WILL FLORIDA DEMOCRATS PICK A CANDIDATE WHO CAN GET RID OF THE GROTESQUELY DISHONEST MARK FOLEY?

On Saturday I did a little piece called Democratic Stealth Candidates For Congress which developed a mind of it's own and took me in all kinds of directions. One was towards looking at the Democratic primary race for Florida's 16th CD, currently held by slimy Republican closet case and embittered wingnut Mark Foley. I used the websites of the two leading contenders, David Lutrin and Tim Mahoney as examples, respectively, of good and bad sites. Lutrin's is a passionate site filled with ideas and his take on every important issue concerned citizens need to know about to make an informed decision. The DCCC-backed Mahoney's site doesn't even have a tab for issues and is just a great big pathetic series of embarrassing platitudes: "Leadership," "Vision," "Results."

Turns out Mahoney is a Republican internet millionaire who Rahm Emanuel persuaded to switch parties late last summer. Everything in his bio stinks of country club Republicanism. The closest he comes to bringing up "issues" was a quote in a reprint from October 13 that says: "...The reason I like running against Mark Foley is I get to run against his voting record. The people in District 16 are never going to doubt where I'm going to vote." Well, the ones who read his website get no clue whatsoever. In fact, reading it, you wouldn't even know, for example, that there's a war going on in Iraq, let alone how he feels about it!

Lutrin, on the other hand, is very candid on where he stands on every issue and no one taking a look is ever going to accuse him of being a Republican. He's a school teacher with a firm grasp on Iraq, Social Security and all the kinds of concerns everyday, non-millionaire Americans think about all the time. He's running because he's worried about what kind of a country his 7 year old daughter is going to inherit. After Emanuel had recruited Mahoney and gotten him to change his registration, he did a little arm-twisting and got the rump AFL-CIO to endorse him (like he did for Duckworth in her race to shut out grassroots and progressive fave Christine Cegelis in Illinois) and then tried pressuring Lutrin to withdraw. (Emanuel is from some other country, like Alberto Gonzales, and, like him, he has no heartfelt understanding of American democracy; in fact, judging but their actions, they both hate it. Interesting that the AFL-CIO has fallen to such depths that they take their walking orders from a working-class-phobic slimebag like Emanuel, who was the main force in the Clinton Administration behind the catastrophic NAFTA legislation!) But Lutrin isn't withdrawing. He's determined to fight it out in the primary, beat the one Republican in the Democratic primary and the other Republican in the General Election.

I'm proud to stand behind a man like Dave Lutrin and I'm endorsing him today on DWT and starting an ACT BLUE page for him if you're moved to contribute to a real Democrat who will be a real fighter for our interests, not Inside the Beltway interests.


MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: SIGNING A NEW REGISTRATION FORM DOESN'T MAKE A DIED IN THE WOOL REPUG INTO A DEMOCRAT

There's another Democrat is this race: Carol McLean. This morning my old friend Judy From The Everglades sent me an astounding diary Carol had written last month called "Why Is the Democratic Party Recruiting Republicans?". I think she's captured the essense of Republican-posing-as-Democrat Tim Mahoney far better than I did. I don't think Carol has actually filed and I believe Lutrin is the only hope that there is for an actual Democrat with progressive and Democratic ideas and values and experiences to take part in the November general election. If you live in the 16th, hit the link to his website (above) and get in touch. They can use volunteers.