Beach Peanuts

GOP Is Now 0 For 3: Bad Policy, Bad Message, Bad Messengers

Finally, an honest answer from Paul Ryan on the Republican "alternative" health care plan for everyday Americans, which came to light courtesy of Jed Lewison.

While introducing his latest number shuffling budget, which would kill ObamaCare and Medicare in order to make sure the wealthy keep all those big tax cuts, (stop me if you've heard this plan before) Paul Ryan actually made an honest statement about the Republican plan for health care for the "rest of us."  

In all his brilliance, take it away Paul Ryan:

"This to us is something that we're not going to give up on, because we're not going to give up on destroying the health care system for the American people."

 

Of course, here in Florida, we've heard Rick Scott refer to killing health care, Medicare, and Medicaid as "doing the right thing," we've heard House Speaker Will Weatherford refer to Medicaid for anyone other than his family as an infringment on "freedom," and we've heard that the Senate has another preferred phantom alternative plan to Medicaid no one has seen yet. Perhaps it's in a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow somewhere, under the watchful guard of unicorns.

No one is buying the Republican's excuses on health care anymore, but at least they did any doubters a favor by putting one of the least bright of the bunch out there to trust with their message. After the election, they said it wasn't their policies that were the party's problem, but rather their messaging?

Wrong. It's both. In fact, it's so bad, not even your so-called "brilliant and former rising star" VP candidate can pull it off.

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Marco Rubio: The Grift Continues....

Marco Rubio just doesn't know when to quit.

Fresh off of his Mitt Romney's so-called response to President Obama's State of the Union address, he's gone on to prove that he's clueless and hasn't learned a thing just like the rest of his party. While everyone was focusing on "guzzle-gate," it briefly distracted from the utter nonsense he was so obviously reading on his teleprompter. ("Note to self: Must. Not. Look. Away.... Gulp.")  He gave a speech that was obviously written ahead of time, as he attributed things to the President that he never actually said.

It seemed as if Rubio was living in a world of his own imagination, talking about a President that he dreamed up who made a speech only he could hear. It was filled with more of the same policies that cost his party the election, again, and it was painfully dishonest. (You're just adorable, GOP. Never change.)

When your entire career and what you're selling is based largely on fantasy, it tends to make one nervous, and thirsty. And, not one to pass up a money making opportunity, Rubio jumped right in with a $25 water bottle as a fundraiser for his Reclaim America PAC. Much of what the PAC spends goes to "political consultants." I would venture to say they're overpaid considering the results.

From there, he moved on from water to Kool-Aid, and did what he does best: Find a camera and keep selling that snake oil. Rubio never lets the facts get in the way of a good story or policy. (See his ever so humble home in the "working class neighborhood" he grew up in, which is currently up for sale for a scant $675,000.)

Some of his latest whoppers are that he really, REALLY supports things that he opposes. For instance, he really supports the Violence Against Women Act, but just couldn't vote for it because it shifted funds from abuse to rape. (Not once, but twice.) I guess "rape" isn't violence in his mind?

His heart goes out to the families of victims of gun violence like the children at Sandy Hook Elementary, but he just can't support any new changes to gun laws. Sorry. He's standing with Wayne LaPierre on that one, which is basically laws don't work, why bother? He's heart broken, and yet not enough to even try doing anything to prevent more children from getting massacred. (You can see more of his ridiculous and absurd excuses for doing nothing in the video below.)

He loves student loans, which he benefited from, but he just can't support them for others.

Feels bad for Hurricane Sandy victims, but aid or relief to him is really just "pork." Sorry, you're on your own.

Loves Social Security and Medicare, his parents benefited from them, but he's ever so sorry, he just can't allow anyone else to.

He's working on an immigration plan that no one has seen for the two years he's been talking about it, but he's already said there are reasons why he might vote no it it doesn't meet his criteria. In other words, he's trying to play both sides of the fence, as it were.

Finally, there was this whopper on minimum wage, which would be great, but to remain consistent, naturally he's against that too:

“I support people making more than $9. I want people to make as much as they can. I don’t think a minimum wage law works,” Rubio told Charlie Rose. ”We all support — I certainly do — having more taxpayers, meaning more people who are employed. And I want people to make a lot more than $9 — $9 is not enough. The problem is you can’t do that by mandating it in the minimum wage laws. Minimum wage laws have never worked in terms of having the middle class attain more prosperity.” What works, he said, is helping the private sector grow." 

