Allen West at Lincoln Day Dinner

Great Stuff. Video by Michele Kirk at Bizpacreview.com

GOP Presidential Preference Primary is Tuesday, January 31st

The GOP Presidential Preference Primary is Tuesday, January 31st. You knew that – and now, if you’re like me and have put off your decision as long as you can, it’s time to Vote!

The Supervisor of Elections website has the precincts listed for this election. If you’re not certain about your precinct and can’t find your voter registration card, then look it up at the Precinct Finder. When in doubt, call the Supervisor of Elections, at (561) 656-6200. The polls are open from 7am to 7pm.

Remember (since it was in today’s paper as another ‘problem’ with Florida) – the only candidates of the many listed on the ballot still in the race are Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

Good luck to all of us!

Rally with Mitt Romney on Sunday in Pompano Beach

A lot of folks have asked about opportunities to see the various candidates prior to the vote on Tuesday. Mitt Romney will be in the area at a rally in Pompano Beach on Sunday evening:

When: January 29, 2012 – 6:30pm – 7:00pm

Host: Team Florida

Where: Emma Lou Olson Civic Center
1801 Northeast 6th Street,
Pompano Beach, FL 33060

Click on the link for map and directions. The event is free and RSVP isn’t required, however it would be useful for attendance estimates.

To RSVP or for more information, contact TeamSouthFL@MittRomney.com or (813) 658-8825.

Impressions of Three Campaign Rallys

Early Voting Ends Today at 2:00pm

You watched the debates, you took our survey (or didn’t), attended the PPP Event or looked at the Voters’ Guide.  Now it’s your chance to vote for the GOP Presidential Candidate of your choice.  For most of us, it’ll be a difficult choice – but don’t use that as an excuse!  If you anticipate for any reason that you won’t be able to make it on Election Day, January 31st – then vote early – by either going to an Early Voting Location or voting by Absentee Ballot.*  Always check with the Supervisor of Elections if you have any questions either on their website or at (561) 656-6200.

Important – if you aren’t registered as a Republican – you will not be able to vote in the Presidential Preference Primary.

EARLY VOTING STARTS THIS SATURDAY!

Presidential Preference Primary Election

DATES

Saturday, January 21, 2012 through Saturday, January 28, 2012

HOURS OF OPERATION

Monday – Friday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Saturday & Sunday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

VOTING LOCATIONS

Jupiter Branch Library, 705 Military Trail, Jupiter 33458

Palm Beach Gardens Library, 11303 Campus Drive, Palm Beach Gardens 33410

Supervisor of Elections Office, 240 South Military Trail, West Palm Beach 33415

Wellington Branch Library, 1951 Royal Fern Drive, Wellington 33414

Hagen Ranch Road Library, 14350 Hagen Ranch Road, Delray Beach 33446

Lantana Branch Library, 4020 Lantana Road, Lake Worth 33462

Belle Glade City Hall, 110 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd West, Belle Glade 33430

Boca Raton City Hall, 201 West Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton 33432

*ABSENTEE BALLOTS can be requested in many ways – by phone, online, requests can be faxed, a designated person can pick one up for you, you can mail in a postcard.  You can also select in advance for which upcoming elections you desire an absentee ballot – so if you already know that you will be out of town for the primary in August or for the General Election in November – do it now – while you’re thinking about it.  For more information on how to get your Absentee Ballot and when/how to send it in click here.  Or go directly to the online form.

Opportunity to see Speaker Gingrich

Palm Beach County Tea Party wants to educate and inform voters, so we encourage all of our members to see the GOP Primary Candidates as they come to our area in the next two weeks. Here is an opportunity to hear Newt. Note that RSVP is Required.

RJC Florida Region presents
An Exclusive Event with
Speaker Newt Gingrich

Friday, January 27, 2012

The RJC Florida Region

is Proud to Present:

An exclusive opportunity to meet with

Presidential Candidate

Speaker

Newt Gingrich

Friday, January 27, 2012

Registration is at 2:30pm

Program is at 3:30pm

South County Civic Center

16700 Jog Road

Delray Beach, FL

Click here for map and directions.

RSVP Required / Seating is Limited

We are sorry, but we cannot accommodate those who do not RSVP in advance

RSVP to Leah Sabin at (561) 995-9445 or by

e-mail: florida@rjchq.org.

The Republican Jewish Coalition does not endorse any single candidate in the Republican Primary for President. We offer the opportunity for any major candidate or their designated surrogate to address our membership.

