Cannon "a sore loser"

The Miami Herald editors: "Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, took aim at the Florida Supreme Court in his opening address this month as House speaker, criticizing the court's decision to strike from the November ballot three constitutional amendments crafted by the Legislature. "

Lawmakers' work was "demolished by five unelected justices on the Supreme Court,'' he said.

His frustration sounded like the gripes of a sore loser. He might remember that the majority of the court was appointed by Republican governors, and that justices are not beholden to legislators but to the law.

"'Unelected justices' slammed".




"A break to drug dealers"

The Sarasota Herald Trib editors:"In their haste to be business-friendly, Florida lawmakers this month unintentionally gave a break to drug dealers." "Legislative malpractice".




"The bruises are still sore"

"Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel says he has suspended a pair of party precinct organizers after they publicly snubbed Democratic County Commissioner Burt Aaronson. It's the latest reminder that while the Dems' Nov. 2 midterm beatdown is over, the bruises are still sore." "Democratic party organizers suspended after snubbing Palm Beach County commissioner".




Kissing Ricky's feet

"With hundreds of appointments to make across the state, though, locals wonder: Who will the new governor rely on most for advice on local issues?" "Focus now on Scott filling posts".




"This Is Not Florida"

"Minnesota was set to hit the reset button Monday in another close election as workers began the tedious task of reviewing more than 2.1 million ballots in the governor's race - one at a time and under the watchful gaze of volunteers and lawyers for Democrat Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer. The recount follows on the heels of a 2008 standoff over a U.S. Senate seat for Minnesota that stretched into the following summer." "Minnesota election tradition? Ready, set, recount".

We're almost finished our review of "This is not Florida" by Jay Weiner. You can order it in time for the holidays at Books and Books.




'Ya think?

"Activists fear developer bias on planning commission".




Teabaggers nowhere in sight

"Port seeks dredge earmark".




Perhaps he'll get a job?

"For nearly two decades in Congress, Rep. Lincoln-Diaz Balart has been the voice, the passion and the drive behind efforts to keep economic and political pressure on Cuba's Fidel Castro. ... Diaz-Balart plans to remain active: He will lead a nonprofit inspired by his father's White Rose, the first anti-Castro exile group, founded in January 1959."Pulpit to change; passion will not".




Yee Haw!

Aaron Deslatte: "Central Florida can expect more clout".




Tally update

"State Capitol Briefs".




"Dark days are ahead"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Florida lawmakers have decided they want a say over many of the state's rules and regulations, grunt work usually left to state agencies. They think Florida's businesses need protection from bureaucratic Voldemorts and their diabolical regulations. Makes a great sound bite, until reality bites back. Which it has. ... If this is the Legislature's idea of easing the regulatory burden in Florida, dark days are ahead." "Unintended consequences".




Empty suit rails at Obama

"On his first day as Florida's new House speaker, Rep. Dean Cannon took a clear shot at President Barack Obama's new health-care reform law."

"Should it really be the role of government to require people to purchase a health insurance product they don't want, raise taxes to give that same product to others who can't afford it, and commandeer our state government and its resources to carry it out?" Cannon, a Winter Park Republican, told House members after being sworn in two weeks ago.

"Or, should we work to limit government and empower the private sector?"

On numerous fronts, Florida policymakers have already answered that question.

"Florida legislators move to block health-care reform".




"It's not Rick Scott, anymore"

"A self-made millionaire Republican is campaigning in Florida on a platform of spending cuts and less government."

It's not Rick Scott, anymore.

This is Gary E. Johnson, a former New Mexico governor and advocate for the legalization of marijuana, who's putting out Florida feelers in a possible bid for the presidency in 2012.

Johnson's campaign-style stops in Tallahassee, Melbourne and Orlando last week reveal that the presidential race is already at a low boil in the nation's largest swing state.

Without Florida, Republicans say, they can't recapture the White House.

"Former New Mexico Gov. Gary E. Johnson tests Florida waters for presidential bid".




Where're West and the Teabaggers?

The Sun Sentinel editorial board: "The priorities of the newly-elected Congress may be taking a troubling turn."

[T]he idea of denying citizenship to certain American-born children is a favorite of many politicians who often talk glowingly about the importance of the purity of the Constitution. Yet here they are, wanting to play games with the 14th Amendment, which states pretty clearly in Section I: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside." It dates back to 1868.

Opponents of King's bill say it would clearly be unconstitutional, but backers of the poorly-conceived idea say the 14th Amendment is irrelevant. King says the 14th Amendment would not apply to the children of illegal immigrants because their parents should not be in the country anyway. He refers to it as the "anchor baby industry." Interesting that the Constitution only applies when it serves your purpose.

Hopefully, both parties will find a way to work together during the new session to find a path to comprehensive immigration reform. Mean-spirited bills that play with the Constitution and aim to appease the political base are not the way to do it.

"GOP 'citizenship' bill mean-spirited idea".




The Q-Man speaks

"A "Repeal Amendment" empowering states to revoke federal laws is gaining traction among conservative lawmakers across the country. Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos is among the legislators leading the charge."

Kenneth Quinnell, director of the Florida Progressive Coalition, calls it "nothing more than a political stunt that will end up going nowhere. It shows a stunning ignorance of the Founding Fathers and their goals in creating the Constitution."

In Quinnell's view, the Constitution was created "as an explicit reaction to the abject failure of the Articles of Confederation, which gave sovereign power to the states."

"The Federalists (including James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and George Washington) explicitly sought to remove power from the states and give it to the federal government, hence the name," Quinnell says.

"'Repeal Amendment' Boosts States' Rights".




Could it "get any more botched up?"

Nancy Smith wonders if "Everglades restoration get any more botched up?" "Is Everglades Restoration a Dream Too Far?".




Another fine Jebacy

The Miami Herald editorial board: "The public is incensed -- justifiably so -- about a courthouse building that includes etched glass, granite and mahogany when the state faces another budget deficit and high unemployment. The building is even modeled after the Michigan Supreme Court -- which Hawkes, a former Republican state lawmaker appointed to the court by then-Gov. Jeb Bush, flew to see at the expense of the contractor." "Tallahassee's Taj Mahal".