Tom McClintock Represents A Largely Rural, Blood Red District In Northern California-- But Trump's Stink Is Sticking To Him Already

California's 4th Congressional district is a sprawling, mostly empty area east of Sacramento. Most of the people live in a tiny corner of the district in the suburbs north of Sacramento, a triangle encompassed by Roseville, Placerville and Auburn. There are 10 counties but almost 90% of the voters live in suburban Placer and El Dorado counties. The largely rural district includes Yosemite Valley, most of Lake Tahoe and lots of national forests, national wildernesses, national parks and more senior citizens than most California districts. It's one of the most Republican districts in the state-- with a PVI of R+10. In 2012 Romney took 58% of the votes to Obama's 39%. The past November Hillary won that same 39%... but Trump was somewhat off from Romney's big win-- just 54%. Voters in Placer gave him 52.5% and voters in El Dorado 53.4%. Romney won Placer with 59% and El Dorado with 58%.

The local congressman is far-right, but often libertarian-leaning, Tom McClintock. After a series of unsuccessful statewide bids-- for Controller, Lt. Governor and Governor-- McClintock was first elected to Congress in 2008, right on the heels of corrupt Republican John Doolittle being driven from office when he was caught up in a festering mess of financial scandals. The Democrats don't bother contesting the district and McClintock never has to break a sweat in his reelection bids. This cycle he beat Bob Derlet 196,613 (62.8%) to 116,541 (37.2%); having outspent Derlet better than 9 to 1. (When local progressive hero Charlie Brown challenged him in 2008, the DCCC essentially ignored the race-- not wanting a progressive to win-- and McClintock took it with 185,790 votes to Brown's 183,990, less than a 2,000 vote margin, 50.2% to 49.8%. What a great DCCC Pelosi has saddled with!

Anyway, Saturday McClintock had a downhill meeting in the biggest town in the district, Roseville. It was a pretty contentious, raucous scene. Keep in mind, 3 months ago Trump took 54% of the vote and McClintock took 63%. Now it looks like Trump's stink is sticking to McClintock, something Republican congressmembers all over the country are worried about.

Facing a packed auditorium and raucous crowd, Republican Rep. Tom McClintock on Saturday defended his party’s national agenda and voiced strong support for President Donald Trump’s controversial executive actions to scale back Obamacare, ban visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries and build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Vote him out,” hundreds of demonstrators chanted outside the Tower Theatre in downtown Roseville, the Republican-heavy population center of McClintock’s sprawling congressional district. Inside the theater, more than 200 people gathered for a town-hall event hosted by McClintock.

Attendees, some carrying signs that read “Resist,” “Dump Tom McTrump” and “Climate change is real,” pressed McClintock to denounce Republican plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, acknowledge the science supporting the human causes of climate change, and oppose Trump’s executive order temporarily restricting refugee admissions to the U.S.




“I believe that order is constitutional,” said McClintock, one of several comments that elicited boos at the hourlong event.

McClintock’s visit drew hundreds of people, most of whom had come to express opposition to the new administration. Many identified themselves as liberal Democrats and progressives, while party registration in McClintock’s district-- which incorporates all or part of 10 counties spanning from Tahoe to Yosemite-- is solidly Republican.

“This is really all about resisting the Trump agenda,” said Wendy Wood, chairwoman of Indivisible Sierra Nevada, a local chapter of a political organization formed in response to the election. “Most of us have never participated in political activism of any sort. Something is happening here, and people here are not happy with (Trump) and McClintock. We’re here to vote them out.”

Roseville police and fire officials capped attendance inside the theater at roughly 200 people. Those left outside voiced frustration about being locked out of the theater, some saying they had driven for hours simply to see McClintock face to face.

“We just wanted to be able to ask questions of our representative and share our thoughts on key issues,” wrote Lauren Lake in an email. “I drove hours over a snowy pass to be there … we were told that the venue was at capacity and no one else would be allowed in.”

Inside the theater, McClintock took about a dozen audience questions. Some of the most passionate comments came from people who said they feared losing access to health care if Republicans press forward to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a clear replacement.

“What do you expect seniors and people with disabilities with low income to do if you take away our Medicare and Medicaid that we rely on to literally stay alive?” asked Amanda Barnes, who said she was paralyzed from her waist down after a hit-and-run accident in a crosswalk five years ago.

McClintock said his party did not yet have a replacement plan, but that there were several Republican-backed proposals still taking shape.

“The answer is a comprehensive bill that rescinds Obamacare in its entirety, and replaces it with reforms that put the patient back in charge of their own decisions, and give them the widest possible range of choices,” McClintock said. “And assure it’s within financial reach for the majority of Americans.”

The response drew shouts of disappointment, as did his comments on climate change.

“In any scientific arena, you are seeing a very vigorous debate over the extent to which man-made carbon dioxide emissions are causing global warming,” McClintock said. “Whether or not we destroy our economy for our children, our planet is going to continue to warm and cool as it has for billions of years.”

Many in attendance expressed general disappointment with Trump and called on McClintock to distance himself from recent executive actions, including Trump’s orders scaling back bank regulations and temporarily restricting U.S. entry for refugees as well as visitors from seven predominantly Muslim nations.

“I am terrified about Mr. Trump’s behavior. I literally haven’t slept,” said Jill Ruffman, 58, of Granite Bay. She criticized McClintock and Trump for supporting a House vote to undo an Obama administration rule that required the Social Security Administration to disclose information about disabled recipients with mental illness to the national gun background check system.

“I understand you do not like Donald Trump,” McClintock told the crowd at one point. “I sympathize with you. There have been elections where our side has lost... Just a word of friendly advice: Remember that there were many people in America who disagreed and feared Barack Obama just as vigorously as you disagree with and fear Donald Trump.”

Several times he thanked the audience for the discourse, even if they disagreed.

...McClintock left the theater at 11 a.m., immediately after the town hall concluded, escorted by police as he waded through a thick crowd of protesters who trailed him, shouting, “This is what Democracy looks like.”

When dull, oafish right-wing Florida Congressman Gus Bilirakis asked his constituents to come share their thoughts on the future of health care at a town hall meeting he figured he had nothing to worry about. FL-12 is a safely red R+7 district north of Tampa. In 2012, Romney had beaten Obama 53-45.5% and this year Trump had done even better against Clinton-- 57.4% to 38.8%. Bilirakis, who most people still think is his father, their former congressman, beat his opponent by nearly 140,000 votes-- 68.6% to 31.4%. Why worry? Saturday there was an over-capacity crowd at the Palm Harbor community center-- and they were as pissed off as McClintock's constituents. Bilikakis doesn't have a deft mind and isn't capable of veering away from stale Paul Ryan talking points. His constituents noticed.

Some of his constituents showed up Saturday emboldened by recent demonstrations at airports and on the National Mall. One waved a rainbow flag. Another held a cardboard cutout of the Statue of Liberty.

The crowd got rowdy, booing a 77-year-old speaker who said former President Barack Obama played politics to ram the Affordable Care Act through Congress in 2010.

"Facts, not Fox!" one woman yelled.

Bilirakis took fire from the crowd, too, particularly when he criticized Obamacare.

"I've been hearing from my constituents for several years and they're not happy," he said.

"We are your constituents!" someone shot back.

...[W]hen asked if his thoughts had changed on the Affordable Care Act, the congressman turned to familiar talking points.

"We need to repeal because we need to do it right and expand health care," he said. "Right now, 73 percent of the counties only have one provider. It's too expensive. The premiums are too high. The deductibles are too high."

He plans to hold another listening session next Saturday in New Port Richey.

Sunday morning, halfway across the country, Wisconsin Republican freshman Mike Gallagher-- in a district Trump won 56.2% to 38.6%-- tweeted, uncomfortably, in response to Trump's unhinged comments about the U.S. and Russia on Bill O'Reilly's show, that there is "no moral equivalence between America-- leader of the free world/greatest country on Earth-- and Putin's violent, autocratic, and corrupt Russia." It's going to get harder and harder for Republicans to defend Trump while navigating the tumultuous environment he's creating for them in the lead-up to 2018.

CA-04 doesn't fit into the DCCC's criteria for a challenge and they're not trying to recruit a candidate to run against him. (I suspect the same about Gallagher's district in Wisconsin and Bilirakis' in Florida.) In California, local Democratic activists hate the DCCC as much as they hate Trump, McClintock and the Republican Party and plan on finding their own champion to run against McClintock-- and against the transpartisan establishment that has failed them so miserably-- in 2018. Nationally, Republican congressmembers are starting to feel the pressure of defending a toxic agenda being promulgated by Trump and Ryan. Believe me, it isn't just Gallagher and McClintock sweating today. It will be less than year before they're all panic-stricken and thinking about jumping off tall buildings. (Tepid establishment Democrats like Adam Schiff should try wrapping their heads around this before they get swept up too.)

Meanwhile, opposition to Trump's visit to the U.K. is so strong and widespread that House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has barred so-called President Trumpanzee from being admitted to the House of Commons for an address to Parliament, citing "opposition to racism and sexism" and his anti-refugee Executive Order. He was cheered loudly by both sides of the aisle. Perhaps all the Trump supporters were out fox hunting at the time of the speech.

An Important Race No One Outside Of Florida Is Talking About-- Guest Post By Doug Tudor

Doug Tudor was the Blue America-backed progressive running for the Democratic nomination in FL-12 (some of Hillsborough County and almost all of Polk). The DCCC saw to it that Blue Dog Lori Edwards won that race, although they have since abandoned her to her fate. Nate Silver figures the Republican in that race, Dennis Ross, has a 87.5% chance of winning tomorrow. Silver's latest prediction is that Ross will take 49.1% of the vote; Edwards will take 37.5% and the Tea Party candidate, Polk County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson, will only get 8.6%. Doug has been on the ground in Hillsborough and Polk counties, working for the Democratic ticket, including Edwards, and he thinks she's going to win. He thinks she's going to win because Wilkinson is going to do much better than outside pollsters, pundits and prognosticators figure. That will be an interesting one to watch, although not one I'll be rooting for one way or the other.

Doug is very excited about a race I hadn't been following, the campaign pitting Adam Putnam against former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox for Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It looks like Scott is running for Consumer Affairs Commissioner and Putnam is running for Agricultural Commissioner. Doug endorsed him, calling him "intelligent, innovative, and extremely ethical," not a ready combination in Florida politics on either side of the aisle.

While I truly believe in Scott's leadership qualities and credentials, there is another reason that we need to rally behind him. Scott is running neck-and-neck with our "old friend," Congressman Adam Putnam... The concept of a Governor Putnam is the scariest thing I can think of during this Halloween season.

Fortunately, we have a great candidate in Scott Maddox. Standing with Scott, we will continue to fight the special interests, right-wing insanity, and corporate cronyism that Adam Putnam is trying to bring back to our state's capitol.

...Scott has a common-sense approach to Florida agriculture; he believes that we need a strong partnership between the department and Florida's many diverse agricultural entities-- securing and growing a one billion dollar industry for the future.

Scott believes in the promotion of fuel crops-- reducing our dependency on foreign fossil fuels by promoting 'American Grown' fuel and investing in a multitude of green energies, specifically: tidal and solar sources. 

Throughout his career, Scott has always been a strong consumer advocate. He took an early stance against offshore oil drilling and believes the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services should take a leading role in combating the many types of fraud that are currently running rampant in Florida, especially against our seniors.

I called Doug and asked him if he's help put the importance of this race in context for us by explaining how Putnam plans to use it. He did:

President Putnam?

-by Doug Tudor

Down ballot races are often ignored by political pundits and voters. There’s just nothing sexy or exciting about a candidacy for a county Soil and Water Conservation Board, for instance. What we do know, though, is those candidates and office holders often go on to occupy higher office.

In Florida, there are four members of the state’s cabinet. Along with the Governor, Attorney General, and Chief Financial Officer, the cabinet includes the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Again, nothing sexy, right?

Actually, the Ag Commissioner is a very important post as it deals not only with farming issues, but with consumer and environmental issues. In a state prone to hurricanes, for instance, it is the Ag Commissioner who acts as responder-in-chief to oversee controls and combat fuel and insurance price-gouging and other disaster-related consumer frauds.

Now here is where this particular race gets interesting. In early 2009, Florida’s political landscape looked pretty well secure. Wildly popular Republican Governor Charlie Crist would run for reelection in 2010, as would Attorney General Bill McCollum, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, and U.S. Senator Mel Martinez. No one seriously considered any of the incumbents to face anything by token opposition.

Viewing the toxic landscape for Republicans in Washington, and after being forced from the House leadership-- okay, he resigned on election night before his fellow Republicans could force him out-- our old friend, Adam “Howdy Doody Looking Nimrod” Putnam, decided to return to Florida via the 2010 Ag Commissioner race.

After all, Opie could glide to victory, serve four years in a state-wide office, then run to replace Charlie Crist as Governor in 2014, once Crist was term-limited. From the Governor’s chair, he could view his future options of a U.S. Senate seat or even the Oval Office. Hell, when you’re 35 and stinking rich and you’ve already been in office for 13 years, the sky truly seems to be the limit.

Accordingly, the Boy from Bartow announced on Super Sunday 2009 that he would leave the U.S. House and seek the non-sexy office of Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. We constituents were thrilled to get this rabid rightwing demagogue out of Washington.

But something happened on the way to Putt Putt’s coronation. Senator Mel Martinez resigned from the U.S. Senate. Governor Charlie Crist appointed his Chief of Staff, George Lemieux, as senatorial seat warmer until Crist could win the seat himself this year. McCullom would run for Governor, as would Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. Suddenly, all four of Florida’s cabinet seats were open, and a boring off-year election cycle had exciting potential.

This was only a minor hiccup for Putnam. In his eyes, this meant he would either have to face an incumbent Democratic governor in 2014 or ride the Ag post another four years until the incumbent Republican governor was term-limited in 2018. What the hell, he would still only be 44 when he cake-walks into the Governor’s mansion and in his early 50’s when he strolls back to Washington.

Okay, so back to the main point. Down-ballot races are extremely important. They allow the office holder to change the way a particular matter is handled. For instance, Adam has taken hundreds of thousands of campaign contributions from financial services ($616,373), but is set to be the consumer watchdog on banking and other financial matters. He has taken tens of thousands from Big Insurance ($230,275), but is set to be its chief regulator in the nation’s fourth most populous state. He has taken tens of thousands from Big Oil ($84,300), and was one of the “Band of Brothers” who was chanting “Drill, Baby, Drill” in August 2008. Even after the BP disaster this year, Putnam would not back down from his quest to bring drilling closer and closer to Florida’s shores.

In the long term, the real importance of a down-ballot office becomes even more apparent. These offices serve as spring boards for higher office.

Putnam’s ascendency to the Governor’s mansion, the U.S. Senate, and the White House has to run through the office of Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It may not be sexy, but as Vice President Biden might say, “It’s a Big Fucking Deal.”

Blue Dogs vs Progressives-- Tomorrow Is Primary Day In Florida's 12th Congressional District

Gee (I thought) I wish I had a crystal ball to tell me how the primary in Florida's 12th CD would turn out tomorrow before I write this post. But I don't, so I'm going to plow ahead anyway. I'm not certain of this, but I believe tomorrow's election is the first time a Democratic primary for an open seat finds the Blue Dog caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) lined up formally backing different candidates. The Blue Dogs are backing Lori Edwards, a reactionary who gives every indication of being a habitual aisle crosser if she were ever to make it into Congress. John Boehner must have his fingers crossed that if Edwards wins the primary, he's guaranteed a vote for the conservative agenda regardless of what happens in November. The Congressional Progressive Caucus has endorsed, Doug Tudor, last cycle's Democratic challenger, a stalwart and intrepid defender of the legitimate aspirations of ordinary working American families. Edwards' legislative vision is to back the Wall Street and Big Business blue print for America, i.e., the Law of the Jungle; Tudor's is to fight for small business and for the kinds of folks who can't afford to hire their own lobbyists.

