Below is a great video from Citizenlink about congressman Daniel Webster who is pictured above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiwWbnvA-3o
John Stemberger is President
of the Florida
Family Policy Council and wrote this article.
If there is one man who can fundamentally reform the way
the United States Congress does business, it is Dan Webster. Why? For the
simple reason that we saw him do it in Florida. I have personally observed him
in his role as a public servant for 32 years.
Before serving in Washington, D.C., Dan Webster served in
the Florida Legislature for 28 years. He was in the Florida House of
Representatives for 18 years and appointed by his colleagues to be Speaker. He
later served in the Florida Senate for 10 years, culminating as the Senate
Majority Leader, the second most powerful position in that chamber.
In 2008, after 28 years of service, Webster returned to
his private life as the owner of a small family-owned air conditioning
business, the same man he was when he entered politics almost three decades
before. Webster has not only shown strong leadership and integrity in politics
and business, he also continues to demonstrate a deep commitment to his wife,
family, and faith—and none of this changed during the time he served.
During his time in the Florida Legislature, Webster
championed legislation protecting the right of parents to educate their
children at home before homeschooling was common practice. In doing so, he
helped facilitate the robust homeschool movement thriving in Florida today.
Dan and his wife Sandy homeschooled their own children,
and while he was serving in the Florida Legislature often brought the whole
family to the state capitol. When he was not on the floor of the House, he was
often found in his office helping his wife Sandy instruct his children and
taking an active part in their education.
For many years, I have referred to
Webster as the Abraham Lincoln of Florida. Not because of his views on
federalism, but because of his reputation for simple honesty, integrity and
fairness serving the state of Florida.
Dan
Webster’s quiet but principled leadership made such a lasting impact on the way
Florida does government, that our organization, the Florida Family Policy
Council, named our Lifetime Achievement Award after him. The Daniel Webster
Lifetime Achievement Award has been given to those who have dedicated their
lives to advance principled public policy in the areas of life, marriage and
family.
When Dan
Webster became Speaker of the Florida House, he totally dismantled the way the
government did business. He began by conducting a nationwide search for
conservative staffers to surround himself with. He then asked House committee
staff where they would like to serve and allowed them to flourish where their
passions and expertise were. Most importantly, he instituted a principle-based
system rather than a power-based system to run the legislature.
The five
principles that governed the Florida House under Webster’s leadership were:
·
Personal Responsibility
·
Empowering the Family
·
Lower Taxes
·
Less Government
·
More Individual Freedom
It did
not matter whether someone was a brand-new legislator or a veteran member, how
much lobbying money or influence a bill had behind it, or whether a bill idea
was sponsored by a Democrat or a Republican.
The only
thing that mattered under the new system was whether or not a bill furthered
the five First Principles. If it did, the bill was given a fair hearing. If it
did not, it would likely never be brought up for discussion.
Under
Dan Webster’s leadership, the committee staff carefully analyzed every bill
brought before the legislature not just as to economic impact but also to its
impact on the families of our state.
Webster
also ensured that all House business ended by 6pm every night so that all
members remained clear minded and sober (literally) when evaluating proposed
bills and legislation.
A strong
pro-lifer, during the Terri Schiavo controversy in Florida, as a state senator,
he sponsored the legislation that saved Terri’s Schiavo’s life for ten months.
Webster
has repeatedly proven his willingness to make the hard choices needed to turn
broken systems around.
In
Congress, he openly opposed John Boehner for House Speaker in January 2015,
months before it was popular. As a consequence, Boehner punished him for his
stance and stripped him of his seat on the powerful Rules Committee. Boehner’s
actions demonstrated a petty tactic commonly used by leadership to control members,
which is exactly part of the problem.
One of
Dan’s first goals after being elected to Congress was to meet personally with
and pray with several members of Congress for them and their families whom he
had never met before. Even Democratic leadership, who disagree with Dan’s
political views, say he is “fair and open.” In short, Webster is the real deal.
Some
argue Webster is not “dynamic” enough as a communicator to be Speaker of the
House. I disagree. The problem with the past leadership in Congress was not a
lack of personality or persuasiveness on Fox News. The problem was the lack of
courage and conviction which is typical of most politicians who are governed
more by power, profit and polls instead of principle and good public policy.
Webster
is not a slick politician. He is a wise and principled man who has held the
line and resisted being corrupted by lobbyists and the ways of this world for
over three decades of public service. And this is precisely why Dan Webster is
the one man who can reform Congress and fundamentally change the way government
works in Washington, DC.
No, to Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House, watch the John Birch video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU3rojDAZto
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