Thanks and Goodbye

Good riddance to Ric Keller, a blight on the state of Florida. We now have one less ineffectual and pointless Republican in our Congressional delegation. I want to thank the contributors to this blog, the readers, and the people who sent us information on Keller. We're proud to have played a part in spreading the truth about Ric and we're even prouder to no longer have to do it.

DCCC Takes on Keller

Fla. Dems Good on Environment, Reps Not So Much

The League of Conservation Voters released their scorecards for Congress. Can you guess what the pattern is? Of Florida Republicans, only Ileana Ros-Lehtinen does as good as any Democrat and that's only one person. Beyond that, all Democrats do way better than all Republicans. No shocker there.

Alcee Hastings (D), 92%
Ron Klein (D), 92%
Timothy Mahoney (D), 92%
Kendrick Meek (D), 92%
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), 92%
Bill Nelson (D), 91%
F. Allen Boyd (D), 85%
Corrine Brown (D), 85%
Kathy Castor (D), 85%
Robert Wexler (D), 69%
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), 69%
Vern Buchanan (R), 62%
Gus Bilirakis (R), 38%
Ginny Brown-Waite (R), 38%
Mario Diaz-Balart (R), 38%
C.W. Bill Young (R), 38%
Mel Martinez (R), 36%
Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R), 31%
Ander Crenshaw (R), 15%
Ric Keller (R), 15%
Connie Mack (R), 8%
John Mica (R), 8%
Adam Putnam (R), 8%
Dave Weldon (R), 8%
Tom Feeney (R), 0%
Jeff Miller (R), 0%
Cliff Stearns (R), 0%

From the Blogs

Down With Tyranny: Alan Grayson Shows That Support For Our Vets Means Something More Than Hot Air

Republicans Don't Support Troops As Well As Dems

Check out the latest scorecards from Disabled American Veterans and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America...

DAV:

Bill Nelson, 100
Allen Boyd, 100
Corrine Brown, 100
Kendrick Meek, 100
Robert Wexler, 100
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, 100
Alcee Hastings, 100

Mel Martinez, 60
Jeff Miller, 66
Ander Crenshaw, 66
Ginny Brown-Waite, 66
Cliff Stearns, 66
John Mica, 66
Ric Keller, 50
C.W. Bill Young, 66
Adam Putnam, 66
Connie Mack, 66
David Weldon, 66
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, 66
Lincoln Diaz-Balart, 66
Tom Feeney, 66
Mario Diaz-Balart, 66

Notice a pattern here? All of the Dems have 100%, while none of the Republicans has anything better than a mid-range "D." So much for supporting disabled troops.

IAVA:

Bill Nelson, A+
Allen Boyd, A
Corrine Brown, A
Kathy Castor, A
Timothy Mahoney, A
Kendrick Meek, B
Robert Wexler, A
D. Wasserman Schultz, A+
Ron Klein, A+
Alcee Hastings, A

Mel Martinez, B
Jeff Miller, B
Ander Crenshaw, B
G. Brown-Waite, B
Cliff Stearns, B
John Mica, B
Ric Keller, A
Gus Bilirakis, A
C.W. Bill Young, B
Adam Putnam, C
Vern Buchanan, B
Connie Mack, B
Dave Weldon, C
I. Ros-Lehtinen, A
L. Diaz-Balart, B
Tom Feeney, B
M. Diaz-Balart, B

Republicans do a little better on this one, with Keller, Bilirakis and Ros-Lehtinen all getting an "A." Dems still do better, Meek has the lowest grade on our side of the aisle, and he still has a "B." The only "A+" grades amongst Florida's delegation are Dems and the only grades below "B" are all Republicans. Again, which party actually supports the troops?

Grayson Not Happy About Bailout

They aren't happy.

String 'em up.

In the last two days, the U.S. stock market has gone up by $1 trillion. That's because of a $700 billion direct transfer from taxpayers to financial corporations like AIG and, I guess, the expectation that another $300 billion will find its way into the deal before it's over. So tax dollars are being used to prop up the stock market, something that never happened even in the deepest depths of the Great Depression. It's corporate communism. That's the context.

Here is more context. $700 billion is over $2000 for every man, woman and child in America. For a family of seven, like mine, it's over $15,000. Someone just took $15,000 from me and my family, and gave it to anonymous bondholders whom I've never met, who have done nothing for me, to whom I owe nothing and -- right now -- I really don't like.

More context: you could take one percent of that amount -- one percent! -- and pay off the delinquency on every home mortgage in arrears in America. And keep people from losing their homes. But ordinary people get nothing from this Administration except grief.

Great News for Grayson

He leads Keller by 4 points (although this is within the margin of error). Grayson is a great candidate and is someone we definitely want in Congress. Keller, on the other hand, is someone we don't even want in Florida, much less representing us in D.C.