It's nothing new for Blue Dogs to aggressively push their like-minded candidates, load them up with early cash and then use that demonstration of "fundraising prowess" to give the DCCC the excuse it needs to endorse them over a progressive. That's exactly what happened in this case. Edwards' biggest single contribution, $10,000, was from the Blue Dog PAC. The Blue Dog PAC gave $10,000 contributions this year to the following non-incumbent conservative corporate shills:

Ed Case (HI)
Chad Causey (AR)
Lori Edwards (FL)
Roy Herron (TN)
Stephene Moore (KS)

Edwards got an identical $10,000 contribution from the PAC of her Blue Dog sponsor Allen Boyd (The Harvest PAC). Keep in mind that Boyd was the only Democrat to sign on as a cosponsor to Bush's scheme to privatize Social Security. If Edwards is elected he won't be alone next time it comes up. Not only did she get more money from the Harvest PAC this year-- the most anyone else was given was less than half that-- and those were $4,000 pops to the 5 Democrats who voted most frequently against the Democratic agenda: Bobby Bright (Blue Dog-AL), Travis Childers (Blue Dog-MS), Frank Kratovil (Blue Dog-MD), Walt Minnick (Blue Dog-ID), and Glenn Nye (Blue Dog-VA).

The other Blue Dog with a PAC who gave big to Edwards was Mike Ross' Advance Arkansas PAC ($5,000), and then $5,000 slams came in from two Democratic leaders who are most interested in electing pliable, corrupt members like themselves-- Hoyer's AmeriPAC and Debbie Wasserman Schultz's notoriously sleazy Democrats Win Seats PAC.

In all, Edwards has raised $345,977 as of August 4, far less than the DCCC tells progressives they need to raise to get their endorsement and financial backing. And that's far less than half what the GOP candidate, Dennis Ross, raised ($810,875). Doug Tudor, whose donors have been told not to back him by Hoyer, Wasserman Schultz and other slimy DCCC operatives, took in $49,895. If he wins tomorrow, it will be because Edwards spent her money on useless DC consultants and he's managed to mobilize one of the most effective grassroots operations in Florida outside of Alan Grayson's. And because he stands for the kind of populism that Democratic primary voters are looking for.

So what about the Congressional Progressive Caucus? Oh, yeah... I almost forgot. It's the biggest Democratic caucus in Congress-- and it has the most powerful membership list. But it hasn't taken on the Blue Dogs in the electoral game. Members of the CPC have been over one hundred times more likely to donate to a Blue Dog-backed candidate than to donate to a progressive challenger! With CPC endorsements for Doug Tudor-- and 5 other strong progressives, Justin Coussoule (D-OH), David Segal (D-RI), Bill Hedrick (D-CA), Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), and Beth Krom (D-CA)-- it looks like the CPC is sticking its toe into the world of practical politics. Here's the statement that went to the media about Doug Tudor's race:

Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC endorses Doug Tudor for Congress

Washington, DC – Doug Tudor has won the endorsement of the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC for his election to Congress as Representative of Florida’s Twelfth Congressional District.

“I am extremely honored to accept the Congressional Progressive CaucusPAC’s endorsement and support,” said Tudor. “The Congressional Progressive Caucus has been at the forefront of the fight to ensure that the United States Congress represents all of the people of our country, building a more just and humane society. I will work hard in Congress to promote economic justice for all Americans, protect the Constitutional rights of all, promote peace and security, and ensure that our children and grandchildren inherit a world as beautiful as the one we now share.”

“The Congressional Progressive Caucus will be proud to have you as a member,” said Congressman Raul Grijalva, Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-chair.

The CPC is very different from the Blue Dogs. The Blue Dogs are best known for fighting on the side of the Republicans against Obama's agenda, often using their clout to water down the most progressive, worker/consumer/family-friendly parts of legislation as its being drafted. Their biggest "achievement" in the last year was destroying the public option and ruining the serious efforts at Wall Street reform. When reactionaries were looking for votes against women's Choice, they knew they could find them among Blue Dogs. Every single Democrat crossing the aisle to vote against Hate Crimes legislation was a Blue Dog. They may claim to be "fiscal conservatives" but they back Bush's catastrophic tax cuts for millionaires, unpaid-for-wars and subsidies for corporations, especially for corporations willing to line Blue Dog pockets. The CPC is the dynamic force behind every reform effort in Congress. The Blue Dogs largely line up with the Republicans to oppose them. It's what Polk and Hillsborough County Democrats should try to keep in mind when they go to vote tomorrow.

What Is The Takeaway From Artur Davis' Thorough Thrashing In The Alabama Democratic Primary Last Night?

Wrong for the Democratic Party, Wrong for America, Fox "Democrats," Artur & Lori

Last night it wasn't only conservative corporate hacks like former-Blue Dog-turned-Republican Parker Griffith (who was slaughtered in the GOP primary, not even making it to a runoff against some nutcase teabagger) and Palin-backed Angela McGlowan (who came in a distant third in the GOP primary in Mississippi) who had terrible nights. Artur Davis has always been thought of as a Democrat with a bright future, until last night. He spent the last year and a half moving profoundly right: He went from a moderate 70.82 ProgressivePunch lifetime voting score to a dismal and reactionary 31.58 since Obama became President and, more importantly, since he started campaigning to be governor of Alabama. His vote against the health care reform bill was probably the last straw for his congressional constituents, who gave Ron Sparks majorities in 10 of the 12 counties that make up AL-07, Davis' own congressional district! Statewide, Sparks took 199,190 votes (62.4%) to Davis' 119,908 votes (37.6%). Davis' strategy-- one long encouraged by Rahm Emanuel and the DCCC (see Ken's perceptive stinky cheese story from yesterday)-- to move to the political right backfired... very badly. It's a losing strategy; when conservatives vote, they tend to prefer to vote for real conservatives, not Democrats playing the role.

Will the Democrats learn anything from Davis' disaster last night? Not. A. Chance. And especially not know-it-all powermongers like Emanuel and his female doppelganger Debbie Wasserman Schultz. They will continue hunting out reactionary candidates who apologize for being Democrats and, when they can slip into office, vote with the GOP.

A perfect example-- among so many-- is reactionary Blue Dog Lori Edwards, being fiercely pushed on Democrats by Wasserman Schultz. Although they're attempting to gussie her up as a moderate, Edwards is the only non-incumbent so far this year to be endorsed by and financed by the conservative Blue Dog caucus. Wasserman Schultz and her anti-Social Security ally Allen Boyd are hammering lobbyists and fellow Democrats-- including politically naive progressives-- to donate to Edwards. And why? So there will be another anti-government, anti-healthcare, anti-working family Democrat to cross the aisle and vote with Boehner at every opportunity?

The irony here is that the far more electable Democrat, 2008 Democratic candidate Doug Tudor, is also in the race. He isn't a self-funder-- a cardinal sin among party insiders-- and he wasn't an ass-kisser when he had the temerity to ask Wasserman Schultz for help back then. Last night, as Artur Davis' strategy of abandoning the same kinds of values and principles that faux Democrats (and DCCC faves) like Ed Case and Tim Mahoney have abandoned was blowing up in his face, we reached Doug Tudor and asked him about why party insiders always seem to be pushing anti-working family Democrats like Edwards and Davis in primaries.

“Lori," he told us, "may call herself ‘centrist’ or whatever other deceptive term she wants, but the truth is she is a conservative. Having never before run in a Democratic primary-- with the exception of the 2000 Congressional race in which she quit-- Lori showed her true colors early in this race when she actively sought the Blue Dog endorsement. Every Democratic and Independent voter who worked for and voted for change and hope in 2008 will do well to remember it is Blue Dog conservative Democrats who are blocking the President’s attempts to reform healthcare, to reform the financial sector, and blocking his attempts to extend programs which directly benefit working people and middle class families. Lori can join her conservative friends in decrying government, but she certainly shouldn’t be so callous to the many benefits government brings to the countless FL-12 residents who were hurt by the conservative economic policies to which she ascribes.

"As for me, I’ll stand with the many progressives throughout America’s history who have fought the battles that needed to be fought. It wasn’t popular to stand with unions, to end the Hoover-era giveaways to Wall Street and industrial robber barons, to provide a security net for our seniors, to integrate the Armed Forces, to integrate our schools and public places, to ensure the voting rights of all Americans, to provide health care to our elderly, and to expand that coverage to nearly all Americans. It wasn’t popular, but progressives like Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Jack Kennedy and Barack Obama, as well as Dr. King, Robert Kennedy and countless American freedom fighters the country owes such a debt of gratitude to, fought the good fight and won. These are the names and the spirits I want to be associated with… not the names of John Barrow, Jane Harman, and Gene Taylor.

