Florida Cabinet Watch

Thurman Statement On McCollum's Frivolous Lawsuit

2010-03-30T23:23:00.000-07:00

Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman released the following statement responding to Attorney General Bill McCollum's frivolous lawsuit against President Obama's historic health insurance reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:

"Because he has no plans to move Florida forward or bring jobs to the Sunshine State, Attorney General Bill McCollum has filed a frivolous lawsuit to block President Obama's historic health insurance reform - this is just another petty partisan ploy from a Washington politician.

"Bill McCollum has spent much of the last 30 years, since he was first elected to Congress in 1980, either ignoring the growing crisis in our healthcare system or fighting against commonsense solutions to cover the four million Floridians who lack health insurance. That's why Bill McCollum repeatedly voted to cut funding for Medicare in Congress.

"The fact of the matter is, health insurance reform that ensures security for those with insurance, coverage for more than 31 million Americans currently living without health care, and lower costs for everyone has passed in both chambers of Congress and been signed by the President. The people of Florida can't afford more delays, obstruction, or political stunts-they want reform implemented now.

"If Bill McCollum wants to deny middle class families and small businesses relief from soaring insurance premiums, seniors help in paying for their prescription drugs, or sick people a way to be insured once again, that's his choice to make-but he will find himself on the wrong side of Floridians.

"But it is unacceptable for AG McCollum to once again waste taxpayer dollars for his political stunts. Rather than filing politically-motivated lawsuits, McCollum needs to stop wasting our taxpayer money and start doing his job -- like cracking down on Medicaid fraud that is costing our state billions of dollars."

REPUBLICANS, BUSINESS AND CONSUMER GROUPS ALL SUPPORT FOR INDIVIDUAL MANDATE

NPR: "Hatch And Several Other Senators Who Now Oppose The So-Called Individual Mandate Actually Supported A Bill That Would Have Required It...'It Was Invented...[For] George Bush Sr. Back In The Day, As A Competition To The Employer Mandate Focus Of The Democrats At The Time.'" NPR's Julie Rovner reported: "For Republicans, the idea of requiring every American to have health insurance is one of the most abhorrent provisions of the Democrats' health overhaul bills. 'Congress has never crossed the line between regulating what people choose to do and ordering them to do it,' said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). 'The difference between regulating and requiring is liberty.' But Hatch's opposition is ironic, or some would say, politically motivated. The last time Congress debated a health overhaul, when Bill Clinton was president, Hatch and several other senators who now oppose the so-called individual mandate actually supported a bill that would have required it. In fact, says Len Nichols of the New America Foundation, the individual mandate was originally a Republican idea. 'It was invented by Mark Pauly to give to George Bush Sr. back in the day, as a competition to the employer mandate focus of the Democrats at the time.'" [NPR, 2/15/10]

Business And Consumer Groups All Support An Individual Mandate For Obtaining Health Care. "Support grew on Friday for insurance industry demands that all Americans be required to obtain coverage as part of a planned healthcare system overhaul, with a senior Senate Democrat and a coalition of business and consumer groups promoting the idea. ... The coalition includes groups such at the AARP, which represents older Americans, the American Hospital Association, America's Health Insurance Plans industry group, the healthcare advocacy group Families USA, the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce." [Reuters, 3/27/09]

Frist Supported Individual Mandate: "I Believe In Limited Government And Individual Responsibility...[But] It Is Time For An Individual Health Insurance Mandate." In an op-ed, former Senate Majority leader Bill Frist wrote, "I believe in limited government and individual responsibility, cherish the freedom to choose, and generally oppose individual mandates-except where markets fail, individuals suffer, and society pays a hefty price. Let's face it, in a country as productive and advanced as ours, every American deserves affordable access to healthcare delivered at the right time. And they don't have it today. It is time for an individual health insurance mandate for a minimum level of health coverage. Catastrophic coverage would be an appropriate place to start." [US News & World Report Opinion, 9/29/09]

Sen. Frist Voiced Strong Support For Individual Mandate. Former Senate Majority Leader Bill First told Time magazine that, "he strongly supports other aspects of the bill--most notably, its requirement that individuals be required to purchase coverage, if they do not receive health insurance through their employers or under government programs." [Time, 10/2/09]

Sen. Grassley: "I Believe That There is a Bipartisan Consensus to Have Individual Mandates." "'Individual mandates are more apt to be accepted by a vast majority of people in Congress than an employer mandate would be, as an example,' Grassley said. 'I believe that there is a bipartisan consensus to have individual mandates.'" [Bloomberg, 6/14/09]

CONSTITUTIONAL EXPERTS SAY THAT INDIVIDUAL MANDATE IS CONSTITUTIONAL AND THAT THE SUPREME COURT WOULD CERTAINLY UPHOLD IT

Yale Law School Constitutional Scholar: "The Supreme Court Will Almost Certainly Uphold The [Individual Mandate]...To Strike Down The Individual Mandate, It Would Have To Reject Decades Of Precedents. It Is Very Unlikely [That The Court Would Stage] Such A Constitutional Revolution." Jack M. Balkin, J.D., Ph.D., Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment of the Yale Law School wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine: "The individual mandate taxes people who do not buy health insurance. Critics charge that these people are not engaged in any activity that Congress might regulate; they are simply doing nothing. This is not the case. Such people actually self-insure through various means...Moreover, like people who substitute homegrown marijuana or wheat for purchased crops, the cumulative effect of uninsured people's behavior undermines Congress's regulation - in this case, its regulation of health insurance markets. Because Congress believes that national health care reform won't succeed unless these people are brought into national risk pools, it can regulate their activities in order to make its general regulation of health insurance effective. One final argument against the individual mandate is that it violates the Fifth Amendment by allowing the government to take property without just compensation. 'Takings' occur when the government seizes property from particular individuals...The individual mandate is just such a tax - not a taking. Although opponents will challenge the individual mandate in court, constitutional challenges are unlikely to succeed. The Supreme Court will probably not even consider the issue unless a federal court of appeals strikes the tax down. In that unlikely event, the Supreme Court will almost certainly uphold the tax, at least if it follows existing law. To strike down the individual mandate, it would have to reject decades of precedents. It is very unlikely that there are five votes on the current Court for staging such a constitutional revolution." [New England Journal of Medicine, 1/14/10]

Stuart Taylor: Most Experts Agree That The Individual Mandate Is Constitutional. "A healthy 20-something might ask: Can the government really order me to spend more than $5,500 a year to buy comprehensive health insurance just because I live in the United States, even though the most I might need or want is catastrophic coverage costing less than $800? Can they really force me to pay a big penalty 'tax' if I won't buy government-approved insurance? And can they use my money to subsidize people who are twice my age, and obese or sick, even if they have more money than I do? The answers are yes, yes, and that's the point! according to most of the experts who have weighed in on whether the Supreme Court would uphold a mandate for individuals to buy comprehensive health insurance unless they're already covered by employer-based plans. They cite the justices' very broad reading since the New Deal of Congress's powers to regulate interstate commerce and to tax and spend." [Stuart Taylor, National Journal, 12/12/09]

David Frum: Health Reform Is "Unquestionably Constitutional. The Federal Government Already Requires Every American To Purchase Health Insurance. That's What Medicare Does." David Frum wrote: "Is the Obama-Reid health reform plan unconstitutional? The answer to that should be obvious: the Reid-Obama plan may be unwise, unsound, and unaffordable ... but it is unquestionably constitutional. The federal government already requires every American to purchase health insurance. That's what Medicare does. The difference now is that everyone will be required to buy a private plan to cover them up to age 65 in addition to the government-run plan they are compelled to buy to cover them after 65. I don't hear anyone in Congress suggesting that Medicare violates the Constitution. So how can the new plan be unconstitutional if the old plan is OK?" [David Frum, 12/26/09]

Prof. Schwinn Of U. Chicago: "Whatever The Merits Of The Policy Arguments Against An Individual Mandate, These Commerce Clause Arguments...Do Not Render Them Unconstitutional." Steven D. Schwinn, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School examined claims that health reform and in particular individual mandates would be unconstitutional: "Whatever the merits of the policy arguments against an individual mandate, these Commerce Clause arguments based on 'state sovereignty' and lack of economic activity do not render them unconstitutional." [Constitutional Law Prof. Blog, 12/4/09]

Prof. Mark Hall: Unconstitutional Argument "Is Unconvincing And Deeply Flawed...There Is No Fundamental Right To Be Uninsured, And So Various Arguments Based On The Bill Of Rights Fall Flat." Mark A. Hall wrote on the Seton Hall University School of Law, Health Law & Policy Program blog: "Is it unconstitutional to mandate health insurance? It seems unprecedented to require citizens to purchase insurance simply because they live in the U.S. (rather than as a condition of driving a car or owning a business, for instance). Therefore, several credentialed, conservative lawyers think that compulsory health insurance is unconstitutional. See here and here and here. Their reasoning is unconvincing and deeply flawed...Under both liberal and conservative jurisprudence, the Constitution protects individual autonomy strongly only when 'fundamental rights' are involved. There may be fundamental rights to decide about medical treatments, but having insurance does not require anyone to undergo treatment. It only requires them to have a means to pay for any treatment they might choose to receive. The liberty in question is purely economic and has none of the strong elements of personal or bodily integrity that invoke Constitutional protection. In short, there is no fundamental right to be uninsured, and so various arguments based on the Bill of Rights fall flat." [Seton Hall University School of Law, Health Law & Policy Program, 8/25/09]

Prof. Hall's Georgetown University Paper: "The Constitution Permits Congress To Legislate A Health Insurance Mandate." Prof. Mark Hall concluded in his paper published by the Georgetown University O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law: "The Constitution permits Congress to legislate a health insurance mandate. Congress can use its Commerce Clause power or its taxing and spending powers to create such a mandate. Congress can impose a tax on those that do not purchase insurance, or provide tax benefits to those that do purchase insurance." [Georgetown University paper: The Constitutionality of Mandates to Purchase Health Insurance, February, 2009]

Prof. Dorf Of Cornell University Law School On Individual Mandate: No Different Than Federal Mandate To Compel Citizens To Jury Duty, No Different From States Imposing An "Affirmative Obligation" On Parents To Educate Their Children. "The CBO memo claims, then, that an individual mandate would be unique because it would impose an affirmative obligation on persons. Most laws either forbid some form of conduct (say, bank robbery) or impose restrictions as conditions on activities that the government could forbid altogether (say, by requiring that companies that are engaged in various lines of business comply with environmental laws, or that professionals pass licensing examinations). As the CBO memo states: 'Federal mandates that apply to individuals as members of society are extremely rare.' The only one that the CBO staff could think of was the requirement that draft-age men register with the Selective Service System...To begin, the CBO memo's authors apparently forgot about jury duty. A federal statute that was already in effect in 1994 provides that 'all citizens shall have . . . an obligation to serve as jurors when summoned for that purpose.'...Consider that every state imposes an affirmative obligation on parents to educate their children--whether in public school, private school, or via home schooling. Surely this obligation cannot be said to be a mere condition on the privilege of raising children, for the state has no authority to prevent people from becoming parents." [FindLaw, 10/21/09]

Prof. Dorf Of Cornell University Law School: "The Individual Mandate Is...Constitutional." Professor Michael Dorf of the Cornell University Law School wrote: "the individual mandate is 'plainly adapted' to the undoubtedly legitimate end of regulating the enormous and enormously important health-care sector of the national economy. It is therefore constitutional." [FindLaw, 11/2/09]

Prof. Shapiro Of Emory University School Of Law: "Whatever One Thinks Of The Wisdom Of The Individual Mandate...It Would Be Surprising If The Constitution Prohibited A Democratic Resolution Of The Issue. Happily, It Does Not." Sen. Max Baucus noted that: "Robert Shapiro, Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law, stated: 'Whatever one thinks of the wisdom of the individual mandate, or of health care reform generally, it would be surprising if the Constitution prohibited a democratic resolution of the issue. Happily, it does not.'" [Statement by Sen. Baucus, 12/22/09]

Constitutional Law Prof. Schwinn: Claim That Individual Mandate Is Unconstitutional Is "Wrong...An Individual Mandate Is Almost Certainly The Kind Of Economic Activity That The [Supreme] Court Would Uphold Under Congress's Commerce Clause Authority." Prof. Steven D. Schwinn of the University of Chicago Law School critiqued an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by David Rivkin and Lee Casey arguing that the individual mandate provision was unconstitutional: "The authors are wrong on two counts. First, an individual mandate is almost certainly the kind of economic activity that the Court would uphold under Congress's Commerce Clause authority under Raich, Lopez, and United States v. Morrison. These cases allow Congress to regulate activities that have a "substantial effect" on interstate commerce, and they look to the commercial nature of the activity and to the connection between the activity and interstate commerce (among other considerations). An individual mandate is almost surely commercial in nature--in requiring folks to buy health insurance, it requires a commercial exchange. Rivkin and Casey argue that the mandate is not commercial in nature, because it's triggered simply by 'being an American.' This may be true, but it misses the point of the regulation: It requires Americans to engage in a commercial exchange. This is the definition of commerce...The Supreme Court may be on a path to limiting congressional authority under the Commerce Clause, the Taxing Clause, or any clause. But even so, the individual mandate all too squarely falls within the recent and settled jurisprudence." [Constitutional Law Prof. Blog, 9/25/09]

Prof. Mark Hall Of Wake Forest University School Of Law: There Are No Plausible Tenth Amendment Or States' Rights Issues Arising From the Imposition By Congress Of An Individual Responsibility To Maintain Health Coverage." Sen. Baucus said in a statement: "I refer my colleagues to an article by Mark Hall, law professor at Wake Forest University. Professor Hall's article is a comprehensive, peer-reviewed analysis of the constitutionality of a Federal individual responsibility requirement. In it, Professor Hall concludes that there are no plausible Tenth Amendment or States' rights issues arising from the imposition by Congress of an individual responsibility to maintain health coverage. Professor Hall notes further that health care and health insurance both affect and are distributed through interstate commerce. And that gives Congress the power to legislate a coverage requirement using its Commerce Clause powers. Professor Hall notes that the Supreme Court indicated in its decisions in United States v. Morrison and United States v. Lopez - two other cases relied on by the other side - that the non-economic, criminal nature of the conduct in those cases was central to the court's decisions in those cases that the Government had not appropriately exercised power under the Commerce Clause. Health insurance, on the other hand, does not deal with criminal conduct." Prof. Mark Hall wrote, "[p]erusing some of [the Senate health reform bill's] 2000 pages, I came across the following, SEC. 1501 (p. 320), which should put to rest any argument that an individual mandate exceeds Congress' powers under the Commerce Clause." [Statement by Sen. Baucus, 12/22/09; O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, 11/24/09]

A Business Plan or A Record of Killing Business?

2010-03-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

From FDP:

Still without a business plan for Florida, Congressman Bill McCollum continues to deny his role in the current economic crisis, forcing Floridians to wonder if he'd bring the same failed economic policies to the Governor's Office that he pushed through Congress.

"Congressman Bill McCollum stands behind the laws he pushed through Congress that have been widely acknowledged as a determining factor in the economic collapse, which has cost jobs right here in Florida - creating a tied record high unemployment," Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff said. "If Bill McCollum can't even see the error in his economic ways that cost countless Florida jobs, it's clear that he won't be able to move our economy forward if elected Governor, especially since he hasn't even bothered to produce an economic plan or vision."

As Governor McCollum Would Likely Turn Florida's Economy Into A "Permanent Bust":

In Congress McCollum Helped Turn Our "Lemonade Into A Lemon". "In Congress, McCollum helped turn our lemonade economy into a lemon. In 1999, he co-sponsored the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act, which prevented banks from taking on riskier investments that could precipitate the very financial crisis Obama inherited. ... As governor, McCollum would likely turn Florida's economy into a permanent bust." (Column, Sun-Sentinel, 01/15/10)

McCollum Falsely Denied His Record Even As John McCain Called Him Out:

Former Congressman Bill McCollum Defended Cosponsoring and Pushing the Wall Street Deregulation Through Congress. "McCollum says the banker-friendly policies he backed on [the] banking and housing committee in congress contributed in no way to the economic collapse." (St. Petersburg Times/TampaBay.com, The Buzz Political Blog, 12/16/09)

John McCain Supported Rolling Back McCollum's Wall Street Deregulation. "'I don't believe when I was there that we created the foundation in those years for the problems that came after I left in 2000,' he [McCollum] said. ... But on Wednesday, Republican Sen. John McCain proposed reining in Wall Street by resurrecting the Depression-era law that separated commercial and investment banking - the same law McCollum favored repealing as a congressman in 1999. ... As a member of Congress from 1980 to 2000, McCollum served on the committee overseeing financial services and co-sponsored 1999 legislation that tore down the Depression-era firewall between investment banks and commercial banks." (St. Petersburg Times, 12/17/09)

From the Blogs

2010-03-28T16:21:00.001-07:00

The latest stories from the Florida blogs (and beyond) about Republicans in the Florida Cabinet.

The Reid Report: Meet Bill McCollum’s healthcare lawsuit buddy: birther queen Orly Taitz

The Reid Report: Repeal is the new litmus test, and McCollum’s cynical ploy

Progress Florida: McCollum Rolls Dice On Medicare & Social Security

FLA Politics: Bill McCollum's Passion

The Reid Report: Bill McCollum’s shady, costly healthcare suit

Bark Bark Woof Woof: When Opportunists Knock

The Reid Report: McCollum’s useless suit to stop healthcare reform, a history

Progress Florida: Bill McCollum Wants To Deny 4 Million Floridians Health Insurance

The Reid Report: McCollum’s folly: Florida Republicans will try and secede from healthcare reform

The Reid Report: Bill McCollum to self-immolate in response to healthcare reform

The Reid Report: Bill McCollum is wasting your time

FLA Politics: How Slimy Is Jeff Atwater?

Progress Florida: Bill McCollum: Solving Florida's Problems One Sentence At A Time

The Reid Report: Timing is everything: Sink pushes for ethics reform

FLA Politics: Has Crist Already Switched Parties?

The Reid Report: Charlie’s Funny Valentine

The New Argument: Bill McCollum: M.I.A. on RPOF

The New Argument: Will Cronyism Take Down Charlie Crist?

Change in Tallahassee: Will McCollum Condone or Condemn Cronyism With Campaign Cash At Stake?

Why Now?: Like I Said

Floridians Have Clear Choice in Governor's Race: Business Plan or Business As Usual

2010-03-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

From FDP:

As Florida CFO Alex Sink was rolling out her Business Plan for Florida last week, her Republican Gubernatorial rival Bill McCollum was focused on Washington politics, and absent on the main issues at stake in Florida: the economy and jobs.

"While former Congressman Bill McCollum grandstands on the happenings of Washington, where is his plan for Florida's economy? Where are his ideas to cut wasteful spending in state government? Floridians face a fundamental choice in what they want from their next Governor: a business plan for Florida or more business-as-usual politics." Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff said. "Florida's unemployment rate has tied a record high. Our state faces massive budget shortfalls and foreclosures have skyrocketed. And where is the leading Republican candidate for Governor, Bill McCollum? His focus is still stuck on playing Washington political games, since that's what he's done for decades."

McCollum has spent the last week on phone conferences, writing and sending letters to Attorneys General in each state and appearing on national cable news, yet McCollum has yet to offer an economic plan for Florida.

Where Is Bill McCollum's Economic Plan? When Will He Produce One?

To understand the fundamental choice Florida voters will face in November, just survey last week's news on the gubernatorial race.

Alex Sink Roles Out Business Plan for Florida:

"And as a candidate for governor, she [Alex Sink] has released a promising, cost-cutting plan to get rid of middle managers in state government. She also is laying out a set of proposals to stimulate job creation in Florida. So far, these generally concern tax credits and tax breaks targeting businesses. This is what I want my governor to do - not get embroiled in some lawsuit against Washington over health care to get headlines." (Mike Thomas Blog, Orlando Sentinel, 3/18/10)

Sink sets economic goals if elected Fla. Governor
(Headline, Associated Press, 3/16/10)

'Business-minded' Dem Sink unveils jobs, economy proposals in West Palm Beach
(Headline, Palm Beach Post, 3/17/10)

Alex Sink offers up economic blueprint for Florida
(Headline, Orlando Sentinel, 3/17/10)

In governor's race, Alex Sink pins hopes on economic savvy, new 'business plan for Florida'(Headline, Venture, TampaBay.com, 3/17/10)

Former Congressman Bill McCollum Promises Business-As-Usual Politics of Washington:

McCollum "Grandstands" On Health Reform Plan. "Bill McCollum very much wants to run against Barack Obama in November. That appears to be a large part of his campaign strategy as he grandstands on Obama's health care plan and tries to tie it to Democrat Alex Sink. This resulted in a rather juvenile letter from McCollum's campaign manager to Sink, demanding she take a position on it." (Mike Thomas Blog, Orlando Sentinel, 3/18/10)

McCollum Declined To Comment About Conference Call With Top Prosecutors From Across The Country About Possible Legal Action Against The Health Reform Bill. According to McClatchy News, "South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster said he and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum spoke with other top state prosecutors Thursday in a conference call about possible legal action. McMaster said the proposed federal mandate for individuals to purchase health insurance - or face a fine of as much as $750 for most people - is unconstitutional. 'It is my belief and that of other attorneys general that this is clearly unconstitutional,' he told McClatchy. 'That's why we're moving forward. We need to protect the sovereignty of our states and the liberty of our people.' McCollum declined to comment." (McClatchy News, 03/20/10)

While McCollum Failed To Provide Promised Details Of His Legal Challenge To The Press, He Was "On Conference Calls All Day" Trying To "Get Other AGs On Board To File Suit" Against Health Care Bill. According to McClatchy News, "Ryan Wiggins, a spokeswoman, said McCollum was spending considerable time on the phone with other state prosecutors, rounding up support for a lawsuit. 'He's been trying to get other AGs on board to file suit,' Wiggins said. 'He's been on conference calls all day trying to do this lawsuit.'" In addition, "Wiggins didn't follow through on a promise to provide details of the potential legal challenge." (McClatchy News, 03/20/10 and 03/19/10)

McCollum Planned To "Sue Regardless" Over Provisions Removed From Health Reform Legislation. "Attorneys General Henry McMaster of South Carolina -- who is head of a group of 19 GOP attorneys general that started threatening lawsuits in December -- and Bill McCollum of Florida said ... that they are planning legal action over a deal struck between Senate leadership and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) paying for his state's share for expanded Medicaid coverage, estimated at $100 million. Democrats intend to remove the Nebraska provision from the Senate bill via reconciliation, but McMaster said ... that he and McCollum intend to sue regardless of whether the item is removed." (Politico, 03/19/10)

Atwater's Hypocrisy

2010-03-21T06:21:00.000-07:00

From Loranne Ausley:

“Do as I tweet, not as I do.”