Makes you wonder, does Marco Rubio understand what minimum wage means?

Yes, he'd love to be able to pass a bill so that people could earn a living wage and somehow scratch their way out of poverty, but sorry. Raising the minimum wage, much like gun laws, just wouldn't work. So says Marco.

Hard to imagine that his plan that everyone will pay attention to what he says, rather than what he actually does. He's got to keep that up for a few more years, it's a long time until the next election, and from what we saw the other night, he's already starting to sweat under pressure.

Cheers, Marco!

  

 

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RNC Day Two: Debacle-Fest

Florida, Florida, Florida

(Photo: Beach Peanuts)

The first full day of the RNC has come and gone, and I say good riddance. It was the day the gloves came off, so to speak, and it was also a day filled with weirdness.

It also marked the day where Republicans made it official: The nomination process was completed and they are now stuck with Mitt Romney for the duration. While most accepted their nominee, not everyone was happy. Due to a rule change, Ron Paul supporters, and some Tea Party members caused a bit of a stir.

In other business, the Party unveiled their official platform. Earlier in the week parts of it were leaked and there was a lot of talk about the abortion plank. Now it's official, the platform bans all abortions along with gay marriage. Also included: Voter ID, reforms Medicare and Medicaid, and of

Mitt's Manifesto (Photo: Beach Peanuts)

course, it extends the Bush tax cuts. I've only scanned through my copy of the 50 page platform that reads more like something Republicans like to pretend President Obama would propose: A plan to transform the government and our lives. A book of draconian policies to be sure, which I'll get to later on.

 

It was also a day of endless speeches we've heard before, and while it was supposed to be a day for Republicans to "embrace" their nominee, his name was barely mentioned by many from the evening session. One in particular: Chris Christie, who almost seemed to be practicing for his own nomination rather than Romney's, something not lost by Mitt who looked less than happy with Christie's "performance." At one point Ann Romney stood up to applaud, trying to get Mitt to stand with her. Romney wouldn't budge.

Ouch.

Finally, this was the night for Ann's speech, billed by pundits as a chance to humanize her husband while trying to convince women, again, that Mitt's really the guy they want in the Oval, and has no interest in policing their ovum. Kind of hard to square that on the same day you reinforce your War On Women via that 50 page book.

Ann's was an odd speech too, where she did her best impression of Oprah just chattin' with the ladies ("I love you guys!") and trying to convince women she's just like you. (And who among us doesn't have to read your child's name off of a TelePrompTer, am I right?) Then she suddenly transformed herself from a cloying cheerleader into the angry lady of "You People" fame, you who just might discover how much extra you'll pay in taxes so she and Mitt can pay less. After all, they're the chosen ones and it's their turn for Pete's sake!

All this, along with the lies, distortions, and imagination of people like Ted Cruz and Gov. Nikki Haley, to the righteous indignation of Rick Santorum.

The "fun" begins all over again at 7:00 pm tomorrow.

It's going to be a long week.

The Facts On Medicare

 

Fact Check: Romney-Ryan Plan Will End Medicare

Because the plan to end Medicare as we know it by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan is so unpopular, they're trying to confuse the issue and walk back their claims.

Romney has endorsed the Ryan budget which would end Medicare, and has said “I’m pleased to support the position of getting rid of every piece of Obamacare – including the cuts to Medicare which are used to pay for Obamacare.”

Those "cuts" he wants to get rid of don't restrict benefits in any way, but rather cut back on fraud and abuse. However, the same cuts that Ryan and Romney propose WILL cut benefits.

What the Romney-Ryan plan will do:

·         Turn Medicare into a voucher program that would leave seniors paying thousands of dollars more each year.
·         Slash funding for Medicaid so that 19 million people lose coverage – including seniors in nursing homes, low-income children, and pregnant women in need of prenatal care.
·         Cut investments in the middle-class that could cut 200,000 kids a year from Head Start and reduce Pell Grants for 10 million students.

Don't be fooled, know the facts.

 

GOP Poised To Lose Florida

Mitt Romney With Conservative's Presidential VP Pick Paul Ryan

With the upcoming Republican National Convention being held in Tampa, the party is dreaming of turning the state back to red as far as the Presidential election is concerned. In 2008 Florida went with Barack Obama. But will Florida turn that around and go for Mitt Romney in 2012?

