Allen West Draws Sellout Tea Party Crowd at Abacoa

Painting a picture of the construction cranes in Washington, DC, a sign that we are “upside down”, in the US Economy, former Congressman Allen West told us that we have to “win the image battle” to turn things around.

WIth a long line waiting for an autographed copy of his new book “Guardian of the Republic“, Colonel West had just returned from Michigan where he had addressed a tea party gathering of 900.

“Find 5 people and convert 3 of them,” he proposed, “that’s 60% – how hard can that be?”

We need to go behind enemy lines, like the paratroopers before D-day, and bring the conservative message to those who really should be susceptible to it. Minority communities are socially conservative – especially in the churches. Progressive policies leading to a welfare nanny state, inflation and the lack of good jobs are likened to “economic slavery” – an idea that should resonate.

Another area where we should win is on school choice – it is Eric Holder’s justice department who is suing Louisiana to close their charter schools, and Barack Obama who ended the DC voucher program that was giving minority children a real chance at a better future.

Foreign policy and national security is another area where we should be making our case – and the tea party should embrace that part of the constitution about “provide for the common defense”. Our enemies do not fear us and our friends don’t trust us. Reagan said “Tear down this wall”, while Obama seems to be telling Vladimir Putin – “It’s OK if you want to build it again.”

Colonel West then took a series of audience questions ranging from the spread of military hardware to civilian police departments, the case for impeachment, the crisis in the middle east, and making gains in the Black and Jewish communities.

Present at the meeting were CD18 candidates Calvin Turnquest (also PBCTP Director) and Beverly Hires, State Senator Joe Negron, Andy Schaller (County Commission District 6), and Charles Punches (House District 86).

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Donald Boudreaux Brings Economic Wisdom to Abacoa

“Running a trade deficit is a good thing.” “It would have been better if the Fed had never been created.” “The country can continue to run deficits and pile on the national debt as long as there are those who continue to invest in the US.” “The dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency does not depend on the amount of gold in Fort Knox.”

These are some of the jewels we collected from Economist Donald J. Boudreaux at Abacoa last evening.

In an informal discussion of all things economics, this professor, attorney and noted author brought life and clarity to the “dismal science” as his anecdotes and pithy analogies questioned conventional wisdom and shared with us his lifelong appreciation of “fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets”.

Regarding the US trade deficit, he asked what could be wrong with acquiring real goods from abroad in return for pieces of paper embossed with monochrome pictures of dead presidents. Pointing out that we all run a trade deficit with (for example) a supermarket, unless we actually work there, he explained that attempts by politicians to limit imports of foreign goods is misguided.

Having no love for the federal reserve, the endless printing of money is not a good thing, but as long as others are willing to accept dollars in payment for goods and services, the party will continue.

He even took on his professorial colleagues when asked why they are all so liberal. Stupidity is the reason he said, not an ideological belief in the goodness of socialism.

It was an enlightening and entertaining presentation.

In other business, Mel announced that the Tea Party Patriots is looking for volunteers to go to Mississippi for a few days (at their expense) to work on campaigns in that state, and the PBCTP will be needing volunteers later in the year to help distribute our voters guides for the 2014 election.

Present at the meeting were candidates Calvin Turnquest, Beverly Hires and Alan Schlesinger for CD18, and Jay Bonner who is running against Alcee Hastings in CD20.

Trevor Louden Energizes Jupiter Crowd

On an untypical Friday evening, an enthusiastic crowd from the three PBCTP chapters turned out to hear Kiwi author Trever Louden, whose latest work is “The Enemies Within”, exposing the subversive elements within our Congress.

Starting with a sobering assessment of current events, from the growing domination of China in the Pacific and the emergence of Putin’s Russia as a threat to European peace, he illustrated Obama’s foreign policy as “picking the bad guys over the good guys”, supporting the emergence of Muslim dominated governments while turning a blind eye to those fighting for their freedom everywhere, and reducing the power of the US Military as a force for good in the world.

Noting that many believe that Communism has retreated from the world, he laid out their two secrets – first convince people that they don’t exist, then achieve control of the legislative process by manipulating small groups. With examples, he explained how well this has been working, such as the fundamental change to the AFL-CIO that occurred in 1995 when anti-communism was removed from their statement of principles. Today’s unions are first about the socialist cause and less about the welfare of their members, and although their membership is small, they exert significant control over the much larger Democrat party.

