Florida
Related: About this forumThe Curious Case of Brian Mast
The representative of the 18th District (Florida's Treasure Coast) is one Brian Mast, of Michigan.
Mr. Mast is well-known as a U.S. Army veteran who suffered catastrophic injuries in the course of his service as an explosives technician in Afghanistan, resulting in the loss of his legs and one finger.
Seeking to parlay his service and disabilities into a seat in Congress, the ever-opportunistic Republican party saw an opening on Florida's 18th and promptly shipped Mast down there to run. Mast won in 2016, and also won reelection in '18, and again in '20 - this time defeating a far better alternative for our party, the dynamic Pam Keith, herself a Navy veteran and a sorely needed strong, outspoken voice for us - and shamefully, one that our local Democratic organizations did not get fully behind.
Mast meanwhile has been all the Pukes can ask for; opposing, oddly, the Affordable Care Act while government assisted rehab virtually restored his ability to walk, albeit on the ever-visible prosthetic devices he now wears; and enthusiastically embracing the fraud, and now seditious/accessory to murder, con-man as POTUS.
Mast has picked the low-hanging fruit of water quality on the Treasure Coast as his primary campaign banner. Water quality of the St. Lucie estuary has dramatically been going downhill due to the gross mismanagement of the Lake Okeechobee run-off and northern flows into the Lake, courtesy of the Army Corp of Engineers. Anyone who wants any office on the Treasure Coast would take the same position.
But now, the chickens have returned to the roost for Mast. Mast was one of the 139 seditious republicans opposing at least one result of the Electoral College state votes - after the storming of the very House that he works in.
Mast has shown that his true color(s) is Red, and not Red, White, and Blue. He has shamed the uniform he served in, shamed his District, and shamed he and his family by standing with the Treason Caucus.
We must get tough as Dems and we must do so now and mount a Stacy Abrams-type movement to elect our people!
VOTE MAST, SCOTT, GAETZ, and the other 10 FL traitors OUT!! Don't fall for Mast's faux/centrist act!
...and don't forget RUBIO who has enabled this horror, although he did have the decency to not oppose the votes.
hay rick
(8,212 posts)I think that may have stimulated his conscience. Or maybe there's a bible verse pointing the way on this subject.
Surprised you are blaming local Democratic organizations for Pam's loss. Any in particular? Pam's strongest point is her speaking ability and the pandemic severely limited her opportunities. The pandemic also limited the ability of clubs, caucuses, DECs, and groups like Indivisible to have meetings and knock on doors. That said, there was record turnout of Democrats in the district.
Loge23
(3,922 posts)I don't blame the Dem orgs for her loss, but I'm pretty sure both the local Democratic club and Dem. Women's group were behind Oz for the primary. When Pam defeated Oz in the primary, there just wasn't any impactful shift towards Pam in their support.
Don't get me wrong, I think Oz was a terrific candidate also and I certainly don't want to suggest otherwise, but Pam could've used some love for the election.
Mast has considerable support, no doubt, but our record here shows us falling further back in a once-solid blue county.
We simply have to work smarter and better.
hay rick
(8,212 posts)I admire Oz as a person but he was a terrible candidate. He got attention from groups early because he was the only candidate in the race but he failed to put together an organization. By January he was looking for his third campaign manager. I know people who encouraged Pam to get in the race at that point. After Pam entered the race his fund-raising ability was compromised and I think he knew he was toast.