"GOP-majority Legislature is loathe to cut into its political advantage"

The Miami Herald editors: " You can’t overstate the value of maintaining the integrity of the election process, but Miami-Dade County sure did balk at the price. Confident that it can catch fraudulent requests for absentee ballots submitted online, the Miami-Dade Elections Department has opted to toughen up its computer software."

According to Elections Supervisor Penelope Townsley, this method would have required an investment of about $843,000 to set up, followed by a recurring cost of $743,000 during major elections. At a time when Miami-Dade County is facing the ire of public workers seeking more pay, cutting back library hours and fending off animal lovers unhappy with the status of the Pets’ Trust proposal, there was, no doubt, little appetite to pony up major money for the login/password system. Beefing up the back end of the computer software won’t cost the county any money.

But now it’s up to the county to ensure that the real costs aren’t instead a corruptible — or corrupted — election process. There are dishonest dealers looking to beat the system, and the elections department has to stay two steps ahead.

Election 2012 was a scary eye-opener in Miami-Dade. Thousands of fraudulent online requests for absentee ballots were submitted online last year. To the Election Department’s credit, staffers caught them and alerted prosecutors. Most came from foreign IP addresses and could not be traced. However, the Miami Herald sussed out that about 500 requests were submitted from much closer to home — linked to aides to U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia.

An investigation continues. No one has been charged, but it definitely appears to have crossed the line. Under state law, only voters or their immediate family members can submit ballot requests.

His future's so bright, he's gotta wear shades

"Sen. Marco Rubio has a deal to write a book on the future of the GOP, according to his publisher." "Rubio book deal".

About the "reliability of the state voter database"

"Gov. Rick Scott's administration will soon launch a new statewide hunt for suspected noncitizens on the voter roll,"

a process that last year led to lawsuits and lots of frustration in county elections offices because of a flawed "purge list." But if the state wants a clean roll, it might find out why it takes so long for a voter to be removed after a felony conviction.

Case in point: Jim Greer, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida who pleaded guilty Feb. 11 to five counts of grand theft and money laundering. Greer was still listed as a registered voter until last week, when Buzz started asking questions. Now there was no election for Greer to vote in and no chance of him obtaining a ballot at the Gulf Forestry Camp near Port St. Joe, where he's serving an 18-month sentence. The question is the reliability of the state voter database.

Pusillanimity

"Jeb Bush tried to seem bemused Tuesday evening as he helped present a public service award to Hillary Rodham Clinton. . . . Even as Bush seemed to brush off criticism, he never got too close to Clinton, denying a photo of them side-by-side that would surely be used against him in a future campaign." "Jeb Bush keeps distance in awarding Hillary Clinton the Liberty Medal".

Entrepreneurs in action

"Hollywood CEO gets 25 years for fleecing millions from Medicare".

"Democratic contenders appear timid or cagey"

"They may hold their noses while doing so, but business leaders are leaning toward backing Florida Gov. Rick Scott in his 2014 re-election bid."

Polls suggest Scott can be beaten on a broad set of issues. Yet on the topic of the Florida economy and jobs, where the business community's heart lies, Scott's message remains hyper-focused. The Sunshine State is a business-friendly, low-tax state. Join us.

That's a grossly superficial sales pitch given the woes of low-wage work and rising costs confronting Floridians. Yet business leaders increasingly say it still helps to have a governor so willing to pick up the phone and personally urge some distant executive to expand in Florida.

Besides, what's the alternative to Scott? More than a year before the election, Democratic contenders appear timid or cagey.

Rubio thinks he's "exceptional"

"American Exceptionalism: Marco Rubio Objects to Vladimir Putin's Views".

Never mind those back taxes

"Even though he has yet to win a seat in the Legislature, Blaise Ingoglia -- despite a glitch on his resume going in -- is poised to be one of the leading Republicans in the Florida House and should be a strong voice for conservatives in Tallahassee. . . . But that doesn’t mean he will automatically be a contender to become speaker after the 2020 elections despite, being uniquely on good terms with both the GOP establishment and the tea party. There have been questions about Ingoglia’s sales tactics and news broke earlier this year that he owed almost $12,000 in back taxes." "Blaise Ingoglia Ready to Rock the House".