"As freshman Alabama Blue Dog Parker Griffith proved when he switched parties after being in office less than one year, conservative Blue Dog Democrats are just a press conference away from being conservative Republicans. There is a party for people with Lori Edwards’ political leanings, and it is the Republican Party." 

If you can, please help Doug and other real Democrats like Claudia, Marcy and Regina defeat Blue Dog reactionaries in their primary races, all of which are coming up quickly.

Memorial Day With Doug Tudor

On this Memorial Day we want to dedicate DWT to the voices of some of the Blue America candidates who have, at least in part, come to their political beliefs based on their service in the U.S. military. Doug Tudor is running for the open seat in Florida's 12th district, mostly Polk and Hillsborough counties east of Tampa/St. Pete. He was born in Cincinnati, grew up in Kentucky and joined the U.S. Navy after high school. He has an outstanding military record and we feel he would make an equally outstanding member of Congress. We endorsed him and have urged Blue America supporters to help him raise money to battle the two conservatives he has to face, a Blue Dog Democrat and an off-the-cliff Republican. Below has has shared his ideas about what Memorial Day has come to mean in his life:

Memorial Day, first called Decoration Day, has long been used to pay tribute to those Americans who died serving our country in the military. It has evolved into honoring all of those veterans who are no longer with us, even those who have died of old age. I hope it continues to evolve into something even more meaningful. 

I hope someday that we will use Memorial Day to not only pay tribute to those Americans who died serving our country in the military, but also to come together once a year as a country to rededicate ourselves as a nation opposed to wars. I believe the best way we can honor those who have fallen on the field of battle is to work our very hardest to ensure that no others have the same fate.
 
Readers of DownWithTyranny know I am a retired Navy Master Chief, and they know I spent my career on the frontlines in the war against terrorism. From Beirut in 1983, to the Red Sea in 1993, to my over 30 deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan before my retirement in 2008, I have lived my adult life serving the Navy’s core values of “Honor, Courage, Commitment.”  

Over the course of this Memorial Day, nearly all politicians and candidates will fall over themselves claiming how much they respect the fallen, honor our veterans, and support our troops. Few of them will follow up with any discussion of how they will actually protect the veterans from an underfunded Veterans Administration, multiple deployments, never-ending and unsustainable warfare, and lives of uncertainty based on campaign cycles. This must stop. 

To me, “Honor, Courage, Commitment” means I must have enough honor to speak the truth to power; to have the courage to question the leaders of my party; and the commitment to stand strong enough to do my part to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As I did throughout my career in the Navy, you can count on me to stay true to these three core values. 

This Memorial Day, as I do every Memorial Day, I will attend a service to honor the fallen. This Memorial Day, as I have for the past three Memorial Days, I will carry forward a political campaign to truly honor those who have served America in uniform… as well as those who are serving and who will serve. My brothers and sisters in arms deserve my utmost “Honor, Courage, and Commitment,” and they will receive it.


UPDATE: A Poem

Howie here and I want to add a poem to Doug's post. I just heard it recited by the son of a vet who found it among his father's papers recently. It's very moving, as you're about to see:

Murder So Foul

I shot a man yesterday
And much to my surprise,
The strangest thing happened to me
I began to cry.

He was so young, so very young
And Fear was in his eyes,
He had left his home in Germany
And came to Holland to die.

And what about his Family
were they not praying for him?
Thank God they couldn't see their son
And the man that had murdered him.

I knelt beside him
And held his hand--
I begged his forgiveness
Did he understand?

It was the War
And he was the enemy
If I hadn't shot him
He would have shot me.

I saw he was dying
And I called him "Brother"
But he gasped out one word
And that word was "Mother."

I shot a man yesterday
And much to surprise
A part of me died with Him
When Death came to close
His eyes.

Sunshine State Or Cesspool State, Florida Has 25 Congressional Races Set

Florida has 25 congressional districts, all gerrymandered, mostly by state legislators drawing the boundaries to suit their own strengths and weaknesses for congressional runs the following year. For all the pristine white beaches and clear blue skies, Florida politics is one of the most corrupt cesspools in America. Friday was qualifying day for the next round of elections. There are only five simple, straightforward races pitting one Democrat against one Republican-- in the 7th (a northern district that covers the coast between St Augustine and Daytona Beach and swings inland to Altamonte Springs east of Orlando) where lunatic fringe wing-nut John Mica is being challenged by Democrat Heather Beaven; the 10th in Pinellas County (minus St
Petersburg) where Charlie Justice is taking on doddering Bill Young, long one of Congress' most egregiously corrupt members; the Miami-Dade district (18) where Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is being challenged by Rolando Banciella; the 19th where newly elected Ted Deutch (he replaced Wexler in a special 2 weeks ago); and the 23rd, where Democrat Alcee Hastings is being challenged by Bernard Sansaricq.

Only one congressman, inexplicably, has no challenger-- no primary, no Democrat, no teabagger, no nothing-- and that's an open seat, no less. Lincoln Diaz-Balart has decided to spend all his time plotting to become the president of post-Castro Cuba, so he isn't running in the 21st CD, a fairly-- but not overwhelmingly-- safe Republican seat. Instead his stupider and younger brother Mario fled from the increasingly blue 25th CD (we'll get to that shortly) and is running for his brother's seat. It's another mark of the pathetic nature of the Florida GOP that they couldn't even manage to get someone to challenge Mario, who, after all, is not and incumbent (but will be from here on out). So Mario is the only Republican in the Florida congressional delegation home free with no challenge.

But he certainly isn't the only Republican with no Democrat running against him. Karen Thurman's less than vibrant party may look good relative to the staggeringly hideous freak show known as the Republican Party of Florida, but... by any other standard, it's struggling to appear like a modern political party. CD-1 in the Panhandle is the home of right-wing ideologue Jeff Miller, a laughing stock in Washington, but facing only 2 independents, Joe Cantrell and John Krause, in November. Many insist Ander Crenshaw in demonstrably stupider and more fanatic than Miller. His district, the 4th CD, crawls along the Georgia border starting just east of Tallahassee and ending just north of Jacksonville, carefully avoiding any urban areas that might not appreciate Crenshaw's peculiar brand of bigotry mixed with an IQ so minimal that it might not be measurable in any meaningful way. His only opponent in November will be an independent, Troy Dwayne Stanley. Most political observers would probably vote Cliff Stearns the least effective Republican in the Florida congressional delegation. He almost makes Miller and Crenshaw look brainy and serious. The Democrats couldn't find anyone to run against him in his landlocked, city-less district south of Crenshaw's and carefully skirting any areas touched by the 21st Century. He has a Republican primary challenger, Don Browning, and will then face Steve Schonberg, an Independent, in November.

Before I get to the races where there's some chance for a party flip-- or at least some kind of activity-- let's just go down the list where the races are just pro-forma. Corrine Brown has a primary opponent, Scott Fortune, for her safe Jacksonville/Gainesville seat and will then face the winner of a GOP primary between Mike Yost and Chris Nwasike, plus an independent, Terry Martin-Black.

I'd rate Kathy Castor, who represents Tampa (11th CD) as safe, although she's drawn 5 Republicans fighting it out amongst each other to see who she will defeat in November.

The Republicans, wisely, decided not to waste money running someone for Kendrick Meek's open seat (CD-17), which boasts a PVI of D+35. The primary features 9 Democrats and is likely to be won by state Senator Frederica Wilson, who will then face an independent, Roderick Vereen. The 8 Democrats Wilson faces in the primary for America's most Haitian district, are Marleine Bastien, Phillip Brutus, James Bush III, Scott Galvin, Shirley Gibson, Rudolph “Rudy” Moise, Yolly Roberson and Andre Williams. I guess anything can happen when there are that many candidates in a low turn-out primary.

Unfortunately sleazy sugar cane shill and DCCC power-monger Debbie Wasserman Schultz has no primary. Three Republicans will battle it out between themselves and she'll slaughter whichever one wins, along with two independents, Stanley Blumenthal and Bob Kunst.

In the 15th CD Bill Posey faces Democrat Shannon Robert. And now for the more complicated races.

