Some Thoughts On The Primary
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The primary proved this:
The liberal, throw-money-at-everything clique that calls themselves Progressives is largely meaningless in Florida politics.
Nan Rich was the Progressive’s darling. There were calls all over the Internet for Progressives to vote for Rich.
She got 22.85 percent of the Democratic vote in Broward where she lives.
In the Peoples Republic of Broward! Among only Democrats!
She actually did better statewide, getting 25.63 percent or 215,089 votes.
Progressives claim that the way for state Democrats to win is to be more liberal. They should see the error of their ways after Tuesday
But they won’t.
Female Trumps Male
Tuesday’s results support my long held belief that in judicial races, names mean everything.
Especially female names.
How else can anyone explain the Clauda Robinson easing out Jonathan Kasen to win a spot in the November runoff against County Judge Ian Richards?
Kasen and Robinson were both largely unknown.
Kasen spent $100,000, with about $32,000 coming from his own pocket. Robinson spent $8,243.
I’m also convinced that Frantz “Jahra” McLawrence lost against Circuit Judge Lynn Rosenthal because of his name.
First, she’s female.
Second, Frantz “Jahra” is a tough sell to many voters. Frantz “Jahra” is too foreign.
Contrast that name with Lynn Rosenthal.
Why McLawrence didn’t use F. J. McLawrence on the ballot is beyond me? It couldn’t have hurt.
The name Frantz “Jahra” trumped any bad publicity about her DUI arrest during the campaign.
The sad truth is that although judicial candidates are the most important folks on the ballot, most voters cast ballots without knowing anything about them.
Why most important?
Most politicians can only raise your taxes?
Judges can throw you in jail. They can take away your freedom.
You would think that voters would take the time to learn something about them. You would think wrong.
Too many voters make their choice when the ballot is in front of them based on the name. All the editorials, mailed ads and publicity wash over their heads.
That’s why the right ethnic name is important. And that’s why a woman has an advantage when running for judge against a man.
Race Baiting For Judge Rosenthal
Although I believe Frantz “Jahra” McLawrence’s name lost the race for him, one reprehensible ad was used in the campaign against him at the last minute.
The piece featuring a mug shot of McLawrence when he was picked up for a driving offense while in college. There were also two recent picture of him.
“The underlying message is obvious: ‘There’s a n***** running for judge (again!) and he’s dangerous!!’” one political expert not connected to the race e-mailed to Browardbeat.com.
The ad was the work of a Tallahassee committee, so Rosenthal can claim she had nothing to do with it. Wink wink, nod nod.
Rosenthal should hang her head in shame for being associated with race-baiting during the campaign.
Gracious In Defeat?
Judicial candidate Jonathan Kasen was crushed on Tueday by incumbent Judge Ian Richards and lawyer Claudia Robinson.
Was Kasen gracious in defeat?
This whine from his Facebook page:
| Jonathan KasenAugust 27 |
It is always very humbling to get your ass kicked and make no mistake about it, I got smoked like a pack of Marlboros. I am enormously puzzled by the results from last night but I wanted to thank my friends and supporters for their tremendous efforts on behalf of my candidacy. To paraphrase Blanche Dubois: “I have benefited from the kindness of many strangers.” I guess, in my race, that the vast majority of the voters are disinterested in qualifications, experience and/or community involvement. The voters claim they do but that is clearly belied by last night’s results. As the late President Richard Nixon once said: “Gentlemen, we experienced the length, width and depth of the shaft last night.”
Once again, thanks for the support.
Sincerely, Jonathan
Low Turnout Blues
There is a lot of hand wringing going on about Broward’s low turnout.
Targeted mail ads have no doubt contributed to low turnouts not only in Broward, but everywhere.
Consultants targeting only likely voters – those who have a consistent record of voting in primaries – does nothing to encourage the occasional voter to participate.
In contrast, television advertising is seen by everybody and inspires infrequent voters to vote. But television is seldom used in most Broward primary races.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:26 pm
I resent your characterization of progressives as throwing money at problems. This is a right wing mantra that they extend to all Democrats which is propaganda.
Progressives and Democrats believe that society can be improved as opposed to their opposition which believes it should stay as is.
Progressives believe in community based on ethics, not based on morals.
