Rubio looks to be Palin II

"Marco Rubio declined to reiterate previous denials that he might be Mitt Romney’s running mate and said Sunday he will 'be respectful of the process,' a response sure to fuel speculation that Rubio is at least in contention for the no. 2 slot on the Republican ticket."

Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Rubio, as has been the case since Romney all but locked up the GOP presidential nomination, was asked about the vice presidency by host Candy Crowley.

“I’m not going to even discuss the process anymore,” the Republican senator from Florida said. “I’m going to be respectful of the process he’s (Romney) put in place.”

That answer differed from Rubio’s previous remarks. On April 15, when he told CNN en Espanol’s Ismael Cala “I’m not going to be the vice president. I’m not,” and on April 4, Rubio said, “I’m not going to be the vice president.”

"Rubio steps back from earlier denials of VP candidacy".

This looks to be great news for Obama. The selection of Rubio will surely result in a Palinesque disaster for the Republicans, not merely in Florida, but nationally. Like Palin, Rubio is a man of few accomplishments,

As Joy-Ann Reid pointed out last week, the Republican "Magical Minority theory" is a mistake:

For one thing, Rubio is Cuban American and, as such, he represents around 5 percent of America’s Latino population, fully two thirds of which is Mexican American. The experiences of those two communities could not be more different. Republicans (and the media) may not see the geographic, ethnic and cultural distinctions, but Latinos do. And in the case of illegal immigration, there is no “wet foot, dry foot” policy for Mexican, Honduran or other economic migrants, leading to a sense among many, fair or not, that Cuban Americans are afforded an unfair advantage.

Likewise, Cuban Americans are a predominantly conservative constituency, while the majority of Hispanics tend to be more liberal. They favor social programs, public education and healthcare reform, by wide margins.

More fundamentally, the notion that simply dangling a person with an Hispanic surname will negate the feeling among many Hispanics, based on the coarseness of the illegal-immigration debate, that one political party doesn’t much like them, is simplistic at best, insulting at worst. It would be like saying that adding Rep. Allen West to Romney’s ticket would win over African Americans. That theory was tested in 2010, when adding Jennifer Carroll, who is black, to Rick Scott’s ticket yielded the governor exactly 3 percent of the African-American vote — the same percentage of black Floridians who were already members of the GOP.

The latest polling indicates that adding Rubio to the ticket wouldn’t help Romney win Florida. He does no better in a Public Policy poll against Obama and Vice President Joe Biden with Rubio by his side as he does without him.

"Romney/Rubio? Not exactly a DREAM ticket". The PPP poll: "Obama doing well in Florida".




Brilliant mistake

"Florida's top two foreign trading partners and the Florida Chamber of Commerce are sounding alarms about a new state law banning governments from hiring companies with business ties to Cuba. The warnings from economic powerhouses Canada and Brazil pit mighty business interests against the Miami-Dade lawmakers who authored the bill and the near-majority of legislators who voted for it, placing Florida's pro-business governor in a political bind."

Canada is one of Florida's largest trading partners, second only to Brazil -- whose similar complaints about the law have gone all the way to Washington.

Brazilian Minister of Trade and Industry Fernando Pimentel brought up Florida House Bill 959 earlier this month with U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson, who told him the administration could not do anything until the state legislation becomes law, according to a Brazilian official.

The legislation, which prohibits state and local governments from hiring companies that work in Cuba or Syria for contracts worth at least $1 million, appears to target Odebrecht, a Brazilian engineering and construction conglomerate. Odebrecht USA has long been based in Coral Gables. A separate subsidiary in Cuba is making major upgrades to the Port of Mariel.

Gov. Scott, accompanied by Chamber of Commerce delegates, traveled to Brazil earlier this year on a trade mission. Last year, Brazilian tourists became Miami-Dade's first $1 billion vacation market.

"Backlash possible if anti-Cuba law signed".




"As state university coffers are drained by hundreds of millions"

"As other state universities are about to see their coffers drained by hundreds of millions of dollars, Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill creating Florida Polytechnic University." "Gov. Rick Scott approves bill creating new state university".




"Nervousness of Florida Republicans"

"Jeff Atwater’s just-ended flirtation with a U.S. Senate bid speaks volumes about the nervousness of Florida Republicans these days." "Looking beyond Connie Mack and U.S. Senate race".




"Court clerks hit hard"

Zac Anderson: "Despite some of the highest fees in the nation for everything from adoptions to foreclosures, Florida’s court system faces another big budget cut that threatens to jeopardize timely access to vital government services." "Court clerks hit hard by state cuts".




Casino fight continues

Jeremy Wallace: "Chamber vows aggressive fight against casinos".




Legal aid for poor slashed

"Legal aid lawyers say the veto from Florida's $70 billion budget will cut a quarter of their staff around the state next year." "Lawyers for the needy decry Florida budget veto".




Wingnuts want their Marco

Good little Jebbite, Myriam Marquez, actually blames Democrats for, in her words, "holding hostage young, talented immigrants for the sake of scoring points on a political wedge issue."

She whines that "Democrats don’t want to hand a compromise win to Rubio and the GOP before the White House race is settled in November." "Marco Rubio, Dreamers and political calculations".




"One of Rick Scott's Young Guns"

"Jon Costello: One of Rick Scott's Young Guns".




West, a soft target

"Although U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, is no longer running in Palm Beach-Broward congressional District 22, he remains a big part of District 22 Democratic candidate Lois Frankel's campaign strategy." "Frankel no longer running for Congress against West, but her ads still target him".




Tampa braces itself for Convention

"Hillsborough public defender preps for RNC workload". See also "New technology strengthens monitoring for RNC".




"PolitiFact ruling: False"

"The ad is right that gas prices have doubled (more than doubled, in fact) since Obama took office in 2009, but we decided to look at the ad's larger point — that Obama's policies on Alaska, Solyndra and Keystone are contributing to those higher gas prices."

The statement

Gas prices have doubled because "Obama opposed exploring for energy in Alaska. He gave millions of tax dollars to Solyndra, which then went bankrupt. And he blocked the Keystone pipeline. So we will all pay more at the pump."

The ruling

PolitiFact ruling: False

Gas prices are higher now, but there's no evidence that Obama's policies on Alaska, Solyndra or the Keystone XL caused the higher prices. We rate the statement False.


"PolitiFact Florida: Fact-checking a TV ad on gas prices".