Text of SDC July Beacon Newsletter

Please note that we are holding on July Membership Meeting in the Starlite Ballroom and via Zoom! (Link below) Coffee and light refreshments will be served  to those attending in person. If you are planning to watch on Zoom, plan to make your own snacks! 

July 14th Meeting Will Feature:
CONGRESSMAN DARREN SOTO!
US Congressional District 9
Represents Poinciana and Solivita
AND
UPDATES ON POLK COUNTY & SOLIVITA
With updates on information in and around Poinciana.Come to the Starlite Ballroom
Or Join Our Zoom Meeting:
Time: Wed., July 14th at 7:00 PM
Enter or click on the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81885665595?pwd=YzRwOXZCYlFuRFlFL2RqQUl1NWFUZz09
Meeting ID: 818 8566 5595
Passcode: 662050
Dial in only: 646 558 8656
Please login prior to start time. We will begin login at 6:45 pm.  
Early login gives you time to resolve problems that may arise while connecting. It also enables us to admit you before the meeting begins. You will be on standby until admitted to meeting. 

President’s Letter:
The Filibuster — Good or Bad?
With much of the Biden administration agenda at risk of stalling due to partisan gridlock and obstruction from the Republican Senate minority, the filibuster has come under increased scrutiny and pressure to modify or eliminate this practice.  

While some may think of the filibuster as a Senator speaking for an extended period to delay a vote, as seen in the movies (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) or used by politicians in years past for dubious means (Strom Thurmond, filibuster of Civil Rights Act), in more recent years the filibuster has evolved from a rarely used practice into a routine 60 vote supermajority requirement.  There are some exceptions, as with budget reconciliation which enabled the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to pass with zero Republican votes, and for Cabinet appointments, but these are exceptions rather than the rule. Read more about the use of the filibuster at the links below:
U.S. Senate: About Filibusters and Cloture | Historical Overview
The Filibuster, Explained | Brennan Center for Justice
What is the Senate filibuster, and what would it take to eliminate it? (brookings.edu)

Voting rights (HR1 For the People Act of 2021) is a recent example of an important bill with majority support and largely favorable public opinion that, even after proposed revisions by centrist Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, was filibustered by the Republican Senate minority. The future of HR1, and national voting rights legislation in general, is uncertain but seems unlikely to succeed if the filibuster remains intact.
Democrats and Activists Focus on the Filibuster After a Defeat on Voting Rights – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

If you’re still reading this, great! – you’ve not been discouraged by this archaic political procedure that disproportionally empowers the Senate minority representing a minority of Americans.

In today’s split Senate, the Democratic half of the Senate represents
41 million+ more people than the Republican half!

There is continued debate on the good or bad of the filibuster. But one thing is clear, it is increasingly used to block most legislation, and has earned the U.S. Senate its reputation as a legislative “graveyard”.
Congresswoman Val Demings (D-FL) recent opinion article Filibuster blocks minimum wage increase, voting rights for all Americans(usatoday.com) makes a good case against and notes that “Voters didn’t elect us to do nothing and blame the Senate filibuster. Get rid of it”.

Your SDC Board is working diligently to reschedule Rep. Demings to speak with the Solivita Democratic Club about her thoughts and campaign to defeat Sen. Marco Rubio for a seat in the U.S. Senate in November 2022. Stay tuned!  In Solidarity,
Brian Fillette, President, Solivita Democratic Club
president@solivitademocrats.org 

Gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried spoke at our
June Meeting, the second of many great Democratic candidates we look forward to hearing from in the coming months. We met Senate candidate Allen Ellison in May.(Above) Florida Secretary of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried spoke about her candidacy for Florida Governor at our June 9th meeting via Zoom.

Get Ready for SDC GAME DAY!“Heads Up” for our GAME DAY Fund Raiser
Saturday, October 23rd.
Games, Food, Raffles, Fun.
More info to come. To help, email Deb2Wright@gmail.comRead More

Here’s What’s Goin’ On in Florida Politics…
Gov. Ron DeSantis has more than
$44 million in cash on hand.
Whether an increased national profile leads Gov. Ron DeSantis to the White House someday remains speculation. But it is providing a wealth of resources for his reelection effort in 2022.

The Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee in June raised $5,553,665 in donations.

While DeSantis technically has not filed for reelection or launched his campaign, he’s expected to seek a second term. Not filing yet means he has not raised any money to an official account, but his June contribution haul exceeds what committees for Democratic opponents Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried reported for the past two months combined.

Perhaps more significant, the money came courtesy of more than 3,500 different donations to the committee and from all over the country. More than 2,600 of those donations were for less than $100, showing a bounty of interest from small donors.
That said, small checks are small checks. The majority of the money, $3,027,500 of it, came from 93 checks for five-figure sums or greater.Audrey Gibson’s early endorsement of Crist over Fried is especially significant in the Jacksonville market.

Sen. Audrey Gibson is backing
U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist for Governor.
Gibson, a Duval County Democrat, has served in the Florida Senate since 2012, including a term as the Senate’s Democratic Leader from 2018 through 2020. Before that, Gibson served in the House for nearly a decade.
 
“I always tell people in my district, ‘who represents you matters,’” she said in a video, adding that Crist “has an extensive background on what is the right thing to do for this state.”
 Gibson also credited her endorsement of Crist to his prior experience as Governor, as well as his work on education, health care and voting rights restoration.

“Charlie Crist knows that the state is responsible for the education of our children and won’t pass the buck on making sure that every student gets a world class education,” Gibson said in a statement. “Charlie understands justice — he believes in redemption and rehabilitation when it comes to restoring voting rights, and unlike those who came after him, he’ll act to help and forgive Floridians, not hurt them.”

Gibson’s early endorsement of Crist over Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is especially significant when it comes to the Jacksonville market.

Nikki Fried campaign pulls in $812,000
in first month The Democratic contender holds roughly $2.18 million on hand.
Touting success with small-dollar donors, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried pulled-in nearly $813,000 in the first month of her campaign for Governor of Florida.
In a press release Tuesday, Fried’s campaign said it collected more than $396,000 in June and her political committee, Florida Consumers First, raised more than $416,000.

The June sum is a collection of more than 4,200 contributions of $100 or less. What’s more, small-dollar donors accounted for 92% of all contributions to Fried, which averaged $89.
In all, the Democratic contender holds roughly $2.18 million on hand.

“As Nikki continues working to hold Governor DeSantis accountable for his attacks on constitutional rights and decisions to raise costs and taxes on consumers, June’s strong fundraising numbers indicate that Floridians appreciate her willingness to speak out and stand up for what’s right,” said Communications Director Max Flugrath.

“With over 4,725 contributions, largely from grassroots donors, it’s clear that voters are excited about Nikki’s run against the establishment, to break Florida’s corrupt system and bring something new to the Sunshine State.”
 Notably, Fried’s first-month haul falls considerably short of her Democratic Primary challenger, Charlie Crist, a current U.S. Congressman and former Governor of Florida, raked in roughly $1.5 million in his first month.
 Nevertheless, both candidates are millions shy of competing with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ war chest.

Polk County Democratic Executive Committee selected a new logo at their May meeting.
You will start seeing it on all new print and digital publications soon, including a redesigned website. The address will continue to be PolkDemocrats.org.
Get real information without the spin.
Go to  www.USAFacts.orgThe number of disability claims has fallen in the past few years.But the cost of disability claims continues to rise over the same period.