I spent a few hours on the corner of US 1 and Oakland Park Blvd. on a gorgeous South Florida day with the Tea Party Fort Lauderdale. The longest-running Tea Party in the USA, founders Danita Kilcullen and Jack Gillies have done a tremendous job growing the group, supporting local conservative candidates and offering information on pending legislation, amendments and other important developments.
While the group realizes that our work has only just begun, yesterday was mostly about taking time out to celebrate our successes after nearly two years of passionate, dedicated activism. The three videos I put together, beginning with Part One below, tell the tale of what ordinary, everyday Americans can accomplish with enough belief, persistence and willingness to roll up their sleeves. Enjoy!
Update: Here’s the second video from the day:
Update: Third video featuring US veteran John Sykes’ presentation on the US Marine Corps.
Update: Fourth and last video featuring a beautiful rendition of The Star Spangled Banner from Ashley.
Very thankful to be in the company of tireless, dedicated patriots here in South Florida.
The last meeting before the do-or-die 2010 midterm elections was held the other night in West Palm Beach. At my friend Steve Rosenblum’s suggestion, all candidates in attendance were afforded an opportunity to speak first before attending to other business. I am so proud of everyone running and can only say that after listening to their presentations, I more excited than ever about next month’s elections. Florida has an excellent slate of candidates, and I am thrilled to support them via precinct walking, robo-calls (in the case of Pam Bondi), blog posts, social media and every form of activism available to us in the 21st Century.
One of the most dynamic, passionate and gentlemanly among them is Bernard Sansaricq, an intelligent, articulate voice for American freedom who is running against impeached judge/thug Alcee Hastings in Florida Congressional District 23. Bernard exuberantly announced Newt Gingrich’s recent endorsement of his campaign, to the delight of the entire audience, before noting that Belle Glade — Hasting’s place of birth and the poorest area of the state — is suffering with 42% unemployment.
At a recent Belle Glade debate reported on by my friend and tireless patriot Yomin Postelnik, Hastings threatened Sansaricq after challenging him to a debate in which the statesman noted:
“I have visited Belle Glade 20 times since the beginning of the campaign and I intend on being YOUR Congressman. And I won’t tell you that you need to hire a lobbyist when you need something from me. That’s because your congressman is elected to be your lobbyist!
Belle Glade has a 42% unemployment rate. You can be sure that when elected, I won’t hire some girlfriend and pay her $160,000 of the people’s money when those funds can be used to hire eight people in Belle Glade. I also won’t take trips to Europe with that girlfriend on the taxpayer dime. I will remain here and have a presence in the district, fighting for you.”
Alcee’s response, in full earshot of all of the assembled elderly residents of the no longer Quiet Waters, “You’d better travel safe! You’d better travel safe! You’d better travel safe!”
For those who don’t understand thug-ese, that’s a desperate threat (albeit an empty one) on Bernard Sansaricq’s life. — Yomin Postelnik
In case it’s not perfectly clear from that short excerpt, Florida CD-23 is in desperate need of strong, principled leadership — and Bernard Sansaricq is the perfect man to deliver it. Please visit his site and donate anything you can.
In fact, take a look at each of these great candidates and do whatever you can to help. Our freedom depends on it.
Still processing all of the videos, but these three offer pretty good insight as to the mood of the crowd and the tenor of the debate between Tea Party Republican candidate Lt. Col. (RET) Allen West and Liberal-Democrat-turned-born-again-fiscal-conservative Ron Klein (pay no attention to his 98% pro-Pelosi agenda voting record, Ron is really a “middle-of the-road” kind of guy).
One of the many things that irked me about Klein’s performance — aside from the blatant lies about West — was his dig at pro-life Americans, as indicated by his “Terry Schiavo issues” remark. I suppose it was a deliberate attempt to remind spineless independents and pro-choice Democrats about the “extremism” of Republican Floridians who believed their state courts committed a grave and fatal injustice against an innocent, disabled woman based on the testimony of a conflicted witness. It was a cheap shot from a desperate, pathetic politician who knows he’s in the fight of his life against a strong, popular and principled challenger.
