Fantastic News From Frankel

I suspect every Democrat in the West Palm Beach area who ever dreamed of heading to Congress is salivating at Allen West's every delicious gaffe, but I suspect we just saw the entry of the next Representative for District 22.

Lois Frankel has entered the race. Via CNN:

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"As a mayor and the mother of a veteran and small business owner, I know what families need to do to get by in these tough times" Frankel said in the statement. "Family budgets must be balanced with thought and care. That is why as Mayor of West Palm Beach we balanced our budget while also promoting economic revitalization."

"I am not running for Congress to win favor with the Washington extremists and I am not motivated the same tired partisan fights. I believe it's about time we put the interests of our local economy and families first," Frankel said.
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She is the mayor of West Palm Beach, but you may remember her as the Democratic leader for the Florida House in 2000, when she fought vehemently, albeit unsuccessfully, to have a legitimate recount after the 2000 fiasco. As a leader of her party and a representative from the Butterfly Ballot garden, she became an articulate and awesome voice for democracy at the time when a national spotlight shined brighter on Florida lawmakers than ever before.

Sadly, her star was rising at a time when GOP politics was taking a firm grip of Florida. It is telling that so many Republican players in that affair - Speaker Tom Feeney, state Sen. Ginny Brown-Waite, Secretary of State Katherine Harris - would find themselves by 2002 winning Congressional campaigns while Frankel left the House and pursued a career in local politics.

Mind you, mayor of West Palm Beach is a significant step up the political food chain compared to state House member, but she always deserved more. At a time when the Republican leadership in Florida is reveling in arrogance and practically anxious to commit some sort of abuse of power, now is the time for Frankel to get the recognition she has so long deserved.

Allen West, the lunatic just elected from the 22nd to the House, provides a fantastic opportunity. Living in swing and committed to symbolizing the ugliest principles in the GOP skeleton closet, he makes the top of every tea party fantasy league pick list and every Democratic strategist's list of likely pickups in 2012.

I had rather thought Ron Klein would try and take this seat back, but that isn't happening. I am fine with that, especially since Klein made some utterly embarrassing votes during his last days on the Hill.

And no offense to Patrick Murphy, but he has to prove himself real quick to prove himself a more viable candidate than Frankel.

The mayor has already paid her dues. Her respect was earned years ago. Now, it is time to reward her for years of service. If we do, I trust she will reward Florida progressives with more dedication and poltical success for years to come.