efforts for any one candidate. I heard remarks such as “I don’t live in that district so I can’t help” when what should have been said in some cases was “I don’t have a real race in my district, where else can I help?” I heard that new rules are being instituted. This is after operating for many years on the trust of personal responsibility without having to need codified rules. Now there so many rules that charges can be brought without the person being charged even knowing what and where the charges came from. When we reached the point that so many rules are needed because we can no longer trust or rely on a person word being his bond we are now constantly looking over our shoulders, not at the opposition, but at people in our own party. I heard of the “Membership Committee” which will be so large that almost anyone can be on it but didn’t hear what the purpose of this Committee is. Are we now choosing who we want on the governing committee of the local political party and keeping those who disagree out? It’s time to begin healing within our own party. It’s time to start cooperating with each other. Unfortunately, those in charge and many of the new members who are being trained by the untrained don’t know how to leave their own personal beliefs at the door of the Committee room and work towards a common goal to accomplish that which would benefit the whole rather than force an agenda that suits the few. To me the agenda is clear: Find candidates who represent the small majority of the extremists Republicans in this county rather than representing the larger, more moderate Republicans that make up the major portion of the registered Republicans in our County. One would have thought that after the last election the candidates that were foisted upon the County both had dramatic losses that this is not the trend the party needs to follow. But after visiting the Committee I saw that this lesson was not learned and, in fact, has expanded to finding even more extreme right wing members to bring back the nick name of this county through our the state, “Bizarre County”. When will this change? I have a lot of knowledge and opinions as to how things should be but I don’t have an answer to this. Power in the Wrong Hands We recently went through an election that showed that the American people are well aware that some of those in power in D.C., Tallahassee and Viera needed a reminder that we are watching. Who are these people that WE had put in office that now we don’t trust to reach into our pockets and use it in the manner we would find acceptable. We want to use our money, with few exceptions, ourselves. Where did these people come from? We put them there. We elected them. We thought they were competent and had the ability to deal with government in a way that we would be proud of. We thought they would be people we would want as neighbors and be able to call “friend”. These people we call “friends” decide at some point they know what’s best for us so they run for office. If we, as the electorate, do our job and research the qualifications of the candidates we might find out that the perception that they are upstanding and deserving of the position may not fit the reality of the truth behind the rhetoric we hear whenever the potential candidate speaks. It’s the end of the year and it’s time for all the talking heads to look back at 2010. Local politicians and influential people look back and tell us how the success of the Tea Party Movement was so victorious that they have moved the Nation back towards the right. The Tea Party philosophy brought the House down literally by taking over the House of Representatives. They take the credit for placing in power Republican who espouses the Tea Party values. Many of these newly elected officials never held a position in politics, never had a leadership position within any Party or Club and many can’t find their way around the halls of office. This sounds like exactly what we want – a return to the Citizen Politician. Power in the hands of those who have never had power or responsibilities in their lives often develops into despotism when the leaders of groups and clubs conclude that they, and only they, know what’s best for those in their clubs or organizations. There is no longer a give and take, there is only a follow orders mentality. It takes a certain knowledge of how the system works in order to use the system to bring us the best leaders we can find to represent us. Take Florida as an example. Years ago when the budget was in the millions of dollars a citizen politician could take 60 days out of their year to legislate. Now that the budget is spoken of in the billions of dollars it takes someone with knowledge of the system to make this work within the 60 days if it can be done at all. Over the past few years although the Session ended on time we found need to have Special Sessions called to either readjust the budget or repair glitches to legislation rushed through the regular Session. Locally Tea Party? I missed it. I saw campaign rallies billed as Tea Parties. I’ve seen candidates who were soundly rejected by the mainstream republicans. I’ve heard all year long how we need to replace those considered RINOs only to have the incumbents go without any serious challenge in most cases. Then we have the Brevard Republican Executive Committee that has completely been overrun by extreme right wing factions who, in my opinion are also RINOs (See my definition of RINO)We have clubs like the Brevard Republican Men’s Club that has officers that have very little experience with a president who makes no secret that this is nothing more than a jumping off point for elected office. We have many who say how hard they worked as a club when the truth is individuals from the clubs worked on individual campaigns but no concerted effort by any one club to actually