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PBC Tea Party and SF 912 jointly host Candidate Roundup
As elections approach, there are many venues in which to see and hear the candidates. Many of these, such as the network of political clubs of both parties, have rules that don’t allow non-party members to speak, even in non-partisan elections like Sheriff or Supervisor of Elections.
Boca Chapter and SF 912 Present: The Pre-Primary Candidate Forum Roundup!
The Boca Raton Chapter of the Palm Beach County Tea Party, in conjunction with the SF912, present the “Pre-Primary Candidate Forum“, for Tuesday, August 7th at 7:00pm. NOTE: Due to the high number of candidates who wish to speak to our audience, we will likely begin EARLIER than 7:00!!! It will be held at the Boca Greens Country Club (Map HERE), and the doors will be open at 5:30pm for a cash bar, and dinner will follow from 6pm to 7pm (as usual, the cost is $15, which includes tax and gratuity). We will have this event in lieu of our normal “Dinner/Speaker” meeting, which we normally have on first Tuesday of the month. Our leadership has concluded that we would like to provide this type of event as a service to both the candidates, as well as the citizens in our county who wish to be better prepared when it comes time to vote- whatever their party of political “stripe”. This is a great opportunity for everyone involved to get to understand more of what the candidates stand for before their big Primary Election vote on August 14th.
The format will be simple: Each candidate will be allowed 5 minutes at the podium and microphone after he/she is introduced. We want each candidate to address the top two or three issues that they want to meet head-on if elected, an how they would be accountable to one or more of the Tea Party’s 3 tenets: Fiscal Responsibility, Free Markets, or Limited Government, and how they will be manifested in your approach towards the office. We ask that each candidate be very specific towards that, so that it’s not just some generic “stump speech”. We will have a volunteer timer, who will hold up cards letting each candidate know when they have 1:00 and :30 seconds remaining. A bell will ring to stop anyone who goes over time allotted.
As of August 6th, the officially confirmed candidate speakers will be: Joe Talley, Cleamond Walker, Susan Bucher, Fran Hancock, Jody Lane, Mike Lameyer, Cindy Tindell, Margherita Downey, Melanie Peterson, Gary Nikolits, Lisa Epstein, Timothy McCarthy, Sharon Bock, James Martz, Tom Thayer, Peter Evans, Peter Feaman, and Robert Weinroth.
This event will be provided in a safe and fair environment which our leadership ensure will be the model of civility. It is not a “Debate”– it is a “Forum”. There will be no mud-slinging, and the candidates are asked to confine their time at the podium to address what their platform is, NOT to attack their opponents.
Due to the number of candidates who wish to address our group, it is EXTREMELY UNLIKELY that there will be time left for a Q&A with the candidates. Assuming there is, the microphone will be tightly controlled by our leadership to avoid any questions designed with nothing more than malicious intent towards any of the candidates, determined at the sole discretion of SF 912/PBCTP personnel.
PBCTP and SF912 Jointly Host State Senate Forum
Full Video
by Boris Balaban
On July 10, the Palm Beach County Tea Party and South Florida 912 jointly sponsored a candidate forum for the State Senate Republican primary candidates in district 25 and 34. (click for district description.) Moderated by local radio personality Joyce Kaufman, the three candidates were asked ten questions of state-wide interest. Unlike our similar forum for the County Commission, the candidates were not given the questions to ponder in advance. The result was answers with less depth, but it did differentiate the candidates on their familiarity and grasp of the issues. Below you will find a summary of the event, with the questions, their answers, and a link to a video of that section of the forum.
 Melanie Peterson District 25 |
 Geoff Sommers District 25 |
 Mike Lameyer District 34 |
| Click on the candidate’s picture for a short Bio | ||
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With three candidates participating, it was easy to lose sight of the fact that Melanie Peterson and Geoff Sommers are direct competitors and Mike Lameyer is in a different race against incumbent Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff who was unable to attend the event because of scheduling conflicts. So let’s first stipulate that Mike did a solid job. His answers were on point and he demonstrated a good grasp of the issues. Senator Bogdanoff is an excellent debater and a policy insider, but one could imagine Mike holding his own in a one-on-one if she had been able to attend. He had many facts and figures at his fingertips, and showed his passion for hot-button issues like e-Verify. The experience he gained in his 2010 run for S27 was evident in his confidence and command of the facts. Some notable answers were in prison privatization (“send them back to road patrol”) and FRS reform (“state workers should pay their own way”).