PPP Event provides new GOP Primary Candidate insights

The joint Presidential Preference Profile Event between Palm Beach County Tea Party and South Florida 912 was held at the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach. We’d like to give special thanks to the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach for allowing us to use these beautiful facilities, and for making the arrangements. Thanks especially to Jimmy Scroggins, Senior Pastor and Linda Thornton, Senior Pastor Assistant and all who were involved. And thanks to Joy Stone, member of the congregation, and a member of both South Florida 912 and Palm Beach County Tea Party for making the initial contacts for us.

The event was intended to inform the grassroots activist members of both groups about the candidates in the upcoming January 31st Florida GOP Presidential Preference Primary, and to provide them with additional information to motivate them to join the campaigns for the final 3 weeks prior to the primary.

Pam Wohlschlegel, Chairman and County Coordinator for Palm Beach County Tea Party and Florida Chair for Tea Party Patriots. introduced David DiCrescenzo, Publisher/Editor in Chief of The Patriots Press and long-time South Florida 912 member, who led us in a heart-felt, moving invocation. Then Jason Shields, another long-time South Florida 912 member and leader, led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Pam asked for a show of hands on how many undecideds were in the audience. Over 60% percent raised their hands. She spoke about the hard work ahead and how both PBCTP and South Florida 912 plan to work together to achieve success in 2012. Cooperation, Collaboration and Communication were to be the hallmarks of 2012!

Pam turned the podium over to Shannon Armstrong, Founder of South Florida 912.  Shannon asked the attendees how many went to the first 9/12 March on DC in 2009. Several in the audience had. She asked us to consider how much intensity we felt then and in the 2010 election campaign and did we feel that now? If not – we have to look within ourselves and regain that intensity as we head towards this most important election in 2012. She then introduced the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, Brian Mudd, Program Director 1290 WJNO & 1230 WBZT Financial Analyst & Co-host for The Morning Rush.

Brian also spoke motivationally – encouraging all of us to listen to the candidates’ positions and to pick our candidate, but to all get behind the eventual winner to ensure a win in 2012. He asked Fred Scheibl, long-time member of South Florida 912 and co-founder of Palm Beach County Tea Party, to explain what the evening was about. Fred gave the ground rules.

Each of the candidate representatives were to have 5 minutes to discuss their candidates values on:

• Leadership – what makes a good leader, who they admire
• Character – which attributes of character are most important, which guide their lives
• Worldview – what is America’s role in the next 20 years, what are our top three economic problems, top three foreign policy challenges?
• Quality of Solutions – What is the major advantages of your tax plan, your doctrine on foreign interventions, your approach to the size of government
• Governing style – How will you get things done? How will you “change Washington?” How will you differ from Barack Obama? From George Bush?

The next portion of the agenda was to discuss Policy Positions and each surrogate could pick from any of the following areas and speak for another 5 minutes:  Tax Reform, Spending and Deficit, Size of Government, 10th Amendment, Health Care, Regulations, Trade/China, UN/NATO/EU, Arab Spring, Role of the Military.

Finally – the reps would get 3 minutes each to wrap up and solicit volunteers, after which Brian would moderate 10 minutes of questions.

Fred explained that the PPP Voters’ Guide was a combination of responses provided by each of the campaigns coupled with the research done by several Palm Beach County Tea Party and South Florida 912 members. The complete guide is 44 pages long, but the 4 page summary is also available online. Thanks to all of the members who participated – in particular Alex Berry, Richard Bock, Joe Burge, Barry Carson, Mary Farrell, Laura Henning, Gary Summers and Kim Winker.

Brian then introduced the candidate surrogates:

For Newt Gingrich: Tami Donnally, PBC Co-Chairman
For Ron Paul: Francisco Rodriguez, PBC Co-Coordinator
For Rick Perry: Craig Briscoe, Southwest FL Regional Director
For Mitt Romney: Fran Hancock, PBC Co-Chairman
For Rick Santorum: Starla Brown, Southeast FL Regional Coordinator

Each of the surrogates were volunteer activists with extensive experience. All should be congratulated on the amount of work they put into preparing for the Event and in their outstanding detailed and eloquent descriptions of their candidates Worldview and Policies. Thanks to all of you! Well done!

Ed Fulop – South Florida 912 Project organizer and long-time member served as our time-keeper. The representatives had clearly timed their presentations and most finished well-within their allotted timeframes!

