Qualifiers

"Nearly one-quarter of the 160-member Florida Legislature was returned to office on Friday by doing no more than filing papers with state officials." "Lawmakers win new terms without election".

"Secretary of State Kurt Browning said the end of qualifying 'was somewhat anticlimactic,' with none of the last-minute switching to open races or jostling for position that has marked past post times." "Qualifying for Florida's state races comes to 'anticlimactic' end". Broward: "Qualifying under way for Aug. 26 elections". See also "Candidates qualify" ("Big races in 21, 27").

And then there's the empty suit thing ...

"The first flashes of the 2010 race for governor of Florida flickered across cable TV screens Friday morning, but most people probably missed it."

Appearing on the CNBC Squawk Box program, Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink weighed in on the week's top story: Republican Gov. Charlie Crist ending his long-standing opposition to oil drilling off the Florida coast.

While Crist stood with John McCain in backing a lifting of a federal ban on drilling and letting states decide whether to drill, Sink opposes drilling, period. She sounded like the Crist of old.

Laff riot

"Winning Florida is critical to Sen. John McCain's bid for the presidency, and his campaign announced a team Friday that it said will overpower Sen. Barack Obama's volunteer army."

How many Young Republicans driving daddy's Beemer and screaming about inheritance taxes does it take to make a political "machine"?

"It's a very strong political machine," said Arlene DiBenigno, director of the Florida campaign. "And it's a machine you can point to. It's there. It's in every county."

Florida's booming economy

"More than a half million workers statewide are out of work." "State's jobless rate is worst in five years".

Pathetic

Dead enders: "A planned rally by Cuban Republicans at the home of Elian Gonzalez, the boy rafter who was returned to his father in Cuba eight years ago, never materialized. About 15 anti-Obama demonstrators, waving Cuban and American flags, protested in front of the hotel.".

Cut the crap

"New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg this morning urged a Jewish audience to reject the "whisper campaign" that says presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is a Muslim ...". "Bloomberg tells Jewish Floridians Obama is not a Muslim".

Not ready for prime time

After all those years of receiving a pass from Florida's compliant newspaper company employees, Charlie wilts before a less than difficult crowd.

"The first reviews are in on Charlie Crist's performance as a high-profile stump speaker on the Republican circuit. It ain't pretty, and it's why the Veep-O-Meter swings backward this week."

The speech by John McCain's potential running mate to Orange County, Calif., Republicans last weekend really helped his party. "By showing unequivocally he would be a complete disaster for the GOP — the worst running mate since Dan Quayle," Orange County Register columnist Frank Mickadeit wrote in a column headlined "We know who McCain shouldn't pick."

"Mr. Crist looks great: … silver hair, warm smile, great tan, perfectly tailored suit of clothes, decent teeth. It's when he uses his facial musculature to try and form cogent sound that he falls apart."

"I would say he was stunned and distracted for minutes, as he absorbed the lack of popularity in this room for the governor," one Republican activist, Jon Fleischman, wrote on a California political Web site.

Crist's support for McCain's new proposal to allow drilling off Florida, may endear him to McCain, but it's not helping Crist's national image. The political Web site the Hotline even suggested it may have sunk Crist's veep prospects if Florida voters recoil: If "taking one for the team" compromises your home-state standing, doesn't that make you less helpful to the party?

To be, or not to be ... on the ballot?

"Two unrelated citizen initiatives that would cap property taxes and set redistricting standards for congressional districts went to the Florida Supreme Court on Friday to determine if they can get on the ballot."

The justices will determine if the proposed state constitutional amendments each covers only a single subject as required and whether their ballot summaries and titles are clear and accurate.

The tax cap would limit property taxes to 1.35 percent of the highest taxable value of a home, business or other piece of real estate.

A second apportionment initiative for legislative redistricting went to the Supreme Court last month, but the justices have not yet heard arguments in that case.

More floppery

"The issue of illegal immigration used to set Sen. John McCain apart."

While many in his party called for taller fences and harsher penalties, McCain wanted to give undocumented workers a path to citizenship. When his Republican rivals for the presidential nomination called him soft on border security, McCain flew to Miami last June to say they were "pandering for votes."

Now McCain is the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and he's still running as a party maverick on fighting global warming and cutting federal spending.

But not immigration.