That was the headline of the Florida Times Union in response to Senate President Jeff Atwater’s hypocritical statements last month.

In a “tweet”, Atwater criticized federal lawmakers for not balancing their budget while claiming he has done a great job balancing Florida’s budget.

Not to be outdone, the Orlando Sentinel chimed in adding, “Florida Lawmakers want Washington to cut deficit spending – just not in Florida.”

The reference is of course to the fact that the only way Atwater can “balance” the state budget is to depend on those same borrowed dollars.

Last year, Atwater used $5 billion in borrowed federal dollars to balance Florida’s budget…and this year his so-called leadership will call for borrowing an additional $4 billion.

Atwater and his cohorts TAKE the money, and then they rail against the very money they desperately need to make ends meet in Florida. This is exactly the kind of “do as I say, not as I do” hypocrisy that Floridians are tired of.

True transparency…true accountability…and true responsibility means standing up for taxpayers, telling them the truth, and being an honest steward of their tax dollars.

That’s exactly what we need in our next CFO – someone who is honest about our economic conditions, forthright about what it will take to make our state stronger and consistent in talking to Florida’s citizens.

If you too are tired of this two-faced hypocrisy, then join us today.

If you want your next CFO to tell it like it is, then click here.

My pledge to you is to always be straight with you, to be your voice, and to tell you the truth, even when it’s not the popular thing to do.

Sincerely,

Loranne Ausley

Where's Bill McCollum When Tough Economic Times Call For Tough Leaders?

2010-03-21T05:50:00.001-07:00

From FDP:

Tough economic times call for tough leaders. But when leadership on the bread-and-butter issue of job growth and job creation has arisen, Bill McCollum has failed Florida.

More than 300,000 Floridians have lost their jobs. The state faces a record-high 11.9 percent unemployment rate. Over 600,000 home foreclosures have beset the Sunshine State. Florida faces a $3.2 billion budget shortfall. And what's Bill McCollum's answer to the economic crisis facing Florida?
Answer: Nothing.

Former Congressman Bill McCollum epitomizes a "career politician" and nothing more than "the status quo." McCollum has yet to propose "a single budget-cutting or job-creating idea," even as his gubernatorial rival Alex Sink announces her business plan for Florida. (Orlando Sentinel, 02/19/10; Editorial, Orlando Sentinel, 01/31/10)

"Tough economic times call for tough leadership. But where's Bill McCollum?" Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff asked. "Florida can't afford another Washington politician like Bill McCollum. He loves to spend your money but won't help foster the growth of good jobs to help you earn it."

In fact, McCollum helped "turn our lemonade economy into lemon," dangerously pushing the deregulation of the financial industry that led to the economic meltdown. Now, he wants to be governor, in which capacity he'd likely turn Florida's economy into a "permanent bust." (Column, Sun-Sentinel, 01/15/10)

"The race for governor sets a clear choice for the people of our state: a leader that offers a clear vision and business plan for Florida, or a Washington politician offering more of the same," Jotkoff added.

BACKGROUND:

McCollum Epitomizes A "Career Politician" and the "Status Quo". Republicans "should give serious thought to how badly they want to hold on to the governor's mansion. If they do, they may want to rethink their decision to pin all their chances on two-time loser Bill McCollum. This is, after all, a time when residents are sick of the status quo, career politicians and toe-the-line partisanship. McCollum epitomizes all three." (Orlando Sentinel, 02/19/10)

Orlando Sentinel: McCollum Has Yet To Propose "A Single Budget-Cutting Or Job-Creating Idea". A column in the Orlando Sentinel opined: "The Republican running, Attorney General Bill McCollum, has been seizing on big, national issues that the Governor's Office has little direct involvement in - primarily, the national health-care debate - and lambasting Democratic positions on them." And, "McCollum hasn't yet proposed a single budget-cutting or job-creating idea, focusing instead on his virulent opposition to the Democrats' health-care expansion." (Editorial, Orlando Sentinel, 01/31/10)

Sun-Sentinel: In Congress McCollum Helped Turn Our "Lemonade Into A Lemon"-As Governor McCollum Would Likely Turn Florida's Economy Into A "Permanent Bust". "In Congress, McCollum helped turn our lemonade economy into a lemon. In 1999, he co-sponsored the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act, which prevented banks from taking on riskier investments that could precipitate the very financial crisis Obama inherited. According to the St. Petersburg Times, 'After he left Congress, McCollum lobbied for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America and for a nonprofit with a down payment assistance program that was later outlawed by Congress after the Internal Revenue Service dubbed it a 'scam.'' As governor, McCollum would likely turn Florida's economy into a permanent bust." (Column, Sun-Sentinel, 01/15/10)

Bill McCollum is "...So lacking In Perspective, So Caught Up In The Washington Beltway Lifestyle That He Has Forgotten The Reality Of America." "At a time of a huge budget deficit, at a time when Congress and the president are laying billions of new taxes on the American people in the name of deficit reduction, Mr. McCollum voted to raise his salary from $89,000 to $125,000," wrote Orlando Sentinel columnist Charley Reese in 1990. "When I asked him why, he said he was just unwilling to sacrifice the lifestyle to which he had become accustomed. Well, I appreciate his candor, and I hope he appreciates mine. I am just unwilling to vote for a man who is so lacking in perspective, so caught up in the Washington Beltway lifestyle that he has forgotten the reality of America." (Orlando Sentinel, 11/04/90)

Bill McCollum Stays in the Shadows During Sunshine Week

2010-03-16T19:18:00.001-07:00

From FDP:

Florida's chief officer of enforcing open sunshine laws, Bill McCollum, was noticeably absent at today's annual Sunshine Appreciation Lunch in Tallahassee, sponsored by the First Amendment Foundation. But this is no surprise given Bill McCollum's record.

"Why is Bill McCollum so scared of putting some sunshine in these dark corners? Good things never come out of shady places," Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff said. "Bill McCollum doesn't walk-the-walk and today he did not even talk-the-talk when it comes to transparency in government. Where was the officer in charge of enforcing Florida's open government laws?"

Last year, the Palm Beach Post suggested that McCollum might be "stonewalling" when his office told reporters they would have to pay $770 for copies of his public schedule, and added that the request "would take at least a week to purge secret information before the file could be viewed."

At the time, First Amendment Foundation attorney Florence Snyder called McCollum's attempts to hide his schedule "transparent nonsense." Snyder said "This is the officer in charge of enforcing Florida's open government laws. That sort of speaks to itself to the seriousness in which Gen. McCollum's staff takes transparency."

Bill McCollum's office also slowed down efforts by the Florida Democratic Party to get the truth about his no-bid contract to his political consultant for his TV ads paid for with state funds. Only after a letter was sent requesting more information, and specifically citing the public records statutes his office is supposed to enforce, were additional documents turned over by Attorney General McCollum.

McCollum also has a long history of trying to hold himself and his fellow politicians less accountable, including voting to make it harder for ethics complaints to be filed against elected officials.

BACKGROUND:

McCollum First Tried to Charge A "Hefty Fee" To View His Schedule. "Viewing McCollum's complete schedule since he took office in January 2007 would cost $770, including a down payment of $500, McCollum's staff initially said this week in response to a public records request for the schedule. The staff also said it would take at least a week to purge secret information before the file could be viewed. Asked why the office that oversees the state's Sunshine Laws imposes such a hefty fee for records that are in the public domain, spokeswoman Ryan Wiggins said: 'For security reasons.'" [Palm Beach Post, 06/26/09]

Palm Beach Post: "Sounds More Like Stonewalling" From "The Guy Who Is In Charge Of Seeing That Public Officials Comply With Florida's Open Records Law." "One big difference between Ms. Sink and Mr. McCollum ... is that when The Post requested copies of her official calendars since she took office in January 2007, Ms. Sink responded within an hour - completely and at no charge. Mr. McCollum's office told The Post that it would take at least a week to provide the information about his schedule from the beginning of 2007, and that it would cost $770. This from the guy who is in charge of seeing that public officials comply with Florida's open records laws. ... Why would it cost so much and take so long to get Mr. McCollum's complete schedule? 'For security reasons,' a spokesman said. That sounds more like stonewalling." [Editorial, Palm Beach Post, 06/30/09]

McCollum Failed to Turn Over All Public Records On His No-Bid Ad Contract to the Florida Democratic Party. After criticism of McCollum's no-bid ad contract to his political consultant the Florida Democratic Party requested all records pertaining to the ad contract. After receiving only a small amount of the records requested, the FDP wrote the Attorney General "Pursuant to Florida's Sunshine Laws (Florida Statute 119.011), I expect that you will promptly correct your incomplete disclosures by providing digital copies of any and all documents, emails, communications and other related records which detail the creation and crafting of this ad campaign." Following this letter, more documents were turned over. [Letter to Attorney General McCollum, 3/23/09]

McCollum Voted To Make It Harder to File Ethics Complaint Against Legislators. In 1997, McCollum voted to adopt "new rules that make it more difficult for outsiders to bring ethics complaints against lawmakers, and easier for lawmakers to dismiss complaints that are brought. Critics of the new rules charged that they increase the likelihood that serious misconduct will not be investigated and violators will go unpunished." [Vote 413, 9/18/97; Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 9/19/97; New York Times, 9/19/97]

State Senator Dan Gelber (D-Miami Beach) Issues Statement on McCollum's Decision to Block Health Care Reform in Florida

2010-03-16T19:17:00.001-07:00

“Today, AG McCollum showed he is tone deaf to the reality we have nearly four million uninsured Floridians, 800,000 of which are children. His decision to challenge the constitutionality of the federal health care reform bill that is working its way through the Congress is shortsighted and nothing more than rank demagoguery.

“We live in a state with a full-blown health care crisis. No state (other than Texas) has a higher percentage of uninsured and yet we see more of the same politics as usual from AG McCollum. Though I am outraged by AG McCollum's decision, I am not surprised. AG McCollum has a pattern of blocking health care. He is spending millions to defend the state’s failure to provide medical and dental care to poor and disabled children (a suit that he should have settled years ago).

“General McCollum's decision to use his office to investigate ways to block health insurance reform is wrongheaded and will cost millions and millions of dollars in a legal battle that is unwarranted. We need solutions to our health care crisis, not obstructions!”

One Sunshine Bill Takes Aim Squarely At McCollum

2010-03-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

From FDP:

Of the more than 100 bills affecting public records and meetings swirling around the current legislative session, one sponsored by State Senator Paula Dockery would limit government agencies' ability to charge the public for redacting confidential information from the records, something previously attempted by her gubernatorial primary opponent Bill McCollum.

"Will Bill McCollum support this new legislation to prevent the obstruction of open records requests despite his previous position of charging hundreds of dollars for copies of his schedule? Will McCollum choose Sunshine or politics as usual?" Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff asked.

The legislation in question would also limit the agencies' ability to charge the public for redacting confidential information from the records.

Last year, it was suggested that McCollum was "stonewalling" on releasing his public schedule after his office said they would charge reporters $770, and claimed the request "would take at least a week to purge secret information before the file could be viewed." [Editorial, Palm Beach Post, 06/30/09 and Palm Beach Post, 6/26/09]

Will Bill McCollum take a position on the Sunshine legislation sponsored by Dockery?

BACKGROUND:

McCollum First Tried to Charge A "Hefty Fee" To View His Schedule. "Viewing McCollum's complete schedule since he took office in January 2007 would cost $770, including a down payment of $500, McCollum's staff initially said this week in response to a public records request for the schedule. The staff also said it would take at least a week to purge secret information before the file could be viewed. Asked why the office that oversees the state's Sunshine Laws imposes such a hefty fee for records that are in the public domain, spokeswoman Ryan Wiggins said: 'For security reasons.'" [Palm Beach Post, 06/26/09]

Palm Beach Post: "Sounds More Like Stonewalling" From "The Guy Who Is In Charge Of Seeing That Public Officials Comply With Florida's Open Records Law." "One big difference between Ms. Sink and Mr. McCollum ... is that when The Post requested copies of her official calendars since she took office in January 2007, Ms. Sink responded within an hour - completely and at no charge. Mr. McCollum's office told The Post that it would take at least a week to provide the information about his schedule from the beginning of 2007, and that it would cost $770. This from the guy who is in charge of seeing that public officials comply with Florida's open records laws. ... Why would it cost so much and take so long to get Mr. McCollum's complete schedule? 'For security reasons,' a spokesman said. That sounds more like stonewalling." [Editorial, Palm Beach Post, 06/30/09]

McCollum Charged Taxpayers More In Pay Raises Than Many Florida Families Will Earn In A Year

2010-03-14T19:24:00.001-07:00

From FDP:

When it came to racking up charges on America's credit card, Bill McCollum didn't neglect his own pockets. In fact, McCollum voted to use taxpayer money to increase his own pay at least four separate times in Congress - spending more of our money on his pay raises than what the median Florida household has earned.

"Big Spending Congressman Bill McCollum ran up the taxpayers' credit card four different times to raise his own pay - giving himself more of our money just in raises than many Florida families can expect to earn this year." Florida Democratic Party Spokesman Eric Jotkoff said. "Will Bill McCollum give himself a raise with our money if elected Governor?"

The excuse that Congressman McCollum gave when asked about raising his pay to a six-figure salary was that "he was just unwilling to sacrifice the lifestyle to which he had become accustomed." As Floridians continue to face an economic crisis, this type of self-interested spending is exactly what our state can't afford.

McCollum voted for more than $51,000 in taxpayer-funded pay raises for himself. The median household income in Florida is $47,802 per year according to the census. McCollum's nearly $90,000 annual pay increased to $125,000 during the recession of the early 1990s when many Americans were out of work and facing potential financial ruin.

LIKE A TYPICAL WASHINGTON CONGRESSMAN McCOLLUM VOTED TO USE TAXPAYERS' MONEY TO INCREASE HIS OWN PAY AT LEAST 4 SEPARATE TIMES...

McCollum Voted Four Times To Raise His Own Pay - Total Of Over $51,000 In Pay Raises. During his Congressional Career, McCollum voted to raise his own pay four separate times. These pay raises totaled $51,800 of increased salary for Congressional members. (Vote 358, HR 3660, 11/16/89; Vote 435, HR 2378, 9/24/97; Vote 300, HRes 246, 7/15/99; Vote 419, HRes 560, 7/20/00; CRS Report, Order # RL 30014)

McCollum Voted Himself A Pay Raise in Tough Economic Times Because He Was Unwilling to Sacrifice Lifestyle. "At a time of a huge budget deficit, at a time when Congress and the president are laying billions of new taxes on the American people in the name of deficit reduction, Mr. McCollum voted to raise his salary from $89,000 to $125,000," wrote Orlando Sentinel columnist Charley Reese in 1990. "When I asked him why, he said he was just unwilling to sacrifice the lifestyle to which he had become accustomed. Well, I appreciate his candor, and I hope he appreciates mine. I am just unwilling to vote for a man who is so lacking in perspective, so caught up in the Washington Beltway lifestyle that he has forgotten the reality of America." (Orlando Sentinel, 11/04/90)

Big Spender Bill Runs Up The Taxpayer's Tab

2010-03-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

From FDP:

Recent news of Republican Party credit card scandals and lavish expenditures by GOP candidates only serves as a reminder of the outrageous sums Congressman Bill McCollum charged to the American taxpayers while in Washington.

"Big Spending Congressman Bill McCollum ran up the taxpayers' tab in Washington, supporting debt increases that cost over $1 trillion dollars in interest payments alone," said Eric Jotkoff, Florida Democratic Party spokesman. "Bill McCollum ran up the charges on America's credit card. How can we trust him with our tax dollars, seeing how much debt he heaped on our country in Congress?"

Keeping practice with his big spending Washington ways, McCollum has been notably absent of any innovative budget-cutting ideas for the Sunshine State.

THE DEBT LIMIT INCREASES CONGRESSMAN McCOLLUM VOTED FOR HAVE COST AT LEAST OVER $1 TRILLION DOLLARS

McCollum Voted In Favor of Debt Increases That Cost Over $1 Trillion in Interest Payments. Four of McCollum's votes in favor of increasing the federal debt limit permitted the total debt to increase by more than $2 trillion. Through 2010, the interest paid on that debt has totaled more than $1 trillion. (White House Office of Management and Budget; 1986 HJ Res 324, vote 330; 1990 HJ Res 280, vote 336; 1996 HR 3136, vote 102; 1997 HR 2015, vote 345)

BILL McCOLLUM--WHERE ARE THE IDEAS?

Orlando Sentinel: McCollum Has Yet To Propose "A Single Budget-Cutting Or Job-Creating Idea". A column in the Orlando Sentinel opined: "The Republican running, Attorney General Bill McCollum, has been seizing on big, national issues that the Governor's Office has little direct involvement in...McCollum hasn't yet proposed a single budget-cutting or job-creating idea, focusing instead on his virulent opposition to the Democrats' health-care expansion." (Orlando Sentinel, 01/31/10)

Thurman: McCollum's Response Can't Cover Up Failure to More Aggressively Fight Medicaid Fraud

2010-03-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

Following Florida gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink's call to for more aggressive action to crack down on rampant Medicaid fraud, and criticism by fellow Republicans, Attorney General Bill McCollum's election year ploys fall short. Any knee-jerk response from Bill McCollum does not cover up a record of dropping the ball on policing Medicaid fraud which costs Florida up to $3.2 billion a year.

"Florida is losing billions of dollars to runaway Medicaid fraud, as our state is facing a Medicaid budget crisis - it is clearly time for strong leadership to crack down on this rampant fraud and ensure better use of our taxpayer dollars," said Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman. "Unfortunately, Bill McCollum's failure to more aggressively crack down on Medicaid fraud has helped allow these con-artists to steal billions of dollars from our state, and his election year attempts to cover up his failures on Medicaid fraud are too little, too late."

Although Bill McCollum employs more staff to investigate Medicaid fraud than any other state in the country besides New York, Florida's Medicaid Control Fraud Unit currently ranks 39th in the nation for Medicaid fraud convictions per staff position and 25th in the nation for efficiency in fighting Medicaid fraud. Meanwhile, OPPAGA estimates Medicaid fraud accounts for anywhere between $785 million to $3.2 billion of the annual Medicaid budget.

McCollum's failure on Medicaid fraud is so glaring that his fellow Republicans criticized him in the Miami Herald last week. Senator Durell Peaden, who chairs the Senate health budget committee, "faulted the U.S. Attorney's Office and McCollum's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for not focusing enough on Medicaid fraud." Senator Peaden even said, "[Bill McCollum] needs to get his butt in gear." (Miami Herald, 3/4/10)

Republican Senator Don Gaetz, who sponsored legislation last year that gave fraud investigators more tools, "agreed more enforcement could help," specifically saying "It's time we send in the sheriff." And legislation sponsored by Senator Joe Negron (SB 8) and supported by Senate President Jeff Atwater acknowledges that "Medicaid fraud in Florida is epidemic, far reaching, and costs the state and the Federal Government millions of dollars annually."

In these tough economic times, the number of Floridians on Medicaid has risen resulting in Medicaid costs that will hit $19 billion in 2010 - about 28 percent of Florida's budget. Yet, an analysis by the state's own Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) estimates that as much as $3.2 billion is lost each year on Medicaid fraud.

Bill McCollum's Failure To Effectively Crack Down On Medicaid Fraud:

McCOLLUM'S MEDICAID FRAUD CONTROL UNIT IS THE SECOND LARGEST IN THE COUNTRY BUT FLORIDA WAS 39TH IN THE COUNTRY FOR NUMBER OF CONVICTIONS & 25TH IN THE COUNTRY FOR MONEY RECOVERED

According to a January 2010 report issued by the Health and Human Services Department, Bill McCollum's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) lagged behind dozens of other states in the number of convictions and dollars recovered in Federal Fiscal Year 2008:

McCollum's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Employed More Staff than Every Other State Except New York. Attorney General Bill McCollum's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit employed more staff than any other state with the exception of New York. Florida's MFCU included 201 staff positions, compared to 191 in California, and 187 in Texas.

Number of Convictions by McCollum's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Was 39th In Country. The number of convictions per staff positions by McCollum's MFCU was 39th in the country. For instance, while Florida had 82 convictions for their 201 staff positions, Ohio had 94 convictions with only 45 staff positions.

