Crist and "the Savior"

Gov. Charlie Crist is trying to be many things to many people as he rounds out his gubernatorial term and continues his campaign for the U.S. Senate. Apparently the latest of those things is football expert.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist thinks Tim Tebow could be the answer to the Jacksonville Jaguars attendance problems.

Crist said Monday that he's talked with the Jaguars ownership about taking the celebrated Florida quarterback in the NFL draft next April as a means to sell more season tickets and keep the team from moving out of Jacksonville.

About 17,000 fans chose not to renew their season tickets this year, many citing the economic climate. About 30,000 seats were empty Sunday for Jacksonville's 23-18 victory over Houston.

Tebow, who grew up in Jacksonville, won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and led the Gators to a national championship last year.

Floridians like me who have lived in the state for many years probably remember Bob Graham's famous "workdays," when he would take on a different job for a day to learn what the state's citizens were dealing with on a daily basis. Well, it looks to me like Crist has taken a page from Graham's book, anointing himself de facto general manager of the Jaguars. Of course, Graham conducted his workdays to understand Florida and Floridians better, while Crist's new "job" smacks more of political pandering, but that's pretty much been Charlie's M.O. for his whole career -- why should he change now?

Seriously, though, I hope Crist thrives in his apparent new role evaluating talent for the Jags. After all, it's a hell of a lot better for our state than his current job ... not to mention the job he wants next.

Coffee with the enemy

Okay, the title is a little harsh ... really, I'm kidding. Mostly. ;)

But I took a few minutes this morning to swing by Pensacola's landmark diner, the Coffee Cup, for, well, a cup of coffee with GOP U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio. I didn't have time to snag any photographic evidence for you -- yes, I know, a dedicated DFH blogger would have gotten there on time -- but I did have an opportunity to introduce myself to the former state House speaker and chat for a brief time just before he departed, and at least I livetweeted the encounter. So there.

I'm not sure how many people were at the Coffee Cup specifically to see Rubio and I can't say whether folks were there but left before I arrived. I saw perhaps a dozen individuals there, including several reporters plus a crew from a local TV station, who wouldn't otherwise have stopped in for the restaurant's renowned breakfast today but for the candidate's visit. But he was working the room like a champ and, given Pensacola's conservatism, on which I frequently have commented here, I'm sure he felt right at home.

Seriously, although (as I said to Marco today) he and I disagree on essentially everything -- even his beloved Gators -- I wanted to welcome him to Pensacola (after all, it's still my home for a few more days) and compliment him on what I believe has been a hell of a good campaign thus far. Marco and I have communicated some on Twitter over the last few months, and he was kind enough to reiterate that he found this blog "interesting" even though we disagree. In the interest of bipartisanship, he also observed that a close friend of his is Democratic attorney general candidate Dan Gelber; I smiled and responded that I could identify with that, since I'm dating a Republican. As he left, Marco jovially expressed the hope that we could agree on one thing sometime. Let's see .... he's a right-wing Republican and a Gators and Dolphins fan. Nope, not likely. (I kid, I kid!)

The larger point, though, is that I was sincere in my compliments on his campaign. No one seems to give Rubio much of a chance against the political juggernaut of Charlie Crist, but I have disagreed with that assessment for months now. As early as last May, I said that Rubio had a decent shot against Crist, and his strategy has been, to my mind, pretty much perfect: focus on the party faithful, generally extremists who are disillusioned with Crist's perceived moderate stances on issues like accepting federal stimulus money and being seen with President Obama (the horror!), and enhance name recognition by handily winning county Republican straw polls and collecting the resulting headlines in the press. Moreover, who are the people who dominate primary voting? Party loyalists, of course -- precisely the kind of people who will vote for Rubio in the Senate primary next year.

Besides all that, there increasingly is a general feeling in the state, among Democrats and Republicans alike, that Charlie Crist is a failure as governor. He wavers between moderation and extremism, properly accepting much-needed federal stimulus money on the one hand and then selling out Florida's precious natural resources on the other. As soon as he does one sensible thing, like welcome President Obama to Florida last February, he has to do something moronic like snub the president the next time around to show Republicans he's "one of them." I don't give Republicans credit for much (except destroying America's economy, running Florida's public education system into the ground, etc.), but I'll say this: they know that Charlie's a waffler. And they like the straightforward (albeit wingnutty) approach that Marco Rubio takes. Plus, I have to admit: Marco seems like a pretty nice guy as well -- for a Gator/Dolphin fan Republican, anyway. (Again, I kid!)

