Tag: Campaign 2010

Rick Scott Is Running Against Barack Obama for Governor of Florida

Buck Banks

The Republican Party of Florida has tipped its hand and revealed its campaign strategy that will catapult Rick Scott into the governor’s mansion — simply recast the election from a choice between Scott and Democrat Alex Sink, and instead position Scott as running against President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

I know, it sounds unbelievable, but here it is in a press release sent Wednesday by RPOF Vice Chairman Debbie Cox-Roush, chair of the Hillsborough County (Tampa) Republican Party:

I am pleased to congratulate our Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott. The stakes are high this election cycle and electing a Republican to the Governor’s Mansion is an important part of our mission to keep taxes low and fight for less government and more personal freedom.

I’m energized by Rick’s commitment to conservative values and am looking forward to working with him and contrasting his new ideas with Alex Sink’s record of support for Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

[…]

AZ Sen: McCain, 74, Reads Primary Win Acceptance Speech from Teleprompters

Jon Ponder
McCain reading rant from teleprompter during 2010 primary acceptance speech
McCain reading rant from teleprompter during 2010 primary acceptance speech

Sen. John McCain, who will be 74 years old on Sunday, acknowledged winning the Arizona Republican Senate primary yesterday by reading prepared remarks from a teleprompter. McCain spent $20 million to defeat J.D. Hayworth, a disgraced Republican congressman, TV pitchman and local right-wing radio talk show host.

In order to win nomination for a fifth term in the Senate, McCain had to run to the right of Hayworth, whose main appeal was among tea baggers. McCain won with a margin of 25 percent, but in doing so he trashed his former pose as a principled politician by flip-flopping on immigration, campaign reform and other issues.

In a telling moment, McCain’s desperation to win at all costs even drove him to deny that he’d ever been a “maverick,” despite the fact that the term had been used by his presidential campaign as a theme at rallies and in television ads and that he’d applied the term to himself in multiple quotes that were easily found on the Internet.

McCain faces Democrat Rodney Glassman, a former Republican, whose campaign drove itself into a ditch last Friday, Aug. 20, when three of his top aides abruptly quit. Confidential sources say the resignations were a response to Glassman’s “berating staffers and volunteers in public, even yelling at them” and because of a homophobic remark he made about an openly gay Tucson city councilmember that the councilmember has confirmed.

Ironically, in a vote among staffers on Capitol Hill, John McCain was once named the second most bad-tempered elected official, behind the late Sen. Ted Stephens (R-Alaska). McCain also spouts anti-gay rhetoric, despite the fact that his wife and daughter have come out in favor of gay civil rights.

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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!

RNC Goes Into Debt During July

Trish

$2.2 million

— The amount of debt the Republican National Committee revealed in its July fundraising report. The RNC started the month with $10.8 million in cash on hand, received $5.5 million in contributions, and spent $11.1 million, leaving $5.2 million in cash on hand and the aforementioned debt. CNN noted that the press releases and fanfare normally associated with RNC fundraising announcements were absent this month, as the organization attempted to keep the bad news on the down-low.

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.

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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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.