Why The Cult Of Republican-Lite Doesn't Work-- Case Studies In Florida

Republicans are campaigning too-- and with the DCCC as an opponent, you'd think the odds would be stacked in their favor. Problem for the GOP, though is that the NRCC is almost as inept and incompetent as the DCCC. Almost. The letter below didn't come from the NRCC, it came from the campaign of Scott Sturgill, the lead dog among the 4 Republicans who would like to take on wretched freshman Blue Dog Stephanie Murphy in the suburbs north of Orlando. It includes the Orlando Executive Aiirport and Orlando International, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Sanford on the south shore of Lake Monroe, Oviedo, all of Lake Jesup, Osceola and Lake Harney in the East and Orlando east of Orange Avenue and the 4 Freeway. Previously the PVI was R+4 but it was bumped up to a perfectly even district now, making it much easier for a Democrat to win. Obama, albeit narrowly, lost both times but in 2016 Hillary won the district 51.4% to 44.1%. The medium income is $52,197, about $5,000 more than the state average. The district is 66% white, 19% Latino and almost 10% black.

The NRCC, desperate for candidates nationally, has included Sturgill in their Young Guns program, one off only 3 in Florida, freezing out state Rep. Mike Miller (who's raised nearly as much money as Sturgill) as well as Vennia Francois and Judson Sapp. As on the FEC December 31 reporting deadline Democrat Stephanie Murphy had raised $1,342,343, while Stroll had brought in $308,456 and Miller $213,011. In his kick-off statement, Miller, generally considered a far right loon, said "This district should no longer be represented by someone whose vote is controlled by Nancy Pelosi and the ultra-left." Odd thing to say about one of the most conservative Blue Dog Dems in Congress? Not at all... if you live in Republican fantasy-land.

In fact, yesterday, I got the same kind of malarky from Sturgill's campaign:

Hey, Howard--

I appreciate you taking a minute to read my email. I wanted to ask you… do you know Scott Sturgill?



Scott’s a true conservative champion running for Congress in Florida, and he could really use your help.

His opponent, Stephanie Murphy, is about as liberal as it gets: she supports Obamacare, sanctuary cities, and-- this is the worst part for me-- abortion after the unborn child is more than twenty (20) weeks old and can feel pain.



 The good news is that even with her liberal pal Hillary Clinton on the ballot driving up Democrat turnout in Florida, Murphy was only able to eek out a win with 51.5% of the vote. This year, if conservatives like you and me stand up and make our voices heard, we can send her packing and put a true conservative like Scott in that seat.



 Click here to let me know if I can count on you to help Scott defeat liberal Stephanie Murphy and secure our Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

I’m proud to call Scott Sturgill a friend, and I know he’ll make a fantastic congressman. Unlike Stephanie Murphy, he takes a strong stand against wasteful spending and demands that politicians must adhere to the same rules as everyone else. He’s not a career politician, and he’s only going to Congress because he’s sick and tired of feeling sick and tired-- and at some point you’ve got to stand up and fix it yourself.



 This election is winnable-- but we can’t do it alone. We need your help, Howard. Add your name and let Scott & I know we can count on your support when it counts.



Thanks so much for everything. I hope you’re doing well.



-- Ian

These are some very conventional Republican talking points that they send to their moron followers everywhere in the country. And they underscores something that many establishment Democrats simply do not understand. The GOP will unleash their trip against any Democrat no matter how they actually vote. They’re going to say the same things about you, regardless. Stephanie Murphy, like I said, is about as right-wing as a Democrat can be. ProgressivePunch rates her a solid "F," not even close. Her lifetime crucial vote score is an abysmal 41.38, the worst of any Florida Democrat. In fact, the only Democrats who vote against progressive proposals more frequently than her are Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Henry Cuellar (TX) and Collin Peterson (MN). When Ryan and McCarthy want to call one of their horrifying bills "bipartisan," they go right to Stephanie Murphy. That's not going to help her with the Koch brothers-financed attack machine goes into action. It may help her-- and eventually it will for sure-- turning off base Democratic voters, once they figure out how she votes. (She's far worse than Lipinski, for example, who is bering primaried right now, and has a lifetime crucial vote score of 57.43.

Another clueless Blue Dog from the area, former Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas, represented chunks of what is now district. She fretted over every vote, trying not to give the Republicans anything that they could use against her, and then they ran $2 million of ads against her for destroying Medicare. She never saw it coming. And she lost her seat to crackpot teabagger Sandy Adams. Republicans though she was a Pelosi-clone liberal and were willing to vote for the crazy teabagger instead of the conservative Democrat. And progressives in the 2010 midterm election just stayed away from the polls, saying too themselves, "why should I vote for this drunken Republican-lite turd?" (Yeah, she was all that). And she lost-- in a 60-40% landslide-- to a silly extremist, who held the seat for one term, just as Kosmas had.

The DCCC wastes its time recruiting these Blue Dogs and New Dems from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party and they waste their money supporting them. They kill momentum for the kind of legislation that would make the Democratic Party popular (instead of--barely-- the lesser of two evils) and if they're in swing districts they lose anyway, once voters figure out how terrible they are.

Democrats Know Exactly How To Turn Off Their Base Voters

Over the weekend I was looking for an old post with the ads Blue America did when Rahm Emanuel teamed up with Tom Tancredo and Heath Shuler to target immigrants. (Above's the one in Spanish and here's the Polish version of an ad we also ran in Korean and Bengali.) Since Emanuel-- the son of an Israeli immigrant-- is falsely painting himself as a friend to immigrant communities in his race against Carol Moseley Braun for mayor of Chicago, I was thinking it would be a good time to run the ads again. I'm thinking it would probably take a rewrite and at this late stage in the campaign, anyone who wants to see Emanuel out of office would be better off just donating directly to Carol's ActBlue page.

So while I was rooting around looking for the Korean language ad, I came across an old post about how Emanuel had contributed nearly half a million dollars to (mostly conservative) Democrats running for Congress in 2008. Most of them have since been defeated, and most of those were defeated this past November after failing to inspire Democratic voters with their reactionary Republican records in Congress.

