Nelson: Bush is "cruelly misleading Americans"

No question where Sen. Bill Nelson stands on the question of rolling back the offshore drilling ban. He just sent out a release saying President Bush by lifting the offshore drilling ban is "cruelly misleading Americans for attempted political gain.

"He knows ruining our coastlines won't bring down gasoline prices nor solve our energy challenges," the Florida Democrat said. He notes that a recent administration report found that increasing offshore drilling "will have no impact on gas prices."

Nelson has pointed at oil speculators as the cause of rising prices and is pushing a bill that would ban all unregulated speculative trading in oil futures.

House Dems to oil companies: "Use it or Lose it"

Accused by Republicans of blocking efforts to find new sources of oil and gas, House Democrats today unveiled legislation they say will help lower gas prices by demanding that oil companies use what they say are 68 million acres of land onshore and offshore that they currently lease.

"Before we put Florida's economy and families at risk, I want to know why the major oil companies have yet to drill on more than 68 million acres of federal lands that are already under lease," said Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens, a co-sponsor of the legislation and opponent of plans to lift a drilling ban off the coast.

The act would bar companies from obtaining any more leases until they demonstrate they are producing oil and gas, or developing the leases they already hold.

Republicans have scoffed at the measure, saying oil companies already have time limits to explore and tap leases. They held a dueling press conference of their own, poking fun at two of the Democrats' more liberal members who earlier this week raised the possiblity of the government controlling gas prices.

"Apparently," said Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow. "They went to the Hugo Chavez school of goverment enterprise."

Raul Martinez to help make Dems case

Democrats have picked Democratic congressional hopeful and former Hialeah mayor Raul Martinez to help them make their case for relevancy next month in DC.

Democratic National Committee member Jon Ausman, who filed the appeal asking the national party to recognize Florida's Jan. 29 presidential primary, said he's asked Martinez, a Hillary Clinton supporter and Janee Murphy, a Barack Obama supporter from Tampa to help him make his case May 31 before the national party's rules and bylaws committee. Ausman, a onetime Dennis Kucinich supporter, is uncommitted.

The move is sure to boost Martinez's national profile as he challenges Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, for re-election. Ausman noted Martinez "has already raised a large treasury and is a very credible candidate."

More on the appeal here.

Garcia defends controversial fundraiser

Under fire for inviting an anti-embargo congressman to a campaign fundraiser, Democrat Joe Garcia is looking to turn the tables, assailing Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart for accepting campaign contributions from companies with ties to the Cuban government.

At a news conference, Garcia defended his campaign's decision to invite New York Democrat Rep. Charles Rangel to an April 21 fundraiser. Critics see Rangel as an ally to Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez; Garcia says he's a powerful legislator who could help bring sorely-needed dollars to South Florida.

Diaz-Balart called the New York Democrat a "radical left wing extremist."

Read more here.

Miami's "battle of the titans" reaches the small screen

The looming matchup between Republican Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and rival Democrat Raul Martinez has already been billed as a battle of the Cuban-American titans.

Now it's being paid fitting tribute in a mash-up video that lampoons the expected slugfest. The nearly 2-minute long YouTube video splices together interviews of the two combatative pols with movie clips, portraying them as brawling boxers, bawling babies, sharks and sequined ice skaters.

It ends with a shot of a track-suited Fidel Castro who notes in a phony voiceover, "The one who ends up winning is me."

Democrat fundraiser Inamdar appointed to MDX

   Republican Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday appointed a Democratic fundraiser and affordable housing developer to one of three vacant seats on the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, Herald transportation writer Larry Lebowitz reported.

   Crist appointed Nikul "Nick'' Inamdar, vice president of the Gatehouse Group Inc., to complete the four-year term of lawyer Justin Sayfie, who resigned in late June. The term ends April 6, 2010.

   Before going to work at Gatehouse, Inamdar, 31, of Miami Beach, worked for several prominent Democrats: U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, former Sen. Bob Graham, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and gubernatorial aspirant Bill McBride.

   "It's my first appointment," Inamdar said. "I'm very interested in trying to deal with some of the traffic issues we're facing."

