Florida Cabinet Watch

Monday, January 25, 2010

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

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)

Monday, December 21, 2009

Bill McCollum: Learn His Lesson

From FDP:

Sunday, December 6, 2009

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

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

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

Thursday, November 12, 2009

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

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.”