Congress Has A Chance To Get Alan Grayson Back Again

The House has 435 seats and there aren't many members who really ever make a positive difference for their constituents. But there are some. Alan Grayson has been one of them.

Darren Soto hasn't been. He's just a bump on a log New Dem who slithered out of the state legislature with an A+ from his pals at the NRA and votes against women's right to Choice. Needless to say, the DCCC loves him; he's their kind of nothing congressman. On hearing that Grayson is running for his old seat, DCCC chair Ben Ray Luján-- notorious for never fighting Republicans and always holding his fire for fellow Democrats-- immediately chimed in with some delusional nonsense about how the little known Soto has "built a robust base of support at home in Central Florida... I’m confident Darren will run a winning campaign and continue to serve the good people of Florida’s 9th District, thanks to his record of supporting hurricane survivors in Florida and Puerto Rico, protecting DREAMers and all hard-working immigrants, and standing up for women’s equality in the workplace and their access to quality, affordable healthcare." Utter Beltway nonsense.

I wish Grayson was running against Luján, a closet case from deep blue New Mexico district (PVI D+8), who has never had an serious opposition and who the NRCC has never challenged. This cycle he has no primary challenger and his Republican "opponent," Steve McFall, hasn't raised the $5,000 that would trigger an FEC report while Luján has already raised $1,077,784.

And speaking of campaign contributions, over in Orlando's FL-09, Soto has raised $570,463 and even before officially announcing Tuesday, Grayson had raised $402,775 and had $694,967 cash-on-hand.

Responding to Luján's negativity, Grayson, in an interview on WFTV, said "I don’t need anyone’s permission to run for office. What I’ve done is ask the people. I can run anywhere in the state." When he was making up his mind about running again, he was approached by a Soto staffer who told him Soto surrogates would open the gates of hell on him and that would you every false attack that Republicans and right-wing Democrats had ever used against Grayson. Yesterday ABC News reported that Soto had told them that he expected Grayson to go negative in the primary campaign but says he'll seek to avoid that kind of race. "We expect him to be negative but I have always and will continue to run a positive campaign about how to improve the lives of our constituents. To quote former first lady Michelle Obama, 'when they go low, we go high.'" And then immediately launched into a typically negative attack: "Grayson has never considered what's wise for Democratic unity when considering his actions. He could have helped build a Democratic majority running in one of several open seats, but chose not to do so," Soto said.

78-year-old Nancy Pelosi stands for eight hours on four-inch heels on the floor of the House, begging Democrats to vote against the Budget Act the next day because it wipes out the last vestiges of hope for the DREAMers. Puerto Rican Congressmembers Gutierrez, Serrano and Velasquez-- and virtually every other member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus-- heed her call, and vote "No." Despite Luján's bullcrap about Soto protecting DREAMers, Darren Soto votes "yes." His excuse is that the bill somehow is good for Puerto Rico, although Gutierrez, Serrano and Velasquez didn’t see it that way.

Soto has accomplished exactly nothing in his one term in Congress. He's the ultimate do-nothing backbencher, the polar opposite of Alan Grayson, who was renowned for working across the aisle to pass the most legislation of any member of Congress-- even when the House was controlled by Republicans! You would think the DCCC would be excited to get him back-- if you knew nothing at all about the DCCC.

This morning, Grayson let his supporters know he's running for the seat in his old district. "I’m running for Congress," he wrote, "because our progressive goals-- justice, equality and peace-- need a champion in Congress. Think about it.  Who can you think of, in the U.S. House of Representatives, whom you would call a champion for progress?  On a good day, one or two or three of them.  On a bad day, none. We need someone in Congress who actually knows how to get things done.  And I passed 121 pieces of legislation-- more than anyone else-- even when the Republicans were in charge."

We need someone in Congress who won’t be cowed by Donald Trump’s Twitter feed.

We need someone in Congress who lays the foundation for future progress. Like my Seniors Deserve a Raise Act, for the first increase in Social Security benefits in 43 years. Like my Seniors Have Eyes, Ears and Teeth Act, to expand Medicare to cover eyeglasses, hearing aids and dental care. Like my Freedom From Fear Act, to reinstate the assault weapons ban. Like my College for All Act, introducing the Bernie Sanders free public college law in the House.

Because it’s not enough just to win. You have to make people’s lives better.

And, ultimately, that's exactly what makes Grayson better than your garden variety bump on a long congressmember-- making people's lives better, not just a career in self-service. That Act Blue congressional thermometer above is a way you can contribute to Grayson's campaign. Please click on it and donate what you can.