Maybe the start of the GOP's revitalization. Or maybe a sign of how desperate Republicans are about stemming the departure of young voters from their fold.

"I was shocked by the guests,'' said Jordan Raynor, a Republican political consultant in Tampa. "I'm 23 years old and I guess I'm supposed to know whoever that guy [Jenner] is, but I've never heard of him.''

Jenner, 59, may have won his gold medal before Raynor was born, but his more recent work includes stints on such TV shows as Keeping Up with the Kardashians, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!, and Skating with Celebrities.

If it takes reality show characters to reel in twenty-somethings to the GOP, Republicans are happy to give it a shot. They can use all the help they can get, because the party will be in deep trouble if they continue losing heavily among increasingly important groups like Hispanics and young voters.

And so it begins

"Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Bill McCollum are more than a year away from their expected collision on the 2010 gubernatorial ballot. But with the economy hanging over the political landscape, both politicians made their first appearance together as candidates Friday night at the Florida Association of Realtors annual conference in Orlando." "Sink, McCollum, tackle economy at first candidate forum together".

"After so many tumultuous Florida elections, maybe it's time for a snoozer. Bill McCollum vs. Alex Sink for governor might just provide the anxious and economically ravaged Sunshine State with a giant, calming dose of Ambien." "Florida governor's race may be a snore".

"Florida a 'dropout factory'"

Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "The state has been using the program -- which gives students a standard diploma if they pass the national General Educational Development test and the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test after coursework in an alternative setting -- to mask the depth of its dropout problem."

Counting Exit Option certificate holders as graduates, Florida claims its graduation rate rose significantly from 2000 through 2006 and stands at more than 70 percent. Federal officials say differently, calculating the state's graduation rate at 63.6 percent. And Education Week, which tracks graduation rates using a methodology that starts when students enter ninth grade, projects an even more dismal rate of 57 percent.

That explains how one national study could label Florida a "dropout factory" even as state education officials were painting the situation as sunshine and orange blossoms. And the grimmer picture is a fairer reflection of the state's high schools. Students with exit option diplomas haven't truly met the requirements that Florida demands of regular high-school graduates, including 24 credit hours and a 2.0 GPA.

Weak bench

"Is Florida ready for not one, but two Charlie Crists?"

The governor says he would never appoint himself to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez. That would be an outrageous power grab, which the appearance-conscious Crist knows all too well.

But the next best thing would be for Crist to pick George LeMieux to keep the seat warm until January 2011, when Crist himself hopes to take over.

LeMieux now finds himself at the ultimate fantasy camp for politicians in Florida. Seven people comprise the field of dreamers for a once-in-a-lifetime appointment to the world's most exclusive club.

The others are U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young; former state Attorney General Jim Smith; University of North Florida president John Delaney; state Rep. Jennifer Carroll; Coral Gables lawyer Roberto Martinez; and former state Sen. Dan Webster.

Each represents a key Republican constituency whose support Crist covets as a Senate candidate: Smith is a party elder statesman; Carroll is an African-American with a solid military pedigree; Webster is a hero to evangelical Christians.

SD 8

"Former Florida House Speaker John Thrasher will compete against Jacksonville City Councilman Art Graham, Duval County School Board member Stan Jordan and Jacksonville businessman Dan Quiggle." "Four Republicans vying in special primary to fill Jim King's state Senate seat".

Crist's pusillanimity

"Crist's primary opponent, former House Speaker Marco Rubio, wowed a crowd of 500 real estate agents with a speech that included remarks that called into question Crist's motive for running for Senate instead of a second term as governor."

Then the only major Democrat in the Senate race, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, also questioned why Crist wouldn't bother showing up at the event, which also included remarks from the two major candidates for governor, Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Bill McCollum.

Crist addressed a smaller group at the Florida Association of Realtors convention, but declined the invitation to talk about his Senate campaign Rubio and Meek later in the day.

"They invited me to come speak as governor and I wanted to honor their invitation," Crist told reporters. "I've got other stuff to do tonight. I've got a busy job."

"Sorry for being a nitpicker"

Daniel Ruth:

In the end, after all the whereases and ipsos and factos and habeases and corpuses, isn't the whole idea of the criminal justice system to make sure the folks who are behind bars deserve to be behind bars? And if the state is going to kill somebody, uh, shouldn't they actually be guilty of the crime for which they are about to forfeit their life?

Sorry for being a nitpicker.

But according to U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, potential evidence exonerating Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis isn't enough to not carry out the sentence.

What would we call this? Death by glitch?

RPOFers in a tizzy

Florida's "Republicans are in an unusually fractious state for a 2010 campaign season that is already well under way."

