Introduction to the series from Lucie Lapovsky, President of the Longboat Key Democratic Club

 

It’s a pleasure to see all of you at the LBK Democratic Club’s first zoom program of the season: Strategies to Preserve, Protect and Defend our Democracy; How We Fight Back Now and a Road to Victory in 2026 and 2028. 

 

Chaos and inconsistency continue to characterize our national policies.

 

As attacks on anything to do with DEI continue, our State Department welcomed a group of White Afrikaners from South Africa to Washington yesterday. It looks to me as we are heading back to a society which is dominated by white men.

 

Our colleges and universities, which have been known as the best in the world and are a significant driver of knowledge creation and of opportunity, continue to be under huge attack as the government has frozen research grants and is investigating most things our colleges are doing ranging from their hiring policies to their curriculum to their library collections. And I haven’t even mentioned our everchanging tariff rates and economic policies which are causing mass confusion in the marketplace.

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But even more important than the many policies which we view as heinous and the inconsistency of our policies today, is what is happening to the moral fabric of our country. We are being governed by an autocrat who is trying to take away the rights given to Americans by the Constitution. 

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Now, on a happier note, it looks as if the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee will remain part of the USF system; that the Ringling Museum will remain a part of Florida State University and that the partnership between the Asolo Theatre and the graduate MFA program at Florida State will continue

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The Governor had suggested moving all of this under New College of Florida but I’m very pleased that our legislators listened to us and supported the maintenance of the status quo to preserve these outstanding institutions.

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This is an example of where the people’s voices were heard and where Democrats and Republicans worked together to protect some of our most valued institutions. Let’s hope we will be able to continue to work together in the future on important local issues such as the Hospital Board and the School Board.

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Thank you everyone.  I look forward to welcoming you to the remainder of our programs.