After a depressing exposition on the path we are on, he then gave reasons for optimism. Starting with the electoral success of 2010 which firmly closed the door on the Obama Agenda, it is the grassroots activists in the tea party and similar groups that keep the Progressives up at night, fretting that a movement they did not see coming has thwarted 40 years of preparation for a fundamental makeover of our country.

With an outline of how Ronald Reagan was able to triumph over the big government opponents in both parties starting in 1976, he pointed to Ted Cruz as someone who could lead such a revolution in the current day. His solution, consisting of a Ted Cruz / Allen West ticket in 2016, would be bolstered by a set of pre-announced leaders to attract a broad consistency. Rand Paul for Treasury (do what you want with the Fed), Scott Walker as Labor Secretary, Michelle Bachmann at Commerce, John Bolton at State, Ben Carson at HHS, Mark Levin as Attorney General, and David Barton as Secretary of Education. And the one that brought the audience to their feet – NO ONE as United Nations Ambassador.

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Some pictures from the event.

Adrian Wyllie Featured at Jupiter Meeting

“Fiscal Responsibility, Limited Government, Free Markets – sound familiar“?

This is how Libertarian Governor candidate Adrian Wyllie began to describe his governing principles and those of his party.

The real wedge issue today is not left versus right but tyranny versus liberty. We are heading toward a cliff and the only difference between the mainstream parties is how fast they are driving.

An adherent of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, as Governor he would resist the encroaching power of the federal government, even to the extent of rejecting all federal regulations and taxes on businesses that confine their activity solely within the borders of the state. If the feds ever came here to confiscate our guns, he would arrest the federal agents who tried – calling out the national guard if necessary.

Regarding the signing of bills into law, he would use three criteria:

1. Is it constitutional?
2. Is it affordable?
3. Is it the proper role of government (as opposed to some “nanny state” measure)

Pointing out that Rick Scott has significantly increased the state budget while he has been in office (current proposal is larger than what Russia spends on their military – around $74B), Mr. Wyllie has plans to cut it by 30%, returning sales tax revenue to the counties to take pressure off property taxes.

In favor of legalized marijuana, he predicts easy passage of the ballot amendment in the fall.

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Candidates present at the meeting and working the room with their petitions were five of the seven remaining candidates for CD18 – Carl Domino, Brian Lara, Ilya Katz, Alan Schlesinger and Calvin Turnquest.

Jupiter Council member Wendy Harrison was also in the audience, as was St. Lucie County GOP Chair Bill Paterson, who gave us an update on the RPOF position on Common Core.

Some pictures from the event:

Potential Progress for Seven50 Opposition

The American Coalition for Property Rights (ac4pr.org), with some help from members of the Palm Beach County Tea Party, has been able to convince three County Commissions (St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River) to ‘opt out’ of Seven50 – the HUD funded regional plan that sets out a progressive vision for “seven counties, 50 years”. Now their sights are set on Palm Beach County.

Predicting significant population growth in South Florida over that time frame along with rising sea levels and constraints on natural resources, the Seven50 plan sees public transportation, high density housing situated close to transit corridors, and restrictions on private land use as the solution. Implementation would involve changes in zoning regulations, and adoption of a regional blueprint which would supersede today’s system of county and municipal land use rules.

Fearing loss of local control and influence by property owners and other citizens, opponents of the plan have been asking county governments to “opt out” of the Seven50 MOU (“memo of understanding”) which they signed in 2010. Our three northern neighbors acquiesced, but so far Palm Beach County has not been willing to accept the premise that any of their authority would be preempted by the plan, nor do they feel bound to implement any of its provisions. Commissioner Hal Valeche, certainly not a proponent of the “New Urbanism”, does not see Seven50 as anything more than a federally funded study that lays out some proposals – that the county can accept or reject (or ignore) at their leisure.

Phyllis Frey, a leader in this fight, along with Mel Grossman, president of PBCTP, arranged for interested citizens to come to the February 4th Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting, to speak “off agenda” during the “Matters by the Public” session.

The 80 or so activists wore red shirts in support of the 15 or so who spoke, and the speakers covered a range of issues, from the impacts to Home Rule, development density concerns, the relationship to UN Agenda 21 and other topics.

