Senator George LeMieux on the Challenges We Face

Opening with “the 2016 election is the most important of our lifetime!”, Senator George LeMieux joked that we always say that, but unfortunately, for the last 10 years it has really been true.

Giving us a broad overview of challenges facing us abroad as well as at home, he made the case that the country can be saved from the ravages of the Obama years but only if conservative ideas prevail. If we lose the White House and/or the Senate in 2016, the country left to our children and grand children will be unrecognizable.

Touching on the “nuclear deal” with Iran, which is the most pressing problem of the day, he spoke of how bad a deal it is. Iran is not our friend, as they spread their radical Shiite ideology into dominance of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen. Much of the inspection regime in the “deal” requires trust of Iran – and we cannot trust Iran.

Isis, as much a threat to us at home as to the people of Iraq and Syria, have been able to create their terrorist “caliphate” because Obama turned his back on Iraq. With Russia rampaging across Ukraine and threatening its neighbors, and China building up its military in Asia and threatening us with cyberespionage, we need a President who is competent to manage America’s role in the world.

At home, we have slow growth and many feel we are still in a recession. Obama’s regulatory regime has bogged down the economy, and it will take a change in the White House before growth can be restored. If we returned to 4% growth, the debt could be retired in 10 years.

In summary, we can recover but it requires a change of direction.

Also at the meeting, were CD18 candidate (and former club President) Rick Kozell, and US Senate candidate Todd Wilcox, each of who spoke briefly, and Jay Goldfarb gave us an update on Lobster Fest. Hanna Matry, one of our scholarship recipients from last month who could not be with us then, also spoke about her current work at NASA.

PBAU President William Fleming Presents 2015 Anne Roberts Scholarships

This year, the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches was happy to award the Anne Roberts Scholarships to five deserving scholars – two new awards and continuing support for three previous winners.

The awards were presented by William Fleming, President of Palm Beach Atlantic University. In his remarks, he highlighted the strengths and accomplishments of PBAU, most particularly its focus on the American Free Enterprise system. Unlike many peer institutions that are openly hostile to the ideas of the free market and capitalism in particular, President Fleming leads an organization that lives and breathes free enterprise, and instills in its students the importance of character, morality and public service.

PBAU is also a partner with former Senator George LeMieux in the LeMieux Center for Public Policy which is located on campus.

The new scholarship recipients are (Click on their name to read their winning essay):

Aaron Mejias

Aaron grew up in Tampa but resides in West Palm Beach at Palm Beach Atlantic University where he is studying Political Science and History. In addition to being a scholar he excelled in music in high school where he was a Concert Master in the Honor Band and led the Marching Band. He is presently interning with the Republican Party of Palm Beach County, expecting to graduate in 2017. Following graduation, Aaron intends to use his leadership skills and education as an officer in the US Army after which he will again become involved in politics and public service.

Ryan Walker

Ryan graduated from Glades Day School, attended Palm Beach State, and is now enrolled at the University of Florida studying Political Science. He was a member of the Republican Executive Committee and led the Western Communities Caucus. He served in the campaigns of Governor Rick Scott and other campaigns for US Congress and City Commissions. Ryan will graduate in 2017. He may not be specific about his future but we see a great political and public service life.

Our returning scholars are:

Daniel Kozell

Daniel grew up in Palm Beach County, graduating from Jupiter High School. He is studying Mechanical Engineering at FSU. He interned at Simmons and White, Inc, Civil Engineering firm in West Palm Beach and was an undergraduate research assistant at Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion at FSU. He is presently Children’s Ministry Coordinator for his church in Tallahassee, ministering to young adults with disabilities. He will graduate in 2017.

Dylan Brandenburg

Dylan grew up in North Palm Beach, graduated from SunCoast Community High School in Riviera Beach and is studying Computer Criminology at FSU. He also works part time at Florida’s Division of Insurance fraud under the administration of CFO Jeff Atwater. Dylan should graduate in 2017.

Hanna Matry

Hanna graduated from PB State with an AA degree before her graduation from our local William t. Dwyer High School. She is in her final year at UF studying Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. In addition to working through school and tutoring in math, she has worked with the Design and Manufacturing Lab at UF and the rocket team at UF. She is spending her summer at the Aircraft office of NASA’s flight Facility in Wallops, VA as an engineering trainee, working on engineering modifications towards some of NASA’s airborne science missions. Her dream is to become an astronaut or work in her field at NASA’s Cape Canaveral facility after graduation.

Hanna was unable to be with us at the meeting, but her mother, JoAnna Matry, provided us with the following video:

---

Candidates present included former RCPB President Rick Kozell who has thrown his hat into the crowded ring for the Republican primary for Congressional District 18. Rick is the brother of Daniel Kozell, our scholarship winner.

Some photos from Delia:

Joe Negron and Pat Rooney Explain the Senate/House Discord on Health Care

Previously scheduled for the May meeting to occur after the end of the 2015 session, our Legislative Update was particularly timely since the Legislature failed to finish their work this year and are headed back for a special session next week.

District 32 Senator Joe Negron and District 85 Representative Pat Rooney gave us their view of a few of the issues that were particularly important to them. For Senator Negron, these included Lake Okeechobee discharges, school testing and veterans benefits, while Representative Rooney spoke about placing limits on “sober houses”, city and county pension issues, and letting bars and restaurants serve beer in 64 oz. “growlers”.

The main event of course was health care. In a strange intra-party battle between the Florida Senate on one side and the House and Governor on the other, Tallahassee has shown that they can be just as dysfunctional as their counterparts in Washington. With an impasse over “Medicaid Expansion” (which each side trys to call something different) holding up the passage of the state Budget and three days left before the scheduled end of session, the House took their ball and went home. Since the constitution requires a budget, the Governor is calling them back for a special session starting next week.

What makes this most curious is the fact that the leadership of both bodies are Republican. Those in the Senate though, perhaps are not your father’s Republicans.

The Senate position, represented by Joe Negron who could be the next Senate President, is one of compassion for the working poor and a desire to make sure that “everybody has health insurance.” Relating anecdotes about uninsured parents bringing their screaming children into emergency rooms because they waited too long to seek care, he spoke sadly about the 800,000 uninsured in Florida in that narrow band between existing Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies (100%-130% of the poverty line). Apparently, Senator Negron’s goal is universal health care, with the Florida taxpayer providing subsidies for those who either can’t or won’t purchase their own health insurance. His arguments about stopping the cost shifting from the uninsured to the hospital emergency rooms (who make it up by charging us more), and the urgent necessity to “solve the problem” of Florida’s uninsured, are very reminiscent of the arguments made by President Obama for the Affordable Care Act. In a state that has fought the imposition of Obamacare on constitutional grounds, and has so far resisted its major expansion of Medicaid – a budget buster in a few years, the Republican Senate has gone all Progressive on us. They are actually proposing a brand new entitlement that will redistribute wealth to yet another class of recipient. It is no wonder that the Senate approach is strongly supported by the Democrat party in Florida, and the Hospital and Health Insurance industries which would profit mightily by its passage.

The House position (supported by Governor Scott) was clearly defined by Pat Rooney – we need to care about the cost of these programs, particularly in the out years which very shortly would add another $3-4B Billion burden on the state budget. The House opposes the expansion of Medicaid provided for in Obamacare (which the Supreme Court ruled could not be imposed on the states), for several reasons, most importantly its unaffordability. The House in aggregate, and Pat Rooney in particular, are still governed by Republican principles.

For more information about the dispute and its likely outcome in the budget battle, see: Retooled health proposal snubbed

Also at the meeting, the passing of long time club member Barbara Hawley was noted with a moment of silence, and GOP vice-chair Tami Donnelly made a pitch for new REC members.

A Spirited Discussion About Common Core

As expected, the topic of Common Core led to a spirited discussion by our two speakers, Kate Wallace, Director of Community Engagement for Foundation for Florida’s Future, and Rebecca Negron, a Martin County School Board Member.

Kate described how Florida has made significant gains in educational achievement between 1999 to 2014 with a 24% increase in graduation rates. Further, 30 % of Florida graduates earned a passing score on an AP exam compared to 21.6% nationally, placing Florida third behind only Connecticut and Maryland. On the most recent international student literacy test, Florida ranked second in the world and far above the national average. Our fourth grade math and reading and eighth grade reading improvement is double that of students nationwide.

Higher standards are necessary to prepare students to enter college or the workplace, and the improvement in Florida’s educational results since standards were introduced demonstrate that the higher standards result in higher achievement results.

Kate distinguished among three vocabulary words that are often misunderstood or misused:

1. Standard: The skills we ask to be mastered by a specific grade level
2. Curriculum: A range of approaches to achieve the standards
3. Assessment: The tools to measure objectively whether the standards have been mastered.
As standards change, the curriculum and tests must also change. Children rise to meet standards as they are increased. The progress shown in Florida demonstrates that this works.

