Caramba

Thank you for the emails folks. One of them contained an interesting that inspired me to kick my monitor.

FL-25: Oy vey. Sometimes I just don't understand why things like this happen. Businesswoman Annette Taddeo-Goldstein, whom you'll remember from her run against GOP Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in FL-18 in 2008 (minus the "-Goldstein" back then), is accusing state Rep. Luis Garcia of falsely claiming she'd endorsed his bid for Congress against troubled GOP freshman David Rivera. Garcia of course denies the charge, but seriously, wtf?

Well, if you have a particularly good memory (like ndrwmls10), you may recall that last June, Dave Catanese reported that Taddeo-Goldstein was going to launch a her own campaign against Rivera "in the next 30 to 60 days." Obviously that never came to pass, but it also explains why Garcia was so interested in claiming Taddeo-Goldstein's endorsement, and why—if she's still contemplating the race—she wouldn't want to give it. Nevertheless, this is an ugly, unnecessary mess, but it also makes me wonder: Whatever happened to Taddeo-Goldstein's planned bid?"

This story has two points that stick in my throat. 1) Why the heck is Louis Garcia using Annette's name? I'm not in fantasy land, all these politicians use everyone else's information from prior races against their opponents. The difference is not all of them outright say the name of the last candidates in the area. From talking to people I hear he's done the same with Joe Garcia. MEMO: STOP USING THEIR NAMES. If you're so incompetent you can't raise money against a guy with federal investigations over his head and tremendous disapproval ratings who hasn't done shit for the district, then give up and let someone else take over. Which is why I hear he's being dissuaded from continuing and is being pushed to switch over to city or county commission depending on who you ask. Good riddance. But this just shows how useless the DCCC is that they backed the wrong horse on this.

2) Taddeo-Goldstein needs to be brought down a peg or 17. She might be brilliant as a businesswoman but let's be clear about this, she's not a political figure. Here she is busting someone's chops who's actually won and done something. I'm not Garcia's biggest fan, but he's in a hard as nails district and still wins. He's liked. He's been effective in positions before. Taddeo got her ass kicked by a well known political foe and then got steamrolled because she gave 40% effort on a small race she should have dominated. I've heard plenty of excuses for her behavior from friends. You don't put this out publicly. How does she expect to be treated seriously?

Annette; you seem to think Florida House or Senate is beneath you. Your hot shot friends have backed you and you can fundraise way too well for such a small race. I just want to point out you'll never get to Congress without being there and that representing Floridians and testing your legislative skills is an honor and a challenge to see if you'd be good. So far you are an egotist who thinks something is owed to her. You are owed nothing. You make your own headway in politics. If you want to be a sideline player keep doing what your doing. But if you want to get on the field, make some sacrifices and go help your state. That's if your ego doesn't get in the way. Also, stop doing stupid things like this which just cause resentment among the ground troops in the party.