I should add that it was a nice surprise to see the Miami Herald's Beth Reinhard again, after our panel discussion at the Florida Democratic Party convention earlier this month. She asked me what I thought of Rubio's campaign, and I answered that, for the reasons noted above, rank-and-file Republicans (read: wingnuts) more and more are looking at Rubio as a legitimate challenger to Crist; as someone to carry the "conservative" banner on their behalf. Do I think Rubio, if he were to win the GOP nomination, could beat Kendrick Meek in the general election? Of course not -- he'd get stomped because Florida as a whole is looking forward politically, not backward. But I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in 2010 is not a done deal for Charlie Crist. And as national news media are beginning to see, Marco Rubio is a candidate worth watching.

Crist: backpedalling from Obama as fast as he can

I find it difficult, if not impossible, to believe that President Obama was making a two-day trip to Florida and the state's governor didn't know about it. But that's Charlie Crist's story and he's sticking to it:

Gov. Charlie Crist is a busy man, trying to do his job as Florida's chief executive and run for a U.S. Senate seat at the same time.

But it surprised Tallahassee reporters when the governor said he didn't know President Barack Obama was in the state Monday to honor sailors and Marines at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, less than 200 miles from the Capitol.

"Where was he?" Crist asked Tuesday. "First I've known of it."

While the president was saluting the nation's fighting men, Crist was visiting the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood for a 40th anniversary celebration with tribal leaders.

[...]

Crist got a second chance to talk about his decision to ignore Obama's visit, but instead said again he wasn't aware of the Jacksonville stop.

"Explain that comment? Is it unclear?" Crist responded after being asked a couple of hours later following a Cabinet meeting. "I didn't know that he was in the state."

Asked a third time, Crist said he was aware that Obama was coming, but didn't know the itinerary.

White House spokeswoman Gannet Tseggai said Tuesday that Crist's office was notified of the president's Florida visit.

Obama was in Arcadia on Tuesday to announce $3.4 billion in spending for the nation's power transmission system to foster new technologies and compared it to the development of the national highway system a half century ago.

Crist said he didn't join Obama because of Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, although he rescheduled an earlier Cabinet meeting to travel 400 miles to join Obama at the February rally in Fort Myers.

Bullshit. Gov. Crist certainly knew the president was visiting the state -- in fact, he contradicted himself when he answered the third question above. And people wonder why Crist is losing ground to Marco Rubio.

The governor is trying desperately to extricate himself from the mess he created for himself with the wingnuts who control the GOP in Florida when he accepted federal stimulus money and appeared with the president in February. But when he pulls stunts like this, it just makes him look petty and equivocal.

Heckuva job, Charlie. You just keep digging, now, y'hear?

Opt-out: still a bad idea for Florida

Normally I don't re-run blog posts, but in light of the announcement today by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Noballs) that the Senate would move forward with the "public option with opt-out" on health care reform, I think it's important to reiterate what I said on October 8: Florida will opt out of any federal health care scheme if it is allowed to do so via legislation. I believed it then and I see no reason to change my position now.

Below is my explanation, as it appeared on this blog 18 days ago. You also may wish to listen to today's edition of Blast Off! Radio, now archived for your convenience, in which I go into further detail on why opt-out is bad for Florida.

---

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), after consulting with Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), one of the five Democratic senators who voted against Sen. Jay Rockefeller's (D-W. Va.) public option proposal in the Senate Finance Committee last week (another was Florida's own Bill Nelson)*, is circulating a compromise health care reform proposal that purportedly is gaining some traction among moderate Democrats and Republicans alike. Under the Schumer/Carper plan, a vigorous public option would be included in the final bill, but individual states themselves would have an "option:" to "opt out" of the federal scheme. But, in a situation when the "public option" already is a compromise -- we've already backed down from single-payer to get to the "public option" level -- this is a further compromise that is both unwise and unnecessary.

Some observers, like Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com, insist that the "opt-out" is probably the best compromise we're going to be able to get. Silver contends that anyone on the Left who is opposed to it is afflicted with "public option purism" and that this is "leaps and bounds better than most of the others that have been floated," for several reasons:

1) If the public option is indeed popular -- and the preponderance of public polling suggests that it is -- we should expect the solid majority of states to elect to retain it. Perhaps some Republican governors or legislatures would seek to override the popular will in their states -- but they would do so at their own peril (and at Democrats' gain).

2) Behavioral economics further suggests that default preferences are extremely powerful. Making the public option the default would probably lead to much greater adaptation than requiring states to "opt in".

3) If the public option indeed reduces the costs of insurance -- and most of the evidence suggests that it will -- than the states that opt out of it will have a pretty compelling reason to opt back in. Say that Kansas opts out of the public option and Missouri keeps it. If a Kansan realizes that his friend across the border is buying the same quality health insurance for $300 less per month, he's going to vote restore the public plan in a referendum or demand that his legislator does the same in Topeka.

4) Even in states that do opt out of the public option, the fact that voters could presumably elect later to restore it creates an extremely credible threat to the private insurance industry that will itself help to create price competition.

[...]

I wish I shared Silver's optimism, but I can't really see a scenario where Florida doesn't opt out. We already have two wingnut members of the legislature who are proposing a bill (which almost undoubtedly would be unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause) that would prohibit Florida from complying with any federal health care plan, and with a legislature that is pretty overwhelmingly Republican -- and wingnut Republican at that -- I am certain that there would be a bill introduced to "opt out" of this compromise faster than you can say "Terri Schiavo."

But then this bill, assuming it passes, would go to Gov. Crist's desk. Crist, you'll recall, refused to join with many of his fellow Republican governors in the South in attempting to reject federal stimulus funds; he openly accepted them -- and he's taken a load of crap from the Right for having done that. And, of course, Crist is facing a primary challenge in next year's U.S. Senate race from the right, by Marco Rubio. Although there is a lot of skepticism about Rubio's chances, I'm not going to pooh-pooh his straw poll success; it shows a tremendous amount of dissatisfaction among GOP grassroots (such as they are), which basically means the extremists who control the party in Florida as elsewhere.

So, does Crist veto this hypothetical bill to have Florida opt out of the federal scheme, knowing that's the best decision for Floridians, or does he burnish his conservative credentials and sign it in order to improve his electoral chances in 2010? Well, in recent decisions when it's come down to what's best for Florida versus what's best for Charlie Crist, he's tended to go with the latter -- his appointment of his crony George LeMieux to the vacant U.S. Senate is evidence enough of that. I suspect it would be extremely hard for Crist to stand in the way of any opt-out effort from the legislature.

I've been challenged on my position several times on Twitter today. Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, the "Kos" of Daily Kos, has "bet" me that Florida won't opt out. Another insists that the large elderly population in Florida wouldn't stand for opting out ... but, of course, they already have government health care in Medicare, so they're unlikely to be major players in the opt-out debate in Florida. And one contends that any Republican move to opt out would "be the death of the [Florida] GOP ... [Florida will] opt back in in 2-3 [years with Democratic] majorities."

Elsewhere, mcjoan on Daily Kos also predicts that few if any states will opt out, since no state opted out of Medicaid in the '60s (although it took Arizona until 1982 to join):

[L]eaving any people out of the system should be of vital concern to lawmakers. There's a relatively simple fix to that--make uninsured citizens of those states who choose to opt out eligible to enroll in Medicare. Of course, that might create huge citizen lobbies in every state to get their state to opt out so that everyone could join Medicare, but it would be critical fix for covering more of the uninsured.

Well, exactly. There has to be some kind of safeguard so that every American has a chance to exercise the option; otherwise, there might as well not even be a public option for those people whose states opt out. Moreover, I don't think the Medicaid experience is a good means of predicting how things will go now, with rabid wingnuttery having taken a hugely disproportionate role in state government in Florida and elsewhere. Needless to say, it's hardly 1965 out there anymore.

So much for "unwise" ... as for the opt-out proposal being "unnecessary," it's just another in a long series of attempts to earn 60 votes in the Senate ... which the bill doesn't need. I guess it's because Democrats want to make sure they can prevent a GOP filibuster and 60 votes would be needed for cloture ... but Rachel Maddow reported last night that plans were in the works to revoke chairmanships from any Democratic senators who supported oppose cloture ... pretty powerful political pressure, if true, and further evidence (maybe?) that Harry Reid may have grown a pair. But that just shows that all real health care reform needs -- with a meaningful public option -- is 51 votes, not 60 ... so I really don't know why folks like Max Baucus keep pushing for the "magical" 60, except that they really want to dilute the public option beyond recognition.

So, sure, you may support the opt-out, and your state may well reap the benefits of it ... but I'm not so sanguine about our chances here in Florida.

(cross-posted at Daily Kos)

---

* Carper and Nelson subsequently voted for Sen. Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) public option proposal, but that, too, failed.

Blast Off! Radio today at 4:00 pm EDT: Is it 2010 yet?

We're still more than a year away from the 2010 election, but things are really beginning to heat up here in America's Wang™ despite the cooler temperatures. While the gubernatorial race between state CFO Alex Sink and state attorney general Bill McCollum hasn't really hit its stride yet, there are plenty of fireworks to keep Florida political junkies interested in the U.S. Senate and state AG races.

