Allen West says many Dems in Congress are communists

This just goes to show that there is no such thing as a boring town hall when Republican Congressman Allen West is speaking. At a town hall in Jensen Beach Tuesday covered by TCPalm, a man asked West this question (this is the best we could make out in the video) “what percentage of the American Legislature do you think are card-carrying Marxists (something garbled) Socialists?”

West's reply: “That’s a good question. I believe its about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party are members of the Communist Party.”

PolitiFact asked West’s spkeswoman Angela Melvin for an explanation today: “The Congressman was referring to the 76 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The Communist Party has publicly referred to the Progressive Caucus as its allies. The Progressive Caucus speaks for itself. These individuals certainly aren't proponents of free markets or individual economic freedom.”

We read that response to Jennifer Gore, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota who co-chairs the caucus. Here's a snapshot of what she said: "all of that is false."

We also contacted the Communist Party USA. Vice president Libero Della Piana said that none of the less than 5,000 members are members of Congress.

"Trust me -- if a member of Congress applied to join the Communisty Party we would know about it. It would set up some red flags -- pardon the pun."

PolitiFact will be fact-checking West's claim about how many -- if any -- Democrats in Congress are Communists.

 

 

Bill Nelson: I raised $1.6m, $9.5m in bank

Inbox:

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's re-election campaign announced today it will report having over $9.5 million in the bank after raising nearly $1.6 million during the first three months of the year. 
 
“We’re pleased that we continue to receive strong support for Sen. Nelson’s re-election bid,” said campaign representative Christian Robinson.
 
The numbers were released in advance of the April 15 filing deadline for campaign finance reports covering the first quarter of 2012. The campaign said the final down-to-the-penny figures were still being tallied for reporting to the FEC by the deadline.
 
For more on the campaign, visit www.billnelsonforsenate.com

Poll shock: Obama ties Romney at 43 percent in conservative Jacksonville

Jacksonville Daily Record:

Presidential candidates President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney tied in a University of North Florida poll.

The poll found that in a contest between Obama and Mitt Romney, each candidate received 43 percent in the poll results. Obama was beating Rick Santorum 48 to 39 percent.

Santorum ended his campaign Tuesday.

As the Tampa Bay Times Adam Smith notes "Duval is a Republican stronghold where Democrats have been gaining ground dramatically in recent years. Four years ago, McCain won the county by just 1.9 percent, which shocked plenty of political observers."

Marco Rubio is Colombia-bound for Summit of the Americas (so is Obama, Chavez...)

Sen. Rubio's office confirms that he'll be "traveling to Colombia for the Summit of the Americas this weekend. Senator Rubio has pushed to promote democracy in the western hemisphere. This summit is a good opportunity for Sen. Rubio to discuss the importance of democracy with leaders from around the region, and help strengthen America’s relationships in this important part of the world."

President Obama, who will meet with "skeptical leaders," is heading there after a Friday Tampa event. Venezuela's strongman Hugo Chavez is scheduled to appear. Fidel Castro isn't going, but he reportedly made fun of Obama's plan to wear a guayabera.

Little known fact: Rubio's wife, Jeanette, is of Colombian descent and she's going along on the trip (at no additional cost to taxpayers).

FL bishops urge Scott to reconsider execution

Florida bishops called on Gov. Rick Scott to stay the execution of David Alan Gore, who is scheduled for lethal injection Thursday after 28 years on death row.

Gore, convicted for the torture and murder of six women in Indian River County, hunted victims alongside his cousin, Fred Waterfield, who is serving life in prison.

Scott signed Gore’s death warrant Feb. 28.

The Florida Catholic Conference sends a similar letter to the governor before every execution.

Top fundraisers for the quarter include a surprising black-robed bunch

Florida’s top fundraisers for the first quarter this year weren’t politicians or elected officials. They were three of Florida’s Supreme Court justices who face merit retention in November and fear being targeted by opposition groups that swoop in with last-minute campaigns attempting to oust them from the bench.

Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince each raised between $156,000 to $161,000 – mostly from lawyers and law firms -- for their retention effort since opening their accounts in January, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Division of Elections late Tuesday.

It's an amount that, when combined, “ranks among the most ever for a retention race,’’ said Dan Stengle, legal counsel for the justices merit retention campaigns. Lewis has raised $161,638, Quince raised $156,518 and Pariente $158,173.