In the S25 contest, it will be an uphill battle for either of the contenders to best Joe Abruzzo in this D+12 district. Joe is an experienced legislator, with support on both sides of the aisle. It will take polish and depth to compete effectively.
On that basis, this was Melanie Peterson’s night to shine. She answered the questions directly with no attempt at deflection, and drew from her experience to add depth and real context to the answers. On the gambling question, she related her time managing Indian gaming as part of a family business to the more subtle aspects of the issue like crime and security. On the Energy bill question, she jumped from crony capitalism to a discussion of incentives for all businesses, not just those favored by certain legislators. And then she hit a home run by deflecting what was a zinger by Geoff Sommers on her support for a wind farm in the Glades (“where there is no wind”), by pointing out that it was a private sector project, with private funding and she would always be in favor of businesses coming to the Glades to spend money, even if the project was a risk to the private investors.
Geoff Sommers did a credible job. On most of the issues he had similar positions to the other two – supporting the Governor on fighting Obamacare, against crony capitalism, and supporting school choice. One interesting answer was that gambling should be expanded within the framework of existing licenses. Geoff, who has less campaigning experience than the other two, came across earnest and sincere, and he held his own. He gave conservative answers to the questions, which pleased the audience, and would likely represent us well if elected.
The event at Boca Greens Country Club was well attended, and quite a few other candidates joined us, including: Cesar Henao (Congressional district 21 Independent), Joe Talley (County Sheriff), Fran Hancock and Cindy Tindell (State Committeewoman), and James O’Hara (State House district 81).
| Question 1: Governor Scott has reacted to the loopholes introduced by the Supreme Court decision to announce that the state will not participate in the Medicaid expansion estimated to cost the state close to $2B a year, or implement the exchanges. He will need the Legislature behind him to win this fight – how will you approach this issue if you are elected, and how should the Governor counter the drumbeat to accept the “free” federal funding associated with Obamacare? | |
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Melanie Peterson: I stand with the Governor, willing to go door to door to convince other legislators why it is the best for Florida, it is an egregious attack on our civil liberties Geoff Sommers: Of course I stand with the Governor, medicaid expansion would go from $3M in 2012 to $5M in 2016, support free market in insurance. Mike Lameyer: Agree with the Governor – taxpayer would be on the hook for over $1B just in the first year, need to educate the public on just how expensive this legislation is. |
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| Question 2: In the 2011 session, the Governor proposed raising the amount that participants in the state pension system pay to 5% from 0, ending cost of living adjustments of 3% / year, raising the retirement age, and reducing the rate that benefits accumulate. Under great pressure from the unions, the legislature passed a watered-down bill which only requires 3% contributions and minimizes other changes. The system is still not 100% funded, and is a long term problem for the state, and union lawsuits may rollback even these modest changes. What would you propose to put the Florida Retirement System on a sustainable path? | |
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Melanie Peterson: $300M was added this year to the pension fund, $120M for actuarial funding, disappointed that 3% contribution was rejected by the Supreme Court, would like to resurface that in some way, appreciates public service of employees but they should not get better benefits than private sector. (Editors Note – Actually, only a circuit court invalidated the 3% contribution, the Supreme court will take it up in September) Geoff Sommers: Supports private accounts, state workers should not be paid more than private sector, retirements should not be paid by taxpayers, private accounts only way consistent with free markets. Mike Lameyer: State workers should pay for their own pensions like in the private sector, we were misled, state pension system is broke, taxpayers should not have the responsiblity to pay for 100% of someone elses retirement. |
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| Question 3: The Governor and Senate Leaders proposed a major privatization of the Florida prison system this year, expecting long term savings, but the bill was defeated in the Senate 21-17 as several Republicans voted against it. The concept is likely to return in the next session – how will you approach the issue? | |
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Melanie Peterson: Crime is now at an all time low, no excuse not to defund our prisons and privatize what we can – behind this issue 100% Geoff Sommers: State should privatize anything the private sector can do better than government. Mike Lameyer: Support the Governor, those working in the prisons can go back to road patrol where many came from, also should privatize anything that can be done cheaper and more efficiently by private industry. |