Progressives are inclusive and multicultural, not an exclusive club.
Progressives believe in equality, conservatives believe in Freedom despite who may be harmed.
Progressives believe in one for all and all for one, conservatives believe in survival of the fittest (yet deny evolution).
Progressives are scientific, Conservatives are theistic.
Progressives support workers, not hose in ivory towers.
Progressives look to the future not the past.
It is disingenuous to characterize progressives with right wing talking points that don’t begin to properly describe what progressives really stand for. We cannot continue to solve modern problems with last century economic and social theories that have been proven not to work just to maintain the status quo for those who wield power.
It was not Nan’s politics which did not get her elected Buddy, I think even you know that. Have the wingnuts pushed the left more toward the center, of course, but they are also being dragged kicking and screaming to the left on a myriad of issues. Each side needs their idealists to drive debate because those in the center do not do it often enough.
FROM BUDDY:
Nan Rich has always been to the left of Florida politics. She is what passes for a Progressive in Tallahassee. Can you name someone treated seriously and running statewide who is more liberal/Progressive? She was running for statewide office. She lost because the majority of Democrats wisely understood she could not win in the General Election because….she was too liberal/Progressive.
As far as your talking points, I agree with almost everything.
There is no way to get around the fact that Progressive trend to believe that taxes and government spending are too low. You might not want to admit it, but its true. As soon as Obama was re-elected didn’t he raise the income tax rate on higher income individuals.
The fact that it takes eight or nine sentences to explain what Progressive believe is the heart of their political problems.
The positions are squishy. Hard to define. Impossible to put on a bumper sticker.
Florida Republicans can explain their platform in a few words, best summed up two decades ago by U. S. Sen. Connie Mack: Less Taxes, Less Government, More Freedom.
Those six words have won Florida elections. Florida Democrats have never been able to explain what they stand for and what voters should back them.
This year, Charlie Crist may win because he can sum up what his campaign stands for: Crist is not Rick Scott. Scott is so hated Crist has a very good chance of victory with that message. Absent that message, Democrats would not have a chance.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:29 pm
Buddy,
Maybe good campaigning and grass roots trumped the money.
Sure Robinson got a bump because she’s a woman.
But she has spent countless hours out meeting the voters. From volunteering at NAACP legal redress, campaigning at the condo’s, and attending services of different groups.
She worked her butt off and to say that she is in the run-off simply because she’s a female isn’t accurate.
The “courthouse crowd” thinks if the “right” group of lawyers gets behind a candidate that their a shoe-in. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
The real story here is that the courthouse crowd has lost touch with the voters. It was evident in the courthouse bond initiative and it’s evident in a lot of judicial races.
If anything, that race showed Robinson is a force to be reckoned with.
I would think that Kasen supporters (donors) will get behind Robinson now. She can win. 56+% of voters voted against the incumbent.
You need to look no further than the Olga Levine race.
August 29th, 2014 at 12:35 pm
Not so sure the “woman always wins” angle is true in Broward, despite what happened this time. Go back to the 2012 primary…
August 29th, 2014 at 12:55 pm
Margate has it’s first African American Commissioner as well as the first time women outnumber the men on the dais.
Congratulations Commissioner Elect Joyce Bryan.
Le
Mayor
August 29th, 2014 at 3:10 pm
could the demographics of broward, that the 2010 census illustrates, have been the reason that no more than the hard-core ‘super’ votersturned out?
I would love to see the voter rolls for all of broward to analyze and compare the who and when and how often those that made the effort for this have in the past.
Fort Lauderdale has a 10%-14% voter turnout for their muni elections held in March very 3 years. A city of 160k+ with about 60k ‘registered’ voters and 10% vote? Pathetic.
August 29th, 2014 at 5:47 pm
“Throw money at everything” isn’t what progressives advocate. Progressives value civil rights and civil liberties first and foremost, and they believe that government should be both efficient and effective.
But go ahead, Buddy. Why not create a flyer that shows “progressives” hurling cash? No reason you can’t criticize the McLawrence flyer while doing the very same thing yourself – it’s your blog and you can be exactly as hypocritical as you like.
August 29th, 2014 at 6:07 pm
Buddy, I can tell you why Jahra did not run using the name FJ. Because it’s disingenuous! That’s not his name. If you call him FJ he wouldn’t even respond. He actually did the right thing and used his real name this time. That was a move in the right direction.
Why is it ok for Jahra to hide his diversity but not ok for hispanics to hide or change their names? Why have some jewish women who have used various versions of their names been criticized by you and others for name games, when it’s ok for Jahra, FJ, Frantz to use a false name so that he can get elected. Aren’t you being unfair here??? Biased??
Jahra was a weak opponent becauase he is cold, stiff and formal and because he is not judge material. At least Judge Rsenthal had good experience and knowledge of the law. Jahra was looking for notoriety and a steady pay check. His practice is limited and so is his legal experience compared to hers.
It’s easy to be a pundit when you’re not in the field and you’re looking inside from the outside. Maybe even getting gossip from those who think they know- but just don’t. From a lawyer’sperspective it’s hard to say that FJ or Jahra would have faired any better as a tolerant judge then Rosenthal.
Clearly- Kasen showed his true colors in the end. That statement’s not so judge worthy.
August 29th, 2014 at 8:41 pm
This is just another example of the slanted coverage of the Judge Rosental race.
I am part of the group that arranged six ECO mailings favoring her campaign, without her knowledge or consent. We mailed four negative pieces and two positive pieces, using two different ECOs
We formed our group after a friend’s wife overheard McLawrence tell someone that he hated prosecutors. We knew we had to act, and we had no trouble getting a group together to support Judge Rosenthal.
The last negative piece was designed early on, but it was only used when McLawrence went dirty. He publically called Rosenthal a drunk judge all along, but when he started using that line with early voters, we decided to mail 50,000 pieces just before the election.
Although that piece turned out to be unnecessary, I am glad that we used it. maybe it will teach McLawrence a lesson, but probably not.
Our group will again meet in May, 2016. We intend to help to retain good judges who are challenged, and to defeat bad judges. We are Democrats and Republicans. We will challenge McLawrence every time he runs. That is given.
Believe this or not. You will hear from us again. I won’t comment further.
FROM BUDDY:
The last piece was racist, plain and simple. It can’t be justified. You could have made the same point without the picture.
August 29th, 2014 at 8:45 pm
I agree with and appreciate your observations, Buddy, and I’m glad to see my own conclusions validated by your long experience in political observation.
We agree on most everything except for your assertion that progressives in general are untenable in Florida. I’ll assert that it’s not about a folly of being “more liberal” as evidenced by Nan Rich’s failure to even win Broward let alone much of anything else. It’s about tactics.
Nan Rich did not represent being liberal during her campaign for the gubernatorial nomination. She represented arrogance, bitterness, myopic tactics and focusing on the wrong endgame.
Voters didn’t reject Nan because of her positions on the issues. In fact, it’s actually possible that Charlie Crist could prove to be very progressive should he have the opportunity to be Governor again.
Nan lost and never actually gained any traction at all because she ran an absolutely horrible campaign, and she allowed her core supporters to go completely off the rails with their bitterness and their resentment of Charlie Crist.
Democrats are not facing an open seat, as Alex Sink and Rick Scott had. The seat is taken by an extraordinarily wealthy and determined incumbent who has his own agenda that’s really quite separate from the basic interests of the people of Florida and the state’s environment and infrastructure.
Charlie Crist was always the likeliest winner of the nomination, so Nan’s efforts to sully him while facing our current political dynamics and how difficult it will be to unseat even a very unpopular incumbent was just unprofessional.
What may perhaps be deemed as too liberal was that leftist tendency to stick to our own kind. Making genuine efforts to reach out well beyond the usual leftist circular firing squad was something that both Nan and her most avid supporters were just not willing to do.
Charlie, however, has run thus far a dignified and very friendly campaign, and he’s known precisely when to step into the Democratic spotlight in Florida and when to allow long-time Democrats their time together while he was still a very new option on the Democratic ticket. His positioning on issues has been considerate and also bold. He chose a genuine progressive as a running mate who represents South Florida and Hispanic women.
Now, I am about as leftist as they come, and I agree with Nan on probably all of the issues- at least those she’s brought up. I and some other avid Democrats are probably, however, even further to the left than Nan Rich is.