"Bondi has taken superficiality to new heights"

The Tampa Bay Times' Sue Carlton writes that fellow local, "Attorney General Pam Bondi is now dealing with the fallout from that very bad decision [to wit: 'Execution rescheduled to accommodate Pam Bondi fundraiser'], one that does not exactly rebut cynical assumptions in some corners that Republicans care about campaign cash above all else. Or that those get-tough laws can be more about posturing than actually fixing where the justice system is broken."

And as has happened often since she was elected back in 2010, I find myself struck by the differences between Pam Bondi, the Florida attorney general often in conservative lockstep with our disaster of a governor, and Pam Bondi From Here. . . .

Maybe those tea party politics were always in her heart, but she has become a stranger to some as attorney general, pledging on the campaign trail to oppose gay marriage, supporting an NRA challenge to a federal law restricting 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds from buying handguns and, of course, fighting Obamacare.

30 dead enders show up to see Scott

"Gov. Rick Scott continued his five-city "It's Your Money" tax cut tour Thursday at Raymond James Stadium, where he discussed ideas to cut $500 million in taxes and fees from next year's state budget. Scott touted economic progress in Florida and highlighted the Tampa Bay area to a group of about 30 people." "Gov. Rick Scott brings tax cut tour to Tampa".

Scott Maxwell is blunter: "Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has long been accused of being a lightweight — someone more interested in scoring TV time on 'Fox & Friends' than actually dispensing justice back home."

But Bondi has taken superficiality to new heights. Or perhaps depths.

Florida's top cop halted an execution — so that she could host a political fundraiser.

Basically, Bondi told the families of victims who had been grieving for 25 years that they needed to grieve another three weeks so she could break out the champagne flutes and rake in the campaign checks. . . .

You can't make this stuff up. Seriously, it would sound too stupid for fiction.

But not too stupid for Florida. . . .

I've seen way too many wrongful convictions, involving everything from faked evidence to botched prosecutions, to bet anybody's life on the system.

But here's the thing: Pam Bondi doesn't share my distaste for the death penalty. She loves it. She even boasts of sending two people to death row back during her days as a prosecutor.

Bondi not only wants to kill folks, she wants to kill 'em faster! That's why she's a supporter of the "Timely Justice Act" — so that the state can execute people more quickly.

Well … unless she has a party to attend.

Pam Bondi trivialized the most consequential action a government can take — ending someone's life.

Fortunately for Bondi, she's a Republican — and Florida's Democrats are so incompetent that they couldn't find their own rear ends if you spotted 'em both cheeks.

Still, Bondi will probably ultimately face someone — thanks partly to this episode.

The attack ad practically writes itself …

Budget blues

"Budget panel OKs economists' outlook; Negron still eyes license fees and tax breaks". See also "Surplus Projected, but Negron Cautious". Related: "K-12 Education Appropriations" and "State agencies must come up with 5 percent budget reductions this year as part of an exercise in their legislative budget requests, due out Oct. 15." See also "Despite surplus, agencies gear up for budget cutting exercise".

Charter school follies

The Tampa Bay Times editors: "Keep the pressure on charter schools".

Another fine fundraiser

"Without explanation, Scott's re-election campaign on Tuesday abruptly called off a planned 'private gator hunt' in New Smyrna Beach on Oct. 18 for donors willing to pay $25,000 a head. The invitations said, 'Space is limited.' Word of the gubernatorial gator gambit quickly went viral on social media and prompted questions about how the state would issue permits for it, not to mention the imagery of Scott campaign donors stalking a reptile that, despite its menacing image, has long been an unofficial symbol of Florida." "After questions, Gov. Scott cancels $25,000 alligator hunt fundraiser".

"Maverick" laff riot

"On Thursday, Jeb Bush Jr., the namesake of the former governor and one of the heirs of one of the leading political dynasties in American history, was named to help lead the Florida effort of Maverick PAC (MavPAC), a Republican-aligned group looking to reach out to young voters." "Jeb Bush Jr., Slayter Bayliss Take Over MavPAC in Florida".

Big of him

"House Speaker Will Weatherford offered sympathetic points about people facing generational poverty Wednesday, saying it's harder than ever for Americans to lift themselves off society's bottom rung. But Weatherford remains as unconvinced as ever that accepting federal money to provide the state's poorest residents with Medicaid coverage is a way to help them live a better life." "Plight of the poor".