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| Question 4: HB7117 became law earlier this year, giving state tax credits to green energy companies. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam pushed the bill, saying it was a step toward “smart, long-term energy policy”, but the Heartland Institute and Americans for Prosperity called it a “crony energy bill”, which has the government picking winners and losers. The entire Palm Beach delegation except for Joe Negron voted for this bill. What would you have done? | |
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Melanie Peterson: We should be promoting energy independence here in Florida, but shouldn’t single out single industry for tax incentives – have them for all industries Geoff Sommers: My opponent supported a wind turbine project in the Glades (where there is no wind) -that’s crony capitalism.Melanie responds: Proud of that resolution – its private land, private enterprise, company investing $350M in the western county where we have 40% poverty levels, don’t care if they lose their money because there is no wind, they are making the investment. Mike Lameyer: Studies say if we fully exploited our natural resources in Florida it wold create 250K high paying jobs in the first 24 months, should not pick winners and losers like Obama did with Solyndra. |
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| Question 5: SB1550, the “vouchers for all” plan for education savings accounts sponsored by Senator Joe Negron, would provide a pot of public school money that parents could use to pay for private schools, homeschooling, or pre-paid college plans. It died in committee this year but may return in a future session. Would you support this or a similar bill? | |
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Melanie Peterson: Education system is broken, keep trying the same ideas, supports vouchers, charter schools are successful because they are privately administered – should we privatize our department of education? Try localizing our school systems because like politics, education is local. Geoff Sommers: Parents should have the choice of how to educate their children, supports charter schools, we should not change the bar when schools are failing but fix the schools. Mike Lameyer: Only way to correct education in the state is with a voucher program – let every parent send a child to the school of their choice, better than passing or failing teachers and students based on once a year test. |
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| Question 6: In the last session, a bill to expand casino gambling in the state was defeated in committee. Some would say it would have been the “largest gambling expansion in Florida history” and bring in the wrong kind of tourism. Others saw it as a way to expand convention business in South Florida and elsewhere, competing with Orlando, whose legislators strongly opposed the move. How did you view the proposal and how would you approach it if it comes back in a future session? | |
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Melanie Peterson: Managed casino operation for family business, providing equipment to Indian casinos, they do it well and pay taxes on their operations even though they don’t have to, they handle crime better on reservation land because they have different laws, would support if constituents want it. Geoff Sommers: Opposed to gambling personally, but don’t like the way current law favors one group over another – not good for business, could expand gambling in a moderate way through existing licenses. Mike Lameyer: Against gambling personally, but should be local issue. Nationwide, gambling is also associated with higher levels of all types of crime, every job a casino creates, loses 1.8 in the surounding community, make sure constituents educated on all aspects before voting on gambling. |
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| Question 7: Do you support e-Verify? Yes or No. | |
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Melanie Peterson: Against illegal immigration, but we can’t put Florida at a disadvantage compared to other states, rather have guest worker program after closing our borders, push federal government to do its job, stop providing state benefits to illegals Geoff Sommers: If e-Verify is the option given to us by the federal government, then we must use it. Mike Lameyer: Federal immigration code allows local law enforcement to ask for status, e-Verify works, without it will spend $5M to support illegals each year, need proof of citizenship for food stamps, housing or medicare. |
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| Question 8: American’s for Prosperity, in their “Five for Florida” program, proposes eliminating the corporate income tax and all targeted tax credits and exemptions to get government out of the business of picking winners and losers in the marketplace. Is this a workable approach? Would you make any exceptions to the plan? | |
