Beach Peanuts

Democrats Want Civil Rights Probe Of Florida Voting Laws

While Former Florida GOP leaders say voter suppression was the reason they pushed new election law, members of Florida’s Democratic Congressional delegation have written to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights requesting that it convene a hearing to investigate Florida’s 2011 electoral law, HB 1355, after former Republican state leaders and GOP consultants said the law was expressly designed to reduce Democratic voter participation:

The commission, which has subpoena powers, is charged with investigating violations of civil rights.

The request follows two stories in The Palm Beach Post, published Oct. 26 and Nov. 25, about the involvement of GOP staff and consultants in writing HB 1355, which reduced early voting days and proscribed the activities of voter registration organizations, such as the League of Women Voters. The bill was passed by the GOP-controlled legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, in May 2011.

Former state Republican Party chairman Jim Greer told The Post that while the party claimed the law was designed to stop voter fraud and save money, the true intent was to stem early voting, which GOP staffers and consultants believed favored Democrats. The law reduced early voting from 14 days to 8.

Greer is under indictment for allegedly stealing money from the party through what has been called a phony fund raising firm. He has counter sued the party, asserting that party leaders knew what he was doing. His trial is pending.

Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, also no longer in the party —and reportedly considering a run for governor in 2014 as a Democrat— backed Greer’s claims that the law was designed to reduce Democratic turnout. A Republican consultant, who asked not to be identified, also said Republicans wanted to eliminate early voting on the last Sunday before an election because that day was particularly popular with black voters, and most of them have backed Democrats. 

The letter to the Civil Rights Commission was signed by Democratic party U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings of Miramar; Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston; Corrine Brown of Jacksonville; Kathy Castor of Tampa; Ted Deutch of Boca Raton; and Frederica Wilson of Miami. It was addressed to Martin Castro, chairman of the Civil Rights Commission.

The group hopes to shine a light on  the errors made that caused so many problems for voters at the polls. In many cases the voter suppression tactics backfired on the Republicans when so many refused to leave the long lines even when the election had already been called. Many remained in line until they voted.

Castor agreed. She also said she thought it was clear that HB 1355 was intended to inhibit Democratic voting.

“But this has taken a darker turn,” she said, “The racial undertones are very troubling. We need to learn more about how coordinated this was.”

Florida House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston, of Fort Lauderdale, also called for a federal probe. He said Democratic lawmakers questioned the purpose of HB 1355 all along “because in our opinion no (voter) fraud was ever brought to light.”

In his interview with The Post Greer said f0llowing the 2008 victory of President Barack Obama, GOP staffers and consultants began to discuss ways to inhibit the Democratic vote.

“The Republican Party, the strategists, the consultants, they firmly believe that early voting is bad for Republican Party candidates,” Greer told The Post. “They never came in to see me and tell me we had a (voter) fraud issue. It’s all a marketing ploy.”

Mitchell, in a deposition taken in a lawsuit brought against the state over HB 1355, also spoke of meetings starting in 2010 at which new electoral laws were discussed. Mitchell’s name has been connected to charges of alleged voter suppression in the past.

Following the 2000 election, the Civil Rights Commission held hearings in Florida after the Florida Division of Elections issued lists of persons who were allegedly felons and who should not be allowed to vote. Supervisors of elections later found that many of the persons on the list were not felons. The employees of database companies hired by the state to compile the lists later testified that it was Mitchell who had set the parameters for the list. Mitchell was not called to testify.

Tuesday, State Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, who served for a year as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida after Greer stepped down in January 2010, said he believes a Civil Rights Commission hearing is unnecessary.

Thrasher also said he does not believe Greer and Crist are credible.

Crist is “mad at the Republican Party,” Thrasher said. He said Crist’s anger comes from being beaten by Marco Rubio in the GOP U.S. Senate primary in 2010 and subsequently running as an independent and losing to Rubio again.

And Greer is facing criminal fraud charges stemming from his tenure as party chairman, Thrasher said.

“I’m not going to give a lot of credibility to anything either one of them say,” Thrasher said. “You can take evidence from just about anybody and there’s a lot of second-guessing afterwards and a lot of people now who have an axe to grind and want to grind it. But where is the evidence that shows anything like that, that any senator voted for anything they thought was going to suppress turnout? I don’t think you’ll find any senator who will say that because it’s not accurate.”