Let's start with the 25th CD way down south where Mario Diaz-Balart is giving up the seat for safer ground. Joe Garcia almost beat him-- despite assistance for Diaz-Balart from the nefarious Wasserman Schultz-- in 2008. This year Wasserman Schultz is on Garcia's side but even more helpful for him will be an official Tea Party candidate who qualified, Roly Arrojo. That should kill whatever chances David Rivera had to take the seat. (Rivera has 2 Republican opponents in the primary, Paul Crespo and Mariana “Marli” Cancio.) Garcia will have no trouble beating his own primary opponent, Luis Meurice. And then, besides the official teabagger, there's also a FWP running, Craig Porter.

Way back up the peninsula to the Panhandle, we're at CD-02 when Blue Dog Allen Boyd is fighting it out with another conservative, terming-out state Senator Al Lawson in a tough primary. Boyd would have to be evaluated as an "F"-- and he was after all, the only Democrat Bush could get to sign on to conservative's never-dying #1 priority: a bill to destroy Social Security. Lawson is unlikely to be even a little better. There are 5 Republicans who smell blood in the water-- Eddie Henry, Ronald McNeil, Barbara Olschner, David Scholl and Steve Southerland. Whoever wins the two primaries will battle it out, along
with two independents, Paul McKain and Dianne Berryhill.

One of Boyd's most recent sins has been trying to foist another worthless reactionary Blue Dog on voters, in the form of Lori Edwards. Edwards is challenging progressive, grassroots Democrat Doug Tudor in the 12th CD (Polk and Hillsborough counties east of St. Petersburg), the seat being abandoned by right-wing imbecile Adam Putnam for a run at statewide office. Aside from Edwards, Doug will have to contend with 2 other conservatives-- whichever Republican wins the primary between shady attorney Dennis Ross and extremist John Lindsey, Jr.-- plus Randy Wilkinson, the official Tea Party
candidate. Wilkinson should probably guarantee a victory for Tudor in the general election. (Please consider helping Tudor here at Blue America.)

The 5th CD just opened up, when Ginny Brown-Waite faced up to the fact that her mental illness would no longer allow her to pretend to be able to work for her constituents. She endorsed Sheriff Rich Nugent on the last day of filing to prevent any more reasonable candidates to jump into the race beyond the already-qualified Jason Patrick Sager. The winner of the GOP primary will face ex-Republican/Obama supporter Jim Piccillo in November.

One of the most watched races will be in Orlando's 8th CD where the GOP will attempt to take out the most important new player the Democrats have playing for them nationally, Alan Grayson. There is a concerted effort to denigrate him-- with the local right-wing corporate media leading the charge-- but Grayson is immensely popular with the regular folks who live in the increasingly blue district and has been lucky enough to draw a GOP primary that resembles a 7 ring circus of third and fourth tier rejects-- Ross Bieling, mediocre state legislators Kurt Kelly and Daniel Webster, Hate Talk Radio host Todd Long, racist maniac Daniel Roy Fanelli, William O'Donoughue and Patricia Sullivan. It's a real clown show and free-for-all and whoever wins the GOP endorsement will then have to face not just Grayson (who polls better than any of them among Republicans) but also an official Tea Party candidate, Peg Dunmire, and an independent, George Metcalfe. (It's worth mentioning that as crazy and ignorant as Dunmire has already shown herself, Fanelli seems determined to prove he's even more ignorant and more bigoted and less qualified. It should be a wonderfully amusing race.) Please consider helping Grayson build his war-chest through Blue America.

There are two Democrats, Anita de Palma and Phil Hindahl, fighting it out to see who takes on Gus Bilirakis in the 9th CD. The 13th CD will feature a primary between incumbent Vern Buchanan and Don Baldauf and one between Democrats Rick Eaton and James Golden and whomever wins the two primaries will also face progressive independent Jan Schneider.

The 14th CD is the worst hit in Florida-- and the U.S.-- by the Republican foreclosure crisis but Connie Mack IV is probably safe, though he faces Democrat Jim Roach and independent William Maverick St. Claire.

The ill-starred 16th CD is probably safe for wealthy moron Tom Rooney, the teabagger candidate, Jim Horn, having declared himself a Democrat at the last second. He'll face Ed Tautiva in a Democratic primary.

The 22nd District is called a swing district and moderate Democrat Ron Klein seems to be having a tough time with Ron Paul Republican Allen West (who still has to beat a more mainstream Republican, David Brady). Klein also has a primary challenge, from Paul Renneisen.

And that brings us to one of the least deserving of re-election of the freshmen, corporate shill Suzanne Kosmas, a putative Democrat representing the 24th CD in central Florida. She has a primary from party activist Paul Partyka and then will face the winner of a 5 candidate GOP primary. Everyone senses she is extremely weak and generally disliked by constituents on both sides of the partisan divide. The party is unlikely to fight too hard for her since her seat is likely to be redistricted out of existence anyway.

If Arizona Wins The Craziest State Award This Week, Is Florida A Big Stinky Number Two?

GOP split likely to turn FL-12 blue

One of the several significant upsides to Charlie Crist's bailing on the teabagger-dominated Republican primary is that it's going to devastate Florida Republicans in down-ticket races.

One unintended consequence of Crist’s decision is the impact not having Crist and Rubio driving turnout in the Primary will have on down-ballot races, including partisan races, such as state legislative primaries and county commission races, and on non-partisan races where party affiliation may not be listed, but still remains a factor.

Take a look at some of the races in Tampa Bay, now that we know Crist and Rubio won’t be pumping tens of millions in Get-Out-The-Vote operations in July and August, that will have enormous impact in the GOP primaries for Florida State House Districts 45, 47, 57 and 60 and Florida Senate District 10 and 12.

Weren’t moderate Republican candidates like Kathryn Starkey (H-45) and Irene Guy (H-47) looking for Crist to turn out the support of moderate Republicans?

Wasn’t Paul Phillps (S-10) looking for a surge from conservative voters over “liberal” Rhonda Storms?
Regardless of who would have won, there is no doubt having Crist and Rubio on the ballot would have increased turnout.  How they would have impacted turnout is still debatable; not having Crist on the ballot in August takes away a major reason for moderate Republicans to head to the polls, just as not having Rubio on the ballot takes millions of dollars out of the GOTV plan to turn out the most conservative voters.

The real impact of not having Crist and Rubio on the ballot in August (and now having at least a nominal Democratic primary for the US Senate) will be felt in the non-partisan school board and judicial races that will be decided.

Although it wasn't Ted Nugent Ginny Brown-Waite endorsed yesterday, she did wait for the very last second to announce that she wouldn't be running for re-election. It has, after all, been all down hill for the poor imbecile ever since Congress rejected her brilliant idea of getting even with France for not invading Iraq by digging up the bodies of all the American servicemen and women who died in France during World War I and II and shipping them back to America. When she prematurely announced she was going to retire a couple months ago, the Florida GOP shut her up so they could position Richard Nugent as the only candidate in the race. It's an old trick both parties-- especially in uber-corrupt states like Florida-- use to undermine any semblance of democracy. With only an hour to file, no one-- from either party (although there's a good Democratic candidate, Jim Piccillo, already running)-- but the selected GOP candidate could get into the race. That's how Florida got stuck with Kendrick Meek as a congressman, except it was he and his congresswoman mother who pulled the stunt. It's a really repulsive tactic, one that would come naturally to Republicans but should be eschewed by Democrats.

But that was hardly the only surprise as the state's close of filing came and went yesterday. In fact, the other news, is... GREAT news. No surprise on the Democratic side, which pits a reactionary Blue Dog, Lori Edwards, backed by the Inside-the-Beltway lobbyists and Sugar Lobby crook and DCCC power-monger Debbie Wasserman Schultz, against the grassroots progressive, Doug Tudor. (Please contribute what you can to Doug's campaign.) The interesting news comes on the Republican side.

Polk County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson made it a three-party race Friday for the U.S. House of Representatives District 12 seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow.


Wilkinson, elected to the commission as a Republican, is running for Congress as a member of the Tea Party. On his campaign documents, the Bartow resident said he is a member of that party and not a registered member of any other party.

