North Central Florida 9-12 group plays to another
full house
Columbia County, FL (posted July 29,
2009)
By Stew Lilker
The
July 23, 2009
North Central Florida 9-12 meeting began
with another packed house as President Tawnya
Means spoke about Thomas Jefferson and the
Founding Fathers. Ms. Means told the group,
“It’s up to us to become an educated
electorate.”
The 9-12 group listened to presentations by two
keynote speakers, Robert Smith a lifelong political
activist and President of the Republican Club of Greater
Saint Augustine and Margie Patchett, executive director
of LowerTaxesNow.org.
Mr. Smith told the gathering that they should “vote
for people that read the Constitution.”
Mr. Smith gave advice about organizing and getting
out the vote. He said that the best place to campaign is
a school. He said, “If you let folks talk, they will
talk until they talk themselves into helping you.”
Mr. Smith recommended asking questions, taking notes
and asking for help.
He said that “you never get a second chance to make a
good impression.”
Mr. Smith concluded his presentation by telling the
group, “We are in a revolutionary war for the soul of
this country. There may not be a tomorrow if we keep
going the way we are going.”
The calmness of Mr. Smith was juxtaposed by the
energy and animation of Margie Patchett, Executive
Director of
LowerTaxesNow.org, who began by
telling the group, “It’s great to see everybody here. I
am fed up. We don’t have any politicians that listen
anymore.”
Ms. Patchett told the group "check
your own back yard."
Ms. Patchett explained, without taking a breath, that
Florida went being the number one economy in the US to
number 47.
Ms. Patchett said, “Government has gone wild. All
government is local and if you think you have a problem
with the Federal Government, you should check your own
backyard.”
Ms. Patchett said LowerTaxesNow.org is for a small
and effective government and that government cannot
continue to grow.
“You have to find out where your money is being
spent. You know when your county’s lying. You know it.
You feel it. You sense it,” she said.
Ms. Patchett urged the group to begin a budget study
group.
Ms. Patchett was not familiar with Columbia County’s
reputation - nor the blatant disregard of the County
Charter and the Constitution by the County Commission
and the County Manager. She was unaware of the nepotism and Good Old
“Boy-ism” and squandering of public funds that has run
rampant for decades and crushed folks when they spoke up
or tried to
do a good job, when she said, “Start a budget group.
Your government is really – really corrupt.”
