Morning Coffee Reading for September 2, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• Sweet. I'm number one again on the list of "Florida's Top Political Tweeters." Well, technically I'm tied for first with Progress Florida, but I think they have several people working that account and I'm just little ol' me, so I'm going to go ahead and declare victory. High five to State Representative Scott Plakon, who improved his score an amazing 27 points, making him the 2nd highest ranked politician, right after Allen West.

Saint Petersblog | Florida's Top Political Tweeters for September

• The Jim Greer situation continues to slog on through the courts and the media, causing nightmares for a number of Florida politicians, including Florida Senate candidate George LeMieux:

Miami Herald | Jim Greer TV Tell-all is bad news for George LeMieux 

And that's bad news for LeMieux as he runs in a crowded Republican primary where he's trying to shake the legacy of calling himself and acting like a "Charlie Crist Republican." Judging by the first night's installment, the TV piece won't have much new in it. But it raises the issue of Greer and it specifically highlighted LeMieux, thereby making the old story news again. And campaigns are all about examining a candidate's past to help determine his future. 

LeMieux has tried to distance himself from his old boss (and Greer) by saying that Crist drifted left after he left the governor's office as chief of staff. But Greer told us a while back that he inked a little-known $10,000 monthly Republican Party of Florida contract — ultimately worth $150,000 — to pay LeMieux to continue giving Crist advice through a company called MTC Strategies. 

Greer owes a measure of his chairmanship to LeMieux, who was Crist's top campaign and gubernatorial advisor early on and therefore rounded up the votes on the Republican Executive Committee of RPOF to help make Greer chairman.

Thank you, Chairman Bitner

David Bitner announced today that he will be stepping down as RPOF Chairman after the Presidency 5 Convention next month.

Bitner had announced earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.  Sadly, it seems that the disease has progressed quicker than anticipated, and Bitner felt that he was no longer able to serve as Chairman.

Chairman Bitner should be commended for bringing the party together after a contentious election, and for serving the party with dedication and vision. He has been a good, strong leader for RPOF, setting an excellent example for his successor. Every time I saw him at an event, he was kind and gracious to everyone who approached him, regardless of whether the person was a Congressman or first-time volunteer. David Bitner was the leader that we needed this year, and he will be sorely missed.

Please keep Chairman Bitner and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Human Events Op-Ed by Adam Hasner

Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner has written an excellent op-ed for Human Events that was published this morning:

Human Events | Adam Hasner | Tax Problems Not Too Complex For Simple Answers

It’s no secret that Sen. Bill Nelson and I disagree on most of the issues facing America.  One of those issues is tax reform, which I believe is fundamental to growing America’s economy...

New Zogby poll shows Perry breaking away from the field

Wow. Zogby posted the results of their latest presidential poll on their website yesterday, and there are some eye-opening numbers:

Zogby International | IBOPE Zogby Poll: Perry Races Far Ahead of Republican Field; 4 Announced GOP Candidates Tie or Lead Obama

(Discussion of results after the jump)

George LeMieux tells the BEST jokes!

I really, really, really love the internet sometimes. I find the funniest stuff on it. (It was awfully nice of Al Gore to invent it for us, wasn't it?)

In the case of politics, some of the funniest stuff is the stuff that candidates themselves put online.

With that in mind, I started pondering a fun little thought yesterday while I was writing this post wishing George LeMieux a happy second anniversary of the day that Governor Oompa Loompa announced he was appointing him to the U.S. Senate:

Sunshine State Sarah | Happy Anniversary to George LeMieux!

So, are you pondering what I'm pondering?

Whatever happened to "The LeMieux Report?"

What's that, you say? You haven't heard of The LeMieux Report?! Well, let me refresh your memory!

Morning Coffee Reading for August 30, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• Florida Senate candidate Mike McCalister is having a rough time of it lately after spending the month getting buried by an ever-increasing pile of bad press based on apparent exaggerations of his military record and ties to questionable people. The Crowley Political Report is now openly calling for his withdrawal from the race:

Crowley Political Report | Why Mike McCalister should quit Florida's Senate race

Mike, Mike, Mike. What were you thinking? 

Mike McCalister is a tough talking, retired Army colonel who dreams of winning the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. His little dream is turning into an embarrassing nightmare.