Among Emanuel's biggest stakes were anti-choice, anti-healthcare, anti-gay, or just plain anti-Obama candidates who helped wreck the Democratic Party brand and then went on to the defeat they earned, like

John Adler (NJ- $10,000)
Melissa Bean (IL- $7,500)
John Boccieri (OH- $6,000)
Chris Carney (PA- $10,000)
Brad Ellsworth (IN- $6,000)
Baron Hill (IN- $10,000)
Jim Marshall (GA- $7,500)
Harry Mitchell (AZ- $7,500)
Zach Space (OH- $10,000)

Emanuel's whole theory about expanding the Big Tent into Dixiecrat and anti-New Deal territory was a bust. One after another the right wing candidates he recruited and helped elect as head of the DCCC showed their true colors and went down to defeat, from bona fide Republican Tim Mahoney in Florida to vile Blue Dogs like Nick Lampson (TX), Bobby Bright (AL), Travis Childers (MS), Walt Minnick (ID) and Frank Kratovil (MD).

Although more than half the Blue Dog caucus was defeated in November, voters still missed some of Emanuel's worst mistakes, namely Heath Shuler (NC), John Barrow (GA), Jim Matheson (UT), and Joe Donnelly (IN). But with a new DCCC Chairman, Steve Israel, as committed to a conservative, corporate vision of the Democratic Party as Emanuel always was-- a former member of the Blue Dog caucus himself-- Democratic recruiting is likely to focus on more candidates that Democratic base will not be able to support.

In the cycle that just ended Steve Israel's campaign committee and leadership PAC spent a total of $3,957,677, the biggest chunk, $1.3 million, going towards "administrative" costs. A bit over $453,000 was donated to candidates, almost all conservatives and almost all losers, like Travis Childers, Brad Ellsworth, Baron Hill, Ike Skelton, John Boccieri, Kathy Dahlkemper, Ann Kirkpatrick, Frank Kratovil, Betsy Markey, Michael McMahon, Melissa Bean, and Zack Space, again, all conservatives with powerful tendencies to vote with the GOP as a default position... and all of whom were defeated in November, unable to get Democrats out to the polls.

Florida has suffered mightily at the hands of conservative Democrats ramming fellow corporate shills down the throats of the progressive and moderate electorate in that state. And the Democratic Party was just about wiped out there in November. A criminal was elected governor and a teabag crook senator. The ridiculous Democratic Senate candidate of the Establishment came in a DISTANT third with a scant 20% of the vote. And Florida didn't only lose pitifully conservative congressmembers who deserved to lose-- like Alan Boyd and Suzanne Kosmas, but also steadfast public servants Alan Grayson and Ron Klein, caught up in the anti-Democrat tsunami. All were beaten by implausible teabaggers. But don't expect the DCCC to have learned a lesson. They are already buckling under to Blue Dog demands that more anti-Choice, anti-gay, anti-worker, anti-consumer, anti-environment reactionaries be recruited to stuff of the ranks of their depleted caucus. Tomorrow we're introduce you to Blue America's first congressional candidate of the 2012 cycle. But right now, let's take a brief look at what's happened in Florida's ill-starred 24th congressional district in recent years.

2008

Less blatantly gerrymandered than most Florida House districts, the 24th mostly runs along the Atlantic Coast of central Florida including northern Brevard Co. and southern Volusia Co. The rest of the district mostly eastern suburbs of Orlando in Orange and Seminole counties. The district elected state House Speaker Tom Feeney-- a major player in the Bush team that stole the 2000 presidential election-- congressman in 2002. In 2008 Feeney's sleaze finally caught up with him and washed out his political career. Unfortunately worthless Democrat Suzanne Kosmas grabbed the seat, winning all 4 counties. She proceeded to vote with the Republicans on key issues-- like healthcare-- and distinguished herself in the Financial Services Committee with her lack of participation, spending committee meetings out on the town with lobbyists. And she did outraise her opponent 3-1. But it didn't help. This time she lost all 4 counties, Democrats, as you can see, simply staying away from the polls in droves, unable to distinguish between two anti-family conservatives, Republican Sandy Adams and Democrat Suzanne Kosmas. Just look, county by county, how Democrats melted away while Republicans turned out in force. Steve Israel would like to see Kosmas run again. I'm sure Sandy Adams would as well.

Just 2 years later

I Am So In Awe Of Nancy Pelosi!

Today has been so exciting! One after the other, Nancy Pelosi and her team delivered all these lobbyist-oriented ConservaDems to the side of the people. And at this point the healthcare reform bill is as good as it's going to get, and it is clearly "the side of the people." It's got to pass, and no one is opposing it but dopes, hucksters, the GOP and their cutouts and shills. When Obama delivered Kucinich, that was the end of the game of opposing it from the left. Today Nancy had every Democratic interest group working at full throttle. Anyone who votes no is basically saying they're ready to join Parker Griffith in his own particular hell.

A couple days ago it started with Blue Dog Betsy Markey (D-CO), but her legend includes a bit about how there were tears in her eyes when the DCCC "forced" her-- a lifelong proponent of healthcare reform (if not of courage or character)-- to vote "no" last time. Poor thing was so distraught about being forced to vote against the bill that she ran out and joined the Blue Dog caucus. But now she's back on the side of the Democrats. Good.

But today... OMG! I can't believe what I saw. Weak, conservative, frightened John Boccieri (D-OH) flipped from "no" to "yes." Brad Ellsworth (Blue Dog-IN) announced he's in, and so did Allen Boyd (Blue Dog-FL) and Harry Mitchell (Blue Dog-AZ), and they were quickly followed by two of the House's worst lobbyist-driven corporate whores, Scott Murphy (Blue Dog-NY) and Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL).

After days of fence-sitting, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas of New Smyrna Beach said Friday that she would support a sweeping Democratic plan for healthcare reform that has divided the country even as it aims to bring health insurance to 95 percent of Americans.

Kosmas, one of 39 Democrats to oppose a similar bill in November, said in an exclusive interview with the Orlando Sentinel that she decided to change her mind because the latest version addressed some of her previous concerns about its effect on small businesses and the federal deficit.

“I’m going to vote for healthcare reform,” she said. “I know this is not a perfect bill. But in the scheme of things, it provides the best options and the best opportunities for my constituents.”

