A Guest Post From An American Dream Candidate, Heather Beaven (D-FL)

Heather Beaven ran against longtime incumbent John Mica in 2010 but this year, because both Republican incumbents, Mica and Sandy Adams, have fled inland to the more Republican-friendly 7th CD, the newly redistricted 6th is an open seat. Either Heather, or political newcomer, Vipin Verma, the two Democrats in the August 14th primary, will take on the winner of a bizarre menagerie of Republican oddities. In a district especially hard hit by joblessness, foreclosures and shuttered businesses, the GOP is offering a real freak show: right-wing ideologue and anti-Choice/anti-environment fanatic Ron DeSantis, deranged anti-gay crusader Bev Slough, clownish dentist-with-gun Fred Costello, Craig Miller, a rich corporate freak best known for having moved Ruth's Chris headquarters out of New Orleans two days after Hurricane Katrina, and Dick Clark, a guy who inherited his family's janitorial business and whose top issue is ending public education so the rich don't have to pay for poor people's children to go to school. Below, Heather talks about what's behind her decision to run.

-Howie

TIPPING POINT

-by Heather Beaven

Since I decided to run for US House of Representatives, the most common question I get from friends, family and even strangers is: “Why would you put yourself through that?”

I hear some version of that from people who love politics and people who hate it; people who think highly of our government and people who don’t; people who have significant wealth and people who struggle to make ends meet. And it always perplexes me. I keep thinking-- How could I not? How could you not?

I don’t want to miss my daughters’ surf competitions. I don’t want to be subject to ridicule or violent threats and I certainly don’t want to spend one moment away from my husband before he deploys to Afghanistan later this summer. But if people like us are scared off from serving their country, then haven’t we already abandoned both the Constitution and the American Dream?

I am fighting against eight Tea Party Republicans to represent the people of St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam and Volusia Counties even though I have every reason to ‘sit this one out’ because the constant drum beat of how America is working for a few while too many others fall slowly behind is… deafening.

It rings out in stump speeches across the nation. There is some truth in every off-the-cuff line uttered on the campaign trail. In Illinois, Mitt Romney tossed out a comment that makes clear; this election as about two very different definitions of the American Dream.

While describing his grandfather, Mr. Romney said that he worked hard, raised great kids and had a good wife but that “he never quite made it.” I literally gasped.

My grandfather worked hard. He raised great kids and he had a good wife. He’s in Heaven now with her and their son. I think of him every day. I think of the times I rode with him as he delivered mail in rural Missouri. I remember the stories he told of getting ‘milk fever’ while stationed in Ft. Hood. When I fish with my daughters, I feel him. I swell up with emotion when I remember the devotion he showed my grandma during her final days even though she didn’t remember him or their sixty five years together.

I suppose, by some people’s definition, my grandfather “never quite made it” because by the time he died all that he had earned by working hard was spent on caring for his ailing wife. But to me, he was the beacon of success and I take great comfort in knowing that he heard “well done, good and faithful servant.”

We are living in a tipping point moment as we face the fact that our children’s American Dream may be less vibrant than ours. Our generations’ greatest question to answer turns out to be the most basic-- does the exceptionalism of America still stand on the shoulders of average and normal Americans?

I am thrilled to be a part of the generation who gets to answer that question. In fact, I believe there is no greater moment in human history to be living and there has never been a more meaningful time to be an American.

We didn’t create the American Dream; our founding fathers did. We didn’t spill our blood on American soil to create a more perfect union; our great great granddaddies did that. We didn’t watch draught and greed turn America into a dust bowl only to demand better of our country and our corporations; our great grandfathers did that. And we didn’t answer the worlds’ plea for help in World War II; our grandfathers did.

It was our mothers who demanded that their daughters have a fighting chance at living the American Dream in homes free of abuse, work free of harassment and with a government free of discrimination. It was our mothers and our fathers who faced dogs and fire hoses so that every American could be educated, respected and equal.

We have been left a legacy that has made America the envy of the world. We now face the tipping point. Are we going to improve upon the America that has been handed down to us or are we going to undo every advance we have made? This answer will decide how history views our generation.

Even with the constant drum beat of judgment and regression, I still hear the American spirit. I hear it as loudly as I did on the day I graduated from Navy boot camp when I first truly realized what it meant to be a part of something greater. I hear it thumping as loudly as the hopes beating in the hearts of the children I work with everyday who still believe they can be anything. I hear it as confidently as the whisper between Soldiers in a foxhole who know they will always be there for each other.

For me this election is a tipping point. Will we pass the American Dream onto our children or will we tell them stories of it as some far off distant memory?

Are Florida Voters Ready To Jettison Corrupt Oil Industry Shill John Mica?

John Mica with toupee... funded by Oil & Gas lobbyists?

Most of the Florida congressional delegation is pretty radical right-- but only two have had perfect zero scores on the key issues since Obama was elected president: Panhandle extremist Jeff Miller, whose district has more in common with Alabama than with the rest of Florida, and John Mica, who has been representing the 7th congressional district, primarily along the east coast between Ponte Vedra Beach and Daytona Beach, since first being elected in 1992. Mica is a creepy little former lobbyist who decided early on that he'd rather be on the receiving end of the bribery game than the middleman for special interests and corporations. When challenged in his first Republican primary for his sleazy activities as a corrupt lobbyist, he simply said, "Some of the finest folks I've met are lobbyists." Presumably he was talking about his own family, lobbying being the family business.

Last week a Florida newspaper, the News Press, editorialized about Mica's attempt to excuse his campaign donors in the oil industry and to blame President Obama for the oil spill:

We have a new poster boy for bone-headed partisanship, and he hails from right here in Florida, just across the state in Daytona Beach. ... [L]axness in federal regulation stretches back over many years and administrations, both Democratic and Republican.

... What makes Mica's conduct especially repulsive is the fact that he was among the "drill, baby, drill" Republicans himself, has taken contributions from the oil industry and has a brother, David, who has been an oil industry lobbyist in Tallahassee for years.

John Mica is trying to deflect blame for Deepwater Horizon from the oil industry, which is quite a trick.

We don't need narrow-minded politics in Washington; we need wise energy policy that puts the national interest above partisan advantage and finger-pointing.

Is that too much to ask, Representative Mica?

Maybe so, but we should urge our leaders in Washington to reject his example, and think sensibly and constructively on this vital issue.

A few months ago I met Heather Beaven, a Navy vet, the Democratic candidate for the seat Mica is occupying and a passionate advocate for campaign finance reform. Since the disastrous Gulf oil spill, Mica has continuously embarrassed himself with aggressive calls for more drilling in Florida's coastal waters. He's the only Florida congressman of either party representing a beachfront district still chanting "Drill, Baby, Drill." And as tar balls begin washing up in the Florida Keys and the crucial Florida tourist industry slips into freakout mode, all Mica could do was remind Floridians that not only does he favor more drilling off the beaches, but that he has long supported-- and still supports-- drilling in the Everglades! All this while taking immense payoffs from the Oil and Gas lobbyists-- including one David Mica, Executive Director of the Florida Petroleum Council. Yes, his brother. I've been asking Heather to do a guest post all month and she found some time-- between running her campaign and raising her two young daughters-- this morning. Heather Beaven:

"I Won't Point The Finger At B.P."
-John Mica, Congressman & proud recipient of $60,000 in oil contributions

With one of the worst safety records, BP has been playing fast and loose with their safety obligations for a long time. In fact, according to the Daily Green, B.P. is responsible for 97% of the worst oil industry violations in the U.S.

Two BP refineries not only account for 97% of all "flagrant" violations in the U.S. refining industry, but most of the violations cited were classified as "egregious willful," according to a Center for Public Integrity investigation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration records.

In 2005, a Texas City BP refinery exploded ending 15 lives. In 2007, the Center for Public Integrity evaluated Occupation and Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) data and found that BP had 872 serious safety violations-- far above others in the industry-- including 760 classified and “egregious willful.”

OSHA reserves the “egregious willful” category for instances when “employers commit particularly flagrant safety violations.” But Jordan Barab, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor said it best when he said "The only thing you can conclude is that BP has a serious, systemic safety problem in their company.”

So… what does a boat load of cash buy a company with a flagrant record of safety violations? Well, if you’re snuggled up to John Mica, you get “NO” votes on OSHA safety bills in 1993, 1997, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Newspapers from all over the country agree that kind of coziness is crazy. It is clearly unsafe and, I argue, unethical.

That is why I call for true integrity in campaign financing.

