Can Jim Greer hold onto his job?

Our sense is Yes. But he seems to be on mighty thin ice: Republicans should have the wind at their backs this election season with President Barack Obama's poll numbers dropping and independents turning away from Democrats.

But many Florida Republicans increasingly see a significant obstacle to success: Jim Greer, the most controversial and polarizing Florida GOP chairman in decades. He has become a lightning rod for infighting, distraction and distrust, and gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum could be a casualty.

Greer and his main benefactor, Gov. Charlie Crist, are fending off a near-mutiny among party activists, elected officials and fundraisers fed up with what they see as inept political operations, dirty campaign tactics, unfair treatment of candidates like U.S. Senate hopeful Marco Rubio, dubious fundraising practices and lavish spending.

"I sure wish Charlie Crist would pull the trigger and put in someone who is strong and competent,'' said Al Hoffman, a top GOP fundraiser from Fort Myers who thinks Greer has spent money too freely on perks like limos and private planes. "The toughest job of a CEO is to fire somebody who's close to you when he's not performing. It's the toughest job, but he has to do it. Otherwise, we'll be behind the eight ball."

(Story here)

Jim Greer's come to Jesus conference call with his board

Jim Greer had a conference call with members of the state GOP executive board today over the concerns about the numerous negative reports swirling around the RPOF - fake twitter accounts, RPOF consultants creating anti-Rubio web sites, questionable fundraising/spending, etc.

Jim Greer issued a statement: “While these are challenging times within our party, and many have different views about the directions our party should take, I welcomed the opportunity to have a positive  discussion with the board today, which will continue in the future. I was humbled by the support I received for the decisions I have made as Chairman of this Party and while some may wish to continue to promote dissension, I along with the majority of RPOF leaders, am committed to focusing on electing Republicans in 2010 and not participating in the divisiveness that a small minority wishes to promote.”   

Larry Cretul endorses Sandy Adams for Congress

Rep. Sandy Adams of Orlando got a boost today in her bid to be the Republican to take on U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach. Endorsements came from House Speaker Larry Cretul and Reps. Adam Hasner, Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Will Weatherford.

Adams faces Winter Park Commissioner Karen Diebel in the GOP primary.

Rubio fires back at Fasano

U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio just fired back at Sen. Mike Fasano's earlier missive.

Check it out here:

Dear Senator Fasano:

Thank you for your letter regarding Governor Crist’s strong support for the Obama Stimulus. Or should we say his former support for the Obama Stimulus? Or is he supporting it again today? Regardless, thank you for your letter.

As the St. Petersburg Times has already reported, your letter misrepresents Marco Rubio's position on the Stimulus package. Unless you have followed Gov. Crist’s lead and changed your position, Mr. Rubio agrees with you that Governor Crist was wrong to endorse it (http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/02/fasano-vs-crist.html).

Celeste Lewis will run Benson's A.G. campaign

Former state Rep. Holly Benson of Pensacola has hired a full-time campaign manager for her race for attorney general: Celeste Lewis, a former high-level aide to Gov. Jeb Bush. Lewis, 44, is currently the staffer in the House speaker's office responsible for appointments, correspondence and public records requests. Her last day in the House will be Friday, Nov. 20.

Lewis is a former Republican Party staffer and was part of the campaign team for all three of Bush's campaigns for governor in 1994, 1998 and 2002. The Benson campaign is shopping for campaign office space in Tallahassee, campaign spokeswoman Sarah Bascom said.

Democrats plan to deliver earful to C.W. Bill Young

U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young's Pinellas County office may get a bit busy over the next few days. Democratic activists upset with his "no" vote on the House health care bill are asking people to stop by and voice their displeasure. The same effort is directed at Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami. An e-mail from Organizing for America reads:

"A little over a year ago, the congressional district you live in voted to send Barack Obama to the White House and Rep. (Young) to Congress. The message was clear: Rep. 's constituents want change, and expect Rep. to work with President Obama and reach across the aisle to help deliver it.