Although the party comfortably controls both chambers of the Legislature, two out of three Cabinet seats and the governor's mansion, there are signs of resurgence on the Democratic side:

- By a small margin, the Democrats raised more money than the state GOP in the last quarter.

- Coming off a massive voter-registration and volunteer-networking drive that delivered Florida's 27 electoral votes to President Obama, the party out-paced the GOP in voter registration for the first half of 2009.

- Perhaps most bothersome for Republicans is a grassroots backlash against efforts to ramrod the nomination of Gov. Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate and Attorney General Bill McCollum for governor. Crist faces an underfunded but nagging primary challenge by former House Speaker Marco Rubio, and McCollum may draw intra-party opposition from Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland.

The Democrats, by contrast, are uncommonly placid — united behind Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink for governor and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek for the Senate. Both are trailing in polls but not having the negative attacks and expense of nominating fights is a big boost for the primaries one year from Monday.

The Zell Corporation says ...

"The decline in Central Florida's population over the past year isn't shocking, despite what some alarmists and folks with a taste for melodrama are claiming." "The way forward for Central Florida".

"In wake of Ray Sansom revelations"

"News of Rep. Ray Sansom's questionable American Express charges reverberated through the Republican Party on Friday with two top senators voluntarily giving up their party-issued cards and the party chairman making moves to eliminate all cards, including his own." "Giving up their GOP credit cards".

Have another beer

Our serial bar exam flunking Governor-would-be-Senator, Charlie "Crist credits prayer with sparing Florida from the rath of hurricanes".

In addition to praying away hurricanes, Charlie wants to go to DC and

" ... have some fun,'' he said. "Let's cut our taxes. Let's shut down that health care cockamamie idea. Let's keep lowering your property taxes. Let's keep locking up criminals and keep you safe with a strong national defense."

Stopping the madness

"Megahed had been held in Glades County since he was arrested by immigration agents in April, three days after his acquittal on federal explosives charges." "Megahed freed after judge tosses deportation case".

Stop the presses!

"FPL, seeking an increase in its base rate from PSC, says customers would see a drop in their overall monthly bills in 2010 because of declining energy costs. " "FPL bills might dip $9 in '10".

It's about politics.

On Wednesday, Crist allowed an Associated Press reporter to sit in his office with him as the execution was carried out. ...

Crist's first death warrant as governor — for the execution of Mark Dean Schwab, a child rapist and murderer from Brevard County — was notable in part because it was the first after nearly two years of a moratorium to address legal challenges to the state's methods.

I requested to watch Crist and his team at work during the execution. That didn't fly, for what struck me as reasonable points. It was a sober moment and there were important legal matters to attend to. I'd be in the way, I was told.

I should have saved my request until Crist was running for U.S. Senate

Crist silently held two framed photos of Adela Marie Simmons as a voice came over his speaker phone Wednesday evening, telling him the next in a series of eight syringes was being injected into the arm of the man who killed her.

"New economic strategy required for Sunshine State"

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Sure, we're still a nice place to visit, but fewer people want to live here. Because the state's economy is driven by population growth, some see the decline as heralding a diminished future for Florida, a milestone suggesting that it's all downhill from here." "Florida's future".

Republican Party reptile

"Ousted House Speaker Ray Sansom racked up about $173,000 on his Republican Party-issued credit card, taking his family on a trip to Europe, making visits to Best Buy and spending thousands on flowers, clothing, meals and hotels."

As a recession tightened on Florida families, Sansom was spending freely, records show, on tuxedo rentals, Chinese food and a steady flow of coffee — $839 at Starbucks alone.

"'No Obamacare! Free market. Free America ...'"?

"A lone heckler left after a sheriff's deputy told him to cut it out. The audience listened quietly to a PowerPoint presentation on 'single-payer' healthcare. And the two South Florida congressmen on stage received standing ovations."

But outside the closed doors of the South County Civic Center was the hollering, finger-pointing and sign-waving that has defined public meetings on healthcare this summer as Congress contemplates sweeping reforms. "No Obamacare! Free market. Free America,'' shouted Everett Wilkinson, chairman of the South Florida Tea Party, over a bullhorn. ``Yes we will!'' responded a chorus of healthcare reform supporters.

Vern speaks

Here's a surprise: "Buchanan critical of Obama’s approach".

Thrasher thrashed

"The race for the seat of the late Sen. Jim King continued to heat up Wednesday, as a slate of high-profile Republicans announced their support for former House Speaker John Thrasher at the same time a new ad assailed the perceived front-runner."

