Former FL Governor and U. S. Senator Bob Graham: "We need to have a citizen revolt in Florida."

[seafan]

I thought I would never live to see this day; Bob Graham is calling for a revolt in Florida. And he did it yesterday.

And he is on the damn money.



Bill Cotterell at the Tallahassee Democrat reports:


http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20111030/NEWS01/110300341/Democrats-call-citizen-revolt-against-GOP?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|frontpage

(If that link doesn't work, try this one, and click on the story Democrats call for 'citizen revolt' against GOP)
‎

October 30, 2011

LAKE BUENA VISTA — State and national Democratic Party leaders told Florida Democrats Saturday they can re-elect President Obama and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson by rallying voters in a "citizen revolt" against Republican Party policies being dictated by "a brutally fanatic right-wing group of extremists" in Washington and Tallahassee.

.....

"We need to have a citizen revolt in Florida," former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham told the crowd. Graham, who was governor 1979-87, said Scott and the Republican-run Legislature "have turned back the clock on 40 years" of environmental and growth-management policy, progress in education funding and election reform.

"We in Florida seem to be up for sale to whoever wants to pay you the highest amount," Graham said. "Pay-for-play is the standard of operation in too much of Florida government today."

Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 4.5 million to 4 million in registration, but Nelson is the only Democrat in statewide elected office. The GOP holds 19 of 25 U.S. House seats, and holds two-thirds majorities in both chambers of the Legislature. The party has targeted Nelson for defeat next year in its drive to take over the Senate.

.....

And these viciously right-wing Republicans maintain ongoing state control by continually redistricting themselves into permanent power. They are furtively working on the next iteration of it right now.



When Bob Graham speaks, people damn well better listen.

[elleng]

1. Yaaay!

He's the first Prez candidate I contributed to!!!

[Harmony Blue]

2. Way to go Graham

:applause:

We need Dems to fight back in Florida! Playing nice with Repubs hasn't worked!

[mazzarro]

3. Why are average democrats in some states dumb as rethugs?

If the number of registered democrats in Florida is higher than registered rethuglicans; yet there is only one statewide elected democrat in the state, does that not say clearly that average democrats in Florida, at least, are dumb and stupid? We in DU make comments about average rethuglicans being dumb; Florida and Texas both belie the assumption.

[Harmony Blue]

4. Sadly I am inclined to agree

But I do not think Floridian Dems are dumb, but rather very timid. That is why Alan Grayson was a breathe of fresh air from my view.

[elleng]

5. Hard to think of D. Wasserman-Schultz as 'timid,'

but there does seem to be something wrong there, including election theft.

[Harmony Blue]

7. D. Wasserman-Schultz

indeed is making waves, but she can't do it alone. She is outnumbered severely in Florida, but she is a fighter.

[bertman]

14. Wasserman-Schultz is a DLC shill who has supported getting Republicans to become

Democratic candidates. She and her buddy Rahm are two big reasons Florida is in the situation it's in.

To call her a Democrat is pure b.s. She is a corporatist first and foremost. I remember when the Democrats held a hearing to impeach George Bush. Wasserman-Schultz was one of the Dems who was opposed to it.

Her being the head of the DNC says it all.

[immoderate]

15. Debbie is my Rep. and she sucks!

She jumped the shark after Terry Schiavo!

She is never on the progressive side of any issue. She's very supportive of cancer survivors, though. It's a reason to smoke!:smoke:

--imm

[juajen]

9. Well, it could mean that democratic votes are being miscounted,

or stolen. We know how Florida swings, and the disgust has been with us since SCOTUS crowned George Bush.

[quaker bill]

10. They call it gerrymandering

The Dems that win in FL win by huge margins, the repugs by much smaller margins. Dem votes have been placed in a small number of districts that are highly non-competitive to create a large number of repug districts where they have a smaller but very consistent advantage. This has been done in the name of providing "minority representation". It works, and much of the dem minority is black or hispanic.

The other bit is that the statewide offices are elected on the off presidential year. If the governor's race was in 2008, we would have a dem governor, since it was 2010, we have Rick Scott.

Obama won by a huge margin in my county in 2008 in a high turnout election. The margin was larger than the margin Rick Scott won the entire state with in 2010. Rick Scott won my county in 2010 by a small margin in a low turnout election. Alan Grayson won here in 2008, and lost in 2010 for the same reasons.

[Pacifist Patriot]

22. +1

[Arugula Latte]

17. It could be a lot of those elections are thrown, too.

I wouldn't doubt that a significant percentage of outcomes are because of manipulation, not voting.

[jwirr]

6. And from what I have read he is correct.

[Bryn]

8. Kick for Bob Graham. He will always be my favorite...

He was my governor then my senator. Very friendly when I met him.

[RebelOne]

19. I met him once. He was my waiter at a Big Brothers/Big Sisters banquet.

That was when he was governor and was anonymously doing workingman's jobs. I was at the banquet and a waiter poured my water. I looked up and who was it but Bob Graham! That was way back in when I lived in Miami. Not sore of the date, but think it was in the late '70s or early '80s.

[ewagner]

11. Bob Graham is a national treasure..

I worked with him 40 years ago and found him to be impeccably honest and committed to the people of Florida.

I hope the people of Florida listen to him...and I regret that the Nation didn't listen to him when he ran for president.

[Kolesar]

20. He had a great antiwar message

and came off as such an intellect.

[seafan]

12. Look out, Rick Scott.

Another quote from Bob Graham:



October 31, 2011

.....

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham noted his recent work on commissions looking into weapons of mass destruction, the financial crisis and the BP oil spill, saying he was obviously available for investigations of serious problems.

"I understand some would suggest the governor comes in that category," Graham quipped.

.....

http://media.graytvinc.com/images/Rick+Scott5.jpg

FL Governor (cough) Rick Scott

Via WCTV

[Tatiana]

13. I love Bob Graham, and the people really do need to have a revolt in Florida.

It's just, when I think of "revolt" or "popular uprising" I just don't see Ben Nelson as a catalyst for such a thing.

Outside of Grayson and a few others, the Democratic leadership in Florida is not very progressive and quite willing to bend to the will of Republicans.

But I wish my Floridian friends luck in taking back their state.

[On the Road]

16. When Level-Headed Conservative Dems Like Graham

start jumping on board, you know it's gaining steam. Excellent.

[marias23]

18. Time for a GENERAL STRIKE

OWS alone is not enough - it must be expanded to a general strike.

[ddeclue]

21. I was in the hall and heard him say this live.

Got a copy of his book autographed too.

[1monster]

23. I've always admired Bob Graham.

[Marnie]

24. Is he volunteering to be a leader. Because the Dims need

leaders.

OSW is exactly right in not having leaders, they are the vox populi. Many voices making one.

However there need to be a couple of hundred liberals and Dims who have some political and financial stature to step up and get something organized against the Republicans.


Protecting the vote and the voter's registrations would be a good starting place about now.

[Firebrand Gary]

25. K&R

[ObaMania]

26. Why stop with FL? n/t

:wtf:

[snot]

27. Don't ignore the election fraud.