High Stakes In The 18th...

I had a chance to catch up with Dave Cummings last week.  If you’re not familiar with him, he is a local businessman and veteran who has decided to toss his hat in the ring for Florida’s 18th US Congressional District.  I might add, he is a Republican which means he is mounting a primary challenge to Republican incumbent Brian Mast.

If you are one of the handful of people in So. Florida who isn’t mindful of politics, this is a much desired swing seat for both parties, and the entire nation watches what happens there.  Which begs the question as to why would any other Republican want to upset the oxcart by presenting a challenge to an incumbent from the same party, when such a thing is almost sacrilege among the movers and shakers in either party..?!

The answer is simple; like a growing number of his constituents, the movers and shakers in the Republican Party have become disenchanted with the once very popular incumbent due to his increasingly unsatisfactory voting record.  The first time he “mistakenly” voted against the will of his constituency, many gave him a pass because he was new, and because he had the record noted that his “no” vote was a mistake.  Apparently, he was so new at that time, he wasn’t even aware that he had ample time to actually change that vote.  To loosely paraphrase part of a speech by President Ronald Reagan, “…I smell what Bess Truman kept trying to have Harry refer to as manure.”  By the way, that “mistake” was just the beginning of a record that left his constituency scratching their heads, and my recent article highlighted some of the doozies that he chose to vote against us on.  However, while there is a lot more, the straw that broke the camel’s back was his position and letter regarding a ban on so called “assault rifles” in the wake of the Parkland tragedy.  

Enter Dave Cummings.  Mr. Cummings was and is as horrified as the growing number of 18th District voters, and I dare say, all voters everywhere in America who demand and expect our elected representatives to do our bidding and voice our collective consciences, not simply rely on their own.  While that statement may leave some questioning why I don’t think any representative at any level of Government should exercise his or her own conscience, my position is clear.  We interview these people during the campaign and we vote for them based upon what should be a clear understanding of what WE want and THINK, not what THEY want and THINK.

Anyway, back to Dave Cummings.  After discussing a lot of the issues and how constituents like himself believe our reps should perform, I believe he has a firm grasp on what needs to be done in Congress should he prevail.  

Will he be perfect..?  Hardly..!  However, if enough voters in District 18 would look past the incumbent’s service related injuries and focus instead on his record, Dave Cummings becomes the clear choice for the Republican ticket.  

In the general election, I doubt either of the Democrat challengers would fare well against him, and I believe he will actually read the bills he is presented with and be in contact with those who help him get elected to discuss those bills before he casts his votes.

Dave is a family man who lives among us in the almost forgotten community of Fort Pierce where he is part of the effort to revitalize that part of So. Florida.  He knows the people who live there and he knows their concerns; he works with them and goes to church with them, and he knows that he is going to have to face them while he serves and when the day comes that he retires from Congress.

During our meeting, we discussed how so many are just tired of politicians who say and do all sorts of things to get elected, only to wind up drinking the DC Kool-Aid once they get up there.  I explained to him that while I cannot speak for anyone except myself, I know that many are as fed up as I am.  I also clearly explained that while my keyboard will be his friend as long as he does what we demand, that same keyboard will become a nightmare for him as it has for others should he become more of the same that we’ve been handed.

So there you have it my friends.  Another new face, another promising story.  Time will tell if he really is different, however he surely says all the right stuff.  You can learn more about Mr. Cummings by visiting his campaign website here.

I sincerely wish him and by extension, all of the 18th District well in the upcoming battle for this coveted seat.  And, I wish Brian Mast well in his future endeavors after his singular term comes to an end.