Hell To Pay [Updated 2:44PM]

State Rep. Paige Kreegel was furious about a secretive smear campaign against him, so he decided "not only to get mad but also to get even. He has pursued an expensive and protracted defamation lawsuit that has pulled in some of Tallahassee's most powerful names: the Florida Home Builders Association, political consultant Randy Nielsen and Ken Pruitt, the Port St. Lucie Republican who is set to become president of the Florida Senate in November."

And why was Kreegel targeted? Because

had not pledged to support the home builders' preferred candidate for House speaker in 2008, Bradenton Republican Bill Galvano, while Kreegel's leading opponent had.

"Campaign ploys tied to quest for top House post, suit alleges".

This lengthy article "detail[s] secretive political hardball, revealing not just the how behind modern Florida campaigns and their innocuous-sounding groups and hit-and-run ads but also the why: the desire of private interests to control who becomes House speaker and Senate president."




"Regret" Is That The Best He Can Do?

"Nearly a year after calling for federal involvement to keep a brain-damaged woman alive against her husband's wishes, Republican U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez has said it was a mistake to become involved." "Martinez regrets his role in Schiavo case".




All Talk ...

no action:

Florida is competing with states like North Carolina and California that are pumping billions of dollars into new university infrastructure and research. Meanwhile, Gov. Bush's budget doesn't provide a faculty raise in 2006-07, and falls $50 million short of what the Board of Governors requested to cover student enrollment statewide.

"Investing in intelligence now politically popular".




Chain Gang Charlie

"One came from a former Ukrainian government official once charged with corruption in his home country who was in the United States illegally. Another came from a businessman being investigated on complaints of deceptive advertising by the attorney general's office headed by Crist." "Candidate returns contributions from Trump fundraiser attendee".




"Jeb!" Blunders

and The Buzz is there to catch him:

"He's a good leader and a very good man," Bush said on the day he appointed Crosby (Associated Press, Jan. 6, 2003).

Added Bush: "I'm confident that Jimmy's innovative style of leadership, his ability to relate to every level of the department will be exactly what the doctor ordered." (Miami Herald, Jan. 7, 2003).

"Crosby 'Exactly What the Doctor Ordered'".




Redistricting

" As you would expect, the prospect terrifies the politicians. Their lawyers were before the high court last week asking the justices to keep the amendment, which has obtained the necessary signatures, off the November ballot. The silliest argument was that the amendment violates the single-subject rule because it applies to congressional and legislative races. At their essence, all of the arguments against the commission are political, made by those who owe their jobs to picking who will vote for them. The court should put the amendment on the ballot. More representative districts will force politicians to address a broader range of constituents, not just the reliable base. That will bring the politicians' priorities closer to the public's priorities." "Put voters on ballot".




Oh Pleeez

"Governor's race still about Bush".




GOoPer Inserts Foot

"On the 197th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birthday, a prominent Republican said the attacks on the state's school voucher programs helped propagate a form of modern slavery. At the American Civil Liberties Union annual meeting Sunday, Sid Dinerstein, chairman of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County, compared Dred Scott, the Virginia slave who failed to win his freedom, with parents unable to transfer their children from failing public schools to private and religious ones in Florida." "GOP leader's slavery analogy booed, criticized". See also "Republican leader, ACLU face off in Boca on school vouchers" ("Dinerstein startled some in the audience by equating the school-voucher debate with a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case about slavery").




Cotterell ...

"At times, merit pay works well".




Shaw

From the very promising looking new blog from Congressional Quarterly, CQPolitics.com: "FL 22: Shaw Slaps ‘Lobbyist’ Label on Competitive Klein"

CQPolitics.com promises "Every District. Every State. Every Day".




Paper Ballots

What is it with Tallahassee?

Volusia County leaders find themselves backed into a corner. They want to provide handicapped-accessible voting machines that produce a voter-verifiable paper record of each vote. But they can't, because Florida officials never certified a handicapped accessible machine capable of creating a paper trail.

The state's failure to find a suitable machine is baffling. Twenty-five other states require paper ballots or a valid paper record of votes cast on electronic machines -- for all voters, including those with handicaps. Florida could have made the same commitment to election integrity.

Instead, the Legislature outlawed hand recounts even in counties like Volusia, where officials insisted on retaining paper ballots. And it wrote standards for handicapped-accessible machines that stymie local officials who want paper ballots.

Why?

"County Council's against wall in paper-ballot fight".




Oil Drilling

"Once again, outsider politicians want to allow Gulf of Mexico oil drilling that would threaten Florida's beaches. Once again, Florida politicians will have to protect those beaches. The latest chapter in this struggle matches two new loser plans against one real winner that deserves bipartisan support. ... The plan Gov. Bush proposed last year was a start. But it didn't do enough to protect the beaches. It put too much power to negotiate closer offshore boundaries in the hands of the governor and Legislature, and didn't make protection permanent. Florida's senators have a bipartisan proposal that could protect the beaches permanently — if the governor and legislative delegation add their support." "To protect gulf beaches, back Floridians' bill".




Scripps

This tripe today from a so-called "Palm Beach County business leader": "The speed required to put the project together to beat Orlando could only have been done by the private sector. When government entered the picture, misinformation reflecting the personal views of some government officials promoted a false version of the project, and unfairly portrayed the motives of some business leaders."




28 Years

"A former Stuart planner will attempt to become the second Democrat in at least 28 years to win a contested state House election in Martin County." "Democrat seeking House District 81 seat faces fight in Republican territory".




"Legacy"

"Two of Gov. Jeb Bush's top priorities take center stage this week as efforts to reform Medicaid and save his most passionate program return to the capital for what is expected to be emotional appeals." "Bush trying to leave legacy of health care, education reforms".