Why Doesn't Gwen Graham Just Switch Parties And Run As A "Moderate" Republican-- Which Is What She's Always Been?

Bipartisan love-- And #MeToo Graham

Gwen Graham is eating Patrick Murphy's lunch... again. When they served in Congress together, briefly thankfully, Murphy was always the second worst Florida Democrat-- in a delegation filled with garbage like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Alcee Hastings and Corrine Brown, currently serving in a federal penitentiary on basic corruption charges. Murphy (a New Dem) and Graham (a Blue Dog) never rose beyond their "F" ProgressivePunch ratings, not ever. Murphy came up with a superficial gimmick torun as a team with one of the MSNBC Republicans, former congressman David Jolly-- still a Republican with all that baggage-- and a week later Gwen Graham's floundering gubernatorial campaign doesn't just steal the concept, she steals Jolly as well. Murphy's left on the dock sucking his thumb-- or Nicholas Mastroianni's... thumbs... unless Graham picks him as her running mate! (Murphy, not Mastroianni.)

Graham's first reaction to Murphy's proposal-- before he vaulted thread of her among her conservative Democratic base-- was insist that a bipartisan ticket wasn't legal in Florida. Marc Caputo had the story early Monday morning.

“I see my lieutenant governor selection as someone who’s going to be right by my side helping me get this state back on the right path,” Graham told the podcast’s host, Fernand Amandi. “And so Patrick would certainly fit that definition, as would David, as would all the other candidates for governor on the Democratic ticket at the moment. So it’s really going to be for me a thorough analysis of who can bring the most to help make the biggest difference in the state of Florida.”

Gillum’s campaign took note of Graham’s comments, pointing out that she’s now running as a progressive but had successfully run as a “very conservative Democrat” in a GOP-leaning Tallahassee-based House seat in 2014.

“It’s beyond frustrating that the self-described ‘very conservative’ Gwen Graham is already considering splitting the ticket to run with the GOP, especially with an energized Democratic base ready to vote Republicans out,” said one of Gillum’s top liberal surrogates, Orlando Democratic state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith. “This is exactly why we need Andrew Gillum-- the only unapologetic progressive running. Democrats will win by authentically standing up for our values-- not by becoming Republicans!”

Graham’s comments come as an outside group supporting African-American candidates, The Collective super PAC, announced it would spent as much as $782,000 on an ad campaign questioning Graham’s progressive bonafides. Graham has called the ad misleading and wants it taken down.

...While Graham’s centrist [Belwayspeak for "right-wing"] voting record might be a problem in a Democratic primary, her supporters say it makes her a better general election candidate in a swing state like Florida. And that’s where Jolly could be an advantage.

Being relatively well-known among Democratic political junkies because of his frequent appearances on MSNBC bashing President Donald Trump, Jolly’s addition to a centrist ticket could even be a plus in a primary, according to a recent survey conducted by Murphy’s pollster.

Almost as soon as the news broke that Murphy was considering a bid with Jolly, Graham’s campaign and her surrogates pushed back on the notion of a bipartisan ticket by claiming it wasn’t legal because of state laws requiring membership in a political party for a year before announcing a bid.

“They could not run as Democrats-- you have to be registered as a D for over year; Jolly is a Republican. They would have to run without a party-- not even sure that is legal. Do some work,” Don Hinkle, a Tallahassee attorney and Graham supporter, huffed on Twitter.

Hinkle noted that the statute concerning the pick of a gubernatorial candidate’s running mate mentions a “written statement of political party affiliation.” Graham’s campaign surrogates also spread the word that a bipartisan ticket wasn’t lawful.

But Florida election-law attorney Jason B. Blank, also a Democrat, said the law doesn’t specify that a gubernatorial candidate and his or her running mate have to be members of the same party.

“A bipartisan ticket is not expressly forbidden by Florida law,” Blank said. “I have found no prohibition in Florida statute or in the Florida constitution.”

And now that Graham has said Jolly could be a pick for her, she sees no prohibition either.

As the Democratic governor of another state told me this morning, laughing, "This is what candidates do when they don’t know what to do." Meanwhile Quentin James from the Collective SuperPAC, did an expose of Graham's hysterical slander against his organization for Monday night's Miami Herald Their ad, which is driving Graham bonkers, is below. "Instead of responding to the content of the advertisement," he points out, "Graham and establishment Democrats spent an entire week attacking my organization for highlighting her conservative voting record and her choice to stand with GOP leaders over President Obama."

Graham falsely labeled our organization a “dark” money group even though The Collective Super PAC reports its contributions and expenditures monthly to the Federal Elections Commission. All 13,000 individual contributions from more than 6,000 individuals can be found at FEC.gov. A host of groups of similar size and structure have worked on behalf of Gwen Graham throughout her career and were given a hospitable welcome. Now, because we’re simply seeking accountability, we’re being accused of doing something suspicious, illegal or unethical.


...And in true fashion-- and during the same week no less-- Graham has proven us right: She is considering standing with a Republican in 2018. Politico reports that, “Graham is considering Republican David Jolly as a Florida gubernatorial running mate.” It boggles the mind that she would even contemplate choosing a GOP running mate in the midst of a Democratic primary, but this is exactly what our advertisement points to-- Graham is not the progressive she claims to be.

Instead of launching baseless attacks on our organization, Graham and her allies should inform Floridians why she stood against President Obama 52 percent of the time, why she trashed Obamacare, why she voted with the big banks, why she voted to approve the Keystone XL pipeline-- twice-- and why she’s considering a Republican running mate?

DFA Moves Quickly To Make Sure Howard Dean Can't Disgrace The Group

Long before he sold out and became a Big Pharma lobbyist, Howard Dean started DFA-- then Dean for America, now Democracy for America, and run by Howard's brother Jim Dean. After Howard Dean embarrassed himself and everyone else by endorsing very right-wing Blue Dog Gwen Graham for Governor of Florida, DFA felt compelled to refute Howard Dean's outrageous bullshit about Graham being a progressive.

Like Blue America, DFA has endorsed Andrew Gillum, the actual progressive-- the only progressive-- in the race. Yesterday, Graham's campaign sent out an endorsement e-mail ostensibly from a hero-turned-lobbyist: "I got to know Gwen more than 10 years ago when she joined our fight for progressive values. We worked together for universal healthcare, to end the Iraq War, and to empower the American people. I am proud to give Gwen Graham my full support today because she has spent her life fighting for those same shared values. Will you chip in to help Gwen win the primary and take back control of the Governor’s Office? ... As governor, she will fight for a public option to expand healthcare, ban assault weapons, and defend Florida families from Donald Trump's attacks.

A congressman who served with Graham during her single term in Congress was nearly doubled over with laughter when he got the Howard Dean e-mail. "This is shocking to me," he said. "I have nothing against her personally, but Gwen even refused to vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker. I guess that 'progressive' now means 'Blue Dog who wants progressive votes and contributions.' Dean says 'she will fight for a public option to expand healthcare.' She never did when she was in Congress.  This is disingenuous."

