Progressive bloggers have banded with the union SEIU to form a political action committee that will pressure Democrats to actually be ... liberal, reports the New York Times. Accountability Now, set to officially launch today (though it has been in the works, at various levels, for some time), is working with state bloggers to recruit and cultivate progressive candidates on the state level. The name pithily sums it up: the organization will work to make politicians accountable to their constituents rather than the corporate interests so firmly entrenched in Washington. By cultivating new candidates, the organization threatens the taken-for-granted incumbency enjoyed by many in Congress (e.g. the Ned Lamont strategy). The coalition includes MoveOn, the Service Employees International Union, DailyKos, ColorOfChange.org, Democracy for America, 21st Century Democrats and BlogPAC. Glenn Greenwald at Salon and Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake are also involved. Greenwald wrote in a July 14, 2008, post in Salon:
From the Accountability Now PAC Web site:
Accountability Now believes that members of Congress in both parties need to hear from their constituents and that nothing focuses the mind of a politician on listening to citizens better than a primary. By recruiting progressive candidates who are tapped into the needs and interests of their constituents, the organization hopes to give [Barack] Obama more of an opportunity to stay true to his campaign promises:
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New PAC to Keep Politicians Accountable
GOP Party Of Obstructionist
Republicans will be judged by the voters. If they want to obstruct and filibuster while the economy is in free fall, the president should call their bluff and let them go at it. In the first four years after F.D.R. took over from Hoover, the already decimated ranks of Republicans in Congress fell from 36 to 16 in the Senate and from 117 to 88 in the House. The G.O.P. is so insistent that the New Deal was a mirage it may well have convinced itself that its own sorry record back then didn't happen either. |
Gov. Crist is being trashed for being a decent human being
Democrats may be lavishing praise on Florida's Republican governor for enthusiastically supporting the Democrats' economic stimulus package, but Republicans are questioning whether Crist damaged his future in national politics. |
Planning Policy in Florida: Merging Past and Future
Bob Graham, the former U.S. Senator and govenror, will participate in a discussion about Planning Policy in Florida: Merging Past and Future. Also participating are authors of a book on planning in Florida, Richard RuBino, professor emeritus from Florida State University, and Earl Starnes, professor emeritus from the University of Florida. The event is Feb. 25 from 5 to 7 p.m. Sponsored by Florida Atlantic University's School of Urban and Regional Planning, the discussion takes place at the Museum of Art, 1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. |
Feeney Catches a Break
Feeney Catches a Break: Appellate Court Limits Allowable Evidence in Federal Investigation Experts: Unpublished finding may impede grand jury probe into Abramoff-ties by corrupt former FL lawmaker, alleged vote-rigging conspirator, and other members of Congress ALSO: Feeney now being represented by Karl Rove's(!) attorney...FULL STORY |
A message from Commissioner Kristin Jacobs
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Hello!
I hope this e-mail finds you all well and warm! I returned last night from Washington D.C., where I was representing Broward County working with a group called Climate Communities.
Climate Communities is a national network of counties and cities that work together to promote local initiatives to battle climate change. This week, I joined with leaders from all over the country to lobby members of Congress and the Obama administration to include Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) in the economic stimulus package. These funds would help local governments implement strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions, reduce the total the total energy, and create green jobs. These funds could be used by local governments to : · conducting residential and commercial building energy audits;
Today, the alert went out from Climate Communities that Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are introducing an amendment to remove the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants from the economic recovery bill . THIS WOULD BE HUGE MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR BROWARD COUNTY. Broward County needs your help! Please contact Sen. Bill Nelson and Sen. Mel Martinez, and urge them to oppose the Nelson/Collins amendment. Below are links to their web pages where you can express you opposition to the cuts and urge their support of funding for local and state energy projects. http://martinez.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorMartinez
http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Thank you for your help! Have a happy and safe weekend!
Kristin
Kristin Jacobs, Commissioner Broward County, District 2 954-357-7002
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Conservatives are Beating Us...
   Dear Progressive Voter: Conservatives are Beating Us...  For every 100 phone calls to Congress from conservatives trying to obstruct change, there is only 1 phone call from a progressive demanding passage of President Obama's economic recovery bill. We won't get change unless your Senators hear from you NOW! Call 1-866-544-7573 and demand economic recovery NOW! 100 to 1. We've gotten word from our progressive friends on Capitol Hill that for every one hundred phone calls to Congress from conservatives trying to obstruct change, there is only one phone call from a citizen demanding passage of President Obama's economic recovery bill. Backed by this conservative grassroots pressure, Senate Republicans are moving rapidly as a block to obstruct - pushing reforms that are designed essentially to make the plan fail. They're demanding that billions be cut from a plan that, if anything, is already too small, and that more be diverted to top-end tax cuts. That's not how you create jobs or counter a recession. We can't allow this partisan posturing in the midst of a national crisis. Progressives need to pick up the phone now to counter the onslaught of calls pouring into the Senate from conservatives. Consider what conservatives might succeed in passing if they continue to out-call us 100 to 1:
This is not the change America is demanding. It's the same failed Bush policies that drove us to economic disaster. It's time to get to work. This is the first big battle of the Obama administration, and we've got to reignite the fight for change. Most Americans support a big and bold bill that creates jobs, generates clean energy, modernizes infrastructure, makes education and health care more affordable and protects state governments from slashing services. But that message is getting drowned out in Washington as conservatives out-organize us and bury Congress in calls. We need to respond! On the night Barack Obama was elected President, he said, "This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you." And it cannot happen if we let conservatives out maneuver us on this pivotal first fight 100 to 1. If we want to turn change from a slogan to reality, we must speak up. Now. Sincerely,  954-394-4980 |
Commissioner Julie Carson has received the endorsement of the South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board
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Choose Julie Carson for Wilton Manors City Commission
In Wilton Manors, two of the city's former mayors, John Fiore and Scott Newton, are vying to snatch the commission seat out of the hands of political newcomer Julie Carson. Voters shouldn't let them.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board urges voters to elect
A senior paralegal at a North Miami Beach real estate investment and management firm, Carson handles complicated real estate transactions, so her top priority would be to trim the budget without hurting services. She sees an opportunity to cut some costs when the police department and waste management contracts come up for renewal later this year.
Carson's other priorities include finding a quick solution to the parking squeeze created by the construction of the new courthouse, and marketing Wilton Manors' image as a hot spot known not just for its thriving gay community but for its family life, entertainment district, award-winning schools and scenic waterways, too.
It may not be the typical resume, but Wilton Manors is not a typical city, and it could benefit from
Her opponents, Fiore, 54, an urban planner for Broward Countylaunched an unsuccessful bid to return to the commission in 2006, and Newton, 51, a small business owner who lost his bid for re-election to the mayor's post in November, both have served the city admirably over the years and deserve voters' appreciation. But it's time for some fresh ideas.
LAWMAKERS FIGHT ATTEMPT TO STOP DISTRICT-RIGGING
| LAWMAKERS FIGHT ATTEMPT TO STOP DISTRICT-RIGGING Daytona Beach News-Journal Editorial -- February 3, 2009 Every 10 years, the Florida Constitution requires the Legislature to work together to undermine the concept of "one person, one vote." That's not exactly how the constitution puts it, of course. But that's how it always works out. The party in current control of the Legislature does its level best to re-draw state legislative and congressional districts in its own favor, while members of the minority party grumble helplessly or collude to protect their own districts. Every time, lawmakers draw district lines that wriggle and squiggle all over the place, dividing cities and even neighborhoods to consolidate political power and protect incumbents. It's not surprising, then, to see lawmakers mounting a vigorous defense to a pair of proposed constitutional amendments aimed at forcing a degree of fairness into the redistricting process. On their face, the amendments -- one dealing with state legislative districting, the other with congressional -- set fairly modest goals. If approved by voters, the amendments would bar the Legislature from drawing districts to "favor or disfavor" a political party or incumbent. They would require lawmakers to consider racial equality and draw compact districts that respect existing community boundaries. (Under current law, districts must only be "contiguous" -- that is, in one piece. But the pieces can be connected by strips one yard wide and several miles long, or jump across water bodies, and still pass legal muster.) In a spirited attempt to convince the state Supreme Court to strike the language from the ballot, lawyers representing the Legislature represented those goals as impossible to accomplish. There are too many conflicts, they whined. It takes away our authority. They were shoddy arguments from a group that's supposed to put the needs of the people they represent first. And the Supreme Court saw through it, deciding that the amendments met the tests of ballot-worthiness. Florida's method of redrawing districts should change, because the current setup deprives too many voters of choice. The Legislature finalized the last redistricting plan in 2002, and it included many "safe" districts that favored one party so heavily that the other didn't mount a challenge. In the 2004 election, only a third of Florida's 120 House seats was contested by both major parties. Most of those were "open" seats where the incumbent decided not to run, or was term-limited out. Ninety incumbents were re-elected that year, and only two incumbents lost to members of the opposing party. Communities lose their clout when they're fractured among several districts, and many find themselves represented by legislators who live an hour's drive or more away. That's the case for local constituents of U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, whose sprawling district was drawn to include a large number of black voters. Her district is headquartered in Jacksonville but swoops over to Gainesville, then reaches through west Volusia County into west Orlando. The amendments don't go as far as they should. The wording of the amendments gives lawmakers plenty of wiggle room to shift district lines to favor themselves or their parties. A better solution would take redistricting out of the hands of the Legislature altogether, passing it on to an independent commission. That makes the Legislature's knee-jerk legal reaction even more disappointing: Lawmakers don't even want to pay lip service to the idea of fairly apportioned districts. That says something about their respect for the voters they are supposed to be serving. To learn more about redistricting and try your hand at the difficult job of apportionment, visit FairDistrictsFlorida.org. |
Wasserman Schultz gets national Democratic post
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, has been selected a vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. She was one of four vice presidents selected at the DNC's recent winter meeting. Wasserman Schultz is a rising Democratic star in Congress. Serving her third term, she's a subcommittee chairwoman on the Appropriations Committee, a coveted role that makes her one of a select group of lawmakers with outsized influence on federal spending priorities. She also plays a key role in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party apparatus responsible for electing more Democrats to the House. Here's the DNC press release about its leadership elections. |
Commissioner Julie Carson, has received the endorsement of the Broward County Police Benevolent Association
Wilton Manors FL, February 2nd, 2009 - Commissioner Julie Carson, has received the endorsement of the Broward County Police Benevolent Association for the February 10th 2009 special election for Wilton Manors City Commission. The Broward County Police Benevolent Association is Associated with the Florida Police Benevolent Association, and they are 26,000 strong throughout the State of Florida .
Commissioner Carson Stated, "I am honored to be endorsed by the Men and Women of the Wilton Manors Police Department and the Broward County Police Benevolent Association. With their support, I look forward to my continued good service to Wilton Manors."
Contact: Ron Mills Campaign Manager 954-394-4980
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Broward County League of Women Voters Forum: KEEP COMMISSIONER JULIE CARSON
Friends, I need your help:
On Wednesday, February 4, 2009, the Broward County League of Women Voters is hosting a Candidate's Forum at the Wilton Manors Elementary School, beginning at 7:00p.m. This event is important to the public, and especially important to me as a way to bring my voice to yet another group of interested residents. This is the final of the four forums that have been held in connection with the February 10, 2009 Special Election.
I ask each of you to attend this event if at all possible. Please meet at the Elementary School (2401 NE 3rd Avenue, in Wilton Manors) at 6:45 pm, get your Keep Commissioner Julie Carson Button from one of our campaign volunteers; and stay to enjoy this short forum. Our united presence will be a strong voice in our efforts to victory on February 10, 2009. If you cannot attend, please spread the word to other friends; Wilton Manors residents; neighbors; political groups, church and synagogue members who can stand in support of my candidacy.
