Wednesday Open Thread

July 23, 2014 · by The Florida Squeeze · in Website News · 41 Comments

You know the drill. Leave comments, questions, observations, etc here.

41 comments

Katy Burnett · July 23, 2014 - 7:29 am ·

That awkward moment when the Q-poll shows more support for Libertarian Wylie than Senator Nan Rich

LikeLike
1. David · July 23, 2014 - 9:21 am ·
  
  How so? I can see where it shows Wyllie has more say on who wins and loses as a third party but I don’t see a 1 vs 1 Wyllie question to show more people support him over Rich.
  
  The poll does show though, once again, that Senator Rich has failed in her two year campaign to convince Floridians to support her.
  
  LikeLike
2. Joe Kreps · July 23, 2014 - 9:51 am ·
  
  Total distortion Katy. Your math lies. Nan is certainly holding her own. This poll doesn’t account for the leap Nan would get by winning the primary. Check out the unfavorables for Crist and Scott. Still no poll of Nan vs. Charlie in the primary. Why do you think this is?
  
  LikeLike
  1. Richard Block · July 23, 2014 - 10:51 am ·
    
    The reason that there is no poll between Nan and Charlie is because the primary election is leaning heavily towards Charlie, however I would like to see a poll. Joe, we are going to need your help, and all of the other Nan Rich supporters, to get rid of Rick Scott in the general election, no matter how the primary turns out.
    
    LikeLike
  2. Susan McGrath · July 23, 2014 - 8:18 pm ·
    
    Joe continues life in that alternate universe.
    
    LikeLike
  3. Broward Bob · July 24, 2014 - 10:27 pm ·
    
    susan, the universe where’s there no oxygen, where he blocked you for speaking the truth? grow a pair, josie!
    
    LikeLike
3. Broward Bob · July 24, 2014 - 10:26 pm ·
  
  no chance nan? nan who? she’s a goner, and there’s a month left.
  
  LikeLike
Elmer · July 23, 2014 - 9:09 am ·

That awkward moment when lobbyists and elected officials cherry pick their friends to work for the county at exorbitant rates..

LikeLike
1. Tom · July 23, 2014 - 9:22 am ·
  
  What’s going on? Where is this?
  
  LikeLike
Tom Bryson · July 23, 2014 - 12:36 pm ·

A few item from the latest Quinnipiac poll released July 23, 2014 : http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/florida/release-detail?ReleaseID=2062

“Both candidates get low grades for character:

Voters say 51 – 40 percent that Scott is not honest and trustworthy, and say 48 – 39 percent that Crist is not honest and trustworthy;

Scott doesn’t care about their needs and problems, voters say 52 – 41 percent, and Crist doesn’t care, voters say by a slim 47 – 44 percent;

Scott has strong leadership qualities, voters say 54 – 38 percent, compared to 49 – 43 percent for Crist.

Voters are divided on Crist’s party change, from Republican to independent to Democrat, as 47 percent say it’s a positive thing and 45 percent say it’s negative, compared to a 52 – 40 percent positive score April 30.”

This indicates that voters will lack enthusiasm in November giving Republicans an advantage. Unlike Democrats, Republicans are very disciplined when it comes to voting. This is likely to be especially true when the opponent is Charlie Crist.

Best hold the Champaign.

LikeLike
1. Richard Block · July 23, 2014 - 12:44 pm ·
  
  That is why it is our number one job to get the Democrats to vote in this election.
  
  LikeLike
2. Tom Bryson · July 23, 2014 - 12:59 pm ·
  
  Perhaps nominating a true progressive Democrat like Senator Rich would help get the Dems out.
  
  LikeLike
  1. David · July 23, 2014 - 1:05 pm ·
    
    If Senator Rich has spent 2 years trying to make her case and failing every step of the way, how can she be trusted to boost turn out in a general?
    