It's also embarrassing. I mean I can see a centrist sell-out like Dean backing a conservative Democrat like Gwen Graham in November against a Republican, when-- if she wins the primary-- she's the lesser of two evils. But calling her "progressive" is just pure bullshit and demeans the word "progressive," the way people like Howard Dean watered down the word "liberal" and made it useless. But in primary season, there's no reason to back someone like Gwen Graham, and certainly not when there's a candidate like Andrew Gillum in the race, who, unlike Graham has a long record as a progressive, not someone who just calls himself one. I'd like to see her or the other crappy conservative dare to run on the kind of progressive platform Andrew is running on. By all means read it-- and if you agree with it, please consider tapping on the Blue America gubernatorial thermometer on the right and contributing what you can to Andrew's very grassroots campaign.

Thanks In Part To Trump, Florida Heats Up As A 2018 Battleground

EMILY's List has come up with a way for Democrats to lose in Florida again

Yesterday Lisa Hagen wrote that Florida governor, Trump crony and crooked multimillionaire Rick Scott is running into headwinds as he considers his Senate run against Bill Nelson. GOP analyst Rick Wilson: "He’s got the ability to lay the hammer down very quickly and be in the fight very quickly. At this point if you’re him, you want to wait as long as you can [because] Donald Trump is really unpopular in Florida with people outside the Republican base." He has until May 4 to file; no other Republicans will as long as they think Scott's going to.

Republicans are expected to face strong headwinds in both the Senate and House heading into November. Democrats have held a consistent lead in generic ballot polling, while an unexpected Democratic special election victory in deep-red rural Wisconsin last week served as just the latest suggestion that a Democratic wave could be coming in November. While Scott sits on the sidelines, Democrats haven’t wasted any time taking shots at him and his record as governor.

  ...[T]he Republican governor will need to walk a fine line on how closely he associates himself to the president. Trump has said he wants to be active in 2018 campaigns and it remains to be seen whether he comes down to Florida to boost Scott and vulnerable House Republicans.

There are already signs that Scott is seeking to distance himself from Trump. After news broke about Trump calling Haiti, El Salvador and African nations “shithole” countries, Scott released a statement that he does “not think this way, nor do I agree with this kind of sentiment.” Florida has a sizable number of Haitian-born residents who are registered to vote.

“What will hurt Rick Scott is the endless beat down of ads showing him next to Donald Trump,” Wilson, an outspoken GOP critic of Trump, said. “People who hate Donald Trump will crawl over broken glass to vote against people who like Donald Trump.” 

Meanwhile, in the race to replace Scott in Tallahassee, Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum-- the Blue America-endorsed candidate and thinly progressive the race-- is making spectacular games against the three right-of-center Democratic corporate shills in the race-- Gwen Graham, Philip Levin and Chris King. Writing for Tampa Bay Beat, Jim Bleyer noted that while Levine and Graham "are relying on piles of money and a legacy name to boost their respective candidacies,  Gillum has issued meaningful, detailed policies and criticized the positions of Rick Scott, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and other high-profile Republicans." Last Friday Gillum released Fair Share for Florida’s Future, "a plan to invest more than $1 billion in the middle class, education, and job training, by adjusting the state corporate income tax rate."

 “Thanks to President Trump’s tax scam, Florida’s richest corporations will take home even more sacks of money than they already do,” said Gillum. “For decades they’ve gotten richer and richer, while working families have fallen further behind. Now, I’m proposing that the tiny fraction of Florida’s richest corporations pay their fair share, so we can invest in working families through world class public schools, a pay raise for teachers, early childhood education, and SHOP 2.0 vocational training.”

Gillum’s plan adjusts the state corporate income tax rate on large corporations to 7.75%, more in line with a fast-growing populous state, and invests the added recurring revenue in public school construction, teacher pay raises, early childhood education programs, and vocational training.

Karen Woodall, of the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy termed the Gillum plan “a job creator for Florida's working families.”

And concrete proposals from Graham and Levine to help the Democratic constituency? Nada. Bupkes.

Levine and Graham are submissive at best; craven at worst.  Levine in the past allied himself with Donald Trump in criticizing the media; Graham’s voting record in Congress during her two-year stint as a public servant is undeniably abysmal.

Instead of taking on the GOP’s steamrolling of the 99 percent, the two corporatists have contracted with pay-to-play blogs to publicize their campaigns. A sample of their touted accomplishments: Levine helped Miami International schedule a direct flight to Tel Aviv. Graham developed a sudden epiphany to help displaced Puerto Ricans.

The pair’s pandering to two important Democratic constituencies in Florida are repugnant, transparent, and meaningless in light of their track records. Neither displays a shred of “thrausos.”

If Democrats continue rewarding corporate donors and ignoring the voters, they will always be in the minority, wrote Richard Eskow in this penetrating piece.

“I want Walter Cronkite to come back. I think we need objective news,” Levine said when asked about Trump tweeting out a clip of himself body-slamming someone with a CNN logo over their face.

In May, Levine threw the door wide open to shunning the Democratic label and running as an independent candidate for governor. Since he could not meet deadlines prescribed by law, he is now running as a Democrat.

“I love the Democratic Party. But you know what’s interesting? I actually like the Republican Party, and I like a lot of Republican ideas, and I like a lot of the people in the Republican Party as well,” he declared in Tampa.

“But this millionaire Democrat also is making headlines-- with words like ‘tirade’ and ‘flies off handle’-- because of his off-the-cuff remarks and juvenile posts on social media,” the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorialized in March. “With the gubernatorial field beginning to take shape, Democrats should be asking themselves whether they really want a nominee whose temperament draws comparisons to that of 'President' Donald Trump.”

Graham is even more shameful. Her pivoting and pandering makes her anathema to voters of either major party.  If it weren’t for her last name and the carpet bombing of her pay-for-play propaganda, she would be polling in the low to mid single digits.

As a one term Congresswoman, Graham voted with the Republican majority in 39 of 90 key votes:  43 percent of the time. Among her indiscretions:

• Voting for the Keystone pipeline
• Voting against the Unfunded  Mandates and Transparency Act
• Voting for the relaxation of permitting for natural gas pipelines
• Voting for improving coal combustible residuals
• Voting for the prohibition of transfers of prisoners held at Guantanamo
• Voting for  a joint resolution for Congressional disapproval under Chapter 8 of Title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency relating to the definition of “Waters of the United States” Under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

There are so many other environmental transgressions that John Muir is doing somersaults.

As Tampa Bay Beat reported a month ago, Graham would have no chance in a general election unless her opponent was at the epicenter of a Mooresque-proportioned scandal.

How To Win Statewide In Florida Again

This doesn't work in Florida any longer

Blue America endorsed Andrew Gillum for governor of Florida on Monday. Looking back over that post, I decided we needed a better look at two things-- who Gwen Graham is and who Andrew Gillum is. Let me work on the Andrew part of this for a few days so I get it right. The Gwen Graham part is so much easier because I've followed her short congressional career so carefully and because it is so very NOT nuanced.

