Neighborhood Buzz
The Mueller Report makes my head hurt.
I am not reading it, I am
listening to people who read documents for a living, and the more I listen
the more I confirm every concern I have about Donald Trump. He is the biggest mistake ever made by
voters.
It seems to me there is more than enough to impeach him, but I don’t
think it's wise to start that process.
Impeachment winds up in the hands of the Senate, where it would take 67
votes to find the President guilty. (There are 51 Republicans, 47 Democrats and
2 Independents in the Senate).
If the Senate did return a finding of guilty and remove him from office,
he would be replaced by Mike Pence. If he is found not guilty that will allow
him to continue the claim the whole thing was a hoax, there was no collusion,
no obstruction and it was several years of “fake news.” More fodder for his base.
The strongest decision is the one that will come from the ballot box
(assuming the Russians don’t control the results.)
The investigation should continue in the House, because as more
information is revealed it becomes more and more apparent how far the Trump
administration wanders from the truth.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was caught flat footed in a lie
by the Mueller investigation, and insisted her wording was a mere “slip of the
tongue.”
The people to whom I am listening, much smarter than I am, have clearly
outlined a path of deception by Attorney General William Barr. His press
conference prior to release of the redacted Mueller report was a blatant
attempt to “spin” the understanding of the information. Fortunately no one fell for his machinations,
and he has made it obvious he is just another Trump sycophant.
One of the most telling indications about how “tribal” our nation has
become came in a comment to a TV reporter who asked a man on the street for his
opinion of the President following release of the Mueller report. The man said, “I think Trump is despicable,
but he has done so many good things for the country.”
The House needs the un-redacted report and must continue to reveal the
information it contains.
And, we must give some attention to our voting process, which everyone
agrees was invaded in some States. Even
with that information, nothing has been done to deal with the interference that
took place.
Jerry Meyer
(as the saying goes, my opinion and $2.75 will get you a cup of coffee)
Jerry Meyer
(as the saying goes, my opinion and $2.75 will get you a cup of coffee)
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Commentary by Florida Democratic Party Chair in the Orlando Sentinel
Democrats working to protect Florida voting rights
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| Terrie Rizzo - FDP Chair |
With more than 8 million votes cast in 2018, only 10,033 votes separated Rick Scott and Bill Nelson in the race for U.S. Senate. In that same election, fewer than 33,000 votes separated Andrew Gillum and Ron DeSantis for governor. Barack Obama won the state by less than 1 percent in 2012, and after almost six million votes were cast in 2000, the final vote difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush was 537 votes.
In Florida, when we say every vote counts, we really mean it. Protecting the right to vote and increasing voter participation should have broad bipartisan support. Yet, a divide has emerged in Florida: on one side, Republican politicians are trying to make it harder for Floridians to vote; while Democrats are registering voters and working to protect voting rights.
Last November voters from both parties overwhelmingly supported expanding voting rights in Florida by approving Amendment 4, which restored the rights to ex-felons after they completed their sentences.
That fact hasn't stopped GOP state Rep. Jamie Grant, who sponsored a bill to redefine the terms of finishing a sentence and legal reentry into society. Rep. Grant's bill would mandate that transportation and medical fees be paid to get back the right to vote. These kinds of fees are not part of the sentence, they are not imposed by a judge and not everyone can afford to pay them immediately upon reentering society. Grant's bill in the House passed with solely Republican support and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has hinted he may sign anti-Amendment 4 legislation. This bill would serve only one goal: to suppress the vote by overturning Amendment 4 and blocking returning citizens from voting.
Florida had a poll tax once and we must ensure nothing remotely like it ever becomes law again.
But, Florida Republicans aren't content to stop with a modern poll tax that requires citizens to pay fees to the government for the right to vote. Florida Republicans also are pushing another anti-voter bill, HB 7101. This bill would restrict the number of dates Floridians can vote by mail. If the bill had been law in 2018, more than 53,000 votes could well have been invalidated. This bill has already made it out of committee and could very well become law.
Floridians don't support these blatant attempts at voter suppression, and we all expect better from our elected leaders.
As Chair of the Florida Democratic Party, I am determined to fight, at every step, Republicans' efforts to suppress the vote, strip Floridians of their constitutional rights, and disenfranchise voters---in particular voters of color.
That's why the Florida Democratic Party is investing $2.8 million to register 200,000 new voters before the Florida presidential primary. We are also launching a paid student organizing program called Organizing Corps 2020, that will train over 200 students to organize and register new voters beginning in the summer of 2019. The program is simple: provide paid training and mentorship to Florida college juniors who will organize their communities this summer, at their college campuses in the fall and join a Democratic campaign as a trained field organizer in 2020. And it's targeted at lifting up the voters whom Republicans have tried hardest to disenfranchise: young people and voters of color.