    LikeLike
  2. floridian · July 23, 2014 - 2:40 pm ·
    
    Perhaps understanding that just getting a Democratic win is a start for FL Dems. This isn’t yet a progressive state. If it were Nan would be winning. If she wins next month I’ll vote for her in Nov. I won’t hold my breath. Nan supporters seem like spoiled brats who threaten to stay home if Charlie wins and that’s counterproductive. .
    
    LikeLike
  3. s. · July 23, 2014 - 7:28 pm ·
    
    Esp since Sink’s loss was credited to lackluster turn out among Dems in Broward, did the FDP leadership even consider the fallout from their efforts to marginalize the gubernatorial candidate who was elected and frequently reelected to the legislature AS A DEMOCRAT from Broward County over 12 years, to the maximum extent that the law allowed her? Duh!
    
    LikeLike
3. Tom Bryson · July 23, 2014 - 6:13 pm ·
  
  Democracy works from the ground up, not the top down.
  
  The FDP and the DGA became the thrall of the Crist campaign on day one. They have been heavily involved in promoting his campaign and have done everything they could to discourage Senator Rich. They signed on to the proposition that Charlie would be our nominee before Charlie ever took the podium at our convention in 2012. John Morgan and others put up the money so they get to call the tune. In spite of his newly acquired positions, Charlie, like Rick is the plutocrat’s choice. Charlie is in and everyone else be damned. He has sucked up the money, sucked up the press, and sucked all the air out of the room.
  
  They have bought the myth that Charlie can beat Rick Scott so it’s ok to step on the primary process. It’s ok to put, not just put a thumb, but a foot on the scale for Charlie. The ends justify the means and so what if we ignore the democratic process. The FDP, the DGA and many Democrats have bought a pig in a poke. They have made a mess of this. Any Democrat other than Charlie Crist and qualified to hold the office would have a better shot at success. Charlie’s baggage will bring Charlie down and the Democrats along with him. It was a half baked idea, an attempt at an easy fix that will fail.
  
  Today I received a fund raising mail piece from the Crist Campaign. It came in a black window envelope and on the envelope is the famous embrace of Charlie and President Obama. Charlie and Barack, cheek to cheek and I was struck by the fact that Charlie with his ever present Florida tan has nearly the exact same skin color as our President. Also I learned today that Annette Taddeo is pushing Dwight Bullard to be her stand in as county DEC chair. Voters see these things for exactly what they are. It insults them and turns them off. Charlie paints himself as a toady panderer in an empty suite running an empty campaign.
  
  I see many comments posted here and elsewhere that attempt to justify supporting Charlie because he is polling better against Rick than is Senator Rich. Well of course. There has been no debate and Nan Rich has been shunned by her party. So we first corrupt the primary process and then use the consequences of the corruption to justify supporting Charlie. Where are we when we are willing to sacrifice our values and principles for the sake of victory. The cruel irony is that the victory is, a mirage and we will end up with nothing. Rick Scott will get his second term and our party will be in shambles.
  
  LikeLike
  1. Richard Block · July 23, 2014 - 6:33 pm ·
    
    The only one to blame that most Florida voters haven’t heard of Nan Rich is Nan Rich. If the Democrats vote for the Democratic nominee, Scott will loose.
    
    LikeLike
  2. David · July 23, 2014 - 6:40 pm ·
    
    Rich has told people she’s running since Fall 2011 during committee weeks for the early 2012 session. She has literally had *years* to hire and keep competent people, build an actual campaign and get her name out. She has failed completely and miserably. DGA and FDP can be blamed for the last 12 months or so. What about the previous year and a half?
    
    LikeLike
  3. s. · July 23, 2014 - 7:38 pm ·
    
    Sad truth.
    
    LikeLike
  4. Joe Kreps · July 24, 2014 - 2:15 am ·
    
    Tom and I have never met. Yet we see things so alike. He is spot on in everything he writes. We are in a dogfight for the heart and soul of the the Democratic Party of Florida. If Nan wins we all win. If she loses we all lose. Keep that in mind when you vote in the primary.
    
