Why did GOP consultants smuggle redistricting maps into the public process?

"As Leon County Circuit Judge Terry Lewis begins his final deliberations on congressional districts drawn by lawmakers in 2012, the gaps in conversations among lawmakers and political consultants might be as important as what's in the record."

Groups challenging the map have painted the words not committed to paper, and documents destroyed by the Legislature, as evidence of improper activity. The state has countered that there's no proof that those gaps contain any damning information.

"For nearly two weeks, plaintiffs presented evidence that various Republican consultants discussed the redistricting process, drew draft maps, and apparently worked to submit maps through the public process," attorneys for the Legislature wrote in a filing last week. "But plaintiffs offered no evidence that those consultants influenced the congressional map."

In a final brief filed Tuesday, though, lawyers for the voting-rights groups essentially asked: Why else would the political consultants spend time drawing those maps?

"Surely they would not have wasted their time on a complicated scheme of obtaining dozens of the Legislature’s confidential draft maps, drawing and revising countless maps of their own, and smuggling their maps into the public process unless they were confident their input would receive special attention from the Legislature," the brief said.

The two sides have also clashed over how Lewis should interpret the destruction of redistricting-related documents by lawmakers after the process was over. Legislators have said they were simply following the rules for retaining those documents -- and getting rid of them when the rules allowed.

Rubio's geopolitical stunner

In case you've been living in a cave, you should know that "'this ISIL group is an extremely dangerous group,' Rubio added." "Florida Delegation Weighs in on Military Options in Iraq." I believe that is called: stating the obvious.

One hopes Marco's insights into diplomatic strategy are a bit more sophisticated than his personal finances. Remember this gem:

Rubio owes far more on his $384,000 Miami home than it is worth. He bought the home in 2005 for $550,000 with a $495,000 mortgage. He soon had it appraised for $735,000 and took out a home equity line of credit for $135,000.

In 2008, despite earning a declared $400,000 - including his $300,000 salary from the Miami law firm Broad and Cassel - Rubio failed to pay down the principal on his home for several months, according to Florida campaign finance disclosures.

During the same period he did not pay down the balance of a $100,000-plus student loan from his days at the University of Miami, the disclosures said.

Rubio's spending habits also have gotten attention in Florida.

Before joining the Senate last year, his name surfaced in an Internal Revenue Service investigation of the Florida Republican Party's use of party-issued credit cards. He frequently had used his party credit card for personal use, and later reimbursed the card company for about $16,000.

Rubio's handling of his personal finances contrasts sharply with the image of him on his Senate website, which highlights Rubio's efforts to prevent Washington from "piling up debt."

"We need a government that stops spending more money than it takes in," the website says.

Rubio's financial issues have led Florida Democrats to cast him as a hypocrite.

The mudfight begins

"Let’s Get to Work, a group tied to Gov. Rick Scott, unveiled a new television ad on Wednesday which will soon be run across the Sunshine State. The new ad focuses on former Gov. Charlie Crist, the favorite for the Democratic nomination despite spending most of his political life as a Republican, accusing him of raising tuition during his time as governor." "Even in Qualifying Week, Attacks Fly in Governor's Race."

Crist claims he's just a regular guy

"Charlie Crist is a millionaire, who made more than $700,000 last year, far more than he did in all four years he was Florida governor." "Charlie Crist insists his newfound wealth hasn’t changed him."

Meanwhile, "Florida Democrats Putting All Their Chips on Charlie Crist."

All this and no surprises

"Slate for statewide candidates finalized." See also "No Surprises in Gubernatorial and Cabinet Qualifying."

Weekly Roundup

Kevin Derby: "Political Bits and Pieces." See also "Arrivals and Departures, June 20, 2014" and "Weekly Roundup: All Signed Up and Nowhere To Go."

Dead people

"Florida man becomes 3rd executed in US in 24 hours."

