The Spencerian

Rick Scott Smack-Down: Justice Department Intervenes on Voter Roll Purge

by Benjamin J. Kirby

Bad day for our governor, the hospital grifter Rick Scott, here in Florida.

Great day for voters.

First, as I noted earlier, a U.S. District Judge threw out a chunk of the draconian election law Scott had championed.  Specifically, he tossed out the piece which essentially made it impossible for organizations to register voters.

Now, breaking news out of the Justice Department, via TPM:

The Justice Department sent a letter to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner Thursday evening demanding the state cease purging its voting rolls because the process it is using has not been cleared under the Voting Rights Act, TPM has learned.

DOJ also said that Florida’s voter roll purge violated the National Voter Registration Act, which stipulates that voter roll maintenance should have ceased 90 days before an election, which given Florida’s August 14 primary, meant May 16.

This is a big deal.

Scott had undertaken these measures as a brazen attempt to dampen Democratic turnout and help deliver Florida to Romney.  After all, let's remember what I like to call the Steve Schale statistic:

Add up 32 million Florida votes over the 5 Presidentials from 1992-2008 and less than 60,000 votes separate the two major political parties.

Scott knows that as well as any of us.  And he was going to use the illegal purge and his horrible election law to his advantage.  

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said the arc of the universe bends towards justice.  Well, tonight justice -- via the U.S. Department of Justice -- bent towards Florida.

Hallelujah.

Off the Radar Legal Eagle Edition

by Benjamin J. Kirby

A federal appeals court up in Boston has said the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional:

A federal appeals court panel in Boston declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional on Thursday, but said that only the Supreme Court will be able to settle the question of whether the federal government must recognize same-sex marriages from states where such unions are legal.

A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said the act, which was signed by President Clinton and denies federal economic and other benefits for married people from same-sex couples married in states where it is legal, could not be justified under current precedents that protect minorities and other groups from discrimination.

This is good news, of course. 

I'm actually in the middle of the great Jeffrey Toobin New Yorker piece on John Roberts and the Citizens United ruling.  It's a must-read as it relates to Citizens United.  Of course, there's no getting around wondering how the Court will approach something like DOMA, which will make it's way there soon enough.

# # # # 

The jury has apparently reached a verdict on one of six counts -- not guilty -- and a mistrial in the five others in the what must be unwatchable John Edwards trial.  

Johnny Reid Edwards, a honey-voiced North Carolina lawyer who parlayed his boyish good looks and inspiring personal history as the son of a mill-worker into a meteoric political rise, was acquitted of one count Thursday in a corruption case, as the judge declared a mistrial on five other charges on which the jury was deadlocked.

The mixed result in a trial that laid bare Edwards’s sexual indiscretions and serial deceptions came after nine days of jury deliberations.

Wow.  

What a mess.

Good for Edwards.  I guess.  If this outcome means the whole thing goes away faster, then I'm for it. 

# # # #

Here in Florida, a U.S. District Judge has thrown out part of our draconian new election law:

In a much-anticipated decision, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle on Thursday struck down some provisions of a Florida elections law that imposed new restrictions on third-party groups that register voters.

Well, there likely goes at least part of the hospital grifter Governor's plan to keep people from registering to vote -- those yucky "community organizers!".  Of course, he's still managed to purge hundreds and hudreds of eligible voters, so he's got that going for him.

# # # #

Also here in Florida, thug Congressman Vern Buchanan is tipping his hand.  From The Hill:

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) has made a huge $4 million airtime reservation for the fall campaign, according to a memo circulated by his campaign.

The reservation is a sign that Buchanan, a wealthy auto dealer, is willing to spend huge amounts of his own money to stay in Congress. His campaign had just shy of $1.5 million in the bank as of the end of March, a total that includes a nearly $500,000 contribution from the candidate.

I guess maybe the legal challenges -- and the calls for resignation -- not to mention getting out-raised by his opponent, Keith Fitzgerald, are all starting to take their toll.

This is a big, big ad buy, and it's telling: Vern wants to keep that seat.  

Of course, this isn't the first sign from the Buchanan Campaign that they were worried about Keith.  435 Members of the House of Representatives, and guess who the top spender on mass mailings is?  That's right: thug Vern Buchanan:

The Longboat Key Republican spent $142,000 in the first three months of 2011 to get 3.6 million mail pieces, emails and automated phone calls to people in the 13th Congressional District.

No one else in Congress spent more than $80,000 on mailers in that period. On average, members spent about $7,400 on such communications.

That's an awful lot of money -- ahem, your money, by the way (where's a tea party weirdo when you need one?) -- just to let people know you're there.  I guess if I was being investigated by more than one entity, I'd want to use your money to talk myself up, too.

If you're curious about just what that kind of money buys, here's an interesting breakdown.

# # # #

You can buy some green bananas, but if you were planning on eating them in the next 4 billion years, you might have a problem.

 -- More later -- 

What is the Word: Heroes, Freedom and Memorial Day

by Benjamin J. Kirby

Some folks might say it would be in poor taste to write about something with even a twinge of political overtone on Memorial Day, but here we are.  

An MSNBC pundit named Chris Hayes said he felt "uncomfortable about the word 'hero'" as it relates to those who have fought and died in war.  Predictably, he was ripped backwards and forwards by conservative bloggers.  Predictably, he apologized a few hours later.

Although I took the point Mr. Hayes was trying to make -- if men and women who fight and die in any of the wars we start are always described as "heroes," without exception, then it gets easier to justify those wars -- I, too, was uncomfortable with how he got to his point.  The timing was pretty bad as well, obviously.  Really, Chris?  Memorial Day?

It is all an unfortunate distraction on a day when we should be remembering just what those soldiers, sailors and air men and women have fought and died for -- whether we agreed with the premise of the war or wars or not.  

I think Hayes would have been better served had he pointed out that the men and women who have died in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, the jungles of Vietnam, the European Theater, the Pacific Theater, Korea, and all over the world have always died for an idea -- the idea of America.  We can agree or disagree all day about whether America is a perfect idea, or even always a good or just idea.  

But men and women who wear the uniform, as Hayes pointed out in his apology, do a lot more in service of that idea than TV pundits like him.  

Or half-assed bloggers like me.

Indeed, Hayes would have been even better served had he noted that the very freedoms -- the pillars supporting that idea of America soldiers fight and die for -- are under attack. 

You know, sometimes on days like Memorial Day, I think about those freedoms.  Voting, for example.  Voting is the literal embodiment of "freedom," actually.  So when a sitting governor -- that's right, the hospital grifter himself, Rick Scott -- throws hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of eligible voters off the rolls for no good reason, I get outraged.  

A TV pundit saying something out of line about men and women who serve in uniform on Memorial Day.  A Governor abusing his power to try and manipulate electoral outcomes in a presidential election year on Memorial Day.  They're both pretty disrespectful, and I am glad Hayes, who seemed to understand the gravity of his mistake on Memorial day, offered a sincere apology.

I wonder when we'll get a similar apology from Governor Scott.

The Florida Progressive Coalition: An Appreciation

by Benjamin J. Kirby

Just a short post, but I couldn't let the evening pass without noting that Kenneth has evidently decided to no longer run the Florida Progressive Coalition and the blog which went along with it.

I contributed fairly irregularly to the FPC.  I am proud that two of my posts -- one from 2008 and one from 2009 -- are still two of the five most viewed FPC posts.

I thought the FPC blog served a great function, and I'm sorry to see that it will likely fade away after the 2012 Netroots Awards (which will likely fade away as well; at this point, I hope I don't win one, to maintain the purity of my winless streak).  

I doubt he'll get the recognition he deserves, but someone more important than me should thank Kenneth Quinnell for creating and running the whole thing.  It was a full-time job with no recognition and pretty much no pay.  For whatever it's worth to you, thanks, Kenneth. 

The Birth of a Region: Tampa Bay Times and the Tampa Tribune

by Benjamin J. Kirby

Is the Tampa Bay Times going to by the Tampa Tribune?

Here's why I ask: turns out Berkshire Hathaway -- that's Warren Buffett's vaunted company -- bought up 63 newspapers from Media General today.

One Media General paper they didn't buy up?  The Tampa Tribune.

Now, I figure most folks wouldn't normally think that much about it, except that it's been pretty obvious -- starting with the name change -- that the former St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times) is eyeing a move across the Bay.

And it's not just the name change.  

This tweet from Times political chief Adam Smith caught my eye:

  Adam Smith ‏@adamsmithtimes

Qstn for TpaBay: what does Tpa Trib do bettr thn TpaBayTimes? Where cn we improve? Email (asmith@tampabay.com), call 727-893-8241, or twt me

Really?  Since when is Adam Smith doing quality survey work for the Times?  Don't he and Al Ruechel have a candidate to interview? 

Anyway, to be fair, you'll want to read the piece from Eric Deggans (Times media critic) here.  Interesting that Paul Tash, the Times Chairman and CEO declined to comment on the purchase.  

State Senate Republican Armageddon Cage Match

by Benjamin J. Kirby

I know you're not supposed to laugh at the misfortune of others, but here I am.  It seems that Republican Senator Jack Latvala is considering getting into the State Senate race in the newly redrawn South Pinellas district, instead of the northern district.  The problem?  State Representative Jim Frishe, also a Republican, is already running for State Senate there.  And... 

...[d]espite speculation about Frishe switching to the North Pinellas district, he has little interest in that. "I don't have any plans to move. My wife has lived in her home, I guess, 40 years now," said Frishe. "I'm certainly not making any plans to do anything at this point other than run for the office I'm already running for."

So, why would Latvala set himself up for such a bruising primary?  

Because it's pretty clear that Representative Jeff Brandes (an independently wealthy Republican) is going to jump into the Senate race to challenge Frishe. 

Of course, the game you're watching is not really the game being played.  This is all about the Senate Leadership post, which Latvala is currently vying for against Senator John Thrasher.  From the article linked at the top:

Latvala is competing for the Senate presidency with state Sen. John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville.

If enough Thrasher allies win in 2012 — and Brandes is widely seen as one — Latvala could be out of luck for the leadership post. And Latvala, a popular and high-profile leader, would appear to be a stronger contender than the low-profile Frishe against Brandes, a member of the Cox Lumber family who could easily spend at least $1 million of his money on his campaign. Brandes is already airing TV ads for his state House re-election campaign. The deadline to qualify is June 8.

I don't think whether Brandes gets into the race is in question.  Just look at his latest TV ad:

Nice spot.  

Now, quick: find somewhere in the 30 seconds where he says he's running for State House.  Except for the required small-print legal language at the end near the bottom of the screen, you can't.  

That's no mistake.  

Smarter political watchers than me could argue that Senator Latvala is one of the most popular politicians in this area.  Representative Frishe is no slouch in this department, either, actually.  Jeff Brandes is something of a newcomer, but he's got a ton of cash in which to make up for any lacking name recognition in a larger district.  

So what happens?  

I don't know.  Quite frankly, I don't see Republicans as usually this ugly and public in their battles... at least not usually.  In a three-way race, I think you have to give the edge to the long-serving Latvala.  But I don't think it would be too pretty.

As a sort of aside, I'm not sure there's a Democrat in the race in the South Pinellas State Senate race.  If there is, I have no idea who it might be, and that's pretty depressing.  Worse, if Latvala flees the North District to run in the south, I'm not sure who might represent Democrats there, either (to be fair, I'm not sure I know who the Republican would be, either).  

Brandes will be leaving a race where a Democrat named Dwight Dudley just jumped in.  I don't doubt that Dudley would give him a tough fight.  Latvala will be tougher.

Whether or not Brandes gets in, whether or not Latvala runs in the south, these are very ugly and very public spats we're witnessing.  June 8 is the deadline to file in this race.  We'll see if the ugliness extends beyond that. 

Cappy's Pizza: Here's Your Sign

by Benjamin J. Kirby

There's a pizza place I've always wanted to try on 1st Avenue North in St. Petersburg -- Cappy's Pizza.  I'm a pizza nut, and though I am loyal to my neighbors at Fazio's, I'm not above trying something new when it comes to pizza.

As it happens, my friends Tony and Robin at Fazio's might not have anything to worry about now.

This story was reported a few days ago, but I've been thinking about it a lot.  After all, I have two kids now.  

It seems the owner of Cappy's put a sign up that said: "For the comfort and safety of everybody, if you allow your child to run, scream or misbehave, you will be asked to leave."

We don't go out a lot because, well, we have two kids -- one of them virtually brand-new.  And even before Finn was born, it's not easy taking a toddler out to eat.  It requires a lot of prep time, and no matter how prepared you might be, there's no guaranteeing she'll be in a good mood.  Besides, it's cheaper and usually more healthy for us to eat and home.  And Duncan, a great cook, likes making dinner.  

That being said, when we have gone out, Emmy is quite well-behaved.  Sure, she gets impatient and squirmy sometimes, but she's two.  It's going to happen.  There's never been any running, screaming, or "misbehaving," whatever that is.

Here's the deal: Scooter Gabel, the owner, could have said something very different.  He could have said, "For the comfort and safety of everybody, unruly customers will be asked to leave."

Or customers who are loud, or disruptive.  They serve beer and wine there.  What if some annoying drunk guy ruins my meal because he's "misbehaving".  Where's his sign?  [There may be one there, I don't know.]

He deliberately singled out children.  

Look, I don't think the guy actually meant to be divisive.  I think his sign is just worded really poorly.

