As you know, I'm a big supporter of Representative Keith Fitzgerald down in Florida State House District 69.

In 2006, he and his campaign manager, Duncan (my wife), ran one hell of a race, and won in a predominantly Republican district.  He won despite the fact that they ran a very nasty campaign against him, at one point saying he was going to shred the fabric of democracy, or something along those lines.  Keith responded by running a clean campaign, talking about the issues, and about what he was going to do in Tallahassee.   

This made the Republicans very, very angry.

I always like to lead with good news.  First, it's not what we called for, but Senator Bill Nelson has donated a little bit to help the cause.  Big kudos and mad props to the Senator.

In what we think is even better news, Keith Fitzgerald has been  endorsed by the Pelican Press.  This can only serve to bolster a campaign with a great deal of momentum already on its side.  As they said in their wicked-strong endorsement (after the jump):

Cross posted at DailyKos.

Well, it was only a matter of time, but apparently the Florida GOP has finally turned their attention on District 69 and a seat they're about to lose in the State House of Representatives.

Unfortunately for you, I don't have a link to this ad on YouTube and I don't have the ability to stream this ad.  But it's a real stinkin' doozy.  For example, I was particularly taken aback as the announcer put everyone within earshot on notice that Keith Fitzgerald could well "tear apart the fabric of our nation."  Oookayyy....

I realize it's less than two weeks out and everyone -- everyone -- is asking for your help (today alone I've gotten emails from Clinton, Obama, Carville, Congressman Jim Moran and Mark Warner and it's not even lunch time).  But Keith needs your help to combat this foolishness, and he needs it today.

His response to this nonsense, after the jump:

 

We got to looking at Senator Nelson's FEC Report.

Look, there are an awful lot of us who think we know about politics, and maybe we aren't quite the geniuses we think we are.  But you don't have to be the ill-conceived yet politically-brilliant love child of James Carville and Karl Rove to know that Senator Nelson had this thing wrapped up the day Kitty announced her candidacy (talk about ill-conceived).  Yet, as of September 30, he had damn near 15 million dollars in net receipts for his re-election campaign, and close to seven million cash on hand.  Now that we're near the end of October, he's now got something closer to 18 million -- with more coming in all the time, no doubt.

Senator Nelson, you ought to share the wealth.  There are candidates out there, from Miami to Pensacola, who need your help, today.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, we we want to point out that we're strong supporters of Senator Nelson, of course, and want to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Check out the plan, and help Florida Democrats after the jump:

cross-posted at Daily Kos

Some important news from Keith Fitzgerald for State House

Out-of-State Pro-Voucher Group Enters District 69 Race

All Children Matter Sends Benson Mailer

Last week, a Michigan-based special interest group called All Children Matter (ACM) paid for a mailer to State House District 69 voters promoting the campaign of Laura Benson. ACM is a pro-voucher organization whose major funders include the families of the founders of corporate giants Wal-Mart and AmWay. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, ACM operates through a network of Political Action Committees and Electioneering Communications Organizations in states across the country.

Read more about ACM after the jump:

I wasn't at this event, but I sure wish I had been. This is the kind of rhetoric we need to see coming out of good Democrats like Keith Fitzgerald. I understand that Vern Buchanan said some pretty outrageous stuff. Guess they'll say anything when they're desperate. Here's the header from Duncan's email, and then the excerpt from Keith's speech after the jump.

Last night, Keith participated in a candidate night hosted by the Sarasota Christian Coalition. He spoke after congressional candidate Vern Buchanan, and was outraged at what he heard. I was proud to hear a candidate stand up for what he believes in, and I wanted to share some of his remarks with you.

Sincerely,

Duncan Warner

Campaign Manager

We'd like to tell you about a local candidate running for the Florida State House in District 69, and why we strongly support him.

To put it simply, Keith Fitzgerald (www.gofitzgo.com) is not just a different kind of candidate, he's a stellar candidate.  We know.  We've been there, walking neighborhoods with him, going to events with him, listening to him talk to Floridians.  He's good.  Watching a candidate for office work hard and make all the right moves is fantastically refreshing in this day and age of what we describe (embarrassingly) as glam-rock politics.  There are far too many politicians today who are far too willing to make a name for themselves by doing things that are either fantastically outside the mainstream or just outright unethical.  Keith is working hard on the fundamentals that makes politics at a local level very interesting and even - if you can believe it - enjoyable.

More on the best local race in the heart of Katherine Harris Country, after the jump:

H.R. 810 is on the House Floor right now! The Debate Has Begun! Debate on H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 has begun on the House floor. Keep your calls going to your Members as they will continue to be advised by their staff. The debate is being covered by C-SPAN. To access it via the internet, go to www.cspan.org.