As we barrel toward the November 2, 2010 General Election, it is clear that there are a number of key issues in the campaigns starting with the economy and jobs.  But some of the issues are radioactive, with the ability to immediately sink or save a campaign, among them:

1.  Immigration--ask Bill McCullom.

2.  The Mosque in New York--watch the fallout from Gainesville on Saturday.

3.  Abortion--watch for something coming out in the debates.

4.  Taxes--among the rich, eliminating the Bush tax cuts will be radioactive.

5.  Natural Disaster--watch out for a looming Katrina.

Lastly, watch out for candidates being in 40 year old Vietnam protest pictures shown burning American flags.

 

Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry.

Desperate man in an empty suit

"Talking to GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott about Democrat Alex Sink can feel like flipping from local television news to CNN."

That's because the discussion turns quickly to President Barack Obama, whom Scott is working overtime to associate with Sink in the minds of voters. Scott and Sink may be running for the state office of governor, but Scott's campaign seems to talk as much these days about Washington as about the Sunshine State.

Sink is a first-term state chief financial officer who has neither held nor sought national office.

She has both supported and held her distance from the president depending on the issue. But with the economy still teetering and Obama's approval ratings tanking in Florida to 41 percent, it's not hard to understand why Scott is trying to define her as an "Obamacrat.""Scott tries to tie Sink to Obama in governor's race".

 

How popular is Charlie?

Democratic operative Steven Schale "says that Gov. Charlie Crist won't win the U.S. Senate seat he is seeking and that Crist's 'personal approval numbers are plummeting.' PolitiFact takes a look."

Bottom line, polls are numbers and depending on what poll you're looking at and what time period you're examining, you can reach different but defendable positions. Rasmussen had Crist's job approval rating at nearly 70 percent in July, the second-highest it's ever been.

Quinnipiac polled Crist's job approval rating down 5 percentage points since 2008. The polling group found that Crist's favorable rating, meanwhile, dropped 20 points from 2008 to 2009 before rebounding.

Schale said Crist's personal approval numbers are "plummeting." Pollster.com's tracking of several polls starting in October 2008 shows that Crist's favorable rating has declined among voters from around 70 percent to between 50 and 55 percent. But Crist's position in voters' minds hasn't changed all that much for most of 2010, and has even rebounded a little in some polls, according to the same figures.

His job approval ratings, meanwhile, haven't changed that much in nearly two years. We rate Schale's claim Barely True."Is Crist's popularity plummeting?".

More from Schale: "More on Crist's Steep Climb".

 

Judge, jury, executioner

"A witness told police the victim showed Hamilton his pockets after he was accused of shoplifting, but that didn't convince him. The Florida Times-Union reported Hamilton followed the customer out of the store and shot him in the arm with a .38-caliber revolver." "Fla. shopkeeper allegedly shoots innocent customer".

 

Love, Florida Style*

The Miami Herald editorial board: "As the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks nears, a pastor in north Florida has come up with what may be the worst example yet of anti-Muslim bigotry."

Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, wants to commemorate one of the most painful moments in American history -- a monumental crime fed by ignorance and hatred -- by sponsoring another event typically associated with ignorance and hatred: a book-burning.

And not just any book, but the Koran, the holy manuscript revered by Muslims.

Regardless of how one feels about plans to build a mosque in lower Manhattan, the two controversies are not comparable. One is about the appropriate place to erect a house of worship and interfaith dialogue. This publicity stunt, on the other hand, has no redeeming virtue at all.

It offends Muslims and attempts to divide Americans along religious lines. It stirs up passions and disparages another culture solely for the sake of inciting controversy. It does not represent what America stands for, but rather the xenophobia and intolerance Americans reject."Bonfire of hatred". See yesterday's, "Freedom of Religion, Florida Style". Related: "Tampa Bay group headed to Gainesville to protest Quran burning" and this at dKos diary, "Petraeus: Florida Church's Koran Burning Could Endanger U.S. Troops", "Book Burning Extremists Endanger United States Troops".

And then there's this: "Another fine Florida product".

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*With apologies to the 1970s television show, "Love, American Style".

 

Rubio temporarily suspends campaign

"Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio temporarily suspended his campaign on Sunday after the death of his father at Baptist Hospital in Miami. Mario Rubio, who died Saturday night, had long battled emphysema and lung cancer. He was 83." "U.S. Senate candidate Rubio calls temporary halt to campaign after father's death".

 

"Non, je ne regrette rien"*

"U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd told labor activists Monday he will 'make no apology' for supporting Obama Administration economic plans that Republicans are attacking." "Update: Boyd 'makes no apology' for supporting Obama economic plan".
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*If you have a moment, listen to it.

 

Sorry 'bout that

Kevin Derby: "Sorry, Rod Smith and Jennifer Carroll; history's against lieutenant governors' political career". "Bland Ambition: No. 2's Race to Obscurity".

 

Ausley on the stump

"Of course, Loranne Ausley would never suggest she could do a better job than the candidate many Democrats want to see as Florida's next governor. But it's a logical conclusion after hearing her talk about all the wrongs she sees at the state Capitol, where current CFO, Alex Sink, was at the post." "Would Loranne Ausley Be a Better CFO Than Alex Sink?".

 

Just another Republican

Is Jenniffer Carroll some sort of another "outsider", as Scott claims? Hardly. Her life "after the Navy seems pretty political insider to us. Consider:"

Carroll ran for Congress in 2000 as a political newcomer. She lost to Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown despite outspending Brown 2-to-1.

In 2001, Carroll said she talked with Vice President Dick Cheney about a job on his staff.

Later that year, Carroll was nominated by Gov. Jeb Bush to run Florida's Department of Veterans Affairs. Her nomination was confirmed. She resigned about a year later to run again for Congress. She lost.

In 2003, she was elected to the state House in District 13, where she has served ever since. She was appointed deputy majority leader by Speaker Johnnie Byrd in 2003 and served as a majority whip from 2004-2006.

Carroll's state House biography also includes these highlights -- Republican Club of Clay County, "Top 10'' Republican Award 1999, 2002; appointed by President George W. Bush to the White House Presidential Scholars Commission, 2001-2004; appointed by President George W. Bush to the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission, 2004-2007; Black Political Action Committee's 2005 Vikki Buckley Political Leadership Award."A look at Scott's choice for GOP ticket".

 

Wingnuts at work

"Crisis Pregnancy Centers, funded by the state of Florida, are distributing brochures that suggest abortion causes mental illness, including depression, addiction and suicide. In the best case, the information handed out is biased; in the worst case, sources say, it is wrong." "State-funded pregnancy clinics disseminate questionable science on abortion".

 

"Legitimate bones to pick"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Folks have some legitimate bones to pick with the Florida Statewide Passenger Rail Commission. The commission meets for the first time today in Ocoee — more than eight months after the Legislature created it in December. It took the Senate president and governor nearly six and eight months, respectively, to add their appointees to those submitted months earlier by the House speaker." "Florida Statewide Passenger Rail Commission needs to get up to speed".

 

Dollars to China ...

"China is one of many foreign nations making a push to be part of Florida’s emerging construction of high-speed rail for bullet trains, first between Tampa and Orlando, then on to Miami." "Foreign companies enter the race to build Tampa-Orlando high-speed rail".

 

Don't let the door hit you on the way out

Florida

routinely sets new records for foreclosures — in the second quarter, 20.13 percent of its mortgages were delinquent or in foreclosure, a national high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. And with housing prices still in a free fall, almost half of all borrowers in Florida owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, says CoreLogic, a data firm. ...

No one disputes that foreclosures dominate Florida’s dockets and that something needs to be done to streamline a complex and emotionally wrenching process. But lawyers representing troubled borrowers contend that many of the retired judges called in from the sidelines to oversee these matters are so focused on cutting the caseload that they are unfairly favoring financial institutions at the expense of homeowners.

Lawyers say judges are simply ignoring problematic or contradictory evidence and awarding the right to foreclose to institutions that have yet to prove they own the properties in question."Florida’s High-Speed Answer to a Foreclosure Mess".

 

Grayson on Labor Day

"What Robert Kennedy Said".

 

Rahm Emanuel a union hater

Although this is off topic, one hopes this story is read by Florida's union members: "In 'Overhaul', his upcoming chronicle of his reign as 'car czar,' Steven Rattner offers an insider's account of the Obama administration's rescue of the auto industry."

Rattner depicts White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as a force to be reckoned with who disparaged unions -- once quipping "Fuck the UAW""Steven Rattner's 'Overhaul' Pulls No Punches On Obama Administration's Auto Rescue But Minimizes His Own Troubles (EXCLUSIVE)". Related: "Happy F*ckin' Labor Day!" and "".

 

The best they can do?

Bill Cotterell: "Call it karma, a convergence of sports and politics. FSU is playing Oklahoma this week in the Seminoles' first big test of the season. And it's Republican Day at the Hotel Duval, a big fund-raising reception and luncheon for the Leon County GOP. So what do these two events have in common?" "What do FSU-Oklahoma and the GOP luncheon have in common?".

 

"One big hit away from flipping burgers"

Mike Thomas: "Not that I would wish anyone harm, but it wouldn't have been such a bad thing for Florida if Hurricane Earl had maintained its wind speed and then hung a left at latitude 40 degrees north."

That would have taken it through the Big Apple and into New Jersey, flattening buildings, flooding subways, jacking up cab fares and causing $100 billion or so in damages.

A bunch of insurance companies would have gone bankrupt, leading to an insurance crisis.

And we would finally get a national catastrophe-insurance program to subsidize our premiums and underwrite all those condo towers and mansions on Miami Beach.

That day is coming, regardless. Toppling the Statute of Liberty simply would have sped things up.

Hurricane Earl's northbound journey was a surprise to many but not to all the insurance CEOs glued to The Weather Channel last week. To them it was a reminder that monster storms do hit the Northeast, and that they are one big hit away from flipping burgers."We're building up to 'beach-house bailout' — aka national hurricane insurance".

 

And these people think they deserve pensions?

"When fire crews arrived, the first and second floors of a 5,000 square-foot apartment building were engulfed in flames." "Firefighters tackle blaze at Outrigger Apartments".

 

"A promise is a promise"

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: The Florida Energy and Climate Commission's "decision a few weeks ago - made with the approval of the U.S. Department of Energy - to allocate $13.8 million to individuals who had signed on to the state's solar program only covers part of the pending claims."

Altogether, before the commission's action, the state owed more than 15,000 residents and businesses about $54 million in rebates. Now the program, which expired June 30 and has no money of its own, has about $40 million in rebates outstanding.

Still, a promise is a promise."Reneging on solar-rebate promise will cloud Florida's credibility".

 

Yee haw ... ima gittin' me a skewl

"Twenty-five charter school applications – a record number – have been submitted for consideration to the Hillsborough County school district." "Hillsborough gets record number of charter school applications".

 

Never mind that Batista fellow

"The use of Che Guevara's image to promote an irreverent auto race is upsetting some in South Florida's Cuban community." "Fla. race's use of Guevara image riles Cubans".

Our digest of, and commentary on today's scant Labor Day Florida political news and punditry.

Labor Day

A nice cover of the Billy Bragg's classic:

The Miami Herald publishes E.J. Dionne's piece on Labor Day this morning. Dionne begins when he, as a childwatching the great civil-rights march on television in August 1963, couldn't help but notice that hundreds carried signs with a strange legend at the top: "UAW Says." UAW was saying "Segregation Disunites the United States,'' and many other things insisting on equality. ...

It was some years later when I learned about the heroic battles of the UAW, not only on behalf of those who worked in the great car plants but also for social and racial justice across our society. Walter Reuther, the gallant and resolutely practical egalitarian who led the union for many years, was one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s close allies.Dionne continues, noting the drop in union membership, writing thateven worse than the falling membership numbers is the extent to which the ethos animating organized labor is increasingly foreign to American culture. The union movement has always been attached to a set of values -- solidarity being the most important, the sense that each should look out for the interests of all.

This promoted other commitments: to mutual assistance, to a rough-and-ready sense of equality, to a disdain for elitism, to a belief that democracy and individual rights did not stop at the plant gate or the office reception room.Dionne goes on to bemoan the fact that "labor's achievements go largely unmentioned."

"The hugely constructive contributions of Reuther (or Sidney Hillman or Eugene V. Debs) are barely noted in standard renditions of U.S. history. Few Americans under 35 have much direct experience with unions. When the word 'union' appears in the media these days, it is typically invoked in stories about teachers resisting school reform or the pension costs burdening local governments."All but forgotten is the fact that our nation's extraordinary prosperity from the end of World War II to the 1970s was in significant part the result of union contracts that, in words the right-wing hated Barack Obama for saying in 2008, "spread the wealth around.'' A broad middle class with spending power to keep the economy moving created a virtuous cycle of low joblessness and high wages.

Between 1966 and 1970, as Gerald Seib pointed out last week in The Wall Street Journal, the United States enjoyed an astonishing 48 straight months in which the unemployment rate was at or below 4 percent. No, the unions didn't do all this by themselves.

But they were important co-authors of a social contract that made our country fairer, richer and more productive.

There are many complicated reasons why these arrangements broke down, but I do not see things getting substantially better unless we find ways of increasing the bargaining power of wage-earners -- precisely what Reuther and his fellowship dedicated their lives to doing. ...

Whatever else they achieve, the unions remind us of the dignity of all who toil, whatever their social position, color or educational attainments. We should miss labor's influence more than we do.Much more here: "Love of labor -- lost".

Related, from BlogWood: "Unions 101 – Happy Labor Day".

 

Klein takes on teabagger

"It's round two in the race between Republican Allen West and Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Ron Klein."

The race, pitting an African-American Republican who spent his career in the military against a Jewish Democratic politician with nearly two decades in elected office, is so far more about insults than ideas, more about schoolyard catcalls than campaign slogans.

Consider these latest exchanges:

• West has called Klein House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's ``mama's boy,'' ``Little Lord Ron'' and "Little Ronnie.''

• Klein's camp has called West "dangerous and outrageous'' and points out that MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann labeled West the "worst person in the world.''

They are polar opposites on nearly every hot-button topic."Rematch of bitter rivals likely to be closer".

 

Freedom of Religion, Florida Style

"Hundreds of Afghans railed against the United States and called for President Barack Obama's death at a rally in the capital Monday to denounce a Florida church's plans to burn the Islamic holy book on Sept. 11."

The Gainesville, Fla.-based Dove World Outreach Center announced plans to burn copies of the Quran on church grounds to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but has been denied a permit to set a bonfire. The church, which made headlines last year after distributing T-shirts that said "Islam is of the Devil," has vowed to proceed with the burning."Afghans protest Fla church's plans to burn Quran". See also "UF Muslims fear Koran burning may spark violence".

For more Florida wingnuttery, see yesterday's "Another fine Florida product".

Yes, it is Labor Day again, when Florida's traditional media editorial boards take the opportunity to either ignore or bash labor unions  Recall that Labor Day became a federal holiday back in 1894, when the legislation creating the holiday passed unanimously, and was signed into law just six days after the end of the famous Pullman Strike, a strike during which 13 workers were killed.   The purpose of Labor Day is to celebrate "the strength and esprit de corps of trade and labor organizations". That purpose - the celebration of  "the strength and esprit de corps" of labor unions - has been systematically removed from public discourse by the corporate owned media.  Akin to that, Florida's media has, with rare exception*, declined to even cover the achievements and successes of Florida's working people acting through their labor organizations.
 With that, let's take a look what our editorial boards have to say about Labor Day 2010.

- As usual, we start with the Orlando Sentinel, which pays homage to American workers with a limp editorial about high unemployment.  That the Orlando Sentinel would marginalize the Labor Movement is of course no surprise; they are the same swells who ... well ... just read about it: "Send in the scabs" and "Picking scabs, part two".

The other Tribune Company newspaper, the Sun-Sentinel, seems to be publishing the same limp editorial this morning.

- The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board similarly limits its commentary to the unemployment problem in "It all comes back to jobs.

- The Tampa Trib editors likewise put their shoulders to the wheel, and point out that unemployment is high, but add that on this Labor Day, we need to be concerned about workers fraudulently obtaining disability benefits.  See "When workers can't work".

- In "Labor Day's dreary forecast", the Miami Herald editorial board at least takes a shot at it,  acknowledging that "the labor union movement sprang from very real abuses by industries, from sweat shops to meat packing houses.  The reforms pushed by labor leaders have led to safer work conditions and better pay and benefits for all Americans." 

Unfortunately, the editors spend the bulk of their ink questioning whether "taxpayers [should] continue to pay firefighters, police and other government workers at the same rate they did in flush times when property values were stratospheric and governments were raking in the cash?"  The editors close, not by suggesting a responsible system of public finance to properly compensate these employees, but rather by urging that "public labor unions [read: firefighters, law enforcement officers, teachers and public works employees] sacrifice in the short term for the greater good."  Of course, many of Florida's public employees have not had a pay increase in years.

The Herald editors do redeem themselves, if perhaps accidentally, by allowing this syndicated piece by E.J. Dionne, "Love of labor -- lost", to appear in the opinion pages.

- The Palm Beach Post editorial board appears to have taken the day off.

- The right wing Florida Times Union editorial board gives us a couple ofsilly editorials about the "Ltoughest jobs" and "Lessons from work".

- Finally, he Daytona Beach News Journal's editorial board likewise ignores Labor Day.  To the Company's credit they publish a very brief piece, "Labor Day: What's it all about?", where the local Plumbers and Pipefitters Business Manager reminds us that Labor Day grew out of the Pullman strike.  Unfortunately, the rest of the folks interviewed share this wisdom with us: "it doesn't have any meaning to me", "not sure if we still need it as a holiday, because for many it doesn't matter" and "with all the holidays that have changed through the years, this might be one to reassess". 

So, there it is,ranother Labor Day Insult.

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*The exceptions are very few, with labor unions, in both the public and private sectors, almost uniformly being ignored or, on the rare occasion they are mentioned, described in negative ways.

One of the most significant exceptions is a piece written by the Orlando Sentinel's Scott Maxwell, about the hatred for unions generally, and teachers unions in particular:

Compounding the problem is the contempt Republican legislators have for teachers. That's right — teachers.

Sure, they'll try to tell you they just hate the unions. But who do you think comprises the union? It's your son's math instructor, your daughter's music teacher — and their soccer coach.

Underpaid educators have become the enemy.

In fact, the overall demonization of the working class is one of corporate America's most successful coups within the GOP — a party that once championed the rights of the common man.

Nowadays, union-bashing isn't simply a plank in the GOP platform; it's the foundation.

"For teacher pay, unions and union-haters should compromise".  And, unfortunately, "union bashing" is also a central tenet of newspaper editorial boards.

"Remember the birther infomercial, produced by LivePrayer.com, that asked viewers for $30 for a "got a birth certificate?" bumper sticker?"  Actually we don't; nevertheless, the nut job behind the scheme, one
Bill Keller, is now railing against the Islamic center planned for lower Manhattan. He says  he'll be holding Sunday services from a room at the Marriott across  from Ground Zero every weekend until he can find a permanent spot for  his "9/11 Christian Center."

"The center is there to bring hope and to help people," Keller, who lives in Florida, told the New York Daily News.  "It's not designed to be a place where we preach against Islam,  although we will preach against Islam and Mormonism and any other false  religion."

"Birthermercial Producer Wants A '9/11 Christian Center' At Ground Zero" (underscoring and bolding supplied).

Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry.

Rubio's "record is a sham"

Republican Marco Rubio, a man with no solutions, "says Crist has repeatedly changed his tune about the federal healthcare law that passed earlier this year." "Marco Rubio: Charlie Crist has 'six different positions' on healthcare law".

Tuff talk from the emptiest of suits. Stephen Goldstein put it this way last week: "For the frenzy he brings to politics, Marco Rubio has been called the Energizer Bunny. But he's really the Wizard of Oz, a manipulator behind a façade, making himself seem larger than life. He's fabricated an image that's made him the darling of the tea party and radical Republicans. He's expended enough verbal heat to launch a hot air balloon. But his real record is a sham: endless lists of ideas that have failed to launch." "Marco's folly: Rubio's image hides sham of a record".

 

Charlie's "incoherence"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board writes that "Crist says his run for the U.S. Senate as an independent candidate is liberating and allows him to take positions that are true to his personal principles rather than Republican orthodoxy. Washington certainly could use more pragmatism and less partisanship. But Crist has to be careful that his flexibility does not become a liability." See what they mean here: "Crist's flexibility is one thing; incoherence is another".

 

Brilliant mistake

Florida agencies have spent only about 40 percent of their share of federal stimulus money, a slow flow of funds that has made a limited impact on the state's dire job market.""

Cities, counties, universities and some other recipients in the state have used only about one-fifth of their share. In all, about $5.7 billion of stimulus grants awarded to Florida has yet to be spent.

The money, approved by Congress in early 2009, was supposed to be spent quickly to jump-start economic growth. Eighteen months later, as Floridians face a Labor Day weekend with an unemployment rate in double digits, many are wondering when the billions of dollars allotted to the state will generate new jobs."Florida agencies slow to spend federal stimulus money".

 

Running government like a business

"The political landscape is littered with failures — successful business executives who went bust when they took residence in the governor's mansion. Florida's Republican gubernatorial candidate — Naples healthcare executive Rick Scott — will try to defy those odds and govern Florida successfully if elected."

John Schilling, an entrepreneur who lives in Naples and is a consultant, knows how Scott ran a business. He worked for Columbia Healthcare when Scott was CEO, and then helped bring the company down as a whistle-blower.

"Rick Scott did not want to hear bad news," Schilling said. "Isn't that typical of any CEO, though?"

Schilling was an accountant at the company's Southwest Florida division's office when he discovered two sets of books at Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte, one of three of the company's hospitals in Southwest Florida.

Eventually, Schilling became an informant for the FBI, wore a wire to meetings, made drawings of where file cabinets were located and provided information that led to indictments and a $1.7-billion fine Columbia paid for Medicare fraud.

Four mid-level executives were later charged in the case, but Scott was never charged with any of Columbia's problems. He maintains he knew nothing about the Medicare issues."If elected, Scott may find governor's chair an uneasy fit".

 

Job promises

"Faced with double-digit unemployment, Florida's candidates for governor promised to make job growth their top priority." "Governor candidates' job plans fuzzy on details". See also "Alex Sink and Rick Scott see jobs as key".

Kenric Ward asks "Whose Jobs Plan Works Best for Florida?"

 

"This year, Floridians can push back"

Randy Schultz: "Giving politicians the power to draw these districts is like letting teenagers set their own curfews. They will observe no boundaries in drawing political boundaries. If one party controls both chambers of the state legislature, as Republicans do in Florida, the party in power tries to protect its people and maximize the influence of its own voters while minimizing the opposition's." "Vote to repeal state's incumbent protection plan".

 

"Sneaky budget writing"

Howard Troxler writes that the First District Court of Appeals 'Taj Mahal' courthouse

deal was sneaked into the state budget under then-House Speaker Marco Rubio and then-Senate President Ken Pruitt.

The House budget chief at the time was then-Rep. Ray Sansom, later charged with some sneaky budget writing of his own.

The House's general counsel at the time was the son of the 1st District judge — himself a former House member — who was pushing for the courthouse the hardest.

Rubio says hey, don't blame me, it was a Senate "priority."

The Senate's Pruitt says, he don't know nothing about birthin' no courthouses.

The key senator who did the deal was Victor Crist, R-Tampa, now running for the Hillsborough County Commission — who says Pruitt told him to do it.

Let's quote yet again from the report of the Tallahassee grand jury that indicted Sansom over a different project:Far too much power is given to the legislative leadership on these budget issues which led to this appropriation that was voted on basically hidden in a huge budget. ...

Your grand jurors recommend to the Legislature that it clean up this process.But the Legislature has not lifted a finger. In fact, several leaders of the Legislature sneered after the indictment that the grand jury "doesn't understand how things work up here."

You know what? I think the grand jury understood perfectly well. I think everybody else does, too."Kick 'em right out of the 'Taj Mahal'".

 

They don' call 'em journalists for nuthin'

Jane Healy: "Now that the primary races are over, candidates can start concentrating on the November general election, guaranteed to be a wild one. Here are three big ways candidates could lose: 1. If they ignore Hispanics. ... 2. If they ignore women. ... 3. If voters stay home." "Here's what it takes to lose in November".

Meet Jennifer Carroll, the phony "outsider" with a fake degree. Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry follows.

"Anyone But Rubio"

"Remember the saying 'Anyone But Bush' among Democrats in 2004 who feared a second term by George W. Bush?"

Florida Democrats are slinging a variation on the slogan for 2010: "Anyone But Rubio.''

To liberal voters, Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio is a right-winging, tea-partying, oil-drilling, stimulus-hating, Obamacare-shunning, taxes-on-the-rich-cutting nightmare. And these Democrats are determined to stop him from winning on Nov. 2 by any means necessary, even if that means bailing on their own party's nominee, Kendrick Meek.

A vote for Meek is a vote for Rubio, the thinking goes, because Meek can't win. He's a lackluster Miami congressman lacking money, profile and oomph.

The strategic choice, the thinking continues, is Gov. Charlie Crist. The Republican-turned-independent has nearly twice as much money as Rubio and a statewide platform, not to mention that he knows how to campaign like the dickens."Many Democrats more anti-Rubio than pro-anyone".

 

Scott gets lobbyist love

"Republican Rick Scott did some political barnstorming through the state capital Friday -- holding a series of closed-door meetings with groups of lobbyists and association officials."

"I think he hit all the right buttons,'' said Associated Industries of Florida President Barney Bishop, who hosted a Scott breakfast meeting that drew about three-dozen people, including representatives of the oil, health care, broadcasting and outdoor advertising industries."Republican foes, lobbyists now flock to Scott".

 

Charlie Misspeak

"When a television interviewer asked Gov. Charlie Crist about the national health care reform bill last week, Crist responded quickly, 'I would have voted for it, but I think it can be done better.' He went on to elaborate fluently on what was right and wrong with the bill, what he would have fixed before supporting it. There was only one problem. For months, starting the day the bill passed, Crist had repeatedly said he opposed it and would repeal it, and had backed a state lawsuit to overturn it."

"Misspeaking -- saying one thing when you actually think or mean another -- can happen to anyone, even a practiced public speaker and political figure. But with Crist, it seems to happen often:"

• In the best-known example, Crist told a television interviewer in November that he didn't endorse President Barack Obama's stimulus plan. In fact, he had repeatedly and enthusiastically backed it, including during a highly publicized Florida visit by Obama in the previous February.

• Two days after the health care comment, his campaign had to send out another clarification after Crist told a CNN interviewer he favored a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, which he has opposed in the past. The clarification: He was talking about a state ban, which he has supported – even though that ban endangers the right to same-sex civil unions, which Crist says he favors.

• Two days after the health care bill comments, Crist told another television interviewer his campaign will refund contributions from disillusioned Republicans who gave to him before he left the party – contradicting his previously announced decision on the subject."Charlie Crist has had episodes of 'misspeaking' before".

 

Rivera and Garcia on the economy

"In the aftermath of the primary elections, District 25 congressional candidates David Rivera and Joe Garcia said the economy and unemployment are the main issues in a race attracting national attention."

