Tag: Florida

Florida Republicans Now Forced to Play Nice with Rick Scott

Buck Banks

rick_scott

Rick Scott, who looks like he could host “Tales from the Crypt,” beat Bill “Howdy Doody” McCollum to become the Republican nominee for governor of Florida on Tuesday. That places the Republican Party of Florida in the uncomfortable position of having to support a guy with more money than scruples who trounced their chosen candidate McCollum, the state’s attorney general, and who just last Sunday they were savaging in the final days of the primary run-up.

Through clenched teeth, RPOF Chairman John Thasher issued this restrained congratulatory press release today:

Republican Party of Florida Chairman John Thrasher today congratulated Rick Scott for his victory in the Republican gubernatorial primary election.

“The stakes are high and I look forward to the debate ahead as we contrast Alex Sink’s record of support for President Obama’s ultra liberal, left-wing ideology in the form of donations to his campaign, endorsements of his government takeover of our health care system and support for his failed stimulus package, with Rick Scott’s vision for Florida that will create 700,000 new jobs without expanding the size and scope government.

I’m confident that Republicans across the state will rally around our new nominee as we move forward together towards the November election.

Pretty resounding, eh? Contrast that with this message sent directly from Thrasher Sunday, Aug. 22, when McCollum still had a slim possibility of winning:

Fellow Republicans,

Over the last several weeks and in an escalated manner this weekend, Rick Scott has orchestrated a multifaceted campaign of misinformation in an effort to mislead Florida voters and confuse the facts surrounding the arrest and indictment of Jim Greer as well as the Party’s financial situation and preparedness to support our candidates as we move towards the November election.

The ads placed in newspapers this weekend, television advertisements and the stream of mail sent to voters by Mr. Scott alleging that Attorney General Bill McCollum acted inappropriately throughout the investigation, arrest and indictment of Jim Greer are untrue. Politifact has twice written that Mr. Scott’s attacks on this issue are false and that their continued use appears to be an attempt at diverting attention from Mr. Scott’s past legal issues.

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Florida Democrats’ Long Nightmare Ends Today

Trish
FL fl-meek-greene081510a
Meek, left, shakes hands with Greene during primary debate

It’s finally primary day in Florida, which means, if you’re a Democrat, you can stop screening your calls. The battle between U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek and billionaire jet setter Jeff Greene ends today, not a minute too soon. And while the postal service will miss the business, those of us on the receiving end of the deluge of mailers won’t.

For all I know, Republicans are going through the same thing in the contest for governor between disgraced HCA Columbia CEO Rick Scott and state Attorney General Bill McCollum. I’m hoping Scott will prevail in that match-up, because a general election campaign between Florida CFO Alex Sink on the Democratic side and McCollum on the GOP will make paint drying seem like the next Harry Potter movie. In 3-D.

Meek and Greene are staying true to type on election day. Here are the two men’s schedules, according to Tampa’s Creative Loafing:

Kendrick Meek
4:30 a.m., AFSCME Member Bus Terminal Stop-in, 16150 Northwest 42nd Avenue, Miami.
6:15 a.m., Breakfast at Jimmy’s Place, 11901 NW 7 Ave., North Miami.
7:15 a.m., Polling site stop, South Kendall Community Church, 16550 SW 147 Ave., Miami.
8:45 a.m., Polling site stop, Palm Beach Co. Fire and Rescue No. 42,. 14276 Hagen Ranch Rd., Delray Beach.
5 p.m., Sign waving, N. University Dr. and Sunrise Blvd., Plantation.
5:45 p.m.,. Polling site stop, Hollywood Hills High School, 5400 Stirling Rd., Hollywood.
Evening, Watching election returns, Westin Diplomat Hotel, 3555 S. Ocean Dr., Hollywood.

Wow, 4:30 a.m., huh? Meek is working it. Wonder what Greene will be doing to ensure every vote he can get.

Jeff Greene
9 a.m., Voting, Palm Beach Fire Station #3, 2185 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach.
7 p.m., Watching returns, Marriott Hotel, 1001 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach.

All righty then.

If you live in Florida and didn’t vote early, please do so today. These races will be decided by a relatively small number of voters, but we’ll all be stuck with the choices for a long time. Go vote!

Recap of Republican Disinformation Points on Manhattan Islamic Center, Courtesy of Florida Governor Candidate

Trish

Disgraced HCA Columbia Healthcare CEO Rick Scott (who was forced to resign rather than face criminal charges in the nation’s largest Medicaid fraud case, resulting in a $1.7 billion fine) sums up all the Republican lies about the Islamic Center in New York in one TV spot, going FOX News one better by tying construction of the facility to health care reform. Why Scott, who is running for governor of Florida — a state which will have little if any say in the issue — would chose this as a campaign platform is unclear.

Verbatim

Trish

Sarah Palin has done a great dance all over the 1st Amendment this week, first over the proposed NYC Islamic Center and the insensitivity of it. Then about Dr. Laura and her freedom to speak insensitively.

Commentor “citizen x” on a Florida newspaper letter to the editor about Republican governor candidate Rick Scott’s new anti freedom of religion TV ad

Palin Headliner Moved to Smaller Venue Due to Sluggish Response

Trish

heroicmediaAre people finally growing weary of chronically aggrieved snark? Or do they just not care to toss hundred dollar bills at Sarah Palin anymore?

Slow ticket sales have bumped Sarah Palin’s appearance next week in Jacksonville to a smaller venue.

“An Evening of Hope with Sarah Palin” was moved from the 2,936-seat Moran Theatre to the 609-seat Terry Theatre…Mark Nelson, Florida director for Heroic Media, said the event was moved to the Terry Theatre because there weren’t enough tickets sold to hold it in the larger Moran.

“We would rather have a packed theater than a theater that’s not so packed,” Nelson said.

Yes, I just imagine those 600 people sharing that 3,000-seat theater would feel a little silly at the money they wasted. Money? Let’s talk. Preferred seating is $100 but a few general admission tickets are also available for $50. But if you’re willing to be a sponsor, you can buy all the Palin you want.

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Democrat for Florida Governor Sums Up the State of Republican Opponents

Trish

According to polls, Democratic Florida Governor candidate Alex Sink is benefitting from the hatchet jobs her Republican opponents are doing on one another. In a debate summed up as a “race to the bottom” in Florida newspapers, Attorney General Bill McCollum and disgraced CEO Rick Scott got personal, but said very little about…what is it candidates are supposed to address? Oh yeah, how to fix the state. In this video, Sink continues to point out that Republicans offer pretty much nothing in the way of ideas.

Crist Continues to Demonstrate His Special Brand of Leadership

Trish

CristBlue

I have to hand it to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (NPA), whose wardrobe choice for a recent roundtable with the president in Panama City helped him stand out. Charlie and the First Lady went with aqua, while the business owners, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, and others stuck to neutrals. If you’re going to go, go bold, Crist seems to say, while sitting as far from Obama as possible without leaving the room. No doubt Crist wants to avoid more photos of himself seeming friendly with the president. The endless repetition by Republicans of a shot of Crist doing the one-armed man hug with Obama last year could have been one reason for his departure from their party as a candidate for U.S. Senate. Well that, and the fact that they are soulless jerks.

Polls Finally Open in Florida. Will the Republican Blood Letting End?

Trish

After what seems like decades, but is only a matter of hundreds and hundreds of days, the polls were finally opened in Florida, where early voting for the Aug. 24 primary began. I pity my Republican neighbors, who must choose between the guy with no lip and the guy with no eyebrows (or hair) as their candidate for governor. This video, produced by Democrat Alex Sink’s team, shows the state of the GOP primary.

Meanwhile my gal, Sink, has rightfully profited in polling and fundraising from the rancor on the GOP side. Recent polls show her up over her Republican opponents, by how much varying upon which candidate she is paired with. Her lead seems wider over McCollum than Scott. And she has about $5.8 million in the bank, which she’ll need if she finds herself running against multimillionaire Scott. Bud Chiles, son of Democratic governor Lawton Chiles, is trailing in polls with about 15 percent. Chiles is in the race as an independent, so if he stays in, it will be a three-way contest.

Verbatim

Trish

I’ll have to look into it.

— Response by Florida governor candidate Rick Scott to a questioner on the campaign trail who asked what Scott would do about Pres. Obama’s birth certificate, and whether he feels that Obama’s name can legally be placed on the 2012 ballot. By indulging “birther” fantasies, Scott aligned himself with the most extreme rightwing elements. Scott was CEO of HCA/Columbia Healthcare until he was given a choice to resign or face criminal charges for his role in defrauding the government of millions of Medicare/Medicaid dollars. He now runs the Solantic chain of urgent care clinics, which serve mainly uninsured patients, and is one of the principle funding sources behind the anti-healthcare reform campaign.

Crist: Republicans Only Concerned with “Regrettable Glory” of Party Ideology

Trish

matthudson
Today's poster child for Republican hypocrisy, Florida Rep. Matt Hudson
You would think a state with 1,200 miles of coastline, most of it on the Gulf of Mexico, would be prudent to convene its legislature to address the impact of the worst toxic environmental disaster in the country’s history. At least, you would unless you were a Republican.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has called a special session of the legislature to consider a constitutional ban on offshore oil drilling. Republicans are crying “foul,” citing the fact that there are already statutes that determine how close drilling can be to Florida’s shores.

“I think it’s completely unnecessary,” said Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, in a view expressed by others. “There’s absolutely no reason we have to go and create a law for something that’s already unlawful.”

Crist: Republicans have “completely lost their way.”

What Hudson is saying is that there is no need to add something to the state constitution that’s already been dealt with by statute. Kind of like adding an amendment to the Florida constitution banning same-sex marriage when there’s already a law against it. Obviously there’s no need for that, right?

Hudson didn’t think so in 2008, when he and almost every other Republican politician in Florida, including then GOP-er Gov. Crist, publicly endorsed Amendment 2, a Republican initiative to make same-sex marriage double-triple-really-really-quadriple illegal in Florida.

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