   The 13-member expressway authority is comprised of seven appointees controlled by the Miami-Dade county commission, six by the governor's office.

   Crist still has two vacancies to fill on the MDX board, replacing accountant Darryl K. Sharpton and hotelier T. Gene Prescott, both of whom resigned in late June.

Dems echo ghosts of Crist's past

In a sign of just how strangely bi-partisan and twisted-up politics have become under Gov. Charlie Crist, the Florida Democratic Party sent out an appeal today inspired by a civil rights case that the moderate Republican investigated himself as attorney general.

The e-mail from Democratic state Rep. Joyce Cusack tells the story of Harry T. Moore, who led the Florida State Conference of the NAACP. He and his wife were murdered on Christmas Day, 1951 -- their 25th wedding anniversary -- when a bomb went off in their home.

"Now 56 years later, the Moores' bravery still resonates,'' Cusack writes. "I hope that you'll take time to remember them this holiday season and that this reflection will inspire you to get involved in the 2008 election. No matter how small it may seem, our individual efforts can make a powerful difference.''

Crist supporters would say he did just that. A two-year investigation by his office fingered four dead Ku Klux Klansman. Moore's daughter agreed to talk about the case in a campaign commercial during the 2006 governor's race.

But after the Miami Herald reported that two scholars said Crist failed to uncover new evidence, he pulled the ad, saying he didn't want to politicize the case.

Be a Republican, look cool

The good-looking hipster with the slicked back, slightly mussed hair looks out from his dark shades.

"He's a Republican,'' reads the billboard spotted around South Florida in recent weeks. "But you don't see that.''

A Sunglass Hut official denied that the company's ad is a political statement, but its message is clear: Being a Republican isn't cool (unless you have fabulous hair and expensive sunglasses). Is that you, Karl Rove, behind those Foster Grants?

Read the rest of Beth Reinhard's column here.

Absence of GOP straw poll discourages some activists

Some Florida Republican activists say the state party's decision to forego a presidential straw poll has dampened interest in its annual convention in Orlando.

Applications to serve as "ambassadors'' to the event from some of the largest counties fell short of the party's expectations. According to local party leaders, Miami-Dade got 300 applications for 330 slots; Broward got about 180 applications for 250 slots; Palm Beach got roughly 190 applications for 250 slots. In Pinellas County, about 150 people applied for 240 slots.

State party officials in February decided to jettison a presidential straw poll in favor of a nationally televised debate. The poll would have amounted to a non-binding popularity contest but would have encouraged candidates to spend money and time courting party activists.

"It always means a little more if you do a straw poll," said Mary Ellen Miller, chairwoman of the Miami-Dade Republican Party. "I think we're doing pretty good, considering."

GOP officials say that statewide, the party surpassed its goal of 3,000 applications. "We've had an overwhelming response," said spokeswoman Erin VanSickle.

Note: VanSickle says Broward got 218 applications  and Pinellas got 193.

GOP meeting offers fashion and firearms

Check out two of the activities planned for the Republican Party of Florida's quarterly meeting at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando on Friday:

"First lady of the RPOF'' Lisa Greer is hosting a fashion show, while Chairman Jim Greer is hosting a concealed weapons course taught by Pasco County GOP chairman Bill Bunting. "Last meeting it was a tea party and golf,'' grumbled one female party leader, who sees the social activities geared toward ladies and gents as a bit of a throwback.

Here's a look: Download august_social_event_flyer.doc

Greer was Gov. Charlie Crist's choice to replace Carole Jean Jordan, only the second woman to lead the party.

In between styling and shooting, activists will discuss weightier matters like their delegates to the 2008 nominating convention. Read more here.

Thurman deserves kudos not kicks

The Ocala Star-Banner today opines that Democrat activists should stop fretting about Florida  Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman's side gig with Republican lobbyist Al Cardenas. Read the editorial here.

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson -- who helped recruit Thurman to serve as chairwoman -- said he did not know about her lobbying in Washington with Cardenas until he read the story in The Miami Herald.