He had been assumed to be running in the Republican primary against shady corporate shyster and former State Representative Dennis Ross and another fringe right sociopath, John W. Lindsey Jr. By running as a Tea Party candidate, he almost surely guarantees that Doug Tudor will win the general election. I called Doug yesterday and he felt the same way I did about it. He told us, in pretty excited terms, that he couldn't have hoped for a better Filing Day outcome:

“With today’s federal filing deadline, the field is set in Florida’s 12th Congressional district. It is one progressive-- me-- running against four conservatives. Randy Wilkinson’s surprise filing as a TEA Party candidate ensuring a three-way general election, TeamTudor has never had a more clear path to victory in November. We know we can beat Blue Dog Lori Edwards, due to our superior grassroots and activist organization. Once Randy splits the radical right vote with big-insurance lawyer Dennis Ross in November, we will elect a Progressive and representative democracy will be returned to FL-12.”

FL-12 now moves up the rank to one of the best opportunities for a red seat turning blue. Again, please help make sure it's actually BLUE by helping Doug win his primary against a corporately-owned Blue Dog who has the same positions as the Republicans... though just on the important things. You can contribute to Doug's campaign here at the Blue America '10 page. And, in fact, every person who donates at least $25 in the next 24 hours will have his or her name put into a hat, from which one winner will be drawn. Winner? Winner? What's the prize? Ah... glad you asked. Remember, before I became a blogger I was the president of Reprise Records and one of our awesomest artists was Neil Young. The "winner" gets a rare, numbered VERY limited edition full color Neil Young print that has never been offered for sale. If you know a Neil Young fan, this is the ultimate gift.

Whose Side Is Steny Hoyer Really On-- People Or Corporations?

Good news: Steny Hoyer likes dogs.
Bad news: He loves Blue Dogs.

Tomorrow morning Majority Leader Steny Hoyer will be working hard to help elect an extremely conservative Democrat, Lori Edwards-- the only non-incumbent endorsed by the Blue Dog caucus-- to an open seat in Florida's 12th CD. Doug Tudor is the grassroots Democrat who ran in 2008, did well and is running again. Doug would align himself with the working family interests the Democratic Party traditionally stands for. Edwards is, at best, a "business Democrat" who could reasonably be expected to vote with her chief sponsor, Allen Boyd, against things like Social Security and healthcare reform.

At 8:30 am Hoyer and Edwards will be slobbering down sausage, bacon, ham and eggs and collecting checks from corrupt businessmen at the Tampa offices of one of the largest and most disreputable lobbying firms in America, Holland and Knight (at 100 North Tampa Street). Hoyer is trying to squeeze $2,400 contributions from the attendees, all of whom will be looking for future "favors" from the sleazy Hoyer and, on the off chance she wins the primary and the general election, from the hapless Blue Dog.

Meanwhile Holland and Knight's PAC has been handing out bribes contributions to try to influence votes that impact its clients. Among the conservatives on this year's Holland and Knight gravy train, where Hoyer and his Blue Dog will be feted tomorrow, are Jason Altmire (Blue Dog-PA, $2,000), John Barrow (Blue Dog-GA, $2,000), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN, $2,000), Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK, $2,000), Vern Buchanan (R-FL, $5,000), Congress' most corrupt Republican, Ken Calvert (R-CA, $500, a cheap date), Eric Cantor (R-VA, $3,500), Phil Gingrey (R-GA, $3,000), Parker Griffith (Blue Dog/R- AL, $1,000), Baron Hill (Blue Dog-IN, $1,000), Steny Hoyer (D-MD, $3,500), Darrell Issa (R-Toyota, $1,000), Jack Kingston (R-GA, $3,000), Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT, $3,500), Glenn Nye (Blue Dog-VA, $2,000), Mike Pence (R-IN, $1,000), Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN, $1,000), Paul Ryan (R-WI, $1,500), Mean Jean Schmidt (R-OH, $1,000), and (bad investment) Bart Stupak (RIP, $2,500).

Lori Edwards would have no chance fighting it out in a primary against Tudor on her own. He pulverized her so badly in the one debate she agreed to that she's turned down all other invitations to debate, regardless of which Democrat clubs or nonpartisan organizations have invited her. All she's got are corporate shills like Hoyer and Debbie Wasserman Schultz shaking down lobbyists for her. Blue America has endorsed Doug Tudor, and we're raising money for him on our PAC's main page. Please consider helping to balance the lobbyists that Hoyer brings in tomorrow morning by making a contribution to Doug. Even $5 and $10 contributions will help him get his message out.

I asked Doug what his take is on the Hoyer breakfast tomorrow, and he was his good old unflappable self:

Lori won’t face the voters or her fellow Democrats, because she is too busy sucking up to Washington insiders and corporate lobbyists. She’s Washington’s choice, but I am working everyday to be the people’s choice. It’s interesting to see her attend an event at 8:30 on a Monday, when she is supposed to be at work in the job to which she was elected in 2008 and now wants to abandon two years early.

There's another perspective on this too. I asked Andrew Gall, the Maryland Democrat who is running a primary challenge to Hoyer, what he thinks of Hoyer helping Blue Dogs and conservative Democrats-- mostly incumbents-- around the country. He had an interesting way of looking at it:

Hoyer's travels around the country in support of corporatist and unnecessarily conservative congressional candidates harms our country and is indicative of how Hoyer operates. Primaries are arguably the best feature of American democracy. They allow outsiders to challenge incumbents, thereby providing voters the opportunity to hold their elected officials accountable for poor actions without having to compromise their values or principles by voting for a Republican. As Hillary's challenge to Obama demonstrated, primaries don't hurt candidates, they make them stronger and more prepared for a general election. Yet, Majority Leader Hoyer travels the country in an attempt to stamp out these flames of democracy.

He does this for the same reason he voted for the Iraq War. He does this for the same reason he retroactively granted immunity to telecoms for illegally spying on American citizens. He does this for the same reason he does everything these days. He does it for political expedience. He doesn't have the gall to stand up for good policy because he is too concerned with politics. He is constantly looking to advance himself politically instead of consistently looking to advance the the interests of Americans and American democracy.

Moreover, Hoyer's success in prolonging the careers of corporate Democrats points to a bigger problem-- the role of money in politics today. Incumbents have built in advantages with high name recognition, easy access to press, and the ability to travel their district, hold events promoting themselves, and send direct mail to voters all on the tax-payer dime. These advantages are exacerbated by our system of privately funded elections. Hoyer is successful in re-electing these corporate Democrats because he is able to raise so much money. He is able to raise so much money because he is able to secure votes for his funders. As long as we have a system that requires candidates to raise tremendous sums from private interests, we will continue to see Majority Leader Hoyer travel the country in support of Democrats that will vote for these private interests. That is why I am running to end Hoyer's corporate complicity and to enact a system of robust public financing of elections.

Two Florida Democratic Challengers Standing With Their Constituents-- And Our Families-- On Health Care Reform

Elle Tudor

All of the Blue America-endorsed candidates this year support this first step towards real healthcare reform, even if they are all disappointed it isn't nearly as progressive or as close to perfect as we all hoped. I think every one of them is itching to get into Congress so they can sign up as co-sponsors on Alan Grayson's Medicare For All version of a useful and compelling public option. Over the past few days you've read quotes from most of them on their feelings about the bill's passage. Our most recently endorsed candidate, Doug Tudor, took the fight for healthcare reform very personally. You see that beautiful photograph on the top of the page? That's his daughter Elle.

"America took an awesome step forward," Doug wrote me yesterday, "with President Obama’s signature on the Affordable Health Care for America Act. There are many immediate and near immediate benefits of this legislation, which include:

• Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions for children in all new plans;

• Provide immediate access to insurance for uninsured Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition through a temporary high-risk pool;

• Prohibit dropping people from coverage when they get sick in all individual plans;

• Lower seniors prescription drug prices by beginning to close the donut hole;

• Offer tax credits to small businesses to purchase coverage;

• Eliminate lifetime limits and restrictive annual limits on benefits in all plans;

• Require plans to cover an enrollee's dependent children until age 26;

• Require new plans to cover preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing;

• Ensure consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions;

• Require premium rebates to enrollees from insurers with high administrative expenditures and require public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs.

The first of the benefits he listed is of particular and personal importance to him. His daughter, Elle, was born with hypoplastic right heart syndrome. She had her first open-heart surgery when she was two days old. She has had two subsequent open-heart surgeries, a brain surgery, and tests and procedures too numerous to recount. Her pre-existing condition was first identified when she was just five months in the womb.