Putnam's bandwagon grows

U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam is adding to his hefty list of supporters in his bid for agriculture commissioner. This time it's three well-known Republican names. His 2010 campaign announced today endorsements from former state GOP chairmen Tom Slade and Carole Jean Jordan and Republican National Committeeman Paul Senft.

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Karen Thurman ousts Democratic Chair

Days after he called for her resignation, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman is dumping Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chairman B.J. Chiszar. Thurman's spokesman, Eric Jotkoff, said the timing is incidental and the complaints against Chiszar have been mounting for months. He has been in the post for about one year.

"He has engaged in activities that injured the name and status of the Florida Democratic Party,'' Jotkoff said. "Not only has he not been able to hold a single meeting with a quorum but repeatedly done things like try to sell access to our voter file to state House candidates and repeatedly been rude and overbearing toward the staff and to elected officials ... We have huge election coming up in 2010 and we need a successful Democratic Party down there."

Beth Reinhard

Days after he called for her resignation, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman is dumping Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chairman B.J. Chiszar. Thurman's spokesman, Eric Jotkoff, said the timing is incidental and the complaints against Chiszar have been mounting for months. He has been in the post for about one year.

"He has engaged in activities that injured the name and status of the Florida Democratic Party,'' Jotkoff said. "Not only has he not been able to hold a single meeting with a quorum but repeatedly done things like try to sell access to our voter file to state House candidates and repeatedly been rude and overbearing toward the staff and to elected officials ... We have huge election coming up in 2010 and we need a successful Democratic Party down there."

Beth Reinhard

Four more sheriffs endorse Kottkamp for A.G.

Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp on Thursday reeled in the endorsements of four more sheriffs in his quest to be the Republican nominee for attorney general in 2010. The Kottkamp campaign announced the support of sheriffs Rich Nugent of Hernando County, Brad Steube of Manatee, Bill Farmer Jr. of Sumter and Mike Adkinson of Walton. 

"As a sheriff, I have seen politicians who have made empty promises in the past," Adkinson said in a statement released by the campaign. "I trust Kottkamp to be tough on criminals, cracking down on drugs, gangs and Internet predators who present dangers to the citizens of Florida."

Kottkamp earlier announced the support of 14 other sheriffs. He is opposed by former state Rep. Holly Benson of Pensacola, who served as a state agency secretary under Gov. Charlie Crist. Hillsborough Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi is also considering joining the Republican primary.

 

  

Business groups blast 'federal water tax'

Especially in this economy, everything is labeled a "tax" if you don't want it. Add this one to the list: The Environmental Protection Agency's plans to uphold clean water laws and limit how much nutrient pollution is allowed in Florida's waterways.

A group of big business and anti-tax interests, joined by former state DEP secretaries Virginia Wetherell and Colleen Castille, warned the yet-unannounced regulations would amount to a "federal water tax" that would hurt the economy. They are calling on the state's congressional delegation to stop the EPA from imposing restrictions -- which they argue with questionable math -- would cost Florida utilities $50 billion with consumer footing the bill.

For more, read this piece when the EPA intervened to end a lawsuit filed by environmental groups in 2008. In the meantime, marvel at this great Web site name the group launched: www.donttaxflorida.com. Surprisingly, it wasn't taken until PR guru Ron Sachs bought it Nov. 10.

Sen. Fasano vs. Sen. Fasano?

So state Sen. Mike Fasano didn't like the federal stimulus package before he liked it?

In a letter to former House Speaker Marco Rubio that we posted earlier, Fasano notes that the federal stimulus package was needed in Florida "to protect our seniors, protect our school children, and keep from adding to our struggling resident's tax burden."

Good points.

But would the Sen. Mike Fasano of February agree with the Sen. Mike Fasano of November? In February, our St. Pete Times colleague Adam Smith asked Fasano "Bottom line, do you support Congress passing that stimulus package."

Fasano: "No I do not."

Link to the clip is here.

Haridop to be officially crowned Senate Prez-designate on Dec. 8

 
Mark your calendars: The Senate Republican Caucus will meet at 5 p.m. on Dec. 8 to officially crown Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, as the Senate President-designate for the 2010-2012 term.

