Thanks and Farewell

Good riddance to Dave Weldon, a blight on the state of Florida. We now have one less ineffectual and pointless Republican in our Congressional delegation. I want to thank the contributors to this blog, the readers, and the people who sent us information on Dave. We're proud to have played a part in spreading the truth about Dave and we're even prouder to no longer have to do it.

Fla. Dems Good on Environment, Reps Not So Much

The League of Conservation Voters released their scorecards for Congress. Can you guess what the pattern is? Of Florida Republicans, only Ileana Ros-Lehtinen does as good as any Democrat and that's only one person. Beyond that, all Democrats do way better than all Republicans. No shocker there.

Alcee Hastings (D), 92%
Ron Klein (D), 92%
Timothy Mahoney (D), 92%
Kendrick Meek (D), 92%
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), 92%
Bill Nelson (D), 91%
F. Allen Boyd (D), 85%
Corrine Brown (D), 85%
Kathy Castor (D), 85%
Robert Wexler (D), 69%
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), 69%
Vern Buchanan (R), 62%
Gus Bilirakis (R), 38%
Ginny Brown-Waite (R), 38%
Mario Diaz-Balart (R), 38%
C.W. Bill Young (R), 38%
Mel Martinez (R), 36%
Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R), 31%
Ander Crenshaw (R), 15%
Ric Keller (R), 15%
Connie Mack (R), 8%
John Mica (R), 8%
Adam Putnam (R), 8%
Dave Weldon (R), 8%
Tom Feeney (R), 0%
Jeff Miller (R), 0%
Cliff Stearns (R), 0%

Esquire Endorsement

Esquire endorsed Steve Blythe over Bill Posey in the race to replace Weldon:

SOFA rule: Dave Weldon, the incumbent, is, thankfully, retiring. Remember him? He was the M.D. who "examined" Terri Schiavo via videotape, turning an agonizing family matter into a horrendous public spectacle. For that, Space Coast Republicans get a two-year time-out.

Republicans Don't Support Troops As Well As Dems

Check out the latest scorecards from Disabled American Veterans and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America...

DAV:

Bill Nelson, 100
Allen Boyd, 100
Corrine Brown, 100
Kendrick Meek, 100
Robert Wexler, 100
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, 100
Alcee Hastings, 100

Mel Martinez, 60
Jeff Miller, 66
Ander Crenshaw, 66
Ginny Brown-Waite, 66
Cliff Stearns, 66
John Mica, 66
Ric Keller, 50
C.W. Bill Young, 66
Adam Putnam, 66
Connie Mack, 66
David Weldon, 66
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, 66
Lincoln Diaz-Balart, 66
Tom Feeney, 66
Mario Diaz-Balart, 66

Notice a pattern here? All of the Dems have 100%, while none of the Republicans has anything better than a mid-range "D." So much for supporting disabled troops.

IAVA:

Bill Nelson, A+
Allen Boyd, A
Corrine Brown, A
Kathy Castor, A
Timothy Mahoney, A
Kendrick Meek, B
Robert Wexler, A
D. Wasserman Schultz, A+
Ron Klein, A+
Alcee Hastings, A

Mel Martinez, B
Jeff Miller, B
Ander Crenshaw, B
G. Brown-Waite, B
Cliff Stearns, B
John Mica, B
Ric Keller, A
Gus Bilirakis, A
C.W. Bill Young, B
Adam Putnam, C
Vern Buchanan, B
Connie Mack, B
Dave Weldon, C
I. Ros-Lehtinen, A
L. Diaz-Balart, B
Tom Feeney, B
M. Diaz-Balart, B

Republicans do a little better on this one, with Keller, Bilirakis and Ros-Lehtinen all getting an "A." Dems still do better, Meek has the lowest grade on our side of the aisle, and he still has a "B." The only "A+" grades amongst Florida's delegation are Dems and the only grades below "B" are all Republicans. Again, which party actually supports the troops?

Weldon Hates Working Families, Loves Big Oil

Dave voted against the "Use It Or Lose It" bill at a time when working families (like mine) are struggling to pay for rising gas costs. Republicans are touting drilling closer to Florida's coast as a way to bring prices down -- a claim that is ridiculous when the oil companies already have leases to 68 million acres they aren't currently drilling, apparently because they won't get big enough profits quick enough on those acres. The bill would've required oil companies to drill on the leases they already have or they wouldn't get further leases. Dave voted against that and for continued high prices for working families and potentially for oil spills on our beaches. Thanks, Dave!

Dave Hates America and Its Values

It's clear that Americans generally favor more progressive values most of the time. Not Dave. With a lifetime Progressive Punch voting score of 4.54%, it's clear he hates Americans and their values.

