Florida Primary News

"What's at Stake in the Florida Primary?" FYI, "Today last day for early voting".

Endorsements: The Sun-Sentinel editors: "Obama: A worthy choice" and "McCain the GOP choice in Florida's presidential preference primary".

Evangelicals: "Some evangelicals who describe themselves as pragmatists think the cash-strapped Huckabee campaign has little chance of coming in first in the state's winner-take-all contest. So, if they are uncomfortable with Romney's Mormonism, they might vote for McCain. If they don't like Giuliani's position on social issues such as abortion, they might turn to Romney." "Young evangelicals could be key in GOP race".

Rogues gallery: "Florida's top Republican Party leaders and activists are nearly as divided in their support for GOP presidential candidates as the rest of the state, where polls show the winner-take-all contest for the state's 57 delegates is still up for grabs." "Primary loyalties divided among Republican elite in Florida".

Cuban vote: "With the Florida primary approaching Tuesday, the Republican presidential candidates are again descending on Little Havana to swig cafe con leche and talk up U.S.-Cuba policy." "Beyond cafe con leche: Candidates compete for Cuban-American vote". See also "Candidates Seek Cuban Vote" ("they must work harder than ever to win Cuban-American support and need to go beyond anti-Castro sloganeering and swigging cafe con leche.")

The man who falls upward: "Bush's Mr. Cellophane" is looking for yet another sugar daddy. "Just days before the state's presidential primary, U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida will endorse fellow Republican John McCain". "Martinez to endorse McCain". "As recently as Thursday night, Martinez indicated he would remain neutral in the race despite his friendship with McCain. He decided to endorse the Arizona senator Friday morning after conversations with several McCain supporters and his wife, officials say. The move surprised even his closest advisers." "AP NewsBreak: Florida Sen. Mel Martinez to endorse McCain". See also "Martinez endorses McCain, cites experience, reputation".

McCain: Grubbing for the fear vote, Johnny argues that our "biggest challenge is 'radical Islamic extremists'". "McCain stays focused on security". The Palm Beach Post editors: "McCain opposes a national disaster insurance bill that he apparently doesn't understand." "McCain's mistaken policy".

Huck: Huckabee claims "he is reaching a wider audience than many in the media are depicting." "Huckabee sees broad movement in candidacy". More: "Huckabee focuses on wider Interstate 95 from Maine to Miami" and "Huckabee campaign jolts to life in Florida with Calle Ocho visit" ("Huckabee threw caution to the wind on Friday in Little Havana. He'd never had a Cuban coffee before.")

Huck out of luck: You know a campaign is in trouble when you get endorsements like these: "Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle, the Rev. O'Neal Dozier show support for Mike Huckabee".

Mitt: "Romney criticized investment-rating companies for their role in the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and recounted his 18 years as a venture capitalist, including the purchase of a Domino's Pizza from Thomas S. Monaghan." "Romney meets with Latin Builders Association".

The Dems: Hill "said Friday - just four days before Florida's primary - that she wants the convention delegates from Florida and Michigan reinstated." "Clinton: Reinstate Delegates". See also "Clinton says she'll move to get Fla. delegates' votes to count" and "Clinton alone in push for Florida delegates"."Edwards and Obama backers in South Florida said Clinton is saying that she wants the Florida delegates counted at the convention only because polls now show her the likely winner in the state." "Democratic Party infighting affects Florida campaign as primary nears".




Jebbie's dead hand rises from the grave

"An unconstitutional school voucher program could be restored and a ban on state aid to religious organizations and institutions could be at least partly lifted through a proposal introduced Friday."

The proposed state constitutional amendment would undo two court decisions that threw out one of former Gov. Jeb Bush's pet projects in 2005. The Opportunity Scholarship Program gave students from failing public schools vouchers to attend religious and other private schools at taxpayer expense.

Taxation and Budget Reform Commission sponsors said their proposal, though, will serve a broader purpose of ending bias against faith-based providers who offer all kinds of public services.

"To get rid of that religious discrimination that's in our constitution you have to ensure that there's choice for health care, for elder care, for juvenile justice care, for substance abuse, for homelessness," said Commissioner Patricia Levesque.

Levesque is executive director of two foundations Bush has established to advance his educational policy goals. She sits on the commission's Governmental Procedures and Structure Committee, which introduced the proposal.

The measure will be discussed more before a decision whether to send the measure to the full commission, which could then put it on the November ballot.

"Proposal could restore vouchers, lift religion spending ban".




Neo-Babbittry

George McEvoy amuses us this morning with "Candidates make primaries memorable". We particularly like this line: a GOPer debate "looked like an audition for a stage version of Babbitt."




FAU

"Florida Atlantic University, still basking in the glow of last month's football win in the New Orleans Bowl, scored a different type of victory this week on its home turf." "FAU officials say national attention from debate will pay off in long run". See also "Debate winner: FAU".




No Hometown?

The Sun-Sentinel editors don't like "Hometown Democracy", claiming that "Its appeal is easy to understand, but the amendment peddled by the group Hometown Democracy would be a mistake. It would be yet more micromanagement via the state's Constitution, a document that is difficult to change once unintended consequences are realized."

The proposed amendment would require municipal votes on changes to comprehensive plans that act as blueprints for local planning, zoning and development. To be sure, there is great angst across the state because many residents feel their city halls are too willing to change comprehensive plans at the whim of a developer.

"Hometown Democracy a bad idea".




Amendment 1 irony

"Despite an intense campaign by Gov. Charlie Crist, Amendment 1, the $9.3 billion property tax cutting measure on Tuesday's ballot, is in serious trouble, according to a poll released Friday." "'Yes on 1' supporters optomistic despite low numbers in polls". See also "Poll: Amendment 1 Support Falls Short Of Threshold" and "Times poll: Amendment 1 tax cut is no slam dunk". Steve Bousquet: "" "Florida math isn't simple anymore".

"Whether the tax cut passes may hinge on which party has better turnout in Florida's presidential primaries Tuesday. Republican voters are lining up in favor of the amendment, Democrats against it, the survey found."

The Sentinel poll showed Republican voters were more supportive, with 61 percent in favor of Amendment 1 and 27 percent against. That compares with 37 percent of Democrats supporting the measure and 51 percent opposing.

Independent and minor-party voters -- who can cast ballots on the amendment Tuesday but not in the closed primaries -- mostly mirrored the Republicans, with 57 percent in favor, 26 percent against and 17 percent undecided.

"Property-tax plan may hinge on GOP turnout".

The "same legislators and business groups are pushing the tax-cut measure and it may be the first victim of the 60 percent threshold. A recent poll by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and The Florida Times-Union showed the amendment winning 45 percent to 34 percent among likely voters, with 21 percent undecided." "Tax-cutting amendment first to face 60 percent requirement".

The St Pete Times editors are all aflutter as the "Truth gets lost in tax debate".




Weldon

"U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon said Friday he would not seek an eighth term in Congress, giving Democrats a chance to go after an open Republican seat in the fall." "U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon says he will not seek another term"




Bad timing

The Orlando Sentinel editors argue that" "Our position: Moving state's juvenile-justice chief couldn't have come at worse time".




Slots

"As Miami-Dade County voters decide whether to allow slot machines at parimutuels, gambling advocates tout an economic study that forecasts the creation of thousands of new jobs. But the record in Broward County, where voters approved slots at parimutuels nearly three years ago, suggests that forecast may be overly optimistic." "Slots' impact on the job market a little fuzzy".