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Congressional Quarterly has come up with a cool bracket-style contest letting people decide matchups between possible VP picks for John McCain. Gov. Charlie Crist beat J.C. Watts in the first round. (Jeb Bush lost to Joe Lieberman.)
Now Crist faces U.S. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota.
Floridians have to decide this November whether to put a ban on same-sex marriage in our state Constitution. Maybe you're thinking: "Huh? Didn't we already ban this in Florida?"
Yep. You bet. Our Legislature passed a law.
But the backers say the ban ought to be in our Constitution too. So they got enough petition signatures to put it on the ballot. (more from SPT columnist Howard Troxler)
“Lawyers are back!"
Gov. Charlie Crist made that declaration in West Palm Beach last year soon after taking office. The memory lingers because of what happened in Tallahassee over the past few weeks.
In West Palm Beach, the ex-attorney general had spotted a fellow lawyer in a crowd. Crist wanted it known that the legal profession would not be shunned as it had been during the Jeb Bush years.
"Fortunately, I'm not a lawyer," Bush liked to say, as he battled the trial bar on issues such as capping jury awards in medical malpractice cases.
Not only are lawyers back, but trial lawyers are back in force. It's enough to make Jeb wonder how quickly times have changed. (story here)
Florida Democrats are holding a contest to design an anti-McCain bumper sticker, hoping to forever link the Republican presidential nominee with the current White House occupant. Designs are due May 11. Details here.
But let's open it up a bit. What are some ideas for a snarky Obama sticker? How about Hillary Clinton?
Gov. Charlie Crist canceled his events today, including an interview with Time and a meeting with members of the European Union in Miami, to attend the funeral of a family friend in New York.
The governor's office would not reveal who the funeral was for, only saying it was a close family friend. Crist did not travel on a state plane, his spokeswoman Erin Isaac said.
To raise money for the GOP. (click image to enlarge).
A Tampa group that promotes healthy families would be the first of its kind allowed to ask Florida drivers to donate money under a little-noticed bill headed to the governor.
Critics, some of whom contend that the group is faith-based, say the proposed law sets a bad precedent and raises constitutional questions.
Family First, whose supporters include former Gov. Jeb Bush and Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, would be the only group listed on drivers' licenses and car tag renewal forms that's not involved in public health, safety or wildlife protection.
The bill adds Family First to the forms, which allow motorists to donate $1 to specific causes. (story here)
Gov. Charlie Crist said "God bless Gov. Chiles" as the 2008 Legislature drew to a close last week, thankful for $2.4-billion in reserves made possible by the late Lawton Chiles.
Lawmakers used $300-million of the money to avoid painful cuts for the state's sickest and poorest this year.
But the money, the settlement from Florida's lawsuit against Big Tobacco, would never have been there if Crist had gotten his way in the mid 1990s.
Crist, then a Republican state senator from St. Petersburg, was also among the most prominent in opposing the Democratic governor's assault on tobacco companies. (story here)
With her chances of winning fading, Hillary Clinton sent Barack Obama a letter Thursday imploring him to ask the Democratic National Committee to make all of Florida's and Michigan's delegates count towards the presidential nomination.
Most of Florida's congressional Democrats also sent DNC Chairman Howard Dean a letter asking him to help ensure a decision is made by May 31, when the Rules and Bylaws Committee meets to hear an appeal of Florida's case. The state lost its delegates for holding its primary on Jan. 29, a week earlier than party rules allowed.
Meanwhile, at about the same time those letters were released, the Associated Press caused an uproar by reporting that the DNC, the Florida Democratic Party, Obama and Clinton were "on the verge" of striking a deal for seating some portion of Florida's 211 delegates.
It turned out to be wrong, however.
Rep. Janet Long is not the only one the GOP is trying to flip.
Fellow Democratic Rep. Debbie Boyd of Newberry was approached several times in the past session with the promise of possibly gaining a committee chair, getting more bills passed and taking a breather from campaigning this summer. She will likely face Columbia County Commissioner Elizabeth Porter in November.
Courting is nothing new, but the effort speaks to the GOP effort to pad numbers as it has lost eight House seats in the past two years. "I told them it's not going to happen," Boyd said, declining to name who worked on her this session and last year. "I'm a Democrat and my district is a Democratic district."
Boyd is an ideal Republican target. A Realtor, she has a strong pro-business voting record. But she also voted with NRA-leaning Republicans in support of the guns-to-work bill. "My caucus knows I'm not a straight party line girl," Boyd said.
The NRA has hired Gov. Charlie Crist's former legal chief Chris Kise to go head-to-head with Barry Richard, who had been hired by the Florida Retail Federation and the Florida Chamber of Commerce to pursue the case.
The NRA has filed a pleading to get involved and work beside the Attorney General's office to defend against the lawsuit.
They're still locked in a legal battle over who should set tuition, but they apparently agree on how much tuition should be.
Just days after lawmakers approved a $66-billion budget that includes a 6 percent tuition hike for Florida undergraduates, the Board of Governors just voted for the same. They earlier this year talked about raising it by 8 percent, but backed down. And this time, the governor says he'll approve the increase.
Thirty percent of the revenues will go to need-based aid. Meanwhile, there's a hearing in Tallahassee May 13, when the judge is expected to rule on whether the BOG even has the legal standing to sue the Legislature over tuition authority.
Continue reading "BOG, Legislature agree: 6 percent tuition" »
AP: BURBANK, Calif. -- Former President Jimmy Carter says delegates from Florida and Michigan should not be counted at the Democratic National Convention because they "disqualified themselves." On "The Tonight Show" Wednesday, Carter also warned of a disaster if party insiders try to wrest the nomination from the candidate with the largest number of votes and state victories.
"It would be a catastrophe for the party," Carter told Jay Leno.
If Obama wants to eliminate one of Clinton's last rationales for staying in the race, and if he wants to curb the considerable skepticism about his interest and ability to compete in America's biggest battleground state, he should start mending Sunshine State fences and speak out about counting Florida's votes.
"That could potentially open the floodgates for superdelegates to come on board if he was that gracious and that comfortable in his inevitability to win the nomination,'' said Bob Buckhorn, a Democratic consultant in Tampa who backs Clinton. "It would go a long way to ease the anger that remains over Florida's votes not counting."
More here.
The fourth annual Charlie Crist Fishing Trip will be held in the Keys at the end of the month, with event chairman Rodney Barreto (Fish and Wildlife Commission member) prominently featured in the invitation flyers. It was at this GOP fund-raising event last year, you will recall, that Crist got a life-threatening bite from a brown recluse spider that aggravated him on his first overseas trip to Israel.
Florida opponents to a proposed ban gay marriage ban say a Michigan court ruling invalidating benefits for same sex-sex partners provides a strong justification to defeat the measure.
"This should be a major, bright red warning sign to Florida voters. If you don't want to take away existing protections and benefits, don’t vote for Amendment 2," Heddy Pena, a member of Florida Red and Blue group running the SayNo2 campaign, said in a news release.
Today, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that the state's 2004 ban against gay marriage also blocks domestic-partner policies affecting gay employees at the University of Michigan and other public-sector employers. The decision affirms a February 2007 appeals court ruling.
Continue reading "'Gay marriage' ruling could affect Florida" »
Dan Gelber, one of Florida's wannabe super-delegates, blogs his endorsement of Obama: "...Doesn’t he have a Jewish problem? Yes, but only because the Internet doesn’t have a truth key. Don’t believe everything you read in a viral chain email. As an American Jew, a strong and secure Israel is a paramount concern of mine. Not a single fiber in my body worries that Sen. Obama will not cherish Israel with the same fervor I would expect of any American President. Anyone who says otherwise is simply trying to exploit passions for Israel for partisan gain – and that is truly endangering to Israel....
The GOP wants to make a Republican out of Rep. Janet Long.
The Pinellas County lawmaker told the Buzz she had several conversations with "a good friend" in the majority party who asked her to give the idea some thought. "They said, 'You know in the majority you could be a chairperson, you could have a stronger voice.' "
Long, who would not identify her friend, said she has never tried to define herself by party, but "I decided not to do it." She added: "It seems a bit disingenuous to change my stripes in midstream. Do I realize maybe I might get a chair or it would be easier to pass bills? Maybe I do. But I don't think I would have as clear a voice in the majority as I do in the minority. I wouldn't take kindly to being told what to do."
Rules are rules and all that. But Barack Obama has all but clinched the 
nomination, Hillary Clinton can't catch up in delegates or popular vote even if Michigan and Florida are suddenly counted 100%. So why doesn't the presumptive nominee take the issue off the table, make nice with the Sunshine state, and join Sen. Bill Nelson's call to fully seat Florida's delegation based on Jan. 29 but only give delegates half a vote? More specifically, cut that half so she nets 19 delegates rather than a measly 6 that would keep her campaign complaining about disenfranchisement.
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe: "Obviously there's a lot of discussion about remedies in Florida and we've expressed openness to those. I think the Clinton campaign has been less willing to consider anything other than full seating of the delegates and so we're hopeful that dialogue will continue. And again I don't think the results of Florida and Michigan are going to be used in any way to overturn the outcome of this election. ...
Bruce Cotton has collected over 1,000 petitions to have his name placed on the ballot for state House District 51, held currently by Democrat Janet Long.
“Bruce’s efforts were remarkable,” said Doug McAlarney, Cotton’s campaign consultant and a former Deputy Director for the Republican Party of Florida House Campaigns. “I’ve seen many hard-working candidates over the years, but Cotton is definitely playing for keeps. Now is the time for the Republican Party to move forward, united for victory in November.”
From the Rothenberg Political Report: "Feeney’s profile 
appears similar to some of his colleagues who lost in 2006, in districts that Republicans normally win easily. But the congressman’s supporters believe he’s handled the issue far better. Democrats went out and recruited Suzanne Kosmas, whom they believe will be a strong challenger to the congressman. The former state representative is proving to be a terrific fundraiser and should be a more than credible candidate for voters concerned with Feeney’s ethical questions.
"This race isn’t in the regular conversation about the most vulnerable House seats nationwide, but talking to Republican operatives, there is plenty of nervousness about this race."
CSX Chairman Michael Ward sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday saying that CSX remains committed to working with government officials to bringing commuter rail to the Orlando area. He reminds the governor that the final drop-dead date for legislation is June 30, 2009.
In other words: CSX will be back.
HIALEAH — In a packed social center in the heart of South Florida's most Republican city, elderly Cuban-American voters warmly greet a congressional candidate.
The city's longtime former mayor, Raul Martinez, is a familiar face. But he's no Republican.Instead, he is leading a Democratic challenge that hopes to break the Republican stranglehold on Miami's large Cuban-American vote in congressional elections this fall. More here.
With his customary good cheer, Gov. Charlie Crist declared Tuesday the 2008 session, "a banner year on the environment, I dare say."
While Crist stays focused on the silver - or green - lining, others cast a jaundiced eye at the over sized cloud. Read more at our sister blog, The Fueling Station.
Hillary Rodham Clinton wanted a "game changer," but Tuesday may prove to be a game ender. Even though Clinton eked out a victory early today, her momentum was halted. Her last grasp at the nomination now may hinge on counting Florida's officially meaningless primary.
"The last month has been an exercise in denial, and the only thing that's been accomplished is her attempt to hurt Barack Obama,'' said Fort Lauderdale lawyer Mitchell Berger, veteran Democratic fundraiser and Obama supporter. "Tonight should show the superdelegates that there's no question that Sen. Obama has withstood the body blows and has shown not just by what has happened but by the way he has dealt with it that he is able to appeal to us in a better way than just division," Berger said.
More here.
Encouraged by powerful business interests, Sen. Mike Haridopolos is forming a political committee aimed at defeating the property tax swap on the November ballot. The paperwork could be filed by the end of the week or early next week.
The group may be called Protect Florida's Future, which is the name Haridopolos gave a Web site attacking the plan.
Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, is slated to become Senate president in 2010 and would inherit the burden of replacing billions in school property tax revenue with a higher sales tax and other revenue. He contends there is no way to make it work without a massive tax increase.
He already tried to stop the plan from getting on the ballot, by firing off a series of letters to the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, holding news conferences and a one-day public hearing. But the TBRC sent it to the voters anyway.
Continue reading "Haridopolos forming group to defeat 'tax swap'" »
Trying to decipher whether the 2008 session was “green” or not takes a Pantone color chart. There are spots of leafy green, mottled with the gray-green of hard cash, bright acid envy, and the pallid sheen of greenwash.
With his customary good cheer, Gov. Charlie Crist declared Tuesday the 2008 session, "a banner year on the environment, I dare say."
To continue reading, go to our blog The Fueling Station.
-Asjylyn Loder and Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writers
 From the writers of the St. Petersburg Times, The Buzz offers the latest news in Florida politics. This is a public forum sponsored and maintained by the St. Petersburg Times. When you post comments here, what you say becomes public and could appear in the newspaper. You are not engaging in private communication with candidates or Times staffers.
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