If you listen to McCalister, it is easy to walk away with the impression that this is one combat hardened, black-ops [savvy], kick-a** son-of-a gun.

Instead, the real McCalister is a lot like the high school football player who later in life talks as if he played in the pros...

Happy Anniversary to George LeMieux!

Two years ago today, then-Governor Charlie Crist appointed his "maestro" and close friend, George LeMieux, to keep his seat warm for him in the U.S. Senate.

The move was viewed as blatant cronyism and widely criticized by Republicans, Democrats, and journalists around the state. Fortunately, Florida voters rejected Crist at the polls last November, and LeMieux has spent the last year trying to scurry away from Crist with all his might.

Over the past few months, Adam Hasner's opponents have made repeated attempts to falsely paint him as a moderate, constantly quoting the same St. Pete Times article and blog post, and playing a cute little game of ping-pong where they retweet each other back and forth on Twitter. Every few days, they post the same old links as if they are sharing new information. (We should give them credit for being such dedicated recyclers!)

In contrast, this morning, the Adam Hasner campaign issued a press release extensively detailing what was being said two years ago when the announcement was made that the self-proclaimed "Charlie Crist Republican" was going to the Senate.

The list of quotes from 2009 is nearly overwhelming, quoting dozens and dozens of elected officials, political insiders, journalists - and LeMieux himself - about LeMieux's known moderate positions and close personal relationship with Charlie Crist:

Will George LeMieux Apologize to the Veterans?

"Something's rotten in the state of Denmark."

This quote, from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, is used in modern times to refer to a situation that is "rife with errors from top to bottom," or exhibiting evidence of rampant corruption or suspicious motives.

Well, something's rotten in the Florida Senate race, and the people of Florida deserve some answers.

Dedication

From the official Army Twitter account, a photo of a soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during Hurricane Irene:

The above photo comes from the Facebook page for "The Old Guard," which is the nickname for the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. One of their solemn duties is to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, which they have done every minute of every day since April 6, 1948. Here is another photo they released:

What a moving example of the loyalty and dedication of those who serve in our military. God Bless Our Troops.

[Hat tip: Amanda Carpenter]

[Cross-posted at RedState]

Perrymania

Here's some of the latest news about Rick Perry...plus some exclusive photos and videos from Perry's announcement at the RedState Gathering earlier this month...

"How am I doing? Best week EVER!"

BOOM. Perry's been in the race for less than two weeks, and look at that, there's a new frontrunner in the GOP Presidential race:

GALLUP | Perry Zooms to Front of Pack for 2012 GOP Nomination

Shortly after announcing his official candidacy, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has emerged as rank-and-file Republicans' current favorite for their party's 2012 presidential nomination. Twenty-nine percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents nationwide say they are most likely to support Perry, with Mitt Romney next, at 17%.

(Click image to enlarge)

Florida Senate Debate - Watch and Judge for Yourself

I've made no airs about being unbiased in the Florida Senate race. I'm one of the few bloggers that directly and openly declares my endorsements. There's a place for objective journalism and there's a place for opinion sites, and I firmly believe that both of these types of commentary are helpful, especially in politics.

Now, in a week where this website received a lot of traffic for several pieces I wrote about the August 20th Florida Senate debate and its aftermath (here, here, here, and here), I've seen a few articles and blog posts discussing the debate that seem so far off base I wonder if they written by people who were not there.

[Further discussion and video after the jump]

Political Meteorology

It is often easier to get excited about Presidential and Congressional races, but here's a reminder of how important local and state governments are:

FLORIDA 2004 STORMS

Charley makes landfall on Florida's west coast

Hurricane Charley (pictured, left) made landfall as Category 4 (the day after Tropical Storm Bonnie), and still had winds over 100 mph when it crossed Orlando.

Hurricane Frances hit Florida only three weeks after Charley. Drenched Florida with severe rain (over 13" in some areas). Wind damage resulted in near total loss of citrus crops between West Palm Beach and Melbourne. Caused a sinkhole under I-95 in Palm Beach County.

Hurricane Ivan, the storm with its own sequel

Hurricane Ivan was a Category 4 and caused severe property damage to Panhandle. Then, after crossing the South, regained strength in the Atlantic and came back and hit Florida again with severe storms and heavy rain.

Hurricane Jeanne headed out to the Atlantic after causing massive devastation in Hispaniola. Then, made a complete loop and came back and hit Florida, just three weeks after Frances, making landfall just 2 miles from where Frances had struck.

FLORIDA 2004 GOVERNMENT

Governor Jeb Bush

Republican Governor Jeb Bush issued state of emergency declarations. National Hurricane Center, law enforcement and elected officials provided warnings and instructions to Floridians. Constant stream of information provided by government to news media. Millions of residents evacuated, schools and facilities closed. Governor Bush called in National Guard to help with relief efforts ahead of storms' impacts.

FLORIDA 2004 RESULT

It wasn't fun. I know. I lived here. Considering the severity of storms, fatalities were fortunately limited to less than 50. We got through it and rebuilt.

LOUISIANA 2005 STORM

As more of Jeb's people back Adam Hasner, speculation grows about an endorsement

More good news today for Senate candidate Adam Hasner, as the campaign announces the endorsements of two well-respected Florida Republicans from Jeb Bush's inner circle:

POLITICO | David Catanese | Hasner nabs Bradshaw, Shanahan

Adam Hasner has landed the endorsements of two influential Florida GOP political hands in his bid for U.S. Senate.

Sally Bradshaw, the longtime aid to Jeb Bush, confirmed to POLITICO she's backing Hasner and contributed $2,500 to his effort.  The St. Petersburg Times had that news first.

Bradshaw explained her decision in an email to POLITICO.  "Sometimes what you know about individuals, their record on issues, the way they interact with others, their history with the party and their efforts at growing it, gives you a pretty good clue as to what they would do as a public official. This wasn't particularly complicated for me.  I know both," she said, referring to Hasner and former Sen. George LeMieux.

"George did an admirable job as a Senator but we need an authentic and consistent conservative and records over time tell the story," she continued.

"Boys Will Be Boys"

Says a lot, doesn't it?

(Click image to enlarge)

(Hat tip:  @JasonBWhitman and @DavidLimbaugh)

Yeah, it's fun to say "I told you so."

In case you've been living under a rock for the past few days, Marco Rubio gave a pretty epic speech at the Reagan Library Tuesday evening...

Get this man a cape.

...right after he saved Nancy Reagan from a potentially nasty fall as a warm-up act.

As my friend Frank Torres quipped on his blog,

I’m surprised that they didn’t ask him to pull a sword out of a stone afterwards.

So, yeah, Marco Rubio is showing extremely high levels of awesomeness.

And, yeah, those of us who supported Rubio from the beginning can't help but feel pretty darn proud.

As a fun little look back, check out this post from Stephen Kruiser back in October 2010, gleefully rejoicing at how very, very wrong the media was in predicting how last year's Senate race would turn out:

Big Journalism | Stephen Kruiser | Remember How Marco Rubio Was Going to Ruin the GOP in Florida (And Everywhere Else)?

And again, I repeat my point from a few days ago: Marco Rubio is fantastic in the Senate. He'd also be a wonderful asset as a running mate for the eventual Republican Presidential nominee. I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually runs for President himself. But whether Senator, Vice President, or President, we know that Rubio will be one of the best fighters we have for the conservative cause. No matter what, we can't lose. 

Have you signed up for CPAC FL yet? Marco Rubio is one of the confirmed speakers. We all know the man gives a great speech, so you know you're gonna enjoy being there. Just sayin'...

This has nothing to do with anything

This really is a completely irrelevant post, but hey, things have been getting a little serious around here, and this photo just cracked me up. So I figured, heck, it's my website, I'm going to post some Kung Fu Bunnies:

From icanhascheezburger.com

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. Snark, politics, snark, caffeine, and even more snark...

[Crickets]

Oh, what an interesting day.

At 7:29 am Wednesday morning, I hit "Publish Post" on this:

Sunshine State Sarah | Connections between Mike McCalister and Doug Guetzloe?

...got a cup of coffee and waited...and waited...

...and waited...

I mean, surely, Colonel Mike McCalister would have something, something, to say in response, right? Right?

There's no way that McCalister, the self-proclaimed "National Tea Party Star," would join forces with Doug Guetzloe, the guy who spent 2010 threatening tea party movement groups and activists around Florida, the guy who helped organize a third party political party that was designed to split conservative votes and make it easier for Democrats to win, the guy who was repeatedly tied to liberal bomb-thrower Alan Grayson?

Of course the campaign will have a response. There's some excuse. There's some explanation. I mean, McCalister's excuse for the whole "I-testified-before-Congress-except-I-didn't" kerfuffle was that he had a "bad memory." Was that it?

I'm sure the McCalister campaign will have some sort of excuse for working with a guy like Guetzloe: "We're new to politics and didn't know any better." "We don't have Google." "No, seriously, we don't have Google."

But...nothing.

Connections between Mike McCalister and Doug Guetzloe? [UPDATED]

After getting caught in what is, at best, a misrepresentation about testifying before Congress, and facing mounting questions about his record, new information has been discovered that is likely to further damage Colonel Mike McCalister's credibility in the Florida Republican Senate Primary.

Previously under fire from Florida tea party organizers for his "bold self determination" declaring himself a "national Tea Party star," McCalister appears to have made the unfortunate decision to ally himself with Doug Guetzloe.

In case you are not acquainted with Mr. Douglas M. Guetzloe, let me introduce you to some of his "greatest hits:"

• For years, Guetzloe has repeatedly been accused of being paid consulting or advertising fees that were more extortion payments to ensure loyalty than payments for actual services. A grand jury said that their "inescapable conclusion" was that Guetzloe was paid "hush money" as part of the "culture of corruption" present at the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, as one example.
• After he was removed from the Orange County Republican Executive Committee, he helped start a third party political party with the misleading name "Florida Tea Party." Guetzloe and others involved with the "Florida Tea Party" repeatedly engaged in attacks against legitimate Florida tea party activists, threatened lawsuits (and actually filed several), and had troubling ties to former Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson.
• In the 2010 elections, Guetzloe and the Florida Tea Party worked to defeat Republican candidates by running FTP candidates in swing districts, in an attempt to split the conservative vote and give the advantage to the Democrats, because they would be listed on the ballot as (TEA).
• Many of the FTP candidates were previously registered Democrats, students with no explainable reason for running for office, and family members or roommates of FTP officers. The vast majority of them showed very low contributions and expenditures on their campaign finance reports and rarely appeared to actually campaign for votes. Fortunately their attempts to be "spoilers" failed, but RPOF and the targeted Republican candidates were forced to spend several million dollars to educate voters about the difference between the fake tea party political party and the actual tea party movement.
• Guetzloe has a history of violating election laws and failing to pay the fines imposed on him.
• And let's not forget that $1.61 million verdict against Guetzloe in a defamation suit earlier this year.

The bottom line is that Doug Guetzloe is no friend to the tea party movement or the Republican Party. As one Central Florida tea party organizer said to me (name withheld upon request), "I would go out of my way to not have my name associated with Guetzloe, in any way."

Despite all of this history, the McCalister campaign is running ads on Guetzloe's websites and on the website for the "Phoenix Network," where Guetzloe's internet radio program is broadcast. All of the McCalister banner ads on Guetzloe's websites link directly to the McCalister campaign website. I have taken screenshots of the websites just in case the ads are removed after I post this information (click images to enlarge):

Marco Rubio speaking at the Reagan Library OH HECK YEAH

In case you missed the live webcast Tuesday evening, here's the video from Marco Rubio's incredibly inspiring speech at the Reagan Library:


YouTube | copyrightphotos | Senator Marco Rubio Live @ The Reagan Library August 23, 2011

Lots of red meat for conservatives in that speech, but here are two of my favorite quotes:

Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about allowing people to catch up.

Our rights don't come from our government. Our rights come from our God. Rights come from God.

Sayfie Review interview of Rick Scott

Sayfie Review publisher Justin Sayfie added a new feature to his popular website this year: one-on-one video interviews with Florida politicians.

Here's his latest with Governor Rick Scott, discussing job creation, Florida's editorial boards, Hurricane Irene, the Presidency 5 convention, CPAC FL and the 2012 presidential race:



YouTube | sayfiereview | Fla. Gov. Rick Scott