New Dem FL congresswoman votes with GOP 4 times 1st week. Sits with GOP at SOTU speech. [View all]

[madfloridian]

She is not from my district, nonetheless when she votes with the GOP 4 times in one week it affects all of us in the state. She said she is going to take North Florida values to DC with her. Wonder where that leaves the rest of us and our values?

North Florida is traditionally very conservative, although there are more Democrats than Republicans.

If a Democrat is going to vote with the GOP and cross the aisle to sit with them during a speech given by the president, it concerns me a lot.

I've heard all the arguments about how a Democrat in a conservative district must vote as the Republicans do. Newsflash, we have lost in a major way in 2010 and 2014 by following such a policy. It appears to be getting us nowhere.

Democrat Gwen Graham takes heat for right-leaning votes

U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham of Tallahassee, who unseated Republican Steve Southerland in November, is under fire from Democrats for votes in favor of the Keystone pipeline, to roll back Wall Street reforms and other issues, illustrating the difficulty she faces in a district with a sizable conservative base.

"I promised to bring the North Florida Way to Washington — and that means working with both parties to reach common sense solutions," Graham told the Buzz. "Now, I'm following through with that promise and focusing on creating jobs, improving education and ending the gridlock in Congress. Neither party is right 99 percent of the time, so the people of North Florida expect us to work together to get things done."

That might have been true at one time. But again here are our Democrats trying to compromise with extremists who will not give an inch. They may enjoy talking about how they love working together, but what they are doing is hurting the people.

Her moves have drawn praise, including an editorial in the News Herald of Panama City. "It seems clear that Graham is making a good faith effort to work with Republicans on the important issues of the day."

In a statement to the Buzz, Leon County Democratic state committeewoman Tabitha Frazier said: "I know that many liberal Democrats had been hoping for a party-line voter when it came to Gwen, one of the few Democratic wins in the entire country. But the majority of North Florida voters are moderate and she campaigned to victory as a moderate. Gwen's independent leadership and across-the-aisle style in Congress are exactly what she promised, and it's a refreshing change from Rep. Southerland's tea party priorities and extreme partisan ways."

Crossing the aisle to sit with David Jolly who was elected in great part by the Tea Party....I do not think she should have done that.

Gwen Graham Responds to State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON, DC – Statement from Rep. Gwen Graham on the State of the Union address:

“Bipartisanship starts with forming relationships. Tonight, I crossed the aisle to sit with my Florida colleague Representative David Jolly. The people of North Florida don’t expect Democrats and Republicans to agree on everything, but they do expect us to work together to get things done.

Good luck on that, Gwen. At least your father, though very moderate in his beliefs, put his loyalty with the Democrats....but he did stand up against them when they helped take us into a war built on lies.

Here are her first four votes.

Meet the new conservative rising star: Florida freshman "Democratic" Rep. Gwen Graham

Gwen Graham (D) won her seat in one of our rare, balanced districts of the red Northern section of Florida. Although District 2 has 16% more Democratic voters in the district than GOP, it normally leans GOP because that's how Florida voters roll.

She replaced a teabag incumbent that was so incredibly terrible, he couldn't even win in a red wave election. Steve Southerland was the guy who said that his $174,000 congressional salary "wasn't very much", that his job "didn't mean much" to him, and also justified a male-only fundraiser by saying he once went to a "lingerie shower". Really, he was that bad.

Democrats, including myself, worked hard for Gwen. She was the daughter of a popular, former Democratic governor and promised to fight for the working class. Graham won her seat.

And what has she done?

In her first week in Congress, she has voted with the GOP every single time.

She voted against ACA.
She voted for the Keystone pipeline.
She voted to gut Wall Street reform.
She voted against Nancy Pelosi as speaker.