Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Florida Presidential Roundup

FLA Politics (RFK Lives) - Obama, HRC, RFK, and FL.

Daily Kos - Half.

MyDD - Judge Tosses Florida Lawsuit Against DNC.

Truman's Conscience - Florida DNC Suit Denied.

Change in Tallahassee - DNC: We Will Not Count All Of Florida Delegates.

MyDD - Half Votes For Florida?

Blast Off! - Sometimes, stupid people write letters.

Pensito Review (Jon Ponder) - Video: A Compilation of Sexist Comments about Hillary Clinton in the MSM.

BeThink - In Florida, Forging a New Future for America.

Change in Tallahassee - Another Attack On Obama.

Why Now? - Anger Management III.

Blue Herald 2.0 - Obama Meets With Cubans on Level Ground.

The Seminole Democrat - Who will be Barack's veep?

The Seminole Democrat - Barack.

The Spencerian - Q&A: And What About That Whole Civil Rights Thing.

Truman's Conscience - Jacksonville's Hemming Park The Site Of A Saturday Morning Pro Hillary Demonstration.

DFA Miami - Obama VS Hillary: The End.

Miami-Dade Dems - Link to Obama speech to CANF.

FLA Politics - Imagine the fun they could have.

Blast Off! - Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Huggy Bear and the Republicans.

Blast Off! - Professional courtesy.

Incertus (Brian) - Crist as VP?

Blast Off! - Crist and McCain: bosom buddies.

Blast Off! - More Obama video.

Incertus (Brian) - A question about the Newsweek poll.

Miami-Dade Dems - Texting with Obama on the campaign trail.

Dan Gelber - Observations from the O-Train.

AMERICAblog - Hillary was against the Florida primary, but now she's helping Florida Democratic leaders milk a problem they created.

Truman's Conscience - Corrine Brown Calls Out Howard Dean To Seat Florida's Delegates.

Betty Cracker - How to spot a big fat hypocrite.

Incertus (Amy) - Puerto Rico Suddenly Matters to America!

Pensito Review - McCain’s Ambien Use is Cause for Alarm.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Netroots Awards -- First Round Voting Now Open

I wanted to do a followup on the quick post earlier on the awards. If you are interested, you can go and vote now. In order to vote, you will have to provide your name, e-mail address and vote in, at a minimum, the required categories (those marked with a *). May the best bloggers and activists win!

Overall, 81 people made more than 220 nominations in 20 categories. You may vote any time between now and June 1st. At that point, if there are any categories that are too close to call, we'll have a second round of runoff voting. In the end, all the winners will be announced at the Netroots Conference which will take place at the Jefferson-Jackson Fundraiser Weekend in Hollywood on June 14. We'll also announce the winners on the blog after that.

Please vote and promote the awards as widely as possible so we can get as many votes as possible. Thanks.

2008 Netroots Awards -- First Round Voting Now Open

Go here to vote. In order to vote, you will have to provide your name, e-mail address and vote in, at a minimum, the required categories (those marked with a *). May the best bloggers and activists win!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Voting/Nominations Update

You have about 30 hours left to choose presentations or make nominations.

We now have 32 votes towards which presentations we'll be offering at JJ and things are still very competitive. You can check out the five options here and e-mail me at quinnelk@hotmail.com with your two choices. Keep in mind, you should vote even if you aren't going to JJ. There are certainly people who are going who think the way you do and may not see this, so you can represent them. Voting on presentations will end Sunday at midnight and we'll announce the full schedule for the Netroots Conference next week.

As for the nominations for awards, here are the latest totals in each category. Please weigh in on those categories that are lacking in nominations (and others) so we have a fair contest. You can check out a full description of each category here and e-mail me at quinnelk@hotmail.com with your nominations. (Categories that have a * have enough nominees for a fair race. Other categories need more nominations).

So far a total of 65 people have made nominations. Remember, these are not votes, just nominations and nobody needs to be nominated more than once. If you know that someone else has already nominated the person/blog you had in mind, please don't nominate them again. Nominations will close Sunday night at midnight. Voting will begin on Monday, May 26 and run through the following Sunday.

1. Best National Blog: 8 nominees*
2. Best State Blog: 5 nominees*
3. Best Local Blog: 7 nominees*
4. Best Media Blog: 6 nominees*
5. Best Professional Blog: 2 nominees
6. Best Party Website: 2 nominees
7. Best Candidate Website: 13 nominees*
8. Best Local Party Website: 11 nominees*
9. Best Interest Group Website (Amateur) (merged with 19. Best Grassroots Website): 3 nominees
10. Best Interest Group Website (Pro): 4 nominees*
11. Best Writer: 8 nominees*
12. Netroots Candidate of the Year: 5 nominees*
13. Netroots Activist of the Year: 8 nominees*
14. Netroots Organization of the Year: 3 nominees
15. Best New Blogger: 5 nominees*
16. Best Online Campaign: 4 nominees*
17. Best Post: 5 nominees
18. Best Ongoing Series: 6 nominees
20. Florida Progressive Coalition Progressive Hall of Fame: 5 nominees

Friday, May 23, 2008

Friday Challenge

This is the last day we're going to do the challenge on the Responsible Plan exactly like this. I'll let you know about a different take on it starting Monday.

Today's focus is on Bob Hackworth, from District 10. Call him and ask him to sign on the Responsible Plan (details on the plan are at http://www.responsibleplan.com, you could also use the talking points from our endorsement of the plan, or you could use the argument mentioned at OpenLeft showing candidate Darcy Burner gaining ground in her race because of the plan or that she raised more than $500,000 in the first quarter this year running primarily on this issue). You can contact him at: 727-458-4134, bob@bobhackworth.com.

Second is Samm Simpson, challenger in District 10, who has already endorsed the Plan. If you think this was a good thing for her to do, which you should, you can contribute to her campaign here.

Previous plan endorsers are the following:

Larry Byrnes, FL-14

Alan Grayson, FL-8

Joe Garcia, FL-25

Faye Armitage, FL-7

Timothy Cunha, FL-6

Clint Curtis, FL-24

Stephen Blythe, FL-15

Samm Simpson, FL-10

Clyde Malloy, FL-7

Doug Tudor, FL-12

The other challengers who have yet to endorse the plan, and feel free to contact them about the plan, too, are:

FL-1

James Bryan, 850-652-3350

Robert Peterman, 850-432-2213

FL-4

Jay McGovern , 904-626-9618, jay@jay4congress.com

FL-5

Carol Castagnero, 863-687-8414, jscala00@yahoo.com

David Werder, 727-862-3377

FL-8

Alexander Fry, 407-579-7800, afry@fryforcongress.com

Michael Smith, 407-574-9296, vote@mikesmithforcongress.com

Charlie Stuart, 407-999-9899, Manager@CharlieStuartforCongress.com

Quoc Van, 407-453-4380, vanforcongress@gmail.com

FL-9

Anita de Palma, 727-239-0621

John Dicks, Web form: http://www.johndicksforcongress.com/contact.php

Bill Mitchell, 813-223-1959, mitchlaw@askmitch.net

FL-10

Bob Hackworth, 727-458-4134, bob@bobhackworth.com

FL-13

Christine Jennings, 941-366-8121, info@christinejennings2008.com

FL-14

Jason King, 239-633-8388

FL-15

Paul Rancatore, ?

FL-18

Annette Taddeo, 305-661-6499, Web form: http://www.annette2008.com/index.php?submenu=Contact&src=forms&id=Contact%20Us

FL-21

Raul Martinez, 305-823-8686, info@raul2008.com or raulmartinezjr@mac.com

FL-22

Paul Renneisen, 954-812-2674, info@Renneisen2008.com

FL-23

Ray Sanchez, 561-996-6722, support@raytorressanchez.com

FL-24

Suzanne Kosmas, 386-427-0439, info@kosmasforcongress.com

If you contact anyone on the list, please be completely professional and respectful in doing so. The idea isn't to attack these people, it's to let them know that Floridians support this plan and we want our candidates to do the same.

We have set up an ActBlue page for the Florida challengers that have endorsed the plan. You give to one or all of them here.

Florida Presidential Roundup

The latest from Florida bloggers on the 2008 presidential election.

Betty Cracker - McMeltdown.

BlueHerald 2.0 - Campaign Workers and Racism.

Ybor City Stogie - Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio Endorses Obama.

Florida Progressive Coalition - Obama Can Win Florida.

Pensito Review (Jon Ponder) - Obama Floats Punishment for Florida: Cut Delegation in Half.

MyDD - Florida & May 31st.

Blast Off! - Obama's south Florida challenge. Also see his Obamarama coverage.

