Farewell

This blog is being closed and further updates will be featured on Florida Congress Watch. Check us out over there.

From the Blogs

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

Rants of Rob: Back For Another Round?

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: REP. JOHN LUIGI MICA gets "worser" person in the world rating from Keith Olberman!

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: REP. JOHN LUIGI MICA Trash-talks "Critics" of Billion Dollar Boondoggle, With 100% Cost Overruns

Re/Creating Tampa: Big Government Mica

Re/Creating Tampa: Rep. Mica wants more

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: ORBITZ CEO Is Wrong About U.S. Rep. JOHN LUIGI MICA

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Orbitz CEO's Propaganda Supporting Rep. JOHN LUIGII MICA Is A Figment of HIs Imagination -- See Quote in Context Below

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: ORBITZ CEO Propagandizes foi U.S. Rep. JOHN LUIGI MICA

Rants of Rob: Retire John Mica

Faye Armitage Supports the Public Option

Beaven Believes in Hospice Mission

US Congressional candidate Heather Beaven defended hospice providers today after her opponent, Congressman John Mica, referred to the caregivers as “death counselors” during a radio interview with WDBO radio talk show host Jim Turner in Orlando.

Beaven said she is appalled Mica would malign the work of those who bring peace to patients nearing the end of their lives and comfort to their families.

"Having both volunteered with Hospice and benefited from their devotion to dignity during the death of my grandmother, I'm stunned by Congressman Mica's outright deceit at the expense of a great organization,” Beaven said.

Mica, who is seeking his 10th term, referred to Hospice and similar organizations as “death counselors” and said Medicare reimbursements to such groups would create, “a whole new cottage industry.”

Beaven said Mica is trying to frighten the very people he was elected to serve and that his comments were misleading.

Some versions of the bill being debated in Congress provide funding for medical consultations about living wills and Hospice care, but none require it. Beaven said the issue is too important to reduce the debate to scare tactics.

“If he truly believes that his country is plotting to kill its elderly citizens then I would think he would be hosting town halls from one end of the district to the other warning us,” she said. "This is nothing more than an attempt to scoop up some of the health insurance lobbying money being tossed around right now for his own gain without regard to truth, honor or integrity.”

Seventh District Candidates' Forum

(originally posted on RantsOfRob.Com)

Tonight, in Daytona Beach, the three Democratic candidates for Congress in Florida's Seventh District spoke to a handful of Progressive Democrats. Well, two of them did.

Stephen Bacon entered the venue seemingly confused by the existence of other candidates for the nomination and it went downhill from there. Before the candidates were scheduled to speak, he was trying to speak over the PDA organizer who was running the meeting. He was asked to yield the floor and advised that he would have a chance to address the meeting along with the other candidates. Instead of ceding the point, he chose to argue. When the organizer's father confronted him for his rudeness, he chose to leave. "Bacon fried himself tonight," said Lisa Walker, Beaven's campaign manager.

First to speak was Heather Beaven, the Palm Coast education activist. She spoke for five minutes, covering her biography and making the case that her bio gave her a better grasp of the issues than the out-of-touch Washington crowd. She fielded questions about single-payer health care (she's for it) and tax policy (she has no litmus test for tax reform, but she's pro-unfunded-mandate reform and concerned that PAYGO could be abused by conservatives) She was coherent and concise.

Next to speak was Faye Armitage, the 2008 nominee for the Seventh District seat. Her message was more fragmented, blending a laundry list of policies with a half-formed argument that her background as an economist presented an alternative to the out-of-touch Washington crowd. (See a pattern?) Still, this was a clear improvement over her performances in the 2008 cycle, and her more Progressive issue positions were a better fit for the room than the somewhat more centrist Mrs. Beaven.

The room was well to the left of the majority of Primary voters, however, and the evening did nothing to reverse my impression that Beaven is the more likely choice to beat John Mica in 2010. She is Progressive enough to be a part of the Progressive Caucus on the hill, even if she doesn't march in lockstep with Kucinich Democrats like me.

Back For Another Round?

originally posted on rantsofrob.com

Faye Armitage, the 2008 Democratic US House nominee who raised $32,929 and suffered a twenty-four point defeat to Seventh District Congressman and all-around parasite John Mica, told me tonight that she is still “testing the waters” and that her decision would hinge on how successful her fund-raising efforts were. She did not choose to quantify her money test, nor to comment on the persistent rumors about her decision to drop out of the race.