Another key issue: a proposed Free Trade Agreement with Colombia that could generate business and jobs in South Florida.

But besides the Colombian issue, the candidates have different ideas about how to improve the economy.

Republican Rivera wants to reduce federal spending and taxes on small businesses, while Garcia, the Democratic candidate, wants to give loans to small businesses and invest in alternative energy.

Both candidates are after the seat left vacant by Republican Mario Diaz-Balart, who represented the district for eight years and is now running unopposed for his brother's old seat in District 21."Congressional District 25 candidates differ on how to fix economy".

 

RPOFers asleep at the wheel

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Remember the nation's worst offshore drilling spill? The one that finally ended in July? You might want to remind the Republicans who run Florida's House of Representatives. They decided this week that they don't need to do anything about it until the spring." "Florida can't leave Gulf oil spill relief to Washington".

 

Slamming public employees

"Imposed salary, pension cuts leads to police union suit against Miami".

 

Scott surrogates to begin attacks on Sink

"Starting today, national political groups as well as surrogates for Republican nominee Rick Scott will begin pumping millions of dollars into television ads to paint contrasting portraits of Sink's background and policies before voters go to the polls."

Political veterans from both parties say the blitz of negative ads Scott absorbed in his primary make him damaged goods, and he may not have enough time to re-invent himself before the Nov. 2 election.

So, the alternative is to pour money into trying to define Sink, a former banking executive, as a liberal ideological disciple of President Barack Obama's health-care and economic-stimulus plans.

Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein said Sink's role in the merger between Bank of America and NationsBank that led to thousands of layoffs would be fair game, too.

"It's not like this race is Mother Teresa versus the devil," he said.

This week, Scott called Sink a supporter of "the socialist policies of President Obama."

But Sink suggested Scott must be confusing which race he is running."Democrats say they expected the assault, but Scott and Florida Republicans will have to mount an epic financial arms race to overcome the baggage of Scott's business background.""There are a lot of voters that know a lot about the fraud his company committed. They believe he committed fraud. But they know him better than they know Alex, and that's because of the unprecedented amount of money he's spent," Sink pollster Dave Beattie said. "There's a reason he had to spend a record amount of money to barely win his primary.""GOP ads take aim at Sink".

 

"Scott wanted to privatize all of it"

Aaron Deslatte: "Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott could have to do some explaining about his past this fall, and not just what he knew about the Medicare and Medicaid fraud at his former company, Columbia/HCA."

See, he once wanted to privatize all of it: the government-funded health-care programs that pay for the check-ups, hospital stays and prescriptions for 45 million seniors and millions more poor people.

Before he was forced out in 1997 as CEO of the company amid the largest Medicare fraud investigation in U.S. history, Scott was a national player in the industry resistance to President Clinton's attempt to impose a national health care program. When Scott was still trying to expand his hospital chain, he told USA Today the state and federally run health insurance programs would be better off in the hands of profit-seeking companies. "Let us make a profit. So what?" he said in 1994.

He also had his eyes on Veterans Administration hospitals."The issue is relevant now because Scott"has said he wants to cut $1.4 billion from the $18-billion Medicaid program without providing any specifics on how, other than continuing a regional experiment launched by former Gov. Jeb Bush to turn over Medicaid patients to HMOs and other health-care networks.

Scott opened the door further last week by calling Democratic opponent Alex Sink "another liberal Obamacrat who wants to raise taxes, cut Medicare, and supports Obama's failed stimulus.""Scott once urged privatization of Medicare, Medicaid".

 

Voucher madness

"Florida does not regulate the more than 2,000 private schools that operate in the state. The schools set their own grading standards and curriculum, run their own finances and issue their own diplomas. That leaves parents dependent on unregulated accrediting agencies that have varying standards." "In Florida, scant oversight of private schools".

 

They all end up in Florida

"Balloon boy family moves to Florida".

 

Scott's free ride

"Now that he's mending fences with Florida's Republican establishment, gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott faces a full frontal assault from Democrats."

Democratic Governors Association executive director Nathan Daschle says Scott "represents the worst of American politics" and, in a letter this week, the DGA chief called on Republican Governors Association chairman Haley Barbour to stop campaigning for Scott.

Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, has participated in post-primary unity events around Florida and was scheduled to speak at the state party's meeting in Orlando Friday night.

Daschle sent copies of his letter to former Gov. Jeb Bush, RPOF Chairman John Thrasher and presidential aspirants Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney.

The RGA this week pitched in $2 million to the Republican governor's race to bolster the state party's sagging coffers. The association previously plunked down $2 million to fund ads against Democratic nominee Alex Sink.

Firing back, the DGA funneled $1 million into its party's gubernatorial race. That's on top of a $1 million check the DGA sent in July, said DGA spokeswoman Emily Bittner."National Parties Raise Stakes on Scott-Sink Race".

 

'Glades

"The cash-strapped South Florida Water Management District has 10 years to build at least 42,000 acres of treatment areas so that water flowing into the Everglades meets federal standards." "Under judge's order, EPA proposes rules for Everglades water cleansing".

 

"A five-second check"

"A Florida bill would require all employers to use a federal website to run a five-second check on the immigration status of new workers." "Federal website aims to crackdown on illegal hires".

 

From the "Crystal Ball"

Sabato calls the Florida Gubernatorial race a "toss-up" "Sixty Days to Go".

 

Chamberlin out

Lucy Morgan: "It’s a departure that has much more significance than a mere change in governors. Jill Chamberlin is retiring as director of communications for the Florida House, taking her practical advice and deep knowledge of government and its people with her." "Little known, but with a big impact".

 

Rubio cancels debate with Meek

"Marco Rubio postponed Sunday's nationally televised U.S. Senate debate with Kendrick Meek to be with his ailing father." "Marco Rubio's father's health deteriorates; 'Meet the Press' debate postponed". See also "Sunday's live televised debate between Rubio and Meek on 'Meet The Press' scrubbed" and "NBC cancels Sunday's Rubio-Meek debate".

 

"Florida is little more than shifting sand"

Steve Otto: "Remember Charlie Crist? Yeah, the guy who used to be the governor of Florida before deciding to ride off on his half-donkey, half-Republican beast to tilt the windmills of the United States Senate."

A lot of people wondered just where Crist was going to get the money to finance his senatorial campaign once he abandoned his Republican Party base. Kendrick Meek has demonstrated he is a viable candidate for the Democrats and Marco Rubio is on a roll for the Republicans.

On Wednesday, we learned Crist will get a financial boost on Oct. 7 when millionaire Marc Bell hosts a fundraiser at his Boca Raton place.

Bell is involved in many businesses but naturally the one drawing attention is his role as CEO of Penthouse magazine, as well as an adult meeting service.

That wouldn't be such a big deal considering the level and character of Florida politics. A little sex in a dying campaign can't hurt.

The problem: a Palm Beach Post article recalled the election of 2006. In that Republican primary, it was Tom Gallagher who accepted a $3,000 donation from Bell and was criticized by the Crist campaign. Gallagher later returned the donation.

Maybe there's a reason Florida is little more than shifting sand. It seems to fit those who would represent it."Spicing up the Senate campaign".

 

Is Bondi stable?

"Before she became the Republican nominee for Florida attorney general, Pam Bondi was a familiar face as a legal analyst on CNN and the Fox News Channel."

But Bondi may be best known for a custody battle over a St. Bernard.

Her 16-month fight with the Louisiana family that lost the dog after Hurricane Katrina played out on CNN, Fox News and the pages of People magazine. Then a Hillsborough prosecutor, she accused the family of neglecting the dog. Steve and Dorreen Couture and their two grandchildren wanted their dog back and resented Bondi for keeping him.

Both sides settled the case just before it went to trial. The terms were confidential, but reports at the time said Bondi offered to provide the St. Bernard with food and medication for life and to visit occasionally. The Coutures said they would keep in touch and send photos.

It seemed like an amicable ending. But three years later, the Coutures have little good to say about their former foe. Moreover, they say, she never kept her promise."Dog battle leaves hard feelings".

 

What's wrong with Hillsborough?

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Jim Norman wants to rise higher in public life this year by moving from the Hillsborough County Commission to the state Senate. Yet he refuses to answer how his wife managed to buy a second home with $435,000 in cash. The FBI is reportedly investigating. The only one not working to clear the air is the commissioner and future senator." "The $435,000 question".

 

Good question

"Crist late Friday ordered a review of a French company competing to build a high-speed rail line in Florida, saying he was concerned about questions over the company's role in the Holocaust." "Gov. Crist asks for review of French rail company, citing 'Holocaust' concerns".

Largely unnoticed were recent press accounts that Billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett urged their fellow Billionaires to pledge to donate 1/2 of their net worth to charity.  Sounds like a nice gesture, but ... Well, before you blow it off, take a look at the numbers according to various press accounts:

Number of U.S. Billionaires:  400+

1/2 of total Net Worth:  $1.2 Trillion

Number Committed:  40 (10%)

Total Philanthropy in 2009:  $600 Billion

Total Potential Giving of Just Gates and Buffett:  $600 Billion

So my point is there is great potential in U.S. made Billionaires keeping all they can spend for themselves and their families, and still "giving back" to those less fortunate.  What if their charity were strategically targeted so it could draw down other matching funds and help make a dent in our crippling federal budget deficit?  For those who are tone deaf to philanthropy, just think of how the stock market would react if Americans got their financial house in order, through the generosity of fellow Americans.  Talk about earning the Presidental Medal of Freedom. 

Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry.

Scott accuses Sink of "socialism"

"In Brandon, Orlando and Jacksonville,"

Scott and Carroll talked up the importance of creating jobs in a struggling Sunshine State and Scott criticized Democratic rival Alex Sink for supporting "the socialist policies of President Obama.''"Scott, running mate Carroll debut as team".

If Scott had spent some time in the pokey for fraud, he might have had had the opportunity to read a book or two on, say ... political systems. Then again, baseless name calling is a good way to rile up the Scott's teabagger base.

 

"Historic" laff riot

"Scott: 'Historic day' in choice of state Rep. Carroll as running mate".

"As Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott officially announced state Rep. Jennifer Carroll as his running mate Thursday, questions about when he chose the Fleming Island legislator and the experience she feels she brings to the ticket were left largely unanswered."

Touted for her legislative experience, Carroll would not give many specifics about her time in the state House. When asked about some of her proudest moments as a lawmaker, she encouraged a reporter to do some research.

"I don’t only have one," she said. "I have many, and you can certainly look up my resume."

When pressed on her tenure as a member of the Legislature, Carroll cited her work as chair of the House Economic Development Committee.

"There have been many measures that we put in place that created jobs, that reduced tax burden, reduced regulations on many companies to enable them to stay afloat," she said, without giving specifics.

Scott tried to characterize Carroll as the opposite of a career politician, although she has been a legislator in Tallahassee since her election in 2003 and was the head of Florida’s Veterans Affairs Department before that."Many questions surrounding Scott-Carroll ticket go unanswered".

 

Lawson disses Meek

"State Sen. Al Lawson endorsed Gov. Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate Thursday, saying "Charlie's always been there for us" when state employees, rural counties and universities needed help." "State Sen. Al Lawson endorses Charlie Crist for US Senate".

 

Crist releases internal poll

Daily Kos:

Given where public polling was on this race as recently as three weeks ago, it is hard to get a lot of confidence for Independent Charlie Crist based on the release of his own internal polling by Keith Fredrick. The new poll gives Crist a lead of just a single point, with Crist at 35%, Rubio at 34%, and Kendrick Meek well behind the pack at 17%. Crist did get some welcome news today, as he locked in a surprising endorsement in the form of state senator Al Lawson. Lawson just finished with a closer-than-expected primary challenge to Congressman Allen Boyd, one in which he challenged Boyd to his left. Lawson's defection is particularly notable, given that he is an African-American Democrat who is choosing Crist over Kendrick Meek, who is seeking to be the first African-American member of the U.S. Senate ever from the state of Florida."FL-Sen: Crist internal gives him (narrow lead), as he gains Dem nod".

 

Chiles will help Sink

Kevin Derby: "Lawton 'Bud' Chiles III made it official Thursday, pulling the plug on his gubernatorial campaign and endorsing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink." "Endorsing Alex Sink, Bud Chiles Exits Gubernatorial Race". See also "Bud Chiles will help Alex Sink's campaign for governor".

 

Population growth

"Florida's population grew slightly in 2009 after a one-year decline broke a steady string of growth dating to the end of World War II, according to preliminary estimates released Thursday. The University of Florida reported the state added an estimated 21,000 residents in the last year, bringing the state's population to 18,771,768. From 2008 to 2009, the state lost more than 56,000 people." "After a year of decline, Florida's population sees a slight amount of growth".

 

Entrepreneurs in action

"Hallmark Industrial Services, a company dogged by allegations of immigration and worker safety wrongdoing, had been working on oil spill cleanup operations in Florida". "Oil spill contractor with immigration, labor woes was involved in Florida cleanup".

 

Labor Day Insult in the Works

Hilda Solis is "Fighting for Workers This Labor Day".

In the meantime, we will be preparing the latest edition of the "Annual Labor Day Insult". Previous editions are here, here and here.

 

Rivera allegations

"A Democratic donor from Miami has filed a complaint against state Rep. David Rivera, asking the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether the Republican congressional candidate violated campaign finance laws by 'coordinating' attacks on Democrat opponent Joe Garcia with a political committee intended to remain independent."

The complaint, submitted by criminal defense attorney William Barzee, alleges there is a link between Rivera's campaign and a group named Voters Response. The link, Barzee says, is Rivera spokeswoman Sarah Bascom, of Tallahassee-based Bascom Communications & Consulting.

Federal campaign finance reports show Rivera's campaign has not made any payments to Bascom.

Voters Response, a Florida electioneering committee that has sent out fliers attacking Garcia in the hotly contested race, has twice made payments totaling $3,000 to Bascom Communications, according to the reports.

"It's outside the rules,'' said Barzee. "It's wrong and it's avoiding accountability.''

Unlike Florida law, federal campaign-finance law prohibits candidates from coordinating their campaign efforts with third-party groups.

But Bascom and David Ramba, who heads Voters Response, said the committee is not working with Rivera."Democratic donor seeks ethics probe of GOP candidate David Rivera".

 

Bomb scare

"Miami Airport Evacuated After Bomb Scare".

 

"Suspicious financial arrangement"

The Tampa Tribune editors: "State Rep. Kevin Ambler's lawsuit may not undo his Republican primary loss to Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman in the state Senate District 12 race. It may forever cast him as a sore - and litigious - loser."

Yet the effort could benefit the public if it serves to cast light on a suspicious financial arrangement that allowed Norman's wife to pay cash for a $435,000 lakefront home in Arkansas.

Norman says there are other investors in the house, and they want to stay out of the limelight. But no investors are listed on the deed, which is highly unusual for a real estate investment.

The 2006 transaction has been subject to all sorts of rumors, and Norman blames the accusations on dirty politics.

But he has refused to provide the specifics that could quickly put an end to the matter."A sore loser with good questions".

 

Right wing poll puts Scott on top

Daily Kos: "Team Ras-sie put both Rick Scott (FL-Gov) and Dino Rossi (WA-Sen) out in front today. The only poll that can come close to being construed as positive for Dems is the relatively small lead for GOP incumbent Sean Parnell in Alaska."

FL-Gov: Rick Scott (R) 45%, Alex Sink (D) 44%"THE RAS-A-POLL-OOZA". The poll: "Election 2010: Florida Governor".

 

Florida bankruptcies up

"Bankruptcies in South Florida up 5.7% in August".

 

Campaign roundup

"Chiles endorses Sink as he bows out, Scott barely leads Sink in new poll, Crist won't say who should be the next governor." "Campaign roundup for Thursday".

 

"Unlike other schemes, this one's legal"

The Orlando Sentinel editors: "Unlike other schemes to disenfranchise voters, this one's legal. That doesn't make it any less outrageous. And it doesn't excuse legislators for allowing it."

In 1998, Florida voters, by nearly 2-1, amended the state constitution to open primary contests to all voters, regardless of registration, when the winner would not face opposition in the general election. The intent was to ensure that all voters could have a say in choosing their elected representatives.

But two years later, the state Division of Elections issued an advisory opinion that upended the amendment. The opinion said a single candidate entering a race as a write-in would be enough to limit the primary to one party's voters — even though write-ins don't have to pay a filing fee or collect signatures like other candidates, and don't even appear on the ballot.

Republican or Democratic candidates who have little appeal outside their parties would rather run in closed contests. And in the years since the Elections Division cleared the way, scores of primaries around the state have been closed thanks to write-ins.

Usually these candidates don't even bother to campaign. They have no hope or intention of winning. There's no obvious motive for them to run other than to close a primary. State Sen. Dave Aronberg, a South Florida Democrat who tried for years to close the loophole, said write-ins usually are registered with the party whose primary they wind up closing."Close primary election loophole".

 

"Legislature lavishes tax dollars on an influential few"

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "An opulent $48 million courthouse being built for the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee highlights the hypocrisy of a Legislature that purports to be fiscally conservative but lavishes tax dollars on an influential few." "In contempt of state taxpayers".

 

Wingnuts go after Grayson and Kosmas

"For those few Florida voters unfamiliar with attacks ads, the latest TV spot by the conservative Americans for Prosperity offers a classic take on the genre."

It features ominous music, testimony from everyday people and unflattering pictures of its targets: Democratic U.S. Reps. Alan Grayson of Orlando and Suzanne Kosmas of New Smyrna Beach.

"Both supported Nancy Pelosi's liberal agenda," one grandmotherly woman tells the camera, moments before the ad condemns their support of the $787-billion stimulus bill.

Americans for Prosperity paid about $420,000 to run the 30-second commercial for two weeks on Central Florida over-the-air and cable stations. The ad is part of a nationwide campaign by the Republican-Libertarian group – underwritten in part by New York billionaire David Koch -- and marks the opening salvo in what's expected to be a barrage of spending by outside organizations in Florida before the Nov. 2 general election."Out-of-state groups to pour millions into U.S. Senate, congressional races".

 

Fl-oil-duh

The Miami Herald editors: "Lift liability cap for oil spills". Related from Paul Flemming: "BP payments remain a mystery". Meanwhile, "Gulf Blowout II Ripples Across Florida". See also "New oil rig explosion causes political firestorm in Florida".

Yeah, I know, it's a pretty stinky pun. But Kendrick Meek's lackluster, unimaginative campaign put's me out of sorts.
Steve Schale recently wrote a column (and followup) explaining that since Meek won the US Senate Democratic primary it was now impossible for Gov. Crist to win the three way race between the two of them and Marco Rubio.

The on-line Weekly Standard (along with others) quickly pointed out that this was a bit of wishful thinking by FDP true believers.

Their argument is that if right before the election Rubio and Crist are polling close together in the 30's and Meek is still down around 20, then you're going to see a shift in support going to Crist in order to stop Rubio from winning.

Meek seems to think that all he has to do is expose Crist's voting record and show that he's the real Democrat and everything will be hunky-dory.

This is ridiculous. We all know that Crist doesn't have a principled bone in his body, but his populist good manners still make him an appealing choice to stop Rubio.

What it comes down to is "Who cares if you're the REAL Democrat?"

Look, Bill McCollum was the REAL Republican, but he lost. Why? It rained on election day and that kept his supporters from the polls.

They just weren't that motivated.

Compare this with 2008 when people waited in line for hours in bad weather to vote for Obama. This is what I'm talking about.

Kendrick, if you don't engage people emotionally and motivate them to vote, you're gonna lose.

Quit talking about issue positions. Hire someone who understands marketing.

A recent poll showed support for Healthcare Reform dropped to 43%. In a two-way race that percentage is a disaster. In a three way it's a landslide!

But just saying you support healthcare reform isn't going to get that 43% to walk out the door and vote for you.

For that, you have to engage them emotionally. Or to put it in Rovian terms, you've got to get them pissed off!

How? This is what you say:

In 2008 we voted for Change. But rich billionaires want to keep their tax cuts and special favors. These thugs use their money to spread LIES about OUR president.

They have invested in fighting against the change that President Obama has been working to bring us, with Healthcare Reform and new Financial Regulation laws.

We can't let these fat cat bullies drag us back into the mess that the Republicans left us with. Don't let these goons mug OUR president. He needs people in Washington who've got his back!

Send a REAL Democrat to congress.

And stay off the Sunday morning news shows until you've got your new talking points down. Get out of your comfort zone. Go on Jon Stewart's show, inspire young people.

It's great you've got Alan Grayson supporting you. But YOU need to start acting like him. Don't forget, Jeb Bush's charisma couldn't save McCollum.

Don't just post HIS testimonials -- speak like that yourself!

Maybe then YOU can receive million dollar money bombs too.

Connect up with the MoveOn.org people. It's the activist white liberals you need to reach. Use some imagination.

Bill Clinton was fine for the primary, but for the general you need to get out from under his shadow and become your own person.

You don't want people to still be talking about your mother. You want them talking about YOU.

The way to do that is be BOLD. Develop an emotion filled, market driven campaign that engages and excites people.

Don't be another career politician chump who loses simply because the weather's bad on election day.

Get your people FIRED UP, and READY TO GO.

Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry.

The best Scott can do?

"Republican nominee for governor Rick Scott is set to name State Rep. Jennifer Carroll as his running mate. ... The 51-year-old Carroll served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years and was elected to the Florida Legislature in 2003. She would become the state's first black woman to be a candidate for lieutenant governor." "Scott will name running mate".

See also "Rick Scott's likely No. 2: Navy vet", "Scott to name Carroll as his running mate", "Rick Scott to name Jacksonville-area lawmaker as running mate" and "Rick Scott's No. 2 expected to be Rep. Jennifer Carroll".

We look forward to Carroll trying to debate Rod Smith, a tough lawyer who spent decades in the trenches of labor and civil rights law.

 

Oil? What oil?

"Republican House Speaker Larry Cretul shot down a special legislative session to study oil spill remedies, saying no urgent action was needed." "House speaker nixes special legislative session on oil spill". See also "Legislative Leaders Pull Plug on Special Session" and "Florida leaders kill plan for fall special session on oil".

 

The Cuba thing

"In a year when the political refrain is jobs, neither candidate wants to risk being seen as out-of-touch by emphasizing an issue that affects a vocal minority in the sprawling, diverse 25th congressional district, which stretches from Homestead and Doral and across the Everglades to near Naples."

Yet Cuba is a passionate point of contention in the fiery race between Rivera, a Republican, and Garcia, a Democrat. The two Cuban Americans -- who at different times each worked for the same powerful Cuban-exile group -- back the trade embargo and a ban on U.S. tourist travel, but are otherwise at odds on greater engagement with the island."House candidates David Rivera, Joe Garcia can't escape Cuba factor".

 

Scott's "steroidal disdain for the press"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "If Mr. Scott really wants to get to work as Florida's next governor, ducking appearances and having his mother speak on his behalf is the wrong way to go about it."

The electorate deserves candidates for the state's highest office who won't just advertise but who also defend their policy positions in public. Instead, Mr. Scott has shown a disdain for debate and public forums that include his opponents. And he has exhibited a steroidal disdain for the press which, if it had the chance, would simply challenge Mr. Scott face-to-face in much the same way the public would."Rick Scott wants it his way".

 

"Goodbye, Charlie"

Rubio lapdog, Mike Thomas says "Goodbye, Charlie. Enjoy the time you have left." "Charlie is flipping, flopping, fumbling and losing".

 

Chiles effect is "not cut and dry"

TPM: "So what should we make of the withdrawal of independent candidate Bud Chiles from the Florida gubernatorial race, and his endorsement of Democratic nominee Alex Sink? At first glance, it would seem that this is a pure plus for Dems -- but a closer look shows that it's not so totally cut and dry." "Will Indy Chiles Dropping Out Help Dem In FL-GOV Race?".

Related: "Chiles drops out of governor race, throws support to Sink", "Bud Chiles to endorse Democrat Alex Sink for Florida governor" and "Chiles throws support to Sink in Fla. gov's race".

 

"Some pretty rough neighborhoods"

"If U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek expects to win Florida's U.S. Senate race, his road to victory will run through some pretty rough neighborhoods."

Meek, who is polling a distant third in a three-way race with Republican Marco Rubio and independent Charlie Crist, finished behind Jeff Greene in 34 of 67 counties in the Democratic primary. In 20 counties, Greene garnered an outright majority in the four-candidate contest.

While Meek racked up landslide margins in his home base of Southeast Florida, the rest of the state proved problematic for the Miami congressman. If Meek has any hope of winning this fall, or even being competitive, he will have to dial far beyond his 305 area code.

A Sunshine State News analysis suggests that Greene voters won't necessarily come home for Meek in those counties. Even if the congressman stumps through Florida's rural counties where he performed poorest, he will face gale-force headwinds."Meek's Road to Victory Littered with Land Mines".

 

Party boy

"The Republican Party is supplying $2.5 million in advertising support to Marco Rubio's Senate campaign in Florida, a sizable commitment to a candidate the party once tried to push out of the contest."

The money from the National Republican Senatorial Committee is the maximum the party can spend in coordination with Rubio. A party official said the money will be devoted to television ads at a time that is agreeable to Rubio's campaign."GOP to pump $2.5 million to help Rubio in Florida".

 

"Hot issues in November’s election"

"The two major party nominees in the race for governor threw some jabs at education Wednesday, setting the stage for what will be one of the hot issues in November’s election." "Primaries Done, Statewide Candidates Focus on Education".

 

Teabaggers = RPOF

"Leaders of the Florida TEA ('Taxed Enough Already') Party chose Tallahassee Wednesday to promote their 21 candidates across the state and to endorse Rick Scott, the Republican gubernatorial candidate." "TEA Party Backs Rick Scott for Governor in November".

 

FCAT follies

"How FCAT will change".

 

Marco's "huge taxpayer rip-offs"

The Saint Petersburg Times editors: "Since St. Petersburg Times senior correspondent Lucy Morgan detailed the evolution of this palatial building, the Republican legislative leaders with their fingerprints all over it have been pointing away from themselves. U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio was House speaker when money for the new courthouse was approved. He claims that the project was a Senate, not a House, priority. That's not how everyone remembers it."

Intense lobbying for the building came from 1st District Court of Appeal Chief Judge Paul Hawkes and Judge Brad Thomas — Republican insiders with friends in high places. Hawkes is a former legislator from Crystal River, and both men are former staff members for the Legislature and former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, who was chairman of the House committee that oversaw court expenditures, said after he refused to fund the courthouse, Hawkes and Thomas enlisted help from Richard Corcoran, then Rubio's chief of staff, and from Hawkes' son Jeremiah, who was Rubio's general counsel. Dean says that the decision about the money was left to Rubio and his budget chief, Rep. Ray Sansom, and the final budget included $7.9 million to start work on the building.

Rubio is campaigning for the Senate as a fiscal conservative, yet his tenure as House speaker features two huge taxpayer rip-offs that rewarded political friends and associates: One is the $6 million set aside by Sansom for an airplane hangar for a friend and political contributor. Sansom now faces grand theft charges for that arrangement. The other is this unnecessary and luxurious courthouse that was originally slated to provide each judge on the appellate court with a 60-inch flat screen television and individual kitchens — accoutrements that have disappeared since the public attention."The palace and its parents".