She just spent her entire first term in Congress playing footsie with lobbyists, but I guess when Nancy decides it's time to reel 'em back in for the sake of America, they get reeled back in. (I noticed that several labor unions have asked Kosmas to return their campaign contributions and that she has a plausible primary opponent, Paul Partyka.)

Meanwhile, Scott Murphy's upstate NY district went for Obama, albeit narrowly, and re-elected Kirsten Gillibrand in 2008 with 62% of the vote. But he's behaved as if he was in some Deep South district that voted overwhelmingly for McCain and for Republican congressional candidates. According to the Times Union Murphy decided to vote for the bill because it would shift the balance of power from insurance companies to patients and does a better job of reining in medical costs.

Murphy said the final health care package is “much more fiscally conservative” than the broader House-passed bill he opposed last November and would do a better job of reducing the explosive growth in medical costs that “our families and small businesses are facing,” while still expanding insurance coverage to roughly 32 million people.

“This bill is fundamentally different than the bill we voted on last November,” Murphy said, adding that while the measure “is not perfect,” he feels “much better” about it.

Murphy’s decision ends days of intense speculation about how he would handle the issue-- the signature piece of President Obama’s domestic agenda. Widely viewed as a potential swing vote, Murphy has been a top target for intense lobbying in the nation’s capital-- including a half-hour White House meeting with Obama-- as well as a fierce PR campaign in his mostly rural, upstate congressional district.

Ultimately, after a day studying the Democrats’ 2,000-page-plus final health care bill, Murphy said he decided that it was “going to make the system better than what we have now.”

And speakin' about Alabama, ex-Blue Dog Democrat-turned-Republican Parker Griffith will be voting against healthcare for his constituents tomorrow despite the shocking findings from the House Energy and Commerce Committee on AL-05. Although there are two conservative shills running for the Democratic nod-- each a Griffith doppelganger-- there is actually one real Democrat in that race, Mitchell Howie. I spoke with him last nigh,t and he told me that although he would be more comfortable if there was a public option in the bill, or if Alan Grayson' Medicare-for-all formulation was part of the package, he would vote for it, despite reservations that it "might end up being a give-away to the big insurance corporate interests that got our healthcare system into this ditch to begin with." He had a lot of reasons he thought this bill would be a good thing for his neighbors in northern Alabama:

In 2010, seniors whose drug costs put them into Medicare Part D's donut hole, will get a $250 rebate to help offset those costs. Next year, seniors in the donut hole will only pay for half of their prescription drug costs, and over the next ten years the hole will shrink. In a decade, all prescription drugs covered by Medicare Part D will be paid for 75% by the program, and the donut hole will be closed.

I appreciate the fact that Alabamians will no longer be able to be denied coverage by their insurance companies, because of pre-existing conditions, and they'll be able to seek preventative care without worrying about exorbitant copays. Pulling this all off while reducing the deficit sounds like a pretty good deal.

Griffith, a multimillionaire who has dedicated his short time in Congress to trying to do away with the estate tax, has no interest in serving the people in his district who most need a hand from government.

Billy Kennedy, the Blue America-endorsed candidate in North Carolina, is also facing a Republican proponent of Greed and Selfishness, Virginia Foxx, who can't open her mouth without lying about the bill. Billy, a strong advocate for working families, wasn't letting her get away with it.

Virginia Foxx is betraying her constituents as she prepares to vote 'no' on the health care reform bill. It will be devastating for Northwestern North Carolina's working families if reform is not passed... I attended the Congresswoman's lone public forum on health care this week. I wanted to ask her why it was OK for taxpayers to subsidize a career politician's insurance with our tax dollars while she prepares to vote no on giving the rest of us more affordable access... This health care bill has a lot of compromises on all sides. It's not perfect, but doing nothing is unacceptable.

And doing nothing is exactly what skunk-at-the-picnic John Barrow is proposing to do. This reactionary Blue Dog announced he would stick with his GOP allies, like Virginia Foxx and Parker Griffith, and vote against the healthcare bill, despite representing a Democratic-leaning district that gave Obama a 54% majority in 2008. This wasn't unexpected. Barrow, despite the fact that Obama saved his ass in 2008, has been opposed to most of the Democratic agenda, and in fact voted against healthcare in committee votes and on the floor every single time it's come up. Does this pipsqueak of a clown actually think he can run for the U.S. Senate? Not even in Georgia, baby.

Last year Obama rescued Barrow from a progressive and energetic Savannah state senator, Regina Thomas. Obama's ad reassured core Democratic voters that Barrow was on the right team. It would be difficult to imagine Obama doing any such thing for Barrow in 2010. And Regina Thomas is running again. May I strongly recommend that you consider sending the Democratic Party a message that we don't want any more John Barrows shoved down our throats? If we want conservatives ruining our nation, they already have their own party they can vote for. Barrow deserves to be defeated, and Regina Thomas is an excellent replacement with a proven progressive track record.

You know how its supposed to be dangerous to stick up for working families in "red" districts? NC-05 has been a red district but it doesn't look any different from anywhere else where people are waking up to being oppressed by Big Insurance and the corporate pawns from either side of the aisle-- whether Virginia Foxx or John Barrow.

Suzanne Kosmas Draws The Ultimate Fringe Lunatic As An Opponent

The man who could save Suzanne Kosmas' career?

Suzanne Kosmas' utter failure as a freshman representative has attracted a lot of unwanted attention-- from a whole slew of opponents. Everyone smells putrid, mortal weakness. Last week we talked a little about Florida Democratic Party activist and businessman Paul Partyka primarying her. Although Kosmas' coffers are brimming over with all the lobbyist loot she just spent the last 10 months scooping up-- she's raised close to a million dollars instead of working for her constituents-- the smartest political analyst I know from Florida told me that if Partyka can run a smart campaign and collect enough money to get his message out, he'll beat her in the primary. If not, she's likely to be defeated by a Republican. Unless... a teabagger gets in the way. And that could happen.

