Broward GOP Chairman Richard DeNapoli and the Broward Republican Executive Committee are reminding you that tickets are selling fast for this Saturday’s Lincoln Day Gala.

Unlike other events statewide, the Broward Republican Party will feature three Republican heavyweights – Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Congressman Allen West (FL-22).

Party Secretary Michael De Gruccio is returning as the 2012 chairman.

Prior to the dinner, BREC Chairman Richard DeNapoli will host a VIP Reception that will include the featured speakers in addition to local elected officials and candidates for public office.

“The reception offers an opportunity to chat one-on-one with Congressman Allen West, Attorney General Pam Bondi and CFO Jeff Atwater,” said DeNapoli. “Guests will also have a chance to speak with candidates who have filed for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Florida House and Senate, as well as local Broward County offices.”

Expecting a record crowd this Saturday at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66, doors will open at 5pm for a VIP reception and at 6pm for a general reception. Dinner and the program will begin at 7pm.

 “It’s an honor to return as chairman of the 2012 Broward County Lincoln Day Gala,” said Michael De Gruccio. “We have a great venue, amazing speakers and a program that will not only honor President Abraham Lincoln but our Republican elected officials.”

The 2012 Lincoln Day Gala of the Broward Republican Party will be held Saturday, May 5, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66, 2301 Southeast 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316.

Tickets for the VIP reception (with photo opportunity) are $300.00 while general admission tickets are available at $150.00 each. Numerous sponsorship opportunities are also available.

For information on Lincoln Day sponsorship opportunities, please contact Rico Petrocelli at (954) 941-7775 or visit: www.browardgop.org.

For direct ticket purchases please visit: http://www.donationpages.com/directory/EventTicket/1494.

To RSVP on Facebook, please visit:  https://www.facebook.com/browardrepublicanparty#!/events/338670182860050/

To “Like” the most popular Republican Executive Party in Florida, please visit their Facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/browardrepublicanparty

“Please consider joining us at the Lincoln Day Gala,” said former Plantation Councilman and BREC Executive Director Rico Petrocelli. “Between the keynote speakers and candidates for public office, you won’t want to miss it.”

Frank Luntz recently had an article in the Washington Post about five myths regarding conservative voters. This may very well be a starting point for a winning strategy for Romney in this year’s general election campaign if he can accurately and forcefully articulate the message. In short, he has to delineate a vision, based on pragmatic conservative ideology, that separates him and the Republican Party from the Democrats and Obama. No matter how one views anything, this country was, is and shall continue to be a right-of-center country. This does not infer that the country is the embodiment of the Liberal caricature of the conservative voter. Those views from the left, best exemplified by ignorant comments like people “clinging to their Bibles and guns,” is the traditional view of conservatives held by Liberals. Certainly, there may in fact be a segment that does “cling to Bibles and guns,” but even at that, why should it be the source of mockery?

Instead, the true conservative voter, as the unofficial polling by Luntz suggests, is more pragmatic than ideological. Originally, I was researching an article on the evangelical vote and it became evident early that the traditional view that evangelical voters are like bleating sheep following a Republican leader was itself a myth. Clearly, the fundamentalist voter is more apt to vote Republican, but to state that Republicans can take for granted the evangelical vote every four years is false. The same is true of conservatives. Even in 2008, some 20% of self-described conservatives voted for Obama, up from the 15% of that vote that went to Kerry in 2004.

There is so much talk about the establishment versus the Tea Party or insurgent candidates. In fact, they should be working together towards a common goal, the first of which is getting Obama out of office. The “enemy” is Obama and his liberal policies. He can no longer run on a campaign theme of “hope and change.” He is not some blank slate unknown with a silver tongue. He has a record now upon which he must run and one which he must defend. The fact he was resorted to a campaign of divide and conquer is indicative of the fact that this record cannot be defended. Being your typical liberal, he has resorted to diversionary tactics. One week, we have the “war on women,” the next the “war on the poor,” followed by the “war on youth,” etc. Inevitably, we will have the “war on senior citizens.” He takes advantage of the angst over income inequality by pitting Wall Street against Main Street.