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Alex Sink, the state's chief financial officer and Democratic nominee for governor, is rightly auditing the project. A preliminary review suggests the state may have tapped money originally intended for other uses, including $16 million from the Workers' Compensation Trust Fund." "In contempt of state taxpayers".

 

Stem cells

"Area lawmakers urge Congress bypass judge, pass law allowing embryonic stem cell research".

 

Send the check, just don't hug me

"Despite fierce opposition from GOP leaders, state agencies are seeking federal help." "Florida is going after millions tied to health care reform".

 

Outa here

"The threat of illegal immigration may have been a political flashpoint in the recent Florida primaries, but a new study suggests that fewer undocumented immigrants call the state home. The analysis by Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C., found that more illegal immigrants have been leaving Florida than have moved in during the past few years. A small percentage have become legalized." "Florida's illegal immigrants have fled state".

 

Not enough

"In the wake of a rash of fish and bird deaths likely due to toxic blue-green algal blooms in the St. Johns River, there are renewed calls for standards that dictate how much nutrient runoff citizens and businesses can dump into Florida’s fresh water. The recent gulf oil spill brought to light the fragility and importance of waters on the state’s economy and ecology, but the ocean isn’t our only at-risk body of water."

The St. Johns has long suffered the effects of nutrient pollution, but the past several months have been undoubtedly worse than usual. Those fish and bird deaths, plus the sudden appearance of a bizarre foam, are just a few of the symptoms of nutrient overload, and it is becoming apparent that the agencies governing Florida’s water bodies need to accelerate the adoption of a stringent set of rules to protect them."FDEP workshop suggests the agency will recommend ineffective water quality standards".

 

Probably not a contingency fee arrangement

"Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene accused The Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times in a libel lawsuit filed Wednesday of orchestrating a "plan to assassinate [his] character'' that cost him the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Florida."

Greene, who lost to Miami U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek by 26 percentage points, said the newspapers published stories about his real estate dealings in California and his 145-foot yacht Summerwind that were "knowingly based on false information.''

"Defendants . . . published the articles with the goal of destroying the personal, business and political reputation of Greene,'' the suit claims."Jeff Greene sues Miami Herald, St. Petersburg Times over coverage". See also "Losing Senate candidate sues St. Pete Times, Miami Herald for libel".

 

Fl-oil-duh

"BP oil spill claims czar Ken Feinberg has overpromised and underdelivered, Florida officials and others said Wednesday. Feinberg's new claims process, called the "Gulf Coast Claims Facility," isn't any more popular than the maligned BP process it replaces, members of Gov. Charlie Crist's Oil Spill Economic Recovery Task Force learned Wednesday, as they heard a litany of complaints from Panhandle claimants." "Despite critics, Feinberg says he's paid $17 million in 3,000 emergency oil-spill checks".

 

"Alternative parties hold some sway"

"If they voted as a bloc, Florida's third-party members could have a decisive impact on close races throughout the state, including some in Central Florida. More than 350,000 Florida voters are registered as members of political parties other than the Republican Party of Florida or the Florida Democratic Party, records show." "Alternative political parties hold some sway in Florida".

 

Ambler wants election voided

"Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman has refused to discuss who helped his wife buy a $435,000 lakefront home in Arkansas, but a lawsuit by his political nemesis claims conservative activist Ralph Hughes was the source of the money."

The lawsuit, filed by state Rep. Kevin Ambler, charges that Hughes loaned Norman $435,000, which Norman never disclosed nor paid back.

Ambler, defeated by Norman in last week's Republican primary for state Senate District 12, wants the results of the election voided and election officials to declare him the nominee. Ambler argues that Norman was not a legally qualified candidate because he didn't disclose the loan from Hughes or ownership of two boats purchased in conjunction with the Arkansas home.

The Tampa Tribune has also learned from sources at two government agencies that the FBI has begun investigating Norman's finances in relation to the Arkansas house purchased by his wife, Mearline, in 2006. The sources requested anonymity.

Spokesmen for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office said they could not confirm or deny an ongoing investigation."Ambler claims activist Hughes loaned Norman $435,000 for house".

 

"Legislature’s deceptive efforts ... to amend the state Constitution"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "The Florida Supreme Court has properly responded to the Legislature’s deceptive efforts to get voters to amend the state Constitution to suit its political purposes." "Florida’s high court stands up for voters".

With the recent passing of former U.S. Congressman Dan Rostenkowski (D., Ill.) one could not help but remember his leadership in helping pass the historic tax reform of 1986.  Democrat Rosty teamed up with Republican President Ronald Reagan to do what most said could not be done.  It was a perfect combination of political powerhouses that made it work.  Are there other bi-partisan combinations who could again pass tax reform today?  Possibilities?

Republicans:  Bob Dole, George Shultz, Pete Peterson, and Howard Baker.

Democrats:  Sam Nunn, John Breaux, Mario Cumo, and Bob Graham.

Two that don't work are Eskine Bowles and Alan Simpson.

Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry.

Chiles drops bid, boosting Sink campaign

"In a sign of relief for Democrats,"

Lawton "Bud'' Chiles III is expected to abandon his independent bid for governor.His departure would make it a two-way race between Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Rick Scott -- a contest in which Chiles, a former Democrat, was expected to play spoiler."With `spoiler' out of race, it's a one-on-one matchup". See also"" and "Reports: Bud Chiles dropping independent bid for Florida governor".

 

No wonder Jebbie likes Scott

The irrelevant "Jeb!" Bush has discovered he loves Rick Scott.

"Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott is prepared to be Florida's next governor and has the background for the job, former Gov. Jeb Bush told some 200 GOP loyalists Tuesday. Bush, who was Florida's governor from 1999-2007, formally joined ranks with the Republican nominee at a Republican Party unity rally in Jacksonville after supporting Attorney General Bill McCollum in last week's primary."

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, head of the Republican Governors Association, joined Scott and about 200 mostly elderly supporters at a Miami-area community center.

Scott's campaign called the appearances a "unity tour," a week after a terse exchange between Scott and the governors' group over a primary ad attacking McCollum.

Senate President Jeff Atwater and incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon emphasized Republican teamwork was needed to send Scott to the governor's mansion in November instead of members of what they called "Obama's team.""Republican leaders mend fences in Fla. with Scott". See also "Jeb Bush: Scott prepared to be governor".

But Jebbie's new found love for the fraudster really isn't much of a surprise. After all, in Jebbie's first publicized business activity since leaving office, "Jeb!" hooked up with ... you guessed it ... a company that had just paid $900 million to settle allegations of Medicare fraud.

As reported at the time,former Gov. Jeb Bush is joining the board of Tenet Healthcare, the national hospital that has been working to clean up its image and performance since dealing with widespread allegations of fraud. ...

The hospital chain has been struggling to emerge from a series of legal and financial problems. Earlier, it paid $10 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Medicare fraud allegations. Last year, it reached an agreement with the federal government to pay $900 million to settle allegations of Medicare fraud."Jeb Bush joins Tenet board of directors".

According to Forbes, Bush remains on the Tenet Healthcare Corporation board; his most recent reported total compensation from Tenet was $241,046.00.

 

Florida in the front lines

"Needing to pick up 39 seats to take control from the Democrats, Republicans are dreaming of picking up more U.S. House seats -- and Florida is in the front line of their effort to take the gavel from U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as they focus on four possibilities to pick up seats." "Florida Becoming Front Line in Battle for Congress".

 

Special session needed

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "Is the time for a special legislative session that in July Speaker Larry Cretul and Senate President Jeff Atwater said would be more appropriate in September? No." "Our Opinion: Special session on oil issues deserves full attention".

 

"A blow to Republican legislative leaders"

"The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld lower-court decisions to remove three legislatively drafted constitutional amendments dealing with property tax breaks, redistricting and the federal health-care reform from the Nov. 2 ballot."

Leon County judges had removed Amendments 3, 7 and 9 from the ballot this summer because they deemed their summaries for voters to be too confusing — and a majority of the justices on Florida’s high court agreed, delivering a blow to Republican legislative leaders who had pushed the measures.

Earlier this month, House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon took the unusual step of appearing before the court to defend Amendment 7, which would have given lawmakers broader power to draw political districts regardless of other standards currently in the Constitution. Critics said it would have also weakened Amendments 5 and 6, which are also on the ballot and seek to limit lawmakers’ power to gerrymander districts."Ruling keeps redistricting, tax, health amendments off ballot". See also "Supreme Court Strikes Amendments From Ballot", "Florida Supreme Court strikes 3 GOP-backed amendments from ballot", "Amendments 3, 7, 9 stricken from November ballot" and "Florida Supreme Court keeps three amendments from ballot".

 

"Political hacks" take it in the shorts

Scott Maxwell: "In wrestling terms, Florida politicians have suffered a pile-driver, full-nelson and double-knee gut-buster. All within the last few weeks. And all delivered by judges who say political hacks don't have the right to thwart the people's will, or trample on the state constitution, just because they want to." "Legal smackdowns should send politicians a strong message".

 

Sink's school plan

"Democratic gubernatorial nominee Alex Sink's education plan proposes sending education decisions back to locals and strengthening state standards." "Sink unveils plan for school changes".

 

Crist "a campaign chameleon"

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Charlie Crist seems to have become a campaign chameleon, shifting shape and changing colors depending on where he is and to whom he's talking." "Charlie, who are you now?".

 

Rubio "supporters eager for more"

Tom Jackson "Two months remain in the dash to Election Day. Two months to work the stump speech and tilt the fence-sitters. Perhaps the best thing about the Taste of Marco Tour: He left his supporters eager for more." "Rubio blitz leaves backers hungry for more".

 

RPOFers urge Scott to pretend ...

... that he never said those things. "The '800-pound gorilla' at Tuesday's closed-door meeting between the newly crowned Republican nominee for governor and Hispanic state legislators wasn't their strong support for his former rival, according to one participant."

It was Rick Scott's hardline stance on illegal immigration.

Scott has championed Arizona's new crackdown that requires police to question suspected illegal immigrants and says he wants to bring a similar law to Florida. Some Hispanic Republicans say they hope the issue will take a back seat to the economy between now and the Nov. 2 general election."Hispanics urge Scott: Reduce immigration issue emphasis".

 

Early-Retiree insurance

"Sixty-nine Florida businesses and government entities have been accepted into a new federal program designed to help employers and unions maintain health coverage for early retirees not yet eligible for Medicare." "Early-Retiree Insurance: a Broken Bridge?".

 

"Reminiscent of Fiasco 2000"

"It's not deja vu all over again. There are no 'butterfly' ballots, no presidency at stake, no Supreme Court arguments and no candidates by the name of Bush or Gore."

But Sarasota County's latest recount battle is reminiscent of Fiasco 2000 in one key respect: It again proves that human error can lead to some very controversial election results.

The error this time is a certain lack of foresight on the part of two people, Kathy Bolam and Kathy Dent, in connection with last week's primary vote.

Bolam, a county Charter Review Board candidate, conceded a very close race too soon. Worse, she did it by e-mail -- which is considered legally binding by the Florida Division of Elections. When she tried to undo her decision and get a recount, it was too late, state law suggests.

Bolam (down by 136 votes, according to the election supervisor's Web site) should accept the result and learn from what amounts to a beginner's mistake. She apparently plans to formally contest the decision, however."Return to controversy".

 

Teachers = their union

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board can't get it through their heads that the teachers union is not comprised of a bunch of Bolsheviks, but rather the teachers themselves: "Don't give on merit pay reforms".

 

Sore loserman

"State Rep. Kevin Ambler, who lost a bitter Republican primary election to Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman for the state Senate District 12 seat, has named his opponent in a lawsuit filed Tuesday."

Ambler, who has represented state House District 47 for eight years, did not immediately concede defeat to Norman after the election. An Ambler spokesman said the state representative planned to take some time to consider his options.

The lawsuit marks Ambler's first public response since the primaries. Neither Ambler nor his Tallahassee attorney, Mark Herron, could be reached for comment.

Norman issued a statement late Tuesday critical of Ambler's action. He urged his opponent to end his campaign."Norman named in suit filed by defeated GOP rival Ambler".

 

More RPOFer legislation bites the dust

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Local governments -- and the taxpayers who pay for them -- got a fair shake when a judge struck down a controversial 2009 growth-management bill that put an undue financial burden on cities and counties." "Good riddance to sprawl-promoting law".

After reading the hard copy of your hometown newspaper, please consider becoming a site fan on Facebook and following us on Twitter. Whenever you visit a newspaper site online, please click on one or more of the advertisements and make an effort to patronize newspaper advertisers. Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry follows.

RPOFers "zipping on their Hazmat suits and embracing Scott"

"Once viewed as a pariah among Republicans, Rick Scott is embraced by top party leaders who hope he can forgive and forget."

Politics is funny sometimes in Florida.

One day people call you a fraud who ripped off taxpayers and financed smut, the next day they hail you as a visionary leader, job creator and good friend. One day you're denouncing special interest and lobbyist money, the next day you are courting it.

Such is the case with Rick Scott, the mega-rich businessman ['who has more baggage than J-Lo on a camel safari'] who stunned the GOP establishment last week by beating Bill McCollum for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Only a week ago, state and national party leaders treated Scott as a dangerous pariah, but now they're eagerly embracing him and hoping for forgiveness."GOP leaders reach out to Rick Scott". See also "Scott, GOP make a show of unity".