"Today," Doug wrote, "due to the courage of the Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate and the leadership of President Obama, my daughter will no longer be a second-class citizen due to her pre-existing condition. I thank the Democratic members of the Democratic Party who voted on behalf of my daughter and so many of our fellow citizens...

"With all of the positive aspects of today’s law, I know we can improve it. Given the opportunity, I would co-sponsor, tirelessly advocate for, and vote yea on Alan Grayson’s HR 4789 -- 'Medicare You Can Buy Into Act.' Alan is a courageous, forward-thinking lawmaker, and I look forward to serving with him in the U.S. House.”

He added, "By the way, you would never know that Elle has any health issues. She is an intelligent, engaging, active, and beautiful nine-year-old. Oh, and sometimes she is bratty-- just like every other nine-year-old."

Just north of Doug's district, even sharing a small piece of Polk County, is FL-05, home of anti-healthcare wingnut Ginny Brown-Waite. The Democrat running against her, Jim Piccillo, is another Democrat firmly in the pro-healthcare camp. Like Tudor he was moved by the moment and inspired by the step forward. He was also sickened by the narrowly partisan behavior of Brown-Waite.

Sunday night, after more than a year of debate about healthcare reform, the American people were about to witness a vote which would insure 32 million more people, end discrimination against those with pre-existing conditions, bring down health care costs and finally close the Medicare “donut hole.” The last year of debate has seen the far right radicals, and tea party activists screaming as loud and as disgustingly as they could against providing help to those hit by the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. They worked hard to spread lies and fear but, Sunday night, the American people prevailed.

There were many highs and lows during the several hours of floor debate leading to the vote. But one of the lowest of the lows came from Tea-Party Republican, Virginia Brown-Waite, my opponent in November, once again showed publicly that her delusions know no bounds.

In just 45 seconds she managed to spew out several of the most outrageous lies in an effort to further panic the good people of the 5th District. She used her time on the House floor to punch out falsehoods saying everything from Social Security was being raided to warning seniors their doctors were going to drop them immediately.

Her remarks, while disturbing, were not surprising. You see, our district, FL 5th, has more people on Medicare than 11 states. In the last 8 years since Virginia won the seat nary a moment has gone by, whether on the floor of the House or ordering a turkey sandwich, when she doesn’t utter the phrase “for veterans and seniors.” The problem this time is that this bill will actually help seniors. It helps the 26% of our children who are on food stamps. It helps the 15% of our men and women who are unemployed.

What she did was a blatant attempt to scare the voters into thinking she was on their side. Her comments, the other night, were as disgraceful as when she wanted to dig up the servicemen and women from their graves in Normandy and as ridiculous as when she wanted the President to ask her permission before accepting the Nobel Peace Prize.

For the past 8 years this rubber-stamp Republican has proved to be on the wrong side of every important issue. As the Democratic nominee who will face her in November, I plan to hold her accountable for her lies and replace her with a new generation of common-sense leadership that values results over rhetoric and puts people above politics. No longer does the loudest yelled lie and most ignorant screams of hatred win. This is the New America and we are taking our country back.

This is what the bill she is railing against will do for her own constituents:

* Improve coverage for 429,000 residents with health insurance.

* Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 244,000 families and 15,100 small businesses to help them afford coverage.

* Improve Medicare for 228,000 beneficiaries, including closing the donut hole.

* Extend coverage to 117,000 uninsured residents.

* Guarantee that 21,400 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.

* Protect 1,600 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.

* Allow 58,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents’ insurance plans.

* Provide millions of dollars in new funding for 19 community health centers.

* Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health care providers by $25 million annually.

Not a single Florida Democrat-- even though conservatives Suzanne Kosmas and Allen Boyd (each facing primary challengers sick of their aisle-crossing Republican ways) surely wanted to-- voted against healthcare reform on Sunday. And not a single Republican voted for it. Ginny Brown-Waite is always a dependable rubber stamp for the Republican hierarchy. My guess, though, is that had Doug's Blue Dog opponent for the Democratic nomination in FL-12, Lori Edwards, been serving on Sunday, she would have voted exactly the way Republican Adam Putnam and the two dozen Blue Dogs supporting her campaign voted. That's why it's so important to help elect Doug to this open seat.

Blue America Welcomes Doug Tudor (FL-12)

In 2008 Doug Tudor was the Democratic nominee in an impossible race against an entrenched, powerful incumbent, multimillionaire Adam "Howdy Doody Nimrod" Putnam. An outspoken grassroots progressive, Doug ran without the backing of the DCCC and with the animus of nasty Florida powerbroker Debbie Wasserman Schultz. And yet... Doug did as well against Putnam as any of the losing Democratic candidates-- other than Joe Garcia-- that the DCCC and Wasserman Schultz did back. Conservative Democrat Christine Jennings got boatloads of DCCC-inspired cash and wound up with 37% of the vote. Conservative Democratic incumbent Tim Mahoney, a Rahm and Debbie special, raised over $3 million and barely managed to break 40%. And although the netroots had to force Wasserman Schultz' hand, she eventually backed Annette Taddeo and Raul Martinez-- with hundreds of thousand of dollars-- and each got 42% of the vote on election day. Doug-- with nothing but grassroots support-- and a budget of $109,851 (against Putnam's eye-popping $2,054,571) wound up with 43%. Imagine if he had had Democratic Party support! (As Chris Bowers reported yesterday, the DCCC spent over $14 million on Blue Dogs and other conservatives who vote against Democratic initiatives as a matter of course.)

Well, with Putnam leaving Congress in the hopes of plaguing Florida consumers on the way to a gubernatorial run in the future, the DCCC did decide to pump some money into FL-12, but instead of helping Doug, they got railroaded into backing Blue Dog Allen Boyd's handpicked corporate shill-- and fellow Blue Dog-- Lori Edwards. Lori is the only non-incumbent Blue Dog that caucus has backed so far this cycle. They gave her a lot of money and introduced her to all the worst and most corrupt corporate lobbyists who buy votes from congressmembers with no ethics and then claimed they had to endorse her because she has so much money and Doug doesn't. (She's taken in an unimpressive $176,451 so far and has virtually no backing on the ground.)

Today Doug is being officially endorsed by Blue America and he will join us for a live blog session at Crooks and Liars at 2pm (11am, PT). Last week, after his first debate with Lori Edwards, I made a case for his candidacy here but today we get to hear directly from Doug why he deserves support from the progressive community.

Doug's military record is a real inspiration, even for an old peacenik like myself, and I urge you to look it over carefully to help you gage what kind of a man we're talking about. But what has brought him to Blue America's attention is where he stands on the issues that are most important to us. Like I said, he's happy to answer questions on all the issues we're concerned with. Here are some direct quotes Doug has given me in interviews over time:

On the Economy: “During the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the federal government has to take the lead. Now is not the time to limit spending nor is it the time to talk about reducing the debt created by 30 years of Reaganomics.”
 
“The Federal Reserve needs to be audited, and the Congress needs to fully assume its role as the overseer of the Executive Branch’s regulatory functions.”
 
“I support reinstating Glass–Steagall provisions which prohibit banks from owning other financial companies.”
 
On Iraq: “It’s way past time to declare victory and come home. Like most things the Bush Administration did, the mantra of “We’ll stand down when they stand up” is absolutely backward. The Iraqi government will stand up once we stand down. Bring the troops home now.”
 
On Afghanistan: “We need to remove our forces and use counter-terrorism tactics instead of counter-insurgency. Only the Afghan government can successfully prosecute a counter-insurgency campaign.”
 
On Energy Policy: “People need to understand that America’s reliance on fossil fuels is a national security issue, where countries hostile to America can control our ability to determine our own future. Renewable and clean energy will allow us to control our own destiny, as well as creating innumerable jobs and supporting industries.” 

“I support Cap and Trade, and I am not afraid to call it Cap and Tax. I believe we need to Cap (limit) carbon emissions and Tax (fine) polluters. If someone pollutes by littering we fine them. Why shouldn’t we do the same with industry and other major polluters?”
 
On Equality: “I support marriage equality and the Employee Nondiscrimination Act. I would advocate to rescind and vote to rescind Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act.” 

