The St. Petersburg Times editorial calling for an IRS investigation of the credit card usage by the big shots at the RPOF changes what was an interesting and juicy story to a downright serious matter. Now the Democrats can look for the same kind of microscope analysis of their party's credit card spending. The Democrats have just aired a clever new ad describing former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio's (R., Miami) spending with his RPOF credit card as "priceless."
This Blogger had previously speculated on my ABC News TV Political Commentary that the PSC and Sansom scandals might very well drive the upcoming Session of the Florida Legislature to delve into ethics reform. Now, because of CARDGATE in Florida, it is a certainity.
I've been enjoying the antics of the few Democrats in congress who seem to have guts. The Democrat firebrands as some are calling them are good theatre and give an impression of passionate advocates and people who aren't afraid. I'm wondering whether the theatrics are useful on the whole.
To some degree these theatrics seem like the kind of thing that get us into trouble. We don't do them as well as Republicans and don't have the discipline not to make a misstep. Sooner or later I fear we might get hoist on our own petard. Are we playing with fire?
I also find that in an era of massive unemployment, the impression that we're "playing" at finding a solution may be counterproductive. For a guy who's been looking for a job for 8 months, too much partisanship may eventually wash us with the same stink as the other side. The Republicans are good at playing partisan politics, I wonder if we need to rise above it. It will hurt in the short term, but it may be the ticket in the long term.
Right now I think people are tired of flash. I'm hoping we're seeing a return to real work, instead of investment bankers stealing money and everyone hoping to get rich flipping houses or day trading. Even if it works in the short term, I'm not sure this kind of rhetoric reflects the eventual outcomes we'd like to see.
Historically there have been a lot of "thanks but no thanks" moments in the plights of various groups. I remember distinctly in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Al Qaeda trying to make some tenuous links to helping the Palestinian people. The Palestinians of course immediately distanced themselves from these offers of help, "Thanks but no thanks." There was nothing to be gained from the "support" of madmen, so they of course didn't accept their token of support.
Similarly in the 90's I always remembered thinking that Rush Limbaugh was the best thing to ever happen to the Democratic party. I felt like there were a lot of people who listened to his show and thought to myself "I don't agree with that, I must not be a Republican." His vitriol wasn't helping anyone but his pocketbook and of course the situation now is even more bizarre.
As a progressive I have a lot of people where I don't want their help either. As usual these people tend to occupy the fringe and worry about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. I was reading today about a British MP complaining that Disney didn't have a disabled princess yet. Honestly I think that would be great, but I don't think we need to be concerned about things like that when we just got our first black princess.
Ultimately I feel like the extreme left doesn't see the forest for the trees. I constantly feel like I'm trying to promote an agenda that can be swallowed by a country that's leery of my beliefs to begin with, and I'd appreciate it if they didn't periodically decide to "help out," with suggestions that undermine any chance of consensus. I'm as progressive as the next guy, but I'd like to see some progress in my progressiveness.
Seems that just when the Rs thought they were swinging back into gear, they are again grinding to a halt. McCollum cannot be happy that his entire support organization is going to be wrapped up with a civil war until February, and even then the party players will be politicking more for next year than they will for him.
The mid-term elections, since the President's historic win last year, occur in 2010. As typical of most elections, some surprises occurred in 2008--notably, Democrats elected from districts where the voters also preferred Barack Obama's opponent, Senator John McCain (R., AZ). Lumping first and second term members together, the total number falling in this category is approximately 50 members of the U.S. Houseof Representatives. Now the question is 'who brought them to the dance?' Said differently, one of the following probably apply to the 50:
1. They won their seats based upon their original conservative and perceived independent campaigns, and they created a comfortable distance from the Obama Campaign.
2. Their opponents were vulnerable and probably too tied to the unpopular President George Bush. However, their electorate supported the Republican nominee, thinking Senator McCain was sufficiently different from President Bush.
