Tag: Democrats
Florida Democrats Mourning the Man They Wish Had Been Governor
Former Democratic candidate for Florida governor Bill McBride died suddenly of a heart attack at age 67 while on a family trip to Mount Airy, N.C. on Sunday.
Florida Democrats remember McBride fondly from his run in 2002, when he tried to unseat incumbent Jeb Bush. The state would have been a very different place under McBride, an attorney and former Marine, and one of the best – and most colorful – examples of a moderate, down home Democrat.
McBride’s wife, Alex Sink, also ran for governor and lost, but in 2010. She lost by the thinnest margin – 1 percent – to tea bagger Rick Scott, who has earned the lowest approval ratings of any governor in Florida. Sink, a former NationsBank executive, was born and raised in Mount Airy and was elected Florida’s Chief Financial Officer in 2006, serving under Gov. Charlie Crist.
We at Pensito Review are sad to hear of McBride’s passing and offer deepest condolences to his family.
If It Were the Other Way Around, the Whining Would be Deafening
4
Number of times, (until last week) over the past 100 years, when one major party won more popular votes for U.S. House, yet the other major party won more seats. The years were 1914, 1942, 1952, and 1996. Of course, 2012 makes it five times.
Mitt Who? Republicans Hurry to Be Post-Romney
Before dawn broke in my neighborhood, the Romney/Ryan yard signs disappeared from lawns. The zzzppptt! of Romney/Ryan bumper stickers being torn off like bandaids, in grim, lip-pursed yanks, might be what woke me up this morning.
Almost as if they had never existed, the traces of Romney’s support were gone. As soon as it became evident that Pres. Obama had easily held off his shape-shifting opponent, the Romney brand was in the clearance bin.
The main lesson is one that Democrats learned in 2004, when hating George W. Bush wasn’t enough to put Generic Democratic Challenger in the White House
For the vast majority of Romney’s base, his support was more about what he wasn’t than what he was. He wasn’t, of course, Barack Obama. Beyond that, he was Generic Republican Challenger, and he stirred as much passion in his followers, if they could be called that, as a can of Ensure. Yes, he had all the ingredients they needed but they’d really rather have had them in a slice of pizza.
California Democrats Gain in Sacramento, Super Majorities in the Legislature Said to Be in Reach
Nearly bankrupt both in funding and ideas, the California Republican Party suffered another round of defeats as Democrats gained seats in both the Assembly and the state Senate in voting yesterday:
Democrats were within striking distance of a supermajority in the state Senate late Tuesday, and were drawing near in the Assembly as well, moving the party closer to unilateral power to raise taxes.
The potential gains, a result of sweeping changes in California’s political system, captivated the Capitol on a night in which there also were unprecedented battles within the state’s congressional delegation.
If the Democrats achieve a supermajority, as party leaders believed likely, it would mark the first time either party has captured two-thirds of the seats in the Senate or Assembly in 34 years. It takes a two-thirds vote in each house to approve tax increases, which would have to be signed by the governor. Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) claimed early Wednesday to have achieved a supermajority in his chamber.
Republican Path to Victory: Just Don’t Let Florida Democrats Vote
100,000
Number of young minority voters who will be disenfranchised in the general election under Florida’s photo ID law, according to a study by the University of Chicago and Washington University. Florida already disenfranchised more voters, for a variety of reasons, in 2010 than did any other state.
How Much Does Obama Want to Hug Charlie Crist?
I can admit it now – I can hug him all I want.
— Pres. Obama, coming out of the closet about his affection for former Gov. Charlie Crist at a fundraiser in Tampa, site of the recent 2012 GOP convention. Crist went down in flames in his race for U.S. Senate against Marco Rubio as he switched from Republican to no party affiliation, married a New York socialite amid rumors that he is gay, and was dogged by a photograph of a clearly platonic shoulder hug with the president shortly after Obama was elected. Crist is said to be contemplating running for his old office of governor in 2014, but this time as a Democrat.
Latest Republican Dirty Trick Could Keep Democrats Home Voluntarily
Florida Republicans are redefining the word “dirty” in the phrase “dirty politics.” Their latest trick is intended to keep Democrats away from the polls — voluntarily.
Mailers were sent to Democrats calling out candidates, like state Sen. Audrey Gibson, for not being progressive enough — especially for working or compromising with Republicans — and the pieces appear to come from fellow Democrats.
“Progressives” is run by a group of Republican operatives who are using mailers designed to look like they are from a Democratic-leaning group to attack Democrats across the state…
Guess who wins if Democrats stay home?The group is chaired by Alachua County Republican Party Chairman Stafford Jones, who runs several other fund-raising groups that pay for political advertisements. It shares an address with the law firm of Richard Coates, general counsel for the Republican Party of Florida…
Fact or Fiction? With Joe Biden on the Campaign Trail, It’s Hard to Know
That this picture appeared in our Twitter feed immediately after viewing a video from The Onion on Vice Pres. Biden’s hitchhiking journey to the Democratic National Convention* is pretty odd timing.
Quoting truckers and others who gave Jokin’ Joe rides and spotted him in low places along the route, the video suggests that the Veep parties pretty hard — harder, it would seem from the real-life photo, than some bikers. The one to Biden’s left looks as if he is considering how best to break up the discussion between Joe and the lady biker in this lap.
Here’s the video.