"Escalation of the state’s efforts to cripple healthcare reform act"

The Miami Herald editors: "Not content to turn away federal funds to expand Medicaid in Florida, state officials stepped up their fight against the Affordable Care Act this week by literally shutting the door on federally paid workers who can help the public figure out how to take advantage of the reform act’s benefits."

Deputy Health Secretary C. Meade Grigg on Monday ordered the 60 healthcare department directors across the state not to allow the outreach assistants known as “navigators” to assist the public at health department sites. The order amounts to an escalation of the state’s efforts to cripple implementation of the healthcare reform act. The latest action seems to say that not only will the state not cooperate, it will actively seek ways to undermine effective assistance to its own residents.

This outrageous and spiteful action will not prevent those who need help with healthcare insurance from getting it, but it will make it harder for them to do so. It represents a unilateral and shameful denial of service by the state to its own citizens.

The order was issued just days after a national study found that nearly 1 million Floridians — 995,000 — will fall into the Medicaid coverage gap because the state declined to accept federal funds totaling $51 billion over the next decade. Instead of provoking a compassionate reaction from state leaders, as it should, the disclosure only led to Mr. Grigg’s throw-’em-out order. How’s that for rubbing salt into the wound?

The Tampa Bay Times editorial board: "Scott's campaign to sabotage the Affordable Care Act".

Teabagger games

" Roly Arrojo, a phony former Tea Party congressional candidate now under federal investigation, barely received any votes in 2010, but it wasn’t for lack of trying by Democrats quietly propping him up. A top former advisor of current U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Miami, secretly orchestrated an Arrojo mailer during the campaign, a consultant recently told the FBI and Miami Herald. Garcia said he had no knowledge of the potentially unlawful activity to fraudulently disguise campaign spending." "DCCC mailers boosted faux Miami Tea Party candidate now under FBI investigation".

Lake O

"LBC OKs spending to divert Okeechobee discharges".

To replace Fasano

"If Bill Gunter is elected to the Florida House in a special election next month, he will bring a very different background to the Legislature. In the Republican primary on Tuesday, Gunter is a heavy favorite to defeat Republican leader Jim Mathieu and Jeromy Harding in the primary." "Bill Gunter in Good Shape for Primary, But Hard Work Starts in General Election".

Buying another Congressman

Nancy Smith wonders if "Miami-Dade and Broward counties buying themselves another congressman?" "Congressman Patrick Murphy's Out-of-District Largesse".

Waldman could seek state office

"Jim Waldman faces term limits in the House next year. But things are about to get interesting for this Coconut Creek Democrat, who could wind up running for state office or taking on Skip Campbell for a Florida Senate seat in 2016." "Jim Waldman Could Run for State Office or Face Skip Campbell in 2016".

West, Rubio: two Benghazi's in a pod

Wanna bet Rubio did not know where Benghazi was on a map a year ago: "Florida Republicans Hammer Obama on Benghazi".

Scott's tax cut has everything to do with his re-election campaign

The Tampa Bay Times editors: "Gov. Rick Scott's proposed $500 million tax cut has everything to do with his re-election campaign and nothing to do with what's best for Floridians."

After years of deep cuts in spending and services, the key to Florida's future is reinvesting in its people instead of pursuing undefined tax cuts that do little to create jobs or improve the quality of life. • After a difficult period, most families reassess their needs when financial conditions improve. They finally fix the leaky roof, replace the old car or buy a new refrigerator. But Scott sees no value in making improvements when times are better. He wants to reject most of the $845 million extra the state is projecting to have in 2014-15 after paying for program growth and placing $1 billion in reserves. On Tuesday, he embarked on a statewide tour to scout for ideas on which state taxes and fees should be cut to return $500 million of the surplus. What he should be doing is reassessing where that money might be better spent:

Attorney General Pam Bondi persuaded Gov. Rick Scott to postpone an execution scheduled for tonight because it conflicted with her re-election kick-off reception.

Scott said Monday that he did not know the reason for the request, and he declined to answer when asked whether he considers a campaign fundraiser an appropriate reason to reschedule an execution. . . .

"Wherever one stands on the death penalty, there isn't anyone in America that believes an execution should be postponed for political fundraising," said David Donnelly, executive director of Public Campaign Action Fund. "That Pam Bondi requested a delay in this execution shows how the nonstop chase for campaign cash has hollowed out the morality of our political system. Her moral compass is broken."

