Rahm, what a mess we now have in FL 16. Recruiting Republicans to run as Dems. Not a good idea.

The story today. Sadly.

Congressman's $121,000 Payoff to Alleged Mistress



I don't judge anyone on their private life, but I will say what a heck of a time for this to surface.

I do judge what Rahm Emanuel and Florida Democratic chairman, Karen Thurman, did in late 2005 in this district. They forced a good Democrat out of the race to put in a Republican millionaire to run for Mark Foley's seat. They should not have done that.

More on the story.

Mahoney vs Lutrin....what was done in FL 16th by Rahm and Thurman.

It's a long story...here is only part.



Truthout's Matt Renner had a long article on the various races throughout the country in which people were chosen to run, often present or former Republcans..and others forced out by having funds dried up.

Democratic House Officials Recruited Wealthy Conservatives

The article involves many people. Her is more about David Lutrin.



What a mess we have now. They need to stop recruiting conservatives for their ability to self-fund their own races. What a mess.

And then there are those who want to win because winning is everything. Emanuel is one of the latter. The only purpose for being in politics to people like him is to acquire power, unlike someone like Howard Dean who really wants to affect policy in order to help people.

Actually, he's worse than that. Rahm would rather lose with a DLC-approved fake Dem than win with a real Dem.

We saw that here in an Illinois primary when he canned local favorite Christine Cegelis and installed Hawawiian import Tammy Duckworth in her place (always a genius move). Then he poured millions into Duckworth's general election race.

Of course she lost. But for Rahm it was Mission Accomplished, because Rahm's mission is not to help Dems win, but to make sure REAL Dems lose.

What kind of crazy grudge has this Rahm Emanuel guy got against Democrats?

Did one of you beat him up and steal his lunch money in 4th grade?

I hate that fucker -- he is one of the problems with the Party these days. :mad:

this is par for the course for these fuckers. I actually find them more contemptible than repukes because of their duplicity!

And from the TO article:

"Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, would not comment on the DCCC's alleged interference.

However, a source close to the DNC indicated that there was disagreement between Dean and Emanuel over election tactics. In his recent book, "The Thumpin'," Naftali Bendavid, a journalist who spent months inside the DCCC operation and at Emanuel's side, reported a heated conversation between Dean, Emanuel and Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York) regarding election strategies of the DCCC and the DNC. At the time, Dean was focusing on helping local organizations across the country to mobilize their communities to support Democrats. Emanuel wanted to focus the resources of the national party on specific races that were the most likely to be competitive for Democrats. According to Bendavid, Emanuel said to Dean, "You're nowhere, Howard. Your field plan is not a field plan. That's fucking bullshit ... I know your field plan - it doesn't exist. I've gone around the country with these races. I've seen your people. There is no plan, Howard."

This was just before the election, I think. Carville's attempt at a Dean coup was right after the election.

Rahm, I have "seen your people" here in Florida. The only "plan" was to get corporate friendly and rich Dems to run.

and for not kicking Democrats out of races to run a Republican.

had his fingers in it! She's running in my District, but she's GOT to be better than Buchanan, OR NOT???

I also know that MOST of the Dems running here in this District are "conservatives" but there have rarely been ANY Democrats running here. PLUS, having close contacts with the Jennings campaign, I know they don't have much money to run against Buchanan and it looks like Vernie is going to take it again.

So WHERE was Rahm when Jennings got booted by Buchanan in her most supportive county in the district?? She constantly asked people to donate to her to FIGHT back because 18,500 votes went missing. She hired lots of lawyers, so why didn't Rahm come to her rescue. I freely admit I have NEVER cared for Rahm Emmanuel OR Chuckie Schumer because I have long suspected they have tried to undermine Dean from the Get-Go, but if they "hand-picked" Jennings, they abandoned her when she needed them most.

I don't disagree that she may be a "rogue" Democrat, but I can see with my own eyes that they have left her HIGH & DRY this time around.

Should I come out and ask her when I see her again?? Are you saying that she doesn't REALLY support anything the Democrats stand for? If so, then I'm in a pickle... guess it's Jan Schneider then. She's got 8% right now. So it's a lose, lose here.... AGAIN!!!

Which snake is worse??

But this way of doing business has got to stop. You are right, no one came to her rescue over the election...in fact I think they discouraged her.

Dean was on BayNews9 about that time, and he spoke out strongly that a do-over was necessary because of the mission 18,000 votes. When someone later mentioned that to Jennings, she totally blew it off.

I find it hard to blame Jan in any way for running. She ran one of the strongest races in the state against Harris, but the party then chose someone else the next time. A pattern.

My feeling is that if Jennings speaks out firmly and strongly, then she can win even with Jan running.

Trouble is, the party will get Jan out somehow even as an indy.

I know her and Jennings. And I don't like Jennings. I talked to Jan about 2 years ago when Rahm sent Barbara Boxer down here to raise $400k for Jennings BEFORE the primary. Most of which went to run negative ads against Jan.

She would have run as a Dem against Jennings in the primary again this year if the DCCC would agree to remain neutral, like they're supposed to. They refused, so she filed NPA.

In IL I think Rahm spent nearly quarter million to bring Cegelis down. Such a ahame.

but having ANOTHER Repuke, especially one like Buchanan makes me sick! I've felt for a very long time that Emmanuel is a skunk, but he sure messed this county up! And there's NO GOING back to fix it! What they did in essence actually back-fired and "we the people" have to live with the consequences!

I had to get up very early to work. It's a sometimes job that I work every once in a while.

Anywho, THIS subject affects me "personally" and I AM aware of what THEY did to Jan a couple of years ago, and even then I was VERY upset. The local Democratic Party simply blew her off simply because they felt Jennings had a "better" chance of winning. I remember it well. My views are closer to Schneider's but she's has been unable to win. This is her FOURTH time running and while one could give her points for sticking to her guns, if Buchanan wins this again he will be pretty well "entrenched" and this county will KEEP electing him.

Weighing this fact, wouldn't it be better to give Jennings a "leg up" if for no other reason than to give Buchanan a KICK IN THE BUTT?? I KNOW Schneider is bitter and I suppose I can't blame her, but this is a county that NEVER elects Democrats! Jan MUST KNOW that by running NPA it will probably keep Buchanan. The polls show him winning by double digits, even with ALL OF HIS lawsuits!

All this says to so many people is that Jennings probably didn't win even IF they had counted the votes last time. Sarasota county was her strongest county in the district, there IS NO doubt about it... Manatee is Buchanan's and that was what the REAL outcry was about. I simply can't STAND Buchanan, I liken him to Newt Gingrich in some ways, and he acts like he's above any accountability for ANYTHING he's done!!

Schneider is doing a "Nader" here and many of us feel another win for Vernie sends a message that NO DEMOCRAT will EVER win here. Before him it was Katherine "Cruella" Harris and as a Democrat I haven't had any REAL representation for years and years! I can't change what they did to Schneider, I wasn't a part of it, but can you really say that by her running as an NPA is helpful to Democrats?? She knows she won't win and she MUST know that in THIS county, her name will be MUD from now on. I can't change that either!


I've canvassed here many times, made phone calls and done what I can, and from what I'm hearing and seeing... it's Buchanan's to lose. Unless something drastic happens, Jennings is going to lose bigger than ever! You just have to go to her headquarters and "see" it on their faces! Left-leaning Democrats are a pariah here. I'm one of them, I KNOW from personal experience. My premise is let's just get "one" Democrat in and start a movement that Democrats CAN win!

Politics is down and dirty and I really was unaware of what Rahm did, but in the end Jennings was left holding the bag too. I've long suspected Jennings changed parties for certain reasons and if you know her, you know what I mean.

I just see this as a lose-lose situation, regardless of WHY & HOW it happened! It still doesn't get a Democrat elected!! And I'm REALLY pissed off more than ever!

This shit has to stop. These DLC traitors need to go. Every one of them that is up for election in 2010 should be voted out in the primary.

...he's kissed the right('s) ass and "helped" the party. He's a lying sack of crap but has connections. Would be a small price to pay for an Obama victory.

from a broader base of Democrats than just the local ones.

I sent the DNC some cash in general when Dean was being attacked again.

in office.

Rahm Emmanuel, Debbie Wasserman-Schulz, Harold Ford Jr. Every time I see one of them on TV representing the Democratic party it solidifies my decision not to send a dime to the party. I'll send my money to ActBlue and other progressive organizations.

When Howard Dean's "bullshit plan" sweeps Obama and Dems back into power next month, those corporate automatons should be targeted for defeat. I'll gladly send my $$$$.

when I see them on MSNBC/et al. Why do we never see real dems like Kucinich, Kaptur, or even Ford's replacement (huge upgrade) Steve Cohen?

At least they don't put the even faker Dems on too often (like Heath Shuler, yet another Rahm product who's a bigger bigot and tool than some pukes!)

Some clueless Dem called me to try to get me to an Obama grassroots meeting at the home of a Republican. You really all don't understand what is going in this state if you think there's nothing wrong with that.