On the Republican side, the Senate race finds Gov. Charlie Crist still comfortably out in front, but former state House Speaker Marco Rubio is exploiting a few chinks in the Guv's armor. Crist has been working hard to shore up his conservative credentials, but Rubio continues to win straw polls of party faithful in counties across the state. People have scoffed at me, but I've been saying for months that Rubio has a solid shot at winning the Republican nomination, and it's the disaffected conservatives who still run the state GOP who are flocking to him ... and those very same conservatives are the ones who are most likely to vote in the Republican primary next summer. Rubio has an uphill battle, but once the rank-and-file Republicans know who he is, they seem to like him pretty well -- and that spells trouble with a capital "T" for Empty Chair Charlie.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek has enjoyed near-exclusivity in his drive for the nomination, with only a challenge from the likeable yet heavily outnumbered Kevin Burns realistically standing in his way ... until recently. Suddenly, former Miami mayor Maurice Ferre has thrown his hat into the ring ... but there are serious questions about where Ferre's loyalty really lies. Why is Ferre surrounding himself with Republican operatives and Democrats who have worked for Crist in the past? It's an important question, and it deserves an answer ... and you'll get some answers on this afternoon's edition of Blast Off! Radio.

We'll also point and laugh at the Republicans in the state Attorney General race, where GOP voters have an unenviable choice between a Palinesque quitter and an ethically-challenged lieutenant governor -- Holly Benson and Jeff Kottkamp, respectively -- as their nominee for Florida's chief law enforcement officer. The irony is rich ... and so is the schadenfreude!

Of course, we'll undoubtedly have the usual look at health care reform and what's going on in Washington, but we'll also talk some today about the offshore drilling debate in Florida and why you won't "pay less" if we "drill here" and "drill now." We'll discuss the absolutely idiotic "birther" movement and explore why such an utterly false and discredited allegation keeps getting attention (hint: we don't have a liberal media!), and we'll revisit our old friends in Pace, Fla., to see what's next on the horizon in the Christianist assault on the Constitution.

It's sure to be an hour full of insight, intrigue, and hopefully a little insolence. But, as always, you make the show work with your calls, chats, emails, and tweets. It's unbelievably easy to be a part of the show -- in fact, you're just a click away:

TIME: 4:00 pm Eastern TODAY

Click here to listen

Call in number: (646) 716-7543

E-mail: blastoffradio-at-gmail-dot-com

So, what's stopping you? Please join me today for Florida's best online radio show, Blast Off! Radio, for a unique and entertaining look at the issues facing the state, the country, and you.

(cross-posted at FPC Blog)

Maurice Ferre: GOP plant?

There's an old saying: where there's smoke, there's fire.

Former Miami mayor Maurice Ferre's recent, sudden, and somewhat unexpected entrance into the Democratic U.S. Senate primary race in Florida to take on presumptive frontrunner Kendrick Meek is generating a lot of smoke around the state ... mostly because of the curious company Ferre keeps.

Never mind the error-prone, amateurish campaign announcements, like Ferre's "premature election" email last week or another email I received the other day that boldly declared (quoting the campaign's own press release), "The Ferre Campaign announced fundraisers in Miami, Fishers Island, San Juan, New York City, Los Angeles, Denver and Sante Fe." (Um, Maurice ... it's Santa Fe. "Santa" as in Claus. "Saint" in Spanish -- a language with which you should be quite familiar. Plus, Santa Fe is in New Mexico, not Florida ... which reminds me, only two of those five fundraisers are actually in, you know, the state you want to represent in Congress.)

No, there's more than badly written emails here. For one thing, Maurice has an influential friend in longtime Republican strategist Roger Stone, a resident of Miami. Stone, the architect of (among other things) the infamous "Willie Horton" ads for George H.W. Bush in 1988 that effectively derailed Michael Dukakis' candidacy, actually is an old pal of mine, too -- I neglected to follow up on it here at the blog (and I wish I had), but a year ago when I did my on-air pre-election pundit gig for the European cable network Sky News, I went mano-a-mano (psst, Maurice ... that's Spanish, too!) with the estimable Stone on continent-wide television, analyzing political advertising -- a bit of a David vs. Goliath scenario, sure, but I didn't totally crap my pants or anything.

