hungrycoyote's Blogtag:www.talkingpointsmemo.com,2008:/talk/blogs/hungrycoyote//56872008-11-01T20:26:58ZMovable Type Pro 4.21-enJohn (McCain) Who? Adam Putnam Stumps with Sarah Palintag:www.talkingpointsmemo.com,2008:/talk/blogs/hungrycoyote//5687.2418062008-11-01T20:20:55Z2008-11-01T20:26:58Z Skirting the edge of District 12 is Polk City, Florida, home of the Fantasy of Flight attraction, where Sarah Palin stumped with Governor Charlie Christ and Congressman Adam Putnam this afternoon. Although, I think "Fantasy of Fight" would be...hungrycoyoteSkirting the edge of District 12 is Polk City, Florida, home of the Fantasy of Flight attraction, where Sarah Palin stumped with Governor Charlie Christ and Congressman Adam Putnam this afternoon. Although, I think "Fantasy of Fight" would be a more appropriate title for the event, as in it's a fantasy that they can win this fight.
POLK CITY, Florida (CNN) -- At a boisterous Sarah Palin rally in Polk City, Florida on Saturday afternoon, one name was surprisingly absent from the campaign décor -- John McCain's.
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Rednecks for Obama, Sarah Palin took the podium today to the strings of the country song "Redneck Woman."
For 27 minutes, she held the audience spellbound with the McCain/Palin plan for the nation. She was interrupted by thunderous applause, chants of "USA, USA," and even "Drill, baby, drill."
(snip)
Long before the governor of Alaska's noon meeting with the audience, members began cheering, doing the wave and listening to country music. The parking lot was a large array of not only family sedans and SUVs, but work vans and semi-trucks, one bearing the proud moniker, "Joe the Trucker."
When Palin mentioned "Joe the Plumber," a man in the crowd raised a sign that stated, "They can't have my religion, my gun or my bulldozer."
While the local news reporting left Adam Putnam's name completely out of the reporting about Sarah Palin's visit, the national news has picked up on it in conjunction with the fact there was something blatantly absent from the event ... John McCain. No, I don't mean in person. I mean, his name on signage wasn't to be found anywhere.
Members of the audience proudly waved "Country First" placards as Palin delivered her stump speech. Those signs were paid for by the Republican National Committee.
The other sign handed out to supporters read "Florida is Palin Country," but those signs were neither paid for by the Republican National Committee nor the McCain campaign. In small print, the signs were stamped with the line "Paid for and authorized by Putnam for Congress" -- as in, the re-election campaign of Florida congressman Adam Putnam, whose district skirts Polk City.
In fact, Putnam's name was considerably more prominent than was McCain's -- his campaign had placed a number of large "Putnam for Congress" banners around the event site.
As I explained in yesterday's diary at DailyKos about FL-12, Adam Putnam supports the selection of Palin, even while many Republicans are distancing themselves from the McCain-Palin campaign and voicing concerns about McCain's judgment in selecting Palin to be his running mate in the first place.
:::
Yesterday's endorsement of Putnam by The Ledger, was not received well by local visitors to the newspaper's forum. One commenter said,
I am amazed that any real newspaper would reach the conclusion reached here. Do they read their own newspaper? Are they happy with what's going on in America? Do they not listen to Americans who are calling loudly for change?
Doug Tudor, while not an experienced Congressman yet (of course not, no non-incumbent is), is such a superior choice to Adam Putnam, who hails himself as a leader. So when are leaders held accountable? How screwed up do things have to get?
This debate is over for me - the choice is simple - vote for Doug!
While another noted, quite correctly in my opinion,
Casual observer here.
This endorsement reads like a backhanded compliment. The best thing they have to say about Putnam is that he has lots of experience and maybe he wont tow the party line so much when he's in the congressional minority. What?!? And that's after pointing out that he started out greener than tea leaves.
Seriously, this is actually an endorsement of Doug Tudor. Why doesn't the Ledger have the political will to do it outright? Why disguise it in this lame endorsement of Putnam?
Today The Ledger published another letter critical of Adam Putnam. This time the writer addresses Putnam's vote on issues involving torture.