You know how important the Tim Canova race against Wasserman Schultz in South Florida is to us. And you have probably surmised how hard we're pushing Alan Grayson to stop playing with his 5 children and run for Congress in Central Florida. Andrew is the North Florida candidate we're as excited about as Canova and Grayson. And Andrew is under attack by that embodiment of the corporatist establishment, Gwen Graham.

For the uninitiated, Graham is the daughter of former Governor, Senator, and one-time Presidential candidate Bob Graham. Bob was first elected as Governor in 1978-- giving a young Gwen the privilege of growing up in the Governor’s Mansion. She later went on to become an attorney-- and despite her constant claims that she “never expected to run for Congress”-- won a Congressional seat in 2014.

Gwen touts her victory over Steve Southerland as a bright spot-- and in a year when Democrats ran scared campaigns in the face of the Tea Party-- she would ordinarily have been right. But, tragically, her voting record might as well have belonged to her Republican opponent.

In her first year, she somehow racked up more votes with the Republican Majority, led by then-Speaker John Boehner and Speaker-in-Waiting Paul Ryan, than with President Obama. You read that right-- a former Congresswoman running for Governor of Florida as a Democrat-- voted against President Obama more than she voted with him. We may have some misgivings about Obama’s record-- but it is a betrayal that any Democrat who seeks higher office would do so on the basis of a record of opposing President Obama.

She only served one term in Congress, but it is riddled with votes that no doubt made her corporate benefactors such as the oil and gas industry, or the big banks, think their investment had paid off handsomely.

She voted to make it harder for people to get employer-based health insurance-- voting to change the number of hours required for health insurance to 40 from 30. Even though her family never had to worry about getting health insurance, perhaps the Congresswoman doesn’t understand that regular people can’t just hold down one 40-hour per week job to make ends meet.

She voted for the Keystone XL pipeline-- and took thousands of dollars from big oil and gas companies like Exxon Mobil when she was in Congress. No wonder she didn't mind taking $50,000 for her Gubernatorial campaign from a Florida developer who had to pay millions in fines.

She voted to make it harder for Syrian refugees to enter the country-- joining the Republican fearmongers and Blue Dog extremsts like Patrick Murphy in the process.

She bowed to the will of the big banks that are ruining this country by voting to weaken Dodd-Frank regulations on those financial companies-- and didn’t seem to be at all bothered by it.

Since she got in the governor’s race, she’s tried to do what primary voters want by painting herself as some kind of a progressive-- but her votes in Congress tell the real story. She’s a congresswoman who is truly Republican-lite-- cut from the same cloth as Patrick Murphy and countless other failed moderate Democrats all over the country who have fallen on their faces in general elections.

I didn't mention him on Monday but Miami Beach Mayor Phillip Levine-- a self-described “radical centrist” who praises Señor Trumpanzee-- is also competing for the Democratic nomination. But the big self-funder has already poured in millions of his own dollars and got little to show for it in recent polling.

Graham and her forces have been hard at work in Florida, trying to tear down Andrew Gillum, largely ignoring Levine.

As I explained Monday, self-styled progressive, Gillum is the dynamic and charismatic African-American Mayor of Florida’s capital city. He’s been in the public eye for more than a decade, having won a City Commission seat when he was still a senior in college at Florida A&M University. He got his start in politics opposing Jeb Bush’s attacks on affirmative action, and helping lead voter registration and organizing efforts across Florida.

His life story is the kind that we all look up to-- born the fifth of seven kids to working-class parents in Miami-Dade, he was the first in his family to go to college. Gillum has been open about his brothers’ run-ins with the law, and he’s talked compellingly about forgiveness and second chances in his campaign.

Gillum is right on so many of our issues-- it’s a disservice to the Democratic Party that he is facing the kind of opposition that he is from a Republican-lite unaccomplished former member of Congress. He voted to ban fracking in Tallahassee, and has firmly opposed the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Sabal Trail Pipeline as well. He wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 in Florida, and has talked about ending Florida’s Jim Crow law that disenfranchises more than 1.5 million former felons from voting. He’s leaped headlong into the challenges of fixing health care and proudly endorsed Medicare-for-All.

He’s got the right story, and he’s got the right policies and history. He’s just the kind of inspirational candidate that in a wave year-- when Democrats should see huge advantages from disastrous Donald-- could make real history in a state like Florida. More than 20 years have gone by since they had a Democratic governor-- instead stuck with Governors like Rick Scott-- and now is the election when Florida Democrats need to break that streak. No more Republican-lite-- Florida saw just how badly Patrick Murphy, a right-of-center Blue Dog, got beat by the organized Republican base and Marco Rubio. If Democrats put up more mushy, squishy "moderates," they will get squished again, just like they were last year-- and every year since Lawton Chiles died in office in 1998.

When she became a Congresswoman representing the Big Bend, Graham announced she would "reach across the aisle." She might as well have been sitting across the aisle. According to USA Today, Graham was one of:

• 12 Democrats to vote for a bill increasing from 30 to 40 the number of hours an employee must work per week to qualify for mandatory health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
• 28 Democrats to vote for a bill approving the Keystone XL pipeline.
• Eight Democrats to vote for a bill making it tougher for federal agencies to impose new rules without detailed justification.
• 29 Democrats to vote for a bill relaxing some Dodd-Frank banking regulations.
• 31 Democrats to vote for an intelligence authorization bill to ban the government from transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the U.S.
• 19 Democrats to vote for a bill granting states authority to regulate coal ash disposal. The measure would undo a federal EPA rule.
• 25 Democrats to vote against a bill approving the nuclear deal with Iran.

She may not be exactlythe same as likely Republican candidate Adam Putnam, but close enough to discourage enough voters to do what Florida Democrats have been doing for as long as most millennials have been cognizant of politics: lose. Time for a different approach and a chance to catch the energy of the moment in American politics.

After Failing With Right-Of-Center Corporate Dems in Every Gubernatorial Race Since They Ran Buddy MacKay In 1998, Time For Andrew Gillum, A Real Live Progressive

A couple of nights ago, centrist MSNBC host Joy Reid tweeted that "The consequences of elections can be grave, America. Voting to 'shake things up' or 'send an outsider to Washington' or going third party to 'send a message' can mean literal life, death or suffering for lots of people. This mess was made by voters, non-voters, cruelty and greed." Sounds good, right? Well... that's the standard establishment Democratic Party claptrap that's behind the mess the country is in now-- with Republicans in control of most state legislatures, most governors' mansions, the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court and of course, the presidency and executive branch.

I was talking with an old friend yesterday, Andrew Gillum, mayor of Tallahassee. I met him almost 15 years ago when he was director of one of People for the America Way's most successful projects, Young Elected Officials. Now he's running for governor of Florida. Andrew's running on a policy-forward progressive platform. His top primary opponent, Gwen Graham, is a former one-term congresswoman from Tallahassee. Andrew, in fact, introduced me to her in 2013. The first time I spoke with her, I realized she was another garden variety, lesser-of-two evils Democratic politician. At the time I found her to be a natural politician: overly cautious, deceptive, cowardly and unctuous.