Some amongst the conservative ranks have resorted to bombastic remarks and policy proposals, but they are few and far between. Some have called for the absolute abolition of the Department of Education, or Energy, or the EPA. I, as a conservative and Republican, have problems with these entities also. In past articles, I have not called for the abolition of the Department of Education, but a reform of it whereby they get out of K-12 education and leave that to state and local governments where it was for years without federal intervention with greater outcomes. The Energy Department clearly is in need of reform, yet there has to be a national entity to coordinate national priorities when it comes to energy policy. However, they should not be picking the winners and losers when it comes to energy exploitation or sources. The EPA should be forced, through changes to the laws that formed that agency, to do cost/benefit analysis when making regulations, something they are not required to do by law as it stands now.

This is the first area to look at when it comes to the Luntz article: the myth that conservative voters care most about the size of the federal government. The current size of the government is a reflection of the regulatory state. Years and years ago, Alexis de Toqueville noted that bureaucracy was the greatest threat to the emerging American democracy. To read the Constitution- a guide to the role of the federal government- one would expect only a Defense, State, Treasury, and Justice Department. Instead, we have numerous executive departments, agencies, commissions, authorities, and boards. Unfortunately, the growth of the federal bureaucracy and the regulatory state is not unique to liberals and Democrats as Republicans have been guilty of the practice. The only difference is that Democrats and Obama in particular have taken it to a gross new level.

Instead, most conservatives want a government that works better with less waste. Dating back to at least 1964, implicit in the Democratic agenda is that local and parochial interests should be subordinated to the national interest. Although never totally subordinated, it did come to the center of politics and the result to breaking gridlock that inevitably occurs was not through compromise as the Constitution dictates, but through legislative deal making: “I’ll support your crop subsidy if you support my beach replenishment project.” An unpaved road in Mississippi becomes a national problem when you have a national Transportation Department. Urban blight in Detroit or Newark becomes a national problem when you have a HUD. Low SAT scores in Alabama become a national problem when you have a Department of Education.

In 1995, the GAO discovered that over $350 billion was wasted on duplicate programs yet that same state of affairs exists today. In 1879, the US Geological Service was created to map the nation’s natural resources. Some 133 years and over 300,000 maps later, I think they have done their job. Today, they are tasked with establishing stations to monitor global warming despite those maintained by private interests, academia and numerous thermometers on back porches throughout America. We have 14 programs for foreign study abroad, 17 offender re-entry programs run by five different agencies, over 20 programs to identify and eradicate invasive plant and animal species and nine programs spending over $300 million annually on biofuels. It is estimated that the federal bureaucracy spends over $400 million every year producing reports, studies, files and forms. The GAO reports we spend over $123 billion annually on programs with no effect on the targeted populations. And the Defense Department is perhaps the poster child of government waste and abuse.

Citing these facts and taking action are two different things. Once the bureaucracy is formed, it is almost impossible to get rid of it. But, three facts remain. First, a more efficient, less wasteful government will require political fortitude, someone willing to to make the tough decisions and follow through on those decisions to the end. Whether Romney is that person, we really do not know. We can surmise all we want from his business record, or leader of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee, or Governor of Massachusetts. But we do know one thing: Barack Obama is not that person and that is something we can all rally around. Second, there will undoubtedly be hardships along the way that will be exploited by liberals and their allies in the media. But it should also be remembered that liberals will be the flies in the ointment regardless. They are an innocuous (and obnoxious) minority of the electorate. Third, a more efficient and less wasteful federal government will necessarily result in a smaller government. Hence, it is incumbent upon conservatives to hold Romney’s feet to the fire. I also venture that this basic philosophy will appeal to the equally important moderate/independent voters.

