Brevard came through -- Tony Sasso has taken the seat formerly held by Bob Allen. Another win for our side. Now I will say that Sasso is a bit too conservative for me on some issues, notably guns, but he's still and improvement over Allen or his potential Republican Replacement Sean Campbell. Of course my desk chair might've been a better legislator than Allen or Campbell, but that's a different blog post. The goal as progressives is more Democrats, then better Democrats. This is a step in the right direction.
And for those that continually bash Karen Thurman and the state party, this is more evidence that you're wrong in at least some of that criticism. The goal of the FDP chair is to help more Democrats win seats in the legislature and Congress. This is the ninth seat Democrats have picked up in the House in the last two years. The biggest two-year gain by Democrats in the history of the state of Florida. That's success by any definition. This is also the second special election win in two years after many years of losing every special election. Again, that's success.
This might not be the end of Campbell, though, as he was already filed for the 2008 election before the special election came up. Will he keep on campaigning?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Campbell Hates Taxes, Honesty...Republicans?
House District 32 Special Election Candidate Sean Campbell has been going on and on about his "top priority" -- property taxes. And he warns that his opponent, Tony Sasso, will raise taxes if elected. This ignores, of course, the fact that Sasso actually voted repeatedly to cut taxes as Cocoa Beach City Commissioner. While Sasso did vote to increase tax revenue, what this really means is that he voted to support real estate improvements and new growth, things that generate additional tax revenue while maintaining or even cutting tax rates.
So, while Campbell is dishonest in going after Sasso, he is on target in attacking people who say they favor lower taxes but actually vote to increase taxes. It's good to see that he's takign on the Republicans in the legislature, who love to talk about cutting taxes, but actually have done quite a bit to increase them. Like last year when they required local governments to increase their share of education funding -- something they could only do by raising taxes.
But lets not just talk about this in generalities, lets get some numbers, using the Republican way of looking at this, tax "revenue" increases:
*Will Weatherford (R-Land O' Lakes) - Voted to increase property tax revenues more than $550 million
*Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park) - Voted to increase annual property tax revenues more than $1.5 billion, for a total of nearly $3 billion
*Ray Sansom (R-Gulf Breeze) - Voted to increase annual property tax revenues by $2.7 billion for a total of nearly $7 billion
*Marco Rubio (R-Miami) - Voted to increase annual property tax revenues by $3.8 billion for a total of more than $40 billion
*Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) - Voted to increase tax revenues so many times that its hard to keep track, but the total is certainly more than Rubio's
This is the problem with so much of the Republican rhetoric, they create dishonest standards by which to judge their opponents, and don't apply these same standards to themselves.
So, while Campbell is dishonest in going after Sasso, he is on target in attacking people who say they favor lower taxes but actually vote to increase taxes. It's good to see that he's takign on the Republicans in the legislature, who love to talk about cutting taxes, but actually have done quite a bit to increase them. Like last year when they required local governments to increase their share of education funding -- something they could only do by raising taxes.
But lets not just talk about this in generalities, lets get some numbers, using the Republican way of looking at this, tax "revenue" increases:
*Will Weatherford (R-Land O' Lakes) - Voted to increase property tax revenues more than $550 million
*Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park) - Voted to increase annual property tax revenues more than $1.5 billion, for a total of nearly $3 billion
*Ray Sansom (R-Gulf Breeze) - Voted to increase annual property tax revenues by $2.7 billion for a total of nearly $7 billion
*Marco Rubio (R-Miami) - Voted to increase annual property tax revenues by $3.8 billion for a total of more than $40 billion
*Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) - Voted to increase tax revenues so many times that its hard to keep track, but the total is certainly more than Rubio's
This is the problem with so much of the Republican rhetoric, they create dishonest standards by which to judge their opponents, and don't apply these same standards to themselves.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Campbell Hates the Law, Loves Hypocrisy
Sean Campbell isn't a member of the Florida House, but he wants to be. He's so willing to be a member of the House in the upcoming special election for Florida House District 32 that he's willing to break the law. He's following in the fine tradition of the former holder of the seat, Bob Allen, who left the seat after being convicted of soliciting an undercover male police officer for sex in a public restaurant. No, Campbell hasn't gone that far, but he has, it appears, broken the law:
He recently sent a mailer out to Republican voters and gave them free postage to mail in their vote by mail ballots. Sounds pretty nice of Campbell, right? It is. Except for the part about it being illegal.
The state election code reads, in part, "no person shall directly or indirectly give or promise anything of value to another intending thereby to buy that person's or another's vote" [FS 104.061 (2)]. Postage isn't a lot, but it certainly is something of value promised to the voters if they mail in their ballots. Campbell is paying for votes.
The irony of Campbell breaking the election law is that he accused his primary opponent of the same thing just a few weeks ago. Typical Republican adherence to the law -- it's okay for me, but not for you.
Charlie Crist apparently approved of the illegal mailout, since a letter from him came with it.
This is not the kind of person I want moving up here to join me in Tallahahssee. Please keep him. Send me Tony Sasso instead. You can contribute to his campaign here.
He recently sent a mailer out to Republican voters and gave them free postage to mail in their vote by mail ballots. Sounds pretty nice of Campbell, right? It is. Except for the part about it being illegal.
The state election code reads, in part, "no person shall directly or indirectly give or promise anything of value to another intending thereby to buy that person's or another's vote" [FS 104.061 (2)]. Postage isn't a lot, but it certainly is something of value promised to the voters if they mail in their ballots. Campbell is paying for votes.
The irony of Campbell breaking the election law is that he accused his primary opponent of the same thing just a few weeks ago. Typical Republican adherence to the law -- it's okay for me, but not for you.
Charlie Crist apparently approved of the illegal mailout, since a letter from him came with it.
This is not the kind of person I want moving up here to join me in Tallahahssee. Please keep him. Send me Tony Sasso instead. You can contribute to his campaign here.
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