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Melanie Peterson: Agree, and need to hold down spending, support amendment 4 (Smart cap), need to eliminate waste Geoff Sommers: It is a workable approach, have signed the pledge, corporate tax is about $2B out of $70B budget – can make up by attracting new businesses, Mike Lameyer: Auto companies have come to US states with favorable tax climates and Florida wasn’t in the discussion, would change that |
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| Question 9: The Governor vetoed $143M in this year’s $70M budget of projects that he said did not benefit the state as a whole or weren’t worth the money. They included a Bay of Pigs museum in Miami, the Florida Aquarium in Tampa and other projects favored by local legislators. Was this appropriate? Shouldn’t a legislator be able to spend state money on favored projects in their district? | |
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Melanie Peterson: Some of these projects are ridiculous, shouldn’t be asking the legislature for that kind of money when people are suffering, Geoff Sommers: Cut fraud waste and abuse, not the time for “bringing home the bacon”, lower taxes and send back to the people Mike Lameyer: Government shouldn’t be taking your or my tax dollars and giving it to others for any reason, no more government financing of private industry – they can stand on their own. |
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| Question 10: Citizens Insurance, once the insurer of last resort for those in coastal communities, has greatly expanded inland and is now the largest home insurer in the state, crowding out private insurance. Since Citizen’s liabilities fall back on the taxpayer in a catastrophic claim event like a major hurricane, the Governor would like to reduce its size and exposure. What is the proper role for Citizen’s in the state and what should be its future? | |
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Melanie Peterson: Last year Citizens paid $2.4B in litigation alone, main problem is our risk mitigation model, rate modeling is ridiculous – most of claims are in the north part of state but highest premiums are in south, companies are undercapitalized, need tort reform to reduce litigation. Geoff Sommers: Support the de-population of Citizens, bring back private insurance by encouraging them to write policies, get the state off the hook for a catastrophic event. Mike Lameyer: Citizens was bad idea when began, now and in the future, companies should be made to provide full range of insurance to operate, Citizens is example of what happens when government takes over industry |
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Some pictures from the event.
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July 4th Mall “Meet-ups”, in Boca, Wellington, and Palm Beach Gardens!
This past Memorial Day, Monday, May 28th, nearly 30 patriots from the Boca Chapter met up at Town Center Mall in Boca Raton. Dressed in full Patriotic regalia, our group met to honor those who served this great country in our armed services. We met quite early, before there were a lot of people there at the mall, but we definitely left an impression on those who were there.
The purpose of meeting up was to take a stand for our country in a very public way, to simply express our love for our country. Clearly, we had gathered intentionally—dressed patriotically, holding flags, and enjoying fellowship with one another. We gathered in a very open and conspicuous area, which was in the foyer area from the main entrance to the mall on the north side. Loosely organized, there was no official “format” or “program” that we followed. We recited the Pledge of Allegiance, sang the National Anthem, and Al Raden read a list of names- the names of every soldier from Florida who was killed in action since the previous Memorial Day. Ron Gaynor read an excellent short speech from Abraham Lincoln. We closed by singing God Bless America.
As we disbanded, a number of people inquired about our group, and we were equipped with Palm Beach County Tea Party business cards, as well as flyers for our upcoming meeting with Slade O’Brien that we just had in June. In all, we were at the mall for just about an hour.
We greatly encourage everyone who can, to JOIN US to do the very same thing on July 4th! Our respective chapter groups will gather at 10:30 am at Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, The Mall at Wellington Green in Wellington, and Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens. Pick the one closest to you, and let your voice be heard! Let us demonstrate solidarity for the future of this country—that there are people who still care—and that the Tea Party is alive and well, and present and accounted for in our communities!!!
Boca Chapter and SF912 Host Florida Senate Candidate Forum with Joyce Kaufman!
The Palm Beach County Tea Party Boca Raton Chapter and the South Florida 912 are joining forces on July 10th for another spectacular evening of like-minded fellowship through the three core principles of the Tea Party. Joyce Kaufman will moderate this FL Senate Candidate Forum with candidates Melanie Peterson, Mike Lameyer, and Geoff Sommers at Boca Greens Country Club (19642 Trophy Drive ). Ellyn Bogdanoff, who will be facing Lameyer for FL Senate District 34 in the GOP Primary on August 14th, was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict. Peterson and Sommers will square off for an August 14th GOP primary for District 25.
