| Our digest of, and commentary on today's Florida political news and punditry follows. Scott contemplates run for President! The hubris runs deep in Tally: "people who have talked to the governor about the 2012 Republican field say Scott has a presidential bid lurking in the back of his mind." "Rick Scott for president?". Teabaggers want to operate in secret Gary Fineout writes that "A group of Sarasota and Charlotte county residents first filed a lawsuit last September after discovering all the regulations [regarding donor disclosure and disclaimers] they would have to follow in order to run a local radio ad criticizing the Hometown Democracy measure that would require referendums on changes to local land use plans. Some of those involved in the lawsuit were connected to various Tea Party related groups and one of them was a staunch early supporter of Scott although he has since dropped out." "The Scott administration squares off against some of its supporters in federal court".
"Scott flip-flopping on SunRail"
"After rejecting $2.4 billion in federal stimulus funds and derailing a proposed Tampa-Orlando high-speed train, the governor has reportedly turned around on SunRail, a $1.3 billion line that would serve parts of four counties around Orlando." "Rick Scott Ready to Roll With SunRail, Sources Say". Mack's 1% solution "Connie Mack Unveils '1 Percent Solution' to Cap Fed Spending". Attack on Pensions Continues
Bill Cotterell writes that "Economist Randall Holcombe, who teaches economics at Florida State University [in an economics program that has lost its credibility], and William Mattox of the James Madison Institute [which has never had any credibility] said the state should phase out the traditional defined-benefit pension and implement 401(k)-style defined-contribution investment plans. "Pension changes applauded". See also "Pension Reform Advocates: We Want More". "So much for academic freedom" at FSU The Orlando Sentinel editors: "FSU's bad deal". Big of them "Glades Correctional may get at least a few months reprieve, Benacquisto says". "Taxpayer-funded proselytizing" The Tampa Trib editors: "Lost in the flurry of overreaching legislation debated in Tallahassee during the 2011 legislative session were a number of bills that would undermine religious freedom. Some of these bills are an annual ritual, which are filed for political jockeying and then die. But this session was different." On the last day of the session, the Senate passed House Joint Resolution 1471 — a ballot proposal that would repeal a vital religious-freedom protection from the Florida Constitution called the "No Aid" provision. Instead of fully vetting this controversial legislation through the legislative process, the Senate in its last hours withdrew 1471 from three committees, which had not held hearings on the bill, in order to facilitate passage. This is unprecedented. The "No Aid" provision guarantees that no Floridian is required to support houses of worship with their tax dollars. And 1471 absolutely bars the state from prohibiting groups or individuals from obtaining state funds based on religion. So how is this a religious freedom problem? For starters, it writes taxpayer-funded religious discrimination into our state constitution by incorporating an exemption to anti-discrimination laws that never contemplated taxpayer funding of houses of worship. As a result, under 1471, for example, a house of worship hiring a cook for a taxpayer-funded shelter could advertise "Catholics, Jews, Protestants or Muslims Need Not Apply." The proposal also creates an unacceptable risk of taxpayer-funded proselytizing.
"The unfinished offensive on religious freedom". Ricky gets all "supreme" on us They said it: "Gov. Rick Scott's attorneys assert his "supreme executive power" over agency rules". Citizens "State-backed Citizens Property Insurance will spend more than half a billion dollars this year on public and private reinsurance, or catastrophe insurance for insurers." "Citizens insurance to spend $585 million on reinsurance". See also "Citizens Insurance to Borrow Nearly $1 Billion Ahead of Hurricane Season". Higher education budgets to be "slashed" "Florida Universities Prepare to Slash Budgets". Lawsuits a'comin' "The ACLU, unions and some liberal and non-partisan groups are gearing up for potential legal challenges to legislation as well as at least one of Gov. Rick Scott's executive orders. They are reviewing measures that they say violate privacy, free speech, voting, due process, collective bargaining and other constitutional rights and requirements." "ACLU, unions, others may challenge new Fla. laws". "Longing for the Jim Crow era" The Sun-Sentinel editors: "Let's be honest about the Confederate flag — it's a symbol that many people in America find conflict-ridden, a throwback to slavery and secessionism. Yes, the Confederacy is a part of America's heritage, and students can learn all about it in history books. That doesn't mean the state of Florida should endorse a reminder of the Confederacy on license plates — especially a symbol that has also been adopted by bigots and those longing for the Jim Crow era." "Confederate plate has no place on our roads". Related: "Confederate License Plate Battle Goes Back to Court". Haridopolos bought and paid for "An analysis of the $2.5 million Haridopolos raised in the first quarter of 2011 shows how the Republican received his biggest chunks of money from the special interests who wanted something out of the 60-day legislative session." "Special interests fill Mike Haridopolos' Senate campaign coffers". Related: "Mike Huckabee Endorses Mike Haridopolos in U.S. Senate Race". Water Czar "Florida's new water czar leaves to head up S. Fla. Water Management District". Will Those That Resisted Attack on Unions be "Primaried"? Bill Cotterell reminds us that an "issue that ran afoul of cooler heads in the Senate was the "paycheck protection" bill forbidding public employers to deduct union dues." Even some conservative Republicans resisted, saying it was the employees' own money and, if they wanted to pay a union, the state had no business refusing to make the dues checkoff — just as it makes for many other purposes. That one is part of a nationwide Republican strategy to demonize public-employee unions, which are far less powerful in Florida than they are in, say, Wisconsin. Going against that tide is, for Republicans, as risky as being anti-abortion is for Democrats.
"Prepare to be 'primaried'" Dumb as a sack of hammers The Tampa Tribune editorial board talks about "how wrong Florida Gov. Rick Scott was to arbitrarily turn down $2.4 billion in hard-won federal money for high-speed rail from Tampa to Orlando. The check that was in the mail to Florida now will be split up and sent to 15 other states, where it will help fund 22 rail projects." "Rail cash switcheroo". ... and then there's this box of rocks from one Antonio Fins: "Florida Gov. Rick Scott was right to turn down money for high-speed rail". Disney eliminates salaried employees defined benefit pensions "Disney will save money on changes to pensions". Class size "Fla. schools still facing class size penalties". RPOFers workin hard for their masters "Homeowners, some already hit with double-digit property insurance rate hikes in recent years, could see premiums more than double in five years. They also could lose their right to file claims for late-surfacing damage or suffer more home damage while they save up to make repairs. Those are possible outcomes predicted by some homeowners, local leaders and a major home builders group from the sweeping property insurance bill that hit Gov. Rick Scott's desk Wednesday." "Home-insurance premiums could double in 5 years". Meanwhile, at least one Republican "Senator starts up veto campaign against insurance bill". While we were gutting their pensions ... ... "Firefighters find grenade while battling Fort Lauderdale house fire". "Jobs agenda runs into political realities""Scott's private-sector vision of government doesn't always square with the real thing." "Rick Scott's jobs agenda runs into political realities in Legislature". Legislators invite Big Government into Floridians private lives Scott Maxwell writes that "for guys who constantly yap about Big Government, Florida legislators sure spent a lot of time inviting it into your private life." "Pot, immigration and firings -- things that make you go 'Hmmm'". |