Miami-Dade Republicans rally around Ted Cruz

"Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, drew much applause during his speech at the Miami-Dade Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner." "Sen. Ted Cruz visits Miami as long-lost son."

Florida Supreme Court to decide on access to secret GOPer e-mails, maps and planning documents

"The trial challenging Florida’s newly drawn congressional map ended two weeks ago, and the judge could rule at any time on whether the revised district boundaries violate the law."

But a First District Court of Appeal opinion issued Thursday could jeopardize the use of 538 pages of confidential documents that were introduced as evidence.

The appeals court voted 5-4 that the Florida Supreme Court should decide whether the Leon County Circuit Court judge assigned to the case erred when he gave the plaintiffs in the case — a coalition of citizens’ groups — access to the secret e-mails, maps and planning documents held by political consultants to Republican legislators.

Now, the Supreme Court will have to decide whether it wants to take up the case. If it does, it could uphold or overturn Circuit Judge Terry Lewis’ initial ruling that the secret documents were admissible in court.

It is unclear how much these documents affect the larger case. Mark Herron, a lawyer for the coalition that includes the League of Women Voters of Florida and seven Democratic-leaning individuals, said the dispute about this evidence is just one aspect of the case. The Republican Party of Florida declined to comment.

Old wine in new bottles

"The latest ad by Democrats is similar to those that ran in 2010 when Gov. Rick Scott first ran for the post." "Democrats’ first ad has old theme: Rick Scott and Medicare fraud."

Raw political courage

"A bill authorizing federal funds to fight algae outbreaks in Florida waters is headed to President Barack Obama’s desk, thanks to two legislators from the Sunshine State." "Bill Nelson and Bill Posey Team Up to Pass Bill Fighting Algae Outbreaks."

Ethics complaint against Scott

"In the complaint filed, a Broward County man alleges that Gov. Rick Scott’s past $135,000 investment in Schlumberger LTD., once held in a blind trust, is grounds for a broader investigation into the governor’s portfolio." "Ethics complaint alleges conflict of interest for Gov. Rick Scott."

"Crist has more than doubled his net worth"

"Since leaving the governor’s mansion in 2010, Democrat Charlie Crist has more than doubled his net worth, with much of the money coming from prestigious positions and consulting contracts he received from large political donors."

In 2010, Crist listed his net worth at $466,063, a number that has jumped to $1.2 million, according to financial disclosure forms he filed Tuesday when submitting his official paperwork to get on the ballot as a candidate for governor.

Other sources of Crist’s income were more discreet.

Crenshaw's collateral attack on Affordable Healthcare

Kevin Derby: "From his perch as chairman of the congressional committee that oversees funding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw has become one of the Republicans’ point men in trying to cut the agency's funding, ensure it never targets political groups again and reduce its role in President Barack Obama’s federal health-care law."

Crenshaw also said the IRS should have less of a role in enacting Obama’s health-care law.

“I also continue to be concerned with the IRS's role in implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the individual mandate in particular,” Crenshaw said. “At a time when the IRS has demonstrated little ability to either self-police or self-correct, the IRS has even more authority over Americans' health coverage. I find this expansion of IRS authority to be unacceptable and, therefore, the bill prohibits funding to implement the individual mandate and prohibits transfers from the Department of Health and Human Services to fund the IRS's implementation of the Affordable Care Act.”

There is pushback in the Beltway, including a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) which finds that the IRS has been understaffed and behind the times with technology after losing $1 billion in funding since 2010. According to the GAO, there have been consequences for taxpayers.

"Florida defense industry is feeling squeeze"

"With the war in Iraq over, the war in Afghanistan winding down, and downward spending pressures on the Pentagon, the Florida defense industry is feeling the squeeze." "Defense spending in Florida down 20 percent since 2010."

Is Adeshina Legit?

"Tallahassee Republican Yinka Adeshina added her name to the list of competitors in the gubernatorial primary this week, but with her filing came bizarre campaign contribution reports where many donors apparently lived in empty fields, Publix stores, Western Unions and even a Best Buy."

Adeshina’s campaign contribution reports initially showed promise -- she had apparently raised $182,000, despite being virtually unheard of, which is even more money than former state Sen. Nan Rich has on hand. Newly-qualified Republican candidate Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder didn't even post as much in her finance reports -- she only collected $17,000 in contributions, $10,000 of which was in loans from herself.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) unveiled its first gameplan for the 2014 elections as they look to spend $30 million in 26 races. The NRCC intends to spend around $19 million against 19 vulnerable Democrat incumbents while spending $11 million to defend seven Republican congressmen. . . .

In Florida, the NRCC is looking to pick up a seat currently held by a Democrat while protecting a Republican congressman. Freshman U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla., can expect to face heavy Republican fire this year as he looks to defend his seat. The NRCC is planning to spend $1.4 million against him. But the NRCC did not include U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., on its initial target list despite the freshman Democrat representing a swing district. The NRCC is planning to spend, as of now, $900,000 to help U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., who is facing a strong Democratic challenger in Gwen Graham. Staff from the NRCC stressed that their planned ad buys could change in the summer and fall.

But even as they need to pick up 17 seats to flip the House, Democrats insisted they were in good shape as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) already lined up $44 million to run in 36 districts. But that includes 19 seats currently held by endangered Democrats.

First openly gay black male federal jurist

"Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Darrin P. Gayles reached an American milestone Tuesday when the U.S. Senate confirmed him as a federal judge, making Gayles the first openly gay black male jurist to sit on the bench. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/#storylink=cpy" "Miami’s Gayles confirmed as first openly gay black male judge on federal bench".

The debate debate

Jeff Henderson whines that the so-called "liberal media" were beside themselves this week when Rick Scott didn’t answer whether he would debate minor Republican primary opponents while calling for Charlie Crist to debate Nan Rich."

The mainstream media, particularly the Tampa Bay Times, are trying to make an issue of how Scott isn’t committing to holding a debate with pharmacist Yinka Adeshina or frequent candidate Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder, especially after calling out Crist for not debating Rich.

But this federal outlay is Okay

The Tampa Trib editors are all over some federal spending. They write that "the 2014 Farm Bill may be marred by subsidies and handouts, but it does offer an example of appropriate federal spending." "An investment to save Florida citrus."

Sorry Florida, no automatic death penalty

"Florida law said that people facing Death Row can only argue that they are intellectually disabled if they have an IQ score of 70 or below, not taking into account a margin of error. But the Supreme Court said the state could not automatically declare anyone with an IQ score higher than 70 was not intellectually disabled, and judges have to look at other factors as well." "U.S. Supreme Court ruling could complicate case of Jacksonville man facing Death Row."

Chain Gang Charlie

Nancy Smith: "Surely Charlie Crist's new friends will forgive the former chain gangster a momentary nostalgic lapse. After all, this is a favorite anniversary for him."

It was 19 years ago this week that a 37-year-old state Sen. Charlie Crist, who wrote the legislation reviving chain gangs, embarked with Corrections Secretary Harry Singletary on his famous 400-mile, fact-finding road trip to Alabama, Chain Gang Capital of the World.

He did not release his 2013 return because they asked the IRS for a filing extension.

The Scotts reported adjusted gross income of $9.3 million in 2010, $80.3 million in 2011 and $8.7 million in 2012. . . .

Scott co-founded the nation’s largest hospital chain and received a severance package worth more than $300 million when he left Columbia/HCA in 1997. The firm paid a $1.7 billion fine for healthcare fraud. Scott was not personally implicated in wrongdoing.

