Peace Out

This is the end of the Florida Democratic Party's Official Blog.

Why? Because of the contradiction in the words "Official Blog".

Read any good blogs lately? I bet they were edgy. Had some personality. Dished a little. Maybe they linked to a variety of news articles or documents and contained insightful commentary. They maybe took some back page news like the Downing Street Memos and showed you why they should be on the frontpage of every rag that dares to call itself a newspaper.

The FDP Blog didn't. It couldn't. Anything put out on the Official Blog has to be something the FDP can stand by. It becomes policy. We can't have my personal opinions out on the blog and expect our Chair to have to confirm or deny them. She's got better things to do than explain my political opinions.

Content for the Official Blog needs to be vetted by the Chair before it can be posted. A time-consuming process, especially when she is travelling or has other priorities. If we want to go to all that trouble, it should be for big news. The kind of thing that might be in a press release. If I'm going to do a press release, then I can just post that to the website. No blog necessary.

I love blogs. If you need some good blogs on Florida politics, I recommend floridapolitix and flnews. Those are my personal choices, not endorsed by the party. (Imagine that disclaimer after every paragraph). For the official word from the Florida Democratic Party, come see us at www.fladems.com.

Chris Sands
IT Director
Florida Democratic Party

God's Politics

There is new required reading for Christian Progressives, or for that matter, all progressives of faith----Jim Wallis’ God’s Politics: Why the Right is Wrong, and the Left Doesn't’t Get It. Wallis’ book is the perfect antidote for people of faith who do not subscribe to the theology of the religious right.

For too long, the national mainstream media has created a national perception that somehow, those who believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ are automatically Republicans---often sending the message that only Republicans are on God’s side. But as Wallis reminds us, the lessons of the Bible and the teachings of Christ have little in common with the current economic and foreign policies of the modern right. In fact, reality may be quite the contrary, as much of the modern progressive movement finds its roots in Judeo-Christian doctrine.

Just look at the Civil Rights movement. Our nation’s foremost Civil Rights champion, Dr. Martin Luther King used biblical teachings as the moral foundation of his crusade.

All across the South---and for that matter, across our nation, people of faith rose up against the enemies of equality. Back in my hometown of St. Augustine, it was an interracial group of Christians, led by the wife of a northern Episcopalian Bishop, who forced the integration of the all-white swimming pool at the downtown monsoon Motor Lodge, as local segregation defenders poured acid into the pool. In fact, my home church of Trinity Episcopal in St. Augustine, like so many churches in the south, was segregated until the early 1960s when a brave minister named Charles Seymour opened the doors to African-Americans to join in worship. Seymour, an amazing man who just recently passed away, told me once that he never set out to be one of the silent heroes of that era---rather, he was just doing what the bible told him was right.

Today’s progressive movement faces many new challenges, not the least of which is the growing gap between rich and poor, and the threat that poverty poses not only to our national stability. Right here in Florida, more than 30 percent of children live in poverty, with an estimated 625,000 children living with no access to decent health care. Our tax policy is patently unfair, with working and middle class families paying 3-5 times as much of their income in taxes as do the top 1 percent. Our schools, the key to our long term economic success, have seen their share of the state’s general revenue budget drop from 55.4% to just over 50 percent since 1999, a change in priorities that has cost our schools nearly $7.5 billion over the same period.

As Wallis says in his book: “Those are the two ways that religion has been brought into public life in American history. The first way - God on our side - leads inevitably to triumphalism, self-righteousness, bad theology, and, often, dangerous foreign policy. The second way - asking if we are on God’s side - leads to much healthier things, namely penitence and even repentance, humility, reflection, and accountability. We need much more of all those, because they are often the missing values of politics.”

Steven Schale--House Democratic Staff

So you want to be the FDP Chair....

The Leon County Young Democrats Blog has a post from this weekend describing the process of becoming chair of the FDP....http://www.leoncountyyoungdemocrats.blogspot.com/ If you ever wanted to be chair, take a moment to read it!

If you have any other questions email Info@fladems.com

FDP Apology

The Staff at the FDP apologizes for the Blog seemingly disappearing...We initially misplaced passwords and now that it has been relocated please stay tuned for new posts!

The Big Picture

I would like to thank the governor for helping to prove my point from my earlier post. I previously argued that the Democratic Party’s message is not dead, its been hijacked by the Republicans and that they were doing a better job selling it. On Monday, the Governor called a press conference to announce that he thinks teachers’ salaries should be increased, and that Florida should lead the country in beginning teacher’s salary level.

Thank you Mr. Governor for proving my point, but we are going to have to pass on your proposal.