A winning strategy will be to highlight the shortcomings of the Obama Administration in this area. Despite his assertions of cleaning up waste and abuse in the federal bureaucracy on the one hand, he expands the bureaucratic state on the other hand through nonsense like a run-amok EPA, Obamacare and Frank-Dodd, among other acts. Despite protestations to the contrary, we have the examples of the GSA scandal, Fast and Furious, and the Secret Service scandal occurring on his watch. They are merely symptoms of a broader problem with government in general. No one said it better than Mitch Daniels, the outgoing Governor or Indiana who turned a budget deficit into a surplus while lowering taxes and decreasing the state bureaucracy: “You’d be surprised how much people really don’t need the government.”

Re-posted from PJ Media

With Obama about to launch his re-election campaign on May 5^th (cough cough) his grand strategy for victory has been formulated.

News Flash…Mitt Romney is a radical.

In case you missed it, Obama’s campaign narrative goes something like this:

Romney used to be a flip- flopper with no core and you could not trust him.

But now, since becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, he has morphed into a radical and not just a run-of-the-mill radical, but a Goldwater ’64 radical.

David Plouffe, one of Obama’s highest ranking generals said recently in a NYT interview (where else?)  “.. he (Romney) is the most conservative nominee that they’ve had going back to Goldwater.”

Ah… Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater vs. President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ)  November, 1964, the glory days for Democrats, with LBJ winning his only full term in a landslide with 486 electoral votes to Goldwater’s 52.  LBJ received 61.1% of the vote and Senator Goldwater earned 38.5%.

Even worse, Goldwater only won 6 states.

That 1964 election resonates with me because it is the first presidential election I can remember. Now a little background is needed. I was born and raised in the radical Democrat state of Massachusetts, in a Boston suburb, and literally never met a Republican until I was 18 and left for college in Ohio.

On the morning of Election Day 1964, I distinctly recall yelling out the school bus window with fellow students to people on the sidewalks, “LBJ for the USA” and “LBJ all the way”.

I also remember being told (probably in school) that Goldwater was very dangerous and if elected, was going to blow up the world.

Recalling all this so clearly obviously means LBJ’s message of Goldwater’s radicalism made a huge impact on me as a nine year old and more important, how that message was so much a part of the ’64 election narrative.

So will Obama’s branding of Romney as a Goldwater radical be as effective?

Will today’s nine year olds remember it when they are in their 50s?

Probably not, because like the flip-flopper label, (after much focus-group testing),  “Romney the radical label will most likely not last.

So then it is on to President Obama’s next feeble attempt at branding which I predict will be “Romney the puppet”.

Expect in the next few months to hear David Plouffe say something like this, “Romney, if elected, would be totally controlled by the right wing radical Congress. He would be their puppet on a string, moving and swaying to their direction and then signing whatever legislation they put in front of him.”

From flip-flopper to radical to puppet to who knows what else after that?

Obama’s strategy reminds me of jujutsu, using your opponent’s own strength against him to your advantage.

From a Republican point of view, Obama is really the radical so if he paints Romney as a radical, it is harder for Romney to say, “No Obama YOU are the radical”, without sounding like the election has denigrated into a name calling exercise. Which it will anyway.

With that thought in mind,  I would like to pose a more serious question, how are we as a nation ever going to endure seven more months of what the Obama campaign is going to put us through?   The lies, distortions and endless promises of spending, oh, I mean investment.

Will someone please check and see if Prozac is included for free in Obama-care because we are all going to need it even more than we need contraceptives.

Re-posted from PJ Media

The current GSA scandal is continuing to make news  in Washington with the headline that $820,000 was wasted on a lavish Vegas convention in 2010.  Heads are rolling, cable news is chattering, hearings on Capitol Hill are ongoing, and most agree that “Big Government” has run amok.

One of the reasons why this scandal has generated such outrage, I believe, is the fact that everyone can wrap their arms around $820,000.

