"Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Charlie Crist arrived at WSCV-Telemundo 51 in Miramar Friday for their first of three televised debates, prepared to rip each other apart on a variety of issues -- and that’s exactly what they proceeded to do." "Claws Come Out in First Debate Between Scott and Crist." See also "Gov. Rick Scott and Charlie Crist spar in first debate that gets testy as candidates hammer campaign," "Crist, Scott let the barbs fly in debate," "Crist and Scott Clash in First Gubernatorial Debate," "Tense exchanges, zingers, clear differences in debate between Gov. Rick Scott and Charlie Crist" and "First debate between Scott, Crist contentious."

More: "No clear winner in first Crist, Scott debate," "Crist, Scott carve out identities in first debate," "Crist, Scott Face Off In 1st Debate, Wyllie Supporters Protests," and "Charlie Crist, Rick Scott face off in first debate."

Crist hammers Scott on hypocritical reliance on fed cash

"Charlie Crist says in debate that stimulus saved 20000 teacher jobs."

SoFla "race is key to GOP supermajority"

"Sachs-Bogdanoff race is key to GOP supermajority (subscription required)."

Attacks on Scott's failed job promises wait in the wings

Scott repeated his favorite canard during the debate: "During the Oct. 10 Telemundo debate in Miramar, Scott noted about a half dozen times that 832,000 people joined the ranks of the unemployed while Crist was in office."

Scott said "832,000 people lost their job" while Crist was governor, blaming his opponent for not doing enough while in office to improve Florida’s growing ranks of the unemployed.

It’s possible to quibble with the specific number of job losses that occurred under Crist, but the differences are small -- 1.5 percent in one direction or the other.

The bigger issue is that it’s a stretch for Scott to ascribe blame for job losses on a governor’s watch, since it’s unclear whether any given governor’s policies have had an effect on employment trends. If Scott is trying to impugn Crist’s record on jobs during a recession -- something that depends heavily on the national and international economic picture -- he’s largely off base, even if his numbers are pretty close.

It won't be long before Crist lets loose on Scott's failed job promises - Esquire Magazine columnist Charles P. Pierce has the details: Scott

promised that his crack economic team soon would have the state buried in new jobs. Local newspapers down there have looked at the record and, frankly, Scott would have been better off sending the state's cash down a sinkhole in the Everglades.

- Of the jobs Scott can influence most, only a fraction now exist. Scott has pledged $266 million in tax breaks and other incentives in return for 45,258 new jobs. But 96 percent of the jobs have yet to materialize, according to state data.

- The total number of new jobs Scott ultimately might deliver doesn't offset the jobs lost at companies with more than 100 workers in the same time period. Between January 2011 and November 2013, large Florida employers reported 49,163 layoffs, according to federal data.

-Nearly 14 percent of Scott's deals - 46 in all - have collapsed for various reasons, the state says, and more projects are dormant.

-Florida offers tax breaks in most cases only when a company creates the jobs it promised, and $45 million sits idle waiting to be claimed by companies that have not yet reached hiring goals.

-The jobs outlook isn't better in Tampa Bay, where Scott inked deals to create 7,251 jobs in exchange for $39 million in tax breaks. Jobs created to date: 462.

The ghost in the machine, of course, is the strategy of offering massive tax breaks in return for promises from industry. (Also, many of the people to whom these promises are made turn out to be thieves and grifters.)

Wingnuts running wild in streets of Miami

"Americans for Prosperity builds political machine."

Haters in a dither

"Unlike other Democrats who are running from U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., has shown no hesitation in embracing her. This week, Grayson announced that Pelosi would campaign with him in Orlando at the end of next week and went out of his way to praise her." "Beltway 'Bigs' Rubio and Pelosi Lock into Alan Grayson-Carol Platt Race."

It's SoFla, stupid

"Charlie Crist places heavier bet on South Florida than Rick Scott."