Mid-way through the presentations, Brian pointed out the quality, depth and caliber of the positions of any and all of the GOP candidates when contrasted with the current administration. We should be proud to support any of these folks!

After the Q&As, Fred gave the current results of the member Surveys from both the South Florida 912 and Palm Beach County Tea Party websites. When tallied together, the tied overall winners were Congressman Paul and Senator Santorum. The survey remains on the websites and you are welcome to continue to take and/or modify your ratings of the candidates.

Finally, Jason Shields announced the 50:50 winner and the meeting concluded. Many stayed to talk with the various candidates representatives.

Thanks to all who participated. Please feel free to distribute the links to the complete Voters’ Guide and to hand-out/print-out the short version to all whom you think may benefit from it. We want informed voters at the upcoming Primary and hope these tools will assist you in your decisions.

Some pictures from Iris:
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Palm Beach County Tea Party and South Florida 912 Host PPP Event

Do you know for whom you’re going to vote for in the GOP Primary? Do you know why? How much do you really know about your candidate?

Find out at our Presidential Preference Primary Event – a joint project between Palm Beach County Tea Party and South Florida 912.

When: Tuesday January 10th 6:00 p.m Meet and Greet, 6:30-8:30 Program
Where: First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach, 1101 South Flagler Drive

Our volunteers have researched the candidates’ policies. The campaigns have responded to questions about their candidates’ core values: such as Leadership, Character, Worldview, Quality of Solutions, and Governing Style, so we can get beneath the surface. There will be high-profile candidate surrogates at the forum to explain the answers and to answer your questions

The format will allow ample time to explore both core values and policy positions.

First take our survey – based on your current knowledge of the candidates. Then hear from the campaign surrogates as they present their candidates’ views, moderated by Brian Mudd, Program Director for WJNO and WBZT and co-host of the Palm Beaches Morning Rush, on Tuesday, January 10th at 6pm at the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach at 1101 S Flagler. Pick up a copy of our short Voters’ Guide at our event and then check out the complete guide on our websites. Survey results will be presented at the end of the meeting.

Still feel the same about your candidate? Have a new one? In either case, help out the candidate of your choice during the final 3 weeks of the campaign leading to the GOP Presidential Primary on 1/31.

The event is free, donations are welcome. Bring your friends.

If you need additional information, please contact info@palmbeachcountyteaparty.org

Click below to RSVP:

Venue Map:

Wellington Chapter hosts the Senatorial Candidate Forum

Palm Beach County Tea Party’s (PBCTP) Wellington Chapter hosted our Senatorial Candidate Forum on Monday, December 12th.  Most of the attendees partook of the tasty buffet at the Binks Forest Country Club prior to the beginning of the meeting.

Gina Rascati, Wellington Chapter Leader and PBCTP co-founder, kicked off the event with the Pledge of Allegiance.  Then Mel Grossman, PBCTP Vice President and co-founder, spoke about December events – encouraging attendees to help work the upcoming Gun Show.  In addition, he said that he’d be starting rallies, once again, in the new year.  Iris Scheibl, one of the PBCTP co-founders, described the upcoming Presidential Preference Primary Portfolio Event on January 10th to be jointly hosted by PBCTP and South Florida 912.  Alex Berry, Boca Chapter Leader took the podium and kicked-off the events – first describing the tenets of the PBCTP, then doing the introductions.  The guest moderator for the event was Jim Sackett, former WPTV NewsChannel 5 news anchor; time-keeper was Gina Rascatti; and the participating candidates, in order of opening statements were:  Mike McCalister,  Deon Long, Ron McNeil and Marielena Stuart.

After opening remarks, each of the candidates rotated going first in responding to the questions with one minute responses.  The excellent questions ran the gamut of conservative issues:  Repeal Obamacare?  Which departments to scale back or get rid of?  How to reduce the National Debt?  Would you have voted for the Defense Authorization Bill?  Would you support removing the US from the UN, NAFTA, and NATO and expel the UN from NYC?  Would you refuse to sign any treaty that says the US contributes to global warming or climate change?  Would you work to reform the tax code and repeal the 16th amendment?  Would you work to repeal current executive orders that put restrictions on States’ rights and if so, which ones?  Would you follow current immigration law while striving for a long term solution?  Is the U.S. Constitution a living document?  Would you abolish or limit the number of Czars?  Would you support making the Bush tax cuts permanent?  If not, why not?  While many of the responses were similar – there were distinctions based on the personal viewpoint of each of the candidates.  McCalister brought his military background and other experiences into the mix, Long spoke of his economic outlook and the fair tax as a framework, McNeil cited his paradigm as a successful engineer and businessman, and Stuart her perspective as a Cuban immigrant who lived under Communism and described Agenda 21/Sustainability as socialism.