He'll succeed Sen. Jeff Atwater. The ceremony is in the Senate chamber at the Capitol. A reception will follow at the members-only Governor's Club.

Alex Sink now bashing Bill McCollum over Scott Rothstein

Having been criticized repeatedly for receiving campaign donations from disgraced uber donor Scott Rothstein, the Alex Sink campaign was happy to e-mail this photo of Rothstein and McCollum to supporters. "Curious to see Rothstein and Bill McCollum looking so chummy, isn't it?,'' said the Sink note. " Especially when you consider how often and eagerly McCollum has attacked Alex Sink over contributions from Rothstein -- contributions Sink immediately announced would be returned or donated to charity upon hearing of Rothstein's alleged malfeasance. Now McCollum must answer for his own ties to Scott Rothstein -- and for the hyperactive hypocrisy that continues to drive Bill McCollum's campaign for governor."

 

Mike Fasano vs. Marco Rubio

State Sen. Mike Fasano, one of Charlie Crist's scrappier supporters, has sent a letter to Marco Rubio calling him out for his criticicsm over the federal stimulus package that bailed out Florida's budget. Correct us if we're wrong, but Fasano appears to slightly misstate the position of Rubio, who has said he would have opposed Congress passing the $787-billion package, but once it passed he would have accepted Florida's share of the money. Here's an excerpt from Fasano:

Marco, you give a great speech that excites many, but you are woefully unable to provide solid solutions to the real problems the citizens of Florida face. It is easy when you are not in office to lob bombs at those who still are, but that my friend, is not statesmanship. While many are ensuring that the most vulnerable of Floridians, our seniors, veterans, children, and consumers are protected and provided for, you continue your political rhetoric.

If you somehow cling to the stance that you would have refused stimulus dollars, my question to you is this: Knowing the state had a 6 billion dollar reduction in revenue, how would you have balanced the state’s budget without hurting our seniors, veterans, children, and consumers?

Rubio camp Web ad hits back at Crist

The season of the political Web ads rolls on in the Republican race for U.S. Senate. A day after Gov. Charlie Crist's supporters attacked former House Speaker Marco Rubio as Spanish-speaking buddy of the Dems, Rubio's campaign (not his surrogates) hit back with a 30-second web hit titled "Great Moments in Political Whoppers and Flip Floppery."

At issue: Crist's deception that he didn't really endorse the stimulus package that he stumped for with Barack Obama in February. To drive the point home, Rubio tries to make Crist a Bill Clinton/John Kerry clone. The ad plays a clip of Clinton denying something (it's the Lewinksy thing) and John Kerry with his now-infamous "voted for it before I voted against it" reasoning.

Looks like we have a long 10 months to go.

Marc Caputo

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GOP activists demand 'emergency' meeting with Greer

The rebellion against Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer appears to be coming to a head. As first reported by Gary Fineout of The Fine Print, a number of GOP leaders Florida are demanding a "special emergency closed meeting'' of the state party's executive board.

Greer responded with a potentially less confrontational idea: How about a conference call tomorrow and then we can follow up at Dec. 10 quarterly meeting? Don't think that's going to fly but we shall see.

Here's the letter:

Charlie Crist wasted no time reaching out to Obama

The Florida headquarters of the Obama campaign were electric on Nov. 4, 2008. In the frenzy, a high-ranking official's cell phone rang. It was Charlie Crist's office. He wanted to arrange a call to the president-elect, who had not yet delivered his victory speech in Chicago.

Over the next two days, more calls. "They were persistent," the official told the Buzz.

It's not clear whether Crist ever got Obama on the phone, but the day after the election, he issued a statement praising Obama (no mention of John McCain) and calling on the nation to unite behind him "to strengthen our economy and increase opportunity for all Americans."

A few months later, Crist made his now-famous appearance with Obama in Fort Myers. And months after that, he has changed his tune on the president and his policies, agitating Republicans and Democrats alike for seeming opportunistic.