"Lost in the hoopla"

"Lost in the hoopla with a dramatic Florida gubernatorial contest between Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Charlie Crist, now a Democrat after spending most of his political career as a Republican, some compelling fights for congressional seats and a high-profile fight over Amendment 2 on medical marijuana are the legislative elections. "

All 120 Florida House seats and 20 Florida Senate seats will be up for grabs in November. No matter who wins the gubernatorial contest, the Legislature will play an important role when it convenes in March 2015. Factor in leadership contests, major issues ranging from casino gambling and education spending, perhaps more legal challenges to congressional redistricting and the Legislature will have its hands full -- whether a Republican governor is looking to cement his legacy or the first new Democratic governor in 24 years leads the Sunshine State.

Sharpton in town

"Al Sharpton pushes for higher turnout among black voters."

"Old" news; really?

Rick Scott ran a company that was, as a result of false claim act litigation pursued by the federal government, forced to return $1.7 billion dollars to American taxpayers. Balanced "journalist" Aaron Deslatte thinks Crist raising this issue as a campaign issue is just typical politics. He writes that this is just "old" news. He writes that Crist is merely

exhuming 20-year-old accusations about what Scott might have known about the massive Medicare overbilling and fraud committed at his former hospital chain, Columbia/HCA.

Weekly Roundup

"Weekly Roundup: Stretch Run for Campaigns, Gay Marriage."

He's not a lobbyist, he's just "a tour guide"

"When asked if he has represented Roberto and William Isaías, who are wanted in their native Ecuador, Republican Carlos Curbelo said yes. But he argued he did not have to register as a lobbyist for the brothers and their relatives." "Miami congressional candidate Carlos Curbelo represented Ecuadorean fugitives."

Meanwhile the FlaGOP keeps hoping: "New Poll: Obama and Scandals Hurting Garcia Against Curbelo." See "Curbelo Leads Garcia, 46-42, in South Florida."

"What is it about Florida politics?

Nancy Smith: "What is it about American politics? Or Florida politics? Or both."

"Hispanic voters strongly back Charlie Crist"

A "poll, released just as the two major candidates prepare to square off Friday in a debate hosted by Spanish-language network Telemundo, is the latest spot of good survey news for Charlie Crist." "Poll: Florida Hispanic voters strongly back Charlie Crist, Medicaid expansion."

The two organizations that aggregate poll results show, in effect, a tie: RealClearPolitics has Crist ahead by 1.4 percentage points; HuffPost Pollster has Scott ahead by 0.8." "In close governor's race, Charlie Crist and Rick Scott prepare to go head to head."

See also "Scott, Crist to meet in first gubernatorial debate," "Scott, Crist face off in first of three debates tonight" and "Five things to watch in the debates for Florida governor."

Meanwhile, "Adrian Wyllie sues to participate in Fla. governor’s race debate with Gov. Rick Scott, Charlie Crist," "Libertarian Wyllie sues to join gubernatorial debate" and "Libertarian Wyllie sues to get into Florida governor debate."

Atwater faces challenge

"With the neck-and-neck governor’s race getting all the attention, there hasn’t been much press on the 2014 contest for chief financial officer of the state of Florida. " "CFO Atwater faces challenge from public finances veteran."

Huh?

"By Attacking Scott Instead of Bondi, Sheldon Waves a White Flag in AG Bid."

FlaGOP pays "lip service" about minority-voter outreach

"The Florida branch of the NAACP is holding its statewide convention in Panama City this weekend, and one of the highlights of the annual soiree is a candidate forum slated for Friday night."

Despite much lip service from both parties about minority-voter outreach, no Republican candidates agreed to appear at the event. . . .

Crist, a lifetime member of the NAACP, is slated to appear at a gala dinner on Saturday night.

"Senators Take Sides"

"Senators Take Sides in Florida Governor's Race."

"Poor choices"

The Miami Herald editors: "Florida is giving us the spectacle of its 44th governor, Charlie Crist, trying to get his job back from the 45th, Rick Scott. Voters don’t seem to care much for either." "Poor choices in Fla. governor’s race."

Scott "sweetness offensive"?

Nancy Smith: "Rick Scott's campaign people aren't going to listen to me -- heck, my own kids don't even do that -- but here comes my advice anyway: Go on an all-out, total-market sweetness offensive." "Psst, Gov. Scott: Show Voters Your Good Work -- and Your Class."

