If you have played World of Warcraft, this will be a lot funnier.  If not, it's probably only mildly interesting.  It's about my daughter's experience when she met our local congresswoman.

Well, I just got my latest plea from Hillary...

Write the DNC to demand that FL and MI be counted as is.

The joke title is "Count every vote," yet she just explained why we can no longer count any caucus state.  Disenfranchise much?  Disengenuous much?

I'm beginning to understand why.  More than that, I'm beginning to understand just why Debbie Whining Wasserman is whining with such a shrill an elevated voice.

This one is good.

Many of you saw this over the weekend:

An aide to President Bush has resigned in the midst of an investigation by the Justice Department over allegations he misused U.S. grant money intended to promote democracy in Cuba, the White House said Friday.

Felipe Sixto, a Cuban American from Miami, was the special assistant to the president on inter-governmental affairs, dealing with Cuba and other issues.

Sixto was until last summer the chief of staff of Frank Calzón, the head of the Washington-based Center for a Free Cuba. Sixto did not respond to e-mails and calls to his home Friday [...]

Neither Calzón nor the White House revealed how much money was misused but people familiar with the investigation say several hundreds of thousands of dollars could be involved -- an embarassing development coming just weeks ahead of the Bush administration's roll-out of its 2008 Cuba grant program. White House spokesman Blair Jones said the White House learned of the allegations from Sixto himself as he resigned from his post on March 20.

Blue Majority candidate Joe Garcia has been fighting this corrupt Cuban mafia for years. At a debate with Calzon almost a year ago, Garcia challenged Calzon on allegations that his organization was misusing federal funds. It's in Spanish, so most of you won't understand the language, but watch it and you'll still get the gist. Joe Garcia is the person calm and collected in his seat, while Calzon storms in and out of the studio accusing Garcia of all sorts of horrible things. Heck, the screen capture says it all:

The entire South Florida anti-Castro machine is a racket, so much so that even the Bush Administration is being forced to distance itself from it:

The Bush administration is undertaking a major do-over of the controversial Cuba democracy grants, restricting the funds available for anti-Castro groups in Miami and sending more resources to non-U.S. international advocacy organizations, officials and others familiar with the programs say.

The new orientation, which has sent tremors of uncertainty among many grant recipients in South Florida, comes as the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development prepare to award a record $45.7 million in Cuba democracy grants this year -- more than triple the 2007 levels.

This corrupt group is a major source of funding for the Florida Republican Party, and it flexes its political muscle via the three south Florida Cuban Republicans -- Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen -- and Democrat Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

That's why Wasserman-Schultz is protecting those three Republicans, despite being a co-chair of the Red-To-Blue DCCC program that should be, by all rights, aggressively backing the three Democrats challenging those seats.

Wasserman-Schultz may think she's protecting those Republicans and their corrupt patrons. She's got her benefactors to please.

But we don't have to. Let's send a message and show that while the corrupt Florida Cuban mafia may have bought off a key Democrat, especially one that can protect their electoral prospects, we aren't. And we can support a candidate who has been demanding transparency and accountability for federal anti-Castro dollars long before it was popular to do so.

Support Joe Garcia.

Race tracker wiki: FL-25

The DNC, with Hillary's input, made the rule.

The Florida legislature including the Democratic members, decided to ignore this rule.

The candidates both take a soft position on this when the Florida vote actually does jump the gun.  The candidate with the better name recognition gets the majority of the vote.

One candidates campaign in due time is fairly incompetent, and as a result finds themselves over 100 delegates behind, despite their early name recognition advantage.

Now being so far behind as to be in a crippled situation, that candidate suddenly changes position to a hard-line "the votes must count" position

Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Miami Tuesday night:

Under fire from Democratic political activists and bloggers for not actively campaigning for three Miami Democrats, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz invited the trio to a Miami fundraiser last night, introducing them to the assembled donors and politicoes.

Joe Garcia, Raul Martinez and Annette Taddeo all got invites to the Chef Allen's fundraiser in Aventura. Beneficiaries of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser: four incumbent Democratic House members from Arizona, Pennsylvania, Indiana and California.