This forum is being held in lieu of our normal monthly Dinner/Speaker Event (and we pushed it back one week, to July TENTH, instead of the THIRD, to avoid conflicting with holiday plans for July 4th).
We are fortunate to have local veteran conservative talk show host Joyce Kaufman join us as the moderator, and Lou Galterio will sing the National Anthem. She will be asking the candidates a number of questions put together by our respective leadership teams, and the questions will involve local policy issues, and how the candidates’ positions on those issues might be viewed from the perspective of our three core principles.
As usual, doors will open at 5:30pm and the Cash Bar will be open. Dinner ($15 includes tea, coffee, dinner, dessert, tax and gratuity) will be from 6:00pm to 7:00pm. We will make announcements for the Palm Beach County Tea Party and South Florida 912, and the Candidate forum will commence around 7:15. People are welcome to attend the Forum, at no charge and simply skip the dinner portion. Either way, we still need a head count, and will ask you to click on the RSVP button below.
This event promises to be an exciting evening of getting to know our local candidates, and to get involved in the political process right here, where we live!
Please RSVP now on the button here, and see you on Tuesday!
Slade O’Brien Educates and Inspires Boca Chapter Crowd
The Palm Beach County Tea Party’s Boca Chapter had their monthly Dinner/Speaker Event on the first Tuesday of the month—as usual—at Boca Greens Country Club on June 5th. This would turn out to be a very special and exhilarating evening- not just because of our meeting, but because just after it, the news reported that Scott Walker had won his battle against those who would attempt a recall. Turnout was about as expected, as we will attract a total of about 80 people at every event, no matter what. Many of our patriotic supporters are “snowbirds”, and are gone for the season, and there were several regulars who were not in attendance on this night. Nevertheless, it was a respectable showing for our speaker Slade O’Brien—the Florida Director of Americans For Prosperity. With November on the almost immediate horizon, Slade’s expertise on the political machinations within our state is truly invaluable.
The main dining room at Boca Greens Country Club was closed for maintenance, but Roger and his gang did a great job setting us up in the private meeting room, with a panoramic view of the beautiful golf course. The food was as good as ever—and all went quite smoothly, despite the minor change in venue. We really appreciate the local restaurants’ involvement in that they provide us with gift certificates to auction off for our silent auction. There were SO MANY great restaurants to choose from! We also had a crystal bowl, as well as two Palm Beach County Tea Party polo shirts up on the block, all for the taking.
In a break from our normal protocol, we elected to ask Tyce Fitzmorris to present his specially created DVD on the peril that our country is really in—from both an ideological standpoint, as well as a DEBT standpoint. He set up his projector in front of the podium, and began at 6:30. You could hear the sound of forks hitting plates slow down, as Tyce delved deeper and deeper into these solemn issues. He was clearly a “hit”, and many people wanted both the DVD he created, as well as asking him to deliver the same presentation to other gatherings. Please contact us if you would like Tyce to do this for your group.
Boca Chapter Coordinator Alex Berry began the proceedings at 7:00pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. We were fortunate enough to have Lou Galterio, “The Golden Voice”, sing the National Anthem for us, which was met with thunderous applause! After the usual protocol of explaining what the PBCTP is, and what it stands for, Alex presented his usual recent email fare- this time with a takeoff of the “You Know You Might Be A Redneck If…” series by Jeff Foxworthy. This was titled, “You Know You Live In ‘Upside Down Land’ If…”. It pointed out, in a humorous way, how the poison of liberalism has literally turned our world upside down. Local event announcements were made, as well as a “teaser” for our new Plaque Program, more of which will be revealed next month. We had at least 6 different candidates, officeholders, or candidate representatives announce themselves during the announcements, and they were certainly welcomed in kind.