3. These districts had unusually discriminating voters.
What ever the reason, these 50 folks have problems now, and they are creating additional problems for their Democratic President. The Republicans are obviously targeting them, and the Administration cannot necessarily count on them on make or break votes on health care, energy and financial services reform, among many others. Also, keep in mind, historically the majority party usually loses seats in a mid-term election like this.
The outcome of these 50 House races may very well dictate the success or failure of this historic President's first term.
As a result of the media evolution, those who have ready access to mainstream media have shifted the balance of political power away from the Voters towards entities who have the ability and money to drive and influence national conversations towards their point of view.
This very public access creates instant attrition to any Election result, as the winning Politician breaths a sigh of relief from the Voters and then begins facing anywhere from 730 to as many as 2192 days where Lobbyists and Media attention comprise their worst fears for no less than two years without end.
Today our news comes in undending fashion, 24/7 relentlessly requiring something either new and different from all sources.
This 24/7 society has led to the weakening of the Voter's Election Day power, rendering decisions made on election day that direct their Officials to do their bidding or else, be fired at the next election.
Voters now have one day that their Representatives must either respect or fear, namely Election day.
All other days belong to whomever can afford to relentlessly pound their messages into the consciousness of the Nation, all it takes is the money, and a strategy that feeds the media culture by providing "intellectual" analysis from Institutions set up to advance a philosophy, usually conservative, generally from a think Tank with a name that is designed to multiply it's authority.
Think about the disparity between "endless 24/7" and elections conducted every two, four, or six, years.
For every Congressional election there are a minimum of 730 24/7 cycles that 435 members of Congress can be subjected to the infamy that comes from being publicly excoriated by the political power of money, legally screaming loudly from any media outfit that lives off of Advertising revenue.
Presidents have a minimum of 1461 of those daily news cycles per Election.
Senators face the electorate at a rate of once every 2191-2 of those 24/7 news cycles. It's little wonder that Senators are the least responsive to the Voters, and appear always to be pondering their positions. The insulation from the Electorate enjoyed by Senators ensures them little Voter pressure while exposing Senators to three times the amount of "high priced political speech" from entrenched interests.
While the Internet has given rise to the Blogger and commentators of all types and from all political views. This type of speech is powerful only in as far as the Bloggers have to either get noticed by feeding into the mainstream 24'7 news cycle.
This isn't an easy task, and the blogging world knows that most media look for our shiny aluminum helmets prior to involving themselves, unless their point is to make fun of a blogger.
Breaking that barrier requires quite a bit of ingenuity, hard investigative work, or by doing something strange and off the wall.
The other way is for the individual sources to come together and by using financial appeals gather the necessary funds to message as media Advertisers.
The evolution from Voter Power to Messaging Power driving Congress and Legislatures decision making processes is a 21st century problem that must be addressed.
Perhaps the best solution will never occur, because only a few brave Politicians would be willing to face the electorate more often, nor would such a change necessarily be beneficial in the long term.
Absent that, a US Supreme Court decision, removing the free speech rights from any non human entity, would go far to re-leveling the political playing field.
Corporations will not go away, nor will the nation's political discourse be impinged, the change will merely recognize that it is the individual citizen that holds the reins to his/her own Government.
While writing about the Florida flavor of politics for the last couple of months, I've been watching as battle lines get drawn over Obama administration initiatives meant to fix some of the more badly broken pieces of The American Dream - the healthcare system, the environment, the working middle class, for starters.
And I want to get in the game. While I'll keep covering Sunshine State doings, I'm also going to start writing more about these core national issues, and the related legislative reform efforts so necessary to restore -- and create anew - some semblance of socioeconomic equilibrium in our American Democracy.
But first, I need to get some Big Picture context off my chest - hanging a frame, if you will, in which the canvas of those and related stories can then be methodically mounted for maximum cumulative impact.
Because, if taken individually and out of their larger context, each of the aforementioned political battles now raging - and those yet to come -- may seem to some Americans to be just another round of partisan political bickering and business as usual BS - which is just what cynical Conservative and Republican politicians and pundits want people thinking.
