Beach Peanuts

Looks Like Rick Scott May Face A Republican Challenge In 2014 After All?

In spite of Rick Scott finally accepting Medicaid expansion in Florida, the Republican legislature has threatened not to implement it. If they don't, it may or may not matter as far as Scott's credibility with the Tea Party is concerned, but as of yesterday, it didn't look like they'll be so forgiving.

Today, State House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said this to the National Review Online:

“Without the legislature passing the exchange and expanding, we don’t expand. It’s completely incumbent on the legislature.”

Also, word comes today that Weatherford will now be a featured speaker at CPAC 2013:

State House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, has been recognized by the American Conservative Union as one of nine young “rising elected leaders” nationwide who will have speaking slots at the Conservative Political Action Conference in March.]

[Weatherford was chosen along with eight other state legislators from around the nation who will appear at the same podium as top speakers including former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio at the Washington event.

Mitt Romney will end his post-election withdrawal from the public spotlight with a speaking spot.

Other speakers will include some of the most controversial figures from conservative politics—Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, NRA President Wayne LaPierre, and former U.S. Rep. Allen West of Florida.

But who's not on the speaker's list this year?

Rick Scott.

I guess he's no longer crazy enough for prime time.

Now he may no longer be far enough to the right to avoid a Republican-Tea Party challenge in the 2014 election, something that no one was saying just weeks ago.

How times change when one is actually "forced" to do the right thing.

Yesterday after his Medicaid press conference, others were scrambling on Twitter to voice their opinions and possibly shore up Tea Party cred besides Weatherford. 

Pam Bondi said this:

Concerned about consequences of greater fed control over healthcare, a major expansion of govt. At least FL lawsuit gave each state a choice. 

Adam Putnam said this:

It’s extremely disappointing to learn that Florida may take on billions in additional costs to taxpayers by expanding Medicaid coverage.

The expansion of Medicaid in FL does not create jobs or strengthen our infrastructure. And it will cost Florida $5B over the next 10 years.

Both have been mentioned in the past as possible candidates "if" anyone were to challenge Scott, and now Weatherford is a new "rising star" in the conservative clown car?

My, my. Something tells me this could get ugly....

Investigate Thyself: Rick Scott's Vicious Circle Of Incompetence

It's just another week in Florida where every day dawns with a new disaster, thanks to Rick Scott. Lately we've been hit with more than our share, which makes it hard to keep up.

(Photo by DonkeyHotey)

First, let's start with a short review on how Scott began his quest to destroy Florida, shall we? 

The man who thought he was running against Obama rather than other gubernatorial candidates immediately launched his War On The President, and subsequently his War on Floridians who want health care, which he began while privately fighting against the health care act negotiations and continued long after he was elected and the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare" was passed and signed into law. He claims he's willing to comply with the law now that he has little choice, (big of him) while political hack Attorney General Pam Bondi pretends that Supreme Court decisions she once crowed about mean nothing if she loses them. (Apparently law, and her job description confuses her.)

While losing the health care battle, Scott turned away stimulus money that Florida was due to get for it's planned high speed rail project, like every other modern metropolitan area in the world, because OBAMA! The faux-fiscal Scott claimed it would cost Floridians way too much money, when in fact, after the money went elsewhere, studies showed it would have made a nice profit. Killing a plan that was years in the making also cost the state lots of jobs, which the "Jobs Governor" ignored, also because, again OBAMA! Nope. Governor Koch Scott chose to let Floridians choke on gas fumes while spending the better part of their days in gridlock, while planning to charge them for their trouble in the future by turning them into toll roads. You're welcome.

Those were just the beginning, and a warm up for the future. While the Captain of the Titanic has managed to nick a few smaller icebergs, he's still able to maintain on course aiming for the big one that says 2014 on it. He still has two years to go, and Floridians being unable to impeach him, it's anyone's guess what will be left of Florida by then.

Which brings us to November of this year when Scott and his fellow Republicans did their level best to keep people from voting in the 2012 election, because that was their only feeble chance to help defeat President Obama. Like everything else, Scott failed at this too, but not without mucking up the election process and making the pregnant, hanging, and other various chad species from the 2000 election debacle seem minor by comparison. Unfortunately for Scott and the GOP, voters were so determined to thwart a stolen election that they stayed in line for hours and voted even long after the election was called for Obama. Scott has well earned his spot on the Worst Governors In History list and Floridians showed him those polls aren’t “skewed.”

Scott immediately feigned surprise when the election proved disastrous and pretended he had no clue as to why it did. After officials finally finished counting the votes days later, Scott said he would “sit down with” his Secretary Of State “to look at how we can improve.”

That went down about as well as Scott’s implied ignorance when SOS Ken Detzner doubled down on Scott’s laughable excuse and added several of his own, which you can see here. Under the pretense that Scott will have Detzner “investigate” himself to search for the mysteries behind the voting mess, which everyone already knows to be anything BUT a mystery. It was in fact HB 1355, the 2011 election law Republicans in the legislature pushed through that paved the way for voter suppression. After Democrats and advocates didn't wait around as Scott and Detzner were "pondering" what could have possibly gone wrong, they called for a investigation by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Meanwhile, Keystone Election Cop Detzner has now "dispatched a team of experts" to Miami-Dade to "investigate" which will probably result in pointing the finger at local election officials rather than directly back at himself, Scott, and the responsible lawmakers.

You see, that's how it works here in Florida. It's a pattern.

1. The legislature takes something that's fixed, pens and passes a law to break it.

2. It breaks as expected, causing a mess that falls like dominoes.

3. Scott pretends he's shocked at the result, stomps his feet and demands to know what caused it.

4. Scott appoints a task force composed of the likely suspects to investigate themselves.

5. Investigation shows nothing went wrong, and that he and his GOP buddies are just plain awesome.  

6. Taxpayers pay the price of the bad law, while also footing the bill for the "task force."

Sound familiar? Well, it should. It happened with a Scott appointed Stand Your Ground task force, which just weeks ago found little "wrong" with the law and reaffirmed it to be a great law, and "fine as it is." On that task force was the man who wrote the law, with lots of help from ALEC, Dennis Baxley. (Baxley also has his hands in the election law cookie jar, among others, as well.)

Recall also when a task force was appointed to investigate abuse, neglect and deaths in Florida's assisted living facilities in 2011? That investigation, conducted by some who were in the ALF industry themselves found that in spite of "burns, beatings and deaths" in ALF's, what was really needed was less transparency and regulation. In a quote from an advocate on the task force's findings:

“[Providers] are probably doing cartwheels right now,” said Brian Lee, a resident advocate and director of Families for Better Care.

Those are merely recent examples. Even when there's no task force involved, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to spot blatant incompetence resulting from policies and actions from Scott. He works on the behalf of business and special interests, and often appoints to key positions, and then loses, individuals who never should have gotten the job in the first place. Down here we just call that "Tuesday."

No kidding.

Today the most recent example of this? Scott's "jobs czar," the executive director of Scott's Department of Economic Opportunity was forced to resign after only eight months on the job. (The second one to resign amid contention.) The reason for the resignation of Hunting Deutsch, whose agency also distributes unemployment benefits to the jobless in Florida? Well, it seems he was himself collecting unemployment benefits for 91 weeks over a two-year period from 2009 to 2011 when he was traveling in Europe with his wife. 

Like I said, it's Tuesday.

Of course, as is often the case, when controversy erupts it's often hard to find the Governor. He either won't comment, or he's not around. So today, on the day when the director of his Department of Economic Opportunity resigns, where is Scott? He's MIA on a so-called three-day "trade mission" to Colombia to bolster economic development with Latin America.

Of course. Where else would he be?

And the vicious circle continues......

ALEC On The Ballot: ALEC's Influence In Florida Amendments

How About ALEC, The Koch Brothers, The Florida Legislature And More?

Eleven constitutional amendments appear on Florida's ballot in the upcoming election, and many groups including Progress Florida and the League of Women Voters of Florida, along with several newspapers, are urging voters to "just say no" to all of them, and for good reason.

Now there may be more reason for voter skepticism. Many of those amendments placed on the ballot by the Florida Legislature appear to have come directly from ALEC. (The American Legislative Exchange Council.)

From The Tampa Tribune:

Critics suggest several of the high-profile amendments Floridians will consider may have come directly from the American Legislative Exchange Council, or at least from its playbook.

May have come? One thing the Tribune article doesn't mention is a well publicized incident involving Florida Republican Rep. Rachel Burgin. Burgin introduced a bill in 2011 that would reduce taxes for corporations which she got from ALEC. Normally legislators will rewrite parts of the bills, but not Burgin. Nope. She cut and pasted her bill, written by the Tax Foundation, exactly as it was given to her by the ALEC Tax and Fiscal Policy task force.

Burgin wasn't nearly as clever as she thought she was, because she pasted the boilerplate ALEC language right into the bill. You can see a copy of that brilliant piece of "editing" by Burgin here. Realizing her mistake the next day, she quickly withdrew the bill and re-introduced it a day later without the language. Sadly for Burgin, not quickly enough.

More from The Tribune:

The council, known as ALEC, bills itself as a nonpartisan membership association for state lawmakers who share a common belief in limited government, free markets, federalism and individual liberty.

"I hate to be cynical, but when you start looking into these things, you start to see who's pulling the strings behind the scenes," said Susan Smith, head of the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida. "I don't think voters are going to like this."