The Election May Be Over, But OFA Supporters Work On Agenda Continues

(Photo: Martha Jackovics)

In an email to supporters from Obama For America, National Field Director Jeremy Bird writes that over 1 million supporters took their survey last week and gave feedback with encouraging results. Among the initial findings:

-- An overwhelming majority of survey respondents reported feeling welcomed and included, that their time was used effectively, and that there was a clear understanding of how their work directly helped re-elect President Obama.

-- Among those of you who volunteered at least a few hours, a majority went into a field office, though many of you got involved instead through the campaign's online tools such as Dashboard and the call tool. 

-- About 1 in 10 survey respondents are interested in running for office at some point, using their organizing skills to continue fighting for real and lasting change. That level of political engagement is inspiring.

-- Almost half of all survey respondents forwarded campaign emails, and more than one-third communicated with friends on Facebook -- both great ways to pass along information about the President's positions and plans, as well as opportunities to get involved.

-- Nearly 80 percent of survey takers want to keep volunteering, primarily around the President's legislative agenda.

Also included in the message were comments and anecdotes like these:

"When our field office opened, my husband, 12-year-old daughter, and I were there almost every day. My daughter and I even took a leadership role -- she was our tally captain! This is the kind of experience that changes your life. My children not only have a better understanding of the political system but also have a firsthand experience of how community engagement can make a difference. On Election Night, they felt that difference. They were so excited for the President because they had a sense of ownership -- they had personally helped him achieve the win. On Election Night, I truly believed we were all winners." -- Kerry, California

"It made me feel good to see the enthusiasm of volunteers at the local level (who become friends) ... great to see teens through seniors, men and women, any race and faith all working together for something we believed in (even if we weren't there for the same issues) ... it assured me I was doing the right thing..." -- William, Virginia

I feel more confident as an individual -- I can make a difference in election results! I was talking about this with my son today, he's a public school teacher, and he has new faith in our electoral system also! Let's keep doing it -- this is democracy as it should be!" -- Andrea, California

Comments on the road ahead and ideas of how to keep the country moving forward:

"This organization has tapped into the enthusiasm of Americans that were previously on the sidelines of the political process. These Americans are now fully engaged and aware of the policies that are being advanced that will impact their lives and the lives of future generations. They are excited, ready, and willing to do whatever is within their power to influence policy makers to pass legislation that reflects and responds to the issues of our times." -- Rita, Virginia

"Create an engaged community of people that keeps the momentum alive and ensures that progressive policy is implemented at local, state, and national levels. Community here is the operative word! Build and enhance local organizing groups. Would be happy to be included in a local group and lead such a group." -- Merida, Illinois

"Don't let the energy of the re-election slip through your fingers. This is a very powerful network of people." -- Joel, Texas

Bird ended the email promising to document and analyze their work over the last 19 months and pass along what they've learned, that there's much work still to do, and more to come from them as they go forward with the President's agenda and how supporters can help.

"A government of the people, by the people, for the people."

We haven't heard that in a while. Sure has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

If It's Sunday, It's Another Investigation From John McCain (Updated)

John McCain DEMANDS Answers, Now!

(Updated below.)

Between almost weekly appearances by Senators Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman and John McCain on Meet The Press, Face The Nation, FOX News Sunday, This Week, State Of The Union, not to mention daily air time on FOX, you may have heard that McCain is in a bit of a snit over how the White House handled itself (so what else is new?) in disseminating information in the wake of the attack in Benghazi. McCain's been camera-ready 24-7 and demanded answers, (some of which he missed when he didn't bother to show up at a hearing) called for investigations, and threatened to block the nomination of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice for Secretary of State, if and when President Obama chooses to nominate her.

Sadly for him, not only did President Obama tell McCain to get off the White House lawn starting with a press conference a couple of weeks ago, but all of McCain's conspiracy theories have been debunked and the only "threat" he has left is basically this:

"Fine! I'll just block ALL your nominees for Secretary of State then! Harrumph, and good day!"

You know, because he's a patriot and a "war hero."

Ah, but all is not lost! There is one scandal brewing out there in need of exposure, a transgression so shocking that it begs for an investigation, and John McCain is just the man for the job. An injustice beyond reproach! A mystery in the making with the possibility of a conspiracy involving President Obama. Intrigue, rumors, and gossip. Why, it's tailor made for the FOX-GOP-TV audience. But on a serious note, there's also drama, and while any chance for Peace is already gone, our very Liberty may be at stake:

Peace, one of two turkeys pardoned by President Obama last year, was euthanized Monday, according to an official who insisted the timing of the death - days before the Thanksgiving holiday - was not suspicious.