Today I had the pleasure of witnessing my next congressman, Lt. Col. Allen West, metaphorically eviscerate current FL-22 congressman, US Rep Ron Klein in a debate held at Lynn University in Boca Raton. Together with The Conservative Divas; assorted friends and activists; and a predominantly pro-West crowd (which outnumbered the Klein supporters by a 3-1 margin in my unscientific estimation), I broke a few of the debate rules by alternately cheering enthusiastically for Allen when making a salient point on a critical issue, and booing Ron Klein profusely when making a patently false characterization about his challenger — something he did quite often during the course of the debate.
In his zeal to paint Allen as an “extremist” — and presumably scare some of the nice little old ladies in the audience — Klein mentioned Sarah Palin’s name several times, a tactic that seemed to have zero effect. Just like his ridiculous attack ads, which take West’s “right wing extremist” remarks at a Fort Lauderdale Tea Party completely out of context, the invocation of Sarah Palin’s name rang hollow as a misguided attempt to deflect attention away from his own 98%-with-Nancy-Pelosi voting record — a fact West reminded the audience about at the beginning of the debate.
I guess Ron hadn’t noticed the huge Tea Party contingent lining the entrance to Lynn University in the hours before the match-up. Or maybe it was just too difficult to come to terms with the fact that they severely outnumbered the handful of Klein supporters on the opposite corner. Suffice it to say, to the majority of folks in attendance, the invocation of Sarah Palin’s name and her endorsement of Allen West are good things.
Ellen, Kathy and I were lucky enough to be seated just a few rows back from the stage, thanks to Ellen’s mom Elaine. The Sun-Sentinel sponsored the event — moderated by their own Antonio Fins — who informed us in his opening remarks that the paper’s editorial board would be considering today’s performances as a final determining factor before deciding on an endorsement.
If they have any shred of integrity, the Sun-Sentinel will declare West the clear winner of the debate, though I hardly expect an endorsement from this notoriously left-leaning publication, if a question posed by Anthony Man (one of their political writers), is any indication. After all, when was the last time a debate questioner asked a liberal candidate if he or she had the “temperament” to hold congressional office? Has it ever happened? If it has, I’ve never witnessed it. And yet that is exactly what Man posed to West — or rather, asked Klein about West, in a transparent effort to continue the “West is a scary extremist” meme.
In fact, the first question Allen fielded (though I cannot recall which of the three questioners posed it) was something like “Are you really a scary black man?” Admittedly, it came across as a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the misleading attack ads Klein has been running in the South Florida market, complete with footage of a star-spangled-bandana-wearing Allen proudly declaring himself a “right wing extremist” through a megaphone.
In the calm, cool and collected manner he displayed throughout the entire debate, West handled it well, and in fact elicited a good laugh from the audience at the end of his answer when he noted the only people who think he’s scary are probably his daughters when he’s administering necessary parental discipline.
Though it’s tough to choose a favorite, some of the most memorable moments included Allen’s passionate chiding of Democrat Party operatives for putting his entire family at risk by publishing his Social Security number online; referring to specific passages of the US Constitution that specifically qualify him to represent FL CD-22 though he lives outside of the district (on that point he also took a nice shot at former FL CD-19 Congressman and Maryland resident, Robert Wexler, causing the crowd to erupt in applause); and the thundering chants of “Go West!” from a rowdy, on-its-feet audience at the end of Allen’s closing remarks (thankfully, he got to go last).
Strikingly, Lt. Col. Allen West was the only candidate who consistently referred to specific articles and passages in the United States Constitution to either defend his own positions or state his opposition to Klein’s (which among other things include voting for stimulus, Obamacare and Cap and Trade).
For his part, Ron Klein, when not pretending to be a fiscal conservative (lol), spent most of his time assaulting Allen’s character and whining about the alleged “incivility” of the campaign, apparently oblivious to his own party’s despicable machinations that put the entire West family at risk.
I did get some great footage of the entire event, and due to some technical snafus, they are not quite ready to post. However, as soon as I get them loaded onto YouTube, I will post them here on the blog as well. In the meantime, enjoy one of Allen’s awesome ads!