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Attorney's fees sought from Fla. GOP over attack on local chairman

Brevard County Republican Chairman Jason Steele is asking the state party to cover his legal expenses, $7,500, from dealing with a bogus Twitter account a party staffer created in his name and defending against a grievance complaint that he says was encouraged by the state party too. Steele has been a vocal critic of state party leaders.

Erin Isaac leaving Crist's press shop, but not for campaign

Shane Strum, Gov. Charlie Crist's chief of staff, just confirmed that longtime communications director Erin Isaac is leaving Crist's press shop -- and won't be going to work for the campaign.

Strum said Isaac yesterday afternoon told him of her "intent to resign." Strum said she will likely submit a formal resignation in the coming days, "and then we'll decide our next steps on communications."

"She's been there for three years, so she's been a big part of the team," Strum said. "She just came to me and said 'Hey, it's time.' I think she probably has a lot of opportunities out there."

Isaac did not return a phone call to the Times/Herald, and it is unclear where her next job will be. When the Times/Herald called former chief of staff Eric Eikenberg on Wednesday morning to ask whether the rumors of her departure are true, he insisted "there is nothing to that." Strum called a few minutes later and said the opposite. 

Ethnic attack on Marco Rubio?

We've never thought of ourselves as especially politically correct here, but check out this YouTube video attacking Marco Rubio. Does it not seem clearly aimed at turning off voters who might be uneasy about Rubio's Hispanic heritage? Beyond questioning Rubio's conservative bona fides, it seems designed to shout, HE'S HISPANIC! We don't know who created it.

Florida GOP awash in primaries

LAKELAND — Florida Republican leaders worked hard to thwart any costly and potentially divisive primaries in this busy election cycle. They could not have failed more and looked less disciplined if they were Democrats.

State Sen. Paula Dockery became the latest to thumb her nose at the party establishment, formally announcing her campaign for governor Tuesday night, five months after a battalion of party leaders gathered alongside Attorney General Bill McCollum in Orlando to anoint him as their gubernatorial standard-bearer. ... With the economy and the multitude of open statewide races making raising money harder than ever, state GOP leaders see an array of potentially tough primaries that could drain campaign accounts by the general election.

"My original hope was that we would be able to focus on the Democrats and the general election, and conserve as much of our financial resources as possible, but that doesn't always happen the way you would like,'' said state Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer, who provoked a grass roots firestorm when he tried to invoke an obscure party rule allowing the state party to unite behind Gov. Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate.

Look at almost every statewide race, and you'll see contests for the Republican nomination.

 (STORY HERE)

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Politifact: Charlie Crist's "largest ever" tax cut boast doesn't add up

It has become part of Gov. Charlie Crist's firewall when confronted with criticism that he isn't conservative enough.

"I signed the largest single tax cut in the history of Florida, a $25 billion tax cut over five years, directed at property tax cuts," Crist said while speaking to a group of Michigan Republicans in September. "My state goes back to 1845; the largest tax cut since 1845 in the Sunshine State."

Crist touts his tax-cutting record over and over, in news releases, political speeches and in the first radio ad for his U.S. Senate campaign. The line is good politics. But is it true?

(More here)

Dockery declares herself the reform candidate

At least 150 people turned out in the drizzle tonight to see Paula Dockery formally jump into the governor's race and declare herself the candidate of reform and true conservative values.
 “Florida needs a common sense conservative leader it can count on to do the right thing,” Dockery, 47,   cited several top Republican fundraisers facing criminal investigations, indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom, and dubious spending by Republican leaders.

"Conside the message our state party's sending out: credit card abuse, free trips to Europe on the dime of donors, and a refusal to let Republiucan voters decide their own nominees,'' Dockery said. "People are tired of it. They're beyond cynical and moving toward angry...They want a choice a choice in the Republican primary."

Good speech. Not sure about the wisdom of her thanking controversial Republican operative Doug Guetzloe for helping draft her. "You got me into this,'' she said of Guetzloe.

LeMieux will visit veterans in Tampa

New Florida Sen. George LeMieux will make his first official mini-tour of the state tomorrow, visiting veterans at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center before heading to Orlando to address advocates of high speed rail.