Rebecca agreed with Kate that we want our state to be the best in the country in education. Her concern is about the apparent lack of transparency in the development of the standards and curriculum in the past with little involvement of educators and the public. Concerns of various experts point to the Common Core focus being more on writing rather than reading, the failure of the curriculum to develop critical thinking skills, and the developmentally inappropriate programs for children in early grades. Pointing to the design of Common Core, she explained that it is not designed to educate or instruct students using the great stories of western tradition but rather to direct people to be preoccupied with functional aspects.

Rebecca voiced concerns about the Department of Education vetting books for use in the curriculum. Parents are concerned about the biased and negative aspects of human behavior that is found in the curriculum. Teachers also have concerns about the impact on their profession because the evaluations and changes make it hard for them to keep up with the demands. They would like more flexibility to do what they think is best. With regard to the Common Core reading material, she noted that about 70% of it is instructional rather than being good quality literature and only chapters of books are included, rather than entire books.

Rebecca said the most important thing for us to consider is what the purpose of education is. We need to stop having students unready for college, and to educate them so that they grow into respectful and responsible adults. The question we should ask is: “What kind of person do we want to produce?” It will take involvement of all stakeholders, making sure teachers are prepared for teaching to standards, and getting control back to local school districts in all areas. In conclusion, she said that it is good to have this type of discussion because the dialogue is what’s important, we need to identify what our students need to know, and we need to get everyone on board.

In the question and answer period, both speakers agreed that increasing competition is necessary so that parents have a choice in where to send their children for an education. Kate noted that Florida leads the nation in school choice with a variety of traditional schools, charter schools, private schools, on line learning options, and vouchers for pre-kindergarten.

Some pictures by Delia

Larry Horist and the Ideological Divide

“There are two types of liberals – the evil and the misinformed.” Thus began a rambling discourse on the ideological divide by conservative pundit Larry Horist at the March RCPB lunch.

From basic definitions – “Liberals look to government, conservatives to themselves”, to the mainstream media narrative – “Liberals are cool, conservatives are old fuddy-duddies”, he examined the common stereotypes.

Horist refuted the false charges that conservatives are racists by examining the records of both parties throughout history, particularly noting that the areas with the most racial strife (Chicago, St. Louis) are one-party governments run by Democrats. “Liberalism is inherently racist”, he claims, because they target minority groups that need special help, who are then “cared for but not allowed to run free”.

The problem for conservatives, he says, is that liberals control the culture – media, publishing, education. With these tools, liberals encourage divisions among us, with hyphenated categories (“African-American”, “Irish-American”), while conservatives prefer to see us all as just “Americans”.

Exploring the behavior of our current President, Horist relates his upbringing outside the US by a mother who didn’t particularly like the country, and his influences in the Kenwood area of Chicago, which he describes as the anti-American part of that city, home of Bill Ayers and the like. Two key advisors – Valerie Jarrett, who is a product of Kenwood, and David Axelrod, an insider with the authoritarian Daley machine, help explain why Barack Obama’s instincts are both dictatorial (ie. “a pen and a phone”) and counter to most conservative’s view of America. This is not unusual for progressives he explains, pointing to similar behavior by both Roosevelts as well as Woodrow Wilson.

Apply Now for the 2015 Anne Roberts Scholarship

The Republican Club of the Palm Beaches’ Scholarship was named after a long-standing and active member of our Club, Anne Roberts.

The Anne Roberts Memorial Scholarship is available to any Republican undergraduate or graduate student seeking to further their education. Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or above and plan to attend an accredited college. Applicants must be Palm Beach County residents and registered (or pre-registered under 18 yrs. of age) Republicans. Current members may refer applicants for this scholarship. The deadline for this application is June 1. The winner will receive $500 to be sent to the school they will attend. Award will be presented at the monthly luncheon June 24, 2015.

RCPB Scholarship application 2015

Previous Years Winners

---

In 2014, our previous undergraduate recipients kept up their grades to receive additional scholarship: Dylan Brandenburg, John Clark, Jason Ferrara, and Daniel Kozell. Because of the generosity of our club members, we were able to add a fifth recipient, Hanna Matry, a junior at UF majoring in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering and a member of the University’s Rocket Team in the NASA Hybrid rocket competition.