For the most part, the session was cordial, and the Commissioners made comments and suggestions, although it was clear none of them saw any reason to “opt out”. There was a little bit of drama, as leader Mel Grossman was thrown out of the meeting room by an overzealous deputy. (see sidebar). In the Sun-Sentinel (“SFL Tea Party Leader Ejected from PBC Commission Meeting) and the PB Post (“About 80 seven/50 opponents pack palm beach county commission“) that part was the lead.

Drama notwithstanding, potential progress was made in the meeting. Seeking a way to address the concerns – namely that home rule would be compromised or that the county would be compelled to implement the seven50 plan, Commissioner Steven Abrams suggested that the County Attorney draft an addendum to the agreement(s) with the Seven50 committee, clarifying that nothing in those agreements in any way compromises our Home Rule or otherwise overrides the County’s planning and zoning. The addendum would be signed by both the BCC and Seven50 officials. The rest of the BCC agreed and County Attorney Denise Nieman said she would return at the next BCC meeting on March 11th. After the meeting, Ms. Nieman spoke with members of the public – including Mel and Phyllis. The latter plan to work with Ms. Nieman’s team to see if the proposed wording would satisfy their concerns.

All should recognize however, that whenever government grants are accepted, there are strings attached. And having an addendum or an opt-out, no matter how it is worded, does not relieve interested citizens from having to continue to monitor various development projects from appearing on Consent Agendas for passage without discussion. Also – most if not all on our County Commission, are in support of the goals of Seven50 and other regional planning initiatives – and one shouldn’t just assume that all regional planning is good or bad. As citizens, it is up to us to watch what is going on, hold our elected officials accountable, speak out, educate others and vote!

Billy Vaughn Draws a Crowd in Abacoa

Last evening, “Betrayed” author Billy Vaughn captivated a packed house at Abacoa.

Father of a Navy Seal who died in the crash of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan in 2011, Mr. Vaughn described what he found in trying to understand how this happened.

In an indictment of the rules of engagement that currently tie the hands of our forces in Afghanistan, he described the gulf that exists between the “war fighters” on the ground and their senior leadership.  More interested in winning the hearts and minds of the Afghans than in force protection or defeating the enemy, the current US conduct of the war greatly increases the risk and diminishes the effectiveness of our deployed forces.

He described our Afghan “allies” as untrustworthy and infiltrated by Taliban and Pakistan ISS, yet revealed that they are given full details of every special operation and have the authority to change the parameters or stop the  it altogether.  Describing the “ramp ceremony” following his son’s death, an Afghan Imam was taped (in his language) offering a prayer for the dead.  When he had the tape translated, it was revealed that the “prayers” were actually a diatribe against the American forces.

Predicting a dark future for the next generation if the current administration policies continue, his passion and outrage was clearly felt by the audience.

In other business, CD18 candidates Ellen Andel, and Calvin Turnquest introduced themselves, as did PBG Council candidate Robin Deaton, and recently re-elected PBG Mayor Bert Premuroso.

Of interest to Jupiter Chapter members is our upcoming City Council Candidate Forum to be held in the County Library in the Gardens on February 25 at 6PM.  The event is jointly sponsored by the Palm Beach County Tea Party, South Florida 912, PBGWatch, the PBG Residents Coalition, and the Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches.

 

School Board Member Marcia Andrews and Common Core

It was a packed room to hear District 6 School Board Member Marcia Andrews at Wellington’s Total Wine & More on Monday.

The Common Core Standards are an attempt to unify K-12 education across the nation around a set of grade-specific core skills, ostensibly aimed at raising the worldwide competitiveness of American students. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details, and much anecdotal evidence has surfaced that when the standards are translated into curricula, they represent a “fundamental transformation” that many would argue is not needed or wanted.

Implementation of the standards in Florida was mandated by then Governor Charlie Crist in 2010 and has been rolled out in kindergarten and first grade, with movement to the higher grades about to begin. As they roll out, opposition has been growing across the state, prompting Governor Scott to reject the assessment part of the program called PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers), leaving open the question of how assessment in the state will proceed. This, and the move to slow things down while the debate continues, shared by Ms. Andrews and others on the School Board and in the state-wide Florida School Board Association, has the possibility to create chaos in K-12 education as teachers are trained, materials are adopted and the rollout continues in the face of a groundswell of opposition.