For example, according to the US Census the average sales price of a home is $272,900.  So a home three times as much is $818,700, just about what GSA employees spent to party down in Vegas.  Every functioning American adult can emotionally connect to the monetary value of $820,000 and even write out that number if asked.

Now, what happens when a “functioning American adult” is asked to write out $15 trillion?

Most likely many people would flunk that test by failing to put enough zeros behind the 15. The amount of $15 trillion is so off the charts it might as well be a gazillion, which according to its definition on Wikipedia is an indefinite and fictitious number.

So, for those unsure what $15,000,000,000,000 looks like, here it is.

Therein lays the problem confronting our nation during this election season.

For at this writing the national debt of the United States of America is $15,676,773,250,419. (increasing by the second) which is also a rather indefinite and fictitious number in the minds of most voters and that is most unfortunate

Even more unfortunate is most Americans are unaware that in January of this year a huge disgraceful milestone was reached. It was then that the amount we owed on our national credit card surpassed what our economy generates (gross domestic product), commonly known as GDP.

On a more personal level it would be as if your credit card bills were more than your annual salary.

Now, wouldn’t that keep you up at night? What should also keep our elected leaders up at night is never in the history of the world has a nation been in as much debt as we are now.

Also, I am quite sure that most Americans are not aware of this disturbing fact.

Now, since math education is such a hot button issue, I would like to propose a national math test that every American citizen must complete before being able to cast a vote in November. (Even MORE important than showing a voter ID)

The test is learning to write out $16,000,000,000,000 because that is the amount the federal debt will be in the month before the election.

$16 trillion should not be an indefinite and fictitious number to the voters in 2012. In fact, that number adds up to doom for our nation’s future and should be as familiar to every American as GSA’s infamous $820,000.

The second part of my proposed national test is for voters to take a hard look at what I consider the scariest web site on the planet.

That site is the US Debt Clock  aka the ticking time bomb. Every American should be mandated to look at that web site and understand what it means to them and their children before being eligible to vote.

Here is a sad fact to note that I mentioned earlier.

The clock says our national debt is $15.6 trillion and our Gross Domestic Product is $15.1 trillion. Tutors will be made available to explain whatever part of that equation you don’t understand.

The third part of the national mandated voter test (most likely paid for by a grant from the Romney campaign), would be to make all voters aware of these three numbers.

First is $9.7 trillion or what the national debt was on this day in 2008 when then Senator Barack Obama was railing against government spending on the campaign stump.

Second is $15.7 trillion or what the national debt is today.

Third is $21.7 trillion, what the national debt would be on this day in 2016  projected out at current spending levels.

If only Americans and the media would get as outraged about these numbers as they are about the $820,000 GSA spent on clowns and mind readers at the Vegas convention, than perhaps we would have a national election that puts the “ticking time bomb” at the center of our national stage.  Maybe even run it at the bottom of every news channel or feature it in a skit on Saturday Night Live.

Only then, if voters truly knew just how broke we are as a nation, perhaps we would all come together to solve the problem and the nation.

Be mindful of how the first step in solving any problem is realizing that there is a problem, which is itself a real problem regarding the debt issue.

For according to a recent Gallup poll only 11% of Americans think the federal budget deficit/federal debt is the most important problem facing our country today.

So perhaps the Romney campaign should start there. Beat this drum until every American voter is aware and outraged about our $15.6 trillion debt and actually knows how many zeros there are in that number.

Americans should also be mandated to look at that ticking time bomb of a debt clock once before they vote to reelect President Barack Obama – who just happens to be the biggest spending president in our history — increasing the national debt by $5 trillion since taking office.

Fort Lauderdale) — Increasingly popular within south Florida political circles is none other than Broward GOP Chairman Richard DeNapoli.

DeNapoli recently announced that Congressman Allen West (FL-22) is one of the Broward Republican parties keynote speakers for the 2012 Lincoln Day Gala being held on May 5.

