If you’re like me, sometimes your mind wanders to the year 2000 and what might have been if only the votes had been counted.
It is at those times that it becomes hard to untangle the rush of emotions as I think about the legacy of George Bush, his appointment by the Supreme Court and what might have been if we had Al Gore in the White House.
At these moments, I think about Florida and I get mad.
Now, anger has fueled me over the last decade as I’ve researched and exposed the culture of corruption. Truth be told, it still does.
It was Jack Abramoff’s role in the Florida recount that had my hair on fire back in late 2000 and 2001. He sent his team. He raised money, lots of money—on and off the books. He funded the infrastructure of the coup d’état we suffer under to this day.
Without Abramoff and his fellow lobbyist—the shadow army of the GOP—George W. Bush would be a village resident of diminished mental capacity somewhere in Texas.
Instead, every day, he gets to insult and diminish the Nation I love.
It is time for payback.
And a great revenge will be to defeat John Mica.
To the Jump...
John Mica????
I can hear you now: Who the hell is that?
John Mica is the poster child of Republican corruption. If you do not know his name, you should.
Since 1993 John Mica has represented the 7th District of Florida. This was a District created just for him in the aftermath of the 1990 Census.
When Mica came to Washington in 1993 it was a familiar place. Since 1986 he had been haunting the corridors of power, lobbying elected officials on various issues. Before he began his lobbying career, he was Chief of Staff for Senator Paula Hawkins of Florida (and it should be noted that John McCain's chief campaign advisor lobbyist, Charlie Black, ran the Hawkins re-election campaign in 1986 and that she lost).
By the time Mica came to Washington as an elected official, he had been working the halls of power for more than a decade. To this day, he owns a house at 305 E. Capital Street (2 blocks from the Capitol and 3 blocks from the Republican Club of DC). That is only one of his properties in the area. The house on Capital Street houses the offices of John Mica’s longtime partner, John Dudinsky, a Washington consultant and lobbyist.
And that is not the only lobbyist in Mica’s orbit.
There are his brothers as well.
His younger brother Dan used to be a Congressman. From 1979 to 1983 Daniel Mica represented Florida’s 11th District and from 1983 to 1989 he represented Florida’s 14th District. Since 1990 he has stayed in Washington. Today he is the head and chief lobbyist of the Credit Union National Association.
The youngest Mica brother, David, is the longtime lobbyist for the Florida Petroleum Council. No less an authority that the Washington Times explains how seamlessly the brothers interact in their profile of Congressman Mica (emphasis added):
Mica has consistently parted ways with nearly every other member of Florida's congressional delegation by refusing to join their efforts to block offshore drilling. Mica contends it can safely be conducted out of sight of the state's beaches.
In that respect, he agrees with his brother, David Mica, executive director of the pro-drilling Florida Petroleum Council. The congressman, however, insists that his brother's job has nothing to do with his position on drilling. He noted that he voted to drill in the Everglades as a member of the Florida House in the 1970s when his brother was still in college.
That’s our John—my brother doesn’t influence me because I’ve always been for destroying the environment. Perhaps the big brother’s vote in 1979 helped the little brother get a job influencing both big brothers as he lobbies to open the coastline of Florida to offshore drilling. Ah, nepotism...
I’ve spent some days looking into the story and record of John Mica. I feel very secure in stating that he is as dirty a politician as you would be likely to find anywhere. The guy is an earmark, influence peddling machine and it has been his life’s work.
A March 7, 1993 Orlando Sentinel article gave a snapshot of the way Mica moves through the Halls of power in Washington:
He made another killing in cellular phones and has done quite nicely, thank you, as a lobbyist and business consult-ant - pitching clients' wares from Argentina to Lithuania, from Tiananmen Square to the Persian Gulf.
Today, in a Congress full of lawyers, bankers and career politicians, freshman Rep. John Mica is an unrepentant entrepreneur for whom the verbs privatize and commercialize have near-religious meaning - even as his previous lobbying arouses suspicion among those for whom the nouns ethics and reform are sacrosanct. [snip]
Gregarious, industrious and blunt, this millionaire tightwad began his newest career three weeks before his 50th birthday and is having one terrific time representing a district that includes parts of Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties - but not his own Via Tuscany home. [snip]
These days, Mica rails against government spending even as he works feverishly to snag millions of federal dollars in pork-barrel projects for Central Florida's roads, rails and runways. [snip]
Conflict of interest? More like confluence, Mica would argue, since clients and constituents - the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and the Harris Corp., among them - are both.
In 1991, lobbyist Mica got $30,000 from the aviation authority. In return, the authority got federal approval for a fourth runway and permits to allow the export of tropical fish - deals worth millions of dollars.
In October, candidate Mica, working without pay, helped the Daytona International Airport get a U.S. Customs Service free-trade zone on site.
In January, U.S. Rep. Mica got an $8.5 million federal commitment for runway expansion to accommodate tourist-laden jumbo jets. [snip]
Mica said he was pleased with his committee assignments: Public Works and Transportation, where he can push such projects as Sanford's I-4 interchange; and Government Operations, which oversees federal agencies.
Mica has been on the Transportation Committee ever since. And that Committee was Jack Abramoff’s easy access bank window. John Mica was a teller—a teller handing out the taxpayer’s money as if it was his own.
If I stopped here, there should be enough in Mica’s record to make you want to see this Super Bum thrown out of office.
Perhaps at this point you are ready to contact the strongest Democrat in the race to defeat Mica, Faye Armitage, and donate to her campaign.
If you’re ready to help take Mica out, great—but there’s more.
Mica was an active player in the Florida Recount.
Remember the Brooks Brothers Riot that shut down the recount in Miami-Dade County?
Legend has it that the effort was organized by John Sweeney of New York, but truth be told, Sweeney’s not that smart. Other hands were at the tiller. Sweeney was just the chump the clever boys sent up topside.
Down below was John Mica.
Everybody knows about the staffers and lobbyists who flooded Florida to block the vote. The Brooks Brothers Riot is just one example of their work.
But do you know about the group that Sean Hannity calls Delta Force of the GOP?
That would be Irish-American Republicans, a group who brags about their involvement in the Florida recount, the 2004 vote in Ohio and is preparing a new round of dirty tricks for 2008. Here is a sample of their "achievements":
For Election night 2000, several of the "Irish for Bush/Cheney" leadership: Grant Lally, Jeffrey Cleary and Judith Hard, were invited to join then-Governor George Bush, at his Election Night victory rally in Austin Texas. It turned into a long, rainy night in Austin.
Following the election, the Bush Campaign summoned the Irish American Republicans to take the lead in protecting President-Elect Bush's victory in Florida, against the Gore campaign operatives' relentless efforts to steal the election.
The IAR Leaders Grant Lally, Justin Driscoll, Brian McCarthy, Jeffrey Cleary, Brendan Quinn, Kenneth Curley, Judy Hard, Josh Toas, Robert Farley, Rick Nelson, Bruce Tague, Duane Gibson, and Congressman John Sweeney (R-NY), and many others, all flew to Florida at the request of the Bush/Cheney Campaign, to take the lead in the Recount efforts.
Dubbed the "Wild Geese of Miami," the Irish Republicans successfully fought-off the attempted theft of the Presidency. Grant Lally served as the GOP Floor Manager of the Miami Recount, battling to protect the integrity of the ballots.
Congessman John Sweeney served as overall Bush political director for the south Florida recounts, a role for which President Bush awarded him the knickname "Congessman Kick-Ass."
The Irish American Republicans played a vital role in the peaceful protest that the media dubbed the "Brooks Brothers' Riot," successfully demanding that the media have access to the secret "overcount" ballot recount that the Miami-Dade Canvassing Board proposed to hold behind closed doors. IAR Chairman Brian McCarthy was particularly featured on the cover of Newsweek, defending our right to open government. [snip]
The Irish American Republicans "Ohio Wild Geese" Win Key Battleground in 2004 for President Bush.
With the 2004 Presidential election too close to call, the RNC and Bush/Cheney 2004 summoned the Irish American Republicans save the day in the key battleground state of Ohio. IAR Board member Brendan Quinn was given overall command of the critical Cleveland area; and Irish Republicans from across the country flew to Ohio, to take critical leadership roles. [snip]
The IAR trained over 2000 GOP poll watchers, the front line of Republican anti-fraud efforts in Ohio.
The Irish American Republicans are proud of our members who played a critical role in helping to win Ohio in 2004, and ensuring that President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were returned for a second term.
And there is more. The Chairman of the Irish American Republicans, Brian McCarthy, wrote about his Florida recount activities for the National Review:
Thirty or so of the observers took the elevator to the 19th floor, followed by several members of the media, to ask for an explanation for why we were being locked out of the ballot counting. Of our group, almost half were women, several were attorneys, one a vascular surgeon and some were congressional staff members. Single shouts turned into unified chants: "Let us see the ballots!" "Let the media in!" "Let us in!" "Stop the fraud!" "No justice, no peace!" (Where's Al Sharpton when you need him?) Some sat on the floor, others stood as we all protested, oblivious to the rolling cameras. Municipal employees watched us through the glass partition, many smiling, as we demanded to see the ballots.
Our group and the media crowded into the T-shaped lobby of the 19th floor with little space to move about. Yet, as Democrat attorneys and election officials walked in and out of the two doors at opposite ends, they were allowed unimpeded access to the elevators. There was no rioting, punching, kicking, or thuggery, as alleged by the New York Times, Joseph Lieberman, David Bonior, and Paul Begala. According to Jerold Nadler's keen olfactory senses, a "whiff of fascism" was in the air. Al Gore has since called it "organized intimidation." Speaking of fascism, six Democrat House Representatives have written a letter to Janet Reno's Justice Department requesting an investigation into our expression of free speech under the Racketeering, Influence and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO).
There were no complaints to the police, arrests made, or injuries reported. Vocal? Yes. Violent? No. For about 45 minutes we yelled, laughed, clapped and reveled in our defense of due process and liberty. With hoarse voices, we met outside the building to continue our protest and were joined by many local Bush-Cheney supporters with homemade signs in hand. Then came the news that the board had reversed itself and decided to discontinue the hand counts in Miami-Dade. Our protest turned into a celebration of justice prevailing in one of the battles in this weeks-long political war started by Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman.
This is the new Republican party.
And it is a Republican Party shaped by, among others, John Mica of Florida. Take a look at the "Honorary" members on the Board of the Irish American Republicans:
Gov. George E. Pataki
Honorary Chairman
Sen. John McCain
Honorary Chairman
Rep James Walsh
Honorary Co-Chair
Rep. John Sweeney
Honorary Co-Chair
Lt Gov Kerry Healey
Honorary Co-Chair
Rep. Peter King
Honorary Co-Chair
Rep. Tom Feeney
Honorary Co-Chair
Rep. John Mica
Honorary Co-Chair
I get the New York guys, after all this is a New York Gang using their muscle to influence elections. McCain is an interesting addition—I wonder if he is a recent add-on or if he too was part of the recount effort.
Now McCain couldn’t be too recent because this Gang of New York still lists the defeated Sweeney as an honorary co-chair and as a Member of Congress.
The two Members of the Florida delegation stand out.
One would expect Feeney to be on the list. It was his ticket to Congress and his involvement with Abramoff is why his name still comes up and why we should be supporting whichever Democrat wins the Primary in August (Clint Curtis or Suzanne Kosmas).
Unexpected is John Mica. He has been the nondescript backbencher—the Congressman in the grey flannel suit plying his unique brand of corruption in the shadows. Nobody knows his name, but you should.
As I’ve swam in the fetid waters of Republican corruption, I have helped expose some Republicans who were run out of office by the ballot box and/or threat of indictment.
At one point, each of them was in a "safe" Republican seat. Then something happened. Their corruption was exposed or it was clear it was about to happen. In the face of bad news, they decided it was time to cash out and/or just get out.