Seems like a bad business decision -- especially since the place has toys everwhere.  I get it, the vintage toys are "art" or something (hasn't this guy seen the Toy Story trilogy?  Toys aren't meant to be played with... by children.).  Whatever.  

Okay, so why is this political?  It's not, really, except for the part about division.  

Check out the reaction from Clark Brooks here.  

Oh yeah, I hate 'em. I hate them and I'm sitting there, wishing with all my might that something terrible will happen to them. That's about as far as I'm taking my hatred though. Maybe I won't throw them into a deep fryer myself but if they happen to fall in there somehow, I'm not running to get help. Hey, my meal is ruined; I should be allowed to at least fantasize about something that I would enjoy. Remember the old saying about giving someone something to scream about? Doing an impression of a corndog qualifies.

More importantly, if they're your kids (biologically or otherwise), I hate you and I am sitting there hoping that something really bad happens to you. Because ultimately, it's not really their fault, is it? No, it's yours. So mostly you.

Well, that got him going. 

What's funny is, I don't disagree with Clark.  It's the kids who are genuine terrors who ruin the dining out experience for the rest of us.  Look, I hate the annoying, screaming kid as much as the next guy.

But signs like the one at Cappy's has a chilling effect on all parents (it certainly has for me and Duncan).  

We're about to be subjected to an entire summer of political division and probably a lot of hatred, mostly communicated through TV and radio ads.  There'll be a lot of us versus them, and this is reminiscent of that.  I don't think we need any more division than we'll already be having, thanks.  

Besides, I'm hungry for pizza.  

The Bench

by Benjamin J. Kirby

It happened this week.  President Obama slow jammed the news, and Team Romney criticized him for it.  Eric "Etch-a-Sketch" Fehrnstrom said that Obama was "making light of the struggles of youth voters."  Nevermind that Obama is actually suggesting Congress take action to prevent several key rates from doubling for students and families, which is on-track to happen soon.  The Romney Campaign plan, communicated articulately as ever by the candidate himself, is to "borrow money from your parents."  Like he did.

And the mainstream media continued to serve the public good by pretending this is a balanced, reasonable debate with merit on both sides.  In their defense, it is the time of the insufferable White House Correspondent's Dinner.  Nobody does anything normal when Hollywood visits D.C.

So I brought it home a little bit and started thinking about Florida and politics.  Not that we're any better here.  We have a governor who managed to veto funding for rape crisis centers during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.  You just have to imagine one of those photo-op moments, perhaps at the Governor's Mansion, with him at his desk, veto pen in hand, cameras clacking and flashing, surrounded shoulder to shoulder by rapists, applauding and laughing as he signs.  

This is the same governor with a jones for drug testing welfare recipients... which the courts continue to find unconstitutional.

It's the very same governor who slashed the unholy bejesus out of education initiatives and programs in the Florida budget.  He calls it the "education budget."  Of course.

And it is the same governor who continues to gut science and technology budgets for students here and across the state, and yet kowtowed to Senate Budget chief JD Alexander -- whilst pissing everyone else off -- in creating a USF Polytechnic school, which is apparently not ready to stand on its own.

Anyway, I've been frustrated with the whole thing.  Just a mess.

But I have been thinking about what I call the bench for Democrats.  

Now, before I get a lot of emails and comments about guys like Kriseman and Pafford and Fitzgerald and Mayor Brown and a bunch of others, let me stipulate: I'm not talking about them.  

I'm talking about the folks whose names you probably don't know.  I'm talking about the people appointed by the governor.  They sit on a ton of boards and commissions (like the one I work for; so let's be clear on that.  I'm not talking about me.  I'm talking about the Board Members; the people for whom I work.).

Think about it.  Since 1999 -- Jeb Bush -- we've had appointees to the various boards and commissions throughout Florida who met certain... criteria.  

Look, I'm not saying they've all been bad.  (I'm certainly not saying my board is bad.  They're not.)  I'm just saying that the field for one side has been an awful lot bigger than for the other.  That's twelve or thirteen years of folks who maybe didn't necessarily want to run for office -- or didn't right away.  Getting an appointment is a good way to get started in the business of politics and government.  

So I was thinking ahead to who's going to run against Rick Scott in a year or so, and why.  

Policy-wise, there are just too many reasons to count.  I'm trying to think of a thing the governor has done where I agree with him.

Nope.  Can't do it.  

So some good Democrat is going to step up to the plate here sooner rather than later (I'd note that State Senator Nan Rich already has, but she won't be the only one).  It should be easy for them to draw distinctions between their own policies and the record of destruction being left by the current occupant of the office.  

