Many say that the answer is to "throw them all out." And in some ways I can't help but to agree, because many of our elected officials, especially the "career politicians," have governed and conducted themselves as if they are aristocrats, a ruling family if you will. They legislate, conduct business, and go about their duties, putting their personal agendas and the agenda of the party ahead of their constituents.  And when it comes to keeping the promises they have made or responding to the needs of the people that have elected them, they have a let them eat cake attitude.  Except, of course, during election season - then we become extremely important and the politicians have nothing but listening ears and deep concern for our needs.  "Throwing them all out" is, in my opinion, not the answer.  Certainly throwing many of them out is not a bad idea, and probably needs to be done. But we must remember that we tried electing an unknown novice as president in the last election, and look where that got us. 

     It is not the political affiliation, the experience, the ability to speak eloquently, or the charisma of the candidate that is important.  What is important, in my opinion, are candidates' core values.  Do they conduct their lives as they say they do?  If they say they believe in small business, what have they done to prove it?  Do they talk specifically about constituents and their issues, or about the party and what is good for the party?  In other words, does the walk match the talk?  A person will always follow his or her core values, and that includes politicians.  We see it every day in the White House and in Florida's governor's mansion: a person who campaigned as one person and governed as another. 

     Get to know the candidates, ask them tough questions, and let them know you will remind them of the way they voted.  Let them know you don't care about the good of the party - you care about the good of the people and the good of our nation.

Edward R. Murrow said, "A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves."

     A prime example of someone following core values is a person in central Florida running for re-election in November who campaigns and conducts herself as a conservative who strongly supports our industry and small business.  That candidate is fortunate enough to be in a race with little opposition, but continues to go door-to-door promoting herself and educating voters on the perils of Amendment 4 and the potential of the amendment to destroy jobs and our economy. Now that is a politician that exhibits her core values.  Amendment 4 has nothing to do with whether or not she will be elected, but her core values tell her she must oppose it because she believes in...supporting business and, in particular, small business and the construction industry.  FICAP did support this candidate and others like her with donations to their campaigns.

     As all of you know by now, our industry and our economy stand to suffer greatly if the ill-conceived Amendment 4 is passed in November.  There is no grass-roots effort that backs Amendment 4.  It is simply the personal agenda of two wealthy attorneys who had enough time and money to buy, yes buy, enough signatures to get an amendment on the ballot.  A look at their website shows they have a few environmental groups and property owners' associations that support them, and few, if any, legitimate business organizations.  When a couple of people can finance enough professional signature gatherers to get an amendment on the ballot to possibly change the constitution of the State of Florida, the system is seriously flawed.  Just one man's opinion...

     We as FICAP entered the battle against Amendment 4 before most people had even heard about it.  We have not wavered in our efforts to defeat this amendment.  Now is the time to fight more strongly.  The opposition has recently obtained funds from an out-of-state organization to help their cause.  November is just around the corner and people are becoming more attuned to the election.  No amount of effort after the election will help our cause.  WE MUST DO ALL WE CAN NOW.  The great Michael Jordan once said, "I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying."  If you have not done all you can to spread the word about Amendment 4, please start today.  Your career may depend upon it.

     Our industry is hurting, our economy is suffering, our government in many ways is broken, and the battle continues to rage on as we try to conduct our businesses in order to try to squeeze out a profit or, in some cases, to simply survive.  FICAPers are a unique and strong group of independent businesses owned by Americans who have the core values to survive even the toughest of times. 

"The man who wins may have been counted out several times, but he did not hear the referee." Anonymous

     Many of us may be "counted out" by others as we struggle through this time, but we know we aren't out because we are not quitters - we are survivors.  A Southern cliché that I have heard all of my life about a person who keeps fighting adversity says, "That boy hasn't got a lot of quit in him."  As I go to our monthly meetings and talk to members, that always comes to my mind - we are a great group of people with a strong work ethic, and there is not a lot of quit in us.