The American Legislative Exchange Council, the corporate funded group who work with lobbyists and conservative politicians to write "model legislation" that legislators then bring home to their states and pass into law, are partially funded by the Koch brothers.

The article goes on to quote Lisa Graves, executive director of Center for Media Democracy, the watchdog group which has followed ALEC for years. Graves says that Amendment 1 and Amendment 3 in particular "are spawn of the corporate bill mill known as ALEC." Amendment 1 would block parts of the Affordable Care Act, and 3 imposes a state spending cap on the Legislature. Smith agrees, and says additionally that Amendments 5, 6, and 8 also appear to have come from ALEC model legislation:

Amendment 5, which would give the Legislature more power over the courts; Amendment 6, which would prohibit public funding of abortions and erase privacy rights that courts have used to overturn abortion restrictions; and Amendment 8, which would repeal a ban on public funding of religious groups.

"We just don't think it's fair for outside corporate interests to come in and have so much power in our state government," Smith said.

The Tribune article quotes Kaitlyn Buss, a spokeswoman for ALEC, saying if the legislation resembles ALEC model bills, they merely provide "policy suggestions" and says if lawmakers introduced any of those bills, they have done so on their own initiative and they're in the best interest of their constituents.

Really? Not so fast. When the resolution for Amendment 1 was passed in 2011, ALEC boasted about it in a press release, claiming that it was a triumph over the Affordable Care Act's federal mandate.

In the Tribune article, some lawmakers claim they merely have "discussions" with ALEC, that this is just a conspiracy theory, and one claims he's never spoken to ALEC about this legislation. On that 2011 press release above:

That doesn't mean Florida's amendment is an ALEC product, said Mike Haridopolos, the outgoing state Senate president from Melbourne and a sponsor of Amendment 1.

"I've never spoken to anybody from ALEC about this," said Haridopolos, a Republican. "I don't know where people pull in stuff like this."

As to ALEC's boasts, he said, "I don't play he-said-she-said types of games. I'm just glad they support what we do. I don't think ALEC is a pariah, either," he said, adding that groups such as the National Conference of State Legislatures and Southern Republican Leadership Conference provide valuable exposure to other states' issues and solutions.

Dig a little deeper and there's plenty of evidence out there that there's a great deal more ALEC influence on them than they let on.

Haridopolos says ALEC is no "pariah," and that he doesn't "know where people pull stuff like this?" Really?

How about here, for starters, when Haridopolos voiced his support of the Repeal Amendment at a press conference at the ALEC conference in Washington DC on Nov. 30 2010, when they  announced the support of 10 States who were currently filing for the Repeal Amendment in their state legislatures? You can see the video of Haridopolos' ALEC press conference here, put out by the Repeal Amendment movement themselves.

The Repeal Amendment group's website lists Haridopolos as a supporter along with others like Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, members of Tea Party like Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), and FOX News contributors like Judge Andrew P. Napolitano. Also a sponsor, Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform. Americans For Tax Reform is the group that have been carpet-bombing the state of Florida the past few weeks with campaign fliers and ads targeting Obamacare, Medicare, and those containing misleading information on government spending in China, green jobs, high unemployment and outsourced jobs.

But Haridopolos has no idea where "people pull this stuff?"

As for Haridopolos' claim that ALEC is little more than a group that "supports what Florida legislators do," it's much more than that. The group Common Cause even asked Pam Bondi to investigate ALEC back in May of 2012. Still waiting on that investigation.

The Tribune article quotes another Florida lawmaker, Rep. Dennis Baxley, who sponsored Amendment 6 on abortion. Baxley agrees with Haridopolos' views, saying:

"The conspiracy theory goes on," said Rep. Dennis Baxley, an Ocala Republican.....

......"This whole concept of some kind of clandestine entity spreading these things throughout state legislatures …" he said, his voice trailing off. "These are membership-driven organizations, and we do have discussions. It makes sense for people to come together and share ideas. That's a good thing. ALEC isn't some bogeyman monster entity. It's 2,000 legislators coming together to talk about issues."

Conspiracy theory, Rep. Baxley? Bogeyman? It's neither of those, but it's a great deal more than just "legislators coming together to talk about issues" as Baxley claims. In addition to the abortion amendment, Baxley was recently featured in a CNN report on the Florida voter suppression and Rick Scott's voter purge. ALEC has been tied to election law legislation, influencing purges in both Florida and Texas, and voter ID legislation in other states.

Of course, Baxley is most famous for his legislation of the Florida Stand Your Ground gun law. The Ocala funeral home owner not only wrote the Stand Your Ground legislation, but he was also appointed to Governor Rick Scott's task force to investigate that law in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting. ALEC, along with the National Rifle Association, were behind the push for SYG legislation all across the country. After coming under pressure from civil rights groups, watchdog groups and media coverage, ALEC announced in April of 2012 that they were disbanding their own task force on the gun laws as well as the voter ID laws, but that was too little too late. The damage was already done.