The ad, titled "Enough," uses ethics charges against Thrasher from the 1990s in an effort to tie the former speaker to disgraced South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who misled his staff and others while visiting his mistress in Argentina, and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached in the wake of allegations he tried to sell a U.S. Senate seat.

"Demand an end to scandal and corruption," the ad says in text on the screen. The only spoken words in the 30-second spot tell viewers the sponsor is Conservative Citizens for Justice Inc., a group with ties to state trial lawyers. Thrasher earned those lawyers' ire with his work on changes to the state's civil justice system during his tenure as speaker. ...

Headlining the list of endorsements for Thrasher are former Gov. Jeb Bush; Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach; Atwater's expected successor, Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne; U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., and several local lawmakers.

"'Duckbill platitudes'"

"In 2003, after spending $2.1 million and 18 months on a sweeping seven-county vision for the future, the architect of myregion.org stood before a ballroom of officials and acknowledged an obvious question."

"People are going to ask, 'How are you going to do this?'" said then-Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce President Jacob Stuart.

"I don't know," Stuart said. "We don't know yet."

Six years and an additional $2.67million later — half of it public funds — myregion.org is still looking for answers — and more public money.

Though credited with sparking interest in regionalism, the organization has failed, critics say, to formulate concrete plans or significantly influence the direction of growth in Central Florida.

In nine years, it has produced a community consensus that Central Florida needs better schools, smarter growth, improved transportation and more regional cooperation. But its glossy reports offer only broad guidelines for how to do that.

"I describe them as duckbill platitudes," said John Byron, a former myregion board member from Brevard County. "Anything that attracts that level of support has to be along the lines of 'praise for sunshine!'"

Stuart, now president of the Central Florida Partnership, the chamber's parent organization, said critics miss the point when they complain about a lack of tangible results.

The absence of an income tax is negated by a multiplication of other taxes and fees. The state and local tax burden on Floridians' income was 10 percent in 2007, not far off the national average of 11 percent. (It's 14.1 percent in Vermont, tops in the nation, but people aren't leaving Vermont, which, thanks to strict state mortgage and development regulations, also has the third-lowest foreclosure rate in the country and some of its highest quality-of-life indicators.)

In reality, tax policy may be having an adverse effect on Florida's economy. The property-tax system insures lower taxes for long-term, homesteaded residents by capping their home's taxable value. But it taxes newcomers at full value. The two-tiered system discourages out-of-state newcomers from moving in -- and discourages younger families starting out more than wealthier retirees. The state's low-quality education system also discourages younger families and new industries from moving in. The temptation is once again to rely on the elderly and the health-care economy they generate. The huge pool of boomer retirees is tempting. But that'll lead to another bubble--a health-care bubble that will also burst, if it even swells to expectations: The elderly have plenty of other, less crowded states to choose from. And the boomer generation will end. What then?

The better future for Florida is in a mix of elderly and younger populations. It's in looking beyond growth and health care as fountains of wealth. The state could be a leader in green technology, biomedical research, even education. To attract the young and keep the elderly, it'll take improving the state's deteriorating quality-of-life indicators. That means broader investments in education, public transportation and environmental protection. And it will take reforming the state's tax structure -- to keep the Florida's finances from imploding again, as they did in 2008 and would have again in 2009 if it wasn't for a $15 billion federal bailout.

Florida isn't over. But if it doesn't reinvent itself away from its complacent all-growth, no-tax conceits, it may well be.

Q poll

"President Obama's handling of healthcare has earned him a negative rating in Florida, and the protests against his plan are far more popular, according to a new poll by Quinnipiac University."

By a narrow 48-47 percentage-point margin, Floridians disapprove of Obama's job performance. Though the split is clearly within the poll's error margin, the rating makes Florida the first to give him a thumbs down out of the five large states Quinnipiac polls. ...

Still, voters still like Obama personally, support taxing the rich to pay for more healthcare, subsidizing healthcare for the less wealthy, forcing businesses to provide health insurance.

Government-run healthcare isn't anathema, either. About 58 percent support it, while 34 who are opposed.

Sink

"Just a few years ago, Alex Sink couldn't have envisioned her position today: Atop the Florida Democratic Party, hoping to lead a resurgence after it has been out of power in state politics for more than a decade."

A career banker who had never run for office until the CFO job opened up in 2006, Sink, 61, said her swift rise in Democratic circles was "totally unintentional."

"I think she represents the new face of the Democratic Party, as to fiscal responsibility," said House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands, D-Weston. "We've been tagged as being bleeding heart liberals, and that's not really accurate. Now it's time for us to define ourselves, and she is the definition of the Democratic Party."

