It’s one thing to say ‘I bucked my party to bring change the country needs’, another to say ‘I bucked my party on change my country needs but it actually didn’t pan out. Sorry.’ And now he’s forced to become some sort of hyperactive conservative wild man - what he wasn’t supposed to be - in order to recoup ground on the right that likely can’t be salvaged.

We look forward to seeing Rubio revert to his natural self: "hyperactive conservative wild man".

"Tallahassee-influence-peddler starter kit"

Daniel Ruth: "You do have to wonder who is handling the Republican Party of Florida's image-crafting public relations machine these days. Paula Deen? When you are already perceived as the party of the 1 percent, is it really such a bright idea to throw a megabucks soiree aboard a luxury cruise ship on a voyage to a tropical ATM? How much does it take to purchase your Tallahassee-influence-peddler starter kit? It's $50,000 — mai tai umbrella optional."

Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-The Capt. Stubing of Legalized Baksheesh and anticipated speaker of the Florida House in 2014, decided to get a jump-start on the pocket-stuffing by arranging for the party's benefactors to sail Aug. 1-4 to the Bahamas on the Disney Dream

Crisafulli, R-The Loot Boat, apparently doesn't remember or doesn't care that his party is just coming off one of the more embarrassing scandals it has endured in recent years when former RPOF Chairman Jim Greer was the social director of a Bahamian bacchanalian getaway/fundraiser for GOP big shots. It has been described as having all the class and dignity of a night on the town with Hustler Magazine's Larry Flynt.

During depositions in connection with Greer's criminal indictment on charges of money laundering and theft, to which the ex-chairman eventually pleaded guilty, testimony emerged that during an earlier Bahamian GOP event, disproportionate numbers of courtesans in golf carts were believed to be in attendance.

Now it is entirely possible all of this was merely a big misunderstanding. Perhaps Greer's GOP men's-only fundraising trip simply coincided with the Professional Association of Trollops annual golf outing. But when you claim to be the party of family values, it doesn't look very good to have under oath depositions ruminating about Jezebels in golf carts.

It was tawdry enough that the new GOP travel holiday appears to be nothing more than an opportunity for Tallahassee's schmoozing class to make generous $50,000 down payments to ensure a compliant Florida House once Crisafulli assumes the deposit slip of power.

But to have the Disney Dream return to the scene of the slime? How goofy is that?

West struggles for relevancy

"Al Sharpton Draws Fire From Allen West on Zimmerman Protests". Related: "Rick Scott Rejects Call for Special Session in Meeting With Protesters".

Big of him

"After days of avoiding Capitol, Gov. Rick Scott meets with protesters".

Gaetz, Weatherford fold like cheap suits

"Florida’s two top lawmakers have serious reservations about the assessments being created to test the new curriculum standards for hundreds of thousands of public-school students. The concerns are so grave that Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford want Florida to back out of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, the national consortium crafting the exams, and develop its own program for testing students across the state."

Politics are likely at play. For months, the Tea Party has been blasting Florida Republicans for moving toward the Common Core and PARCC exams. The right-leaning Americans for Prosperity called the pitch from Gaetz and Weatherford “a victory for those who believe education should be controlled at a local level.”

Broken record

"The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) is gearing up for a new campaign season and attacking Democratic candidates as public attention turns to the 2014 elections." "Florida Republicans Gearing Up for 2014, Going on the Attack With New Staff".

"Empty chair"

"Republicans say the site's sole purpose will be to post material Democrats published criticizing Crist's performance as Governor and his quest to be the GOP's vice president nominee in 2008." "GOP revives empty chair website".

T-shirt shops not hiring

"Early-bird report shows no change in joblessness". See also "Early-bird report shows no change in joblessness".

"Lack of competitive seats in the state"

"Most challengers to the state’s 27 U.S. House members posted light fund-raising quarters, which could require a re-evaluation of the competitiveness of some seats or a need to draw bigger-named candidates off the sidelines."