Ostensibly Kosmas will either face a far right GOP hack who got scared to run against Grayson, Sandy Adams, or Winter Park City Commissioner Karen Diebel, neither of whom would be a credible candidate if Kosmas wasn't such a complete disaster herself, a candidate sure to keep the Democratic base from coming to the polls. But her one chance for re-election is in the hands of the wackiest of the band of loons and malcontents who worked to get McCain elected last year, Larry Sinclair. Does that name sound familiar? Well, he is out of prison. And an author-- and candidate (Warning! Beware the most hideous music ever recorded if you hit that campaign page link.)

Anyway, Sinclair had his Warholian spotlight at Idiot America when he claimed that he "took drugs [and] had homo sex with Obama." Aside from failing his polygraph test, he's a convicted forger and thief-- and sports 13 aliases, including LA Rye Vizcarra Avila-- yes, he's openly gay-- and Mohammed Gahanan.

Sinclair has been convicted of larceny, theft, check forging and credit card fraud and has served over 16 years in prison in Florida and Colorado where he was disciplined 97 times for infractions including assault, threats, drug possession, intimidation, and verbal abuse.

If he manages to draw enough teabaggers away from the GOP nominee, Kosmas has a chance to slip back into office. Larry (or Mohammed or LA Rye):

I decided to enter the race for U.S. Congressman from Florida's 24th Congressional District after Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL24), a multi-millionaire said "my schedule does not permit me to hold Townhalls with voters...." but the very next week (Aug 19, 2009) Mrs. Kosmas had time to spend the day with donors paying $1000-to-$10,000 to her re-election coffers. In addition to Suzanne Kosmas' inability to lead, I have become determined to get involved after seeing first hand the efforts of Barack Obama and his administration to destroy anyone who dares speak the truth.

I have personal experience with a government-run healthcare program ( Medicaid) denying medical procedures ordered by doctors for years now which Medicaid continues to this day to deny.  I deal with a wonderful Primary care Physician who tells me that Medicaid tells him not to refer or order certain medical procedures for his patients but instead just tell them you need to monitor it for a few months.

I can represent the people of Florida's 24th Congressional District  because I go through the exact same day to day challenges that most FL 24 residents go through. 

Suzanne Kosmas is a career politician who has stated she does not support term limits. In fact Rep. Kosmas ran for her current office because she was forced out of the Florida House by Term Limits.

Good luck to everyone in the twenty-fourth CD. Remember the good old Tom Feeney/Jack Abramoff days?

The Creigh Deeds Strategy Comes To Central Florida-- Time To Say Good-bye To Suzanne Kosmas?

Lobbyist shill Suzanne Kosmas draws a

progressive primary opponent, Paul Partyka

Suzanne Kosmas never did join the Blue Dog caucus-- but judging from her voting record, she might as well have. Her 45.10 ProgressivePunch score shows her voting more frequently on the Republican side of the aisle than Florida's very right-wing Blue Dog, Allen Boyd (48.00), who represents a considerably more conservative panhandle district. Kosmas has the distinction of having created the most reactionary voting record of any Florida Democrat. Her startling vote against healthcare reform was the straw that broke the camel's back for Central Florida Democratic activists, many of whom are pledging to not vote for her again. FL-24 is a swing state district where McCain beat Obama 51-49% and Kosmas only won because voters were sick and tired of the overt corruption of their congressman, Abramoff-crony Tom Feeney. And now Kosmas has drawn a primary opponent-- a very credible one.

Paul Partyka is the former mayor of Winter Springs who announced last week that he will be trying to unseat Kosmas in Florida's August 24 primary. That makes him the second candidate, after Regina Thomas in GA-12, to file against an anti-healthcare conservative since the House vote on November 7.

"I'm still not pleased with what I'm seeing," Partyka said. "Rather than sit back on the sidelines complaining, I said maybe it's time to put my hat in the ring."

...Partyka said the federal government needs to do more to fix the credit markets and create jobs, and he would like to see more action taken on health care reform.

"I still haven't seen what I call people working together from both sides of issues," Partyka said. "Whether you're Republican or Democrat, it seems to me the divisiveness is still there, and I don't see any kind of strong trend to change that. And again, maybe I'm one person, but my work has always been trying to get people together, deal making."

Partyka, a wealthy real estate developer, has the money to compete against Kosmas, widely considered the most corrupt corporate shill among all House Democratic freshmen. Her life in DC has been a life spent with K Street lobbyists, who have showered her with money. She has a warchest of nearly a million dollars and it will be no easy task to dislodge her. A tough primary, though, that uses up all of her resources, is likely to make her much easier pickings, if she survives the primary, for a solid Republican opponent. Right now, though, the GOP doesn't have a solid opponent, just a laughable 8 ring circus. Republican Party disunity and ineptitude is really the only way Kosmas will be able to hold the seat.

I just spoke with Paul on the phone, a long time Florida Democratic Party activist. Brief run-down: He would have voted for the healthcare reform bill that Kosmas joined the GOP in opposing. He is pro-choice and absolutely favors equality for all Americans including minorities and gays. That's stuff he feels in the fiber of his being; no one had to coax that out of him. He favors campaign finance reform and if he's elected he'll sign on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1826 and spoke unhesitatingly about ending the occupation of Afghanistan and bringing our troops home in an orderly fashion. There wasn't a single question I asked him-- or a single issue he brought up-- that didn't find him looking at it from the progressive perspective. He sounds like a great candidate!

Adler Ignores His Base And Digs His Grave-- Will Jon Runyan Tackle Him Next Year?

We've written a lot about how conservative Democrat Suzanne Kosmas has made a name for herself as always willing to ditch work to go for a nosh with the K Street whores a lobbyist. It hasn't gone unnoticed that this year she took in more from the Insurance Industry CEOs and lobbyists ($55,516) than any other freshman-- of either party-- save one (Jim Himes, who represents the district where they are headquartered and voted for the healthcare bill anyway). Kosmas doesn't deserve to be re-elected. And she isn't the only one. Another mark the insurance industry found is New Jersey Rep John Adler. He was their third biggest investment in freshman ($50,967) and he also voted against the wishes and needs of his own constituents to support his campaign contributors.