Since 1998, Democrats have been making proposals to increase teachers’ salaries. In 2000 teachers salary increases was a plank in the Democratic Party’s platform. We have been arguing with the other side of the aisle for nearly a decade, while teachers have fled the state due to the pay scale, overcrowded classes, shrinking school budgets and more. We lost those battles and the Republican Party decided instead to give tax breaks to millionaires and pass on providing an increase in pay to the most important people we have. And through it all, Jeb continues to label himself the Education Governor?

Well I for one have been educated! I have learned enough over the years that I am a self-proclaimed expert on figuring out the priorities of the Governor and his cabinet. Year after year I watch the administration and Republican led legislature give money away to unnecessary Chiropractic Schools, corporations and wealthy individuals, instead of funding programs like Medically Needy, Class Size and teacher raise proposals. It is clear to me that re-election and fundraising is a higher priority to them. It is easy for them to take a donation in October and then provide a hefty tax break in February and forget about funding necessary programs.

By now, I am sure you are asking yourself, “If teacher salary increases are so good, and Democrats have been asking for them for years, then why is the Democratic Party against the Governor’s proposal?” Well at first glance no one should be against teacher salary increases—and Democrats are not. The Democratic Party is opposed to JEB’s proposal because it will change the voter approved Class Size amendment and force parents to have to choose between a better education for their children and a pay raise for the teachers providing it and there is something morally wrong with that.

In my opinion, this argument is a microcosm of the difference between the Republican and Democratic Parties and politics in general in this country. There is a percentage of the electorate that believes there is no difference between us. They think, “Both Parties say that they are for freedom and liberty, they want to improve education and fix health care…So why should I choose between the lesser of two evils? What is the difference?” Which is more true than false, but it is important to educate people that there are dramatic differences between the two organizations.

Perhaps, the most important difference between the Rs and Ds is that the Democratic Party’s members truly and honestly believe in helping people do better for themselves and the Republican Party’s members want absolute power to force other people to live their lives the “conservative” way.

As a Democrat, and a Party employee, I work to help get Democrats elected. I believe that electing Democrats will help change governmental policies to help people. And as a Democrat, I believe that the way you get someone elected is to work with people united behind this common belief and build coalitions with groups and organizations to mobilize enough voters to elect her. The process is as important as the result.

A Republican believes that in order to be safe he must ensure his neighbor’s beliefs are the same as his, and that if people differ from him in any way they will have to change or live by different rules. He will work to elect Republicans to office so the laws and policies of the government can be changed to make him feel safe. He thinks that to get his candidate elected, he must expose the opposition’s differences and develop a wedge that will divide people that think similar to him from the rest of the country. Power to control is the ultimate goal, and the result is reflected in the process.

This is important to this debate—as well as every other current issue—because motivation is the key factor in determining why people behave the way that they do. And the best way to predict future behavior is to look at past behavior. The difference between the Republicans and Democrats is that Republicans will do anything to gain power because it is their goal, and Democrats will do anything to help people do better because it is their goal. And Republicans reflect the result in the process, instead of the opposite like Democrats. We value campaigns based on common ground and shared ideas among a broad range of individuals, and this is evident in the laws and projects sponsored by Democrats: the New Deal, Americorps, Medicare, etc. They have a high premium on power, which is reflected in things like tax breaks for the rich, and ethics complaints against their leaders. They’re labeled the Party of morals and values?

With this in mind, lets ask again what is wrong with the Governor’s proposal.

The entire proposal is politically motivated to 1) kill the class size initiative and 2) force Democrats into a corner by opposing an increase in teacher salary. As far as number one, well JEB makes no qualms about his “devious plans” and my earlier post (and the FDP’s release) speaks enough about this. (also read this for more info).

For the second reason, well just look at some of the comments by Republicans in the papers today, it can not be clearer that the Republicans real goal is to paint us into a corner and not to truly reform education. One paper writes (NY Times Pick up – Gainesville, Lakeland, Sarasota ), “[this proposal] raises the possibility of Democrats campaigning against a plan that would raise the salaries of one of their strongest political constituencies… “It makes it difficult for them,'' Republican House Speaker Allan Bense said of the pinch on Democrats. ''I'm not (supporting) it for the political side of it but they're in a little bit of a box right now. “I’d hate to be anyone in a position of being against (higher) teacher pay,'' said Ocala Republican Rep. Dennis Baxley, chairman of the House Education Council. ''That just doesn't ring true to the average person.'' And in the Miami Herald today they write, “[JEB] won't be running for governor in 2006 because of term limits, but his proposal this week to freeze class-size cap efforts and give teachers pay raises with the money saved may give Republicans seeking his job a powerful weapon to attack their Democratic opponents. "It's a great Republican issue and a great Republican idea," said Richard Pinsky, a veteran campaign consultant for the party. "It was a stroke of genius to tie it to teacher salaries."

To wrap up this long ramble, and bring the plane in for a landing, my point is that this proposal is bad for Florida’s students because: 1) it changes the class size amendment, approved by 52% of Florida’s voters, and 2) it hurts students in lower income schools and 3) because it is a political tactic being used by the Republican Party to further gain power at the expense of Florida’s parents.

For too long the Republicans have been better at seeing the bigger picture, we have to change that. Our leaders and activists need to think about the motivations and reasons that today’s leading Republicans do the things they do, and see them for what they are—power hungry.

--Chris Petley, Political Director

Jeb Spoils Students' Valentine's Day

Seeming more like Halloween then Valentines Day, Jeb unveiled his devious plan today by announcing changes to the Class Size amendment. The Governor has opposed the Class Size Amendment since its inception and revealed to reporters that if the amendment was successful he had some “devious plans” to remedy it.

At a press conference today the Governor announced his intentions of sending legislation to both houses to change the class size amendment. This proposal would change the class size requirements from a per class measurement to a district wide average requirement. The proposal would also establish the minimum beginning teacher pay at no less than $35,000 a year and require future increases to keep the pay above national average.

This is a trick or treat scenario where the Governor is trying to trick Florida’s parents into choosing teachers salaries over the increased welfare and higher education of their children. For years, Democrats in the State House and Senate have been calling for an increase in teacher salaries, and for years the Republicans have not supported the raise. The difference today is that now the governor thinks he can earn a treat by misleading Floridians into believing they can only afford one or the other.

This is another example of misplaced Republican priorities poisoning the Education apple. They have supported millions of dollars in tax cuts that could of been used to both reduce classes size sufficiently and to provide a much needed raise to Florida’s teachers.

As Democrats, it is up to us to stand up and fight to save our schools. Please help by doing the following:

1) Call and Email Florida Legislators to not support this proposal. Click here for phone numbers and email addresses.

2) Email your thoughts and concerns to the FDP to be presented to the Democratic Leaders. Send an email to email@fladems.com and tell us what you think about the Governor’s resolution.

3) Write a letter to the editor. Click Here to be redirected to a listing of Florida Newspapers.

The Health Care Debate

The start of the 2005 Legislative Session is right around the corner, and Governor Bush and his Republican majority are signaling that the privatization of Medicaid will be among their top priorities. Now is the time for morally concerned Floridians to act.

The Governor’s Medicaid privatization plan would move Medicaid recipients into HMO’s, and give them the responsibility for determining what benefits that Medicaid recipients will receive, meaning his Republican majority can claim no responsibility for cutting benefits. He believes that Medicaid spending is out-of-control, and only by privatizing Medicaid can we control costs (failing to mention that private insurance costs are growing even faster).

However, the Republicans are missing the larger problem--- the rising cost of all health care in America. As the Orlando Sentinel pointed out on Monday, “all health spending is out of control [and] Florida Medicaid's per-person cost has risen more slowly than private insurance. What's out of control is the growing numbers who turn to Medicaid because costs of private insurance are out of control.” The problems with Medicaid are nothing but a symptom of our nation’s health insurance crisis---and that is where we should be focusing our efforts.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (http://www.kff.org/), more than 45 million Americans are uninsured, with 21 percent of Floridians under the age of 65 currently without health insurance, including 620,000 Florida children. This figure does not include the more than 1 million children who currently receive their health insurance either through Medicaid or through Healthy Kids, an optional program where low-income families can purchase health care for their children. In fact, fifty percent of all Medicaid recipients are children, placed there because our state’s primarily low-wage job market has left too many children in poverty.

But rather than address this moral crisis, the Republicans would rather scapegoat Medicaid. Their plan would “cap” (code word ‘cut’) Medicaid spending, without doing anything to address the state’s health insurance crisis. Since Medicaid primarily—if not nearly wholly -- helps children, the blind, disabled, and elderly, guess who will be hurt by the changes? And its not like these Floridians are suddenly not going to get sick---instead, they will be treated at emergency rooms, with the cost of their care covered by increasing costs for everyone else who has health insurance.

It is noteworthy that while this debate is going on, the Republicans are considering a special tax break for the liquor industry, and another for Florida’s 250,000 wealthiest residents. The annual cost of these special breaks is roughly $350 million, or enough to provide health insurance for more than 360,000 children.

The legislature will be holding meetings around across the state regarding these proposals, with the first in Tampa on Friday, February 11, 2005. Further dates will be posted on this site.
You can make a difference. Your Democratic legislators are working hard to ensure that Medicaid “reform” isn’t an effort to reduce health care for children, the disabled, and frail elderly, but they need your help. Please contact your legislators (e-mails can be found at http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/ and http://www.flsenate.gov/), and let them know that you believe we have a moral responsibility to provide for the needs of our most vulnerable.


--Steve Schale, Florida House of Representatives Democratic Staff