He listed $296,722 in law firm income; $182,933 in consulting fees from The St. Joe Company, a leading Florida developer; and $125,000 from Foundry Literary and Media. Crist wrote a book, The Party’s Over, about why he bolted from the Republican Party during his unsuccessful 2010 run for U.S. Senate. Crist also reported $194,510 in St. Joe Company stock, $50,000 from the Coastal Construction Group of Miami and a $45,588 state pension after 18 years in public office. A persistent critic of public utilities, Crist reported $90,622 in stock in TECO Energy.

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s wealth climbed by nearly 60 percent to $1.24 million. That’s a one-year gain of $457,762 in a job that pays $128,745 a year. Three years into office, Bondi’s net worth is nearly triple the $450,735 she reported when she ran for attorney general in 2010.

Big of them

"Signs switched at Fla school named for KKK leader."

"Scott’s road to reelection got more crowded Monday"

"Gov. Rick Scott’s road to reelection got more crowded Monday as two little-known Republicans paid the filing fees to challenge him on the Aug. 26 primary ballot. Democrats also will have a statewide primary for governor as Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor, filed his candidacy papers, and former Sen. Nan Rich expects to file hers Tuesday."

All three Republican Cabinet members also qualified for the fall ballot Monday: Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

As elections near, executions increase

"Florida and Missouri trail only Texas as the most active death penalty states. Florida has executed five men in 2014 and Missouri four. Texas has carried out seven executions. Combined, the three states have performed 16 of the 20 executions this year." "3 inmates set to die; previous execution botched."

"Marijuana amendment gets green light"

"Medical marijuana amendment gets green light from Supreme Court." Meanwhile, "Scott signs 'Charlotte's Web' medical pot bill."

"Women voters league not ready for Florida brand advocacy"

"Deirdre Macnab was ready to bring her bold version of advocacy to the national League of Women Voters. But the national league wasn't ready for Macnab. Macnab, president of the Florida league since 2009, ran to become the league's national president last week." "National women voters league not ready for Florida brand advocacy."

"'The North Florida way' -- to Congress"

"Jeff Henderson: "As Crist offered the same old, same old, congressional candidate Gwen Graham released her first television commercial. Despite being the daughter of Bob Graham and working as an aide to John Kerry and Howard Dean, Graham’s new ad stresses she’s a political outsider who can bring new perspectives and values -- “the North Florida way” -- to Congress." "Unlike Crist, Graham Shows Dems Importance of Playing to the Center."

Scott stands tall against "foul-tasting water."

"Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Friday that gives Summertree residents, and other private utility water customers, an escape from outrageous bills and foul-tasting water." "Gov. Scott signs utility water bill"

FlaGOP claims no outsiders "infected the sterile ways of the redistricting suites"

"A Florida judge deciding a landmark trial has been given starkly different views of whether legislators violated the law and drew up new congressional districts in 2012 in a way to help Republicans be more easily elected. . . . Lewis is expected to rule by the end of the month. "

Legislative attorneys, meanwhile, assert that the evidence produced during the trial did not prove that legislators intended to draw districts to help Republicans. They said efforts by GOP consultants “never merged” with legislators and no one outside “infected the sterile ways of the redistricting suites.”

Attorneys for the House and Senate said the case was built on a “pyramid of inferences, a series of mental gymnastics” and that the judge would have to believe that every single witness including the current House Speaker and Senate president “lied under oath” about their activities.

A big shocker that the judge didn’t notice or mention: Rivera actually testified that he might have planned to subvert federal campaign-finance law in 2010 when he successfully ran for Congress. . . . his testimony showed he has either a disregard for campaign finance laws — at the heart of three criminal investigations and the ethics case against him — or a stunning level of ignorance in light of his otherwise keen intellect and deep political knowledge.

The ethics case, in which Rivera is accused of filing improper state financial disclosure and reimbursements, highlights what one Republican friend of his privately called “another one of David’s marañas” (a Spanish word for “tangle” or “thicket” that’s used as Cuban slang for something like “a complicated web of schemes”).

In this instance, Rivera wove his tangled web with the company now known as Magic City Casino to lead a successful 2005 Miami-Dade gambling referendum.