Thank you in advance for your attendance and support,
Julie
Endorsed by Broward County Police Benevolent Association and the Men and Women of the Wilton Manors Police Department; Broward County AFL-CIO; Equality Florida Pac; Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish; State Representative Gwyn Clarke-Reed; Mayor Gary Resnick; Commissioner Tom Green; and former Commissioner Craig Sherritt.
Paid Political Advertisement Paid for and Approved by Julie Carson, Non-Partisan for Wilton Manors Commissioner |
REDISTRICTING WITH FAIRNESS JUST MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE
REDISTRICTING WITH FAIRNESS JUST MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE The Supremes have done something quite brave, giving the go-forward nod to an organization that wants to help take the politics out of redistricting our legislative and Congressional seats. This occurred on Thursday, when Florida Supreme Court justices ruled favorably on two proposed constitutional amendments aimed at preventing — though probably not bringing to a dead stop — gerrymandering. Gerrymandering isn't anything new, and it's beloved by incumbents because it keeps possible challengers with their noses pressed against almost unbreakable glass. It was brave for the high court to rule as it did, given that it is effectively going against the wishes of leaders in the Legislature, from which it needs more operating funds. The court did order a more specific dollar estimate of what additional costs the amendments might incur, if any, which the GOP controlled Legislature did argue for. What happens next is that the amendment's sponsors, a bipartisan organization called FairDistrictsFlorida.org, must now begin collecting enough signatures to get two amendments on the ballot — 676,811 signatures each. If that's achieved, then the task will be to get 60 percent of voters on Nov. 2, 2010 elections to agree to clean up this menacing map-drawing system that we tolerate, but shouldn't. The petition drive has a lot of high-powered organizations and people behind it and they're not all from the same party, either. The chairman is Thom Rumberger, who practices law in Tallahassee now, but has been a force statewide for many years, working years ago for the inscrutable former Republican governor Claude Kirk and more recently championing Everglades protection and restoration. "Not being cocky," Rumberger told the Associated Press last week, "it's just that the people are fed up." Everyone acknowledges that the leaders and elected officials of whichever party is in power is fond of the current apportionment system, which makes districts so utterly in line with voting patterns that an interloper from the out-of-power party can almost never get elected. Anecdotally it's been said that map-drawing is so technologically refined these days that you can almost draw a district line down the middle of someone's living room in a house where the wife is known to vote Democratic and the husband goes for the GOP. They can also pack a large number of voters they don't want to have any real power into just a few districts. These minorities win seats in the Legislature, and keep getting re-elected, but there aren't enough of them to have any real power once they have that seat at the table. It's a form of legal segregation that also has the affect of keeping everyone's interests narrow. If you don't have to please a broad array of people with varying interests to get elected, you become narrow of mind, which isn't good for the state as a whole. Right now the Legislature does the redistricting work itself every ten years, but these constitutional amendments would change the way it's done, setting out standards for redistricting that would help stop favoritism for any party or incumbent and would prevent denying equal opportunity for racial or language minorities. Though there are many tricks in the book of redistricting, with this change districts would have to follow existing political and natural geographic boundaries when feasible. So it's good news that these amendments are now going to be moving forward. You will likely have an opportunity to sign one of the petitions and get involved in the money-raising needed just to get the petition drive big enough to do its job. When the mapmakers, with their sophisticated computing skills, have more effect on the way the Legislature is elected than the voters do, something's wrong. And wrong it has been. A bipartisan effort to make what Rumberger calls this "necessary sea change" would be more honorable. We have a lot of serious problems with the way Florida is governed — term limits, no run-off primary, toothless campaign financing rules, and presiding officers who have too much power and can't help but use it ruthlessly. But this is a step in the other direction, towards good government, not more of the same. For more information visit online at www.fairdistrictsflorida.org. http://tallahassee.com/article/20090201/COLUMNIST05/902010307/1006/OPINION |
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