Florida is in serious trouble. The people here voted a criminal into the governor’s office, and he’s doing his best to destroy the state. So today, all over the state, there are rallies planned to Awake the State. Click on the link and find a rally near you today.
This morning, I spoke with Ray Seaman, online director of Progress Florida, and the guy who came up with the idea for Awake the State about the background and the many reasons we need it!
Here’s some info:
Today is a big day for Florida. The 2011 Florida legislative session begins, and Gov. Scott will give his State of The State address. And this time, Floridians from all walks of life in cities and towns throughout the state will join together to Awake The State and say “no” to budget cuts we as a state simply can’t afford.
We can’t afford a massive $3 billion dollar cut to our neighborhood public schools, and the tens of thousands of teachers and support personnel we would lose as a result.
We can’t afford privatizing Florida’s Medicaid program: Forcing our state’s children, elderly, and disabled into the waiting arms of greedy HMOs.
We can’t afford not funding the Florida Forever land conservation program, dismantling Florida’s growth management agency, and gutting protections for clean water.
We can’t afford balancing Florida’s budget on the backs of public servants like our teachers, police officers, firefighters, and nurses by singling them out for huge tax increases.
We can’t afford what Gov. Scott and his allies in the leadership of Florida’s legislature are proposing, and we’ve had enough of the assault on Florida’s working families.
Let’s stand together and fight back. Click here to find an Awake The State rally near you.
Together, we will send a loud and clear message to Tallahassee and begin to re-focus the debate on how we balance Florida’s budget responsibly. By closing down unnecessary and unproductive sales tax exemptions and corporate loopholes that litter our tax code and cost Floridians billions of dollars a year1, we can save our state from devastating budget cuts no one can afford.
Of course, Rachel Maddow put it all into perspective last night:
As we do every Tuesday morning, I was joined by Gotta Laff of The Political Carnival to dish on the news and talk about some of the stories we might otherwise have missed. Some of those stories are:
US report: Private contractors at record in Afghan war
A letter to Scott Walker from Sen. Dem Leader Mark Miller
Sarah Palin’s dad: “We sleep with the guns” +
Video- Sarah Palin slams Kathy Griffin for “Glee” impersonationSupreme Court waves bye-bye to another lawsuit questioning
Obama citizenshipEnergized: “This is not a Wisconsin thing, it’s a national thing.”
New Hampshire GOP House Speaker wants to disenfranchise “liberal” college voters