Despite Public Pressure, Florida Republicans Dodge a Bullet on an Assault Rifle Ban

by Nomad

How should state legislators react in the aftermath of not one but two horrific mass shooting events? Republicans in Florida struggled against public pressure to do something without offending the NRA.

The Return of the Florida Panther: Something Close to a Success Story

 by Endless Summer

A remarkable tale of survival of Florida's wild cat.

A Small Band of Survivors

When European settlers arrived in North America wild cats roamed the entire continent. As population on the Eastern Seaboard increased, habitat for large predators became scarce.

For decades American farmers and ranchers hunted to eliminate predators like wolves and cats, hunted them to the brink of extinction. The survivors moved primarily to the west. But one small band of wild cats moved south. They survive today in Florida’s Everglades.

We know them as cougars and mountain lions, catamounts, puma and panther. Documented by Spanish conquistadors in the 1500’s, by the late 1800’s they had disappeared from the east and the mid-west. Survivors continued to move west, but by the late 1960’s they were threatened with extinction.

The Romney Connection: Why Marriott Fired a Candidate Worker

by Nomad

A Florida case poses the question: What happens when the First Amendment rights of an employee comes into conflict with the corporate free speech guaranteed by the Citizens United decision?

Is it legal for an employer to fire  workers who campaign against their corporate-supported candidate?

Raw Story has a story about a Democratic candidate running for Osceola County Commission who was fired for attempting to unseat the candidate her company supports. Viviana Janer's employer, Marriott Vacations Worldwide reportedly gave her the choice of either quitting her campaign or losing her job of 11 years.

Janer told reporters:

“After a decade of accolades and promotions, I was told my job would be abruptly terminated if I did not drop out of the race. Despite my wish to continue working, I felt I could not turn my back on the many citizens of Osceola County who worked so hard to get me elected. I refused to drop out of the race, and on Friday I was fired from a job I loved.”

According to the termination letter from Senior Vice President and Chief Audit Executive Julie Meyer, Janer was fired because she had not received permission to run for office. 

However, as Janer pointed out, company policy actually encourages political involvement in general.  

Here's how the employee guidelines read:

Marriott Vacations Worldwide encourages your personal participation in elections and government processes. However, you must conduct your personal political activities on your own time and without use of the company’s resources (e.g., stationery, copying machines, or office supplies).

Sarah Palin and Protege Lizbeth Benacquisto Play Magic Trick on Florida Voters

by Nomad

In an effort to show how Tea Party conservatives really (REALLY) are not waging a war on women, Sarah Palin has been been showing up throwing her weight behind female conservative candidates. 

It didn't take long for the giggles to start.

Wherever the shadow of Palin falls, something turns rotten, it seems. According a local news report- A Fox News outlet nonetheless- Florida Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto from Florida's District 30 played an impressive magic trick with the help of Sarah Palin's witchery.

Benacquisto was able to make a simultaneous appearance at two places at the same time,  campaigning in southwest Florida with Sarah Palin, while voting on the Senate floor in Tallahassee.

Senator Benaquisto said she left the capitol early Thursday, though we confirmed business did not conclude that day until 6 p.m. She spent that evening at a barbecue fundraiser for her Congressional campaign with Palin in Naples.
Yet, the voting record showed she stayed in the Senate to continue to vote -- indicating someone voted in her place (in violation of legislative rules.)

Hardly a high crime but it does provide proof- as any more were required- that politicians are much more interested in fund-raising and campaigning for their esteemed position than actually doing the required tasks. A fundraiser is a like a party with a purpose whereas the responsibility of actually voting is dull, dull, dull.

Apparently this sort of absentee voting goes on quite a bit despite the rules. But then a rule never stopped Palin so why should it stop her protege? You can almost hear Palin saying "Ah, rules, schmules! Trust me, girlfriend!"

Political Poisons: Voter Fraud and The GOP Platform

by Nomad

Voter fraud is political poison. It strikes at the heart of representative government. We call on every citizen, elected official, and member of the judiciary to preserve the integrity of the vote. We call for vigorous prosecution of voter fraud at the State and federal level. To do less disenfranchises present and future generations. We recognize that having a physical verification of the vote is the best way to ensure a fair election. “Let ambition counter ambition,” as James Madison said. When all parties have representatives observing the counting of ballots in a transparent process, integrity is assured. We strongly support the policy that all electronic voting systems have a voter verified paper audit trail.

