Quote of the Day

"You're asking me over a lifetime? I'm just saying I've been unfaithful and I'm sorry for that."

Tim Mahoney, responding to a question about how many affairs did he engage in.

Quote of the Day

"I don't owe the (Democratic) party anything."

Democratic Congressman Tim Mahoney

Mahoney added that he has no intention of going to the Democratic convention.

"I'm a Democrat, but am I going to have a pep rally or something like that?" Mahoney said. "No, I'm not going to do that."

Mahoney has no serious Republican challengers. He can blow the party off. For now. He isn't going to advance in the ranks if he keeps this up.

The Bad Con Man

I'm glad to see that Bill Nelson's grandstanding has finally caught up with him. Nelson told the press that he had a full-proof plan for a mail in vote to redo the Florida primary. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton hated the idea. The Florida Democratic Party announced they would not persue a mail-in revote.

Nine members of Florida Democratic delegation issued a press release against Nelson's plan. One anonymous Congressional staffer spoke with the Palm Beach Post.

The exchanges "spoke volumes about Sen. Nelson," said a Democratic congressional staffer who asked not to be identified. "He engaged in free-wheeling, self-dealing behavior and got caught with his pants down. He told the press that he had a done deal on a new Florida vote without even talking to any members of the Florida delegation, and in fact, the entire Florida delegation was opposed to him.

"He tried to do something on his own, and it blew up in his face," the staffer said. "I think right now there is significant resentment against him by the other Florida Democrats on the Hill."

Nelson's recent behavior "validated his reputation as not being a team player," the staffer said. "He's never been inclusive or seemed to reach out to other members to work on Florida-specific issues. He always flies solo. It's not a warm relationship between the House Democrats and Senator Nelson."

The political fallout has been so bad that Freshman Congressman Tim Mahoney had to come to rescue Nelson.

“I was in the meeting between Florida’s congressional delegation and Senator Nelson, to resolve the Florida primary crisis," said freshman Rep. Tim Mahoney of Palm Beach Gardens. "The Senator has kept me apprised on his efforts to resolve this matter and has always represented the best interests of the people of Florida.”

I wonder if any quid pro quo is involved with Mahoney stepping forward. He was one of the Congressional delegation against the mail-in vote.

Nelson has been grandstanding and attempts to help Hillary Clinton win Florida's delegates is catching up with him. In February, Nelson had zero interest in the DNC's suggestion of a caucas. A revote was the furthest thing from Nelson's mind.

JUST RECENTLY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE, A VERY DISTINGUISHED FORMER GOVERNOR OF VERMONT, GOVERNOR DEAN, OUR CHAIRMAN OF THE PARTY, AS REPORTED IN "THE NEW YORK POST" SUGGESTED HAVING A CAUCUS IN MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA AS A WAY OF SELECTING THE DELEGATES TO THE NATIONAL CONVENTION FROM THOSE TWO STATES.

BUT, MR. PRESIDENT, YOU CAN'T UNDO AN ELECTION WITH A CAUCUS, AND ESPECIALLY YOU CAN'T UNDO AN ELECTION WHERE 1.7 MILLION FLORIDA DEMOCRATS HAVE VOTED IN A SECRET BALLOT AND REPLACE IT WITH A CAUCUS THAT MAYBE 50,000 PEOPLE WOULD SHOW UP. IT'S BASIC TO OUR DEMOCRACY, AND IT’S A BASIC CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO VOTE AND TO HAVE THAT VOTE COUNTED.

Nelson was one of the members of the Florida Democratic Party that voted to move the primary up to Jan. 29th. I am getting sick of a man responsible for this "train wreck" blaming others and using the opportunity to garner national media attention. Nelson should be removed from his position in the FDP and held accountable for his actions. The fact that Chairwoman Karen Thurman is not returning phone calls and letting Nelson be the face of the FDP says she has no leadership abilities. The FDP has always been a joke. It should be dismantled and rebuilt with fresh leadership.

Florida Congressional Seats In Play

One Democratic and three Republican seats are in play. Tim Mahoney's seat is being targeted by Republicans. The Cook Report labels Mahoney's district as leaning Democrat.

Republicans Ric Keller, Vern Buchanan and Tom Feeney seats are in play. Feeney and Buchanan are facing difficult re-election campaigns. Feeney is being investigated by the FBI and has ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He has formed a defense trust for potential legal bills stemming form the FBI investigation. Several high-profile government officials have been convicted from their involvement with Abramoff. Former Congressman Bob Ney being the most notable.

Buchanan won a controversal election against Christine Jennings. His seat is targeted by Democrats and Jennings has announced she will run against Buchanan in 2008. She has large grassroots support from election reform and netroots activists. The voting machine problems from the previos race played a role in Florida switching back to paper ballots. The Buchanan/Jennings race will be one of the most-watched races in 2008.

Democrat Suzanne Kosmas has allowed her name to be used in a poll to see her viablity as a possible Feeney opponent.

People can help Tim Mahoney by giving a campaign contribution.

Tim Mahoney Fundraising

Good news for Congressman Tim Mahoney. He raised $459,000 in the first quarter of fundraising. Mahoney still has $439,000 in the bank. This is a strong sign Democrats intend to keep district 16 blue.

Contribute to Tim Mahoney.

Florida District 16 Candidates

Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post ranks Florida's District 16 as one of the most vulnerable for Democrats. Tim Mahoney currently holds the Congressional seat. Possible candidates running against him are Gail Harrell, Palm Beach City council member Hal Valeche and Tom Rooney. The first two inspire little excitement. The third is the wild card.

Rooney is the grandson of Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney. He has served as President of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. The problem is he has zero name recognition. His name was floated as an opponent for Katherine Harris in the Republican Senate primary. The numbers were ugly.

If the election for the Republican nomination for United States Senator in 2006 were held today, whom would you support? (Republicans only)
Katherine Harris 37%
Tommy Franks 30%
Mark Foley 5%
Allan Bense 4%
Tom Lee 4%
Ginny Brown-Waite 3%
Dave Weldon 3%
Daniel Webster 1%
Tom Rooney 1%
Undecided 12%

Republicans will certainly raise tons of cash for district 16. They already started a web site called "The Real Democrat Story." Notice the spelling?

Republicans are using the internet to create a spam chain letter.

The NRCC Web site claims that each of the targeted Democrats have amassed voting records “identical to San Francisco Speaker Nancy Pelosi,” the California Democrat who holds strongly liberal views in her own right. The site has examples of how members voted on key issues such as energy, jobs and health care.

The NRCC’s strategy is to use “viral” marketing, employing existing networks to spread information, to reach one million Republican and Democratic e-mail recipients, each of whom would be encouraged to forward the message to five friends.

Mahoney is fighting back.

According to a story in Thursday's Washington post, staffers at the General Services Administration participated in a Jan. 26 videoconference in which J. Scott Jennings, White House deputy director of political affairs, who works for Rove, briefed political appointees about plans to target 20 congressional Democrats in 2008.

"Recent e-mails prove that he was conducting an illegal campaigning scheme designed to influence federal bureaucrats in the workplace," Mahoney wrote in his fundraising pitch. "He has been making the rounds to these federal buildings in a crusade against the GOP's top targeted democrats for the 2008 cycle, like me!"

Contribute to Tim Mahoney.