Florida Democrat State Rep. Mike Clelland finds himself in hole; keeps digging; accomplishes nothing

Gotta love politicians...seems like they are skilled at putting their feet in their mouths like nobody else out there.

President of the Foot-in-Mouth Club for this week is freshman Florida State Representative Mike Clelland, a Democrat who benefited from an Obama reelection year boost (which will not be factor when Scott Plakon faces off against him in 2014) and represents a very Republican district in Seminole County.

Clelland jumped into the spotlight earlier this week, when he made comments about a proposed amendment to a bill regarding physical fitness requirements for firefighters that were interpreted by many as disparaging to women. As Tom Tillison at BizPac Review reported yesterday:

Speaker Weatherford's Opening Day remarks reaffirm his opposition to Medicaid expansion

Speaker of the Florida House Will Weatherford delivered his opening day remarks earlier this morning as the 2013 Legislative Session began, and they're worth reading.

Weatherford outlines the ambitious agenda he has set for the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon's discovery of Florida, including reform of the state's campaign finance and election laws, pension system, and schools. 

Notably, Weatherford also continues his strong opposition to Medicaid expansion:

Weatherford raises national profile as distance grows between Gov. Scott and conservative grassroots

After a number of articles late last year describing Florida Speaker of the House Will Weatherford as a "rising star" who was following in Marco Rubio's footsteps, he officially took the reins as one of Florida's youngest Speakers with the beginning of the 2013 legislative session and has embarked on an ambitious agenda, including campaign finance and education reform.

This week included two important moments for Weatherford as he continues to raise his national profile.

Karen Castor Dentel's inadequate response to ethics complaint filed against her

Karen Castor Dentel: Excuses, excuses, excuses.

Yesterday, I wrote a post detailing complaints filed against state representative candidate Karen Castor Dentel with the Florida Elections Commission and the Florida Commission on Ethics.

WFTV 9 covered the story last night, and Dentel's only responses to the very serious complaints filed against her were to insist she had done nothing wrong, and to whine that it was a "politically motivated" attack.

There's a reason they call it the "Slantinel"

State Representative Chris Dorworth

Last fall, I wrote a post that started with this question:

How can you tell if Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell will be attacking State Representative Chris Dorworth? If it's a day ending in a "Y."

My friend Tom Tillison had an excellent post at Florida Political Press yesterday regarding Maxwell's latest tirade against  Chris Dorworth, and pointing out that Maxwell's presumptuous "advice" to Republicans should be taken with a grain of salt:

Democrats whine, Republicans act

State Rep. Plakon

The Democrats have been whining about a "War on Women" all year, but other than demand that taxpayers pay for birth control and abortions, have the Democrats done anything to actually help women? 

In contrast, two Florida Republicans, State Representative Scott Plakon and State Senator David Simmons, co-sponsored a bill that amended Florida's stalking statutes to make it easier for victims to get legal protection from their harassers. 

Will Weatherford ready to lead "innovative conservative" Florida House

RedState's Erick Erickson and Will Weatherford

Speaker-designate of the Florida House Will Weatherford stopped by the RedState Gathering in Jacksonville last Friday to chat with the conservative activists and bloggers who were attending the conference. 

What I like about Weatherford is that he isn't just a proud Republican, but that he is consistently cheerful and positive about it, treating politics as a method for finding solutions. He truly believes that conservative principles are the best way to provide the most opportunities for success for the most people, and is dedicated to the idea of making government as simple and streamlined as possible.

While Weatherford was at the Gathering, he was nice enough to chat with me for a few minutes. Here is a video of the interview:

Conservative Opposition Dooms Destination Resorts Bill

One of the most contentious fights during the 2012 legislative session (other than redistricting) has been the battle over several gambling bills: legislation that would ban internet "sweepstakes" gambling cafes, and also a proposal that would allow the creation of "mega-casinos" (or, as the proponents refer to them, "destination resorts") in South Florida.

The fate of the internet cafes still remains to be seen, but the destination resorts bill appears to be scheduled for execution within a few hours...