DeLay, Ney, Pombo, Sweeney, Burns, Hayworth, Hastert, Foley and many others were once "safe". Then their real records came out and they were in trouble. Many of the GOP retirements this cycle are from Republicans who knew that their records were about to catch up with them.
They decided to cash out.
Others know no other life than milking the Federal treasury for friends and family—it has been the only job they know.
John Mica is in the later category (and so is McCain’s chief advisor lobbyist, Charlie Black).
It is a long-shot, but we have time to take John Mica down this cycle.
It will be hard and the odds are long, but John Mica record as an earmark machine for hire should be common knowledge. He really should be the poster child, the public face, of earmarks and how lobbyist control the GOP and pervert our Nation’s government.
He makes me mad on a number of levels:
- Corruption
- Nepotism
- Earmarks
- And, of course, that 2000 recount in Florida.
So far, John Mica has worked in the shadows. He let’s folks like Sweeney and Feeney take the heat while he takes the cash. He should be called out.
Winning the FL-07 is a long-shot. This has been engineered to be a strong Republican District. Mica won the District by 63.1% in 2006 and Bush won it by 56.8% in 2004.
These are familiar numbers to me. I see them all the time as I track the worst weasels still in office and connected to the Abramoff scandal. Time and time again, they are in "safe" seats. The historic temptation is to give up before the battle begins—but they deserve real opposition.
Some of these weasels slip by year after year without any Democratic opposition. It has to stop. We must put up a credible fight in every District where Republican dead-enders still ply their trade.
Mica and the 7th District of Florida seems like a good place to put up a fight.
Fortunately, Faye Armitage is ready to put up that fight. It is an uphill battle. It is a long-shot, but the battle should be joined. She needs our help.
If you are still angry about the Florida recount: click and donate to her campaign.
If the Abramoff scandal gets your goat: click and donate to her campaign.
If you are tired of the Culture of Corruption in Washington: click and donate to her campaign.
This is not the only Abramoff Long-shot I would like to see earn the support of the netroots. There are many others. Perhaps we should start an Act-Blue Clean Sweep Team. Defeating Rorhabacher, Kingston, English, Frelinghuysen, Lewis, Bilbray and some of the other Abramoff-connected weasels considered to hold a "safe" seat would be great. And if we can’t defeat them this cycle we can weaken them (like Hastert) by taking the fight to them. This will inspire survivors to follow Denny’s lead and jump ship in 2009. Then we can pick up the seat in a Special Election.
2008 is a year where Democrats are energized. We are in a fighting mood. It will be a hard fight all the way down the ticket, but I am confident that we are up to the task.
Things look good. Obama is uniting the party. Republicans are predicting a "good year" in the Senate if they only loose three seats (they’ll lose more) and the DCCC has an expanded playing field in the House of 40 to 70 seats.
More will be added.
The news cycle will drive some of that. Fresh scandals will present new opportunities.
And then the best Candidates in these long-shot races will force their race to a competitive status. Charlie Brown did that in 2006. It took way too long for the DCCC to realize how much support he had. I could tell the same story with the other close races we lost last cycle. We must do better this time.
Now those close races we lost in 2006 are on the frontlines of 2008. That is great, but we need to pay attention to the new group of long-shots fighting for attention. We can win some of these seats.
I think Fl-07 has the potential to be one of those races.
Faye Armitage is leading Democrat to take on John Mica. She needs our help. Talk about this race. Help expose the record of John Mica. He should be as well known as Pombo. Volunteer. Lend a hand.
And if you want to end the Republican Culture of Corruption or your just still pissed off by the Florida recount, click here and donate to her campaign.
John Mica should have to fight for a victory in the FL-07 and so should John McCain.
Cheers
UPDATE
I want to highlight this Diary: The full Abramoff monty and Bob Schaffer's involvement by johne and the good folks at SquareState.net
It seems that the brain trust running the Schaffer campaign have decided that it would be a great idea to use a local RW sockpuppet to push back on the bad press Schaffer is getting for his involvement in helping Jack protect the sweatshops of Saipan.
johne hands the Schaffer campaign their head in bag of facts. It is a thing of beauty. I couldn't have done a better job.
Please go read and recommend.
Cheers