Ron Levitt - Obama, Clinton, McCain Descend On FL, Despite Delegate Mess.

Jack and Jill Politics - Hillary, The Susan B. Anthony, John Brown And Fannie Lou Hamer Of The Florida Primary?

Eye on Miami (gimleteye) - Stages of Grief and The Hillary Vacuum.

Miami-Dade Dems - Watch out for more of this: Republicans twist reality.

Talk to Me - Space and the Senator.

litbrit - A Sunny Thing Happened Today at the Forum.

MyDD - Next Up: MI & FL.

Incertus (Brian) - Enough already.

Interstate4Jamming2 - Obama Attract Revivial Crowd, But Not As Many As Predicted.

Betty Cracker - Obama in Tampa.

Blast Off! - We get even more e-mail.

Blast Off! - We get more e-mail.

Incertus (Brian) - What's the number?

Eye on Miami (gimleteye) - The Presidential Campaign: Hialeah or Havana?

The O-Train Station - The O-Train is proud to welcome Senator Barack Obama back to Florida!

Florida Progressive Coalition (Benjamin Kirby) - Obama In Tampa Today.

Incertus (Brian) - Who's the bigger draw?

Smashed Frog - Barack Obama: Within Reach.

Daily Kos - Florida still tough for Obama.

Bloggy Bayou - No, of course you aren't!

Tampa Bay Blue - Democrats Should Be More Democratic and Less Sexist.

Tampa Bay Blue - The Democratic Party Must Count Florida's Votes.

Tampa's Back Door Ways... - crist and mccain sittin in a tree.

Tampa's Back Door Ways... - Eric Deggans Unabashed Sexist Hillary Basher.

Politics1 - Friday News Update.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Thursday Challenge

We need you to help us out with our new blog/project The Hate Amendment. Here's what you can do:

1. Promote the site. Tell your family and friends about it. Put it on your blogroll. Post about it.

2. Join the site. We need more bloggers to blog against the hateful Amendment 2. Send me an e-mail at quinnelk@hotmail.com and I'll add you to the site.

3. Join our blogroll. If you have a blog and you oppose Amendment 2, let me know, and I'll add you to the blogroll. Again, e-mail me at quinnelk@hotmail.com.

4. Help us identify politicians who support or oppose the amendment. We keep a running tally here. We want it to eventually include all of the members of the cabinet, congressional delegation, legislature, their challengers and prominent local politicians. If you see an article, have a tip, or know one of these people, send me an e-mail. Again, quinnelk@hotmail.com.

5. Obviously, you can vote against the amendment in November and convince as many other people to vote against it as possible. We can defeat this hateful law, but only with your help.

Obama Can Win Florida

This was originally posted as a comment to a different thread elsewhere, but I put a lot of thought into it, and I thought it was worth more than a comment.

I've lived in the Panhandle my whole life and it's not nearly as red as people seem to think. The majority in those counties are conservative, but they all have sizeable minority populations and progressive subcultures. He'll certainly win (and win big) in Leon, Gadsden and Jefferson (might win Wakulla as well) and could get as high as 40% in much of the rest of the Panhandle.

As for the rest of the state, there is a pretty significant Democratic voter registration advantage. Obama will win 80-90% of those Dems, the majority of independents, and 5-10% of Republicans. And keep in mind you'll see probably a 10-15% in black voter turnout and you might see a slight bump in Hispanic turnout -- and keep in mind Cubans are no longer the majority of Hispanics in Florida and Republicans are losing ground swiftly amongst Cubans anyway.

Here's how I think Obama wins Florida:

95%+ plus of black vote
65% of female vote
60-70% of non-Cuban Hispanic vote
40-60% of Cuban vote
60-70% of urban professional vote
90%+ of environmental vote
5-10% of Republican vote
40-60% of working class vote
60-70% of youth vote
5-10% of religious conservative vote
55-65% of independents

And keep in mind, all of the pro-Obama constituencies will have increased turnout (some of them significantly so, such as African-Americans and youth), while most of the anti-Obama constituencies will have decreased turnout. This invalidates any of the current models that are being used to predict the vote.

That being said, there is little evidence that Obama has much problem with white working class voters. Those arguments are largely based on Obama's matchup with Clinton. But he won't be facing Clinton in the general, he'll be facing McCain. And Obama and Clinton have a basically identical voting record on issues important to working class voters. McCain has a horrible track record. Obama will do fine with this group, even though he doesn't particularly need to.