Ms. Andrews and District Director of Secondary Education Diana Feldman gave the group an overview of history and plans for Common Core in Florida, and fielded many questions from the floor regarding required reading lists, data collection on students, the autonomy of local teachers to shape the curriculum in their classroom, and other hot-button issues.

Although few who have formed positions regarding Common Core would have been swayed by the session, it was informative and gave us the impression that the School Board is listening.

In Jupiter, Seven50 Presentation Becomes Town Hall

Last evening, the Jupiter chapter hosted a presentation by Phyliss Frey of the American Coalition 4 Property Rights, on the regional planning protocol known as “Seven50”.

Background: The title stands for “Seven Counties, 50 Years”, and is a work product in the area of “Regional Plans for Sustainable Development”, funded by a $4.6M HUD grant in 2010. A consortium, the developers of Seven50 formed the “South Florida Regional Partnership” to help create, support and implement the plan. Participants include local governments and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) through membership in the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) and the South Florida RPC. The plan attempts to address how to manage an expected 50% growth in population (from 6M to 9M) in the seven target counties of Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe. They have analyzed housing density, mass transit, diversity, planning and zoning and other regional attributes. The underlying assumption is a future of global climate change and rising sea levels, scarcity of energy and water, and challenges to “food security” among other things. The group’s proposals are considered advisory by many of the city and county jurisdictions that indirectly support it. Their work product can be viewed at seven50.org

Our guest speaker is a leader in the movement to challenge this planning protocol, and along with others associated with the American Coalition 4 Property Rights and many tea party activists, sees regional planning consortiums (they are all over the country, spurred on by HUD grants) as a threat to our way of life.

In her presentation, Ms. Frey used several very professional videos to make the case that the Seven50 plan would move us toward “stack ’em and pack ’em” high rise dwellings, the end of the suburbs, clusters of development along rail routes and elimination of local and county planning and zoning authority in favor of super-regional control.

Going back to the origins of “Sustainable Development” starting with the UN “Agenda 21”, she profiled the federal government’s role in implementation, starting with an executive order by George H. W. Bush, and expansion through every administration since. The Obama team has ratcheted it up a notch, using the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and HUD (Dept. of Housing and Urban Development) to promulgate a set of rules that require “neighborhood diversity” defined racially rather than economically, limits on resource use, and strings attached to federal grants flowing to local communities.

A test case and clear warning bell is provided by Westchester County, NY. A video of County Executive Rob Astorino, describing the federal lawsuits that county is struggling with, and his vow to fight back against federal overreach was a most compelling argument.

Invited to the meeting to hear the “other” side of the issue were our district 1 county commissioner Hal Valeche, Mayor Bert Premuroso and Councilman Joe Russo of Palm Beach Gardens. After the speaker made the point several times that MOUs (“Memorandums Of Understanding”) executed by local commissions and councils have limited their defense against the attacks on the local planning and zoning autonomy, Commissioner Valeche thought he needed to set the record straight. Taking the microphone to explain that the PBC commission is not constrained by Seven50 or the TCRPC, but look to groups like that as consultants and advisors. Some issues really need a regional perspective he said – like inter-county rail projects or large developments near county borders. He used the example of Avenir – the proposed development for the Vavrus Ranch in Palm Beach Gardens, as an example where TCRPC is being asked to help by collecting input from the region’s residents about such a large development in the western county.

Gardens councilman Joe Russo expanded on that, and explained that regional planning really did have a hand in developments like Abacoa, but state law has changed and it is now local rules that prevail. The Avenir development will be a decision for the Gardens Council, not the TCRPC.

Both Valeche and Russo left us with the impression that these kind of radical proposals as discussed by the speaker can happen, but only if we (and our local elected officials) let it.

At this point the meeting had become a “Town Hall” with both Hal and Phyliss taking questions from the audience.

Many were not buying that Seven50 was not a major threat though, and several called for Hal to get the PBC commission to “opt out” of Seven50, much the way that Indian River County and the city of Vero Beach have. Hal declined, saying such a motion would not pass in the current commission, and although this may be an issue in the future, currently he does not see it as an immediate issue in Palm Beach County. At one point it got raucus enough that Joel Channing, a PBCTP member who is close to the Gardens Council and is a leader in the PGA Corridor Association, made the point that “these guys are really heros” (the commissioner and councilmen) and were being unfairly criticized.

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Also present at the meeting were candidates for CD18 Ellen Andel and Ilya Katz, CD21 candidate (against Ted Deutch) Henry Colon, and Senate 32 candidate Brandon Cannon (a Republican challenging Joe Negron).

Reasons for Optimism – The “Defending the American Dream” Summit

This past weekend in Orlando, Americans for Prosperity Foundation hosted a conference for grassroots activists from around the nation.

With informative breakout sessions in the mornings to highlight successes on the state and local levels, and “big tent” events in the afternoon with national conservative leaders, there was something for everyone, including ample free time to “network”.

The “malaise” that affected many of us locally after the bitter results of the 2012 Presidential election has been pretty widespread, and organizers from many locations reported falling attendance at many of their events. Hopefully, that is now starting to change. Although we are still licking our wounds, conferences like this one demonstrate that there is still life in the conservative grassroots, we have leaders in the movement that “get it” and have the fortitude to take it to the President – to lead the fight against the train wreck that is Obamacare, the endless debt and deficits, the administration that cares little for the rule of law, the separation of powers, or the role of the states in our constitutional republic.

“It’s amazing what is possible in America“, said Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, when people are free – free to make their own choices, free from the suffocating regulations of intrusive government. He talked about education as the key for the jobs of tomorrow, and the success they have had in his state in shutting down failing schools and greatly expanding the charter school system which has done a lot to improve the lot of minority children. Last week, unfortunately, Obama’s Justice Department has decided to sue Louisiana to roll back these reforms and return students to their failing schools. Judging by his fiery critique of the President and his policies, it is clear he will stand up against our rogue Attorney General and fight to retain the success they achieved.

Our own Senator Marco Rubio declared “There is nothing wrong with America – but there is something wrong with this President“. The good news, he said, is that “we still have time to save the American Dream“, by reforming the tax code and eliminating regulations. “We don’t need Common Core”, he said, and he will not vote for any budget that funds Obamacare or to increase the debt ceiling without a balanced budget amendment and specific cuts.

Unfortunately for Senator Rubio, there is still a lot of anger in the movement about his role in passing the “gang of eight” Senate immigration bill. In the hall were members of Flimen with pink shirts that said “Pink Slip Rubio”, and throughout his speech you could hear sporadic calls for “No Amnesty”. Although he avoided this issue in the speech, he did address it in a smaller group that met with him prior to the session. In a hotel suite with about 40 supporters, after answering some questions about Syria, Obamacare and other issues for which he was among friends, someone in the back asked “what about immigration”. A hush fell across the room at this point and he had no choice but to address it with a somewhat lengthy justification that amounted to “the status quo is unacceptable so we have to do something“. To me it sounded like doubling down. Not good.

Then Arthur Brooks, President of American Enterprise Institute, succinctly summed up the Obama message: “Rich people have your stuff and I’m going to get it back for you.” This shouldn’t have worked as envy is not American, but unfortunately all our side had to say to his supporters was “You’re a moocher” – no wonder we lost. The words “fairness” and “compassion” have been kidnapped by the left and we should take them back and own them, because progressive ideology is neither fair nor compassionate. As a humorous and memorable side comment illustrating our difference in values, he recalled a bumper sticker seen in San Francisco – “Your body may be a temple but mine is an amusement park”.

Next up was Governor Rick Scott, gearing up his re-election bid with a positive jobs message. Recalling his 2010 pledge to create “700,000 jobs in 7 years”, he reported us as on-track, with the likelihood of 900,000 jobs created by 2018. Scott is still popular with the Florida grassroots, although his support for Medicaid expansion had a lot of heads scratching. We do still remember that he declined to create a state Obamacare exchange, though. A few hecklers in the audience periodically shouted “No Common Core”, reflecting dissatisfaction with the direction that our education system has taken over the last few years. Scott talked about his activities as a booster of the state’s business climate and his good-natured rivalry with Texas and Governor Rick Perry who was the last major speaker of the day.

A 2012 Presidential candidate until his campaign faltered early in the primary process, he is possibly gearing up for another run in 2016. Well known as a jobs governor, the record of the Texas economy on his watch has been very impressive. As he makes the rounds of the states selling the Texas miracle, he has gained the ire of many blue state governors who do not appreciate his pointing out the shortcomings of their performance or the failings of the Progressive economics.