"Not suspicious?" What say you, John McCain?

Rebecca Aloisi, vice president for marketing at the Mount Vernon Estate, confirmed that Peace had been dead after a weekend "illness." But Aloise knew neither the nature of the illness, the manner of death, nor what had been done with the remains of the large, edible bird.

"I appreciate where you're going with this," Aloisi told CNN. 

"But I assure you that these birds are extremely well cared for." The decision to euthanize the bird was made by a veterinarian in consultation with Mount Vernon's livestock department, she said.

Where IS CNN going with this, exactly? Well, we may never know, because unlike most Sunday mornings, this week John McCain is only appearing on one show, on another network. He could have been on with Crowley or Zakaria, but no! Instead of talking turkey with sources at CNN, he took the easy route by beating a dead horse over his debunked conspiracy theories with Chris Wallace on FOX. 

Peace had served as the understudy for Liberty, another turkey, at the 2011 pardoning ceremony by President Obama. Obama chose to pardon both birds to spare them from the fate of the plate.

But pressed on details about Peace's death, and what was done with the carcass, Aloisi deferred. "Honestly, I work in marketing," she said, defensively. "We have a 500-acre facility."

The facility - historic home of President George Washington - includes a landmark mansion, farm, wharf and the Mount Vernon Inn.

Asked if the inn serves turkey, Aloisi hedged. "That's a good question. I assume so," she said.

The inn, in fact, boasts of "costumed servers" who serve "delicious regional and colonial cuisine" including a "Roast Turkey Dinner" for $17.50, according to the inn's web site.

Aloisi said turkeys have short lifespans, especially those bred for eating. The timing of the death was "curious," Aloisi allowed, but not suspicious.

"I know that it was done in a humane manner but I don't know the mechanics," she said.

There are clearly many questions here that deserve answers! Illness? Likely story! These birds were given White House pardons and sent to live out their days in a place of historic significance, and yet it seems one of them met with foul play. What part of "pardon" did those at the Inn not understand? Was it an accident?

Or was it.......MURDER?

 

Or worse, was it a conspiracy? Were those turkeys merely given a pardon for the cameras (wink, wink) when all along they were really destined to be the daily special served up by "George Washington" himself? Is the question that really needs to be asked: "What did the President know and when did he know it?" You just know that's a question he would LOVE to be able to ask the President, so where is John McCain when you need him? Because there's more:

Mount Vernon anticipates receiving more turkeys following this year's pardoning ceremony. "We were very prepared to have all four birds live here," Aloisi said.

At the Nov. 23, 2011, pardoning, President Obama said Peace was "going to retire to a life of leisure at Mount Vernon - the same place where George Washington spent his golden years."

But now Peace is dead.

There you have it. A whole new investigation for John McCain that would make no sense whatsoever.

Because that's what John McCain does.

Because this "patriot" and "war hero" isn't worried about national security nor is he really interested in getting to the bottom of what happened in the attacks in Benghazi. Sure, he rants and raves about the tragic deaths of those Americans at the hands of terrorists, but for McCain it's merely rage for the wrong reasons: all political ones. So "concerned" is he about national security and protecting Americans from terrorists that he would prevent us from having a Secretary of State period. Just to hurt the President.

But yes, debunked conspiracies or not, you can be sure he'll be on FOX bright and early Sunday morning feigning outrage with Chris Wallace, one turkey to another.

(Update)

So predictable. Whichever way the political winds are blowing, you can find the blowhard John McCain ready and willing to take advantage of the politics of the moment, especially while on camera.

During his appearance on FOX News Sunday, he backed off a little from his stance on UN Ambassador Susan Rice, and illustrated his main interest now lies in focusing most of the blame on the President, as I mentioned above.

From TPM:

"Sure," McCain said to the question of whether Rice could do anything to change his mind about her. "She can give everyone the benefit of explaining their position and the actions that they took. I'll be glad to have the opportunity to discuss these issues with her."

Responding to a follow-up question on whether that means McCain is now open to voting for Rice if nominated, McCain replied: "I think she deserves the ability and the opportunity to explain herself and her position, just as she said. But she's not the problem. The problem is the president of the United States who in a debate with Mitt Romney said that he had said it was a terrorist attack…"

"Pardon Me"

Four More Years, And Then Some!