Florida Progressive Radio Welcomes Progress Florida

Remember all that talk we've been having about what Florida's progressive movement really needs is some funding to go toward progressive infrastructure in the state? It's here. Say hello to Progress Florida.

Based on Progress Now and other successful state efforts, this organization is based on a proven model and is likely to have a significant impact on politics here in the Sunshine State. Conservatives and Republicans should be scared.

The organization's mission:


Progress Florida is based on core progressive principles such as community, equal opportunity, security and freedom. We are a nonprofit organization promoting progressive values through online organizing, media outreach and networking with Florida's leading progressive organizations. Our issues include economic fairness, health care reform, environmental protection, ensuring great public schools and more. We advocate for sensible policy solutions and hold politicians' feet to the fire by empowering citizens in their communities.


And they aren't waiting to get started. They already have two campaigns going: Stop Developers From Paving the Everglades (Which has gathered nearly 1,000 signatures in less than two days), and
uncovering the truth about John Stemberger, the fundie behind the Hate Amendment.

But they aren't just focused on single-issue campaigns like these, they are focused on four key goals:

1. Building a stronger progressive movement in Florida
2. Winning advances in progressive public policy
3. Generating hard hitting traditional and new media coverage
4. Increasing civic participation and educate voters

In achieving these goals, they've already reached out to a diverse group of Florida progressive activists from a variety of backgrounds. Our old pal Ray Seaman is their Online director and their steering and advisory committees include other Netroots people such as myself, Pamela Burch Fort of the Fort Report and other bloggers. They also are working with activists who have worked with/for Florida PIRG, AFL-CIO, and many other traditional activist groups.

A key part of their work is the amazing website that you should visit and join immediately. It has a similar set-up to the DNC Party Builder website and allows users to take action, write letters to the editor, plan events, blog, and engage in social networking much like sites like MySpace and Facebook, only with a specific orientation to Florida progressive politics. This will soon be the central place for Florida progressive activists to congregate. Get in on it early.

If you are interested in learning more, you can visit the website or tune in to Florida Progressive Radio today at 4:30, when we'll talk to the leaders of the organization.

The organization has already gotten some news coverage from Central Florida Political Pulse and Naked Politics.

Monday, May 19, 2008

We Need Your Nominations for Netroots Awards

We are now accepting nominations for the 2008 Netroots Awards, sponsored by the Florida Democratic Party Netroots Coalition. The purpose of our second annual awards is to recognize the best and brightest of the progressive/liberal/Democratic Netroots and blogs. Between now and Sunday, May 25, please nominate your favorites in the categories below. You can nominate one person in one category or multiple people in every category, that's up to you. In the end, we will narrow the lists down to the top people in each category and offer a final voting period to determine the winners. The final winners will be announced at the Netroots Conference at the Florida Democratic Party Jefferson-Jackson Weekend in Hollywood on June 14 (and then announced online). Before voting, please observe the following rules:

1. No one can win the same award two years in a row. Last year's winners will be excluded from the category they won last year.
2. The nominees in each category must be based in Florida and they shouldn't be Republicans.
3. Anyone can nominate anyone (you can nominate yourself) and you don't have to be a Floridian to nominate anyone.

If you have questions, send me and e-mail at quinnelk@hotmail.com. Here are the categories (with a brief description and last year's winner, who, again, is ineligible to win this year):

1. Best National Blog (Last year: Blast Off!): Blogs written by Floridians that covers primarily national politics.

2. Best State Blog (Last year: FLA Politics): Blogs about statewide politics in Florida.

3. Best Local Blog (Last year: Tampa Bay Blue): Blogs about city/county/regional politics in the state of Florida.

4. Best Media Blog (Last year: The Buzz): Blogs written by professional journalists at Florida publications.

5. Best Professional Blog (Last year: Miami-Dade Dems): Blogs written by state or local political parties, candidates or party operatives in Florida.

6. Best Party Website (Last year: Draft Katherine Harris): Best Florida-wide website associated with a political party or political party unit (such as a caucus or coalition).

7. Best Candidate Website (Last year: Chris Chiari): Anyone running for statewide or local office in Florida can win this one.

8. Best Local Party Website (Last year: Nassau Democratic Party): This one is for Florida DECs, clubs or local chapters of statewide caucuses or coalitions.