This is a good start, considering that just last week, DWS said she preferred "working behind the scenes to help those Democratic candidates but not - by not publicly coming out against my - the Republican incumbents." (See 1:22.)

However, it's not enough. This was merely an invite to a fundraiser for other candidates. What we've asked is for Debbie to endorse our South Florida trio without reservation, and throw fundraisers for each of them - just like she did for Ron Klein, just like she did for Suzanne Kosmas. Really, it's not that hard.

I think our pressure on this issue has helped push Wasserman Schultz in the right direction. Now she just needs to take a few more steps.

A collumn in the March 19, 2008 South Florida Sun-Sentinel notices House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel of New York offered an amendment to the 2007 Farm Bill. Rangel sought to simplify the method of payment for U.S. farm exports to Cuba. But the amendment was defeated 182-245 after 66 Democrats voted against it, even though similar amendments had passed by voice votes when the Republicans were in the majority.

"If we can’t prevail on an issue of agricultural trade, it says it will be very difficult to prevail on other issues," said Rep. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican who has pushed for increased agricultural sales to Cuba as a member of the House Agriculture Committee.

Did anyone attend this fundraiser?

Please Join

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Senator Nan Rich

Commissioner Sally Heyman

for a reception honoring

Suzanne Kosmas

Candidate for Congress, FL-24

"She is considered the first legitimate challenger to Feeney, whom Democratic insiders see as vulnerable because of criticism targeting him as one of the "most corrupt" members of Congress." Daytona Beach News-Journal, October 11, 2007.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

6:30pm to 8:00 p.m.

Sheraton Airport Hotel

Windows Room

1825 Griffin Road

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301

Host $4600 • Sponsor $1000 • Friend $500 • Supporter $100-250

(donations in any amount appreciated)

I'm glad I didn't, because really, it would appall me to violate long-standing tradition like this. I'm a big believer in habeas corpus, I despise the designated hitter rule, and after all, it's my people that Tevye sings about. So when DCCC Executive Director Brian Wolff says:

Brian Wolff, executive director of the DCCC, says the bloggers are making "much ado about nothing," noting that it's "customary" for members to remain neutral in races involving GOP members of their respective congressional delegations.

I have to wonder what Debbie Wasserman Schultz is thinking. Clearly she didn't get the message.

UPDATE: Just to be clear: Suzanne Kosmas (the candidate Debbie Wasserman Schultz raised money for) is a Democrat taking on incumbent Florida Republican Tom Feeney. But according to Brian Wolff, it's "customary" for incumbents not to assist challengers to members of their state's delegation.

The DCCC's Executive Director, Brian Wolff, recently posted on Democratic efforts to take three Republican-held House seats in South Florida over at the Huffington Post. As you are probably aware, there's been a tremendous amount of controversy over the fact that Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, co-chair of the DCCC's Red to Blue program, has recused herself from these three races, despite the fact that we have quality challengers in each. (Rep. Kendrick Meek has also abandoned these candidates.) Wolff had this to say about the controversy:

This is in keeping with Wolff's prior comments on how importantly he views this issue:

Brian Wolff, executive director of the DCCC, says the bloggers are making "much ado about nothing," noting that it's "customary" for members to remain neutral in races involving GOP members of their respective congressional delegations.

If you, however, take a different view of things, I encourage you to call or write the relevant parties and let them know:

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (campaign office):
E-mail: AskDebbie@DWSforCongress.com
Phone: 202-741-7154

DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen (campaign office):
E-mail: chris@vanhollen.org
Phone: 301-942-3768

DCCC Headquarters:
Contact form
Phone: 202-863-1500

Much ado has been made about Debbie Wasserman Schultz's refusal to take on Republicans even though her job as DCCC Red to Blue co-chair is taking on Republicans.  As it turns out, this is not out of character for her. Follow me to the other side of the flip as we look back on Ms. Wasserman Schultz's resume.

Are you frustrated at Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz' recusing herself (in her capacity as the DCCC's Red to Blue co-chair) from three critical races in her home region of South Florida? Do you believe, as I do, that it is critical for our elected Democrats-especially our Democratic leaders, and most particularly the few we entrust with expanding our Congressional majorities-to provide as much support as possible for strong Democratic candidates everywhere?

If so, it is time to take action.

To recap: Wasserman Schultz, along with fellow Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek, recently told the Miami Herald that they would be on the sidelines for three high-profile races in South Florida with Republican incumbents, in the 18th, 21st and 25th Districts.

These races pit, respectively,

FL-18: Annette Taddeo against Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
FL-21: Raul Martinez against Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart
FL-25: Joe Garcia against Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart

Compounding the problem, Wasserman Schultz was also recently quoted heaping praise on Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, which surely can't do much for Annette Taddeo's campaign.

This would be upsetting under any circumstances-it's always frustrating to see powerful local political figures, whose endorsements and support could be of critical importance, sitting out a race where a Democratic candidate has a real shot.

But it is all the more important due to Wasserman Schultz' position as the DCCC's Red To Blue co-chair. She is personally responsible for doing everything she can to expand the Democratic majority as much as is within her power.

The people running the DCCC have to be cutthroat. That's the nature of the job. It's an overtly partisan position. If it's impossible for Wasserman Schultz to be that person, then the position should go to someone who can.

And as DavidNYC points out at Swing State Project, the DCCC has dismissed our concerns on these races so far:

Brian Wolff, executive director of the DCCC, says the bloggers are making "much ado about nothing," noting that it's "customary" for members to remain neutral in races involving GOP members of their respective congressional delegations.

Well, that's a custom which Wasserman Schultz was able to break with in 2006, when she found it in her heart to support Florida Democrat Ron Klein in his bid to upset Republican Rep. Clay Shaw.

Frankly, with Wasserman Schultz being a high-profile and well-respected South Florida Democrat, as well as the Red to Blue co-chair, I should think her assistance with these races should be of the utmost significance and importance.

Most of this has been covered in more detail and greater elegance in DavidNYC's terrific series of diaries.

So looking forward, what exactly would we have Rep. Wasserman Schultz do?

Ideally, she should declare her staunch and unqualified support for Annette Taddeo, Raul Martinez and Joe Garcia, and hold a fundraiser for each of them.

If she's unable to do that, she should resign as Red to Blue co-chair. If she can't be a partisan bulldog, that's one thing, but she should give the job to someone who will.

You can help take action and pressure Rep. Wasserman Schultz into doing the right thing. Call or email Wasserman Schultz' campaign office. Call or email the campaign office of the chairman of the DCCC, Representative Chris Van Hollen. Call or email DCCC headquarters itself. Here's the relevant information:

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (campaign office):
E-mail: AskDebbie@DWSforCongress.com
Phone: 202-741-7154

DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen (campaign office):
E-mail: chris@vanhollen.org
Phone: 301-942-3768

DCCC Headquarters:
Contact form
Phone: 202-863-1500

Let your voice be heard. Be polite and respectful; I think we're being pretty reasonable in what we're asking for, and I think our argument is strong and that we're on the right side. Let the argument speak for itself.

Also, you can help out Joe Garcia on Blue Majority.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz and the DCCC have heard us on the issue, but they aren't listening just yet. Let's make them pay closer attention.  

Race tracker wiki: FL-18 FL-21 FL-25

At a town hall meeting Tuesday night (it's a Congressional "district work period"), Debbie Wasserman Schultz had this to say about her abandonment of three strong Democratic challengers in South Florida:

I know there are people here that are interested in a political matter, so I will get that out of the way right at the beginning. If you have a concern about my previous comments about my staying out of the races in South Florida where candidates are challenging Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros- Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, I will tell you two things:

First off, I have not endorsed any of the three incumbents in South Florida, nor will I, and I do not support their re-election campaign. I am supportive of the Democratic candidates who are running against them. I have never said otherwise.

Second, I have a national role as one of three co-chairs of Red to Blue Program. All candidates, from Florida to Alaska, have criteria that have to be met to get on this targeted list. Let me guarantee that if they fulfill those criteria, these three Democratic Candidates will be part of our Red to Blue Program...period, end of story. We have three co-chairs in order to be able to spread the workload among us.  It makes much more sense to have someone from outside of one's own region to be able to make the hits necessary.  

But at the same time I am a representative of the 20th Congressional district of Florida, and I think it is absolutely my responsibility to work with my Republican colleagues.