Post-JJ Rhetorical Poll Question #1: Whether you're talking Alex Sink or Kendrick Meek, is it possible -- through the lack of intramural ideological debate and challenge, through the absence of constructive internal competition -- that the Florida Democratic Party risks both the alienation of some younger and more Liberal voters, and the absence of the kind of battle-honed sharp edges these campaigns will need heading into the general election?
I'm tired of hearing Florida Democrats tell me how much they like Governor Crist, now an official candidate for the U.S. Senate seat soon to be vacated by Mel Martinez. "He’s such an improvement over Bush.” they say, or ”He's not a real Republican." Really? Okay, maybe Charlie Crist is the Florida Republican version of Miller Lite Beer -- you know, “Tastes Great!” -- compared to the bad taste Jeb left on our political palates. No, wait; make that “Less Filling!” -- of our heads with empty Republican rhetoric. But that's not good enough for me, and it shouldn't be good enough for any self-respecting Florida Democrat.
May 1st marked the official end of the 60-day legislative session in Tallahassee. No balloons or ticker tape. No, you see, the one and only task that the legislature was actually required to accomplish by May Day was to pass the state budget for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1st. They couldn’t get it done. So now House and Senate “leaders”, Republicans like House Speaker Larry Cretul and Senate President Jeff Atwater, huddle over the weekend and try to come up with a final budget that the entire legislature can vote on next week. These are the same Republicans who had promised an open budget process last week -- just before making a mad dash for closed-door budget negotiations amongst themselves. Talk about an economic strategy echo chamber. After their secret meetings, they refused to reveal any details of what they’d discussed. But they did want to make an announcement: that the budget negotiation “will be an open process…a very, very open process.” Does that sound more than a little like the twisted double-talk that came out of the Bush administration for eight long years?
This, after weeks and weeks of the usual Florida legislative war dance -- the overwhelmingly Republican House vs. the less-overwhelmingly Republican Senate. How about a couple of examples? Well, Florida homeowners’ “insurer of last resort”, government-backed Citizens Insurance, wanted a rate hike. The state Senate approved a 5% hike. Then the House said no, that’s not enough. They wanted to give them increases of up to 20%. That's called chutzpah in Yiddish, cujones in Spanish, shameless in any language. Then there’s the Clean Energy bill, intended to force electric utilities to use more renewable energy sources, like wind and solar. Even our Republican Lite governor, Charlie Crist, is a big advocate of the legislation. But House Republicans blocked the bill throughout the session.
What are badly outnumbered Democrats to do? Some continue to fight for what's right. Others are just desperate for a win. In the case of the Clean Energy bill, at the last minute the Senate tacked on a ridiculous new feature that would allow nuclear power to also be classified as a renewable energy source. And that, folks, is the kind of wrong-headed cave-in that leaves so many principled citizens disgusted or disengaged with politics, and politicians.
However, it is important to note that there are in fact some hard-working, ethical, progressive Democrats in the state legislature, fighting the good fight against all odds -- people like Dan Gelber, Ted Deutch, Dave Aronberg, and others. But far too often, their hands are tied. There just aren’t enough of them. And that’s because of how successfully the Republicans have gerrymandered our legislative districts. The good news is, there's hope on the horizon. A vitally important new ballot referendum initiative called Fair District Florida may just be the beginning of a new day in state politics. Stay tuned for an upcoming article on this potentially game-changing new initiative.
Securing the votes in Congress to pass real immigration solutions into law isn’t going to be easy. The next President – no matter who wins – will need to lead his own party first to get it done.