McBush fatigue sets in

"Obama leads McCain in Florida for 1st time in poll".

"Partner in the White House"

"Vowing to be a 'partner in the White House,' Democrat Barack Obama Saturday told the nation's mayors that Republican John McCain's proposed tax cuts would deny federal funds to fix decaying infrastructure in regions like South Florida, and prevent development of inner cities with block grants and anti-poverty programs." "Obama talks transportation, education at mayors' conference in Miami". See also "Obama gets warm welcome at mayors conference".

A Florida thing

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Pythons, iguanas and other exotic animals are some Floridians' pets of choice, but they pose danger to the state's native wildlife and fragile ecosystems if they escape or, worse, are illegally let loose. Fortunately, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission plans to give unlicensed pet owners a legal - and humane - way to get rid of exotic wildlife and fish they no longer want or can't continue to care of. They should take advantage of the opportunity." "Herding Florida's Unwanted Beasts".

Cheats

"The state no longer requires real estate buyers and sellers to reveal their sales price in government documents, leading local officials to worry about a rise in tax cheats." "Officials worry about upsurge in real estate tax cheating". See also "Officials worry about upsurge in real estate tax cheating". See also "How the documentary stamp tax works".

Obama: "Drilling futile"

"Obama on Friday criticized a Republican proposal to lift a ban on oil drilling off the Florida coast, saying it would take at least 10 years for that to offer motorists relief at the pump." "Drilling futile, Obama insists". See also "Obama: I'd keep drilling ban intact".

Yippee! More outlet malls

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Turning I-4 Into Job Magnet Requires Focus And Caution".

BOGged down

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "Management of Florida's overall higher-education system has been anything but stable the past five years. That's when the Board of Governors was established as a constitutional body meant to replicate but be more invincible than the old Board of Regents — which was axed by an angry Legislature."

New BOG Chairman Sheila McDevitt, a Tampa-area attorney, said Thursday "we need stability," recognizing that the BOG needs to somehow mend fences and get out of court with lawmakers over who gets to set tuition.

Yet, just as it seems possible to ease tensions with lawmakers — not easy, but possible — the board has fanned a brush fire with 11 boards of trustees, which are set up to more immediately oversee their separate universities.

Yet, just as it seems possible to ease tensions with lawmakers — not easy, but possible — the board has fanned a brush fire with 11 boards of trustees, which are set up to more immediately oversee their separate universities.

For the time being, the BOG has backed down on its proposal, issued on May 30, to have greater involvement in the hiring and evaluating of university presidents. But it's expected to continue pursuing this, as well as a requiring universities to get BOG approval before they acquire property for instruction or research sites.

Off probation

"The state is laying off 80 probation officers due to budget cuts ordered by the Legislature, but they will be offered lower-paying jobs as correctional officers in Florida prisons." "Florida DOC announces 80 layoffs".

So much for the right wing Cuban vote

"Summoning a time of political upheaval in Miami, a great-uncle of Elián González plans Friday to publicly denounce two Barack Obama campaign advisors who helped send the boy back to his father in Cuba eight years ago."

One day before the expected Democratic nominee addresses a conference of mayors in Miami, Delfín González will hold a 1 p.m. news conference outside the Little Havana home where Elián lived with relatives for several months in 2000.

Earlier this week, CNN reported that Elián, now 14 years old, has joined Cuba's Young Communist Union. Obama was an Illinois lawmaker during the 2000 dispute and did not take a public position.

At issue are foreign-policy advisor Greg Craig, who represented Elián's father in the custody battle with the Miami relatives, and legal advisor Eric Holder, a member of Obama's vice-presidential search committee who was deputy attorney general when the 6-year-old boy was seized by federal agents and returned to Cuba.

''We're going to express opposition to Barack Obama's visit to Miami, and explain how we're opposed to him having individuals on his campaign who were associated with Elián's seizure in 2000,'' González said.

"The next property tax fight is under way"

"On Monday, a broad and powerful coalition will announce plans to oppose a November ballot that would greatly reduce property taxes for schools but increase the sales tax. The coalition includes major business trade groups, school unions and the AARP. It will attack Amendment 5 with direct mail, radio and TV advertising, starting as early as a month from now." "'Tax swap' battle to hit mailbox, radio, TV near you".

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And so it begins ...