2013 was an expansive year for our scholarship program, with 6 recipients. They went to Elizabeth Cayson, a county employee who is attending Walden University in Illinois remotely, and Danielle Madsen, who recently graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic and is working at a TV station. Three Florida State students received grants including John Clark (3rd year), Dylan Brandenburg (1st year) and Daniel Kozell (2nd year), and Jason Ferrara who is attending the University of Alabama received his third year scholarship.

In 2012, there were 5 scholarships awarded: James Schackelford in his 3rd year at Florida Atlantic University and Daniel Kozell entering Florida State University. We continued to follow John Clark, Jason Ferrara and Shirley Schaff.

In 2011, there were four scholarships awarded. John Clark attending Florida State University, Jason Ferrara attending University of Alabama, Shirley Schaff attending Northwood University and Kimberly Twoey attending Palm Beach Atlantic University.

In 2010, one scholarship was awarded to Cindy Morris, mother of 5, in her final year with 3.7 GPA at Palm Beach Atlantic College School of Education with endorsements in special education and English and a second language.

The second 2010 scholarship was awarded to James Shackelford, majoring in accounting at Florida Atlantic University. With his passion for politics, he is active in student government and volunteered for Allen West and Marco Rubio campaigns. After receiving his masters in Finance, James plans to attend law school.

The 2009 recipient, Nicole Vega, from Berean Christian High School, aspired to be a civil engineer. After much mentoring by several Club members, Nicole has changed her studies to major in Communications with a minor in Political Science at Palm Beach State College.

RCPB Scholarship application 2015

Karen Jaroch Is Keeping Tabs on Congress

In a fast paced Powerpoint presentation at the RCPB Feburary lunch, Karen Jaroch, Florida grassroots manager for Heritage Action, brought the club up to date on the issues currently on their plate.

The Conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, located in the heart of Washington, has a team of activists and professional lobbyists that educate our Members of Congress and try to move them in the proper (conservative) direction. What had been missing in their quiver was a grassroots component that could bring a member’s constituents to bear on the issues of the day.

This is the hole that Heritage Action fills. From invading the twitter townhalls of the left, organizing tweetfests aimed at particular members, or publishing youtube videos to make political points, the group uses social media together with old fashioned phone calls and email to amplify the conservative message.

Another technique they use is the “key vote”. By publishing ratings of all the members, based on how they voted on a short list of “key” bills, they can describe at a glance if a member is voting appropriately or “straying from the path”. Members are informed of what upcoming votes are “key” and will be included in the ranking for that year, raising the stakes for them. See the table at the end of this article for the current Heritage rankings of the local Florida members.

Some of the issues that are currently hot are:

• Defeating the No Child Left Behind re-authorization. NCLB, passed in the Bush years, was the next step after the Elementary and Secondary Act that first put the federal government in the local school’s business back in the 60’s, and started the nationwide standarized testing protocol. Common Core of course, is where this all leads. NCLB is up for re-authorization this week and Heritage is trying to derail it.
• Repealing Obamacare through the reconciliation process. You may be aware that when Scott Brown was elected to Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat, the Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority, and it looked then that Obamacare could have been stopped. They used reconciliation to get around that inconvenient roadblock and the rest is history. Now, Heritage is looking for other members to sign on to the “Fleming Letter”, in which Louisiana Republican John Fleming is urging support for a reconciliation style repeal. As of February 1, 20 members had signed on and he seeks 100 before sending it to Speaker Boehner.
• Repealing the Obama overreach on immigration. Heritage is supporting the Aderholt and Blackburn amendments which the House added to the DHS funding bill to stop Obama’s immigration order and the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) Program. Although it looks like the Senate is balking at this, Heritage will use this as a “key vote” and penalize any member’s rating who does not support it.
• Supporting the Transportation Empowerment Act, which would phase out the federal gas tax and return transportation funding decisions back to the states.

In a question and answer session at the conclusion of the program, Karen gave insight on a number of other topics including net neutrality, common core and Obamacare.

The key grassroots tool of Heritage Action is the Sentinel Program, which Karen described in her talk. This is where you can help, by participating in calls for action and pressuring your congress members. For more information see: Are You Ready to Become a Sentinel?

The current Heritage Action ratings for our members are (100 is perfect):

Rubio	82 %
Nelson	0 % (Really !!)
Murphy	12 %
Deutch	10 %
Frankel	12 %
Hastings	9 %

Peter Feaman Speaks of Gains and Opportunities

With a large dose of optimism for the future, RNC Committeman Peter Feaman gave the club his prespectives on the state of the state GOP, the results of the November election and the outlook for 2016.