I am so tired of Democrats mean spirited, nasty, sore loser attitudes belittling Republicans at every turn. Why can’t they get over the 2000 election? Well it’s a known fact liberals are short cited, unintelligent, sheep who can be led to slaughter with foolish promises of hope, change and gifting from the government. Liberals believe what is yours is theirs and that we live in this commune world where we should have all the same things, do the same things, think the same way. Well we don’t. They had better think about what change can mean. Oh! Did I say think? Sorry! Sheep don’t think. I listen to their hate speech and just steam. You think I’m being hateful here in this blog? I’m being nice compared to what’s been said about Bush, McCain & Palin. All the lies being thrown around makes my head spin and they eat it up like it’s the gospel. Change can mean total economic failure, terrorist threat, high taxation and on and on. What good is a thousand dollar tax break if you have no job? Try seeing a clean pristine America on a bicycle because you won’t be able to drive a car. Try not being murdered in your bed while you sleep because you have no gun to keep the criminals out of your home. You’ll be living in Russia because they will make the Constitution into a socialist doctrine. Liberals don’t care about you they only care about pushing on you their socialistic values where you become the sheep led and controlled by the elite of them. Democrats are not all bad. Some tend to be Democrats because their families were Democrats or they are just uneducated about the world. Democrats live on sound bites and don’t give knowledge to their beliefs. I have changed many Democrats to Republicans by just taking to them and showing them they are really misguided Republicans. Every Republican needs to take a Democrat aside and try to educate them. I don’t know about you but I don’t want my country changed into somewhere I don’t want to live so, if you want a change? Move to another country and leave America alone
"There is a fierce behind-the-scenes battle for influence over presumptive Democratic candidate Barack Obama's Hispanic and Latin American agenda,"
and some Democratic strategists say that its outcome could determine the result of the November elections.
Some Obama backers in South Florida, in particular, are especially miffed at what they see as excessive power by labor-union-tied, left-leaning Mexican-American leaders at Obama's Chicago headquarters over the campaign's nationwide Hispanic and Latin American policy strategies.
In a confidential July 4 memo sent to 25 prominent South Florida Hispanics, former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre -- well respected in nationwide Democratic circles -- called for creation of a ''South Florida Hispanic policy advisory group'' to counterbalance what he perceives as excessive micro-management of state campaigns by Obama's Chicago headquarters.
Ferre's memo was written shortly after the Obama campaign appointed Cuauhtemoc ''Temo'' Figueroa, a Mexican American with a labor-union background, as head of its national Hispanic vote-getting effort in Obama's Chicago headquarters. Figueroa, whose parents were farm-worker organizers, was a top official of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Let's be clear: we can't have icky union people like that in positions of authority. Perhaps Obama should have appointed a Cuban?
These whiners (who couldn't organize their way out of a cocktail party with their RPOF buds) have the cojones to complain about the efforts of real organizers, the very folks who brought Obama to this point?
Anyone care to share a copy of this "confidential July 4 memo sent to 25 prominent South Florida Hispanics"?
As we prepare to celebrate our freedom, this upcoming July 4th, our thoughts are also with the soldiers and their families who are unable to be together and enjoy the day too.
Even though the Iraq War does not enter most people's minds, on a daily basis, you should think about the many ways it does affect your life.
We are currently spending $12.5 billion a month in Iraq. "Add in long-term factors, such as the care of veterans and interest on federal debt incurred as a result of the war, and the cost piles up to $25 billion a month nowadays." That is according to a recent Christian Science Monitor article. In that same article in goes on to explain how the war spending compares to other government programs.
"Scott Wallsten, (an economist at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy in Washington) and graduate student Katrina Kosec have compared the cost of the war to the US Treasury of $415 billion in the years 2003-07 with approximate amounts spent on other federal agencies over that same period: Education, $370 billion; Transportation, $310 billion; State Department $64 billion; Corps of Engineers, $35 billion."
Consider how the cost of the Iraq War and the interest that we are paying on the National Debt is affecting what the Country can do domestically. You can click on the link to see the latest numbers www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/ir/ir_expense.htm
Think of how that $415 billion dollars could have been spent to help the country. Here is how true trickle down economics works. When the Federal Government makes cuts, that means less money to the States. When the States make cuts, that is less money for County Governments. When the County Government makes cuts, that's less money for Cities. Who gets the most blame? Your local officials do. They are easily accessible; they may even be your neighbor. You can complain to them and they have to listen. John Mica, George Bush or John McCain do not. That is one of the reasons Charlie Crist and the Florida State legislature supported Amendment One. They knew that the local governments would have to make the cuts. They will get blamed and Charlie can just smile and follow John McCain around.
