Madfloridian's Journal - Florida county chair won't let candidate into county fundraiser...tells him not to run again.

If that chairperson tells a former candidate "What!?, are you going to run again?!. You can't. You've had your chance, and you have to give someone else a chance"!....is it legal?

Since I found out about this, I have been trying to figure out how to post it carefully and fairly. I have pretty good sources on this, and it is very upsetting. I am leaving off the county chair's name for now, but this may need further posting in the future.

Here is part of an email from that former candidate that was shared with me. Hubby and I met him during his last campaign, and since he was supported by Florida DFA though not in our district, we donated. We liked him.

I would love to be proved wrong on this. I really would like that, but I fear I am right. A reporter for a major paper in the area is looking into it, but nothing yet. If they look into this the way they looked in the way the Florida Democrats handled the prinary problem, then I don't have much hope. The major papers took the state party line....hook line and sinker. Fingers crossed, though.

I am a Democrat. As Democrats we hold as foundational the principle that as Democrats, we allow EVERY voice to be heard. Even voices of dissent... Voices loud or soft that may ask questions which we find uncomfortable. Rather than silence these voices, one might well imagine that the most productive recourse would be to inquire further into the circumstances, which lead to these "questions" being asked in the first place. A process called introspection. As Democrats, we also allow EVERYONE the opportunity to participate. As Democrats, we are supposed to represent the "little guy." The Democratic Party as I grew to know it was... THE PARTY OF INCLUSION. Today, the Democratic Party has become more the party of EXCLUSION... leaving those who dare to inquire, no place to go but to the back of the bus.

Here is the website of John Russell.

http://johnrussellforcongress.com /

Here is more of what happened when he wanted to attend a fundraiser for a county. This is another email from another Florida Democrat. It is referring to the same county chair, but this time the statement is made he can not attend the fundraiser.

Permission to share, but I am leaving out names. This is a very bad situation.

As a firm believer in freedom of speech and our democracy, I feel I must make people aware of a recent action taken against a formerly nominated Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress, John Russell, by the Chair of the _____ Democratic Executive Committee. I had mailed a check in the amount of $150.00 to cover the costs for myself and two guests to attend the "United We Stand" fundraiser being held on October 12, 2007 at __________. I received a call from one of the organizers asking for the names of my guests and provided those names, one of whom was John Russell. Within 10 minutes, I received a call from the Chair of the _________. She informed me that John Russell would not be allowed to attend and that he would be "stopped at the door" if he showed up. Her reason was that he was "disruptive".

Let's summarize this. A former candidate whom the party shut out before, with a state congresswoman even praising his opponent, Ginny Brown Waite....was told he could not run again, and also was told he could not attend a fundraiser or he would be stopped at the door.

Something is very wrong with that picture.

The Sunshine State Democrats need to start letting more sunlight into the party.