But one of the big things I'll be looking for is who this person surrounds themselves with.  Who will this person have on their campaign?  What sort of hints can we take about who this person will appoint to the hundreds -- I don't know, maybe thousands -- of offices state-wide.  

It's a big deal.  It's a huge deal, and though it won't be the front-page battleground where the gubernatorial campaign takes place, it will be an important campaign subtext.

The Stupidity Equation: The Rick Scott UF-USF Disaster

by Benjamin J. Kirby

Maybe now we can stop pretending Florida Governor Rick Scott is anything but a back-stabbing grifter who only cares about making his rich friends richer.  He could at least do us the courtesy of refraining from calling his most recent public policy train wreck the "education budget".

Yesterday, Forbes was good enough to detail how Scott was going to shut down the computer science department at the University of Florida while simultaneously increasing the budget of the athletic department by $2 million.  (The school responded, somewhat cryptically, here.)

This was done against the backdrop of creating a new polytechnic university,which was widely understood to be at the behest of Senate Budget Chairman J.D. Alexander.  (Matt covered this quite well back in February.)  In Scott's budget message, he said: 

"It is vital for the future of Florida's economy that we meet the need for a STEM educated workforce," Scott wrote in a memo explaining his decision. 

STEM stands for "science, technology, engineering and math".  No kidding.

The author of the Forbes piece, Steven Salzberg, sounded a well-tuned political note by saying:

"Now, I’m not saying that UF has chosen football over science.  (Imagine the outcry, though, if UF cut a major sport instead of a major science department.) Actually, the real villains here are the Florida state legislators, who have cut the budget for their flagship university by 30% over the past 6 years."

Indeed.  Let us not lose sight of what our elected leaders -- Republican-led lo these last six years and well beyond -- have done to our institutions of learning on their watch.  

But let us also not forget the least common denominator of our own priorities.  Hint: it ain't STEM.

I've always been bothered by the ads the University of Florida felt the need to run: 

Go gators?  Seriously?

Hey, nice doctor.  Go be a writer.  Go be a business guy.  FOOTBALL MASCOT!

No one else thinks it is even a little depressing that the single common thread at the UF is not a quality education or a degree from a top-notch state university, but... football?  From my view, the ad minimizes the great things people learn at UF and the things they become in our society, while glorifying "the Gator Nation," whatever that really is.  

Maybe they should have marketed the actual education piece a bit more.  At least the computer sciences, right?

State Rep. Rick Kriseman: Farewell and Thank You

by Benjamin J. Kirby

To read this blog over the last few entries is an exercise in frustration, sadness, melancholy and outright depression. 

The trend continues today, I'm afraid: State Representative Rick Kriseman (D-53), a favorite of this blog as well as my own Representative, has announced he is not seeking re-election: 

While I am pleased by our occasional victories, and hold out hope that the political climate and dysfunction in Tallahassee will eventually improve, neither provides me with a good enough reason to return for two more years.

Therefore, in November, a dozen years after entering public service, I will leave the Florida House and my legislative family to spend a little more time in my house with my family. My wife, kids, and our Labrador retrievers are looking forward to it.

Being at home will also allow me to focus on my law practice, and to give extra attention to some of the fun things in my life, like my Karate and guitar lessons.

But know this, until November, I intend to work hard to re-elect our president, and to be helpful to other great candidates who are running for local, state, or federal offices. I’ll also be using the downtime to think about my own future, and how I can best serve our community.

As you probably remember, Duncan worked for Keith Fitzgerald for his two terms at a State Representative in District 69, and I think both Duncan and Keith might express a similar sentiment about working in an overwhelmingly Republican legislature with a far-right-wing Governor.

I was lucky enough to be granted an interview with Representative Kriseman (part I here, and part II here).  If there are any take-aways from that interview, it's that Kriseman loves his hometown of St. Petersburg, and that he believes very deeply in public service.

I don't know what that means for Kriseman's future -- I take him at his word that he's going to focus on his law practice and his fantastic family.  But I think it's a safe bet to say we haven't heard the last of Rick Kriseman in public life.

Maybe because I was married to a political staffer, but too often these events go without passing along the recognition and acknowledgement due the advisers and aides of these politicians we admire.  Duncan and I consider Kevin King and David Flintom friends, but beyond their friendship, they have served their boss, and more important, the people of this district well.  I don't know where they'll land or what they'll be doing, but with talent like that, I bet it'll be something really great.

Good luck, Representative Kriseman.  And thank you for your service. 

The Florida Dumbing Down Budget

by Benjamin J. Kirby

The vaguely uncomfortable-to-watch Romney Veepstakes are in full effect.  I don't know about you, but I figure the guy just about has to pick Marco Rubio, the junior Senator from Florida.  And even though Public Policy Polling, via Jed Lewison at DailyKos, says that a Rubio pick doesn't necessarily lift Romney, since the man is trailing Obama here in the Sunshine State by five, he's got to do something.  

Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post says there are nine swing states to watch for 2012, and he's probably right.  Of course, Florida's on the list, as it should be.  If I had the chance to ask Chris a question, I might see if he'd rank those nine, from most swing-iest to least.  I'd be willing to bet Florida would be at or near the top.  We certainly have the most electoral votes (29) of those nine.

If you want to drill down further into the Florida numbers, not to mention geography, then you must go read Steve Schale's piece on the Orlando area. 

At any rate, you'd think given what's at stake here in Florida -- perhaps as much as the Presidency itself -- that the Republicans would sort of get their act together a bit more around issues that, you know, actually matter to people.  

Not so with the hospital grifter, our governor, Rick Scott, who signed a $70 billion state budget, along with $142.7 million in vetoes, yesterday.  From the Steve Bousquet and Kim Wilmath article in the Times:

Surrounded by photogenic 5-year-olds, Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday signed what he called an "education budget" that adds $1 billion in public school spending and allows higher tuition at state colleges and universities.

Scott also vetoed nearly $143 million in line-item projects championed by fellow Republicans in the Legislature that he said did not benefit the state as a whole or weren't worth the investment. He vetoed grants for autism, Alzheimer's care, disadvantaged youths, clinics, courthouse, road and seaport improvements, the Florida Aquarium in Tampa and a Bay of Pigs museum in Miami.

Okay, one: it doesn't really "allow" higher tuition.  It means higher tuition, as noted in the next paragraph ("The $70 billion budget includes a 5 percent tuition increase at state colleges.").  Two, he also vetoed millions of dollars worth of... education funding.  To wit:

• Degree completion pilot program includes USF, St. Pete College:  $2,500,000
• Requiring 7th Graders to Receive Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine:  $950,000
• Life/Educational/Workforce Needs for Residential Students:  $450,000
• Access to Legal Assistance for the Poor:  $2,000,000
• Natural Habitat & Environmental Center/St. Pete College:  $100,000 
• Grants and Aids to Library Cooperatives:  $1,500,000
• Grants and Aids for Medical Training and Labs:  $3,000,000 
• PhD program in biomedical science: $560,000
• University of Miami/Marine Science program:  $90,000
• Center for Digital Learning and Education:  $2,000,000
• NOVA Southeastern University:  $2,000,000
• Univ. of Miami Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Project:  $500,000
• Student Training and Rural Center operations:  $$1,600,000
• Dr. J.B. Callahan Neighborhood Center in Parramore:  $1,000,000

Look, that's a few million bucks there out of nearly $143 million.  I look at that list and mostly I think it's just a small-minded pettiness, the kind I can't stand in politicians who say, as Scott did, this is too regional, or, it doesn't benefit the whole state.  Bullshit.  Tell it to the kids at St. Petersburg College, or the 7th graders with meningitis, or a doctoral student working on her dissertation in biomedical science (you'd really think a former hospital administrator would get that, but I guess not).  Or the girl with ulcerative colitis.  Or the librarians.    

I put the last one there on the list, a neighborhood center in Parramore (Orlando), because as it happens, I've toured that center.  I've seen it.  I've been there, and what I can tell you is that the brief descriptor line for each veto I have above does them poor justice.  

It's not just some neighborhood center with a dude's name on it in Orlando.  It is key component of the model based on Geoffrey Canada's Harlem Children's Zone that is all but working miracles in New York City.

An "education budget"? Give me a damn break.   

[ASIDE:  It's not education, but an interesting veto was $250,000 for security for the Presidential debate.  Does this mean the governor won't be making an endorsement for president this year?] 

This shouldn't surprise anyone.  I wrote about it a few months ago (here and here).  But what does this budget mean politically?  Well, yeah, Florida is a battleground state, and we're growing and changing to be sure.  But just like everyone else in the country, we don't like being lied to.  

And, just like everyone else in the country, we're struggling.  A tuition hike?  Who but a hopelessly out of touch hospital grifter governor would sign such a budget?  Who but a vindictive sociopath would veto that money?  Middle class families trying to send their kids to college need help, not a boot in the ass.

My guess is, no matter who Romney picks as his VP, the Florida families whose kids got screwed in this budget will remember with great disdain the party of the hospital grifter and the legislative "leaders" who produced this abomination.