As I wrote in August of 2011, during the ALEC annual meeting in New Orleans that year, Baxley admitted that that was his fourth or fifth time attending an ALEC event to Wisconsin State Rep. Mark Pocan, who attended the meeting and wrote about it for The Progressive. At the time, ALEC was still operating largely in the shadows, but in talking to Pocan, Baxley bragged about his gun law and working together with ALEC:

"It's a great place to share model legislation and a great place to learn what's going on in other parts of the country," said Baxley, who sponsored a major rewrite of Florida's election laws that's under challenge in court.

Baxley said his so-called 2005 castle doctrine bill, which allows people in Florida to use deadly force to defend themselves in their homes or cars, became a model for other states.

"A lot of ideas get shared and aired there," Baxley said. "It's a very collaborative process."

This hardly suggests a "conspiracy theory" as Baxley claims in the Tribune article.

But it's not just Baxley. During that same ALEC meeting in 2011, several other Florida lawmakers freely admitted collaborating with ALEC and more:

Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, said she will use district office money and possibly ALEC scholarship money to pay her registration fee. She's paying for her travel and hotel personally.

Rep. Jeanette Nunez, R-Miami, is covering conference expenses with campaign money, and will hold a campaign fundraiser today in New Orleans.

"Obviously there are going to be lobbyists there, and I figure it would be an easy place, if they have checks, to come by," Nunez said.

Rep. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, is at his first ALEC conference.

"I don't buy any legislation off the shelf," Brandes said. "We like to tweak it here and there and make it our own. But it's a good starting point to have legislation that's already been somewhat vetted."

Yet Haridopolos and Baxley would have you believe heavy influence from ALEC is nonsense?

The Amendments on the Florida ballot have ALEC footprints all over them, and voters need to take heed when they vote on them. With an unpopular governor who puts big corporations needs over those of Floridians at every turn, and a legislature that has been giving in to nearly everything he wants, it's no wonder they wrote the Amendments in a deceptive way.

The amendments include allowing religious organizations to use tax dollars to fund their own religious schools, allow politicians to interfere in women’s personal medical decisions, allow Tallahassee politicians to protect an unfair system that benefits large corporations at the expense of public schools, small businesses and working families, and one that gives politicians more power over our courts and is opposed by the people who know what works and doesn’t in our justice system - judges and the people that work in courthouses all across Florida.

Also on the ballot: "merit retention" for three Florida Supreme Court justices, in an attempt to politicize the courts by Republicans for not making decisions favorable to their agenda, and could allow Florida Governor Rick Scott to hand pick their replacements.

With all the corporate influence Florida is under as it is, the last thing we need is a partisan Supreme Court beholden to the man who acts as if he's the CEO of Florida, Inc.

Voters who aren't paying close attention this election may well be giving up rights they won't get back anytime soon in a state already controlled by an extreme group of Republicans.

Ann Romney Comes To Florida For A Shameless Breast Cancer Photo Op

Last week, Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan barged his way into an empty soup kitchen after it had already served dinner in order to "wash" dishes that were already clean for a shameless photo op. He wanted to appear as if he cared for the needy when in fact his and Mitt Romney's policies would actually be devastating to those in need.

Well, today in Orlando, it was Ann Romney's turn. She came briefly down off her high horse to mingle amongst the "you people" to pretend she and her husband care about women's health. Specifically breast cancer:

Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, joined the sea of pink bras, pink feather boas, pink socks and pink hats in Orlando on Saturday as she walked in support of breast cancer.

....Romney weaved through downtown for the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K.

The annual fundraising event — the largest breast-cancer walk in Florida — drew more than 40,000 participants Saturday, packing the streets around Lake Eola Park, near where the walk started and finished.

Romney posed for photos alongside Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, shown here in a photo Romney tweeted to her followers:

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer? What's Wrong With This Picture?

Notice anything unusual in this photo? I did right away. Normally when there's a breast cancer walk or similar fundraising event, those pink t-shirts the participants wear promote the effort in the battle against the disease. Call me crazy, but I don't see anything on the front of those t-shirts that mentions breast cancer. However, they do promote the effort that Ann Romney cares about most:

Getting her husband into the White House.

The shirts read: Team Romney, Romney-Ryan 2012.

I'm not the least bit surprised that Ann Romney would use breast cancer victims in a shameless photo op. (If those women pictured are survivors rather than Romney campaign staffers.) After all, that's the Romney family business: Self-promotion at others expense. Mitt Romney profits from outsourcing American workers jobs to China at the very same time he rails against that very thing. He recently used coal miners as a backdrop for a campaign ad while their boss forced them to take the day off without pay while claiming Obama was anti-coal. This from Romney, who also once said coal plants kill.

