On this date in 2020, as well as 2021, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” first profiled Brian Mast, who has served as the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida’s 18th Congressional District since 2016, based on his honorable service in the U.S. Army working in explosive ordinance and disposal, and we’ll salute him for her service to our nation in the role that cost him the use of his legs…
And that’s about our limit for saying nice things about Brian Mast. During his first run for office in 2016, Mast was briefly linked with World Patent Marketing, a company that today no longer exists because the Federal Trade Commission shut it down because it was an invention promotion scam. World Patent Marketing donated a bunch of money to Mast’s campaign fund and said in a press release that he sat on their advisory board. Mast has some convenient amnesia about his association with a professional scam outlet, saying he has no knowledge of being given a position on the board and said he only had a couple encounters with members of the company, at all.
So that’s shady. But that’s not even as “shady as hell” as our next item…
Back in 2018, Anthony Bustamante, a campaign consultant who worked on Mast’s 2016 campaign, told The Wall Street Journal that as a member of the Mast campaign, had used data hacked from the Democratic National Committee by Guccifer 2.0, a front for Russia’s GRU military intelligence service, to adjust Mast’s campaign strategy. The hacked data had been leaked by Guccifer 2.0 to the HelloFLA blog, just to help Brian Mast win election to Congress. (This would seem to be the member of Congress who solicited help in the 2016 election from Russia that was mentioned in the Mueller Report.) And, not for nothing, but in 2019, Brian Mast was pressured into returning campaign donation that he accepted from the quite dubious source that is Igor Fruman, as in the second half of “Lev and lgor the Russian guys arrested while trying to flee the country. Again, not a good look, and clearly got enough ties to Russia to be worn around Vladimir Putin’s neck.
Now, after the Pulse Shooting and then the Parkland Shooting, most of the Florida Republican caucus has been careful regarding statements they have made about the massive uptick in gun violence in our country, because when that many people have died in mass shootings, it’s practically personal for most of the state… however Brian Mast isn’t that smart, and only two days after Parkland, he blamed the rampage on “video games and violent movies”.
But we’re still not done with this creep. And we emphasize he’s a creep, especially given his idea of “humor”. Two “jokes” that turned up on Brian Mast’s Facebook page are particularly telling. Back in February of 2009, Rocco LeDonni, who is now Mast’s campaign manager, posted photos of himself in a bar in South Africa, and Mast commented, “im so proud of you… i hope you hook up with at least fifteen 15 year olds over there…. its legel there right.”
Yes, he just encouraged his campaign manager to commit statutory rape.
Two years later, in May of 2011, LeDonni posted, “Anyone have any good pick up lines for this weekend considering according to the crazy christian radio guy the world may end on Sunday?” And Mast responded that LeDonni should tell the target of his affections:
“How about don’t turn this rape into a murder.”
It got more disgusting than even that, and we know, that shouldn’t be possible, but in Mast’s “apology”, he Mast blamed his poor attempt on humor on his injuries in combat, and his campaign claimed the comments were posted while Mast was drugged up with “morphine, oxycodone, sleep sedatives, anti-inflammatories and anti-depressants” and therefore he wasn’t in his right mind when he made the comments … except he made the inappropriate “jokes” a year before he got his Purple Heart. So now he’s an outright liar, too…
Florida’s 18th Congressional District has only a +5 Republican lean in the Cook Partisan Voting Index, but yet, Mast was able to get re-elected with 56% of the vote, and return to Washington to do all of the stupid:
- December 3rd, 2019: Rep. Mast is one of 71 Republicans who votes against a resolution to disallow Russia from re-entering the G7 and makes it the G8 until it leaves Ukraine.
- December 18th, 2019: Mast ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the first impeachment of Donald Trump.
- May 15th, 2020: Mast votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
- January 7th, 2021: Brian Mast votes for the objection to the electoral college’s votes in the 2020 election, a failure to send any sort of message that he wasn’t intimidated or sympathetic to those who attacked the Capitol to attempt a violent coup.
- January 13th, 2021: Rep. Mast votes against the second impeachment of Donald Trump, because the Republican Party no longer feels like they should be accountable for anything, including failed coups that result in the deaths of both their participants and police officers.
