There's Only One Good Guy In This List Of Characters: Dave Lutrin, Mark Foley, Rahm Emanuel, Tim Mahoney, Tom Rooney

In our one brief phone conversation, Democrat Chris Craft didn't impress me much. The popular St. Lucie County Commissioner seemed like a nice enough guy but wet behind the ears, not terribly savvy on the national issues and likely to follow a conservative Blue Dog line in national politics. I talk to cookie cutter DCCC candidates like that all the time. I didn't think he'd be able to make much of a dent in any incumbent's armor with his me-too brand of Republican-lite messaging, not even against a dim bulb like Tom Rooney (R-FL). When, predictably, he dropped out of the race a couple weeks ago I think I may have tweeted it. He wasn't only unimpressive; he was uninspiring.

The district, on the other hand (FL-16), is one I follow closely. Adam, the old DWT art director, lives there and Doug, the guy who's running Blue America's anti-Blue Dog efforts, lives a few blocks out of the district. And the district has an interesting recent history. Mark Foley was elected congressman in 1994, got caught molesting congressional pages, and resigned in 2006. Before it became known outside of political circles that he was gay-- let alone imposing on young boys-- Foley was seen as unbeatable by Democrats; the district has a PVI of R+2 and the incumbent was well-liked. He had been re-elected in 2004 with 68% of the vote (while Bush only won the district with 54%). But an idealistic, progressive school teacher, Dave Lutrin, decided to run anyway; brave soul. And Blue America decided to back him. And along came... Rahm Emanuel (with Steny Hoyer, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Republican hack Tim Mahoney in tow). Emanuel knew what few others at the time did: the Foley case was going to explode in the national media. He scrambled to recruit a conservative who he felt-- for whatever reason-- could win the race. That would exclude a progressive person without the capacity to self-fund: Dave Lutrin. Instead he persuaded a registered, putatively wealthy shady Republican business man-- Mahoney-- to switch registration and "become" a Democrat. Hoyer, Emanuel and Wasserman Schultz clamped down on endorsements, campaign funds and everything else for Lutrin and forced him out of the race, giving the Republican a clear path to the Democratic nomination.

Mahoney ran, as a Democrat, against Foley's name (with some other poor schnook explaining that if voters voted for the child molester he-- the schnook-- would get the seat. It actually almost worked! Mahoney won with 49% while "Foley" got 48%, 3% going to an independent. In Congress Mahoney promptly set about compiled a corporately-funded campaign chest, a quasi-Republican voting record-- and a sex scandal to rival Foley's. He lost his re-election bid and a pathetic Republican zombie, Tom Rooney, is holding the seat, getting the idea that rote obstructionism is what being in Congress is about.

It was widely reported last week that Mahoney thinks it may be time for him to run for the seat again, presumably as a Democrat. Apparently, someone has told him that... scandal is back in again? Yesterday Dave Lutrin called me and told me he's running. This will be a classic example of the media and the DC insiders looking down their noses at a regular middle class American who dares to think he can run for what is increasingly an all millionaires club. We'll schedule a live session with him at C&L asap.