    LikeLike
4. janl65 · July 26, 2014 - 12:54 pm ·
  
  Any Repub who can stomach voting for Scott after his unethical performance the last 3 years had better bring a barf bucket with them to the polls. What you don’t consider is many if not most of these same Repukes have already voted for Crist in the past, so how much of a stretch will it be to vote for him again?
  
  LikeLike
Wendy Sejour (not hiding behind a pseudonym) · July 23, 2014 - 3:18 pm ·

Why I #StandWithNan. Sen. Nan Rich – 2009 Award for Excellence in Public Policy http://youtu.be/VvPGhHhALXs

It’s all about the ideology for me. I just can’t bring myself to support a self described Ronald Reagan Republican (he did it in an interview THIS YEAR in 2014) for the top spot on the ticket. If that’s being a spoiled brat at least I am a brat with principles. I survived 8 years of Bush & 4 years with Scott, 4 more will not kill me, just make me stronger in the long haul for 2016.

LikeLike
1. Richard Block · July 23, 2014 - 3:56 pm ·
  
  Wendy, vote for Nan in the Primary, but please vote for the Democratic nominee in the General Election. Maybe you can live with 4 more years of Rick Scott, but many poor people in Florida will literally not be alive with 4 more years of Scott. He and his Republican state legislature turned down expanded Medicaid. Charlie Crist will accept expanded Medicaid. Please think of all the people in Florida who will suffer under another four years of Rick Scott.
  
  LikeLike
  1. stsmith222 · July 23, 2014 - 5:30 pm ·
    
    Stop trying to pin a Crist loss on progressives. If Scott wins in November, it’ll be because the power brokers selected a crappy politician to be the Democratic nominee.
    
    LikeLike
  2. Richard Block · July 23, 2014 - 5:45 pm ·
    
    No candidate can win if they don’t get votes. If Nan Rich wins the nomination, I will vote for her, and encourage other Democrats to vote for her. If your candidate does not win and you do not vote in the general election for the Democratic nominee than I would blame you for Scott getting reelected.
    
    LikeLike
2. janl65 · July 26, 2014 - 12:57 pm ·
  
  How big of you Wendy, however there are many poor children, adults and elders who will NOT survive another term for Scott without the healthcare that expanded Medicaid would afford if you could bring yourself to vote for Crist. I am not buying it!
  
  LikeLike
Wendy Sejour (not hiding behind a pseudonym) · July 23, 2014 - 3:25 pm ·

Dwight Bullard would make an excellent Chair of Miami-
Dade DEC! Great progressive, believes in grassroots. Very smart man!
http://mywomenonthemove.com/annette-taddeo-tries-to-appease-african-americans-by-pushing-dwight-bullard-as-a-place-holder/ …

LikeLike
Dave Trotter · July 23, 2014 - 6:23 pm ·

I think this discussion purely shows that Crist’s campaign strategy is “vote for me because I am not Rick Scott”. Pretty piss poor when you can’t even tell voters why they should vote for you, but only why they should vote against the other side.

LikeLike
1. Tom Bryson · July 24, 2014 - 5:54 am ·
  
  That is exactly right. Charlie needs to give Democrats a progressive police based reason to vote for him and he needs to get out and sell it to Democrats. What message is sent to potential Democratic voters when you won’t debate?
  
  LikeLike
2. janl65 · July 26, 2014 - 1:05 pm ·
  
  Dave, we have already SEEN Crist perform as Governor–he doesn’t have to campaign like a novice. And as a Democrat, I had a wealth of respect for his tolerant, humane performance, in particular his refusal to go along lockstep, GOP style, with the extreme hijinks of Tally’s wingnuts. The truth is he did not buy into partisan extremism and it got him into a lot of hot water with his GOP colleagues!
  
  LikeLike
Just Sayin' · July 23, 2014 - 6:52 pm ·

Nan should stop out.

LikeLike
s. · July 23, 2014 - 7:47 pm ·

Great photos all over social media of Sen. Rich campaigning this past weekend in Liberty City! It’s the ideal location for the much-needed debate between she and her primary-election opponent, Mr. Chain Gang! Such a debate would also offer this former Republican governor of Florida an occasion to visit a neighborhood where it is very unlikely he has ever been in person despite living nearby, in Fisher Island. Win! Win! Debate Nan!

