Editor, The News:

It was a pleasure meeting the many fine folks here in the county during the Valentine’s Day Parade this past weekend. Many people came up to the Republican float and gave us the thumbs-up and expressed their good thoughts on our theme this year: "The Wakulla Republican Party Supports  Local Businesses."

As our float moved past Hudson Park, I heard the announcer state, for the second year in a row, “And here is the Wakulla Republican float, if you were ever wondering if we even have a Republican Party” – or something to that effect. Well, this year I did get the opportunity to reply as I was handed the microphone and said as clearly, concisely and as proudly as I could: “This is THE Wakulla County Republican Party."

How is this year different? Let me start by saying that just a few days prior to the parade, the Republican Party Executive Committee voted in more Republican precinct committeemen and committeewomen than ever before in county history; a sitting Democratic county commissioner switched parties and is now a Republican; our local fundraisers are very successful, and we have the most dedicated committeemen and committeewomen you can find.

The local party has a vision and a message that supports local business and responsible growth here in the county. We realize that big government programs and tax-and-spend philosophies are not just a Washington phenomenon but those tendencies flow down to local government as well. The message and decisions from Washington affect decisions made here locally in Wakulla County.

The voting populace is more involved now and will not stand for business as usual. Look at what happened in Massachusetts recently, and look at what is happening all across the country: People are fed up with big government trying to run our daily lives and spending our tax dollars on large programs we don’t want,

It is my opinion that the current administration has spent the past few months trying to ram a massive healthcare bill down our throats while our unemployment numbers are skyrocketing. We need jobs – not another government-run program. We do not need to spend millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money defending terrorists. We need promises kept, not more lip service.

Locally, we need to protect and support our local businesses. We need to be more involved in local government decisions. We need to aggressively look for and promote free enterprise and responsible growth. We must protect our environment responsibly while pursuing these ideals.

The change you see, and that some of you currently feel, is not the change we were promised during the last presidential election. The change in the air today is like a personal wake-up call to get involved, to understand the rules of government, to participate in the process, and to help turn this country back to the foundation that made our families proud to be Americans. Get involved. Now is the time!

Gordon McCleary

Chairman, Wakulla County Republican Party