Electing a President
What makes a great president? While campaigns focus on policies and accomplishments, most presidential historians agree that character is the most important criteria in electing a
national leader. Explains Jon Meacham, "Their policy positions will change, but their character will not." Meacham points to four characteristics great presidents share: curiosity, honesty, humility, and empathy. These attributes profoundly impact a president's view of the office and his approach to governing. The contrasts between the two likely candidates for president were clear in 2020 and are even more striking today. As campaigns gear up with messaging, the most important thing to share with your friends and family is that President Biden is a good man and the GOP front-runner is not. Biden has demonstrated leadership in protecting our rights and responding to the country's needs. His likely GOP opponent has not. Democracy will be tested again in 2024 and we need to commit now to doing the hard work it will take to protect it. Three actions you can take this week:
Check your voting status and renew your Vote-by-Mail request if you have not already done so. You can do both online.
Commit to supporting 2024 efforts to Get-Out-the-Vote! You can learn more about GOTV activities nationally and statewide by joining the Statewide Indivisible Florida Taskforce (SWIFT) call on Tuesday, February 27 at 5:30 pm - with special guest, Ezra Levin, Indivisible's co-founder. Register here to learn about the impact of Indivisible's Neighbor2Neighbor strategy and ways to get involved in 2024. Register here. Additionally, you can help BAM and its partner groups develop GOTV strategies to implement locally in 2024 by completing this short survey for our spring summit. Your input is valued and appreciated! And finally,
Help good candidates get on the ballot. Contested seats ensure our elected officials are held accountable. Help Rachel Grage get on the ballot to represent Beaches State House District 16 by signing her candidate petition. Contact Nancy Staats if you would like to help collect petition signatures.
We Need Toys & Sports Equipment!
BAM is joining other community groups to sponsor an International Women's Day event on Saturday, March 9th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church on Myrtle Avenue. We need your help in collecting new and gently used toys and sports equipment for the event. To make it easy, we have several drop-off locations at the Beach. Find out more and donate! We'll be collecting donations through February 23rd. You can also email us if you'd like to volunteer on March 9th!
State Legislature: Stop Fetal Personhood Bill
The FL Legislature passed its mid-point last week and thankfully most bad bills are stalled or buried in committee. An exception is HB 51 and SB 476 which target those who seek an abortion, the people who help them, and their healthcare providers with wrongful death lawsuits. The Senate version includes a dangerous amendment that establishes fetal personhood at any stage of development potentially banning all abortions in Florida and even threatening those who miscarry, as well as subverting efforts to put abortion rights on the ballot with a constitutional amendment in November. Click here to send a letter to lawmakers opposing these terrible bills.
Great Speakers this Week
Join the Beaches Democratic Club on Tuesday, February 20th at 6:30 p.m. at the Neptune Beach Senior Center located at 2004 Forest Ave, Neptune Beach to hear Isaiah Rumlin, President of the Jacksonville Branch NAACP, discuss the organization's role in successfully suing the City of Jacksonville and the Duval County Supervisor of Elections over local redistricting plans. RSVP here.
Rick Wilson, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, is the featured speaker at the February 22nd meeting of the Florida Democratic Senior Caucus. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. RSVP here for ZOOM link.
Mark Your Calendar!
If you're tired of having Rick Scott represent you in the U.S. Senate, here's your chance to meet the woman who is running to replace him. Click on the graphic below to RSVP and receive the ZOOM link.
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