Dan Webster
Dan Webster
Daniel Alan Websteris an American politician who has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 2011. Webster, a Republican from Florida, initially represented Florida's 8th congressional district; since 2013, his district has been numbered the 10th district, located in the central part of the state. Previously, Webster served 28 years in the Florida state legislature...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth27 April 1949
CountryUnited States of America
As a former minority leader who became the first Republican Speaker of the House in Florida since Reconstruction, I know that leadership is not an easy task.
We passed a bill in 1997, signed by Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles, which created a pilot program for a novel experiment called Florida Virtual School. The notion of children using a computer for a classroom and reporting to virtual teachers wasn't exactly mainstream thinking in those days.
The true value of having Florida Virtual School in this mix is that it creates a gold standard for all providers to meet if they hope to compete for Florida students. This program raises the bar for everybody, even the traditional public schools. And that benefits all our children.
I changed that system in Florida when I was the Speaker of the House - I was the Minority Leader; I saw for 16 years the way a power system works.
I'm not an angry kind of person. What I am is a principled person.
I'm going to be as sincere as I can in delivering the message I think is right. If people agree, great, and if they don't, I did my best.
I have one desire: That is to have a principle-based, member-driven Congress. Period. That's what I want.
I never talk about my opponent because I don't think it's my right to judge.
I'm the only person that has ever run a principle-based legislative body.
Nothing happens in any legislative body that's not purposeful.
It's different from Washington in that in the legislature, you have to go home and have a job and actually make a living on your own. That gives you a different perspective.
The voters in District 8 shared our vision that Washington is broken, and we're going to go up there and fix it.
The principle is that every member needs to represent their district.
What really promotes business in this country is liberty, not demand for information.