Expecting a record crowd for this year’s event at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66, doors will open at 5pm for a VIP reception and at 6pm for a general reception. Dinner and the program will begin at 7pm.

Two other Republican heavyweights are also featured at the annual event of the Broward Republican Party – Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.  Michael De Gruccio is returning as event chairman.

“It’s an honor to return as chairman of the 2012 Broward County Lincoln Day Gala,” said Michael De Gruccio. “We have a great venue, amazing speakers and a program that will not only honor President Abraham Lincoln but our Republican elected officials.”

Prior to the dinner, BREC Chairman Richard DeNapoli will host a VIP Reception that will include the featured speakers in addition to local elected officials and candidates for public office.

“The reception offers an opportunity to chat one-on-one with Congressman Allen West, Attorney General Pam Bondi and CFO Jeff Atwater,” said DeNapoli. “Guests will also have a chance to speak with candidates who have filed for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Florida House and Senate, as well as local Broward County offices.”

The 2012 Lincoln Day Gala of the Broward Republican Party will be held Saturday, May 5, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66, 2301 Southeast 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316.

Tickets for the VIP reception (with photo opportunity) are $300.00 while general admission tickets are available at $150.00 each. Numerous sponsorship opportunities are also available.

For information on Lincoln Day sponsorship opportunities, please contact Rico Petrocelli at (954) 941-7775 or visit: www.browardgop.org.

For direct ticket purchases please visit: http://www.donationpages.com/directory/EventTicket/1494.

To RSVP on Facebook, please visit:  https://www.facebook.com/browardrepublicanparty#!/events/338670182860050/

To “Like” the most popular Republican Executive Party in Florida, please visit their Facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/browardrepublicanparty

“I hope you’ll join us for the 2012 Lincoln Day Gala,” said former Plantation Councilman and BREC Executive Director Rico Petrocelli. “Between the keynote speakers and candidates for public office, you won’t want to miss it.”

Although my key focus, at this moment in time, should be my university research project on ‘National Right to Life’, I could not refrain myself from procrastinating for that little bit longer by checking out some of the latest campaign ads.  It was whilst procrastinating that I came across this ad.

Now, regardless of some continued resistance here on Redstate, it is clear to see that Romney is, more than likely, going to be the Republican nominee for the 2012 election.  Moreover, Democrats recognize this and have now turned their attention to Romney in an effort to ensure that the incumbent president recieves another four years in office.  This, ad, however, is unexpected in the sense that, in a time where the GOP is divided, it provides conservatives with many reasons as to why they should forget their differences and rally around Governor Romney.

The video opens with Romney stating that ‘corporations are people, my friend’ and that he was a ‘severely conservative Republican governor’; it is from here that the so-called ‘attack’ begins.

Straight away, it can be seen that the creators of the ad are aiming to rubbish the idea that Romney is a ‘flip-flopper’, previously a concern of many Republicans, by painting a very conservative image of the former Massachusetts governor.  Romney is displayed as an individual who is committed to the pro-life cause as well as a small state conservatism in terms of bailouts, Obamacare etc.

At a time when the Republican Party has failed to unite, it has been noted that Romney may be the preferred candidate of just 40% of voters so far, this ad is very much welcome as, having watched most of the campaign videos released so far, this is the one that has the greatest potential to unite the Republican Party behing Mitt Romney and mobilize the conservative base ahead of November’s showdown.

We do not say this often but, for this, we owe a massive thank you to the Democrats of the U.S.A.

Fort Lauderdale) — Scoring points within south Florida political circles is none other than Broward GOP Chairman Richard DeNapoli.

DeNapoli recently announced that Congressman Allen West (FL-22) is one of the Broward Republican parties keynote speakers for the 2012 Lincoln Day Gala being held on May 5.

Two other Republican heavyweights are also featured at the annual event of the Broward Republican Party – Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.

In a not too surprising move last week on the popular FOX News show “Hannity,” former GOP Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin told Sean Hannity that she would like to see Rep. Allen West considered for the number two slot on the Republican ticket.

HANNITY: “You had an interesting comment earlier today where you suggested that whoever the nominee should go rogue, familiar term for you, in terms of their choice for V.P. What would be a rogue choice? Who would you like to see if you could pick maybe three or four people to suggest?”

PALIN: “Specific names? Top of my list is Allen West. I love that he has that military experience. He is a public servant willing to serve for the right reasons. He understands the Constitution. He understands our national foreign policy issues that must be addressed. He has served. I really like him.”

The outspoken freshman Congressman from Florida told CNN’s Kyra Phillips that he doubted Mitt Romney would choose him as his running mate.

PHILLIPS: What do you think? Vice President Allen West? Would you consider it if you were asked?

WEST: Well, first of all, happy Easter to you, Kyra. And when you consider the fact that five years ago I was sitting in the desert of Kandahar, Afghanistan, as a civilian military adviser and training to the Afghan army, no one would have ever thought that I’d be a congressional representative for here in south Florida and speaking to you today.

So we don’t know which path your life may take and if someone were to believe that I have a capacity to serve this country at a higher level is very humbling, very honorable.

And as I did back in 1982, as my father did, as my older brother did, as my young nephew does, we will continue to serve this country in whatever capacity we can.

PHILLIPS: OK. So bottom line, you’re telling me yes, if Mitt Romney comes to you and says, I want you on the ticket with me, I want you to be my vice president, you would say yes?

WEST: Yes, well, right now, you know, the focus is, of course, being a good congressional representative.

But if someone were to make that call to me, which I really doubt is ever going to happen, you would have to make sure that it is something that god would ordain for you, and you’d have to talk to your wife, my wife and my two daughters about.

But we have always stepped up to the plate to serve our country. And if it’s the right fit, then I will do so.

But as I said, I really much so doubt that that would happen.

PHILLIPS: You know, there’s a lot of things that we thought would never happen in the past couple of years, Congressman, so I think anything is possible.

WEST: That is true.

PHILLIPS: Indeed if Mitt Romney came to you, do you like Mitt Romney? Do you support his views? Would you feel comfortable on a ticket with him?

WEST: Well, you know, I’ve never been out on a dinner date with him if that’s what you’re asking me. So I don’t know if I would like him, but I think that we’d have to sit down and discuss things.

And look, I think that Governor Romney and I definitely have a different vision for this country, a vision that gets us away from debt, despair and the horrible situations you see with our economic security, our energy security and our national security.

So I think that we will be able to come together as a team and be able to develop the right type of platform to turn this state around for the United States of America.”

Broward GOP Chairman Richard DeNapoli will host a VIP Reception that will include the keynote speakers in addition to local elected officials and candidates for public office.

“The reception offers an opportunity to chat one-on-one with Congressman Allen West, Attorney General Pam Bondi and CFO Jeff Atwater,” said DeNapoli. “Guests will also have a chance to speak with candidates who have filed for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Florida House and Senate, as well as local Broward County offices.”

Broward Republicans are expecting a record crowd for this year’s event at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66. Doors open at 5pm for a VIP reception and at 6pm for a general reception. Dinner and the program begin at 7pm.

“I hope that you’ll join us for the 2012 Lincoln Day Gala,” said former Plantation Councilman and BREC Executive Director Rico Petrocelli. “Between the keynote speakers and candidates for public office, you cannot afford to miss it.”

Re-posted by PJ Media

Hearing the news that conservative “rising star” Florida Senator Marco Rubio has endorsed Mitt Romney, one could now say his nomination is a “slam dunk”.

That phase, you may remember, was famously attributed to CIA Director George Tenet in 2002 as he assured President Bush about the evidence that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.

Now, Mitt Romney’s presumed “slam dunk” nomination reminds me of another infamous phase from that same Iraq War era.

“You go to war with the army you have—not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”

That statement, uttered in 2004 by then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, was in response to a soldier’s complaints about equipment shortages.