Backlash brewing against Fla Dem chief?

Some Democratic leaders are privately fuming over a Miami Herald article that reported state party chairwoman Karen Thurman has been hired by Republican power broker Al Cardenas to help him lobby on behalf of Miami-Dade County in Washington.

Two issues are getting under their skin: First of all, Cardenas, who served as chairman of the Florida Republican Party under former Gov. Jeb Bush, is one of the most prominent GOP bulldogs in the state. Secondly, the party pays Thurman $100,000 -- by most standards, a full-time salary that would allow her to devote herself to Democratic causes.

Pressed for a response, Miami-Dade Democratic Chairman Joe Garcia acknowledged that he had received some complaints about Thurman's lobbying via phone calls and e-mails. He added: "I love Karen, and she's done a great job as party chair.''

Florida Democrats raise 500K

Sightings at the Florida Democratic Party's Jefferson Jackson dinner last night in Hollywood:

Former U.S. Attorney General and failed candidate for governor Janet Reno, who got one of the loudest cheers of the night.

Former Congressman and more recently failed candidate for governor Jim Davis, who thanked the crowd for their efforts in 2006. The line he should have delivered: "I wish it had been me, but at least we elected a Democrat."

Failed congressional candidate - by 369 votes - Christine Jennings, who got a chance to speak on stage along with victorious 2006 House candidates like Tim Mahoney.

In the crowd: Power couple Dave Ericks (lobbyist) and Donna Arduin (former budget guru to Jeb Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger). Hey, didn't I see you guys at the Broward Republican Party's Lincoln Day dinner one week ago? Call it their heartwarming devotion to bi-partisanship. Call it their heartwarming devotion to working both sides.

The Herald story on the gathering is here.

New kingmaker on Miami Beach

The newly elected chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, Joe Garcia, has endorsed a candidate for the Miami Beach City Commission - without approval from other party leaders and before any other Democratic candidates may have launched campaigns.

On party stationery, Garcia distributed a letter endorsing Jonah Wolfson for the Group IV seat currently held by Simon Cruz, who is running for mayor in the Nov. 7 election.

City candidates appear on the ballot without party affiliation, but it's not unusual for local parties to groom candidates for higher office.

The only other candidate in the race is a Republican, Luis Salom, though other Democrats could run on if they filed paperwork by Sept. 7.

"I had a strong candidate and I pulled the trigger,''  Garcia said. "My job is to get Democrats elected."

   

Crist gift in elections bill

The comprehensive elections bill that contains money for optical scan voting machines and moves up Florida's presidential primary also has another little surprise: A provision that gives the governor more control over the executive committee of their own political party.

Deep within an amendment sponsored by Sen. Lee Constantine on HB 537 is a clause that says that the governor gets to appoint 10 registered voters to serve on the state executive committee of his own party. This move comes just a few months after Jim Greer was selected as new chairman of the Republican Party of Florida by a slim 102-89 vote of the executive committee. Gov. Charlie Crist tapped Greer to replace Carole Jean Jordan but there were many members of the executive committee who were opposed to the choice.

Fla Dems raising cash for 2008

The Florida Democratic Party collected $ 1.3 million during the first three months of this year, according to a report posted late last night.

Fundraising outpaced the $872,331 raised during the same period of time in 2003, also a year before a presidential election.

The Republican Party of Florida -- which dominates state government -- raised $3.8 million during the first three months of this year.

Florida GOP rakes it in

The Republican Party of Florida raised more than $3.86 million in the first three months of the year, the first fundraising period under newly elected Gov. Charlie Crist.

In comparison, the party collected about $1.38 million during the first three months of then-Gov. Jeb Bush's second term.

The state GOP's bounty, combined with Crist's high poll ratings, make Florida a favorable climate for the party's presidential candidates.

The latest fundraising report from the Florida Democratic Party was not posted as of Tuesday evening. The deadline is midnight.