And here’s the Palm Beach Post’s coverage, including a photo of yours truly — well, a photo of my back at least! 😉
Look for Ellen and me to appear in the Sun-Sentinel’s coverage, as their photographer took many shots of us and asked for our names at the end of the debate.
During the ride to today’s breakfast event in West Palm Beach, Ellen noted the West campaign had promised a special surprise guest, though they’d been reluctant to share any more details. Upon arriving at the Gun Club with my trustee Flip corder in-hand, I was pleasantly taken aback to discover US Rep. John Boehner standing side-by-side with Lt. Col. Allen West, addressing the crowd at the front of the room. So like a good citizen journalist, I immediately began filming.
Lt. Colonel Allen West, joined by US Rep. John Boehner, discusses his run for congress and the current issues facing the USA.
Ellen tells us why she really, really likes John Boehner. 😉
Among my first thoughts as I took in the scene was that this hotly contested race in FL CD-22 must indeed be extremely competitive and winnable to merit Boehner’s presence in West Palm Beach. The last polls I remember seeing showed Allen ahead by 6 points. In the wake of righteous outrage following the VFW’s deplorable endorsement of West’s opponent Ron Klein (in addition to “Senator Ma’am” Boxer in California), I can only imagine that number will increase dramatically as word continues to spread among veteran and non-veteran voters alike. As Ellen and Kathy note in the interview below, the VFW is already paying a dear price for their misguided decision.
Another observation I couldn’t help but make — given the left’s penchant for painting Tea Partiers as racists — was that the “predominantly white crowd” (which had a few non-white patriots interspersed within) greeted Allen and his remarks with the typical exuberance and enthusiasm I’ve come to expect at all West campaign events. Clearly, South Floridians are taken with the content of Allen’s character, the depth of his knowledge of the United States Constitution and his clear, bold articulation of limited government, strong national defense, individual liberty and personal responsibility. And his distinguished US Army career supports his rhetoric and demonstrates his proven leadership abilities and courage in the face of adversity. As I noted, it is such a thrill for me to be able to vote for this great American as a resident of his district:
Looking forward to a November to remember!
Update: Sore Loser Syndrome strikes again. Via Jennifer at Liberty Pundits comes word that Allen West’s primary challenger David Brady joined the VFW in endorsing Ron Klein. RINOs will apparently not go gently into that good night even when voters tell them thanks, but no thanks we’d rather have the other guy at the ballot box. Despicable.
Ellen, Kathy, Aimee and I took our Diva act on the road (and on foot) in Atlantis, Florida yesterday to get out the vote on November 2. Though several on our list were not actually at home when we arrived, we did encounter many residents either doing yard work outside on a gorgeous South Florida day, or answering our knocks on their doors with great enthusiasm, once apprised of the purpose of our visit.
There were a few who’d already voted absentee and some who planned to vote on Election Day or during the early voting period. All were fired up and excited to “support the Republican ticket”, though with the valid caveat that the GOP had better get it right this time. We couldn’t have agreed more as we handed out literature for Rick Scott & Jennifer Carroll (Governor/Lt. Governor); Marco Rubio (Senate); Lt. Col. Allen West (US Congress, CD-22); Pam Bondi (Attorney General); Jeff Atwater (FL CFO); Adam Putnam (Commissioner of Agriculture); and Tami Donnally (FL State House).
Next weekend, we’ll be covering the neighborhoods of Boca Raton (including my own precinct), where among the state and national offices mentioned above, we’ll also be promoting Ellyn Bogdanoff (FL State Senate), George Moraitis (FL House) and Anne Kanjian (School Board, District 4).
After a few hours spent cruising the beautiful, walled city of Atlantis we took some time out for lunch and to recap the morning’s activities:
And Aimee spent a few minutes answering questions about Amendment 4, and why Florida voters should not just say No, but HELL NO!
Awesome true story: As we sat on the sidewalk in the Lantana Pinewood Shopping Center, we struck up a conversation with a witty, passionate conservative woman named Cathy, who happens to know a thing or two about oppression, having lived in Vietnam for the first eight years of her life. She shared with us her genuine love for America and the freedom our great nation represents, noting that since moving here as a young girl with her parents, she and her entire family (including aunts, uncles and cousins) had gone on to achieve success through hard work and ingenuity.