Rivera made sure the consulting money, $132,000, wasn’t paid to him directly. The payments were routed over time through a company called Millennium Marketing that was owned by his mother, now deceased, and her friend.

Claiming publicly he wasn’t receiving “a penny” from Magic City, Rivera didn’t list the payments on his public disclosure forms as a sitting state legislator. He then publicly changed his story — and his disclosures — amid investigations launched in response to a series of Miami Herald articles.

Rivera’s new story: He did get gambling money after all. But it wasn’t income that had to be reported, he claimed, because it was from a “contingent liability loan” package exempt from public disclosure.

Candidates, then and now, can’t borrow money from others then use those funds as if it’s their own money for a campaign. . . .

In 2012, a little-known congressional candidate named Justin Sternad learned this the hard way when he received about $82,000 in illegal payments, some deposited into his personal bank account, to run against fellow Democrat Joe Garcia and bash him on behalf of Rivera. Garcia beat Sternad in the primary and defeated then-Congressman Rivera in a general election matchup.

Under investigation in the Sternad case, Rivera now wants a rematch and has filed to run for congress in District 26. . . .

Administrative Law Judge W. David Watkins didn’t get into any of this when he issued an opinion in the state ethics case. Watkins, saying he didn’t believe Rivera in some instances, found that he unlawfully double-billed taxpayers and his campaigns for travel, filed incomplete financial disclosure reports and appeared to live off campaign money. The ethics commission must decide whether to find guilt ultimately. The Florida House would be in charge of levying a penalty if any.

Watkins said the “greater weight of the evidence” indicates Rivera used the gambling money as income, but he couldn’t find a violation because it couldn’t be proved by a “clear and convincing” evidence standard.

The IRS and FDLE examined the $132,000 worth of consulting payments made to Rivera but didn’t charge him criminally.

Maintaining his innocence, Rivera had a momentary slip about his “income” while he was being grilled by an assistant state attorney general in the ethics case about his disclosures.

Question: “Those speak to Millennium Marketing income; is that correct?”

Rivera: “Yes.”

Question: “So these were….”

Rivera: “No, no, no, sorry. I retract that. They do not speak to Millennium Marketing income. They speak to contingent liabilities related to Millennium Marketing.”

That’s Rivera’s new story and he’s sticking to it. But if he’s not careful, he could get stuck in his own maraña.

Qualifying begins today for statewide and local offices

"Qualifying for Florida's 2014 elections is starting. Candidates seeking statewide and local offices can officially qualify for the ballot starting at noon on Monday. Qualifying closes at noon on Friday. Judicial candidates and candidates for U.S. Congress have already qualified." "Qualifying for Florida elections starting."

MJ caregivers

"Even as polls show plenty of Floridians are ready to approve the medical marijuana amendment on the November ballot, opposition groups are aggressively trying to swat down supporters' arguments." "Politifact Florida: Defining pot caregiver falls to state under Amendment 2."

The Gainesville Sun editors: "Scare tactics on pot."

Yee Haw!

"Police say a man shot his teenage son following an argument in New Smyrna Beach. . . . 46-year-old Eugene Blackwell Sr. shot his 18-year-old Eugene Blackwell Jr. around 6:15 p.m. on Father's Day." "Police: Dad shoots son on Father's Day."

"Straight from solitary confinement to the streets"

Fred Grimm points out that, "in Florida, data rules. Except for prisons."

Odd, then, that a state leadership obsessed with number-based accountability doesn't hold Florida’s other great depository of human potential to performance metrics.

Probably because the Department of Corrections would flunk.

Some 27.6 percent of DOC’s grads cycle back into prison....

Yet, legislators grant DOC more money than they allocate to the university system — $2.3 billion a year, with no strings, no metrics, no incentives attached. . . .

