IF YOU LIVE IN FLORIDA, THERE'S STILL A LOT YOU CAN DO TO HELP AMERICA RESTORE DEMOCRACY

Of Florida's 25 congressional districts-- all undemocratically gerrymandered, to one degree or another, for incumbent protection-- 18 are currently held by Republicans and most of those Republicans are on the extreme fringes of even their own crazy right-wing party. It should be a fertile hunting ground for a resurgent Democratic Party-- if there was such a thing. As is, it looks like there are 3 Republican-held seats that Democrats have a shot at, possibly-- if massive revulsion causes a Democratic tsumani in November-- as many as 6.

The prime target is the 22nd CD on the southeast coast, a narrow, densely-populated coastal strip from Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens to Boca Raton and down to Oakland Park and Cooper City. It has the largest percentage of elderly people of any CD in the U.S. and despite vote tampering and dirty tricks by the Republicans, Kerry beat Bush by 2%. It has been represented by E. Clay Shaw since 1981 and he's a very bad fit for the district, far too right-wing for what is a basically Democratic-leaning district. He has been a dependable rubber-stamp Republican, always voting for all Bush's and Tom DeLay's dangerous schemes that have wrecked the middle class and endangered the retirement of the elderly-- his two main constituent groups! Whether it comes to voting on funding for housing programs or for preventing bank foreclosures on peoples' homes, protecting Social Security and Medicare, or protecting the health care of veterans and active military personnel and their families, Shaw has a perfect score: ZERO. He always votes in favor of the big coporate interests and always votes against the interests of consumers, working people, senior citzens and anyone who isn't a multimillionaire. Shaw is considered the second most vulnerable congressman in America (after Bob Ney who will probably be campaigning from a prison cell) and this seat is one of the Democrat's 5 major targets for 2006.

The Democrats have rallied behind the minority leader of the State Senate, Ron Klein, a moderate career politician. He's a DCCC-backed candidate so his positions are very safe and very non-controversial: protect Social Security, fix "No Child Left Behind," affordable health care and a workable prescription drug plan... There are no specifics on his campaign website and no mention of Iraq, mostly just stuff about raising campaign dollars, which he is very good at. To be honest, his website makes him look like just the kind of politician I'd be embarrassed to get behind but the DCCC has already forced the grassroots progressive candidate, Robert Watson, out of the race and Klein has a clear shot at taking out Shaw. I hope he wins and I wish him and his backers the best of luck because he will be an improvement over Shaw and a Democratic majority in the House will be a great improvement over the Republican majority (not because the Democratic leadership is so wonderful-- it isn't-- but because the Republican leadership is so outrageously awful).

Personally, I'm more excited about two races on the opposite coast, though neither looks as sure a bet as FL-22. One is to fill the seat of Katherine Harris (FL-13) who is abandoning it to run for the U.S. Senate, a hopeless endeavor, especially in light of the fact that most political pro's in Florida think it is more likely she'll be indicted for bribery and wind up in prison or a mental institution (since she seems to be in the middle of a very public nervous breakdown at the moment). The grassroots progressive challenger, Jan Schneider, nearly beat Harris in 2004 and she would be the definite favorite this year if she didn't have to spend all her effort fighting off Rahm Emanuel's DCCC and its anti-grassroots machinations (like calling her donors and telling them not to give her any money, the same dirty little trick they used to drive Paul Hackett out of his Ohio Senate race). Anyway, I did an endorsement of Jan over at Down With Tyranny last month. It's got all the ins and outs of the race (including the news that Joe Trippi is now working for Jan) and a way to donate to the campaign and volunteer to work for Jan.

The other Florida race with a Down With Tyranny endorsement is for Rick Penberthy in the rural 5th CD north of Tampa. This one is definitely flying under the radar but, even as a longshot, it is one Rick could win-- and help retire a particularly loony right-wing incumbent named Ginny Brown-Waite.

The three districts that look less likely but still possible in a strong Democratic year would be districts 6, 8, and 16. The 6th CD is another north-central district, this one running from Duval County up by Georgia all the way down thru Ocala to Lady Lake and Leesburg. The congressman is Cliff Stearns, another far right, rubber-stamp Republican stinking of corruption and special interest politics. The Democrats are lucky to have Dave Bruderly running for the seat, a Fighting Dem and a public-minded citizen who inspires confidence and trust (which can't be said about many politicians of either party). It looks like there's still a primary race in the 8th CD (Orlando) for a seat held by super-reactionary rubber-stamper Ric Keller. Keller is in cahoots with all the worst elements of the Culture of Corruption, from DeLay, Abramoff and Kidan to jailed ex-Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Homer Hartage and Charlie Stuart are the two Democrats still in the race. Stuart is anti-choice so nothing would ever get me to vote for him under any circumstances. The last district is even more pathetic, the 16th, home of hypocritical Republican gay closet case, Mark Foley. It looked like Foley's seat would change hands when the Democrats could rally around a true-blue grassroots progressive, Dave Lutrin. Unfortunately, the vampiric vile pile, Rahm Emanuel, was able to drive him out of the race-- using all the vicious, rotten tricks the Inside-the-Beltway crowd employs to destroy democracy-- and we are stuck with some countryclub Republican who changed his voter registration a few months ago (though not his Republican heart and soul). If you're looking to contribute, volunteer or just find someone to root for, my suggestions are Jan Schneider, Rick Penberthy and Dave Bruderly. They need the help, deserve the help and each would make a significant contribution towards making our country a better place if he or she were elected. Primary day is September 5th-- plenty of time for you to do something meaningful.