Verizon agrees to settle with PSC for $2 million

Telephone giant Verizon Florida agreed to refund customers $1.75 millon and pay the state another $250,000 Tuesday as a result of a settlement agreement with the state's utility regulators who wanted to punish the company for poor service.

At the urging of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollumn and AARP, the Public Service Commission in January accused Verizon of failing to restore landline phone service to customers in 2007 and 2008 and for failing to provide discounts to customers eligible for the state's Lifeline program, the financial assistance program for the elderly and low income Floridians.

A PSC analysis found that Verizon failed to follow through on repairs on its landline phones, resulting in extended phone service outages for customers. There were 262 apparent violations in 2007 and 194 in 2008. 

The commission agreed to split the $250,000 going to the state, with $125,000 given to promote Lifeline Assistance, the discount telephone program gives eligible customers credits of up to $13.50 per month on local phone bills, and $125,000 given to the state's General Revenue Fund. The money given to Lifeline was sought by the legislature's Hispanic Caucus in a letter to the commission on Monday from caucus chairman Rep. Steve Bovo, R-Hialeah.

Verizon also agreed to provide Lifeline discounts to all eligible customers who request the discount and receive regulated telecommunications service packages.  Verizon had previously denied Lifeline discounts to customers that purchased the company’s bundled packages. Verizon customers eligible for Lifeline service should contact the company, or visit the PSC’s Web site to sign up, www.floridapsc.com.

PSC rejects staff plan, forces do-over on energy goals

Signaling another shift in direction at the Public Service Commission, state utility regulators ordered its staff back to the drawing board Tuesday to come up with "more robust" energy conservation goals that reward customers for using less energy.

The panel unanimously agreed to postpone the decision after Commissioners Nathan Skop and Nancy Argenziano chastised the staff for setting the energy goals too low. By law, the commission must set a conservation goal for electric companies to meet each year for the next five years, and then come up with a plan or reward them financially for exceeding the goal or punish them for failing to meet it.

Skop accused the staff of coming up with a plan that tries "to align with everything the utilities wanted.'' He said the conservation goals recommended by PSC staff were so low that companies like Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy could easily meet them and then obtain the financial reward for little effort.

"I'm all about carrots,'' he said. "But I'm not going to set financial rewards so low an ant could climb over it.''

Alex Sink to return more Rothstein cash

Democratic Gov. candidate Alex Sink has announced she'll return more cash from suspected Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein. The total now: $6,000. Sink initially returned money directly from Rothstein, his wife, his firm AAMM Holdings. But now the campaign has identified contributions from another Rothstein-tied corp., WAWW.

Said the Sink campaign: "These are very serious allegations. The campaign is returning or donating to charity any contributions from Mr. Rothstein, his wife, his law firm and his other corporate entities. If it becomes clear that others were involved in this matter, it’s our intention to return those contributions as well.”

Rothstein, a predominantly Republican fundraiser, decided to switch sides in the governor's race, much to Sink's recent dismay and the joy of Republican Bill McCollum's campaign, which has hammered her over receiving the cash. No mention from the McCollum camp that Republican Gov. Charlie Crist or that Republican CFO candidate and Senate President Jeff Atwater or that Republican Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff or that the Republican Party of Florida got more from Rothstein. All, too, say they're returning cash, as is the Florida Democratic Party.

-- Marc Caputo

Witness ties Twittergate to Delmar Johnson

Remember the sordid tale of the fake Twitter account set up to attack Brevard County Republican Chairman Jason Steele, a vocal critic of the Florida GOP leadership? The party fired it's field director, Tim Nungesser, after the fake site was tracked back to his home computer. Steele says Nungesser told him GOP executive director Delmar Johnson had been aware of the fake account, which the party denies. Nungesser has not returned calls.

Now another witness, Melbourne attorney Richard Torpy, says he also heard Nungesser say Johnson had been aware of the fake account. Torpy said he is a friend of Nungesser's family and of Steele and he offered to informally mediate between Steele Nungesser after the Sheriff's office tracked the fake account to Nungesser.