Under McCollum, Florida Was 25th In the Country for Fraud Dollars Recovered for Every Dollar Received. In FFY 2008, Florida received $18 million in federal grants to fight Medicaid fraud, and McCollum's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit recovered $121.7 million -- for a total of $6.76 recovered for every federal dollar received. By comparison, Texas received $15.25 million in Medicaid fraud grants and recovered $164.3 million for a total of nearly $11 recovered for every federal dollar received.

(Source: Department of Health and Human Services, SMFCU Statistical Information, FFY 2008)

McCollum Has Not Effectively Tackled Medicaid Fraud- What Would You Do With Up To $3.2 Billion In Fraud?

2010-03-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

From FDP:

Florida taxpayers are being swindled out of as much as $3.2 billion each year by people committing Medicaid fraud, yet Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum is failing to do much about, as the Miami Herald reported today. Even though McCollum's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is the second largest in the country, Florida ranks 39th in the country for number of convictions per staffer and 25th in the country for money recovered per federal dollar received.

"Florida taxpayers are being ripped off by as much as $3.2 billion a year in Medicaid fraud and Bill McCollum is failing to effectively tackle the problem. We need leadership on this issue-If Florida taxpayers could recover the potential billions lost, how could we use it?" Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff asked. "Bill McCollum deserves to know the answer to that question. So, we're surveying Floridians by e-mail and will share with Bill McCollum what we find out."

In the Herald story, McCollum even admitted that "there is room for improvement" and his fellow Republicans called him to task for his lack of action. As Republican Senator Durell Peaden put it "[Bill McCollum] needs to get his butt in gear. All he's doing is chasing pedophiles around. If he'd spend half the time on Medicaid fraud, we'd be in better shape."

What Could Floridians Get With $3.2 Billion?

A) Erase Florida's Budget Shortfall And Put The State On Sound Financial Footing
B) 640 Miles Of Highway Construction And The 128,000 Jobs It Would Create
D) 21 Solar Plants To Provide Clean Energy For 63,000 Florida Homes
E) 168 Miles Of Light Rail Construction And The 100,480 Jobs It Would Create
F) A Brand New Mac Laptop Computer For Every Child In Florida Public Schools Grades K-12

BACKGROUND:

Erase Florida's Budget Shortfall And Put The State On Sound Financial Footing
Florida's 2010 budget shortfall is currently estimated at approximately $3 billion. (Tampa Tribune, 3/1/10)

640 Miles Of Highway Construction And The 128,000 Jobs It Would Create
The American Road and Transportation Builders Association estimates a cost of between $4-$6 million dollars per mile of highway construction. Taking the $5 million per mile, the state could add 640 miles of new highway construction. (FAQ, American Road & Transportation Builders Association)

According to a 2001 report, for every $1 billion spent on infrastructure spending, an estimated 40,000 jobs are created. $3.2 billion in infrastructure/highway spending could result in approximately 128,000 new jobs. (Release, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 10/6/01)

21 Solar Plants To Provide Clean Energy For 63,000 Florida Homes
In October, 2009 Florida Power & Light opened North America's largest pholtovoltaic solar power plant in Arcadia, Florida-- $3.2 billion would build 21 more of these solar plants, providing clean energy to more than 63,000 homes and create more than 8,400 desperately needed construction jobs. (Sarasota Herald Tribune, 10/14/09)

168 Miles Of Light Rail Construction And The 100,480 Jobs It Would Create
According to estimates, the city of Baltimore averaged $19 million per mile for construction of their Light Rail Project. At that cost projection, $3.2 billion would fund 168 miles of light rail projects in Florida. (Light Rail Now, 8/2000)

314 jobs are created for each $10 million invested in transit capital funding. A $3.2 billion investment in Light Rail would provide approximately 100,480 jobs directly related to rail in Florida. In addition, transit operations spending provides for a direct infusion to the local economy with more than 570 jobs created for each $10 million invested in the short term. (Benefits of Light Rail Transit, Hampton Roads Transit, 2009)

A Brand New Mac Laptop Computer For Every Child In Florida Public Schools Grades K-12
In 2010 there are approximately 2,587,554 students in the public school system in Florida. $3.2 billion would provide every single public school student in the state of Florida, from K-12, a 13 inch 2.26 GHZ Macbook Pro. (Statistics, Florida.Educationbug.org, 2010)

Bill McCollum's Long Record of Keeping His Political Cronies from Getting Caught

2010-03-01T20:49:00.000-08:00

From FDP:

Today's news of Miami Lobbyist Marco Rubio's lavish personal spending spree on his Republican Party AmEx is just one more reason Floridians deserve an independent investigation of this abuse. Yet Washington Politician Bill McCollum is doing what he always does when corruption should be investigated - nothing. Bill McCollum's failure to call for an independent investigation is only the latest time Bill McCollum has treated his political cronies as above-the-law and above concern for any ethical standards.

"When politicians do questionable business in shady corners, they need to look no further than Bill McCollum to protect them from the sunlight and the consequences of their actions," said Eric Jotkoff, Spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party. "A career politician protecting other career politicians, Bill McCollum helped his political cronies sweep their ethical messes under the rug in Washington and now he's at it again in Tallahassee. A life-long politician like Bill McCollum doing his best to cover up the misconduct of his fellow politicians is the last thing Florida needs as governor."

McCOLLUM's RECORD OF PROTECTING FELLOW POLITICIANS , HELP THEM SWEEP ETHICS COMPLAINTS UNDER THE RUG:

McCollum Won't Call For Independent Investigation into RPOF Spending and Doesn't Want to Open Party Books. Bill McCollum has refused to call for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the secret contracts and accusations of misused money at the RPOF. McCollum has also objected to the RPOF turning over credit card statements and opening the party books for public scrutiny. (Miami Herald, 02/05/10 and St. Petersburg Times, 02/18/10)

McCollum Has Refused To Open RICO Investigation into Disgraced Former Speaker Ray Samson. As far back as December 2008, McCollum has been publicly called on to open a RICO investigation covering the actions of the former House Speaker Ray Sansom. For over a year, McCollum has refused to do his job and investigate alleged corruption. (FDP Email, 12/29/08 and St Petersburg Times, 01/21/09)

McCollum Voted Repeatedly To Protect Gingrich From Ethics Investigations; Gingrich Later Admitted To Violations. In 1995, McCollum voted twice to protect then House-Speaker Gingrich from a special investigation by outside council. Then McCollum twice opposed allowing the ethics committee to release the report. That same year Gingrich admitted that he lied to the Ethics Committee and was found to have violated House ethics rules by using tax-exempt organizations to promote the Republican Party. (CQ; Vote 833, 11/30/95; CQ; Vote 287, 6/27/96)

McCollum Voted to Make It Harder to File Ethics Complaint Against Legislators. In 1997, McCollum voted to adopt "new rules that make it more difficult for outsiders to bring ethics complaints against lawmakers, and easier for lawmakers to dismiss complaints that are brought. Critics of the new rules charged that they increase the likelihood that serious misconduct will not be investigated and violators will go unpunished." (Vote 413, 9/18/97; Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 9/19/97; New York Times, 9/19/97)

Putnam’s hypocrisy continues

2010-03-01T20:46:00.000-08:00

Last week, a national news online political magazine called out U.S. Representative Adam Putnam for his hypocrisy on asking for special stimulus dollars after railing against the stimulus bill. (Even Wikipedia joined in the action.)

We thought we had seen it all.

But earlier week, President Obama signed into law one of the best consumer protection bills in recent memory. This new law will protect credit card consumers by eliminating retroactive rate increases, ensuring the consumers are fully made aware of charges, and outlawing some of the gimmicks that unscrupulous banks use to trick unwary customers into bad deals.

So it makes sense that Adam Putnam would support its passage… doesn’t it?

For sure, we can expect Putnam to tell us how he supported this bill and voted “Yes” on final passage.

Of course that would be the position of someone who is running for the Florida Cabinet and the title of that post contains the words “Consumer Services”…

But what will Putnam say about his votes to kill the bill in committee, to kill it with procedural votes, or amend it into uselessness?

When the spotlights were dim and Putnam thought nobody was looking, he attempted to kill this good pro-consumer measure.

But when the lights came on and the public was watching, Putnam did what he knew he HAD to do.

Is that hypocrisy?

You decide!

…and the way you can decide is by taking a moment and joining our efforts to end the political career of this veteran of Washington double-speak.

Join us today and help us put an end to the hypocrisy.

Sincerely,

Scott Maddox

Link

Thurman: McCollum's Role in GOP Scandal Necessitates Independent Investigation

2010-02-24T18:53:00.000-08:00

Today, Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman demanded that Governor Charlie Crist use his authority to start an independent investigation into the Republican Party of Florida's alleged corruption by appointing a Special Prosecutor, as new information that has come to light raises questions about Attorney General Bill McCollum's potential prior knowledge of corruption at the state GOP and his conflicts of interest in this case.

"Exactly what did Bill McCollum know about Jim Greer's secret sweet-heart deal to leave his job and precisely when did McCollum know it?" asked Thurman. "Since McCollum's conflicts of interest serve to question McCollum's motivation not to investigate or get all the facts out on the table, only an independent investigation by a Special Prosecutor can legitimately determine if crimes were committed by Republican politicians and party officials. McCollum's central role in the timeline of the case, and his refusal to take action, taint the integrity of this potential investigation. At this time, only an independent review will carry any merit. This is the only way to ensure Floridians have justice and officials are held accountable for their actions."

Addressing Governor Crist directly, Thurman added, "Governor Crist, the ball is in your court. Please don't repeat the mistake you made when you refused to order an investigation into disgraced Speaker Ray Sansom. On behalf of all Floridians, I ask you today to do your duty and appoint a Special Prosecutor."

New accounts in the press over the last two days illustrate a 'back-and-forth' on whether there was a secret severance package deal finalized for the outgoing chair of the Republican Party of Florida. News accounts suggest Bill McCollum had some, yet to be detailed, knowledge of the alleged corruption at the Republican Party. Since McCollum chose to not make public the financial and other questionable practices of the state party, his ability to fulfill his responsibility as Attorney General and hold an investigation has become highly questionable.

While Attorney General Bill McCollum refused to call for a larger investigation, the controversy grew and members have had time to possibly try and cover up possible wrongdoing. The truth will not be known without an investigation independent of McCollum.

PARTY OFFICIALS ADMITTED THERE WERE NEGOTIATIONS FOR A SECRET DEAL FOR OUTGOING CHAIR'S 'SEVERANCE BUT DENY IT WAS EXECUTED-OTHER OFFICIALS SAY DEAL WAS SANCTIONED AND EXISTS

"Back And Forth Over Whether" Outgoing RPOF Chair Got "A Secret Deal" Continued Yesterday. The St. Petersburg Times reported that "the back-and-forth continues over whether the outgoing chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, Jim Greer, cut a secret deal to get severance and legal protections." [St. Petersburg Times. 02/18/10]

RPOF Officials Acknowledged There Were Negotiations To Pay Greer A Secret Deal As Severance-But Insist The Deal Was Never Excecuted. Yesterday , RPOF officials acknowledged "that there were negotiations to continue paying Greer his yearly $130,000 salary and other benefits as severance. But they said the agreement was never formally 'executed.' Greer's ouster was precipitated by lavish spending, subpar fundraising and a grassroots rebellion." The Sentinel reported, "the existence of a secret severance deal agreed to by Thrasher could damage his candidacy". [Orlando Sentinel, 02/17/10]

Outgoing RPOF Vice-Chairman Insist The Deal Was "Sanctioned" And "An Agreement Was Formed, And Exists". According to outgoing Vice-Chairman Allen Cox, "Greer critics ... sanctioned a severance package that would pay Greer his $130,000 salary, health coverage and other perks in exchange for leaving with 11 months to go in his term". In a letter, Cox stated, "I believe that an agreement was formed, and exists, and the truth will be revealed when Greer seeks its enforcement." [Orlando Sentinel, 02/17/10 and St. Petersburg Times. 02/18/10]

McCOLLUM ADMITTED TO BEING "AWARE OF NEGOTIATIONS" BUT DENIED KNOWING "ANY SPECIFIC DETAILS" OF SECRET DEAL FOR OUTGOING CHAIR-YET McCOLLUM WAS CENTRAL TO GREER'S OUSTER, HAD A COPY OF THE CONTRACT AND HAS BEEN KEEPING THE CONTROVERSY "QUIET"

McCollum's Office Admitted To Being "Aware" of Severance Negotiations But Denied Knowing "Any Specific Details". According to the Sun-Sentinel, on February 8, 2010, a campaign spokeswoman for McCollum said, " 'We were aware of [severance] negotiations taking place as Chairman Greer announced his resignation. We were unaware of any specific details.' " The severance package in question was reported to be $130,000, roughly Greer's annual salary, along with health insurance coverage. [Sun-Sentinel, 2/8/10]

McCollum Was Central To Ouster Of Greer And Johnson, Has Tried To Keep The Matter In The Dark. On January 9, "McCollum was given a copy of the two-page contract at the GOP's annual meeting in Orlando...He immediately told Cannon and Haridopolos about it..." and, "They stormed over to GOP headquarters, and Greer and Johnson vacated the office soon after." The Orlando Sentinel reported on February 12, that McCollum, "was a driving force in ousting former chairman Jim Greer and Executive Director Delmar Johnson." "Attorney General Bill McCollum...has been deeply involved in the controversy, while trying to keep it quiet." [Orlando Sentinel, 2/9/10; St. Petersburg Times, 2/9/10; Orlando Sentinel, 2/12/10]

McCollum: Calls for Sunshine, Keeps his Cronies' Misdeeds In the Shadows

2010-02-17T18:59:00.000-08:00

From FDP:

Florida Democratic Party Releases Web Video Highlighting McCollum's Hypocrisy

Despite repeated outcries from Democratic and Republican leaders, a flood of calls from taxpayers to the Attorney General's corruption hotline, and newspaper editorials demanding action, career politician Bill McCollum still refuses to investigate potential corruption with state GOP finances and party-provided credit cards for legislators, in direct contrast to McCollum's previous calls for transparency in government.

Today, the Florida Democratic Party released a web video highlighting McCollum's hypocrisy, which can be viewed here:

http://www.fladems.com/page/content/McCollumShadows/

"Why is Bill McCollum so scared of putting some sunshine in these dark corners? Good things never come out of shady places," Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff said. "Bill McCollum likes to talk the talk, but he doesn't walk-the-walk when it comes time to confront his political cronies in Tallahassee. Does Bill McCollum stand by his previous calls for honesty and transparency in politics or will those words amount to nothing more than empty political promises?"

BILL McCOLLUM: TALKS THE TALK WHEN IT COMES TO BRINGING SUNSHINE TO DARK CORNERS

McCollum Called For Transparency-In-Government New Year's Resolution In December 2008. In a press release from the Office of the Florida Attorney General, on December 30, 2008, "Attorney General Bill McCollum today called on local governments, sheriffs and school districts to make government transparency their New Year's Resolution and to commit to providing enhanced access to information before Sunshine Sunday in March." [Office of the Attorney General of Florida, 12/30/08]

McCollum's Office Reiterated Call For 'Transparency Resolution' In March 2009 Press Release. A press release from McCollum's office on March 17, 2009 stated, "In December, the Attorney General called on local governments, sheriffs and school districts to make government transparency their New Year's Resolution and to commit to providing enhanced access to information." [Office of the Attorney General of Florida, 3/17/09]

McCollum: Open Government is 'Right Of The Tax-Paying Public.' In a press release from the Office of the Florida Attorney General, on December 30, 2008, Attorney General Bill McCollum stated, " 'As Florida is a national leader in providing public access to government records, merely responding to requests is no longer sufficient in light of the technological advances which make it infinitely easier, cheaper and more efficient to do so. Open government is not only good government; it is the right of the tax-paying public.' " [Office of the Attorney General of Florida, 12/30/08]

Transparency A 'Priority' For McCollum's Administration. In a press release from the Office of the Florida Attorney General, on August 31, 2009, Attorney General Bill McCollum stated, " 'Florida has a proud tradition of leading the nation in open government and transparency, which are the keys to building and maintaining public trust in the institutions of government. I am honored to help promote and protect that access, a responsibility which will continue to be a priority of my administration.' " [Office of the Attorney General of Florida, 8/31/09]

McCollum Called Government Accountability 'Vital.' In a press release from the Office of the Florida Attorney General, on March 17, 2009, Attorney General Bill McCollum stated, " 'It is vitally important that Florida's citizens have access to their government and can hold government accountable. Our Sunshine laws were created to provide that transparency and accountability, and our public entities should strive for nothing less than full compliance.' " [Office of the Attorney General of Florida, 3/17/09]

BILL McCOLLUM: INSTEAD HE HELPS HIS POLITICAL CRONIES KEEP MISDEEDS FROM COMING TO LIGHT

McCollum Refused To Ask For Inquiry Into GOP Financial Scandals. McCollum said he won't ask for inquiry until an audit of the RPOF is complete and he gets direction from the new party chairman to move although Gov. Charlie Crist last week said that party officials should open the books now. [Palm Beach Post, 2/15/10]

McCollum Continues To Stall A Criminal Probe Into His Own Party-McCollum's Hometown Newspaper Asked "Why Wait? "A former general counsel for the state GOP told the Sentinel that the spending might violate a state law against a party chairman or treasurer making a 'false or improper accounting' for political money. And some leading Democrats have pointed out that some Republican legislators could have charged luxury items to party-issued credit cards to evade a state law that bans gifts to elected officials. Attorney General Bill McCollum, the GOP's leading candidate for governor, has said he would rather wait for Mr. Greer's successor to lead an audit of the party's finances. Mr. McCollum said he would notify authorities if the audit suggests 'potential criminal activity.' Why wait, and why let an in-house audit dictate the next step? Top Republicans should welcome an independent investigation. A thorough, credible probe either will exonerate the party, or point out what it needs to fix, and whom should be held accountable." [Editorial, Orlando Sentinel, 02/17/10]

St. Petersburg Times Calls Out McCollum's Refusal To Hold RPOF Accountable "Now Attorney General Bill McCollum, despite knowing about the secret contract and the transferred funds for more than a month, is resisting calls for an external inquiry. He's content to let the next state party chairman, due to be elected this weekend, conduct an internal audit before calling the authorities in. Surely many of the entities that the attorney general investigates wish they were given such leeway to clean up their books. McCollum's office is likely not the appropriate state agency to investigate - a state attorney, statewide grand jury or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would seem more likely - but his answer suggests he's more interested in saving the party embarrassment than getting at the truth. Once again it's clear Tallahassee can't be counted on to police itself. State and federal investigators should conduct an independent examination." [Editorial, St. Petersburg Times, 02/17/10]

McCollum Said Only 'Party Regulars' Should See Audit Of RPOF Finances, Not Good To Have Party Business Open To The Public. According to the Orlando Sentinel, on February 10, 2009, Bill McCollum said he doesn't think party business should be a public matter and that releasing AmEx statements for past cardholders was a decision that should be left to the next chairman. "That might be a question for the Legislature to decide since the Legislature makes the rules for parties," McCollum said. "Right now, the party matters are totally internal ... I don't think it's good for any political party to be having everything that's done inside the party open to the public and the press." said he did think "party regulars" were entitled to the information. [Orlando Sentinel, 2/10/10]

McCollum Initially Dismissed Calls For Broader Investigation Into Sansom's Actions-Now 15 Months Later Details Revealed Scrutiny Justified. Initially, Attorney General Bill McCollum, "dismissed a call for a broader investigation into Sansom's dealings with a state college." Now, "15 months have passed since the scandal involving Sansom and Northwest Florida State College erupted in late November 2008, after Sansom took a $110,000-a-year, unadvertised part-time job at the college on the same day he became speaker of the House." It is now know that "During the 2007 legislative session, Sansom, as House budget chair, inserted $6 million into the state budget to fund an emergency operations training center the college would operate at Destin Airport. Documents and interviews by state investigators indicate the center was also to be used as an aircraft hangar by Destin Jet owner Jay Odom, a close associate of Sansom and a major contributor to the state Republican Party." [St Petersburg Times, 1/21/09 and Florida Freedom Newspapers, 02/08/10]

Candidate McCollum Calls for Transparency, Career Politician McCollum Refuses To Let Sunshine In

2010-02-17T18:01:00.001-08:00

From FDP:

Republican gubernatorial Candidate Bill McCollum likes to talk about his support for openness and transparency, but Career Politician Bill McCollum covers his cronies in times of scandal, as proven this week.

"Bill McCollum continues to duck and dodge taking action in his role as Attorney General in favor of his political allies, again. Whether its partisan misdeeds or questionable credit cards to lawmakers, Bill McCollum's last priority is the taxpayer and his first priority is his political cronies. Why is Bill McCollum protecting the status quo and the political elite instead of working to bring some transparency to the way business is run in Tallahassee? Why is Bill McCollum afraid of a little sunshine in these dark corners?" Eric Jotkoff, Florida Democratic Party spokesman asked.

When two candidates to replace McCollum as Florida Attorney General called on him this week to open an investigation into whether or not spending scandals at the Republican Party of Florida that included doling out credit cards to legislators constituted a breach of a 2005 ban on gifts to lawmakers, McCollum refused. In fact, the former Congressman refused to join a litany of other Republican statewide candidates in calling for the GOP to open its books to public scrutiny.

McCollum's politics-as-usual was editorialized against in the Sun-News, Friday, this way:

McCollum drew the line at transparency in government at the party door. He has publicly stated that the finances that are in debate, the party's finances, are not for the review of the common man. It's none of our business because it's party business, so to speak. As if the common man is only to pull the lever for a party no longer representing the people who vote for them. The common man is to ignore the doings behind that curtain, and the great and powerful Oz will tell you what to believe. The party has become more important than the voter. What is McCollum afraid of? Is he afraid that the public will be upset with the extravagant spending in a time when 10 percent of Floridians are looking for a job?