With the 2010 election still 15 months away, Adelaide "Alex" Sink faces significant obstacles. Two polls this week show her trailing her likely Republican rival, Attorney General Bill McCollum. And many voters don't know who she is.

"Srazy public policy"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Taxpayers in Florida and across the nation are spending billions of dollars to restore the Everglades. At the same time, the state and federal governments are spending additional time and money to legalize pollution there. This is crazy public policy and the Obama administration needs to put an end to it." "A polluted Everglades policy".

Crist "bases every big decision on how it will affect [his] escape plan"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Swing voters may like bipartisanship, but as some Republicans in Florida are showing, the faithful define bipartisanship as their party getting everything."

"Case in point: Gov. Crist."

The governor is quitting to run next year for an open seat in the U.S. Senate, where he can avoid the hard, post-stimulus budget decisions awaiting the state's next chief executive. The governor bases every big decision on how it will affect that escape plan. That requires political slalom skiing: left to please the moderates and Democrats who will determine the general election, right to please the very conservative Republicans who matter in the GOP primary.

To those party loyalists, the governor has missed too many gates. They didn't like his physical embrace of President Obama last February and his political embrace of the Democrats' $787 billion stimulus plan. They didn't like his appointment of James Perry, a Democrat, to the Florida Supreme Court. They didn't like his appointment of Priscilla Taylor, a Democrat, to the Palm Beach County Commission. The indictment contains several more counts statewide, but those are the felonies.

Biden: Stim saved 26,000 Fla. education jobs

"Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan praised the federal economic recovery package Wednesday, saying it had saved more than 1,600 jobs in Orange County's public school system alone and 26,000 education jobs across Florida." "Biden: Stimulus saved 1,600 jobs in Orange schools".

Polk County?

Polk County, that bastion of Hispanic Republicanism - "Alci Maldonado, of Lakeland in Polk County, was elected chair of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, a group with about a dozen chapters in states with significant Latino populations." And, in the head fully stuck in the sand category, we have this bit 'o blather:

"Contrary to popular belief, the Hispanic Republican population continues to be strong and a growing demographic across the nation," said Belinda Ortiz, Hispanic outreach director for Republicans in Florida.

Kosmas

"In the first of a twin-bill fundraising appearance in Orlando today, Vice President Joe Biden praised "moderate" U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas for her independence and courage to vote for the Recovery Act, which he said helped America come back from the precipice of a depression." "Biden praises Kosmas' independence, helps her raise more than $70k".

Grayson

"Vice President Joe Biden told 150 political donors in Orlando Wednesday that U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson had the smarts and character to challenge Iraq War profiteers, and that's just what's needed now to push an historic agenda in Washington." "Grayson, Biden trade quips at $1,000-a-plate fundraiser".

"Transparency"

The Orlando Sentinel editors: "They power our homes and businesses. But thanks to state regulators, Florida's two largest electric utilities no longer can keep people in the dark when it comes to how much their top executives make." "Hard times & Utility companies being transparent".

Troxler

"Why I should be named senator".

"Mustn't simply blame market forces"?

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Florida's public officials can't, by themselves, turn the economy around. But those in a position to stimulate and diversify it mustn't simply blame market forces either. It's their job to help attract and keep enough businesses in the area. Failing that, perhaps the job should fall to a successor." "Hard times".

Crist is running for the seat next year and is under pressure to find a fellow Republican who won't upstage him or embarrass him or further alienate him from the more conservative wing of his party. His office confirmed Monday that he has asked former Gov. Bob Martinez, Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart and former attorney general and secretary of state Jim Smith, now a successful Tallahassee lobbyist, to submit formal applications.

Big of him

"Lincoln Diaz-Balart bows out of U.S. Senate consideration".

"For the first time in 63 years"

"Florida's population has declined for the first time in 63 years, state researchers said Monday as they blamed the recession for plunging tax revenues and a steep drop in new residents." "Florida population drops for first time since 1946".

Draper out

"Well-known environmental lobbyist Eric Draper is leaving the race for agriculture commissioner." "Eric Draper drops out of race for Florida agriculture commissioner". See also "Draper drops out of race for agriculture commissioner".

Grayson town-hall

"As hundreds of critics and supporters of health-care reform lined the streets outside, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, held a spirited but civil town-hall meeting Monday night inside a union hall where his supporters outnumbered critics. Questions came from all sides of the debate, however." "Alan Grayson hosts town hall meeting in Orlando". Related: "Tell Kosmas about health care by phone" and "Scott Maxwell: Live from the Alan Grayson town hall". See also "Large turnout looms at meeting" ("A large turnout from both sides of the healthcare debate is expected for a town hall meeting Thursday in Delray Beach.")