organize and work as a nit to help any candidate. My Prediction I fear that the Tea Party Movement will lose momentum. When the Tea Party locally can’t come up with viable candidates and it seems to be controlled by a very few people with ulterior motives unless someone takes up the mantle the Tea Party may fade away in Brevard or continue to just be a soap box for individuals with future expectations. We did not win 2010. We won the House of Representatives. When I was asked if I thought the compromise on the Bush Tax Plan was a good compromise I said “Yes!” The others that were there at the time completely disagreed and used the same argument “we should have held out until next year when we take over”. Take over what – The HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. These people don’t understand that whatever is passed in the House, a companion bill needs to be passed in the Senate. Oh, that’s right, we don’t control the Senate. So, off to Conference Committee and try to hammer out a compromise. Then it’s off to the White House for the President’s signature. Oh, that’s right, Obama is still the President. Six months, a year down the road and we wind up with nothing. This showed me that the people I was speaking with knew little about the workings of government and some of these people will still take the “credit” for our “win” in 2010. 2012 is the pivotal year for our Nation. Without the ability to overturn vetoes, without the ability or the will to overturn bad legislation and stop pork barrel and earmark legislation and lower our debt the Democrats will have a huge finger to point, rightfully, at the Republicans and simply say “hypocrite”. Our Founding Fathers knew what needed to be done and feared where we might go. In closing: Not in my words by the words of probably the most intelligent man of his time. “I
predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from
wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” BREC Elections, Will It Remain the Same or Will There Be Changes? This coming Thursday, December 9th, the entire Board of the Executive Committee will effectively be dissolved and a new Board Elected. At this time there seems to be little if any opposition to those currently sitting on the Board with the exception of the resignation of the current Treasurer, Jim Strickland. The only nominee as of this writing is Clyde Thodey. Being a former member of the Committee after serving for almost 15 years I have seen many configurations and permutations of the Board. The past two administrations have been colossal failures. First we had a Chair who had one goal in mind. Although this goal was a worthy one he was by no means the driving force behind the removal of Jim Greer as RPOF Chair even though he would like to think so. It was economics and lack of ethics that brought down Greer. In the meantime the Committee almost went bankrupt and the Committee was in tremendous disarray. The current "powers that be" are a libertarian, extreme right group who feel they ran a successful campaign to maintain Republican control within the County, State and Nation. The simplest observation of the Campaigns showed that each campaign ran on their own with little if any help from the BREC. Individual members worked for the candidate of their choice but the Committee did little until a member of the "old guard" took up the gauntlet to finally, in the waning days of the campaign season, open the phone banks to make sure the Republican voters showed up at the polls. The Committee's choices for candidates to back, Clyde Thodey and Matt Nye, were soundly rejected. The Committee, much like the lame duck congress, didn't listen and haven't gotten the message. I caution all the members of the BREC to think long and hard at the direction the Committee is taking. This county is NOT an extreme right leaning county and the sooner the Brevard Republican Party realizes this the sooner real Republicans can once again get to work to make sure we can maintain our style of life without cutting and slashing programs and people. This current Board isn't the Board that can accomplish this. I have no vote and I have nothing to gain or lose. The voters in Brevard were smart enough to see that the right people were elected, now let's hope the members of the Committee are smart enough to put the right Board in place to move the Committee back to where it once was - a proud and successful REPUBLICAN Committee. Blog at My Blog Spot What Now and Where Do We Go From Here? It was a great day. Republicans took over the House and the Senate is close. One or two independent Senators or Democrats that come to their senses puts the chances of Republican ideas closer to reality. Democrat cooperation could come from the simple fact that in two years 33 of them must run again. They can either run on their records or away from their records. It’s their choice but this time around WE need to show Republicans CAN lead. Washington has been put on notice. Tallahassee and Brevard seem to remain the same. For almost two years we have held Tea Parties, Brevard Style. Brevard Style does not resemble in any way, shape or form what was being done elsewhere around the country. Brevard Style was more of an individual’s personal rally. Brevard Style led to some of the worst candidates the Tea Party could find. THEY DIDN’T LISTEN. They had agendas that did not include the mainstream Republican voter. I consider myself a Compassionate Conservative. Where was my candidate? The Tea Party and some factions in certain clubs seemed to be more interested in taking over the Brevard Republican Executive Committee then in finding candidates for the mainstream Republicans and Independents. Congratulations, you did and have turned the Committee into a non-effective organization. You have turned out the people who for years worked the