As a constituent and person of faith, I am very disappointed that Rep. Adam Putnam has so often failed to vote against torture. He voted for the Military Commissions Act of 2006, giving the president authority to re-interpret the Geneva Conventions and to define what constitutes torture. He voted against habeas corpus rights for detainees, a position at odds with rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court. And he voted against requiring the videotaping of interrogations to document detainee treatment and to prevent abuse.
He has also failed to support legislation that would make the CIA abide by the guidelines in the Army Field Manual, which prohibits waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques. In fact, he twice voted against such legislation this year - once when it was passed by the House, and again when the House attempted to override the president's veto.
If more members of Congress would vote to end torture instead of voting to allow immoral practices, we could end the use of torture. Please consider the issue of torture as you cast your ballots in this crucial election.
This race is being ignored completely by the mainstream media and political blogs, like this one. But, mark my words, Adam Putnam is in trouble. Political observers may be pondering the fate of Putnam's leadership position in the next Congress, but they neglect to consider the fact that Putnam could very well lose this election. He's never had a real challenger before, but this time he has a strong opponent in Doug Tudor.
More dire may be that the GOP will face a net loss of as many as 30 seats nationally in the House, including a net loss of two from Florida -- even with a McCain victory.
Such a dismal showing in the congressional races could suddenly bring down to earth what has been the swift political ascendancy in Washington of Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow as a top House Republican.
(snip)
And Putnam himself recently angered some rank-and-file House conservatives by supporting the Wall Street bailout.
Putnam acknowledges there has been talk of a potential purge of current GOP House conference leaders after this election. Upset and angry, remaining rank-and-file members may turn to more conservative members, like Virginia's Eric Cantor, to lead rebuilding efforts.
"Elections have consequences," said Putnam, on whether his position as conference chairman -- the No. 3 House Republican -- could be in jeopardy if the GOP conference is reduced after election losses to its most-ideologically conservative members.
New House GOP leadership elections, which will be held behind closed doors, are already set for Nov. 17 in Washington.
However, there is some uncertainty over whether Putnam, who only took his leadership role two years ago and at age 35 is one of the House's youngest members, will be among those also targeted in any leadership purge, said David Wasserman, an expert on the House with non-partisan Cook Political Report.
As yet another commenter said in the responses to The Ledger's endorsement:
Adam Putnam's vote on the bailout bill made him lose my vote forever.
I'm a republican.
:::
Please support Doug Tudor's campaign. If you don't live here in Central Florida, you might be wondering, "why should I support a campaign that is not in my district?" The answer is simple. As a member of the Republican leadership in the House, Adam Putnam will be the obstructionist in chief to anything President Obama is trying to accomplish. Putnam's role in the House doesn't just impact FL-12, it impacts all working families throughout the nation. The result of the FL-12 race has an effect on all of us!
Those that think that Adam Putnam's seat in Congress is safe this election year, and are not paying attention to this R+5 district, with 20,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, haven't been speaking to the people who actually live in this District.
Thank you to everybody here who has been support of Doug Tudor's campaign, and my efforts to draw attention to it.]]>
FL=12: Adam Putnam: GOP Before Constituentstag:www.talkingpointsmemo.com,2008:/talk/blogs/hungrycoyote//5687.2413202008-10-31T11:07:56Z2008-10-31T11:44:01ZAdam Putnam, the third ranking Republican in Congress, has a battle on his hands in District 12 with a strong campaign being waged against him by Doug Tudor, a retired Navy Master Chief.Despite the fact that the local newspaper endorsed...hungrycoyote Despite the fact that the local newspaper endorsed Putnam today, citizens are angry at Adam Putnam for his voting record and this R+5 race isn't as close as some might think, considering that there are 20,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans in the District, and Barack Obama is bringing out the Democratic vote this year.
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McCain is unstable, was on the job as the third ranking Republican in Congress, towing the line in support of recently announced Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential nominee for the Republican ticket.
"The media doesn't understand life membership in the NRA; they don't understand getting up at 3 a.m. to hunt a moose; they don't understand eating a mooseburger; they don't understand being married to a guy who likes to snowmobile for fun," Rep. Adam Putnam, a Florida Republican, explained in a Politico interview on Monday. "I am not surprised that they don't get it. But Americans get it. A mooseburger means she is like one of us."
