May 1, 2013 SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH EVERYONE Number 13-3

Florida First Ever Democratic Party PlatformMOVING FLORIDA FORWARD

PREFACEFlorida Democrats believe in Florida values. We, the people of the great State of Florida, believe in standing for effective and efficient government that is aimed at providing the quality public safety, education, and healthcare the people of this state deserve.

Ours is the party that champions the middle class and the basic principle of fairness to ensure all Floridians are treated equally. And we believe in protecting the state’s precious land, water, and air for our children and grandchildren.

lt is our purpose to place before the residents of Florida a document that states the position of the Democratic Party for the future direction of our state. The following Platform makes that statement, and offers a promise of a strong and fruitful future for Floridians

FLORIDA’S JOBS TRIPLE PLAYWe, as Florida Democrats, believe jobs and the economy are our first priority. Therefore we pledge to:

• Support the creation of jobs for hard-working Floridians, with wage parity between women and men.

• Preserve and expand Florida’s middle class by creating good paying jobs, by investing in Florida’s crumbling infrastructure, and by strengthening demand for Florida products both here and abroad.

• Empower small business owners to create new jobs.

• Lead the way by expanding small business job creation through incentives for employers, and by reducing unnecessary government interference.

• Increase training and apprenticeship oppor-tunities by working with our Florida labor unions and public school systems:

We will endeavor to achieve our goals by expanding training and retraining initiatives for every Florida worker and returning veteran, and strengthening public education for our children.

Van Jones — “You can’t get everything you want just by voting one time, but you can vote for the wrong person one time, and you can lose everything you’ve got.”

Pick Slip Rick Scott in 2014

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EDUCATION — THE FOUNDATION OF FLORIDA’S FUTURE

We, as Democrats, subscribe to Article IX, Section 1, of the Florida State Constitution, which requires the state to “ ... provide a uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high quality System of free public schools which allows students to obtain a high quality education.” To fulfill that promise, we support:

• Ensuring full funding by the state for our public schools, with no unfunded mandates placed upon local school districts. Education funding should not be subject to legislative bargaining.

• Establishing evaluation measures which embrace the total educational experience and paying our teachers the wages they deserve.

• Providing universal access to high quality early childhood education.

• Making public schools our top priority with maintenance and construction funding being thus designated.

• Creating world-class vocational apprenticeship programs.

• Investing in high quality affordable and available higher education, both vocational and academic.

• Creating a comprehensive curriculum for edu-cating future teachers and quality professional development for current teachers.

Investing in a high-quality education system is critical to Florida’s economic future.

HEALTHY AMERICANS,STRONG AMERICA

We, as Democrats, support affordable healthcare, expanding coverage to all Americans, holding insurers accountable, and working diligently to make our healthcare system a viable, quality System which upholds our Democratic ideals and protects all Americans. We believe:

• Access to affordable, high quality healthcare is a right for all Americans.

• Healthcare is about care and not insurance. Health is not a commodity.

• Focusing on preventive healthcare will save lives and money.

• Florida veterans have given of their physical, and in many instances mental, well-being; we Democrats will fight to ensure they receive the care required to recover their health.

• Women are capable of making decisions about their own healthcare including, and especially, in regard to reproductive health.

An investment in the health and well-being of Americans is an investment in the economic future and strength of our nation.

SOCIAL SECURITYWe, as Democrats, support the continuation of strong and reasonable protection of Social Security as a life wage and as an insurance policy for the disabled of all ages. We believe:

• The Social Security trust fund must be secured and protected.

• Social Security and Medicare reform should be based on increased revenue, not decreased payments.

• Social Security benefits must keep pace with inflation.

• The application and approval process for Disability insurance must be streamlined and shortened.

• The “no bid” clause in Medicare Part D must be eliminated.

Social Security is not just for seniors, it is a safety net for all ages in times of need.

Your One Vote Counts in Local Elections!

In Pahokee, Commissioner Allie Biggs won re-election to the Group 1 Seat over her R challenger -- by TWELVE votes!

(407-395)

And in Boynton Beach, it was even closer: Joe Casello won the open District 4 Seat over his R opponent -- by THREE votes

(yes, THREE VOTES!!! 308-305)

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Authorized and Paid for by The Palm Beach County Democratic Party

www.PBCDemocraticParty.org

To Subscribe, please send an email request to:SubscribeDemVoter@gmail.com

with the word“Subscribe” in the subject line.Editor: Dan Isaacson

Assistant Editors: Robin Blanchard, Allen Robbins, Nancy Morse, Debra Oberlander

Research: Roger Messenger

An educational newsletter to keep you up-to-date on voter issues.

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Call: 561-340-1486Every Dollar Counts!All donations appreciated, Thank you!Send your Contributions to:

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JUSTICE FOR ALLDemocrats believe that:

• All people should be treated equally and fairly, in all levels of government and society, by fighting discrimination based on race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and family status.

• Civil rights must be restored to those who have paid their debt to society.

• We must provide equal access and opportunities to Floridians so they have the expectation of be-ing able to participate fully in the political process. Voter suppression laws must be repealed.

• The State of Florida must finally ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

• We are against any law or amendment that seeks to violate equal protection under the law.

• We must provide to all veterans the highest, most comprehensive social services now, and in the future. Florida will not forget those who fought for and defended this country.

• In a just society, all persons should have the right to become citizens under a lawful process.

We must fulfill the promise of the Pledge of Allegiance: “...and justice for all.”

SUMMARYThe Florida Democratic Party has brought together the major aspects of our beliefs and values in this Platform. We believe that everyone

should have a fair and equal opportunity in a future that, with hard work, will bring them closer to the American dream. The Florida Democratic Party continues to champion efforts to strengthen our economy, improve our public schools, expand affordable access to medical care, honor our eldest citizens, and lead the way to guarantee all people their civil rights. ##

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League of Conservation Voters Scorecard for 2012

February 22, 2013 by Kartik Krishnaiyer

Being a member of the League of Conservation Voters does give you certain privileges. My favorite is getting access to the LCV Congressional Scorecard before it goes public. Well the organization did finally release the scorecard publicly yesterday and below are the scores from the Florida delegation. The higher the percentage the better the member is on environmental issues.

(Dems in bold)SenateBill Nelson 93%Marco Rubio 14%

HouseJeff Miller 9%Steve Southerland 9%Corrine Brown 80%Ander Crenshaw 6%Rich Nugent 6%Cliff Stearns 14%John Mica 6%Dan Webster 9%Gus Bilirakis 9%Bill Young 26%Kathy Castor 91%Dennis Ross 9%Vern Buchanan 23%Connie Mack 0%Bill Posey 11%Tom Rooney 10%Fredrica Wilson 89%Ileana Ros- Lehtinen 17%Ted Deutch 97%Debbie Wasserman-Schultz 94%Mario Diaz-Balart 11%Allen West 14%Alcee Hastings 94%Sandy Adams 9%David Rivera 11%

Top 10 Reasons to Kick Scott Out2014 is just around the corner.

As Democrats gear up to take on Tea Partier Rick Scott we thought it was a good time to remind you of the top ten reasons we need a new, Democratic governor.

In the coming months we will list one of the 10 reasons each month; just to remind you how important it is to Pink Slip Rick Scott in November 2014!

Reason #10. Rick Scott Refused High-Speed Rail

Have you ever sat in killer traffic in Orlando? You can thank Governor Scott for that. Scott turned down $2.4 billion to build a high-speed rail system that would have not only improved Florida’s infrastructure, but created thousands of jobs.

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