I constantly hear well-meaning Democrats whining how they agree with progressive issues but can't tell anyone because the voters in their district are so reactionary. FL-12 has a PVI of R+5 and in the last three cycles Bush won by 55% (2000) and 58% (2004) and McCain edged out Obama 50-49%. Putnam's last 3 re-elections saw him rack up 65% (2004), 69% (2006) and 57% (against Putnam in 2008). That doesn't cause Doug to back away from presenting himself as an unabashed defender of working families and their interests, any more than it caused Alan Grayson or Dave Loebsack to go "Republican-lite." Doug Tudor is no John Barrow or Parker Griffith; he's a real progressive/populist Democrat. In fact, speaking about party-jumping Griffith the other day, Doug told me that "Blue Dogs like Lori Edwards are just a press conference away from being Republicans... The change you worked so hard for in 2008 is not being blocked by Republicans. It is being blocked by Blue Dogs who are in bed with the Republicans.” 

Doug is a state leader of Operation Free, an organization of veterans who have been emphasizing the relationship between unsustainable energy and environmental policies and unjustifiable wars. Take a look (and, if you can, make a difference):

A Case For Doug Tudor, Progressive Florida Democrat

A couple days ago I mentioned that DCCC Stalinist Debbie Wasserman Schultz, plus anti-Social Security fanatic Allen Boyd (Blue Dog-FL), had forced the DCCC's professional staff to add reactionary Blue Dog and corporate shill Lori Edwards to the Red to Blue program, tainting and devaluing it for everyone else in the eyes of progressives and grassroots Democrats.

I asked Doug Tudor, the grassroots Democrat running for the seat, who had been forewarned that the DCCC was about to pull this, for a reaction: "Washington politicians and corporate lobbyists are trying to determine who will be the Democratic nominee in FL-12. Despite the hard work and the great showing of our grassroots campaign in 2008, the DCCC didn't contact me and didn't take my calls. They didn't consult the Chairs of the three Democratic Executive Committees which cover FL-12. Basically, they didn't consult the people or the people's representatives. We will prove them wrong in the August primary."

I think Doug felt far worse when his pals at the local AFL-CIO bowed to pressure from Wasserman Schultz and endorsed Edwards. "I respect my brothers and sisters in labor, but I know they made the wrong decision. Lori has aligned herself with the Blue Dogs in Congress, and those Blue Dogs do not support labor. Lori's substandard record in the Florida House in the 1990s also shows that she does not support labor. I understand they were under pressure from the DCCC and the national and state AFL-CIO, but I had expected them to live up to union standards-- leadership from the bottom up. Regardless, I want my friends in labor to know-- though you didn't support me, I will always support you!

"Under Adam Putnam, we have had ten years of conservative non-representation. We cannot allow Washington and corporate lobbyists to force us to endure another FL-12 conservative in the U.S. House."

Tomorrow Doug-- along with 4 other progressive challengers, Billy Kennedy (D-NC), Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), Natalie Mosher (D-MI) and Bill Hedrick (D-CA)-- will get a nice boost from Congressman Jerry Nadler, chairman of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Rep. Nadler will be kicking off a week-long netroots fundraising effort on behalf of all five challengers with Blue America. He'll be live blogging at Crooks and Liars tomorrow at 11am (PT), explaining the importance of his State Secrets Act. Doug is a big proponent of Nadler's bill and was especially pleased to be selected by the congressman for this kind of support.

"Congressman Nadler continues to show extraordinary political courage with his introduction of The State Secret Protection Act of 2009 (HR 984). He does so in a political climate where any questioning of the federal government, especially in regards to national security, places the questioner in a position of being publicly declared a terrorist sympathizer. It is my belief that, while the government may very well have valid reasons for keeping some matters private, the more sunlight shed upon the government and its decisions and actions, the more likely we the people will have faith in the decision-making process of the government.
 
"I have spent my entire adult life in the U.S. military, and I held code-word Top Secret clearances for over a decade. I fully understand the delicate nature of some information. Given the opportunity to join Representative Nadler in the House, I would gladly co-sponsor, advocate for, and vote for this important piece of legislation."

Please consider making a contribution to Doug's campaign at the page Blue America uses to Send Democrats A Message They'll Understand.

Yesterday Doug and Lori debated for the first time. They met at the South Shore Democratic Club in Ruskin (Hillsborough). Each gave a stump speech and then stood and answered questions from the (mostly elderly) audience. Lori was furtive, vague, noncommittal and downright dishonest. When she was asked about whether she supported a public option, she in turn asked a couple of people in the crowd what they thought the public option is, a tried and true conservative tactic to avoid taking a stand. On three very basic straight forward questions-- education, prison reform, and marriage equality-- her response was that these were state issues, not federal issues. On three others she didn't seem able to follow the questioner, confusing health care reform with campaign finance reform, stating she hadn’t studied legalization of marijuana (although everyone in Polk County knows her husband is a hippie burnout and a stoner), and saying the federal government had very little to do with K-12 education. And three times, she replied, kind of dismissively, that whatever we might want to happen, it just wasn’t going to happen politically.

As part of Doug's opening speech he reminded the audience that he is "a candidate of conviction, not a candidate of convenience. I didn’t get into this race just because it is an open seat.” She doesn't appear to like being challenged and after Doug did it directly a few times, bringing up her very conservative record, her tightness with the Chamber of Commerce and her startling similarities to Adam Putnam, she threw a mini-tantrum and stomped out of the meeting in a huff. The DCCC is betting on the wrong horse and they expect grassroots Democrats to underwrite it. Instead, let me ask you again, to consider supporting real progressives and real Democrats at Blue America's Sending Democrats A Message page.

Our System Is Broken Because Of How It Is Funded-- Meet Florida Blue Dog Lori Edwards

Doug Tudor & lobbyist candidate, Blue Dog-endorsed Lori Edwards

So far this election season, the Blue Dog caucus, which has provided the bulk of the "no" votes that have destroyed Democratic unity in Congress and allowed the Republican minority to slow down and water down virtually ALL of President Obama's domestic agenda, has endorsed exactly one challenger: Lori Edwards, a cautious and very conservative Polk County, Florida elections supervisor. Last night an angry Polk County Democratic activist sent me a copy of an invitation to Edwards' first DC fund-raiser. It's being hosted by lobbyists, the Eris Group, at their New Jersey Avenue townhouse and Lori is being presented by two of K Street's worst Democratic shills in Congress, Blue Dog Allen Boyd and the DCCC's controversial and duplicitous candidate recruitment leader, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

The grassroots progressive candidate in the race for the FL-12 seat is Navy veteran and 2008 Democratic candidate Doug Tudor. With no support whatsoever from the DCCC, he managed to do as well against one of Florida's most powerful Republican politicians, Adam "Howdy Doody" Putnam, as the losing DCCC-backed candidates did in their races. When he approached Wasserman Schultz, then head of the DCCC Red to Blue program, for help, upon meeting her at Yearly Kos in Denver, she responded to his explanation that he hadn't developed strong corporate fundraising ties because he spent his life in military service and is a working class guy, she responded angrily and said "Don't pull that populist stuff with me." Next Thursday she is helping the Blue Dogs introduce their candidate against Tudor to a bunch of check-writing lobbyists who represent Morgan Stanley and Countrywide.

The other host is Allen Boyd, an unscrupulous reactionary from Tallahassee, the only Democrat in the House to vote for H.R. 440-- which, because of his vote Bush got to call "The Bipartisan Retirement Security Act," an attempt to eviscerate and destroy Social Security. Not even one other filthy, mangy Blue Dog would follow Boy'd lead on this. He knows very well that in Lori Edwards he'll have a real soul mate in Congress though. Boyd also voted for Bush's bank bailout in 2008 and against Obama's Stimulus Plan in 2009. Predictably, he also voted against the healthcare reform bill last month. He's eager to get another like-minded fake Democrat into the caucus. In fact, if she were in Congress last month, voting alongside Boyd, the healthcare reform act would have never passed.

It always amazes me how the hypocrites at the DCCC send out urgent letters soliciting donations from grassroots Democrats to save the president's policies from the deprecations of reactionary Republicans one day and then throw fundraisers-- with lobbyists-- for the very Democrats who enable the minority Republicans to get away with wrecking the president's policies! If you can't make it to the Lori Edwards lobbyist bash a week from tonight, please consider donating whatever you can afford to the Doug Tudor campaign today.