But just one cycle ago, Debbie had an entirely different outlook - and with good reason:

While her moxie during debates over Terri Schiavo and Hurricane Katrina has earned kudos, it has also gotten the 39-year-old rookie into some trouble. She has rankled the longest-serving and most powerful congressman from South Florida, Republican Clay Shaw, by openly supporting his Democratic challenger.

Shaw's staff said he tried to welcome her to the Capitol by offering advice and temporary office space and was upset to learn that she was helping state Sen. Ron Klein raise money and meet party leaders.  

...  

Wasserman Schultz served with Klein in the state Legislature for 12 years, and they are close friends. She was tapped by Democratic leaders to help with recruitment and said she could not stay out of a competitive congressional race.  

"It's not good for my relationship with Clay Shaw, but Democrats can't afford to leave a seat like that uncontested," she said.

Why was it okay to do things that weren't "good for her relationship" with Clay Shaw, but not okay to do so with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and the Diaz-Balarts? If Debbie Wasserman Schultz values "working with Republicans" more than expanding our majority in Congress, then she should step down from Red to Blue, regardless of how many co-chairs there are. Everyone running Red to Blue needs to be a partisan bulldog.

And, of course, if the shoe were on the other foot, would any of these three Republicans hesitate to stab Debbie in the back? Of course not.

(Hat tip: FLA Politics.)

The Democratic congresswoman from Florida’s District 20 held a town meeting Thursday evening and defended herself against assertions that she's not doing enough for three Democratic challengers for U.S. House seats in South Florida.

MORE and a version on www.miami-dade.dems.blogspot.com

I recently caught wind of the following:

Following a week in which the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) lobbed several attacks on Congressman Scott Garrett's (R-Wantage) skewed priorities, Congressman Steve Rothman (NJ-9) joined the General Wesley K. Clark, Teamsters Joint Council No. 73, New York Governor David Paterson, and numerous New Jersey political figures in endorsing Dennis Shulman's campaign to unseat Garrett in New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District.

"After meeting with Dennis and hearing about him from people throughout Northern New Jersey, I am convinced that he will make an excellent Member of Congress.  I am committed to working with Dennis in 2008 so that, together, we can help solve the problems of New Jersey and the nation in 2009," said Congressman Steve Rothman.

Did you catch that? Rep. Steve Rothman of New Jersey's 9th congressional district just the other day endorsed Rabbi Dennis Shulman, who is taking on Republican Scott Garrett in New Jersey's 5th CD. That is to say, an incumbent Dem endorsed a challenger running against a member of his own state's delegation.

But what does DCCC Executive Director Brian Wolff have to say about endorsements like that?

Brian Wolff, executive director of the DCCC, says the bloggers are making "much ado about nothing," noting that it's "customary" for members to remain neutral in races involving GOP members of their respective congressional delegations.

Quick, someone call up Steve Rothman! He's violating a long-practiced custom! How dare he! Does Chris Van Hollen know about this breach?

Seriously, folks, I think we know this "custom" is bullshit. Debbie Wasserman Schultz herself recognized this back in 2005, when she unhesitatingly supported challenger Ron Klein against fellow Floridian Clay Shaw:

"It's not good for my relationship with Clay Shaw, but Democrats can't afford to leave a seat like that uncontested," she said.

Scott Garrett is a total recidivist crumb-bum, and the people of NJ-05 deserve better. Rabbi Shulman knows this, and that's why he's running to replace him. And Rep. Rothman knows this, too, which is why he's backing Rabbi Shulman. Surely the good folks in South Florida deserve no less from Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Race tracker wiki: NJ-05

DWS 'rowing' in the opposite direction but 'Hey' don't pay any attention to that.. sends us your money 'we' must work together!

Someone should memo the DCCC, Dodd, Wolff, and DWS.  How about us!!

I just received a donation request from Chris Dodd this is how he puts in in an e-mail:

"We must work together to have both a Democrat in the White House and a strong Democratic Majority in Congress. Democrats are fresh off a big win in Illinois after winning a ruby-red seat formerly held by Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert. But, the larger fight for change continues -- and we need your urgent help.

