Kendrick Meek ... weak in FL Senate race? Pam Iorio strong? And more ...

Goodnes. What Can I Say? (0.00 / 0)

Sigh.

You should have stopped after the sentence "With the election 22 months away this poll means very little."

It is precisely this type of absolutely silly celebrity style horse race reporting I have been trying to move the Florida blogosphere away from.

The other thing I have been pushing is TRANSPARENCY in political advocacy. You can find me on Facebook by searching for Michael Tally Murphree.

On Daily Kos, some of the Frontpagers have started using their real names. They did this because they wanted to be taken seriously.

I want everyone who blogs here in Florida to think about that last statement. Do you want to be taken seriously? I sure as hell do.

When I went to the FriedGator blog I couldn't find any identification of the author(s).

You have a lot of interesting blog posts over at FriedGator. Why did you pick this particular one to post here? Why did you choose that particular title? Etc., etc.

If we know who you are we don't have to speculate about motives.

I do want to compliment you on the quality of the layout and the clever choice of photos to send subliminal messages. You obviously have talent.

Now, I can hear in my head my dear wife's influence telling me I should have complimented you first before I criticized you. (She herself would never say that to me. This is my own judgmentalism talking).

Don't you just hate it when everything you do is another personal growth opportunity?

Any way, take care. Have fun.

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by: Tally @ Sun Feb 15, 2009 at 10:42:15 AM CST

I posted it here with that title, (4.00 / 1)

because of you. With an entire diary section favoring one candidate over the other -- I thought it was time to balance things out a bit. I thought that was clear. I wanted your response. Which was all about me -- not about Kendrick meek, Dan Gelber, Pam Iorio, or even Connie Mack.

 As for being anonymous -- I have to be. Sometimes people write anonymously to keep from getting retribution from the restof their life. Sometimes people do it to get attention. Sometimes its both. I live in Florida -- but I don't work in the Florida political field. If that means you focus on who I am-- instead what I write, oh well, other people see past it. But I am just following in a long tradition of anonymous political wirting.

As for the Senate race, heres the deal: people are getting behind the person who polls worst in this race right now. 22 months out that could mean nothing -- but clearing the field for him is jst as dumb as counting him out. I think we should wait a bit before declaring Dan dead, Pam lame, Kevin too small, or Ron out of the race. We have some good Democrats in Florida -- Kendrick isn't the only one. Add to that I personally think he's a bad statewide candidate. That is why I wrote the piece.

I also wrote the piece to point out to the world Charlie is more vunerable than people think -- but no one seems to want to say that anonymous or not.

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by: FriedGatorBlog @ Mon Feb 16, 2009 at 11:43:26 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Thank you for your honesty. (0.00 / 0)

I appreciate that.

Many people would have said that Hillary Clinton was the stronger statewide candidate. But that was proved to be moot when Obama took the state.

We mustn't operate from fear. We need to believe that people can rise to the occasion as they did in the 2008 election.

It is our job as progressives to help that happen, not to pander to people's worst instincts.

I mean, are we supposed to support Blue Dog Allen Boyd against Al Lawson, or are we supposed to sign up for Al's campaign and work our butts off to make sure Boyd spends more time with his family?

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by: Tally @ Mon Feb 16, 2009 at 12:43:19 PM CST

[ Parent ]

No ... (4.00 / 1)

Were not supposed to assume that Lawson, who almost endorsed Crist is that much more Progressive than Boyd. Things are not always black and white as some people see them.

Were not supposed to try and force other people out of the race and paint people who are progressives as "Joe Leiberman" Is Kevin Burns not a progressive? Is Dan Gelber? Some people think Kendrick Meek isn't. We need to have a discussion as Democrats and not try and shut it down.

I am glad we had a primary in the Presidential race, and I agree we shouldn't operate form fear: and is why we should have a primary in the Florida Senate race too.

 

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by: FriedGatorBlog @ Mon Feb 16, 2009 at 14:16:08 PM CST

[ Parent ]

First we need to know what "Progressive" means. (0.00 / 0)

Dan just spoke at the Florida Mainstream Dems, a DLC style organization. Do you know what either organization stands for?

Have you read their defining documents? Do you agree with them?

I've posted what I think the tenets of The New Political Paradigm are.

Does either candidate support them by their actions? I doubt it.

I intend to discuss this in reference to Rep. Meek. Are you willing to discuss it in reference to St. Sen. Gelber?

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by: Tally @ Tue Feb 17, 2009 at 12:37:25 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I heard that Kendrick Meek (4.00 / 1)

was there too and spoke. So were leaders of DFA organizations, DECs, and tons of others. I heard it was a good meeting, wether you are moderate or liberal.

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by: FriedGatorBlog @ Tue Feb 17, 2009 at 13:10:37 PM CST

[ Parent ]

You know what? (0.00 / 0)

You're right, I'm being pissy. I apologize.

Hell, Pam Iorio will probably get in the race and beat them both.

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by: Tally @ Tue Feb 17, 2009 at 17:25:28 PM CST

Tally - On Transparency (0.00 / 0)

First off, I want to tell you how much I appreciate your activism and the passion that you display with each post.

However, I feel the need to respond to your call for transparency among bloggers. While I agree that posting under one's real name adds an extra aura of credibility, the way you present it is, imo, too black and white. So, allow me to provide some additional context to fill in the grey.

You say:

On Daily Kos, some of the Frontpagers have started using their real names. They did this because they wanted to be taken seriously.

That may be true, but it is also true that the Frontpagers are employees of Kos Media, LLC.  Working for a media entity as a writer with the protections that provides is not the same thing as a private citizen running a personal blog.

Daily Kos also provides an example as to why some choose to post using a screenname, rather than their real name. Take the case droogie, for example, who wrote something that miffed the Associated Press. The AP outed him at his place of work as a blogger, putting his very livelyhood in danger.

The lesson to be learned,is that even those of us who are "anonymous" can be tracked down. So, for those of you posting who have concerns over privacy, be careful about providing any personal info on your accounts. In fact, I'd recommend having a different screenname for what you post politically versus place you post just for fun.

That said, if you have the luxury of being able to post under your real name. Go for it. I applaud you.

Whether a person is named or unnamed doesn't make their words any more or any less valid -- but rather the quality of the content in their writing.

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by: meowmissy @ Sat Feb 21, 2009 at 08:08:04 AM CST

You are right.. (0.00 / 0)

Prior to my retirement I would not have had the luxury to do what I'm doing. In some cases in the past I was too strident about criticizing people about openness.

Also, if you write quality material then it will make some difference.

But, if people can use their real names, they should.

Openness is better. That's what Facebook is about. What really matters in the end is not blogging in our homes but meeting real people out in the world.

What wins elections is knocking on doors, not typing.

Now, if by typing you can inspire more people to knock on doors, go for it.

How about we all agree on "different strokes for different folks."

Have fun, good to hear from you.

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by: Tally @ Sat Feb 21, 2009 at 12:42:14 PM CST