Women For Gillum In Tampa

Melanie Lachs and Nina Tatlock

Candy Lowe

Adnan Aida Mackic with friend

Jessica Vaughn

Jennifer Hart

kathy castor

Pat Kemp

Kimberly Overman

Angela Birdsong

Jennifer Webb

Bill Person and friend

And this guy! 

At Waterworks Park - 2018

The Merchants Of Ybor

Chillum

1714 E. 7th Ave

Visit them here

Marco Rubio spreads ‘lie’ about Andrew Gillum

Marco Rubio told a hometown crowd Monday that Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum mishandled the Hurricane Hermine response in 2016 — making him the latest Florida Republican to try discrediting the Democratic gubernatorial nominee by invoking the two-year-old storm. But in this case, the senator was the one blowing hot air. more

2020 with Asher

I have high hopes for Andrew Gillum, Sean Shaw, Debra Bellanti, and others who are running to bring sanity to our state politics. We desperately need decency and good politics in Tallahassee. We certainly need it in Downtown Tampa — high hopes for Mariella Smith, Kimberly Overman, Angela Birdsong, and Andrew Davis, too. Best of luck to all of the progressives running across our country who will be put to the test on November 6th.

That being said, we need to pay attention to the looming Presidential primary that will begin immediately afterward. While there is a Tampa municipal election headed our way, we should be prepared to discuss candidates for 2020. Being the political junkie that I am, I’ve already discussed potential candidates on my personal page. Here I will go slightly deeper into some of the options I am considering.

I care most about: Ending the War on Terror and reforming our foreign policy. Ending the War on Drugs and transforming our justice system to benefit marginalized communities. Support for our Constitution which should include protecting LGBT, our right to search and seizure, the right to bear arms with common sense gun control, & the general welfare — ADA, universal healthcare, a push toward eliminating student debt, better pay for civil servants, and environmental action. A plan of action to confront national security wherein we have mass shooters threatening our lives—with gun control, mental healthcare expansion, and undercover, trained Marshals to defend our schools. I might be laying out MY platform here, but that’s what I look for in candidates. I’m also leaving a lot out.

1. Sen. Bernie Sanders is the most popular choice for progressives and stands out due to a lifetime of public service. While his running would indubitably spark up tension from 2016, his demeanor and platform are right for this country. His “take no prisoners,” bold approach to politics would rival Trump’s knee jerk, hyper emotional populism well, and highlight the need for progressive change. Bernie has a pro working class platform, a strong stance on civil liberties, and an anti war attitude; he’d earn my support with ease. He is getting up there in age, along with his wife, Jane, and so might decide to pass the torch. I would support this and eagerly anticipate his endorsement.

2. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is an exceptional political figure from Hawaii. She is cool in the spotlight, has been bold in her support for the progressive movement, and has a fantastic platform. She supports Glass Steagall, environmental action, and is vehemently anti war. She served in the military which empowers her anti war stances, and has the temperament to be a star candidate. What she should do upon deciding to run for President is make her support for the LGBT community firm; her background with an anti gay, political father will be a thorn in her side, and she should publicly declare that she has indeed evolved and welcomes others from similar backgrounds to evolve on the issue as well. While doing this, Tulsi should make a definitive position defending the trans community in their current struggle for civil liberties. Past that, I would be honored to support Tulsi in a run for Commander in Chief.

3. Rep. Ro Khanna is not as well known. He is the Congressman from Silicon Valley in California in his first term. With less than two years on the Hill, Ro has already helped start caucuses, draft bills, make connections, and made so much of his short time in Congress. He, like Tulsi, is a progressive rockstar and should receive far more attention from our leftist community. He would have to work on his name recognition and, perhaps, spice up his public speaking. Check him out. I would love to support Ro if he decides to run, and so far as I can tell he hasn’t made such a statement.

4. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has become a household name among progressives. Her firebrand advocacy for restraining Wall Street is legendary. Her defiance of the national tumor that is the MAGA movement is admirable. While some people doubt her charisma, I think she has it in strides, with the ability to win over NPAs with her progressive message. A seasoned politician with a knack for standing up to the powers that be, I would be excited to support Elizabeth Warrren. My concern is with her votes on the Defense bills. She would need to make a definitive stance against the War on Terror and apologize for, or, at least, acknowledge moving past her past votes on Defense legislation.

Who would you be excited to support? Let me know and please remain civil. I would want whoever runs to pick up a towel and wipe the slate clean from 2016. It’ll be tough, but someone needs the spinal fortitude to bring people together under a progressive candidate. That’s what Andrew Gillum is doing!

Florida Latinos Not Buying GOP BS

Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis’ plan to attract Latino voters by painting his opponent as a socialist doesn’t seem to have taken hold. Here

Florida GOP Matt Gaetz New Idea

“Tallahassee is like the murder capital of Florida,” Gaetz yelled into the microphone in front of a small crowd in Cape Coral, “I don’t know whether to call him Andrew Gillum or Andrew Kill-em.” HERE

What I gave to Chris King

I saw Chris King open a new office in Seminole Heights on Saturday, October 6. He's a great speaker. He's passionate, and he's progressive. I gave him a handwritten note, though, because I'm concerned that our progressive candidate for governor, Andrew Gillum, seems to be getting pulled to the center by former Hillary and Obama people who have descended upon our state in the aftermath of his win. Here is what I wrote:

"Hillary is hurting enthusiasm with progressives - you're losing support among progressives because of these associations.

Stop moving toward the center.

Communicate with your volunteers.

Reinvigorate the progressive themes that won you the primary got a lot of volunteer support. You didn't win because you're a Dem, you won because you're a progressive. Keep talking about those things!

He's starting to sound like Obama. Sound like yourself!

Organization needs work!

The Ybor City Stogie is disavowing you - that's bad!

Hillary is a distraction - I know she's a friend, but she's hurting your campaign.

Picture of Gillum is "too white" - did they put make up on him?"

Now, to give this a bit more context - the picture I'm talking about - I saw Andrew Gillum's skin looked ashen, and not at all like his normal skin color. This really bothered me when I saw it.

The main concerns, though, like Hillary and Obama people pulling him to the center, despite his promises and assertions that he's the candidate and in charge, come from the evidence I've seen, where his message was suddenly about "affordable" health care, instead of health care for all. Or how he was making statements that sound very much like Obama, rather than like Andrew Gillum. Progressives feel betrayed by these changes. They want the Andrew Gillum of the primary campaign, where he said things that excited all of us, and made us feel confident that our unapologetic candidate would be a strong and vigorous defender and advancer of our values, rather than another milquetoast Democratic candidate with no back bone in an effort to win the mythical "center".

I did see a course correction, though, today (Sunday, October 7) where at a rally, on Facebook live, he returned to his themes of the environment, and making the sunshine state into the solar state, and talking about trade school for kids who aren't college bound. His ads again say healthcare should be a right (though I wish he was saying that health care IS a right).

And meanwhile, I spoke with the owner of this blog, and was relieved to hear that each author's opinions stand on their own, and do not represent the views of the Stogie as a blog, nor of its owner. This progressive supports Andrew Gillum wholeheartedly, while at the same time, is pushing our mutual candidate in the left direction, and asking him to resist the forces of both our previously successful and previously failed candidates who would have him reflect his predecessors, rather than allow him to chart the path that lead so many of us to support him so enthusiastically.

I doubt my one little set of handwritten notes has made a huge difference, but I do hope that it was looked at, and considered as coming from one his grass-roots supporters.

Andrew Gillum's New Tampa Office

5118 N Nebraska Ave, Tampa