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.

Karen Castor Dentel: Teacher Gets Schooled on Ethics

Karen Castor Dentel

Karen Castor Dentel, currently employed by Orange County Public Schools as a teacher at Dommerich Elementary School, is challenging State Representative Scott Plakon for the District 30 seat in one of the most closely watched campaigns in Florida this year.

Dentel comes from a family of prominent Democrats (mother Betty is a former state senator and education commissioner, and her sister Kathy is a Congresswoman), so I assumed she would have the best advisers helping her campaign, especially considering how highly the Florida Democratic Party was prioritizing this race.

However, recent developments reveal a stunning pattern of ethical violations by Dentel, including complaints filed with the Florida Elections Commission and the Florida Commission on Ethics. I've embedded both complaints below, or you can click on the links in the previous sentence to view them.

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. 

Why is the Florida Legislature playing Russian Roulette with our property insurance?

Our luck won't last forever.

Smart people don't play Russian Roulette. 

They definitely don't consider playing it repeatedly, knowing that every turn they take would increase the chances of catastrophe.

So why is the Florida Legislature using Russian Roulette as a model for our property insurance?

Representative Plakon and Precourt's Role in Inspiring Florida's Lawsuit Against ObamaCare

Thousands protest in front of the Supreme
Court to support overturning ObamaCare

This week, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Florida vs. United States Department of Health and Human Services (for an excellent recap, please see this write-up by the Texas Public Policy Foundation), the lawsuit filed by the State of Florida against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka "ObamaCare."

Florida's previous Attorney General, Bill McCollum, filed the complaint on March 23, 2010. The litigation was joined by attorneys general in numerous other states, and some states filed separate lawsuits, but Florida's case has been the linchpin in moving this challenge forward all the way to the Supreme Court.

ObamaCare and its unconstitutional power grab have galvanized conservatives across the country and united them in their opposition to the Obama administration. What many people don't know is the back story behind how Florida's lawsuit came to be. I recently came across some interesting information when I was doing some research for one of my last Florida clients before I leave for Massachusetts.

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...

State Rep. Scott Plakon: "Rush Limbaugh is Wrong"

I continue to be shocked and dismayed how far too many people seem willing to latch on to conspiracy theories and make meritless accusations against fellow Republicans. Worse, these accusations continue even when clear evidence to the contrary is presented. 

Such is the case with the furor over Florida's redistricting. Let me say this for the millionth time: There is no conspiracy in the Florida Legislature to hurt Allen West, and Mitt Romney doesn't have a darn thing to do with our redistricting process. 

Scott Plakon, the Lucky Charm Legislator

They put athletes on Wheaties boxes. Maybe they
should replace the leprechaun with Scott Plakon?

There's being in the right place at the right time, and then there's Florida State Representative Scott Plakon.

Plakon seems to be a lucky charm for presidential candidates: within 24 hours of his endorsement, things start going well for that candidate - very well.

Packed House for Plakon

Last Thursday evening, we had an amazing crowd for State Representative Scott Plakon's campaign kickoff. Over 250 people crowded into the clubhouse at the Alaqua Country Club - I had to park two blocks away. Plakon is clearly very popular here in Central Florida.

Photo by Bob Moylan

We had a little entertainment, courtesy of John "For The People" Morgan, who stopped by near the end of the event, but mainly, it was a wonderful chance to catch up with some great local conservatives and business leaders before the new legislative session starts.

On the note of session starting...

Come Support Scott Plakon on Thursday

State Representative Scott Plakon is kicking off his re-election campaign this Thursday, January 5th. Contributions in any amount are welcome. 

Hope you can join us. Here's a message from Representative Plakon and a link to the invitation with all the details:

Meatloaf and Mulligans

Yesterday, the Leon County Circuit Court issued a ruling that removed Amendment 7, also known as the "Religious Freedom Act," from the 2012 ballot:

Herman Cain: Wasted Potential

In case you were under a rock today, Herman Cain announced earlier that he is suspending his presidential campaign. There's a million articles up already with the details of what he said, so I'm not going to bother with rehashing the announcement. Instead, I'd like to put down a few thoughts on the campaign and where it all went wrong.

