Tim Mahoney FL D "won't tie his tail to a kite, no matter how high it soars."

[madfloridian]

Just in case some think I am being too tough on the Blue Dogs and others who are distancing from our nominee...you oughta hear what Smashed Frog has to say.


U.S. Rep Tim Mahoney (D-Palm Beach Gardens) won't tie his tail to a kite, no matter how high it soars.

Tim Mahoney, Wing walker

The former Republican turned Democrat has decided to remain uncommitted regarding presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

Mahoney says of the presidential race. ““I wasn’t elected to be a role model as to how people should vote,”People in my district are smart enough to decide."

Hmmph. Not so certain about that, Tim.

After Mark Foley (who remains a free man) crashed and burned, weren't you barely elected back in 2006 after voters chose to pull the lever for the scandalized Foley via Republican pinch hitter Joe Negron?

And isn't Palm Beach county the home of the infamous 2000 butterfly ballot Yep. Sounds like an intellectually superior crowd. So fess up, Tim.

Doesn't your decision to stand on the political sidelines while reaping the benefits of Obama at the top of the ticket all boil down to one real truth?

Your district--District 16--is 41.7 percent Republican and 36.2 percent Democrat.

Tim Mahoney as a real identity problem. He doesn't know who he is. He recently said he doesn't "owe the party anything"

From the comments at Smashed Frog: "He has no loyalties, and will flap in the breeze to whatever side is in power today; like a sheet on a clothesline in a windstorm."

And you thought I was being rough on those who won't stand with Obama.

[eleny]

1. Anchors away!

[islandmkl]

2. he was only a 'democrat' to get elected, thanks to foley's follies...

send his ass back to the repukes where he belongs...

let the dems find someone else...he's the same as losing to a repuke, anyway...

[madfloridian]

7. TPM points out that he is being attacked by GOP for cowardice

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/republicans_attack_dem_congres.php

"As we noted below, Florida Rep. Tim Mahoney yesterday told the Palm Beach Post that he wasn't prepared to endorse Barack Obama, claiming that he wanted to be able to preserve the ability to lobby John McCain on behalf of his district.

And right on cue, the GOP committee responsible for winning House races is already out with a release attacking Mahoney for not endorsing Obama. "Despite his politically motivated efforts to run away from the Democratic presidential nominee, Tim Mahoney seems to be reading off the same song sheet when it comes to massive tax hikes, government-run healthcare and defending our homeland," NRCC Spokesman Ken Spain said.

See, now Mahoney is taking a double hit from the GOP: He's getting tarred by having a record similar to Obama while simultaneously getting slammed for trying to paper over this fact out of political cowardice.

Given that Dems in deep-red states like Mississippi and Louisiana have won House elections even while getting tarred by their association with Obama, it's unclear what sort of percentage there is in Mahoney's approach."

They might as well support Obama. They will get attacked either way. Stand up and be proud and not so scared.

[LSparkle]

3. I hope he enjoys being part of the 5.5% unemployed population ...

Buh-bye.

CHANGE IS COMING! Get on board or get swept UNDER
THE BUS!

[madfloridian]

4. Nancy Boyda just endorsed Obama. Maybe Tim will get the message.

They all need to stop distancing from the nominee.

[madfloridian]

5. Smashed Frog was mild. Wait till you read Howie Klein.

http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2008/06/tim-mahoney-i-dont-owe-democratic-party.html

"You can say what you want, but most Republicans value loyalty, and will see right through Mahoney's pathetic attempt to pander to them by publicly dismissing his party and their nominee in the most important election of our lifetimes. No one who was already going to vote against Congressman Mahoney will change his or her mind based on this decision.

Most rank-and-file Republicans have the discipline to vote the party line regardless. This has always been a Republican strength. An unremarkable display of cowardice on Congressman Mahoney's part will do little to sway them. Moreover, Congressman Mahoney's betrayal burns a bridge with perhaps one constituency with the power to bankroll his fledgling re-election campaign: the netroots. When I personally heard that Congressman Mahoney is "the most endangered Congressman," I thought about volunteering and contributing to his campaign. But I quickly learned better. I will focus on canvassing for Obama, and will spend my limited resources on those local Democrats, such as Congressman Wexler, who I know will work with the Democratic Party, and with independent Republicans, to fundamentally change the direction of our country. When Obama is competing in every state, and there are true progressive candidates across Florida and around the country, no Democrat or progressive should waste their time and money on the candidacy of someone who is transparently biding his time, awaiting his "Zell Miller" moment. One lesson we might learn from the 2006 election is that the only thing worse than no change, is the illusion of change."

[madfloridian]

6. The NRCC is calling out the elected Democrats who won't support Obama.

Yet many on our side are saying it is ok and that they are just being politically expedient. I think if they are Democrats they should stand with the nominee. Period, bottom line.

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ken Spain said that Democrats who don’t endorse Obama “wrongly believe that by disassociating themselves from Obama that they can escape any criticism or comparison in terms of their liberal positions on issues like their shared support for government-run health care and massive tax hikes.”

The NRCC identified five such Democrats in a statement distributed Tuesday.

One of them, Kansas Rep. Nancy Boyda, has since decided to endorse Obama. Another, Ohio Rep. Charlie Wilson, had done so a few days before the statement went out — which is to say, only after Clinton announced that she was suspending her campaign.

Responding to the news of Boren’s non-endorsement, Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor noted in an e-mail that “Obama has a long history of working across the aisle to get things done and ... he’s worked with some of the most conservative members — including Congressman Boren’s Republican colleague from Oklahoma, Tom Coburn.”

“Obviously this primary process was long and highly competitive, but we’re confident that the party will come together to beat John McCain,” he added.

But Boren isn’t the only congressional Democrat who won’t be endorsing Obama. A spokesman for Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) told Politico on Thursday that Mahoney will remain neutral. So will Rep. Jim Marshall, a Democrat in a conservative Georgia district. Marshall didn’t endorse Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) in 2004, and he won’t endorse anyone this year, either. “Jim, as a rule, doesn’t get involved in other people’s campaigns,” said spokesman Doug Moore.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11029.html