She got into Congress by beating a weak Republican incumbent and immediately joined the Blue Dogs and started voting very consistently with the GOP. For the 2 years she held her seat she had the worst voting record of any Democrat in the House. On crucial votes, she was with the GOP more than 70% of the time. But she had a "D" next to her name. (Actually she had an "F" Next to her name at ProgressivePunch. On her very first vote as a congresswoman, Graham refused to vote for Nancy Pelosi and cast her ballot for fellow Blue Dog Jim Cooper of Tennessee. After a full term under her belt, she had the distinction of having amassed the single worst voting record of any Democrat in the House. Then-Speaker John Boehner and later Speak Paul Ryan were able to count on her across the board to help disguise their radical right agenda as "bipartisan" to a credulous, lazy mass media. Hacks in the media, loved to refer to her as a "rising star" and slant their reports to encourage people to buy into the craven, values-free careerism she exhibits; after all, it matches their own. She was a backbencher with virtually no influence and no legislative achievements but was a favorite of K Street lobbyists, who saw her as an easy vote for their shady attempts to influence policy of behalf of their corporate clients. The $45,764 they gave her in the one cycle she was in Congress wa more than any other Democratic freshman and the only Floridian who has taken more in bribes from K Street lobbyists was, predictably, Patrick Murphy-- the lobbyists' 4th favorite congressman after John Boehner ($199,200), Paul Ryan ($194,400), and Kevin McCarthy ($187,048).

From the very beginning of her term in Congress it was clear she would be exactly the kind political hack that discourages the Democratic base from bothering to vote at all. Florida blogger "gimleteye," asked the question that became apparent on the day she declared her candidacy: namely: will she push toward the right, like her father did? By the time he wrote his column, she already had-- completely, having signed on to the GOP schemes to deregulate Wall Street again, putting taxpayers on the hook for irresponsible gambling by avarice-driven banksters. She became a co-sponsor of a Republican bill that raises the number of hours from 30 to 40 that an employee must work per week to be eligible for health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), something that will cost taxpayers billions of wasted dollars and she quickly became a supporter of the Keystone Pipeline. This is an email that circulated widely through progressive Florida circles after Graham was in Congress for just a few weeks:

I have to tell you that I did a great deal to help Gwen Graham get elected. I am at a loss for words in expressing how disappointing this performance has been.

The worst part of it is that Gwen seemed to sincerely think she was going to be a part of a change in Washington. These actions are exactly the kind of cynical bullshit that makes people hate politics and politicians. They are disgraceful.

To me, the worst vote is the one on the ACA. There is a lot to dislike about the ACA. But the act really could be improved. But by 'improved' I meant work better for people, not the opposite.

This bill simply takes money out of the pockets of our hardest working, economically marginal people and puts it in the pockets of the Walton family. It is an awful bill with no merit and justification. It is redistribution of wealth from the poor to the rich. Period.

So, these Democrats are voting to 'reform' the ACA by making working poor people pay for their own insurance out of their measly paychecks instead of having their large-scale corporate employers pay, and when these same people are hit with the bill, they will think that the Republican propaganda about how awful the ACA was, was actually true. And then, they will go out and vote for Republicans.

I don¹t know exactly what to do about this, but this is just exactly what is wrong with Washington and its is sad to know the newest members have failed their first integrity test.

Totally sick to my stomach. Four votes in one week against ACA, for Keystone, gutting Dodd Frank, and against Nancy Pelosi. Imagine what she can accomplish in 2 years. My support is over."

The DCCC never stopped loving her. EMILY's List loves her even more. And conservative media types just absolutely kvell over her. These people, like Reid, blame progressives for the fact that Florida, for example, keeps electing Republicans. Maybe the corruption-riven Florida Democratic Party-- Wasserman Schultz's party-- should stop nominating conservative, Republican-lite candidates who always-- yes always-- lose and try a progressive who will inspire the base instead of deflate the base. Being anti-Trump is not enough. Being the lesser of two evils is not enough. We saw that in the presidential election last year when Wasserman Schultz and Reid's candidate led to a Trump presidency.

The last governor the Democrats elected was Lawton Chiles, a progressive populist-- and that was in 1994 when Joy Reid was in her 20s. After Chiles died in office, the Florida Democrats nominated a parade of conservatives who all lost: Buddy MacKay in 1998, Bill McBride in 2002, Jim Davis in 2006. In 2010 dull centrist Democrat Alex Sink lost to the most flawed Republican imaginable, Rick Scott. Four years later another right-of-center candidate, fake Democrat Charlie Crist, lost to Scott again. And many centrists are insisting on... nominating yet another dull centrist. Why not the most qualified, accomplished and inspiring candidate running? Why not Andrew Gillum? Isn't it time too try something else other than the same old losing formula? Want to help Andrew win the nomination and go on the replace Rick Scott and begin the long and arduous task of cleaning up the mess he's leaving behind? Click on the ActBlue 2018 gubernatorial thermometer on the right and consider contributing what you can.

Congress And Food Policy-- The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The stated mission of Tom Colicchio's group, Food Policy Action, is to highlight the importance of food policy and to promote policies that support healthy diets, reduce hunger at home and abroad, improve food access and affordability, uphold the rights and dignity of food and farm workers, increase transparency, improve public health, reduce the risk of food-borne illness, support local and regional food systems, protect and maintain sustainable fisheries, treat farm animals humanely and reduce the environmental impact of farming and food production. This week they put out their 3rd annual scorecard to highlight how members of Congress have been voting on food-related issues.

Among the many bills they focused on were these dozen with very specific aims:

• H.R. 1284- Directs EPA to suspend registration of certain pesticides until they can be proven safe for bees, and to conduct research on the health of bees and bee mortality.
• S. 1332- Gives USDA the authority to issue mandatory recall of contaminated meat and poultry products.
• H.R. 913 and  S. 511- Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the sale of food that has been genetically engineered or contains genetically engineered ingredients, unless that information is clearly disclosed.
• H.R. 1061 and  S. 569- Increases annual mandatory Farm to School funding from $5 million to $15 million and increases the maximum grant award to $200,000. Expands the program scope to include pre-schools, summer food service programs, and after-school programs. Creates incentives for beginning, veteran and socially-disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to participate in the program.
• H.R. 1728 and S. 613- Expands eligibility for summer food service, increases the number of reimbursable meals, and establishes a competitive grant program for solutions to limited transportation to congregate summer food sites.
• H.R. 2627- Requires USDA to establish and implement a plan to increase the use of salad bars in schools, including through a competitive grant program.
• H.R. 3164 and S. 1832- Raises the minimum wage to $15 per hour for most workers by 2020, and provides a formula for an annual increase after that.
• H.R. 3316 and S. 540 - Authorizes USDA loan guarantee program for school kitchen infrastructure improvements, and authorizes targeted grants for infrastructure and training and technical assistance.
• H.R. 704- Eliminates the Renewable Fuel Standard’s corn-based ethanol requirement, caps the ethanol blend amount into gas at 10%, and requires EPA to cap cellulosic biofuels levels at current production levels.
• S. 190- Authorizes FDA program for inspection of imported seafood, and amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the importation of any seafood from a foreign country unless the country complies with U.S. standards for seafood manufacturing, processing, and holding.