The St. Petersburg Times editorial board: "Obama's big words ring hollow".

"How do you keep a project you helped derail from getting back on track?"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board:

How do you keep a project you helped derail from getting back on track? You offer an alternative. One you claim is better, affordable, within reach.

And which, after folks poke and prod it, stands up to the scrutiny. They judge it to be better, affordable, within reach.

The alternative from Lakeland Sen. Paula Dockery doesn't measure up.

Her attempts to pass off intercity rail as a credible substitute for the Central Florida commuter-rail project she helped stall, and as the best thing going for lovers of mass transit throughout Florida, don't wash.

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"Not helpful"

"Some members of the Board of Governors expressed concern Thursday over a proposal that would allow them to be more involved in the selection of university presidents." "Members say BOG proposal 'not helpful'". See also "U. board steps back on presidential selection plan".

Here's an idea

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "Combined Little Leagues a home run for Delray race relations".

"At risk of getting lost in more than name"

Did you know that PBCC

now offers bachelor's of applied science degrees in supervision and management.

Those niche workforce programs will prepare students for positions of demonstrated need: health-related, business and public-safety administration jobs. The explanation was needed because Florida again has embarked on an experiment driven by politics rather than policy.

Florida's two-year colleges have been able to create four-year degree programs since 2001 with the approval of the state Board of Education. But during the last session, legislators launched a new Florida College System under which the schools will morph into "state colleges" offering bachelor's programs. At last count, nine of the 28 community colleges now offer the degrees.

If you missed the statewide conversation that got us here, that's because there hasn't been one. The Legislature did not convene community college and other education officials to decide whether this was the way for Florida to meet the needs of the state and its students for more baccalaureate degrees. There is no strategic plan that includes how the kindergarten-through-12th-grade system fit in the pipeline. Tallahassee dictated, and Gov. Crist signed the bill last week.

Meanwhile, "The Great 28," widely recognized as the best community college system in the country, quickly is morphing into a new system whose mission is at risk of getting lost in more than name

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Crist even evoked childhood memories of cleaning birds after an oil spill in Tampa Bay. He has expressed adamant opposition to drilling throughout his career, from state senator to education commissioner to U.S. Senate candidate to attorney general.

But on Tuesday, he joined presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain in calling for an end to a 26-year federal ban on drilling, saying states should decide whether to allow rigs off their coasts, subject to safety and environmental restrictions.

Has Florida's populist-in-chief accurately sensed a shift in public opinion, or is it a calculated move to bolster his chances of being chosen as McCain's vice presidential running mate?

It should go down as one of the more mercenary flip-flops in the state's history. With his eyes on John McCain's ticket as a running mate, Gov. Charlie Crist on Wednesday fell behind McCain's push for ending the moratorium on oil drilling along Florida's coastline after years of favoring the ban without conditions.

Transportation

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Crist doesn't like the transportation bills that would have allowed more vendors to have a shot at the gas and food concessions on Florida's Turnpike. In less than a week, the governor twice vetoed legislation that would have allowed smaller vendors to compete for the concession business. On Friday, he vetoed a bill with the concession changes, and on Tuesday he vetoed another bill with similar language. Gov. Crist says the vetoes will ensure that there is ''fairness and integrity...". "Turnpike contract mustn't hurt drivers".

More oil

"Republican members of Florida's congressional delegation lined up Wednesday behind President Bush as he challenged Congress to allow drilling off the nation's coastlines." "Drill, Florida's GOP lawmakers say".

Here's a shocker: "Jeb Bush reconsiders stance on drilling".

More: "Soaring gas prices drive offshore-drilling debate". See also "To drill or not to drill? Oil debate refuels" and "Drilling a wedge in McCain support".

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "Offshore drilling no panacea for rising gas prices".

"Developers' dream bill"

The St. Petersburg Times editorial board: "From the same Legislature that refused this year to put the slightest restraint on new development comes a bill, now on Gov. Charlie Crist's desk, to give a pass to potentially some of the largest real estate projects in Florida. This one richly deserves a veto." "Developers' dream bill deserves Crist veto".

"Crist's decision to abandon the once nearly universal, bipartisan opposition to oil and gas drilling in coastal waters off Florida has led some people to wonder whether he is attempting to kiss up to Sen. John McCain in hopes of landing a spot on the national ticket." "Crist's drilling reversal reflects risky political calculus, some say".

Enough

The Palm Beach Post editorial Board: "Plow exemptions under".

A tight race will do that ...

Buchanan claims to "remain opposed to expanded drilling off Florida's west coast. Expanded drilling would threaten our natural resources, which are vital to our tourism-based economy and quality of life." "Buchanan: Don't lift ban on oil drilling".

Desperate

"Mario Diaz, the political reporter and former morning anchor at WTSP, Channel 10, will coordinate media efforts in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas." "Channel 10 Reporter Joins McCain Campaign".

No joke

"In papers filed with the state, Jose N. Vazquez lists his address as a prison facility near the south shore of Lake Okeechobee, where he is serving time on a felony conviction. That didn't stop the state Division of Elections this week from declaring him a qualified write-in candidate for a state House of Representatives seat that includes parts of Tampa and Hillsborough County." "Prison inmate qualifies as a write-in candidate".

Q Poll

"Poll: Obama leads in key states".

"Far from over"

"The fight for control of Florida's public universities is far from over." "Fight over control of universities resumes". See also "U. board steps back on presidential selection plan" and "BOG may expand its say in hiring".

But support for his plan from top Florida Republicans suggests off-shore drilling is not the political loser it once was, or at least is now open for debate. That change is most striking in the new support expressed by Gov. Charlie Crist, who just last week said he was not dropping his opposition to drilling off Florida's coast.

So much for the Charlie-effect

"A new poll out today from Quinnipiac University shows Barack Obama leading John McCain in Florida 47 percent to 43 percent. The four-point lead is within the poll's margin of error (plus or minus 2.6 percentage points), but it's still significant because it represents a turnaround from most recent polls showing McCain leading in Florida. Obama is enjoying strong support from women, blacks and younger voters." And Charlie would actually be a drag on the ticket:

Charlie Crist wouldn't be much help to McCain as his vice presidential candidate.

The numbers: 58 percent say it would make no difference, 21 percent say they'd be less likely to vote for McCain, and 16 percent say they'd be more likely to vote for him.

McBush on Cuba

""Republican presidential candidate John McCain is airing a radio ad aimed at Cuban-American voters saying his top priority is the release of political prisoners.

This week, the McCain ad received extra attention after Cuba's state-owned paper, Granma, ran a scathing critique of Martin Perez. A story published Monday criticized McCain's association with him, stating Martin Perez was imprisoned for participating in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro in 1959. It also alleged he was indirectly tied to later attempts on Castro's life following his release from prison, but the story offered no evidence.

Obama responded to critics of his stance on Cuba last month in Miami, saying in a speech he would be willing to engage in diplomacy "at a time and place of my choosing, but only when we have an opportunity to advance the interests of the United States, and to advance the cause of freedom for the Cuban people."

Cash cows

See also "Buchanan among richest in U.S. House" and "Weldon, Feeney reveal income".

Restoration

"Crist said Tuesday that 115,000 people have regained their civil rights in the 14 months since he pushed for changes in Florida's civil rights restoration system." "Crist, summit recognize former felons with restored voting rights".

CD 13

"Christine Jennings: Righting a Wrong".

Never mind

One would read this entire Orlando Sentinel editorial, "Congress should extend benefits to get through slump", without learning the names of the Florida Republicans who voted against the extension. Perhaps the Sentinel editors will recall who these folks were when they go about the process of endorsing them yet again.

Voting

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board: "Voting requires getting educated, not just getting registered".

Arb

"Nursing homes should not require incoming patients to give up their right to file lawsuits if problems arise with their care, a Senate hearing was told Wednesday." "Senate hears testimony about nursing home arbitration".

Double whammy

The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board writes that,

if the dropouts from Florida's Class of 2008 had stayed in school and earned diplomas, the economy of the Sunshine State could have enjoyed an additional $25.3 billion in wages, taxes and productivity over those former students' lifetimes.

The consequence is unrealized human and economic potential — coincidentally, the same topic that Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Walt McNeil tackled in his address Tuesday on the successful re-entry of ex-offenders into their communities.

Mr. McNeil said pouring billions into prison construction, coupled with inadequate spending in mental health, job training, substance abuse and basic education, was a recipe for failure.

