Praying for the Surfside community, family and loved ones

Chairman’s Message

We remain the United States of America

While the Left endeavors to divide this state and country at every turn, seeking to paint America as a hopelessly divided nation, the horrific tragedy at Surfside shows that is just not true.   

The unity we have seen among every race, gender and creed in the greater Miami area after this horrific event is a symbol of the best of America. From first responders to the health care community to local charities to churches to neighbors, there has been unity in response to this calamity.

This is an important message to Floridians and all Americans as we celebrate the birth of our nation 245 years ago. We are still the United States of America. And we will always fight to remain so.

In that spirit of unity, Governor DeSantis announced Wednesday that federal, state, local, private sector and nonprofit partners have come together to create SurfsideStrength.com, an emotional support and assistance platform for survivors, families, first responders and others impacted by the tragedy in Surfside to receive much-needed support to persevere.

There are currently more than 440 first responders and state workers on-site to support ongoing search and recovery efforts. To read the full efforts of the state response click here: https://www.floridadisaster.org/news-media/news/20210630-governor-desantis-launches-surfsidestrength.com-to-provide-support-for-survivors-families-and-first-responders/

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As part of this year’s Fourth of July celebration, former President Donald Trump will be holding a Save America rally in Sarasota July 3. The event will be held at Robarts Arena, 3000 Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota. Doors open at 2 p.m. The first speakers will begin at 5 p.m. and President Trump will speak at primetime 8 p.m. Immediately following his speech will be fireworks at the Fairgrounds, where Robarts Arena is located.

Join us to celebrate America’s birthday with President Trump by clicking here: https://secure.anedot.com/florida-gop/sarasotarallyvip 

The RPOF encourages those who are attending the rally to generously contribute to the victims of the tragedy at Surfside.

Legislation

Most of the new laws that passed the Legislature this year and were signed into law go into effect today. Here are some of the highlights of what the Republican-led Legislature accomplished for Florida this year. 

The state budget, which includes money for Everglades restoration and the effects of sea-level rise; raises the minimum pay of state workers to $13 an hour; provides bonuses to first responders; and adds $50 million to raise teacher salaries. 

Big Tech crackdown. A new law bans social media companies from removing political candidates from the companies’ platforms. Companies that violate the prohibition could be fined $250,000 a day for statewide candidates and $25,000 a day for other candidates. (A judge has issued a temporary injunction on parts of this law.)

School vouchers will be expanded. Building on one of the strongest voucher programs in the nation, the new law increases the family income threshold for children to qualify for vouchers — allowing more families to qualify, and removes a requirement that students had to previously be enrolled in public schools.

Moment of silence. This new law will require public schools to hold moments of silence each day. Teachers are prohibited from suggesting any particular purpose but are to encourage parents to discuss this with their children.

Civic education. This new law requires high-school U.S. government courses to include “a comparative discussion of political ideologies that conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy.” It also requires public schools to create civics-education curriculum to develop “an upright citizenry.”

Intellectual freedom in colleges. This law requires colleges and universities to conduct surveys to assess the “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” at their institutions.

Protecting women’s sports. This new law bans transgender females (biological men) from participating on girls’ and women’s high-school and college sports teams. It is designed to protect the women and provide equal opportunities for them.

Online taxes will finally be collected. Requiring out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by Floridians the same way that in-state retailers must is an issue of fairness. The estimated $1 billion a year in additional revenue will be used to replenish the state’s unemployment trust fund drained due to Covid, and then go toward reducing the commercial rent tax.

Read more here: https://www.wlrn.org/news/2021-06-28/florida-budget-bevy-of-laws-ready-to-take-effect

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The condition of Florida’s child welfare system is about to improve as Governor DeSantis has signed two bills that will help children find permanent homes more quickly. These bills were a priority for Senate President Wilton Simpson, who was adopted as a child at the age of 6.

“Governor DeSantis has been a strong partner as we work to improve Florida’s Child Welfare System, and I appreciate him signing this key legislation into law,” Simpson said. “We know the earlier in life we can give a child a permanent living situation, the better off that child will be in the long run. Government is a horrible parent, and childhood is way too short for any kid to spend years waiting in limbo bouncing from home to home.”

Senate Bill 80, sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur, who was also adopted as a child, prioritizes finding children a permanent place to call home, particularly before they turn 18. The second bill, SB 96, will improve reporting standards in the case of abuse and neglect.