So now it is time for a “teachable moment.”

Take Rumsfeld’s quote, revise it slightly and apply it to Mitt Romney as the GOP 2012 nominee.

We will battle Obama with the candidate we have –not the candidate we might want or wish to have at a later time.

This statement should be the Republican Party mantra going forward.

As Republicans, do we really have a choice?

President Obama 2.0, his second-term sequel will be a disaster movie with the name “Unleashed.”

We only saw a glimpse of it this week with the Russian “open mike” incident and Obama is well aware, if re-elected, he will never have to face the voters again.

He will rule as much as possible by Executive Orders. He will find ways to do end runs around Congress, if the knows they will not go along. He will have at least one, maybe even two Supreme Court seats to fill, and that will be his most enduring legacy.

The possibilities are endless how Obama 2.0 will find ways to trample the Constitution.

And who will stop him short of impeachment?

As a concerned American, I believe it is imperative that President Obama is defeated. Thus, Republicans must rally around Mitt Romney because he is the candidate we have – not the candidate we might want or wish to have at a later time.

Now all you disgruntled Republicans out there, repeat this quote twice in the morning and once at bedtime.

Trust me, you will feel better.

Chairman Richard DeNapoli and the Broward Republican Executive Committee are proud to announce plans for the 2012 Lincoln Day Gala. 

Being held on Cinco de Mayo, they are expecting a record crowd for this year’s annual event at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66.  Doors will open at 5pm for a VIP reception and at 6pm for a general reception.   Dinner and the program will begin at 7pm.

Three featured speakers will headline the Lincoln Day Gala of the Broward Republican Party – Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, and Congressman Allen West.

Prior to the dinner, BREC Chairman Richard DeNapoli will host a VIP Reception that will include the featured speakers in addition to local elected officials and candidates for public office. “The reception offers an opportunity to chat one-on-one with our keynote speakers,” said DeNapoli. “You’ll also have an opportunity to speak with candidates who have filed to run for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, the Florida House and Senate, as well as local Broward County offices.”

“It is my honor to return as chairman of the 2012 Broward County Lincoln Day Gala,” said Michael De Gruccio. “We have a great venue, amazing speakers and a program that will not only honor President Abraham Lincoln but our Republican elected officials.”

Tickets for the VIP reception (with photo opportunity) are $300.00 while general admission tickets are available at $150.00 each. Numerous sponsorship opportunities are also available.

“I hope that you can join us on Cinco de Mayo,” said former Plantation Councilman and BREC Executive Director Rico Petrocelli. “Between the keynote speakers and candidates for public office, this is an event that you won’t want to miss.” 

The 2012 Lincoln Day Gala of the Broward Republican Party will be held Saturday, May 5, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66, 2301 Southeast 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316.

For information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Rico Petrocelli at (954) 941-7775.

For more information on the Lincoln Day Gala, please visit: www.browardgop.org. 

For direct ticket purchases please visit: http://www.donationpages.com/directory/EventTicket/1494. 

To RSVP on Facebook, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/202590136516134/

Calvin Coolidge’s moniker “Silent Cal” is something of a misnomer. While he was very famous for his economy with words, he was well known in his day for using the kinds of media available to him. In fact, he hired the best media strategists of his day to help him effectively utilize what was available to him. Because of this, he became the first President to appear speaking on film. His speech could, with a few minor edits to the particulars, be just as apropos today as it was back then. Behold:

Hit the jump for more.

American Rhetoric gives us a transcript:

[This] country needs every ounce of its energy to restore itself. The costs of government are all assessed upon the people.

This means that the farmer is doomed to provide a certain amount of money out of the sale of his produce, no matter how low the price, to pay his taxes. The manufacturer, the professional man, the clerk, must do the same from their income. The wage earner, often at a higher rate when compared to his earning, makes his contribution, perhaps not directly but indirectly, in the advanced cost of everything he buys.