NJ-03 is a swing district, primarily the south Jersey suburbs of Philly, that gave Obama a 52-47% win over McCain last year. Adler also won the open seat with a 52% majority. (In a bit of a backlash in the district, Christie just beat Corzine 52%-48%.) It's a prosperous district but there are approximately 60,000 uninsured people in the district, 11% of the population who aren't on Medicare. The bill that Adler broke with Obama (and most of his constituents-- especially the Democratic ones-- to oppose would:

• Improve employer-based coverage for 459,000 residents.

• Provide credits to help pay for coverage for up to 115,000 households.

• Improve Medicare for 134,000 beneficiaries, including closing the prescription drug donut hole
for 12,000 seniors.

• Allow 16,000 small businesses to obtain affordable health care coverage and provide tax credits
to help reduce health insurance costs for up to 14,600 small businesses.

• Provide coverage for 27,000 uninsured residents.

• Protect up to 1,300 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.

• Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers by $56 million.

But he had just about 50,967 reasons to oppose it. And now he has something else-- a pissed off and demoralized Democratic base-- and a big name possible opponent, ex-Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jon Runyan, a legend.

Last year, an intense, nasty and expensive three-way Republican primary between Medford Councilman Chris Myers, Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly and former Tabernacle Township Committeeman Justin Murphy helped pave the way for a general election victory by Adler, who was spared a primary challenge.

Without Runyon the same thing would be likely to happen again. With Runyon in, no other Republican would waste their time. And that would probably be the end of Adler, who looks like a political coward to Democrats for voting against health care reform. His dismal 37.25 ProgressivePunch score-- easily the worst of any New Jersey congressmember-- and even worse than Kosmas' abysmal 45.10-- is unlikely to inspire Democrats to come out on election day-- and at a time when the Republican base is far more fired up.

Who Voted Against Health Care Reform-- And Why?

Bipartisanship: anti-health care clowns in Georgia & Wisconsin

I lived-tweeted last night's historic session of the House of Representatives as it voted to pass the health insurance reform bill. Despite countless attempts over nearly a century, no chamber of Congress has ever before passed comprehensive health reform. This is history. Tragically, 39 Democrats, mostly corrupt, bought-out Insurance Industry shills, crossed the aisle and found themselves on the wrong side of history. Only one Republican, Anh Cao-- ironically the Representative from New Orleans who was elected in response to a major corruption scandal-- crossed the aisle in the other direction, to stand on the right side of history.

Within moments of the final vote, the DCCC was out with a press release to media outlets in Milwaukee, Kenosha, Racine and Janesville pointing out that junior Republican congressional leader Paul Ryan-- the worst shill for the Medical-Industrial Complex ($730,315) and most nortorious lackey of the Insurance Industry ($518,051) in the history of Wisconsin-- was a leader of the mindless obstructionism that led the GOP to refuse to take a serious and constructive part in the debate, instead of just villifying the entire process. The headline: Representative Paul Ryan Just Says No To Affordfable Health Care For America's Middle Class. Although much of the media in his home district reflexively works to shield and protect Ryan from "bad" news, this is what they were reading this morning:

The House of Representatives took historic bipartisan action this evening by passing health insurance reform. Putting big insurance company profits before struggling middle class families in his district, today Representative Paul Ryan said no to reforming health insurance in America. 
 
Jennifer Crider of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said:
 
“For years, middle class families have seen their health insurance costs skyrocket, while insurance companies have made enormous profits by limiting coverage. Representative Paul Ryan put big insurance companies first by opposing a bipartisan, common sense solution that will guarantee folks with stable, affordable health insurance they can count on. Ryan said no to ending pre-existing medical conditions, like pregnancy, no to controlling costs for small businesses and middle class families, and no to closing the prescription doughnut hole for seniors.”
 
"Representative Paul Ryan has the peace of mind of knowing he has tax-payer funded health insurance, but today Ryan didn’t hesitate to cast a partisan vote to block reform that would give the families he represents that same peace of mind that they too can see a doctor when they’re sick."

...For Wisconsin's first congressional district, the measure will:

• Improve employer-based coverage for 506,000 residents.

• Provide credits to help pay for coverage for up to 153,000 households.

• Improve Medicare for 112,000 beneficiaries, including closing the prescription drug donut hole for 9,400 seniors.

• Allow 16,000 small businesses to obtain affordable health care coverage and provide tax credits to help reduce health insurance costs for up to 14,000 small businesses.

• Provide coverage for 26,000 uninsured residents.

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

• Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers by $41 million.

Great work from the DCCC, right? And state Democratic Parties sent out press releases too. Here's one I got from former Florida Congresswoman Karen Thurman, now chair of the Florida Democratic Party:

Last night the Affordable Health Care for America Act was passed by the House of Representatives, an important step towards ensuring every American has access to quality, affordable, stable and secure health care coverage.  This legislation will finally rein in the insurance companies' worst practices while extending coverage to 36 million Americans and cutting the deficit by $104 billion in the next ten years.  The bill was supported by a wide range of groups including doctors, patients, seniors, consumers and Americans across the country.  All but one Republican voted against the bill. Reacting to this news, Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman released the following statement:

"Last November, Americans voted for change, and today, that's what they got. Nearly one hundred years ago President Teddy Roosevelt called for health care reform, and today, we have come closer than ever to making it a reality.

"The Affordable Health Care for America Act will provide long overdue reforms to the insurance industry and important protections for Floridians.  It will also provide more quality, affordable choices while bringing down the sky-high costs for families and businesses and lowering the national deficit.  Because of this act, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions or cancel coverage because of illnesses.

"Today I thank President Obama and Congressional Democrats for their strong leadership on health insurance reform. While this isn't the end of the process, it's a critical step towards finally passing comprehensive health insurance reform."

