Amendment 2 Losing Ground

"Amendment 2 Loses Ground in Poll; Minimum Wage Hike, Medicaid Expansion Gain."

And then there's the actual divorce part

"A South Florida judge who ruled that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional has cancelled a hearing on whether to grant a final divorce to a gay couple." "Florida judge cancels hearing on same-sex divorce." See also "Broward judge cancels hearing on same-sex divorce."

Wyllie is hurting Charlie Crist slightly more than he is Rick Scott

"Adrian Wyllie has shown he will be a factor in the Florida gubernatorial race, but despite his positions on fiscal issues, Wyllie is hurting Charlie Crist slightly more than he is Rick Scott." "Libertarian Adrian Wyllie is Bad News for Charlie Crist."

Thrasher makes final cut

"State Sen. John Thrasher is one of four finalists for FSU president."

Red herring

Nancy Smith: "Now that the news is out there, it's a question that must be asked: Why won't at least one of the Crists attend the Democratic Women's Club of Florida convention?" "Charlie's Lame Dinner Excuse."

Never mind that Joe feller

"Marco Rubio, National Conservatives Step Up for Carlos Curbelo Against Joe Garcia."

Jebbie trails Hill in Florida

"Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to leading Democrats, released a poll Tuesday which shows a majority of Florida voters -- 54 percent -- disapprove of Obama’s performance in the White House. Despite carrying the Sunshine State in both 2008 and 2012, only 39 percent of those surveyed approve of Obama."

Rubio’s performance in Washington is approved by 44 percent of those surveyed while 41 percent disapprove of it. A majority of those surveyed -- 53 percent -- think Rubio should not run for the presidency in 2016 but 32 percent say he should launch a presidential bid.

Meanwhile, "Hillary Holds Lead Over GOP Foes in Florida; Jeb Comes Closest."

Full on Scott whine

"A top Gov. Rick Scott surrogate, Miami state. Sen. Anitere Flores, said the Democrats are misconstruing Scott’s record and what’s important." "XX marks the spot? Charlie Crist campaigning on abortion, equal pay, birth control."

Amendment 2 Losing Ground

"Amendment 2 Loses Ground in Poll; Minimum Wage Hike, Medicaid Expansion Gain."

That case could eventually lead to new districts for the 40-member upper chamber, which, like the state House, is currently dominated by Republicans. Any final ruling against that plan would require a third draft of the Senate districts after the Florida Supreme Court tossed the original lawmaker-approved plan two years ago.

Here's the solution: pay cuts!

"One of the worst problems facing Florida's troubled child-welfare system, advocates say, is job turnover among the case managers who oversee adoption and foster-care services --- 80 percent in some parts of the state. It's costing Florida tens of millions of dollars a year, and those are just the costs that can be quantified." "Child-welfare agencies look to trim high staff turnover."

Run Marco! Run!

"U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., continues to flex his wings on foreign policy, taking a few shots at other potential Republican presidential hopefuls in 2016 and getting a look from the team that helped former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., on international issues when he ran for the presidency in 2012." "Mitt Romney's Foreign Policy Team Eyes Marco Rubio for 2016."

Nancy don' like DWS

Nancy Smith: "Republican war on women? Coming from Debbie Wasserman Schultz, don't even." "Debbie Does Dumb (Again!)."

Nelson wants action

"U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), a strong advocate for attacking the Sunni extremist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria, today introduced a joint resolution giving the President authority to use force against the group in Syria, including commandos on the ground if needed." "Bill Nelson seeks new authority for president against Islamic State." See also "Bill Nelson, Marco Rubio Urge Obama to Act Against IS Forces in Syria."

FlaDems have a thin bench

"Democrats have a pretty thin bench in Florida, but increasingly more than a few eyes are turning toward Ted Deutch for a Senate bid in 2016 or 2018." "Ted Deutch Could Be the Future for Florida Democrats in Senate Races."

The Week Ahead

"The Week Ahead for Sept. 8 to Sept. 12, 2014"

Florida’s senators divided over delay

Kevin Derby: "President Barack Obama announced this weekend that he would wait on pursuing executive action on immigration until after the November elections, dividing Florida’s two U.S. senators and inserting another issue in a competitive congressional election in South Florida." "Obama's Immigration Delay Divides Florida's Senators, S. Florida Congressional Candidates."

A walk off for Altman

"Altman challenger drops out of Senate race."

"An awful lot like the old Florida"

Ron Cunningham, in a guest story in the Gainesville Sun: "New Florida is starting to look an awful lot like the old Florida."

Medical Pot may have backfired as a GOTV srategy

"With the primaries over, Florida voters will be focusing on the November ballot and political action committees will be spending millions of dollars on advertising to help sway them." "Medical pot supporters low on funds." Background: "Medical marijuana's political sway."

That right to vote thing

The audacity of the ACLU reminding us that those folks who can't afford to bond out and are in jail

awaiting trial or serving time for a misdemeanor can request absentee ballots, including for local judges.

From the value's crowd

"Florida's legal aid societies, where the poor seek help fighting eviction, collecting government benefits and battling foreclosure, are in crisis, according to advocates who say the state's last line of civil legal defense is crumbling. Years of funding cuts from local governments, the state and the Florida Bar Foundation have diminished legal aid groups to the point where some may soon be forced to close their doors." "Florida's legal aid services for the poor imperiled by budget cuts."