Anyway, Adam Smith of The Buzz delved into the Stone-Ferre connection a few days ago:

I didn't take Miami resident Stone especially seriously when he predicted months ago that another Democratic U.S. Senate candidate would emerge and very likely beat Kendrick Meek for the nomination. So when former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre jumped in, I wondered about his relationship with Stone, who has a reputation for being in the middle of bizarre political theatrics- from the "Brooks Brothers riots" that shut down the Miami-Dade recount in 2000 to the Al Sharpton presidential campaign in 2004.

"Roger Stone is a friend of mine for many, many years, and he has been for many years an adviser...He talked to me about this race about a year ago and said you need to keep an eye on this race,'' said Ferre, who also stressed that Stone is not advising or directly involved in his campaign.

Stone - who has previously worked alongside several of Ferre's Democratic consultants - said the same thing: "I'm a Republican. I'm not switching sides." Stone said he backs Charlie Crist, even if it doesn't always seem that way. "Maurice Ferre is a very old friend of mine with whom I have strong regard. I urged him to start looking at this race before Charlie Crist was a canddiate...I have always believed that Democratic nomination could be worth having for a candidate for broad appeal."

"Stone is not advising or directly involved in his campaign." Okay. Indirectly, though? It would be irresponsible not to speculate....

But wait -- there's more. Ferre's campaign manager, Todd Wilder, had worked on Rod Smith's unsuccessful bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2006, but after Jim Davis won the primary, Wilder switched over to support Charlie Crist through a 527 (in Florida, they're known as "ECOs, " or "electioneering communications organization") called the "Coalition for Bipartisan Progress" (CBP) However, not only did Wilder's group support the GOP candidate -- Crist -- in 2006, but subsequently they've been in bed with a lot of other right-wing groups with oxymoronic names like "Families for Conservative Values" and "People for Integrity in Government." So Wilder raised money for Charlie Crist and now he's managing Ferre's campaign for the Democratic Senate nomination ... where the GOP nominee is none other than Charlie Crist? Where there's smoke ....

Seriously, this raises significant issues about the Ferre campaign. What is the significance, if any, of Ferre's connection to a major GOP strategist, Roger Stone? And why is a Crist supporter managing Ferre's Senate campaign -- a campaign in which, if he won the Democratic nomination, he would face Crist in the general election?

You don't suppose they're trying to soften up Kendrick Meek for what is likely to be a hard-fought nail-biter of a general election, do you?

Well, all I can say is, where there's smoke ....

"Opt-out" compromise: a bad idea for Florida

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), after consulting with Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), one of the five Democratic senators who voted against Sen. Jay Rockefeller's (D-W. Va.) public option proposal in the Senate Finance Committee last week (another was Florida's own Bill Nelson)*, is circulating a compromise health care reform proposal that purportedly is gaining some traction among moderate Democrats and Republicans alike. Under the Schumer/Carper plan, a vigorous public option would be included in the final bill, but individual states themselves would have an "option:" to "opt out" of the federal scheme. But, in a situation when the "public option" already is a compromise -- we've already backed down from single-payer to get to the "public option" level -- this is a further compromise that is both unwise and unnecessary.

Some observers, like Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com, insist that the "opt-out" is probably the best compromise we're going to be able to get. Silver contends that anyone on the Left who is opposed to it is afflicted with "public option purism" and that this is "leaps and bounds better than most of the others that have been floated," for several reasons:

1) If the public option is indeed popular -- and the preponderance of public polling suggests that it is -- we should expect the solid majority of states to elect to retain it. Perhaps some Republican governors or legislatures would seek to override the popular will in their states -- but they would do so at their own peril (and at Democrats' gain).

2) Behavioral economics further suggests that default preferences are extremely powerful. Making the public option the default would probably lead to much greater adaptation than requiring states to "opt in".

3) If the public option indeed reduces the costs of insurance -- and most of the evidence suggests that it will -- than the states that opt out of it will have a pretty compelling reason to opt back in. Say that Kansas opts out of the public option and Missouri keeps it. If a Kansan realizes that his friend across the border is buying the same quality health insurance for $300 less per month, he's going to vote restore the public plan in a referendum or demand that his legislator does the same in Topeka.

4) Even in states that do opt out of the public option, the fact that voters could presumably elect later to restore it creates an extremely credible threat to the private insurance industry that will itself help to create price competition.

[...]

I wish I shared Silver's optimism, but I can't really see a scenario where Florida doesn't opt out. We already have two wingnut members of the legislature who are proposing a bill (which almost undoubtedly would be unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause) that would prohibit Florida from complying with any federal health care plan, and with a legislature that is pretty overwhelmingly Republican -- and wingnut Republican at that -- I am certain that there would be a bill introduced to "opt out" of this compromise faster than you can say "Terri Schiavo."