Alex then introduced Slade O’Brien, who emphasized the importance of GETTING INVOLVED—and mobilizing our efforts to create a maximum effect. His speech was quite illuminating, as Slade and his team truly have their fingers on the pulse of what’s happening in Tallahassee, as well as in Washington, DC. It is hard to imagine having a better ally in our cause for Liberty than groups like AFP, and the people like Slade who passionately run their regional chapters. As a conservative grassroots organizer since the mid-90’s, Slade observed that, “Compromise got us $15 Trillion in debt. We don’t need to compromise. We need to win.” He had great information on judges in Florida, and how none have ever lost a reelection based on “merit retention”. His group will be educating Floridians on this process. He further criticized the Florida Legislature as not being proactive enough in helping Gov. Rick Scott in his program to create jobs, and gave several illustrations of how tax credits were being misused amongst a type of “crony” crowd, much like what’s happening in Washington on a much bigger scale. There were even examples of contracts with the state that were so vague, that the only clear stipulation was that an invoice would be rendered once a quarter! Understandably, Slade was for reducing the extreme amount of regulation that currently exists to bolster new business development in Florida, while increasing transparency with existing contracts with the state.
The crowd had several great questions for Slade. There was a clear sense of frustration within our audience in terms of the existing levels of fraud and corruption already rampant in our system, and what we can do to thwart any further growth of this cancer within our governing bodies. How encouraging it was to see our group engaged in the dialogue, and taking part in the process! There really is no substitute for that kind of fellowship and camaraderie, and I am, as always, happy to see our chapter express their patriotism through having their voices heard in our group. Having said that, I encourage everyone to get involved in our Boca Chapter, and join us for future events to take part in having your voice heard with like-minded folk from all over Palm Beach County.
We look forward to more great meetings in 2012 for our Boca Chapter—please INVITE YOUR FRIENDS to our next event, which will be July 3rd, 2012, with speaker Kris-Anne Hall. PLEASE NOTE: THIS MEETING HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO IT’S DATE FALLING TOO CLOSE TO A MAJOR HOLIDAY (JULY 4TH), SO WE REPLACED IT WITH THE FLORIDA SENATE CANDIDATE FORUM, WHICH WILL OCCUR ON JULY 10TH. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO RSVP TO THAT EVENT!!!
Otherwise, we always have our Boca Chapter Dinner/Speaker event on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month, so mark your calendars! Time is drawing to a close to make a difference for the next election, so please get involved if you aren’t yet, and STAY involved if you already are!
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Slade O’Brien, Florida Director for AFP, To Address Boca Chapter June 5th!
Slade O’Brien is an accomplished grassroots organizer and public affairs professional with more than 15 years of demonstrated success in public policy communications, project, campaign & issue management, media relations, community outreach, coalition building, fundraising, event staging & management, grassroots advocacy and third party recruitment.
A third generation Floridian; Slade double majored in college receiving both a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
After spending 7 years in advertising and marketing, Slade began his political career working for the Republican Party of Florida where he served as Special Assistant to the Chairman for Victory ‘94.
An early leader within the conservative grassroots movement, Mr. O’Brien was tapped to be the first ever Florida Director of Citizens for a Sound Economy in 1998. Long before there ever was a Tea Party Slade built the grassroots organization from scratch and turned it into a 45,000 member grassroots powerhouse, with clubs in 11 local markets which played a key role in passing such issues as tort reform, educational choice, and reducing the intangibles tax in Florida.
Mr. O’Brien also served as the Executive Director of Florida Stop Lawsuit Abuse, a grassroots organization dedicated to challenging those who abuse our legal system and educating the public about the costs and consequences of lawsuit abuse.
