Bill Nelson's touching eulogy about "my friend, our friend, Danny Inouye"

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson's seeming silence about the death of Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye was surprising yesterday, but he was travelling and didn't just want to send out a written statement. So Nelson took to the floor today and gave quite a eulogy.

The text:

Mr. President, I want to speak about my friend, our friend, Danny Inouye.

It’s been a week of emotion, and when you look at that black-draped desk with the white flowers, it’s hard to believe that so much a part of this institution is gone as a living, breathing part of the institution.  But, as a part of its history, its memory, its institutions, its values, Danny epitomized all of that.

That is particularly true that he was first a gentleman.  I guess you’d have to say first he was a patriot.  And, all you need to do to see how much he was a patriot was the fact that he had one arm missing when he charged, single-handedly as that Army Lieutenant, that German machine gun nest and took them out and lost his arm and ended up 20 months in the hospital.  Of course we all know he got the Medal of Honor years later, recognition well-deserved.

A tale of two FL Sens: GOP's Rubio mourns death of Senate Dem, and Dem Bill Nelson?

Two notable reactions from Florida's Senators concerning the death of Hawaii U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye:

Marco Rubio quickly issued a touching two-paragraph statement that encapsulated the spirit and history of the man. In these partisan-hack times, the Republican's press release hit gracious notes about his now-former Democratic colleague, a "Greatest Generation" war hero. Rubio's website features a link as well to his statement.

And Florida's senior senator?  Nothing yet. UPDATE: Nelson gave a touching eulogy the following day on the Senate floor. He was travelling Monday and didn't have the time to write the right words, a staffer said.

Normally one to sprint to the TV cameras or blast out a press release on the topic of the day, Nelson's office has yet to send anything out. Nor does the Democrat have anything posted on his website, which does feature a video of him talking about the "fiscal cliff," a statement about an ex-Marine locked up in Mexico, and a grip-and-grin pic with Alonzo Mourning.

 

 

FL Dems shredding each other over party chair race. Will Taddeo-Goldstein drop out?

Fresh off the president’s big win, Florida Democrats are starting to tear each other up over who will lead the state party.

In one camp: Allison Tant, a Tallahassee fundraiser for President Obama who was urged to run by Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and Broward Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee Chairwoman.

On the other side: Alan Clendenin, a Hillsborough County retiree, and Annette Taddeo-Goldstein, a Miami-Dade business woman recently elected to chair the county party.

Some insiders expect Taddeo-Goldstein to drop out of the state chair race soon, but she couldn’t be reached for comment on the speculation. The backers of Taddeo-Goldstein and Clendenin deeply resent the involvement of party leaders in the race.

“This is a slap in the face,” said Victor DiMaio, a Tampa Bay consultant and backer of Clendenin. “He has run for this office for months and now higher-ups in the hierarchy are trying to shove him aside."

Sen. Bill Nelson urges Justice Department to join Dozier graves investigation

From the Tampa Bay Times:

Sen. Bill Nelson on Wednesday called on the Department of Justice to assist a team of anthropologists and archaeologists from the University of South Florida that has been investigating the deaths of nearly 100 children at Florida's oldest reform school, the now-shuttered Dozier School for Boys outside the Panhandle town of Marianna.

Nelson (D-Fla.) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder after the USF team released a report on Monday saying it had found 50 grave shafts on school property, 19 more than Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators found during an investigation in 2009.

"The reform school may yield some ugly reminders about our past, but we absolutely must get to the bottom of this," Nelson said.

The USF team also said it believes there is another burial site on what had been the white side of campus before integration in the late 1960s. Erin Kimmerle, a professor and forensic anthropologist, said Monday that she had been in contact with the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida to talk about how to proceed. The team is continuing its investigation.

The state was trying to sell the property, but a judge ordered the sale be put on hold while the team searches for the remains of a boy who died under suspicious circumstances in 1934. The boy's family has been trying to locate his remains for decades.

"For the sake of those who died and the family members still living, we've got to find out what happened at that school," Nelson wrote to Holder. "I'm asking your department to provide support and assistance to USF researchers in a broadened search to look for more graves, as well as forensic evidence of possible crimes. The families deserve closure once and for all."

Read more here.

 

Sen. Bill Nelson: We're still pushing for more customs agents at Miami International Airport

Sen. Bill Nelson said Tuesday that he is continuing to ask for additional federal agents for Miami International Airport, which for months has had a shortage of officers at its new, $180 million immigration and customs facility.

Nelson, a Florida Democrat, told members of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce who were visiting Washington that 65 new customs agents have been added at MIA in the past year, and 93 over the past two years, according to a news release issued by his office.

But the chamber representatives said the airport still needs more federal personnel to keep up with the expanded facility and increase in cargo and international passengers.

"The first thing people see when they get off a plane is a long line to go through customs," Nelson said in the statement. "That's no way to foster tourism."

Republican Gov. Rick Scott made a similar request for additional customs agents to the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, in September. Nelson's office said he also called Napolitano about the matter in April.

Exit polls: Nelson defeats Mack easily

ORLANDO Democrat Bill Nelson strolled easily into re-election for a third term Tuesday, demolishing Republican challenger Connie
Mack IV by a wide margin in a bitterly fought and expensive contest.

Nelson, 70, will return to Washington as the only Democrat in statewide office in Florida and with a goal, he said, of breaking the partisan gridlock that has marred
progress for the past two years. 

“In this toxic atmosphere, you must understand that Connie Mack is my opponent. He is not my enemy,’’ Nelson told an enthusiastic crowd at about 9 p.m.
Tuesday. He told supporters he will “try to reach across the asile and build consensus so that we can govern this country.”