The former chief of the Tallahassee Police Department and ex-secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice has witnessed the results firsthand. "Lock 'em up and throw away the key" may win votes for politicians, but it's financially unsustainable public policy — and questionable social policy.

"It's been proven that it doesn't work," Mr. McNeil said at a conference on the restoration of civil rights for former inmates. "It only increases crime and it increases the burden on our taxpayers."

No traction

"Crist vetoed a transportation bill Tuesday that would have given state officials the ability to pay losing bidders on high-dollar contracts." "Crist vetoes transportation bill". On a related note, "Crist vetoes linking tolls to inflation".

The Miami Herald editorial board: "" "Turnpike contract mustn't hurt drivers".


"In the process of vetoing the bills, Gov. Crist also delivered a blow to House Speaker Marco Rubio, whose friend, Max Alvarez, would have benefited from the laws."

But, hey, that's politics. Mr. Rubio had pushed the concession legislation for two years. (Last year, House leaders quietly inserted language for a concession proviso into the bill at the last minute, prompting Turnpike officials to delay their request). If either bill Mr. Rubio supported had become law, Mr. Alvarez would have been among the small vendors who would have been qualified to compete for a lucrative concession contract.

Arguing, as Mr. Rubio does, that small vendors should be able to compete for Turnpike business makes sense. If that were the only point at issue, there should be no reason to slip language into legislation at the last minute. Surely, the issue would find lots of support among lawmakers.

On the other hand, Mr. Crist says that having larger vendors compete for both the gas and food concessions will allow the state to get higher fees from the vendor. DOT officials say that a long-term contract with a single vendor will generate profits that can be used to rebuild and renovate existing toll plazas.

Now, with Gov. Crist's vetoes, the DOT will get the single vendor that it wants. State residents, in turn, should hold Gov. Crist responsible for making sure that the DOT delivers on its promise.

Even the Trib gets it

Credit the The Tampa Tribune editorial board, of all people to reject GOPer talking points and

Conservative criticism of the 5-4 ruling gives the impression the more liberal [sic] majority is mollycoddling homicidal fanatics and compromising our safety.

Steve Schale, the 33-year-old Tallahassee strategist who just led the Democrats' most successful state House cycle in history, will oversee a Florida campaign that Obama allies say will be unprecedented.

"When you see us reach our full staff level, you're going to see an operation the size of which this state has never seen before on our side," said Schale, who expects to have the resources to mount a targeted campaign throughout the state. ...

Obama returns this week with events Friday in Jacksonville and Saturday in Miami.

Schale said the campaign, which already has about 20 paid staffers in Florida and 400 specially trained volunteers, is looking at office space and will soon open its statewide headquarters in Tampa. The state's biggest political battleground, the Tampa Bay area is home to one in four votes in Florida, though John Kerry based his campaign in Fort Lauderdale in 2004 and Al Gore in Tallahassee in 2000

Pay no attention to the people living under the overpass

Grim: "Florida has lost more than 64,500 jobs in the past year, many in construction and related industries, financial activities and manufacturing." See also "Food stamp use up 27 percent in [Palm beach] county since '07".

This ain't much consolation for folks chasing after non-existent jobs: "Unemployment checks in Florida among tiniest".

And, in the understatement of the week category, we have this gem of an observation:

"We don't have a worker-friendly government," said Bruce Nissen, director of the Center for Labor Research at Florida International University.

If you look carefully between the drilling platforms ... you can see the sunset

"In a break with his past policy [ahem ... 'flip flop'] and his allies in the environmental movement, Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Monday called for ending the federal ban on offshore oil and natural gas exploration so coastal states could decide whether to permit drilling.""McCain: Lift ban on offshore drilling". See also "McCain urges end to ban on offshore drilling" and "McCain: Allow Offshore Drilling".

Blame the workers

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Pensions administered by some South Florida cities are so far out of line with reality that some government workers would be better off financially by retiring than working. This is a lose-lose situation for local residents whose taxes support the generous pensions, and city officials would be smart to begin to rethink their options." "Cities should reform their pension plans".

We've addressed this point before, but do the editors really want to get in bed with this collection of dunces:

According to Miami City Commissioner Angel Gonzalez, City Hall's debate over how to handle employee pensions has been hijacked by ``leftists.'' ... ''I hate to see the politics of the leftists that attack people that work for government,'' Gonzalez said. ``If we wouldn't work for government, we would be under a Castro regime, a Hugo Chávez regime, and let me tell you, they're not the best.''

