Senator Baker sponsored the Health Care Freedom Act last session, which was ultimately struck down by the Florida Supreme Court

June 30th, 2011

Dear Friends,

We are excited to announce that the Florida Health Care Freedom Act has been placed on the ballot, and designated Amendment #1. Fittingly, your vote on whether to roll back Obamacare and keep the federal government out of your health care decisions is the top priority and most important issue you will vote on in November 2012.

We are very grateful for Senate President Mike Haridopolos and Representative Scott Plakon for fighting so hard to put this before voters. This would not have happened without their efforts.

The fight, though, is just beginning. Obamacare supporters are rallying, and have formed an organization to oppose Amendment 1. Anti-freedom liberals and democrat consultants have a vested interest in protecting the government takeover of your private medical decisions.

We need your help to fight back. Help us spread the word and tell people to Vote Yes on 1. Please visit the campaign website and sign up as a Citizen Co-Sponsor.

We’re approaching 1,000 supporters already. If you forward this message to just 10 like-minded Patriots we can see this number increase exponentially, and we’ll be on our way to the 60% we need to make this amendment our law.

Warmest regards,
Senator Carey Baker

Citizens join the fight against judicial activism

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jesse Phillips
407-494-0316
jphillips@citizen2citizen.us

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Organizers to launch effort to fight judicial activism in Florida courts

Citizen2Citizen, the group that organized the historic campaign against Florida Supreme Court Justices Labarga and Perry last November, will launch “Restore Justice 2012”, a voter education campaign to highlight the problem of judicial activism in the Florida court system.

The group’s founder, Jesse Phillips, will announce the effort at the East Side Tea Party meeting in June.

“We believe that judicial activism is a serious problem in Florida. Judges play politics and cater to special interests in ways that disrespect the constitution and threaten our protection under the law,” Phillips says. “Fortunately, our state provides a way to remove judges when necessary through the merit retention vote. We are starting a statewide discussion to help voters decide which judges need to be removed.”

Last November, Floridians responded to a similar grassroots campaign by retaining Justice Jorge Labarga with the lowest approval vote in state history. Organizers believe they have momentum.

“We were able to historically affect the merit retention vote last November with a six-week word of mouth campaign,” said Jason Hoyt of the Central Florida Tea Party Council. “By starting now, the electorate will have a say in determining the fate of our activist judiciary like never before.”

Among the notable judges up for retention vote in 2012 are Florida Supreme Court Justices Pariente, Quince and Lewis, who agreed with Labarga and Perry to strike down the Florida Health Care Freedom Act, a controversial decision that sparked recent voter angst.

The East Side Tea Party meeting is open to the public, and will be held on June 13th, 7:00pm at the Perkins restaurant near the University of Central Florida.

11662 University BLVD
Orlando, FL 32817

Senator Baker sponsored the Health Care Freedom Act last session, which was ultimately struck down by the Florida Supreme Court

A message from Senator Carey Baker on the Florida Health Care Freedom Act

March 16th, 2011

Dear Friends,

I am reaching out to those who believe in Medical Freedom and thank you for all the efforts you made last year when we first passed the Florida Health Care Freedom Act. I know that you believe that individuals should make the health care decisions that are best for you and your family. Unfortunately, the liberal Florida Supreme Court threw off the ballot our state constitutional Health Care Freedom amendment and denied Floridians the right to vote on this incredibly important issue. Once again we need your support to insure we protect our health care rights. Please consider becoming a citizen co-sponsor and contacting your state elected officials to let them know how you feel about this issue. To add your name as a Citizen Co-Sponsor, simply visit Citizen2Citizen.us and add your electronic signature.

Thankfully, the Senate President Mike Haridopolos, has personally filed this important amendment (SJR-2) and it has sailed through the Senate committees and is now poised for final passage before it is sent to the Florida House. We are hoping the House will soon begin the process of hearing this issue (known as HJR-1 in the House). Good news has been found in Florida’s lawsuit against the Obama administration’s National Health Care Bill but the fight is far from over.

Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, once said “The Constitution of this Republic should make special provision for medical freedom. To restrict the art of healing to one class will constitute the Bastille of medical science. All such laws are un-American and despotic. Unless we put medical freedom into the constitution the time will come when medicine will organize into an undercover dictatorship and force people who wish doctors and treatment of their own choice to submit to only what the dictating outfit offers.”

There have been few greater threats to our individual medical freedom and state sovereignty than ObamaCare. The fight against this unconstitutional act requires action on many levels in our courts and both on the state and federal level. Please consider what you can do to further the fight, write your friends and neighbors, become a citizen co-sponsor, and most importantly write your local state representative and state Senator letting them know you support SJR-2, the Florida Health Care Freedom, sponsored by Senate President Mike Haridopolos and State Rep. Scott Plakon.

Warmest regards,
Senator Carey Baker

There is a group called Citizens to Repeal ObamaCare (CROC) that is fighting to do this very thing. Please check out their website, join this group, and help undo one of the most damaging piece of legislation ever passed by Congress.

Grass roots campaign makes history with 58.9% retention vote for Florida Supreme Court Justice Jorge Labarga

ORLANDO, FL – 11/09/2010 – Justice Jorge Labarga was retained with lowest margin since Florida’s merit retention vote began thirty years ago. 58.9% of voters chose to retain Labarga, down from the previous record low of 59.6 received by Justice Shaw in 1990.

“While we are disappointed that Labarga and Perry were retained, the fact that we made history is significant,” said Jesse Phillips, whose group Citizen2Citizen spearheaded the campaign. “We were able to reach hundreds of thousands of voters in six weeks with no money. Hopefully the court is now aware of the fact that Floridians care about their constitutional right to vote on ballot questions.”

Justice Perry, the other target of the campaign, did little better, receiving a 61% retention vote, the fourth lowest total in state history. By comparison, Canady and Polston, who were unopposed, were retained with votes of 67% and 66% respectively.

While measuring the exact impact of the group’s campaign is difficult, comparing the results of Labarga with Canady yields a vote differential of roughly 400,000. Citizen2Citizen believes this is a fair measure of the influence of their six week, unfunded campaign.

Justices Pariente, Lewis and Quince, who also voted against Amendment 9, face a merit retention vote in 2012.

ORLANDO, FL – Led by Senator Carey Baker, Florida Republicans are joining tea party activists in calling for voters to remove Justices Jorge Labarga and James Perry from the state Supreme Court this November because of their decision to remove the Health Care Freedom Act (Amendment 9) from November’s general election ballot.

“As citizens, we should be able to depend on our Justices to hear matters in an unbiased, apolitical manner, and believe that they will rule within the confines of the law,” Baker said Monday in a letter published to Republicans throughout the state. “Instead, these justices have time-and-again exceeded their authority and our trust in creating new laws from the bench.  At some point, it has to stop.”

Baker had addressed the issue at a West Orlando Tea Party event featuring Dick Morris earlier this month. Last week the Collier County Republican Executive Committee issued a resolution opposing the retention of Labarga and Perry. Activists statewide have been distributing flyers and engaging in a broad social media campaign for the past three weeks, attempting to inform voters of the court’s decision before the start of early voting.

Republicans are not the only ones joining the opposition movement. Organizations such as Florida’s Tenth Amendment Center and Campaign for Liberty are among the groups who have also joined the word-of-mouth campaign, encouraging their membership to vote not to retain Labarga and Perry.

“I’m grateful that so many people throughout the state sense the urgency of the moment and are taking up our cause,” said Jesse Phillips, whose group Citizen2Citizen launched its campaign last month. “This is grass roots activism in its purest form, and we’re going to prove that you don’t need money to protect freedom. Even though the Court silenced and disenfranchised millions of its citizens by taking away our vote, we’re going to make sure our voices are heard anyway.”

No judge has ever failed a merit retention vote in Florida, needing a simple majority of approval votes in order to be retained. Tea party leadership, however, is confident this year will be different.

“The tea party movement is going to send shockwaves through the establishment not just by taking our congress back, but by taking our courts back as well,” said Jason Hoyt, whose tea party network has distributed thousands of anti-Labarga and Perry flyers in Orange county.