Read the full editorial, here http://www.newssun.com/opinion/edt-0212-mccollum

Will Bill McCollum please let a little sunshine in? What's he afraid of?

When Will Candidate McCollum Explain The Actions of Congressman McCollum?

2010-01-31T16:19:00.000-08:00

From FDP:

At Wednesday's Associated Press Forum in Tallahassee, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum failed to explain, yet again, his insistent effort for financial deregulation that eventually led to the current economic crisis. And the $4.7 trillion question remains on the table, when will McCollum explain his repeated efforts to raise the national debt ceiling?

In Congress McCollum Helped Turn Our "Lemonade Into A Lemon"-As Governor McCollum Would Likely Turn Florida's Economy Into A "Permanent Bust". "In Congress, McCollum helped turn our lemonade economy into a lemon. In 1999, he co-sponsored the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act, which prevented banks from taking on riskier investments that could precipitate the very financial crisis Obama inherited. ... As governor, McCollum would likely turn Florida's economy into a permanent bust." (Column, Sun-Sentinel, 01/15/10)

Congressman McCollum Held Hearings On Subprime Lending - Then Did Nothing-Years Later As Attorney General And During The Crisis: "It's Not The End Of The World." According to the St. Petersburg Times, McCollum, as vice chairman of the banking committee in May 2000, held daylong hearings into mortgage issues, including rising defaults rates and subprime lending practices. The St, Petersburg Times reported, "But hours of testimony resulted in little action. 'It was very hard to convince anyone it was epidemic,' said Cathy Lesser Mansfield, a Drake University law professor who testified before the committee." In 2007, the News-Press reported that McCollum said he thought that the subprime collapse had been exaggerated by the media and investors. "It's not the end of the world," he said. (St. Petersburg Times, 5/24/09 and The News-Press, 11/15/07)

Congressman McCollum Voted At Least 11 Times To Raise The National Debt Limit. The Miami Herald political blog reported that Congressman McCollum "voted to increase the national debt limits" several times. According to records, McCollum voted at least eleven times to raise the national debt limit between 1984-2000. (Miami Herald Blog, 01/20/10; Vote 48, 3/7/96; Vote 30, 2/1/96; Vote 270, 6/29/84, Vote 330, 9/22/87; Vote 336, 11/7/89; Vote 369, 11/13/85; Vote 353, 11/1/85; Vote 743, 10/26/95; San Francisco Chronicle, 10/28/95; Vote 812, 11/17/95; Vote 820, 11/20/95; Vote 102, 3/28/96 and USA Today, 3/29/96)

During Congressman McCollum's Time In Washington, The Debt Increased By 4.7 Trillion. During McCollum's time in Washington, America's debt increased by $4.7 trillion from $907 billion in 1980 to $5.66 trillion in January 2001 (when McCollum left office). (US Treasury)

Got Debt?

2010-01-31T16:04:00.000-08:00

From FDP:

Congressman McCollum Sold Out Florida Consumers, Attorney General McCollum Dropped The Ball, And Now Candidate McCollum Says He Wants To Start Helping

Tallahassee, FL - The countless Floridians facing mortgage, credit card or other forms of debt during the current economic crisis should be concerned--very concerned-- by Republican candidate for governor, Bill McCollum.

Candidate Bill McCollum says he wants to protect Floridians who are facing mounting debt and growing bills after Attorney General McCollum dropped the ball. But Congressman McCollum pushed anti-consumer legislation for the banking and credit card interests that funded his campaigns and committees.

"After three years of dropping the ball, Candidate Bill McCollum is now calling for more power to go after abusive debt collectors," Florida Democratic Party Spokesman Eric Jotkoff said. "However, in Washington, Congressman McCollum pushed anti-consumer legislation for the special interests that funded him. Congressman McCollum went on to be well rewarded with campaign cash-a payoff for representing the special interests, not Floridians. He lined his campaign coffers at the expense of Florida consumers."

CANDIDATE McCollum Called For Greater Powers To Go After Abusive Debt Collectors AFTER ATTORNEY GENERAL MCCOLLUM Dropped The Ball

McCollum's Office Called For Broadened Powers To Go After Debt Collectors-But His Office Had "Not Opened A Single Investigation Despite A Flood Of Complaints." "Consumer advocates and lawyers say harassment - including threats - has surged as the economy tanked and people lost the ability to pay their bills." The Orlando Sentinel reported that McCollum "wants to broaden his power to go after debt-collectors - and his office is suggesting Sink's proposal" to grant the Department of Financial Services the power to regulate and punish debt collectors "would weaken the attorney general's ability to protect consumers." But "McCollum's office had not opened a single investigation despite a flood of complaints. Initially, McCollum's office said it had received more than 4,400 complaints last year but later lowered that number to roughly 2,400." The Office of Financial Regulation also received complaints but had not "fined or suspended anyone." (Orlando Sentinel, 01/25/10)

Jacksonville Lawyer Specializing In Consumer Law And Predatory Lending Found That McCollum Rarely Pursued Collector Cases. The Sun-Sentinel reported: "The Attorney General's Office can launch investigations against rogue collectors, but it focuses on companies that generate lots of complaints from consumers across the state. Laura Boeckman is a Jacksonville lawyer specializing in consumer law and predatory lending. She said she has found that the attorney general rarely pursues collector cases - something she attributes to a lack of resources. 'It would be great to see the AG go after more of these on their own,' said Boeckman, 'but given the current budget cuts the office has had, I don't see that happening soon.'" (Sun-Sentinel, 11/09/09)

Attorney General McCollum's Office Only "Generally Referred" Consumer Complaints To OFR, But Never Sent Official Notice. McCollum "said his office would begin taking complaints it receives from its consumer line and forwarding those items to OFR. Until now, staffers manning the hotline - or responding to consumer e-mails - generally referred the person to OFR but did not send that office any documentation." (Orlando Sentinel, 11/04/09)

Orlando Sentinel: "Onus On The Attorney General To Protect Consumers From Illegal Business Practices". The Orlando Sentinel reported: "Florida law puts an onus on the attorney general to protect consumers from illegal business practices. Mr. McCollum's predecessors, Republican Charlie Crist and Democrat Bob Butterworth, took on that responsibility with enthusiasm. (Orlando Sentinel, 07/06/08)

Candidate McCollum Is Running From Congressman McCollum's Record Of Pushing Anti-Consumer Legislation For Bank And Credit Card Contributors

Candidate McCollum Has "More Recently - Morphed Into Something Of A Consumer Advocate" As Voters Might Be Seeking A "Pocketbook Protector" For Their Governor- McCollum's "Record In Congress" Is Known For Different Agenda. The Sun-Sentinel reported: "Bill McCollum's current stint as Florida's attorney general is the latest stop in a three-decade political career that began with his 1980 election to Congress from Central Florida. Once known as a fiery social conservative, McCollum in Tallahassee has been mostly low-key. He has pulled together groups to fight gang violence, sought to crack down on child pornography and - more recently - morphed into something of a consumer advocate. ... In a state with the nation's fourth-highest foreclosure rate, double-digit unemployment and the first year-over-year population loss since 1946, economic woes could crowd out everything else" during the election. ... McCollum's record in Congress as a staunch social conservative ... might matter less to voters than having a 'pocketbook protector' for governor." (Sun-Sentinel, 08/23/09)

Congressman McCollum "Was Blistered By Consumer Groups" For Pushing Bankruptcy Law Changes From Banks And Credit Card Companies As He Took Contributions From Them. Earlier, while in Congress, Mr. McCollum was blistered by consumer groups for pushing bankruptcy-law changes for banks and credit-card companies as he took campaign contributions from them." (Orlando Sentinel, 07/06/08)

Congressman McCollum Pushed Legislation On Behalf Of Banking And Credit-Card Industries Who Wanted To Make It Harder For Borrowers To Discharge Their Debt In Bankruptcy. To "Campaign fundraising documents exposed by the Wall Street Journal show that McCollum heavily targeted banks and credit-card companies on whose behalf he has been promoting legislation to make it harder for borrowers to discharge their debts in bankruptcy." (St. Petersburg Times, 10/18/00)

Congressman McCollum Was Well Rewarded For His 'Anti-Consumer Credit Card Legislation. The Orlando Sentinel stated, "In 1998, Public Campaign (an open government group) gave McCollum its 'Golden Leash' award for accepting $373,857 in campaign cash from the banking and financial service industries while using his position on the Banking and Financial Services Committee and the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee to promote anti-consumer credit card legislation." (Orlando Sentinel, 05/14/09)

DEBT INDUSTRY IS GROWING AND FLORIDANS ARE FACING A SURGE OF DEBT CHALLENGES

Debt Collectors Are In High Demand, Particularly in Florida Which Has "The Second-Highest Rate Of Credit Card Delinquencies In The Country." The St. Petersburg Times reported that debt collectors' "services are in sharp demand. Double-digit unemployment translates to surging delinquencies, particularly acute in places like Florida, which has the second-highest rate of credit card delinquencies in the country. Retailers, hospitals and credit card companies are all willing to turn to experts ... in trying to get bad debt off their books as painlessly as possible." (St. Petersburg Times, 11/29/09)

With Millions Of Americans In Debt, 'Secondary Debt' Industry Is Estimated To Be A $60 Billion Industry. Millions of Americans "find themselves saddled with debt they can't repay or can repay only with such difficulty it discourages them from even trying. Trying to collect these debts has become a big and fast-growing business with debts being packaged and sold, of-ten for pennies on the dollar, in financial instruments with a disturbing resemblance to the way subprime mortgages were packaged and sold off. The whole point of buying deeply discounted debt is that the buyers keep every dollar they collect. So-called secondary debt is now a $60 billion industry." (Naples Daily News, 12/02/09)

Governor Crist Continues Putting Political Ambition Above Florida, As Crist Administration Announces Unemployment Rate Up To 11.8 Percent

2010-01-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

With Governor Charlie Crist's Administration announcing today that Florida's unemployment rate is now at 11.8 percent, Florida Democrats reacted to Crist's failed economic policies.

"Since Charlie Crist became Governor, 1,522,300 Floridians have lost their jobs according to his own administration. Rather than working to bring jobs to Florida, Governor Crist continues putting his political ambitions above efforts to jumpstart Florida's economy," said Eric Jotkoff, Florida Democratic Party spokesman. "While other states are beginning to see signs of recovery, Floridians continue suffering under Crist's failed economic policies. Instead of spending his time doing his job as Governor, Crist has only focused on his efforts to reinvent himself as he attempts to appease Republican primary voters. That's why Floridians are going to send Crist into retirement in 2010."

According to the Crist's Administration, when Crist took over as Governor, 8,866,000 Floridians were employed. After 3 years of Crist's failed economic policies, now just 7,343,700 Floridians have jobs.

When 'More-Of-The-Same' Just Won't Cut It

2010-01-25T19:59:00.000-08:00

With the news today that Florida's unemployment rate is the highest the state has seen since May 1975, the people of the Sunshine State must make the choice: change directions or continue more of the status quo from our state's politicians this November.

"After more than a quarter century as a career politician, what can we possibly expect from Bill McCollum but more of the same business-as-usual in Tallahassee?" Florida Democratic Party Spokesman Eric Jotkoff said. "A 20-year congressman and Washington lobbyist will do nothing - absolutely nothing - to change Florida's economy for the better. We've tried leaving it to career politicians like Bill McCollum to turn Florida's economy around, and they've driven it into a ditch -11.8 percent unemployment."

Will Bill McCollum Clarify His Statements and Actions Related to Votes AGainst Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday?

2010-01-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

From FDP:

QUESTION: DID MCCOLLUM COME TO HIS REALIZATION "IN THE 80'S" AFTER OR BEFORE HIS 1989 VOTE AGAINST THE COMMISSION TO PROMOTE MLK DAY?

1983: McCollum Voted Against Making Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday A National Holiday. In 1983, McCollum voted against a bill to designate the third Monday of every January as a federal holiday in honor of the late civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (HR 3706, Vote 291, 8/2/83 and The Miami Herald, 08/03/83)

2010: McCollum Said He Was "Naive" To Oppose MLK Holiday In 1983 And Came To Realization "In The 80's" "Shortly After The Vote". McCollum said he was 'naive' in 1983 to oppose MLK holiday. "When did he come to that realization? 'In the '80s after the vote,' he said. 'Shortly after the vote. I couldn't tell you the exact year, but this is what? Twenty-five years later? It was very apparent to me upon reflection soon after that that it was not a good vote even though it does cost a lot of money.'" (Palm Beach Post, 01/19/10)

But In 1989 McCollum Voted Against Commission To Promote The Observance Of A Federal Holiday In Honor Of Martin Luther King. Bill McCollum, on May 9, 1989, was one of only 42 U.S. House members who voted against "a five-year extension of the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission", a commission established "to promote the observance of the federal holiday in honor of King." The "House, in a 359-42 vote, passed the bill in the same form approved by the Senate ... 90-7." The bill gave "the commission a five-year budget of $1.5 million," "providing federal money for its operation" for the first time. (HR1385, Roll Call Vote 45, 5/9/89; Motion agreed to 359-42; AP, 05/10/89 and Los Angeles Times, 05/10/89)
1989: St. Petersburg Times Called McCollum's Opposition "An Embarrassment To Florida" And A Demonstration Of How Far Out Of The Mainstream He Is. The St. Petersburg Times opined: "only three Floridians" in the U.S. House voted "to kill all federal funding of the commission." They were: "Mike Bilirakis, Andy Ireland and Bill McCollum. President Bush has indicated that he will sign it, which demonstrates just how far out of the mainstream are Mack, Bilirakis, Ireland and McCollum." The Times called their opposition "An embarrassment to Florida". (Editorial, St. Petersburg Times, 05/10/89)
QUESTION: Did McCollum refute characterizations in 2000 articles during his Senate race that reiterated his opposition to MLK Day? If McCollum publicly stated his regrets for voting against the holiday, did his 2000 campaign mention this?

2000 News Coverage Reported That McCollum Was Known For His "Unflinching Position" Against The Creation Of MLK Day. In his 2000 campaign for Senate, McCollum's vote against MLK Day was a key contrast in the race in news coverage. Several newspapers reported:

2000- McCollum's "unflinching Opposition": McCollum is "known for his unflinching positions against abortion, against control of assault weapons, and, in the 1980s, against letting Mariel refugees with criminal records stay in the United States, against the congressional report that detailed the Iran-contra scandal, against the Martin Luther King holiday and anti-apartheid sanctions for South Africa, and against political asylum for El Salvadorean refugees." (Miami Herald, 10/15/00)
2000- McCollum's Hometown Newspaper: "Nelson supported the Equal Rights Amendment, the creation of a federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and bans on assault weapons. He also backed waiting limits on handgun purchases. McCollum, by contrast, opposed these measures." (Orlando Sentinel, 10/8/2000)

Bill McCollum: Learn His Lesson

2009-12-21T17:34:00.000-08:00

From FDP:

'Call On Crist to End His Culture of Corrupt Cronyism' Urges New Facebook Group

2009-12-06T08:13:00.001-08:00

From FDP:

Florida voters were urged to "Ask Gov. Crist to end the 'culture-of-corruption'-cronyism" by joining a new social networking group, "Stop Crist Now" in an online video launched by the Florida Democratic Party, today.

The video can be viewed online at http://www.FlaDems.com/CristVideo.

"Last week, when George LeMieux (R-Crist) derided Florida's 'culture of corruption,' he conveniently left out his and Charlie Crist's starring role in so many of the recent corruption scandals. That's why today we have formed the Stop Crist group to end Crist and LeMieux's corrupt cronyism," Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Scott Arceneaux said. "Floridians are fed up with Gov. Crist's lack of leadership and his repeatedly putting his own political ambitions ahead of our state's people."

"'[P]olitical scandals have uncovered 'a culture of corruption' that must be stamped
out,' freshman Florida Sen. George LeMieux said." LeMieux's statement is particularly hypocritical given the fact he was appointed by his former boss Charlie Crist to hold the same vacant U.S. Senate seat Crist is now seeking. Since then, LeMeiux has come under scrutiny for exploiting his new found position to aid Crist and his political ambition. [Miami Herald, 12/1/09; Miami Herald, 11/27/09]

The Facebook group, "Stop Crist Now" is open to the public and can be found online at www.Facebook.com or through the FDP Web site, www.FlaDems.com/StopCrist. The social networking group features news updates on Crist's failure to provide leadership as Governor and ways to join online events.

"People are fed up with Charlie Crist and online organizing is another way Floridians are calling for a change for the better in the Sunshine State," Arceneaux added.

Sunshine: Watch the video

2009-12-06T08:10:00.000-08:00

Since over 4,500 of you stood up and asked Governor Crist to put his job as Governor over his personal ambition he's shown no sign of heading our call. In fact he joined his handpicked political crony Senator George LeMieux for a fundraiser in Washington D.C.

Earlier this week, we asked you to help us combat their collusion with the only thing Governor Crist does these days - raising money. But to win next November we need to go one step further: We need to get organized and spread the message.

We need your help to bring what Crist is doing into the light of day and bring it to the attention of every Floridian. Take a minute and watch this video, that every Floridian needs to see, about the relationship between Governor Crist and Senator LeMeiux:

http://www.fladems.com/cristvideo

The best way to combat the culture of cronyism and corruption displayed by Crist and LeMeiux to make sure that people know it and aren't fooled by their recent lip service about "stopping" corruption. Together we can Stop Crist by making sure that he can't get away with using his office to further his own political fortunes anymore.

As the old saying goes, "Sunshine is the most powerful of disinfectants," so with your help we can bring their tactics into the light of day. Please help us by watching this video about Crist and LeMeiux, and then forward it on to all you friends:

http://www.fladems.com/cristvideo

After you watch the video, please join our Stop Crist group on Facebook. With this group we hope to reach out to thousands of voters that may not know about the Republican culture of cronyism and corruption in Tallahassee - and show them what their Governor is doing.

If we work together we can bring Crist and LeMeiux's dealings in to the light of day and put a stop to them once and for all next November.

Sincerely,

Scott Arceneaux
Executive Director
Florida Democratic Party

Response To Governor Charlie Crist's Remarks--Florida Education Reform

2009-11-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

From the House Dems:

Response To Governor Charlie Crist’s Remarks
At Joint Meeting Of State Board of Education and Board of Governors
-Florida House Democrats Call For Expanding Accountability Measures-

TALLAHASSEE --- Florida House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands (D-Weston) issued the following statement in response to remarks made today by Governor Charlie Crist at a joint meeting of the State Board of Education and Board of Governors:

“Governor Crist appears to be slowly recognizing that public education in Florida has suffered for more than a decade because of a misguided education accountability system that focuses too greatly on how students perform on a single-day standardized test.

“Today, the governor acknowledged certain shortcomings of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, and by his remarks, seems to be signaling support for significant portions of the education reforms recently proposed by Florida House Democrats.

“A strong but fair accountability system is needed for Florida’s students, educators and schools. My colleagues and I in the 44-member Florida House Democratic Caucus are offering a new strategy for how schools can be assessed and graded. These changes are outlined in a formal comment to the state Department of Education pertaining to Florida’s application for federal Race to the Top Initiative grants.

“The current accountability system is shortsighted because it is based almost exclusively on how well students score on the FCAT. Our plan improves the system by phasing in a combination of end-of-course assessment exams.

“For too long, our children have only been taught to pass the FCAT instead of allowing teachers to concentrate on a variety of curriculum. Our suggestions would measure each student’s academic progress from the beginning to the end of a school year rather than a one-day snapshot of their learning.

“Much more must be done to improve Florida, its economy and our system of public education. Florida House Democrats are pleased to bring ideas for making our state better.”

Crist's "Great Moment" in Political History

2009-11-12T17:21:00.000-08:00

From the Blogs

2009-11-04T19:19:00.001-08:00

The latest stories from the Florida blogs about Republicans in the Florida Cabinet.

Tally: Lessons for FL from Tuesday's Elections

Saint Petersblog 2.0: Crist raises $125K in Mich. (with Greer in tow) as report shows he's off 10 weeks a year

Trish Ponder: Crist Losing Ground in Senate Race

Pushing Rope: Alex Sink Fundraising Press Release

Smooth Like Remy: Crist Can't Handle The Scrutiny

Powerful words

2009-10-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we had an amazing state conference in Orlando. I wish you could have been there. Since I know many of you could not make it, I did want to share a highlight of CFO Alex Sink's powerful words that captured the energy of the conference so well.

Watch the video and share it with your friends and neighbors.

http://www.fladems.com/alexatconference

I know that Alex Sink in the Governor's office will restore the dream that led so many to move to this state.

Listening to her speak, talking to our grassroots leaders, and seeing the enthusiasm and desire they have to change Florida in 2010 made me more confident in what I already know:

We stand ready to take back our state.

For the first time in almost 140 years, every single statewide office is on the ballot and not a single one is an incumbent running for re-election. Both as Democrats and as Floridians, we are fighting to seize our historic opportunity - by not only electing Alex Sink as our next Governor - but by electing a strong Democrat to the U.S. Senate, and electing more Democrats to Congress, the Cabinet, and our State Legislature.

Just like the hundreds of thousands of volunteers who worked tirelessly to deliver Florida for Barack Obama, we must commit ourselves to be the change that we want for Florida.

This election cycle, it's up to us whether or not Florida continues to see high unemployment numbers and face stagnation.

You have already done so much to help us build the momentum we need to bring change to Florida in 2010, but there is still so much work to be done.

Frankly, the future of our state rests in the hands of each of us. With your help, we will change Florida and help Alex Sink win this historic election.

Thank you for everything you've done to get us here.

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Karen L. Thurman
Chair, Florida Democratic Party

From the Blogs

2009-09-30T20:49:00.001-07:00

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

The Reid Report: Charlie’s big dillemma

Pushing Rope: Telemarketer Crist

Blast Off!: Is Crist circumventing Florida law on judicial appointments?

Pushing Rope: Charlie Crist Promotes Fast Food Jobs

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Attorney General Bill McCollum: Local Governments Can't Create Their Own Misdemeanors

Eye on Miami (Gimleteye): Weird: Something about Charlie

Smooth Like Remy: Where My Florida Ladies At?

Pushing Rope: Co-Ops Will Force Alex Sink To Clarify Position

Smooth Like Remy: Charlie Crist Shafted The American Worker With The Help Of George LeMeiux

Miami-Dade Dems: Crist vulnerable? Here comes Kendrick Meek

Blog to 2010 & Beyond: Crist Foggy on the Gambling Compact

Tally: Is Charlie Crist the New Ronald Reagan?

Betty Cracker: Crist almighty

Down With Tyranny: Is It Fair To Assume What Kind Of A Senator Charlie Crist Would Make Based On His Actions As Governor?

Susan Chandler: Big men don't cry

Penile State: Bye-bye, Charlie

Smooth Like Remy: Charlie Crist Has Been Reading Too Much Orson Wells

Pushing Rope: Crist on Morning Joe

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Fla.: Attorney General Bill McCollum: Local Governments Can't Create Misdemeanors

Reid Report: Charlie’s morning whoppers

Pushing Rope: Charlie Crist Claims He Increased Employment

Orlando Sentinel: Crist's education gains claim requires some creative math

2009-09-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Orlando Sentinel: Crist's education gains claim requires some creative math

TALLAHASSEE – All year, Gov. Charlie Crist has touted that on his watch the state’s education system had gone from a ranking of 31st in the country to 10th this year.

Florida's one-term governor and leading U.S. Senate candidate made the claim over the weekend in a speech to Republicans in Michigan and again Tuesday morning as he made the rounds on cable news talk shows.

"We're very pleased with what's happened there -- from 31st to 10th in the nation since I've been governor, and I'm very happy for our children for that," Crist said this morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show.

But the figures don't quite add up, according to the authors of the Education Week “Quality Counts” study the statement is based on.

The respected publication reported last January that Florida stood out compared to the national average scores in early childhood education and its assessment and accountability measures, produced more average scores for the caliber of its teachers and Kindergarten-through-12th Grade performance, and below average in school spending and college readiness.

Basically, the report gives Florida high marks for having accountability measures in place, but it is among the bottom of the heap in funding schools and gets an ‘F’ for college readiness. Overall, out of the six categories the study uses in its analysis, Florida and Arkansas finished with the same numeric score, 79.6 percent, indeed tying for 10th place.

But here’s where the confusion starts.

Education Week changed the way it conducted the study last year, shifting from collecting data in each of the categories every year to a “modular” research design where states are surveyed about half of the categories on an every-other-year rotation.

So, is it accurate to compare year to year? “Not really,” said Amy Hightower, the research director for the Editorial Projects in Education research center that produced the study. “We really do encourage states and the media that grading from one year to the next is not really comparable.”

That’s just for starters. Hightower said she wasn’t sure where Crist is getting the 31st ranking.

Until 2006, the research center only gave individual section grades, not overall ones, and that year Florida ranked 16th in the country. In 2008, Florida ranked 14th.

In 2007, the center didn’t issue overall grades, but did issue rankings for its newly minted “Chance for Success” and “K-12 achievement” indexes (two of the six categories now used to rank states). On both of those, Florida ranked 31st. Since then, Florida has fallen to 33rd in the rankings on “chance for success,” while the “K-12 achievement” ranking has climbed to 7th (not 10th).

Assuming that is the improvement Crist is mentioning, he still can’t claim credit for it – the 2009 report re-uses the same national data from the 2008 report, which was collected in 2007, when Crist first came into office.

The research center is careful not to draw correlations between performance and any particular policy changes within a state, but “if policy matters, then really the policy we’re talking about would predate the results,” Hightower said.

The time period that Education Week evaluated corresponds with years in which lawmakers devoted more cash to comply with constitutional mandates such as Florida’s class-size reduction requirement, increased incentives to retain and recruit teachers, and an explosion in real property wealth within the state.

And of course, Florida’s most significant policy reform has been Gov. Jeb Bush’s “A+” plan that mandated standardized tests for schools and tied school-funding to performance on the FCAT test.

“I think all of us are still parking on Jeb Bush’s dime as it comes to education reform,” said Sen. Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican and former school superintendent who helped Bush trumpet the classroom reforms.

Crist did serve a short stint as education commissioner. And Gaetz gives the current governor credit for pushing for teacher merit-pay incentives and supporting reforms to make high schools less reliant on the FCAT assessment. But “all of us, including Charlie Crist, are stewards of Jeb Bush’s accomplishments and his innovations.”

Sen. Dan Gelber, a Miami Beach Democrat running for attorney general and a frequent critic of Bush’s reforms, agreed Crist was “misusing the study.”

“It was not a study of how good they’re doing, but how many measurements they have.”

Crist told reporters Tuesday he had hoped to do more on the education front, but that Floridians understood the economy had forced his administration to "scale back."

"We've had to scale back, but the people get that. They've had to scale back," Crist said.

Things I Can Do Without

2009-09-29T18:28:00.001-07:00

A governor who tries to distance himself from a great program and claim he had little role in, when he actually co-sponsored it.

Did You Know -- Bill McCollum

2009-09-26T20:12:00.001-07:00

Were you aware of the following facts and quotes from Bill McCollum?

McCollum supported "personhood" rights for unborn while in Congress

McCollum opposes the public option

“During his twenty years in Congress, McCollum voted eight times to cut Medicare by at least $650 billion, voted to raise the eligibility age for Medicare and Social Security, and voted to make it harder for government to crack down on health care fraud.”

McCollum opposed Crist's Seminole gaming compact

McCollum voted to approve a new nuclear plant

McCollum takes a lot of time off

"On the economic side we have big differences with the Democrats because we believe in growing the pie and growing wealth and not redistributing it."

On waterboardng: "I believe we have in this debate really stretched the definition of torture...I don't think the techniques that they're describing first of all were torture, by definition under the international way of defining it, and secondly I believe the men and women who undertook to get advice on this gave their best advice."

On the stimulus, "President Obama failed to involve the Republicans the way he professed to do at the beginning of the process."

McCollum opposed oil drilling closer to Florida's coast

This Could Be Very Good News

2009-09-26T08:45:00.001-07:00

Bud Chiles May Seek CFO Post:

Lawton 'Bud' Chiles III, son of the late Democratic governor, and a Lakeland native, said the post being vacated by Alex Sink is one where 'you could create a voice for changing what is wrong in Florida today.'

'I've had a number of people talk to me about it,' Chiles told the News Service of Florida. 'I'm giving a lot of thought to it.'

About Time

2009-09-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

Charlie Crist is taking a well-deserved day off tomorrow:

GOVERNOR’S SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2009

NO SCHEDULED EVENTS

It's about time.

McCollum Refuses To Support Sotomayor By Ducking Issue

2009-09-24T20:43:00.001-07:00

From FDP:

Yesterday was Sonia Sotomayor's first day on U.S. Supreme Court. And Bill McCollum who:

Ran for U.S. Senate twice,
Served for many years on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee,
And is the highest ranking law enforcement official from a state with one of the largest Hispanic populations
still hasn't said a peep about whether he thinks Sotomayor should have been confirmed or not.

Why do you suppose that is? Well, it seems pretty obvious. McCollum opposes Sotomayor but doesn't want to offend the 1.2 million Hispanic voters who will help decide whether he becomes governor or not in 2010. So he's ducking.

Florida Today recently published a lengthy editorial on the importance of the Hispanic vote. In 2008, one-in-seven Florida voters were Hispanics. Of states with the greatest Hispanic populations- California, Texas, New York, Illinois and Florida - Florida saw the largest increase in Hispanic voters, up 48.9 percent from 824,000 in 2004 to 1.2 million in 2008.

And (supposedly), embattled RPOF Chairman Jim Greer and the Florida GOP "is reaching out to minorities to widen its tent following Obama's defeat of John McCain in 2008."

But McCollum apparently didn't get the memo from Greer. Opposing Sotomayor is not going to help Republicans - and the fact that McCollum refuses to publically support Sotomayor in particular won't help him win friends among Hispanic voters. So McCollum has decided to keep his opposition out of the newspapers. He's apparently not keen on doing much outreach to Hispanics.

Interestingly, Charlie Crist -- who also did not get Greer's memo - did make his views known about Sotomayor. He opposed her confirmation.

So if Crist is willing to speak up, why has no one heard a peep from McCollum. The reason is that Crist has to win the support and confidence of the Republican base. McCollum, however, as a long-time far-right hard liner who even served as co-manager of the effort to impeach Bill Clinton, doesn't have to worry about the far-right. They are already in his pocket. He has to worry about the 1.2 million Hispanic voters who aren't. And so the last thing he wants to do is say out-loud that he was against confirmation of the nation's first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Background on McCollum: Cutting Medicare, Aiding HMOs And Big Insurers

2009-09-24T16:38:00.001-07:00

McCollum: Cutting Medicare, Aiding HMOs and Big Insurers

During his 20 years in Washington, Bill McCollum voted to cut billions of dollars from Medicare. He voted to cut Medicare in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1997. Bill McCollum voted with the insurance companies and drug companies against a real Patient’s Bill of Rights. He wanted to protect nursing homes that hurt seniors from being held accountable through the court system. McCollum spent his 20 years in Washington fighting for the drug companies. He opposed competition in the allergy drug market, costing Americans $11 billion. He supported insurance- and drug-company backed legislation to make prescription drug coverage optional, and he supported privatizing Medicare. McCollum chaired a coalition of big businesses to lobby for changes to health care system that would benefit them by limiting treatments insurance companies would cover. He tried to protect companies that defraud Medicare and the taxpayers.

Voted to Cut Billions from Medicare

During his 20 years in Washington, Bill McCollum voted to cut billions of dollars from Medicare. He voted to cut Medicare in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1997.

McCollum Voted to Cut $3.2 Billion From Medicare Spending in 1990. In 1990 McCollum voted for a Kasich substitute amendment to the fiscal 1991 Budget Resolution that included a $3.2 billion cut in Medicare spending. [HConRes310, Roll Call Vote 84, 4/26/90; Rejected 106-305]

McCollum Voted to Cut Medicare by $27.2 Billion Over Five Years in 1991. In 1991 McCollum voted for a Kasich substitute amendment to Fiscal 1992 Budget Resolution that included Medicare cuts of $27.2 billion over five years. [HConRes121, Roll Call Vote 69, 4/17/91; Rejected 114-303]

McCollum Was One of Only 89 House Members Who Voted to Cut Medicare by $25.2 Billion Over Five Years in 1991. In 1991 McCollum voted for a Gradison substitute amendment to Fiscal 1992 Budget Resolution that included Medicare cuts of $25.2 billion over five years. [HConRes121, Roll Call Vote 70, 4/17/91; Rejected 89-335]

McCollum Was One of Only 60 House Members Who Voted to Cut $138.5 Billion From Medicare, Medicaid Over Five Years in 1992. In 1992 McCollum was one of only 60 members of the United States House of Representatives to vote for a Dannemeyer substitute amendment to the Fiscal Year 1993 Budget Resolution that included $138.4 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid programs over five years. [HConRes287, Roll Call Vote 38, 3/4/92; Rejected 60-344]

McCollum Voted to Cut $34 Billion From Medicare in 1993. In 1993, McCollum voted for a bi-partisan Penny-Kasich amendment to a 1993 spending cut resolution that included $34 billion in Medicare cuts. [HR3400, Roll Call Vote 609, 11/22/93; Rejected 213-219]

McCollum Voted for $270 Billion Medicare Cut in 1995. In 1995 McCollum voted for House adoption of the 1995 Budget Reconciliation Act that included a $270 billion cut from Medicare. [HR2491, Roll Call Vote 742, 10/26/95; Adopted 227-203]

McCollum Voted to Cut $158.1 Billion in Medicare Over Six Years in 1996. In 1996 McCollum voted for adoption of the Fiscal 1997 Budget Resolution Conference Report that included $158.1 billion in Medicare spending cuts over six years. [HR2425, Roll Call Vote 731, 10/19/95; Adopted 231-201]

McCollum Voted For $115 Billion Reduction in Medicare in 1997. In 1997 McCollum voted for adoption of the Fiscal 1998 Budget Reconciliation Act that included a $115 billion reduction in Medicare. [HR2015, Roll Call Vote 241, 6/25/97; Adopted 270-162]

Against Patients Bill of Rights, For Protecting Businesses from Accountability

McCollum Voted Against Real, Comprehensive Patient’s Bill of Rights. In 1998, McCollum voted against a Dingell substitute amendment to the Republican version of the Patient Protection Act that would have enacted a comprehensive patient’s bill of rights that included doctor choice, access to OB-GYN’s as a primary care physician under plans, eliminated doctor gag rule to allow free communications between physician and patient, notify patient’s of changes in drug formulary, prohibited restriction on hospital length of stay and amended ERISA to allow for recovery of damages under state laws. [HR4250, 105th Congress, Roll Call Vote 336]

McCollum Voted for Severely Watered Down Republican Version of Patients Bill of Rights. In 1998, McCollum voted for HR4250 proposed by Republican Gingrich called “The Patient Protection Act of 1998.” The bill was a severely watered down version to Dingell’s plan. It would have prohibited plans from imposing restrictions on their doctors for advice provided to a patient; requiring plans to cover emergencies; requiring plans to have OB-GYN’s to provide access without primary care physician referral; allowing pediatric specialists as primary care physician; notify patient’s of changes in drug formulary, calls for external review and the granting of civil penalties and attorney’s fees if a plans external review recommends coverage and the plan does not provide the benefit thereafter, created Small Business Affordable Health Care Act of 1998 and placed caps of damages, established statute of limitations and other anti-consumer changes to medical malpractice law. [105th Congress, Roll Call Vote 339, HR4250]

McCollum Advocated Limits on Malpractice Lawsuits Against Nursing Homes. McCollum, who voted for the 1997 Balanced Budget Act that cut Medicare reimbursements, said astronomical lawsuits against nursing homes were the problem. He advocated placing limits on the amounts awarded in malpractice lawsuits against nursing homes. [Orlando Sentinel, 7/7/00]

On Side of Drug, Insurance, HMOs in Health Care Fight

McCollum Sponsored Legislation Blocking Introduction of Competitors to Allergy Drug Claritin, Forcing Americans to Pay $11 Billion More. McCollum co-sponsored a bill advocated by drug giant Schering-Plough to block less-costly competitors to its allergy drug Claritin and seven other drugs, used mostly by seniors. “The bill, which would extend the patents on the drugs for three years, is a national disaster for 45 million uninsured Americans, including 15 million seniors, who pay the highest prices for drugs out of their own pockets,” said Tracie Onbashian in a South Florida Sun-Sentinel op/ed. “According to the University of Minnesota, the bill would force Americans to pay $11 billion too much for medicine…The most likely reason members of the Florida delegation are supporting Schering-Plough is cold, hard cash. The company spent over $4 million on lobbyists and political contributions to push its bill in Congress.” [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 1/17/00]

McCollum’s Prescription Drug Plan Emphasized Insurance Industry. McCollum has voted for a GOP-favored prescription drug plan that would have subsidized voluntary coverage by insurance companies. [Tampa Tribune, 7/7/00]

McCollum Supported Moves to Privatize Medicare. Addressing Medicare reform in 2000, McCollum said he voted for a bill that would have created a “public-private” partnership to encourage insurance companies to offer health-insurance policies with prescription-drug coverage. The program he supported would have replaced Medicare with a federal guarantee that the insurance companies wouldn’t lose money. “I think it’s a good plan,” he said. “I believe this is one that provides the best of all worlds.” At the time, thousands of elderly residents throughout Florida had lost their Medicare HMOs after insurance companies stopped providing the coverage, a problem expected to worsen. [Orlando Sentinel, 7/7/00]

McCollum-Chaired Healthy Florida Foundation is Coalition of Big Businesses and Insurance Companies. The Healthy Florida Foundation, chaired by McCollum, is a coalition of major businesses and health-care providers. The Healthy Florida Foundation includes Gulf Power Company, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Eckerd Corporation, Walt Disney World and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. [Tallahassee Democrat, 12/18/03]

McCollum Chaired Group That Recommended Limiting Treatments Health Insurers are Required to Cover as a Means of Reducing Costs. The Healthy Florida Foundation, chaired by McCollum suggested limiting treatments health insurers are required to cover as a means of reducing costs. “Limiting what health plans are required to cover has been pushed for several years as a way to try and rein in the cost of health insurance,” according to the Associated Press. “But it’s highly controversial, with nearly every type of treatment having a constituency of people who need it and argue for mandatory coverage of it. Without a state requirement, many expensive treatments would never be covered leaving sick people with no way to pay for it, advocates say.” [Associated Press, 12/17/03]

McCollum Tried to Gut Law Outlawing Fraud Against Government, Empowering Whistleblowers. According to Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, McCollum’s “Health Care Claims Guidance Act” was “unconscionable” and an effort to “gut” the Fair Claims Act, which outlawed fraud against the government and empowered whistleblowers and the government to file suits against federal contractors to recover taxpayer losses, with the whistleblower getting a cut of any recovery. The Department of Justice said McCollum’s proposal would “fundamentally undermine our law-enforcement efforts to protect the integrity of the Medicare Trust Fund.” Critics noted that McCollum had recently taken $7,300 in health care contributions, including $3,000 from Columbia big-shots. [Orlando Sentinel, 8/2/98]

Republican Senator Grassley’s Floor Speech Laced with McCollum Criticism. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley laced into McCollum in a 1998 floor speech after McCollum filed a bill that critics said would have made it harder for the Justice Department to pursue fraud complaints that run into the billions of dollars each year, and which had been blamed for higher Medicare premiums. In his speech, Grassley said he was “dismayed” that McCollum filed his bill even after the Justice Department agreed to fine-tune the law in response to industry complaints. “Even more amazing, Congressman McCollum, it is reported, still plans to move forward with this bill that would gut the False Claims Act,” Grassley said at the time. “Consequently, the False Claims Acct is, and will remain, a target of those industries that accept billions and billions of taxpayer dollars annually and balk at strict accountability.” [Miami Herald, 9/26/00]

Tampa Tribune Editorial: Had McCollum’s Legislation Passed Columbia/HCA Healthcare Would Have Avoided $745 Million Settlement. An October 2000 Tampa Tribune editorial noted that during his time in Congress, McCollum introduced a bill that would have watered down the federal False Claims Act that rewards and protects whistleblowers who document fraud in government billings. Had his questionable legislation passed, Columbia/HCA Healthcare could have avoided a $745 million settlement. [Tampa Tribune, 10/29/00]

From the Blogs

2009-09-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

Pushing Rope: Lobbying for Dollars

Equality Florida: FL Attorney General Should Know Better

FLA Politics (Tally): Senator LeWho?

Progress Florida (Ray Seaman): A Government of the Wealthy

Bark Bark Woof Woof: Oh, Crist

Sunshine Statements: Where's Charlie, and There Goes Mel

Bark Bark Woof Woof: Sign Here

FLA Politics: Will Charlie Crist digorge his McKalip contributions?

Progressive Pensacola: Kottkamp files for AG

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Crist's bill takes power from water management -- Directors in Fla.'s districts now will issue use permits

Flablog: The not-so-green governor

Progressive Homeschoolers of Florida: Unregulated Growth is HERE

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Thank you, Governor Crist, I

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Proctor to seek veto override

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Crist vetoes insurance bill -- Future of State Farm in Florida still unknown

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Thank you, Governor Crist, II

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Crist vetoes public records exemptions

Tacking right, Crist drops Florida out of climate market

2009-09-02T21:16:00.003-07:00

From PEER

Florida Governor Charlie Crist has decided that his state will not join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) or pursue further major efforts to combat climate change, according to a notice released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Florida, once a leader among states in addressing climate issues, instead will sit on the sidelines and await the outcome of federal cap-and-trade legislation.

Rather than issue a public announcement, Florida's decision was communicated to other Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic state members of RGGI that the Sunshine State would not participate in the upcoming September 9, 2009 auction of greenhouse gas emission allowances. In addition, Gov. Crist "will not be presenting a proposed cap-and-trade rule to the 2010 Legislature," stated the notice quoting Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) spokeswoman Amy Graham.

The move will limit the potential impact of the 10-state RGGI market. Florida's participation would have increased the program by more than 75% with Florida accounting for more than twice the emissions of the biggest RGGI state, New York. RGGI allowances have been dropping in price due to over-allocation of emission credits, a problem that has plagued other cap-and-trade systems.

Gov. Crist's decision culminates a steady rightward shift since he began pursuing a now vacant U.S. Senate seat. In August, he canceled a third annual session of his highly regarded Climate Change Summit, citing meeting costs. His support of action on climate change has become a rallying point for opponents within the state Republican Party. His Senate primary opponent, House Speaker Mike Rubio, recently crowed, "I guarantee you he will not be touting the work he did with Sheryl Crow as part of his primary platform," referring to the popular singer identified with green causes.
.
"Gov. Crist's retreat signifies that it is becoming increasing difficult for environmentally concerned citizens to advance in today's Republican Party - and that is a real shame," stated Florida PEER Director Jerry Phillips, a former DEP enforcement attorney. "Of all the states, Florida arguably has the most to lose from rising sea levels, bigger, nastier storms and the other side effects associated with climate change."

Florida's rate of greenhouse emissions has soared in recent years, rising by more than a third above 1990 levels. The state's rate of growth may be finally slowing only because its population boom is now becoming a bust, with Florida now losing population for the first time in decades.

"Gov. Crist used to proclaim that Florida's future will turn on the quality of our environment so it is unfortunate that these values must take a back seat to political advancement," Phillips added, noting that a huge purchase of sugar lands for the purpose of benefiting the Everglades had been a signature issue for Gov. Crist in which he had invested substantial political as well as fiscal capital. "What good does it do to 'save' the Everglades only to have it to sink back into Florida Bay?"

The beginning of our journey

2009-09-02T21:14:00.001-07:00

Dear Friend,

Today is the day that we officially kick off our fundraising campaign for Florida's Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
...and today is the beginning of our journey to turn things around in our state and to make a real difference for Florida's future.

For too long, we have had statewide leaders who put the needs of special interests over your interests.

...and for too long we have had leaders who bow down to the very industries that they are supposed to regulate...rather than the people they are supposed to protect.

Are you ready to say "Enough is Enough?"

I am.

I believe we need a new direction and a new commitment to turn this State around.

...and I believe we can make that difference in one of the most important positions in our State Government.

But today is not just the first day of our fundraising campaign, today also marks the first day that you can more than double your impact!

If you contribute today, the State of Florida will match your donation on a 2 to 1 basis up to $250! If you give $50 dollars, the state will match with an additional $100. If you give $100, the State will match an additional $200, and if you give $250, the match will be an additional $500!

Please help us take on this challenge and make a difference for Florida's consumers...and watch your donation grow!

Take advantage of this matching program by visiting our website now at www.scottmaddox.com and contribute today.
Thank you in advance for your support and your commitment to a better Florida!

Respectfully,

Scott Maddox

P.S. The 2 to 1 match from the state only applies for the first $100,000 raised, so we need to act quickly!

Pigs at a Trough

2009-09-02T21:12:00.000-07:00

When I heard about Gov. Charlie Crist appointing his crony George LeMieux to the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez - I was shocked.

While the Senate works towards economic recovery, health insurance reform, and is tackling climate change, Republican lobbyist George LeMieux is not the kind of Senator Florida needs. When he goes to Washington, he'll be embraced by Republican special interests - those groups who are working to prevent President Obama's reforms - just like Charlie Crist is embraced by the special interests here in Florida.

In short, with Charlie Crist and his crony George LeMieux going to the Senate, all their friends in special interests are acting just like pigs at the trough, enjoying all the benefits of friends in high places.

While Congress and President Obama work towards bringing change to America, you and I have got to work to change Florida. In 2010, there are 5 open statewide races - a once in a lifetime opportunity to change our state -- and believe me that Florida Democrats will be working towards bringing change to Tallahassee.

Make a contribution now and be a part of bringing new and different leadership to Tallahassee:

https://secure.fladems.com/page/contribute/repubcorruption

After Republican Speaker Ray Sansom's indictment and revelations about the Republican Party of Florida's AmEx slush fund, now Charlie Crist taps his friend and campaign manager to go to the U.S. Senate. These people aren't standing up for Floridians.

Instead they let corruption and cronyism run rampant here in Tallahassee - from Ray Sansom, to former lobbyist Bill McCollum, and now current lobbyist George LeMieux.

I know we can stop it. This weekend, after Crist's announcement, thousands of Floridians have already pledged to help end the Republican culture of cronyism and corruption in Tallahassee. But, the only way we can stop them is at the ballot box.

We need the resources to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime election to help end the Republican culture of cronyism and corruption in Tallahassee. Please make a contribution today:

https://secure.fladems.com/page/contribute/repubcorruption

Together, we'll work to put an end to the Republican culture of cronyism and corruption in Tallahassee and usher in change in 2010.

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Karen L. Thurman
Chair, Florida Democratic Party

Crist Sits Firmly Atop the Fence, Pt. 1

2009-07-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

From Politico:

Supporting Sotomayor was something of a no-brainer for Christie, running for office in a state where over 13 percent of residents are Hispanic.

It's notable that while Christie has taken sides, one of the GOP's leading Senate candidates -- also from a heavily-Hispanic state -- has remained silent on the subject.

Herald/Times video: Charlie Crist's fundraising double talk

2009-07-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

Charlie Crist won't do what he said he'd do (as usual).

Quitters

2009-07-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

AG McCollum Attempts to Hide Schedule, Proves He's a Transparency Hypocrite

2009-07-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

From FDP:

Although Attorney General McCollum is the elected official charged with enforcing Florida's open government laws, multiple news reports show that McCollum has attempted to hide his own public schedule by charging hundreds of dollars to view this public information.

The Palm Beach Post and the Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau reported over the weekend that AG McCollum refused to release his public schedule without charging reporters $770 and claiming that "secret information" would have to be purged, taking at least a week. (Palm Beach Post, 6/26/09; Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times, 6/27/09)

"It is clear that Bill McCollum is trying to hide from the taxpayers of Florida by charging ridiculous fees just to view his public schedule," said Eric Jotkoff, spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party. "Sadly, instead of enforcing the sunshine laws, 32-year politician Bill McCollum is breaking them, denying Floridians the open, transparent government we deserve."

Florence Snyder, a lawyer with Florida's First Amendment Foundation called McCollum's claim "transparent nonsense" in the Palm Beach Post. Snyder said: "That sort of speaks to itself to the seriousness in which Gen. McCollum's staff takes transparency."

Proving that he thinks he's above the rules, in a December 2008 release, transparency hypocrite Bill McCollum called on local governments, sheriffs and school districts to enhance access to information, stating "Open government is not only good government; it is the right of the tax-paying public."

McCollum's disdain for the Sunshine Laws was made clear several months ago, when McCollum attempted to hide some documents related to his ad campaign that did more to promote himself than public safety. McCollum only released the documents after repeated demands by the Florida Democratic Party, and after it was made clear to the Attorney General that we were prepared to file a complaint with the State Attorney.

Senator Justice and Governor Crist Hold Ceremonial Bill Signing for the Firefighter Memorial Flag

2009-06-26T19:04:00.001-07:00

From the Senate Dems:

Senator Charlie Justice (D-St. Petersburg), along with Governor Charlie Crist and Representative Bill Heller (D- St. Petersburg) joined firefighters from across Pinellas County today for the ceremonial bill signing of Senate Bill 198 creating the official Fallen Firefighter Memorial Flag.

“This flag is tribute to the 144 brave men and women who have given their lives protecting their communities,” said Senator Justice. “It is a small but very important act creating this testament to their sacrifice.”

The idea for a Florida Fallen Firefighter Memorial Flag was originally brought to Senator Justice by Oldsmar Fire Rescue Chief, Scott McGuff. A statewide call for designs generated hundreds of ideas. The official design was created by Firefighter Rick Weschler of the Palm Harbor Fire Rescue. The flag will be displayed at funerals and memorials for fallen firefighters, at fire stations, at the official Fallen Firefighter Memorial in Ocala, FL, as well as any other location designated by the State Fire Marshal. Chief McGuff and Firefighter Weschler were recognized at the ceremony for their contribution.

“I cannot tell you how honored I am to help facilitate the creation of this flag. I’m proud that it was a local initiative from my district that made it happen,” Senator Justice added.

McCollum Is Completely Out of Touch With Florida's Reality

2009-06-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

From a recent fund-raising e-mail:

We have important work to do here in Florida. We have to keep our economy strong, make sure our children get a quality education and fight to ensure our streets are safe. Please click on the video to watch a short message.

Apparently, Bill doesn't live in Florida. Our economy is weak. Our education system is in a shambles. Our crime rates are on the rise and we have one of the fastest-growing gang problems in America. Why would McCollum ignore those problems? Oh yeah, he's in large part responsible for them.

Rep. Skidmore Statement on Governor's Action on Prescription Drug Monitoring Legislation

2009-06-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

From the House Dems:

Representative Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton) offered the following statement in response to Governor Charlie Crist’s signing today of Senate Bill 462, which authorizes the creation of a prescription drug monitoring system in the Florida Department of Health.

“I am proud to have been among the sponsors of this legislation that will help end the prescription drug abuse epidemic that has devastated many Florida families and given our state a reputation as the nation’s pill mill,” said Representative Skidmore.

“I appreciate Governor Crist’s positive action on this legislation. Florida’s lack of a prescription drug monitoring system has made our state a target for criminals looking to buy prescription drugs easily. I am pleased that we are now equipping physicians and law enforcement personnel with the tools they need to stop the abuse, misuse, and illegal sale of prescription drugs.”

Representative Kelly Skidmore Urges Governor To Sign SB 462

2009-06-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

From the House Dems:

Dear Governor Crist:

Florida is facing a prescription drug abuse epidemic. According to the Florida Office of Drug Control, the rate of deaths caused by prescription drugs in Florida is three times higher than the rate of deaths caused by all illicit drugs combined. In fact, nine Floridians die every day due to prescription drug overdoses.

Senate Bill 462, sponsored by Senator Mike Fasano, Representative Marcelo Llorente, Representative Kurt Kelly and myself, authorizes the creation of a prescription drug monitoring system in the Florida Department of Health to track the dispensing of these controlled substances. Such a system is an essential tool to help physicians and law enforcement personnel stop the abuse, misuse, and illegal sale of prescription drugs using high level data security to protect the privacy of our citizens. Florida’s lack of a monitoring system has made our state a target for criminals looking to buy prescription drugs easily and sell them illegally here and elsewhere. Unfortunately, to many people around the country, Florida has become known as the nation’s “pill mill.”

I strongly urge you to sign SB 462 into law and help end the prescription drug abuse epidemic that is killing so many of our citizens and devastating countless Florida families.

All the best,
Kelly Skidmore
State Representative, District 90

Is Crist Raising Campaign Money at the Taxpayers' Expense?

2009-06-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

Yes. Seems to be no doubt about it. This shouldn't be legal and it clearly doesn't comply with the intent of the law. From the Tampa Tribune:

But Crist's campaign coordinates fundraising events with his schedule as governor, said campaign fundraising chief Dane Eagle.

Eagle said that's to avoid impinging on Crist's performance of official business, but it also means taxpayers occasionally share the cost of his attendance at campaign events.

From the Blogs

2009-06-11T21:12:00.001-07:00

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

FLA Politics (dantilson): Governor Crist Adds Insult To Injury

Eye on Miami (Genius of Despair): Crist Signs Senate Bill 216

madfloridian: Three other journalists rip Crist's decision

Progress Florida (Daniel Tilson): The Two Faces of Charlie

Flablog: The runner-up is...

madfloridian: Florida siphons many millions from trust funds...Crist vetoes raid on gun permits, lets others pass

Wildwood Preservation Society: Gov. Crist signs SB 360, shows his true colors are anything but "green"

madfloridian: Crist signs SB 360, aka the ""Katie Bar the Door and Strip Mall Act of 2009."

Pushing Rope: Charlie Crist Loves the Growth Monster Part 2

Eye on Miami (Genius of Despair): SB 360 No Veto Metamorphous of Charlie Crist

Eye on Miami (Gimleteye): Gov. Crist panders to radical speculators and land developers who crashed economy: signs SB 360 Bad Developers Bill

Progress Florida (Daniel Tilson): Governor Crist Adds Insult To Injury

St. Petersburg Times Rips Crist apart‏

2009-06-09T17:46:00.001-07:00

This is the type of press coverage Charlie Crist should be getting:

Gov. Charlie Crist's political radar went haywire last week when he decided to become the governor who killed growth management in Florida.

Charlie Crist's legacy -- the truth about Florida SB 360

2009-06-09T17:31:00.001-07:00

GOVERNOR CHARLIE CRIST SIGNS LEGISLATION CONTINUING FLORIDA'S EFFORTS TO DIVEST STATE FUNDS‏

2009-06-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

From the Senate Dems:

Continuing to pave the way on divestment of state funds from rogue nations, Governor Charlie Crist on Monday signed a bill making it easier for Florida’s citizens to exercise economic pressure against terror-sponsoring states. The bill, SB 538 sponsored by Senators Ted Deutch (D-Boca Raton) and Carey Baker (R-Eustis), requires fire and police pension funds to divest from Iran and Sudan and requires the State Board of Administration to provide a “terror-free” option for state employees participating in the State’s defined contribution retirement plan.

In 2007, State Senator Ted Deutch sponsored the Protecting Florida’s Investments Act, making Florida the first state to divest its pension funds from companies engaging in business with Iran and Sudan. Since its passage, Florida – which has the nation’s fourth largest pension fund - has divested over $1 billion from scrutinized companies.

“The state of Florida has made it clear that its citizens will not aid the genocide in Darfur or contribute to Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program,” said Sen. Deutch. “The Governor has reinforced the commitment of our state’s citizens to not support companies who choose to put profit over international security.”

SB 538 requires that the public investors in the $5 billion defined contribution plan be offered a terror-free investment fund. It also requires police and firefighter pension funds to identify any holdings they may have with scrutinized companies and to divest these securities by 2010.

Florida is the first state in America to require that a terror-free option be given to its investors. Since Florida became the first state to divest, 18 other states have adopted divestment measures.

Capitol Offense: Draft Taddeo for Florida's CFO

2009-05-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

Last week, 2008 congressional challenger Annette Taddeo suggested she might be interested in a possible run for CFO. This would be a very good idea.

If you already know about Annette and agree, go sign the petition and encourage her to jump into the race.

Taddeo ran a strong campaign against Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Florida's 18th District. Despite widespread support and much excitement generated by her candidacy, she was unable to overcome the popularity of the incubment, who had the vast resources of her office and long career in politics to hold off the newcomer. Taddeo did establish herself as a progressive politician to keep an eye on, though.

Upon hearing that she might consider running to replace Alex Sink as Florida's chief financial officer, several bloggers, Fried Gator and myself included, decided that this was something we really wanted to see happen. So, we've launched a new blog Draft Annette Taddeo for CFO and a petition to convince that this is the best way that Annette can serve the state and this is her best career option right now. Since she has expressed openness to running for CFO, we want her to know that she has the support of the people. Maybe that will convince her to take the plunge and join the race.

And this is the year to do it. It looks like the Republicans will offer up a slate of old white guys for Florida's state-wide offices. And not just any old white guys, the same old white guys that got us in the mess we are in now. Democrats, on the other hand, are looking to field a diverse group of candidates for office -- women, African-Americans, Jewish candidates. Wouldn't it be great to add another woman -- a Colombian woman -- to that field? And wouldn't it be great to see a cabinet with a gender make-up that reflected our actual population.

This is particularly true when the Colombian woman in question is so well-qualified for the job. She's got great experience to serve as CFO. She is the founder and CEO of LanguageSpeak, a company with many huge clients across the nation. LanguageSpeak isn't just any corporation, either, it's a company with the goal of bettering society built right in to its mission. They provide language services including translations, interpretors and tutoring in over 100 languages. Taddeo is working on bring the world closer together through better communication. Sounds to me like the type of person I want running our government.

During the 2008 campaign, Annette consistantly came down on the right side of the issues. She endorsed the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. She opposed the Defense of Marriage Act and the Bush global gag rule on abortion. She supported reporductive rights, domestic partnerships, renewable energy and the expansion of early childhood education.

If this sounds like the type of person you want in Tallahassee, sign the petition.

It was stances like those above that helped garner Annette widespread support from Florida bloggers. Florida Progressive Coalition endorsed her and she was frequently supported by blogs like Discourse.net and Miami-Dade Dems, among others.

Many of the best organizations on the left supported her candidacy last time around, showing that it wasn't just Florida bloggers who liked her. She was endorsed by Feminist Majority, NOW, EMILY’s List, Florida AFL-CIO, People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood, DFA, Women's Campaign Forum, Congressional Hispanic Caucus' BOLD PAC, Russ Feingold's Patriot Corps and Red to Blue.

Another thing I love about Taddeo is that she's very plugged in to the Netroots and is supportive of bloggers and online activists. She appeared on a "Future Leaders" panel at Netroost Nation last year and her campain brought in attention from national blogs such as Daily Kos, Open Left, firedoglake, Swing State Project, Huffington Post, AMERICAblog, MyDD and many others. She raised more than $80 thousand on Act Blue last time around, putting her far ahead of most Florida congressional candidates.

Is that enough to convince you to sign the petition.

If you want to see for yourself how great she is, check Annette out in action at Netroots Nation in 2008:

You can also learn more from her Blue America chat or by watching her memorable Pea Pod ad from last year's campaign:

Did I mention you should sign the petition?

I'm Kenneth Quinnell and I approve this message.

Read more on Florida politics at the Florida Progressive Coalition blog (http://flaprogressives.org) and the Florida Progressive Coalition Wiki (http://quinnell.us/sspb/wiki/).

Lifelong Politician Bill McCollum -- 32 Years Running for Office, 14 Campaigns‏

2009-05-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

From the FDP:

You'd think after 32 years as a professional politician, Bill McCollum's 14th campaign kick-off would be greeted with a collective yawn.

Well...not so fast.

It seems there is excitement coming from some quarters -- namely, the narrow special interests and career politicians who want to keep Tallahassee just the way it is. Apparently, they're welcoming their colleague Bill McCollum to the race for governor, as evidenced by the message we intercepted below.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Happy 14th Run-for-Office, Bill McCollum

No matter what anyone else says, your career as a professional politician and lobbyist looks 32-years-young to us.

As you announce your 14th run for office (the decades just fly by, don't they?), we're remembering just some of the times you were there to put the "special" in special-interests.

McCollum has been in professional politics for 32 years, and -- with today's announcement -- has run for office a whopping 14 times. McCollum's serial campaigning includes two failed statewide bids for U.S. Senate.

"Without any apparent sense of irony, U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Fla., has been advocating congressional term limits ever since he was elected to the House in 1980." (St. Petersburg Times, 2/7/97)

By the time he left his seat in the US House, McCollum had built a twenty-year record of support in Congress for a 12-year term-limit.

In his failed 2000 U.S. Senate campaign, McCollum touted his close friendship with Enron's CEO Ken Lay. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, McCollum's biggest single donor in the 2000 election cycle was the Enron Corporation, a Texas-based energy conglomerate. McCollum said he'd been friends with Enron CEO Ken Lay for 20 years, from when Lay lived in Florida. "We've known each other since I ran for Congress and he supported me then," McCollum said. "This time, he went out and raised early money for me from individual contributions." (Miami Herald, 11/3/00)

Soon after leaving Congress in 2001, having spent 20 years in Washington, McCollum became a special-interest lobbyist. McCollum earned hundreds-of-thousands of dollars lobbying for corporate special interests. Lobbyists interviewed by The Hill newspaper said that McCollum was "considered one of the biggest prizes" of the 2000 retiring class of congressmen. (The Hill, 11/29/00)

McCollum: Ex-Politicians Lobby Because "We're Familiar with Washington." Ex-Rep. McCollum, said many ex-politicians go into lobbying because they know the business from the inside. "We're familiar with Washington," he said. (Orlando Sentinel, 7/17/01)

St. Petersburg Times Editorial: McCollum Indulgent Toward Special Interests. "He (McCollum) has been conspicuously indulgent toward special interests," said a St. Petersburg Times editorial in 2000.

Bill McCollum: Here's to many more years practicing politics-as-usual and preserving the status quo in Tallahassee!

Cheers!

Your Friends Who Like Tallahassee Just the Way It Is

Pervasive Doubt About Bill McCollum On Eve Of His 14th Campaign Kick-off

2009-05-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

From the FDP:

On the eve of Bill McCollum kicking off his 14th campaign, many have doubts before he enters the race. While Republicans are wondering if the lifelong politician and former lobbyist can win, most Floridians are scratching their heads wondering how someone first elected when Jimmy Carter was President can give anything but more of the same at a time when Tallahassee desperately needs change. Read more about these doubts in today's Sarasota Herald Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, and Tampa Tribune:

-------------
Sarasota Herald Tribune: In race for governor, McCollum is a gamble for GOP
By Jeremy Wallace

Published: Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.

When Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announces his candidacy for governor Monday in Orlando, publicly it will be met with the typical fanfare from Republican Party leaders.

They will applaud him as an experienced public servant who has shown principled leadership during his two years as attorney general. Party leaders are even working to make sure McCollum does not face a Republican primary challenge.

But behind the scenes, and usually off the record, there are serious concerns in party circles that the party is putting too much stock in McCollum's chances against Democratic candidate Alex Sink, a charismatic former banker with Republican appeal who could be the state's first female governor.

Demographically, McCollum presents voters with everything that the Republican Party is struggling with these days, said David Johnson, a Republican political consultant based in Atlanta.

McCollum, who will be 65 in July, is an older white politician who could struggle to win over independent women, young voters and minorities, who make up key voting groups along the pivotal Interstate 4 corridor where so many Florida races are decided.

"He's not very exciting," said Johnson. "He's not your charismatic rising star. He's more of your solid party man."

And while he will campaign on his career as a public servant, at the same time it will be difficult for him to campaign against big government when he has been a part of government for most of the last 30 years, said Chris Ingram, a Republican campaign consultant based in Tampa.

McCollum was first elected to Congress in 1980, when Jimmy Carter was still president, and held office for 20 years. During that time he helped lead the effort to impeach President Bill Clinton.

After two losing bids for the U.S. Senate, he was elected attorney general in 2006. In that post he has focused on fighting cybercrime on the Internet.

"He's a very smart guy who has been in the business for a long time," said Tramm Hudson, former chairman of the Sarasota County Republican Party. "He's a known quantity."

But that may not be a good thing in an anti-politician and anti-establishment election cycle, Johnson said. McCollum could easily look like a career politician compared with Sink.

Sink, 60, has been in office for two years after a long career in banking.

Though her banking background is not as good an asset as it was before the bank bailouts, it still gives her outside experience that McCollum lacks, Ingram said.

"If we nominate Bill McCollum, it's over," said Ingram, the Republican consultant.

Florida Agriculture commissioner Charles Bronson is the only other big-name Republican considering a run for governor after Gov. Charlie Crist announced he would run for the U.S. Senate in 2010.

Because McCollum is familiar to Republican bosses and top fundraisers, he is gaining their support despite electability concerns, said a veteran Republican political consultant who asked not to be identified.

The party bosses are supporting a known candidate who has paid his dues, rather than seeking out candidates who may have the best chance to beat Sink.

And the early McCollum supporters are doing what they can to keep it that way.

"I think he will win the nomination," said Brian Ballard, a Tallahassee Republican fundraiser working with McCollum. "We're going to take care of that."

That effort already has dissuaded potential Republican challengers, such as U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, from challenging McCollum for the nomination. Both seriously considered getting in the race before last week.

"What made Vern Buchanan a good candidate is that he was a businessman first and a politician second," said Jamie Miller, a former Florida Republican Party official who works in Sarasota. Miller lobbied party leaders to get behind Buchanan for governor.

Baker could have been a fresh face for the party, said Adam Goodman, a Republican political consultant based in Tampa who was pushing Baker to enter the race.

Though mostly unknown outside Tampa Bay, Baker could have been appealing because he has executive experience, but it is outside of Washington and Tallahassee.

Both Buchanan and Baker said last week they would not run.

Goodman admits that at first glance, McCollum appears to lack the excitement that surrounds Sink or the other Republicans who had been mentioned as gubernatorial candidates. But over the course of the campaign voters will learn a lot about Sink that could change the race, he says.

That could position McCollum to win the race as "the un-cola," Goodman said.

Goodman said if McCollum's camp embraces his not-so-exciting image in the right way, it can be a benefit.

Before winning the attorney general's race in 2006, McCollum lost statewide races in 2000 and 2004. In 2000, Democrat Bill Nelson beat McCollum to win his first term in the Senate. In 2004, McCollum lost a U.S. Senate primary to Republican Mel Martinez.

...

Read the entire Sarasota Herald Tribune analysis here:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090517/ARTICLE/905171050/2055/NEWS?Title=In-race-for-governor-McCollum-is-a-gamble-for-GOP

-- -- -- --

Orlando Sentinel: Can McCollum count on his old home turf?

Aaron Deslatte

Capitol View

May 17, 2009

Winning elections in Florida has never been more about the battle for the state's waistline, the Interstate 4 corridor.

And when Attorney General Bill McCollum jumps into the 2010 governor's race in downtown Orlando on Monday morning, Republicans could question whether the Brooksville native - and 10-term congressman from Longwood - can hold his Central Florida home turf in a general election.

Democrats were giddy when Alex Sink, a longtime Tampa Bay resident with moderate stripes, dove into the governor's race after Gov. Charlie Crist's decision to forgo re-election.

The chatter for months has been about voter "realignment" - whether the changes in racial makeup, registration and participation of younger voters seen in the 2008 presidential election suggest the pivotal I-4 region from Daytona through Orlando to Tampa Bay is shifting solidly into the Democratic column.

It's a question that won't get answered anytime soon. But the answer is crucial to campaign planners, because the I-4 corridor historically decides state elections. And right now, Democrats are riding high.

For example, in the 2004 presidential race, Orange County delivered a measly 815-vote advantage to Democrat John Kerry. Last year, Barack Obama carried the county by 86,100 votes over Republican John McCain - the largest shift in vote totals in Florida. And through April, Democrats had built a 274,000-to-192,000 advantage in registered voters in Orange.

"Orange County is not a swing county anymore," said University of Central Florida political scientist Aubrey Jewett. "That genie is out of the bottle as far as Republicans are concerned ... If that happens on a larger scale, it would change politics in Florida."

But Jewett and other political scientists say it's too soon to know whether there has been a realignment along the larger I-4 corridor. "Both sides are seeing what they want to see."

In a broad swath of 22 counties, from Flagler on the northeast to Charlotte on the southwest, Democratic "performance" - Obama's margins against McCain, compared to Kerry's against George W. Bush - improved by 340,000 votes in 2008. The Tampa-St. Petersburg and Orlando media markets showed the largest voter shift toward the Democrat of any of the state's metro areas.

...
Read the entire Orlando Sentinel analysis here:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-loccapview17051709may17,0,3970367,print.column

-- -- -- -- --

Tampa Tribune: Race for governor seen as a toss-up

By WILLIAM MARCH

wmarch@tampatrib.com

Democrats are giddy over the coming race between Alex Sink and Republican Bill McCollum, their best shot in a decade at winning the governorship and ceasing to be an irrelevant minority in Florida government.

To them and many pundits, Sink seems a clear front-runner - a fresh face who won a statewide race in 2006 in her first try for public office, with the demographic edge of gender plus a business background.

The surge in Democratic voter registration and turnout that helped Barack Obama win the state has Sink backers sensing a win.
...
"Alex Sink has impressed many pundits, and right now her stock is high," said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato.

Florida Attorney General McCollum, meanwhile, "has not shaken his 'loser' image with the punditocracy," Sabato said.

Nonetheless, he said, "Anyone handicapping the race this early is foolhardy. I'll call it a toss-up."

State Chief Financial Officer Sink announced her candidacy last week, and McCollum is expected to announce Monday morning in Orlando.

No prominent Democrat has expressed interest in challenging Sink in a primary. Republican Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson may challenge the attorney general, but the Republican Party is seeking to persuade him to leave the field clear for McCollum.

Sink is the Democrats' first hope for a dominant candidate in years.

When she won the chief financial officer's job in 2006, Sink handily defeated former state Senate President Tom Lee of Brandon, even as Democrats lost every other statewide race on the ballot - to Gov. Charlie Crist, to McCollum for attorney general and to Charles Bronson for agriculture commissioner.

Her 53.5 percent vote total narrowly surpassed both McCollum and Crist's totals.

She was the first new Democratic statewide officeholder since Bill Nelson won the insurance commissioner's office in 1998. He's now a U.S. senator.

McCollum's career contains some downs along with the ups.

After 20 years in Congress, he lost two straight U.S. Senate races - to Nelson in 2000 and to Mel Martinez in a 2004 primary - before his 2006 win.

"Absolutely we're giddy," said Miami Democratic political consultant Derek Newton. "Democrats I've spoken with believe that she is the frontrunner. She's the party's rising star - it's inconceivable to them that she wouldn't be ahead."

But Newton said he wouldn't call Sink the front-runner, and Sink isn't claiming that either.

"We expect a very difficult race," said her spokeswoman, Tara Klimek. "But that said, she's proven her ability to have Floridians be receptive to her message. She's a dynamic person - even in her first election, Floridians were very excited about her."
...

University of Central Florida political scientist Aubrey Jewett said Sink's reputation and the political climate may give her an edge.

"In my mind, she'd be a slight favorite at the outset based on Barack Obama's win in 2008 and the huge surge in Democratic registration and turnout," he said.

But he conceded polling doesn't back that up. "It's an educated guess at this point."

Many experts attributed McCollum's losses in his 2000 and 2004 races in part to a reputation for partisanship from his high-profile involvement in the 1999 impeachment of Bill Clinton.

Jewett said McCollum probably still suffers "a little hangover from back then," but that his image has improved.
...

Read the entire Tampa Tribune analysis here:

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/may/17/na-race-for-governor-seen-as-a-toss-up/news-politics/

What's Going On: Cabinet Races

2009-05-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Rated "R" Revolution: Endorsement of Alex Sink

The Brewster Report: FLORIDA: 2010 gubernatorial run in Florida

Pushing Rope: Alex Sink Announces Governor Candidacy

Florida Netroots: Alex Sink Running for Governor

The Brewster Report: FLORIDA: Alex Sink announces her run for governor

Blast Off!: Blast Off! endorses Alex Sink for governor

Miami-Dade Dems: Alex Sink announces for governor

ReidBlog: The Florida political free-for-all begins

Equality Florida (Mallory Wells): Alex Sink is Running for Governor

Why Now?: From Here And There

MyDD: FL-Gov: Democrat Alex Sink Jumps In

From the Blogs

2009-05-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

ReidBlog: No love for Charlie: Marco socks the gov en los cojones

Progressive Pensacola: Crist holds town hall forum in Pensacola

Daily Kos: FL-Sen: Conservative Base Looking To Sink Crist

Rated "R" Revolution: Our Lt. Governor obviously thinks he is a "Smooth Operator"

Down With Tyranny: Will The Film "Outrage" Wreck Charlie Crist's Senate Campaign?

From the Blogs

2009-05-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

FLA Politics (Tally): Topsy Turvy Twenty Ten

Pushing Rope: DSCC Charlie Crist Ad

Pensito Review (Trish): Fla. Gov. Crist Refuses to Pile On Specter

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Thanks to Rep. MICA's brother the oil lobbyist, Governor Crist comes out of the closet as open-minded on offshore oil drilling

Pushing Rope: Will Crist Veto Offshore Drilling Bill?

Pushing Rope: Crist Featured in 'Outrage'

Pushing Rope: Conservatives Love Crist When It Suits Them

Pushing Rope: Charlie Crist: Working Class Hero

Pensacola Beach Blog: Charlie Crist's World

Progressive Pensacola: Statewide races update, 04.13.09

Charlie Crist Hates the Separation of Church and State

2009-05-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

Dan Gelber on the Legislative Session

2009-04-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

State Senator Dan Gelber says the 2009 legislative session is in absolute meltdown and it's unlikely that the Republicans in Tallahassee will be able to accomplish the only requirement of the annual session -- passing the budget.

After the downfall of corrupt Republican House leader Ray Sansom, Gelber said that the Republicans have no reliable leadership and that they don't really know what they are doing in terms of this year's session. At a time when Florida faces deep challenges, the majority party lacks the capacity to do much to meet those needs and it's likely the session will end next week with no budget deal in place.

Floridians are facing an economic crisis that is deeper than the national crisis -- and likely to last quite a bit longer -- and neither the Republicans in the legislature nor Governor Charlie Crist is providing us with the leadership we need to tackle the problems. Gelber said he remembers the big fight under Governor Jeb Bush was that Bush was too hands-on and it was difficult to keep him from doing damage. Under Crist, though, we have the opposite problem -- the governor doesn't want to come out and say what his plans are on any issue, leaving lawmakers without guidance as to how he'll react when legislation hits his desk. Gelber says Crist is like a movie critic -- he tells you how he feels about an issue without offering any solutions. The vacuum of leadership from the Republicans in Tallahassee means there is no good news from the session.

The primary purpose of the annual legislative session is to come up with the state's budget. Because of the national economic crisis and the more extreme state economic crisis, budget revenue has been in a freefall in recent months.

Gelber says that he's happy that the Senate budget plan has some significant increases in revenue. He's upset that the House isn't increasing revenue, but rather is relying on cuts that damage education, health care and other essential services. He hopes that the final budget deal doesn't strip out the revenue gains.

New revenue comes from several sources. The increase in the tobacco tax helps a lot, and is recurring, but diminishes over time. The stimulus money, while hugely important in the short term, only applies to a 25-month period and the revenue stream is gone. Without it, though, Gelber warns that the state could lose its bond rating and face even more serious cuts to basic services. In 2011, there will be a huge problem if more revenue isn't found, because the stimulus money will be gone. It could even lead to problems in 2010 if the economy doesn't rebound quick enough.

The real source for new revenue that should be pursued are the tax loopholes that have been widely discussed. Eliminating some of the more egregious loopholes could generate close to a billion in revenue each year.

Gelber had a lot to say about the importance of education and says that we need to be investing in the future, not cutting it. With the news yesterday that Jefferson County (immediately to the East of Tallahassee) has no money left in its education budget and will be taken over by the state, the issue is even more visible. The same crisis was almost faced by Dade schools. Dade avoided going under by cutting important programs and firing popular teachers in "nonessential" areas such as drama. Gelber stresses the importance of those other programs, saying they are essential to educating Florida's children. Florida is already a state that spends very little on education and in the last year or so, we've cut spending by about $500 per student. This is why the state is having trouble getting federal education stimulus funds and have had to ask for a waiver. Gelber thinks we'll get that waiver, though, which is good news since we're not sure what'll happen without it. He notes that, unlike himself, most of the legislature doesn't have children in public schools, so they don't see the direct effects their policies are having on our school system.

He also notes that while all of Florida's Republican representatives to Congress voted to reject stimulus funds, Republicans in the state legislature -- those who actually have to pass a budget and get things done -- are overwhelmingly for the stimulus plan and are asking for more. In Congress, he says, Republicans are a minority and have no responsibility and nothing to answer for. At the state level, they're actually in charge and have to show results, so they're doing the common sense thing and taking the money that Florida needs during this time of crisis.

Floridians can help spread the news on the budget cuts and other problems created by Republican policies by telling the personal stories of how government programs are affecting people's lives. Write letters to the editor, blog, tell your friends and neighbors how cuts hurt real people and maybe enough people will hear the story and can convince legislators to do the right thing.

Gelber condemned Dean Cannon's push for oil drilling and dismissed the recent talk of combining the drilling proposal with the "clean energy" bill being pushed for by Senator Jim King. Gelber doesn't think that compromise will go forward, although Gelber warns that every time he thinks something is too crazy for the Republicans to pursue, they do it anyway.

Luckily for Floridians, Gelber said he thinks the most extreme things floating around the legislature this year will die because of the dysfunction of the Republican leaders. It's unlikely that the elections bill, CSX bill, and offshore drilling proposals will make it to the governor's desk.

(Gelber recently reached out to bloggers by offering to do a series of conference calls with them to discuss the legislative session and provide us with the latest information on what's happening at the capitol. I, and several other bloggers, jumped at the opportunity. Our first conference call was last night.)

On Earth Day Crist Looks To Fuel Lavish Lifestyle By Endangering Florida's Tourism Economy

2009-04-22T17:52:00.001-07:00

From the FDP:

With Gov. Charlie Crist being "intrigued" by the Republican proposal to drill for crude oil just three miles off of Florida's beaches according to the Palm Beach Post, Crist once again shows that he cares more about playing politics and his political ambition rather than doing what is right for Florida, as we celebrate Earth Day today.

"While it takes a lot of gas for Crist to jet-set on his cronies' private jets and fuel his lavish lifestyle, the fact that Governor Crist would support drilling for crude oil just three miles off Florida's beaches is shocking. On this Earth Day, Crist should be leading the Sunshine State rather than following the Republicans in the Legislature down a path that will endanger Florida's economy and pollute our precious beaches," said Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff.

What's the Difference on the Gambling Proposals?

2009-04-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

Based on analysis by Herald-Tribune writer Jeremy Wallace, here's what you've got, not including the unimportant details of what specific gambling would be allowed:

*Rep. Bill Galvano's plan would generate $100 million a year, keep the gambling age at 21, would allow unlimited random state inspections of the casinos and would allow people injured at the casinos to sue the tribe.

*Gov. Charlie Crist's plan would generate $150 million a year, keep the gambling age at 21, would limit state inspections to four per year and would allow lawsuits against the tribes only after "other remedies are exhausted."

*The Senate plan would generate $400 million a year, would change the gambling age to 18, would allow unlimited state inspections of the casinos and would allow lawsuits against the tribe.

Clearly, Crist's plan is the worst. Generates little money and explicitly attempts to avoid accountability. The Senate plan appears to be the best. It raises the most money for education -- something we sorely need right now -- and allows for accountability. It does lower the gambling age to 18, but that doesn't really mean much. Anyone that thinks 18-year-olds don't already gamble doesn't understand 18-year-olds. And if they are old enough to be sent overseas to die in pointless wars of aggression by an illegitimate president, then they should be old enough to gamble if they so choose.

From the Blogs

2009-04-12T05:57:00.001-07:00

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

Pensito Review (Trish): Republican Hypocrisy Blows Florida Travel Budget

Blast Off!: Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Jeff Kottkamp

Talk To Me: Alex Sinks Bill

Fried Gator: Attorney General Bill McCollum's Cyber Crime TV ads by his political consultant wasted our money

Pushing Rope: Shiny Happy Governor

McCollum's Spin Fails to Make Up For Wasting Millions On Ads

2009-03-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

FDP:

Reacting to Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum's continued defense of his self-promoting no-bid contract for his partisan consultant to run millions of dollars in ads that does more to help McCollum's political campaign than children across the Sunshine State, Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff released the following statement Friday afternoon:

"There's not enough make-up in the world to cover up wasting millions of tax dollars on a no-bid campaign consultant contract during such tough economic times - and Bill McCollum should know.

"While McCollum tries to conceal the fact that his campaign-style ads do more to promote himself than protect Florida's children, people struggling to get by in these hard economic times would blush if caught spending $550 on make-up.

"Not even the prettiest perfume could cover up the stench coming of McCollum's running ads to promote himself while cutting the budget for cybercrimes investigations that put predators behind bars.

"McCollum's waste compounds the Republican Party's problem of rampant waste, fraud, and abuse in Tallahassee.

"The Legislature should prevent elected officials from spending our tax dollars on make-up by creating a lipstick limit to stop McCollum from having any more Mary Kay moments.

"Rather than pointing fingers, polishing over the fact that these ads do more to promote the Republican Attorney General than protect public safety, McCollum should scrap the self-promoting no-bid contract for his partisan consultant.

"Instead, so we can build a foundation of knowledge for Florida's children, McCollum should have a competitive bidding process to create a genuine public education effort to keep our kids safe from cyber predators."

Daily Humor

2009-03-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

Jim Morin

Where's Charlie?

2009-03-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

Gov. Charlie Crist sure doesn't seem to be taking his job seriously:

For instance, on Friday, as the state announced that Florida's unemployment rate spiked to 9.4 percent, the highest since Gerald Ford was president, Crist took the day off. The week before, he took two days off.

The article also reports that Crist is disengaged and has had very little contact with legislative leaders. Sounds like somebodies preoccupied with other things, like maybe running for Senate...

From the Blogs

2009-03-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

Fried Gator: Charlie Crist doesn't work on Fridays or Mondays -- he's perfect for the US Senate

Bark Bark Woof Woof: Worst-Kept Secret in Florida

Fried Gator: Sentinel exposes Crist secret plane flights from criminals

Fried Gator: Jeff Kottkamp does it again, what does Charlie Crist think?

Fried Gator: Charlie lies about budget cuts, then cuts education 15%

Fried Gator: Alex Sink shows Charlie Crist what leadership is on Pre-Paid

McCollum's Wasting Taxpayer Dollars Fails Florida's Children

2009-03-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

From the FDP:

n defending the no-bid contracts that Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum gave to his partisan political consultant to produce thinly-veiled, taxpayer-financed campaign ads, the Miami Herald reported today that McCollum didn't think it was convenient to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars.

The Herald reported that, "McCollum said he hired his former campaign consultant, Chris Mottola, because the state's competitive bidding process was 'very slow, very complicated.'''

"As Florida's chief law enforcement officer, Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum has a responsibility to not only follow the letter, but also the spirit of the law. Unfortunately, Florida's laws that ensure taxpayers get the best deal possible weren't convenient for McCollum, so he sought out a loophole that allowed him to be fiscally irresponsible with the public's money. If McCollum had competitively bid the contract, one has to wonder if McCollum would have been able to funnel $136,000 in profit to his Republican political consultant," said Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff.

In the same article, the Herald noted that McCollum starred in the ads because, as McCollum said, "This ad needed a message. It needed a messenger."

In reaction, Jotkoff added, "The vast majority of Floridians can't pick Bill McCollum out of a lineup. Wouldn't a police officer, a mother or even John Walsh - the noted child advocate from South Florida - be a better messenger to educate Floridians on cyber safety? The Attorney General has a solemn duty to protect Florida's children from predators, yet Bill McCollum failed Florida's children when he chose to run nearly $2 million in TV ads promoting himself instead of public safety."

McCollum Attempting To Scare People Into Voting For Him

2009-03-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, online sexual predators are a really bad thing. But by all accounts, the problem is vastly overstated. The number of actual online sexual predators is apparently quite small and nowhere near the levels that Chicken Littles such as Bill McCollum say it is. Certainly the problem is not worthy of a $1.4 million dollar campaign commercial for McCollum paid for on the taxpayers' dime during a bad economy.

More:

Pushing Rope

Naked Politics

Lawson Calls Crist to Task on Stimulus

2009-03-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson (D-Tallahassee) on Tuesday called on the Chairman of the powerful Senate Policy and Steering Committee on Ways and Means to bypass a lengthy appropriations process and move instead to authorize immediate approval of stimulus funds for shovel ready transportation projects.

He also sharply criticized the apparent paralysis of the governor to create a federally-mandated website outlining the projects for both job seekers and job bidders, and the inability of the state transportation agency to move the proposed road projects from the draft stage to a final product.