GOP front group surprises no one

"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced on Thursday it was backing Miami-Dade School Board member Carlos Curbelo, the Republican challenger, over U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla., in what is expected to be a tightly contested race." "Joe Garcia's Team Fights Back After US Chamber Supports Carlos Curbelo."

Bondi's "spurious and self-serving" explanations

John Romano picks apart Bondi's "vigorous and vacuous arguments against gay marriage. Bondi has repeatedly stated that hers is not a personal crusade but rather her responsibility as the state's top law enforcement official. This argument would carry much greater weight if the Attorney General did not pick and choose which laws and constitutional amendments to aggressively enforce."

Florida's voters also recently passed a constitutional amendment requiring lawmakers to avoid partisan politics when redrawing districts. A recent court case indicated lawmakers ignored that law and mysteriously deleted pertinent documents. There were also indications party operatives falsely submitted a map under a college student's name to avoid detection.

The Attorney General has not seemed overly concerned with those abuses.

She has also largely ignored constitutional issues involving the Sunshine Law, school vouchers once ruled illegal by the state Supreme Court and corporate pollution laws.

On the other hand, she has aggressively defended such partisan issues as warrantless searches, prison privatization and a flawed voter purge.

The Attorney General's explanations seem spurious and self-serving, and are completely incompatible with her actions in other matters. She should drop all appeals immediately. Further delay might indicate a preference to wait until after the upcoming election, which would amount to a despicable abuse of power.

"Hispanic voters strongly back Charlie Crist"

"Democrat Charlie Crist holds a sizable 53-29 percent lead over Gov. Rick Scott among Hispanic voters, according to a new poll that indicates this fastest growing segment of the electorate doesn't like Republican positions on immigration, Medicaid and the minimum wage."

The poll, released as the two major candidates square off Friday in a debate hosted by Spanish-language network Telemundo, is the latest spot of good survey news for Crist.

The Democrat appears to be gaining ground on Scott and edges the Republican in four statewide likely voter surveys released this week. Crist's lead in those general polls, though, is inside the polls' margins of error, meaning the race is pretty much a tie.

The horse-race question aside, the Latino Decisions/La Raza survey bucks some conventional wisdom when it comes to the importance of immigration to Hispanic voters.

At 22 percent, immigration is the second-most important issue behind fixing the economy (24 percent) and it's virtually tied with health care (21 percent). Creating more jobs and handling unemployment ranks fourth at 19 percent. The poll's margin of error: 4 percentage points.

Part of the reason immigration isn't such a high concern for Florida Hispanics is that the two largest groups, Cubans and Puerto Ricans, aren't as affected by the issue. Cubans get a special pathway to citizenship if they land on U.S. soil and Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens.

"Taddeo rips Scott on women's rights"

"Annette Taddeo, Lt. Gov. candidate on the Democratic gubernatorial ticket, blasted Rick Scott on women's rights while talking to reporters before a Women-For-Crist rally at the University of Central Florida, Thursday." "Lt. Gov. candidate Taddeo rips Scott on women's rights in Orlando."

Scott's "complex web of finances"

"A candidate running against Attorney General Pam Bondi has filed a lawsuit that claims the governor is using his complex web of finances to shield assets from the public." "Lawsuit: Gov. Rick Scott shields more than $200 million in assets."

"Ballot tampering scheme"

"Miami-Dade County prosecutors accused the two men, who worked for Homestead mayoral candidate Mark Bell, of filling out four absentee ballots against voters’ wishes." "2 arrested in ballot tampering scheme during Homestead election last year." See also "Homestead family: We were victims of ballot fraud."

"UC benefits system "plagued by problems"

"Florida’s new unemployment benefits system continues to be plagued by problems that keep the jobless from getting timely payments." "As anniversary of Florida unemployment site approaches, benefits still lag."

A politician would have to be nuts to take a campaign check from somebody after that person had been charged, convicted and sent away, right?

Yep — but it almost happened.