The big difference from Democrats like myself and that Cult of Nan is that I prefer actually winning to grasping my ideology to my chest while kicking away anyone deemed to be even slightly impure.
Some of us liberals respect that this is a complicated electorate that is not going to progress on many issues at the same speed as those of us who follow all these political narratives. By actually winning elections, the “liberal” set can get a foot in the door in regards to actual legislation. Even facing a Republican legislature, demonstrating leadership and having a voice on the issues can be enhanced by actually being elected.
Slow, incremental change is so frustrating to too many of those on the left nowadays, but we can see with several issues- including LGBT rights, marijuana issues, the drug war overall and the over-eagerness to get into another war overseas- that incremental progress can very rapidly leap forward later on.
This state as well as this country has changed a lot even though we are still under the boot of some conservative wave elections and of some very unpopular Supreme Court decisions. The people are so often now at odds on many issues with their elected representatives, and incumbents are often very hard to unseat without a lot of money and a lot of publicity.
So, no, it isn’t about Nan and her supporters trying to be “more liberal” than this state will put up with. It’s about her attitude that rained down upon her followers. Her attitude sucked. I hope and expect that now she’ll do better and lead her supporters in a much more productive direction, which will be to focus entirely on unseating Rick Scott.
We don’t have to pretend to be more conservative to do that. We have to only offer genuine solutions, attend to the interests of working people, demonstrate consistent respect for the diversity of our communities and also show confident leadership based on what we believe in.
I believe that Charlie Crist can do that. I think that many other Democrats do as well. Nan led her most loyal supporters to seriously doubt both him and the Florida Democratic Party. That wasn’t too liberal. That was just deserving of one big, unquestionably lousy showing by Tuesday night.
August 30th, 2014 at 12:05 am
This is excellent analysis, Buddy.
I would be interested in your more in-depth thoughts (and the thoughts of others here) on the School Board races. Several of the incumbents came pretty close (though not REALLY close) to losing, but they all did win in the end, even Ann “N***** Heaven” Murray in what is close to a majority-minority district (heck I think it actually IS outright minority white by population but not voter reg).
How do we read that? Just a few thousand votes the other way and we’d be seeing headlines and comments like “massive vote backlash!!!!”.
Instead, we see “meh.”
I think it has to do with the fact these races are (in comparison to Dade and Palm Beach) massively underfunded by the candidates so the reach of “game-changing” advertising is just not there, especially given what you say about targeted advertising to a small (and shrinking) base of “super voters.”
I’m not sure there’s any data analysis somebody like me or others could do with the precinct-level data to really make a statement one way or the other. Good polling might be helpful, but I am not aware of any.
Kevin.
August 30th, 2014 at 1:02 am
McLawrence was stupid (politically) in flagrant (1) omission of Union Bug on his literature – disregarding polite personal reminders of this no-no among us “liberal-progressives” who don’t know better (leads to wonder if it is an anti-labor union attitude) and (2) over-using his oponent’s DUI incident. Also – the systme which prohibits judges from saying anything substantive or meaningful about judicial subjects (mandatory minimum sentences, death penalty, economics, race, etc.) places all candidates in the same boat as liking children and being kind to animals, unlike the rigors of examination undergone by candidates for the U.S. Supreme Court.
August 30th, 2014 at 6:57 am
The fact is that McLawrence and Kasen both ran amateurish piss poor campaigns and McLawrence supporters didn’t play up Rosenthal’s political leanings (he couldn’t). I agree, names played a role and it is difficult to get a judicial candidate’s message across in Broward.
Judicial elections are a sad state of affairs and I would like to have a discussion with Buddy over lunch before the next one.
August 30th, 2014 at 7:30 am
Hey Kasen….As Smokey said in the movie Friday, “You Got Knocked the Fugg Out!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yK4lxBarpE&sns=em
August 30th, 2014 at 8:25 am
Kasen lost because he is unelectable. The more people met him, they more they realized he is an ass. He touted his phony “qualifications” and arrogantly dismissed his opponents. In the end, he was just a pathetic pawn for Lori Parrish, her husband Geoffrey Cohen, and their soldiers Dutko and Bogenshutz. If the jokers really wanted him to win, why did they stick him with the loser campaign manager Alain Jean? Getting the Hamas endorsement really helped also! He “concession” statement above just goes to show how bad a personality he really has and how lucky the people of Broward are not to have Kasen sitting in judgment of others.