Spying on protestors to the 2004 GOP convention

The New York Times reports today that teams of New York City police officers traveled to a number of states - including Florida - to monitor people who planned to protest at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Undercover cops from the "RNC Intelligence Squad" went to meetings of political groups in Miami and other cities, and then filed reports with the police department's "intelligence division."

Read the full story here.

Come meet Joe Garcia

South Florida union leaders are invited to meet with the newly elected chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, Joe Garcia, at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

Garcia, director of Hispanic strategy at the New Democratic Network and the former executive director of the Cuban-American National Foundation, was tapped Monday to lead the local party into the 2008 election.

The meeting will be at the South Florida AFL-CIO conference room at 7910 N.W. 25th St., Doral. Topics will include the direction of the local party and labor issues.

   

Another chance for Crist to hang out with Pelosi

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be in Orlando tomorrow to address the National Farmers Union's 105th annual convention. No word on whether Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who met recently with Pelosi in Washington to lobby for a national insurance catastrophic fund, will swing by to take more pictures with the liberal Democrat from San Francisco.

Surprise guests at Miami-Dade Dem meeting: elected officials

Last night's meeting of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party was unusual. Elected officials showed up.

Among the more than two dozen pols: State Reps. Luis Garcia and Yolly Roberson, North Miami Vice Mayor Jacques Despinosse, South Miami Mayor Horace Feliu, Miami Lakes Councilman Richard Pulido, Palmetto Bay Vice Mayor Linda Robinson, North Miami Bay Village Mayor Joe Geller and Miami Beach Commissioner Richard Steinberg.

Steinberg is running for the Florida House seat to be vacated by Dan Gelber in 2008. Geller is thinking about it.

To read the story about the party's election of a new chairman, Joe Garcia, click here.

A dis on South Carolina confederates

"What's South Carolina brought us except for segregation and starting the Civil War?" so asked Miami Republican Rep. David Rivera, who's sponsoring a bill to make Florida's presidential primary earlier, a move that has bothered pols in smaller states such as South Carolina and Iowa.

The move would lead the national Democratic Party to threatent to keep all of Florida's delegates from the convention floor. The national Republican Party says it will enforce its rules striking half of Florida's delegates.

The response from Florida Democrats and Republicans: So what? The convention is a decisionless TV event.

Crist against using party money on gay marriage amendment

Gov. Charlie Crist said this morning he would "probably not" be in favor of using money raised by the Republican Party of Florida to help get a gay marriage ban amendment on the ballot. Crist made his comments just a day after RPOF chairman Jim Greer said he would support the amendment and was even willing to consider helping the group pushing the amendment financially.

Under former chairman Carole Jean Jordan, the party donated $300,000 to Florida4Marriage.org, the Central Florida group led by John Stemberger, to gather signatures for the amendment. The group fell short of enough signatures to get the measure on the 2006 ballot _ but they have turned in more than 466,000 signatures so far. The total needed to make the 2008 ballot is more than 611,000.

Williams drops bid for GOP chairman

Fort Lauderdale attorney Levi Williams is no longer in the running for chairman of the Broward Republican Party. That leaves Lighthouse Point City Commissioner Chip LaMarca as the heir apparent.

"Sometime you have to make a decision that's in the best interest of the group," said Williams, who if elected, would have been the local party's first black chairman.

Chairman Shane Strum stepped down to serve as deputy secretary for the Department of Management Services. The election will be Feb. 26.

Clampdown on political robocalls moving ahead

Rep. Stan Jordan's bid to crackdown on robocalls done by political campaigns sailed through its first stop on Wednesday and seems destined to make it to the floor of the Florida House. But the bill sponsored by the Jacksonville Republican passed only after members of the House Agribusiness Committee tacked on an amendment that would appear to exempt political parties from the legislation.

Jordan's bill essentially makes it illegal for political campaigns to make automated phone calls to the roughly 7 million Floridians who are on either the state or federal Do Not Call lists. "All we're saying is if you make a political call you do it live and and in color, not a robocall,"  Jordan said.

He agreed to amend the bill after representatives of the AFL-CIO expressed concerns that the law would not allow them to make automated calls to their own union members. Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera voted against the amendment, saying he was concerned that change would allow the parties to keep making automated calls.