Seven out of nine of Florida's Democratic members of Congress were part of last night's big victory. But neither the Florida Democratic Party, nor the DCCC, is going to mention that Suzanne Kosmas and Allen Boyd cast the same "no" vote against this historic measure that Paul Ryan did. Kosmas is kind of an embarrassment to the Florida Democratic Party and to the DCCC. Her voting record is down in Blue Dog territory and she's regularly crossing the aisle to vote against the best interests of the working families that sent her to Washington. The insurance industry lobbyists on K Street singled her out early as an obvious mark, someone who would sell them her votes as long as the price was right. Only one freshman member of Congress got bigger pay-offs than Kosmas this year-- Jim Himes ($60,787), from a Connecticut district that houses half the insurance industry-- and he voted against them and with the middle class families of Connecticut anyway! Kosmas, a joke in DC for missing committee meetings so she can spend time with K Street lobbyists took in a staggering $55,516 from Big Insurance this year (almost the same amount as Paul Ryan). Eric Cantor announced early in the debate that Kosmas was in the bag and would be voting with the Republicans against health care. And, judged by the same standards as Ryan, the Florida Democratic Party or the DCCC could have pointed out that Florida's 24th Congressional District would profit by passage of the bill mightily. In fact the House Energy and Commerce Committee research shows that in Congresswoman Kosmas’s district, the Affordable Health Care for America Act will:

• Improve employer-based coverage for 463,000 residents.

• Provide credits to help pay for coverage for up to 176,000 households.

• Improve Medicare for 122,000 beneficiaries, including closing the prescription drug donut hole

• Allow 21,000 small businesses to obtain affordable health care coverage and provide tax credits to help reduce health insurance costs for up to 19,800 small businesses.

• Provide coverage for 92,000 uninsured residents.

• Protect up to 1,400 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.

• Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers by $12 million.

Many observers say that Kosmas is a political coward who is a typical Creigh Deeds follower, doomed to lose in 2010 by discouraging voter turn-out among Democrats. Like Deeds, she tries appealing to Republicans-- and like Deeds she is likely to lose by a massive landslide as Republicans vote for their own candidate and Democrats sit on their hands and hope for a better nominee in 2012.

It wasn't a press release, but I got an interesting e-mail this morning for state Senator Regina Thomas, the progressive who took on reactionary Blue Dog John Barrow in Georgia's 12th CD last year-- and plans to finish the job next year. Like Kosmas and Ryan, Barrow is a corrupt tool of the special interests who sells out his constituents-- he has no roots in teh area and was gerrymandered into teh district, which is foreign territory for him-- at every opportunity. One of the Blue Dogs who votes most frequently with the GOP against working families, Barrow has taken $428,428 from the Medical Industry special interests and another $86,450 in thinly-veiled bribes from the Insurance Industry CEOs and lobbyists. Unlike Kosmas' district, Georgia's 12th CD was Obama territory and the people there voted for Change and for Hope. This is what Regina had to say this morning:

I am not surprised that Congressman Barrow voted against the Health care bill. The 12th District needs to pay attention to his entire voting record. When Bush was president, Barrow voted with the Republicans more on crucial issues that has devastated America (and the 12th) and no one noticed. Congressman Barrow gave Bush's agenda an opportunity to pass. Can't he give this President the same courtesy?
 
Please keep in mind that this is not the final vote. My summation is: Barrow is voting this way so that the Lobbyist/Industry can continue to pour money into his campaign coffers. Then when the final version of the Health care bill comes to the floor for a final vote he will vote for the bill. My reasoning: the 12th is 44.5% African American. Barrow cannot afford to vote against this bill for fear of losing that block of votes. I will give him credit for one thing-- he knows how to court these voters, some of them believe in him.
 
All one has to do is look at his 5 year record. Count the times that he has held open Town Hall meetings on any of the crucial issues. Does he stand up in front to take the "heat?" Can he say the same thing to his minority constituents that he says to the Chamber of Commerce and to businesses interests? This is another reason why he needs opposition in the Democratic Primary in 2010. We need a congressperson who will be true to who they say they are and vote for the people-- do the right thing no matter the consequences from Industry.
 
For these reasons and many more, I gave up the Georgia State Senate so that the voters in the 12th could pay attention and have an opportunity for real change. "Not For Self, But For Others." Let's take the 12th back-- Let's take our country back!

The DCCC didn't mention that in Congressman Barrow’s district, the Affordable Health Care for America Act he voted against last night will:

• Improve employer-based coverage for 346,000 residents.

• Provide credits to help pay for coverage for up to 187,000 households.

• Improve Medicare for 90,000 beneficiaries, including closing the prescription drug donut hole for 6,300 seniors.

• Allow 15,700 small businesses to obtain affordable health care coverage and provide tax credits to help reduce health insurance costs for up to 13,700 small businesses.

• Provide coverage for 90,000 uninsured residents.

• Protect up to 2,100 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.

• Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers by $69 million.

The DCCC is certainly correct about the need to defeat Paul Ryan-- but, aside from sending out press releases to a local media that he has in his pocket-- they're not lifting a finger to oppose him in any substantial way. Blue America is going to try to raise money to help the grassroots candidate, Paulette Garin, Wisconsin's state coordinator for Progressive Democrats of America and for the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care and an outspoken member of the National Single Payer Alliance. You can help here. As for Suzanne Kosmas and John Barrow, the DCCC will "punish" their perfidy last night by taking any money you send to the DCCC and putting it into their races, races made impossible to win because grassroots Democrats are sick and tired of betrayal by cowardly and corrupt Insider Democrats. Barrow will be a major target of the Blue America Bad Dogs effort in this cycle.

I love Donna Edwards. Her short speech about why she was voting for health care reform made me cry last night-- and not fake Glenn Beck tears. Like Donna, there was a time in my life when I couldn't afford health insurance-- or health care-- either. Americans deserve better than predatory insurance companies thriving on misery. This is why America needs more members of Congress like Donna Edwards and less like Paul Ryan, Suzanne Kosmas and John Barrow:

The Crimson Tide Won't Touch Stalwart Progressives But Tennessee Blue Dogs May Soon Be Working As K Street Whores

You may not think it's the big a deal to go from being the guy who's being bribed (a congressman) to the briber (a lobbyist) but it's quite a blow to the ego to be defeated and publicly displayed as a whore skirting lax laws you may have voted on yourself. When scurrilous California Republican Congressman Bill Lowery (a notorious check bouncer and bribe taker) was scared off by the less dishonest Duke Cunningham he headed straight to a K Street whorehouse and became the only path to crooked Appropriations Committee head Jerry Lewis, Congress' most corrupt member. All his wives have divorced him and his personal life is a shambles but he owns LOTS of property and is rolling in cash and has the kind of lifestyle you would probably expect from this kind of Republican criminal. Just down the road another crooked GOP congressman, Brian Bilbray, lost his seat to Susan Davis in 2000 and went into an emotional funk and became a lobbyist. When Cunningham was carted off to the federal pen for taking bribes from lobbyists, Bilbray moved into his House seat.