- February 4th, 2021: Brian Mast votes to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments, because he wouldn’t want her to be accountable for all the bigoted remarks and conspiracy theories she’s spread online.
- February 25th, 2021: Mast votes against HR 5, the latest version of the Equality Act, that would provide workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans.
- March 3rd, 2021: Rep. Mast votes against HR 1, a bill created to prevent the corruption of money in politics, and protect voter access to the ballot box.
- March 3rd, 2021: Brian Mast votes against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
- March 10th, 2021: Mast votes against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, because he feels people deserve to die in poverty during a pandemic.
- March 17th, 2021: Rep. Mast votes against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
- May 19th, 2021: Rep. Mast votes against HR 3233, the creation of a commission to investigate the Capitol Attack.
- November 5th, 2021: Brian Mast votes against HR 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
- March 31st, 2022: Mast votes against HR 6833, the Affordable Insulin Now Act, which would limit the cost that drug companies could list insulin at to $35 and make sure no diabetic was priced out of surviving their condition. Bill Brianson would rather they be gouged by pharmaceutical giants and/or die.
- May 18th, 2022: Brian Mast is one of 192 Republicans who votes against HR 7790, to create supplemental funding for infant formula (while claiming to be pro- life).
- May 18th, 2022: Rep. Mast votes against HR 350, the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, because these days, a plank of the Republican Party is ostensibly domestic terror.
- May 19th, 2022: Mast votes against HR 7688, a bill which would help prevent gas companies from gouging customers on prices.
- June 16th, 2022: Rep. Mast screams, “Close your mouth and let me ask my questions!” at Chairman Bill Keating during a hearing on Energy, as the Chairman tried to restore order after Mast was talking over the witness.
- July 15th, 2022: Brian Mast votes against House Amendment 262, which would require the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and Secretary of Defense to publish a report on the infiltration of American law enforcement by Neo-Nazis and white supremacists, offer measures to be taken to remove them from their ranks, and prevent further infiltration by others.
- July 13th, 2022: Mast votes against the Honoring Our PACT Act, to provide healthcare to veterans affected by toxic burn pits while serving in the War on Terror that leave them more susceptible to forms of cancer.
- July 19th, 2022: Rep. Mast is one of 157 Republicans who vote against the “Respect for Marriage Act”, which would codify same sex marriage into law nationally.
- July 21st, 2022: Mast is one of 195 Republicans who vote against the Right to Contraception Act, which codified the right of Americans to have access to birth control.
- September 30th, 2022: Rep. Mast votes against HR 6833, which would avert a government shutdown, provide military aid to Ukraine, and disaster relief to victims of Hurricane Ian in Florida.
Brian Mast has further tried to embody the “Florida Man” of the GQP, railing against Congressional mask mandates on the House floor, and putting everyone in Congress at risk of Covid-19. This was at a time when only 45% of the Republican caucus was vaccinated, and the Delta variant began surging.
In other words, he’s probably thinking he could one day be elected Governor if he channels Ron DeSantis enough.
After redistricting, Brian Mast decided to abandon FL-18, and instead, run for office in FL-21 in the U.S. House instead, whose new configuration has a +7 Republican lean in the Cook Partisan Voting Index. His opponent is Corinna Robinson, who has twice failed in bids to be elected to Congress, but is doing a good job in calling out the fact that Brian Mast doesn’t host town halls, and never is in his office to meet with constituents.
Between that, and her steadfast statement to protect a woman’s right to choose, whereas Mast would strip them of it with a national ban on abortion without any exceptions… she might just be able to pull an upset in November.
One Year Ago, October 7th, 2021: Brian Mast (FL)… 2021 Update
Two Years Ago, October 7th, 2020: Brian Mast (FL)… Original Profile
Three Years Ago, October 7th, 2019: Scott Wagner (P)… 2019 Update
Four Years Ago, October 7th, 2018: Scott Wagner (PA)… Original Profile
Five Years Ago, October 7th, 2017: Bryce Marlatt (OK)
Six Years Ago, October 7th, 2016: David Duke (LA)
Seven Years Ago, October 7th, 2015: Steve Stockman (TX)… 2015 Update
Eight Years Ago, October 7th, 2014: Steve Stockman (TX)… Original Profile