“The way the reward system works, the way you increase your budget and increase your importance is to get more inmates,” said Allison DeFoor, chairman of the Project on Accountable Justice at Florida State University. “Nobody's getting paid to drop the number of prisoners.” “Prisons have zero accountability,” said DeFoor, famous hereabouts for his time as a judge and sheriff in Monroe County. He said the average community college faces more accountability than Corrections. It’s a system, he said, that fails to recognize the stark reality that the average prisoner will be heading back into society, utterly unprepared for life on the outside, in just 2.8 years.

Rather, DOC seems to operate on the assumption that its 100,000-plus inmates are never getting out. Only 2 percent of the DOC budget goes to education or drug rehab (although 16.9 percent of the prison populations are serving drug sentences.)

There’s no incentive to do otherwise. No legislation to reward DOC, with one of every seven state workers on its payroll, to reduce recidivism. No incentive to empty prison beds.

So even as the crime rate goes down, the prison population goes up.

Much of the prison boom can be blamed on the state’s get-tough-on-crime laws. Florida abolished parole in 1983 and adopted a series of mandatory sentencing laws. Then in 1995, the state passed a law requiring prisoners to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence.

In Florida, DeFoor noted dryly, an inmate can go “straight from solitary confinement to the streets.” . . .

But why not give prisons the same kind of incentives and penalties in getting their grads ready for the real world that we’ve forced on public schools and universities? It’s time to crunch the prison data like we do with so many other taxpayer-supported institutions."

The Tampa Bay Times editors: "Florida's costly crime problem."

Well, at least it is within the MOE

Jeff Henderson: "Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s ambitions at home received a jolt this week when Democrat pollster PPP found the South Florida congresswoman trailing two Republicans in possible 2016 Senate matchups. Wasserman Schultz can be excused for losing to Marco Rubio, 48-40. The Republican is well-known in Florida and is a constant presence in the national media. But Wasserman Schultz can’t be pleased with being down to tea party darling Allen West who beat her out 41-40 in the poll." "Debbie Wasserman Schultz's Way Up is Via Washington, Not Florida."

"Hustling money out of Adelson"

Nancy Smith's "take on what's going on with [Billionaire GOPer Sheldon] Adelson can be summed up in two words: Mel Sembler."

Sembler, the GOP fundraiser, St. Petersburg anti-drug crusader, ambassador to Italy who couldn't speak a word of Italian -- and, oh, yes, the founder of drug-rehab-program-from-hell STRAIGHT Inc. -- is one of Adelson's oldest friends.

Sembler has always defended the program, the tactics and the need to deal harshly with teens using -- even suspected of using -- drugs. My guess is, it was Sembler who went to work hustling money out of Adelson to oppose Amendment 2, and Adelson capitulated.

Think about it. Adelson has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on marijuana research to get a single breakthrough on multiple sclerosis. His institute has been cautious. He's going the Food and Drug Administration route. Now, all of a sudden, he's shown a loosely written ballot amendment, penned and backed by a rich and powerful Democratic lawyer (John Morgan) trying to buy a governor (Charlie Crist) in the process -- plus maybe work out some extra goodies for himself.

You can imagine, with Sembler's special twist how that would offend Sheldon Adelson.

Adelson stopped giving money to Rick Scott a while back, according to newspaper stories. He and the governor had a falling out over Scott's gaming negotiations with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. So, Adelson just happened to have an extra $2.5 million lying around.

By his own account on Bloomberg Television, Adelson wants to control sin "when possible." He wants to regulate illegal activities like prostitution, drug abuse and gambling by minors. It's a rich old man's fancy. I'm not saying I agree with him, but I do suspect his motives are purer than either Sembler's or Morgan's.

Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, a huge donor to pro-Scott forces, recently gave $2.5 million to a new group aiming to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize cannabis use for patients with cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and six other serious diseases. . . .

You might wonder why a rich Las Vegas casino owner is trying to prevent sick people 2,000 miles away from gaining legal access to pot. You think Adelson is genuinely worried that medicinal cannabis is a gateway to total legalization, and that it poses a dire threat to the people of Florida?