The expenses of government reach everybody.

Taxes take from everyone a part of his earnings and force everyone to work for a certain part of his time for the government.

When we come to realize that the yearly expenses of the governments of this country…the stupendous sum of about 7 billion, 500 million dollars — we get…700 million dollars — is needed by the national government, and the remainder by local governments.

Such a sum is difficult to comprehend. It represents all the pay of five million wage earners receiving five dollars a day, working 300 days in the year. If the government should add 100 million dollars of expense, it would represent four days more work of these wage earners. These are some of the reasons why I want to cut down public expense.

I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government — and more for themselves.

I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom.

Until we can reestablish a condition under which the earnings of the people can be kept by the people, we are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our liberty.

These results are not fanciful; they are not imaginary. They are grimly actual and real, reaching into every household in the land. They take from each home annually an average of over 300 dollars — and taxes must be paid. They are not a voluntary contribution to be met out of surplus earnings. They are a stern necessity. They come first.

It is only out of what is left, after they are paid, that the necessities of food, clothing, and shelter can be provided and the comforts of home secured, or the yearnings of the soul — for a broader and more abundant life gratified.

When the government affects a new economy, it grants everybody a life pension with which to raise the standard of existence. It increases the value of everybody’s property, raises the scale of everybody’s wages.

One of the greatest favors that can be bestowed upon the American people is economy in government.

If only today’s Republican politicians were more willing to say these kinds of things!

Now for a few thoughts.

First of all, it is amazing how much more money our government spends today. The “stupendous sum” of Coolidge’s day of $7,500,000,000 would be $94,786,977,161.05 when adjusted for inflation. Let’s put this in perspective a little bit:

• In February of last year, Sen. Tom Coburn found between $100 and $200 billion dollars in wasteful spending through redundant government programs.
• Also in February of 2011, Speaker John Boehner promised at CPAC to cut $100 billion in discretionary spending.
• I’d love to quote you a budget figure, but you see, we haven’t had one for over 1100 days. Might want to contact Harry Reid about that.
• For fiscal year 2011, our government took in $2.303 trillion in tax receipts.
• The expenditure for 2011, meanwhile, was around $3.82 trillion.

In fairness, the population has increased since then. The 1920 Census revealed that the nation had 106,021,537 people. It has roughly tripled since then, totaling 308,745,538 in 2010. However, multiplying the sum Coolidge mentions in his speech, adjusted for inflation, would give us $284,360,931,483.15. Still a drop in the bucket for what we took in, much less spent, for 2011. For example, the debt limit agreement reached back in August promised spending cuts of $917 billion alone over ten years.

Second, Calvin Coolidge is exactly right about the basics behind taxation. It is the government taking from your earnings for its own functions. Now this in and of itself isn’t wrong. The government has to get its money somehow. It can’t just print it (well, okay, maybe it can….with problematic–to say the least–results). However, as Coolidge notes here, “They are not a voluntary contribution to be met out of surplus earnings. They are a stern necessity. They come first.” Furthermore, until the people are able to actually keep as much of their money as possible,  they “are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our liberty.” Barry Goldwater, in his seminal The Conscience of a Conservative, quotes the late, great Senator Robert Taft of Ohio as saying, “You can socialize just as well by a steady increase in the burden of taxation beyond the 30% we have already reached as you can by government seizure. The very imposition of heavy taxes is a limit on a man’s freedom,” (pg. 54). The spirit of Coolidge was strong with him. Unfortunately, this spirit does not appear to be strong with either the current occupant of the White House or most members of Congress.

And all of this was before the wonderful thing we know as withholding came into being.

Third, “[o]ne of the greatest favors that can be bestowed upon the American people is economy in government.” What a great thought, that. Pity most of our elected officials in Washington, much less the states and lower levels of government, don’t understand that.

This is a former Massachusetts governor I’d have no problem getting behind. There’s a good reason Ronald Reagan considered him one of his favorite Presidents.