OFA-FL LAUNCHES 2 NEW ADS Two new Obama TV ads in Florida [Tampa Bay Times] “The Obama campaign this morning is out with two new TV ads in Florida. One, called “Sacred Trust,” highlights Obama’s effort for veterans. ‘The sacrifices that our troops have made have been incredible,’ Obama says as the screen switches to scenes of troops in battle. “It’s because of what they’ve done that we’ve been able to go after al Qaeda and kill bin Laden.’ The second is called ‘Personal’ and focuses on preserving Medicare.”
Obama attack campaign scripted in the gutter [Tampa Bay Times column] “Why spend $10 million of a fat cat’s money on an advertising barrage that’s bound to dredge up the worst kinds of reactions? Unless that was its purpose — not to implant racial fears so much as to fire up the bigots who are already out there, and make sure they go to the polls. Romney isn’t a racist, but some in his party clearly believe he can’t win without a heavy turnout of people who cannot stomach the notion of a black guy in the White House.”
FCAT AND VOTER PURGE TIED TO RICK SCOTT
Scott sought to limit fallout from low FCAT scores [News-Service of Florida] “As the Florida Department of Education tries to handle the fallout of the collapse in FCAT writing scores, the office of Gov. Rick Scott has been intimately involved in efforts to roll out the test scores, according to staff emails.”
Fla. Gov. started push to remove voters from rolls [AP] “Florida’s quest to identify and remove non-U.S. citizens from the voter rolls was started at the direct urging of Gov. Rick Scott, the state’s former top elections official said.”
Not the Schooling You Had in Mind, Perhaps? [Florida Voices] “In short, my students believed the FCAT wasn’t designed to help them, but to make the adults in charge of their education look good.”
SENATE PRIMARY IS DESPERATE, NASTY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL OUTRAGE ALERT!!! FROM CONNIE MACK’S CAMPAIGN!!! Again. [Miami Herald] “Pardon the ALL CAPS craziness, but Republican Rep. Connie Mack’s Senate campaign has once again notched it up to 11. It actually is calling for a federal investigation into LeMieux’s appointment, saying it smacks of ‘extortion’ or ‘bribery'”
George LeMieux’s 2009 campaign for Senate seat exposed his ambition, savvy [Tampa Bay Times] “George LeMieux is an old hand running political campaigns, but he wound up in the U.S. Senate by ferociously campaigning for just one vote: Gov. Charlie Crist’s.”
Jim Greer: George LeMieux must be ‘kidding’ when he says he did minority outreach [Miami Herald] “LeMieux told the St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 that the contract was for ‘minority outreach,’ and he took a swipe at Greer, who is charged with ripping off RPOF in a fundraising scheme. Greer is fighting the charges and says they’re politically motivated by a party that didn’t want to pay him severance.”
ON THE CONGRESSIONAL FRONT — RIVERA RUINS EVERYTHING HE TOUCHES, EHRLICH AND FL-WOMEN GET SHOUT OUTS
Ties That Bind [The New Republic] “But Rivera also happens to be Marco Rubio’s closest friend in politics. And, during the course of their friendship of 20 years, he has been instrumental in Rubio’s rapid rise from West Miami commissioner to U.S. senator. A Republican colleague in the Florida House describes their relationship as “one step below blood.” As a result, if Rubio makes it on to the Republican ticket, questions about his dog may be the least of his problems.”
‘Not good at what they are trying to do’ [MSNBC] “What an odd choice: Rivera has been under investigation by the FBI, IRS, Miami-Dade Police Department’s public corruption unit, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement over a variety of corruption allegations. He’s not the kind of guy the RNC wants to give the spotlight to — at least he shouldn’t be.”
Does Jessica Ehrlich embody the future of Florida Democrats? [Political Hurricane] “She is young. She is bright. She is good looking. She is experienced in government. She is Jessica Ehrlich”
Choosing to Represent [Huffington Post blog] The new candidates currently campaigning for seats are: Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Chief Val Demings (FL-10), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Gloria Romero Roses (FL-26), Pam Gulleson, (ND-AL) and Shelley Adler (NJ-03).”
OTHER NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Sachs-Bogdanoff state Senate race is No. 1 race for Florida Dems, party chief says [Palm Beach Post] “The new District 34 leans Democratic, with Barack Obama getting 57 percent of the vote in 2008 and Democrat Alex Sink snagging 54 percent in the 2010 governor’s race. By registration, Democrats hold a 41.9-to-32.6 percent advantage.”
Line in the sand [Gainesville Sun Editorial] “In neighboring Marion County, Frank Stronach is asking for a state permit to pump some 13 million gallons of water a day from the aquifer for his massive Adena Springs Ranch cattle operation in the midst of a historic drought. Based on the public response, it has all the ingredients of being Florida’s next water war… ‘Here is this iconic natural jewel that has brought millions of people to Florida and look what we’re willing to do to it. This is kind of a line in the sand. If we can’t save Silver Springs, what can we save?'”
SpaceX launches hope for fallow Florida coast [Tampa Bay Times editorial] “The successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday from Cape Canaveral may not have been a giant leap for mankind. But for the economically struggling Florida Space Coast, the blastoff marks one small step toward a rebirth of the region’s aerospace industry”
Courts side with voters, not campaign secrecy [Orlando Sentinel editorial] “Federal courts struck two blows last week for more transparency in election campaigns. Voters should be pleased.”