August 30th, 2014 at 8:34 am
After that statement, Kasen should go practice in another town. He has cooked himself in this Courthouse. No future appointments or elections are in his future. You cannot win over the people when you openly call them stupid and uninformed in your supposed “concession” speach. Why don’t you go back to work at the PD’s office? Oh yea, you burned your bridges with Howard and Ilona Holmes by going against their wishes and running against one of 4 incumbent black judges. Kasen is f**ed in the Broward Courthouse. Go to Palm Beach!
August 30th, 2014 at 9:55 am
I disagree with two parts of this analysis:
1. The party machine and allies (including DWS, groups like Equality Florida, etc.) circled the wagons for Charlie from the start. They did everything they could to ensure Nan would receive minimum exposure for her campaign. No debates with Charlie. Every big party fundraiser was with Charlie. This was not a measure of how progressives would perform in a Florida election. If Nan had a similar amount of money, the primary outcome could have been rather different. And don’t think progressives cannot win in Florida statewide: Obama won Florida … twice.
2. “Female trumps male” just isn’t true. It is myth, albeit an oft repeated one. Go back to the primaries of several past cycles and do the male v female analysis. Your theory doesn’t hold up (Charlotte Rodstrom’s August 2012 primary is just one example).
FROM BUDDY:
In answer to (1): You are right about the main stream Democrats circling the wagons for Charlie Crist, but there is a reason for that: They want to win. They knew it was impossible to win with Nan Rich. Impossible. To. Win.
A mainstream Democrat very rarely wins statewide office. In my opinion, a Progressive would do worse because they appeal to a sliver of even the Democrats.
In answer to (2): I specifically wrote that my female trumps male rule applies to judicial races. Charlotte Rodstrom didn’t run for judge.
August 30th, 2014 at 10:01 am
Sounds like this Kasen guy really made a stupid decision. Who is Illona? Do you mean Judge Ilona Holmes. The woman and political force who single handedly took out Al Lamberti? Maybe Holmes told Kasen to take a pass on this election when she got wind of him being used as Parrish’s bitch and he thought otherwise. Bad move!
August 30th, 2014 at 10:12 am
“Smoked like a pack of Marlboros”? Oh boy. Who talks like this?
August 30th, 2014 at 10:19 am
We were at a political event on sistruck Mt Herman. Kasen along with the other candidates had to go to different tables and speak with voters. When he got to my table he was rude, arroganant etc. He is so disrepectful
to me and others at my table. Others near by over heard him and when it was time to move to the next table. They asked him not to come to their table. When it came time to speak he was not well received. However when Judge Ian Richards spoke he got the loudest applauds. Even Ann Murray was a darling to chat with at the event. I didn’t know about the use of the N word until after doing some research.
August 30th, 2014 at 12:14 pm
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-11-02/news/fl-aocol-oped1102-20121102_1_budget-deficit-george-w-bush-republicans
…The belief that Republicans are more fiscally conservative than Democrats is an old one. It’s so deeply ingrained in the American myth that it’s hard to know where it started. But it’s completely, factually, undeniably wrong — and has been so for awhile.
In their book Presimetrics: What the Facts Tell Us About How the Presidents Measure Up On the Issues We Care About, economist Mike Kimel and journalist Michael E. Kanell calculate the change in government spending under every president from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush.
They found that government spending, relative to the size of the economy, increased much faster under Republican administrations than under Democratic ones. George W. Bush presided over a greater increase in government spending than any president since Lyndon Johnson, and George H.W. Bush wasn’t far behind. Bill Clinton, in contrast, was the only president since Eisenhower to actually reduce government spending. Even Reagan didn’t do that.
…Kimel and Kanell also report how the budget deficit fared under each president. Here’s where the “fiscal responsibility” myth really falls apart: The Republicans increased the deficit, while the Democrats reduced it!
The least “fiscally responsible” administrations were Bush Jr., Bush Sr., Ford, and Nixon. The most deficit reduction came under Clinton and — believe it or not — Jimmy Carter.