But then this bill, assuming it passes, would go to Gov. Crist's desk. Crist, you'll recall, refused to join with many of his fellow Republican governors in the South in attempting to reject federal stimulus funds; he openly accepted them -- and he's taken a load of crap from the Right for having done that. And, of course, Crist is facing a primary challenge in next year's U.S. Senate race from the right, by Marco Rubio. Although there is a lot of skepticism about Rubio's chances, I'm not going to pooh-pooh his straw poll success; it shows a tremendous amount of dissatisfaction among GOP grassroots (such as they are), which basically means the extremists who control the party in Florida as elsewhere.

So, does Crist veto this hypothetical bill to have Florida opt out of the federal scheme, knowing that's the best decision for Floridians, or does he burnish his conservative credentials and sign it in order to improve his electoral chances in 2010? Well, in recent decisions when it's come down to what's best for Florida versus what's best for Charlie Crist, he's tended to go with the latter -- his appointment of his crony George LeMieux to the vacant U.S. Senate is evidence enough of that. I suspect it would be extremely hard for Crist to stand in the way of any opt-out effort from the legislature.

I've been challenged on my position several times on Twitter today. Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, the "Kos" of Daily Kos, has "bet" me that Florida won't opt out. Another insists that the large elderly population in Florida wouldn't stand for opting out ... but, of course, they already have government health care in Medicare, so they're unlikely to be major players in the opt-out debate in Florida. And one contends that any Republican move to opt out would "be the death of the [Florida] GOP ... [Florida will] opt back in in 2-3 [years with Democratic] majorities."

Elsewhere, mcjoan on Daily Kos also predicts that few if any states will opt out, since no state opted out of Medicaid in the '60s (although it took Arizona until 1982 to join):

[L]eaving any people out of the system should be of vital concern to lawmakers. There's a relatively simple fix to that--make uninsured citizens of those states who choose to opt out eligible to enroll in Medicare. Of course, that might create huge citizen lobbies in every state to get their state to opt out so that everyone could join Medicare, but it would be critical fix for covering more of the uninsured.

Well, exactly. There has to be some kind of safeguard so that every American has a chance to exercise the option; otherwise, there might as well not even be a public option for those people whose states opt out. Moreover, I don't think the Medicaid experience is a good means of predicting how things will go now, with rabid wingnuttery having taken a hugely disproportionate role in state government in Florida and elsewhere. Needless to say, it's hardly 1965 out there anymore.

So much for "unwise" ... as for the opt-out proposal being "unnecessary," it's just another in a long series of attempts to earn 60 votes in the Senate ... which the bill doesn't need. I guess it's because Democrats want to make sure they can prevent a GOP filibuster and 60 votes would be needed for cloture ... but Rachel Maddow reported last night that plans were in the works to revoke chairmanships from any Democratic senators who supported oppose cloture ... pretty powerful political pressure, if true, and further evidence (maybe?) that Harry Reid may have grown a pair. But that just shows that all real health care reform needs -- with a meaningful public option -- is 51 votes, not 60 ... so I really don't know why folks like Max Baucus keep pushing for the "magical" 60, except that they really want to dilute the public option beyond recognition.

So, sure, you may support the opt-out, and your state may well reap the benefits of it ... but I'm not so sanguine about our chances here in Florida.

(cross-posted at Daily Kos)

---

* Carper and Nelson subsequently voted for Sen. Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) public option proposal, but that, too, failed.

Blast Off! Radio today at 4:00 pm EDT: Building the perfect spine?

In the last week or so, we're seeing some curious behavior from certain Democrats in Congress. Formerly a largely meek and subservient species, they're beginning to show -- finally -- that they're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. And by "it," I mean the unwarranted power of Republicans to control debate and legislation when they're not only a minority, but a significantly diminished minority at that. Whether it's Florida's own Rep. Alan Grayson sticking it to the GOP over their so-called health care plan, which basically is "Don't Get Sick, And If You Do, Please Die Quickly," or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) finally showing some cojones, the Democrats are becoming more empowered, and it's nice to see.

Maybe Democrats are finally sick and tired of the constant right-wing drumbeat in the mainstream corporate media ... maybe they're sick of idiots like Glenn Beck and Rep. John Boehner (R-Orange Ohio) and the Sunday morning news shows' darling, Sen. John McCain (R-Shady Rest Nursing Home Ariz.), having their say time and time again without any recognition of what the majority of Americans favors ... but whatever the reason, I can sense a subtle change in direction. Sure, we've a long way to go yet, and on issues like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and, particularly here in America's Wang™, the legal discrimination against thousands of citizens based on their sexual orientation, we're nowhere near resolution. But we're starting to move in the right direction ... and that direction, fortunately, is left.