If I may coin a phrase, " Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" How has John Mica improved your life? It now costs you $50.00 to fill your tank, teachers are being laid off, schools are being closed, milk costs $5.00 a gallon, people are being laid off or they are finding it increasingly difficult to find a job. It seems that everyday there is more and more bad news about the economy. Consumer Confidence is at a 28 year low. 80% of the United States thinks the Country is moving in the wrong direction. John Mica helped put us on that negative course. We need Faye Armitage to take control of the wheel now, to help turn the economy around in a way that benefits the middle class.
No one likes to pay taxes, but as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society." We complain but we like to have paved streets, public schools, parks, libraries, firefighters, police officers, clean water, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. When people who care about making government work and are competent are put in charge- guess what Government works. When you elect people who want to starve government by giving no-bid contracts to their buddies, privatizing agencies so that you can't track where your tax money goes, putting horse lawyers in charge of FEMA and a 22 year-old in charge of the Iraq stock exchange, then guess what? Government doesn't work.
John Mica is not on the side of the average Floridian. Here are a couple of recent bills he voted against:
H.R. 6346 - Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act (Rep. Stupak - Energy and Commerce)
Failed in the House by a vote of 276-146, because the bill was brought under suspension of the rules, requiring a 2/3 majority to pass. Bush threatened a veto.
H.R. 6251 - Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act (Rep. Rahall - Natural Resources)
Failed in the House on Thursday by a vote of 223-195, because the bill was brought under suspension of the rules, requiring a 2/3 majority to pass. Bush threatened a veto.
Mica voted NO on the Medicare Improvement Act, which passed the House on a vote of 355-59
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll443.xml
If John Mica is not doing anything to help Floridians now, why does he deserve your vote in November? He is part of the reason our Country is in this current mess. He has no long term plan to improve the lives of you or your children.
Change will not come with Obama alone. He needs a Democratic Congress and Senate to help turn this Country around.
And the winner is... Steven Schale, formerly the director of the Florida Democratic Party's House Victory committee and the man widely credited with helping Democrats have their best State House election year in a minute. From the Orlando Sentinel blog:
Barack Obama’s presidential campaign this morning announced Steve Schale as its Florida state director. Ashley Walker, who had been the campaign’s political director, will be deputy state director.
The Obama campaign has about 20 paid workers in the state and brought 400 “fellows” in this weekend. The fellows are volunteers who will focus on a voter registration drive in the state for the next six weeks.
As the state party’s House political director, Schale helped lead the 2006 campaign that picked up seven seats in the chamber —- what Democrats call their “most successful year in state party history”
Walker has been with Obama’s campaign since last year. She was a regional desk to states in the Northeast and South and played a senior role in Obama’s win in the Texas caucus. Walker former employers include former Gov. Bob Graham, Congressman Peter Deutsch and State Sen. Jeremy Ring.
Statewide, looks like Democrats may pick up as many as seven state House seats (Dan Gelber and Steve Schale must be smiling wide), and they'll break even on senate seats - Justice beating Berfield in SD 16 and Republican Oelrich beating Democrat Jennings in Rod Smith's SD 14.
Bill Heller comfortably beat Angelo Cappelli in HD 52; Janet Long narrowly beat Dottie Reeder in HD 51. In the Bradenton area HD 69, Democrat Keith Fitzgerald is barely leading Republican Laura Benson; In Orange County's HD 36, Democrat Scott Randolph unseated Republican Sherri McInvale; in Broward's District 97, Democrat Martin Kiar beat Republican Susan Goldstein; in Miami's 107, looks like Democrat Luis Garcia will take Gus Barreiro's seat, and in the Keys Democrat Ron Saunders won HD 120.
