October 19, 2012

He Shouldn’t Be In Congress

As I noted a few months ago, a tsunami isn’t normal sea water. It’s a filthy sludge, brimming with dead fish and farm animals, dead trees, construction debris, garbage, mud and sewage. A giant wave of gunk and junk.

What a perfect metaphor to describe the many accidental Congressmen who were swept into Congress in the Tea Party tsunami of 2010.

Here’s a good example: Rep. David Rivera, of Miami.

Where shall we begin? A domestic abuse charge was filed in Miami in 1994 against “David M. Rivera.” Rep. Rivera says that it was a different “David M. Rivera,” not him. But a friend of the victim says that Rep. Rivera and the victim attended a dinner party at her house, as a couple. And the victim’s mother worked for Rivera’s campaign. Just coincidences, Rivera says. Rivera, like OJ Simpson, surely will devote the rest of his life to finding the true perpetrator.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/article1116083.ece

In 2002, Rep. Rivera ran for the Florida State House of Representatives. A truck carrying thousands of anti-Rivera mailers was on its way to the post office, to meet a deadline. On the highway, in the middle lane, a car deliberately smashed into the truck. The truck was forced to the side of the road, and the mailers did not go out on time. The car was driven by . . . David Rivera. David M. Rivera. Another coincidence, I’m sure.
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2010/08/17/i-team-questions-remain-of-david-riveras-crash/

During the time that Rep. Rivera served in the Florida House, he reported in sworn documents that his only source of outside income, for seven years, was his work as a consultant for the US Agency for International Development. There was only one problem with that story – USAID has no record of ever employing him.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/10/13/101961/source-of-florida-state-rep-riveras.html

So how did Rivera make his money? Well, in 2008, Rivera was an outspoken and determined proponent of an initiative to approve slot machines at Flagler Dog Track and other locations. And the Flagler Dog Track made $500,000 in secret payments to Rivera, which Rivera omitted from his financial disclosure.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/rep-elect_rivera_being_investigated_over_500k_received_from_dog_track.php

Another coincidence.

I do think that the taxpayers should be paying for David Rivera’s room and board. But I don’t think that the federal institution at which Rivera serves should be the U.S. Congress.

David Rivera should not be in Congress. And we have a good chance to get rid of him, on Nov. 6. Please click here, and support Rivera’s Democratic opponent Joe Garcia. Help remove the stain of David Rivera from Congress.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/garciagrayson

Courage,

Alan Grayson

October 17, 2012

Romney’s Secret Plan to [Fill In The Blank]

I watched the Presidential Debate last night. There was a general absence of NASCAR moments, although Romney's insistence that the President actually didn't say what the President actually did say about the Benghazi attack came close. Leaving that aside, the impression that I was left with is that Romney is running a giant con game, and the American people are his marks.

Romney has a secret plan to cut unemployment.

Romney has a secret plan to eliminate the federal deficit.

Romney has a secret plan to cut the cost of higher education.

Romney has a secret plan to eliminate tax deductions and exemptions and credits.

Romney has a secret plan to cut federal spending.

Romney has a secret plan for equal pay for women.

Romney has a secret plan for healthcare reform.

Yeah, right. Whatever. And that was just the first 30 minutes.

This is showing my age, but I remember Richard Nixon's secret plan to end the war in Vietnam. As I pointed out in a speech on the Floor of the House, Nixon's secret plan was so secret that even Nixon didn't know it. Because it didn't exist; it was a campaign gimmick. But 1968 America was so hungry for peace that 43.4% of the voters bought it, and that was enough to put Nixon in the White House. Nixon then continued the war in Vietnam with US troops for four more years. At the cost of twenty thousand more American soldiers dead, and who knows how many Vietnamese?

Over the metaphysical poker table, Romney is saying to the ghost of Nixon, "I'll see you one secret plan, and I'll raise you ten more."

Many elections turn on the issue of credibility. This Presidential race will turn on the issue of gullibility. The Romney campaign begs the question: Are we really so easily taken in? Are we all babes in the woods? Did we all just crawl out of the cabbage patch? Has Uncle Sam become Uncle Sucker?

