Democrats rip Gov. Rick Scott over child deaths

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By Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel

Democrats launched a blistering attack Thursday on Gov. Rick Scott, heaping blame on him for deaths of 40 children who “were killed after being placed under your protection.”

The first salvo was a letter to the Republican governor from state Rep. Perry Thurston, a Broward Democrat and his party’s leader in the Florida House of Representatives.

Thurston combined emotional language — referring to “innocent children” whose “deaths were unimaginable and shocking to the conscience” — with an attack on Scott for “missteps,” “a mistake,” and “your ideological agenda.”

He faulted Scott for his “abject failure to protect these vulnerable children.” The 40 children in question were known to the Department of Children & Families when they died of abuse or neglect.

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Ed Schultz to Keynote Broward Democrats Unity Dinner

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Broward County Democrats are proud to announce the “arrival” of Ed Schultz as the keynote speaker for their 2014 Unity Dinner. Schultz, host of the popular “The Ed Show” on MSNBC, has long been a voice for working families. “We as a nation are fortunate to have such a great advocate for the middle class and common sense,” said Democratic Chairman Mitch Ceasar.

Ed is also the host of his daily national radio show on SIRUS radio. The dinner will occur on Saturday evening, March 15, 2014. For further information please contact Chairman Mitch Ceasar at 954-475-2500.

 

Editorial: Failure at the top on Medicaid

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Tampa Bay Times Editorial
Friday, December 13, 2013 4:54pm

Florida is stuck with a tea party governor who won’t talk and a tea party House speaker who won’t listen. Gov. Rick Scott refuses to repeat his earlier support for Medicaid expansion, and House Speaker Will Weatherford refuses to hear the economic and moral arguments for accepting billions of federal dollars to cover the poor. Congress is finally rejecting such ideological rigidness in embracing a budget compromise, and the Legislature should do the same on health care.

At least twice last week, Scott declined to publicly reaffirm his support for accepting billions from Washington to expand Medicaid. The Republican governor’s embrace always sounded unenthusiastic, and it came hours after the Obama administration approved his request in February to convert the state’s entire Medicaid program into a managed care system. Scott did not push the House to adopt a Senate plan to take the federal money, and he dropped the subject after the Legislature adjourned in May. Now he chokes on his own words of support as he gears up his re-election campaign.

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Broward Democratic Party Chair Mitch Ceasar on Pope Francis

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Last week: Pope Francis has been chosen “Person of the Year” by Time magazine. His humility and words have grabbed the attention of the world. He has reminded us all to be citizens of the world. This Papacy, in its call to justice, tells us all to confront today’s real needs. He reminds us of our own spirituality and the need for “good works.” You do not need to be Catholic to be a fan of this Pope.

-DEC Chair Mitch Ceasar

Welcome to the Broward Democrats New Website!

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The Broward Democrats have  new website thanks to the teamwork from many of our Party members.  The new website is a first step in a more robust media and communications offering from the Broward Democratic Party.  Democratic Executive Committee leadership thoughtfully established a Technology Committee months ago to provide better outreach tools to help elect Democrats in Broward County.  Through collaboration and hard work, the Party developed a communications plan which will continue to unfold over the coming months in anticipation for the important 2014 elections. We hope you find the information and resources provided useful in navigating the local, State, and national political landscape.

If you would like to be a part of our new communications efforts or receive updates on how you can help out the Broward Democratic Party please fill out the contact form on the home page.

Please feel free to provide any feedback or suggestions on how you think we can continue to improve our communication efforts.  We value your input and look forward to working with our great members, electeds, and volunteers over the next year to help spread the Democratic message.

Thank you. Have a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year.

Special thanks to Michael Worley of MDWComm, Mitch Ceasar and the DEC Management, members of the Technology Committee, and all our other great contributors.

 

Costing us all

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Gainesville Sun Editorial
December 11, 2013

Not only is Florida denying health care to at least 800,000 uninsured residents, the state will be sending $5 billion from the pockets of its taxpayers to subsidize coverage elsewhere.

