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“The bottom line is that the voters, whether they’re in the most liberal or conservative or moderate districts, they like their elected officials to have the backbone of steel that Ginny Brown-Waite [Russell’s Republican opponent] has,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a liberal Democrat from Broward County who has worked with, and against, her since their days in the Florida Legislature. “When constituents know they are represented by someone who is willing to vote her conscience and do the right thing and is independent and not a rubber-stamp, that’s going to be tough to beat.” St. Petersburg Times 27 May 2006 Russell had worked hard for the party in 2004 delivering the 5th for Betty Castor in a tough election. His campaign issues were all within the mainstream of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. In addition, he took thoughtful positions on election integrity issues that were more than justified by Florida’s election experiences since 2000. With less than a month until Election Day 2006, another story appeared in the St. Petersburg Times 15 October 2006 in which Rep. Wasserman-Schultz again commented on Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite: "She's pretty independent-minded, she stands up for what she believes in, and if she changes her view, it's because she's carefully evaluated" the issue. This inspired Russell’s question, “So why would an elected official from my party be actively working for my Republican opponent?” John Russell’s Fight for Democracy in Florida’s 5th Congressional District John Russell represents a real citizen candidate for public office. In 2006, he mounted his grassroots campaign for Congress in Florida’s 5th Congressional District. The district is north of the Tampa Bay area and looked like a good opportunity for Russell’s type of Democratic populism. Russell was encouraged by his successful delivery of the district in for the Democratic candidate for the Democratic Senate candidate Betty Castor, who lost statewide to Mel Martinez in 2004. Russell’s campaign was under funded and received inconsistent attention from the major media. Florida Democratic Committee Chairperson Karen Thurman, the former Congressional representative from District 5, provided no help. She contributed a personal check for $50.00 to Russell’s campaign only after what Russell says was “much coaxing.” Things looked good according to a Rasmussen Research poll near the end of the race showing John in striking distance. Oddly enough the supposedly liberal St. Petersburg Times (a media source for the 5th) ignored the Rasmussen poll and relied on polling from a source that consistently showed Russell 20 points behind. Russell lost but he wasn’t finished by a long shot. He and others noticed voting irregularities and began amassing evidence. Again the Florida Democratic Committee ignored the citizen candidate’s cause. Russell’s investigative efforts were severely hampered by lack of funding. As Russell sought to verify the vote, he weathered the storm of assault by right wing newspaper columnists as a “sore loser.” In Florida, as in other places around the country, you need to pay several thousand dollars to even look at the ballots. Russell’s campaign for election justice continues along with four other Florida Congressional candidates challenging the 2006 results all represented by Tampa attorney Mark Adams. More of the Same in Store The Miami Herald reported: “Cárdenas declined to talk about any clients that Thurman is working with besides Miami-Dade County, saying, “They’re still in the oven.” While the oven is heating up, key questions emerge. Will Florida’s Democrats continue to lag well behind the Republicans in fund raising efforts for 2008?
http://electionfraudnews.com Michael Collins is a writer who focuses on clean elections and voting rights. See this summary of his articles plus Election 2004: The Urban Legend and groundbreaking research and commentary in "" His web site, Election Fraud News & The Money Party, offers a collection of resources and commentary on critical issues facing the country.
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