Back in 2008, a big South Florida real-estate developer named James Batmasian went to federal prison for cheating the government out of $253,000 in unpaid taxes for his employees. . . .

Yet earlier this year, astoundingly, the bright bulbs who are running Scott’s re-election campaign decided it would be a swell idea for Batmasian to host a $10,000-per-ticket fundraiser for the governor.

The shindig was all set for June 6 at Batmasian’s very nice, very large house in Boca Raton.

Then [and only after] the left-leaning magazine Mother Jones published an online article about it, which tickled Democrats and elicited the following grim response from Scott’s office: “This event has been canceled.” . . .

Even in Florida, where crooks permeate politics, Scott’s Batmasian bungle is extraordinary. Either he didn’t know who the guy was, or he did know and just figured nobody would find out about their get-together.

Charlie Crist might be a little goofy and naïve, but during his four years as governor he never once planned a fundraising event at the home of a convicted felon.

Here's another one, but at least this guy was arrested after he held his Scott fundraiser: "Orlando hotelier Nik Patel, who was arrested Tuesday on fraud allegations, held a fundraiser for Gov. Rick Scott at his home in Windermere in April."

Patel is accused by the FBI of lying about guarantees on $150 million in loans he sold. Patel’s attorney has denied the allegations.

State records show Patel also donated $100,000 to the Republican Party of Florida in April.

Update: "Rick Scott and Republicans will donate Nik Patel contributions."

Myths die hard

Matt Dixon: "With up to 13 percent of Florida’s electorate made up of Hispanic voters, most of whom lean Democratic, ovations from candidates on immigration and other issues are inevitable. And because the largest portion of Florida’s Hispanic population — roughly 30 percent — is Republican-leaning Cubans, it also presents a sometimes complex set of political land mines unseen in other states." "Hispanic voters a key to election."

The Cubans=GOP meme is more of a myth than Dixon acknowledges: "The Republican party is losing support among U.S. Cubans as a growing number are shifting their support toward Democrats, according to a Pew Research Center analysis released [in June of 2014]. Less than half (47 percent) of Cuban registered voters nationwide identified or were leaning toward the Republican Party, compared to 64 percent ten years ago. Meanwhile, the share of U.S. Cubans leaning or identifying with Democrats climbed doubled from 22 percent to 44 percent." "More U.S. Cubans Are Shifting To Democratic Party."

If anything, then, this strong Democratic trend among Florida Cubans (which mirrors what happened in Tampa a generation earlier), together with their high turnout rate, is slowly becoming a strength for FlaDem candidates.

Weekly Roundup

"With Gov. Rick Scott, the entire Cabinet and many of the state’s 160 lawmakers out on the stump campaigning for re-election, the news about government in Florida has largely moved elsewhere. There’s some work being done by the courts, which, at least in theory, comprise the least political branch. And the Public Service Commission, with members whose jobs are only indirectly on the line this fall, is still keeping an eye on utilities."

"But even those tasks seem to be infused with campaign implications in an overly political season. A lawsuit against the state’s voucher system could cause some headaches for former Gov. Charlie Crist, whose base is divided over the issue. And politicians are sensitive to any PSC decision that could hit consumers — also known as voters — in the wallet." "Weekly Roundup: Redistricting Fight Continues, Utility Customers Bilked Again, DCF’s Woes."

"Another twist to Florida's often bizarre politics"

"Crist's Democratic campaign for governor after a lifetime spent building up the state GOP establishment adds another twist to Florida's often bizarre politics, but the candidate insists there is really nothing that strange about his evolution." "Crist insists his message is ‘genuine’."

Scott does not report all his assets in his state disclosure forms

The Miami Herald: "Documents show that Gov. Rick Scott divides his assets into multiple accounts, but does not report it all in his state disclosure forms."

Mary Ellen Klas and Marc Caputo report in a lengthy article today that "Scott’s decisions raise questions about the accuracy and completeness of his financial disclosures as well as the governor’s role in managing his vast personal fortune."

The governor, for instance, does not disclose the entire value of assets that reside in different trust and partnership accounts and for which he’s listed in federal records as the “beneficial owner,” according to an extensive Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times review of hundreds of federal and state documents filed in Florida, Washington, Connecticut, Texas, Nevada and Illinois.

