Farewell

This blog is being closed and further updates will be featured on Florida Congress Watch. Check us out over there.

Jeff Miller Discusses Prayer in America

From the Blogs

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

Why Now?: Miller Flops On Oil

Why Now?: Miller Endorsement

Pensacola Beach Blog: Jeff Miller: 'Time for Your Business to Go Away'

Capitol Offense: Where Is Congress on the Public Option

Today, I'm joining with Democracy for America, Health Care for America Now and Open Left in supporting the Stand With Dr. Dean Campaign. The idea is to put pressure on our members of Congress to find out where they stand on health care reform and whether or not they support Dr. Howard Dean's call for a reform that includes a public option. See Dean's statement here:



Chris Bowers has suggested that we use crowdsourcing techniques to find out where everyone in Congress stands, which also helps pressure them to take the right stand. So here's the plan:

1. Contact your member of Congress via e-mail and ask them the following questions:

1--Do you support a public healthcare option as part of healthcare reform?
2--If so, do you support a public healthcare option that is available on day one?
3--Do you support a public healthcare option that is national, available everywhere, and accountable to Congress?
4--Do you support a public healthcare option that can bargain for rates from providers and big drug companies?

Don't call, do this via e-mail because we want a written response. If they are vague in answering these questions, contact them again and ask for clarification. If they don't answer you, keep contacting them (and have your friends and family contact them) until they do give you the answers.

2. Forward the responses to me at quinnelk@hotmail.com. We're going to publish an official response from as many of our members as possible so we know where everyone is. And we'll keep a track of who isn't responding so we know who to put pressure on. Similarly, once we find out who is on board and who isn't, we know who to put further pressure on down the road.

3. If you have your own blog, post the responses there, too. The more public pressure we can put on Congress, the easier we make it for them to do the right thing.

Here is the public contact info for each of our Florida members of Congress:

Rep Gus Bilirakis R FL-9 http://bilirakis.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=212&Itemid=44

Rep Allen Boyd D FL-2 http://www.house.gov/boyd/zip_authen.html

Rep Corrine Brown D FL-3 http://www.house.gov/corrinebrown/IMA/issue.shtml

Rep Virginia Brown-Waite R FL-5 https://forms.house.gov/brown-waite/IMA/issue_subscribe.htm

Rep Vern Buchanan R FL-13 http://buchanan.house.gov/contact.shtml

Rep Kathy Castor D FL-11 https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Rep Ander Crenshaw R FL-4 https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Rep Lincoln Diaz-Balart R FL-21 http://diaz-balart.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Contact

Rep Mario Diaz-Balart R FL-25 http://www.house.gov/formmariodiaz-balart/ic_zip_auth.htm

Rep Alan Grayson D FL-8 https://forms.house.gov/grayson/contact-form.shtml

Rep Alcee Hastings D FL-23 http://www.alceehastings.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=104&Itemid=

Rep Ron Klein D FL-22 klein.ron.web@flsenate.gov

Rep Suzanne Kosmas D FL-24 https://forms.house.gov/kosmas/contact-form.shtml

Rep Connie Mack R FL-14 http://mack.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactConnie.ContactForm

Sen Melquiades Martinez R FL http://martinez.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorMartinez

Rep Kendrick Meek D FL-17 http://kendrickmeek.house.gov/contact1.shtml

Rep John Mica R FL-7 http://www.house.gov/mica/messageform.shtml

Rep Jeff Miller R FL-1 http://jeffmiller.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

Sen Bill Nelson D FL http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

Rep Bill Posey R FL-15 http://posey.house.gov/Contact/

Rep Adam Putnam R FL-12 http://adamputnam.house.gov/contact.shtml

Rep Tom Rooney R FL-16 https://forms.house.gov/rooney/contact-form.shtml

Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen R FL-18 http://www.house.gov/writerep

Rep Clifford Stearns R FL-6 http://www.house.gov/writerep

Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz D FL-20 schultz.debbie.web@flsenate.gov

Rep Robert Wexler D FL-19 http://wexler.house.gov/email.shtml

Rep C. W. Bill Young R FL-10 bill.young@mail.house.gov

We'll also post the results of these at the WatchBlogs dedicated to each Republican member and at the Florida Democratic News blog.