Based on money raised between April 1 and June 30, two races are relatively competitive — involving the seats held by Republican Congressmen Steve Southerland of Panama City and Bill Young of Indian Shores. Other contests show potential to tighten as the November 2014 elections approach, despite financially underperforming challengers.

But so far, incumbents in potentially competitive districts, including Democrats Joe Garcia of Miami, Patrick Murphy of Jupiter and Alan Grayson of Orlando, and Republicans Vern Buchanan of Sarasota and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami, face little financial threat, despite optimism from across the political aisle.

University of Florida political-science Professor Dan Smith, whose expertise is in the conduct of elections, said fiscal totals are indicative of a lack of competitive seats in the state. Smith added he was most surprised that Garcia’s opponents have yet to mine deep pockets of contributors.

But rest assured, while nobody knows for sure what Weatherford does, whatever he does, he apparently does it very well.

As the Tampa Bay Times' Michael Van Sickler reported Sunday, in addition to the speaker's salary of $29,714, Weatherford also collects a $31,500 paycheck from the Red Eagle Group, an environmental concern, and $52,000 from the Breckenridge Enterprises/Diamond K Group, a payroll services company. He also collects $9,600 in rent for a Tallahassee condo.

Channeling his inner Daddy Warbucks to become an entrepreneur, Red Eagle is Weatherford's own company, whose entire source of income is Simpson Environmental Services, an asbestos removal firm owned by state Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-All in the Family.

There was a time long ago when people elected to the Legislature were already established in their private sector careers, enabling them to take time away from their jobs to serve. Weatherford, a young man in a hurry, didn't have that luxury.

After graduating from Jacksonville University in 2002, Weatherford found employment as a legislative assistant to his father-in-law, Speaker Allan Bense, from 2004 to 2006. By 2007, Weatherford, a mere 28, was elected to the House himself and was speaker by 32. . . .

He's not the first speaker who came into the job with less real-life work experience than Prince Charles. Florida's junior Sen. Marco Rubio managed to ascend to the speakership at 35. At this rate in about another decade or so, Florida's House speaker could well be a complexion-challenged 14-year-old in his pajamas who got the job after winning an Angry Birds marathon.

But the real question is how the public is to ascertain whether Weatherford has conflicts of interest when he is so coy about explaining how he actually earns his non-legislative pay of $93,100.

Ultimately Weatherford is the poster child of a term-limited Legislature populated by an amateur political class. After 2014, assuming he doesn't pursue another public trough gig, the speaker will likely wind up building relationships as a professional, schmoozing lobbyist.

At last, a job he will have plenty of experience to handle.

And then there's Mr. Putnam . . . another example of Republican cream rising to the top.

Reorganizing precincts

"Elections officials in Broward and Miami-Dade hope to reduce long voting lines by redistributing the number of voters in each precinct." "Counties reorganize precincts to help reduce voting lines".

"Money doesn't always buy happiness"

"Campaign money doesn't always buy happiness for big Florida donors".

Patient privacy

"Malpractice lawyers say new state law violates patient privacy".

After reading the hard copy of your hometown newspaper, please consider becoming a site fan on Facebook and following us on Twitter. Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry follows.

"Florida's Boy Who Would Be King"

Jeffrey Billman on "Florida’s Boy Who Would Be King, Sen. Marco Rubio."

Rubio would very much like the crazies who got him elected three years ago to make him the Republican presidential nominee three years from now. But he would also like to be seen as a Serious Leader, One-Who-Reaches-Across-the-Aisle, the kind of Republican that mush-head pundits refer to as having Courage. So he wants to pass immigration reform. But the crazies don’t like immigration reform, officially because they don’t like “amnesty” and worry about “border security” – they’re not aware, apparently, that there’s currently net-zero immigration from Mexico – but really because they don’t like brown people (or, at least, brown people who vote for Democrats). This puts Rubio in quite the pickle.

