ROMNEY WELCOMED WITH “DEMOCRATIC ASSAULT“ [Times/Herald] “Romney was welcomed to Florida by a Democratic assault for his past ties with Bain Capital, a venture capital firm that bought a Miami business, Dade Behring, which eventually closed. Romney’s campaign and Bain Capital said the firm’s management of Dade Behring helped stall the demise of the company. Some Dade Behring former workers, however, fault the company for its management. Romney also faced criticism for hosting a fundraiser at the Star Island home of Phil Frost, who runs a pharmaceutical company that makes a type of birth control that Romney had bashed on the campaign trail during the Republican primary.”
Mitt’s Miami vice [MSNBC]
Romney, Obama camps exchange jabs [Palm Beach Post]
In St. Pete, local Democrats warn against Romney Economics [Creative Loafing]
The other, less successful, Bain investment in Florida [Tampa Bay Times]
Romney campaign says it was ‘error’ to block reporters from candidate in St. Pete [Tampa Bay Times]
Romney keeps media at bay as he sticks to script [AP]
Obama campaign focuses on military families [CNN] “The events launch the Veterans and Military Families for Obama campaign, and will emphasize the president’s record as commander in chief. The events will also tout his efforts on behalf of veterans and their families, according to a press conference call by the campaign.”
FLORIDA DEMS BEAT GOP IN APRIL VOTER REG BY 10 POINTS Dem Registration In Florida Grows In April [FL Democracy 2012] “Florida Democrats registered 5,459 more voters than Republicans in April, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Florida Democratic Party. This is the third consecutive month that Democrats have out-registered Republicans, this time by 10-percentage points — up two percentage points from March. The latest figures also show significantly more women and Hispanics are registering as Democrats than as Republicans. Overall, the recent statistics continue to reflect that the state is trending more Democratic, as Democrats retain a 4-percent advantage over Republicans.”
Democrats Outregistered GOP Again In April [News Service of Florida] “The state Democratic Party said Wednesday that it continues to lead in voter registration, releasing state Division of Elections data showing the Democrats out-registered Republicans in April by 10 percentage points.”
GOP FEELING HEAT AS UGLY DETAILS OF GREER CASE LEAK AHEAD OF SUMMER TRIAL
RUBIO’S DIRTY AMEX KEEPS POPPING UP Greer and Greer’s wife rip into Charlie Crist, deny extortion attempt [Tampa Bay Times] “‘Charlie, remember directing Jim to deliver Marco Rubio’s AMEX statements in an unmarked envelope to the Miami Herald? I once loved and trusted Charlie Crist, I now know he would whore himself out to anyone that will put him in power again. I am sick of the games and lies, I have a family to protect and a precious baby girl on the way, the truth must come out to clear Jim’s name. So go ahead Charlie, use what little juice you have left, why don’t you make one of your cheesy, demeaning commercials to spread your lies.'”
BTW, trial set to be held around the same time as RNC Convention (a mere hour away)
FL SEN: A QUESTION OF A CHARACTER LeMieux on MSNBC: no regrets for character attacks on Mack [Orlando Sentinel] “A Mack-Nelson contest, he said, ‘will be a race about character. Connie Mack can’t win a character contest with Bill Nelson.’”
LeMieux on Mack: ‘If he is the nominee, we will lose’ [Tampa Bay Times] “Calling Mack unqualified and repeating questions about his residency in Florida. ‘He is trying to run a campaign where people will mistake him for his father,’ LeMieux said. ‘If he is the nominee, we will lose.'”
LeMieux: ‘Connie Mack can’t win a character contest with Bill Nelson’ [Palm Beach Post] “‘He’s trying to run a campaign where people will mistake him for his father. And we can’t make that mistake,’ LeMieux said. ‘If he is the nominee we will lose.’”
ON THE CONGRESSIONAL FRONT — BUCHANAN SCANDAL ENSNARES NRCC, GOP CONTINUES WAR ON WOMEN
G.O.P. Congressional Committee Chairman Speaks Up for Fund-Raiser [New York Times] “Mr. Sessions said he was aware of calls for Mr. Buchanan to step down from his role at the committee. But Mr. Sessions said he would consider taking such actions only if the ethics committee issued a final decision in Mr. Buchanan’s case.”
House OKs domestic abuse bill [Gannett] “The House bill also doesn’t offer adequate protections for undocumented immigrants who are victims of domestic abuse, said Leisa Wiseman, director of communications and government affairs for the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.”
Allen West Votes to Deny Domestic Violence Protections [Patrick Murphy for Congress] “Today, supporting a hyper-partisan substitute for the Violence Against Women Act, Rep. Allen West (R-Plantation) voted against protections for Native American victims of domestic violence, members of the LGBT community, and immigrant women legally in this country.
OTHER NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Flunking our own test [News Journal Editorial] “So here’s the opportunity for Gov. Rick Scott and incoming Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, a former schools superintendent: Scrap FCAT. Experiment. Come up with something new, something that does more than turn our children into effective (or, in the light of this, not-so-very-effective) test-takers. The time is now for bold action on education. Action that can start by not cutting $1 billion from the budget, putting it back the next year and calling that an ‘increase.'”
Fla. election chiefs skeptical of voter purge [AP] Florida’s local election supervisors on Wednesday sounded skeptical, and even distrustful, of a push by the state to remove thousands of potential non-U.S. citizens from the voting rolls just months before the critical 2012 elections.
Scott off to Spain [Gainesville Sun] “Gov. Rick Scott heads to Spain this week…In Florida, Scott, who campaigned on the slogan “Let’s Get to Work,” has backed corporate tax cuts, eliminated thousands of government jobs and forced workers to contribute to their public pensions. Those moves have also angered unions.”
It’s official: Steve MacNamara is a joke. A Tonight Show punchline, to be exact. [Miami Herald] “Leno (who might have erred in implicating MacNamara’s relatives) included the former staff chief in a monologue around 2:36 in the video below where he says: “And Steven MacNamara, the chief of staff for Florida Gov. Rick Scott, has resigned amid allegations that he steered lucrative state contracts to his friends and relatives. The people most upset about his resignation? His friends and relatives.”