Wow...that's weird unless they're one of the many disaffected Republicans voting for Obama.

Not too far fetched.

These people don't do anything for charity, unless they can find a loophole where they can find some profit.

Unemployment is some of the highest in the State. Mahoney always was a DINO, then he went and voted for the " $700 Billion Bailout Bush Bill" Enveryone in my neighborhood called Maoney's office, wrote letters and sent e-mails. We were pretty much ignored. Now, Mahoney is walking in Mark Foley's shoes... oh brother. Looks like we are going to loose a Dem seat in Congress... but he really wasn't a Dem anyway... so I guess it doesn't matter... but it hurts to loose even one seat.

...a couple DINOs lose.

He ran several approved pro-war candidates against anti-war grassroots types in the 2004 primaries. All he wants are safe conservatives in the House. There are far too many of them, including my own worthless Bush-dog representative.

I regret not having enough money on hand to send some to whoever the republicans are running against him this year. I want him GONE. At almost any cost.

Here are more examples.

http://www.truthout.org/article/special-report-democratic-house-officials-recruited-wealthy-conservatives

I have posted about a lot of it through the last couple of years. I hate to say it but several DFA candidates were taken down by these methods...people who would have been good candidates.

http://www.truthout.org/article/special-report-democratic-house-officials-recruited-wealthy-conservatives

typical rightwing hypocracy. I knew mahoney was a skunk.

http://mattjohnston.blogspot.com/2006/03/more-on-duckworthcegalis-disaster-in.html

this race was discussed here at du. rahm`s hand picked candidate lost and now neither duckworth or cegalis going to run again. rahm destroyed one of the best chances the democrats had in years to take the illinois 6th.

Ric Keller believes in family values so much that he had two of them...

He cheated on his first wife with his secretary from the campaign and got her pregnant and divorced Missus #1 to marry the Mistress and make her Missus#2.

The papers won't report this story however everybody knows about it.

Republican mistresses don't count.

I think the PBP link may be dead, but I found this at MyDD from 2005. I had posted it also, but can't find it.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/8/14/203510/136

"HomeDiariesBreaking BlueE-Wire 2008Pickup opportunity in FL-16?
by Quaoar, Sun Aug 14, 2005 at 08:35:10 PM EST

Looks like Florida Democrats are recruiting an interesting candidate to take on Rep. Mark Foley -- a former Republican, vFinance Inc. Chairman Tim Mahoney, who switched parties a month ago.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/local_news/epaper/2005/08/01/s1b_geo_0801.html

Details below.

The last few Democratic attempts to unseat U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Jupiter, have been spectacular failures, but some Dems in Washington and Tallahassee still dream of finding a credible challenger.
New Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman and folks at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in D.C. have had serious talks recently with vFinance Inc. Chairman Tim Mahoney, whose business finances high-growth companies and has more than two dozen offices in the United States.

Mahoney, 48, has homes in Palm Beach Gardens and Highlands County, where he has a 100-acre cattle ranch on Fisheating Creek. He hasn't been politically active and only became a Democrat last month, when he switched his registration from the GOP. But Democratic recruiters like his combination of business and agricultural backgrounds.

< snip >

Oops, how'd that work out?

I will even vote for a Republican in my local legislative race because of this. The Democrat in the race is far more conservative even than the Republican who is running.

She is disgusting! :grr:

But yes, we have come to expect such things on a regular basis.

I really saw the FL Dems for what they have become. I was just naive until your experience.

"You can take the politician out of the republican party ..... but you can't take the republican party out of the politician"

so often they are not sure of their identity.

They should not have picked a Republican to run as a Democrat.

That really makes me feel good!!

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j8SjoKSFxLQVMVHRTLj6tq6DwgfgD93QN0K00

"ABC, citing unnamed current and former Mahoney staff members, said the congressman began his affair with Patricia Allen, 50, in 2006 while he was campaigning for Congress. Allen has not returned repeated telephone calls from The Associated Press.

On Tuesday night, a person close to the Mahoney campaign told the AP that Mahoney also was having a relationship with a high-ranking official in Martin County in his Florida district around the same time of the purported affair with Allen.

The person close to the campaign spoke only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to openly discuss Mahoney's private life.

The person said Mahoney was having the relationship with the official in 2007 while he also was lobbying the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a $3.4 million reimbursement for Martin County for damage caused by hurricanes in 2004. FEMA approved the money late last year."

I think he needs to do a better job at vetting his Republicans before he gets 'em to run.