They singled out six congressmen as "Food Policy Failures," Tom Graves (R-GA), Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), Buddy Carter (R-GA), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Gregg Harper (R-MS) and Kenny Marchant (R-TX). Most Democrats did well and most Republicans did poorly. But... there were some exceptions. Democrats with failing grades included this batch of shit-heads:

• Collin Peterson (Blue Dpg-MN)- 41%
• Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)- 43%
• Jim Costa (Blue Dog-CA)- 50%
• Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog)- 53%
• Kyrsten Sinema (Blue Dog)- 56%
• Brad Ashford (Blue Dog-NE)- 60%
• Sanford Bishop (Blue Dog-GA)- 60%
• Jim Cooper (Blue Dog-TN)- 63%
• Bennie Thompson (D-MS)- 64%
• David Scott (Blue Dog-GA)- 65%
• Cedrick Richmond (New Dem-LA)- 67%
• Terri Sewell (New Dem-AL)- 67%
• Tim Walz (D-MN)- 67%
• Jim Clyburn (D-SC)- 69%
• Cheri Bustos (Blue Dog-IL)- 69%
• George Butterfield (D-NC)- 69%
• Filemon Vela (Blue Dog-TX)- 71%
• Gwen Graham (Blue Dog-FL)- 71%

Ironically, the last name on the list, Gwen Graham, was elected as Food Policy Action's first big success. They helped oust reactionary Republican Steve Southerland in a close, hard-fought race in 2014. Graham has turned out to be

a- better than Southerland
b- worse than almost any Democrat in Congress
c- pretty bad on Food Policy Action's issues

They probably need to get a little more sophisticated about understanding that not all Democrats are any good and that the worst thing anyone with a progressive agenda can ever do, is take advice from the creeps at the DCCC, DSCC and DNC, likely where lots of the board members, Colicchio included, have friendly contacts. Stick with them and you wind up wasting your money and efforts promoting garbage candidates like Gwen Graham. There 6 House endorsements this year come straight from the DCCC and include 2 California candidates who might turn out to be good-- Michael Eggman and Emilio Huerta-- and three who will turn out to be as bad or worse than Graham: "ex"-Republican Monica Vernon (IA), and two grotesque Wall Street-oriented Blue Dogs, Brad Schneider (IL) and Josh Gottheimer (NJ), who will eventually have all the Food Policy Action folks sitting around in a circle weeping and cursing. (The 6th endorsee, Anna Throne-Holst, Steve Israel's Suffolk County girlfriend, is going to lose badly, so it isn't worth speculating about how bad she would wind up being on food issues in Congress.)

Two much better endorsements-- but not ones the DCCC or Pelosi would have ever told them about would be Tom Wakely, the progressive Democrat running against House Science Committee chairman, Lamar Smith, and DuWayne Gregory, the progressive Democrat running against GOP hack Peter King-- in other words, against two reactionary Trumpists who failed the Food Policy Action scorecard with miserable scores. "With Lamar Smith and this insane brand of conservatism," Wakely told us, "it's all about the bottom dollar. He doesn't care if pesticides make you ill. He doesn't care if you want to know where your meat is sourced. Smith and his cronies only care about promoting enterprise at any cost, and unfortunately the cost is usually the well-being of our citizens. This is becoming taxation without representation. We're paying the salaries of congressmen like Lamar Smith so they can be stewards of everything but the people they were elected to represent. When I'm elected I'll always vote in a manner so that the people will have a right to know how their food was prepared. It's simply common decency."

And DuWayne went through the Food Policy Action scorecard report on King and told us that the Long Island congressman "has an abysmal 31% record when it comes to food safety. Voting against common sense measures to ensure our food supply is healthy to consume shouldn't be complicated. I understand the importance of dangerous chemicals being restricted from our food supply and hold those accountable with strict regulations. We need members of Congress that will fight for the people and not loosen laws for violators."

 

How Much Should Anyone Care About Political Endorsements?

Florida has an especially bad congressional delegation-- but this is the bottom rung

Earlier today I blamed voters, particularly Bernie voters, for not paying attention to primary races for Congress, for skipping the vote on down-ballot candidates altogether or for even blundering into voting for atrocious Blue Dogs and New Dems who are the polar opposite of everything that motivated them to come our to vote for Bernie. In Oregon's 5th district, for example, Bernie swept every county and clobbered Hillary by double digits. On the same day, Berniecrat Dave McTeague was on the ballot, running against the head of the Blue Dogs, Kurt Schrader, the TPP-backing right-wing congressman who actually introduced an amendment to cut benefits for seniors living on Social Security and Medicare. It's inconceivable that any Bernie backers would want to see this asshole reelected. But they voted for him. He won 67,124 (72.6%) to 25,289 (27.4%) and swept every county Bernie won in.

Soon after, in a remote Texas primary runoff (TX-15) that pitted a proven progressive, Sonny Palacios, against a hard-core conservative Democrat, Vicente Gonzalez, some hustler sold the Congressional Progressive Caucus on endorsing Gonzalez, which they cavalierly did, helping throw the race to him. Gonzalez, a corrupt attorney, self-funded his campaign to the tune of $1,650,000, swamping the progressive. CPC members I spoke to told me his money was a factor in favor of endorsing him. A day or two after the endorsement local radio hosts mentioned to Gonzalez on the air that "You were endorsed by the Progressive Caucus... I've heard you say once before you see yourself as a conservative Democrat." He immediately responded, "I do in a lot of ways but I guess they agreed with some of my views... I'm not changing my principles... I appreciate the endorsement but my views are my views." Those views aren't remotely progressive, not even pro-Choice. "I govern from the middle, You know I'm not for raising taxes... I believe we should have the strongest military in the world-- always-- and we should lead the world militarily." One of the interviewers, the more Republican one, listened to him speaking and asked "Why are you running as a Democrat?" He said he's been a Democrat all his life and reiterated that he's a conservative and then said "There are a lot of great candidates on the Republican side as well. I'll reach across there aisle and work with them." Too bad they didn't ask him to name any. The only other congressional candidate he's ever contributed to is right-wing New Dem, Filemon Vela, who routinely votes against every CPC proposal... as, no doubt Gonzalez will.

The CPC, overly eager to please corrupt party bosses, bent over backwards to get on board with truly horrible, conservative candidates, several of whom had already been endorsed by the New Dems, even though they were running against actual progressives. Yesterday one of the most conservative Dems to serve in the Senate in recent memory, Evan Bayh, jumped into the 2016 Senate race-- who cares about primaries in Indiana?-- and was widely cheered as a savior, even though he is a slimy lobbyist with a vile corporate agenda and was one of the strongest proponents of two of the worst initiatives during his years in the Senate: the Iraq War and the TARP bailout of the banksters.