And so he’s spent the last few months touring the Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity/Mark Levin circle-jerk of hell, trying to convince the Tea Party’s “thought leaders” (a phrase that deserves scare quotes if ever one did) that he was working hard to beef up border security and ensure that new immigrants couldn’t qualify for federal benefits, including the hated Obamacare.

This sad parade culminated in what has to be the headline of the year, from the Washington Post on June 5: “Rubio Currently Opposes Own Immigration Bill.” Rubio’s waffling drew the mockery of even fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who worked with Rubio and the so-called Gang of Eight to draft the legislation: “How do we put together a bill and then the guy who put it together says that he may not vote for it? I just don’t get what we’re doing here.”

Senate Democrats eventually acceded to demands to pour $40 billion into militarizing the southern border in exchange for a handful of Republican votes. Even that pointless exercise wasn’t good enough. Rubio is now getting booed at Tea Party rallies – his erstwhile home crowd – and a recent Quinnipiac poll showed him tanking among “strong conservatives” nationwide. For an ambitious right-wing politician, this is a problem.

Now Rubio is looking to get back in the crazies’ good graces. And what better way to do that than a law inserting the federal government into women’s lady bits? Last Tuesday night, the Weekly Standard – citing numerous GOP sources – reported that Rubio had hopped aboard the cavalcade of anti-abortion-rights measures being proffered in Texas, North Carolina, Ohio and elsewhere as the lead sponsor of a Senate bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. A similar bill recently passed the Republican-controlled House, though it has no chance of clearing the Senate or White House. Even if somehow it cleared those hurdles, the bill’s constitutionality is, shall we say, debatable.

Another West falsehood

"Former U.S. Rep. Allen West, a staunchly conservative Republican who represented a Florida district for one term, recently sent a tweet that resurrected one of the themes used by Mitt Romney and others during the 2012 presidential campaign — the idea that there are makers and takers in America."

Here's what West tweeted: "More Americans receive food aid than work in private sector. 'Fundamental transformation?' Nope, nation destruction."

The tweet linked to an article in the conservative website CNSNews that provided data to support his claim. The CNSNews article cited a report by the inspector general of the Agriculture Department, which operates most federal food-assistance programs, as well as employment data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To replace Thurston

"Democratic Contest to Replace Perry Thurston Begins in Broward County".

Disoriented turtles

"Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch Director Suzi Fox says an unusual number of turtles on Sarasota and Manatee beaches are becoming disoriented this nesting season and wandering inland. Turtles can become disoriented when distracted by artificial lighting, beachgoers and other obstacles in their paths. Mote Marine scientists recorded 23 instances of disoriented turtles. That's nearly twice the number of season totals from previous years." "More nesting turtles getting disoriented in Fla.".

And some of them have pensions

"A three vehicle crash in West Palm Beach has sent two Florida Highway Patrol troopers and a paramedic to the hospital."

FHP officials said the emergency crews were responding to a prior crash involving two vehicles on Interstate 95 on Sunday night. They closed one lane of traffic. A driver who was merging into another lane lost control and hit three cars. One trooper was hit after getting out of his car, another was injured sitting in his patrol car and a paramedic was struck by debris.

Weekly Roundup

"Weekly Roundup: Drawing Lines and Writing Books in Tallahassee".

Take Attorney General Pam Bondi's latest appearance on Fox News last week. The party was happy to send out a video clip of Bondi's appearance, but cut off the clip when she hailed the decision of Republican legislative leaders to reject billions of federal money to expand Medicaid.

Gov. Rick Scott, who really leads the state party, supported taking the money (after thundering against the Affordable Care Act for years).

Lopped off? Curry on Medicaid expansion: "This is the one where there were no good choices. The governor took the information before him and made the best decision that he thought that he could," Curry said. "And then it had to go through the Legislature, and they made their decision, and that's just the process. It is what it is at this stage. That's why we have elected representatives."