You can also sign the petition on health care here.

I'm Kenneth Quinnell and I approve this message.

Read more on Florida politics at the Florida Progressive Coalition blog (http://flaprogressives.org) and the Florida Progressive Coalition Wiki (http://quinnell.us/sspb/wiki/).

Tell the Party of No - "Yes We Can"

From the Blogs

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

Saving Jeff Miller's Career

Miller Earmarks Money for Morris

From the Blogs

Pensacola Beach Blog: Jeff Miller: Weightless in Washington

Thank You from DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen

Fla. Dems Good on Environment, Reps Not So Much

The League of Conservation Voters released their scorecards for Congress. Can you guess what the pattern is? Of Florida Republicans, only Ileana Ros-Lehtinen does as good as any Democrat and that's only one person. Beyond that, all Democrats do way better than all Republicans. No shocker there.

Alcee Hastings (D), 92%
Ron Klein (D), 92%
Timothy Mahoney (D), 92%
Kendrick Meek (D), 92%
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), 92%
Bill Nelson (D), 91%
F. Allen Boyd (D), 85%
Corrine Brown (D), 85%
Kathy Castor (D), 85%
Robert Wexler (D), 69%
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), 69%
Vern Buchanan (R), 62%
Gus Bilirakis (R), 38%
Ginny Brown-Waite (R), 38%
Mario Diaz-Balart (R), 38%
C.W. Bill Young (R), 38%
Mel Martinez (R), 36%
Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R), 31%
Ander Crenshaw (R), 15%
Ric Keller (R), 15%
Connie Mack (R), 8%
John Mica (R), 8%
Adam Putnam (R), 8%
Dave Weldon (R), 8%
Tom Feeney (R), 0%
Jeff Miller (R), 0%
Cliff Stearns (R), 0%

Wait... One More Thing I Expect

In addition to Congressmen having ethics and morals, I expect that all 171 of those members who voted against the largest corporate welfare program in history (H.R. 1424) will be standing up and speaking out, constantly, to ensure that the bill's oversight provisions are fully implemented, managed, and, well, overseen by Congress.


I am not satisifed that two committees, the "Financial Stability Oversight Board" and a congressional oversight panel, are enough! I want weekly updates read to the entire Congress from the floor of the House and Senate. Wilma Pelosi and Barney Rubble weren't overseeing things well enough before we needed the bailout-- I certainly don't trust a select group of their appointees to do any better.

Congressman Miller, your constituents will expect you to be a leading voice in this oversight excercise.

Maybe 16th Cong District Needs a Lawyer to Clean Up the Mess!

Seems, the beleagured FL 16th US Congressional District needs some help!! Between Mark Foley and Tim Mahoney, that seat is more of a burlesque show than a good representative of the folks in the district. And, I am disappointed. I had hopes for Mahoney.

The 16th District covers most of Charlotte County, Glades County, Highlands County, most of Martin County, Okeechobee County, and most of St Lucie County. In Charlotte County, Punta Gorda is in it; in Hendry County, La Belle; Martin County, part of Indiantown and Port Salerno Hobe Sound; Palm Beach County, most of Royal Palm Beach West Jupiter; St Lucie County, Port St Lucie and part of West St Lucie; and in Palm Beach County, most of Wellington Village. Surely all those citizens are fed up with the sexual trysts of their representatives.

It is alleged that Representative Tim Mahoney, moderate Democrat, who has missed 41% of the votes in Congress, married, with one child, paid a former campaign staffer/mistress $121,000 to keep her quiet about their illicit affair and then called for a House Ethics Committee investigation into his own conduct. (I knew that committee would be useful!) According to ABC News' website, Mahoney agreed to pay Patricia Allen to resign amicably from her position with his staff and tried to get her a job at an advertising firm. ABC got all the scoop through recorded telephone calls between Mahoney and Allen.

All that, after Mahoney ran his 2006 campaign on a promise to return morals to Washington! Mahoney won the 16th Distict seat after Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Foley resigned when it was revealed he sent lurid Internet messages to male teenage pages who had worked on Capitol Hill. BTW-Foley was recently cleared of criminal wrongdoing by state and federal authorities because the authorities said they couldn't prove it was Foley. Makes me wonder if they asked the teens!

Mahoney, the "Man in the Middle," may just be unseated this go around though. The new challenger, Tom Rooney, moderate Republican, former Army officer and attorney, whose family owns the Pittsburgh Steelers, has a well funded campaign and friends at least at the Florida Governor's mansion. He is disliked by some Republicans because he is a "liberal" and equally disliked by Democrats for being of the upper financial echelon. To me, so long as he promises to and then actually goes to Washington to vote and do his job, and knows better than to do the dirty deeds over recorded telephone line or in emails, he is better than the past two choices.

Politics are bad enough as it is, the last thing the American public needs is more congressmen hanging their personals in the wind to airdry. John Edwards was the worse disappointment of my political awareness. Guys, keep the rascals wrapped and do your job. That's all I expect.

From the Blogs

Pensacola Beach Blog: Jeff Miller Smack-Down

Republicans Don't Support Troops As Well As Dems

Check out the latest scorecards from Disabled American Veterans and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America...

DAV:

Bill Nelson, 100
Allen Boyd, 100
Corrine Brown, 100
Kendrick Meek, 100
Robert Wexler, 100
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, 100
Alcee Hastings, 100

Mel Martinez, 60
Jeff Miller, 66
Ander Crenshaw, 66
Ginny Brown-Waite, 66
Cliff Stearns, 66
John Mica, 66
Ric Keller, 50
C.W. Bill Young, 66
Adam Putnam, 66
Connie Mack, 66
David Weldon, 66
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, 66
Lincoln Diaz-Balart, 66
Tom Feeney, 66
Mario Diaz-Balart, 66

Notice a pattern here? All of the Dems have 100%, while none of the Republicans has anything better than a mid-range "D." So much for supporting disabled troops.

IAVA:

Bill Nelson, A+
Allen Boyd, A
Corrine Brown, A
Kathy Castor, A
Timothy Mahoney, A
Kendrick Meek, B
Robert Wexler, A
D. Wasserman Schultz, A+
Ron Klein, A+
Alcee Hastings, A

Mel Martinez, B
Jeff Miller, B
Ander Crenshaw, B
G. Brown-Waite, B
Cliff Stearns, B
John Mica, B
Ric Keller, A
Gus Bilirakis, A
C.W. Bill Young, B
Adam Putnam, C
Vern Buchanan, B
Connie Mack, B
Dave Weldon, C
I. Ros-Lehtinen, A
L. Diaz-Balart, B
Tom Feeney, B
M. Diaz-Balart, B

Republicans do a little better on this one, with Keller, Bilirakis and Ros-Lehtinen all getting an "A." Dems still do better, Meek has the lowest grade on our side of the aisle, and he still has a "B." The only "A+" grades amongst Florida's delegation are Dems and the only grades below "B" are all Republicans. Again, which party actually supports the troops?

From the Blogs

over the cliff, onto the rocks: Because anybody who is NOT Jeff Miller needs to be heard

Pensacola Beach Blog: Jeff Miller: "Drill, Baby, Drill" on Pensacola Beach

Miller Broke?

Open Secrets. com reports that Congressman Miller is WAY behind in fundraising this election cycle! Seems that, as of June 30, he has only raised $245,030 in contributions. The average Republican congress-type has raised over $1 million. Seems also that Mr. Miller has spent $286,790-- a bit of a deficit perhaps? No, no, wait, there's some change in the bank: Cash on Hand: $64,122, with no debts.

Odd expenditure:
Okaloosa County Republican Exec Committee: $1200 (isn't the committee supposed to be contributing to him?)

Any news lately from Miller?
No stories found for Jeff Miller.

Let's see what he reported about that boondoggle to Okie-Dokie County with V-P Cheney back a few months..... h-m-m-m-m.... nothing there for the rental of the FWB Fairgrounds, the use of sheriff's deputies and police officers, travel to the area......