Florida Democratic Party News Clips – March 14, 2013

RICK SCOTT’S SCANDAL PLAGUED ADMINISTRATION TAKES ANOTHER HIT WITH CARROLL RESIGNATION

Florida Lt. Gov. Resigns Amid Gambling Scandal, Racketeering Probe [MSNBC] “Florida’s embattled Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll (R), the first African American elected statewide and first woman to serve as lieutenant governor, has resigned amid a gambling, racketeering, and conflict-of-interest scandal…Carroll had been seen as a rising Republican star before a rash of bad headlines. She served as one of the national chairmen for 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s ‘Black Leadership Council’ with ex-Rep. Allen West (R-FL) and now-Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).”

Florida’s Lt. Governor Resigns [CBS] “Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll resigned effective immediately as a gambling investigation into a non-profit she once worked with yielded multiple arrests Tuesday.”

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll Resigns Amid Federal Internet Café Probe [Orlando Sentinel] “After a tumultuous two years, Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll has resigned in the wake of a federal probe into an Internet cafe company she once represented…[t]he abrupt resignation set off a scramble by the state GOP to distance itself from a company that has been lavishing politicians and lobbyists with cash in recent years — and a call by legislative leaders to ban Internet cafes.”

Jennifer Carroll Says She Resigned to Avoid Being a Distraction [Tampa Bay Times] “Former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, who abruptly resigned today, said she left office to prevent the investigation into a company she once represented from undermining the work of Gov. Rick Scott. Allied Veterans of the World, a registered non-profit that operated a chain of internet cafes, is currently at the center of a national racketeering investigation.”

CARROLL’S RESIGNATION PAR FOR THE COURSE FOR SCOTT ADMINISTRATION

For Gov. Rick Scott, Jennifer Carroll Was Political Liability [Tampa Bay Times] “[…]She became an embarrassment to Scott and a distraction from his agenda. The CEO-turned-governor…was forced again to see a top appointee step down, this time in disgrace. It’s particularly embarrassing because Carroll was Scott’s public partner and represented his first big political decision.”

Florida’s Lieutenant Governor Resigns in Setback for Scott [Bloomberg] “Florida’s lieutenant governor resigned amid a racketeering investigation that resulted in charges for 57 people, the latest setback for her boss, Republican Governor Rick Scott.”

Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll Steps Down [Politico] “[…]Carroll’s resignation is a blow to her boss, Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who already faces sagging approval ratings and a rebellion on his right over his decision to expand Medicaid ahead of his 2014 reelection bid.”

Editorial: Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll leaves unfulfilled expectations in her wake [Orlando Sentinel] “Rick Scott rightly dubbed Jennifer Carroll a ‘history maker’ when he introduced her as his running mate during his 2010 campaign for governor…Carroll made history again Tuesday…when she abruptly quit her job.”

MORE NON-DENIALS FROM GOP REP. GRANT AMID $2.6 MILLION DOLLAR SCANDAL

Lawmaker Mum on Expose of Rep. Jamie Grant’s Company [Tampa Bay Times] “The non-denial denials continue on a WTSP-Ch. 10 report on a $2.6-million grant awarded in Hardee County to a company owned by Rep. Jamie Grant, R-Tampa…Grant has said he is reviewing his options about what to do, but said so far he hasn’t demanded a correction, usually the first-step taken in a defamation suit. The other lawmaker involved in the project was Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, who was paid between $48,000 and $65,000 for his work as a health consultant.”

PALM BECH POST: NEW RYAN BUDGET A ‘COMBINATION OF FUDGE AND FANTASY’

EDITORIAL: Paul Ryan’s Latest Budget Disappoints Again [Palm Beach Post] “Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is more a preacher than a policymaker. He’s not convincing as either…Rep. Ryan’s combination of fudge and fantasy lets him claim the “new” budget’s one wow factor: It allegedly balances in a decade, a feat calculated to assuage critics who lambasted his previous efforts for their long, long glide path. In fact, his budget does significantly reduce the deficit. But it does so in large part because Rep. Ryan leaves untouched the $600 billion in tax increases approved in the fiscal cliff deal. In another irony, he counts the $700 billion-plus in Obamacare “cuts” to Medicare he and Mitt Romney campaigned against.