A few days ago, we pointed out that a Tampa-area district, FL-15, has been off the national electoral radar but has come into play in light of a poll showing that voters are open to replacing right-wing extremist Dennis Ross with Alan Cohn, the progressive Democrat running for the seat. Cohn is the recipient of the 2007 George Foster Peabody Award, one of journalism's highest honors, for uncovering and then reporting on a case that showed defective parts were being installed on Black Hawk helicopters built by Connecticut-based Sikorsky Aircraft.Unlike O'Reilly, Cohn is an actual recipient of the Peabody Award. And as Chief Investigative Reporter at WFTS-TV in Tampa, he exposed a fake U.S. Marine masquerading as a decorated war hero in Tampa. In a high-profile case, Cohn exposed a politician, then-Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman, who took a half million dollars from a wealthy businessman to buy an undisclosed vacation home in Arkansas.If Cohn is elected to Congress, he'd be the only Member to have won a Peabody and two Emmy Awards [UPDATE: he won 4 Emmys, not 2], one which he earned in Boston for exposing a convicted killer trying to become a Boston police officer and another for work in Miami that helped win back benefits for a lost and forgotten Vietnam veteran. What a great and natural replacement he'd make for Darrell Issa as head of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform!Alan and his wife Patricia live in Tampa with their two children Ann, who just graduated from high school, and Aaron, a sophomore and an up and coming baseball player. I asked Alan to introduce himself to DWT readers with a guest post explaining why he was interested in running for Congress. If you like what you hear, please consider contributing to his grassroots campaign. Tampa deserves two congressmembers who care about ordinary working families.
Guest Postby Alan CohnIt really is ironic. A new poll has just come out showing I’m in position to beat a two term Tea Party extremist in a traditionally Republican district. The reasons likely voters give as to why they’d prefer that I be in Congress rather than right wing extremist Dennis Ross are the same reasons that make my bid for Congress such an incredible challenge.I’m a middle class guy, not a millionaire. I’m not a politician flush with special interest money. I’ve actually worked for a living. For over 30-years, I’ve spoken truth to power, exposed political corruption and fraud. I won journalism’s highest honor for revealing defective parts were being installed on Black Hawk helicopters flown by our military.When likely voters are told about my background and what I stand for I go from 7-points down along party lines to winning this race by 10-points.My opponent, Dennis Ross, loves to boast he’s "More conservative than his great friend Allen West." Ross is one of the most anti-middle class, anti-woman members of Congress. He’s opposed to equal pay, marriage equity, a living wage, and immigration reform among other things.I’m running as a middle class member of this community to represent a middle class which been falling farther and father behind as the cost of living continues to go up and incomes don’t keep pace.I agree with Elizabeth Warren when she said, “Americans are fighters. We're tough, resourceful and creative, and if we have the chance to fight on a level playing field, where everyone pays a fair share and everyone has a real shot, then no one-- no one can stop us.”These aren’t Democratic values or a Republican values, they’re American values.In Congress, raising the minimum wage may be a partisan issue but it’s not in the rest of the country. Americans support it. That support is overwhelming in the FL-15 where my opponent recently dismissed the concern of a local fast food worker who simply asked him why in the world should someone who works a 40-hour work week should still qualify for food stamps.Dennis Ross’s cavalier response made all the networks and earned him the well-deserved title of poster boy in the war on the working class.The reality is we Americans overwhelmingly believe hard working men and women should earn a livable wage. We believe in marriage equality, immigration reform, a woman’s right to choose.Ross loves to give lip service about a lot of things but you’d be hard pressed to find anything he has actually done. Take the VA for example.There is ONE candidate in this race who has actually held the VA accountable. I won 60-thousand dollars in back benefits for a Vietnam Veteran who was eating out of a trashcan. And I chased officials of the VA down the halls of Congress after finding evidence an Iraq War vet WAS wounded in action. Evidence the VA couldn’t find on it own.This is a new 15th Congressional District. It is almost evenly split between registered Democrats, Republicans and there are 96-thousand independents. By definition this is a moderate Congressional District with wonderful, open minded, moderate voters.This election is a choice between a candidate who can point to tangible examples of speaking truth to power, uncovering fraud, fighting for our Vets, consumers, and a Congressman who has aligned himself with the most extreme elements of his party. It’s a decision between our vision of creating a society where’s there a level playing field for all Americans and those who would really prefer to to turn back the clock to a time before equal opportunity and equal rights. I relish the comparison and the opportunity to have a voice and a vote in Congress.
Cohn for Comgress from Alan Cohn on Vimeo.