Charles P. Pierce: Nat'l Democrats - Wrong. Very wrong. Incredibly wrong. Spectacularly wrong.

[madfloridian]

29. Debbie W. insulted Dem candidate (against Adam Putnam). Refused to support him. 2008

The lack of support by the Florida party for progressives goes back a long way. We were supporting this guy against Adam "Opie" Putnam, and we mistakenly assumed Florida Democrats would also. But they didn't. Doug Tudor would have been a good thing for Florida Democrats, yet they shut him out.

Wasserman Schultz insults FL Dem candidate...says "don't pull that populist stuff on me."

In the words of a very capable Democratic candidate with a lot of support from the people....

One of the most satisfying aspects of my time in Denver was being able to see Democrats uniting together to help other Democrats. I received financial support from Congressman John Salazar (D-CO), Congressman Phil Hare (D-IL), future Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO), as well as from convention attendees from Washington, Montana, North Carolina, and Florida. What I have not been able to do is to get Democrats from Florida’s congressional caucus to risk offending their good friend, Adam Putnam, by contributing from their personal wealth or campaign accounts, or by endorsing me.

I, of course, was most anxious to meet and speak with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (DINO-FL), who is chairing the DCCC’s Red-to-Blue program. I just knew that she would welcome the chance to defeat Adam Putnam, as that would allow her lay sole claim to the title of “Wonder Kid” in Florida’s politics. Adam, after all, isn’t her next door neighbor. Once she comes onboard, I assumed, the other members of the caucus would lose their timidity and also support me. I was dead wrong, and I should have known better.

It is well known that Wasserman-Schultz supports Republicans Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen over their Democratic opponents, although lately she has been pressured into giving belated and grudging support to Joe Garcia and Raul Martinez who are opposing the Diaz-Balarts. I always figured that she was just afraid of the Hispanic backlash in her own district. What I hadn’t considered is that she is just afraid of all incumbent Republicans in Florida. When I met her in Denver, she immediately told me that she couldn’t support me, saying I hadn’t raised enough money. I told her that I had raised $100K, that I was a military retiree, that my family is living on my wife’s Air Force E6 pay, and that I wasn’t able like other “viable” candidates to drop a quarter of a million dollars into my own campaign. I then told her, “Congresswoman, I am one of those working-class guys that our party claims to represent.” Her response was “Don’t pull that populist stuff with me.” I thanked her for her time.

Don't pull that populist stuff on her? Now that is just sad.

It wasn't just Doug, and it wasn't just Debbie W. who refused to support Democrats.

Two Florida Democratic congress folks prefer their Republican incumbents to their own party.

This time around, Wasserman Schultz and Meek say their relationships with the Republican incumbents, Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and his brother Mario, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, leave them little choice but to sit out the three races.

''At the end of the day, we need a member who isn't going to pull any punches, who isn't going to be hesitant,'' Wasserman Schultz said.

The decision comes as Democrats believe they have their best shot in years to defeat at least one of the Cuban-American incumbents with a roster of Democrats that include former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez, opposing Lincoln Diaz-Balart; outgoing Miami-Dade Democratic party chair Joe Garcia, opposing Mario Diaz-Balart; and businesswoman Annette Taddeo, opposing Ros-Lehtinen.

But Wasserman Schultz and Meek say their ties to the three Republicans are personal as well as professional: Both served in the state Legislature with Mario Diaz-Balart and say they work in concert with all three on South Florida issues.

I sort of mentally compare this attitude in Florida through the years to the apparent lack of opposition to Chris Christie in NJ. There's a price to pay for refusing to oppose Republicans.