The figure comes from an analysis released last week by the Commonwealth Fund. Among the 20 states choosing not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, Texas is the only state that will lose more in federal funds than Florida by 2022, the study found.

Blame goes to Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford and other Republicans in Tallahassee opposed not only to expanding Medicaid, but any compromise that uses federal funding to cover the uninsured.

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Governor’s jobs records includes thousands of lost jobs, lost promises

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By Mary Ellen Klas and Kathleen McGrory Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
Sunday, December 8, 2013 3:16pm

For nearly three decades, this rural community in north central Florida was home to a bustling mill that was the principal employer for its 1,400

INTERACTIVE MAP

residents.

Then, in November 2011, the recession-induced collapse of the housing market forced Georgia-Pacific to close its plywood plant.

All 400 employees were sent scrambling to find work — weeks before the holidays. And the mill that once produced the sawdust-covered staples of the state’s housing market stood idle, cutting off the lifeblood of the local economy.

“The mill was a boost to the entire town — the schools, churches, local businesses,” said Pastor Joe Williams. “All of a sudden, all that disappeared.”

Now, after two years the mill stands shuttered. Many of its employees have found other jobs but at lower wages, and local community leaders, who had hoped to get help from the state, say they are on their own.

“We’ve tried to sell ourselves to [the state Department of Economic Opportunity],” said Hawthorne Mayor Matthew Surrency, but the effort has yielded little return.

The story of Hawthorne is not one Gov. Rick Scott talks about on his public relations roadshow as the state’s “jobs” governor. It is a tale of the tens of thousands of private sector jobs lost in Florida since Scott took office in January 2011. It is about once robust manufacturing jobs that were replaced by lower-wage service sector employment. And it is about the thousands of companies already here that received little help with tax breaks or other incentives.

Scott’s job promises don’t match reality

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Tampa Bay Times Editorial
Friday, December 6, 2013 6:13pm

Gov. Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign promise to create jobs was compelling to many voters because of its simplicity: 700,000 new jobs in seven years. But three years into Scott’s tenure, an analysis from the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald reveals he has been more successful winning promises for jobs some future day in return for tax breaks than actually creating jobs. Just a tiny fraction of the new jobs Scott boasts about have materialized, while exponentially more private sector jobs have been lost. The governor’s never-ending self-promotion campaign does not reflect Florida’s economic reality.

The facts reflect the complexity of the economy and the error in the governor’s obsession on one narrow approach to improve it. Scott always makes time for another ribbon-cutting announcement, another call to an out-of-state CEO, or another appearance on conservative news outlets to tout his jobs efforts. But he fails to pay close attention to public schools, aggressively push for expanding health care access to uninsured Floridians, address the rising cost of utilities and property insurance, or show any interest in protecting the environment. Employers need more than a future tax break to see a future in expanding here. They also want a state that invests in its people, its public institutions and its long-term future.

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Senator Bill Nelson condemns election maneuvers

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By Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel

8:08 p.m. EST, December 4, 2013
WEST PALM BEACH—

Even as Gov. Rick Scott’s top elections official suddenly backed away from a plan to restrict the way voters can return completed absentee ballots, Florida’s top Democrat accused the Scott administration of attempting to suppress voter turnout.

“It’s patently obvious. It’s an attempt to suppress the vote by people who otherwise might have difficulty getting to the polls on Election Day,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., at a news conference Wednesday at the Palm Beach County Elections Office headquarters.

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Florida Republicans in charge for too long

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November 30, 2013|By Mark S. Pafford

As the Legislature begins the 2014 lawmaking session, it is critical to understand that this will be the 16th consecutive year that Florida has been under single-party control in the House, Senate and governor’s office.

Since 1996, the Republican Party has dictated tone and achievements that have, for good or bad, identified how Republican leaders think Florida needs to be run. I believe we need a change in Florida.

Floridians deserve to understand the truth about Republican domination and the consequences of single-party control in Tallahassee.

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