Florida Democrats form new caucus - try to reclaim moderate voters (RATS are in HUGE trouble)

Tallahassee.com ^ | 4/23/04 | Bill Cotterell

[Libloather]

Democrats form new caucus
Aim is to reclaim moderate voters
By Bill Cotterell
DEMOCRAT POLITICAL EDITOR
Posted on Fri, Apr. 23, 2004

A dozen Democrats in the House and six from the Senate - weary of seeing Republicans capture the flag on popular issues of faith, family and patriotism - formed a "mainstream caucus" Thursday to fight back.

"There have been constant efforts in this legislative session to portray the Democrats as tax-and-spend liberals who want big government," said Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, the vice chairman of the group. "We believe in government, but we believe in efficient government - I don't believe some of these Republicans believe in government at all."

Sen. Steve Geller, chairman of Florida Mainstream Democrats, said he recently heard Rush Limbaugh praising Gov. Jeb Bush and legislative Republicans for passing a bill that stops homeowner associations from making residents remove American flags from lawns or from balconies of condos. But he said that was his bill - and that Democrats voted with the GOP majority for it.

Ausley said she was advocating Gov. Bush's position for providing universal pre-kindergarten when some GOP members "told me, 'You Democrats won't be happy until every 4-year-old has a private tutor.'

"That's the type of thing they've been throwing at us all session," she said.

Florida Republican Party spokesman Joseph Agostini said positions advocated by the caucus sounded like things House and Senate GOP leaders have been saying for years.

"The only step they need to take is to fill out a registration card and come over to the Republican Party," said Agostini. "If they want to come off the left bank and join the mainstream, I've got switch cards right here."

Ausley and Geller, D-Hallandale, said the caucus will discuss legislation, recruit moderate candidates and try to improve the party's image.

"The Republicans have tried very hard, with some success, to portray the Democratic Party as a bunch of wild-eyed liberals - and it's not," said Geller. "A lot of Democratic voters, unfortunately, have begun to believe the propaganda."

Charter members of the caucus include Sens. Dave Aronberg of West Palm Beach, Skip Campbell of Fort Lauderdale, Al Lawson of Tallahassee, Gary Siplin of Orlando and Rod Smith of Gainesville, along with Reps. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach, Ron Greenstein of Coconut Creek, Bob Henriquez of Tampa, Charlie Justice of St. Petersburg, Will Kendrick of Carrabelle, Richard Machek of Delray Beach, Frank Peterman of St. Petersburg, Stacy Ritter of Coral Springs, Tim Ryan of Dania, Jack Seiler of Wilton Manors and Dwight Stansel of Wellborn.

[Libloather]

Universal pre-kindergarten and removing American flags from lawns are the big issues?

The RATS have lost their way - and any attempt to regain their direction makes them look that much more goofy.

Forming some new caucus just doesn't get the job done...

[Drango]

Universal pre-kindergarten and removing American flags from lawns are the big issues?

Well that and teaching voters who to punch out chads...

[South40]

[BunnySlippers]

Love that machine. :)

[Tamzee]

Thanks, one of my favorite graphics! :-)

[Tamzee]

Careful... one of your slippers is getting away...

[jslade]

Re your tagline. sKerry doesn't even know what kind of government we have. Democracy is mob rule. It's not news to FReepers, but one would expect even a moron like sKerry would know we have a CONSTITUTIONAL REPRESENTATIVE REPUBLIC.

[gitmo]

"The Republicans have tried very hard, with some success, to portray the Democratic Party as a bunch of wild-eyed liberals ..."

[sd-joe]

Who dresses him?????

[PRSOrlando]

Of course the Dems are panicking here. In Florida, we have both state legislatures with Republican majorities. Jeb Bush defeated McBride pretty easily last year to win his second term as Governor. And come this November, Florida voters will elect a Republican Senator - most likely Bill McCollum or Mel Martinez in addition to giving Florida's electoral votes to George W. Bush.

[ExSoldier]

"The Republicans have tried very hard, with some success, to portray the Democratic Party as a bunch of wild-eyed liberals - and it's not," said Geller."

If it walks like a RAT and it mooches cheese like a RAT, and when it speaks (squeaks?) it makes you smell a RAT...then it's probably a DeomcRAT.

Both Geller and Gelber are LIBERAL RATS of the first order. Both are extremely anti-gun. That issue is possibly a defining one for liberals. Notice how they aren't bringing it up?

[Cobra64]

"There have been constant efforts in this legislative session to portray the Democrats as tax-and-spend liberals who want big government," said Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, the vice chairman of the group. "We believe in government, but we believe in efficient government - I don't believe some of these Republicans believe in government at all."

I'm a Republican that thinks the "government" should have zero cabinet offices with the exception of the Defense Department. Screw all the rest of 'em. Let the bloodsuckers go out and find a productive job... DOING something constructive for the economy. I doubt any of the bureaucrats inside the beltway ever broke a sweat in producing a product or service.

[ashtanga]

What a laugh! You know, the demoncats, as Savage calls them, seem to live in a Sixties time warp. Don't they have advisors who tell them not to look and act like dopes?

[mabelkitty]

Yes, that invite to kill Rumseld must have been quite attractive to the middle.

[I still care]

LOL.

I have gone to the Florida House several times. The Pubbies sit in the front, the Demos in the back. (Majority party decides seats).

You can tell every Demo from every republican. Even the democrat desks are more disheveled, papers all over, African headresses and clothes on some of the reps - they are also ruder and louder in the back. (Maybe that just comes from being a minority party, but I wouldn't count on it.) Perhaps I just caught them on off days, but I don't think so.

Then they wonder why regular folk don't relate to them.

[Smartass]

The Dems are the verge of becoming dinosaurs. The
Democrats have been hijacked by the radical left.
Most middle American moderates left, and right are having
great difficulty associating with that party.

[Rome2000]

praising Gov. Jeb Bush and legislative Republicans for passing a bill that stops homeowner associations from making residents remove American flags from lawns or from balconies of condos. But he said that was his bill

It might have been his bill, but it wasn't Republicans running those home owner associations.

[Southack]

What, they want to pretend to be moderates only during an election year?!

[sarasmom]

ROTFLMAO!
While a lot of the nations "democrats" bought the selected/not elected hogwash,many FReepers, and most Floridians know better!
Florida is surrounded on three sides by water.We can all easily identify 'rats deserting a sinking ship!
This is too funny!
Nobody should attempt to stop the socialists from self-destructing!

[Libloather]

Wow. How did you find this piece? Looking for ordinary, common RATS - or during a search for those really huge, misguided Floriduh RATS?

Dem stoopid RATS seem to grow bigger by the day - no?