Nelson takes "low-key path"

"U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has five Republicans firing shots at him, and he'll be just below the low-polling President Barack Obama on the 2012 ballot, and yet he's acting like he doesn't have a re-election coming up."

Sure, he's raising a ton of money, but he's not engaging with the Republicans criticizing him or doing any traditional campaigning. And he says he will not shy away from appearing with Obama as they both seek another term in office. ...

Other than the president's re-election, retaining Nelson's seat is the Florida Democrats' biggest priority in 2012. He maintained a high profile during the three-day convention, giving a speech and hosting a gathering at the Disney hotel where about 2,000 activists gathered.

But, he's not talking about his campaign — he doesn't even have a campaign manager. He won't criticize his opponents. He won't even talk about them. And while Republicans are bashing Obama, Nelson noted that he stood onstage with Vice President Joe Biden at the convention and won't hesitate to appear with the president, saying he thinks Obama's poll numbers will come up as voters look at the alternative.

"Sen. Nelson takes low-key path to race".




RPOFers afraid to appeal privatization ruling

"After a month without acting and the deadline today, Florida Gov. Rick Scott is almost certain to decline to appeal a judge's decision striking down his and the Republican-controlled legislature's 18-county prison privatization plan."

That's because lawmakers have more to lose than gain if a higher court affirms Leon County Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford's Sept. 30 ruling that the way the lawmakers created the privatization plan was unconstitutional.

Lawmakers employed the same tool they've used for decades - the terms and conditions inserted into the fine print of a state budget - to create the plan for the privatization of 29 prisons and other corrections operations in the southern half of the state.

But, citing previous Florida Supreme Court decisions, Fulford said the proposal changed current state law too much to be included in the budget and instead should have been handled in a separate bill unrelated to the must-pass state spending plan.

The circuit judge's ruling applies only to the case in hand, but a higher court ruling could have a broader effect.

"Ruling on privatization of state prisons to go unchallenged".




"Rick Scott, George W. Bush and the tea party"

"Regardless of who wins the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, Florida voters can expect to hear a lot from Democrats about Rick Scott, George W. Bush and the tea party next year." "Florida Democrats point fingers at Gov. Scott, GOP lawmakers".




Voter suppression, Florida style

Waldo Proffitt: "Republicans have been busy for the last two years making it more difficult for about 5 million citizens to vote. That figure is provided by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York School of Law."

Republicans claim they have been changing voting requirements in order to prevent voter fraud, but voter fraud is very rare. In recent years more people have been struck by lightning than have been charged with casting illegal ballots.

What Republicans have been doing is to make registration and voting more difficult for groups of people believed to contain more Democrats than Republicans — early voters, young voters, college students, poor people. ...

Florida and Texas passed laws restricting voter registration drives, and Florida and Wisconsin passed laws making it more difficult for people who move to stay registered and vote. ...

The Florida rules now specify that any third-party voter registration effort requires volunteers to register with the Elections Division and to return each filled-out registration card to the local supervisor of elections office within 48 hours or face fines up to $1,000. The Florida League of Women Voters, which has been conducting registration drives for many score years, decided to stop rather than run the risk of very costly fines.

Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia enacted bills to reduce early voting. Two states — Florida and Iowa — reversed prior executive actions that made it easier for citizens with past felony convictions to restore their voting rights. I am not aware of any figures which show more felons are Democrats than Republicans, but I suspect Republican legislators may think that to be the case.

"GOP's bid to lock out voters".




"Welcome to the NFL, Mr. Rubio"

The Miami Herald editorial board writes that Rubio "Suddenly, he finds himself caught up in an embarrassing political hullaballoo over his family history and qualifications for higher office. Welcome to the NFL, Mr. Rubio."

As for "the absurd contention about Mr. Rubio’s citizenship. It comes from the same fringe 'birthers' who have been trying to discredit President Barack Obama’s own right to be president for years, and it’s just as wacky."

Even making allowances for the somewhat ambiguous nature of the phrase “natural born citizen” in Article II of the Constitution, it requires an extraordinarily cramped and mean-spirited reading to conclude that someone born in this country whose parents were Cuban exiles is not a full-fledged citizen and thus ineligible for the office.

"The grand irony is that Mr. Rubio has flirted with this part of the 'base' himself and owes some of his success to their support."

Yikes — the birther revolution is starting to eat its own children! If they’re wise, GOP leaders will pull their party away from this xenophobic fringe and move toward the political center before the party suffers more damage from the cuckoo contingent.

"The Marco Rubio story".




"Enterprising criminals"

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "Enterprising criminals are taking Florida's no-fault auto insurance law for a ride, fueling soaring insurance rates for everyone else. Now it's up to state lawmakers to give this issue the attention it deserves during next year's legislative session." "Scammers take Florida for a ride".




Visas to foreign nationals who buy U.S. homes?

"A congressional proposal to issue visas to foreign nationals who buy U.S. homes could be a big boon to Florida's real-estate market. Already the top state in sales to international buyers, Florida stands to benefit from the VISIT-USA Act proposed by Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Mike Lee, R-Utah." "Home Run for Florida: U.S. Visas to Foreigners Buying Houses Here".




GOPers in the Twittersphere

"Twitter is abuzz with presidential candidates this year, though not all in the Twittersphere are equal. Rick Santorum tweets a lot more than Rick Perry, Herman Cain is the Republican most likely to be retweeted, and their Twitter followers are dwarfed by President Barack Obama's. That's according to an Associated Press analysis of the presidential candidates' use of Twitter that found widely different levels of engagement, despite the site's emergence as a go-to hub for political communication." "AP analysis: Candidates' Twitter use varies widely".




Nelson "Mostly True" on Spill info

Politifact says "letters, press releases and interviews show Nelson did play a key role in the release of critical data [about the oil spill], and for that we'll rate his statement Mostly True." "Sen. Bill Nelson helped lift veil on BP gulf oil spill".