9. Best Interest Group Website (Amateur) (Last year: Space Coast Progressive Alliance): Any Florida-based nonparty activist, charitable or grassroots group with an annual budget under $100,000 is eligible for this one.

10. Best Interest Group Website (Professional) (Last year: New category): Any Florida-based nonparty activist, charitable or grassroots group with an annual budget over $100,000 is eligible for this one.

11. Best Writer (Last year: Litbrit): Anyone whose writings is published at any of the above websites is eligible for this one. Winners should have one or more of the following qualities: good grammar and presentation, provides original reporting, has a good sense of humor, shows creativity, has a strong personal touch, or has an affect on the real world because of their writing

12. Netroots Candidate of the Year (Last year: Michael Calderin): The Florida candidate at any level who has best incorporated the Netroots into her/his campaign and done the best job of treating Netroots activists as valid constituents and not just another group of people to exploit.

13. Netroots Activist of the Year (Last year: Susan Smith): The individual who has done the most to advance the goals and activities of the progressive Netroots in the state of Florida.

14. Netroots Organization of the Year (Last year: Florida Progressive Coalition): The organization that has done the most to advance the goals and activities of the progressive Netroots in the state of Florida.

15. Best New Blogger (Last year: New category): This one should go to the best blogger who has been blogging about Florida politics for no more than a year and a half.

16. Best Online Campaign (Last year: New category): This is an award for the best use of the web and related technologies to achieve some kind of goal, such as fundraising, fighting legislation or other activism.

17. Best Post (Last year: New Category): The best-written post since last year's awards.

18. Best Ongoing Series (Last year: New Category): The best regular feature that incorporates at least five posts since last year's awards.

19. Best Grassroots Website (Last year: New Category): The best website devoted to supporting a candidate, organization or issue that is created by amateur supporters for little to no money and without official connection to a party, candidate or interest group (at least initially).

20. Florida Progressive Coalition Progressive Hall of Fame (Last year: New Category): FPC is sponsoring a virtual "Progressive Hall of Fame" that should be awarded as sort of a lifetime achievement award to a person or organization (amateur or professional) that has made a significant contribution towards making Florida a bluer, more progressive state. This award may have more than one recipient.

Please Choose Your Presentations for June 14's JJ

Okay, for those that don't know, this year's Netroots Conference will be held on June 14 in conjunction with the Florida Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson weekend in Hollywood. For those who are interested, particularly if you might be attending, we have five different proposed presentations/training sessions and we will be able to offer two of them. We'd like for you to vote on TWO of the following and those that get the most votes before next Sunday, May 25, will be the ones we offer (provided we can secure knowledgeable presenters). Thanks:

Best web practices
Network building
Online fundraising
Integrating online and offline activities
Online Rapid Response Tips and Etiquette

(So far, we have 10 votes and a very close race. Note, if you participated in the nomination phase of this process, you should vote again...)

You can post your responses in comments or e-mail me at quinnelk@hotmail.com

DemCon08 -- Problems with State Blogger Selection

Wow, who knew that it would be so difficult to invite state-level bloggers to cover the Democratic National Convention? It started out well, with the DNC deciding to credential a blog for each state and territory and grant them unprecedented convention access. That's a brilliant idea and one that I doubt anybody could complain about (except maybe the traditional media). But it looks like there wasn't enough thought put into the process. Whether this was out of a lack of foresight or something else, I'm inclined to think the former, but that doesn't mean that there weren't mistakes made and that some of the decisions made were very questionable at best.

There are two major complaints about the selections made: the lack of diversity and the apparent fact that some blogs were chosen over more qualified competitors based on questionable criteria or insider "vetoes."

The overwhelming majority of the 54 state/territory blogs are run by straight white males. While it is difficult to come up with an exact number, since many bloggers don't publicly identify themselves by demographic characteristics. Part of the problem, at least from what I can tell, is that bloggers who aren't straight white males are less likely to blog about state politics and are more likely to write about national and social issues. Since the people who chose the state blogs were interested in state politics as the topic of the blogs that were chosen, that presents a problem. I'm not sure, though, that this is a legitimate criteria for choosing blogs to attend the national convention. Is the blogger coverage meant to be about state politics, or is it meant to be coverage of national politics meant to be delivered to local audiences? Seems to me it's the latter, which means that this criteria doesn't make a lot of sense. I'd also suggest that, much like Florida did with its delegate selection plan, an affirmative action plan would've been a good idea. Hopefully, most of this will be remedied in the general blogger pool selections that are forthcoming. If not, then the Democratic Party will have created a much larger problem with this process than it was seeking to solve by granting access. Don't forget we're talking about bloggers, people who write about the things that piss them off, particularly when it appears to be based on identity (or based on ignoring people's identity.

