Memories . . . Citizens United: the early days

Was reminded of this bit of history at Hullabaloo today. (It’s from here.) Remember Alan Grayson, the one-term gajillionaire firebrand rabble-rouser Democratic FL Congressman? The one who regularly took to the floor of the House to chew up and spit out the special interests?  The one who caused thousands of lobbyists to develop gastro intestinal disease? Yeah, that one. (video below)

He was one of the first victims of an unrestricted opening of the spigots of corporate money in a congressional race. According to a Politico article late in the campaign in 2010, almost 20% of all of the independent expenditures in House races in the entire country were deployed against Alan. His district was flooded with an unrelenting radio and television smear campaign by the corporations who didn’t appreciate his hard work on behalf of consumers and workers. The average person in Orlando saw 70 negative ads against Grayson– $2 million of which was paid for by the Koch Brothers, $2 million by the health insurance industry and another million from the NRCC. The cash that flowed into the district from the Chamber of Commerce and Rove’s band of cutthroats was a direct response to Alan’s reform efforts on the House Financial Services Committee and because he was the most effective national Democratic spokesperson in Congress. The DCCC, of course, offered him no help whatsoever in defending his seat. [Dems didn’t want to fool with the banksters either – who would have financed their campaigns?)

#OccupyWallStreet – Alan Grayson schools P.J. O’Rourke

POSTED BY ORHAN
Grayson superbly summarizes the #OWS grievances. And O’Rourke summarizes what has become the mainstream criticism, from both Left and Right:

These are vile people. Vile.

Am I the only one choking on the word ‘Republican’ these days? Eisenhower was a Republican. Nixon and Reagan were Republicans. Gerry Ford was a Republican. George H.W. Bush was a Republican. Not one of them – not one (ummm, maybe Nixon) – would have stood for the truly degenerate behavior of the audiences at the two recent debates. In the first one, when Brian Williams asked Perry if he had any hesitations signing death orders for 234 people, the audience erupted with gleeful applause as soon as Williams said 234.  I posted the video here and said that it broke my heart.

Duane at The Erstwhile Conservative (a fine writer by the way) tells us today:

Patti Davis, the daughter of conservatism’s number one icon, said she remembered the first time her father, governor of California, had to order a state execution:

“He and a minister went into a room, got down on their knees and prayed.”

He also points to this from Reagan’s tombstone:

. . . there is purpose and worth to each and every life

(I think Reagan’s politics hurt this country. Deeply wounded us. But I’ve read his letters and know that he was also a man of personal grace and humility.)

Last night I recoiled in shame and horror when the debate audience topped the earlier cheering for executions. Here’s more from Duane on that subject:

Paul’s answer, which essentially was that such an unfortunate fellow [very ill with no insurance] should rely on volunteers and churches for his care, was drowned out by shouts of “Let him die!” from the Republican debate-watching crowd.

Let—Him—Die.

I’m reminded of former congressman Alan Grayson’s presentation on the House floor in 2009:

“If you get sick in America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly.”

Yeah, I remember that too.

Our pit bull is down

I’ll miss my rude, impetuous and utterly sincere Florida Congressman Alan Grayson. Predictably, after being targeted for defeat by the national Republican party, he went down tonight. He made them nuts. But he sure was fun.

Meanwhile, the election winds down and all the jibberers are jabbering. And unremarked still, today is the 27th day of the tenth year of the War in Afghanistan.

Almost surreal

Everyone pretty much knows by now that Florida politics has taken on a unique aspect. We have managed to be the headline state in many a recent national race. And now, a second Democrat, one with gigajillions of dollars to spend, has entered the Senatorial race. As if we were’nt weird enough already, who else looks at these two and asks:

Separated at Birth?

Dem Congressman Grayson

Dem Senate hopefull Greeene

Another congressman doing his job

You’re doing it Rep. Grayson, you’re speaking  truth to power. I’m glad you’re from my State.

I do hear you’re not the cozy snuggly type (and I say that in the nicest way possible) but I don’t care. Go ahead and bite the neighborhood dogs for all I care. But keep doing this: