Dan Gelber Live At Crooks And Liars Today

Remember the progressive campaign slogan many bloggers used last year, "More and Better Democrats?" Somewhere along the line we stopped worrying too much about the "more"-- and allowed the DCCC to work on their own to elect Blue Dogs and reactionaries like Bobby Bright, Parker Griffith and Walt Minnick-- while we concentrated on the "better." Candidates we asked our readers to help out last year-- like Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), Alan Grayson (D-FL), Donna Edwards (D-MD), Eric Massa (D-NY), Jared Polis (D-CO), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jim Himes (D-CT), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Hilda Solis (D-CA)-- have gone to DC and worked hard on a progressive agenda that recognizes the aspirations of working families rather than the special interests that dominate most of the Inside-the-Beltway politics-- on both sides of the aisle.

Today we're proud to have a guest at Crooks and Liars who has embodied in his political career, the whole idea of "better Democrats," Florida state Senator Dan Gelber. We first endorsed Dan in the race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez in January. Today, please join us in the C&L comments section to meet Dan and ask him the kinds of questions that you would like answered by someone running high office. And, please, if you like what you hear, consider donating to his campaign at our ActBlue page.

Before Dan meets whatever right-wing obstructionist the Republicans use to try to hold onto the Florida seat, he'll have to win the Democratic primary. He's being opposed by a typical Inside-the-Beltway political hack, Kendrick Meek, someone who votes like he's told-- it could be worse; at least he's not a Blue Dog-- and spends his time courting lobbyists and special interests. Like Al Wynn, he was one of the Democrats who voted for the bankruptcy bill that has hurt so many working families and opposed drug importation legislation, a nice big favor to BigPharma. Meek is a pay to play Democrat and, other than arch-reactionary Allen Boyd, he's the most Chamber of Commerce-friendly Democratic congressman from Florida.

If the Inside-the-Beltway power brokers get their way and Meek wins the nomination, he is unlikely to win the general election but if he did, he'd be more dead weight in a U.S. Senate that is absolutely weighed down with dead weight. We need leaders, not followers. Meek, who in the past has taken his marching order from Debbie Wasserman Schultz-- he originally joined her in announcing they would not support the Democratic congressional candidates against their right-wing pals Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and the notorious Diaz-Balart Brothers-- is a follower, not a leader. In many ways he is the polar opposite of Dan, who, as Minority Leader of the Florida House, was the face and voice of progressive values while one Bush ruled in DC and another ruled in Tallahassee. Dan led the effort, as a second week legislator, to stop the GOP from using the state legislature to steal the 2000 presidential election; worked to protect civil liberties when the state re-wrote security laws after 9/11; took on Jeb Bush on virtually everything--becoming what the Wall Street Journal called, Bush's chief nemesis. He wrote many significant laws, including new rules on public corruption, efforts to crack down on abuse of plea-bargain laws, and passed major prescription drug pricing reform law. 

So please join us over at C&L and, if you can, remember even a $5 or $10 contribution is the backbone of allowing a grassroots campaign like Dan's able to stand up to the lobbyists and special interests that are all behind Meek.


UPDATE: KEN QUINNELL ENDORSES DAN GELBER

Ken Quinnell of the Florida Progressive Coalition endorsed Dan this afternoon.

Why Gelber? The reasons are many, but let’s start with a big first one — he’s as progressive as legislators come. Dan is a thoughtful man who actually takes the time to understand the issues and how government actions affect people in the real world. And he’s a big fan of things like logic, reason and evidence. Combining these things, he comes down on the right side of the issues about as often as anyone I can think of, particularly in the Florida legislature. Take a look at his voting record and you’ll be pleased to see such a principled, liberal record from a member of the Florida legislature. And when people hit him with the same old, tired conservative Rush Limbaugh-style attacking points, he’s prepared for them and can counter them as good, if not better, than the best pundits and bloggers out there.