Florida Democratic Party News Clips – July 8, 2013

SCOTT USING GREAT FLORIDIAN AWARD AS A “POLITICAL TOOL”

Critics say Gov. Scott giving Great Floridian Awards to donors [WFTV] “Gov. Rick Scott is handing out an unprecedented number of Great Floridian Awards, with critics saying the list of recipients for this year’s class is filled with GOP donors and sports celebrities…critics say by packing in so many celebrities and donors, the governor is diminishing the importance of the award by turning it into a political tool as he prepares for re-election.”

NBC LATINO: RUBIO’S ABORTION BILL “POOR POLITICAL STRATEGY AND POOR PUBLIC POLICY”

Rubio should not sponsor restrictive abortion bill [NBC Latino Editorial] “Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio may soon leap into the abortion fray.  According to The Weekly Standard, Rubio is considering sponsoring Senate legislation that would ban abortions 20 weeks after fertilization…Rubio would be wise to avoid the 20-week abortion ban. It would be poor political strategy and poor public policy. Although supporting such a measure might help Rubio with conservatives, it would likely hurt him with women and Hispanics – and damage his national prospects… women’s health issues represent a political minefield for Republicans. Missouri’s Todd Akin lost his Senate race in part because of his comments about ‘legitimate rape,’ while Indiana’s Richard Mourdock lost his Senate race after saying that a pregnancy resulting from rape was something ‘God intended to happen.’  Rick Perry’s recent efforts to curtail abortion in Texas have reinvigorated state Democrats…Any proposed ban on abortion would also amount to a betrayal of Rubio’s belief in limited government. It’s hard to imagine a better example of government intrusion into people’s lives than a bill that would regulate a woman’s uterus and a fetus.”

SALON: RUBIO’S ABORTION PLOY “PATHETIC”

Marco Rubio’s pathetic Rick Perry moment [Salon] “Poor Marco Rubio. His role in developing a Senate immigration reform bill has hurt him with the Tea Party – but it doesn’t seem to be doing much to help him with Latinos. A poll by Latino Decisions released Tuesday found that in a 2016 presidential run, Rubio would lose badly among Latinos to both Hillary Clinton (66 to 28 percent) and Vice President Joe Biden (60 to 28 percent)…So now Rubio is making a bold move to win back some of his far-right base: He’s going to be the primary sponsor of a Senate bill imposing a 20-week abortion ban, to match the one pushed through by his Tea Party buddy Trent Franks in the House. No matter that it can’t pass the Democratic controlled Senate, and President Obama says he would veto it if it should ever reach his desk; no matter that it’s also unconstitutional.”

SEN. NELSON: CONGRESS MUST PROTECT VOTING RIGHTS IN WAKE OF VRA DECISION

Sen. Bill Nelson: A stake in the heart of a law that guaranteed fair elections [Gainesville Sun Op-Ed] “The U.S. Supreme Court, in striking down a central provision of the Voting Rights Act, hammered a stake into the heart of a law that’s been used to guarantee fair elections in this country since 1965. Now, it’s unfortunately left up to a dysfunctional and highly partisan Congress to fix the law. And if I had my way, we’d already be working on it…The right to vote has not always been given to all Americans. Black men didn’t have the right to vote until after the Civil War. Then women won their right to cast a ballot in 1920. And minorities such as Latinos didn’t get voter protections until the mid 1970s. In rejecting the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court ignored our country’s history of expanding fundamental rights — not making it more difficult for citizens to obtain them. I am deeply disappointed by the court’s decision. But I remain committed now more than ever to working with a deeply divided Senate to move toward a common vision — protecting and preserving the democratic ideal of one person, one vote.”

AFTER SPENDING $300K TO FIGHT MARRIAGE EQUALITY, RPOF NOW WON’T EVEN COMMENT

Advocates: Florida will have gay marriages someday [Tampa Tribune] “In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, supporters say equal marriage rights for same-sex couples will come to Florida – the only questions being when and how…State Republican Party Chairman Lenny Curry didn’t respond to a question about whether the party would help fund the opposition. In the 2008 campaign that led to Florida’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, the party gave $300,000 early on.”