In fact, the only presidents in this group who added to our national debt burden were Reagan and the two Bush’s. Everyone else presided over a decline in government debt, relative to the size of the economy.
For goodness sake, they said so straight to your face.
“I am not worried about the deficit,” said Reagan. “It is big enough to take care of itself.”
“Deficits don’t matter,” said Dick Cheney.
…On Jan. 7, 2009, two weeks before Obama was sworn into office, the Congressional Budget Office reported that George W. Bush was bequeathing a budget deficit of $1.2 trillion. This year, the deficit is $1.3 trillion.
In other words, 92 percent of the deficit that everyone blames on Obama was actually inherited from his predecessor.
Here are the facts: In Reagan’s first term, government spending grew 8.7 percent per year. In his second term, it grew 4.9 percent per year. Under Bush Sr., 5.4 percent per year. Under Clinton’s two terms, 3.2 percent and 3.9 percent. Under Bush Jr., 7.3 percent and 8.1 percent.
Got all those numbers? Okay. Brace yourself. Under Obama: 1.4 percent.
…Anthony W. Orlando is a resident of southern Florida, a graduate of the Wharton School of Business and the London School of Economics. He runs a blog at http://www.anthonyworlando.com.
August 30th, 2014 at 12:27 pm
Annual Incomes Grow For All Under Democratic Administrations, While The Rich Leave The Rest Behind Under Republican Administrations (click to see the chart!)
http://www.dpc.senate.gov/docs/fs-111-1-139_files/image003-large.pdf
August 30th, 2014 at 12:45 pm
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/07/1275771/-Obama-v-Reagan-Fun-comparison-I-did-to-piss-off-a-wingnut-on-Reagan-s-B-day#
REAGAN RAISED INCOME TAXES 11 TIMES, OBAMA NEVER
OBAMA:
In fact, wound up being the largest tax-cutter in presidential history cutting $654 billion in 2011 and 2012 alone. He was in favor of letting the Bush tax cuts EXPIRE for the super wealthy, (which no, is not the same as a tax hike), but even that didn’t come to pass. Romney in 2012 even admitted Obama didn’t raise taxes.
Obama has consistently CUT taxes, not raised them.
REAGAN:
He … raised income taxes in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.
Actually, he raised taxes 11 times to include four MASSIVE tax increases!
August 30th, 2014 at 1:47 pm
Rick Stark won because he had the support of politicians in Pembroke Pines who he lied about what he would do if elected to get their support. He is a liar and a do nothing.
He was re-elected because nobody ran against him. That may change.
Apart from being a liar, and only interested in things that would help his insurance business, Rick Stark has done nothing in the two years he’s been elected. This has been very much noticed.
Rick Stark is an example of how to get elected under false pretense. He is not an example for any other point needing to be proved.
August 30th, 2014 at 3:24 pm
Another lesson the primary is, as you noted before, that Dale Holness may be in big career trouble himself. He ran around trying to get rid of people he disliked this year (like Barbara Sharief, who kicked Dale’s butt!) ….. and now Dale is out there already again trying to recruit candidates for 2016. Dale better wake up and get his own house in order before he starts meddling in other people’s races …… because Perry Thurston is going to run against Dale and all those people Dale has picked fights with are going to make sure Perry beats him in 2016. Enjoy your final two years in office, Dale!!
August 30th, 2014 at 4:40 pm
@1 – Buddy Nevins wrote: “There is no way to get around the fact that Progressive trend to believe that taxes and government spending are too low. You might not want to admit it, but its true. As soon as Obama was re-elected didn’t he raise the income tax rate on higher income individuals.”
As clearly shown above in posts 20-22, Buddy’s claims in this paragraph are entirely and provably false.
Going by actions rather than words, the reality is that Republicans tend to think that both government spending and federal deficits are too low.
Progressives are fiscally responsible. The record clearly proves it. Anyone interested in fiscally responsible government should vote strongly for progressive candidates.
August 30th, 2014 at 5:10 pm
Vote for Richards
AUGUST 30, 2014 AT 5:06 PM
Kasen was picked to takeout Judge Ian Richards. They realized that the black vote might be a factor due to going against one the few black judges on the bench. So they recruited Cluadia Robinson to steal the black vote.