We had time for two great audience questions as well.  Would you support and pass term limits for the House and Senate? – leading to probably the funniest line of the night, given by McNeil – “Yes – two terms – one in office and one in prison!”, and What would you do with the Federal Reserve and what would you replace it with?

The candidates then closed with 5 minute closing statements.  Alex closed the meeting with calling the raffle.

It was a very informative event offering us an opportunity to learn more about these principled but lesser known candidates.  There is a long time until the August 2012 primary and any one of these fine folks could emerge as a strong Conservative candidate.  Thanks to all who attended.

The following pictures were taken by Alex Berry.

[slide]

Presidential Preference Portfolio Event

South Florida 912 and the Palm Beach County Tea Party are jointly hosting a Presidential Preference Portfolio event for January 10 at the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach on Flagler Drive. It will be moderated by Brian Mudd, Program Director 1290 WJNO & 1230 WBZT, Financial Analyst & Co-Host for The Palm Beaches Morning Rush.

The introduction of our 2012 Grassroots Presidential Preference Primary Voter’s Guide is a key part of preparation, and it will be made available at the event.

Each of the eight major Presidential campaigns are being asked to participate, and have been sent a series of questions designed to “get beyond the sound bites” and help us get to know the contenders on the basis of how they would approach the job, and how well suited to it they are.

The project has three parts – the questions, the event itself, and a member survey that asks each of us to score the candidates in the key areas of Leadership, Character, Worldview, Quality of Solutions, and Governing Style. The results of the survey will be included in the Voter’s Guide (available the night of the event), along with the candidate’s answers and our analysis of their policy positions. Following the event, after you have seen how they answered, we will ask you to take the survey a second time and we will record the changes (if any).

The Voter’s Guide will also have a section for the candidates policy positions, either provided by the campaigns or determined by our researchers from publically available campaign collateral and websites. Through this process, we hope to help you (and others who use our voter’s guide) to make an informed selection in the January 31 Florida Presidential Preference Primary.

Click below to RSVP:

Member Survey

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We need your views of the candidates for the process. Please CLICK HERE to take the survey now. You must be logged in to register your results.

Background

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The 2012 Elections are both a referendum on the stewardship of Barack Obama, as well as a choice of what kind of country we are going to become. The Republican standard bearer will carry enormous responsibility to offer a compelling alternative to the progressive, anti-business, social-democratic future that the last 3 years has foreshadowed.

So much damage has been done to our country through enormous deficits, out of control spending, suffocating regulations, erosion of property rights and the rule of law, and a feckless and incoherent foreign policy, that stopping the damage is not enough. The next President must roll back the excesses of the past few years and restore our Republic to one of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets.

It is a unique time. The country is gripped by fear and crushed by pessimism, yet we are yearning for leadership and open to new ideas. Not since the Carter Administration has there been such malaise, and polls show many think America’s best days are behind her and their children are destined to a lower standard of living and crushing debt. We fear our liberties are being eroded by a massive and growing federal government, that crony capitalism has corrupted the highest reaches of government, corporations and the banking system, that our traditional values of the family, the community, and the nation have been morphed into something unrecognizable. Yet there is some leadership to be seen away from Washington as the states press their case to overturn Obamacare and take the initiative on immigration policy from a failed federal bureaucracy. We as a people are resilient and capable, and will respond to a leader with bold new ideas and a commitment to fixing America.

The next President must have the right policy prescriptions for today’s known problems, and most of our candidates do, but that is not enough. Whoever assumes the position must also be able to meet and triumph over the challenges that lie ahead in an increasingly dangerous world, for a country left in a weakened state from fiscal irresponsibility, a decade of war, and a business sector left reeling from suffocating regulations and economic hardship that has led to the highest sustained level of unemployment since the Great Depression.

How can we determine who can carry this mantel?