RPOF looks to mimic Dem campaigns

"The Republican Party of Florida's quarterly meeting centered on pushing a positive message of economic recovery under Gov. Rick Scott to people beyond its traditional voter base, but also on data mining and targeting more voters through an aggressive ground game in 2014." "RPOF: We'll win in 2014 if we tell our story ... to more people".

Good luck.

The LA Times reported just after Obama's re-election that "No other presidential campaign has relied so heavily on the science of analytics, using information to predict voting patterns. Election day may have changed the game." "Obama campaign's investment in data crunching paid off". See also this article from MIT Technology Review, "How President Obama’s campaign used big data to rally individual voters".

Week in review

"Week in Review for July 12, 2013".

RPOF "building a mammoth war chest"

William March: "State Republicans appear to be building a mammoth war chest heading into 2014, when they'll be defending Gov. Rick Scott against a re-election challenge. Florida Democrats, meantime, have shown only tepid fundraising so far this year, despite the election of a new party chairman, Allison Tant of Tallahassee, who campaigned for the party office partly on her ability to raise money." "Republicans ahead in fundraising race".

The real "moochers"

Robyn Blumner: "Leave it to Rush Limbaugh to bellyache about the good life of the unemployed. Limbaugh is part of a conservative push to paint people who have lost jobs during the worst economic downturn in recent history as welfare queens."

Yes, what life must be like living on the average unemployment check of $300 per week, or $230 a week in Florida, the state where Limbaugh resides in a Palm Beach compound worth tens of millions of dollars. . . .

Florida's state benefits are now down to 19 weeks and could go as low as 12 weeks due to changes passed in 2011 under Republican Gov. Rick Scott. (Though federal benefits are still available thereafter.) In addition, only about 17 percent of Floridians eligible for benefits actually receive them — the worst rate in the country. A complex online process makes it so hard to apply that the U.S. Department of Labor said it violates the civil rights of people with disabilities and those who have difficulty with English.

Even if we put compassion aside, this intense effort to end benefits and force unemployed people into any job no matter how menial or low-paying is shortsighted for state economies.

Do we really want an engineer to take a job as a restaurant server because she can't afford to look for a job on a reasonable par with the one she lost? The low wages she earns will result in her family qualifying for public benefits instead of paying significant taxes. How does this serve the state's long-run interests?

It is a bizarre world view that says struggling Americans laid off during a recession are "moochers" if they receive unemployment insurance or food stamps, but not when they take farm subsidies, private school vouchers or any form of corporate welfare.

GOP stronghold has no problem with free lunches

"The percentage of Pasco County students who qualified for the free or reduced-price meal program continued to climb this past school year, a possible indication that many area families still struggle to make ends meet in a slowly recovering economy." "More students eligible for free meals".

Zimmerman

"Weak evidence and state witnesses who helped the defense case combined to torpedo the prosecution of George Zimmerman on second-degree murder or manslaughter charges, say legal analysts." "State never proved its case, legal analysts say".

After the great job Crist's appointees did on the FRS case

"It could be called Charlie’s Court, and it could reign for a decade or more."

Should former Gov. Charlie Crist once again win election to the governor’s office, he will likely have four more appointments to the Florida Supreme Court, including the replacement of Justice James Perry, whom he appointed in 2009 and faces mandatory retirement in 2017.

Including his four picks to the bench during his previous term from 2007 to 2011, that means all seven members of the court could be Crist appointees by the end of his second term -- if he’s re-elected in 2014.

“That’s never happened before,” said former state lawmaker Talbot "Sandy" D’Alemberte, who was instrumental in implementing judicial reforms in the 1970s. He noted that historically, justices were elected positions until 1974, and governors have only recently been able to appoint judges. It’s a power that extends well beyond a governor's term in office.

"Enormous and illegal"

"Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado and Commissioner Francis Suarez must take down their enormous, and illegal, campaign signs by early August." "Oversize political signs in Miami to be taken down".