Carl Hiaasen: "Now that Florida's bitter Republican primary is over, party leaders are zipping on their Hazmat suits and preparing to embrace Rick Scott."Whether Sink can capitalize on the rancorous split in the GOP remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the efforts of Thrasher and others to present a unified front will provide some much-needed comedy, if nothing else.

Expect staged photo opportunities of Scott posing with ex-McCollum backers, pained smiles all around. It will also be intriguing to see how party godfather Jeb Bush devises to appear enthusiastic about Scott, when the truth is the opposite. ...

McCollum will face mounting pressure from GOP insiders to hold his nose and praise a man whom he truly believes is unqualified to be governor."How McCollum responds will be a measure of his own integrity. Either he'll continue to say what he really thinks, or he'll join Scott's make-believe lovefest and paste on a smile."With his résumé reeking from one of the nation's worst health-care ripoffs, the new GOP gubernatorial nominee is now being courted by the same stalwarts who did everything in their power to sink his self-financed excursion into politics.

Scott's surprise victory last week over Attorney General Bill McCollum was a gift to the Democrats and a blow to the wobbly state Republican machine.

Now comes the fun part, when all the GOP bigshots who spent months trashing Scott now pretend that they didn't do that, or didn't really mean it if they did.

Listen to this kissy-face lie from incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos: "When you people check the record, you'll see it's only positive from me.''

Haridopolos, a vocal supporter of McCollum, was one of numerous Republican leaders who helped raise millions of dollars for attack ads against Scott.Much more here: "Let the lovefest begin".

 

Free Choice Kerfuffle

"There’s no doubt Florida’s business community holds a lot of sway when it comes to electing the state’s next governor. Associated Industries of Florida boasts the most powerful business lobby in the state and the Florida Chamber of Commerce claims the largest membership with 139,000 businesses in its group."

One issue important to both of them, affecting endorsements and fund-raising for the candidates, is the Employee Free Choice Act, or card-check.

Card-check is currently being considered in Congress. It was co-sponsored by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and is expected to be taken up by the Senate this fall. The bill would change the way unions can organize by getting rid of the secret-ballot system, and allowing businesses with as few as 10 employees to become unionized.

Many in the business community worry that getting rid of the secret ballot would allow unions to intimidate employees, essentially checking their cards while voting.

AIF president Barney Bishop says that’s one of the major reasons they are not endorsing Alex Sink, even though she’s described herself as a business-friendly Democrat.

"She’s a business person who just happens to be a Democrat," said Bishop. "And that dog just ain't going to hunt."

Bishop says one of his primary concerns with Sink is that she will side with Congress and the White House when it comes to the union-favored card-check legislation."Union-Supported Card-Check Bill May Help Decide Next Governor".

 

Scott claims he was "a victim of Bill and Hillary Clinton's wrath"

Myriam Marquez the other day:

Hi, it's me again!

With his ah-shucks, Opie Taylor demeanor and his "Let's get to work!'' slogan, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott pulled it off. He beat seasoned politico Bill McCollum in the primary by campaigning against his own party.

At his victory party in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday night, I marveled at the rise of a businessman who just a decade ago was forced to leave the company he created after a multibillion-dollar criminal scandal. Scott maintains that the $1.7 billion paid by Hospital Corporation of America -- the largest fine in U.S. history -- was not an admission of fraud.

As he implies on the stump (check out YouTube for illuminating videos of his "explanation''), he was a victim of Bill and Hillary Clinton's wrath once their healthcare reform plan went bust."We still don't know who Rick Scott is".

Joy-Ann Reid gives us "Five things to know about Rick Scott".

See also "Outsider Scott surrounds himself with GOP insiders".

 

"Scott must choose a running mate by Thursday"

"The Florida Republican Party’s newest supernova, gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott, blazed Monday across Central Florida on a party unity tour with legislative leaders – and a star-studded fly-around on deck. ... But while the self-styled political outsider basks in the glow of party insiders, Scott also is getting ready to create an instant celebrity of his own. Scott must choose a running mate by Thursday, under state law." "Who's Ready for 15 Minutes of Fame? Scott to Choose LG".

 

Never mind

"As a House panel wrapped up its work on Monday, chances for a September oil spill special session appeared to be slim and none." "Oil spill special session not likely". Related: "BP data reveals high stakes for Florida in oil spill claims process".

 

Crist "hedging, backpedaling and two-stepping"

"A longtime target of finger-to-the-wind accusations, Gov. Charlie Crist has engaged in an unusual amount of hedging, backpedaling and two-stepping since Tuesday's primary crystallized his opposition in the U.S. Senate race."

What's more, he is refusing to join his chief rivals, Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek, on NBC's Meet the Press this Sunday.

"When it comes down to the governor, I think Florida voters are going to really pay close attention because you don't know where he stands on the issues,'' Meek said in Tallahassee on Monday.

Twice in the past three days, the Crist campaign has scrambled to put out statements clarifying his remarks on healthcare and same-sex marriage. The Republican-turned-independent candidate has also given muddy answers on returning money to disgruntled donors and on which party he would caucus with if elected.

The difficulty in pinpointing Crist's positions reflects the unprecedented balancing act of an unaffiliated candidate trying to hold together a fragile coalition of Democratic, Republican and non-partisan voters."Crist remarks give fodder to opponents".

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Crist's bid to become the next U.S. senator from Florida -- and make history as an independent -- has liberated the long-time Republican from following a party script. But in so doing, Gov. Crist has left many voters confused and others angry. They're right to wonder what being an independent means, if all his positions seem to follow popular opinion. Voters aren't selecting a pollster. They are looking for a leader -- ideally, one who won't just parrot the mob." "Charlie Crist's challenge" ("Running as independent is no free pass to flip-flop").

 

SOE stoties

"The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is reporting new accusations that Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent influenced charter review board candidate Kathy Bolam’s decision to concede last Wednesday, after primary results indicated she had lost her bid by just over 100 votes. The narrowness of that margin would have triggered an automatic recount, if Bolam had not conceded." "Sarasota supervisor of elections accused of influencing candidate’s decision to concede".

 

"Smaller this storm season"

"Florida's massive reinsurance fund is much smaller this storm season".

 

The week ahead

"The Week Ahead for Aug. 30-Sept. 3".

 

Grayson - Webster on the air

Mark Schlueb reports that the Webster - Grayson "TV battle began last week. Americans for Prosperity, the stealth conservative group backed by oil billionaire David Koch, launched attack ads against Grayson and fellow Democrat Suzanne Kosmas from the neighboring 24th District, noting their support of the federal stimulus. Grayson has paid for a spot slamming Webster for spending $32,000 of taxpayer money to install a spiral staircase in his state House office in 1997 and for billing taxpayers for 68 flights private jet flights. The staircase claim is true, and the information about the flights is partially true."

That Webster would associate himself with "Americans for Prosperity" speaks volumes. Jane Mayer has a lengthy piece in the New Yorker titled "Covert Operations", about the Koch brothers, who are "the billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama". She writes:

The Kochs are longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industry—especially environmental regulation. These views dovetail with the brothers’ corporate interests. In a study released this spring, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute named Koch Industries one of the top ten air polluters in the United States. And Greenpeace issued a report identifying the company as a "kingpin of climate science denial." The report showed that, from 2005 to 2008, the Kochs vastly outdid ExxonMobil in giving money to organizations fighting legislation related to climate change, underwriting a huge network of foundations, think tanks, and political front groups. Indeed, the brothers have funded opposition campaigns against so many Obama Administration policies—from health-care reform to the economic-stimulus program—that, in political circles, their ideological network is known as the Kochtopus."Americans for Prosperity" is part of the Kochtopus.

The Kochs are also propping up the teabaggers. One Peggy Venable — "a longtime political operative who draws a salary from Americans for Prosperity, and who has worked for Koch-funded political groups since 1994" — announced at an Americans for Prosperity [an organization that David Koch started in 2004] event that"We love what the Tea Parties are doing, because that’s how we’re going to take back America!" she declared, as the crowd cheered. In a subsequent interview, she described herself as an early member of the movement, joking, "I was part of the Tea Party before it was cool!" She explained that the role of Americans for Prosperity was to help "educate" Tea Party activists on policy details, and to give them "next-step training" after their rallies, so that their political energy could be channelled "more effectively." And she noted that Americans for Prosperity had provided Tea Party activists with lists of elected officials to target. She said of the Kochs, "They’re certainly our people. David’s the chairman of our board. I’ve certainly met with them, and I’m very appreciative of what they do."

Venable honored several Tea Party "citizen leaders" at the summit. The Texas branch of Americans for Prosperity gave its Blogger of the Year Award to a young woman named Sibyl West. On June 14th, West, writing on her site, described Obama as the "cokehead in chief." ...

During a catered lunch, Venable introduced Ted Cruz, a former solicitor general of Texas, who told the crowd that Obama was "the most radical President ever to occupy the Oval Office," and had hidden from voters a secret agenda—"the government taking over our economy and our lives." Countering Obama, Cruz proclaimed, was "the epic fight of our generation!" As the crowd rose to its feet and cheered, he quoted the defiant words of a Texan at the Alamo: "Victory, or death!"

Americans for Prosperity [the organization that David Koch started in 2004] has worked closely with the Tea Party since the movement’s inception. In the weeks before the first Tax Day protests, in April, 2009, Americans for Prosperity hosted a Web site offering supporters "Tea Party Talking Points.""Covert Operations".

Frank Rich last weekend on the history billionaires subsidizing the wingnut "movements":Only the fat cats change — not their methods and not their pet bugaboos (taxes, corporate regulation, organized labor, and government "handouts" to the poor, unemployed, ill and elderly). Even the sources of their fortunes remain fairly constant. Koch Industries began with oil in the 1930s and now also spews an array of industrial products, from Dixie cups to Lycra, not unlike DuPont’s portfolio of paint and plastics. Sometimes the biological DNA persists as well. The Koch brothers’ father, Fred, was among the select group chosen to serve on the Birch Society’s top governing body. In a recorded 1963 speech that survives in a University of Michigan archive, he can be heard warning of "a takeover" of America in which Communists would "infiltrate the highest offices of government in the U.S. until the president is a Communist, unknown to the rest of us." That rant could be delivered as is at any Tea Party rally today."The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party". See generally "American Politics is Getting All Koch'ed Up" and "Group Is Accused on Tax Exemption".

One wonders if the Orlando Sentinel will ask Taliban Dan if he agrees with the views of his billionaire benefactors?

 

Grayson debate debate

"The candidates in the most closely watched congressional race in Florida might not have a televised debate because the campaigns disagree over who should be invited."

Incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson refuses to debate Republican challenger Dan Webster unless lesser known candidates are invited to the stage. Webster, a former state senator and the GOP standard-bearer, says he wants to take on Grayson solo. ...

In addition to the two major-party candidates, the Nov. 2 ballot in Florida's 8th Congressional district also will include Florida Tea Party candidate Peg Dunmire and independent George Metcalfe.

The choice of which candidates would participate is a calculated one for both camps. It is to Grayson's advantage to have Dunmire and Metcalfe there because they'd likely peel conservative votes away from Webster.

"Webster wants me and Peg Dunmire to go away," Metcalfe said. "He wants to frame this as a two-party election. This is not an exclusive boys' club.''

Dunmire called her exclusion "elitist.""Candidates debate having debate".

The teabaggers will whine for a moment, but will of course flock to Webster in the end.

 

What say you ... Mr. Scott

"Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Francis has agreed with the city of Weston that a law passed last year by the state Legislature would create unconstitutional expenses for local governments. He threw the ill-advised bill in the trash can. Gov. Charlie Crist, who signed the Community Renewal Act, should not appeal." "On growth law, judge protects taxpayers".

 

"All that stood between the GOP and dynastic dominance were ..."

Thomas Tryon: "When the Republican Party gained firm control of Florida politics in the late 1990s, all that stood between the GOP and dynastic dominance were ... the Republican Party and its members." "Tryon: GOP's challenge is to keep it together".

 

"Frequent filer"

"Frequent filer Josue Larose runs for governor, raises questions". "$14.2 Million Write-In 'Challenges' Division of Elections".

 

Pathetic turnout

"Final turnout figures for the primary election are in: statewide, the 2.43 million votes cast were 21.9 percent of registered voters, according to the state Division of Elections. Leading the pack were the smaller counties, like Liberty, where more than 51 percent of the 4,237 voters turned out. ... Miami-Dade, 17.2 percent, Palm Beach, 16.2 percent, Broward, 14.7 percent". "21.9% of state's registered voters in cast ballots in primary, final figures show".

 

"Perverse political hubris at work here"

Daniel Ruth complains, "so it was the other day as we attempted to enjoy our first cocktails of the evening while watching the news only to be exposed — again and again and again — with yet another wave of campaign commercials."

Couldn't we just have a break from this silliness — just a short one? Haven't we earned it?

There is a perverse political hubris at work here — that the general public is sitting at their kitchen counters breathlessly, anxiously awaiting the next commercial pimping a candidate's fitness for office or why their opponent is a vile agent of darkness who makes Saddam Hussein look like Dr. Seuss.

Really, do either Rubio, Sink or the Committee of Sleazy Mysterious Touts for Rick Scott honestly believe if they merely went away until after Labor Day they would lose potential votes to be cast more than two months from now?

It is estimated that during the recent primary mosh pit, the average television viewer in the Tampa Bay area was treated to 266 commercials — most of them portraying Bill McCollum as a shiftless poltroon — hawking the candidacy of Rick Scott. Madonna hasn't exposed herself this much.

Imagine — if you dare — what we can expect going into the general election.

Of course the argument for the airwaves carpet bombing is that it is important for the public to get to know these candidates. But the problem, unfortunately, is — we know, we know.

At the risk of committing heresy — could we just know a little less?Much more here: "Call it a campaign, but it’s more like torture".

