Tag: Florida

It’s a Great Day: Healthcare Reform Upheld

Trish

Look out Rick Scott. The Florida governor has steadfastly refused to put the infrastructure in place to comply with healthcare reforms under the Affordable Care Act, so sure was he that the U.S. Supreme Court would strike the measure down. Well start moving, Rick, because Obamacare is here to stay. And THAT’S a BFD.

Early reaction, from around the web.

“Man, I hope that Scalia wrote a dissent. It might be the first SCOTUS decision with the word ‘fuck’ in it.” – The Rude Pundit

“Florida CFO Jeff Atwater sent out a press release crowing about its demise … and then immediately tried to recall it. ‘News’ outlets are tweeting, correcting, recalling. I like my news as quickly as the next guy. But there’s some value in making sure you have it right first.” – Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell

“Election angle NOT good for President in this respect: It may galvanize Republican voters to show up at the polls; opposite effect for Dems” – West Wing Reports

“In lieu of flowers I hear Fox News would like viewers to send donations to Heritage Foundation today as RWers mourn” – Eric Boehlert

“Fortunately, we can count on President Romney to repeal the… Oh, never mind.” – Jim Antle

“Per @petewilliamsnbc: main dissent written by Scalia. Will. Be. Epic. Oh, and his sidekick Clarence wrote something or other, too…” – Joy-Ann Reid

What are your thoughts? We’d love to hear in the comments section. And we’ll be right back after we finish doing the chicken dance.

Swing State Sweepstakes: Obama Off to a Big Start in Florida

Trish
YR
Image from the 2012 Republican Convention web site. Not sure who this is, but apparently the typical young Republican is a white girl who wears voluminous country club scarves and dirndl skirts with no makeup and whose left hand floats unattached nearby

Since Tampa is the site of the Republican National Convention in August, one would think Pres. Obama would get an icy reception there. He recently found the opposite.

He drew an adoring and energetic crowd of nearly 3,000 people to Hillsborough Community College, receiving cheers of support after almost every sentence he uttered. Some people arrived at the HCC campus as early as 7:30 in the morning, camped out with folding chairs and deli sandwiches.

Obama used his first Florida 2012 campaign rally to focus on Romney’s self-portrayal as a job creator. Of course, Romney has created many, many jobs. The problem is that they are mainly in foreign countries.

In Tampa, he seized on a Washington Post article that the venture capital firm Romney used to lead, Bain Capital, invested in companies that specialized in sending jobs to low-wage countries. The president noted that he is calling for an end to tax breaks for shipping jobs and plants overseas.

“Not only does Gov. Romney disagree with this plan, today it was reported in the Washington Post that the companies his firm owned were ‘pioneers’ in the outsourcing of American jobs to places like China and India. Pioneers,” Obama said. “Tampa, we don’t need an outsourcing pioneer in the Oval Office. We need a president who will fight for American jobs and American manufacturing.”

Romney Needs Rubio in Florida

Trish

46 – 42

Results of a Quinnipiac poll in Florida showing Obama moving ahead of Romney in the swing state. Among Latinos, Obama’s lead was even wider: 49 – 39. The telephone survey was taken June 12 through 18, both before and after Obama’s announcement that he will no longer enforce deportation of a narrowly defined group of Hispanic children and young adults. One would imagine Obama’s lead has only grown since, and that Mitt Romney will have even more reason to beg Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to be his running mate.

Billionaires Choose Husband of Sonny Bono’s Widow to Be Florida Senate GOP Nominee – Former Sen. LeMieux Drops Primary Bid

Jon Ponder

Yesterday, Politico.com reported that Newt Gingrich’s former sugar daddy, the casino mogul and Israel-firster Sheldon Adelson, was donating $1 million to a super PAC for Rep. Connie Mac — who, non-Floridians should note, is a man — in his bid to become the Republican nominee in the race for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat.

Mack has also been endorsed by the astroturf billionaire front-group Freedomworks, as well as the GOP nominee and quarter-billionaire Mitt Romney.

Today, Roll Call reports that former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux is dropping his primary. LeMieux released a whiny video in which he indicates that he was shoved out of the race by a shadowy group he refers to as the Florida GOP “establishment.”

Rep. Mack is married to Rep. Mary Bono, the widow of Sonny Bono, the late ex-husband of Cher. Mary Bono now holds the U.S House seat representing Palm Springs, Calif., that Sonny held before he was killed in a skiing accident in 1998.

Democrats, If You Can’t Beat ‘Em…Run Anyway

Trish
Smith
Florida State Sen. Chris Smith

States with Republican super-majorities in your state houses, take note. Florida Democrats have come up with a strategy that might not win their party any seats but will help stop the momentum that Republicans enjoy after they rig districts and gain incumbency.

As strategies go, it’s pretty simple: Run somebody.

As the deadline drew near for candidates to pay money and be listed on the ballot this month, several Republican Senate candidates were within an eyelash of taking office unopposed, without a single vote being cast. You could almost hear the champagne bottles popping.

Every one was sitting on a mountain of campaign cash in hopes of scaring off competition. But one by one, in rapid succession, each drew last-minute Democratic opposition, seemingly from out of nowhere.

By fielding candidates, Smith was able to tie the financial hands of the GOP

The rule is, if a candidate has no competition for a seat by the qualifying deadline, he or she can turn over the money they’ve raised to the state party to help candidates with competitors. This year, that would have meant an extra $2 million for the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) to spend as it sees fit to trample Democrats across the state.

[…]

Was Crist Blackmailed for Placeholder Senate Seat?

Trish

There’s a lot more to this story that someday may be told, but I’m not ready yet to tell it.

Jim Greer, former head of the Republican Party of Florida, confirming reports that George LeMieux was not Gov. Charlie Crist’s first pick for the U.S. Senate set vacated by Mel Martinez in 2009. According to Greer, whose criminal trial over mismanagement of funds promises to expose skeletons in the closets of Sen. Marco Rubio, Crist, and other top Florida Republicans, LeMieux, “strategized how to get the interview and how to get the appointment, and that strategy included direct pressure on the governor.” Rumors that Crist is gay and has been protected by those around him have long surrounded the former governor, whose first choice for the seat was reportedly his lieutenant governor Jeff Kottkamp.

NAACP Board Endorses Marriage Equality

Trish
Trio
From left, Jacksonville City Council Member Warren Jones, Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, and some gay rights advocate

Whatever that weird thing is with black churches and gay people is one step closer to being resolved, following an action by the NAACP, which followed an action by Pres. Obama.

Florida is home to the largest city in the country that still offers no protection in housing or hiring based on sexual orientation

The board of the N.A.A.C.P. voted to endorse same-sex marriage on Saturday, putting the weight of the country’s most prominent civil rights group behind a cause that has long divided some quarters of the black community.

The largely symbolic move, made at the group’s meeting in Miami, puts the N.A.A.C.P. in line with President Obama, who endorsed gay marriage a little over a week ago…

Borrowing a term used by gay rights advocates, the resolution stated, “We support marriage equality consistent with equal protection under the law provided under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

In a statement, Roslyn M. Brock, chairwoman of the 64-member board, said, “We have and will oppose efforts to codify discrimination into law.”

Well, Chair Brock, you haven’t — if we’re talking about gay people — until now but let’s not get technical. The important thing is that it’s never too late to do the right thing so welcome to the 21st century!

[…]

Trayvon Martin Murder Case Shows State Legislatures are Letting Gun Extremists Call the Shots

Trish

Guns

Is it self-defense if you pick a fistfight and then, when you realize the other person is winning, shoot to kill?

Laws that protect and encourage gun violence are moving America closer to becoming a society based on the whims of thousands of tiny militias

That’s the question legal reporter Dan Abrams poses in a column that gets to the heart of the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman mess.

Abrams finds that Florida’s NRA/ALEC written “Stand Your Ground” law contains two exceptions that could mean the answer is yes and that Zimmerman will go free.

[…]

Housing Prices Rising

Trish

<h3>$141,300</h3>

<h2>Median price of a home in the South Florida counties of Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade, where Zillow.com says the market has bottomed out and prices are starting to rise. The area was one of the hardest hit by the housing bubble, but Zillow says prices are up 1% over last year and are expected to rise 6% in the next.</h2>