After Lopez-Cantera explained why he voted that way, Jordan joked that he was glad to hear that, saying: "We have now put your hubcaps back on your car.''

Despite potential questions about the constitutionality of the bill, Jordan's bill has only one more stop before it goes to the floor. Under the House's new system, the bill was referred to committees that deal with the Department of Agriculture, which maintains the Do Not Call list. The legislation will not be heard by either the House Ethics and Elections Committee or the Committee on Constitution and Civil Law. The Senate companion by the way is slated to go to the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Campaign for Broward GOP chairman is on

In the running for chairman of the Broward Republican Party: Chip LaMarca and Levi Williams.

Chairman Shane Strum has stepped down to serve as deputy secretary for the Department of Management Services. The election will be Feb. 26.

If elected, Williams would be the local party's first black chairman. The Fort Lauderdale attorney was one of the leaders in a lawsuit against the Broward County public schools that argued that minority children had been relegated to inferior schools. He has served as general counsel to the local party and as chairman of the Broward County Board of Trustees. He was an outspoken supporter of Gov. Charlie Crist during his recent campaign.

So was LaMarca, who made the controversial motion for the local party to endorse Crist over Tom Gallagher during the GOP primary. He was elected to the Lighthouse Point City Commission two years ago.

"It should be a very sprited process,'' Williams said. "The local party will be well off no matter which way it goes."

Crist's man wins by lucky seven

Yesterday's vote for Jim Greer as the new chairman of the Republican Party of Florida was unexpectedly close: 102-89. That means that if seven GOP leaders had switched sides, Carole Jean Jordan would have won another term and Gov. Charlie Crist would have had mud on his face.

Activists said the vote had more to do with the rank and file's affection for Jordan than their feelings toward Crist and his little-known choice.

Read a profile of Greer here and click here  to lean more about the intrigue behind the vote, Republican politics and the 2008 presidential election. 

 

RPOF musical chairs

The music at last night's Republican Party of Florida reception in Orlando said it all.

When Gov. Charlie Crist walked into the ballroom, he was immediately greeted by his handpicked new party chairman, Jim Greer. The song playing at that moment: Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man.''

Meanwhile, supporters of the current chairwoman, Carole Jean Jordan, were quietly trying to line up support for her re-election. When Greer took the stage to sing with the band, he belted out Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds.''

Read more about Greer here.

Broward hits a home run in the YR Hall of Fame

Their mommas must be proud. Tomorrow, two former chairmen of the Broward Republican Party - George LeMieux and Ed Pozzuoli - will be inducted into the Florida Young Republican Hall of Fame.

LeMieux is chief of staff to Gov. Charlie Crist. Pozzuoli is president of the Tripp Scott law firm in Fort Lauderdale. Previous inductees include newly elected Attorney General Bill McCollum and U.S. Rep. Bill Young.

"When they put you in the hall of fame, I think it means you're getting old,'' joked Pozzuoli, who is 44.

LeMieux, who is 37, said: "At least I'm still young enough to be a Young Republican."

Just barely. The Florida Federation of Young Republicans defines a YR as a registered voter who is 40 years old or under.

GOP chairwoman refuses to ride off quietly into the sunset

Gov. Charlie Crist is still facing an mini-rebellion from the outgoing state chairwoman of his own party.

After his election in November, Crist tapped Jim Greer, a businessman and Oviedo city councilman who ran the governor's campaign in Central Florida, to serve as chairman of Republican Party of Florida. The current chairwoman, Carole Jean Jordan, was asked to endorse him.

Instead, she sent out a letter to Republican leaders touting her own  accomplishments. And this week, a former party staffer is making calls on her behalf to try to line up support before Saturday's party election in Orlando.

The former staffer, Rhyan Metzler, worked as political director for U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris. In what was probably not a coincidence, he left the campaign the same day that she blamed an Orlando rally's sparse turnout on a last-minute change in location, allegedly because a tree fell on the airport hangar originally chosen. The tree alibi was later retracted.