Also yesterday, the furthest right Democrat in the House, Gwen Graham made the news by endorsing fellow New Dem Patrick Murphy for senator against Alan Grayson. She expects to see him in the Senate where he could help her run for governor in 2018. She spent her single term in the House voting more frequently with the GOP than any other Democrat and opposing more progressive proposals than any other Democrat. Ironically, her conservative father, Bob Graham (and a Murphy backer), endorsed Grayson's right wing, good ole boy Republican-wing-of-the-Democratic Party primary opponent, Charlie Stuart, in 2008 even though Grayson had already won the primary in early voting. Gwen Graham is the worst kind of backward anti-working family Democrat that the royalists puke up from time to time-- like Patrick Murphy himself, another overly entitled unaccomplished child of a rich person. The pompous asshole was wagging his tale and issued a typically insincere political statement that "Gwen represents the best of our state-- hardworking, honest, and always working for what is best for Florida families. Her support means the world to me and I look forward to working together to continue standing up for our shared values." Their main shared value, judging by their voting records, is promoting the Keystone XL and destroying everything Elizabeth Warren, Bernie and other progressives have accomplished in holding Wall Street banksters accountable and in check. Murphy and Graham have both worked hard to disembowel Dodd-Frank.

The good candidates are here; the bad ones aren't:

Democrats Spent Millions On Gwen Graham-- Aside From Twisted Bragging Rights, Got Less Than Nothing For The Efforts

Gwen Graham is a Florida Blue Dog with the lowest ProgressivePunch score (27.45)-- by far-- of any Democrat in Congress, from anywhere. Her voting record is so right-wing voting that 5 conservative Republicans-- Mark Sanford (R-SC), Tom Massie (R-KY), Chris Gibson (R-NY), Justin Amash (R-MI) and Walter Jones (R-NC)-- have voted in favor of progressive legislation more frequently than she has. It's not just that her record is graded an "F," with the exception of Texas Blue Dog Henry Cuellar (Bush's favorite Democrat) none of the worst Democrats in the House have records anywhere near as bad as hers. Even former Republicans like Brad Ashford (Blue Dog-NE) and Patrick Murphy (New Dem-FL) vote with the Democrats far more than Graham does.

She claims that a less gerrymandered congressional district isn't fair and that she isn't going to run for Congress again but will likely run for her party's gubernatorial nomination. The one time I spoke with her on the phone-- when she had first declared her congressional campaign, I found her to be a natural politician: overly cautious, deceptive, cowardly and unctuous. I called looking for hope for a Democrat who could win in a tough district; instead I found someone who would be likely to be nearly as bad as a right-wing Republican. She only wanted to talk in vague generalities and when I asked her about specifics, like the Chained CPI and marriage equality, she abruptly told me her campaign manager said it was time for her to take another call." She beat the top incumbent 50.4-49.6%. Back then party registration in 14-county FL-02 favored Democrats 50.1% to 42.1%. Between 21 and 22% of registered voters were blacks and for a Democrat to win, he or she would have to sweep that community and still keep nearly 40% of white voters. Graham's campaign worked very hard and succeeded in doing that.

The campaign and its communications staff came up with what may be the best campaign slogan of the cycle: The North Florida Way. By summer of 2014, when Gwen Graham decided to go on air (and had the airwaves to herself for several months), the slogan was used in every spot. Graham promised to work across the aisle and derided the partisan nature of both Congress and Congressman Southerland. She promised to work for the betterment of the community and to always represent North Florida’s interests in Congress.


This tactic was brilliant. By going on television early and ensuring the voters she was "one of them," Graham had helped inoculate herself to the eventual attacks that would come from Southerland and his allies, as well as subdue the district’s bias against electing federal Democrats. The eventual attacks that came were predictable– that Graham was just a Tallahassee liberal who would support Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Graham pushed back, saying she would not back Pelosi for speaker and argued that new leadership was needed in both parties. Graham also hit Southerland for his partisan voting record, for not voting to end of the Government shutdown, and his vote against the Violence Against Women Act, after he claimed to have supported it.

The districts voters went for Rick Scott that night and against ex-Republican Charlie Crist, and they chose to stay with conservative Democrat Bill Nelson as well-- though Nelson isn't nearly as far to the right as Graham. Because of her legendary father's connections, Graham managed to outraise and outspend Southerland, $3,663,383 to $2,971,841. Third party spending in the district was very heavy-- $8,322,425, and almost all of it was negative. The DCCC put in $2,726,976 (along with another $867,980 from the Pelosi-controlled House Majority PAC) while the NRCC kicked down $2,364,250. The NRA put in over $280,000 for Southerland and various Koch-funded big-bucks GOP groups piled on with over another million. Right-of-center Beltway Democratic groups like the Blue Dogs, EMILY's List ($78,165) and the New Dems, as well as undiscerning, lockstep environmental and union groups put money down for Graham to buy anti-Southerland ads.

All that effort and money spent on behalf of Graham bought the Democrats a seat. Was it worth it? On her very first vote, Graham refused to vote for Nancy Pelosi and cast her ballot for fellow Blue Dog Jim Cooper of Tennessee. Now, with nearly a full term under her belt, she has the distinction of having amassed the single worst voting record of any Democrat in the House. Boehner was able to count on her across the board-- as Ryan can now-- to help disguise their radical right agenda as "bipartisan" to a credulous, lazy mass media.

Hacks in the media, like to refer to her as a "rising star" and buy into the craven, values-free careerism she exhibits because it matches their own. She's been raising money hand-over-first from all the corrupt interests she cavorts with in DC. As of the March 31 FEC filing deadline she had raised $2,163,902, much of it from the Finance Sector, although her single biggest contributor this year was the New Dems, who gave her $18,501. For a backbencher with virtually no influence and no legislative achievements she has been a favorite of K Street lobbyists, who see her as an easy vote for their shady attempts to influence policy of behalf of their corporate clients. The $45,764 they gave her this cycle is more than any other Democratic freshman and the only Floridian who has taken more in bribes from K Street lobbyists is, predictably, Patrick Murphy-- the lobbyists' 4th favorite congressman after John Boehner ($199,200), Paul Ryan ($194,400), and Kevin McCarthy ($187,048). So far this cycle Murphy has scooped up an astronomical $156,313, even more than Steny Hoyer ($125,529), widely known as the King of K Street.

Graham will have two conservative Democratic mayors to get by to win the nomination-- Miami Beach's Phil Levine and Orlando's Bob Buckhorn. Three truly horrible choices for Florida Democrats, albeit none quite as bad as the two most likely GOP contenders, Adam Putnam and Little Marco. Another lesser-of-two-evils is about to be thrust onto Florida voters.

Was It A Mistake To Spend Millions Of Dollars To Elect Right-Wing Democrat Gwen Graham In Florida?

