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.

Awww. Poor Obama. Paul Ryan is stealing all of his thunder.

Lots of reasons to smile.

The internet exploded with excitement since Mitt Romney announced Paul Ryan as his running mate, with the new official Twitter account for the campaign, @PaulRyanVP, getting over 50,000 followers in the first day. The account now has almost 80,000.

The buzz translated in to real world effects too, with the thousands of conservatives using their wallets to show their pleasure with Romney's choice of Ryan. The campaign raised over $1.2 million in the first few hours after the announcement, and $3.5 million in the first 24 hours, as reported by campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul:

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:

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. 

No, there isn't a Romney Conspiracy against Allen West

There's a quote oft attributed to Mark Twain, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes."

In the past few days, we could say that a lie can travel across twitter the same way.