My friends at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) are facing a critical March 31st FEC deadline. They need to raise $3 million more before their March 31st deadline. House Democrats are so committed to making this goal they are matching all urgent contributions today 2-to-1. The fight is on and Republicans are not letting up. Right now you can take the next step, make a contribution, and help finish the job and win an even bigger victory in 2008."

Many people have their ONE ISSUE in life, that seemingly overrides all other concerns... like the McCain-Bush-Rumsfeld-Cheney war or Tom Tancredo on immigration, say.

After reading the Miami Herald article.. here are my 2 cents.

The Washington Post has picked up on our frustration with Debbie Wasserman Schultz:

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) is getting brutally walloped in the liberal blogosphere for refusing to endorse the Democratic challengers to three potentially vulnerable GOP incumbents in Florida.

Liberal bloggers are irate that Wasserman Schultz, who co-chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Red-to-Blue program, has declined to endorse the Democrats running to unseat Cuban American Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart and his brother, Mario Diaz-Balart.

Wasserman Schultz says she doesn't want to stab GOP members of her own delegation in the back. But liberal bloggers say she's killing her own while aiding and abetting the enemy.

I should note, of course, that it's not just the netroots who are up in arms over this - local Democratic leaders in South Florida are furious, too.

The DCCC's executive director, however, totally dismisses the concerns of both groups:

Brian Wolff, executive director of the DCCC, says the bloggers are making "much ado about nothing," noting that it's "customary" for members to remain neutral in races involving GOP members of their respective congressional delegations.

It may be "customary," but it's dead wrong - and Rahm Emanuel fought tooth-and-nail against that decrepit, lazy philosophy. Once upon a time, even Debbie Wasserman Schultz herself did, too. It's sad to see a proud, strong organization like the DCCC resign itself to tolerating this sort of absenteeism. I have to imagine Rahm's heart aches to see this.

Debbie, for her part, accuses us of getting things wrong:

Defending herself against the attacks, Wasserman Schultz told us, "The blogosphere sometimes turns into a game of telephone." She said the bloggers are missing a key point: "I have not endorsed any of the three incumbents, and I don't support their reelection campaigns."

Wasserman Schultz said she supports electing Democrats to Congress but that she has to "balance" her political role at the DCCC with her role as a member of the Florida delegation.

Of course, we never accused her of formally "endorsing" any Republican. We have, however, laid out a clear bill of particulars:

1. No Democrat should be permitted to recuse him or herself from campaigning on behalf of fellow Democrats - especially not the co-chair of the Red to Blue program.

2. No Democrat should gush to the press about how wonderful any particular Republican elected official is, especially not those targeted for defeat.

3. No Democratic party organization, the DCCC included, should tolerate either of the above two behaviors.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz is allegedly "frustrated" with us bloggers and wants us "off her back." (I can only assume this applies to the unhappy local Dems in S. Fla., too.) But if she really cared what we think, she or a staffer could have easily reached out to the netroots. Wolff's dismissive statement makes it pretty clear that we're seen as just a minor nuisance.

So it's time we made our voices heard. If you have a problem with the co-chair of the Red to Blue program saying she won't campaign for our excellent Democratic candidates Annette Taddeo, Joe Garcia & Raul Martinez, please let her and the DCCC know about it. Whatever you say or write, I urge you to be firm but exceedingly polite. Our message is strong and true - we don't need to cloud our cause by giving those in power an easy out to attack the messenger.

And what are we asking for? We want Debbie Wasserman Schultz to vocally endorse our South Florida trio and do everything she can to help them get elected (including hosting a fundraiser for each). If she won't do that, then we'd like her to resign from Red to Blue. And we also want the DCCC to stop tolerating Members of Congress who want to "remain neutral" in contested races.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (campaign office):
E-mail: AskDebbie@DWSforCongress.com
Phone: 202-741-7154

DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen (campaign office):
E-mail: chris@vanhollen.org
Phone: 301-942-3768

DCCC Headquarters:
Contact form
Phone: 202-863-1500

Please do not contact Congressional offices as this is purely a political issue. Just keep in mind what we're fighting for, be polite, and let's remind the folks in charge that our opinions matter.