Starting with a historical perspective of man’s struggle for freedom, from Exodus to the Declaration of Independence, he cast the actions of our government today, particularly under this administration, as counter to that struggle. The Republican party, starting with Lincoln, has at its core tried to advance the cause of freedom for all.

Today we are angry and scared at what is happening with Obamacare, EPA regulations, and the excesses of the nanny state, but in the 2014 election we rose up for freedom, and the result is the largest Republican House majority in 80 years. Republicans are also now in charge of 69 out of 99 state legislative bodies – 70%. The Democrats have been taken over by the hard left, but now we have an opportunity to reverse that trend.

In October and November of 2014, the RNC raised $12M – 87% of which was from donations of $200 or less, giving the lie to the GOP as the “party of the rich”. Support among ethnic groups has moved in our direction. Asian Americans voted 50% Republican in 2014, up from 26%. Black support doubled from 6% to 12%. We are the “party of freedom” and the “party of values” – and should not forget that Martin Luther King was a Republican.

Looking toward 2016, the RNC has established a debate schedule that includes one per month for 9 months. The Florida debate will be the last – in March 2016, and the debates will both start and end with the Fox News Network.

In response to a question that many had on their minds – with all this success, why is the President continuing to ignore congress and do his own thing, Peter pointed to the Speaker’s invitation to Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress (a shot across the bow of this President) as the beginnings of Congress reasserting its authority as a co-equal branch of government. They have only been in session for a little over a week, after all, so stay tuned!

Also at the meeting we had a drawing for two tickets to the Lincoln Day dinner, which will feature NJ Governor Chris Christie. They were won by Meg Shannon and Nicki Sabino.

In attendance at the meeting were three consecutive county GOP Chairman – Sid Dinerstein, Anita Mitchell, and current chair Michael Barnett, and an appearance was made by WPB Commissioner Kimberly Mitchell, who is running for Mayor in the March election.

Holiday Lunch Features Sweet Sound of Dimensional Harmony

In a joint event with the Delray Beach Republican Club, our annual Holiday Lunch featured Dimensional Harmony from Boynton Beach High School. Led by director Sterling Frederick, the 50 person a-capella group delighted the members with traditional Christmas songs as well as their own contemporary favorites. The pure tones and songbird quality of their soloist on “Silent Night” was riveting, and the uplifting harmonies of the group as they fanned out to surround the audience was memorable.

We wish them well for their debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall in March of next year.

---

Honoring our Veterans

The November meeting’s theme and purpose was to Honor our Veterans. Fran Hancock, President, kicked off the meeting and then the Invocation and Pledge were led by Virginia Brooks.

Fran introduced our keynote speaker, Staff Sergeant Brian Mast. SSG Mast now resides in Ft. Lauderdale, FL with his wife of 8 years, Brianna, and his 4 and 2 year old sons Magnum and Maverick, and are expecting a little girl in February. He is a full time student of Economics at Harvard University, an Explosive Specialist with the Department of Homeland Security, and a tireless advocate working to bring awareness to many veteran and non-profit organizations.

Brian gave an impassioned speech thanking our Veterans from all wars, and all who served in any capacity. He began by describing the huge number of non-profit organizations that exist to make life better for those who served, and how life for the vets from the more recent conflicts is far better than the treatment that our Vietnam Vets received upon returning home. There was not a dry eye in the house as Brian described the various ways in which veterans have given of themselves with their every action. He recounted in detail the night in which he lost both of his legs in Afghanistan. Brian had gone ahead of his team to check for IEDs – which he was sure were there. He gave the all clear and headed in for the mission when he stepped on a mine a few feet into the compound. SSG Mast described his rescue and waking up 5 days later at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He also honored the 67 friends he lost in Afghanistan. SSG Mast is a true patriot and Fran indicated that he may be running for office in the near future. We would all be well served to have such an outstanding individual represent us in the future.

Our next speaker, club member Chris Noel, echoed the experiences of those who served in Vietnam. As an actress/singer who went to Vietnam in the 1960’s with Bob Hope and the USO to entertain and support veterans when most of the Hollywood” crowd did not, she saw what those in the military had to endure both in Vietnam and upon their return. She continued to be driven to help our veterans and formed Vetsville to provide housing for homeless vets and to help them return to productive lives.

Last on our agenda were candidate for the REC leadership: Mike Barnett, running for Chair; Pam Wohlschegel, running for Vice-Chair; and Cheryl Mullings, running for Secretary.

---

Delia’s pictures from the event:

« Previous Page — Next Page »