The delay keeps Gore on death row an extra 21 days at a cost that the Department of Corrections estimates at about $1,000.

The Republican attorney general faces no serious challenger so far, and organizers expect[ed] her campaign kick-off event to attract 100 to 200 people. Among those hosting the event: Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, a Democrat; House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel; and state Sens. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, Bill Galvano, R- Bradenton, Tom Lee, R-Brandon, Wilton Simpson, R- Trilby, and Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg.

And this is a little late: "Bondi Says Execution Date Shouldn't Have Been Changed".

Florida has the lowest-paying major metro areas in the country,

"Central Florida is now the lowest-paying major metro area in the country, according to federal data analyzed by the Orlando Sentinel."

Metro Orlando's median pay ranks last among the nation's 50 biggest metropolitan areas, and it has the largest share of jobs — 37 percent — paying less than $25,000 a year. That's nearly twice the rate of Las Vegas, another city built on tourism.

Central Florida also has the smallest share of jobs paying more than $50,000. And since 2002, median pay in the region, adjusted for inflation, has fallen by $1,761 — to $29,450 — as the number of middle-class and upper middle-class jobs tumbled because of the Great Recession.

Low median pay isn't a new phenomenon: In 2002 and 2007, before the recession hit, Orlando ranked 49th (ahead of San Antonio, Texas) among the top 50 metro areas.

Between 2002 and 2012, Central Florida's total employment grew by about 14 percent, from 884,540 jobs to 1,011,810. But among the occupations detailed in the BLS data, jobs paying less than $25,000 expanded by 95 percent; in raw numbers, they climbed from 187,540 to 366,530.

More than 203,000 of those are hospitality jobs: housekeepers, cashiers, theme-park attendants, waitresses, cooks and bellhops. They form 20 percent of the work force and pay, if worked full-time, an average of $22,858.

Over the same 10-year period, jobs paying more than $75,000 a year – attorneys, doctors and engineers – grew by 16 percent to 80,180. But that was more than offset by the disappearance of middle-class jobs.

The tables that appear in the print version of this story show that Florida consistently has the lowest paid employees in the Country, with the following rankings among the largest 50 "Metropolitan Divisions" in the nation:

- Orlando - Kissimmee - Sanford (50/50)

- Miami - Miami Beach - Kendall (48/50)

- Ft Lauderdale - Pompano Bch - Deerfield Bch (46/50)

- Tampa - St Petersburg - Clearwater (45/50)

Another thing, the central Florida "region's low pay does not appear to reflect an unusually low cost of living."

West won't go away

"Allen West Woos Conservatives as he Plays on the National Political Stage".

Good luck with that

"Florida lobbyists have enjoyed little scrutiny in reporting what they’re paid to ply their trade with lawmakers and governors since a law was enacted seven years ago requiring the public disclosure. That free ride may be coming to an end. Senate President Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican who pressed for new prohibitions on lawmakers becoming lobbyists last spring, now wants the Legislature to make good on a never-enforced requirement that lobbying firms be subjected to random audits." "Senate Prez wants to start auditing lobbying reports"

Republicans exonerate "fellow Republican"

"Report: Changes to Indiana school grades were ‘plausible’". See also "Indiana report says Tony Bennett actions "plausible," grade changes applied "consistently" to other schools besides charter school" ("The newspaper also noted the report was spear-headed by legislative leaders who were Republicans like Bennett.")

The Indiana Star article: "Indiana report says Tony Bennett's changes to A-F school grades were 'consistently applied'" ("The report, released Friday, was commissioned by two Republican legislative leaders — House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President David Long — to investigate their fellow Republican and former Statehouse colleague, Bennett.")

There is more to come. Nancy Smith: "Tony Bennett Targeted by His Successor in Indiana, Glenda Ritz".

"Florida Forever program eviscerated under Gov. Rick Scott"

Fred Grimm: "Forever — as in Florida Forever — runs out this fall."

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has deemed as “surplus” some 160 tracts of Florida Forever land — more than 5,000 acres. DEP assembled the list, counting on a big $50 million selloff in November.

But not long after the list of expendable properties popped up on the DEP website last month, a fearsome reaction erupted across the state, as locals noticed that the state was intent on selling off chunks of their state parks and nature preserves.

In South Florida, for example, DEP figured on extracting 145 acres from Oleta River State Park. Folks in South Florida went apoplectic. To gauge the statewide firestorm DEP created for itself, multiply our local reaction by 32 other state parks to be sliced up for the proposed sell-off.

By Aug. 29, so much hell had been raised that DEP removed 474 acres from the “surplus” list. By the middle of last week, the number of tracts extracted from the “for sale” list had reached 51 properties and 709 acres, including the land in Oleta River State Park. On Friday evening, 345 acres along the Wekiva River Parkway in Central Florida went suddenly off the real estate market.

Not that DEP fixed its PR disaster, which reaches from the Keys, where 17 tracts along A1A between Tavernier to Plantation Key remain on the surplus list, to Jacksonville, where locals were stunned the state might gut the Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park.

To be fair, DEP was put in this bind by the Legislature’s pretend gesture toward re-funding a Florida Forever program that had been eviscerated under Gov. Rick Scott.

"Campaign-style gimmickry"

"Scott today opens a four-day image-rebuilding "listening tour" to promote his call for cuts of $500 million in taxes and fees by the Legislature next year, when he will be seeking a new term. . . . Democrats say Scott is using campaign-style gimmickry to prop up his low poll numbers with voters. The most recent Quinnipiac University poll in June showed voters still deeply ambivalent about Scott with 43 percent approving of his performance and 44 percent opposed, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points." "Rick Scott's tax cut tour mocked as 'election year vote-buying'".

Hit piece

Jeff Henderson: "Is Allison Tant Hurting Florida Democrats' Chances in 2014?".

Double trouble

"U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia’s former chief of staff and top advisor is under FBI investigation for his ties to a phony Tea Party candidate’s secretly funded mail campaign, the Miami Herald has learned."

Consultant Jeffrey Garcia, no relation to the Miami Democratic congressman, already faces a separate state criminal investigation for allegedly requesting absentee ballots of voters without their permission.

Rep. Garcia has denied participating in or knowing about either scandal. Jeffrey Garcia won’t comment.

Rouson to defend himself

"If he wants to keep his job as the next leader for House Democrats, Rep. Darryl Rouson will have to defend himself in two weeks. Current House Minority Leader Perry Thurston of Plantation said Rouson will have an opportunity to explain how and why he created his own fundraising committee, outside of party control, during a caucus meeting the week of Sept. 23, when all 44 House Democrats are in Tallahassee. . . . If Rouson doesn't step down, the caucus could decide in a majority vote to remove him." "Rep. Rouson asked to explain actions in meeting with Democrats".

"Scott no longer a long shot"

"Rick Scott is no longer a long shot for re-election".

Flores in the wings

"When Jennifer Carroll resigned in the middle of March, many of the chattering class in Tallahassee assumed that Sen. Anitere Flores would be Rick Scott’s replacement for her as lieutenant governor. Six months later, Scott still hasn’t named a lieutenant governor, but the Miami Republican remains a rising star for the Florida GOP. Despite turning 37 on Sunday, Flores is an old hand in Tallahassee, having worked as an education staffer in the Florida House before joining Jeb Bush’s team in a similar role." "Anitere Flores a Major Factor in GOP's Future, With or Without LG Appointment".

Scott "mostly false"

"Florida is set to collect more tax money next year than ever before, state officials say. And not only is Florida Gov. Rick Scott proud of the accomplishment, but he is taking credit."

Scott is right: State economists (the wonkishly called revenue estimating conference) say tax collections in the 2014-15 fiscal year will be higher in sheer dollars than ever. But crediting "conservative pro-growth policies" for the extra flow of money is a conclusion that ignores trends nationwide, as PolitiFact Florida found out. . . .

Scott said that Florida "will have the highest general revenue in state history next year. Conservative pro-growth policies work in our state."

Scott's statistic is wrong if you account for inflation. But the bigger issue is that Scott overreaches by connecting the revenue resurgence with conservative policies. The trajectory is not unique to Florida, or conservatives.

There's an element of truth to this statement but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate this claim Mostly False.

'Glades

Never mind the industries and development that have for decades abused the 'Glades: "Everglades Water Flow Plugged up by Bureaucratic Challenges".