Most recently, Slade worked in the private sector as the President of the Florida Strategies Group where he specialized in public opinion strategies, campaign and coalition management, strategic consulting and grassroots organizing.
| DATE: | Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 |
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| TIME: | Doors open 5:30pm. Buffet at 6pm. Meeting starts at 7pm, $15 per person (tax and gratuity included) |
| PLACE: | Boca Greens Country Club, 19642 Trophy Drive, Boca Raton, FL 33498, Click HERE for Map |
Memorial Day Meet-ups at Three Malls
This is a difficult time politically for all of us. Many of us are discouraged. . . but we do have two very patriotic days coming up, Memorial Day and Independence Day. On Memorial Day, meet up with like-minded people between 9am and 10:30 for java and fellowship at the mall nearest you. We will be meeting in the food courts at these three malls:
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Wear red, white, and blue, your tea party shirt, and/or carry a small flag so that we can recognize each other. Who knows, we might even break into song (flash mob style) like we did last year. This is truly a fun experience. Don’t miss it if you are in town for the holiday!
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Blaise Ingoglia Fires Up the Boca Raton Chapter!
Despite another rainy and windy evening another night of good food, fellowship, and patriotism from the Palm Beach County Tea Party, we had a very respectable turnout at Boca Greens Country Club on May 1st, for the Boca Chapter’s Monthly Dinner/Speaker event. Our speaker was Blaise Ingoglia, Vice Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. Better known as the creator of the highly popular video series, Government Gone Wild, which has been extremely successful (read: “viral”) on YouTube, Blaise has a definite knack for articulating complex issues, such as the National Debt, into east-to-understand vignettes, using examples lay people can relate to. His message was powerful, and he came right out and said, “this is going to scare you…” on more than one occasion. It definitely had the desired effect, but the message was inspiring, not depressing—it’s important to know what the stakes are when November rolls around in a few short months!
Boca Greens Country Club definitely continued in their efforts to provide a comfortable venue with terrific food. We had several local restaurants provide us with gift certificates to auction off for our silent auction, and there were many other items for the taking, too. People came from all over the area, and we had several members make the trip from Jupiter—too many to name here. We also had Marion Frank in the audience, who will be stepping in to help run the Wellington Chapter.
Boca Chapter Coordinator Alex Berry began the proceedings at 7:00pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. Carlos Manuel Santana then regaled us with his impassioned version of the National Anthem- truly exhilarating! After the usual protocol of explaining what the PBCTP is, and what it stands for, Alex had a little fun with the audience by examining the new campaign slogan of our opposition, “Forward”, and illuminating how that word has been used prolifically throughout the history of socialism. Alex introduced Pam Wohlschlegel, PBCTP Founder and County Coordinator. Pam announced several items of interest to our group, including the effort to prevent recall in Wisconsin, and Get Out The Vote efforts.
Local candidates Joe Talley (County Sheriff) and Geoff Summers (FL Senate district 25) made appearances, and introduced themselves before the main speaker was introduced.
Alex then introduced Blaise Ingoglia, who spent the next 40 minutes examining how dire our circumstances are with the debt addiction our country currently finds itself in, as well as the seeming blatant disregard for that debt—and the potentially disastrous outcome of these policies—from our elected officials in Washington. Without doubt, Ingoglia has done a LOT of research and homework on all of this. As a Florida entrepreneur, he witnessed gross mismanagement of political affairs on the local level, and then in government corridors on the federal level– and was so genuinely alarmed by what he found, that he created the GGW video series. His presentation combined elements of topics covered in his videos, coupled with a “call to action” for people to get involved in the process locally—the best way to affect change!
Blaise then took questions from the crowd. The reaction from our audience was truly passionate—we had a lot more questions than we had time to address! There is no question that our audience was engaged deeply in the dialogue, and many were happy to express their patriotism through having their voices heard in our group.
It was a great night that was well attended and received. For those who missed this event, I can emphatically say that if you ever get the opportunity to hear Blaise Ingoglia speak live, you should jump at the opportunity. I encourage everyone to get involved in the political process, and join us for future events to enjoy irreplaceable fellowship with like-minded folk from all over the county, and reshape this country to it’s true essence!!!
We look forward to more great meetings in 2012 for our Boca Chapter—please INVITE YOUR FRIENDS to our next event, which will be June 4th, 2012. Remember—we always have our Boca Chapter Dinner/Speaker event on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month, so mark your calendars! Time is drawing to a close to make a difference for the next election, so please get involved if you aren’t yet, and STAY involved if you already are!
Here are some pictures of our event:
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