Florida's 2 worst congressional Democrats

Almost a year ago, when she first declared her candidacy for the Florida panhandle seat that gaffe-prone Republican Steve Sutherland had won from reactionary Blue Dog Allen Boyd in 2010, I managed to contact Bob Graham's daughter Gwen. I spoke with her while she was driving southwest from Tallahassee towards Panama City. My first impressions were that she was "well spoken and idealistic-sounding but that she didn't want to go beyond generalities she had down by rote, like 'I want to be a different type of representative to find a common ground with Democrats and Republicans.' When I asked her about specifics like the Chained CPI and marriage equality she abruptly told me her campaign manager said it was time for her to take another call." I can take a hint. "Steve Israel," I thought to myself, "is going to love her." She was one of only two Democratic challengers that year who beat a Republican incumbent. In November Graham came out with 125,132 votes (50.4%) to Southerland's 122,939 (49.6%).

Party registration in 14-county FL-02 favors Democrats 50.1% to 42.1%. Between 21 and 22% of registered voters are blacks and Democrats have to sweep that community and still keep nearly 40% of white voters to win. Graham's campaign worked very hard and succeeded in doing that.

The campaign and its communications staff came up with what may be the best campaign slogan of the cycle: The North Florida Way. By summer of 2014, when Gwen Graham decided to go on air (and had the airwaves to herself for several months), the slogan was used in every spot. Graham promised to work across the aisle and derided the partisan nature of both Congress and Congressman Southerland. She promised to work for the betterment of the community and to always represent North Florida’s interests in Congress.

This tactic was brilliant. By going on television early and ensuring the voters she was "one of them," Graham had helped inoculate herself to the eventual attacks that would come from Southerland and his allies, as well as subdue the district’s bias against electing federal Democrats. The eventual attacks that came were predictable– that Graham was just a Tallahassee liberal who would support Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Graham pushed back, saying she would not back Pelosi for speaker and argued that new leadership was needed in both parties. Graham also hit Southerland for his partisan voting record, for not voting to end of the Government shutdown, and his vote against the Violence Against Women Act, after he claimed to have supported it.

FL-02 was unfriendly territory for Charlie Crist that same night and helped reelect Governor Rick Scott, while boosting both Senator Bill Nelson and Graham. Because of her legendary father's connections, Graham managed to outraise and outspend Southerland, $3,663,383 to $2,971,841. Third party spending in the district was very heavy-- $8,322,425, and almost all of it was negative. The DCCC put in $2,726,976 (along with another $867,980 from their House Majority PAC) while the NRCC kicked down $2,364,250. The NRA put in over $280,000 for Southerland and various Koch-funded big-bucks GOP groups piled on with over another million. Right-of-center Beltway Democratic groups like the Blue Dogs, EMILY's List ($78,165) and the New Dems, as well as undiscerning, lockstep environmental and union groups put money down for Graham to buy anti-Southerland ads.

All that effort and money spent on behalf of Graham has bought the Democrats a seat. Was it worth it? On her very first vote, Graham refused to vote for Nancy Pelosi and cast her ballot for fellow Blue Dog Jim Cooper of Tennessee. Now, almost 3 months later, she has the distinction of having amassed the single worst voting record of any Democrat in the House. Her ProgressivePunch crucial vote score is 10.0. Basically, she votes against progressive legislation 90% of the time, tied with over 20 Republicans and worse than another half dozen Republicans. Boehner can count on her across the board to help disguise his radical right agenda as "bipartisan" to a credulous, lazy mass media.

So what good is she? Although a Member of Congress for less than 3 months, she has already floated her name out there as a prospect Democrats might want to nominate for the Marco Rubio Senate seat. What a dreadful thought! And maybe even too much for the pathetic Florida Democratic Party Establishment, which seems to be coalescing behind another right-wing Democrat, Patrick Murphy. His own ProgressivePunch Crucial Vote score is the second worst of any Florida Democrat-- 11.11.

With a PVI of R+6, the DCCC has already added her to their Frontline List of endangered candidates and will likely waste more millions of dollars on her. Again... for what? More votes for the Boehner's pro-business/anti-family agenda? A Democratic bench that is thoroughly rotten and uninspiring? This week, the DCCC is making a charm offensive among progressive incumbents to persuade them to contribute money to keep reactionaries like Graham and Murphy-- as well as the crappy new recruits like Emily Cain in Maine and Monica Vernon in Iowa-- in Congress. Graham has voted 90% of the time against progressive initiatives and Murphy 88% of the time. Why would a progressive want to see either of them win again, let along contribute money to the effort? Monica Vernon (like Murphy) is a rich Republican opportunist trying to win a Democratic seat. There is something seriously wrong with the DCCC that isn't getting fixed and isn't likely to get fixed until there's a very serious changing of the guard inside the House Democratic Caucus.

Gwen

UPDATE Democrats Deserve A Choice

This is the letter Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida President Susan Smith has released to caucus members and supporters this morning.

Dear Caucus Members and Supporters:

Florida Democrats deserve a real choice in 2016. We can let Washington insiders determine our U.S. Senate candidate or we can build a grassroots movement to nominate a strong progressive with a record of fighting for the issues and the values that we hold dear.

The Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida should lead the way in supporting a candidate with a bold record of fighting for our issues and values.

We need a champion who believes in fairness and genuine opportunity. Someone who supports working families while protecting the most vulnerable among us. Someone who understands that security means being strong internationally and safe at home.

Progressives are often accused of having a litmus test for candidates. If having a litmus test means that we expect a Democratic candidate to support policies that benefit the 99% and not just greedy CEOs who have rigged the game, then we are guilty. If it means opposing trade deals like the Trans Pacific Partnership that benefit multinational corporations at the expense of working families, then we are guilty.

If it means that we want a candidate with a history of fighting for the rights of women to make their own healthcare decisions, to be paid equally for equal work, and to live free from violence, then we are guilty.

If it means that our candidate must be on the frontlines in the battles to give legal status to young Dreamers, and to protect voting rights for African Americans, and marriage rights for the LGBT community, then we are guilty.

Our litmus test would also require that a Democratic champion have a record of fighting for alternative energy sources. U.S. foreign policy should not be held hostage to Middle East oil dependency, and Big Oil should not determine our environmental protections at home. Our champion will make the safety of Florida's precious land and water resources a top priority.

The Democratic Party is at a crossroads. We can no longer nominate "Anybody But" candidates. We must fight for leadership and representation that is bold and inspiring. The Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida is ready to engage in finding and promoting that candidate. Who will be our champion? Please tell us your choice for the 2016 Democratic U.S. Senatorial candidate by emailing us at dpcfsurvey@gmail.com.

Sounds like a description of Alan Grayson. Does not sound like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Patrick Murphy or Gwen Graham.

Is The Florida Senate Race Staring To Clarify Itself?

New Dem Patrick Murphy

A lot hinges on Rubio, of course. He has his flip-floppin', confused little heart set on a presidential/vice presidential run. But Florida Republicans-- and now the NRSC-- are begging him to run for reelection, frightened that they could lose the seat, especially with Hillary on the top of the ticket (and particularly so if Jeb isn't the GOP nominee).

