Florida Democratic Party News Clips – June 15, 2012

NEW MEMO FROM FL DEMS ED SCOTT ARCENEAUX: GOP BRAND TOXIC IN FLORIDA  “From Rick Scott to Allen West, Florida Republicans have a serious branding problem. For all their over-the-top rhetoric and extreme policies, the GOP’s most outspoken leaders are threatening to drag down the GOP ticket in 2012 by damaging their appeal among Florida’s coveted independent-minded voters…Heading into the fall elections, we take a look at the ways the GOP are damaging their brand and laying a foundation for Democratic victories” 

IS SCOTT DEAD — OR JUST DEAD TO WHAT MATTERS TO FLORIDIANS? Scott says voter rolls listed him as dead in 2006 [Florida Times Union] “Six years before he made national headlines, Gov. Rick Scott found himself being purged from voter rolls after local election officials thought he was dead.”

Election officials told Fla Gov he wasn’t a voter [AP] 

Not dead Gov. Scott told election officials ‘I’m really alive’ [Palm Beach Post]

Video: How Rick Scott found out he was dead [Miami Herald]

Elections chief has her closeup, pans voter law [Daytona News Journal] “But in the process, the list also snagged people such as a citizen who had been voting since the 1970s and a soldier whose mailing address was a base in Afghanistan. It didn’t take long for McFall to notice problems with the list. And when she met with other elections supervisors at a conference in May, she heard similar stories from around the state.”

Florida Gov. Scott’s voters purge has flawed process, politics [McClatchy column] “It goes without saying that only U.S. citizens should vote. But Scott’s voter purge seems politically motivated, not to mention flawed in process and execution, and unfairly targeted at the poor and minorities. The governor cares not that practically every supervisor of elections in the state, whose job is to safeguard the legitimacy of the voter rolls, has refused to follow his mandate to proceed with the purge using a citizenship status list from the Florida driver license database. The list has so far yielded about 140 noncitizens on the rolls, and of those, about 50 voted.” 

RUBIO IN DEBT Marco Rubio Still Has More Than $100,000 in Student Loans [Miami News Times] “Rubio released his financial disclosures today, and records show he still has more than $100,000 in debt to ol’ Sallie Mae. Members of congress are allowed to report their financial holdings and debts in large ranges, so the exact amount is unknown. He also reported student debt loan in the same range last year.”

MACK: “A PUPPET OF THE ESTABLISHMENT,” DOES NOT HAVE “HIGH MORAL CALIBER,” LACKS “METTLE” & BEHAVIOR IS “APPALLING” 

Mack has public obligation to debate [Florida Times Union Editorial] “Credible candidates for the U.S. Senate usually have the mettle to engage in debates with their opponents, but that appears not to be the case with the purported frontrunner in Florida’s GOP primary…Voters should find it appalling that Mack chooses to dodge debates leading to the Aug. 14 primary”

Dave Weldon gets endorsement, $10K from Citizens United [Orlando Sentinel] “The group’s president, David N. Bossie,  called the  frontrunner, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV, ‘a puppet of the Establishment who does not have the high moral caliber that Dr. Weldon displays every day.’”

ON THE CONGRESSIONAL FRONT — ROSES ON PAY EQUITY, SOUTHERLAND TARGETED ON TRANSPORTATION 

Gloria Romero Roses on Pay Equity [HuffingtonPost] “If you ask your mother, grandmother, daughter or sister, pay discriminationbased on gender still exists. Equal pay for equal work should not be a partisan issue, and the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA) is a common sense solution to strengthen the 1963 Equal Pay Act. Yet like so many issues in Washington, a proposal to tackle this economic issue is being stalled by partisan gridlock.”

New Radio Ad Targets Southerland on Transportation [Transportation Construction Coalition].LISTEN HERE.   

Florida GOP Congressional Candidate Has History of Registering Sex-Themed Web Addresses [Mother Jones] “Trey Radel—Rep. Connie Mack IV’s pick to fill his vacated House seat—has bought up raunchy domains that may make many conservative voters blush.”

OFA OPENS NEW OFFICE, BIDEN TO FLORIDA Obama Campaign Opens Wesley Chapel Office Tonight [Tampa Bay Patch] “A new regional office opens tonight, June 14, in Wesley Chapel, according to a media release. Located at 29141 Chapel Park Drive, the office will serve as a hub for campaign activities.”

Biden addressing nation’s mayors [CBS12] “Vice President Joe Biden is addressing the nation’s mayors at their annual conference.” 

3 of Florida’s biggest insurers plan to keep elements of health reform, even if it’s overturned [Palm Beach Post] “At least three of the biggest insurance companies operating in Florida say they will hang on to some popular provisions of the federal health care law even if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes it down” 

Singer Marc Anthony to help Barack Obama raise campaign cash [Sun Sentinel] “He’s delivering a “special musical performance” at an Obama fundraiser on June 26 at the Fillmore Miami Beach, according to an email invitation.”  

OTHER NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Florida’s rules don’t protect interests of students, taxpayers [Orlando Sentinel guest column]“Florida’s lawmakers and policymakers excessively favor charter schools in a manner that does not rise to Wise’s irreparable-harm standard.”

Florida School Board Association pans FCAT [Herald Tribune] “A growing discontent with the high-stakes FCAT is escalating into a major rift between the state and Florida school districts.” 

Expensive sentencing [News Herald Editorial] “Since 2011, Gov. Rick Scott and several Republicans in the Legislature have waged a bruising — and so far fruitless — political and legal battle to privatize more than two dozen South Florida prisons.” 

#Morons Shhhh: on the QT: RPOF to picket Biden’s Orlando visit [Orlando Sentinel] “The e-mail ended with this P.S.: ”Please don’t forward this email, unless you trust the person not to forward.  We don’t want this getting out.” Sorry Rob, someone forwarded it.”