campaigns, including myself, and have fine tuned the methods to the point where the day after the Primaries the BREC was up and running, ready to do battle. Did you think this happened by accident? It took the cooperation of all the now fractured clubs and the individuals we brought to headquarters to work. Many of these people were only seen during campaign season. You’ve replaced institutional knowledge and tried to reinvent the wheel when the plans were always available if you were willing to listen. Instead you pushed those with the knowledge away. Since Election Day all the talk has been about “compromise”, apparently a dirty word to some on the committee. Yes we did well but we could have and should have done better. We were a county with few serious threats. We had the opportunity to contact the Republican National Committee and ask what state, what district needed OUR help. How many, who took over the Committee, knew you could even do that? However, since no one until the last minute took control to coordinate a phone bank at headquarters all the individual campaigns went their separate ways. Did you get the message that the campaigns had no confidence in the BREC? Apparently you weren’t listening or had blinders on and refused to see. People were receiving robo calls, one after the other, from various campaigns because no one was coordinating the calls. The question now is “Where do we go from here”. Are we able to come together without personal agendas, sit at a table and work through our differences or are some of the factions going to insist that they have the only “true and correct” message. I’ve said time and time again that there must be a common thread that runs through all clubs and organizations that we can all agree on. That at least would be a starting point. I still am ready as some others are to do just that. One thing is for certain, the so called Tea Party needs new leaders that can entice the everyday Republican off the couch in non election years. We need leaders who are not there to advance their own agenda. We need leaders that are interested in what’s best for this Country and County as whole and not what’s best for them. We need leaders who are willing to take a hit, if necessary, for the good of all. There is an old poem “And Then They Came For Me”. It basically talked about those who weren’t affected by change and turned their heads and ignored what was happening around them until “they came for me”. By then it’s too late. We need to begin no later than the beginning of the New Year. Who will be the new leaders? Will we be able to reclaim the Executive Committee or do we organize outside the Committee to get the work done or can we all come together under a common cause and make 2012 and even better year than this year? Just my opinion. In Germany they first came for the
Communists, Family Feud Republican Style Over the past few weeks I have been attacked, sometimes viciously and sometimes with threats included. I have been accused of trying to split up and endanger the Republican Party. The true facts are that for all the years we have lived here and have been involved in the Brevard Executive Committee we have seen factions come and go. We have seen candidates show up every 2 to 4 years. What’s different now is that there are more factions in the Committee and within the Republican Party then we have ever seen before. The most serious problem is that there is no more talking or discussions only arguments, threats, and bullying. The factions are very willing to allow you to have opinions as long as they agree with their opinions. I have always advocated one, unified message. I was hoping that’s what would come out of the Tea Party movement. I have seen that on the news in other areas, but here in our own county we have failed to produce the candidates that not only would make the changes we need to get back to our values of lower taxes and smaller government but instead we had candidates that, yes indeed, they espoused that message but to the detriment of programs that people want and were willing to find ways to keep. What I saw was a slash and burn philosophy and that extended to those of us who didn’t necessarily agree with the methods and means. I heard about percentage cuts across the board no matter the consequences. Cut services, cut staff, cut personnel, cut, cut, cut. I saw nothing that would actually improve the quality of life or even maintain the quality of life in our county. When all these factions can come together, find ONE unified voice with ONE unified message maybe then we can get back to the Party of Reagan and Lincoln. Instead of fighting each other, when we learn to fight the progressives in our county and country only then will we make real “progress”. Until then we are spending our efforts on fighting each other instead of fighting the RINOS (Republicans who are on the extreme right or left) and the Democrats. TEA PARTIES VS. OLD GUARD If anyone has heard me speak at various venues and on the radio you have no doubt as to how I felt about the so called "Tea Parties" being foisted on you by Matt Nye and others. In case you haven't or just tuned out here's what I said and what my predictions were:
As usual, the Executive Committee as it has become over the past couple of years, has deteriorated to the point where they have become inconsequential. The Old Guard manned head quarters EVERY DAY IN ORDER TO MANAGE THE PHONE BANKS. That's right PHONE BANKS. If you don't know what those are email me and as Rush would say, I'll give the Rio Linda definition because apparently there are a lot Rio Linda members on this committee. The way to win is not to rally at the stadium, it's real training by people who have "been there done that" and have a proven track record. The way win is through hard work, not hard words. The way to win is with a good background, a solid character, a plan that could work, and a good comfortable pair of sneakers. RINO (Republican in Name
Only) and the 2010 Primaries I know what the usual definition is – anyone with left leaning beliefs that call themselves Republican. My definition is slightly different because I believe that anyone that leans too far to either right or left is a RINO. There are more RINO’s in the primaries than I’ve ever seen before. There are incumbent RINO’s, there are new comer RINO’s and there are those that couldn’t win under any other party name but Republican, so why not? Just change your registration, come out of the brushes and call yourself a Republican, who would know? We are eating our young, taking giant steps backwards and thinking we’re doing great. If doing great means that a candidate can wake up at 6:00, shower at 7:00 have breakfast at 8:00 and run for office at 9:00, then we are doing great. If we fall into the trap of “throw the bums out” then put people in office who can’t find the rest rooms then we’re doing great. If you want to put real Republicans in office DO YOUR HOMEWORK. I can’t believe that some that I have spoken to tell me all about how friendly the candidate is but know nothing about their stand on the issues. “They knocked on my door and seemed so polite” – there’s a good reason for voting for them. I listened to some debates and heard candidates tell us that they are going to make a change in Tallahassee – that worked really well in Washington! What was most alarming was listening to what they were saying knowing that they seem to be running for the wrong office because what they say they are going to do THEY CAN’T. Not to say the changes aren’t needed but a basic understanding of the office you’re running for would be nice. The Gubernatorial candidates are going to lower property taxes. When did the State of Florida start collecting property taxes? Don’t you think that someone running for that office would know that? I heard one candidate talk about the County Budget and how he understood it should be formulated. If he was correct, and he’s not, the County Commissioners would be spending every moment of every day doing nothing but talking to staffers and holding workshops. Some one needs to explain the Sunshine Law to him since Commissioners and their chief of staffs can’t talk to each other about items coming before the Commission so that leaves only workshops where votes aren’t taken. We’ve held Tea Parties, we’ve held forums and what seem to be lacking is qualified, credible candidates. Many REAL Republicans have deserted the party. Many possible future republicans are running terrified at what they are seeing for the future of the Party and the Country. Just my opinion Truth and Education Too many people are enamored with some candidates. Too many people do not do their homework. Too many people don't even bother to check a candidates qualifications and background. Accusations are made and the truth in the accusations are never checked. That is not to say that all accusations are true, but it does mean that some may not be true and accurate. Simple simple answers are given to complex issues and NO ONE CHECKS the veracity of the statements made. Just my opinion Clubs vs. Committees It has been over a month since Ruthie and I left the Executive Committee. In those 15 years in politics and with the Executive Committee we have seen many changes, some good and, unfortunately mostly bad times. I remember one of my first meetings when the Democrats had us on the ropes and we were the minority party in the County. I asked why we don't use the same tactics they did and was told "we don't want to lower ourselves to their level". Sorry to say, this current Committee has match the tactics of the Democrats of the '90's and have far surpassed them. This Committee should be about finding common ground with all the clubs and factions within the Republican family and melding them together into one cohesive organization. Instead, certain people and some clubs have decided that they KNOW what's best for the Republican Party. They have decided that those that don't march in lockstep with their philosophy have no place in the Committee or the Party. The odd thing is is that much of their rhetoric does not parallel the philosophy of the Republican Party and those we were supposed to stand for. We once talked about "the big tent" and how all conservatives, regardless of how far right or middle they are, belong in our Party and are welcome to have a seat at our table. RINO The label came about because of a politician's political actions, policies, positions on certain issues or voting records are considered to be at variance with some part of the Republican party platform. The key words here are "considered to be at variance"... This Committee has turned the phrase into one that means "at variance with what we think the Republican party platform should be." Far RIGHT is as much of a rino as the far left or those too close to the middle. Compromise is a "4 letter" word to them. As a Committee they have devolved into a "your either with us or against us" group. Rules mean nothing. Orders are given regardless of their legitimacy. Words and phrases are manipulated and changed to "trap" and misconstrue what is actually said. Statements like "it was a unanimous vote" are thrown out like they were facts when actual meetings and votes were never held. Where do we go from here? I wish I were smart enough to be able to come up with an answer for that question. I wish I were younger to be around long enough to help bring that change about but, happy birthday to me, I'll be 62 on July 19th. It took 15 years to destroy this Committee, it may take even longer to fix it if it can fixed at all. Possibly the only recourse is to begin again.
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