Embracing Democracy with Open Minds and Open Hearts

Attend Franklin County’s Dining with Democrats

You’re invited to attend Dining with Democrats on Thursday, May 11, at 6 pm at Joe’s Pizza, 130 Scruggs Road in Westlake. This is a monthly event held by the Franklin County Democratic Committee for its members. Jane Winters, executive director of Lake Christian Ministries (LCM), will speak about LCM. The nonprofit organization has served our neighbors in Bedford, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties since 1992 by providing food, clothing, household items, crisis financial aid, referrals and job assistance to those in need. We will also provide additional information about our upcoming Nominating Caucus scheduled for June 3, during which we will choose a candidate for the Senate in Virginia’s 7th District. The General Election this fall will determine control over the state legislature and is very important for Democrats to maintain and enhance rights of Virginia’s citizens.

What Do Democrats Stand For?

“Demoicrats believe that the economy should work for everyone, healthcare is a right, our diversity is our strength, and democracy is worth defending.” From democrats.org.

Democrats Make Progress on Many Fronts

Good things happen when Democrats are in charge! Democrats are committed to and engaged in the serious business of governing our country. When they are in charge, good things happen for the American people. Here’s a list of accomplishments over the past two years.

The big accomplishments include The Inflation Reduction Act, The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, The CHIPs and Science Act, The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, The American Rescue Plan, and The Respect for Marriage Act, to name a few.

What Will Republicans Do Now?

Democratic accomplishments in Virginia prior to the leadership of Gov. Youngkin included a booming economy, record low unemployment, the best state for business two years running, historic investments in public education, expanding health care to more than 600,000 Virginians, raising the minimum wage, and a host of progressive reforms and investments that have elevated Virginia as a leader in the South and across the nation, according to Susan Swecker, Chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Things have changed under the leadership of Gov. Glenn Youngkin. And unlike Democrats, the national Republican party’s published agenda is focused on continuing to create fear, anger and chaos. The GOP published a summary of its proposed rules in 118th Congress House Rules Package. (A more detailed explanation of the rules package is outlined in Forbes: Here’s What Republicans Plan To Do As They Retake The House — Including Investigating The DOJ And Gutting The Ethics Office.)

• Note that not one of the House Republicans worked on the funding bill to keep the government running through September 2023. It was, however, a compromise in the Senate, where the bill was hammered out.
• The next pandemic response will be worse if a Republican presidential candidate is elected after running on an “anti-vaccine” platform. (Per Robert Hubbell: The House Intelligence Committee issued a report that concludes Trump failed to communicate the urgency and severity of the Covid threat as reported to him by the intelligence community. See WaPo, Trump downplayed drumbeat of intelligence warnings on Covid, report finds.)
• Ronna McDaniel, Chair of the Republican Committee, said that the top priority of Republicans in the new congressional term is “getting to the bottom of Hunter Biden’s laptop.” And Republicans kicked off their leadership this week by announcing investigations of investigators.
• And there’s more to come, now that Kevin McCarthy has finally been elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. We don’t yet know all the compromises he made to finally get there, but we do know Republican extremists will be pulling the strings.

Threatening a) the rule of law (interfering
with criminal investigations), b) the full faith
and credit of the U.S. (debt ceiling), c)
standing with allies fighting aggressive
dictators…the House GOP rules package
really does its best to damage the nation.

Never-Trump Republican Bill Kristol

Be Heard and Make a Difference

If you want to take action, check out our Armchair Activist page. We’ll tell you about local, state and possibly national issues where your voice should be heard. By participating in the discussion, we can influence the direction of our government, even when Democrats are not in power. Together we are strong!

Join Us

SML Democrats is open to all people of voting age who live in the three counties surrounding Smith Mountain Lake: Bedford, Franklin and Pittsylvania. Some members have property at the lake, but maintain permanent residences elsewhere.

Our club is active and you’ll find many ways to participate. You can join a committee, attend monthly meetings and social events, or help at election time, which is every year in Virginia. We look forward to welcoming you!

Learn more in our Members section.

Support Us

Help support local Democratic activities by making a donation to our club.
You can also pay membership dues, support annual fundraising and pay for special events online.

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