On the Democratic side of the aisle, there's already a battle raging between the right-of-center Establishment and grassroots Democrats who represent the legitimate aspirations of working families and who embrace progressive values and principles. Alan Grayson is emerging as the preferred nominee of the latter. The former comes down to a battle of ambitions between freshman Blue Dog Gwen Graham (her father's daughter and the Democratic with the worst overall voting record in Congress) and New Dem-- and life-long Republican-- Patrick Murphy (also the product for his father's ambitions).

According to ProgressivePunch, Graham's CrucialVote Score for the 2015-16 session is a dismal 10.00, the worst Democrat in Congres-- and worst than a dozen Republican scores. But without her, the Florida Democrat would be Murphy with his 11.11 score, exactly tied with Florida Republican Carlos Curbelo. Both Murphy and Graham have voted lockstep with Boehner across the board on almost every key issue that has come before Congress this session. And these two want to represent Florida Democrats! They are working out a detente so that they don't run against each other and that only one of them gets into the race, presumably against Grayson, if progressives can persuade him to give up his relatively safe House seat and run. Murphy doesn't care about his House seat and hopes to run for governor after he loses the Senate race.

Meanwhile, lurking in the background-- encouraging the clownish Murphy for her own reasons-- has been Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the queen of Democratic Party corruption in Florida. If she gives up the dream of being the first Jewish Speaker of the House, she can see herself as a senator, stepping in to "save" the party form a divisive primary between Grayson and Murphy (or Graham). That dream may have died today when John Morgan, possibly encouraged by the Obama and/or Clinton camp (each of which wants Wasserman Schultz out of her DNC chair), exposed her manipulative behavior around the marijuana referendum. Luckily for her, Morgan wasn't wearing an FBI wiretap. Marc Caputo, who's been following her sleazy career for years, wrote it up for Politico today.

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s office offered to change her position on medical marijuana if a major Florida donor recanted his withering criticism of her, according to emails obtained by Politico.

The proposal to Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan was straightforward: retract critical statements he made to a reporter in return for Wasserman Schultz publicly backing his cannabis initiative that she had trashed just months earlier. Morgan declined the offer with a sharp email reply sent to a go-between, who described the congresswoman as being in a “tizzy.”

“No,” Morgan responded. “She is a bully. I beat bullies up for a living.”

Morgan said he forwarded the email chain to POLITICO on Thursday to show how “thin-skinned” and transactional Wasserman Schultz’s political team is, he said in a brief phone conversation.

The bad blood between Morgan and Wasserman Schultz-- which stems from her critical comments over the medical-marijuana initiative he bankrolled last year, and which failed narrowly-- boiled over again this week when Democrats started buzzing about her interest in running for Senate if Republican Marco Rubio decides to leave the seat for a presidential bid.

Morgan and three medical-marijuana advocacy organizations blasted the South Florida representative for her criticisms of his 2014 initiative. It fell 2.4 percentage points shy of the needed 60 percent voter-approval threshold for a Florida constitutional amendment.

“Almost 58 percent of Florida voters supported medical marijuana and I’d be surprised if that many support her,” said Bill Piper, national affairs director with the Washington-based Drug Policy Alliance.

“That should be a lesson for Debbie Wasserman Schultz,” he said. “Florida voters like this policy more than her. And we’ll make sure people know her position.”

Still, Wasserman Schultz is a nationally known figure, a good fundraiser and would be an early favorite to win a Democratic primary, political observers say.

The most likely Democrat to run for Rubio’s seat, Rep. Patrick Murphy, has a centrist voting record that could leave him vulnerable in a primary but strong in a general election. The more liberal Wasserman Schultz has the opposite problem. And, unlike Murphy, she has had bad relations with numerous Democratic insiders.

Morgan plans to get the proposed marijuana amendment on the ballot again in 2016, making it a top campaign issue in the presidential election in Florida, the nation’s most-populous swing state.

The clash with Morgan began in June when Wasserman Schultz issued a rare public statement criticizing the medical-marijuana initiative he helped draft, and to which he committed $4 million of his own money to pass.

Echoing Republican talking points, Wasserman Schultz suggested the proposal could lead to a variant of OxyContin-distributing “pill mills.” Wasserman Schultz has previously expressed concerns, as a parent, about marijuana decriminalization because she doesn’t want to make it easier for kids to get the drug.

At the time, Morgan blasted Wasserman Schultz, calling her “despised…an irritant…irrelevant.”

Wasserman Schultz responded by having her staff call around to drum up statements of support from other Democrats, including then-Democratic candidate for governor Charlie Crist, who works at Morgan’s law firm, knowledgeable sources say. The Wasserman Schultz effort culminated in a tense speaker-phone call with Crist’s campaign staffers, who were interrupted during a TV commercial shoot.

The congresswoman’s more recent dispute with Morgan unfolded Wednesday afternoon. Politico sent an email at 3:50 p.m. to Wasserman Schultz’s office seeking comment on criticisms from Morgan and other medical marijuana advocates. Three minutes later, an adviser replied that she had no comment.

In the meantime, Wasserman Schultz’s office sprung into action. Her team reached out to the campaign manager for the medical marijuana initiative-- Ben Pollara, a top Democratic fundraiser and consultant in Miami-- and offered him a deal.

Pollara, who refused to comment, detailed the offer in an email to Morgan a few hours later, the donor said, with the subject line: “DWS.”

“In a tizzy over this Politico story. Saying she might be willing to support new amendment. Any chance you’ll retract your statement,” Pollara wrote.

Morgan responded about two hours later in his email calling her a “bully.”

“Actions have consequences,” Morgan told Politico on Thursday. “Her days of pushing people around are over.”

Morgan is not backing down. He sent out a letter to his list today with the subject line "We don't negotiate with prohibitionists."

"Or bullies," he added in the first line.

When Debbie Wasserman Schultz came out last year against Amendment 2, she didn't just simply empower our opposition-- she obstructed thousands of patients who desperately need access to this medicine. Her poor timing and very public stand against medical marijuana helped squander the efforts of thousands of volunteers and donors.

Now she wants to have a conversation in exchange for me toning down my criticism of her position last year (and the damage she caused)? Not a chance.

Because, while I don't believe she is well loved or personally has much influence in this state, I'll allow her the possibility that she might have changed a few minds that we needed. Staring down a campaign funded by a billionaire, we needed all the help we could get. She turned her back on people with Cancer, MS, PTSD, epilepsy, severe neuropathic pain, and more. She could have even stayed silent. She didn't. She made a big show of it.

I won't be bullied or trade favors when it comes to medical marijuana... Everything else is B.S. politics in order to rehabilitate the damage she's done to herself by being on the wrong side of the issue.  It's not support-- it's a quid pro quo and I won't do it. 3.4 million voters came out for medical marijuana-- and she should know that if she runs for Senate, we're not going to fall in line just because she's more open to it now.

New Dem Debbie Wasserman Schultz