President Obama, Malia, and Sasha carried out the traditional pardoning of the White House turkey today.

Rumor has it the turkey was staying at the "W" in D.C.  Not bad! A pardon with classy accommodations. That bird will indeed be fired up and ready to go to his or her next destination.

Along with the turkey, please pardon me and the poor quality of this photo, as I'm busy cooking in between writing and various other tasks, so I had to make due with a photo of the White House tradition taken from my television set.

I have much to be thankful for, and I'm looking forward to four more years, and turkeys, that our President will be pardoning in the future!

I wish you a safe and wonderful holiday with family and friends. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

-MJ

The Sunshine State's Long Nightmare Is Over: Allen West Concedes

Neutered

Two weeks after the "communist" voters spoke and voted Allen West out of office in favor of Democrat Patrick Murphy, West has finally, reluctantly conceded defeat. I guess he finally accepted the reality that everyone who doesn't agree with him had not accepted his previous offer to just "get the hell out of America!"

It's a sad day in the delusional world of Allen West.

Not that he didn't go down without a fight. He demanded a recount, and he got one. Unfortunately for West, it proved he was an even bigger loser than previously thought by the time the votes were counted over the weekend.

If anyone deluded themselves into thinking he would go away gracefully, that was not to be:

"While many questions remain unanswered, today I am announcing that I will take no further action to contest the outcome of this election," he said in a statement. "While there are certainly still inaccuracies in the results, and the actions of the St. Lucie County and Palm Beach County Supervisors of Elections rightly raise questions in my mind and for many voters, after much analysis and this past weekend's recount in St. Lucie County, our legal team does not believe there are enough over-counted, undercounted or fraudulent votes to change the outcome of the election."

West also got a dig in at Murphy while he was at it, because, well, he's Allen West and therefore can't help himself:

I want to congratulate my opponent, Patrick Murphy, as the new Congressman from the 18th Congressional District. I pray he will serve his constituents with honor and integrity, and put the interests of our nation before his own.

Project much former, and no longer Rep. West?

The rest of the statement reads like a cross between an Oscar acceptance speech, by one of the losers, and that of a war hero, if being a war hero consisted of getting tossed out of the military for firing a gun over an Iraq detainee's head for "psychological reasons." The statement puts an end to the rantings and ravings in the crazy universe of Allen West.

While I can't claim Patrick Murphy as my Representative, allow me to extend a welcome to him anyway and thank him for his part in sending a part of Florida back in the general direction of sanity once again.

As for Allen West, well, as the saying goes: "Don't let the door hit you......"

Scott And Rubio To Romney: Pots Call The Kettle "Wrong"

Well, that didn't take long.

It's nearly unanimous: Republicans have had just about enough of that loser Mitt Romney. And that was even before he blamed the voters for his loss because they all got "gifts" like "free birth control, health care, amnesty for children of illegals and interest free college loans" from President Obama.

Nope, the last thing Republicans want is someone from their own party to actually voice their party platform and beliefs out loud in front of God and everybody!  After all, that tends to turn off thinking, sane human beings.

Now everyone's a critic and like everyone else who fails them, they are turing on Mitt Romney faster than he can say "please proceed with the car elevator."

Two on the list of hypocrites calling Romney out for saying what the rest of Republicans think about the majority of American voters are Marco Rubio and Rick Scott.

Rubio said that as a party, “our mission should not be to deny government benefits to people who need them,” but the GOP should work to ensure “less people need government benefits.”

“I don’t want to rebut him point by point,” Rubio said of Romney. “I would just say to you, I don’t believe that we have millions and millions of people in this country that don’t want to work. I’m not saying that’s what [Romney] said. I think we have millions of people in this country that are out of work and are dependent on the government because they can’t find a job.”

Quite a comment considering Rubio's record, not to mention his voting against the actual DREAM Act, while claiming he had a phantom version that we never did actually see.

Then we have Rick Scott, who steered clear of Romney when he was running, and that was mutual because they're both equally toxic and seeing the two of them together would have probably lost Romney any votes he had left in Florida. It would have been too much of a reminder just how bad things could get with Romney in the White House.

On Romney's comments, Scott said this of his austerity twin:

In Las Vegas to attend the RGA conference, Florida Gov. Rick Scott called Romney’s comments “inappropriate.”