Whither the Powerhouse

by Benjamin J. Kirby

Let's all take a minute to sincerely thank Peter Schorsch for live-blogging local fund-raising results here in the Tampa Bay area.  He sifted through the Florida Division of Elections search results so you don't have to.

This is a relatively minor issue, small potatoes inside baseball, and thus probably hardly worth pointing out, but maybe the "helluva race" we were promised between Democratic incumbent Rick Kriseman and Republican challenger Kathleen Peters for the State House in the new District 69 may turn out to be a helluva dud.  

Schorsch noted that Peters raised "over $10K" during her first quarter in the race.  Sound good to you?  In comparison to Kriseman, you might think Peter believes so, though he did say "Kriseman, who could not raise money during the legislative session, picked up just $3,500, bringing his overall total to $28,150."  Credit to Peter for noting that Kriseman can't fund-raise during session.    

First of all, the $10,000 Peters raised is minus a thousand bucks she and her husband kicked in themselves.  So that's more like $9,000, which is less than $10,000, and as Peter says in his "where sh*t stands" post, that is "a disappointment."    

So what we can say is that the disappointing amount of $9,000 is about three times less than what Kriseman has in the bank, give or take a few bucks.  Yet this is still the "powerhouse" challenger facing Kriseman?  

It is interesting math to me, that you can have three times less than the guy you're running against and be a "powerhouse," but have only just over the $2,000 more than Bill Nobles, a guy running for state house a little further north who was characterized as a "sad sack".  

Now, I don't know where the "sad sack" line is.  It's clearly somewhere between about $6,800 and $9,000.  Maybe the line is a bit blurry -- after all, at least Bill Nobles has "issues" on his campaign website.  I guess $10,000 buys a website, but doesn't necessarily populate it with issues -- or campaign updates.  Or a Facebook account that's not your personal one.  Or more than four Tweets to thirteen whole followers.

And don't worry about Bill.  I'm sure the Awake Pinellas people, who keep picketing the office of Rep. Jeff Brandes for voting for a budget every knew he'd vote for, have mobilized fundraising efforts for Bill and the other Democrats in the race to counterbalance the nearly $150,000 Brandes has in the bank.

That blurry sad sack line is certainly hell and gone from the $28,150 Kriseman's got in the bank.  It's also a far sight south of the $23,900 Chris Sprowls raised in his primary bid to unseat Rep. Peter Nehr.  Now that could be a race.

Finally Friday Twist the Knife Edition

by Benjamin J. Kirby

A not-as-nice jobs report this time around: 

image via DailyKos

Still, the unemployment rate fell to 8.2%, and that's something.

Here in Florida, the jobs picture is getting (mildly) better, and hospital grifter Governor Rick Scott is still lying about it.

Hit up the calculated risk blog for more good graphics, including the one everyone uses:

In other words, things are getting better, but it's slow.  And the recovery doesn't look follow the same angle as the line going into the recession/depression.  Would a sharp spike upwards -- like most every other job loss trend since World War II except 1990 and 2001 -- be really nice?  Sure it would.  And I don't doubt Team Obama prays for that every day.  

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Speaking of the hospital grifter, he's considering the $70 billion Florida budget.

Some of us made an easy guess a few months ago about how committed to education he'd really be.  I suppose it's needless to report to you that the governor who said he is "committed to increasing Florida's investment in the education of our young people," is probably going to sign a budget that cuts higher education funding, among many other things.  Really, you shouldn't be too surprised.

More on this later. 

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Seriously, what's up with some of these bunnies?

Have a great Easter weekend, friends and neighbors. 

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Let's go Rays!

I'm not particularly thrilled to be rooting for the team with whackadoo birther Luke Scott as the DH, but since "Grand Slam" Carlos Pena is back, I'll try.

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It's finally Friday.

Almost Friday The Good With The Bad Edition

by Benjamin J. Kirby

Really glad to see Adam Tebrugge running for State House in District 71, against incumbent Republican Jim Boyd.

"I'm very concerned about the influence of money on political decisions," said Tebrugge, a Sarasota resident.

"Just for instance, if we look at Representative (Jim) Boyd's contributors, he's receiving an awful lot of money from the insurance companies and from the phosphate companies."

Tebrugge, who has a law office in Bradenton, said his campaign would concentrate on receiving donations from individual citizens, "so that I will be free of undue influence from companies like that."

Adam lost a close race for Public Defender in 2008.  He's a smart guy, and will make a great public servant.  Lord knows the Florida House needs a guy like Adam.