On another theme, “All roads lead back to the states“, said Perry. One size fits all federal programs (like Obamacare) are anathema to the founding principles of this country. A favorite target of the Obama administration, whose ideology sees the power in the states to be a roadblock to their big government agenda, Texas is now being sued by Eric Holder and the Justice Department as they try to end-run the Supreme Court and re-impose Voting Rights Act restrictions that require federal permission for such things as Voter ID laws.

On the final day of the conference, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, another possible 2016 presidential candidate and clearly the favorite of the gathering gave us reasons for optimism. With the success of Rand Paul’s filibuster on drones, and the failure of gun control initiatives after Sandy Hook, the President was forced to “listen to the people”, he said. On Syria, with Obama now going to Congress for authorization, on immigration, on common core, – the people are making their voices heard and throwing a wrench into the Obama agenda. His job as a Senator, he says, is to restore economic growth as the lack of growth is related to all of our other problems. Tax Reform (“Abolish the IRS“), and regulatory reform (“Repeal Obamacare – every single word“) are the key. He sees Obamacare as the greatest job killer of all time and sees de-funding it in the upcoming budget process as the key. In answer to skeptics that see that tactic as a political liability for Republicans, he says “You lose 100% of the fights you surrender at the outset.” Standing ovations were frequent for this speech.

All in all, the speakers reminded us that conservatism is not “in trouble” as the mainstream media may have you believe, but resurgent and full of fire. With his agenda in tatters, the Obama team sees winning back the House and holding the Senate next year as their only chance to have a legacy of anything but failure. Any thought of compromise or even dealing with a Republican House is not is the President’s wheelhouse. Although 2014 will be a harder slog than 2010 when we took them by surprise, at the end of this conference it was clear that we have depth, we have tools and we have a maturity that comes from adversity and learning from the losses of 2012. Thanks to AFP and organizations like them, the conservative grassroots will have help and structure that will amplify our effectiveness going forward.

Dennis Michael Lynch Delivers at Jupiter

Author and producer of the films “They Come to America” and “They Come to America 2”, Dennis Michael Lynch drove the issues surrounding illegal immigration and amnesty home to a substantial crowd of several hundred at the Abacoa Golf Club.

Co-sponsored by the Palm Beach County Tea Party and the Martin County Tea Party / 912, Mr. Lynch used a series of video clips, anecdotes and personal stories to shed some light on what is really happening on our southern border, and what could happen if something like the “Gang of 8” amnesty bill were to become law.

Immigration is a complex issue, yet it is approached by politicians and the media in sound bites, misleading statements and 1200 page bills with loads of subtle consequences.

The Dream Act for example, allows for the best and brightest of illegals in our schools to remain in the country. It also provides entry for all their relatives through “chain migration”, a deal breaker for many conservatives.

H1B visas, favored by high-tech companies who need skilled workers in IT and other technical disciplines, have the side effect that the participants are effectively indentured to the company that procures their visas and consequently work for below standard wages – crowding out Americans with equal skills and credentials. (Editors Note: the Senate Immigration bill would make this worse by eliminating “middlemen” who obtain work visas for tech workers and then hire them out as contractors to the tech firms).

Senator Rubio’s claim that the newly legalized would “not get Obamacare” and other benefits is a similar problem – companies could hire these folks and not have to provide them health benefits or face Obamacare fines.

My biggest takeaway from Mr. Lynch’s many fine points concerned Barack Obama and his legacy. “It is not Obamacare for which he would most like to be remembered, but immigration reform”, he said. More than anything else, flooding the country with tens or hundreds of millions new immigrants would “fundamentally change America”, the President’s first and foremost goal.

Finally, regarding the border, enforcement, and the billions of new spending on border patrol in the “Gang of 8” bill, he said it is “not about the money”, but about the will to fix the problem. Until we have a government that has the will to act on the problem it will not be solved.

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Several elected officials joined us last evening, including District 1 County Commissioner Hal Valeche, and Juno Beach Councilwoman Ellen Andel. Ms. Andel, who is running for Congress in the crowded CD18 Republican field, was joined by Beverly Hires, a new entrant in that race, and Ilya Katz. Mr. Katz was a candidate in CD23 against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, but is moving north and decided to join the CD18 race instead. Also running in that district are former state representative Carl Domino, and Alan Schlesinger , both occasional visitors to PBCTP meetings.

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