“It’s wrong, it’s not true,” Scott told POLITICO, adding: “What we’ve got to do is say we want every vote, we want to take care of every citizen in our state.”

If what Romney said was so "inappropriate," then why is Scott trying to do many of those same things in Florida?

And as for this: “What we’ve got to do is say we want every vote." 

Saying you want every person to vote in Rick's world means exactly the opposite. Like I want everyione to vote, I'm just doing everything possible to make sure they can't. That's how it works in Florida. Maybe Scott's replaced his failed attempt on a jobs slogan "Let's get to work" to his failures from election day 'Let's get to suppressing the vote?'

"As for wanting to take care of every citizen in our state?" Come on Scott, not even you think anyone believes that nonsense. How about you try this one:

Let's get to doing the right thing for a change.......Right.

New Report: Florida Ranks 12th-Worst In Income Gaps Between Rich And Poor

(Source: CBPP)

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has come out with a new report on income inequality state by state. The report, Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends, finds wide and growing income gaps in most states, including Florida.

Florida ranks 12th-worst in income gaps between the rich and poor. 

(Source: CBPP)

The incomes of the richest fifth of households were 8.3 times bigger than the incomes of the poorest households in the late 2000s.

The incomes of the richest five percent of households were 13.5 times bigger than the incomes of the poorest fifth in that same period.

Recent trends:

A Lost Decade for Low- and Middle-Income Families
Change in average household incomes between late 1990s and mid-2000s

Poorest Fifth:    -7.2%

Middle Fifth:    3.3%

Richest Fifth:    13.2%

Richest 5%:    16.1%

You can read the entire report here.

Florida GOP Plays Election Kabuki While Democrats Push For Real Reform

After last Tuesday's election, Manatee County, Florida  got a new Supervisor of Elections.  State Sen. Mike Bennett (R-Bradenton) won that office easily because of his expertise and experience after serving 12 years as a legislator in Tallahassee.

It was during that time when, in 2011, Republicans in the Florida legislature passed strict new election laws, and Bennet used his "expertise" to play a roll in changing those laws. Here is part of a speech he made just before the law's passage:

"Many people don’t even know where and when they’re supposed to go vote," he added. "Voting is a privilege. How easy should it be?"

“Do you read the stories about the people in Africa? The people in the desert, who literally walk two and three hundred miles so they can have the opportunity to do what we do, and we want to make it more convenient? How much more convenient do you want to make it?” he said. “Do we want to go to their house? Take the polling booth with us?”

“This is a hard-fought privilege,” he added. “This is something people die for. You want to make it convenient? The guy who died to give you that right, it was not convenient. Why would we make it any easier? I want ‘em to fight for it. I want ‘em to know what it’s like. I want them to go down there, and have to walk across town to go over and vote,” he said.

Yes, this man who thinks exercising your right to vote should be harder, is now in charge of elections in Manatee County.

This is just one in a boatload of tone-deaf, arrogant excuses to "tweak" election laws in the state. While the very laws Florida Republicans put in place made it extremely hard to vote, they now want voters to believe that they are puzzled by the confusion last week at the polls, and arrogantly claim they have no idea what could have possibly gone wrong.

This attempt to insult the intelligence of voter while taking away their rights has become symbolic in Florida in the wake of the election. The state is once again a laughingstock thanks to these lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott. Luckily the fact that Florida botched another election and was the last to count the votes didn't matter. This time.

Now suddenly Scott and Secretary of State Ken Detzner are playing "election reform kabuki" pretending that last week's disaster had absolutely nothing to do with them. They actually cite things that contributed, like having less days to vote and long ballots with never ending Amendment language written in, as if these were never before imagined revelations.

Wrong.

Everyone foresaw this conclusion, including the Republicans who caused it, no matter what they claim. It was disaster by design.  Worse, Democrats in Florida tried to do something about those very problems, in the form of Amendments to the new strict voting law (HB 1355) before it was passed, but every one was shot down by Republicans. Here are those Amendments proposed by the Democrats:

Amendment: A981135, April 19, 2011 
Sponsor: Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando 
Proposal: Would have limited to 75 words the ballot summaries of proposed constitutional amendments—which took up several pages this year and are widely believed to have caused much of the chaos during the elections. The amendment would have also placed limits on Legislature-proposed amendments, eight of which were soundly rejected by voters on Election Day.
Excerpt: “The ballot must include a statement expressing the chief purpose of the proposed legislation, in clear and unambiguous language not exceeding 75 words in length, and a statement of the economic impact of the proposed legislation.”
Result: Failed in a party-line 78-37 vote, with top Republicans like HB 1355 sponsor Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, and incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, voting against it.

Amendment: AA 536956, May 2, 2011
Sponsor: Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa
Proposal: Would have mandated more early voting locations and allowed local supervisors to have early voting in more precincts. Sec. Ken Detzner now says that the lack of available early voting sites caused much of the chaos and long lines.
Excerpt: “In any general election in which a candidate for President of the United States appears on the ballot, the supervisor of elections shall designate at least one early voting site for every 40,000 registered voters within the county.”
Result: Amendment Failed.

Amedment: AA 910767, May 5, 2011
Sponsor: Rep. Richard Steinberg, D-Miami Beach
Proposal: Give local elections supervisors more flexibility to expand early voting if they felt it was necessary to prevent lines. This year, that power was held exclusively by Gov. Rick Scott, who chose not to use it despite pleas from top officials and lengthy lines that stretched for hours. In Miami-Dade, Broward and other counties, local supervisors wishing to expand early voting had to find a loophole in the law by allowing in-person absentee voting after the early voting period ended. In Miami-Dade County, this strategy led to even more long lines and chaos, with people shouting “Let us vote!”
Excerpt: “The supervisor of elections may expand early voting hours and locations during the early voting period if she or he determines that the current early voting hours and locations are not sufficient to provide electors an opportunity to vote early without unreasonable delays.”
Result: Amendment Failed

Amendment: AA 227265, May 5, 2011
Sponsor: Rep. Richard Steinberg, D-Miami Beach
Proposal: To ensure that early voting lines would not be prohibitively long, given the fact that HB 1355 cut the number of early voting days from 14 to 8. The amendment required county supervisors to have adequate staffing and locations for a smooth early voting process. Some top backers of HB 1355 have blamed local elections supervisors for the election day problems. 
Excerpt: “County supervisors of elections shall provide sufficient staffing, equipment, and locations to limit early voting wait times to less than 25 minutes.”
Result: Amendment Failed.

Sound familiar?

So Rick Scott tries to avoid answering questions about HB 1355 which he all but signed under cover of darkness and refers them to Detzner while saying he "did the right thing," and Detzner claims election day was a success, among several other excuses, and many in Florida are left with the feeling that Republicans really have no interest in fixing the mess they made. Not really.

Luckily others are stepping up to try and salvage what's left of voting procedures in Florida:

Advocacy groups like Progress Florida, the Advancement Project and Florida New Majority Education Fund, League of Women Voters, the NAACP and AARP are pushing for real reforms.

Lawmakers and elected officials, both past and present, are proposing real solutions, like former Gov. Charlie Crist, Former Tamps Mayor and former Hillsborough Elections Supervisor Pam Iorio, and Democratic state Reps. Darryl Rouson and Dwight Dudley of St. Petersburg.

Let's hope we do get real reform. Florida voters have spoken and they will no longer put up with the sorry excuses from Rick Scott, Ken Detzner, and election supervisors like Mike Bennett, for his view that real Democracy means making it that much harder to vote. 

Rick Scott Claims He'll Drop His Opposition To Health Care Law

The man who has made a career out of trying to kill the Affordable Care Act, Florida Governor Rick Scott, now says he's willing to drop his opposition to the law.

Color me skeptical, because I'm finding this a bit hard to swallow.

"The election is over and President Obama won," Scott said. "I'm responsible for the families of Florida ... If I can get to yes, I want to get to yes."

Scott had previously stated that he would not go along with any parts of the health care overhaul that the state controls.

But his newfound willingness to have a "conversation" about putting it in place in Florida comes at a critical time.

States have until Friday to notify federal authorities whether they plan to set up health insurance exchanges, a marketplace where individuals and smalls businesses can shop for the most affordable coverage and where many will get help from the government to pay their premiums.

Florida so far has taken no steps to set up its own exchange.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced an extension last week. She still wants to hear if states will be setting up health insurance markets under the law. But governors can now take another month, until mid-December, to submit detailed blueprints.

Most states have been on the fence awaiting the election outcome. They now have three options: running their own exchanges, operating an exchange in partnership with the federal health officials, or letting the feds handle everything.