 

Union hating fun

The Sun Sentinel editorial board: "Palm Beach County teachers are forced to watch from the sidelines, because their union, in a petulant fit, opted not join in the Race to the Top fun." "Palm union's petulance cost teachers a bundle".

 

"Strange"

"Just two weeks after publicly pumping up U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek in the U.S. Senate Democratic primary race against Jeff Greene, state senator-to-be Maria Sachs yesterday pulled a switch and endorsed Meek’s general election rival Gov. Charlie Crist." "Sachs' defection to Crist in Senate race strange, Meek tells reporters". Related: "Meek, Thurman: Few Dems will defect".

 

Taj Mahal audit

"Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, was chairman of the House committee that oversaw court expenditures."

Dean says he rejected a plea from Hawkes and Thomas to fund the courthouse after Dean toured the existing courthouse. He said he rejected it because the state was slashing budgets, and he said the courts had more important needs than the construction of a new courthouse for the appellate court.

Dean said Hawkes and Thomas indicated they would go around him to get the funding they needed.

"He (Hawkes) just looked at me and grinned and said, 'I got friends,' '' Dean said.

Dean said the two judges had help from Richard Corcoran, then chief of staff for House Speaker Marco Rubio, and from Hawkes' son Jeremiah, who was general counsel for Rubio."Alex Sink orders audit of 'Taj Mahal' courthouse finances". See also "Sink orders audit of building deal".

 

Skip the scotch and read the cross tabs

The wingers on The Orlando Sentinel editorial board are outraged that Florida's overworked, underpaid (they haven't had a raise in years), state employees have ... get ready for this ... not had their pensions gutted. They whine this morning: "Most legislators panicked at the idea of antagonizing the state's politically powerful public employee unions in an election year." "Make state pensions more equitable, more affordable and more sustainable".

Of course, "equitable, affordable and sustainable" pensions are code words for cutting pensions. The editors then whine about "apologists [who] bring up poor pay for public employees, ignoring a Bureau of Labor Statistics report that shows public employees make more than their private counterparts". Of course, the editors are merely passing along the propaganda they hear from their Chamber buddies at the club - we urge the editors to skip the scotch and read the cross tabs.

To complete the whinge, the editors look adoringly into the eyes of Rick Scott: "only Republican Rick Scott is proposing to raise employee pension contributions. Good for him."

Related: "Millions in salary, pension cuts in front of Miami Commission on Tuesday".

 

In the heart of darkness

"Rubio campaigning in Pasco and Hernando". See also "Warm welcomes greet Rubio in Pasco, Hernando visits".

Politico provided this video of Kendrick Meek on Face The Nation "staking his claim in Florida."

The part that bothered me though was this excerpt:

And while Meek said he had the support of Obama, it was unclear whether the Democratic congressman would return the favor.

Also on CNN's "State of the Union," Meek left the door open Sunday as to whether he thought Obama should shake up his economic advisory team in the wake of the country's deep economic woes.

As I've said in the past, if Rep. Meek wants to win a three way race he needs to concentrate on turning out his hard core base. This comment sounds like he's trying to steal Democratic voters back from Gov. Crist.

Simply focusing on Crist is the wrong strategy. He needs to fire up the faithful by talking about how Obama (OUR president) is under attack from right wing extremists. (See Jane Mayer's New Yorker article for details.)

Two years ago we put Obama in power and now everyone needs to make sure we've got his back. The best way to support OUR president and make sure things turn out right is to send a REAL Democrat to Washington.

That's what the man needs to be saying. Come on Kendrick, be like Obama, DOUBLE DOWN.

You may want to review some of the stories that came out over the weekend here and here, the latter featuring this article: "Teabaggers have captured the RPOF"; also over the weekend: "Webster and the accidental neo-Nazi". Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry follows.

Florda a key state in Dem control of Congress

"Florida's party primaries last week set the stage for a half-dozen closely contested congressional elections this fall that could help resurgent Republicans regain majority control of Congress."

National political analysts foresee a Republican gain of two or three U.S. House seats in Florida.

Four Democratic incumbents appear vulnerable: Alan Grayson of Orlando, Suzanne Kosmas of New Smyrna Beach, Allen Boyd of Monticello and Ron Klein of Boca Raton. On the other hand, two open seats vacated by Republicans in South and Central Florida offer opportunities for Democrats.

"I expect Republicans to pick up three seats in Florida on their way to the 40 they hope to get nationally," said David Wasserman, who tracks House campaigns for The Cook Political Report, which analyzes elections across the country. "The primaries demonstrated that there is more enthusiasm on the Republican side this year."
In the meantime, "Democrats hope to wrest two seats from Republicans, one at the southern end of the Miami area and another south of Orlando."Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami is leaving the 25th District to run unopposed in the more Republican-friendly 21st District now represented by his brother, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who is retiring from Congress.

Competing for the open seat are Democrat Joe Garcia and Republican state Rep. David Rivera. Garcia has a slight lead in the money chase, raising $1.6 million to Rivera's $1.3 million. ...

A similar contest is unfolding in the 12th District, an area marked by suburban sprawl and citrus groves, where Republican Adam Putnam is retiring to run for agriculture commissioner. That sets up a competitive race between Republican Dennis Ross, a former legislator, and Democrat Lori Edwards, the supervisor of elections in Polk County.Half-dozen Florida races could hold key to GOP gaining control of Congress".

 

And so it begins ...

"Crist won the backing of two state Democrat legislators this morning in his quest to become a United States Senator. State Sen.-elect Maria Sachs, Delray Beach, and State Rep. Darryl Rouson, District 55, based in St. Petersburg, praised Crist at the South County Civic Center before a crowd of about 100 voters who braved the rain to snack on bagels and meet the Republican-turned-Independent." "Democrat state lawmakers Sachs, Rouson endorse Crist in Delray".

 

Is Scott FlaDem dream or nightmare?

"Rick Scott's triumph in the GOP gubernatorial primary may have drawn almost as many cheers from Democrats as it did from Republicans."

Several polls showed that Alex Sink, the presumptive Democratic candidate, was leading Scott before Tuesday's election. The Republican elite wanted state Attorney General Bill McCollum to win, and McCollum had done a yeoman's job of highlighting vulnerable spots in Scott's background.

Scott, Democrats surmised, would be the easier opponent. Now the question remains: is Scott's nomination the gift that many Democrats think -- or will the political newcomer turn out to be their worst nightmare?"Scott: A gift to Democrats or their worst nightmare?".

 

LeMieux laff riot

Florida Trend: "LeMieux has a lot bigger agenda than warming a seat for whoever is elected to the Senate in November". "Climbing the Hill".

 

Fladems might change three key things

"William March writes that FlaDems have "the potential for change in three key items on the Nov. 2 ballot – the governor's race, in which Democrat Alex Sink appears tied or narrowly leading; and constitutional amendments seeking to outlaw gerrymandering of legislative and congressional districts.".

 

"Where the next governor will stand on the growth issue?"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "From the beginning, Senate Bill 360 — the 2009 Legislature's assault on Florida's growth management laws — was a rash deal. Cooked up by Republican leaders in a matter of weeks at the behest of powerful development interests, the law gutted decades of careful, if imperfect, law under the guise of jump-starting Florida's economy. Now that a judge has ruled the law unconstitutional, those same legislative leaders are planning to try again in 2011. Floridians must know where the next governor will stand on the issue." "Growth bill becomes election issue".

 

"Doomed by late start"

"In a state of 4 million Republicans, McCollum lost by fewer than 38,000 votes. Now with three losses in four statewide campaigns, many expect it to be his final race." Michael Bender takes a detailed look at his campaign strategy here: "Despite last-minute surge in spending, McCollum bid doomed by late start".

 

FCAT Follies

"Big disconnect seen in testing as reading results run 20-40 points lower". "'Inflated' FCAT Writing Scores Pad School Grades".

 

Tubby bullies duke it out

"It’s not talked about much, but the rivalry between Florida’s top business associations is real, and it’s beginning to show itself more in the 2010 elections. The Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida have long sparred for the position of top dog." "Top Business Associations Fight for Political Prominence".

 

"The union president is seeing red"

"Deltona firefighters are asking to wear pink shirts as a show of support for women whose lives have been impacted by breast cancer. City Manager Faith Miller says she supports their cause and has encouraged other city workers to wear pink shirts on Fridays in October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But she doesn't think the firefighters' request -- pink uniform shirts for six weeks -- is a good precedent to set. Miller's decision has the union president seeing red. " "Deltona manager, firefighters clash over pink shirts".

 

Business speaks, editors jump

The Sun Sentinel editorial board: "Candidates hoping to win posts in Tallahassee should latch on to a promising 2009 proposal to change the way Florida taxes corporate income. Florida TaxWatch says its approach, already adopted by about a dozen other states, would stimulate business investment and create jobs — the very goals to which the candidates claim to be dedicated." "Florida's approach to corporate tax discourages business investment and hiring".

 

"His lips moved, he said nothing"

Nancy Smith: "Does Charlie Crist believe in anything?"

You have to ask yourself.

Did you watch his performance on CNN’s "State of the Union" Sunday?

I’m beginning to think that thick coat of Teflon covering Florida’s governor, the independent duck-and-dodge candidate for U.S. Senate, is finally breaking down. And it’s happening before our very eyes.

Crist didn’t just look like a candidate without a party Sunday, he looked like a man without a principle to his name.

There were moments in the 15-minute segment when I was actually embarrassed for Crist. He couldn’t for the life of him explain why he said one thing in October or March when he was a Republican, and another thing since he became a left-leaning independent.

His lips moved, he was forceful, he said nothing."Is the Curtain Falling on Charlie Crist's Harry Houdini Act?".

 

Meek says he's earned it

"Florida Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek said Sunday that he's earned the right to be his party's Senate nominee after a bruising and expensive primary battle with a wealthy real estate mogul."Meek stakes claim in Florida". Related: "Senate Candidates Crist and Meek Tout Plans To Stimluate Economy".

 

"Florida, the last frontier"

"Ah, Florida, the last frontier. A daunting wilderness filled with snakes, gators, black clouds of mosquitoes, cockroaches and other despicable creatures of the night that slithered and crawled. What an image. It began to soften in the early 1920s as the Florida real estate market took off like a shot and fortune seekers poured into the state in black Model Ts, looking to get rich and drive home in a Packard." "Florida history: spinning wetlands into cities".

Check out "Webster and the accidental neo-Nazi". Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry follows.

Teabaggers have captured the RPOF

"The tea party movement muscled its way into the American political psyche over the past year with huge rallies, angry voters and colorful rhetoric. It’s not clear how much voters are responding, but in Florida, at least, the Republican Party appears to have taken notice."

Nearly all of the statewide candidates on the GOP ticket have embraced – and been embraced by - the tea party movement, the group of disenfranchised, mostly conservative voters who paraded the call for a change from the status quo over the past year, spurred at least in part by opposition to federal health care reform and the Obama administration in general.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott has sounded tea party themes and showcased tea party paraphernalia on his campaign tour bus.

Senate nominee Marco Rubio became the immediate darling of the movement, gracing the cover of a New York Times Magazine titled “The First Senator From the Tea Party?”

And the woman who is arguably the tea party movement’s leader, Sarah Palin, is stumping for attorney general candidate Pam Bondi."The result is a party slate that is more conservative than others in recent history. In 2006, Gov. Charlie Crist topped the ticket, putting a political moderate at the head of the Republican Party."While the more formal Tea Party itself may not have actually convinced any candidates to run as representatives of that party, political scientists Susan MacManus aruges the group had a strong impact nonetheless, dictating the issues that GOP candidates have taken on and even the tone, with which they’ve campaigned."State GOP Slate Reflects Tea Party Movement".

 

Campaigns to go negative early and often

Eager for a respite from the political attacks of the primary season? Anxious for a nuanced debate over Florida's jobless rate, the housing market, the cost of healthcare? Turn off the television. But for a brief post-primary lull, the airwaves are expected to be flooded until Nov. 2 with attacks and counterattacks" "Experts expect to see Florida campaigns go negative early, often".

 

"Some Democrats see a change in the air"

William March: "On the morning of Nov. 4, 1998, Florida Republicans awoke to a new political world - one they controlled."

The previous day's election meant that for the first time in modern history, a Republican governor, Jeb Bush, would take office along with Republican majorities in both houses of the state Legislature.

That election led to a decade of GOP dominance of state politics.

Republicans used the power of the Legislature and governor's office to draw GOP-friendly districts for state legislators and members of Congress, to influence the outcome of presidential elections, and to twist the arms of industries and their lobbyists for political donations.

After 2002, when the new districting plans took effect, Democrats became virtually irrelevant in state politics. They have since regained ground, but remain the minority party.

Some Democrats, however, see a change in the air."2010 election may be pivotal".

 

"Endorsement came with a caveat"

"Days before Florida’s primary, President Obama finally did what Rep. Kendrick Meek’s supporters had been begging him to do for some time: He showed up in the Sunshine State and referred to Meek as 'the next senator from the state of Florida.' But the in-person endorsement came with a caveat." "Meek won his primary, but still struggles to rally Democrats".

 

"Republican wave" or "enthusiasm deficit"

"Despite outnumbering Republicans by more than 612,000 in Florida, Democrats saw 912,044 voters for the Democratic Senate primary, while nearly 1.3 million Republicans cast ballots in the GOP primary for governor. Turnout was about 32 percent for Republicans, 19.7 percent for Democrats." "'Enthusiastic' GOP gets out the voters in Florida".

"Florida Republicans angry about President Barack Obama's health-care reforms and government bailout defied the rain and flocked to the polls Tuesday, a turnout that dwarfed the Democratic total and bodes well for GOP candidates in November."