I hope not.

Courage,

Alan Grayson

October 15, 2012

Last Chance

Today is the last day for contributors ($25 or more) to qualify for a chance to join Alan Grayson and Nancy Pelosi for lunch in Orlando on Thursday. We will take care of transportation.

Let’s go over this:

(1) Alan Grayson
(2) Nancy Pelosi
(3) Lunch
(4) Orlando – it’s 86 degrees right now, and low humidity.
(5) Near Disney World, Universal Orlando, etc.
(6) One hour from the beaches. Both Atlantic and Gulf.

What are you waiting for?

People often refer to Orlando as "the happiest place in the world." And with you here, it will be.

OK, we recognize that not everyone wants to have lunch with Alan Grayson. So for those people, we make this unique special offer: if you contribute $5000, then Alan won’t have lunch with you. Which is sort of how he treats the lobbyists, too.

For everyone else, hit that CONTRIBUTE button.

October 15, 2012

Election Theft: Florida 2012

Question: Who is the largest single contractor of the Republican Party of Florida today?

Answer: Someone whose company, in 2004, shredded Democratic voter registration forms.

And now it’s happening again.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

Meet Nathan Sproul. His first cause was ending sex education. That catapulted him to the head of the Republican Party of Arizona.

Sproul then set up Sproul & Associates. In 2004, Republicans paid Sproul’s firm $7.9 million to go around registering voters under the confusing name of “America Votes,” which happens to be the name of a large progressive organization. Then a former employee of Sproul & Associates showed a local TV station shredded voter registration forms – for Democrats only. He said that Sproul’s firm faithfully turned in Republican registration forms, and shredded the Democratic ones. Or just refused to register Democrats at all. Another Sproul employee said the same thing.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

Fast forward to the 2008 election, in Florida. ACORN registered tens of thousands of new voters, Democratic, Republican and Independent. ACORN was so good at voter registration that Republican leaders in the Florida state government retaliated by criminalizing the voter registration process. The Republicans booby-trapped voter registration so badly that even the Florida League of Women Voters gave up. Virtually any irregularity in the voter registration process can land you in jail. And you know what they did to ACORN.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

Fast forward again, to the 2012 election, in Florida. The Republican Party of Florida, the Republican National Committee, and the Romney Campaign all hire a firm called Strategic Allied Consulting to do voter registration in Florida. In fact, Strategic Allied Consulting has become the single largest contractor to the Republican Party of Florida, receiving more than $3 million. It is the sole voter registration operation hired by the Republican National Committee, at the expense of a further $3 million. It has been hired to do the same work in Nevada, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia. And the person behind Strategic Allied Consulting is . . . Nathan Sproul.

Which explains the reports, this month, of voter registration fraud by Strategic Allied Consulting in a dozen Florida counties. More than 100 cases in one county alone.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

Here in Florida, we’ve had Republicans suppress the Democratic vote by every method known to mankind. They have purged the voter rolls, in express violation of the Voting Rights Act. They cut early voting days in half, because so many African-Americans were voting that way. Their extremist voter ID laws place the burden on the voter to provide his identity to their satisfaction. They have made election administration completely partisan. They have created artificial shortages of voting machines in heavily Democratic precincts. They have excluded convicts from voting, and made it virtually impossible for them to restore their constitutional rights. They have even set up roadblocks between voters and polling places on Election Day. The head of the Republican Party of Florida testified under oath that he attended meetings where the subject was “keeping blacks from voting.”
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

Well, we’re fighting back. With barely three weeks to go before the election, we are still signing up every voter whom we can, to vote by mail. That way, any problems come to the surface before Election Day, when there is still time to correct them.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

We’re going door to door. And that costs money. Show your support, and help us make sure that every vote is counted.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

Courage,

Alan Grayson

P.S. (from the Grayson campaign): Anyone who contributes $25 or more by 11:59 pm on Monday night will have a chance to be chosen to join Alan Grayson and Nancy Pelosi in Orlando for lunch this coming Thursday.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

October 14, 2012

Who Made This Salty Soup?

It’s hard to believe, but a month has passed since the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Alan Grayson spent much of his time there at “Progressive Central,” an alternative convention organized by the Progressive Democrats of America. We Grayson supporters raised the money to pay for the venue. After the Convention, Alan wrote this note to PDA members:

I was one of the people fortunate enough to attend the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., last month. And for a certain number of us, the highlight of the Convention was not a loud speech on the convention floor, or a liquor-soaked, lobbyist-subsidized late night party, but rather a gathering of like-minded friends called Progressive Central.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

It wasn’t held in a luxury, high-rise penthouse; it was held in a church. It wasn’t at the center of that temporary nexus of power and money in downtown Charlotte; it was well out in the suburbs. People did not come to it in limousines; they came to it in taxis and compact rental cars. And it wasn’t self-congratulating; it was a call to action.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

Progressive Central, an all-day event hosted by the Progressive Democrats of America, brought together those of us in the Democratic Party who don’t measure our success by elections won, but rather by mouths fed, by children educated, by homeless families sheltered, and by jobs for the jobless. The ones among us who recognize that the Democratic Party is not just an excuse for partying, but rather the only hope left in America for justice, equality and peace.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

So we got together at Progressive Central, we folks with a conscience, and as I mixed with people 500 miles from home, I somehow felt that I was home. I was among people who brought the same energy, idealism and selflessness to their lives as I try to bring to mine. I was among friends.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

And I was among friends with a common purpose. We all want full employment. Universal healthcare. Progressive taxation. Higher education for every student who wants it. Pensions and sick leave and paid vacations. An end to corporate welfare, the military-industrial complex, discrimination and poverty. Money out of politics and government. And peace.

When I joined Progressive Central in Charlotte, and ate the modest fare (turkey and swiss on whole wheat – hold the caviar), I was reminded of a Joni Mitchell song called “Banquet”:

Some get the gravy,
And some get the gristle.
Some get the marrow bone.
Some get nothing,
Though there’s plenty to spare. . . .

Who let the greedy in?
Who left the needy out?
Who made this salty soup?
Tell him that we’re hungry now,
For a sweeter fare.

Progressive Central brought together a lot of people who are hungry now, for a sweeter fare. Not just for themselves, but for everyone. They are my friends.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

Courage,

Alan Grayson

P.S. (from the Grayson campaign): If you would like a chance to be chosen to join Alan Grayson and Nancy Pelosi in Orlando for lunch this coming Thursday, then click here. We promise “a sweeter fare.”
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

October 11, 2012

Many Want Lunch With Pelosi/Grayson, Or They’re Just Hungry

The response to our invitation to have two Grayson supporters join Nancy Pelosi and Alan Grayson for lunch next Thursday has been overwhelming. Hundreds of supporters already have made a contribution of $25 or more, at this special link.

And equally gratifying have been many of the responses that we did not receive. Here are a few of those:

"I greatly admire Nancy Pelosi, because she is not a quitter. Unlike some people." - Sarah P., of Wasilla, Alaska.

"Nancy Pelosi is the second-best Speaker of the House in history." - Newt G., of Hateful, Virginia.

"I have great respect and admiration for Nancy Pelosi, despite her unfortunate predilection for taking only one side of an issue." - Mitt R., of Five Swing States.

"I like that gal. She's great, for a dame." - Rush L., of Nineteen Fifties, Florida.

"What? I'm sorry. Lunch with who? I forgot what I was thinking." - Rick P., of Austin, Texas.

Now, here is the best thing - since none of these people actually said these things, you can be sure that if you contribute, and you are a winner, then you will have lunch with Nancy Pelosi and Alan Grayson, and you will not have lunch with Sarah P., Newt G., Mitt R., Rush L. or Rick P. It's a twofer.

Bear in mind that if you are one of the winners, you enjoy:

(1) Lunch with Nancy Pelosi.
(2) Lunch with Alan Grayson.
(3) Lunch.

