The RPOF is no doubt trolling with the part satirical, part attack site FloridaDems.com. As indignant as Democrats may feel about this site, the bottom line is that the Florida Democratic Party did this to themselves. This is an inherited mess that does not reflect on Chairwoman Allison Tant or the current communications team at the FDP. This mistake was evidently made last year when the Florida Democrats then led by Rod Smith changed URL addresses and websites.
The mistake is comical and if it happened in the private sector it would lead directly to firings. Let me give some personal perspective on obtaining URLs for a company or public entity. In late 2010, when I was the Director of Communications for the North American Soccer League a decision was made to rebrand Miami FC, a team that had quite frankly been a failure and a blight on southeast Florida soccer as the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, a historic name that had more relevance to the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area. Knowing other rival leagues and ownership groups knew our plans as they were leaked early by the media (our league was in the middle of a prolonged legal and public relations dispute with a rival league that included Orlando City SC at the time), I was undertaken with finding every possible URL to buy, and I was told failure to secure one would be met with serious consequences. Thus we bought every possible combination of Fort Lauderdale Strikers, including those held privately and redirected them all to the primary site Strikers.com (Some of these URLs have since lapsed). The bill? Over $15,000, money I later lamented was taken from the marketing budget of the club. But it was a lesson in leaving no stone unturned. We had gone through a similar exercise the previous year with the NASL website and possible trademarks related to it.
Consider that the Florida Democrats were incredibly sloppy, cheap or both in the process of buying URLs and redirecting them to the party website. FloridaDems.com may in fact be a more natural URL for a lay voter/citizen to type into their browser window then FlaDems.com which does redirect to the party’s home page.
It is a remarkable oversight that needs to be explained at some point by the party. While the RPOF site is an exercise in internet trolling, it is something a political party that is successful does to exploit a gift given by a party whose rate of success makes the Miami Dolphins look like world beaters over the last decade.
Thanks goodness so many people use Google or other search engines instead of simply instinctively typing the first and most logical site for the party. Those that do rely on instinct will find an unpleasant surprise due to the RPOF.
The Florida Squeeze 
Simply pathetic.
Good write up by you.
Fire able offense for sure.
Also the way the party handled George Sheldon’s announcement should have led to firings. The party didn’t update it’s website with a release they handled for the entire day if you didn’t notice. You may have been involved and it’s not construed as a shot at you but at the party press office which is amateur hour and whiny.
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Laughable and pathetic.
Don’t give $ to the FDP.
Give it directly to progressive candidates.
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As the site states if you are compotent but do not like Allison Tant you get canned at the party or run from leadership office.
Why did Rouson start a slush fund? To HELP House Democrats and keep the $$$ away from Tant and the inept Christian Ulvert.
This part of the story needs to be told.
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I saw this earlier in the week. This in no way reflects on Tant.
Convention is aliveright now with enthusiasm and progressives are taking the fight to the Republicans.
This is why they have to resort to petty things like this website.
Onward to victory in 2014!
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Kool Aid
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For this we pay high priced consultants, retroactively.
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I cannot even begin to state how embarrassing this is. I am at the convention currently and while it is a nice rah rah pep rally it doesn’t stop the truth which is we are completely disorganized. You also notice Thurston is in against Sheldon? I thought you said on the podcast the other day Kartik that working with the party would prevent a primary? Obviously the Democratic Party has no control over its own leaders.
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It’s a shame people don’t believe.
Here at the conference everyone knows we have a fighting chance. The government shutdown has crippled the GOP and by running a proven statewide vote getter who by the way is pretty progressive in Charlie Crist the Republicans are running scared. Amanda Murphy carrying the strongly Republican district in Pasco demonstrated the strength. This is a panic move by the republicans who sense it is all slipping away.
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Looks like the Kool Aid dispenser is getting a workout at Disney!
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There was Kool Aid? All I could find, all weekend, was ice water and some hard candy. I would have liked some Kool Aid. 🙂
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The Murphy district was carried by Obama twice.
Crist a progressive? What do you vase this on?
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Crist progressive? Either somebody has a faulty memory or Lenny Curry is trolling this site.
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I was very disappointed in the convention. We still left with no full slate of candidates for the 2014 cabinet. Some announced candidates got coverage and time to speak and others did not. Couldn’t believe Crist was allowed to work the convention when he had not announced his candidacy. I know he said he would do it on November 4, does that mean he had not changed his party affiliation when he said he was a democrat. I think the law is that you had to change to be a democrat or other party for a year. He changed his party in 2010 to run as an Independent and started campaigning for President Obama in 2011. What was the hold up with the change to democrat?
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He officially registered as a Democrat on December 8, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/07/charlie-crist-democrat_n_2260975.html
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