Tuesday E-News Briefs, 9/4/07, Eyes on the Prize

In This Issue

• Special Message from Chairwoman Karen L. Thurman: Update on Primary Situation
  
• Enter to Win Tickets to Univision Presidential Candidates Forum, Sunday in Miami
  
• Nassau County Democrats Hosting Annual Low Country Boil
  
• Tampa-Area Dems Join Working Families For Labor Day Barbecue
• Meek Tours Iraq, Urges Withdrawal
• Democrats Host Discussion For Veterans

Special Message from Chairwoman Karen L. Thurman: Update on Primary Situation

I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. As you may have heard, on Friday and Saturday, the Democratic Presidential candidates signed a pledge to not campaign in any state, other than the four pre-authorized states (IA, NV, NH, SC), that holds its primary prior to Feb. 5, 2008. Of course, Florida's state-run Presidential Preference Primary is scheduled for one week prior to that date. This came on the heels of a DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee meeting to penalize Florida Democrats with a 100% delegate reduction if our delegates are not selected on Feb. 5 or later.

This is obviously a difficult situation, but I want to assure you that your Party, Democratic Congressional Delegation, DNC members and other Democratic leaders are working hard to find a solution that is amenable to the DNC, the Chairs of the four pre-authorized states, the candidates and, most of all, Florida Democrats. We hope to be making an announcement in the coming weeks.

Until then, we strongly encourage you to keep your eyes on the prize and continue moving forward with laying the groundwork for victory in November 2008. Use that voter file, talk to your friends and neighbors, sign up to be a delegate to the state convention, and get involved. These intra-party discussions shouldn't distract us from the real goal or let the Republicans get the upper hand. No matter which cards we're dealt, we must deliver our state's 27 electoral votes - and the Presidency - to the Democratic nominee. The country needs us.

Stay tuned for more information. Thank you for your hard work.
-KLT

Enter to Win Tickets to Univision Presidential Candidates Forum, Sunday in Miami

The Miami-Dade Democratic Party has announced a special contest to give away a limited number of tickets to the Democratic Presidential forum at the University of Miami on September 9th. The debate is hosted by Univision, the most popular Spanish-language television network. The contest is free, and you can enter at http://www.miamidadedemocrats.com by Thursday, Sept 6th. Winners will be notified by email on Friday.

Nassau County Democrats Hosting Annual Low Country Boil

Join the Nassau County DEC, Rep. Audrey Gibson of Duval County, and Rep. Scott Randolph of Orange County for the Low Country Boil! The annual fundraiser will be held on Saturday, September 8th at 7 pm on Amelia Island (Kraft Athletic Ten Acres at 961023 Buccaneer Trail). Tickets are $50 each and can be purchased by emailing (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or calling 904-687-0864 or 904-879-5163. For more information, please visit http://www.nassaudems.org.

Tampa-Area Dems Join Working Families For Labor Day Barbecue

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, and County Commission candidate Kevin Beckner were among the hundreds of Democrats who joined the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council for their annual Barbecue at the Florida State Fairgrounds on Labor Day. The Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough DECs' continued their tri-county outreach to the local unions by sharing a booth at the annual picnic. You can view photos of the event at http://www.fladems.com/labordaytampa. The Lee County DEC also held a successful Labor Day picnic. Read about it here: http://www.fladems.com/labordaylee

Meek Tours Iraq, Urges Withdrawal

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek returned from a trip to war-torn Iraq and vowed not to vote for $50 billion in new war spending unless President Bush agrees to a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from the country. Meek, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, does not believe that the Iraqi government has reached the political benchmarks necessary to halt the escalating violence in the region. "They've squandered the time we gave them," said Meek. "It's going to be very, very long before we see the political progress we need."  You can view Rep. Meek's video blog of his trip to Iraq at http://kendrickmeek.house.gov/.

Democrats Host Discussion For Veterans

U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Ron Klein joined with Donna Shalala, the former Secretary of Health and Human Services and Co-Chair of the President's Commission on America's Returning Warriors, for a roundtable discussion with local veterans. The forum allowed Democratic leaders to hear directly from the men and women who are serving our country while informing returning veterans of the progress made by the New Direction Congress. Recently, the Democratic Congress fought for the largest increase to the veteran's budget in American history. "Our troops risk everything to serve our country; we must honor them when they return with the social services and health care they deserve," said Rep. Klein.