Distractions….
While we are all sidetracked by Trump/Pence vs. the NFL, Trump vs. Puerto Rico, Harvey Weinstein & the Sexual Predators in Hollywood, Russian Hacking of the US election, or the indictment of Trump campaign leaders, it’s worth noting that the following bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives:
1. HR 861 – Terminate the Environmental Protection Agency
2. HR 610 – Vouchers for Public Education
3. HR 899 – Terminate the Department of Education (may end “free” public education as we know it)
4. HR 69 – Repeal the Rule Protecting Wildlife (seriously? Ridiculous to say the least.)
5. HR 785 – National “Right to Work” (this is actually the ‘Right to fire you whenever your boss feels like it” law and would effectively end unions.)
6. HR 83 – Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Bill
7. HR 147 – Criminalize Abortion (“Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act”)

Delegate elections will be held on Monday, September 11th during our regular DEC meeting in Bartow. 

FDP 2017 State Convention
The 2017 Florida Democratic Party State Convention will now be held on October 27 through October 29 at a new location:

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
1000 West Buena Vista Drive
Orlando, FL 32830

State Convention Room Block
We have secured a special group rate of $199 per night plus taxes. To make your reservations, please use the link below, or call the Disney Group Reservations Phone Team number: (407) 939-4686.

Reservations Link: https://aws.passkey.com/go/FloridaDemocraticParty2017.

Qualification of Delegates
All delegates must be registered Democrats in the State of Florida.

The stories and images we are seeing out of Houston, Texas this week are deeply troubling. The National Weather Service is calling this storm “unprecedented” and it is clear that Texans are on a long road to rebuilding their homes and communities.

In Florida, we are all too familiar with the hardships that so many in Texas are facing. That is why we are encouraging everyone to help emergency relief agencies however possible.

Here is a list of organizations who could use your support as they help those affected by Hurricane Harvey.

• American Red Cross
• Houston Relief Fund
• AFL-CIO Texas Worker Relief Fund

It’s important for all of us to come together to help our neighbors and those in need. Please join us in doing our part to assist those in their time of need.

Sincerely,
Florida, Polk County & Solivita Democrats

This is important! Really easy action…

SENATE “HEALTHCARE” BILL ACTION ALERT!!!

The Senate Finance Committee Office (202 224 4515) is keeping count of Americans requesting public hearings on Senate ‘healthcare” bill.
Please call & request that Public Hearings be held.
We need more callers. The phone is answered 8:30am – 6:30pm (EST)
Copy / Paste / SHARE Widely — and Please Call!!

“PerSisters” Womens’ March in Lakeland

2016 marked the end of an historic Presidential run by Hillary Clinton who, regardless of the outcome, broke many glass ceilings on behalf of all of us getting there.

I bring quadruple diversity to the Senate: I’m a woman; I’ll be the first Asian woman ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate; I am an immigrant; I am a Buddhist. When I said this at one of my gatherings, they said, ‘Yes, but are you gay?’ and I said, ‘Nobody’s perfect.’
– Senator Mazie Hirono
The elections brought some gains.  There are now 21 women serving in the United States Senate (16D/5R)  including three new women of color: Kamala Harris  (California), Tammy Duckworth (Illinois), and Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada). They join Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), who was elected in 2012.

The number of women in the House also increased, with now 62 Democrats and 21 Republican women, representing 19.1% of the 435 elected Representatives.
The first woman elected to the US Senate was Hattie Wyatt Caraway (Arkansas).
Appointed to vacancy caused by death of her husband, Senator Thaddeus Caraway; elected on her own in 1932 and served until 1945.

The origins of Women’s History Month can be traced back to 1908 New York, and the first Women’s Day organized by the Socialist Party of America in remembrance of the International Ladies Garment Worker’s Union strike that year.

Soon after, International Women’s Day caught on in the United States and across Europe and has been universally celebrated on March 8th since 1915.

In 1980 President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week,” and in 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress designated the entire month of March as “Women’s History Month.”

Today women voters represent 53% of the voting population, but the election of Donald Trump, and the next appointment to the US Supreme Court have put women’s rights, indeed human rights, at the greatest risk in decades.

(The following is for information only. The Solivita Democratic Club does not endorse candidates in primary elections.)

Growing up, my grandmother always told us to go to school, mind our teachers, get our lesson, and bring that education home – for our brothers, our baby sister, and the kids in our neighborhood.

She wanted us to know we were responsible for more than ourselves — we are also responsible for our family and our neighborhood, and everyone around us.

My grandmother knew then what I know now — that if we were going to get anywhere, we would get there together. And that’s why I’m coming to you today, with a humble heart and a whole lot of hope, as we launch this campaign for Governor of Florida. Because I know that our only path to victory is one we’re willing to travel together.

Add your name now to join our people powered campaign, and help us bring it home for Florida.

Like so many of you, I am here today because of the very policies Republicans say are “destroying” our great state of Florida. I grew up on food stamps in Miami and Gainesville. My parents weren’t college educated, but they both worked hard: my mother as a bus driver and my father as a construction worker. As Governor, I will work to create jobs that pay a living wage on every rung of the income ladder.

Our family struggled with being cash poor, but I still grew up rich in opportunity. Though the public schools I attended weren’t always in the best part of town, they were always filled with the best teachers. I wouldn’t be writing you today as a candidate for Governor of Florida had it not been for the encouragement and help I received from Ms. Alexandria at Westwood Middle School and Mrs. Awbrey at Gainesville High School. They went above and beyond the requirements of their job, like so many teachers do, to ensure that I became the first person in my family to graduate college.

But I knew it wasn’t enough for me to become the first in my family to go to college — it was my duty to make sure I wasn’t the last. The Democratic Party and progressive philosophy created a way up and a way out for even families like mine, and so when I began my career in public service at just 23 years old, I did so as a progressive Democrat. My experiences reflected those of average, everyday Floridians. And I knew those people deserved a champion.

For me, being a Democrat has always been about welcoming folks just as they are. This was the party that advocated for my parents growing up, that didn’t demonize them or label them as lazy. Instead, they fought for progress for all of us. And that’s what I’ve worked to do in my time on the Tallahassee City Council and as Mayor of Tallahassee.

When marriage equality was won at the Federal level and we had Florida county after county after county saying that they would no longer issue marriage licenses to anybody, just so they didn’t have to do it for gay couples. So I welcomed couples to our great city of Tallahassee to celebrate their love and commitment to one another with marriage.

When President Trump’s executive order targeted immigrants in our cities, I protested loudly and proudly, and fought to stop him from tearing these families apart. This concept of having to choose between security and compassion is absolutely false. We can have both, and we must fight for both.

In fact, I have worked tirelessly to make Tallahassee a safe haven for all — and I have done so without resorting to irrational discrimination. When I refused to repeal ordinances that prevent shooting guns in a public park, the gun lobby sued me. They thought they could intimidate me with threats of personal fines, with two years of litigation, and with attacks from right-wing interest groups. They were wrong. Just last month, we won the battle to keep our parks safe.

My pastor talks about it in the terms of being the thermostat versus the thermometer. There are enough people who are prepared to take the temperature. There are not enough people who are willing to set it. I think I’ve demonstrated up to this point that I’ve never had to take the temperature in order to do the right thing.

I believe we are at a time in our state and our nation’s history that requires not just people who quietly agree on these critical issues we are facing, but people who are going to be champions, who will get out and lead on them.

That’s why I’m asking you to join together with us from the very beginning, to help us prove that we have that power, that hope, and that determination to rebuild this state into one that works for all of us, no matter what we look like, where we come from, what we believe, or whom we love.

Let us know if you’ll be joining together with us for this historic campaign by adding your name right here and right now.

Thank you for being a part of this journey. I look forward to traveling the state and meeting with you and the rest of the team in the coming weeks.

Bring it home,

Mayor Andrew Gillum
Candidate for Florida Governor

Black Americans in Congress: An Introduction

When black men were given the right to vote, they elected hundreds of black legislators to state and national offices, even though the elections are preceded by threats and violence. The new black politicians, like Mississippi’s John Roy Lynch, pass ambitious civil rights and public education laws.

The arrival of Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi and Representative Joseph Rainey of South Carolina on Capitol Hill in 1870 ranks among the great paradoxes in American history; just a decade earlier, these African Americans’ congressional seats were held by southern slave owners. Moreover, the U.S. Capitol, the center of legislative government, conceived by its creators as the “Temple of Liberty”—had been constructed with the help of enslaved laborers.

“The Fifteenth Amendment in Flesh and Blood,” 1870–1887

These pioneering African-American Representatives symbolized a new democratic order in the United States, demonstrating not only courage but also relentless determination. They often braved elections marred by violence and fraud. With nuance and tact they balanced the needs of black and white constituents in their Southern districts, and they argued passionately for legislation promoting racial equality.

“The Negroes’ Temporary Farewell,” 1887–1929

By the 1890s, most Black Americans had either been barred from or abandoned electoral politics in frustration. Advocacy for blacks in Congress became substantially more difficult. After North Carolina Representative George White’s departure from the House of Representatives in March 1901, no African American served in the U.S. Congress for nearly three decades.

Keeping the Faith, 1929–1970

With his election to the U.S. House of Representatives from a Chicago district in 1928, Oscar De Priest of Illinois became the first African American to serve in Congress since George White of North Carolina left office in 1901. But while the victory symbolized renewed hope for African Americans struggling to regain a foothold in national politics, it was only the beginning of an arduous journey.

The Selma-to-Montgomery March for voting rights ended three weeks–and three events–that represented the political and emotional peak of the modern civil rights movement. On “Bloody Sunday,” March 7, 1965.

Permanent Interests, 1971–2007

The modern era of African Americans’ more than 140-year history in Congress began in 1971. During this period, black Members enjoyed a tremendous surge in numbers, reflecting a larger historical process, as minority groups and women exercised their new freedom to participate in American society. The post-1970 generation of Black Americans in Congress marked a watershed in American history—a transition from a period of prolonged protest to full political participation.

Resulting in the election of our 45th  President, Barack Obama

President Obama stabilized our economy, increased both our healthcare options and job enhancements, saving our auto industry among other things.

Now Solivita, it is 2017 and again, we must fight for Civil Rights, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. Education, Healthcare, Immigration and Racism among other equally important agendas.

Democratic ideology ranks in the minority in all 3 branches of government.

Remember these words:
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Let’s work together, wisely and effectively, to achieve our goals, placing balance back into our government.  Join us.
Solivita Democratic Club