Dave is Wasting Your Time in Washington

According to Congress.org, Dave is the 303rd most powerful member of the House and as part of the hugely ineffectual Florida Republican delegation in Washington, helps make Florida one of the least powerful states in Congress. Thanks for the great work!

Weldon Hates Gay People, Unmarried People, Common Decency

So says his endorsement of the Hate Amendment.

Dave Hates the Environment

The League of Conservation Voters recently released scorecards for Congress. How did Dave do? Poorly:

Dave Weldon (REP), 5%

Not only did all of the Democrats do better than all of the Republicans, With one exception, all of the Democrats did more than twice as good as all the Republicans. And most of the Democrats voted in favor of the environment more than four times as frequently as most of the Republicans.

I wonder how many of these Republicans own property that will be beachfront property when most of Florida is under water because of global warming? I'm just saying...

A Challenger

Stephen Blythe is challenging Dave Weldon:

"I am as different from Dave Weldon as night and day," says Blythe. "I am an environmentalist, I am against this administration's abuses of our constitutional rights, and against the war in Iraq. I am also against government interference in a family's private end-of-life decision-making." It was Dave Weldon who brought the full weight of the U.S. Government to bear in the Terri Schiavo controversy in Florida in 2005.

Why is this important? Look at Weldon's votes from this session alone:

Against

Minimum Wage Increase

Stem Cell Research

SCHIP Children’s Health Care Program

9/11 Commission Recommendations

Allowing Prescription Drugs from Canada

For

Iraq War – Time and Time Again

Tax Cuts for the Most Wealthy

Interfering with Terry Schiavo Case

FISA

Dave Loves Bush

Pushing Rope notes the percentage of the time Florida Republicans vote in line with President Bush, one of the worst presidents in American history. Not surprisingly, Dave loves Bush:

2007 - 85%
2006 - 90%

Weldon Hates Workers

Bad news at the Kennedy Space Center:

United Space Alliance said it plans to hire hundreds of workers to replace members of the Machinists union on strike at Kennedy Space Center since June 14 over failed contract negotiations.

But wait, Congress to the rescue! Well, sort of:

Meanwhile, a letter dated Friday from 23 members of Congress to Michael McCulley, president and chief executive officer of United Space Alliance, encourages the company "to reach an agreement in a timely manner."

And where's Tom Feeney on even this modest response:

The two members of Congress who represent Brevard County -- Reps. Tom Feeney of Oviedo and Dave Weldon of Indialantic, both Republicans -- did not sign the letter.

Weldon spokesman Kurt Heath said Weldon was not aware of the letter, and he did not know if Weldon would have signed it if he had been asked.

Figures. Probably out...what is it that Weldon does anyway?

Dave Weldon Toons Out Children

Dave Weldon must be relieved.

His Republicans colleague in Congress, Tom Feeney, is getting slammed for voting against health insurance for children. But so did Dave.

Not everyone has forgotten.

Florida Today cartoonist Jeff Parker slams both Weldon and Feeney in his newest editorial cartoon.

Check it out here.

Of course, this isn't the first time the cartoonist has set his sights on Weldon. See here and here for more.

Keep the pressure on Weldon. Email his office.

Dave Weldon Resources

For those interested in learning more about Dave, here are a list of relevant resources:

FPC Wiki Page

Official House Site

Official Campaign Site

Wikipedia Page

Congresspedia Page

WaPo Voting Database

FEC Report

On the Issues

Open Secrets.org

Project Vote Smart

Dave Hates Children and the Elderly

Congress recently had a chance to help out children and seniors across the country. Guess which way the Florida delegation voted?

FL-1: Jeff Miller (R) - Nay
FL-2: Allen Boyd (D) - Yea
FL-3: Corrine Brown (D) - Yea
FL-4: Ander Crenshaw (R) - Did not vote
FL-5: Ginny Brown-Waite (R) - Nay
FL-6: Cliff Stearns (R) - Nay
FL-7: John Mica (R) - Nay
FL-8: Ric Keller (R) - Nay
FL-9: Gus Bilirakis (R) - Nay
FL-10: CW Bill Young (R) - Nay
FL-11: Kathy Castor (D) - Yea
FL-12: Adam Putnam (R) - Nay
FL-13: Vern Buchanan (R) - Nay
FL-14: Connie Mack (R) - Nay
FL-15: Dave Weldon (R) - Nay
FL-16: Tim Mahoney (D) - Yea
FL-17: Kendrick Meek (D) - Yea
FL-18: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) - Nay
FL-19: Robert Wexler (D) - Yea
FL-20: Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) - Yea
FL-21: Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R) - Nay
FL-22: Ron Klein (D) - Yea
FL-23: Alcee Hastings (D) - Yea
FL-24: Tom Feeney (R) - Nay
FL-25: Mario Diaz-Balart (R) - Nay

Let these people know what you think about them. Go to their page at the FPC Wiki to find their contact info.