His victory comes despite being outspent by his challenger in a $39 million race, the most expensive race of his political career.

Mack, 45, had hoped to unseat Nelson for the job once held by his father Connie Mack III, who retired in 2000 and was replaced by Nelson. But the Fort Myers congressman
never could get ahead of Nelson in the polls despite an estimated $22 million spent by Mack and outside political groups.

Mack addressed his supporters at 9:30 and told them that it was “with some sadness tonight that we didn’t win but, I’ll tell you this: I’m very proud of
the campaign we ran,’’ he said. “This is not an ending. This is just a beginning.” 

Mack’s entry into the race was highly anticipated among Republicans as part of a multi-state strategy to win the four seats needed to retake the U.S. Senate. 
 

Bill Nelson returns to old-fashioned sign-waving on closing day

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is an old school guy, so he stuck to an old school method of campaigning Monday in Orlando, waving signs at Bumby Avenue and Colonial Drive. He's been working the corner since 1972, he said, and says it still works.

"Just listen, and you'll be able to tell," the 70-year-old Democrat said, his face beaming at when cars honked their approval. At his side was his wife, Grace. Nelson was scheduled to appear later in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, his Republican rival Connie Mack IV joined Mitt Romney at a rally at the Sanford airport Monday morning and then had plans to travel to Tampa and finishe the day in Naples. 

Photo by Scott Keeler | Times

-- Alex Leary

Herald poll: Nelson holds 6-point lead; 49-43 over Mack

UPDATE: Republican Mitt Romney’s coattails do not appear to be long enough to carry U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV into the U.S. Senate, according to a new Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald/Tampa Bay Times poll.

Democrat Bill Nelson, 70, a two-term senator from Orlando, retains a six-point lead in the high profile match-up, as Republican ticket-splitters and independent voters continue to provide the crucial margin Nelson needs to return to Washington.

According to the survey of voters taken Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, Nelson leads Mack 49-43 percent and gets one out of every nine Romney voters — a sign that voters are looking for “someone who can work across the aisle’’ in the closely-divided Senate, said Brad Coker, director of the non-partisan Mason Dixon Polling and Research, which conducted the poll.

“Independents aren’t sold that Republicans have the answers, and they aren’t sold that Democrats have the answers,’’ he said.

The breakdown on the Romney voters: 80 percent vote for Mack, 12 percent vote for Nelson, 4 percent vote for the other Senate candidates and 4 percent are still undecided. Story here.

David James, deputy campaign manager released this statement: 

“The problem with the poll is that it has 5% more Democrats than Republicans. That wasn't even true in 2008 when the cult of Obama was at its height. In a normal election like 2004, Republican turnout was plus 4% which is why this result may be as much as 10% off of the mark.

“Democrats are voting 70% less in early voting to date compared to turnout in 2008.  In the 2008 election, Democrats were only plus 3% in the final returns.

“We expect this election to be more like 2004, and our analysis is based on the eventual turnout being at least plus 3% for Republicans.  If the voting trends seen in the Mason-Dixon poll continue, when based on accurate modeling, Connie Mack will be elected and Mitt Romney will thrash Barack Obama."

 

Sen. Bill Nelson and Obama's campaign sound like they disagree about early vote hurdles in FL

When the GOP Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott cut the number of early voting days in Florida, it clearly targeted one of the Democrats' favorite methods of voting (background here).

Now, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is joining other Democrats and liberal groups in calling on Scott to extend early voting into Sunday -- a day specifically eliminated by Scott when he signed HB 1355 in 2011.

"Combined with too few polling locations and a lack of adequate parking at many of them, an untold number of Floridians may be deprived of an opportunity to vote," Nelson wrote in a letter he just sent to Scott, mainly referencing reports in The Miami Herald.

It seems President Obama's campaign, however, disagrees.

Here's what Florida manager Ashley Walker told The Tampa Bay Times when asked if "the rules of the game (shortened early voting hours) are working against you?"

Walker: "They're not. They tried to stack up the rules of the game against voter registration. We ran the largest voter registration effort this state has ever seen. They decided to decrease early vote so that they have more of an emphasis on vote-by-mail,and we played on their playing field and cut into their margin. And now each day we're stacking up votes on early voting, and we're turning out more of their sporadic voters than they are."

**Update: The Obama campaign says Walker's comments are being taken out of context when juxtaposed with Nelson's in this case.

Said spokesman Eric Jotkoff: "“There is no disagreement here. Our campaign and Senator Nelson are on the same page. As we have made very clear, we support any efforts to make it easier for eligible Floridians to vote.  There has been record turnout at Early Voting sites across the state showing the huge enthusiasm. Yesterday alone, 343,000 Floridians made their voices heard in this election by going to Early Vote and today all signs point to another day of record turnout.”

 Another aspect worthy of discussion: the press release from Nelson's office saying that he's "seeking to avoid a chaotic Election Day Tuesday."

Nelson joins call to Scott to extend early voting hours, amid four-hour wait

U.S. Senator Bill Nelson has asked Florida Gov. Rick Scott to extend early voting hours as voters line up in four-hour waits in Miami Dade, Broward and Orange counties.

Nelson, a Democrat, said that Scott's refusal to extend the polling hours threatened to jeopardize "the credibility of Florida's election." 

He and others have asked Scott to use his exective powers to issue an emergency order extending early voting hours at least through Sunday. The governor has rejected earlier calls to extend early voting to help alleviate long lines at the polls. His predecessors, Govs. Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist used their executive authority to extend voting hours during their terms.

Meanwhile, voters are spending hours in line Saturday — the last day for early voting. Some sites are reporting a wait time of about four hours in Miami Dade and Broward counties, while locations in Hillsborough and Duval counties are reporting between 15 minutes to an hour.