"Outsized salaries and benefits for top executives"?

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Nancy Argenziano, the brash former state senator, has it right: There's no legitimate reason for the Public Service Commission to allow Florida utilities to hide from the public how much they pay their top employees."

That's the issue today in Tallahassee as Argenziano and her fellow PSC members decide whether Progress Energy Florida and Florida Power & Light can hide their compensation schedules from the public even as they seek extraordinary hikes to their base rates. There is only one answer: No. ...

Ratepayers have a right to know if outsized salaries and benefits for top executives are padding their monthly electricity bills.

'Glades

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Last week, the district and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that they officially have worked out their differences. The cooperation is especially timely, because for the first time in years Congress has agreed to uphold its end of the financial bargain and send money toward the Everglades. The paper differences could have delayed $41 million toward the $438 million Picayune Strand project in Collier County." "Back on Everglades track".

Tweet twit

"Authorities are investigating an alleged Twitter swindler who set up a fake account and sent out fictitious messages pretending to be local [Brevard County] Republican Party Chairman Jason Steele." "GOP chief says his Twitter ID a fake".

High-speed rail

"Organizers of a grassroots movement to push for federal funding of high-speed rail will meet at 11:45 this morning in the Commission Chambers of Lakeland City Hall for major kick off of the campaign." "Ledger: High-Speed Rail Talk on Fast Track".

Stim trickles in

"The initial results indicate that the vaunted stimulus bill will help many people survive hard times, largely by extending unemployment benefits. It may have stemmed layoffs, especially in schools and local governments." "Federal stimulus creating few new jobs in Florida so far".

Entrepreneurs in action

"A company that overcharged families of prison inmates for phone calls agreed to fines but no refunds." "Phone company fined for overcharges".

Private school downturn

"Private school enrollment in Florida has fallen faster and further than public school enrollment. Though the numbers began dropping before the economy did, the recession and slowing in-migration from elsewhere in the United States receive most of the blame for the 4.2% dip last year and 15.7% drop since private enrollment peaked in 2003. But the rise of charter schools, which offer some of the advantages of private schools ­ — smaller enrollments, local board governance, uniforms, parental involvement and mandatory parent “volunteer” hours — for free also is playing a role." "Fla. Private Schools Take a Hit".

Tri-Rail

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Legislators should sign pledge for Tri-Rail funding source". "Stay on track".

"... Free speech took a beating ..."

"Alarmed citizens and environmental groups think free speech took a beating earlier this year when Florida lawmakers dropped the requirement for public hearings over water-use permits sought by utilities, governments and businesses. Authorities have sought to assure the public that a way still exists to voice concerns about Florida's overtaxed water sources — a state-hearing process that proceeds like a lawsuit and trial."

But that route is already proving potentially disastrous for a small environmental group that's fighting Central Florida's quest to tap the St. Johns River for drinking water and lawn irrigation.

The St. Johns Riverkeeper in Jacksonville was the loser in a state hearing it had requested in an attempt to stop authorities from issuing Seminole County a permit to pump from the river. Now the county, as the victor, wants the group to pay as much as $1.4 million as reimbursement for Seminole's legal expenses.

It has labeled the group's appeal of its permit "frivolous," describing it in legal documents as based on opinion and lacking scientific evidence. The group says the county is using the appeals process to suppress its free-speech rights.

St. Pete

"The candidates running to be St. Petersburg's next mayor are determined to prove they're environmentally friendly. But they tend to be vague on the details. " "Candidates tout green agendas".

Deltona blues

Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "With the highest unemployment rate in Volusia County and a tax base riddled with residential foreclosures, a climbing crime rate and a rapidly growing number of residents receiving food stamps, Deltona qualifies as a city in crisis. Not surprisingly, the city's always-slender resources for those facing job loss, economic privation or even homelessness are also strained almost to the point of bankruptcy." "Down and out in Deltona".

Labels: Crist in a "politically awkward decision"

Crist's "slow-lane approach" to stim spending

The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "Statewide, stimulus money saved 26,000 education jobs."

That's important in a state where almost 1 million working-age people are out of work. Florida's 10.6 percent unemployment rate is the highest since 1975, when it reached 11 percent, and nearing double what it was in 2008. So why isn't the state helping to keep road-construction crews employed the way it is teachers? Florida has the money to do so -- $1.35 billion in federal stimulus funds earmarked for road projects. Yet Florida ranks dead last among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in spending that portion of the stimulus. So far, Florida has spent just 2 percent of the money. The national average is 23 percent.

Another fine Jebacy

"Experts fear a collapse of the entire ecosystem, threatening not only some of the nation's most popular tourism destinations - Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys - but a commercial and recreational fishery worth millions of dollars."

Here's why:

to the north of the bay, man's unforgiving push to develop South Florida has left the land dissected with roads, dikes and miles of flood control canals to make way for homes and farms, choking off the freshwater flow and slowly killing the bay.

What a bargain

Michael Peltier: "Democratic and Republican staff members charged with raising money for state House and Senate campaigns said they expect to spend an average of at least $500,000 per House seat for the upcoming 2010 election cycle. And House races are relative bargains. Open Senate seat races will be even more expensive. Party planners say those races could total $2.5 million each." "Elections pricey for political parties".

Get a job

"State Rep. David Rivera of Miami just called [Beth Reinhard] on his way home from a Washington fundraiser for his state Senate campaign with this possibility: If Gov. Charlie Crist appoints U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Miami to fill the rest of U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez's term, and Rep. Mario-Diaz Balart runs for his brother's more Republican-friendly seat, then Rivera says he would run for Mario's seat." "".

Taking a walk

"Barry Carson’s brief trip to the men’s room spared Gov. Charlie Crist the embarrassment of being censured by Palm Beach County’s Republican Party last week. Carson, a Republican Executive Committee member from Jupiter, was out of the room and missed the vote when the rest of the committee split 65-65 on a resolution Wednesday night to rebuke Crist for his various departures from GOP orthodoxy." "Republican activist flushes chance to censure Crist; state GOP keeps eye on proceedings".

Florida, "'ground zero in the bust'"

The New York Times:

Once again, Florida — where frugality gave way to indulgence after World War II, where the drug war took garish form, and where a divisive post-election recount in 2000 altered the country’s political direction — is magnifying a moment of national redefinition.

"There is a psychological edge in being at ground zero in the bust," said Carl Hiaasen, the well-known chronicler of Florida in newspaper columns and novels like "Strip Tease."

The best they can do?

"Dan Webster gets a nod for run against Alan Grayson".

Megachurch blues

"Descendants of two of the country's most influential evangelical leaders - Billy Graham and the late D. James Kennedy - are feuding over control of a Florida megachurch that is a bedrock of the religious right."

Under the leadership of Kennedy, the former pastor who died in 2007, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church was a forerunner to modern evangelical megachurches and a fiercely conservative voice on social issues like homosexuality and abortion in the mostly liberal city of Fort Lauderdale.

Graham's grandson, Tullian Tchividjian (pronounced TUH'-lee-uhn chuh-VI'-dee-uhn), took over earlier this year as its pastor.

But some Kennedy loyalists, including his daughter Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy, are upset with the direction Tchividjian is taking the church and have called for his ouster.

Tchividjian cuts a far different image from Kennedy. His hair is spiky, his beard sometimes scruffy. He has forgone wearing a choir robe at services, as Kennedy had.

And while he has shown no sign of theological differences with Kennedy, he has rejected politics as the most important way to change the country, while Kennedy was extremely active in politics as an influential Christian broadcaster.

Cassidy and five other members recently circulated a letter with a petition urging a meeting to consider the firing of Tchividjian, indicating he had misled them in their search for a new pastor.

Dissenters at the church have been vague in their criticism of Tchividjian's leadership. Their letter called him "a disaster" who has shown "a complete lack of respect" and made "grievous missteps."

They lament the merger with Tchividjian's former church, the far smaller New City Presbyterian, saying "their staff has taken complete control."

"We were told many things that all sounded good at the time, but in fact those soothing words have largely proven empty and it keeps getting worse," the dissenters wrote. "They range from preferences bordering on the mundane to violations of ethical standards that have guarded the purity of the church for decades."

Good luck, Nancy

Beth Kassab: "If anyone knows how to get a message across loud and clear, it's Nancy Argenziano."

She once famously sent a gift-wrapped package of cow manure to a [AIF] lobbyist she was at odds with as a state legislator.

Now, she is a member of the state Public Service Commission, the body charged with regulating investor-owned utilities. Her methods of late may be less brazen than in her manure-wrapping days, but Argenziano is still combative.

She is pushing for Progress Energy Florida and Florida Power & Light to disclose a list of employees who earn more than $165,000 a year in salary, stock, bonus and other pay.

Florida's "ever-graying stable of prisoners"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Long after the national shouting match over health-care reform dies down, state lawmakers had better brace for another boisterous citizen revolt. This time, over rising medical-care costs behind bars."

Florida's ever-growing and ever-graying stable of prisoners — many serving life sentences — could mean taxpayers will be on the hook for the ever-growing annual health-care tab for thousands of men and women guilty as Cain, but old as Adam.