LikeLike
1. Joe Kreps · July 24, 2014 - 2:25 am ·
  
  S. It won’t happen. I was with Nan in Liberty City. She wasn’t campaigning. She was marching with the mothers who lost their children through gun violence. Charlie Crist couldn’t give a shit.
  
  LikeLike
Dave Trotter · July 24, 2014 - 7:36 am ·

Alright, let me put this in another way……

I don’t care what happens during the election or on Election Day. I care about what happens AFTER the election. How will Crist legislate? What agenda will be push? Will the old Charlie be back? Could he win and then just switch parties again?

That is the difference between those of us who are concerned about policy and those who only want to win elections. For the folks at the Florida Democratic Party, their work is done after the first week of November. For the citizens of Florida, any consequences of a Crist II Administration are only just beginning.

The election is just a formality to see who controls government. Those who only look at elections really don’t care how he legislates as long as he has a (D) next to his name. This is the fundamental issue that purely campaign people do not understand. To them, this is just a game like football, where there is a winning side and a losing side, and once the election is done, they just go to the locker room and get ready for the next game and put this game behind them.

Elections are just points along a timeline. Policy, however, is usually everlasting. I feel that those in the Florida Democratic Party who create anonymous websites to take shots at Nan and support Crist lack basic knowledge of issues. Hence the reason why they need to make their site anonymous, since they are too cowardly to actually debate the issues, primarily because they might lack the analytically skills to deconstruct policy issues.

LikeLike
1. Joe Kreps · July 24, 2014 - 3:48 pm ·
  
  Very diplomatic Dave.. I on the other hand call people like that cowards.
  
  LikeLike
2. Broward Bob · July 25, 2014 - 1:25 pm ·
  
  i call people who think nan has any chance at all ‘clueless’. single digits! awesome!
  
  LikeLike
3. janl65 · July 26, 2014 - 1:17 pm ·
  
  All I am going to say is: We supported Cong. Davis; we supported Bill McBride, a fine man but a poor campaigner and may he rest in peace; we supported McKay, we supported Bill’s wife who got swept away in the $75M or so that Shiny Pate “invested” in the office. Dave, all the while, licking our wounds as Bush and Scott have turned our state into an ATM machine for their many corporate cronies and themselves. We are tired of losing and we need to get our act together and gain the leadership of this state and begin with the long slog of repairing the damage!
  
  LikeLike
  1. Dave Trotter · July 26, 2014 - 2:06 pm ·
    
    Again, you are looking at it as a Democrat first and a progressive second. Many progressives do the opposite.
    
    LikeLike
demodaysi · July 25, 2014 - 11:21 am ·

I don’t understand those who keep saying Nan had two years to get her name out there. Did they forget she was the only democrat running in 2011 and 2012 and the FDP refused to let her speak at their JJs(now Blue Gala) and state conventions? If she had been allowed open access to the state democrats during those events and I’m not talking about the club meetings, her name would have been out there. But, no, the powers to be were waiting for Charlie to finish his time out and qualify as a democrat in 2013. This was a slap in the face to every democrat who wants to have choices in the election process. That’s why I’m voting for Nan. And My Vote for Nan is a Vote for Nan and not Rick Scott. Unless the machines are rigged to do that.

LikeLike
1. Richard Block · July 25, 2014 - 12:03 pm ·
  
  That’s not entirely true. She did speak to the entire membership at the 2013 Florida Democratic State Convention. She also spoke at the 2014 Leadership Blue event, during the day, at the meetings. Both Crist and Rich were not allowed to speak at the dinner. I have seen more of Rich at the FDP events than Crist.
  
  LikeLike
  1. Joe Kreps · July 25, 2014 - 12:44 pm ·
    
    That’s why we need Nan as our candidate. She will out work everyone.
    
    LikeLike