Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry follows.


Rubio Opposes Minimum Wage, urges slackers to get them a Braman

Senator Rubio acknowledges that "People Can't Live On $11 Per Hour But [He] Opposes Higher Minimum Wage."

Indeed, Rubio actually opposes "the very existence of a minimum-wage law."

But the Senator is a man of solutions, "Conservative Solutions" that is. As Jeb! might say, Rubio can "Fix It."

Here's the deal, slackers: no more gub'ment minimum wage handouts - jus' get off your lazy duffs, slackers, and find yerself a sugar daddy. Here's how it works: "The Miami billionaire backing Marco Rubio's presidential ambitions."

And don't forget the spouse, who got a job with a Braman charity:

Records show Mrs. Rubio was paid at least $54,000 for her part-time job in 2013. The charity’s IRS forms show it gave out only $250 that year despite having assets exceeding $9 million. The charity spent nearly $150,000 in air travel.
"Marco Rubio’s wife long an unseen presence in his career."

And then there're those tuff times between political gigs: "Braman gave Florida International University $100,000 to fund a teaching job Rubio took here after leaving the state House in 2008."

After that, "as Mr. Braman was donating heavily to Mr. Rubio’s Senate campaign, his company, Braman Management, hired Mr. Rubio as a lawyer for seven months. According to records provided by Mr. Braman, the company paid Mr. Rubio until a week before he was sworn in as a senator."

More: "Rubio Is Poised to Win the Billionaire Primary." See also "Meet Marco Rubio’s $10 million man" and "Billionaire Lifts Marco Rubio, Politically and Personally."


Redistricting oral arguments

"Florida Supreme Court hears redistricting oral arguments." More: "Legislature asks Florida Supreme Court to pick a different congressional map," "Redistricting impasse leads to more finger-pointing" and "Florida Supreme Court Weighs Redistricting Plans."

The Tampa Trib editors: "Independent commission only cure for redistricting insanity."


"Rubio’s Baby Got PAC"

Marc Caputo: "Jeb stabilizes – Rubio’s Baby Got PAC – No ‘Honeymoon’ hunting – FL Supremes hear redistricting suit – Scammer University boss sentenced in campaign scam." "Florida Playbook."


Rubio demands "less [sic] philosophers"

Sen. Marco Rubio (Florida) says,

"Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less [sic] philosophers."
Marco - who could never hack it as a philosopher, let alone an English teacher, and certainly not as a welder - is one fact challenged feller:
The median wage for welders is $37,420, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median wage for philosophy teachers is $63,630.
"Fact checking the fourth GOP debate."


UCF land buy

"Cabinet OKs UCF land buy despite Scott’s opposition."


Marco's helpful friends

First it was the car dealer, now the "Fox Business moderators, who made it their business to make sure Rubio didn’t face too much difficult questioning." "Marco Rubio coasts, with a big assist from the moderators: He 'won' the GOP debate by evading scrutiny."


New questions

"For five years, Marco Rubio has tried to put behind him the controversy of his spending on a Republican Party of Florida credit card, taking the unusual step over the weekend of making public nearly two years of American Express statements to show how he spent the party’s money."

In some ways, however, the statements, which he previously refused to make public, raise more questions about how Rubio used the card, rather than laying them to rest.
"New questions raised about Marco Rubio’s GOP credit card expenses."