FL-12: Cancel Adam "Howdy Doody" Putnam Show!tag:www.talkingpointsmemo.com,2008:/talk/blogs/hungrycoyote//5687.2405372008-10-28T17:35:11Z2008-10-28T18:00:55Z If you don't live here in Central Florida, you might be wondering, "why should I support to a campaign that is not in my district?" The answer is simple. As a member of the Republican leadership in the House,...hungrycoyotePutnam, Tudor Clash in Forum (FL-12)tag:www.talkingpointsmemo.com,2008:/talk/blogs/hungrycoyote//5687.2392142008-10-22T23:17:26Z2008-10-22T23:48:55ZYou won't see it reported on CNN or MSNBC, but Adam Putnam, the third ranking Republican in Congress, has a real fight on his hands! While the Tampa Tribune and Orlando Sentinel editorial boards have endorsed Putnam, vocal constituents in Florida's 12th District think otherwise. Yes we can change FL-12 from Red to Blue! Doug Tudor can win this race against incumbent Adam Putnam, the third ranking Republican in Congress!hungrycoyoteYou won't see it reported on CNN or MSNBC, but Adam Putnam, the third ranking Republican in Congress, has a real fight on his hands! While the Tampa Tribune and Orlando Sentinel editorial boards have endorsed Putnam, vocal constituents in Florida's 12th District think otherwise.
Doug Tudor is fighting an uphill battle raising funds, but he's winning support with his grassroots efforts to kick Adam Putnam out of Congress. Adam Putnam may be dreaming about moving up the Republican leadership ranks, but his constituents think he needs to move out of Congress, altogether.
Yes we can change FL-12 from Red to Blue! Doug Tudor can win this! If we can raise $5,000, we can help the Doug Tudor Campaign purchase Nine Days of Twenty 30-Second TV Ads Per Day in his FL-12 race against Adam Putnam!
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Tudor said he thinks Social Security should be made solvent and left intact.
He told the audience of about 65 people that Putnam was supposed to give a speech about privatizing Social Security on the opening night of the Republican National Convention, but it was canceled because of Hurricane Gustav.
"
Sometimes a storm is good," he said.
But Putnam said there's a significant generation gap when it comes to thoughts about the future of Social Security, particularly because baby boomers are at the front end of a mass retirement and there are fewer workers to pick up the slack.
He said what was 40 workers for each retiree when the program started is now 3.5 workers per retiree.
"You can't look a high school senior or a first-year teacher in the eye and tell them" they'll ever see a dime of Social Security, Putnam said.
According to an attendee who posted a comment at The Ledger's forum, Adam Putnam is in real danger of losing his seat, and we can elect Doug Tudor to provide real representation to the citizens of the 12th District:
I attended this debate last night, but left after Tudor / Putnam finished. Here's what I know: Adam is part of the problem, Tudor will be part of the solution.
If there was ever any doubt that Putnam knows he is in trouble, in his closing remarks, all Adam could say (lie) was that "Tudor doesn't support the second amendment, and wants gun control."
Well, there you have it. A man that spent his entire adult life in the "Profession of Arms" thinks that we should control guns. I guess the sad part about it, is that there will be some who believe Adam's lies. So, that's how he closed his request to be returned to Washington. No apology, no recognition of his own role in the economic collapse -- no nothing, but more lies.
Bye, bye Adam. Hope you'll enjoy your new life as a lobbyist. We know you won't actually come back to live in Bartow, as all you've done your adult life is to try to ensure you don't have to live here (Tallahassee, Washington).
:::::
Putnam was scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention, but his speech was canceled because Hurricane Gustav shortened the convention. Putnam's topic was supposed to be on Social Security, and most likely he would have supported privatization. A commenter and the News Chief's forum, responding to an announcement that Putnam was scheduled to speak, had this to say:
It is only fitting that Adam Putnam will speak on behalf of John McCain's presidential bid. He has consistently carried the water for the failed Bush/Cheney administration, voting with them over 98% of the time. Even though Adam won't put the word "Republican" or "Re-elect" on his campaign literature and signs, he is definitely the epitome of the out-of-touch policies that Bush/McCain have touted for the past eight years and want to continue for the next four years.