-Information about Scott’s income and investments provided on state disclosure forms differ from financial information he furnished to the IRS and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

- The various Scott family investment trusts and partnerships often act in tandem with his blind trust and involve Scott’s long-time financial advisors — raising questions about how independent the trust is from the governor.

- Between 2009 and 2013, the income reported on the governor’s state financial disclosure and the income reported to the IRS differed each year, fluctuating as much as $41 million in a single year.

- Scott’s call for more transparency from his campaign opponent has not extended to all of the trusts and family partnerships from which he and his household have profited.

- Though he says he’s “blind” to his trust, he has signed off on transactions involving some of its assets in recent SEC reports.

- Taken together, the trail of documents and financial instruments indicate Scott’s net worth for 2013 could be far higher than the $132.7 million he reported.

- The Herald/Times asked to be briefed by the governor’s tax and investment advisers but were denied an interview. Earlier this week, the newspapers then supplied detailed written questions, as well as copies of related documents, to the governor’s lawyers. General Counsel Pete Antonacci said they distributed the questions to the financial experts but were unable to provide a response by the end of the day on Friday.

- For nearly 40 years, the Florida Constitution has required state elected officials to annually make a “full and public disclosure of financial interests [via] a sworn statement showing net worth and identifying each asset and liability in excess of $1,000.”

- But Scott has disclosed only a portion of his assets, in part because of the new state blind trust law that he signed, which is now being challenged in court.

Amendment 1

"This year, the state has raised $44 million for conservation purchases through the sale of non-conservation surplus lands. Still, that's not close to approaching previous levels. In November's election, a statewide coalition of environmentalists seeks to change that with Florida's Water and Land Legacy, a constitutional amendment mandating that the state put 33 percent of the revenues raised from its document stamp tax into its land acquisition trust fund each year for 20 years." "Amendment 1 could have major impact on local conservation efforts."

Trib feigns balance in advance of their Scott endorsement

The Tampa Tribune's Tom Jackson: "Scott has track record of reliable performance." Joe Henderson: "Crist’s record shows willingness to make tough choices."

"Rambling and incoherent"

Political consultant, and campaign manager for United for Care, Ben Pollara skewers Barney Bishop’s column in opposition to Amendment 2 "as rambling and incoherent as it was wrong." He writes that

One might suspect he’s gotten his hands on some of this “high THC” weed he’s so terrified about. I generally do the sensible thing and ignore Bishop’s paranoid screeds, but his latest missive not only contains the usual false arguments but also states that I (and this campaign) have not addressed those false arguments. I have. We have. Again and again and again. But here’s to you, Barney! One more time.

Lindsey Graham disses Rubio

"Marco Rubio’s presidential ambitions could run into a big obstacle offered by a close ally of the senator from Florida. Lindsey Graham told the Weekly Standard this week that he will seriously look at running for the Republican presidential nomination if, as expected, he keeps his Senate seat in November. Graham also dismissed Rubio as a presidential possibility, saying he was too inexperienced and too afraid of conservatives to sit in the White House." "Lindsey Graham Could Ruin Marco Rubio's Plans for 2016."

"NRA never lets facts get in the way"

Scott Maxwell writes that the NRA claims that "electing Charlie Crist will lead to dead women and babies everywhere, according to the NRA."

The notion of Crist as anti-gun is pretty laughable. Don't take it from me. Take it from the NRA — the group that gave him A and even A-plus ratings back when he was in office.

But the NRA has never let facts get in the way of a good narrative. And now that Crist is going up against new NRA darling Rick Scott, its firing fiction with both barrels.

There are actually a couple of policy differences between Crist and the NRA. For instance, Crist has expressed concerns about high-capacity magazines and the importance of background checks.

But he has never supported taking away the rights of law-abiding citizens to own guns — or voted for anything that would harm this woman and her child. And the NRA knows it.

The NRA also knows most Americans agree with Crist on things such as background checks. So instead of sticking with the facts, the NRA relied on fiction and fear-mongering.