And as for that minute:
That's the first time Democrats have picked up state House seats in 16 years and their biggest gain in nearly 30 years.
And as for the scuttle about Team Obama writing off the Sunshine State, Schale says it ain't so:
"When you see us reach our full staff level, you're going to see an operation the size of which this state has never seen before on our side,'' said Schale, lavishing praise on Walker and dismissing talk (see here) about Obama not playing to win in Florida. "I would not take this job if I did not think Sen. Obama was committed to winning this state or didn't think he could win this state."
Once again, the statewide campaign will be run from Tampa, which should tell South Florida loudly and clearly that for Democrats on a national level, the political center of gravity in Florida has officially shifted north. Actually, it did so several cycles ago (remember where the McBride campaign was based? Remember Jim Davis' "I can win the I4" strategy, otherwise known as the "Ahab stalks white whale" gambit?) In short, it has shifted to where the election-by-election turnout percentages are better, including among black voters. (Plus, Tampa's a bigger media market -- more buy for your buck.) If South Florida wants to be in the game going forward, we'd better get our behinds to the polls this election cycle.
Okay, for those that don't know, this year's Netroots Conference will be held on June 14 in conjunction with the Florida Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson weekend in Hollywood. For those who are interested, particularly if you might be attending, we have five different proposed presentations/training sessions and we will be able to offer two of them. We'd like for you to vote on TWO of the following and those that get the most votes before next Sunday, May 25, will be the ones we offer (provided we can secure knowledgeable presenters). Thanks:
Best web practices Network building Online fundraising Integrating online and offline activities Online Rapid Response Tips and Etiquette
(So far, we have 10 votes and a very close race. Note, if you participated in the nomination phase of this process, you should vote again...)
You can post your responses in comments or e-mail me at quinnelk@hotmail.com
Okay, for those that don't know, this year's Netroots Conference will be held on June 14 in conjunction with the Florida Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson weekend in Hollywood. For those who are interested, particularly if you might be attending, we have five different proposed presentations/training sessions and we will be able to offer two of them. We'd like for you to vote on TWO of the following and those that get the most votes before next Sunday, May 25, will be the ones we offer (provided we can secure knowledgeable presenters). Thanks:
Best web practices Network building Online fundraising Integrating online and offline activities Online Rapid Response Tips and Etiquette
(Note, if you participated in the nomination phase of this process, you should vote again...)
You can post your responses in comments or e-mail me at quinnelk@hotmail.com
In the realm of logic and argumentation, there is a fallacy sometimes referred to as the "Desire for Simple Answers." Simply explained, it is the idea that human beings, by their nature one an answer or explanation for things that is easy to understand and where it is easy to lay blame for how something turns out. Quite frequently, people will reject answers that are not simple enough or they will glom on to answers that are simplistic, rather than go for the more complex explanations that are the reality. This is, obviously, a fallacy. In the real world, almost everything has a complex explanation and to leave out any part of that complexity is to ignore reality.
A prime example of this is the Florida Democratic presidential primary.
"Man, I sure do miss the Debbie Wasserman Schultz of old. Just one cycle ago, she was utterly unafraid to stand up for her party and campaign fiercely on behalf of her fellow Democrats". "What a Difference a Cycle Makes".
Wal-Mart Watch has a great post about how Florida Dems are trying to close a tax loophole that allows Wal-Mart to evade anywhere between $100 and $400 MILLION in taxes every year. But guess what? The GOP House is vowing to block it.
The campaign web sites of select candidates; click on "FB" to check them out on FaceBook, "T" to follow them on twitter, and "$" to donate. These are not paid ads.
- At "After All, He Is Black", we look at the inability of Florida "conservatives" to deal with racial issues.
- "Take this job ..." is a compendium of some of the things Florida employers are permitted to do to their employees.
Please leave comments or e-mail us with additional material for these projects.
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