Oops!

Even the ink stained wretches sometimes get it wrong; Troxler this morning:

Pariente and Wells have been targeted by various groups in the past for being too, you know, "liberal."

New digs

"Florida Democrats began a $3-million campaign Saturday to build a permanent headquarters in Tallahassee." And is this some sort of a double entendre?

The current headquarters on Bronough Street is close to the Capitol but Sands said it is too small and obsolete for the party's purposes.

Recycling

"The next speaker of the House and the brother of the current speaker were among opening-day qualifiers Monday as the opening gun sounded in Florida's state political races." "Battle for elected office begins".

Marco is so ... you know ... yesterday

"Crist has vetoed a sweeping transportation bill because it contained language that would have made it easier for an ally of House Speaker Marco Rubio to bid on projects.""

This is not the first time the two Republicans have clashed. Rubio openly criticized Crist's effort to cut property taxes, saying it did not go far enough, and he questioned the benefit of a Crist proposal for a summer gasoline tax holiday.

At issue now is language Rubio inserted into the transportation bill (HB 5067) to prevent a turnpike plan to combine food and fuel concessions into one contract.

Doing so, Rubio argued, would limit the contract to very few companies, including Host Mariott Services, which operates rest stops across the country.

Under sharp criticism during the spring legislative session, Rubio acknowledged that it could help his friend Max Alvarez, a fuel distributor in South Florida. But he insisted his goal was to open up the bidding process to any small company.

Don't forget the black hoods ...

The Palm Beach Post editorial Board: "A federal judge in December refused to force Palm Beach County's juvenile court judges to remove leg irons, waist chains and handcuffs from the kids brought into their courtrooms.... The four county juvenile court judges have agreed to a change that preserves courtroom security and treats juveniles accused of crimes humanely. Legs will stay chained, to help prevent escapes, but most teens will appear without handcuffs." "Off-the-cuff compromise".

Florida law doesn't allow all of those paper ballots - in a statewide race there would be millions - to be recounted by hand. Not under any circumstances.

just those that were not counted because no vote appeared - an undervote - or too many votes appeared - an overvote. Legitimate votes found among those undervotes and overvotes would be added to the appropriate candidate's total.

A machine recount, limited to undervotes and overvotes, is required when the margin of victory is between a quarter of a percent and half a percent. But even in a race as close as the 2000 presidential contest, the law does not allow the millions of legitimate ballots counted initially to be counted again.

Optical-scan voting, new this year in Palm Beach, Martin and 13 other counties, does nothing to keep voters from skipping a race. Election supervisors say it can't. Too many voters routinely skip races - think constitutional questions or judicial choices - making it too hard to set off alarms to stop them as they leave the polling place.

Alarms will sound for voters who make no mark at all on the entire ballot or vote for too many candidates in a given race. Scanners will spit out the ballot, and voters will be given a second chance.

When voters go to the polls ... casting an undervote will be possible. For instance, a voter could circle the candidate's name instead of filling in the space between the arrows. A single undervote in this race would mean a blank ballot, triggering the alarm. ...

There's the obvious problem: Absentee voters will mess up and, in the privacy of their own home, cast an undervote with no alarm to alert them. Some voters at polling places could ignore the alarm in their haste to leave.

The only sure way to eliminate undervotes is to add "none of the above" to the ballot, which legislators have refused to do. This year, there won't be any hanging or dimpled chads or controversies over votes in cyberspace. But there still will be votes that don't count, and that's not much of an improvement.

Whoopee!

"Democrats call for unity during Broward weekend of events". See also "State Democrats rally, unite", "Florida's Democrats rally to back Obama", "Florida Democrats seek Obama unity at fundraiser" and "Unity key to success for Florida Democrats".

"If you're upper-middle class or above in Florida ..."

... ever thing's kewl. The Palm Beach Post editorial Board: "If you're upper-middle class or above in Florida, you're still doing from OK to very well. As the not-for-profit Corporation for Enterprise Development in Washington points out, though, Florida is squeezing the middle class on down."

Stop the presses!

Florida can't survive only on sunshine any longer.

It crawls out from under a rock, and blesses us with its presence ...