No Democrat, however well-funded, has made a dent in John Mica since 1992, so Ms. Armitage is not to blame for the size of her defeat, but I fail to see what has changed since 2008 to change her fund-raising chances. John Mica will run a campaign specifically designed to deny an opponent the chance to confront him in public. He has the backing of the business community and of his Party and will point to the truckloads of pork he has shipped into the District. In the lower-turnout race likely to happen in 2010, there will be only a small number of votes on the table and DPI will be under 40%.

When the Florida Legislature redraws District boundaries for the 2012 cycle, Mica, if still in office, will have an opportunity to retire gracefully and hand a safe seat to another right-wing water-carrier for business interests. This is probably the best chance for a Democrat to poach the seat before 2016 or 2018. If Armitage can build a fund-raising and message team capable of closing the name-recognition, culture and ideological gaps that stand between her and the District’s swing voters, then I wish her well. But not yet seeing a difference in tactics between cycles, I’ll suspend judgment.

None of the Democrats that have run against Mica since 2002 have had any record of elected office, so they faced a name-recognition and credibility gap that made the already-difficult task of knocking off an incumbent almost impossible. We all want to see an insurgent, small-donor campaign beat a troglodyte like Mica, but a Party hack who’s paid her dues would have a real shot and not simply be fighting the good fight.

The one veteran politican to come anywhere this race was four-term former State Rep. Joyce Cusack, who rumor has it, had contemplated a run. I suspect that if the DCCC targets the seat for its Red-to-Blue project to flip poachable Republican seats, Cusack and other candidates would enter the race. Or maybe it would be the other way around.

There are, of course, three other Democrats running for the seat, two announced and filed and one testing the waters. But Peter Silva, Stephen Bacon and Heather Beaven are all political newcomers. Beaven seems most able to sell a compelling narrative, but even she could do everything right, get every available dollar, and still be defeated by low DPI, low turnout, the name recognition gap, a free-media drought, and good old-fashioned public apathy and ignorance. Meanwhile, of course, many local Republican State Legislators are going unopposed.

I’m continually amazed that anyone chooses to run in this kind of race, and I’ve been right there with a few insurgent candidates myself. I admire them, but I wish I could inject some of my hard-nosed perspective into their decision to run and for which office. I wish they could understand, as I do, that these races are less tests of ideology and character than numbers games.

Of course, if everybody were Party hacks, I wouldn’t be in the Party …

Retire John Mica

originally published on rantsofrob.com

John Mica, one of the most retrograde of the pay-to-play brigade, is running for reelection again. This is a man who believes that women should die rather than receiving abortions that could save their life. He pushed to get pork for his campaign contributors into the stimulus bill, then voted against it. He wants to cut taxes across the board and increase spending, as if we weren’t bleeding red ink catastrophically. He wants to increase the maximum allowable contribution to federal candidates in an age when working Americans can’t even get in the door to the legislative process. This oligarch is a living insult to the tens of millions of Americans struggling to survive in the wreckage of an economy rigged in favor of the special interests Mica loves so dearly.

Yet, inexplicably, in every one of the four campaigns I have worked on to defeat this man, multiple people have pulled me aside to explain in hushed tones, “you realize that Mica is unbeatable, right?” He is accorded magical properties. I’ve seen enough politics to know that it contains no magic. A strong candidate with a coherent and resonant message can beat this man. Barack Obama may have lost the district (by three points, a rain shower would have tipped it in his favor), but people are frightened now in a way in which most of them have never been scared before. The American way of life seems to be collapsing around our heads, and John Mica continues to whistle a happy tune.

The good news is that, unlike in 2004, Mica is not running unopposed. (Amended 6/29: Faye Armitage, the 2008 Democratic US House nominee who raised $32,929 and suffered a twenty-four point defeat to … Mica, told me tonight that she is still “testing the waters” and that her decision would hinge on how successful her fund-raising efforts were. She did not choose to quantify her money test, nor to comment on the persistent rumors about her decision to drop out of the race.)

Three declared and two filed candidates have come forward, all Democrats. Stephen Bacon, an accountant, originally filed as an Independent before amending his Statement of Candidacy to change his party affiliation to Democrat. His issue is education, an idiosyncratic choice for a Congresional candidate. He has done little or nothing to campaign. I breathe Seventh District Democratic politics, and I’ve never met the man. Not a good sign. (I met Stephen today at the Volusia County Women’s Democratic Club Picnic and he was not education-focused, instead offering a complex policy proposal involving accounting rules and a “For the People” tagline)

Peter Silva, a retail bank branch manager, is somewhat more promising. A former vice-chair of the St. Johns DEC, he has been knocking on doors in St. Johns County, trying to close off the home territory of Faye Armitage, 2008’s sacrificial lamb. He is intelligent and dedicated, but plodding, a poor quality for this race. He has yet to build a team, and his de facto campaign manager, formerly briefly of the Armitage campaign, lives in California. He is hesitant on personnel matters, which is a particular problem when viewed in light of the next candidate.

Set to file on July 1 and to announce on July 7, Heather Beaven is a non-profit CEO and Navy veteran who has made an interesting choice for her campaign manager.

(full disclosure: Beaven’s campaign manger is my girlfriend, but the candidate and I are not friendly at the moment, my having left her campaign.)

Lisa Walker is running the Beaven campaign after cutting her teeth on the grassroots Obama movement. In the course of that effort and her successful bid as an Obama delegate to the DNC last August, she built an extensive network of contacts throughout the district which she has plundered shamelessly for her candidate’s benefit. She has ransacked local schools, Stetson University in particular, for interns. Any candidate trying to build street teams is going to find the cupboard bare and a friendly note from Lisa. Fund-raising is going to be the rub as always, but this campaign will do better than the other two. If the campaign can build a coherent and appealing message, Beaven stands the best chance among the current candidates. She has an appealing personal story and an engaging retail style. She is energetic and dedicated.

The X factor is the body of persistent rumors concerning Joyce Cusack, the termed-out former 27th District State Rep. She would almost certainly win the nomination if she ran, but the demographics of the district do not favor her for the General. She seems more likely, absent an open seat, to run for State Senate.

I urge Progressives to support one of these candidates. Don’t send your money out of the district this cycle, folks. Mica needs to go down, and this our last crack before they re-Gerrymander the District.

Heather Beaven enters Seventh District Race

On Tuesday night, Heather Beaven had her announcement event at Flagler County Airport for the Seventh District House seat. The unfulfilled threat of rain moved the venue from the steps of the Flagler Courthouse to a bar on the edge of the airport. About a score of supporters showed up, sprinkled with seven staffers and volunteers. The candidate’s husband introduced the first speaker, the chairman of Beaven’s thesis committee, Henry Thomas.

Dr. Thomas praised Ms. Beaven’s intelligence, tenacity and integrity, then Mrs. Beaven spoke. She has an unusual style of combining soft Midwestern tones with chopped, two-step cadences. Her speech was a mixture of folksy idealism and polished rhetoric. She is an appealing person, coming off as relaxed and warm among the small cluster of supporters and friends. It’ll be interesting to see if more challenging circumstances bring out her harder side.

Speech over, the serious business of the evening commenced. Beaven’s campaign manager, Lisa Walker, hit up her supporters for contributions. Her supporters accepted the contribution envelopes noncommittally. Mario Piscatella, a between-jobs politico described by Beaven as “not really” staff and “not exactly” a volunteer seemed to be more-or-less running the event’s set-up, but after the speech focused on networking, eager to speak with a potential seeker for state-wide office. Beaven’s Stetson interns were there in force.

Beaven’s campaign is strong by recent standards in the Seventh. Ms. Walker has kept her Stetson crew in place while recruiting other young politically active people like Mr. Piscatella and Frank Karbassis. Beaven definitely has the beginnings of a campaign here. If she begins to raise money aggressively, she could do the impossible and send John Mica to K Street where he belongs. The evening, while not earth-shattering by any means, was very different from the stealth campaigns of Silva and Armitage and the strange ego trip of Stephen Bacon.

Capitol Offense: Where Is Congress on the Public Option

Today, I'm joining with Democracy for America, Health Care for America Now and Open Left in supporting the Stand With Dr. Dean Campaign. The idea is to put pressure on our members of Congress to find out where they stand on health care reform and whether or not they support Dr. Howard Dean's call for a reform that includes a public option. See Dean's statement here:



Chris Bowers has suggested that we use crowdsourcing techniques to find out where everyone in Congress stands, which also helps pressure them to take the right stand. So here's the plan:

1. Contact your member of Congress via e-mail and ask them the following questions:

1--Do you support a public healthcare option as part of healthcare reform?
2--If so, do you support a public healthcare option that is available on day one?
3--Do you support a public healthcare option that is national, available everywhere, and accountable to Congress?
4--Do you support a public healthcare option that can bargain for rates from providers and big drug companies?

Don't call, do this via e-mail because we want a written response. If they are vague in answering these questions, contact them again and ask for clarification. If they don't answer you, keep contacting them (and have your friends and family contact them) until they do give you the answers.

2. Forward the responses to me at quinnelk@hotmail.com. We're going to publish an official response from as many of our members as possible so we know where everyone is. And we'll keep a track of who isn't responding so we know who to put pressure on. Similarly, once we find out who is on board and who isn't, we know who to put further pressure on down the road.

3. If you have your own blog, post the responses there, too. The more public pressure we can put on Congress, the easier we make it for them to do the right thing.

Here is the public contact info for each of our Florida members of Congress:

Rep Gus Bilirakis R FL-9 http://bilirakis.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=212&Itemid=44

Rep Allen Boyd D FL-2 http://www.house.gov/boyd/zip_authen.html

Rep Corrine Brown D FL-3 http://www.house.gov/corrinebrown/IMA/issue.shtml

Rep Virginia Brown-Waite R FL-5 https://forms.house.gov/brown-waite/IMA/issue_subscribe.htm

Rep Vern Buchanan R FL-13 http://buchanan.house.gov/contact.shtml

Rep Kathy Castor D FL-11 https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Rep Ander Crenshaw R FL-4 https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Rep Lincoln Diaz-Balart R FL-21 http://diaz-balart.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Contact

Rep Mario Diaz-Balart R FL-25 http://www.house.gov/formmariodiaz-balart/ic_zip_auth.htm

Rep Alan Grayson D FL-8 https://forms.house.gov/grayson/contact-form.shtml

Rep Alcee Hastings D FL-23 http://www.alceehastings.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=104&Itemid=

Rep Ron Klein D FL-22 klein.ron.web@flsenate.gov

Rep Suzanne Kosmas D FL-24 https://forms.house.gov/kosmas/contact-form.shtml

Rep Connie Mack R FL-14 http://mack.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactConnie.ContactForm

Sen Melquiades Martinez R FL http://martinez.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorMartinez

Rep Kendrick Meek D FL-17 http://kendrickmeek.house.gov/contact1.shtml

Rep John Mica R FL-7 http://www.house.gov/mica/messageform.shtml

Rep Jeff Miller R FL-1 http://jeffmiller.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

Sen Bill Nelson D FL http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

Rep Bill Posey R FL-15 http://posey.house.gov/Contact/

Rep Adam Putnam R FL-12 http://adamputnam.house.gov/contact.shtml

Rep Tom Rooney R FL-16 https://forms.house.gov/rooney/contact-form.shtml

Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen R FL-18 http://www.house.gov/writerep

Rep Clifford Stearns R FL-6 http://www.house.gov/writerep

Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz D FL-20 schultz.debbie.web@flsenate.gov

Rep Robert Wexler D FL-19 http://wexler.house.gov/email.shtml

Rep C. W. Bill Young R FL-10 bill.young@mail.house.gov

We'll also post the results of these at the WatchBlogs dedicated to each Republican member and at the Florida Democratic News blog.

You can also sign the petition on health care here.

I'm Kenneth Quinnell and I approve this message.

Read more on Florida politics at the Florida Progressive Coalition blog (http://flaprogressives.org) and the Florida Progressive Coalition Wiki (http://quinnell.us/sspb/wiki/).

From the Blogs

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Watching Rep. JOHN LUIGI MICA claim that he supports farmers is like watching a duck make love to a football!

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: MICA GETS LOW RATINGS FROM NATIONAL FARMERS UNION

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: REP. JOHN LUIGI MICA, CONGRESSMAN CRYBABY

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Time to Retire MICA, Keep AMTRAK's Promises to St. Augustine

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Amtrak, FEC mull passenger train deal -- Nearly eight (8) years later, St. Johns County is still waiting, Rep. MICA doesn't care

From the Blogs

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Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Head-butting Democracy -- U.S. Rep. JOHN LUIGI MICA Strikes Another Blow Against Democracy, Human Rights, Liberty and Justice

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: FOLIO WEEKLY: Mica Caught with Rich Lobbyists in a "Debauched Atmosphere"

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: BIGOTED CONGRESSMAN JOHN LUIGI MICA VOTES AGAINST OUTLAWING HATE CRIMES ---- MICA's IN BED WITH JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY, BIGOTS, EXTREMISTS, KKK

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Other-directed Rep. JOHN LUIGI MICA won't even talk about a St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway Act

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: ENRON's AND SAUDI ARABIA's MEN IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WORK FOR CONGRESSMAN JOHN MICA'S RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: CONGRESSMAN MICA'S POLITICAL CONSULTANT A REGISTERED FOREIGN AGENT OF THE ROYAL KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA AND ALSO WORKED FOR ENRON

From the Blogs

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Orlando Sentinel: CONGRESSMAN JOHN LUIGI MICA'S "Sunrail" Deal is "Awful"

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: THE MICA FAMILY: Is Bank of Montreal considering J. CLARK MICA, Congressman JOHN LUIGI MICA's Son, As Lobbyist?

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Thanks to Rep. MICA's brother the oil lobbyist, Governor Crist comes out of the closet as open-minded on offshore oil drilling

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: IT'S TIME FOR CONGRESSMAN JOHN LUIGI MICA TO GO

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: CONGRESSMAN JOHN LUIGI MICA IS AGAINST THE GRADUATED INCOME TAX -- MICA KICKS WORKING PEOPLE IN THE TEETH

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: MICA'S WORLD --- CONGRESSMAN JOHN LUIGI MICA has $745,564 in cash for 2010 re-election campaign

Doug Tudor to Announce Run in FL-12‏

His status on Facebook two hours ago:

Doug Tudor Has Many Phonecalls to Make on Wednesday Before he Formally Files his Candidacy Paperwork for the U.S. House in FL-12. So C'mon and Get Aboard, or Get Left Behind.

Tell the Party of No - "Yes We Can"

From the Blogs

From the Blogs

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Parliament of Whores -- What Did JOHN LUIGI MICA Know and When Did He Know It?

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: MAP OF HIGH SPEED RAIL LEAVES BIG GAP -- OUR ENTIRE 7th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT -- SO MUCH FOR U.S. REPROBATE JOHN LUIGI MICA'S ALLEGED "INFLUENCE"

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Reprobate JOHN LUIGI MICA Votes NO ont Expanding National Parks, Won't Comment on St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Coastal Highway

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: REPROBATE U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JOHN LUIGI MICA, OUR "ABOMINABLE NO MAN."

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Front page headline touts JOHN LUIGI MICA on beach funding -- MICA won't discuss Natonal Park, Seashore and Coastal Highway

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Mica secures beach funding for county

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida:

From the Blogs

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: NY TIMES: OUR 7th DISTRICT U.S. REP. JOHN LUIGI MICA VOTED AGAINST THE STIMULUS BILL BEFORE HE CLAIMED CREDIT FOR IT

Pensito Review (Trish): Florida Republican Vows to Block Bailout

Florida Progressive Coalition (Trish): Stunning Hypocrisy on Display in Mica’s Budget Grab

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: A challenge to U.S. Rep. John Mica: Getting to know Peter Silva

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: PETER SILVA, banker without college degree seeks Congressional seat held by JOHN LUIGI MICA

From the Blogs

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Salvaging the seawall

From the Blogs

Clean Up the City of St. Augustine, Florida: Orlando Sentinel: JOHN LUIGI MICA considering race for MARTINEZ' U.S. Senate Seat

Clean Up the City of St. Augustine, Florida: TAMPABAY.COM: Our Congressman John Mica, Thrall For CSX Railroad, Tries to Blackmail Hillsborough County To Agree to No-Fault Liability For CSX!

Clean Up the City of St. Augustine, Florida: US REP JOHN MICA ADMITS HE'S A RIGHT-WINGER, SAYS HE LOOKS FORWARD TO WORKING WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA

Clean Up the City of St. Augustine, Florida: J. CLARK MICA, CONGRESSMAN JOHN LUIGI MICA's SON, IS A HUD POLITICAL PATRONAGE EMPLOYEE, GS-14

Clean Up the City of St. Augustine, Florida: ASK REPS JOHN LUIGI MICA AND WM. L. PROCTOR, WHY NO ST. AUGUSTINE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK, NATIONAL, NATIONAL SEASHORE & NATIONAL SCENIC HWY

Thank You from DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen