Let's Turn the Sunshine State Blue....cross posted from kos

[trillian]

Fighting Dem Spotlight on the Florida Primary - Jack Chagnon (FL-07) Live Blogging at dkos NOW
by Veterans for a Secure America
Sun Sep 03, 2006 at 12:05:51 PM PDT

Let's Turn the Sunshine State Blue!

Florida counts. It counts because votes there have been miscounted and discounted but not recounted. We have challengers in the field now where no challengers have previously dared to go. And they are building the Democratic Party in many districts from the ground up. If we are to prevent a repeat of the 2000 debacle, we need Dems in every position in the counties and districts of Florida. We have a great opportunity now with the 8 Fighting Dems running in 7 districts (to vets oppose each other in one district) in a state with more than its portion of vets and active duty personnel.

The primary is just two days away, Tuesday, September 5th, 2006. Mark the day. It is true that not all the candidates are opposed in the primary, but the primaries are important for all candidates as it measures the interest in the candidate by the proportion of voters who turn out, it increases name recognition, and it provides lists of probable General Election voters for future outreach.

Today Jack Chagnon of the Band of Brothers will be blogging for all the FDs in the race. He will not only represent the other Florida vets in the race here in Florida, but also the issues that are involved there. He will also try to reflect veterans' perspective on the other issues that affect voters in general.

CANDIDATE PROFILES Sorry no pics. Suddenly one has to download from approved locations.

1. Joe Roberts (FL-01) - Unopposed

Joe served as a Marine in Vietnam, retiring from the Air Force Reserve (a C-130 Crew Chief) in 2005 after serving on active duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In his 25 years of service, Joe served in the Army and Air National Guard, and participated in military operations in Central and South America as well as Bosnia and Eastern Europe.

For many years, Joe has worked as a carpenter (a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners). His military training in the field of Aerospace Maintenance led him to work at Fort Rucker, Alabama (a member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers). Joe Roberts is a native Pensacolian, graduating from University of West Florida. His wife, Sharon McMurrain Roberts is employed by the State of Florida as an Official Court Reporter. Joe and Sharon have two daughters, Leala and Lindsey. Joe will run against 6th term GOP incumbent Jeff Miller. He is building Dem support in this "red" district from the ground up.
Website :: Donate

2, Rick Penberthy (FL-05) - Opposed

Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, light weapons infantry during the Vietnam era in Korea at Panmunjon with the Eighth Army United Nations Command and also on the DMZ with the 2nd Infantry Division. Later joined the US Naval Reserve. He served stateside in The First Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. After discharge, Rick was in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Award winning teacher with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Social Science, a second B.A. in International Studies, and a Masters in Political Science from the University of South Florida. Rick and Doreen Penberthy live on a 5-acre ranch in Wesley Chapel. They have 4 children, Brittany, Brett, Corttney, and Colette. Rick Penberthy is a life-long Democrat. Rick faces a couple of Democrat challengers in the primary on the 9th of September. The nominee will face Virginia "Ginny" Brown-Waite, the 2nd term GOP incumbent. Rick has been endorsed by the National Education Association, AFL-CIO, SecureUS, The Lakeland Ledger, Hernando Today, St. Petersburg Times, and Democracy for America.
Website :: Donate

3. Dave Bruderly (FL-06) - Unopposed

U. S. Naval Reserve officer who served during the Vietnam-era. He began his career as a cadet-midshipman on ocean-going break bulk cargo ships, a container ship and the flagship of the US fleet, the passenger liner SS United States. Winning his USCG licenses as 3rd Mate, he served on three civilian oceanographic research vessels and a research submarine on a destroyer, a destroyer escort, and ashore at the Naval Undersea Center, San Diego.

Dave received a B.A. in Marine Engineering & Transportation from the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy and an M.S. in Engineering from Columbia University in 1971. Dave has been an environmental engineering consultant for 32 years. He is currently the President of the Clean Power Engineering Company and is active in many environmental projects and organizations. He has 2 children, David and Heidi, and 3 grandchildren. Dave was the '02 and '04 Democratic nominee. He is unopposed in the primary and will face Cliff Stearns, the 9th term GOP incumbent.
Website :: Donate

4. Jack Chagnon (FL-07) - Unopposed

U.S. Marine Corps. Jack is a former Marine who served his country in Vietnam. He actually received two different discharges, one from the Marine Corps and one from the Navy and also served four more years in the reserves. He says, "Trust a Marine, Vote for a Vet!"

B.A. Miami of Florida; M.A. University of Virginia. Jack has been a high school economics teacher and also spent over a decade managing businesses in the private sector. His lifetime of service includes teaching in Washington D.C. inner -city schools, volunteer in Habitat for Humanity, president of Informed Citizens of Palm Coast, Marine Corps League Det. 876, American Legion Post 115, and Knights of Columbus. Jack lives in St. Augustine with his two golden retrievers, Ben and Jeri. Jack is unopposed in the Dem primary and will face John Mica, 7th term GOP incumbent in the General Electio
Website :: Donate

5. Al Fox (FL-11) - Opposed
Al served in U.S. Army Reserve (450th Civil Affairs Unit) from 1966-1972.

Al moved to Washington, DC where he began his career as an entry level staff assistant for former US Senator George Smathers. While working full-time in the US Senate, Al enrolled at the University of Maryland and graduated three years later with a bachelors degree in political science
Al's extensive and diverse 40 year career in and around the US Congress includes serving as a senior staff assistant in both the US House and US Senate, founding a non-profit organization, and starting a successful small business with his wife, Anne

DC Political Report gives this four stars for a competitive race. The Dem nominee will face Eddie Adams, Jr. The seat was vacated by 5th term GOP incumbent Jim Davis who is running for Governor.
Website :: Donate

6. Bob Bowman (FL-15) - Opposed

LtCol, U.S. Air Force. Flew 101 combat missions in Vietnam and directed all the "Star Wars" programs under Presidents Ford and Carter. He is the recipient of the Eisenhower Medal, the George F. Kennan Peace Prize, the President's Medal of Veterans for Peace, the Society of Military Engineers' ROTC Award of Merit (twice), six Air Medals, and dozens of other awards and honors.

Ph.D. is in Aeronautics and Nuclear Engineering from Caltech. President of the Institute for Space and Security Studies, Executive Vice President of Millennium III Corporation, and retired Presiding Archbishop of the United Catholic Church. He is one of the country's foremost experts on National Security. Dr. Bob was an independent candidate for President of the US in 2000, beating Pat Buchanan in Iowa, Illinois, and California. Faces disabled vet John M. Kennedy in the primary. The winner will take on 6th term GOP incumbent David Weldon in the GE.
Website :: Donate

7. John M. Kennedy (FL-15) - Opposed

Retired Officer and Disabled Veteran, having worked for the National Bureau of Standards, U.S. Air Force, NASA, and the Department of Defense.

John "Mick" Kennedy is a physicist with extensive experience with NASA and the Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars") program. One of two candidates in the Democratic 15th Congressional District primary. The Dem nominee will face 6th term GOP incumbent David Weldon.
Website :: Donate

8. Dave Patlak (FL-18) - Unopposed

Dave is Coast Guard veteran. He served with distinction as a Presidential Honor Guard and Search and Rescue Air Crewman. In 1983 he became a Commissioned Officer and his shipboard responsibilities shifted to maritime law enforcement --including a 35-ton drug bust off the coast of the Bahamas. He retired, a Chief Warrant Officer 4, in 2003, after more than 24-years active duty service, 10 of which were spent protecting the shores of South Florida.

Whether it is spearheading food drives for the hungry, building homes for the homeless, or cleaning up the coastlines and preserving sensitive eco-systems, or visiting veterans at home or in hospitals, Big Dave is a persistent community activist. Dave and his wife, Maryanne, have two children, five grandchildren and mentored a high-school student from Little Haiti. Dave is unopposed in the primary and will face 9th term GOP incumbent Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
Website :: Donate

[MissWaverly]

1. Bob Bowman was on the 9-11 panel on C-Span

That's him, help him if you can, he's for finding out the truth!

[Greeby]

9. (VIDEO) Bob's keynote speech

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6347432752334298937&q=Bob+Bowman

He lays out the whole big picture over the course of 50 minutes, as well as the most detailed, progressive platform I've heard from any Democrat (except maybe Kucinich).

If he doesn't win the primary on Tuesday, then there is no hope

[MissWaverly]

11. Good luck to him, he impressed me

he's a doer

[NOLADEM]

2. question

Why would one donate to someone running unopposed?

I am sure they have enough cash on hand for their 'victory' party. Shouldn't we focus on donating to those actually RUNNING for something.

I ran unopposed one semester to retain my Seat on Student Council in College. Didn't cost a dime.

And what's the concern about turning Florida blue? Even if they vote Repube, global warming will turn the state blue soon enough.

:hide:

I KEED, I KEED.

[Orangepeel]

3. they are unopposed in the primary. the seats have R incumbants

:-)

[NOLADEM]

4. Thanks...Didn't know that.

I guess these races are next year, or 08?

[Orangepeel]

6. this year. Florida's primary is this Tuesday

then, of course, the election is in Nov.

[NOLADEM]

7. Wow, that is quick

Aren't primaries usually further out than that?

Does this benefit the incumbent since the candidate winning the primary doesn't have much time to confront the incumbent?

Thanks for the information.

[Orangepeel]

8. Aren't primaries usually further out than that?

I dunno. I do know that Florida used to have a primary runoff if no one candidate got 50% + 1, but they changed that in 2002. The story was that it was to save money, but the conventional wisdom was that it was to benefit Jeb, who was running for a second term (he's term limited so he's not running again).

By the way, welcome to DU, NOLA! :hi:

[madfloridian]

5. At the very least mention John Russell's name.

He is the Dem in the primary against Penberthy. He deserves a mention. I hate it when they leave names off like that.

It is rude to pretend the other candidate does not exist.

[Greeby]

10. Although as hes not a veteran he obviously doesn't make the list

Can't mention Florida without mentioning election fraud whistleblower Clint Curtis. He's running against Tom Feeney, the very man who approached Curtis to write a vote-rigging program (Curtis did so in the mistaken belief that the intent was to detect any election fraud)

http://www.clintcurtis.com/

Edit - btw, it says a lot that not one of the FL Democratic incumbents in the House are being challenged by a Repuke
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G06/FL.phtml