How nice: Jebbie's paid lackeys will tell us how fabulous he is, and the newspaper companies will dutifully report it: "This week, in the center of the state he governed for eight years, Bush ends his 18-month hiatus from Florida public life. The chosen occasion: a high-profile education conference, organized by his foundations, that will showcase the controversial reforms of his tenure."

And this is doubly nice: "Bush and his allies are expected to campaign, if only behind the scenes, for two school voucher proposals they helped usher onto Florida's November ballot."

Finally, the question everyone is eager to ask: is "Jeb!", by making himself available to fawning Florida newspaper company employees, like he has deigned to do in "similar to events he has attended outside Florida", hinting at "another entry onto the political stage?" More here:"Jeb Bush campaigns for education, not office".

As Florida ...

... crashes and burns, and otherwise heads into the dumpster on Charlie's watch, it is nice to see what Charlie is up to: "Gov. Crist's fundraisers keep money flowing".

Don't worry, be happy.

"Juicy tell-all"

A "juicy tell-all book" by former Katherine Harris campaign manager, Jamie Miller, is in the offing [you may remember Miller; he recently contributed this to the site].

Miller lasted six months on the Harris campaign — longer than any of her other three campaign managers, and he is shopping around a book about his former boss whom he said once assured him — when he tried to persuade her to drop out and pursue a punditry career — that God intended her to be in the Senate.

"What I try to do with the book is describe the conflict between the persona of Katherine Harris and the person," Miller told Buzz. There is Harris, the thoroughly charming Steel Magnolia; and there is the other Harris that Miller said is more like the Incredible Hulk on a particularly bad day.

There are likely to be stories about Harris eviscerating her chief elections deputy Clay Roberts on election night after Jeb Bush woke up Harris in the wee hours to find out what the heck was going on with the Florida vote tally. Or what happened to the pitiful staffers who botched her constant Starbucks orders (always Triple Venti, no fat, no foam, extra hot, with pink sugar).

"Hoo, boy"

Randy Schultz: "For Florida, the biggest vote in November is not on a person. It's on a tax-cutting constitutional amendment. Will it pass? Do Gators and Seminoles hate each other?"

For all the griping about the "county" tax, the biggest item on most Floridians' tax bill is for the school district. In this part of the state, the biggest portion of the school tax comes from the "Required Local Effort," or RLE in Tallahassee Acronymspeak. The Legislature - not the local school board - sets the RLE each year as a county's contribution to education spending. The state budget supplies the rest. The arrangement is in the Florida Constitution.

Statewide, that RLE makes up between 25 percent and 35 percent of tax bills. The percentage has been creeping up in recent years as the supposedly tax-cutting Legislature has "raised" education spending by raising the RLE. ...

Since voters in January overwhelmingly approved a much smaller tax cut, this one would seem to be a lock. And then? Hoo, boy.

Though we assume that even the most anti-government legislator doesn't want to eviscerate public education, the amendment also requires the Legislature to spend no less on schools.

The amendment provides four options for replacing the money: 1) End sales tax exemptions; 2) Raise the 6-cent sales tax by one cent; 3) Cut money from other parts of the budget; 4) Find the money somewhere else, or hope that the state is collecting more in taxes by then.

Not one of those alone would work.

More 'o that wasteful public spending

The Daytona Beach News-Journal editorial board: "Across the state, school boards are being forced to slash budgets by millions of dollars. ... What is going on?" "Public schools under assault".

'Ya reckon?

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Central Florida's increasing diversity will add to its richness".

Troxler

"Bill Nelson, a Democrat and Florida's senior U.S. senator, has proposed three important changes to the way America votes:"

(1) Abolishing the Electoral College and turning to a direct, popular election of the president.

(2) Creating a system of rotating, regional primary elections to choose party nominees, instead of the mess we have now.

(3) Moving toward more early voting, absentee voting, voting by mail and other ways to make voting easier, along with a "paper trail" for ballots.

Of these, I love the second, like the third, and would take the first only if you twisted my arm (it's that "federalist" thing again, sorry).

Union referred to as "education group"

Could a new day be dawning - the teachers union referred to as a mere "education group"? The Miami Herald is to be commended for this wordage: "Education groups sued to block two proposed amendments designed to validate school vouchers and state spending on religious institutions." "School groups attack 2 ballot items".