- from the 2012 Republican Party Platform

Like a lot of political proclamations, this party platform sounds pretty sensible, even noble. It’s a platform that few could argue with. However, when it comes to putting it into practice, or even standing by the statement, it’s not so easy. Especially if you are the Republican party.

The Realities of Zero Tolerance

Last week, a consulting firm contracted by the Republican Party of Florida to register GOP voters was being investigated by state and local officials on charges of election fraud, Romney as leader of his party, gave no public statement, condemning any possible wrongdoing.

Will Gov. Rick Scott's Budget Cuts Create A Perfect Storm for GOP in Tampa?

  by Nomad

W

ith the Republican National Convention in Tampa opening on August 27 , Florida governor Rick Scott has been scheduled to speak after House Speaker John Boehner on its opening night. There was, in fact, some question about whether Scott would be invited to speak since his popularity ranks at or near the bottom of governors since he took office last year.

The reasons for his unpopularity are easy to list. As one partisan source tells us:

In addition to the voter purge, Scott’s rock-bottom approval is the product of the Republicans’ unpopular and extremist initiatives. From attempting to restrict women's health care, to attempting to privatize Florida prisons for the benefit of a large political contributor, to a budget that provided zero dollars for public school construction and slashed funding for higher education, Scott and the Republicans spent their months in Tallahassee painting a perfect picture of how truly out of touch the GOP is with the concerns of Florida’s middle class families.

In some ways it is only logical that the out-of-touch Republican leadership should decide that this particular man- who is clearly so unpopular- should be offered a chance to speak at the convention. He is, after all, a proper symbol of what has gone wrong.

Not that the GOP understands that finer point. Throughout Scott's boasting at the convention, absolutely nobody in Tampa will be asking questions about the reasons for this negative opinion of Scott's character, his policies and his performance.

Rick Scott wasn't always so disliked but the honeymoon was surprisingly short.

Governor Rick Scott and Doubts about Florida's Elections

by Nomad

In a recent two-post series, I examined the business career of Florida governor Rick Scott, a man who by most standards would be a very unlikely candidate for higher office. As founder and CEO of a healthcare company which was involved in the largest Medicare fraud in US history, Scott would seem to be unlikely to have aspired to anything higher than a bartender in some small town. Perhaps a born-again preacher.  And yet there he is today, governor of Florida. And ironically the only qualification for holding high office is his... erm.. business experience. 
Of the two questions that remained unanswered about Scott, the most perplexing was: How could such a person, with such a dubious background ever get elected? 

One person thinks he might have found the answer to that. David Kearns,  a former journalist for Florida Today newspaper covering police beat news, city and county government, and the environment, has investigated the suspicious goings-on in Florida's election system. After sorting through the complicated electronic balloting systems, he believes he may have found the method that has been been repeatedly used to rig the election results. 
If Kearns is correct, this audacious election fraud stretched all the way back to the hotly contested presidential election of 2000, which put George Bush in the White House.

The Rise and Fall of Businessman Rick Scott 1/2

Businessman Rick Scott, 
the Face of 
Corporate Healthcare

by Nomad

The story of Rick Scott's career before entering politics is a fascinating one. How a person with such a background would even consider the public scrutiny of a campaign show something about the audacity of the man.

When businessman Rick Lynn Scott decided to throw himself into the Florida governor’s race, he had one significant problem to deal with. 

As a candidate with absolutely no prior political experience, his sole qualification for being the Sunshine State’s governor was his shady history in business. 

A Very Aggressive Corporation

Before he lost his empire, Rick Scott had much to be proud of. At the young age of 34, he co-founded what was to become the largest private for-profit health care company in the US, Columbia Hospital Corporation. 

According to his supporters, Columbia was a wonderful example of how the free market system could be applied to health care, an idea that conservatives have gushed about for decades. Columbia, like Bain Capital, became known for its aggressive business tactics and since its founding had embarked on one of the most aggressive and successful buying and takeover sprees ever seen.