Interview with Karen Harrington [VIDEO]

Catching up from BlogCon last week...Here's a short interview I did with Congressional candidate Karen Harrington when she stopped by our conference in Denver:


YouTube | Karen Harrington at #BlogCon11

Shocking! Never thought I'd see the day...

...that Scott Plakon and Dennis Baxley disagreed on anything.

The two Republicans serve together in Florida's House of Representative, have very similar solidly-conservative voting records, have co-sponsored legislation, both endorsed Adam Hasner for Senate, and describe themselves as "good friends."

So I was surprised - nay, shocked! - to read in yesterday's Palm Beach Post that the two were on opposite sides on an issue:

Scott Plakon: "Government Creates a Business Headwind" [VIDEO]

Here's State Representative Scott Plakon discussing the oppressive effect of government regulations on small businesses:


YouTube | TheFCTA | Government Creates a Business Headwind

Phone call with Herman Cain

After Herman Cain won the Presidency 5 straw poll, I found State Representative Scott Plakon and his wife Susie in the convention center lobby and we called one of the Cain staffers who had set up the meeting where Plakon had endorsed Cain.

A very happy Team Cain was already on their way to the airport, but Herman Cain had time to briefly chat with us on the phone about how pleased he was with the straw poll results and how grateful he was for Plakon's support. They were nice enough to let me record the call, and I'm happy to share it with you here:

HERMAN CAIN WINS #FloridaP5 straw poll!

"A hurri-CAIN has hit Florida!"
- State Representative Scott Plakon

Scott Plakon endorses Herman Cain [VIDEO]

I was proud to be a witness to State Representative Scott Plakon's endorsement of Herman Cain last night. Representative Plakon is one of my favorite legislators, and it has been great to watch him become a strong, conservative leader in the Florida House. He and his wife Susie and their family are also some of the nicest people you could ever meet, and I am blessed to be able to call them friends.

The impact of this endorsement should not be underestimated. Scott Plakon may not be well known (yet) outside the state of Florida, but he is extremely well-liked here and very active in conservative political causes around the state. Americans for Prosperity's Florida Chapter named him their 2011 State Representative of the Year, and he has been a leader in opposing ObamaCare, sponsoring the Florida Health Care Freedom Act. Plakon is a solid fiscal and social conservative and has owned and operated several successful businesses; he is the exact type of state leader Republican presidential candidates should want on their team.

[more commentary and video after the jump]

BREAKING: State Rep Scott Plakon is endorsing Herman Cain for President!

AFP State Representative of the Year Scott Plakon has decided to endorse Herman Cain for the Republican nomination for President!

I was lucky enough to be in the room as the two of them discussed being business owners and the presidential race. Both Cain and Plakon are committed to retiring Barack Obama and bringing new conservative leadership to Washington. 

This is yet another example of how CPAC Florida & Presidency 5 are shaping the narrative for Florida Republican politics!

I have a short video I'll post later. Stay tuned!

Gotta Love Gingrich

There are two things that Newt Gingrich does extremely well: tell a good story, and give a direct answer to a question. I got to see him do both of those things on Wednesday evening in Lake Mary as the keynote speaker at the Seminole County Reagan Day Dinner, sponsored by the Ronald Reagan Republican Assemblies of Florida, Inc.

Before the dinner, Newt and Calista Gingrich took photos with everyone who was in attendance. State Representative Scott Plakon was nice enough to invite me and two other members of the Orange County Young Republicans to join his family at his table. Representative Plakon's very talented daughter Jeanne sang the national anthem and several other songs during the evening's program. (Check out this video of Jeanne singing at the 2009 Opening Session of the Florida House of Representatives.)

Gingrich's speech was mostly anecdotes about Ronald Reagan (ahem, it was a "Reagan Day Dinner," after all), some of Gingrich's own memories with the former President, but also many other great stories from throughout Reagan's life. Some highlights: