"Scott and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Month"

"Scott was sworn in for his second term on Jan. 6 -- a little more than two weeks ago. It's pretty much been all downhill from there." "Backroom Briefing: Scott and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Month."

Scott denies he's a crook

"Florida Gov. Rick Scott, responding to an ongoing furor that is overshadowing his second term in office, provided a detailed response Thursday to allegations that he and his staff made improper and politically motivated requests to the state's former top law-enforcement official. The decision by Scott's office to release a two-page list of questions and answers came hours after two other statewide-elected Republicans said someone should look into the allegations made by former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey." "Scott fires back at ex-FDLE chief's allegations." See also "Governor's Office Answers on Gerald Bailey, FDLE."

"Scott denies allegations in FDLE firing." Meanwhile, "CFO Jeff Atwater, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam call for investigation into FDLE firing."

Weatherford's make-work-millions

"Even though he is now out of office, Will Weatherford showed this week that he has no intention of heading toward the sidelines."

Only 35, Weatherford just finished eight years in the Florida House including spending 2013 and 2014 as speaker. It's no secret that Weatherford has ambitions for even higher office and, with youth on his side, his star could go far. But his path up is blocked by several other Republicans and, after being term-limited, last year Weatherford had no immediate office to target. The question turns now to how Weatherford can remain in the public eye while getting ready for 2018 or whenever he decides to run again.

Part of that became evident this week. Earlier this week, Weatherford announced the formation of Weatherford Partners -- formed with two of his brothers including former FSU quarterback Drew Weatherford -- to tackle capital investment. Later in the week, the former House speaker also joined the board of directors of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, an organization his father-in-law Allan Bense has ties to. On Thursday, Weatherford announced he was joining the board of directors of Sunshine Bancorp.

Haters in a dither

"US, Cuba end historic talks with more questions than answers." Background: "State Department negotiator meets with Cuban dissidents."

Bondi on Wednesday became the last of the three elected Republican Cabinet members to distance herself from the ouster last month of Gerald Bailey as commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Bailey alleges that Scott and his aides meddled in law enforcement business and used strong-arm tactics to pressure him to resign.

Taking [only] indirect aim at Scott on his preference for secrecy over transparency, Bondi said that she and the public have a right to know the truth and that she would insist that the Bailey matter be discussed "thoroughly and in the sunshine" at the next Cabinet meeting Feb. 5.

All three Cabinet members have said they did not anticipate Bailey's ouster, but not one of them publicly questioned the decision at last week's Cabinet meeting.

Torpid editorial boards begin to call for an investigation

The Miami Herald editors: "Investigate FDLE allegations."

"FDLE chief's ouster could force changes"

"The abrupt ouster of the leader of Florida's main law-enforcement agency could lead to a major shake-up in how the state Cabinet and the governor hire top officials." "FDLE chief's ouster could force changes in Cabinet hiring of leaders."

Second amendment stoopid

"Pinellas toddler finds his father's gun, kills himself."

"Bondi (included only for comic relief)"

John Romano writes: "The words were polite and the tone was measured, but the message Gov. Rick Scott delivered in a letter to Jeff Atwater seems unmistakable:"

Kiss off.

And while the letter was addressed to the state's chief financial officer, it might as well have gone to every politician in Tallahassee and every voter in Florida.

For what Scott really did was draw a line in the sand and ask if anyone was tough enough to cross it.

There really is no other way to interpret Scott's response when Atwater suggested the Cabinet reconsider the hiring of a new commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

be called out by his Cabinet colleagues. By Atwater (a strong possibility), by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam (a lesser possibility) or by Attorney General Pam Bondi (included only for comic relief). . . .

More people voted against Scott than for him in consecutive gubernatorial elections. He has nothing approaching a mandate and no cause to believe he can act with impunity.

What he has done this week is behaved like a bully.

And if no one has the courage to knock him down, his disregard for laws, transparency and common courtesy will only get worse.

JU, Really?

"Mitt Romney to Receive Honorary Degree from JU."

Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam [initially] followed along like sheep, praising Bailey, asking no questions and voting unanimously for his replacement. Only after Bailey said the governor lied by calling his abrupt departure voluntary did the Cabinet members perk up, plead ignorance and pronounce themselves dissatisfied.

The former FDLE commissioner said Scott staff members improperly asked him to discuss the governor's political positions, use the FDLE to ferry campaign workers, and delete emails to his state computer that sought campaign contributions (which should be a public records violation). Bailey said he refused, and he was out.

But Bailey's most serious allegation is that Scott's former chief of staff pressured him to falsely name an Orange County court clerk the target of a criminal investigation after two prison inmates used forged court documents to escape in 2013. Bailey said he refused and was criticized by Scott's staff. The governor's office says this allegation is untrue, but the Cabinet and the Legislature should question Scott, Bailey and the governor's staff in a public setting.

Cabinet members are starting to assert themselves. Putnam was the first to express his unhappiness, and now Atwater and Bondi have called for a public discussion about the FDLE situation at the Feb. 5 meeting of the governor and Cabinet. Scott has doubled down, saying he also wants to replace three heads of agencies that report to the governor and Cabinet — including state Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty.

See also "Controversy grows over FDLE chief's exit," "FDLE chief's ouster could force changes in Cabinet hiring of leaders" and "Officials in Gov. Scott’s cross-hairs remain tight-lipped."

Scott Maxwell writes that "the latest accusations against Scott aren't coming from longtime critics. They're coming from one of Florida's top law-enforcement officials — a respected veteran who worked closely with the governor for the past four years."

And that, my friends, is a big deal ... and why Scott now has a full-fledged scandal on his hands.

For those who missed it, the former head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement — 35-year-veteran Gerald Bailey — has started spilling the beans.

Bailey portrays Scott and his staff as a group of unethical, hard-core politicos who would go to great lengths — willing even to fabricate a criminal investigation — to get themselves out of a jam.

More: "The sudden ouster of the leader of Florida's main law-enforcement agency is now causing a rift between Gov. Rick Scott and other top Republicans less than a month after his second term in office started." "Atwater, Scott tangle over FDLE chief's ouster."

Hiaasen drinks the Kool-aid

Carl Hiaasen buys into the mainstream line, that if "you're Hillary, you're nervous about Jeb because he remains well-liked in Florida although he hasn't campaigned for office in more than a decade." "Jeb could ruin Hillary's political run."

But the usually astute Hiaasen overlooks the fact that polling shows that Floridians ain't impressed with Jeb, and even a very recent Republican oriented "poll shows Clinton taking 37 percent while Bush is right behind with 36 percent. But, despite Florida voters' familiarity with both candidates, more than a quarter of those surveyed -- 28 percent -- are undecided." "Hillary and Jeb Close in Florida in 2016 Poll."

It is not hard to imagine what the "undecided" voters will do - many of who were not around during Jeb's reign - when the national media reminds them of Bush's extremism. Consider:

S.V. Date, author of Jeb: America’s Next Bush, wrote in Politico magazine that the push to label Jeb a moderate was “mind-boggling.” Veteran Tampa Bay Times reporter Adam Smith mocked the idea Bush was a “moderate squish” in a column that quoted Bush-era legislative leaders from both parties alternately lauding and condemning his conservative ways.

“For us who live in Florida, who experienced the eight-year Jeb Bush governorship, it’s almost laughable and maybe even hysterical for people who live outside of Florida to claim that he’s a moderate,” former state House Speaker Will Weatherford told Smith.

Its complicated

Nancy Smith: "" "Seminole Hard Rock Obstructs Scott Walker's Presidential Aspirations."

Jax laff riot

"Republican mayoral challenger Lenny Curry knocked Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown over the city’s pension woes in a recent campaign flier mailed to some voters, which blasts Brown for playing politics on big issues and having 'made a mess of things in City Hall.'" "Alvin Brown campaign labels Lenny Curry flier 'a hit piece'."

Bondi dodges Bailey scandal

The below transcript in the Miami Herald shows just how determined Bondi is in avoiding the questions about the ouster of FDLE Chief, Bailey:

Question: You’re in law enforcement, you haven’t said anything about (Bailey’s) exit. Can you shed a little light on your feelings of Bailey leaving the FDLE?

Bondi: Oh, I think he’s an amazing man. It’s interesting because I almost talked about him today.

Question: Why didn’t you?

Bondi: It escaped me. They kept going. But he’s a very private man. But I’ve been talking to my staff about doing something in his honor.

Question: As a cabinet member you do have some authority on his leaving.

Bondi: Yes. And I think the world of Commissioner Bailey.

Question: Why is he leaving?

Bondi: I do not know.

Question: Have you asked Gov. Scott why he’s leaving?

Bondi: I can tell you that I’ve know Commissioner Bailey for many many years. In fact, I knew him back when he prosecuted the boot camp case back in the days of (Former FDLE Commissioner) Guy Tunnel when I was a prosecutor. And Gerry Bailey came into this agency and restored integrity, so I think the world of Gerald Bailey.

Question: So why would you not ask questions about his departure?

Bondi: I’m fine with (new FDLE Commissioner) Rick Swearingen. I think Gerry Bailey has retired. I think he’s a very private person. And you can talk to him about that.

Question: But apparently, the understanding is that (Bailey) stepped down because he was told that he no longer had confidence and support from members of the Cabinet, which includes you. So are you saying at no point in time that you ever communicated to anyone in the Scott administration that you were willing to get rid of Commissioner Bailey?

Bondi: I think the world of Commissioner Bailey.

Question: You’re not answering the question.

Bondi: I think the world of Commissioner Bailey.

Question: So you don't think Florida taxpayers deserve to know whether or not their top law enforcement official was forced out?

Bondi: I think the world of Commissioner Bailey.

"Not exactly friendly territory for female legislators"

Jeff Henderson: "The Florida House isn’t exactly friendly territory for female legislators, and plenty of them -- usually on the Democratic side -- will note that a woman has never led it as speaker. But there are plenty of women who have been moving up in the leadership ranks, including Marti Coley as speaker pro tempore last session and Dana Young who currently is the House majority leader." "Dana Young One of the Powers of the Florida House."

Jeb and the "militant Cuban exiles"? Oh never mind

Florida's Batista-apologists are in a full-on whine: "Miami lawmakers join Cuban advocates to blast Obama plan." See also "Florida Politicians Break on Party Lines Over Obama's State of the Union" and "South Florida lawmakers’ reactions to President Obama’s speech."

Meanwhile, these "Cuban freedom fighters" have never asked Jeb Bush to account for his being "instrumental in securing the release from prison of militant Cuban exiles convicted of terrorist offences, according to a [2002] book." Jebbie's "connections go back to 1984 when [he] began a close association with Camilo Padreda, a former intelligence officer with the Batista dictatorship overthrown by Fidel Castro."

By the way, the book in question, the book has been positively reviewed by, among others, the venerable Foreign Affairs, which calls it as a "marvelous and evocative deconstruction of the incestuous relationships and hardball tactics that have kept Cuba firmly under Fidel Castro and U.S. policy toward Cuba paralyzed under the influence of Miami's Cuban Americans."

Another fine FlaBagger

"Curt Clawson Takes Aim at Obama in Tea Party Response to State of the Union."

Form over substance

"The nation’s highest court heard arguments in a case from Florida that tests whether states can prohibit judicial candidates from making personal appeals for campaign donations." "Justices debate Fla. judicial candidates' campaign appeals."