More on this topic:

The Francis L. Holland Blog -- Jim Crow Blogging at the Democratic National Convention?

African American Political Pundit -- Black bloggers to the back of the bus!

Pam's House Blend -- Democratic National Convention state blog selection dustup.

In the other instance, a number of high quality blogs -- Cotton Mouth, Left in Alabama, the Albany Project, BlueJersey, Michigan Liberal -- failed to get the invite while other blogs, rightly or wrongly, were chosen despite being nonpartisan, nonactivist, nonprogressive or owned by the media. Some accounts suggest local Democratic Party officials vetoed some of these (and maybe others) and chose blogs that gave them more favorable coverage instead. I don't know about that one way or the other, but if it did happen, it's certainly wrong. Who gives Democrats worse coverage than Fox News? They get a credential. But blogs written by diehard progressive Democrats don't? If we want our blogs to be run top-down, without criticism, then we'll end up with the nonexistent Republican blogosphere. We don't want that, however, because it is useless. The whole reason that the Democratic/progressive blogs are so successful is because they have freedom to tell the truth. Refusing to give credentials to blogs that tell the truth is a bad idea and a bad precedent. Hopefully these mistakes will be remedied relatively quickly. I understand that seating/space is limited, but there are a few of these blogs (at least those noted above) that should be not only invited to the convention, but given full floor access as well. We should be rewarding bloggers who are doing the job of both the traditional media and of the political party itself, when it comes to helping get out the party message to new audiences and helping get candidates election.

More on this topic:

Cotton Mouth -- Cotton Mouth Is Not Going To The Democratic Convention (And Why).

Open Left -- Clamping Down on Blog Dissent: More Evidence of State Blogger Problems.

Open Left -- State Parties Nixing State Blogs from the Convention?

Monday, May 12, 2008

McCain Hates Seniors, Our Future

LiberalOasis:


Q: Will privatizing Social Security be a priority for you going forward?
...
McCAIN: Without privatization, I don't see how you can possibly, over time, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits.


He lies about it now and says it wasn't true, but his words say otherwise.

Friday, May 9, 2008

It's Over, Apparently

I think I'm missing something. What recently changed in the Democratic primary contest? All that happened Tuesday was a continuation of what was already happening. What we'd been seeing was that states that favored Obama voted for him big and states that Clinton once had big leads in were starting to change their minds and she was losing ground in them, even if she hung on to win. That's what happened in North Carolina and Indiana. But now we get this:

Rasumussen will stop including Clinton in its polling reports.

Time magazine says that Clinton is done.

John Edwards effectively endorsed Obama. He publicly said he voted for Obama. That's as close to an endorsement you can get without saying the actual words.

Obama has taken the lead in superdelegates. We knew this was coming, but it officially happened.

Now I agree that it is over for Clinton and has been for a while, but why did we get such a big shift in the last few days? I'm not sure I understand it, since nothing really changed on Tuesday, we're exactly where we were on Monday.

The upshot, according to Chris Bowers is:


Obama will never fall behind in any overall delegate count, ever again. Obama will be ahead of Clinton is delegates even if Florida is seated as is, and even if Obama gets zero delegates from Michigan, and even if Obama fails to net anymore superdelegates. Polling conducted before Indiana and North Carolina projected Clinton to net 31 pledged delegates from the remaining six contests. However, Democratic Convention Watch projects Obama ahead by 37.5 delegates even if Florida is seated based on January 29thth results, and even if Obama receives zero delegates from Michigan. In other words, there is no conceivable delegate count under which Clinton will ever be ahead, ever again.


Clinton supporters have to make a decision really quickly. Do they do what's best for their country or they take their toys and go home because they couldn't win. Anyone who doesn't do the former should refrain from ever referring to themselves as a progressive, liberal or Democrat again. Now, let's go out and make sure John McCain loses in November.

Action Alerts

Donate Money - Help fight Florida's Amendment 2. (FFAF)

Donate Money - Honor your mother by helping fight poverty. (CARE)

Send an E-mail - Tell the Senate: Stop Big Media. (CREDO)

Donate Money - Honor mothers by supporting Planned Parenthood on Mother's Day.