Maybe. Then again, maybe not so fast.

One might assume that by hosting the convention, it could lead to a bump in votes for the Republicans, but that won't necessarily be the case if history repeats itself.

On July 31, PPP polling showed this:

If the candidates for President this year were
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt
Romney, who would you vote for?

Barack Obama................................................ 48%
Mitt Romney.................................................... 47%
Undecided....................................................... 5%

This was, of course, before Romney announced his running mate Paul Ryan. I'll get back to that in a moment.

Today The Tampa Tribune asked how likely it would be that Floridians would embrace the candidate it propels into the race by hosting his nomination, and the results may surprise you.

History, revealed through a study by political scientist David Schultz of Hamline University in Minnesota suggests the answer is no.

Hamline reviewed post-World War II Presidential elections and has concluded that a major party convention has little impact on a states leanings.

He found that in 32 national conventions since 1948, there have been only five examples of a state flipping it's vote toward the party of a convention host-for example, Republican-leaning Colorado going for Obama after the Democrats held their convention in Denver in 2008.

However, there were another five examples of the exact opposite happening - states hosting a "friendly" political convention and then flipping to the opposite party. THat was the case in New York in 1980, when Manhattan hosted the Democrats - and the state went for Ronald Reagan.

"For the most part, it's a wash," Schultz said. "There seems to be no evidence of a convention bump whatsoever."

Of the 32 conventions, Schultz looked at, there was no change in how the host state leaned in 22 of those meetings.

Further, the Tribune notes things that could affect the race this year in Florida, which include the selection of a Vice Presidential nominee, the Presidential debates, and those political issues that get big play between now and November.

Those factors just got more interesting with Saturday's announcement that Mitt Romney has chosen Paul Ryan as his running mate. Much more interesting.

How will voters in Florida feel about Paul Ryan? Well, there are a lot of factors they may want to take a long hard look at before the election, because the choices between Obama-Biden and Romney-Ryan could not be more stark and voters will benefit from paying close attention and educating themselves about what the real impact the Ryan choice could have on them. Romney has already shown himself to be "loose with the truth" to put it mildly, and this will only get worse. On the day of his announcement alone, he already flip-flopped on his previously eager endorsement of Ryan's toxic budget. That seems an odd stance considering he just picked that budget's author as a running mate. It's pretty hard to believe he'll run away from that budget now, but he's asking voters to wait until after the election to find out.

Voters need to be able to sift through the lies that will be thrown their way, because this is the most radical the right has gone for a VP nomination in the history of this country.

Some things to consider about Paul Ryan are these:

• Budget Axe and Tax Cuts For Millionaires: The Paul Ryan budget is toxic and the math doesn't add up. Ryan, along with Romney, supports trillions in budget killing tax cuts for millionaires that will have to come from somewhere. That means tax hikes for the middle class, cuts to education and investments. These deep cuts for the wealthy, would weaken the recovery even more and cost the economy jobs. Romney and Ryan are both very rich men. Landing in the White House is the sweet spot for enriching themselves with more of those tax breaks at the expense of the middle class and seniors. There's a very good reason that Romney doesn't want voters to see his tax returns, and this is one of them. How many would vote for him if it meant they had to pay his share of taxes? Tax cuts for the wealthy means gutting other programs critical to middle class security like Pell Grants for students, grants for medical and scientific research, and cutting clean energy investments by 19%.
• Women's Health Meets the Stone Age: While Romney may claim he's "severly conservative" (at least, the last we heard) Paul Ryan is the real deal. He's about as "severly" conservative as it gets. Ryan cosponsored a bill that could ban in-vitro fertilization, as well as many common forms of birth control, including the pill. It could also ban all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest. He supported letting states prosecute women who have abortions and doctors who perform them.
• Equal Pay For Women? How Quaint: Ryan voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps women fight for equal pay for equal work.
• Supports Gay Discrimination: Ryan voted against repealing the discriminatory policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and supports writing discrimination into the Constitution by amending it to ban gay marriage.
• Medicare and Social Security? Gone: That leaves us with the big issues among Florida's huge percentage of voters who are 50 and over: Medicare, Social Security, and health care. Paul Ryan's main objective has been, and will be to end Medicare as we know it, turning it into a voucher program which would increase seniors’ health costs by $6,350 a year. Ryan has also proposed a plan that would have privatized Social Security, subjecting seniors’ retirement security to the whims of the stock market, something even Bush couldn't get. After the crash of 2008, the huge swing to the right in Congress combined with big donors on Wall Street make it a near certainty that the second time could well be the charm.
• Say Goodbye To Your Health Care Too: Last, but by no means least, both Romney and Ryan have vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or as they call it "ObamaCare." Voters are already seeing the advantages from what's been implemented so far, like lower costs for seniors and preventive health care for women. Add to that the Romney claim of the phantom "War on Religion" which is just another way of saying he'll block contraception for women. He's also said he'll end funding of Planned Parenthood which also provides so much preventive care for women.

Swing states will of course be a big issue in this year's election, and Florida already has a few things the GOP hope will swing it back to them. The 2000 election that led to the mess we're in with the Supreme Court handing the election to George W. Bush is no longer a distant memory, if it ever was.

In 2010, Florida caused collective whiplash across the country by handing the state over to a millionaire businessman best known for his company's history with Medicare fraud. He spent millions of his own to in effect "buy" the office. All this in a state with a large senior population. Many foresaw disaster, and as predicted, that disaster is already well under way, and we're barely two years out. (Forget governing, Scott's already raising money and campaigning for 2014 and has been for quite some time.) Needless to say people are hurting under Scott, and buyer's remorse is raw and palatable. Scott has been largely shunned even among the GOP.

Florida went to President Obama in 2008, and Republicans here are well aware of that, which brings us to Scott's voter purge. Recently the former chair of the Republican Party in Florida told of meetings where voter suppression, mainly against minorities, was openly discussed. Just this past Friday he said that Rick Scott and Republicans are using "voter fraud" as a marketing tool to suppress the minority vote, because they want to "make sure that what happened in 2008 never happens again." This is a surprise to no one, but Scott and the GOP have recently shown they'll do anything to make sure this happens. For that reason, voting is more important now than ever before.

What seemed to be a swing state just days ago may no longer be. While Romney may have been just a less than ideal candidate for many in the Republican Party, he's turned into a nightmare for Floridians by picking Paul Ryan.

For those already living a nightmare of their own with Rick Scott, what are the chances they'll take the risk of getting burned a second time over?

The GOP in Florida may have won the battle with Rick Scott, and the limelight with the convention in Tampa, only to lose the war in November.

(Screen shot from MSNBC)

Pam Bondi Is Confident And Thrilled That The Supreme Court May Take These Health Care Benefits Away From You Tomorrow

Head Cheerleader For The Real Death Panel

Tomorrow the Supreme Court will announce their ruling on the Affordable Care Act, which Florida's Attorney General Pam Bondi hopes will be thrown out entirely, and says she's confident will happen. Bondi based her belief on the number of hours the Supreme Court spent on testimony and the questions asked (Not to mention the font size used in the bill to make it so long!), and she spoke about it with utter glee (see video) Monday on FOX-GOP-TV:

“The main questions that they asked made me feel very confident that they saw our point of view, that they took this very seriously and that they realized this would be the greatest over reach of federal power in our entire history if this act is upheld," the attorney general said.

When asked how the Supreme Court would rule -- whether it would uphold all, part or none of the "Obamacare" law -- Bondi predicted the states would come out on top.

"We're very confident that they're going to rule in our favor," she said.
The states are challenging the "individual mandate" in the law requiring adults to purchase insurance or pay a penalty. If the court strikes down the mandate, Bondi said, the rest of the law should be invalidated too. "If the mandate falls then the entire health care act falls."

Actually, no. If the mandate falls that doesn't mean the entire thing falls, but Bondi didn't argue before the court, she hired other attorneys at our expense to do that. She was just an observer but quick to get in front of the cameras to take credit for it.

Regardless, if the ACA is thrown out, which Bondi clearly hopes it will be, Floridians stand to lose a lot, while insurance companies will be free to go back to denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, bumping children off their parents' insurance, and naming their price, making insurance unaffordable and out of reach for many. It could also turn already expanded Medicaid coverage into a nightmare. Florida would see more than 500,000 people lose access to Medicaid or subsidized private insurance.

No matter. This is what Bondi and Republicans want, and they have absolutely no plans of their own to do anything to change the health care nightmare in this country.

These are immediate benefits you stand to lose in Florida:

Seniors:

Closing the Medicare Part D donut hole

Free preventive services for seniors

Coverage Expansions:

Affordable insurance for uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions

Small business tax credits

Extending coverage to young adults

Support for health coverage for early retirees

New Medicaid options for States

Stronger Consumer Protections:

New consumer protections in the insurance market when families renew or purchase coverage on or after September 23, 2010:

• Insurance companies will no longer be able to place lifetime limits on the coverage they provide, ensuring that the 8.8 million residents with private insurance coverage never have to worry about their coverage running out and facing catastrophic out-of-pocket costs.
• Insurance companies will be banned from dropping people from coverage when they get sick just because of a mistake in their paperwork, protecting the 1 million individuals who purchase insurance in the individual market from dishonest insurance practices.
• Insurance companies will not be able to exclude children from coverage because of a pre-existing condition, giving parents across Florida peace of mind.
• Insurance plans’ use of annual limits will be tightly regulated to ensure access to needed care. This will protect the 7.7 million residents of Florida with health insurance from their employer, along with anyone who signs up for a new insurance plan in Florida.
• Health insurers offering new plans will have to develop an appeals process to make it easy for enrollees to dispute the denial of a medical claim.
• Consumers in new plans will have coverage for recommended preventive services – like colon cancer screening, mammograms, immunizations, and well-baby and well-child care – without having to pay a co-pay, coinsurance, or deductible.

Improved Access to Care:

Patients’ choice of doctors

Strengthening community health centers

More doctors where people need them

Read more details on these benefits here.

If the Affordable Care Act is thrown out, Think Progress compiled this list of ten things you will miss about "ObamaCare":

1) Access to health insurance for 30 million Americans and lower premiums.

2) The ability of businesses and individuals to purchase comprehensive coverage from a regulated marketplace.

3) Insurers’ inability to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions.

4) Tax credits for small businesses that offer insurance.

5) Assistance for businesses that provide health benefits to early retirees.

6) Affordable health care for lower-income Americans.

7) Investments in women’s health.

8) Young adults’ ability to stay on their parents’ health care plans.

9) Discounts for seniors on brand-name drugs.

10) Temporary coverage for the sickest Americans.

See more details on each over at Think Progress.

These are the real benefits of "ObamaCare" that insurance companies, Pam Bondi, Rick Scott, Mitt Romney, Republicans and their generous donors, are fighting so hard to take away from you. (Never mind that Mitt Romney's health care plan for Massachusetts was similar while he was governor there. He now feels you have no right to this, and sees affordable health care, and health care in general as an "entitlement," something Bondi conveniently doesn't mention in her argument.)

Given that the Supreme Court has become a radical, partisan court favoring right wing ideologies, it's likely they will succeed.

Their decision could literally kill people, and it appears that Pam Bondi is absolutely giddy about it.

Photo: From The Florida Attorney General's Office

Mitt Romney's Deep Medicare Cuts Would Hurt Florida Seniors

Mitt Romney's Medicare plan is similar to the Ryan plan, but with even deeper cuts. The Ryan plan would end Medicare as we know it and replace it with a "voucher," (read: Coupon) leaving seniors to fend for themselves, shopping around for health insurance with that yet to be determined voucher. Since Romney plans to repeal "Obamacare" that would mean no more protection from pre-existing conditions. For a senior, that would mean having to search all over again for insurance that would even cover them, period. (Romney has yet to divulge many specifics, but for more on what his proposed budget cuts would require, you can take a look here.) 

Mitt Romney's Medicare plan would basically mean: You're on your own. 

 

 

Word Salad à la Rubio

Here is Marco Rubio's speech at the Reagan Library Tuesday night below, in a nutshell.

Three words that don't stand out but were far from obscured in his speech?

"Social Security, Medicare and weakened."

In that Social Security and Medicare are working out great for Momma Rubio, but the rest of you? Forget about it. They only make you weak, so catch up on your own!

"Now can I have my entitlement VP spot on the 2012 ticket please?"

Are Republicans Manipulating Redistricting Software To Thwart Voters Will?

Florida Republicans have aggressively tried to thwart the will of Florida voters ever since Fair Districts Amendments 5 & 6 were passed. Having failed previous attempts  they're at it again and now it appears they may be manipulating redistricitng software:

Will the GOP leadership now abide by the voter's will and draw legislative districts that comply with the Fair Districts guidelines?

Apparently not, based upon an analysis of the My District Builder software used by the Republican legislative staff assisting to draw Florida's proposed districts. A technical audit performed by the Palm Beach County Democratic Executive Committee found the My District Builder software mysteriously deleted an entire section on compactness and geo spatial analysis. The missing section was designed to calculate ratios of compactness and make an overall scoring of compliance with the redistricting requirements under Amendment 5. The missing geo spatial analysis would give a mathematical rating in determining whether the new districts were drawn not to favor or disfavor incumbents or a political party and be compact, as equal in population as feasible, making use of existing city, county and geographical boundaries.

Palm Beach County DEC Chair Mark Alan Siegel has raised legitimate questions regarding why the speaker's office had ordered the removal of the compactness analysis. Those questions have not been answered. Although contained in the Legislature's initial release of the My District Builder software, the compactness and geo spatial analysis components were deleted by House Redistricting Committee staff soon after they appeared.

At public hearings on redistricting supposedly designed to allow voter input, committee members aren't including maps of any kind, and they have been "instructed" not to make any comments on any details in the process. 

"Public hearings?" Not so much. At this point, one wonders why they'll conduct these meetings at all, and at tax payers expense. Voters want fair districts, yet the Republican legislators won't even allow a fair fight.

By removing the compactness and geospatial analysis from the software, new district lines drawn on party or incumbent lines are not as detectable without the geo spatial analysis numerical rating.

When the joint legislative redistricting public hearings come to your neighborhood this summer, it would be informative to get an answer as to why the geo spatial analysis section was removed by the legislative leadership. Unfortunately, the committee members have already been instructed not to comment on any aspect of the process. To the detriment of the public, the Redistricting Committee members will not bring with them any proposed plans for public comment.

The Legislature's current redistricting software, without the compactness statistical component, flaws the process and stacks the deck in favor of the incumbent Republican leadership. Florida voters will ultimately have to rely upon the state Supreme Court to generate a fair redistricting plan in order to get a fair deal.

If there's anyone out there who doubts the Republicans want to maintain power in Florida and expand that power, these so-called "public hearings" should certainly convince them otherwise. Voters attending these hearings should be allowed to ask questions and get fair answers. It appears trying to do so would be a waste of time, but voters need to be vocal and demand it.

This kind of manipulation is just one tactic at thwarting the will of the voters in our state. The legislature also enacted tougher voter restrictions this past session. Make no mistake, this is intended to act as a vote suppression effort because Republicans are aware of the changing tide in their favorability with voters, and it's not just happening in Florida.

Witness what's been happening in Wisconsin with union busting tactics and now recall elections where "fake" Democrats ran, and lost, against real Republicans, and the fight in Wisconsin isn't over by any means.

Republicans are desperate to keep control, now to the point of causing a financial meltdown not just to the country but worldwide, and why? Because they want to make President Obama a one term President. To do anything less would "harm the Republican brand" to quote Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who also said this:

The time has come for a balanced budget amendment that forces Washington to balance its books. If these debt negotiations have convinced us of anything, it’s that we can’t leave it to politicians in Washington to make the difficult decisions that they need to get our fiscal house in order. The balanced budget amendment will do that for them. Now is the moment. No more games. No more gimmicks. The Constitution must be amended to keep the government in check. We’ve tried persuasion. We’ve tried negotiations. We’re tried elections. Nothing has worked.

That's right, the Senate Minority Leader wants to amend the constitution because elections haven't worked in the Republican's favor. Also, by the way, that constitutional amendment, which includes the ‘cut, cap and balance’ plan would also end Medicare. (Where would they ever get the idea for a plan like this, one might wonder?)

Republicans have no interest in accountability for the damage they have done to this country, and but for themselves and the top 1 or 2% of the richest in America, and their corporate bosses, they have no interest in the consequences for the rest of us. As Mitch McConnell says, it's about the Republican brand. Nothing more.

Republicans in Florida and nationwide want power back and they'll bring the country to the brink if they have to in order to get there. What better place to start than thwarting the will of voters who are both witness and hostage to the revenge of the Republicans they dared not to put in the White House in 2008?

Voter suppression in the states. Start from the bottom up.