We'll be talking about the Democrats' newfound spine on today's Blast Off! Radio, and as always, your participation is not only welcome, it's encouraged. Here's how to listen and be involved:

TIME: 4:00 pm Eastern TODAY

Click here to listen

Call in number: (646) 716-7543

E-mail: blastoffradio-at-gmail-dot-com

We'll talk about other issues, too -- like the NRA's attempt to intimidate mayors of American cities and the latest boneheaded appointment by Florida governor Charlie Crist -- and we'll take a look ahead to next weekend's Florida Democratic Party convention in Orlando, where I'll be a panelist for one session. But let's take some time today to celebrate the fact that Democrats are standing up and being heard.

You can be heard, too -- please join me this afternoon to do just that.

(cross-posted at FPC Blog)

Crist's PSC appointee owns bar that exploits women

There have been very few politicians in recent memory as tone-deaf as Florida governor Charlie Crist. Does he have no idea what he's doing? Doesn't he do background checks, or give any consideration to how things look? It's one thing to say "I don't care what other people think" ... but it's another entirely to do so when you're governor of America's fourth-largest state and a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Not long after Gov. Crist essentially appointed himself to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Mel Martinez (by installing his longtime crony and political clone, George LeMieux), the Guv has made another highly questionable decision, appointing Pensacola accountant Benjamin "Steve" Stevens to the state's Public Service Commission.

Stevens has come under fire for part ownership of Rick's Cabana Lounge, a bar in Cantonment, near Pensacola. Crist critics have circulated ads from the lounge which promote "Lingerie Fantasy Fests" and "Dominatrix Night." The governor called the campaign to discredit Stevens "really despicable."

"They're doing it because they're frustrated, because they can't raise rates," he said, noting he chose Stevens because "he's an honest man and he's trying to earn a living." The PSC has been besieged by allegations that commissioners and staff members are too close to the utilities.

Stevens did not respond to requests for comment but Rep. Dave Murzin, a Pensacola Republican and chairman of the PSC Nominating Council, defended him.

"If anybody in the political process thinks owning a bar is a really bad thing and they wouldn't support a candidate because of that, then we've got problems," he said.

Murzin -- who said he has never been in Rick's Cabana Lounge -- said he has accepted campaign contributions from the Florida Institute of CPAs. Stevens was president of the organization from June 2008 to June 2009.

Since 2002, Murzin has accepted $7,000 in contributions from the group's political committees. The committees gave a total of about $309,000 to candidates during that time.

Rep. Murzin, I don't believe the issue here is that "owning a bar is a really bad thing." But you Republicans who are in charge of so much in Florida (which is why our education system blows, why our economy is in the crapper, etc.) need to understand that actions have consequences. You can't tout yourselves as the "family values" party and then have your party's governor appoint people to office who make their living in large part by exploiting women. (Yes, I realize that most Republicans have little regard for women -- or, in the case of women Republicans, little regard for themselves -- but that doesn't excuse them from accountability.) That's the issue, Rep. Murzin -- not owning a bar, but saying one thing and doing another ... something you Republicans are oh, so good at doing.

In fact, Gov. Crist, what's "really despicable" is that you would hitch your political wagon yet again to a person who exercises poor professional judgment. Stevens is entitled to earn a living, sure -- but next time you want to wave the "family values" banner, just remember that one of your most prominent allies is making his money -- and his reputation -- on "Dominatrix Night" at a rural northwest Florida bar. Heckuva job, Charlie.

Florida GOP Police Blotter #14: Top GOP fundraiser/donor indicted for fraud

I never get tired of seeing Republican "leaders," especially in Florida, get caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Oh, yes, I know there is corruption on the left side of the aisle, too ... but for every corrupt Democrat you can show me, I'm quite sure I can show you at least a dozen GOP scofflaws.

Today's example of this is Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, a Hollywood ophthalmologist who has been charged with hindering a state investigation into possible insurance fraud.

[Mendelsohn] surrendered to FBI agents on charges linked to his alleged efforts to thwart a 2000-2005 state investigation into Mutual Benefits Corp., a Fort Lauderdale life insurance company.

An indictment charges Mendelsohn with wire and mail fraud, aiding and abetting wire and mail fraud, and making false statements related to a fraudulent fundraising and lobbying scheme, according to prosecutors.