The man couldn’t care less. He’s all about getting Republicans elected.

As if Scott has no clue what his sugar daddy is up to. It’s an organized plan by Republican strategists that has nothing to do with the medical dispensation of marijuana, the statutory sturdiness of the amendment, or the ludicrous fantasy of a “drug-free” Florida.

It’s raw politics. The platform will be a 21st-century version of Reefer Madness propaganda, and the aim will be to scare people enough to make them go vote against Amendment 2. Those are folks who would also likely vote for Scott.

That’s the GOP theory, anyway.

A hyperbolic media campaign against medical marijuana could easily backfire, motivating pro-pot voters in even larger numbers. A high turnout, no pun intended, can only help Crist and hurt Scott.

If a smart person were making his campaign decisions, the governor would have told Adelson to stay out of Florida’s marijuana debate. Amendment 2 is almost certain to pass, so why run commercials that will only propel more of its supporters to the polls?

The result could extend Adelson’s losing streak, and send Scott’s re-election hopes up in smoke.

Weekly Roundup

Kevin Derby: "Political Bits and Pieces." See also "Arrivals and Departures, June 13, 2014" and "Weekly Roundup: Time to Hit Reset."

Eagle Survives

"Dane Eagle turned 31 last month but he’s already survived more than his share of pitfalls -- and it looks like he’s going to dodge another bullet. Despite being charged with DUI during the 2014 legislative session, Eagle is well-poised to return to the Florida House." "Somehow, DUI Charge and All, Dane Eagle Survives."

Voucher madness

"Gov. Rick Scott has until June 28 to sign or veto the proposed expansion of the school voucher program." "Parent, teacher groups urge Rick Scott to veto school voucher bill." See also "Teachers union urges Scott to veto voucher-expansion bill."

Book blasts tea party takeover of FlaGOP

"Jim Greer found a way to get even with Charlie Crist, but the question is how many people will believe it — or pay $32.95 to read about it. The disgraced and imprisoned former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida is the subject of a new book by St. Petersburg author Peter Golenbock."

Greer blamed his downfall on the takeover of the Republican Party by tea party members, whom he calls “crazies,” “wingnuts” and “wackadoos.” He likened them to members of the racist John Birch Society of the 1950s and ’60s, and said their constant calls for his ouster made him physically ill.

Greer says Crist’s undoing as a Republican can be attributed to his embrace of President Barack Obama and to his decision to appoint James Perry, an African-American and a Democrat, to the Florida Supreme Court.

Greer’s spectacularly fast rise to power and fall to personal ruin is one of the most dramatic in the annals of Florida politics.

Greer and his close friend, Delmar Johnson, formed a consulting company, Victory Strategies, that took party money. Greer insisted that the firm’s commissions for raising party money were approved by Crist and LeMieux.

After Greer was charged criminally, Crist said under oath he had no knowledge of Victory Strategies. . . .

Suzanne La Rosa, a spokeswoman for the publisher, New South Books of Montgomery, Ala., said Greer will receive no money or royalties from the book.

“There’s no deal,” LaRosa said. “This is just his story.”

Politicians rail against first responder pensions . . .

. . . "Slain deputy's family celebrates his life on Father's Day."

Scott's "promised jobs wafted quietly away"

"In 2011, it sure sounded like good news. Gov. Rick Scott announced that a Brazilian entrepreneur would be investing $25 million and bringing 75 jobs to the Port of Palm Beach, each paying an average wage of $62,000."

The company vanished. And when that happened, Scott did not issue a press release or post to Facebook, and Enterprise Florida issued nary a tweet. The promised jobs wafted quietly away, like a bitter white powder in a warm breeze.

Education "companies cannot make money on long-term student success"

"Fed up and fired up, algebra teacher Josh Katz this spring took to the stage for a 17-minute denouncement of what he called the 'toxic culture of education' in Florida's public schools."

