Riding the soft money train

TALLAHASSEE - State Sen. Jeff Atwater can't accept a free cup of coffee when he meets with a lobbyist because of a gift ban intended to lessen the influence of special interests on Florida's Legislature. But the North Palm Beach Republican rakes in donations of up to $25,000 for a political committee under his control.

Roughly a year before he is expected to assume the Senate presidency, Atwater sits atop a $521,000 fund raised from a few dozen donors in the past 11 months. Among the $25,000 contributors were AutoNation, political action committees for car dealers and Realtors, and Hartman & Tyner, a gambling company. Atwater is one of more than two dozen lawmakers who together have amassed millions of dollars under a continuing anomaly in Florida' political fundraising laws.

More here.

Comments

[Betty]

Everything they do is smoke and mirrors - they are incompetent, uncaring, and down right lazy.

Vote NO on Amendment 1 - they need to go back and do it right!

Vote anti-incumbent and anti-incumbent's party and KEEP doing it until they learn they represent us and not the lobbyists or the Party!

Betty,too bad you are such an unhappy person. Even your post time reflects on sadness. It must be awful to wake up every day and only see the negative side of life. Everybody's a bum and vote no on everything. Betty, Betty, Betty,maybe you should move. I'll help you pack because it is people like you who suck the sunshine out of Florida!

You'll be able to sell your home in a few months so PLEASE vote yest and be gone!!!!

Another example of the hypocrisy in Tallahassee-- a lobbyist or special interest cannot buy a legislator a $2 cup of coffee because it may improperly influence the legislator.

But the same lobbyist can give $20,000 to a committee totally controlled by that legislator to pay for personal expenses and that is OK!!!

[Biff]

What do you expect when a group polices itself?

[Bill]

THis is the same group that rallies against increase property taxes and forces local governments to reduce their spending - but since their money is based upon sales tax, do nothing about their own back yard!

Throw them ALL out this year I say!

[William Norris]

Not excusing the practice, but if the media weren't so blatantly partisan, the Republicans would not have to raise twice as much as the Democrats just to break even.

[William]

Bill,
The state has reduced its budget over 2 Billion dollars with more reductions in state spending to come. You need to get up to date.

Keep Tallahassee elected officials in. Throw out ALL the local bums!! Every last one of the tax and spend, spend, spend union loving bums!City, County, school board OUT!

Right 11:09--especially the school board. More tax money for them then the City and County together on my tax bill and still number 49 in the country!!

11:09

polling suggests that citizens trust their local governments 2 to 1 over the state on spending.

Any thoughts as to why?

Betty is Right on the Money! (no pun intended)

Randy Nielsen at Public Concepts has been riding this soft money gravy train for a while.
I wonder when a credible reporter will do an expose on this pay to play scam.

Did Arleene get fired?

[Bill]

William

You need to get up to date. The state has done NOTHING to reduce THEIR tax rate! They've only been forced to reduce their spending because of the economic downturn.

What's good for the goose should be good for the gander. Let's see them reduce the sales tax rate by 25% and see how well THEY do!

11:09 - Keep Tallahassee elected officials in - Right - because they do such a GOOD job wisely spending the publics' money, right?

Why then are some of them complaining so mightily about the $491 MILLION they approved to pay CSX for the Orlando rail deal.

They claim they didn't know what the money was for. I guarantee you when (if) local electeds are spending $491 MILLION of your money, they know what they are spending it for.

3:33

Stop whining about Nielsen, so he makes more money than you, this is America work as hard as he does and you might be successful too!

He's paid well because his clients rise to the top of this process and end up as legislative leaders.

9:25
Then those same legislative leaders use their clout to hammer lobbyists for soft money that gets paid to Nielsen. Quite a nice little game- all of course resulting in the good government we have today.