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

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.

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.

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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Vote Yes on 9!

I am happy to announce that the Florida Health Care Freedom Act, which recently passed the Florida legislature, will be placed on the November ballot as Amendment 9. If 60% of Floridians vote Yes on 9 in November, we will take a giant step toward protecting against the enforcement of Obamacare in Florida.

I’m also pleased to announce that Citizen2Citizen will be coordinating with Liberty 4 Florida to work toward getting this amendment passed. I am a county chairman for the statewide effort, and am calling on all of Citizen2Citizen to volunteer to help out with this endeavor.

Some of you have already volunteered. I will be in touch with you shortly. If you have not volunteered, pleased visit the Florida Freedom Project volunteer page. Our goal is to have 100 volunteers in Orange and Seminole counties. If you are in another county, please contact me and I will put you in touch with activities in your county.

If you are on Facebook, please join the Florida Freedom Project group and share it with all of your friends to help us spread the word and recruit volunteers.

Thank you,
Jesse Phillips
Citizen2Citizen, Founder

Thank you!

Here’s a general principal: it’s much easier to be vocal when you’re angry than when you’re grateful. We got the Florida Health Care Freedom bills on the ballot by relentlessly pounding our representatives doors telling them to vote for it.

Now they have voted for it, and I don’t think we should shut up just yet. Since they did what we asked, I believe they deserve our gratitude. If we express thanks to them for listening to our desires now, then it could also help them listen again the next time we need to get their attention.

We are working on plans to help get the word out to voters this November. But step one of the Florida Freedom Project (which you can voluteer for here) is to thank the elected officials who voted to put this on the ballot.

There are two ways you can do this:

1. Download the list and email them yourself: I have two lists. You can download the lists (list option one here, list option two here), copy in the email addresses and send them a note. Both of these lists contain the same addresses, they’re just formatted different ways depending on your email program.

NOTE: You might want to send two emails with 36 recepients on each instead of emailing the whole group to avoid spamming controls.

Please SHARE THIS PAGE and send these lists on to others to spread the word of gratitude.

2. Add your name to my email: I will be emailing on behalf of the 150+ members of this Citizen2Citizen group. I’m going to send this email on Monday. If you’d want your name explicitly added to the signature (and not just implied as a C2C list member), then click this link and fill in your name to send me a quick email and I’ll get your name in there.

Note: if the link doesn’t work just send an email to me@jessephillips.net with your name and I’ll sign you on.

Thanks,
Jesse Phillips
Citizen2Citizen

“WASHINGTON, April 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Today, Florida’s Health Care Freedom Act (HJR 37/SJR 72), sponsored by Florida Representative Scott Plakon and Florida Senator Carey Baker, passed the House and Senate and will appear on the November ballot. The legislation is now introduced or announced in 42 states” (From PR Newswire).

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: We have much more work ahead of us to get this passed by voters in November. The Florida Freedom Project is being assembled to help coordinate this effort. If you haven’t joined the Florida Freedom Project volunteer group, you can do so here. If you’ve already volunteered for the project, I will be emailing you soon with some ways we can help prepare for our fight this fall.

Hello all:

I sent you a viewing-download link to the images from yesterday’s health care protest rally. We may indeed lose today’s battle but I’m confident we’ll win the war.  The “Democratic” values of modern liberals are not the values of classic liberalism (this is not your father’s Democratic Party!) and and certainly not the values of a majority of Americans.  It’s going to be an uphill fight to November.

The Founding Fathers did their work.  Today, it’s time for us, the Defending Fathers to do ours.  Restraint of government is the true liberty of the people!

Our strategy is straightforward: 1.  Resist from the beginning.  2. Never, ever quit.  3.   Know that in war there is no substitute for victory.

The battle is just beginning.  “Repeal and replace” may become our new battle cry.

Blessings,
Mark Bernhardt, Photographer

Find more photos like this on Citizen2Citizen