“It has come to my attention that the federal stimulus money may be in jeopardy of speedily reaching those Floridians desperately in need of an economic life raft,” wrote Lawson in a letter to Chairman J. D. Alexander. “There appear to be three impediments to jumpstarting our economy via the stimulus package.”

According to Lawson, the first obstacle is the governor’s office, which has not followed the lead of Georgia or Alabama or any of the 26 states which have their websites up and running. “How are potential job seekers or potential job bidders supposed to know what’s available without the transparency the governor once promised? His office’s assertion that the website “is coming soon” is little consolation to those floundering in cyber silence,” Lawson noted.

The second is the perceived foot-dragging by the Florida Department of Transportation which, according to its own website, has not moved any of the proposed projects from the draft stage first outlined in early December. “Has nothing changed since then?” Lawson asked. “Is the agency prepared to explain why nothing more concrete has emerged to put tens of thousands of unemployed Floridians back to work?”

Lawson noted that while the Legislature may be unable to control the speed with which the governor and his agency move the stimulus plans forward, it does have the power to expedite approval of the road projects. It also has the power to remove potential political pitfalls.

“I don’t believe it is necessary to detail for you the concerns I have about legislative meddling in something so crucial to Florida’s recovery and her families’ survival. You and I are far too familiar with the political posturing and machinations that can occur when billions of dollars are at stake and individual lawmakers are deciding where that money is to go. Manipulation of those funds for political purposes is much too tempting, and I fear for the little guy when the big guys are calling the shots,” Lawson wrote.

“I respectfully request that rather than through a special spending bill, we authorize the Legislative Budget Commission, once the DOT submits a project request, to immediately release the necessary funds in order to get them moving.

“I think you will agree that with unemployment close to 9 percent, the last thing our job seekers want to hear is government bureaucracy impeding their ability to earn a living. AWI’s assertion that they’re ‘hoping it will be this year’ just doesn’t cut it.

“Floridians lining up for jobs are more than ready to don the shovels and get back to work. The power is in our hands to help them get there more quickly.”

From the Blogs

2009-03-10T00:14:00.000-07:00

The latest stories from the Florida blogs...

Fried Gator: Add another name to the list of corrupt Republicans in Tallahassee: Charlie Dean

Fried Gator: Pick a title: Rivera calls out Kottkamp, or Rivera follows activists, or Pot calls Kettle black

Fried Gator: Charlie Crist is corrupt, yep I said it

Blast Off!: Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Jeff Kottkamp

Pushing Rope: 2 - 2 = 4 In Crist's World

Interstate4Jamming2: A New Found Respect For Charlie Crist

The Seminole Democrat: List of Reasons Why Crist Has Failed Us...

Fried Gator: Liveblogging Meet the Press with Charlie Crist

Fried Gator: As Promised: Thoughts on the 2010 Agriculture Commissioner Race

Fried Gator: Charlie Crist Releases His Budget

Bilerico Project Florida: Healthy Teens Campaign: Governor Crist Agrees to Review Florida's Abstinence-Only Funding

Kottkamp and Crist Running Space Florida Into the Ground

2009-03-04T06:46:00.000-08:00

Good thing superhero Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp is on the case:

Aerospace-industry leaders plan to tell Florida legislators today that unless some miracle takes place to breathe new life into the space business at Cape Canaveral, the state's most skilled workers will almost certainly be leaving in droves to take jobs in Alabama.

Thousands of top engineers are needed by 2011 at the Missile Defense Agency, an arm of the Pentagon in charge of developing an integrated U.S. missile-defense system for the country. The agency is moving its operations from its current home in northern Virginia to Huntsville, Ala.

Already NASA's shuttle contractor, United Space Alliance, is negotiating with the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce to find work for many space-shuttle engineers when the shuttle program ends 18 months from now.

The brain drain will be a huge blow to Florida and especially Brevard County, which is already braced for the hardship that the end of the shuttle program will bring to the area. At least 3,500 workers at Kennedy Space Center are in line to lose their jobs by the end of next year.

Without the tireless efforts and endless wasteful spending on behalf of Kottkamp, Florida's space industry might be in trouble.

Livetweeting the State of the State

2009-03-03T18:59:00.000-08:00

I personally missed most of the State of the State address earlier. Don't have TV or full Internet access until tomorrow, so I couldn't check it out. I'll have a response tomorrow, but I did follow a number of people on Twitter who were responding to the speech as it went on. This is a new thing in Florida politics to have a wide range of people responding to the speech in real-time. We had a wide range of people from different parts of the political sphere tweeting while the governor spoke. Here's how they did.

@steveschale...5 tweets, 2 @ replies, no tags, best: "Does Crist just make up statistics?"

@eric_jotkoff...11 tweets, 0 @ replies, no tags, best: "Crist: 'Put solutions above credit' funny since Crist always does nothing then holds a presser taking credit for it"

@DanGelber...3 tweets, 0 @ replies, good tags, best: "Final on SOTS. Lofty, bipartisan but zero specifics on how fund public schools in peril. Ignores next weeks loss of revenue!"

@StateOfSunshine...10 tweets, 4 @ replies, good tags, best: "Sen. Lawson bemoaning tax breaks for small businesses and investors - calling them 'well heeled special interests.'"

@friedgator...2 tweets, 0 @ replies, no tags, best: "That speech by charlie was terrible, looks like he's given up and running for Senate. Read the liveblog here: http://bit.ly/SZj0Y"

That's who I found that followed the State of the State live. Did I miss anyone?

And this gets me thinking, we really need to come up with a hash tag for Florida Progressives on Twitter. Suggestions?

Conservatives have been using Twitter more at the national level. I've wondered why for a while. Someone suggested it was because all conservative slogans can fit into 140 characters or less. I think it may have something to do with that and the fact that the average liberal is a little too much in love with his or her solutions and thoughts that they can't narrow it down to that small an amount of space.

What Does Jeff Kottkamp Do?

2009-03-02T20:12:00.000-08:00

Apparently, it costs a lot to help him travel around and to keep him safe (Sun-Sentinel):

A personal chauffeur and bodyguard, multiple airplanes and three sport utility vehicles stationed around the state are all part of an elaborate network used in transporting Florida's lieutenant governor, Jeff Kottkamp.

Records obtained by the Sun Sentinel this week show that Kottkamp, criticized for his frequent use of the state's executive aircraft fleet, also has flown extensively on a plane owned by the Florida Highway Patrol, which is charged with protecting the lieutenant governor.

On the ground, the highway patrol drives Kottkamp around in three SUVs purchased for more than $80,000 after he took office in January 2007. One is based in Fort Myers, where Kottkamp has a home, another in Tallahassee and the third in Central Florida.

The total tab for Kottkamp's travel and protection for his first two years in office: more than $700,000.

Apparently, in addition to editing progressive wikis, the Lt. governor is in charge of Space Florida. He apparently runs Space Florida by taking a lot of time off. Heck of a job, Jeffie.

Crist Opposed to Calypso

2009-02-19T07:46:00.001-08:00

I agree with him on this one. Calypso has got to be one of the worst forms of music to invade our state. We really need to ban this mild, fake version of ...

What?

It's a huge undersea natural gas facility that could've possibly caused severe environmental damage to the state? Crist wasn't talking about the musical style? Oh, nevermind.

I'm still opposed, though.

Gov. Charlie Crist to unveil at least 4 tax-cut proposals

2009-02-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

BY MARC CAPUTO AND STEVE BOUSQUET

Property taxes in Florida have not dropped ''like a rock'' as Gov. Charlie Crist said they would, but he's going to keep trying to make good on a promise made two years ago.

The Republican governor's goals for the spring lawmaking session include no fewer than four separate tax proposals that would go before voters on the 2010 ballot, when Crist himself would be seeking voters' favor as a candidate for reelection as governor or for the U.S. Senate.

The Florida Republican motto: "If at first you fail -- fail, fail again."

An Easy Decision

2009-01-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

While the legislature is cutting more than $2 billion from the budget that will cause serious harm to the citizens of Florida, the governor shouldn't even be considering making the taxpayers pay for his trip to the inauguration. Crist should come out immediately saying that he'll pay for this privately. He can certainly afford it. We can't.

From the Blogs

2009-01-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

Blast Off!: Speaking of Republican corruption ...

From the Blogs

2009-01-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

Progress Florida (Ray Seaman) - An Irresponsible Budget

Smashed Frog: Will Crist Fund the Adam Walsh Act with Lawton Chiles' Endowment?

Florida Netroots: More on Fed Aid for Florida’s Budget Woes

FLA Politics (Tally): The Obama Election and Florida 's Political Future

FLA Politics (Tally) - Debbie W-S Trashes Jeb

Pushing Rope: Crist Defends Trip

Progress Florida (Ray Seaman): The First of Many Bad Ideas from "Crisatsom"

Pushing Rope: Crist Defends Sanson

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Crist Was For Diversity Before He Was Against It

Interstate4Jamming2: Opie Looking More Like A Candidate For Ag Commissioner

Progress Florida (Jon Bleyer): Crist loves Big Tobacco, hates kids and seniors

Important Article About Education

2008-11-12T12:33:00.001-08:00

A lot of good stuff here, but the key passage is this one:

Outgoing Miami-Dade School Board member Evelyn Greer, whose candor probably earned her the ''outgoing'' appellation, said by e-mail Friday, ``The paradox of the legislative elections is the belief in the propaganda that education services can improve, teachers can get higher salaries and schools can be built but no one has to pay higher taxes.

''Legislators and teachers union officials tell their supporters the same thing -- if we cut the waste, all demands would be met,'' she said. ``Both groups know that this is not true, but have to espouse it in order to pander to their constituencies and stay in power.

''If the legislators and the union officials told the truth -- that there can be no raises, no quality education and no educational improvement without higher taxes -- they would be voted out of office,'' Greer said.

Education -- like many other public services in Florida -- is in bad shape. There is one reason this is true for most of these programs -- and it isn't government waste, that idea is nonsensical, there's nothing to waste -- it's lack of funding. Our legislators and our citizens are afraid to do the right thing and actually commit resources to our state and our future. They claim that we can't do it because of the economy. This failure to invest in our workforce and our consumer base is exactly the reason why the economy sucks. Sooner or later we'll figure this out. With Crist and the Republicans in charge, I'm guessing it'll be later and things will continue to go poorly in what could be one of the most successful states in the union.

Crist Not A Big Fan of Ethics

2008-10-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

Shameful activity here:

A company that ships oil into Iraq for use by American forces there "appears to have engaged in a reprehensible form of war profiteering," according to a letter by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Cal., Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The company, International Oil Trading Limited, is run by Florida-based businessman Harry Sargeant, a top fundraiser for the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain.

And, of course, we know how Crist feels about him:

On Wednesday, Crist said he was grateful for help from Sargeant, whom he has known since they were fraternity brothers at Florida State University.

"He's a great patriot, and I love him for it," Crist said.

Crist and I have different definitions of "great patriot." Mine doesn't include war profiteering.

Empty Chair Charlie's First Priority?

2008-10-15T12:38:00.001-07:00

NEWS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY

While Empty Chair Charlie likes to claim his first responsibility is his job as Governor, a review of his schedule over the past month shows his job is not his first priority.

Today, the Orlando Sentinel quoted Crist saying, "My first and foremost responsibility is to the people of Florida...I'm going to stay focused on Mission 1, which is Florida, and when I have time to help out my friend I'm eager and anxious to do so."

Between September 14 and October 14th, Crist spent only 9 days working in his office at the Capitol or in the Governor's mansion according to his public schedule.

"While Empty Chair Charlie's first responsibly might be to the people of Florida, clearly we are not his first priority. While the problems facing the Sunshine State are mounting, Crist's only response has been to continue his out of touch, out of town ways," said Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff. "The Governor rarely shows up to work and has done nothing to jump start Florida's economy, unless you count telling Floridians struggling to pay their mortgages to go to Disney World as an economic plan. Despite the fact that Floridians are suffering under the Republican recession, Empty Chair Charlie keeps jet setting, attending baseball games, and even blowing off the McCain campaign by going to Disney. Floridians are asking when is Crist going to make Florida his priority?"

From the Blogs

2008-10-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

Ybor City Stogie: Charlie Crist: When I have time to help, I'll try to do that

Ybor City Stogie: Empty Chair Charlie Holds Feeney Fundraiser

Florida Gets a "D" on Choice Issues

2008-10-13T05:52:00.001-07:00

NARAL points out the following facts:

69 percent of Florida counties have no abortion provider.

Florida has unconstitutional and unenforceable criminal bans on abortion.
Details

Florida law subjects women seeking abortions to biased counseling requirements.
Details

Florida allows certain individuals or entities to refuse to provide women specific reproductive health services, information, or referrals.

Florida restricts low-income women's access to abortion.

Florida law restricts young women's access to abortion services by mandating parental notice.

Florida subjects abortion providers to burdensome restrictions not applied to other medical professionals.

Governor Charlie Crist (R) is anti-choice.

Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp (R) is anti-choice.

Attorney General Bill McCollum (R) is anti-choice.

The Florida House is anti-choice.

The Florida Senate is mixed-choice.

We can do better than this.

Crist and Greer Should Follow Own Advice on Ethics and Honesty, Cancel Feeney Fundraiser‏

2008-10-12T09:46:00.001-07:00

NEWS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY

For Immediate Release: October 7, 2008

Crist and Greer Should Follow Own Advice on Ethics and Honesty, Cancel Feeney Fundraiser

As Governor Charlie Crist and RPOF Chairman Jim Greer host a fundraiser today for the FBI's Representative # 3, aka Congressman Tom Feeney, it appears that their words about ethics and honesty don't match up with their deeds.

While defending his decision to host a Feeney fundraiser, Greer said: "People make mistakes. He said he made a mistake, and I think voters like to have someone who's honest." [Orlando Sentinel, 10/5/08]

We think voters like to have someone who's honest as well, which is why voters in Florida's 24^th District are supporting Suzanne Kosmas, a candidate who shares their priorities and doesn't have to apologize for a record of corruption.

Crist also should answer for this hypocritical fundraiser, given that he promised "the most ethical government possible, the most open and transparent government possible," [Pensacola News Journal, 1/07/07] and yet is helping fill the coffers of one of the Most Corrupt Members of Congress.

Since Feeney was named the 6^th Most Vulnerable Incumbent in the country by Roll Call today, Empty Chair Charlie must have decided he could put that promise on hold.

"If Governor Crist and Jim Greer were taking their own advice when it comes to ethics and honesty, there is no way they would be hosting a fundraiser for Tom Feeney, who is plagued by ethical problems and under FBI investigation," said Eric Jotkoff, spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party. "Governor Crist should cancel tonight's fundraiser, since Feeney's unethical behavior and record of deception is exactly what's wrong with politics today."

Get all of the facts about Feeney's corruption scandal at: www.feeneysfullofit.com.

-###-

Crist Ambivalent About Amendment 2

2008-09-10T19:04:00.001-07:00

Governor Charlie Crist sounds a bit ambivalent about the Hate Amendment:

“I’ll support it, I’ll vote for it, move on,” the governor said of the Amendment 2 gay-marriage ban in an interview during a trip to tour flood-damaged areas in Central Florida. “It’s not top-tier for me, put it that way.”

When asked if he’ll spend time plugging Amendment 2, Crist said, “I don’t think so. I think I will campaign for candidates much more extensively — Sen. McCain.” The governor also reiterated his position of precluding the Republican Party of Florida from spending money to support the gay-marriage ban.

From the Blogs

2008-08-21T09:28:00.001-07:00

FLA Politics (FDP): Empty Chair Charlie Comes-a-Rockin' - Feds Come-a-Knockin'

From the Blogs

2008-08-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

Daily Kos: McCain's Shady Bundler Helps Out VP Hopeful Crist

Crist Hates Gay People, Unmarried People, Common Decency

2008-05-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

So says his endorsement of the Hate Amendment.

Crazy Jim Greer Quote of the Day

2008-03-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

Aren't we currently in a budget crisis? Greer doesn't seem to know about it:

"When it comes time to get out and speak around the state, it's important that we have the ability to travel there and that we accomplish as much as we can in any given day... You will see that the party is much more engaged in traveling the state..."

They've spent more than $1 million in private charter jet flights in the last year. Greer wants you to think that these expenses are necessary, but the Sarasota Herald Tribune found otherwise, discovering that they lodged "high-flying expenses from last year with tens of thousands of dollars in ritzy New York hotels, thousands of dollars in limousine services and thousands of dollars more in regular air service."

This is while they are seeking to cut healthcare for more than 40,000 low-income senior, disabled and seriously ill Floridians. And it flies in the face of the rhetoric the members of Greer's party regularly spout off...

Charlie Crist: "We're asking local governments to tighten their belts, too. We are tightening ours. We can do no less... I feel for our students and I feel for their families... They are paying higher insurance rates. They are paying higher property taxes. They are paying higher gas prices."

Durell Peaden on the healthcare cuts: "If we don't get to print money, we're going to have to do with what we've got."

Charlie Crist: "If a family with two young boys can tighten their belts to live within their means certainly our cities and counties can also."

Alan Hays: "We cannot ask our state and local governments to tighten their belts if we continue to support frivolous spending."

Mike Haridopolos: "Experience also proves that government in Florida does not have a revenue problem -- it has a spending problem."

Apparently, it's the Republicans who have a spending problem and have pretty serious problems with hypocrisy. I wonder if any of them will call in their votes to cut healthcare for poor people while riding in a limo or if Crist will sign the bill flying in his a chartered jet?

Crist Hates Good, Clean Government

2008-03-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

Governor Charlie Crist claims to be a champion of good, clean government. How does the reality match up to the rhetoric? Not very well:

He went behind closed doors to negotiate a Vegas-style casino deal with the Seminole Tribe, and then, going back on his word, refused to present it to the Legislature for public debate. For this double-dealing, Crist has been sued in court. His odds aren’t good: Five other governors tried this ploy; all five lost.

...

Crist gambles with the public’s trust in other ways. Since his 2006 campaign was bankrolled by every facet of Florida’s development industry, the governor has made no secret of his disdain for grassroots attempts at curbing out-of-control growth.

...

In the days following Feb. 1, when the Secretary of State’s office announced the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment wouldn’t make the ballot this year, Crist’s office received several complaints. Correspondence obtained by this newspaper alleged serious procedural glitches at local and state levels. Among them:

• Petitions were denied equal treatment. Some were counted as late as Feb. 1; others, submitted as early as Jan. 2, were not counted.

• Signatures of “inactive” or “purged” voters were tossed, in violation of Division of Elections rules.

• For seven months, the state did not divulge problems it was having with its petition-tallying database, and stopped posting online updates in January. (Ironically, Crist brags about making state Web sites “more accessible to the citizen’s of Florida.”)

• Administrative orders issued without notice or public hearing created chaos. On Dec. 31, Sarah Jane Bradshaw, state assistant division of elections director, informed county officials, “Today is the deadline for petitioning groups to submit petitions to you.” Yet the law set Feb. 1 as the deadline.

And those are the words of a conservative columnist. I wonder what unbiased critics might say...

Crazy Republican Quote of the Day

2008-03-11T19:28:00.001-07:00

"I'm even thinking about buying a house. I've never done that. The thing that's kind of cool is you can get some better deals!" -- Empty Chair Charlie Crist explaining why he's considering a foray into Florida's disastrous housing market.

It's great that our governor can make jokes about a serious situation that is negatively affecting many of our citizens. Florida has the second highest foreclosure rate in the United States and Crist is making jokes about how he can profit off of the pain and suffering of a family who lost their home. Shame, shame, shame.

Crist Hates America, Florida, Loves Eternal War

2008-01-26T18:44:00.001-08:00

Crist has endorsed John McCain, the man who opposes a national cat fund and said that he had no problem staying in Iraq for 100 years. Thanks, Charlie, for advocating a president who, while not as bad as the other Republicans, would be horrible for America (and Florida).

Crist Hates America, Florida, Loves Eternal War

2008-01-26T18:44:00.000-08:00

Good Crist

2008-01-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

I hope he follows through on this one:

While admitting he faces "some challenges" with the budget this year, Gov. Charlie Crist said Friday he plans to call for an increase in state funding for restoring the Everglades.

Crist's Budget Is Mixed News, Not Surprisingly

2008-01-12T19:04:00.001-08:00

A quick look at the proposals:

Good: "taking money from government endowment set aside for health care"

Bad: "possible new Lottery games"

Bad: "an infusion of money from new Indian casinos"

Good (except for the "small" part): "He also wants to give state workers a small raise

Good (except he's probably only doing it because he has to): "spend more on Medicaid (as required by a federal law change)"

Unsure (not enough detail): "promote economic development ($400-million more, according to a preliminary estimate)"

Good: "More than a third of the new money in Crist's budget, about $800-million, would be for Florida public schools, an amount sufficient to give teachers a raise in a time of flat student enrollment."

Bad: "he's interested in tapping the Lawton Chiles endowment, a health care fund, by as much as $400-million as one way to balance the budget"

Good: cutting "tuition assistance to students attending private schools"

Bad: cutting funding for "Alzheimer's care"

Good: "increasing substance abuse treatment for inmates by $28-million next year"

Crist Hates Reality, Science, Facts

2008-01-12T18:23:00.000-08:00

And Crist had done so good with the global warming issue, then he goes crazy and says this about Evolution:

I think the way it’s been handled historically in Florida is probably appropriate. It’s been introduced and discussed in terms of being a theory. I don’t know if there’s a need for a change in that. But I’ll leave the decision to the board.

If by "theory," Crist means "something that has been scientifically confirmed," then he's using the right word here. Otherwise, he's pandering to the stupidest and greediest people on the right.