He's got a blog site up, and no way to donate electronically, but help him out if you can.  Send your donation to:

Campaign to Elect Adam Tebrugge
Post Office Box 770
Bradenton, Florida   34206

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Texts from Hillary.

Inspired by this...

Image via Roger Simon, POLITICO

...one of my new favorite political photos.  There's no getting around the badassery.

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I'd like to ask you a question: What's wrong with Harvard University?  

Once again, Mitt Romney has attempted to launch an attack on President Obama saying, "We have a president, who I think is is a nice guy, but he spent too much time at Harvard, perhaps."  

You know what I'd do to be able to get a degree from Harvard?  Just about anything.  Wouldn't most folks?  I mean, it's the greatest school in the country, and probably the world (better than Oxford?  Maybe not, but then again, what do I know).  

So I'd love to have gone to Harvard.  I didn't.  And I never will.  And I'd probably do back-flips around the world if one or both of my kids got in to Harvard.  I'd probably stop the back-flips when I figured out how much it costs.  

Anyway, this seems like a dumb attack.  I get it -- Harvards' all elite, and Obama is elitist.  Right, right.  Sure.  

But here's the main problem with Romney's attack: Romney spent more time studying there than Obama.  Romney has two degrees from Harvard (an MBA and a law degree), Obama just has one (a law degree).  

It gets worse, according to the ThinkProgress people (this is actually my favorite part):

Romney has previously attacked Obama for taking advice from the “Harvard faculty lounge,” even though one of Romney’s top economic advisers is Harvard professor Greg Mankiw.

Romney has also taken at least $32,000 in contributions from Harvard faculty and administrators.

The guy's campaign ought to have the Harvard logo on it, for crying out loud.

I know that it's Job One of Team Mittens to paint Obama as an out-of-touch elitist.  I've already commented on how the Obama Campaign is doing great work on framing Obama as a very normal, average guy -- and it's working.

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This one's for my friend Laura Jane.  Big Wilco fan.

It's almost Friday.

Good stuff. I should listen these guys more often.

Gone, Baby, Gone

by Benjamin J. Kirby

So much is being made of the millions -- maybe billions -- of dollars which will be spent by the political parties and candidates in this election cycle, it's easy to forget that campaigns are not (usually) won or lost in the air war alone.  Organization still matters.  

This is the kind of image that sticks with you:

That, and several more interesting images here, via The Guardian.  It's a must-read piece.

That image is from New Hampshire, where Romney closed the doors after the primary in January.  President Obama, by contrast, has seven office up and running, and 25 paid staff. 

Think about that.  Seven offices, 25 staff -- for a swing state with only 4 electoral votes.  I'm fairly sure that should tell you just about all you need to know about the Obama Campaign.  It says even more about the Romney Campaign.  

The Ed Pilkington and Amanda Michel article covers what is happening in Tampa as well.  After all, Tampa is where the Republicans are gathering for their Convention in just a few short months -- surely Romney has the office space and campaign staff locked down there, right?

Wrong:

The problem that Romney faces as the Republican nomination drags on is underlined in Florida. The sunshine state is considered by many political analysts to be the ultimate battleground state, with 29 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.

Here, the Obama re-election campaign already has 22 offices firing on all cylinders. Some opened as long ago as early 2009, four as recently as last Saturday. Between them, they claim to have put together 6,500 training sessions, planning sessions, house parties and phone banks. Events are being staged across Florida at a rate of up to 30 a day.

Romney until recently had three offices in Florida, all directed to his primary battle against Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul. Yet despite the fact that no Republican has won the White House while losing Florida since Calvin Coolidge in 1924, Romney closed all three offices after the January 31 primary.

Calls to the main number of Romney's Florida headquarters are sent to voicemail; the mailbox is full and will not accept further messages.

The headquarters was situated in an office block shaded by palm trees on one side of the Hillsborough River in Tampa. A few hundred yards away on the other side of the river is the Tampa Bay Times Forum where the Republican National Convention is expected to annoint Romney as the party's nominee in August.

Romney closed all three offices after the primary? I get it -- the man has to move resources to where the next primaries are, but... this is Florida.  Home of the GOP Convention.  He couldn't have left even a small footprint there?

This is a politically divided country, we all know that.  We also know that a shit-ton of money is going to get spent on advertising -- directly for (and against) candidates, and indirectly by PACs and Super-PACs.  But that's only half the picture.  The difference could well be made on the ground, by dedicated volunteers going door to door, making phone calls, sending out flyers and having local events.  

Team Obama is head and shoulders above Romney on this one.  And I'm not sure Team Romney can catch up.