For sure, anyone who is hungry should click here, immediately.

We know what you're thinking: "What if I don't win?" Well, then you helped to put a Congressman With Guts back in Congress. So everyone is a winner.

October 10, 2012

Lunch With Me, and Nancy Pelosi

You are cordially invited to lunch with me, and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. If you're lucky.

Nancy Pelosi is joining us in Orlando next Thursday. We will invite two of our supporters - one from the Orlando area, and one from anywhere in the United States - to join us. We will choose them from among the supporters who contribute $25 or more to our campaign, between now and 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday night. (Or you can you can enter on our website.) If you make two or more qualifying contributions, that will count as two or more entries. We will notify the winners on Tuesday, and help with transportation for the guest from out of town. Void where prohibited, subject to change, blah, blah, blah.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

Now, I'm not even going to attempt to get you excited by the prospect of lunch with me. Fuggedaboutit. I think that you should be excited, however, about the possibility of lunch with Leader Pelosi.

First, she is the highest female elected official in our nation's history. That's something.

Second, there was what she did after January 19, 2010. That was the dark date that Scott Brown was elected Senator from Massachusetts, giving the 41 Republicans in the US Senate the right to "outvote" the 59 Democrats. When that happened, there were calls from craven Democrats all over Washington, DC to give up on universal healthcare. But Speaker Pelosi never even entertained the notion of giving up. For her, it was very simple: "The nation needs it." And because of her, more than anyone else, we are finally approaching the time when every American can see a doctor when he or she is sick.

For your chance to meet this living legend, this indomitable force for social justice (remember, I'm talking about Leader Pelosi, not me), click here.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pelosilunch

Courage,

Alan Grayson

October 8, 2012

We Raised $10111000011000000, In Binary Code

Nerd alert!

As of late last night, the Grayson for Congress “30 Days to Victory” Moneybomb had raised an amazing $10,111,000,011,000,000, in binary code, or “base two” currency. (By the way, in base two, where do the commas go?)

For all five-fingered species, that equates to a very-impressive $94,400. Or, for all of you computers out there, $17,0C0 in hexadecimal code.

(Long digression: Hexadecimal code is “base 16,” using the digits 0 to 9 and A to F. Congressman Grayson actually learned hexadecimal code 40 years ago, and used it to program an antediluvian IBM computer with punch cards. Ah, those were the days! But listen: your IP address on the internet actually is an extended form of hexadecimal code, and if your modem requires a password provided by the manufacturer, it’s probably in hexadecimal code. So the internet actually relies on a protocol that is 40+ years old! Don’t tell Al Gore.)

So anyway, our goal for our “30 Days to Victory” moneybomb actually was to raise $11,000,011,010,100,000, or $18,6A0, or $100,000, depending on how many fingers you have. And we’re so close! We need just $1,010,111,100,000, or $1,5E0, or $5,600, to reach our goal. In base-36, that’s a mere $4AJ.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/graysonoct7moneybomb

So we have to ask: will you please chip in today to help us reach our goal? Because America needs a Congressman who understands us. And hexadecimal, too.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/graysonoct7moneybomb

October 7, 2012

MONEYBOMB TODAY: Winning Is Just The Beginning

We spend so much time thinking about who will be elected to office, and so little time thinking about what they will do when they get there. Campaign consultants tell candidates that promises are inconvenient; you might have to keep them. And candidates dance around the issues as though they were lit firecrackers.

Not me. Here are my goals, after Nov. 6:

(1) Full employment.
(2) Universal healthcare.
(3) Taking corporate money out of politics and government.
(4) Reinstituting progressive taxation, to reduce the deficit and the debt.
(5) Ending corporate welfare.
(6) Improving labor standards, including pensions, sick leave and paid vacations.
(7) Ending discrimination against minorities, women and gays.
(8) Providing higher education to every student who wants it.
(9) Ending the war, bringing the troops home, and reining in the military-industrial complex.
(10) Reducing the brutal and pervasive inequality in American life.