There's just one problem: They nominated Rick Scott, a gubernatorial candidate whose checkered business history complicates the mission of now uniting Republicans and their major donors behind a ticket, according to many party leaders and donors."Republicans touted Tuesday's voter turnout as evidence that the party was fired up."Whit Ayres, a national GOP strategist and senior advisor to Marco Rubio, pointed out that more than 1.25 million Republicans voted in the Scott-McCollum primary, while only about 912,000 Democrats turned out for their U.S. Senate primary between Kendrick Meek and Jeff Greene. In the GOP Senate primary, Rubio — running virtually unopposed — received more than 1 million votes, Ayres said, or about 150,000 more than the total cast in the Meek-Greene race.

Of those who voted early or by absentee ballot, Republicans had a huge 190,000-vote advantage, with 572,579 compared with 382,544 Democrats.

Ayres said Republicans enjoy a "huge intensity" edge over Democrats. He said his firm recently conducted a poll for the Republican National Committee and found that 53 percent of Republicans said they were "extremely interested" in the fall elections. About 43 percent of independents and 35 percent of Democrats answered the same way.

"We've passed the point now where there's a question about whether there will or will not be a Republican wave this fall," Ayres said. "There will definitely be a Republican wave. The only question now is the size of that wave."

Florida Democrats dismissed Tuesday's turnout gap, with state-party spokesman Eric Jotkoff noting that GOP turnout fell well short of the 1.7 million Scott's campaign had predicted might show up.

"Rick Scott's own analysis," Jotkoff said, "shows a major enthusiasm deficit."
Scott's GOP constituency has largely been reduced to the Central-North Florida area:Along the critical Interstate 4 corridor from Daytona Beach through Orlando to Tampa Bay, Scott spent $18.2 million on TV commercials — 45 percent of the total $39.6 million he devoted to the air war. That compared with McCollum's $8.7 million — which was 64 percent of his total TV money.

As a result, McCollum lost six of the eight counties in the Central Florida television market — all but Seminole and Orange — and eked out only an 8,092-vote advantage in a region he represented for 20 years in Congress. In comparison, Scott amassed a 24,768-vote lead in his home turf in the Naples-Fort Myers media market.

Meanwhile, Scott cleaned up in conservative North Florida counties and outspent McCollum heavily in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, where McCollum was banking on his historical Hispanic support and didn't spend much money on television. At the same time, Scott forced McCollum to break with his supporters in the Hispanic community and embrace a hard-line, Arizona-style immigration bill.

McCollum won 61 percent of the Miami-Dade vote, but the turnout was only 17 percent. The 27,000-vote advantage McCollum drew from Miami-Dade and Broward was almost entirely offset by Scott's 22,000-vote advantage in the eight-county Jacksonville television market."GOP primary turnout bodes well for November".

 

They leapt off to vote for Scott

"A 48-foot yacht has mysteriously run ashore on Florida's Gulf Coast west of St. Petersburg." "Luxury yacht washes up on Gulf Coast".

 

Help us, please, Mr. Obama

"Florida's Department of Transportation is seeking more federal funding to boost high-speed rail and regular passenger train service." "Fla. seeks more funding for train projects".

 

Form over substance

"Rick Scott's campaign a massively funded marketing machine".

 

Credit to, ahem ... "unions"!?!

No, that's night a typo. Rather, a traditional media outlet refrains from urinating upon a group of employees who have the temerity to get together and act collectively to improve their working conditions: "Florida's state officials, school districts and teachers unions deserve extra credit for winning up to $700 million in the federal Race to the Top initiative. The grant money will support efforts over the next four years that have the potential to transform Florida's public school system." "Race for the grant".

 

Wingnut in the house

"Despite the dismal turnout for Jacksonville anti-abortion group Heroic Media’s 'An Evening of Hope' event, keynote speaker Sarah Palin still managed to stray from pregnancy to politics." "Palin goes rogue, uses anti-abortion event to tout her stance on health care reform".

 

"Market forces" in action

"The size of Florida’s state-created reinsurance fund has dramatically reduced in size this storm season. A combination of market forces, as well as a higher cost now attached to certain types of coverage, has resulted in a much smaller Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. The Cat Fund as it is known had up to $8 billion worth of coverage available for sale in its top optional layer of coverage. But insurers this year only bought $1.3 billion." "Florida's massive reinsurance fund is much smaller this storm season".

 

"Their own words"

"Florida's candidates in their own words".

 

"Scott will do to Sink what he did to McCollum"

Mike Thomas: "Attacking ['the corrupt, rusting machinery of political parties and special-interest groups'] was a key part of Alex Sink's battle plan back when McCollum was a shoo-in to face her in November. That's what you get with one-party rule by career politicians. But Scott beat her to the punch."

Why would he now put himself in those same crosshairs by embracing the state party?

And why would he put himself in our media crosshairs either?

Let's be honest. We hate the guy. We think he's a crook. We think people who vote for him are a bunch of dumb bigots.

We will profess objectivity in this election, just like we did in Obama v. McCain.

But we're [the media] in the tank for Alex Sink.

Scott will do to her what he did to McCollum. He'll pound her with populist positions from the right and wait for her to crack. And we won't be able to save her.

Sink is worse at dodging and shifting than McCollum."Rick Scott will become Florida's governor if he sticks to his style".

 

"NPA's could hold the key"

"Looking ahead to the Nov. 2 general election, the truly independent voter, the NPA's (No Party Affiliation), could hold the key in tilting the balance of the year's closest contests -- particularly between the increasingly polarized major political parties. They were the fastest-growing segment of registered voters, even before Gov. Charlie Crist bolted the Republican Party for an NPA designation in his run for the U.S. Senate." "Candidates put faith in No Party Affiliation voters".

 

Poor Bill

"McCollum said he was defenseless against Rick Scott's biggest weapon — his deep pockets." Especially damaging in a primary dominated by right wingers, however, was McCollum's brief display of decency: "the attorney general saying Florida likely would never invoke anything similar to the Arizona immigration law was – in the minds of many conservatives — an early bull's-eye for Scott." "McCollum: Lack of money caused defeat".

 

FlaDem "unity rallies"

"Florida Democrats kicked off their run to November's elections Saturday with a spirited show of party unity and promises of a rugged race to reverse a dozen years of Republican rule in state government."

"Our grassroots can beat Rick Scott any day — any day!" Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the nominee for governor, told about 350 party activists who fanned themselves with blue spray-painted signs proclaiming "UNITY" in a sweltering pavilion of the Florida State Fairgrounds."Dems kick off November election efforts".

"Six Democratic candidates held a 'Unity Rally' at the Florida State Fairgrounds on Saturday, chock full of sound bites and thumbs-ups, but without many specifics. About 300 supporters cheered as the candidates took to the stage in the second of three such events. The first was in St. Petersburg a couple hours earlier, and the last one was Saturday night in Orlando. Attendees were asked to sign up to make calls and help register new voters." "'Fired up' candidates rally their base". See also "Democratic candidates rally at UCF" and "Sink to Dems: Grassroots, not money will win election".

 

RPOFers in Tally ... unemployment climbs to 11.4 percent

Randy Schultz: "So voters should fire all congressional incumbents, most of whom are Democrats, right? Sure. Check the numbers."

In January 2007, when Democrats won control of the House and Senate, the nation's unemployment rate was 4.6 percent. Since then, it has more than doubled, to 9.5 percent. It got as high as 10 percent, and hasn't been below 9 percent since April 2009.

Using that same logic, though, voters also should fire all the incumbents in the Florida Legislature, most of whom are Republicans. In January 2007, even as the real estate bubble shrunk, Florida's unemployment rate was 3.3 percent. Since then, it hasn't just doubled. It hasn't just tripled. It's gone up to 11.4 percent.

Unlike congressional Democrats, Tallahassee Republicans can't claim that they inherited an economy heading for the cliff. The GOP has controlled the Governor's Mansion and Legislature for 11 years. But you can imagine the incumbents' defense: Hey, Florida can't escape what's happening across the nation as we go through the toughest times in decades.

To a degree, that's true. You also can't expect Florida to be like North Dakota, where the jobless rate is 3.6 percent but the population of the state is half that of Palm Beach County.

Still, Colorado, like Florida, is a fast-growing state, but that state's unemployment rate is 8 percent. Minnesota, hardly a backwater, is at 6.8 percent. Among other large states, New York and Minnesota have unemployment rates almost one-third lower than Florida's."Beware of false promises on 'fixing' the economy".

 

Drag a dollar bill through a polo game ...

"The GOP establishment essentially locked down Florida Republican money for Bill McCollum during the primary, but now it looks like Republican lobbyists/fundraisers/legislative leaders are jumping as fast as they can to get on the Rick Scott train." "GOP heavy-hitter$ lining up for Rick Scott and Jeb may join unity tour".

 

Keeping the wingnuts happy

"Crist says he'd have voted for health care, then retracts—'I misspoke'".

 

Marching in lockstep

"After a bruising Republican primary for governor in which millionaire Rick Scott ousted the establishment candidate, Attorney General Bill McCollum, Broward Republicans gathered over eggs, grits and potatoes Saturday morning to declare unity. Both Scott and McCollum were invited. Neither showed." "Broward GOP stresses solidarity".

"Taliban Dan" Webster has provided a list of endorsements to the Orlando Sentinel, which has in turn published them to allow readers "to compare candidates". They include these delightful folks:

Endorsements:
A few are listed below:
Governor Jeb Bush
Governor Mike Huckabee
Governor Bob Martinez
US Senator George LeMieux
Congressman Bill Posey
David Barton, WallBuilders
David Gibbs III, Christian Law Association ...We underscore the name "David Barton" because, as the The Huffington Post reports, Barton's endorsement exposes yet more about who Mr. Webster really is.

You see, this MisterBarton has [not just once, but] twice addressed white-supremacist organization with ties to neo-Nazis, but both times has done so accidentally, he says. He has also been a leader in the movement to rewrite American history to remove Civil Rights leaders and knock down the wall separating church from state, arguing that it is a myth. He led the recent effort to rewrite Texas textbooks to describe America as a Christian nation.

Barton addressed the Rocky Mountain Bible Retreat of Pastor Pete Peters' Scriptures for America and Kingdom Covenant College in Grants Pass, Oregon, both associated with neo-Nazi ideology. "At the time we were contacted by Pete Peters, we had absolutely no idea that he was 'part of the Nazi movement,'" Barton's assistant wrote later in explaining the speaking gigs. Barton didn't return a HuffPost message left with his assistant and Websters campaign didn't return calls, either.

"The Religious Right's leading practitioner of this type of historical revisionism is David Barton, who runs an outfit called WallBuilders out of Aledo, Texas," Rob Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State has written. "Barton makes a lucrative living traveling the right wing's lecture circuit where he offers up a cut-and-paste version of U.S. history liberally sprinkled with gross distortions and, in some cases, outright factual errors. Crowds of fundamentalist Christians from coast to coast can't get enough of it."There's more:
Barton's religious revisionism has continued since his addresses to the neo-Nazi groups. Earlier this year, he pushed for César Chávez and Thurgood Marshall to be removed from Texas textbooks. Barton argued that civil rights leaders can't be given credit for civil rights victories because only "majorities" - white people - have the ultimate power to change the law, according to the Washington Monthly. "Only majorities can expand political rights in America's constitutional society," he testified.

"Texas Textbook Massacre Architect Backing Grayson Opponent" (underscoring supplied; links original).  That, together with this wingnuttery, suggests that "Mr. Webster remains unfit for office.

Not only should Mr. Webster repudiate Mr. Barton, Mr. Webster's cheering section on the Orlando Sentinel editorial board - which can't wait to endorse Webster against Grayson - should in turn repudiate Mr. Webster.

Don't hold your breath.

One trope that Democrats are pushing nationwide is that the Tea Party has helped nominate Republican candidates who are too extreme to appeal to mainstream voters.

With the successes of Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, and Pam Bondi it certainly seems that way here in Florida.

But can Democrats actually take advantage of this?
For the US Senate race the answer is clearly 'No.' Since Gov. Crist's shift to NPA created a 3-way race, Marco Rubio doesn't have to appeal to mainstream voters. All he has to do is sit back and let the "enthusiasm gap" do his work for him.

And this is where Rick Scott's win takes on such significance. When a Rubio aide was asked to comment on Scott's win all he said was "Fully funded Victory program." (That's the Republican GOTV effort).

While early polls favor Alex Sink it's not clear if that is going to hold up against an advertising campaign of blatant lies. It should be noted that a significant portion of the Republican primary voters rejected both McCollum and Scott because of negative advertising and voted for a lesser known candidate. Some feel this cost McCollum the election.

The same dynamic could push voters to Bud Chiles' low-key NPA bid causing Sink to lose.

How about the three other state-wide races which are more straight forward, old-fashioned two party contests? These are the ones where the 20% of the electorate in the middle will decide the winner.

The bright spot that I see in terms of portraying state-wide Republican opponents as extremists is the two redistricting reform constitutional amendments which will also be on the November ballot.

I'm still dubious as to whether the amendments will get the 60% needed for passage, but I'm positive that a clear majority of voters will support them.

What's important is that they are an issue that state-wide Democratic candidates can use effectively if they so choose.

The FDP and these candidates, Dan Gelber (AG), Loranne Ausley (CFO), and Scott Maddox (CoA), need to develop language and slogans to start sending out a unified message on this topic.

A series of pithy talking points needs to be developed to be used in debates, tv interviews and stump speeches. These need to clearly identify anyone who does not support redistricting reform to be an extremeist with views outside the mainstream.

The easiest way to win a state-wide race is to run against the legislature. Redistricting reform makes that easy to do.