Read more here: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/438565-foster-care-getting-overhaul-after-gov-desantis-signature/ 

ICYMI

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Joe Gruters had the column below published Wednesday in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 

Donald Trump will always be America's champion
By State Sen. Joe Gruters

Regardless of what former President Donald Trump chooses to do down the road, he will always be America’s champion. He will always fight for the forgotten American – and Sarasota will always be a special place for him.

After all, it was the Republican Party of Sarasota County that gave Donald Trump its Statesman Award in 2012, long before he ran for president. And then we gave it to him again in 2015, shortly before he announced his run. We knew he was a great American even then.

The Trump Florida campaign headquarters in 2016 was based in Sarasota, and he visited during both the beginning and end of his campaign. The president won Sarasota by 26,000 votes in 2016 – and he expanded that to a 28,000-vote victory margin in 2020 while increasing his vote total in Sarasota County by nearly 24,000 votes. I was fortunate to be the co-chair of the successful Trump Florida 2016 campaign. 

So you can see why it just makes sense for former President Trump to return to Sarasota on July 3 at Robarts Arena to restart his history-busting rallies. We are honored to be a part of this new adventure for the president because we know that he will continue to fight for America – and for the average Americans who have long been forgotten by the elite ruling class.

He will put America and the American people first in whatever he pursues.

Maybe most significantly we celebrate the freedom of speech and ability to assemble together with others; rights that we Americans cherish in our First Amendment – and rights that are under assault right now. Donald Trump fought to protect these rights as president, and Gov. Ron DeSantis courageously fights for these same freedoms for Florida, making our state a shining light for America (which itself continues to be a shining city on a hill for the rest of the world).

It’s important to break through the din of a four-year onslaught of political attacks, relentless media negative coverage and fake scandals – which have been shown to be wrong again and again –  to realize that Donald Trump was an extraordinarily successful president. His list of major accomplishments during just one term in office is simply awesome.

Before COVID – the response to which wrecked the global economy – the U.S. economy under President Trump was surging. He cut taxes for middle-class Americans, dumped overly burdensome business regulations and developed fairer trade agreements. All of these steps served as rocket fuel for the economy, and they resulted in a record-shattering economy benefitting all Americans.

For example:

• Unemployment for women hit its lowest rate in 70 years.
• Nearly 7 million people were lifted off of food stamps.
• Poverty rates for African Americans and Hispanic Americans reached record lows.
• The income inequality gap actually fell for two straight years as those at the lower end saw the fastest pay increases.

These economic results alone show how Trump successfully championed the forgotten American. 

President Trump also created stability at the southern border and we now see the wisdom of those policies. He led the nation into energy independence and appointed constitutionalist judges. 

Maybe the most astonishing and unexpected accomplishment of Trump's presidency was setting the Middle East on a path to peace – which President Joe Biden has now begun to unravel by giving the mullahs in Iran everything they want to reload their terrorist campaigns. By brokering peace agreements that include trade deals between Israel and several Arab countries, President Trump was solving something that had baffled every American president since the end of World War II.

Once COVID began to overrun the world, President Trump launched Operation Warp Speed to get a vaccine to market before the end of the year. In a familiar story the critics uniformly said it was impossible – and once again Trump proved the critics wrong. 

On this score it’s worth noting that it is Trump, and not his critics, who continues to be proven right. Here is a brief list of items that President Trump was bashed for by critics – but on which he has turned out to be right: 

• China was responsible for the Wuhan virus, and the virus may have indeed been man-made.
• The stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop were true.
• Hydroxychloroquine actually does work.
• There was a Russian bounty on U.S. troops.
• Russian collusion with the Trump campaign did not take place.
• Lafayette Square was not cleared with tear gas for a photo op.

This Saturday at Robarts Arena is a perfect opportunity to celebrate President Trump’s successes in office –domestically and around the world – and to celebrate both his tenure and our country’s enduring freedoms. 

The doors will open at 2 p.m. and the first speakers will take the stage at 5 p.m. President Trump will speak at 8 p.m. and there will be a fireworks display after his speech.

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/opinion/columns/guest/2021/06/29/sarasota-rally-honor-donald-trumps-role-americas-champion/7788155002/

Social Media Highlights

REMEMBER: @FloridaGOP and retweet and share. The Republican message must be spread around the state and you are integral to making that happen.