Florida Democratic Party News Clips u2014 March 1, 2013

Nelson: Dock Lawmaker Pay if Fed Workers Get Furloughed & Dem Congressional’s Blast GOP for Leaving Town

Sen. Bill Nelson: dock lawmakers’ pay if fed workers get furloughed [Miami Herald] “From a press release: U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) will announce here tomorrow that he and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) are filing legislation aimed at having members of Congress’ paychecks docked the same percentage as any federal worker furloughed as a result of sequestration. ‘No one should get paid for inaction,’ Nelson said today. ‘And Congress clearly hasn’t done the job to avert the sequester. ‘Everyone expects us to work together and find a common ground,’ the Florida Democrat added. ‘But too many in Washington keep fighting for their own political side.‘”

Frankel, Murphy, Garcia Chide Congress For Leaving Town [Sun Sentinel] “Rather than run out of town for a long weekend, Congress should be working out a budget deal to prevent an across-the-board set of budget cuts that starts on Friday, said U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach, Patrick Murphy of Jupiter and Joe Garcia of Miami. ‘We want to roll up our sleeves, and everybody should roll up their sleeves and get to work,’ said Frankel.”

South Florida Democratic Congressmen: Fix the Budget, Don’t Take Breaks [Palm Beach Post] “Congress should stay in session through the weekend and for however long it takes to agree to a plan to replace the automatic spending cuts that are scheduled to take effect Friday, a trio of South Florida Democratic freshmen said Thursday. U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach; Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter; and Joe Garcia, D-Miami promoted their ‘No Fix, No Break’ proposal on a conference call with reporters and reiterated Democratic demands that the looming cuts be replaced by a mixture of tax hikes and spending reductions.”

Editorial: Freshman caucus in U.S. House striking all the right chords to solve problems, end dysfunction in nation’s Capitol [TCPalm] “A collective voice of reason is echoing gently through the halls of Congress. And it’s coming from an unlikely source: a group of freshman House members advocating mutual cooperation and bipartisan solutions to our nation’s problems…They may well get it if the power brokers in each major party heed the call of the freshman class in the 113th Congress. ‘This freshman class is much different than previous classes,’ said U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter. ‘We were elected to office on a message of bipartisanship. We may upset some of the base in our respective parties, but that’s OK.'”

SHAME ON FL GOP WHO VOTED AGAINST VAWA — Lookin’ At You: Bilirakis, DeSantis, Mica, Miller, Posey, Radel, Rooney, Ross, Southerland & Yoho

Florida Republicans divided as House passes Violence Against Women Act [Tampa Bay Times] “All Florida Democrats voted yes…Voting no: Gus Bilirakis, Ron DeSantis, John Mica, Jeff Miller, Bill Posey, Trey Radel, Tom Rooney, Dennis Ross, Steve Southerland, Ted Yoho…The legislation previously cleared the Senate, with Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson voting yes and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio voting no.”

Tweet, Tweet – Putnam Blast Anti-Scott Message, Gets Dinged by NYT

New York Times dings Adam Putnam [Tampa Bay Times] “With Adam Putnam kindling speculation that he could primary Gov. Rick Scott in 2014, it’s worth noting the hit his office took from the New York Times last weekend. The Times exposed a seemingly sleezy Florida telemarketer accused of bilking consumers out of thousands of dollars with promises of debt consolidation assistance.”

Flubbed Putnam Tweet Sends Followers To Anti-Scott Poll [Tampa Bay Times] “Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a vocal critic of Gov. Rick Scott’s Medicaid expansion reversal, wrote an op-ed for the Orlando Sentinel today about Florida’s agriculture industry. A tweet encouraging his followers to read the op-ed won’t do much to quiet rumors that he may challenge Scott’s 2014 re-election bid. The link takes followers not to his op-ed but to a Sentinel poll asking ‘Who’s Rick Scott’s biggest political threat?’ The first choice on the list? Putnam.”

RUBIO BLASTED FOR NY FUNDRAISING AFTER VOTING AGAINST SANDY RELIEF BILL

Republican Rancor: King Rips Rubio For Wall St. Fundraising Despite Sandy Aid No Vote [CBS] “Senator Marco Rubio drew the indignant ire of Rep. King after word came the 2016 GOP presidential hopeful was raising money on Wall Street just months after voting no on a $50.5 billion Superstorm Sandy relief bill in Congress. ‘It’s absolutely disgraceful that any senator or congressman who’s running for president and voted to deny funds for New York and Long Island and New Jersey after Sandy should have the nerve to come into New York to try to raise money,’ King told 1010 WINS’ Mike Larkin. The congressman ripped into the no vote, saying despite New York and New Jersey facing ‘one of the worst disasters in our nation’s history,’ Rubio ‘voted against giving us a penny.'”

Pete King slams Marco Rubio’s Wall Street trip [Politico] “Rep. Pete King criticized Sen. Marco Rubio on Thursday for having “the balls” to raise money on Wall Street despite voting against a Superstorm Sandy relief bill. ‘Being from New York we’re not supposed to be suckers,’ King (R-N.Y.) told The New York Observer’s Politicker. ‘It’s bad enough that these guys voted against it, that’s inexcusable enough. But to have the balls to come in and say, “We screwed you now make us president?”‘ Politico reported that Rubio met with GOP donors on Wall Street in recent weeks — adding more speculation that he’s preparing a 2016 run for the White House.”

GOP Rep. Peter King: Don’t donate to Marco Rubio [Washington Post] “Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) is still fuming about GOP opposition to the Hurricane Sandy relief bill two months ago, and now he’s calling on his fellow New Yorkers not to donate any money to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)…After the GOP-led House failed to vote on a Sandy relief bill in the lame duck session, King called on New York Republicans not to donate money to the National Republican Congressional Committee.”

FLORIDIANS TO THE LEGISLATURE: WE DESERVE FAIR ELECTIONS 

REP. CRUZ: Fixing Florida’s voting system [Tampa Bay Times Op-Ed] “Florida has a long history of botching elections and suppressing minority votes. Enough is enough. All Floridians should be able to exercise their right to vote without hardship. No one should have to wait in line for hours to exercise their right to vote. Bottom line: Every vote must count. I have been working to ensure that these rights are safeguarded.”

Activists To Lawmakers: Just Do More On Election Reform [The Florida Current] “A coalition of groups representing ministers, seniors, students and civil rights activists say reform bills gaining traction in the Legislature do not go far enough.  Representatives of the National Congress of Black Women, Tallahassee Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, Florida Coalition for Black Participation andFlorida Alliance for Retired Americans gathered Thursday across the street from the state Capitol, in front of the Leon County Supervisor of Elections office, and called on lawmakers to reinstitute early voting on the Sunday before elections.”

Will SCOTT  HAVE THE JUICE TO PASS HIS BUDGET? 

Fla. Gov. Rick Scott Needs Help From A Suddenly Skeptical GOP-controlled Legislature [AP] “But Scott’s major proposals – which combined could cost $600 million in the coming year – are already encountering resistance from legislative leaders wary of another downturn in the economy. The annual 60-day legislative session starts Tuesday. The governor’s decision this month to endorse a three-year expansion of Medicaid is also creating turbulence since some Republicans have criticized his turnabout on what is seen as a key part of implementing the federal health care overhaul. A battle over Medicaid could overshadow Scott’s own agenda.”