Organizers say the campaign is about more than retaliation against the judges. They hope to pass a similar health care amendment in the future. “Health care freedom could go to the Court again,” wrote radio show host Phil Russo, “and we want to make sure the Supreme Court doesn’t take away our voice a second time.”

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Judges undergo retention vote

Last year, President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid teamed up to pass what became known as Obamacare, against the clear will of the American people. Taking control of one-sixth of our economy was a temptation too hard to resist for the most radical leftist congress and presidential administration in our nation’s history. Only time will tell how deep and pervasive the negative consequences will be to our economy and to our freedom.

With a number of other states, Florida took decisive action to protect against this historic Federal power grab, passing a law known as the Health Care Freedom Act, which rightfully protected Floridians from the individual mandate provisions of Obamacare which require individuals and companies be taxed and/or fined for not purcahsing health insurance or purchasing what the infinitely wise government deems as the wrong insurance plans. For the first time in our lives, we are going to be taxed for breathing by a statist government whose actions betray a belief that the state owns the people and has a vested interest in regulating their health.

Fortunately, the Florida’s representatives did what they were elected to do, and that’s pose a question to the citizens. The question was a referendum on the Obama health care overhaul in the form of a proposed ballot initiative asking Floridians if we wanted to enshrine the Health Care Freedom Act on our state constitution. Florida state law gives citizens the power to decide on amendments proposed by the legislature.

Floridians were poised to follow Missouri and deliver a significant blow to the leftist march toward a single-payer health care system which we all know has worked so well in Canada and Europe. Fortunately for Obama, like so many other instances when freedom threatened to break loose, the court system intervened and saved the day. Justices Jorge Labarga and James Perry rescued Obamacare from the scrutiny and potential rebuke of an opposition amendment.

In a 5-2 decision, Labarga, Perry and three other justices showed utter contempt and disregard for the rights of Floridians to vote on amendments proposed by the legislature, decided on the matter themselves, agreeing with a handful of liberal democrats who campaigned for Obama, that the whole proposal was nothing more than Republicans trying to mislead people. If this does not constitute bad behavior, disregard for the rule of law and appropriate balance of power between branches, then these things simple don’t exist.

This November, Jorge Labarga and James Perry will be up for a merit retention vote. We believe that this decision warrants their removal Labarga and Perry for three reasons:

• Judicial Activism and Party Politics: An inconsistent ruling in favor of several plaintiffs with publicly known ties to the administration, which conveniently prevents a potential challenge to Obama’s health care plan, constitutes judicial activism and legislating from the bench, not interpreting the law in respect of the Constitution. In doing so, these Justices exhibited a callous disregard for the rights of the Legislature, as a co-equal branch of government to propose constitutional amendments, and of Floridians to vote on such proposals.
• Disenfranchised Voters: Millions of voters were disenfranchised when their constitutional right to vote on proposed amendments was taken away after four plaintiffs thought the ballot summary was “misleading.” The Court’s lack of respect for the Legislature’s role of representing the will of the people resulted in the amendment being removed from the ballot.
• Inconsistent, Arbitrary Precedent: The decision to keep Amendment 9 off the ballot was a direct reversal of the action taken by the Court in 2004, when it unanimously (joined by current Justices Lewis, Quince, and Pariente) ordered the Legislature’s proposed amendment text to be placed on the ballot in lieu of a ballot summary the Court found misleading.  By citing case law decided before the Legislature exempted itself from a ballot summary requirement in 2000, in order to justify the Court’s inability to simply place the amendment text on the ballot as it did in 2004, the Court has arbitrarily and inconsistently interpreted the law to enfranchise voters in one case and disenfranchise voters in another.

Fortunately for Floridians, citizens have recourse when their freedoms are threatened. Judges are not appointed for life. They are only allowed to maintain their positions during periods of good behavior, which is defined as consistently ruling in a way that upholds the constitution, rule of law, proper balance of powers, the net effect of which keeps us free from an unruly court system.

Any Floridian with a vested interest in their own freedom should vote no do not retain Jorge Labarga and James Perry this November.