Standardized tests, Katz said, have been used to prove that these students and their schools are "failing," a message pushed by "our super villain: private education companies."

The firms that make standardized tests want to "perpetuate a picture of failure," he said, because "companies cannot make money on long-term student success."

The new Common Core standards in language arts and math that Florida adopted "will do even more damage," in his view, because they are tied to more high-stakes testing and to lessons that aren't appropriate for everyone.

Scott slashes Bright Futures

"State Sen. Dwight Bullard said Scott and Republican lawmakers had slashed the Bright Futures budget from $309 million last year to $266 million this year." "Florida Democrats condemn Gov. Rick Scott over Bright Futures cuts".

Greenbelt fraud

"State lawmakers created the greenbelt tax classification more than 50 years ago to protect farms and ranches from disappearing as a building boom boosted the value of all land — and the property taxes that go with it. . . . But more and more, the beneficiaries of this tax break of a whopping 90 percent or more are developers rather than farmers or ranchers." "Greenbelt tax break not just for farms."

Scott has stake in company drilling for oil in Collier County

"Gov. Rick Scott's six-figure stake in a French energy company is angering environmentalists because the firm is involved in oil drilling in Collier County, near the Everglades."

Scott and the Cabinet oversee the Department of Environmental Protection, which regulates oil drilling in Florida, and Scott has invested in businesses that could be regulated by DEP and other state agencies.

Asked if he supports drilling in a county where he owns a $9.2 million home, Scott did not directly answer. . . .

In 2011, the original blind trust showed a $135,000 investment in Schlumberger Ltd., the world's largest oil services company.

Its stock has risen steadily over the past year and trades at $107 a share, but the blind trust prevents the public from knowing whether Scott still has a stake in the company — or whether it has grown.

The leader of a citizens group opposed to drilling is one of numerous people alarmed at Scott's past, and possibly continuing, financial ties to Schlumberger. . . .

Learning of the Schlumberger tie, Mulé said he's [now] more suspicious of DEP's layoffs of dozens of employees charged with regulating polluters in 2012.

Equality Florida endorses Crist

"LGBT-rights group Equality Florida endorses Democrat Charlie Crist for governor." More: "The largest gay-rights groups in Florida and the nation endorsed Democrat Charlie Crist for governor." "LGBT-rights group endorses Democrat Charlie Crist for governor." Meanwhile, "Rivals Call Out Charlie Crist's Shifts on LGBT Issues."

Winger frenzy

"Florida Gov. Scott signs late term abortion bill." See also "Scott signs abortion bill, 94 others" and "Florida Gov. Rick Scott signs nearly 100 bills."

Chickenhawk takes on infantry squad leader

Although Jeff Miller's self-proclaimed "service" has been limited to elective office, he is happy to bask in the reflected glory of military veterans and feature militaria on his website. However, this toy soldier bit off a bit more than he could chew in this one sided exchange with a man who served as an infantry squad leader in Vietnam: "Chuck Hagel, Jeff Miller Duel Over Taliban Prisoner Exchange and Bowe Bergdahl."

Nelson: "The radicals won"

"'The radicals won,' Sen. Bill Nelson declared when asked about House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's epic defeat Tuesday in Virginia."

"That's not what our politics needs," the Florida Democrat said of the Cantor slayer, college economics professor David Brat. "This is just another indication of the Republican Party being so split apart. It will probably take another couple election cycles for this to all sort itself out."

Echoing others, Nelson said Cantor's loss could have a chilling effect among Republicans in Washington. "It pretty well kills immigration reform over in the House."

Yee haw!

"The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutionality of a 2013 law that legislative supporters said would reduce delays in carrying out the death penalty." "Florida high court OKs law meant to speed up death penalty."

"Cost of doing business"

"Miami-Dade Commission donations “a cost of doing business”."