That's why state lawmakers better take a hard look at sentencing and parole reforms if they want to deflate ballooning taxpayer costs in the long term.

New rules

"Thousands of Tampa Bay area property owners could soon be saddled with the cost of installing devices to prevent the contamination of public drinking-water supplies."

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection plans to begin enforcing rules that require government- and investor-owned utilities across the state to retrofit homes and businesses with backflow protection. Homeowners and businesses will have to cover the costs of the devices, which can range from $300 to $25,000 including instillation costs.

Crotty's "culture of ..." whatever

"'Culture of corruption' has become almost synonymous with Metro Orlando's road-building agency, thanks to an Orange County grand jury that coined the phrase in a report critical of political fundraising within the authority. Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty contends that 'culture of reform' is a better description of what has happened at the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority under his leadership." "Toll-road agency still isn't fixed, critics say".

Health insurance and medical interests dropping big $

"On a recent Wednesday morning, 1,000 insurance brokers spread out across Capitol Hill with a singular mission: Kill a proposed government-run healthcare plan."

Among them was J. Hyatt Brown, former Florida House speaker and chairman of Brown & Brown Inc., a national brokerage firm based in Daytona Beach. ...

Brown is not just talking. He and others at the firm gave Kosmas $20,000 in campaign contributions during a three-month span this year. ...

And now it seems increasingly questionable that the public insurance plan will survive, in part due to reluctant Democrats like Kosmas, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and others.

Sunshine state lawmakers have received $709,000 in the first six months of this year from health insurance and medical interests, according to a St. Petersburg Times analysis, up $212,000 from the same period in 2008. Of that, $216,000 has come directly from political action committees controlled by Humana and Pfizer and powerful lobbying groups such as the American Health Care Association.

The most money has gone to Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez. This year, Meek has received $254,000 from healthcare interests.

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, has received $69,500, up $30,000 from two years ago. Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Brooksville, has taken in $25,000 from PACs, building on the $42,000 he got in the first six months of the 2008 cycle.

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, has seen a $16,000 increase from drug makers and insurers. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, has gotten about $20,000 more.

Entrepreneurs in action

"Some lucky 'patients' get flat-screen televisions as gifts from home care providers. It's the cost of doing business in South Florida -- Medicare fraud that's robbing taxpayers hundreds of millions, even billions, of dollars." "Stop the Medicare scams".

Brilliant

"Smokers can get free gum, counseling from state".

Phew!!! ... no tax increases!

"Starting Sept. 1, it's going to cost a whole lot more to be a Florida driver. Obtaining and renewing vehicle registrations, titles and driver's licenses got more expensive after state lawmakers decided to hike the fees -- to more than double in some cases." "Florida drivers paying the price".

To win it, he must first win the Republican primary, where it pays to be a radical conservative. Crist signed a no-tax pledge and took off his green tan. He was due to hold a second climate summit this summer. Now he's postponed it indefinitely. He's worried about the costs of a summit, even though environmental groups and utilities are willing to sponsor the summit this year as they did last.

Crist should be more worried about the cost of his posturing to the state's future -- a future Crist himself painted accurately in his 2007 State of the State message: "With almost 1,200 miles of coastline and the majority of our citizens living near that coastline, Florida is more vulnerable to rising ocean levels and violent weather patterns than any other state. Yet, we have done little to understand and address the root causes of this problem, or frankly, even acknowledge that the problem exists. No longer," he promised. "Florida will provide not only the policy and technological advances, but the moral leadership, to allow us to overcome this monumental challenge."

What moral leadership, governor?

RPOF's Hispanic woes

Jane Healy: "Certainly Republicans have not been helped by U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez's sudden resignation. In Florida, it's only the latest problem in the party's effort to attract and keep Hispanics in the fold."

Problem No. 1: Martinez's departure. Cuban-Americans in Miami could not have been happy with Martinez's decision to quit early because he was homesick. ...

Problem No. 2: The Castros' imminent departure. ... When the Castros go, so will a lot of that animosity. Plus, Obama won Florida without kowtowing to hard-liners in Miami. ...

Problem No. 3: Finding a new leader. It doesn't appear that there is an heir apparent to Martinez as far as Hispanic leadership goes.

"Nothing less than deception" from Crist

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "It was bad enough to learn earlier this summer that the overwhelming majority of $4.9 billion in new capital in Florida's property insurance market — a number trumpeted relentlessly by Gov. Charlie Crist — had come from unregulated carriers. But here's an even more shocking number: $277 million. That's the paltry amount of capital provided by regulated companies that didn't get a taxpayer handout to set up shop in the state."

State lawmakers never heard that fact as they contemplated insurance reform during the last legislative session. Instead, they got relentless spin from Crist and Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty implying that the private homeowners insurance market was on a healthy rebound. Their pitch, in hindsight, was nothing less than deception.

Grayson plays with Keller

"Speaking at a Netroots Nation convention event Friday, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) had fun at the expense of the Republican incumbent he ousted in 2008." "Alan Grayson: My foe hired from Hooters".

As Charlie campaigns ...

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "The federal government is all but begging Florida to apply for federal funding for high-speed rail between Tampa and Orlando."

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has named Florida as a leading contender for some of the $13 billion the federal government wants to spend on high-speed rail in the next five years. The chairman of the U.S. House Transportation Committee has given Florida a plug. The state's senior U.S. senator, Bill Nelson, is working the phones, too. But the state's political leadership is AWOL.

Where's Marco?

"Rubio visits Ponte Vedra, hopes for conservative vote".

Miller (yet again) "befuddled"

"Miller, R-Chumuckla, said there does not seem to be many representatives in Congress, and very few of the majority Democrats, who understand that filling a bloated government’s coffers means increasing the burden on taxpayers." "NWF Daily News: Miller says he's befuddled by congressional overspending".

SD 8

Pamela Hasterok: "Now that pancreatic cancer has claimed [Jim King], four Republicans -- two former state House members, a Jacksonville city councilman and a businessman -- will try to fill his shoes."

John Thrasher, former speaker of the House, will leave his highly lucrative role as one of Tallahassee's most powerful lobbyists. Stan Jordan, also a former House member, resigned his Duval County School Board seat. And Art Graham, an environmental engineer, relinquished his post on the Jacksonville City Council.

Only Dan Quiggle, who owns a title insurance company, will stand pat as he attempts to claim King's seat. Quiggle and Jordan are aiming for the Christian conservatives and bedrock Republicans with appeals for family values, support for the military and promises to never raise taxes....

Conventional wisdom gives Thrasher the edge because many voters are familiar with him and he's raised the most money. Yet he's been out of office nine years and didn't represent the district when he served. He only recently moved into a townhouse in St. Augustine. Plus, Thrasher is an opposition marketer's dream, having lobbied for the state's biggest special interest groups.

Both Graham and Jordan represented parts of the district and maintain strong ties with residents. Graham and Quiggle have raised enough money to get their messages out -- crucial in a district that spans five counties -- and while Jordan hasn't yet (he just entered the race), he'll likely be able to compete.

So it comes down to who can get his supporters to the polls. Special elections are notorious for lack of voter interest. A few hundred ballots can make the difference. This is a primary where your vote will truly count.

If you're looking for a candidate who mirrors Jim King's moderate politics and amusing temperament, you won't find him. But you just might find someone who can do the job.

Astro-tea baggery?

George Bennett asks, "Health care forums: Is crowd fury honest or orchestrated?"

Never mind the "slumlord" thing

The Saint Petersburg Times reports that Right wing radio host Fabian

Calvo doesn't hide his politics. His weekday talk show, broadcast on 1340-AM from 3 to 4 p.m., discusses daily news with a conservative nationalist viewpoint. His Web sites and Twitter feed rail against socialism, liberal policies and the Obama administration.

He hopes his conservative platform will win him the state House District 45 seat, represented by Dunedin businessman Thomas Anderson. Three other Republicans — Kathryn Starkey, Carl Folkman and Richard Corcoran — have filed to vie for the position in next August's primary election.

Calvo lives outside of the borders of District 45, which covers parts of north Pinellas and Pasco counties. He said he would move to Dunedin if elected.

Though considered a newcomer to the race, Calvo on Thursday earned his biggest endorsement yet: Pinellas Clerk of the Circuit Court Ken Burke.

"He's conservative," Burke said. "He's energetic. I think he's a person of values."

Where the cash is

Randy Schultz: "When it comes to charging customers more, Florida's property insurers and agents are like spring break men seeking spring break women: They just don't give up, no matter how bad the chase makes them look." "Where the rate hikes are".

Cretul does everyone a favor

"Rep. Cretul will pass on congressional run".

St. Pete

"Corporate executive Deveron Gibbons and real estate investor Scott Wagman easily maintained their positions as financial frontrunners, further expanding the gulf between them and the other candidates, according to the campaign treasurer's reports that were due Friday." "Gibbons, Wagman still lead cash race". Related: "How candidates are trying to reach voters".

Same old, same old

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Florida Power & Light's pitch for a rate increase sounds like the one we heard in 2003 from three major phone companies: Pay more immediately for the promise of savings later." "FPL asking for too much". See also "FPL, Progress want rate increases".