Bill Nelson in Bradenton Today

Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is holding another Town Hall meeting in the Bay Area today. Nelson will be at the Bradenton City Hall at 3:30 this afternoon.

Earlier this month, Nelson held a Town Hall meeting in Pasco County. That's where he ran into Susan S. The result of that encounter was a diary by Susan atop the Rec List at DailyKos.

As Susan wrote it on DKos, that encounter went like this:

Nelson decided that since no one else had brought up the Iraq War, he would tell us his take on it. Unfortunately for him, he began his explanation with a disclaimer about how he and the Congress had been lied to about the intelligence going into the war. Well that was it for me. I yelled out to him:

"Then why, when you know they can't be trusted, when you know they lie to you, did you vote for the FISA bill that gives the incompetent Bush administration more power to spy on American citizens?"

Then, when the St. Petersburg Times mischaracterized her confrontation with Nelson, Susan wrote an excellent letter taking the Times to task for their careless reporting.

So, fellow Kossacks, anybody going to be in Bradenton today?

Leaving Money on the Table and Kids Uninsured

In a story in today's Orlando Sentinel, we get the following intertwined pieces of information:

Florida ranks 43rd in the country when it comes to children's health-insurance coverage, said Dr. Edward Zissman, chief executive officer of Altamonte Pediatric Associates.

And from the same source, there is this:

Last year, Florida returned $20 million in 2005 federal matching dollars because it did not enroll enough children.

The federal grant matches 71 cents for every 29 cents the state spends, said Tara Klimek, a spokeswoman for state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. Since 1998 the state has returned $140 million, she said.

What can be done about this abysmal situation? State Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, has an idea. Randolph called on Gov. Charlie Crist to include KidCare reform in next month's special session.

"We've got to put this on the calendar or face losing federal matching dollars," Randolph said. "For every dollar we refuse to put in . . . we send $3 back to Washington."

The US House of Representatives recently passed an expansion of the SCHIP program. However, Florida's Republican Representatives voted against this bill. The DCCC responded by launching radio ads targeting these Roadblock Republicans. At least one of the targets, Old Bill Young, did not take kindly to being targeted. Bill Young

angrily pointed to a new radio ad campaign this week by Democrats accusing him of opposing increased benefits in Medicare for seniors.

Maybe Charlie Crist will have a more temperate response to the health care needs of Florida's children?

The Face(s) of the Democratic Party

I purposely did not embed this as a YouTube link. That's because I just want you to focus on this picture.


What is remarkable about it? Is it the words that were said on this program? Follow me below the fold...


On Sunday, August 11, 2007, Markos Moulitsas and Harold Ford Jr. faced off on Meet the Press to talk about the future of the Democratic Party. The words that were spoken on this program have sparked dozens of diaries and probably thousands of comments by now.

That a conversation between the founder of DailyKos and the Chairman of the DLC would even be on Meet the Press is remarkable enough in and of itself. But take another look at this image. What do you see? I see a 37 year old black man (Harold Ford, Jr) and a 36 year old Hispanic / Greek man (Markos Moulitsas). I see the future (and the present) of the Democratic Party. This is the Democratic Party whose contenders for the Presidential nomination this cycle include a woman, an African American and an Hispanic.

This is the Democratic Party that always has and still does look more like America than the other guys. The values of the Democratic Party are the values of the vast majority of Americans. This is the Democratic Party that proudly displays its diversity. This is the Democratic Party that shares the values of The Progressive Majority in this country.

So take another look at that picture. While you are doing so, remember that the values that unite us are greater than the issues that divide us. If we can remember that, we will retake the White House in 2008 and expand our majorities in Congress.

Hispanics Up for Grabs

From Progressive America at Daily Kos comes this diary based on a Miami Herald article:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/13/105055/065

The Democrats need to find and support good state and local candidates in 2008, but we also have to build our image as a party. I hope all of us are working with our DECs to make that happen.

Susan S - On the Money Again

Susan S, whose courage to stand up for the truth translated into a Top of The Rec List Diary on DailyKos, has done it again. After the St. Petersburg Times mischaracterized her confrontation with Sen. Bill Nelson on FISA at Nelson's Pasco County Town Hall Meeting on Monday, Susan did not take it sitting down.

Susan wrote this excellent letter to the editor of the Times. The Times article characterized Susan's challenge to Nelson this way:

Why did he vote for a bill that allows expanded secret eavesdropping of foreign terrorists' phone calls?

Susan, in her letter, points out that her actual questions was:

why did he trust the Bush administration with expanded power to spy on American citizens without a warrant?

Susan's letter goes on to what, for me, is the money quote:

My outrage and that being expressed in editorials around the country is not about spying on foreign terrorists, it's about spying on American citizens.

This type of inaccurate reporting by the mainstream media (on the meaning of the FISA vote) is exactly the reason that an embarrassing number of American citizens still think Saddam was involved in the planning of 9/11. It might also explain why the public hasn't taken to the streets with pitchforks over the decimation of our Constitution by the Bush administration and its enablers in Congress.

I stopped writing this post to watch Kos and Harold Ford on Meet The Press. One of the points that stuck me in that "debate" was Markos saying that his biggest accomplishment was providing a forum where politicians and citizens could could converse without the mainstream "media filter". After MTP, I watched Harold Troxler on Brendan McLaughlin's excellent show, Flashpoint. At the end of their discussion McLuaghlin asked Troxler about the future of the printed newspaper. Troxler was quite right in describing the need amongst the public for good journalistic information. Maybe the newspaper poohbahs ought to be thinking more about the filters they put on that information.

Thank you, Susan, for exposing that MSM filter. I also want to thank you for giving credit where credit is due. You rightly pointed out that Congresswoman Kathy Castor voted against the FISA bill, as did the vast majority of the Democrats in Congress. Now we just need to keep working on our recalcitrant minority Dems.

The Day Conservatism Died

I was reading this comment in Vyan's excellent diary: Gitmo Lawyers Challenge FISA Bill in Court :

Right-wing could mean libertarian. (3+ / 0-)

Genuine libertarians are appalled by the administration's assault on civil liberties.

It struck me that true Conservatives would be as appalled by the Bush Administration's behavior as true Progressives. So where is the outrage from the conservative side? When was the day that Conservatism died?

To try to find out, follow me...



To begin my search for the day Conservatism died, I went looking for what a live conservative would look like. I came across this 50 year old document, The Essence of Conservatism, written by Russell Kirk in 1957:

Conservative principles shelter the hopes of everyone in society. And conservatism is a social concept important to everyone who desires equal justice and personal freedom and all the lovable old ways of humanity.

Look again at these words used to define conservatism by the man who:

gave shape to the amorphous post-World War II conservative movement

These words bear repeating:

conservatism is a social concept important to everyone who desires equal justice and personal freedom

Does anybody believe that really describes the so called conservatives of today? And if not, who killed those conservatives?

So called "social" or "family values" conservatives seem to rule the political right today. What are their values and how do they compare to Russell Kirk? It didn't take a lot of digging to find out. From About.com - Conservative Politics: US we get first What Conservatives Are Not :

A little look at some misrepresentations of conservatives and conservative views - to dispel the myths and smear efforts and to set things straight.

Interesting that today's "conservatives" start off by defining themselves as what they are not as opposed to Kirk's:

conservatism is a social concept important to everyone who desires equal justice and personal freedom and all the lovable old ways of humanity

Pressing on, we get again from About.com - Conservative Politics: US, Conservative Values Part 1: Social Issues:

Social conservatives are concerned about maintaining a social order where the family can stay strong and healthy.

Interesting again that today's conservatives are:

concerned about maintaining ... order

and not about equal justice and personal freedom of Kirk's conservatives of 50 years ago.

But there is more. We also have a discussion about today's fiscal conservatives:

Fiscal conservatives want to encourage low taxes, free trade, and small government.

Really? Let's look at this a little more closely.

On Business and the Economy we get:

The government should avoid meddling in business. ... Class warfare should be avoided and unions should remain accountable to the workers they represent.

There's freedom - for business. But be sure to avoid that class warfare thing and definitely hold unions accountable. Conservative?

It gets better. On Energy and Environment:

The United States government should enact policies that would encourage smart energy use and an increased supply of clean, efficient energy sources. ...The government should open access to domestic oil sources and thus reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. It should eliminate policies that place undue restrictions on companies with little benefit to the environment.

Well, that started off pretty good, but quickly deteriorated into that don't mess with them oil drillin' fellers conservatism. Apparently alternative, renewable energy is not on the agenda of today's conservative values.

And finally on Spending, we get:

government spending should be limited to activities that are are outlined by the Constitution

they then go on to quote Thomas Jefferson about government spending. The same Thomas Jefferson who executed the Louisiana Purchase, the authority for which can be found nowhere in the Constitution.

The conservatism of the post World War II conservatives is dead in this country. The social conservatives and the Grover Norquists' of today have killed it. In place of the:

equal justice and personal freedom

of the old, dead conservatives, we have today's conservatives who value:

maintaining ... order

low taxes, free trade, and small government

The government should avoid meddling in business

The government should open access to domestic oil sources

government spending should be limited to activities that are are outlined by the Constitution

Nowhere in today's lists of conservative values and principles do we see the concept of equal justice and personal freedom.

I don't know what day conservatism died in America. But it is most assuredly dead.

Budget Balancing on the Backs of the Needy

Poor pregnant women; hospitals and poor immigrants; missing children; and law abiding citizens. What do all these groups have in common? They are all about to bear the brunt of the state budget balancing measures. Maybe.

The Miami Herald has a story today about various proposals being floated for balancing the budget when the legislature meets for its special session in September. Cost-cutting recommendations from more than two dozen state agencies are due to Gov. Charlie Crist and legislative leaders today. These measures are needed help close a more than $1 billion budget shortfall, due to a sluggish economy that has sapped tax collections. Legislators will meet to decide what to cut on Sept. 18 when they convene for a three-week special session.

Lets repeat what is causing all this scrooge like activity:

a sluggish economy that has sapped tax collections.

Make that sales tax collections. This tax revenue fluctuates notoriously in line with the Florida economy. With the slowness in the housing market spilling over into other parts of the economy, state services are facing the budget cutting axe. And still we have certain state legislators who think replacing the property tax with a much higher state sales tax is a good idea.

Here's what would be a good idea: Legislators who think this is a good idea should be turned out of office to find another line of work. Another good idea? Get in touch with your state legislators to make sure they know you do not want the most needy in the state to bear the largest burden in this special session of service cutting.