Marielena Stuart In Boca Raton
Despite rather blustery weather with high winds punctuating the start of another night of patriotism from the Palm Beach County Tea Party, we had a great turnout at Boca Greens Country Club on March 6th, for the Boca Chapter’s Monthly Dinner/Speaker. Gracing our podium tonight was Marielena Stuart, a candidate for US Senate from the State of Florida. Her unique perspective as a world traveler, and her upbringing in Cuba and enduring the oppression of Castro, gives her words a LOT of extra emphasis and passion. It was certainly not lost on the 130 people attending, who gave her a standing ovation.
Once again, the food selection at Boca Greens was outstanding, and they even had an “ice cream bar” with someone scooping out portions of ice cream that people could put toppings on themselves. We had no fewer than SIX local restaurants in the Boca area provide us with gift certificates to auction off for our silent auction, which was very successful, just as it was in February. Mel Grossman made the trip from Jupiter to be with us, as did Terry Brady.
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. After the usual protocol of explaining what the PBCTP is, and what it stands for, Alex made general announcements, and then asked Mel Grossman to come to the podium. Mel had some up-to-date tidbits from newspaper clippings that concern us all. Terry Brady then succeeded him at the podium to go over fundraising, as well as to announce our Tax Day Tea Party Rally in Wellington in April. He announced that Dick Morris has agreed to be the lead speaker. Joe Madej then spoke to us, as he did last month, to explain how our organization will be organizing our poll watching efforts, as well as our Get Out The Vote campaign. Sign-up sheets were on all the tables for that effort.
We had a great turnout from local candidates- Mike Lameyer (FL Senate District 25), Joe Tally (County Sheriff), James Ryan O’Hara (FL House of Representatives), and Anne Trujillo (US House of Representatives) were among the evenings’ attendees, all of whom got a moment to introduce themselves, and what they stood for, before the main speaker was introduced.
Alex then introduced Marielena Stuart, who was accompanied by her family, who all campaign together. Marielena’s perspective on encroaching socialism in our society is perhaps as cogent and strong as anyone in the country. With her background under the Castro regime, watching her relatives face becoming political prisoners, and even DEATH, due to being outspoken regarding Castro’s rise to power, one can tell without any explanation that Marielena MEANS what she says. There was an element to her speech of true human emotion and authenticity that simply cannot be faked—her sincerity was palpable, transcending mere politics. Her positions on nearly all the issues that face us today are as true to the Constitution as anyone who has spoken at one of our events. One can see how much of a threat she represents to the Establishment in politics, since she is not shy about how she would reduce power within the Federal Government, should she be elected.
Marielena then took questions from the crowd, even though we were running later than normal. She and her family were the last people to leave the building, staying and chatting with EVERYONE who wanted an audience with her. If this is not an “approachable” candidate, I don’t know who is.
Several happy raffle prize winners won fine dining experiences throughout Boca, as well as some great Palm Beach County Tea Party Polo Shirts. It was truly an excellent evening—Mrs. Stuart’s message ought to be heard nationwide, not just in a small group dinner setting in Boca. For those of you who missed it, I can only say you missed an exceptional night of involvement in the political process, and irreplaceable fellowship with like-minded folk from all over the 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 on April 3rd, 2012!!! Remember—we always have our Boca Chapter Dinner/Speaker event on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month, so mark your calendars! We now have SIX months 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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