Conflicts of interest do not just cover your personal finances. If you are connected to a piece of legislation through family members or through a windfall of campaign donations from a particular industry (like the $100,823 Mica has taken from Oil & Gas)-- you have a conflict of interest. I call for such conflicts of interest to be filed and declared prior to votes. If you are beholden to an industry, voters have the right to know it!

I’ll go first. I declare that my campaign has been endorsed and supported by the Police, Firefighters, AFL-CIO, Veterans, and Air Traffic Controllers. I’ll be voting to keep their members safe by sea, land or air.


UPDATE: And What About Michigan Voters?

Natalie Mosher, the progressive Democrat opposing GOP corporate shill Thaddeus McCotter in the suburbs west of Detroit (the western parts of Oakland and Wayne counties), sent us a guest editorial she put together on the oil spill. Her perspective is worth looking at; it's the polar opposite of the one being voiced by John Mica and other conservatives whose political careers have been financed by Big Oil.

“I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down this cherry tree.” As legend has it, this famous phrase came from our founding father, George Washington. And while it is only a legend, it endures because it captures one of our most basic and fundamental beliefs: when you do something wrong, you must own up to it. Take responsibility for your actions and take the steps necessary to remedy the situation. Now, we seem to be living in a society where passing the buck is a virtue.

For more than a month, oil has been pouring into the Gulf waters, wreaking havoc on the environment, after the tragic rig explosion which killed eleven people. What’s truly outrageous is that the largest oil spill in history could have been prevented if proper safety and maintenance measures were taken. BP, Transocean, and Halliburton all had a role in failing to secure that oil rig. But instead of accepting responsibility for their part in this disaster, we saw a circular firing squad, as the corporations passed the blame to each other at recent Congressional hearings.

Let’s be clear: this was not just an accident. BP and its corporate partners caused this oil spill with intentionally inadequate rig and well management. According to experts, BP could have prevented this disaster for $500,000. BP made $5.5 billion in first quarter profits this year. For 1/100th of a percent of their first quarter profits, BP could have prevented the deaths of those eleven workers and spared the Gulf from the worst oil spill in history. Where is the sense of responsibility?

BP claimed that the spill releases about 5,000 barrels a day, while scientists are now saying it is more like 100,000. As far as clean-up, BP is using a chemical dispersant, Corexit, which has been banned by other countries due to its high level of toxicity. Workers helping out with the cleanup are getting sick. Why has the EPA allowed this to go on? Why has the Obama administration allowed BP so much control in dealing with this oil crisis? Why isn’t our representative in Congress demanding oversight and why hasn’t he made any public comments about the Gulf disaster at all? Where is the leadership? We should be seeing congressional action everyday with both sides fully engaged. This crisis is too big for one party alone while the other stands silent on the sidelines or insists that offshore drilling is a sensible energy solution.

The truth is lobbyists are too cozy with lawmakers and officials. In an effort to protect BP and other corporations, obstructionist senators in Washington are blocking legislation that would raise the liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion. This leaves the tax payers to foot the rest of the bill. When is enough, enough?

We see a lack of responsibility everywhere these days, from the Big Banks on Wall Street, who almost ushered in another Great Depression with their irresponsible derivatives trading, to the executives at Massey Energy Company, who ignored safety regulations and caused 29 deaths in their West Virginia coal mine. Regulations are in place for a reason, and they must be enforced. Americans simply won’t stand for anything less.

We hear pundits like Rush Limbaugh, blaming environmentalists for the disaster, while, at the same time, denying it’s a problem at all. Others are sticking to their chants of ‘Drill, Baby Drill’. We have to stop playing politics with our energy policy. We have to recognize this disaster for what it is: a warning about the costs of our addiction to oil. We can’t and we won’t drill our way to energy independence. We need to work together as Democrats, Republicans, and Independents for clean, safe, and renewable forms of energy.

I promise if I ever make a mistake, I will own up to it. No hiding behind slogans, passing the blame, or staying silent at a time when strong leadership is most necessary. As with Harry S. Truman, the buck stops here. Attempting to trivialize the effects of this disaster or ignoring the urgent need for a sensible energy policy is irresponsible and it’s not the kind of leadership we deserve in corporations, our regulatory agencies, or especially in the Congress. It’s time to stand up together, take responsibility for what we do and always look for the best solutions. It’s time to move ‘beyond petroleum’.

Heather Beaven Explains Why Fighting For Campaign Finance Reform Is Really Fighting For Middle Class Americans

A few days ago I had a long discussion with one of the most impressive House candidates I've met so far this cycle, Heather Beaven, who's running against right-wing ideologue John Mica in a Florida district that includes St Augustine, Daytona Beach, Deltona and the Seminole County suburbs around Orlando. A Navy vet-- and a mother-- her knowledge of policy was astonishing and inspiring. As with all candidates Blue America considers endorsing, I asked her about co-sponsoring John Larson's Fair Elections Now Act. I got more than I bargained for-- mostly because of her well-considered perspective.

Most candidates-- and incumbents-- I ask about getting big money out of elections jump right to what a wasteful pain in the butt it is to spend so much time that could be spent working on America's real problems, on the phone, dialing for dollars and kissing up to big donors. Heather immediately headed off in a different direction. She talked ruefully about how the two major parties aren't recruiting ordinary Americans from all walks of life who are truly representative of this country and how, instead, Washington has turned into it's own little world of millionaires wealthy enough to compete. Over the years we've seen the DCCC, especially since callous corporatists like Rahm Emanuel and Debbie Wasserman Schultz have taken over, shove normal Americans out of the way so they can recruit wealthy, conservative corporate shills. Rahm, famously, axed school teacher Dave Lutrin in another Florida district and brought in a lifelong Republican, Tim Mahoney, who was elected, voted with the Republicans over and over and over and then, true to his Republicaness, was caught up in a sex scandal and lost his seat. More recently, the female Rahm, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, has been working her magic on bolstering a reactionary candidate on the other side of the state, Lori Edwards (a corporate shill and self-admitted Blue Dog), in order to ax grassroots progressive Doug Tudor.

I wasn't taping my conversation with Heather but afterwards she sent me a blog post she had written on the subject, A Mile In Your Shoes, and gave me permission to republish it here.

So I have blogged before about the awkwardness that comes with asking friends and family to contribute to your campaign. The professionals retort-- if friends and family won’t give to you, why should anyone else? I have blogged about the mind numbing inefficiency of “call time.” The professionals quip – it’s purely a matter of numbers. No one, I am told, is serving in Congress who hasn’t raised $100,000 from their personal network and didn’t spend the better part of year “dialing for dollars” a minimum of 40 hours per week. Most double that.

Here is the new skinny. The only way to climb the legislative body career ladder? Raise money. So rising stars are expected to raise money. Big money. $10,000 a day kind of money. Even if they don’t have much of a race back home. They give it away to those who do. Well, “give” it is probably the wrong word.

A few days ago I spoke to a woman who gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates and incumbents every election cycle. She told me that she and her husband would not be giving any more. Why? Because their “little bit of money” couldn’t compete with big lobbying money. It surprised me. I understand the why bother mentality from my fellow $100.00 givers but from a power broker?

She was right.

She was so very right and still we wonder why we have crap policy coming out of our legislative bodies.

We have crap (and by crap I mean ill-thought out, ineffective and expensive) policy spewing from legislators at every level because we have no diversity in the membership of those bodies. Diversity? You ask. Yes, diversity of life perspective.

Interesting, smart working people can’t get the job of legislator because they can’t afford to be a candidate. We already established that being a candidate is a full time job. And it doesn’t pay. Working dads-- can’t do it. They can’t take the pay cut. Mid career professionals-- can’t do it. They have too much seniority at stake. Single moms-- can’t do it. They don’t have the rolodex. Teachers, cops, firefighters, military members, park rangers… are generally forbidden by a law, a policy, a statute or a regulation.

No, the vast majority of our legislators don’t fight for the middle class because they don’t know what it is to fight to get into-- much less stay in-- that class. 

As long as we have campaigns that rely on raising an embarrassment of riches. As long as only about 2% of America’s contribute to candidates that they believe in. As long as we continue to have a huge divide between registered and unregistered citizens. As long as we continue to equate the ability to raise money with the ability to govern, we will continue to live under policy that assumes we are all the same.

If you feel so moved, please consider making a donation to Heather's campaign. I also want to remind you that tomorrow Blue America will be endorsing another "ordinary" American, a public school teacher of 35 years, Bill Hedrick. Bill will be live blogging with us at Crooks and Liars at 11am (PT) and I hope you'll keep it in mind and come over and meet him.