Well, here's something else that kills: breast cancer.

Ann Romney is perfectly aware of this. She's a breast cancer survivor with a family history of cancer:

“I lost my mother from ovarian cancer, I lost my grandmother from ovarian cancer, I lost my great-grandmother from breast cancer, so for me, you know, it’s been a long line of cancer,” Romney admitted. “Women that have dealt with cancer in their lives, and I unfortunately saw my grandmother die from ovarian and I took care [of] and loved my mother in her death, with her battle with ovarian cancer. So cancer is a serious business.”

Yes, cancer is serious business Ann. Dead serious. Especially to those women who will in fact die from the disease if Mitt Romney lands in the White House.

Ann Romney and Pam Bondi can pose for their "pretty in pink" "Team Romney" photo ops from now until election day, but that won't change the fact that both women are working harder than ever to keep women, poor and otherwise, from getting access to affordable health care that could prevent and treat diseases like breast cancer. I doubt that this fact came up in conversation while both women walked and chatted with survivors.

Pam Bondi has vowed to kill Obamacare ever since she campaigned for the office she now holds, and she tried to by hiring others to do the dirty work for her and fight it in the Supreme Court. Bondi was overjoyed at the thought of the court throwing out the Affordable Care Act, making those so-called "death panels" a reality for women who could no longer afford things like breast and ovarian cancer screenings and treatment. Lucky for us Bondi's effort failed, but she still got some nice photo-ops in Washington, and lots of PR as a leader in the Republican fight to do away with Obamacare, not to mention their War Against Women, for her trouble.

As for Ann Romney, what else would we expect, since she's frequently lectured to women in this country that they only care about the deficit and the economy, not women's health issues! Never crosses women's minds according to Ann.

That's something Ann would never take notice of unless she were in a swing state when the polls show that Mitt isn't popular with the ladies.

Time to bring in the Romney campaign's uterus whisperer so she can say "I love you women!" just like she did at the RNC. The fact that it's during a breast cancer walk is just icing on the cake for the man who is hell bent on convincing voters that even though he got a health care plan for Massachusetts when he was governor, now killing Obamacare on "day one" is really a good thing!  Just trust him! Would he lie to you?

You bet he would. Does it every day, and so will Ann. What does she care? She can afford the best health care money can buy, thanks to people like those in Freeport, Illinois whose jobs Bain just outsourced to China that she and Mitt stand to profit from. To those, and so many others who are now unemployed thanks to the Romney's and Bain, Ann Romney says "you're welcome!"

But even that's not enough, so Mitt is running for President, and he's coming for your access to health care now too, because, hey, his huge tax breaks won't pay for themselves!

So Ann will don that pink shirt and hang out with women who have breast cancer for her own political gain, knowing all along that if her husband wins, he'll make good on his promise to kill Obamacare.

She'll do it gladly, knowing that women who are poor and have nowhere else to turn except to Planned Parenthood for health care services and cancer screenings will likely just die when her husband gets rid of PP as promised.

She'll dress pretty in pink in an  Oscar de la Renta dress for breast cancer awareness month, while knowing that she can afford such a dress thanks to big tax breaks at the expense of those who may go bankrupt or worse because they got cancer and have no insurance or did have insurance, but it would barely cover them because the health care laws put in place by President Obama would be no more if Romney killed Obamacare.

She can pretend to be a real "fighter" for breast cancer awareness, this woman who recently snapped during a radio interview about mere criticism of her husband, saying: “Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring,” but she'll never know what it's like to fight cancer the way those who can't afford to do.

She doesn't know hard. Hard is fighting for your life while trying to feed your kids and keep your home if you have one. Worse, hard is knowing that if you're a mom just diagnosed with breast cancer, your daughters now have a pre-existing condition, which no insurance company would cover before Obamacare, and who now may face the same diagnosis in the future with no resources because their parents lost everything due to that illness if Obamacare ceases to exist in a Romney Administration.

You know, because it runs in the family, Ann, and like you said, cancer is serious business.

So you put on that pink breast cancer campaign t-shirt Ann, looking all pretty on the outside and smile for the cameras while playing the part of a human being who cares.

But deep down on the inside? That must be one ugly place to live.

 

Are Romney And The NFIB Also Instructing Florida Workers How To Vote?

In the past week or so we've heard of several instances where employees in large corporations have been strongly encouraged to vote for Mitt Romney instead of Barack Obama by their employers, who have "warned them of the consequences for them" should Romney lose the election. First it was Koch Industries, then Florida billionaire David Siegel, CEO of Westgate Resorts, followed by Arthur Allen, CEO of ASG Software Solutions.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a lobbying group for "small businesses," is the latest to push voting for Romney, but this time, businesses were instructed to vote for Romney, by Mitt Romey himself.

Back in June Romney addressed employers how to vote in an audio address posted on the NFIB website. In the address, Romney can be heard telling them how "bad for business" Obama's policies are, how it's perfectly legal for them to tell their employees how to vote, and provided them with the talking points to do so.

From In These Times: (Emphasis mine)

Romney was addressing  a group of self-described "small-business owners." Twenty-six minutes into the call, after making a lengthy case that President Obama's first term has been bad for business, Romney said:

I hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections. And whether you agree with me or you agree with President Obama, or whatever your political view, I hope, I hope you pass those along to your employees.

Nothing illegal about you talking to your employees about what you believe is best for the business, because I think that will figure into their election decision, their voting decision and of course doing that with your family and your kids as well.

I particularly think that our young kids--and when I say young, I mean college-age and high-school age--they need to understand that America runs on a strong and vibrant business [sic] ... and that we need more business growing and thriving in this country. They need to understand that what the president is doing by borrowing a trillion dollars more each year than what we spend is running up a credit card that they’re going to have to pay off and that their future is very much in jeopardy by virtue of the policies that the president is putting in place. So I need you to get out there and campaign.

You can listen to the audio here.

The NFIB is well known in Florida politics. I've written before how they were behind the push back against the Affordable Care Act when they joined the lawsuit started by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum as co-plaintiff in May of 2010, and they endorsed McCollum's replacement Pam Bondi, who continued to fight the ACA all the way to the Supreme Court.

Of course the NFIB are big fans of Florida Governor "Run-Florida-Like-A-Business" Rick Scott and they make no secret of that. Here's some of what they say about Scott on their website:

He’s [Scott] urged lawmakers to reform the state’s unemployment insurance system, demanded that government workers contribute to their own retirement benefits that are now funded solely by taxpayers and called for lawsuit reform. 

Your efforts to elect NFIB-supported pro-small-business candidates last year helped elect governors who are shaking things up in their state houses. We’ll soon share the progress being made by Alabama’s Robert Bentley, Maine’s Paul LePage, Michigan’s Rick Snyder, Pennsylvania’s Tom Corbett, South Carolina’s Nikki Haley, Tennessee’s Bill Haslam and Virginia’s Robert McDonnell. They’re also working to hang out “Open for Small Business” signs.

Also on that website is their list of candidates they've endorsed for the upcoming Florida House and Senate races, because their "priorities align with those of the small-business community, and we’re confident they will be effective allies to our members in the fight to create jobs and improve the economy." They also endorsed Florida U.S. Senate candidate Connie Mack IV in September, and have run ads in the state targeting the Senate race.

What are the chances that Florida businesses are following Mitt Romney's instructions to urge their employees to vote for him, in the best interest of their employer, rather than themselves?

Probably a pretty good chance, because during and since the ACA fight, the NFIB have been recipients of millions in funding from Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS, and from the Koch brothers group Americans For Prosperity. Employees who vote in favor of these groups and Romney, who vows to repeal the ACA, will make it so much easier for their bosses to cut costs like employee health care plans. The NFIB is also involved in fights against minimum wage, paid sick leave, and collective bargaining. They're anti-union and anti-regulation.

We've already seen the bully-businessman tactics of Mitt Romney on full display, especially in last night's debate. He's a man who is used to getting his way, and can get ugly when he doesn't. The Republican Party who didn't want him as a candidate in the beginning have certainly warmed to his no-core, ruthless, anything for profit policies since then.

Are Floridians also being pushed by their employers and the candidate himself to vote for Mitt Romney, or "face the consequences?"

That's aside from the consequences of facing a future of working longer hours for less pay, no paid sick leave, no unions, and no benefits like health care, or losing their job entirely when it's outsourced, should Romney win?

As Romney himself would say: "Want to make a $10,000 bet" that they are?

RNC Schedule For Thursday, August 30

It was day two of the RNC in Tampa, and things took a bit of an ugly turn on Tuesday night.

There was a bit of a rift in their own party ranks when the fears that Ron Paul supporters might cause trouble came true. Even though there was a video tribute of sorts to Paul used to placate them, (Paul refuses to endorse Romney) the Paulites staged a walkout and were also a bit angered when Rand Paul showed his true hypocrisy colors when he threw his support behind Mitt Romney.

Other low lights: A film tribute to both Bush 41 and 43, Rand Paul declared "ObamaCare" unconstitutional in spite of the Supreme Court ruling otherwise, (Why does he hate the Constitution?) John McCain blamed President Obama for defense cuts, instead of himself and Congress, (There's a shock.) Mike Huckabee, classy as always "man of God" attacked Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Tim Pawlenty proved again he has all the charisma of a....I'm sorry, I nodded off. Where was I? Oh yes, Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty made several of what appeared to be jokes. (They weren't funny.) Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi made a fool of herself in an audience participation health care bashing speech. It didn't go well. (All was not lost though, she did prove that she can read a teleprompter. All three of them.)

Last and least, VP nominee Paul Ryan proved himself once again to be an adept liar, and clueless on most things he claims to be an expert at.

They all blamed everything on Obama, of course, and they all sucked it up and pretended to like Mitt Romney.

Tomorrow several speakers from Florida are scheduled, including the Charlie Sheen of the Sunshine State, Connie Mack IV, who will probably say "Lockstep Liberal" a lot (It's his favorite phrase.) and engage in lots of fake outrage over pretty much anything the President has done, and several things he hasn't done that Mack has dreamed up.

In other words, it's Thursday with the GOP.

7:00 p.m.

Convention convenes

 

Call to order

 

Introduction of Colors US Central Command Joint Forces Color Guard Team

 

Pledge of Allegiance by Dylan Nonaka

 

National Anthem sung by SEVEN

 

Invocation by Ken and Priscilla Hutchins

 

Remarks by U.S. Rep. Connie Mack (FL)

 

Reagan Legacy Video

 

Remarks by Newt and Callista Gingrich

 

Remarks by Craig Romney

8:00 p.m.

Remarks by Governor former Jeb Bush (FL)

 

Remarks by Bob White, chairman of Romney for President campaign

 

Remarks by Grant Bennett

 

Remarks by Tom Stemberg

9:00 p.m.

Remarks by former Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kerry Healey

 

Remarks by Jane Edmonds, former Massachusetts Secretary of Workforce

 

Remarks by Olympians Michael Eruzione, Derek Parra and Kim Rhode

10:00 p.m.

Remarks by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (FL)

 

Remarks by presidential nominee Mitt Romney

 

Benediction by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

 

Speaker Boehner declares convention adjourned

GOP Fights Back Against "War On Women" With Spiked Heels And "Bling" But No Policies

(FFRW screenshot)

Not to be outdone by their sisters in D.C., a group of Republican women in Florida have launched their own effort to prove that there is no such thing as a GOP "War On Women," thank you very much! What proof does the Florida Federation of Republican Women have to offer? That's an easy one:

There are indeed Republicans in Florida with lady parts.

They've got a website and everything!

Since they keep telling us that there's no War On Women in spite of the anti-woman policies their party thinks are more important than anything else our country faces right now, like jobs, I for one would love to see what the Republican women in Florida have to offer, wouldn't you? Let's take a look, shall we?

According to the Palm Beach Post, the group's goal is this:

The goal of the campaign is to help women candidates find role models and campaign strategies based on the success of those Republican women already in office.

They boast of two, count them, two GOP women role models in Florida, Lieutenent Governor Jennifer Carroll and Attorney General Pam Bondi. That's not so surprising since they're two of the most visible elected women in the GOP in Florida, but that's about it. Their main policies don't have much to offer women, in fact quite the opposite.

Pam Bondi's main goal (besides serving Rick Scott) is to take away your health care, with an additional effort to prevent women from getting contraception coverage. So far her lawsuits have failed, but you still have to foot the bill for them. But hey, that added burden is no sweat in this economy, am I right?

Jennifer Carroll, also best known for serving Rick Scott, recently made a name for herself when she was embroiled in a sex scandal in her office. Not exactly a "War On Women" issue, as it involved a female aide. However, in her response to the accusations, she said this:

“The problem is that when you have these accusations that come out, it’s not just one person you’re attacking. It’s an entire family. My husband doesn’t want to hear that. He knows the type of woman I am. I mean, my kids know the type of woman I am. For twenty-nine years – I’m the one that’s married for twenty-nine years. The accuser is the one that’s been single for a long time. So usually black women that look like me don’t engage in relationships like that.”

Her comment that women who look like her aren't lesbians, not surprisingly, didn't sit well with the LGBT community. Not that it would matter much to Carroll, as Republicans don't want "the gay" in their big tent anyway (in the closet, sure, but not visible to others under the tent), and they will proudly stuff themselves silly with Chick fil-A sandwiches until their arteries burst to prove it. These are not voters Republicans would be courting in the first place. Aside from the scandal, we've rarely heard or seen much of her.

That takes care of all two of the lady role models in Florida. On their home page they say their members are instrumental in, well, electing men. They list just one woman among seven men on that list. The woman, Sandy Adams, was recently in the news when she sponsored a gutted version of the Violence Against Women Act in Congress. Her version stripped out protections in cases of domestic violence for Native American, LGBT and illegal immigrant women. But again, no War On Women here, move along please.

That's about it for the women of the Florida GOP. Beyond those three they list other "women to watch" and those they hope to get elected. The only problem is, why? Well, because they have lady bits! Duh? That must be why, because they have no policy information for anyone on those lists. They basically just raise money, hire consultants, train for campaigning and share the goal of ousting Democrats and President Obama, with their oh so not cleverly named effort: "OMG-Obama Must Go."

Oh, and of course, helping to elect Republican men.

What else? They have information, talking points and lots of pictures with members at meetings posing with prominent GOP men to vouch for them like Connie Mack IV and Rick Scott. (Not for the faint of heart is the picture of the FFRW logo cupcake. Trust me when I say it's an ugly visual that would really offend Mitt Romney.)

They also like money and donations, so you can whip out your credit card and sign up for an e-Membership, which is open to some Republican women, but all Republican men.

Last but not least, and I assume because what lady doesn't love to shop, there's a FFRW store filled with items sporting the FFRW logo: "Politics Is Women's Work" along with the organization's symbol, a spiked heel alongside the state of Florida. No doubt the showcase items in the store are those with, and I quote: "*B*L*I*N*G*"

So there you have it ladies! What's not to love about being a female member of the GOP?

What Republican War On Women? Pay no attention to all the anti-abortion bills, blocked birth control mandates, vows to take away your chance at affordable health care, stripped domestic violence protections, "no" votes for equal pay, the end of preventative health care and the attempts at defunding Planned Parenthood! 

Just ignore all that policy stuff and look over here ladies, they've got *B*L*I*N*G*!

Judge Throws Out Bondi, Scott Contraception Lawsuit

Back in February, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi jumped into the Republican War On Women with both feet and joined the lawsuit along with six other states challenging the contraception coverage requirement in the Affordable Care Act. At the time Bondi said she was standing for "religious liberty" by asserting that religiously affiliated employers such as hospitals and universities that are engaged in secular work should not have to offer health coverage that includes contraception. That lawsuit would have not only barred contraception, but sterilization and "related services."

A  judge has thrown out Bondi's lawsuit, yet another loss for Bondi and Rick Scott. While it's a win for women, it comes at a price for Florida taxpayers, men and women alike, who have to foot the bill for women who had to pay to keep the rights they were already granted by the ACA:

A federal judge Tuesday tossed out a challenge by Florida and six other states to part of the federal health overhaul that requires coverage for contraceptives in insurance plans. The lawsuit, filed in Nebraska, centered on religious organization's objections to the requirement in the Affordable Care Act.

The states contended, at least in part, that Medicaid enrollment would grow if the coverage requirement leads organizations to stop providing insurance to their employees. But Senior U.S. District Judge Warren Urbom found that the states didn't have legal standing to sue, saying their theory "is based on layers of conjecture."

Urbom wrote that the state's complaint "merely offers guesses about how independent actors will respond to the rule and speculation that these responses could cause people to qualify for, and obtain, state benefits that they would not otherwise seek, which will then strain the state's budgets. This is not sufficient to establish standing."

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has spearheaded the lawsuit. Along with Florida, the other states that signed onto the case were South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma and Michigan.

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

Scott, Detzner And Bondi Guarding A Secret Voter Purge List

What Are They Hiding?

Florida Governor Rick Scott and his beer lobbyist turned Secretary of State Ken Detzner are refusing to release a list of 180,000 voters from their voter purge that originally totaled over 2,000, some of which were proved to be eligible to vote but were purged anyway. Many have since been put back on the voter rolls.

In spite of a warning that the data used for the list was inaccurate by local supervisors of elections, Scott and Detzner went ahead with the purge anyway. Now they want to keep the remaining list of voters a secret.

In an interview in his office, Detzner could not cite a law that makes the list exempt from disclosure. Rather than make the list public, Detzner says he will ask Attorney General Pam Bondi whether it is a public record under Florida law.

By law, Bondi's agency gives advisory opinions to state agencies, cities and counties on the public records law.

It's not a stretch to assume that she'll go along with their wishes and keep the list a secret. Earlier this month Bondi told FOX-GOP-TV that she would keep fighting for the right to purge "non-citizens" from the rolls and make sure the "proper people vote."

The organizations and advocacy groups that have asked for the list have questioned the secrecy.

"We are troubled that Florida has not yet responded to our request to turn over its complete database of potential non-citizens on the voter rolls," said Diana Kasdan, legal counsel to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. "Careful scrutiny of this list is critical to ensure that eligible Americans will not be blocked from voting. Any attempt to clean the rolls must be open, transparent and accurate. Florida's purge has been anything but."

If these are clearly non-citizens that shouldn't be voting as they claim, why wouldn't Scott, Detzner and Bondi want to release the list?

What are they afraid of, and what are they hiding?