If that's what you want for America, too, then you need to click here, and support our campaign.

I'm working 14 hours a day, seven days a week, to try to win our race for the House on Nov. 6. I have to, because in 2010, I was the target of the most pitch-black, break-your-back, wolf-pack Super PAC attack that any Member of the House has ever seen. The Koch Brothers, the insurance companies, the Chamber of Commerce and the Republican Party spent over $5 million to denigrate, deprecate, devastate and decimate me. My friends, my neighbors and even my own children saw an average of 70 blistering negative ads against me on TV -- paid for by nameless, faceless monsters.

It doesn't matter. That was then, and this is now. We're winning, and after the election, we've got work to do. If I'm working 14 hours a day now, then I'll work 16 hours a day after Nov. 6. Because America's problems can be solved, and they must be solved.

If you want to be part of that, then help make it happen. Show your support for our '30 Days to Victory' Moneybomb.

But here's the thing - a Congressman like me, who fights for progressive, fair taxation, can't finance his campaign with "trickle down" checks from the super-rich. A Congressman like me, who fights against corporate welfare, can't finance his campaign with corporate PAC contributions. A Congressman like me, who fights for peace, can't finance his campaign with blood money from the military-industrial complex.

On the contrary, they're the ones who firebombed us last time.

So I have only one choice. I have to invite you to join - or re-join - our legion of contributors, who now number almost 100,000. People who want nothing in return for their contributions but government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

When you contribute to our campaign, you give me the freedom not to kowtow to lobbyists and special interests. You make it possible for me to do the job the way that you would do it -- honestly, and for the greater good.

In 2010, in House races around the country, big donors ($200+) supplied 92% of the cash, and small donors provided 8%. In our race, we reversed those numbers. And with your help, we'll do it again.

With your help, we will win. And then on November 7th, that's when the real work starts. If you want someone in Congress who will fight - every day - for justice, equality and peace, then click here, and show that you care.

Courage,

Alan Grayson

October 6, 2012

Ass't Leader Rep. Jim Clyburn: “I Love and Respect Alan Grayson”

Today’s “30 Days to Victory” Alan Grayson Moneybomb video is from the #3 ranking Democrat in the US House of Representatives, Rep. James Clyburn. Rep. Clyburn was the highest-ranking African-American elected official, until you-know-who was elected President in 2008. He was the House Majority Whip from 2007 to 2011, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Now he is Assistant Leader. Jim Clyburn first ran for office in 1970, and he has served in the House for twenty years. He is a progressive pacesetter on health, education, labor standards and the environment.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/clyburnsupportsgrayson

Here is why Jim Clyburn is urging you to support Alan’s campaign:

Hello, I’m Jim Clyburn. I represent the 6th Congressional District of South Carolina. And I am very pleased to serve as the Assistant Democratic Leader in the House of Representatives. I was much more pleased though, when I served as House Majority Whip, and I was able to serve with Alan Grayson, whom I grew to love and respect.

Alan is the kind of person that I think we need in the House of Representatives. He studies the issues. He is not afraid to lay them out for discussion. And he defends progressive ideas and ideals very well.

President Obama I’m sure is going to be re-elected, and he needs a supporting cast to continue to move this country forward. I know that Alan Grayson will be there to support a very progressive agenda. This country cannot just be “back on the right track,” but can move, can excel, and can show the world that it is that “beacon on the hill.”

I ask you to contribute to his campaign, and to support him in any other way that you possibly can. This is going to be a very, very critical election. I think that most people are aware that we are at a fork in the road. And we have to make a decision on November 6th. Will we take the high road or the low road? I am hopeful that we will take a high road to the future, and that you will support Alan Grayson for Congress. He is the kind of guy who can help to take us there.

Sincerely,

Assistant Leader Rep. Jim Clyburn

We’re halfway to our “30 Days to Victory” Moneybomb goal. Click here to see Rep. Jim Clyburn’s video for our campaign, and show your support.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/clyburnsupportsgrayson