Want a prediction of what Adam will say about Social Security? He'll say that it is running out of money, and that we should privatize this system. By the way, what he won't say is that he has always voted for billions in corporate welfare for Big Oil; that he has always voted for the occupation of Iraq which costs America $10 Billion a month; and that he has always voted for tax breaks for America's richest one percent. He also won't tell you that while he is in the richest one percent, he has voted himself a payraise on six occasions! Polk's Prince Putnam is a disgrace to the working men, women, and families of our fine county. Vote for Doug Tudor!
Earlier today, I devoted a diary over at DailyKos to the Letters to the Editor of The Ledger in Lakeland. Today I found some Letters to the Editor of Winter Haven's News Chief:
Adam Putnam, the now multimillionaire member of the U.S. House of Representatives and member of the Financial Services Committee, has once again shown who he truly represents.
While the nation held its breath to see if a depression was about to bomb down on us from the years of total corruption, Republican deregulation and mismanagement of the banking, insurance and financial sectors, where was our congressman? Why, out on Nantucket, collecting more and more money and gifts from the very firms and contributors he has been sworn to regulate.
Would that be corruption? Not to Putnam. That's just loyal support for his campaign from friends - friends who do not live in his district and do not vote here.
Putnam has more than $1.6 million in "gifts" to use to defeat Democrat Doug Tudor, who now has just more than $100,000.
If money is the sole criterion by which we elect our representative, then Putnam likely is good for another term. If not, there is a clear and an honest choice with a retired U.S. Navy veteran like Doug Tudor, who is so clearly better than the representative we have now.
That's right! Adam Putnam, Chairman of the House Republican Conference and member of the House Financial Services Committee, had other things on his calender during the financial crisis. He was hosting a $2,500 per person fundraiser in Nantucket, Massachusetts, September 19-21, 2008. Seriously! He really was! Here's the Invitation to the Event to raise money for his RED PAC, so named because President Bush nicknamed Putnam "Red."
Did you know that Adam Putnam is big on Energy Conservation? According to the first mailer we received from him last week, that's what we're supposed to believe. But, a reader of the News Chief thinks actions speaker louder than words, and Putnam's votes don't back up his claims:
In a recent interview with the News Chief, Congressman Adam Putnam described his energy policy as an "all-of-the-above approach." But so far in 2008, Putnam has voted against H.R. 6049 (renewable energy), H.R. 6052 (public transportation) and H.R. 5351 (another renewable energy bill).
In fact, Putnam's energy policy to date has been to consistently vote against "all of the above." Why wasn't Putnam asked to defend these votes on the record?
When gasoline hit nearly $4 a gallon, Putnam announced support for coastal drilling around Florida and began what is, in reality, nothing more than a publicity stunt, occupying the floor of the out-of-session House, speaking to the gallery. We don't need stunts; we need the kind of renewable energy projects and public transportation alternatives that Putnam voted against.
Cheap oil is a thing of the past. We need new, forward-looking leaders in Washington to create real energy policies, not political shenanigans.
Florida District 12 covers east Hillsborough (where Tampa is located), almost all of Polk County and a sliver of west Osceola County.
Today's mail brought another brochure from Adam Putnam, in which he claims that his opponent, Doug Tudor, is running "a false and negative campaign." As the only proof of this assertion, Putnam's brochure states:
Here's what newspapers are saying about Doug Tudor's false and negative campaign for Congress:
"... he's way off target in accusing Mr. Putnam of putting his party and personal ambitions ahead of serving his district." -- Orlando Sentinel; Oct. 12, 2008.
"...clearly articulates the liberal philosophy of the national Democratic party." -- Polk County Democrat; Oct. 4, 2008.
And yet, during an interview with Winter Haven's News Chief, Putnam responded to a question about his responsibilities to the Republican Party:
NC: How much time does your new post (chairman of the House Republican Conference), how much extra time, does that take up?