Scott said he still has concerns about the exchanges, including the cost of running one and whether it would increase the cost of health care for families. But he said he's sure federal officials want to find ways to provide affordable health care to people.

Certainly this is a move for Scott to appeal to voters in Florida given that his popularity is so low and he's one of the most unpopular Governors on record.

He devoted his entire career before running for office to blocking the health care laws, so a quick turnaround even for political purposes leaves me wondering how his actions will compare to his talking points now.

He campaigned on bringing jobs to Florida, which translated more into giving large corporations huge tax breaks to create jobs, which haven't exactly  materialized in promised numbers. He also slashed education from his first budget while claiming he was doing great things for education. After public outcry, this year he put back a fraction of those cuts back into education, but it remains that cuts are cuts.

Let's hope that there's no catch to this sudden flip-flop and that he does more than just "have a conversation." The Affordable Care Act was "the law of the land" long before now. Scott decided he didn't have to implement it only because he thought Mitt Romney would win the White House, and he was perfectly happy to say "no, no, no" before, even when critics said otherwise. Surely his backers, the Koch brothers won't like his sudden new found fondness for the law.

Just as he tried so hard to suppress the vote in Florida, and then turned around and claimed not to understand why our election last week was such a disaster, we'll have to wait and see what he actually does on both issues.

Women For Obama: The Secret Plan Revealed

Some Women Vote Way Too Easy!!

After the votes were counted last Tuesday, the facts were undeniable that women voters preferred President Obama over Mitt Romney, in spite of Republicans insisting there was no real "War On Women" for months leading up to the election.

After watching Republicans spin themselves silly in denial over why they lost the election, it should probably be no surprise that they still seem to be baffled over why women didn't think Mitt Romney was the bees knees, if I may use an old phrase in line with GOP way back machine-speak. In spite of all their legislative actions, they surely hoped Ann Romney had us at "I love you women!" during her speech at the RNC in Tampa.

Yeah.....actually no.

After doing some soul searching for almost three days, religious conservatives cracked the code that turned women all over the country into weak-kneed Obama Bots:

George Clooney.

I think it goes without saying that the majority of women in this country were all set to go with Romney because even though we don't get paid the same for equal work as men do, we agree we're still getting paid way too much. And birth control? What's up with that? Health care? Who needs it? Unless of course it comes in the form of a transvaginal ultrasound.

We would all much rather be at home in our binders, living out our lives perpetually pregnant regardless how we happened to get that way, even if it kills us. How else would we be able to get dinner on the table every night on time anyway?

Yes, we were all set to vote for Mitt Romney, and then President Obama set the trap.......a fundraiser with George Clooney! Wow. Why didn't women who voted for that sly President Obama see that one coming?

American Family Association research director Ed Vitagliano:

They said ‘what Hollywood star do women love’ and they found that they love overwhelmingly George Clooney, so what they did is they went and got George Clooney to have a dinner with President Obama and then they had a big fundraiser and they said to women, ‘if you want to have dinner with George Clooney and President Obama here is how much you pay per plate for this big fundraiser......

.....These women were saying well ‘George Clooney loves President Obama,’ and a fair number of them I’m guessing said, ‘so I love President Obama,’ and the same thing with Sarah Jessica Parker. That to me, and this is obviously an overstatement, that to me is not what the Founding Fathers envisioned that when they were hoping for a well-informed electorate being advised of the issues and studying the issues, no, what we’ve devolved to is ‘I love George Clooney, George Clooney loves President Obama, therefore I love President Obama.’

Yup. The Founding Fathers envisioned a well informed electorate, not a bunch of women who were clear thinkers in every respect until we gazed upon George Clooney and immediately threw out the baby with the bathwater. Literally. I would venture to say that even Mr. Clooney would be surprised to hear exactly how much power he has over women. (Probably quite a few men too, come to think of it.)

Yes, I can't think of a better way to woo the ladies back into the Republican Party than by listening to these guys. Clearly they see women as pea brains who would happily give up the dream of setting our clocks, and rights back 50-plus years at the mere sight of a pretty face. And because we clearly can't separate fact from fiction, all we needed was a little extra push from an evil promiscuous television character in the form of Sarah Jessica Parker to push us over the edge.

Who knew with all those Republican schemes of dark money, lies, voter suppression, and Karl Rove's "real math" that it could all have been undone so easily?