The Orlando Sentinel, predictably, gets in a little dig at Grayson with the implied "elitism" of mentioning that he's "wealthy."

Great News for Grayson

He leads Keller by 4 points (although this is within the margin of error). Grayson is a great candidate and is someone we definitely want in Congress. Keller, on the other hand, is someone we don't even want in Florida, much less representing us in D.C.

From the Blogs

FLORIDA POLITICS: Alan Grayson wins Democratic nomination in District 8

Can't Keep Quiet!: I'm voting for Alan Grayson

Down With Tyranny: Alan Grayson (D-FL): Three Days Before Primary Day

Down With Tyranny: Best News Of The Day: Alan Grayson Crushes Reactionary Hacks In Orlando

From the Blogs

Marion County Democratic Party: Keller and Stearns don't care about women receiving fair pay

From the Blogs

Can't Keep Quiet: Alan Grayson for Florida's 8th district

Open Left: Democratic Congressional Candidate Alan Grayson on Iraq Reckoning: "We'll Put People in Prison"

Down With Tyranny!: Alan Grayson TV Ad Looks Like A Game Changer

Wow, Great Ad From Alan Grayson

Other candidates, you should be making ads like this one. Seriously.

Keller hates the Troops, Loves Flip Flops

In addition to a significant loss of life, the war in Iraq has cost the taxpayers of District 8 more than $1.5 billion. How does Keller feel about that? He's not sure. Some times he's in favor of the surge, sometimes he's opposed to it. He doesn't know what to think.

2.16.07: Keller voted for a resolution criticizing the troop surge [H Con Res 63, #99] - "Interjecting more young American troops into the cross-hairs of an Iraqi civil war is simply not the right approach. We are not going to solve an Iraqi political problem with an American military solution. And that’s my best judgment."

7.12.07: Keller voted against the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act (HR 2956) requiring the responsible redeployment of American troops from Iraq to begin within 120 days and to end by April 1, 2008 - "At the time [in February], I felt more troops on the ground would not result in an Iraqi solution. Unfortunately that was accurate," Keller said. But he said he now thinks that if the U.S. leaves too soon, "Iran would exert its evil influence over a shaky Iraq government."

Keller Hates Working Families, Loves Big Oil

Ric voted against the "Use It Or Lose It" bill at a time when working families (like mine) are struggling to pay for rising gas costs. Republicans are touting drilling closer to Florida's coast as a way to bring prices down -- a claim that is ridiculous when the oil companies already have leases to 68 million acres they aren't currently drilling, apparently because they won't get big enough profits quick enough on those acres. The bill would've required oil companies to drill on the leases they already have or they wouldn't get further leases. Ric voted against that and for continued high prices for working families and potentially for oil spills on our beaches. Thanks, Ric!

Ric Hates America and Its Values

It's clear that Americans generally favor more progressive values most of the time. Not Ric. With a lifetime Progressive Punch voting score of 4.42%, it's clear he hates Americans and their values.

Ric is Wasting Your Time in Washington

According to Congress.org, Ric is the 393rd most powerful member of the House and as part of the hugely ineffectual Florida Republican delegation in Washington, helps make Florida one of the least powerful states in Congress. Thanks for the great work!

Keller's Opposition

You know, Charlie Crist has been raising money for Ric Keller and the party is considering high level support for his campaign...last time around he won against Charlie Stuart with 53% of the vote.

I am supporting Charlie Stuart and am hosting a livingroom meeting with him on Tuesday, May 6, at my home, 37009 Calhoun Road, Eustis, 32736. 6:30 pm, rsvp to 352-205-1621. This is in the unincorporated area of Eustis, off 44A just east of Thrill Hill Road. I'd love to meet some of my neighbors and want to let everyone in this area know about Charlie's campaign www.charliestuartforcongress.com

This is NOT a fundraiser; it's an opportunity for you to speak directly with Charlie and get answers to your questions. I hope you'll consider coming. The coffee will be magnificent and the company will be fun. Especially if you're there!

Ric Hates the Environment

The League of Conservation Voters recently released scorecards for Congress. How did Ric do? Poorly:

Ric Keller (REP), 15%

Not only did all of the Democrats do better than all of the Republicans, With one exception, all of the Democrats did more than twice as good as all the Republicans. And most of the Democrats voted in favor of the environment more than four times as frequently as most of the Republicans.

I wonder how many of these Republicans own property that will be beachfront property when most of Florida is under water because of global warming? I'm just saying...

Ric Hates America, Florida, Loves Eternal War

Ric has endorsed John McCain, the man who opposes a national cat fund and said that he had no problem staying in Iraq for 100 years. Thanks, Ric, for advocating a president who, while not as bad as the other Republicans, would be horrible for America (and Florida).