Now it looks as though some of the corrupt members of Congress from the other side of the aisle will be playing the same game of musical chairs. Corrupt Blue Dogs in Tennessee, for example, have been taking immense sums of money from Insurance and Medical-Industrial Complex special interests and are opposing meaningful health care reform in return. Although our system doesn't provide for prison sentences for their kinds of thinly disguised criminality, it looks like voters in Tennessee will be retiring them. Good examples are Blue Dog slime Bart Gordon, John Tanner and Jim Cooper, all die-hard foes of meaningful reform, all vulnerable to electoral challenge next year.

Gordon and Tanner are especially exposed since both represent districts that have been trending red. Gordon' north-central 6th CD (Murphreesboro) saw a tie between Bush and Gore in 2000, a 60% win for Bush in 2004 and a 62% win by McCain last year. Tanner's west Tennessee (Jackson) 8th CD actually saw a Gore victory in 2000, a close Bush win in 2004 and a comfortable McCain win last year. Neither Gordon nor Tanner even drew an opponent in 2008, the former having won with 67% in 2006 and the latter 73%. But Blue Dog mania may be ending in Tennessee where the folks are ready for real Republicans instead of fake ones.

Both have prospered over the years by projecting images as center-right Democrats even though their heavily conservative districts tend to favor Republican candidates for other major offices. In 2008, Republican presidential nominee John McCain trounced Democrat Barack Obama by 62 percent to 37 percent in Gordon’s mid-Tennessee district, which includes the city of Murfreesboro and some fast-growing Nashville suburbs, and carried the vote by 56 percent to 43 percent in Tanner’s west Tennessee district, which includes Jackson and suburbs of Memphis.

Republicans have long argued they could compete on this turf if they could drum up strong candidates. And they think they finally have solid contenders in Stephen Fincher, a farmer and gospel singer who has signed on to tackle Tanner in the 8th District, and Lou Ann Zelenik, chairwoman of the Rutherford County Republican Party, who is challenging Gordon in the 6th District.

Polling of Blue Dog districts across the nation has shown that incumbents recognized as taking significant campaign contributions from lobbyists and CEOs from the Insurance companies and the Medical-Industrial Complex and then opposing meaningful health care reform will be facing a political death sentence in 2010. Tanner has taken $575,518 in thinly-veiled bribes from the Insurance Industry and Gordon has taken $304,416. The Medical-Industrial Complex have been even more generous to the two sleazy Blue Dogs. Gordon has gobbled up $1,234,646 and Tanner has gotten his paws on $813,212. That's a lot of money and it goes a long way towards explaining why these two fake Democrats are willing to sell out their own constituents on health care reform.

According to the House Energy and Commerce Committee 107,000 of the 129,000 uninsured people represented by Gordon would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance if the bill Gordon is opposing were signed into law. And in Tanner's case, 84,000 uninsured constituents out of 104,000 uninsured would gain that benefit.

You might even want to help these two creeps save their own seats. Gordon's office number is 202-225-4231 and Tanner's is 202-225-4714. And you know, it isn't just out and out Blue Dogs who are betraying their constituents. There are a whole gaggle of frightened, principle-less Democrats in the House who would much rather kiss up to lobbyists and corporate interests than look after the needs of their own constituents. Freshman disappointment Suzanne Kosmas (FL) is a perfect example. Today Randi Rhodes was on air talking about how members of Congress go to breakfasts and meetings with sleazy lobbyists before coming to the Capitol to work. Kosmas, who has an even worse ProgressivePunch score this year than arch-Blue Dog Allen Boyd, doesn't just eat breakfasts, lunch and dinner with sleazy lobbyists; she actually skips important committee meetings when lobbyists summon her. Meanwhile, constituents complain that the lobbyist-atuned representative never gives direct answers to where she stands on any controversial issues. "No one knows what she stands for or even if she's an actual Democrat or not. She refused to do a public event in town with Vice President Biden and she avoided being in Miami last week when President Obama was there; she's no better than Charlie Crist. She just seems to vote for whatever lobbyists tell her to," one Democratic activist in Winter Springs told me this morning. "Even her hedge fund registration bill gives them a full year reprieve which is like a license to turn up the shenanigans, the same way the credit card companies did when they were given a reprieve. Look, I voted for Suzanne because she seemed so much better than Feeney. But she's been a huge disappointment. She's on the Financial Services Committee and all she ever does is solicit money from Wall Street lobbyists. According to OpenSecrets she's taken in $361,136 from bankers and brokers and their lobbyists this year. How is she going to make fair assessments on legislative matters if the special interests are financing her re-election efforts. I'd never vote for her again no matter who the Republicans run."

In return for supporting Big Pharma's greed and allowing them to plunder her own constituents, here's the bullshit ad that Pharma ran on Central Florida TV stations for her She's one of them, not one of us.

More Bad News For Florida GOP

Lobbyist & RNC member Al Cardenas sticks a knife in Marco Rubio's back

Al Cardenas may not be a household name but in Florida GOP circles he's more than just one of Washington's sleaziest and most corrupt lobbyists. He's the former chairman of that state's GOP. He's also the man who nurtured the career and political ambitions of a young Cuban-American fanatic, Marco Rubio, and is widely considered Rubio's mentor and political godfather. The godfather just endorsed Rubio's opponent, Florida gay-blade Charlie Crist, for the open Senate seat. Crist has been scooping up all the cash and all the Cuban-American political big names, leaving Rubio-- whose campaign is broke and paying employees with IOUs-- with nothing but the teabaggers and dittoheads. Cardenas' stab in the back may be the most painful for Rubio-- rumored to be about to pull out of the race and run for Attorney General-- but Rubio has been abandoned by all his former Cuban-American allies, including the notorious gangsters Mario and Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez, and outgoing Senator Mel Martinez (who voted to confirm Sonia Sotomayor today, something Rubio was hysterically opposed to). Cardenas' statement to the press was a none-too-subtle call for Rubio to pack it up and start working on the far right flank of the Republican base to get behind the more mainstream gay blade. "As we look to the 2010 election cycle, I urge Republicans to unite the Republican Party by standing behind Governor Crist. With Governor Crist atop the ticket, I am confident that our party will achieve sweeping victories in 2010."

But Republican woes aren't just at the top of the ticket. Most of their first tier draft picks to run for Congress have bowed out, well aware that Florida has swung Democrat and is trending away from the crazy right-wing politics the GOP base hears about from Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Lou Dobbs and Bill O'Reilly and is demanding for their state. Today GOP hopes were shattered for defeating freshman Suzanne Kosmas as their top recruit, former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz, publicly stated he's not running. Right after meeting with top Republican strategists at the NRCC Holtz told a TV audience, "I'm working for ESPN. I don't want to run for Congress." Instead Pete Sessions will put up some teabagging birther to try to win the seat back from Kosmas who defeated an entrenched incumbent, Jack Abramoff operative Tom Feeney, 57-41%.

Word that Holtz was unimpressed by the clowns at the NRCC came right on top of yesterday's news that popular St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Craft has decided to jump into the congressional race against far right extremist Tom Rooney, who brags how he's voted against nearly every proposal that's come from the Obama administration, regardless of the impact on his own constituents. Rooney is a hard core obstructionist and an empty-headed ideologue with no solutions to Florida's woes.

CQPolitics immediately changed it's rating for the race from Safe Republican to Republican Favored. Florida's 16th CD is the third worst hit congressional district in the country by the mortgage crisis. There have been 25,532 foreclosures so far and over 85,000 are projected over the next 4 years. Rooney was forced by constituent pressure to cross the aisle and vote with Democrats for the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act. But today he is fighting tooth and nail against health care reform and says he will never support the public option that his donors in the Insurance companies and Medical-Industrial Complex are so adamantly against. Odd that Rooney should be so opposed to health care reform when the Center For American Progress found that his constituents would be among the people with the most to gain! These are the results of their examination of health care in Florida and how President Obama's proposals would help:

• 850 residents of Florida are losing health insurance every day, and 14,000 Americans cover everyone-- and $1,100 more nationally.

• Our broken health insurance system will cost the Florida economy as much as $19 billion this year in productivity losses due to the uninsured-- and up to $248 billion nationally.

• In Florida there has been a 15 percent increase in the uninsured rate since 2007.

• 3,920,000 are uninsured today in Florida.

• In Florida the combined market share of the top two insurers is 45 percent, limiting employers’ and families’ health insurance options as well as the care they receive.

• The average family premium will rise from $12,763 to $21,779 by 2019 in Florida without health care reform.

• In Florida, without health care reform, 556,070 will have lost coverage from January 2008 to December 2010.

• In Florida, 1,854,000 people would gain coverage as a result of the House health care reform bill by 2013, and 2,982,000 would gain coverage by 2019.

• A typical Florida family will pay $21,779 for health coverage in 2019 without health care reform.

The same local folks who forced Rooney to vote for the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act should start pressuring him to vote for health care reform. Remember, as bad as the U.S. system is for delivering high quality, low cost health care to regular working families, it's much worse in Florida. And Rooney's approach isn't viable: "Instead of imposing an expensive, government-run healthcare system on the American people," he read from his Republican Talking Points memo, "let's implement some common sense ideas that will make healthcare more affordable and accessible." His common sense ideas? An apple a day and more tax breaks. Someone should sit Tom Rooney down and make him watch this clip:



Meanwhile, Florida has something else to worry about. An angry mob of astro-turfed right-wing dupes and Obama-haters showed up at a health care forum in Tampa, hosted by Congresswoman Kathy Castor and state Representative Betty Reed, to prevent a serious discussion of the issues. The teabagger and dittohead thugs, encouraged all day by poisonous Republican Party officials and Hate Talk Radio hosts, soon turned violent and started fist fights.

Angry protesters and strong supporters are clashing inside and all around a health care reform town hall meeting in Downtown Tampa. The meeting which was scheduled to begin at 6:00 at the Children's Board of Hillsborough County drew hundreds of people who quickly began to overwhelm staff and event organizers at the front entrance.

As the building filled to capacity, angry protesters stuck outside began to scream, yell, and chant. At one point, those trying to get inside began banging on windows as Tampa Police officers quickly spread out guarding all entrances.

Karen Thurman, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party was appalled because she has been working hard to encourage people to come to these meetings to exchange ideas and to have their concerns answered.

"Throughout the summer, we have been reaching out to Floridians to engage in an important debate on the future our health care system. We have heard story after story from people who are struggling to get the care they need.

"Recently, their thoughtful discussions are being interrupted by angry mobs-- well funded and organized by Washington special interests-- attempting to drown out the voices of the hard-working Floridians who are desperate for health insurance reform. These groups are not concerned about Americans' access to quality heath care, but are extreme ideologues, only interested in 'breaking' the President and thwarting the change Americans voted for last November. 

"In the last three years the Republican Party has lost control of the House, the Senate and the White House because they have offered no ideas and no solutions. Now, these well funded right-wing groups are following the example of the Republican Party and instead of providing real ideas for fixing our broken health care system, they're doing everything they can to drown out thoughtful discussion and spread vicious and hateful lies. Their desperate behavior does nothing to help their cause, Floridians or our country. 

"Despite their threatening tactics, we will continue our work to give a voice to the majority of Floridians who believe that all Americans should have access to quality, affordable health care."

It was a relief to see the Lou Dobbs network allow one of its anchors, Rick Sanchez, to get into the real story of these violent assaults on democracy. Sanchez nailed the ratty hide of Rick Scott, one of the financiers of the mayhem, to the barn door (just as Chris Matthews did with a Freedomworks shill on Harball this afternoon). Take a look:



UPDATE: And Now Mel Martinez Is Resigning

No, not just retiring; resigning. It really is the party of quitters. Will Charlie Crist make a play for the far right base he's losing to Rubio by appointing Katherine Harris or Jeb Bush as an interim senator? After all, she'd fit right in with the obstructionist GOP Senate caucus.