Citizen2Citizen, partnering with the Central Florida Tea Party Council, is launching the “Restore Justice” campaign, advocating for a vote not to retain Florida Supreme Court Justices Jorge Labarga and James Perry this November, after placing politics above the law to deny Floridians of their constitutional right vote on Health Care Freedom (Amendment 9). Labarga and Perry upheld a circuit court ruling by Judge James Shelfer to remove Amendment 9 from the November ballot. As such, these justices sided with the liberal political agenda of four Florida citizens having close ties to the Obama administration who filed suit in late June, alleging that three statements (comprising a mere twenty words) in the ballot summary were misleading, to thereby disenfranchise millions of Floridians desiring to exercise their constitutional right to vote on the legislature’s proposed amendment.

Perhaps most notably, the Supreme Court disagreed with the State’s argument to simply follow its own unanimous 2004 ruling, when the Court ordered the amendment text (not containing problematic words in shorter ballot summary) of a legislatively-proposed amendment to be placed on the ballot in lieu of a ballot summary. The outcome was reached despite the fact that three current Justices joined in the unanimous 2004 decision (Pariente, Lewis and Quince). By allowing the unchallenged amendment text to be presented to voters only for proposals the Court “likes” (2004), as opposed to uniformly doing so in respect of proposals “liked” by a supermajority of their representatives, the Court is able to masquerade as a neutral arbiter merely protecting voters, when in fact they are deciding for them (“legislating from bench”).

“Such partisan politics,” says Citizen2Citizen founder Jesse Phillips, “is unbecoming of any judge especially on the Supreme Court. Their role is to interpret the law and uphold our constitutional right to vote on legislatively proposed amendments, not to defend Obama’s healthcare plan under the guise of ‘protecting’ the voters. The fact of the matter is that this amendment was voted on by a supermajority of our elected representatives to constitutionally be placed on the ballot. And yet the court arbitrarily decided to ignore the constitution and intent of the legislature, by listening to only four of our neighbors, deciding for and silencing millions of voters who suddenly can’t weigh in.”

“This is a tremendous injustice and power grab by the Court, which we have the opportunity to restore this November” added Jason Hoyt, founding member of the Central Florida Tea Party Council.

Florida state law requires that Supreme Court justices face a merit retention vote by the voters every six years, giving Floridians the opportunity to remove justices in cases of poor performance, bad behavior, inconsistent rulings, etc. The campaign believes that such overt judicial activism, usurping the constitutional amendment process by abusing its powers as a “gatekeeper” to deny citizens of their right to vote on these measures constitutes bad behavior. Such actions warrant the removal of Labarga and Perry through a “No” vote this November.

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ADDENDUM: Background Information

During the last legislative session, the Florida House passed the Health Care Freedom Act (sponsored by Rep. Scott Plakon and Sen. Carey Baker) which would have allowed Floridians to vote in November on a constitutional amendment, designed to protect individuals’ health care freedom (i.e. right to purchase/not purchase health insurance/services w/out being subject to tax/penalty/fine) against individual mandates, whether federal (Obamacare) or state (MA) in origin. Had 60% of voters supported the measure, it would have been enshrined as a fundamental right under Article I (Declaration of Rights) of the State Constitution. An August vote in Missouri, in which a comparable statutory measure was approved by more than 71% of voters, in addition to other preliminary polling, indicated an exceptionally strong possibility of successful passage in Florida.

The amendment was challenged by four individuals who claimed that the ballot summary language was misleading, yet continued to fight for removal even after proponents offered to place the unchallenged amendment text (not containing the three problematic statements) on the ballot. These plaintiffs each had close ties with the Obama administration and other radical leftists groups, including:

• Attorney Mark Herron: most notable for helping the Democrats systematically target the legality of military ballots in 2000. He also formed a “Liberty and Justice for All” ECO political slush fund best known for representing public officials accused of ethical violations.
• Dr. Mona Mangat: a regional director for Doctors for America, an off-shoot of Organizing for America, part of the Democratic National Committee which helped Obama get elected.
• Diana Demerest: a self-proclaimed “unabashed progressive Democrat” and former Secretary to the Palm Beach County Democratic Party.
• Louisa McQueeney: a volunteer and supporter for MoveOn.org, George Soros’ brainchild and beneficiary, the SEIU, the volatile group which physically attacked Tea Party members, Amnesty International, which opposes traditional marriage and the National Partnership for Women and Families, which advocates federally-funded abortion.

Instead of allowing Floridians to decide for themselves, the judicial branch has decided for them, in derogation of the rights of millions seeking to cast their vote on this important issue, and in support of the liberal agenda of these four citizens.

The Florida Medical Association, National Federation of Independent Business, and many other industry leaders endorsed the amendment. “It is unfortunate that the court’s opinion prevents Floridians from voting on an amendment that would give patients the right to choose their own health care plan,” FMA Executive Vice President Tim Stapleton said in a statement.

AG McCollum Defends Floridians’ Right to Preserve Healthcare Freedom in Florida Constitution

(Orlando, FL – June 29, 2010)—The YES ON 9 Campaign applauded Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today for his decision to defend the Amendment against a lawsuit that attempts to block it from the November ballot. Amendment 9 seeks to protect Floridians’ right to choose their own healthcare by placing that right in the state’s Constitution.

“Florida’s Constitution is a sacred document that outlines the liberties, freedoms, and fundamental rights of Floridians,” said Rep. Scott Plakon (R-Longwood.) “By defending the right of voters to place healthcare freedom in the Constitution, Attorney General McCollum is upholding a right that Floridians and people across the nation continue to demand in the face of big-government mandates.”

Amendment 9, which has already been vetted by the Florida House and Senate and approved for the ballot according to Article XI and statutory procedure, unequivocally states that no government can mandate a Floridian’s participation in a government healthcare scheme against his or her will. Under the leadership of Sen. Carey Baker (R-Eustis) and Rep. Plakon, the Florida Legislature approved the amendment and it now has over 4,000 citizen co-sponsors.

“Amendment 9 has already won broad-based support across Florida, reflecting the people’s deep distrust of the federal government’s healthcare plan,” said Sen. Baker. “Small businesses, grassroots volunteers, medical professionals, and everyday Floridians continue to express their support for healthcare freedom, and we are grateful for Attorney General McCollum’s efforts to ensure that they will have the opportunity to preserve this fundamental right in our Constitution.”

Attorney Mark Herron and Democrat operatives with ties to Organizing for America, MoveOn.org, and other liberal special interest groups filed the lawsuit in Friday. Visit the YES ON 9 Campaign at www.FLHealthcareFreedom.org for additional information.

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Protect our health care freedom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2010

Contact: Erin VanSickle
erin@flhealthcarefreedom.com

(Orlando, FL – June 18, 2010) The YES ON 9 Campaign announced today that it is launching a statewide campaign to educate voters on and promote passage of Amendment 9, the Healthcare Freedom Act. The amendment, sponsored by Senator Carey Baker (R-Eustis) and Representative Scott Plakon (R-Longwood) will appear on the November ballot and seeks to protect Floridians’ right to choose their own healthcare instead of being forced into a government mandate.

“Amendment 9 will protect Floridians from a Massachusetts-style design that forces them to participate in a healthcare plan under the threat of penalties and heavy fines,” said Senator Baker. “Our goal is to educate voters about what could happen to them without the protections that Amendment 9 would put in place.”

Amendment 9, which will appear on the November 2010 ballot, unequivocally states that no government can mandate a Floridian’s participation in a government healthcare scheme against his or her will. Under the leadership of Sen. Baker and Rep. Plakon, the Florida Legislature approved the amendment and over 4,000 citizens have signed on as co-sponsors. The Yes On 9 website, FLHealthcareFreedom.com, will serve as a web portal to keep voters informed and engaged, as well as providing up-to-the-minute information on town hall events and activities across the state.

“We agree with the need for meaningful health care reform, but not on the backs of Florida taxpayers, and not at the expense of one of our most fundamental liberties,” concluded Representative Plakon. “The people of Florida deserve the right to decide the amount and kind of health care they want. YES ON 9 will ensure that this right is protected and that bureaucrats won’t come between patients and their doctors.” Visit www.FLHealthcareFreedom.com.

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