Kasen started campaigning about two years ago telling everyone that he is the airapairant. He is so brash a kinder word that he pissed off Robinson and she actually campaigned and took his votes thus pushing him out. This was known by this blog and other higher ups. Now the blog is saying they like Richards and Robinson.
August 30th, 2014 at 6:48 pm
So McLawrence can use her arrest photos and mug shot with impunity, but if her supporters use his mug shot, it’s racist? That doesn’t make sense. This is not the Sun Sentinel.
August 30th, 2014 at 10:22 pm
Why doesn’t “concerned citizen” who claims participation in the ECOs identify him/herself?
August 31st, 2014 at 1:13 pm
“Progressives look to the future not the past.”
Seth, your whole rant reminds me of when Khrushchev lectured Kennedy about the scientific facts of the inevitable triumph of world communism at the Vienna summit in ’62.
The simple fact of the matter is that “progressives” are essentially the Tea Party of the left.
August 31st, 2014 at 1:21 pm
@ha ha ha
Obama not only raised taxes in the ACA, but he raised general income tax too. The tax on tanning and the tax on cigarettes to pay for CHIP are two off the top of my head. You can’t call the cigarette tax a “user fee” because it doesn’t benefit the user. User fees are like park entry fees or the tax on guns to fund wildlife.
Essentially, you’re full of crap.
August 31st, 2014 at 1:42 pm
Hahahahahahahaha:
Just cherry-pick’n the facts.
I am glad you believe them. Frankly, I am a bit concerned based on your chronic blogging. Geeesh.
Can you get a life? Perhaps a wife?
In regard to your above blather:
“There are three types of lies: lies; damn lies; and statistics”
Winston Churchill
Finally, Messr. Ahearn should autograph his above post (“Observer” #2. above).
August 31st, 2014 at 4:25 pm
Mr Seven Oaks,
I am not Mike Ahearn just someone who pays close attention to political races.
Mike went 2 for 3 in the primary… Not bad.
I didn’t know Claudia Robinson before but saw her out and about, EVERYWHERE!
That’s good grass roots campaigning.
August 31st, 2014 at 7:19 pm
@30 – The IRS collects a penalty on those who fail to comply with the law which requires health insurance. For law-abiding citizens there is no penalty, so that’s not an income tax increase (which would be paid by everyone). The tax on cigarettes is an excise tax – not an income tax – and it is designed to reduce unhealthy behavior which drives up health care costs while also funding children’s health care. The tax on businesses operating tanning beds isn’t an income tax either, and it is also designed to reduce unhealthy behavior which drives up health care costs while also funding health care.
All of these provisions benefit the user’s personal and economic health by disincentivizing unhealthy behavior. Example: people who have proper health care receive vaccinations, and universal vaccination effectively prevents the transmission of expensive illnesses. And cancer and other diseases related to the abuse of tobacco and tanning booths are painful for the person with the disease and expensive for the taxpayer – reducing these costs benefits everyone.
August 31st, 2014 at 7:34 pm
@27 – The McLawrence mugshot was from 1996 (when he was in college) and it does not relate to his behavior as a practicing attorney or judge. The Rosenthal mugshot is from 2014 and does relate to her (mis)behavior as a judge. The Judicial Qualifications Commission will soon deal with Rosenthal accordingly.
August 31st, 2014 at 7:40 pm
On the school board races, there was only one race that was close or rather one incumbent who was in trouble…Ann Murray. The rest of the incumbents won by a large margin especially Nora Rupert.
September 1st, 2014 at 12:10 am
The progressives and the tea party are the same. Far left and far right both meet at somewhere called CRAZY.
September 1st, 2014 at 5:50 pm
Mr. Observer you just happened to see Ms. Robinson out and about and you just happen to know Ahearn’s current track record AND you are NOT Ahearn AND you keep posting just like Ahearn and you are definately NOT Ahearn. ROFLMAO!
September 2nd, 2014 at 12:06 am
Progressives are not the “far left,” Westside. Progressives want progress that’s actually legislated. Liberals simply want societal freedoms.
The far left, however, is really another breed. They want ideological purity, and they don’t wanna wait for no lousy elections for it, neither.