AP: When I'm in Washington, it takes up quite a bit of time. When I'm down here, it really doesn't have much impact. It means that I'm on the road a fair bit more. I do some traveling for other candidates, so that's a little bit more of a demand. In Washington is really where it makes the biggest difference. I'd say that between planning the conference meeting, which is every week, and following through on, you know, herding the cats, it ends up being a fairly significant time commitment.
See, it's only when Putnam is in Washington when he's supposed to be representing his constituents that his position as Chairman of the House Republican Conference is "a fairly significant time commitment." But, according to the Orlando Sentinel, who has endorsed Putnam, Tudor is off target in claiming that Putnam puts the Republican Party ahead of serving his district? Give me a break!
Here we have in Adam Putnam, another typical Republican candidate who projects his own actions upon his opponent. Doug Tudor has been nothing but respectful when talking about Adam Putnam. The mailer sent out by Putnam claiming Tudor is running a negative campaign, is nothing more than negative propaganda in and of itself. It is Adam Putnam who is guilty of negative campaigning!
Putnam's brochure goes on to make the claim, "Adam Putnam ... A Record of Results for Florida." Nice claim ... too bad Putnam doesn't bother to take the time to list any of those accomplishments. I sure can't think of any. Instead, he uses his brochure to accuse his opponent of waging a negative campaign against him.
The most appalling part of the brochure? The photographs. While Putnam puts a full color photograph of himself above the "issues" he supports, he provides a ghostly looking black-and-white photo of his opponent. Guess what, Adam? Your lame attempt at portraying yourself as a "pretty boy" against a "real man" who is a hero, didn't work!
If we can raise $5,000, we can help the Tudor Campaign purchase Nine Days of Twenty 30-Second TV Ads Per Day!
If we surpass that goal, and are able to raise more, here is what additional funds can do:
● $ 2,700 = 10,000 piece mailer targeted to seniors, women, etc.
● $ 2,000 = Floods the Hispanic radio airwaves from now until election day
● $ 550 = 1/2 page color ad in The Ledger on Election Day
A rumor going around here in Florida Congressional District 12 is that Adam Putnam is down by 5 points in his race against Doug Tudor. The Putnam campaign conducted an internal poll just after the vote on the bailout and Tudor was beating Putnam by 5 points! Doug Tudor can win his race against Adam Putnam with our help!
From a comment in another diary I wrote over at DailyKos about the FL-12 Congressional District election:
Insider information We (me and my gossipy friends) have it confirmed that after Adam heard the results of the straw poll in Lakeland, he grunted, "F***!" and stomped off. I know it is wrong of me, but I laugh every time I think about that. I laugh out loud.
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FL-12: Let's Kick Adam Putnam out of Congresstag:www.talkingpointsmemo.com,2008:/talk/blogs/hungrycoyote//5687.2389542008-10-22T04:45:28Z2008-10-22T07:12:18ZA rumor going around here in Florida Congressional District 12 is that Adam Putnam is down by 5 points in his race against Doug Tudor. The Putnam campaign conducted an internal poll just after the vote on the bailout and Tudor was beating Putnam by 5 points! Doug Tudor can win his race against Adam Putnam with our help!hungrycoyoteI admit it. I wasn't paying attention. I was never politically active. I was one of those low-information voters. My method was simple. I handed the sample ballot to my husband, who was more politically aware, and he would mark it for me. Not this time. In fact, I'm more informed than he is these days and often he'll say, "Did you hear about ..." and I am able to tell him more than he already knows. It's my turn to mark his sample ballot.
The first time I paid attention to anything Adam Putnam had to say was after the 2006 election when he went on a Republican political crusade to demonize House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for "requesting" a military jet to fly back and forth to her district in California. Up until that point, I didn't think much one way or another about my representative in Congress.
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Today's Tampa Tribue [sic] is carrying a
profile of one of the key drivers of this tale: Florida GOP Rep. Adam
Putnam. As chairman of the House Republican conference committee,
Putnam plays a key role in pushing the GOP's message in the media, and
he aggressively pushed the plane story from the start. But now he's cheerfully admitted to the Tribune that not only did he have no idea whether the plane story was true, he didn't particularly care, either.
(snip)
I'm
not sure it gets any clearer than that. Putnam had no idea whether the
story was true or not. Yet based on an anonymously sourced Washington Times
story (and allegedly based on CNN, though what exactly CNN had added to
the story at that point is unclear), he happily attacked Pelosi for
"arrogance" and "extravagance." More important, he is still
"unapologetic" about the fact that the story turned out to be false,
because, well, it's not his job to care about such things. It's his job
to "drive" the GOP's "message."
This
one instance told me that the person elected to represented me in
Congress, puts his party first and foremost above all else, including
the concerns and needs of his constituents.
:::::
ADAM PUTNAM'S DOUBLESPEAK ON SUPPORTING THE TROOPS
The
DCCC has launched a multimedia campaign to highlight House Republicans'
hypocrisy in claiming to support our troops and veterans, but then
playing politics with funding them.
Despite Republicans' claims to fund our troops, Rep. Adam Putnam refused to vote "yes" or "no" on critical funding.
House
Republicans knocked the carefully choreographed Iraq war funding
process into chaos Thursday when they declined to vote for $162.5
billion for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The vote
was a GOP protest against the tactics of Democrats, who added
hard-to-veto domestic spending to the measure and bypassed the
committee process. Instead of voting "yes" or "no" on the funding
measure, 132 Republicans instead voted "present."
Because of
that, the measure failed by eight votes. In the final tally, 141
members voted yes, 149 voted no, 132 voted present and 12 did not vote.
(snip)
"What
you saw is certainly an aggressive, imaginative floor tactic," said
House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam (Fla.). "What you see
is that a majority of the majority doesn't support this spending bill
for the troops."
Puzzled Democrats said Republicans had committed an offense most often
pinned on Democrats -- failure to support the troops.
In addition, Adam Putnam voted against Jim Webb's G.I. Bill. Here is the Roll Call Vote.
:::::
FL-12 HAS A CHOICE THIS ELECTION!
Unlike
in 2006 when Adam Putnam had no Democratic challenger in his bid for
re-election, there is a viable alternative this election! His name is Doug Tudor.
He is a 20-year Navy veteran who retired on March 1, 2008, as a Master
Chief Petty Officer, the senior enlisted grade of E-9. In his last six
years of active duty, Doug Tudor served as the administrative aide for
three Commanders, U.S. Central Command -- General Tommy Franks, General
John Abizaid, and Admiral William Fallon. He has traveled to the combat
zones of Afghanistan and Iraq on over 30 occasions.
Doug Tudor Supports:
● Bringing Our Troops Home From Iraq
● Ensuring Access to Affordable Healthcare for all Americans
● Shifting the Tax Burden Off of the Backs of Working-Class Americans
●
Making the Improvement of America's Public School System the #1 Long
Term Domestic Priority, Including the Repeal of No Child Left Behind
● Funding the Research and Development Needed to Find Alternative Fuel Sources
● Finding A Workable Solution for Non-Documented Workers
● Sensible Measures to Protect Our Environment
● The Revocation of The Patriot Act
Doug Tudor Opposes:
● Tax Credit and Exemptions for Corporations Which Send Jobs Overseas
● Privatization of Social Security Benefits
● Domestic Wiretapping and Other Patriot Act Provisions
● Permanent Military Bases in Iraq
● Further Oil Drilling in the Territorial Waters of the Gulf of Mexico
● The Militarization of the America/Mexico Border
Doug
Tudor Will Vote for Bills that Promote Economic Justice, Fiscal
Responsibility, Energy Independence, Ecological Sense, Civil Rights,
and Military Restraint
Doug Tudor is running for Congress to
give working families a voice: a voice that Adam Putnam has sacrificed
in his never-ending submissiveness to party politics. Doug was
interviewed by the local newspaper:
"I can win," he says.
"People have absolutely had it with the status quo in Washington," Tudor said.
"I
was working at the national level, serving our country in uniform while
watching our civilian leaders run the country off a cliff. So I decided
rather than complain, I'd take a stand. I'm running for the same reason
most people do. I got (mad)."
Tudor said his opponent is a rich
guy who can afford to lose a few million on the stock market, isn't
fazed by $4 gas, "is bought and paid for by big business" and who voted
with President George W. Bush 98.7 percent of the time.
In a previous article announcing Tudor's candidacy in May, we learned more about Putnam's challenger:
He and his wife, Paula, who is on active duty with the Air Force, have three children, Hannah, Alec and Elle.
Born
in Cincinnati, Ohio, he grew up in Danville, Va. He received a bachelor
of science degree in political science from the University of Maryland
in 1995 and an executive juris doctorate degree from Concord University
School of Law in Athens, W. Va., in 2007. The degree is an alternative
to a regular law degree and is for people who want to study law without
becoming lawyers.
Tudor said he is not concerned about the odds
of running against a powerful Republican with deep family roots in Polk
County, where most of the district's voters live.
"The
Republican brand has failed miserably, and people are going to vote
their pocketbooks in this election,'' Tudor said. "He is a nice guy,
but being the number three Republican in the House, he has so closely
tied himself to this president that there is no way he can separate
himself. He votes wrong, and as a multimillionaire, he can't see how
working families are suffering."
Florida District 12 covers east Hillsborough (where Tampa is located), most of Polk and west Osceola counties. The Tampa Tribune in an article endorsing the re-election of Republicans, including Putnam, stated:
Putnam,
34, is being challenged by Democrat Doug Tudor of Riverview, a retired
Master Chief Petty Officer and 20-year Navy veteran. In his last six
years at U.S. Central Command, he served as administrative aide to Gen.
Tommy Franks, Gen. John Abizaid and Admiral William Fallon.
Tudor
is rightly proud of his military experience, and his familiarity with
the world's hotspots. The Kentucky native criticizes Putnam for being
submissive to party politics and failing to watch out for the working
man. He makes the point that Putnam served on the House Financial
Services Committee (along with Brown-Waite,) which oversees the
nation's housing and financial services sectors.
Still, Putnam, who is seeking his fifth term, understands the complexities of the global financial markets and was among the architects of the Wall Street rescue plan.
While claiming that Putnam was an architect of the rescue plan, the Tampa Tribune neglects to tell its readers that while other members of Congress were working day and night to solve the economic crisis, Adam
Putnam, Chairman of the House Republican Conference and member of the
House Financial Services Committee, was busy doing other things. He was
hosting a $2,500 fundraiser in Nantucket, Massachusetts, September
19-21, 2008. Seriously! Here's the Invitation to the Event to raise money for his RED PAC, so named because President Bush nicknamed Putnam "Red."
::::: While the Tampa Tribune may heart Adam Putnam, readers of Lakeland's newspaper in Polk County, The Ledger, have other things to say when writing letters to the editor:
I
have never believed that Adam Putnam represents me or the people whom I
know: the working class people who are trying to keep a home and food
on the table for our families, and gas in our cars to get to work.
Putnam
represents the pharmaceutical companies that charge exorbitant prices
for medications that we need. Putnam represents the big oil companies
that are raking in billions in profit. Putnam represents the
agricultural industry - and they all make sure they get their tax
exemptions, while Putnam gets contributions from them to keep him in
office. One hand washes the other, as they say.
(snip)
I
believe Doug Tudor is a man who will represent me and the people of the
12th District when he gets to Washington and will remember who we are,
back here in Polk County.
We need to support Doug Tudor and make him the next congressman from the 12th District of Florida in November.
The
wealthy Putnam, who has never held a meaningful job other than to work
on the family citrus-and-cattle farm, and to serve in the Florida and
federal legislatures, has no understanding of the needs of the people.
He only represents the Republican Party.
His job has been to
"make noise" and block all progressive legislation. The new Obama
administration will bring hope and change, but the changes will be
easier without the third-ranking Republican obstructionist in charge,
Putnam.
We as voters in the 12th Congressional District have the
opportunity to say we don't need you Adam Putnam to cause problems in
our government anymore. Doug Tudor will also be on the ballot this
November and, with our support, could unseat Putnam. Please look at the
background of Doug Tudor and see if you believe, as I do, that he would
truly better represent the people of the 12th District.
Rep.
Putnam, please run a campaign on what - if anything - you plan to do
differently so we won't have to endure the same lied-about war, economy
and border insecurity we have incurred in the past eight years. We are
all anxiously awaiting to hear about your new plans.
Your
congressional record is not very impressive and perhaps it is time for
you to rejoin the real world for awhile, and get some real-life
experience.
Putnam
supported President Bush's policies on war in Iraq, secret prisons,
torture, deficit spending, an interventionist foreign policy that costs
nearly $1 trillion a year (more than the rest of the world spends
combined) and spying on U.S. citizens.
Neoconservatives such as
Putnam cannot be trusted. They promised us they would only spy on
suspected terrorists without a court order. Recently it was revealed
that American spies eavesdropped on the private conversations our
soldiers in Iraq with family and friends back home. It was further
reported that, on many occasions, these American spies shared the
recorded conversations with each other for their own entertainment.
We
know that his innocent appearance and squeaky-clean record were
exploited by that administration to lend credibility to its flawed,
irresponsible and dangerous leadership philosophy.
We tolerated
his "attack dog" role because of our selfish belief that it would
better enable him to bring home the "pork" (not to be confused with
"the other white meat"). Unfortunately, Congressman Putnam and his
confused House colleagues again ignored the duty of Congress to provide
checks and balances against executive and administrative abuses of its
power and authority.
These abuses have brought this nation to
its knees. They have undermined its economic balance and stability in
favor of global financial and business interests.
Putnam
recently ignored the opportunity to stand tall and reject the
irresponsible, unworkable and corrupt bailout plan inflicted upon
Congress by Bush, Paulson, Bernanke and Goldman Sachs. He disregarded
the overwhelming pleas of his constituents and unbiased learned
economists to stay calm and avoid a knee-jerk giveaway of taxpayers'
funds.
Please
do not misrepresent to the public that Adam Putnam can protect Polk
County's interest in Washington. All he has ever protected is the
corporate giants and has voted in support of Bush's policies 98.7
percent of the time. Also, make it clear to your readership that The
Ledger supports torture, unnecessary wars and that they even doubt the
reality of global warming.
On the other hand, maybe The Ledger
will do some serious soul-searching and become courageous enough to say
enough is enough and that it is long past time for a change. Adam
Putnam has well over a $1 million to spend, while Doug Tudor has less
than $100,000. It would seem that The Ledger would at least make it
known that there is a congressional race this year and provide daily
information about it.
To not endorse Doug Tudor is the same as
endorsing all that the Bush administration has done in the past eight
years, as Mr. Putnam was with him 98.7 percent of the time. They are
twins.
Mr. Tudor has an outstanding resume, which readers can read for themselves at www.teamtudor.org.
Amazingly,
in all the Letters to the Editor I was able to locate, not one of them
supported Adam Putnam. The closest anybody came was to say that we
shouldn't be pointing fingers right now during the financial crisis.
If we can raise $5,000, we can help the Tudor Campaign purchase Nine Days of Twenty 30-Second TV Ads Per Day!
If we surpass that goal, and are able to raise more, here is what additional funds can do:
● $ 2,700 = 10,000 piece mailer targeted to seniors, women, etc.
● $ 2,000 = Floods the Hispanic radio airwaves from now until election day
● $ 550 = 1/2 page color ad in The Ledger on Election Day
A
rumor going around here in Florida Congressional District
12 is that Adam Putnam is down by 5 points in his race against Doug
Tudor. The Putnam campaign conducted an internal poll just after the
vote
on the bailout and Tudor was beating Putnam by 5 points! Doug Tudor can
win his race against Adam Putnam with our help!
Skirting the edge of District 12 is Polk City, Florida, home of the Fantasy of Flight attraction, where Sarah Palin stumped with Governor Charlie Christ and Congressman Adam Putnam this afternoon. Although, I think "Fantasy of Fight" would be a more appropriate title for the event, as in it's a fantasy that they can win this fight.
Please support Doug Tudor's campaign. If you don't live here in Central Florida, you might be wondering, "why should I support a campaign that is not in my district?" The answer is simple. As a member of the Republican leadership in the House, Adam Putnam will be the obstructionist in chief to anything President Obama is trying to accomplish. Putnam's role in the House doesn't just impact FL-12, it impacts all working families throughout the nation. The result of the FL-12 race has an effect on all of us!