Scott is straddling common core as best he can

"To win on Nov. 4, Scott must rally an active and vocal part of his base: tea party members who want to eviscerate the new standards. But he's also vying for votes from moderate Republicans who support the Common Core standards. And he's keenly aware that former Gov. Jeb Bush has been a powerful driving force behind the standards' success."

Democratic candidate Charlie Crist has embraced the Common Core but is less likely to face pushback for his position. Although some Democrats believe the benchmarks will stifle creativity in the classroom, most support the concept.

"Gov. Scott is straddling this issue as best he can," said University of Florida political science professor Daniel Smith, adding that Common Core could make a difference in a close race. . . .

There was little dissent in 2010 when Florida approved the benchmarks. But last year, conservative parents and tea party groups began raising concerns about federal intrusion into public education, even though the federal government was not involved in the development of the standards.

The opposition in Florida grew so strong that Scott ordered the state to pull out of a consortium of states developing Common Core tests. He also called for a series of public hearings that prompted state education officials to tweak the benchmarks and rename them the Florida Standards.

Critics derided the changes as cosmetic. (The Common Core State Standards Initiative website continues to list Florida as a state that has adopted the standards.) But they backed off of their attacks on Scott in the spring and early summer.

Desperate Scott pushes tax cuts and Obama hatin'

"Back to Basics for Rick Scott: Tax Cuts and Opposing Obama."

Matt Reed says "beware of any state politician who promises to cut taxes in Tallahassee by cutting local levies, on which our schools, firefighters and road departments depend." Leave this tax idea off the bus."

The governor now mumbles that while he “supports traditional marriage, consistent with the amendment approved by Florida voters in 2008,” he also “does not believe that anyone should be discriminated against for any reason.”

As a policy statement, Scott was uttering contradictory gibberish, but as a gubernatorial candidate, he gave perfect voice to a new political reality: There’s no going back to 2008.

Scott an "environmental disaster"

The Tampa Bay Times editors think Rick Scott's record is "an environmental disaster."

Judicial candidates exchange outrage

"Accusations of underhanded tactics, attack mailers and mutually exchanged outrage: These are all fixtures of the late-summer months during election years in Central Florida. But their appearance in the race for a seat on the Orange-Osceola circuit-court bench riled the local legal community this election season. And now The Florida Bar is investigating a complaint against the winning candidate's tactics." "Fiery judicial campaign riled legal community, sparked Bar probe."

Expect Scott to go after public pensions

Lloyd Dunkelberger: "Riding a strong stock market, the Florida pension fund had a robust year, earning 17.4 percent in returns and rising to $149 billion."

But big changes may loom ahead for the nation's fourth-largest public pension fund, impacting the more than 1 million state workers, school employees, county workers and retirees who rely on the Florida retirement system.

The direction those changes take will depend on the outcome of the governor's race.

If Rick Scott is re-elected, you can expect a renewed push to move more public workers out of the traditional pension plan and into a 401(k)-type plan — which is currently an optional plan in the retirement system. . . .

If Charlie Crist wins, he is more likely to side with major labor unions that are supporting his campaign, including the Florida Education Association, which argue that Florida's pension plan should not be changed.

"Other lobbyists consider him a rat"

"Michael Kesti, who helped the FBI in a corruption sting that led to three convictions, says he doesn’t care that some other lobbyists consider him a rat." "Was Miami-Dade lobbyist a ‘patriot’ or ‘snitch’ in FBI sting of local politicians?."

"Growing insurgency over excessive testing"

The Orlando Sentinel editors write that the Lee County School "board's brief revolt against giving state-mandated standardized tests — including the new Common Core-aligned Florida Standards Assessment exams set to roll out in 2015 — was a first in the state. Members were proxies for a growing insurgency over excessive testing and reliance on the results for school grades, student graduation and teacher evaluations and pay." "Board's revolt signals need for testing timeout." See also "‘Opt out’ policy on state tests urged."

Jebbie laff riot

"As he mulls a presidential run in 2016, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's friends and associates are urging top Republican fundraisers and strategists to avoid throwing their lot in with another candidate until Bush makes a decision." "Jeb Bush's team signals possible 2016 presidential run." Meanwhile, "Rubio tries to regain conservatives on immigration."

“None of the above”

"With thousands of voters skipping races on last month's primary ballot, some are privately wondering whether it's time to just put a 'none of the above' option on Florida ballots." "Is it time to let voters pick “none of the above”?."

But I'm a lobbyist!

"Students and Faculty Don’t Want Him, But Sen. John Thrasher Makes FSU Presidency’s Short List."

"Who’s up for another tax cut?"

Rick Christie: "Who’s up for another tax cut? Or better yet, who isn’t?"

Apparently, Gov. Rick Scott — now promising $1 billion in tax and fee cuts over the next two years — is once again banking on that sentiment to help him retain the governor’s seat come November. He just hasn’t shared yet how he will make this happen, other than “with the input of the Legislature.”

"Many private charter schools are opening one day and closing the next"

The Sun Sentinel editors: "To hear the charter schools people tell it, something is wrong with the administration of Broward County Public Schools that so many private charter schools are opening one day and closing the next." "Dueling visions of the crisis in charter schools."

"Workers must decide whether to skip the water bill"

John Romano: "The minimum wage debate is not a simple one. Neither side has a monopoly on the facts."

Supporters of raising the minimum wage could cite studies from California-Berkeley and MIT that suggest higher pay means a healthier economy. Critics could produce their own studies that warn a higher minimum wage could result in a smaller workforce.

Meanwhile, a generation of workers tries to decide whether it's better to skip the electric or water bill this month.