Tag: Democrats

A First: Florida Democrats Outraised Republicans in Second Quarter

Trish

For the first time in the history of the world, the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) out-fundraised the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) in the second quarter of a year. The FDP shows $1,196,530 while the RPOF had over $35,000 less, with $1,160,064.

How the money was raised tells a more accurate story of the condition of the two parties. The phrase “rich Republican” means something different in Florida than in say, Iowa or Kentucky. That’s clear from the fact that only 224 donors were responsible for the RPOF’s total. A mere 71 donated $100 or less, meaning the bulk of the purse was given by 153 people. By contrast, it took 1,740 Democrats to cough up their nearly $2 million. Of those, 1,371 gave $100 or less, leaving 369 who were able to give larger amounts.

But the real money isn’t flowing to the parties. Gov. Charlie Crist raised $4.3 million, compared with $1.2 million by U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, his Democratic challenger. That’s assuming Crist wins in the primary against former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, who raised only $340,000 but is young, handsome, Cuban, not metrosexual, and has the gleam of the zealot in his eye, along with the backing of Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee.

Money, in other words, isn’t everything when it comes to politics — even though most cynics think it is.

Sometimes It Takes Awhile to Put Things Right

Trish

“I would rather he had been here and it was still his seat, you know? That’s what I really wish.”

— Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), in answer to a supporter who asked him what Sen. Paul Wellstone would have said after listening to one of Franken’s first speeches as a senator. Wellstone was killed in a plane crash in 2002 during his campaign against Norm Coleman, whom Franken defeated in 2008.

Breaking: Franken Case Being Heard Now

Trish

Today’s the day in Minnesota: we might have a new Democratic Senator in Al Franken. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s Arjun Jaikumar is live blogging and twittering from inside the courtroom where Sen. Norm Coleman’s challenge of a ruling favorable to Franken is being heard. Tune in for what appears to be some good stuff for our side:

10:04: Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg: We’re making due-process and equal-protection claims. Admits the due-process claim came only recently. “You changed the rules after the game was played”. Ha ha ha.

10:08: Justice Anderson: “Why is this offer of proof not inadequate?” Ouch.

10:14: Not an auspicious start for Friedberg. The justices seem very impatient and unimpressed…

10:24: Justice Anderson: “As loud as you speak on this issue, there’s language here you just can’t overcome”.

10:25: Marc Elias is on for Team Franken. He is one handsome devil.

10:32: Team Franken lays down numbers, coldly and efficiently. There are fewer disputed ballots where voter wasn’t registered than the margin between the two candidates.

See what I mean? Riveting!

Should They Put Al Gore on the Florida Ballot?

Buck Banks

‘To be or not to be.’

Co-editor Trish is all in a dither these days over the state of Democratic politics in Florida. Since her ballot would not be counted in Florida’s (in the eyes of the national Democratic Party — illegal) Jan. 29 vote, she says she’s not sure she’ll even vote in the presidential primary. But maybe there’s something that would get Trish to cast a ballot for a presidential candidate after all: Al Gore.

It’s almost Shakespearean.

The St. Petersburg Times’ Buzz column suggests that leaders of Florida’s Democratic Party easily could add Gore to the ballot they draw up this weekend:

Heck, most of the other Florida-snubbing Democratic candidates say Florida’s primary is so meaningless they won’t even send their spouses to mix with party regulars in Orlando this weekend. Why not have some fun with it then, and add a Nobel Peace Prize winner to the Florida ballot? Call it a favor to those Palm Beachers who accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan in 2000 and want another chance to vote for Gore. Hillary and company probably wouldn’t love the idea, but she and the rest of the field haven’t exactly been dolling out favors lately to Florida Democrats.

Why not, indeed. Although Buzz does admit to making the suggestion just to create some, ahem, buzz at this weekend’s state convention, it makes this piquant observation:

Al Gore back on the Florida ballot, after the national Democrats opted not to count Florida’s Democratic votes. It’s almost Shakespearean.

As he Bard himself might have suggested: hoist the Democratic candidates on their own petard and be done with it.

Yet Another Reason to Not Take the Florida Dems Seriously

Buck Banks

I received another weird e-mail from Florida Democratic Party chair Karen Thurman. She started off gloating over Republican national party chair Mel Martinez stepping down after only nine months on the job:

Does the Florida Democratic Party have so much money and resources that it can waste it on a spoof Web site that appears to serve no purpose beyond entertaining members of their own team?

Remember how he had big plans to resurrect the Republican Party and rehabilitate its image? It appears that was an insurmountable task.

But we shouldn’t be surprised. Martinez ignored the Floridians he was elected to represent by siding with President Bush over the people on just about everything.

One of the biggest debacles occurred this week, when Martinez and 14 Republican Representatives from Florida ripped away the promise of medical coverage for half a million uninsured Florida children and millions more children across the country.

Okay, I can understand that, and Thurman’s point is valid. Then she goes on a bit about how the SCHIP was passed on her watch in Congress. Then she begins to level accusations against the Republican Party:

Now the Republicans have put the program and millions of children in grave danger. I believe their decision to block healthcare for children will go down as a major turning point in history. No amount of spin can cover up the simple fact that these Republicans, like Feeney and Keller, chose Bush over Florida’s kids.

This vote demonstrates, in the starkest of terms, why we’re Democrats.

But here Thurman (and the FlaDems) go off the rails:

Rank-and-file, right-wing Republicans are so fed up with their candidates blustering, flip-flopping and backtracking that they’ve become desperate for another option. They need a Real Republican.

We’re giving them one.

What humdinger of an idea is coming? It’s a Web site called Draft Katherine Harris. Clever, huh? It’s ironical!

Yep, in a letter where Thurman asks for a contribution no less than six times, she unveils a Web site plastered over with unflattering photos of former Florida attorney general, erstwhile gubernatorial candidate and certifiable whack-job Katherine Harris that is intended to be humorous. I guess it would be if this were something besides a presidential election.

Does the Florida Democratic Party have so much money and resources that it can waste it on a spoof Web site that appears to serve no purpose beyond entertaining members of their team? I’m certainly no fan of Katherine Harris, but I’m even less a fan of Karen Thurman, whose judgment and leadership are certainly questionable in this instance.

Here you’ve got the state Democratic Party, which has already been put through the wringer by the Republican state legislature (oh, wait, that’s right — it was a Democrat who filed the bill to move the state’s primary to Jan. 29, incurring the wrath of the national party and rendering its primary meaningless) and the Democratic National Committee, paying to design and host a “satirical site” that is neither funny nor in good taste.

Seems to me the only joke around here is the Florida Democratic Party. And it’s not funny, either.

Borowitz Says Democrats Will Find a Way to Screw Up; Republicans Say They Already Did

Trish

Andy Borowitz needs to come to Florida. His parody column isn’t a spoof here — it’s reality.

Like manna from heaven, the Democratic presidential candidates’ boycott of Florida’s Jan. 29 primary has state GOP leaders giddy.

Amid a growing belief that there is no way the Democrats can blow the 2008 presidential election, Democratic National Committee chief Howard Dean sought today to reassure the party faithful that the party was “doing everything in its power” to uphold its losing tradition.

At a top-level summit called “Defeat: 2008” being held in Boston, the former Vermont Governor gave a rousing speech to concerned Democrats, bringing his audience to his feet by vowing, “I can assure each and every one of you, we will find a way to screw this up.”

Actually they already did. And while Democrats don’t acknowledge that banning candidates from campaigning in Florida to punish the state for moving its primary date is the dumbest thing they’ve ever done, the Republicans do.

Sure Republicans head into 2008 with an unpopular president, an unpopular war and no consensus on their best presidential candidate. But like manna from heaven, the Democratic presidential candidates’ boycott of Florida’s Jan. 29 primary has state GOP leaders giddy.

“I cannot imagine any candidate for president ever signing (such a pledge), but they have,” a beaming state Republican chairman Jim Greer told party leaders at the Presidency IV convention Sunday in Orlando…

“Our party, because of what the Democrats have done, has an opportunity that it has never had before…” Greer said. “Rules are important to any organization, but no one should be a prisoner of the rules.”

Even a Republican makes sense every now and then. Or, as Borowitz imagined it:

“Folks, let’s not forget, we’re Democrats,” Mr. Dean said. “If there’s a way to lose, we will find it.”

Democrats Stuck on Name for 48-State Strategy

Trish

What does the DNC do the day after the news that five Democrats (Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden and Dennis Kucinich) are so incensed about Michigan moving its primary up that they pulled their names off the state’s ballot?

If you guessed, “Um, they launch an idiotic campaign to win in all 50 states which, thanks to their own pigheaded bumbling by allowing no campaigning in two of the most populous states in the country, is so unrealistic and pie in the sky that they can’t even think of a name for it?” you’re right!

An email from one Tom McMahon at the DNC is pleading for my help — and yours too — to name their 2008 organizing plan. Finding a catchy title for this stillborn brainchild is paramount in the minds of our national leaders, so I am appealing to all of you loyal Pensito Reviewers out there to help. Please leave your suggestion here, and remember, “Take Your Heads Out of Your Ass Before It’s Too Late” is already taken.

What Is Howard Dean Smoking?

Buck Banks

The architect of Florida’s current presidential primary mess, Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean, had the audacity to come to Florida yesterday and dismiss the primary debacle (caused when the state legislature moved Florida’s primary to Jan. 29, ahead of the Feb. 5 date set by the DNC) as a “spat between politicians”:

‘Floridians … are Americans, too, and they want a Democratic president.’
— DNC Chair Howard Dean

“Do I wish this fight weren’t happening? Yes,” said Dean, who had driven from Jacksonville to Tallahassee for a $100-per-person fundraiser. “At the end of the day, I think Iraq, health care, education and ethics matter far more than a fight between politicians.”

Wait a minute. The spat wouldn’t exist if Dean hadn’t enforced the DNC’s rules. Notice that Mel Martinez, Dean’s counterpart on the Republican National Committee, chose not to lower the entire boom on Florida’s Republican primary, stripping the state of only half its convention delegates and allowing candidates to campaign in the state. By contrast, Dean and his cohorts stripped Florida of all its delegates and vowed to punish any Democratic candidates who campaign in Florida.

Seems Dean-o forgot that part, too:

The full effect of what Dean passed off as a “blip” may come to pass later this month. Local Democrats will convene a state convention that lacks a single big-name presidential contender mere days after all the major Republican presidential candidates have descended upon Orlando for a state convention and nationally televised debate.

However, Dean disassociated the DNC from the candidates’ pledge to avoid Florida, saying “what the candidates do is their business.”

Huh?? If the candidates campaign in Florida, they will be punished by the DNC, Howard, so rather than risk that, they’ve pledged not to campaign here. But they can raise money. Is any of this coming back you Howard? Apparently not, when he blurts out inane comments like:

“Floridians, despite the fact that they have strong feelings about this issue … are Americans, too, and they want a Democratic president,” said Dean.

Thanks for including us in, Howard. Now please leave.

Now It’s Official: FlaDem Chair Thurman Really Is Working for Lobbyist Cardenas Who Works on Romney Campaign

Buck Banks

In what is being called a “bipartisan” effort, Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman is now officially working for Republican lobbyist Al Cardenas, who advises Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, according to the Miami-Dade County Commission. The strange bedfellowship was first reported by the Miami Herald in July, and while some in the Democratic Party questioned the head of the state party organization lobbying with a Republican operative to the tune of $3,500 per month while receiving $100,000 per annum from the FDP.

It sure is strange to read a letter from Cardenas, a top advisor to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, praising the woman determined to turn Florida from red to blue in 2008.

A couple of months down the road and a real crisis in the Florida Democratic Party, and the relationship still just doesn’t seem right.

It’s interesting to note that none of the articles on the topic of Thurman’s unholy alliance with Cardenas mentions exactly what she’s supposed to be lobbying for.

… it sure is strange to read a letter from Cardenas, a top advisor to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, praising the woman determined to turn Florida from red to blue in 2008.

”During her time in Congress, Karen worked tirelessly on issues related to healthcare, taxes and the economy,” the letter says. It also notes her “ability to work productively with members of both parties.”

And Cardenas is nothing if not a staunch Republican. Here’s an excerpt from an article in South Florida CEO from 2003, after he stepped down as state Republican chair:

Background: Cardenas’ name has been synonymous with GOP power for decades, including a stint on President-Elect Ronald Reagan’s transition team. Now, with Florida’s governor, cabinet and two-thirds of the state legislature — plus two-thirds of Florida’s federal legislators — all Republicans, says Cardenas, “It’s more of a mission-accomplished feeling in deciding to move on to the next challenge.”

Ambition: Cardenas is now building a high-end government relations practice in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., with a focus on “up-tier” clients. He is busy hiring top-drawer attorneys to create that type of practice for the firm.

My theory — and I’m sticking to it — is that the commission is trying to shake loose big fed money to pay for a $1 billion tunnel project between the Port of Miami and the mainland. The City of Miami Commission has so far resisted voting on ponying up $50 million for the project. Only last Thursday a looming Sept. 30 deadline to have funding in place was extended indefinitely, to allow the commissioners who are up for re-election in November to defer the vote until after the election.

The state of Florida is kicking in more than $400 million, but that still leaves a gap in the overall $914 million price tag. Enter Cardenas and Thurman, who will be going after federal transportation grants and homeland security grants for the Port of Miami on behalf of the Miami-Dade County Commission. At least that’s what I’m betting.

I’ll leave the questions about whether Thurman helped kill the Florida Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election to the conspiracy theorists.

It was a Democrat, not Republicans, Who Moved Florida’s Primary Date

Buck Banks

When the hubbub over Florida’s new presidential primary date began, the Florida Democratic Party was quick to blame the Republican-led state legislature for a change that violated national Dem Party rules and introduced the state party to a world of hurt. It turns out, however, that it was actually a Democratic state senator who introduced the original legislation that moved the primary date to Jan. 29. Hmmm.

But when newly spineful state party chair Karen Thurman gathered the Democratic faithful around her last weekend to announce that the state party would defiantly promote the Jan. 29 vote as a “real” election that “counts,” the man responsible for the original legislation was conspicuously absent.

‘I hear that a lot, that I was duped by the Republicans. No one duped me.’
— Fla. Sen. Jeremy Ring

When Karen Thurman surrounded herself with Broward County Democrats last Sunday to tout the Jan. 29 primary: state Sen. Jeremy Ring. No one invited the Broward state Senator who sponsored the original bill moving Florida’s primary from March to January and undercut the Democrats’ argument that the early primary was all the Republicans’ fault.

So, the party needed an alternate explanation, and they found one — in an alternate universe: Ring was somehow fooled by Republicans into proposing the primary move, fully aware that Howard Dean and his Democratic National Committee would beat on Florida Democrats like Ringo Starr on a snare drum. Right.

“If you turn on the left wing liberal radio down in Broward, I am public enemy number one,” said Ring, who actually campaigned in 2006 on the need for an early primary and makes no apologies for his leading the effort. “I hear that a lot, that I was duped by the Republicans. No one duped me.”

Now that the Florida Democratic Party is resigned to the fact that the state will be off-limits to the leading Democratic candidates (except for blue-plate fundraisers — so much for the Dems who can’t afford that) and the party’s convention next month will be just another diversion at Disney World and the state will be stripped of its convention delegates, Thurman et. al. seem bent on ignoring the fact that a fellow party member actually started the whole thing.

It would be inconvenient to acknowledge Ring’s role in a process where the Florida Democratic Party has morphed into the Defiant Victim — victimized by the Republican-dominated legislature, victimized by its own national party and victimized by the prez candidates, yet standing up on its hind legs and saying “Go to hell” to its victimizers. The reminder that Ring ran on the notion of moving up the primary date, was elected on it and followed through on his campaign promise is an inconvenient truth that the FlaDems simply must ignore.