Sign the Petition - Congress: Address Rising Food Prices Now! (C2)

Donate Money - Help support Animal Emergency Services programs. (AHS)

Donate Money - Help Support Iraqi Women and Children this Mother's Day. (CP)

Send an E-mail - PRE-K Act Needs a Push to Get Moving. (NSFS)

Sign the Petition - Stop Bad Judges. (PFAW)

Donate Money - To help stop bad judges. (PFAW)

Send an E-mail - Tell Speaker Pelosi: No Compromises on Illegal Wiretapping. (CREDO)

Donate Money - Help victims of the Myanmar cyclone. (MC)

Sing the Petition - Hold Iraq Contractors Accountable. (TM)

Donate Money - Hold politicians accountable for the special political favors they do for their campaign contributors. (CMW)

Join - The Healthy Teens Coalition.

Send an E-mail - Stop the U.S. from renewing Lethal Shooting Contracts. (AI)

Send an E-mail - Investigate Don Young for Corruption. (CC)

Sign the Petition - Tell The Senate Judiciary Committee: No More Bush Judges. (CREDO)

Send an E-mail - Tell Your Senators to Put Polar Bears First. (NRDC)

Friday Challenge

As I mentioned earlier, the Monday, Wednesday and Friday challenges for the near future will be related to the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, http://www.responsibleplan.com/. What I'll do each of these days is highlight two members of our group of Congressional challengers. One is for you to contact and convince to endorse the Plan. The other is someone who has already endorsed the plan, for you to reward because they did the right thing.

Today's focus is on John Russell, from District 5. Call him and ask him to sign on the Responsible Plan (details on the plan are at http://www.responsibleplan.com, you could also use the talking points from our endorsement of the plan, http://quinnell.us/sspb/?p=1524, or you could use the argument mentioned at OpenLeft showing candidate Darcy Burner gaining ground in her race because of the plan, http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4936, or that she raised more than $500,000 in the first quarter this year running primarily on this issue, http://www.horsesass.org/?p=4656). You can contact him at 813-625-2822, johnrussell@johnrussellforcongress.com.

Second is Joe Garcia, challenger in District 25, who has already endorsed the Plan. If you think this was a good thing for him to do, which you should, you can contribute to his campaign here: http://www.actblue.com/page/fpc2.

Previous plan endorsers are the following:

Larry Byrnes, FL-14
Alan Grayson, FL-8
Joe Garcia, FL-25
Faye Armitage, FL-7
Timothy Cunha, FL-6
Clint Curtis, FL-24
Stephen Blythe, FL-15
Samm Simpson, FL-10
Clyde Malloy, FL-7
Doug Tudor, FL-12

The other challengers who have yet to endorse the plan, and feel free to contact them about the plan, too, are:

FL-1
James Bryan, 850-652-3350

FL-4
Jay McGovern , 904-626-9618, jay@jay4congress.com

FL-5
Carol Castagnero, 863-687-8414, jscala00@yahoo.com
John Russell, 813-625-2822, johnrussell@johnrussellforcongress.com
David Werder, 727-862-3377

FL-8
Alexander Fry, 407-579-7800, afry@fryforcongress.com
Michael Smith, 407-574-9296, vote@mikesmithforcongress.com
Charlie Stuart, 407-999-9899, Manager@CharlieStuartforCongress.com
Quoc Van, 407-453-4380, vanforcongress@gmail.com

FL-9
Anita de Palma, 727-239-0621
John Dicks, Web form: http://www.johndicksforcongress.com/contact.php
Bill Mitchell, 813-223-1959, mitchlaw@askmitch.net

FL-10
Bob Hackworth, 727-458-4134, bob@bobhackworth.com
Max Linn, 727-347-8784, Max@MaxLinn.com

FL-13
Christine Jennings, 941-366-8121, info@christinejennings2008.com

FL-14
Robert Neeld, 239-549-9588, neeldrm@aol.com

FL-15
Paul Rancatore, 772-539-9194, 321-821-2348, 321-766-4131, info@PaulRancatore.com

FL-18
Annette Taddeo, 305-661-6499, Web form: http://www.annette2008.com/index.php?submenu=Contact&src=forms&id=Contact%20Us

FL-21
Raul Martinez, 305-823-8686, info@raul2008.com or raulmartinezjr@mac.com

FL-22
Paul Renneisen, 954-812-2674, info@Renneisen2008.com

FL-23
Ray Sanchez, 561-996-6722, support@raytorressanchez.com

FL-24
Suzanne Kosmas, 386-427-0439, info@kosmasforcongress.com

If you contact anyone on the list, please be completely professional and respectful in doing so. The idea isn't to attack these people, it's to let them know that Floridians support this plan and we want our candidates to do the same.

