Tag: Marco Rubio

Will Florida’s Three-Way Senate Race Revert to a Two-Way?

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From left, the very tall Meek, the shorter Crist, and the really short Rubio

Rumors are flying in Florida after this week’s debate among the three candidates for the U.S. Senate. One scenario, put forth by the Wall St. Journal, says Democrats might be pressuring U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) to drop out of the race, leaving only Gov. Charlie Crist and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio to duke it out.

Should Meek give his concession speech now, or wait until after the election?

With Meek’s poll numbers showing no bump after the debate, and with groups like the Florida Sierra Club offering dual endorsements of both him and Crist, Meek really has two choices: quit and lose now, or stay in and lose later.

The candidate himself, though, seems still in fighting mode. After the Sierra Club’s odd move, Meek upped the oddness quotient by refusing the endorsement. He also made it clear he’s tired of people forgetting that Charlie Crist is neither a Democrat nor a true environmentalist.

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Rubio’s Credit Card Bills Show He’s No Fiscal Conservative. They Might Show More.

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A new ad from U.S. Senate candidate Gov. Charlie Crist (Fla.-NPA) spotlights the questionable spending practices of self-proclaimed fiscal conservative Tea Party Republican opponent Marco Rubio. The ad focuses on Rubio’s credit card problems, which should be leading Florida news but, since the talking points aren’t matching up to Rubio’s golden boy image, seem so far to be non-issues.

MrsRubio
Jeanette C. Dousdebes-Rubio

We’d like some answers about Rubio’s spending habits, and in particular, to find out if the reason he fought so hard to keep his full credit card records from becoming public is because of all the travel they show for his legislative aide, healthcare lobbyist Amber Stoner. Stoner, as has been noted, had a habit while Rubio served in the Florida House of either accompanying him or arriving in the same cities and resorts as he did within a day. We’d also like to see if Rubio’s wife, former cheerleader Jeanette C. Dousdebes-Rubio, joined the pair on those trips.

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New Crist Endorsement Flummoxes Florida Democrats

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An endorsement from the “Fire Breathing Liberal” himself has upped the hang-wringing quotient among Florida Democrats who buy into the false premise that they must defeat Gov. Charlie Crist in the U.S. Senate race.

Former U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-South Florida) came out in support of Crist over the weekend.

“There is a special time in which elected officials have to put country before party, and this is one of those times,” the seven-term congressman told a crowd of his former constituents at Century Village west of Boca Raton. “I am here to endorse Gov. Charlie Crist because he has earned it. He has truly earned it.”

Almost every traditional shorthand measure for this election fails us

How Crist “earned it” is anyone’s guess, although he has shown signs of being a vertebrate with election-year vetoes of egregious legislation passed by Florida’s Republican-majority lawmakers. Still, Democrats expected Wexler to endorse U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, whose tagline since Crist went no party affiliation (NPA) is that he is a “lifelong Democrat.”

The often overlooked detail in the three-way race between the newly NPA Crist, the Democrat Meek, and the Tea Party Republican Marco Rubio is that all that has to happen for Rubio not to be the next U.S. Senator from Florida is for him to capture less than 33 percent of the vote. So Democrats can vote for Crist or Meek, just so long as they don’t vote for Rubio.

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Florida Democrats’ Long Nightmare Ends Today

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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!

Florida’s Dropping Unemployment Rate Should Benefit Democrats But It Won’t

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CharlieBikersAn announcement that Florida’s jobless rate, among the highest in the nation, fell for the third straight month should be good news for Florida’s elected officials. But for those running for the next office, what’s good for the state can be bad for campaigns.

Speculation is whether the news benefits Democrats, who share party affiliation with Pres. Obama, or Republicans, who have done less than nothing to facilitate a recovery, unless you consider holding your breath and stomping your feet, “facilitating.” But Florida’s Gov. Charlie Crist is neither fish nor fowl thanks to a recent move to “No Party Affiliation,” making him the true beneficiary of the drop from the March high of 12.3 percent to June’s still high but better 11.4.

The awkwardness of their positions was evident in the reactions from Crist’s rivals for the Florida Senate seat. If things are going badly, it must be the governor’s fault. If they’re going well…hmmm.

The winner is… Gov. Charlie Crist, NPA

“There are clear signs that we’re moving from recession to recovery, but growth is fragile and much more work needs to be done,” Meek said on Friday.

Republican candidate Marco Rubio has harped on the loss of jobs in Florida while lambasting efforts by President Obama and Governor Charlie Crist, an independent candidate for the Senate, to stimulate the economy.

If the rate continues to drop, Crist looks better and better. All the heat he took from Republicans for accepting federal stimulus funding will seem more like what it was — blustering and posturing at the expense of residents who need work. If the rate even holds steady, Crist can still take credit for moving the needle. Rubio has less to criticize (although a lack of facts hasn’t stopped a Republican from being critical yet), and Meek will be stuck with his, “good but could be better” line.

Breaking News from Florida: Crist Vetoes Ultrasound Bill

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ultrasoundThe Friday afternoon news dump, wherein someone tries to hide their major, super important news in the hustle and bustle and happy hours of a dawning weekend, was the tool of choice as Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (NPA) announced his veto of a horrifically bad piece of Republican legislation.

Known as the “ultrasound bill,” the law would have required women seeking an abortion to first pay for and obtain an ultrasound test, in which they would either have to view the embryo or listen to a doctor describe it. Tests range from several hundred dollars to $1,500, and would effectively block the abortion option for many, if not most, women.

In his veto statement, Crist, who earlier this week signaled his intention by removing harsh anti-abortion language from his campaign web site, acknowledged a woman’s right to decide.

…personal views should not result in laws that unwisely expand the role of government and coerce people to obtain medical tests or procedures that are not medically necessary…There are many medical or fiscal barriers that could be placed upon a woman in order to prevent her from following through on her constitutionally protected decision to end a pregnancy. However, such measures do not change hearts, which is the only true and effective way to ensure that a new life coming into the world is loved, cherished, and receives the care that is deserved.

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Breaking News: Ex Florida GOP Chair Arrested on Fraud Charges

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Seminole County Jail Inmate Jim Greer
Seminole County Jail Inmate Jim Greer
Jim Greer, ex head of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) and huge Gov. Charlie Crist supporter (and vice versa) was arrested today on six counts of fraud for funneling money from GOP donors for his personal use.

The indictment is likely to shake up the Florida Senate race. Gov Crist, running without party affiliation, is a personal friend of Greer’s, instrumental in his chairmanship, and continued to support him after calls began for his resignation. Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, along with other Florida Republican politicians, has been paying back money he received from the party under Greer.

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Conservatives Show They are Anything But

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ultrasoundBeing a conservative is more challenging since mass hysteria, aka, the Tea Party, entered the picture in the wake of the election of America’s first African-American president. If limited government whose purpose is not to foster social agendas was ever really what conservatism was about, it isn’t now.

Take a new law, currently on the governor’s desk to be signed (or hopefully, vetoed) in Florida. Demonstrating what happens when you get too many Republican men in a room together, the so-called conservative bill requires that women considering abortions must first schedule an ultrasound test in which the doctor describes to her the contents of her uterus, whether she wants to know about that yolk sac or not. Touting ultrasounds as non-invasive and therefore harmless led the National Institutes of Health to release this statement: “Ultrasound examination in pregnancy should be performed for a specific medical indication.”

Election after election, the “hard-working white people”* vote for the guy or gal spouting the most extreme platitudes, and then wonder why nothing gets done in Washington, why our elected officials don’t work together better

If the faux-conservative legislature gets its way, not only must the woman wait, with the clock ticking, for an appointment for a test she doesn’t want, she must also foot the bill for all this herself. Is it possible for government to be more intrusive in people’s private lives than this?

Marco Rubio, the so-called tea bagger candidate in the Florida Senate race, demonstrated a further failure of rhetoric with the recent announcement of his “policy committee.” Rubio, running on the outsider platform but squarely on the Republican ticket, is tapping entrenched Washington insiders Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) as honorary committee chairs. No doubt they will bring fresh ideas on how to take our country back from…themselves. What’s wrong with this picture?

People who are against progressive initiatives like choice and a positive role for government are being played, again. Candidates pandering to tea bagger fears know what to say and do to appear to offer the answers, which are always both simple and vague. And election after election, the “hard-working white people”* vote for the guy or gal spouting the most extreme platitudes, and then wonder why nothing gets done in Washington, why our elected officials don’t work together better.

We as progressives have to figure out how to wake up our neighbors in this country that we all share, and get them to question the slogans and lies directed at them. If anyone out there knows a good way to do that, I’d love to hear it.

* Hillary Clinton, campaigning for president in 2008 in Pennsylvania

Crist Finally Comes Out; Opponent Rubio Follows

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BarnesRubioLgComing out of the closet and admitting who he really is has made Gov. Charlie Crist more popular. According to a new Rasmussen Reports survey, the formerly Republican Crist, who recently outed himself as a moderate independent, is polling well.

Crist [is] earning 38% support to Republican Marco Rubio’s 34% and Democrat Kendrick Meek’s 17%. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided.

Two weeks ago, before Crist announced his decision to run as an independent candidate, Rubio held a seven point advantage in the race.

Since then, Crist has gained eight (8) percentage points in the poll while Rubio and Meek have each dropped three (3) points. It remains to be seen if this is a temporary bounce or a lasting change in the race.

The poll has a sloppy +/-4.5 percent margin of error, which is more than it shows Crist’s opponents sliding, but still.

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