But, with the history of voter suppression in our State, we cannot simply register new voters and leave them to fend for themselves in 2020. If this legislative session has taught us anything, it is that voter suppression happens well in advance of an election.
It pains me to see Republican leaders working so hard to restrict voting rights in Florida. It begs the question: when Democrats are working so hard to lift up our democracy and ensure more people vote, why are Republicans doing the exact opposite?
By Terrie Rizzo, Chair of the Florida Democratic Party
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WASHINGTON -- Karen Seal Stewart is rich. And she wants to pay more in taxes. YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT.
Stewart is one of the Patriotic Millionaires, a group of about 200 wealthy individuals -- worth billions combined -- who say they should be taxed more, and as soon as possible.
"It's a matter of equity, fairness and the fact that we have the money to pay the taxes and we're not being asked to pay them," Stewart, a former real estate executive, told NBC news. "My sense is we are really at a cusp. We better get our act together because......the lack of fairness and opportunity is growing."
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| Morris Pearl Patriotic Millionaires Chair |
For Pearl, it's about his kids and grand kids being able to "grow up in the same kind of country where I grew up, to have the same opportunities I did. And...(they) are not going to have the same kind of opportunities I had if we continue in the direction we're going."
Asked about the best ways to fix the tax system, Pearl notes there are "a lot of possibilities out there."
Many of those ideas are being floated on the Democratic campaign trail, where 2020 hopefuls are putting the wealth gap front and center.
For some, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., taxing wealth -- as opposed to income -- is the answer, a proposal that sets her apart in a democratic field that largely agrees on rolling back the tax cuts for corporations and top earners that were backed by President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans.
Others in the field, like former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, support a wealth tax but have not released specific plans. And the Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders has proposed hiking the estate tax, something he estimates would hit the small fraction of Americans who inherit more than $3.5 million.
The idea of taxing the rich more isn't just popular among the Patriotic Millionaires.
In fact, 63 percent of voters think higher-income people pay too little in taxes, according to a Politico-Morning Consult online poll. And Warren's plan plays well across party lines -- with 74 percent of Democrats backing her proposal and half of Republicans in that same poll.
The millionaires aren't backing any specific candidate -- though they say Warren is right on taxing wealth. They just want action.
"Important things" like infrastructure and health care require money, Stewart said. "You need to get the money where it is. It's with the wealthy...Do not feel sorry for us. We will still be fine. And the country will be better off."
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When the Sumter County Democrats decided to continue their lease on a building at 300 S. Main in Wildwood for their Headquarters, there was some question about the need with the 2020 election seeming far into the future.
Sumter Co. Democrat Headquarters
staying busy in off election year.
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| Democratic Headquarters in Wildwood |
When a request for financial support from members easily raised enough money to pay the rent, they pressed forward. Today the the office is manned by volunteers on weekdays and the building is often a beehive of activity with workers addressing mailings, answering inquiries on the phone and from walk ins and committees meeting to deal with the many facets of the coming election. The 2020 election activity is roaring to life with even more vigor than many had predicted.
On Monday, April 22nd the Democratic Executive Committee met for their regular monthly meeting, hearing reports on pending legislation in Tallahassee, updates on the Grill and Chill outing on April 28th and administered the oath of office to new precinct captains Miriam Hanock and Bob Janson, among other agenda items.
Main Street in Wildwood is also Highway 301 and 300 S. Main is in what is often referred to the Save A Lot shopping center. The center also includes Ace Hardware and the Wildwood Post office and is a busy segment of the Wildwood retail community.
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| Miriam Hanock & Bob Janson |
Main Street in Wildwood is also Highway 301 and 300 S. Main is in what is often referred to the Save A Lot shopping center. The center also includes Ace Hardware and the Wildwood Post office and is a busy segment of the Wildwood retail community.
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Congratulations Mary
Mary Scheiner, who just completed her term as interim President of the Villages Democrats, will be in Tempe, AZ April 27th to participate in Pat's Run, an annual event honoring Pat Tillman, an NFL football star who stepped away from his career at his peak to serve in the military and died when his unit was ambushed in Afghanistan in 2004.
Mary, who comes from a military family, first ran the race in 2012 and now returns every year.
She drew the attention of the Daily Sun, which ran an extensive story on her in the April 23rd issue.
Congratulations and thank you Mary.
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The Democratic Women's Club has issued an invitation to attend their Eleanor Roosevelt Tea and Luncheon on Saturday, May 18th from 11-2 at the Sumter County Democrat Headquarters at 300 S. Main in Wildwood.
The speaker will be Pat Farley, President of the Democratic Women's Club of Florida. Her topic will be "History of the Women's Movement, the right to vote and the Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment."
The cost is $10.00 for members and $20.00 for guests, due by May 10th. No checks will be taken at the door. Make checks payable to DWCV and mail to : Sharron Chiodo, Treasurer, 3447 Ridgewood Path, The Villages, FL 32163.
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