We have set up an ActBlue page for the Florida challengers that have endorsed the plan. You give to one or all of them here: http://www.actblue.com/page/fpc2.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Florida Progressive Radio for 5/6

Our daily radio show -- The Movement -- starts at a 4:30. Today's guest will be Thomas Bates of Democrats Work.

Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fpc to listen to the show. If you are interested, you can call in at (646) 716-7543. This is not a toll free call, so make sure you check your calling plan.

If you call in for any reason, make sure to turn down your radio so we don’t get feedback or an echo effect.

If you miss the show today, it will be archived on the web site and you can listen to it later as streaming audio or download it as an mp3. I hope you enjoy...

Monday, May 5, 2008

Where Do They Stand?

Cross-posted from The Hate Amendment.

As I mentioned on the radio show the other day, one of the things we're going to do is make sure that every prominent public official in Florida is on record as to where they stand in terms of the Hate Amendment. Our job now is to find out where everyone stands on Amendment 2, including:

Members of the cabinet

Members of the congressional delegation

Members of the legislature

Candidates for these offices

Prominent local officials

Primarily what we want to know is if they support or oppose the amendment. It would also be great to document what they say about it beyond that if they make public pronouncements about the amendment or about gay marriage and gay rights.

Down the road, we'll find a way to support (financially or otherwise) candidates who publicly stand on the right side of this issue. At a minimum, we'll ask our readers to contribute to their campaigns and provide the details on how to do that. Who knows, we may have more up our sleeve as well...

Okay, we need your help on this one. With 120 members of the Florida House, 40 members of the Senate, 27 in the congressional delegation, four in the cabinet (five if you count Jeff Kottkamp, which I don't) and countless local officials, we can't do it alone. If you know of officials or candidates who come out for or against Amendment 2, let us know and we'll post it over at our new blog about the proposal The Hate Amendment, with as much detail as is available. E-mail me at quinnelk@hotmail.com. Thanks.

Action Alerts

Donate Money - Help the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Election take their caase to the Florida Supreme Court.

Send a Letter to the Editor - Let People Know About the Republican Legislature's Failures. (FDP)

Send an E-mail - Superdelegates must follow the will of voters. (CoC)

Donate Money - Support the Mother's Day Campaign! (PP)

Send an E-mail - Bring Solar Energy Into the Mainstream. (VSI)

Send an E-mail - Loggerhead Sea Turtles Need Your Help. (DOW)

Send an E-mail - Oppose the Voinovich Proposal. (ED)

Sign the Petition - Support Real Investment in Family Planning: It's Time to Double the Money. (PC)

Sign the Petition - Hidden Food Costs: Confined Animal Operations Cost Taxpayers Billions. (UCS)

Send an E-mail - Stop the impunity and demand justice for Bárbara Italia Méndez and the Women of Atenco, Mexico! (AI)

Send an E-mail - Please Support the Global Online Freedom Act, H.R. 275. (AI)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Action Alerts

Download & Sign the Petitions - Sign both petitions to make fair districts possible in Florida! (FDF)

Send an E-mail - Help Pass the International Violence Against Women Act. (AI)

Donate Money - Honor a special mother and support Save the Children's mission to help children in need in the United States and around the world. (STC)

Send an E-mail - Veto the Yazoo Pumps. (SOE)

Sign the Petition - Show the Candidates the Many Faces of Climate Change. (1Sky)

Send a Citizen Subpoena - Send your own "Citizens’ Subpoena" and let the House Judiciary Committee know that you demand answers. (ACLU)

Send an E-mail - Demand a Strong Consumer Bill. (PC)

Send an E-mail - Senator McCain: Stop Insulting Women. (Credo)

Adopt-a-penguin (DOW)

Take the Pledge - I pledge to do my part as a citizen to make sure the federal courts are there to protect Americans’ constitutional and legal rights, not undermine them. (PFAW)

Send an E-mail - Time is Short: You can help protect polar bears today. (We)

Send an E-mail - Support House Congressional Resolution. (LAB)