She expressed her disdain for fellow Americans who constantly malign their own country, noting she’d visited many places in her lifetime — France, Germany and other parts of Europe to name a few — none of which even came close to America’s greatness. The ostensibly little things most of us take for granted, such as rest stops along the interstate, are non-existent in other parts of the world. And, to use her own words, people there are “lazy”, thanks to the socialist system that offers no reward for hard work, and no incentive for producing quality.
Cathy also had a few choice words for voters who fell for the whole “hopey changey” thing, which includes her fellow realtors, many of whom still haven’t seen the light, notwithstanding the state of our economy and the housing market.
As someone who’s witnessed government seizures of private property in Vietnam and other grave infringements upon individual liberty, she has little regard for Americans who simply will not face reality. After speaking with her, we concluded that too many of us have taken our freedom for granted for a myriad of reasons, one of which being the deplorable state of our educational system that fails to teach proper history. Instead of appreciating and celebrating the miracle that is the United States of America, a disappointing number of her citizens would rather chide her for her faults in their zeal for self-flagellation, guilt and entitlement — never mind that the USA has learned from its mistakes (e.g. slavery) and remains (barely, under this administration) the lone protector and defender of freedom for the entire world.
We tried to get Cathy on video, but being shy about that sort of thing, she declined. However, we did get her business card and plan to stay in touch. Perhaps we’ll successfully convince her to officially become a Conservative Diva; we need voices of experience like Cathy to remind Americans that freedom isn’t free and that communism/socialism is a miserable, failed system we never want to adopt in our homeland.
God bless America, her military warriors, her devoted patriots and her concerned citizens who’ve stepped up to run for office. We The People shall prevail!
Just returned from a great evening at the GOP Victory Office in Boca Raton, where Ellen and I had the opportunity to interview the lovely, intelligent Pam Bondi, Republican candidate for Florida Attorney General. As someone who’s followed Pam’s career over the last several years and viewed her multiple appearances as a legal contributor to various cable news outlets including FOX, I was looking forward to finally meeting her in person. And I can report that Pam is one of the friendliest, most gracious and genuine politicians I’ve ever interviewed.
In the brief clip below, Pam answers our questions about the Obamacare lawsuit started by current Attorney General, Bill McCollum:
Prior to Pam’s arrival, our young friend and fellow activist Connor Lanser gave us an opportunity to discuss the upcoming midterm elections and the FL candidates in the running:
And last, but definitely not least, I took a few moments to chat with amazing patriot activist, Connor Lanser:
Having had the pleasure of meeting Ellen Snyder on Facebook two years ago and developing a close friendship shortly thereafter, I am thrilled to announce the impending launch of a new site for fabulous conservative females everywhere: The Conservative Diva.
A mutual friend conceived the idea for the website sometime after I’d “christened” Ellen with the nickname several months ago, due to her passionate devotion and tireless efforts in the cause of freedom. Kathy (aka Lilly Joy), another wonderful female patriot I met through volunteering on the Edward Lynch campaign, completes the trio. Her highly talented husband, Woody, designed our logo which depicts our collective purpose and individual roles within a single image (not to mention, makes us all look mah-velous!).
The Conservative Diva will encourage, inspire and inform women and men nationwide (though we’re starting with a focus on Florida) to get active in their local communities, support commonsense conservatives and step out of their comfort zones. We also hope to demonstrate that — while critically important — activism can also be fun!
Tonight we’ll be interviewing Pam Bondi, Republican candidate for Florida Attorney General, at the grand opening of her Boca Raton office. That video will be featured, along with others, when the site goes live within the next few days. In the meantime, join our Facebook page here. We’ll have profile on twitter shortly, too.
Please join me as I welcome California-based Cassidy McKay, and New Jersey-based Mickey Flagg, both talented authors in the romance genre. During the course of the two-hour show, we’ll discuss their work and their latest projects as well as the daunting task of writing tasteful yet compelling love scenes. I’ll also ask them to share their advice for other aspiring romance novelists. Live chat and phone lines will be open, so feel free to comment and ask questions.
Looking forward to a little romance (and a break from the relentless political scene) later today! 😉
Daria Anne DiGiovanni, Inc. 