Where the far left and the far right meet is that they both essentially do not like, want or have the patience for democracy.
September 2nd, 2014 at 10:07 am
Markoff saying progressives are not far left is like Chip LaMarca saying the Tea Party isn’t far right. Just because they’re not far left or right from where you stand does not make them mainstream.
What you define as “far left” is essentially true communists, and what you are calling far right is essentially real neo-Nazis.
By your definition, all those Tea Party Patriots who waive flags on Oakland and US 1 are mainstream!
September 2nd, 2014 at 10:53 pm
No, don’t agree, Chris Rock. Progressives are not a movement and not a contingent and not a faction. Progressives are the opposite of conservatives. They used to be called “liberals,” but that had had been a word that had not only been fixed to only one party. Even Prescott Bush had left Congress saying that political leaders should, “Be liberal,” and he hadn’t been referring to Democrats. The word then became a tool of right-wing propaganda.
With the so-called conservatives becoming so willing to roll the dice on economic policies that can and have left Americans broke and the middle class decimated, those kinds of “conservatives” could well be called “liberal.
Progressive is a more apt term to describe people whose main focus is on government and policy. Progressives simply want progress for the nation. Conservatives want to conserve power and privilege for a few.
The far left are not communist. They often want good policy but they don’t want to have to win over votes for it from the general electorate. The far left would too often prefer to feel superior with their ideological beliefs instead of actually winning.
September 3rd, 2014 at 2:53 pm
Andrew Jerko, I mean Markoff, you need to go take a poli sci 101 course. Extreme left IS communism or complete control and extreme right is complete freedom or chaos. We cannot live with complete freedom and must give up a little in order to live in a modern society.
Once there were progressives, early 20th century, but that term lost its welcome so they started calling themselves liberals. When everyone caught on to the bankrupt ethics of liberalism, they re-adopted the term progressive.
“Political tags – such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth – are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.”
Robert A. Heinlein
Which are you Andrew?
September 3rd, 2014 at 7:39 pm
I do not understand why locals here in Broward or in S. FL feel compelled to insult others and call people names as if we’re in junior high school, let alone why people hide behind pseudonyms on this site and other sites that focus on our local community.
September 3rd, 2014 at 10:23 pm
From Merriam-Webster:
progressive (noun): a person who favors new or modern ideas especially in politics and education; one believing in moderate political change and especially social improvement by governmental action.
From “British Politics For Dummies”:
Liberalism: The belief in protecting the rights of individual, so as to ensure their maximum freedom. There have been shifts in liberal thought, the most prominent of which was the move from classical liberalism (minimal role of state, unsecured liberties) to progressive liberalism in early twentieth century. Progressive liberals argued that civil liberties and freedoms must be safeguarded and actively protected by state.
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/quick-definitions-of-political-ideologies-the-isms.html
September 5th, 2014 at 1:38 pm
Ha Ha you are a joke.
fact the KKK was started and run by the DNC
Fact the Planned parenthood was started by a dnc lady whose sole reason for starting the operation was to prevent black births….as to the fool who said progressives and tea party are the same rewally you need to stop smoking that medical marijuna….People are lazy. I worked the election and in my 2 precents over 5800 registered voters exist 120 bothered to vote. Because we were put at a community pool many voters 27 that I personally counted felt going to the pool was way more important than to vote. I even said I would watch there kids while they voted all said no they had to go to the pool…Republicans dont pat yourself on the back either your 2 candidates to run against Debbie scored a total of 7 votes….7 friggin votes GOP you should hang your head in shame……
September 5th, 2014 at 10:29 pm
There never was any connectiom between the democratic national committee n even a little knowledge of history would inform you while the state not national democratic committees in fhe states of the Confederacy that had rural white dominatiom from after world war ll had clan imfluence the clan in southerm illimois ohio pennsylvania even southerm new jersey was tied to county republican committees also in rural parts of wisconsin n michigan
September 7th, 2014 at 9:27 pm
The klan was everywhere and many people were openly racist on both sides of the isle, north and south.
Lets not obscure the main point, which is that twisting a 18th century definition of liberalism to fit your politics is a farce. At least markoff was open in his admission that progressives want to control your life.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:43 pm
Where did I say that “progressives want to control your life”??