We believe the qualifications of our champion can be found in five key dimensions:

• Leadership – who can inspire us to greatness? Who has the ability to clearly lay out the problem, communicate the urgency, convince us to make the necessary sacrifices to achieve success?
• Character – who can we trust? Who is loyal to their principles and their countrymen, respects others’ points of view, yet has the courage and confidence to make politically difficult choices?
• Worldview – who sees the world as we do? Who sees America as exceptional, its people capable and motivated, its strength in the individual efforts and decisions of the many,not the central wisdom of government?
• Quality of Solutions – who has proposed solutions that really get to the crux of the problem? Who understands that changes have consequences and can explain the broader ramifications of their tax plan or their entitlement reform proposals?
• Governing Style – who is likely to see their solutions implemented? How will they work with Congress, particularly the other party to form governing majorities on issues? Who can use their political capital and support from the voters to realize a mandate for change?

Candidate Questions

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In order to explore these dimensions for each of the candidates, we have prepared the following set of questions. The campaigns have been asked to answer them both in an absolute sense as well as how their candidate’s values may differ from their competitors for the nomination. Obviously, there are no wrong answers, but their responses will help us understand them better.

1. Leadership
a. What are the characteristics of a great leader?
b. What leader has most influenced you in your life?
c. In what leadership roles that you have held have you been most effective and whatdid you accomplish?

2. Character
a. Some of the dimensions of character include trustworthiness, loyalty, warmth, respect, courage, and reverence. How do these attributes guide your behavior and how much do they influence your view of others?
b. Who was the major character influence in your life? How and why?

3. Worldview
a. What do you see as America’s role in the world for the next 20 years?
b. What level of debt, deficit and taxation is “reasonable” and why?
c. What are the top 3 economic problems that “must be solved” to secure our future?
d. What are the top 3 foreign policy challenges of the next decade?

4. Quality of Solutions
a. Explain the major advantage and the most important side effects of your tax plan.
b. What is your “doctrine” regarding the intervention in foreign conflicts?
c. What should be “done” about the United Nations?
d. Close to 50% pay no income taxes – how do we change that?

5. Governing Style
a. How would your style differ from George Bush? From Barack Obama?
b. It is difficult for a President to “change Washington” – how will you work with the existing DC environment and avoid both frustration and/or corruption by it?

Policy Positions

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Policy positions on today’s key issues are also important, and we will attempt to profile each candidate based on their campaign collateral, public statements and debate performances. If a campaign wishes to specifically provide material to us on policy we will feature it in the assessment. The policy areas of interest are found in the following 10 questions:

1. Tax Reform – what are the key aspects of the tax reform initiatives (if any) that you would attempt to implement if you become President?
2. Spending and Deficit – Our $15T debt is the largest single threat to our institutions and our way of life. What are your top policy prescriptions to address this issue?
3. Size of Government – the federal government has become a major factor in everything we do and would be unrecognizable to the founders. How will you “make Washington inconsequential in our lives?” What federal programs would you eliminate or turn over to the states?
4. 10th Amendment – the states have asserted themselves in the last couple of years over immigration policy and health care. There are additional moves coming over EPA overreach, education and energy. Where would you draw the line between federal jurisdiction and that given to the states by the constitution?
5. Health Care – Most agree that Obama care must be stopped and 26 states are taking their judicial challenge to the Supreme Court. A legislative solution is needed and there is some fear that the PACA has already made turning back the regulations almost impossible. What steps would you take to deal with this issue and what priority would you give it?
6. Federal Regulations, EPA, NLRB, FCC – The Obama administration has greatly increased the regulatory assault on business and citizen alike. What can be done to reign in the entrenched bureaucracy and how will you approach this task?
7. Trade policy, China – What is your position regarding fair trade with China concerning currency manipulation, intellectual property protection and dumping? Should our trade policy favor certain countries or regions or should we treat everyone equally? What do you see as the future of manufacturing in this country?
8. United Nations, NATO, European Union – In what way would you change the relationship between the US and these organizations from what the current administration has done?
9. Radical Islam, Arab Spring, Iran – Contrast your approach in these three areas to the Obama administration. What should be our future posture towards the emerging regimes in the middle east and Maghreb and how should we deal with Iran’s weapons program?
10. Role of the Military – Our force composition has changed in response to the asymmetrical threats we face, yet our experience in Iraq and Afghanistan has illuminated many shortcomings in regards to “nation building” projects. How does the military factor into your vision of America’s role in the world for the next decade and what changes would you make in structure, weapons systems and human resources in the military forces?

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