E-mails raise new questions about what Charlie Crist knew about Obama's visit to Florida

Gov. Charlie Crist told reporters late last month that he did not know President Barack Obama was in Jacksonville to visit with U.S. troops. But if the denial didn't strain credulity enough, e-mails show Crist's top aides in Washington and Tallahassee were notified of the trip. (click images below to enlarge)

An itinerary and invitation was provided by the White House on Oct. 23 -- the Friday before the Monday visit -- and Crist's executive assistant wrote back the same day saying, "Unfortunately, the governor will be unable to attend."

That decision was made without Crist's knowledge? Seems hard to fathom. The e-mails were obtained through a public records request. UPDATE 4:45 p.m.: Crist's office refused further comment.

Jeb Jr. and George P Bush raising money for Marco Rubio

Jeb Jr. and George P. Bush will headline a mid-December primary for Marco Rubio. No word if the old man will be there, but its certainly safe to assume the ex-governor's kids wouldn't be doing this without his blessing.

Sarah Palin's going rogue in Fla

From Sarah Palin's book tour shedule:

11/24: Jacksonville, FL - Books-A-Million, 1910 Wells Road, Orange Park, 9 AM
11/24: The Villages, FL - Barnes & Noble, 1055 Old Camp Road, Lake Sumter Mkt Sq, 2:30 PM
11/24: Orlando, FL - Barnes & Noble, Colonial Plaza, 2418 East Colonial Drive, 7:30 PM

Kendrick Meek's former campaign guru disenfranchised Fla Democrats

It's probably a good thing for Kendrick Meek that Steve Hildebrand is no longer on the campaign. Otherwise this revelation in David Plouffe's book, The Audacity to Win,  about what happened after the DNC stripped away Florida's delegates could be rather awkward:

I asked (Obama deputy campaign manager) Steve Hildebrand to go on a secret diplomatic mission to speak with the four early-state party chairs (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada), encouraging them to ask all the candidates to sign a pledge stating they would not campaign in any states (Florida and Michigan) that had violated the rules and were threatening the approved early states’ primacy. Yes, this was in our self-interest. But it was also in theirs. If these two big states were penalized as severely as possible, and we all committed not to campaign in them, then the role of the early states was protected with no ambiguity.

From our perspective, this would be the final nail in the coffin. The pledge would make the first four states as sacrosanct, and by signing it the Clinton people would box themselves in; they could not claim at a later date that Michigan and Florida were somehow valid contests.

Charlie Crist as Pinocchio

Troxler: Clean up scandal-plagued investment board

Howard Troxler: Call me kooky, but I do not want to learn about a formal investigation of the state of Florida's investments by the Securities and Exchange Commission — 16 months late.

One more bombshell. One more delayed revelation. The feds seem to be looking into whether Florida and Wall Street were misleading investors about the risks that were being taken here.

This is what should happen when that kind of letter shows up in Tallahassee:

Alarm bells go off. Air-raid sirens sound. Gov. Charlie Crist, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum — who sit as the board overseeing the investments — hold an emergency joint news conference.

Instead, this became public well more than a year later, only in a response to a public records request from the St. Petersburg Times.

The state's explanation is lame. Hey, it says, this is old news — it disclosed a preliminary SEC inquiry on its Web site, didn't it? The formal letter itself was, you know, confidential. Apparently until it wasn't.

If the people of Florida ever get their arms around this scandal, they might riot.

Democrats 'target' Young and Ros-Lehtinen

The Democratic National Committee said today that it will target "vulnerable" Florida Republicans C.W. Bill Young and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for voting against the House health care plan despite Barack Obama winning their districts in 2008.

"You would think a member of Congress should think twice about voting against health insurance reform that their families and small businesses so desperately need and want. But you have to think to vote against health insurance reform in a Congressional District won by President Obama just a year ago could be a political death knell at a time when Americans are clamoring for solutions to vexing issues like health care," said DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan.

The campaign will include news releases, calls for constituents to write letters to the editor and "may also include paid advertising."

One wonders what the DNC thinks of the two Florida Democrats who felt the same as Young and Ros-Lehtinen. Suzanne Kosmas and Allen Boyd were among 39 Democrats to vote no. Both came from districts won by John McCain.

U.S. Rep. Bill Young won't endorse hometown guy, Charlie Crist

Marco Rubio zipped into Pinellas County tonight - his third Tampa Bay stop in a week - and enthralled 400 or so hard core activists in Charlie Crist's home county. Interesting that he pretty much compared Barack Obama to Fidel Castro - but made a point of stressing that he was not comparing Fidel to Barack. Either way, the crowd loved him.

C.W. Bill Young, Charlie Crist's congressman and not-so-short lister for a U.S. Senate appointment, said he steers clear of primary endorsements (though he endorsd Bill McCollum for governor) even in cases like this where a hometown guy is running. But Beverly Young, his wife, offered her own thoughts after Rubio’s rousing speech.

"I love Marco,’’ she gushed.

"She’s not endorsing either," said the congressman, ushering her away.

"I love Marco,’’ she repeated before disappearing out the door.

Bill Nelson says House health care bill leans 'to the left'

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson offered up some of his thoughts on health care reform during a stop at a Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce luncheon today. Nelson said he expects the Senate to ultimately pass a bill with well more than the 60 votes required to get it through, but it will be much different than the bill approved by the House over the weekend. 

"You have to satisfy a lot of senators. And it's going to make it more of a political moderate approach, whereas the House bill is tilted a little bit to the left," he said. As an example, Nelson pointed to the House's tax on high income households to fund reform.

"I think it will be high drama for us to get the 60 votes to get it to the floor of the Senate for consideration," he said. "At the end of the day when you get the final bill being passed by the Senate and the House, I bet you it's bipartisan and it's a fairly overwhelming vote. Because those Senators are hearing the same thing that I'm hearing if they're listening to their folks. And that is we desperately want reform of health care."

Nelson said he has received more than 75,000 letters, e-mails and phone calls on health care reform since the summer. One of his own top priorities is controlling the cost of Medicare, in part by having primary care physicians coordinating care of individuals with the help of electronic medical records.

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Crist hires Hatch aide as campaign spokesperson

Gov. Charlie Crist has hired a communications director for his Senate campaign, and this time he has reached far beyond his circle of aides in Florida. Crist has signed up Andrea Saul, who until last week was a spokesperson for Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Saul's hiring was reported Monday on the Weekly Standard's political blog, which said Saul previously handled radio and TV bookings for the John McCain presidential campaign and did press for the Republican National Committee.

Saul, 27, is a native of Dalton, Ga., (known as the "Carpet Capital of the World") and a graduate of Vanderbilt University. Here's an interesting feature on Saul from her hometown newspaper, the Dalton Citizen. Crist's campaign, in announcing Saul's hiring, notes that her parents now reside in Palm Beach County.

Atwater's oil drilling memo

From a press release:

Tallahassee, FL – Senate President Jeff Atwater (R-Palm Beach) today announced that the staff of the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee would be conducting a detailed and comprehensive review of the implications of offshore drilling. Describing offshore drilling as one element of the larger energy discussion facing Florida, the President also released the methodology by which the Florida Senate will manage the process.

 “Offshore drilling is a complicated issue with significant ramifications for our State,” said President Atwater.  “The citizens of Florida deserve a thoughtful and deliberative conversation free of rancor or hyperbole, and the Senate intends to provide a structure for that conversation within our body.”

Democratic chair threatens Bill Nelson, wants Karen Thurman out

Lest you think only the Florida Republican party is chock full of infighting, here's a missive from Miami-Dade Democratic Chairman B.J. Chiszar, calling for the resignation of state Democratic chairwoman Karen Thurman. And here's a mass e-mail about Nelson:

"THE FIGHT ISN'T OVER JUST YET! THE SENATE MUST ACT NOW!

I am instructing everyone of you and your families & friends to place 1 call to Senator Bill Nelson's office in Tallahassee (ask for Pete Mitchell)....850-942-8415 - Tell them that if they want  the Democratic voters in Miami-Dade to vote for him in 2012 and do not want Chairman BJ Chiszar to find a primary opponent, then we expect him to support a Senate Bill with a public option. The Miami office (less effective to call) is 305-536-5999!"

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Kottkamp ethics case will be heard Dec. 4

A 9-month-old ethics complaint stemming from Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp's past use of state airplanes will be considered by the Commission on Ethics at its next meeting on Dec. 4. That's according to Dave Plyer, a citizen activist from Clearwater who filed the complaint against Kottkamp last February.

Plyer says he got a letter from the ethics commission dated Nov. 4 which said in part: "The probable cause hearing [in the Kottkamp complaint] is scheduled for consideration at the Friday, Dec. 4, 2009, Commission meeting. The meeting has been scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in Room 37S of the Senate Office Building. ... The sole purpose of the probable cause hearing is to evaluate the results of the preliminary investigation." (The staff report will be given to the nine-member commission as a recommendation for further action or dismissal.)

Plyer based his complaint on newspaper stories that said Kottkamp billed taxpayers $425,000 for 365 flights on state planes and an additional $60,000 for ground travel in a state car driven by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper between the state capital and his home in Fort Myers. In July, when he officially entered the race for attorney general, Kottkamp said of the ethics complaint: "I feel confident that's going to come out fine."

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More proof of Crist's endors... er... 'support' for Obama-nomics

A week after Gov. Charlie Crist tried to distance himself from Barack Obama's stimulus package that he stumped for, Crist's penmanship is coming back to haunt him. In the letter of endors-o-supportment Crist and other governors said:

“We are writing to express our support for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which passed last week in the House and is under consideration currently in the Senate.”

Here's the letter: Download Stim

Marc Caputo, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau

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Club for Growth endorses Marco Rubio

It would have been bigger news if the Club for Growth didn't endorse Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate, but the endorsement announced today is still a big deal for Rubio. The PAC could funnel millions of dollars toward the Miami Republican's campaign. The group concluded that A) Rubio can beat Charlie Crist in the primary and B) that he can beat Kendrick Meek in the general. Here's the full statement:

“Marco Rubio is the real deal, one of the brightest young stars in American politics today, and a proven champion of economic liberty,” said Club President Chris Chocola.  “He is a dynamic spokesman for the principles of limited government and economic freedom, and he will make a fantastic Senator.” 

Across the pond, the BBC looks at Crist-Rubio

The British Broadcasting Corp. has introduced Marco Rubio to TV viewers in Britain. The BBC sent a crew to the Panhandle and Tallahassee in recent days to test the depth of anti-incumbent (i.e., anti-Charlie Crist) fervor in Florida. According to the BBC, Crist declined to be interviewed for this piece. And yes, naturally, the BBC shows footage of the Embrace. (Relax for a few minutes: Unlike American TV, the BBC believes in depth and context. The piece runs about 6 1/2 minutes).

"Are we going to see Marco Rubio for president in 2016?" BBC correspondent Katty Kay asks Rubio. "I don't know about that," Rubio answers. "This is tough enough."

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Charlie Crist: The economy is turning people against me

Charlie Crist appeared on Political Connections on Bay News 9 on Sunday and talked about his record, political challenges, conservatism, offshore drilling, Scott Rothstein and more. The full interview is available in Tampa Bay on Ch. 342, Bay News 9 on Demand, but here's a clip.

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Scott Rothstein says he's 'doing good'

Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein, who returned from a trip to Morocco last week to face a federal fraud investigation, said he was in good spirits Sunday.

"I am sitting here smoking cigars with Marc,'' Rothstein said in a brief interview Sunday afternoon with the Miami Herald, referring to his attorney, Marc Nurik. "Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I'm doing pretty good.''

Rothstein, 47, has been accused by investors in an alleged Ponzi scheme of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars and by his law partners of crippling their firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler.

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