Mendelsohn raised more than a half-million dollars from Mutual Benefits in 2003 to finance the hiring of a dozen lobbyists and make contributions to lawmakers to stop legislation that would have tightened regulations on the so-called viatical industry. The industry sold life insurance policies of people dying of AIDS and other diseases.

That's quite a laundry list of charges there, Dr. Mendelsohn. What do you suppose all your highly-placed buddies would have to say about that?

Over the past decade, Mendelsohn and his political action committees raised about $2 million from Mutual Benefits, doctors and others for state candidates, including Crist's bid for governor in 2006.

Mutual Benefits gave $525,000 to one of Mendelsohn's PACs, Alliance for Florida's Future, in 2003.

Mendelsohn also was the former legislative director for the Florida Society of Ophthalmology, whose PAC raised more than $1 million over the past decade. Campaign finance records show that money from the ophthalmology PAC was transferred to the Alliance for Florida's Future PAC.

After [Mutual Benefits' former CEO Joel] Steinger turned on Mendelsohn, the ophthalmologist — who had a reputation for boasting of his political connections to GOP lawmakers — tried to help his own defense by working with the FBI starting in the summer of 2007, the sources said.

Mendelsohn claimed that he was able to win over [Gov. Charlie] Crist, [now-U.S. Sen. George] LeMieux, [Crist's general counsel Paul] Huck and others on Steinger's behalf.

To bolster his claim to the FBI, Mendelsohn made a secretly recorded call to LeMieux at the governor's office in July 2007. LeMieux, who served as a deputy attorney general under Crist when he was attorney general, had just managed Crist's successful campaign for governor.

In the call, the doctor spoke about Mutual Benefits and how he had raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for candidates and lobbyists to help the firm's legal and political efforts in Tallahassee, sources said.

To LeMieux, the call seemed suspicious, as if Mendelsohn were trying to implicate him, the governor and others, sources said. LeMieux alerted Huck, who called the FBI.

Ah, I see ... they loved the doctor when his dollars were flowing to their campaigns, but as soon as the heat was turned up, they threw him under the bus. Nice.

So, Sen. LeMieux and Gov. Crist (who, contrary to popular belief, are not one and the same) .... you're just going to let your buddy rot on the police blotter? You just don't like him now that he's in trouble?

Figures. Your hands probably are dirty enough as it is.

Is Crist circumventing Florida law on judicial appointments?

Although I think he's a rather genial guy (I've found that to be the case on Twitter, at least), I usually would be loath to agree with U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio (R-West Miami) on most any issue, except maybe whether to have steak or seafood. But I think we've found one political thing on which we can concur: questioning the actions of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in establishing "shadow panels" to vet possible nominees to the bench:

Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, who is opposing Crist for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination next year, said the panels operate “outside the public light” and have politicized the process.

“It appears the decision is being made to appease certain demographic groups,” Rubio said. “It’s so he can say: 'I appointed judges like you.' ”

Crist spokeswoman Erin Isaac defend the practice.

“To get to know and best assess the legal abilities of candidates, we sometimes engage respected and knowledgeable individuals from the community,” Isaac said.

The Florida Constitution provides for a Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC), whose members are appointed by the governor. The JNC reviews applications for vacancies on the various state courts and compiles a list of three to six names from whom the governor must appoint the new judge. This is very clearly spelled out in the Constitution (Art. V, sec. 11; Art. V, sec. 20, para. 5 et seq.), and there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of wiggle room. So while the Constitution concededly doesn't address informal advice to the governor, Crist's custom of creating these "shadow panels" arguably takes the process away from the JNC and, therefore, may be unconstitutional. At the very least, it gives the appearance of impropriety in a process that ought to be free from undue interference as much as possible.

I mean, the governor already selects the JNC. Does he really need another layer of sycophantic advisors to help him make these decisions? Marco Rubio wants to know and, frankly, I do, too.

Blast Off! Radio today at 4:00 pm EDT: I'll take "Potpourri" for $400

Did you ever have one of those days when you just weren't sure what you should do? I mean, there's no one BIG thing on the agenda, so you just kind of pick up the threads of a bunch of little things hanging out there ...

Well, that's kind of what today's Blast Off! Radio is like. We're going to go free-form, stream-of-consciousness today to some extent ... but we'll make sure to touch on a few interesting items of note from the past week in Florida and national politics. There's the selection of George LeMieux, a trusted Charlie Crist aide, to be Florida's next U.S. senator ... the ongoing wingnuttery with regard to health care reform (and the town halls that evidently make the right-wing crazy!!) ... a look at the latest hypocritical hate from Florida's radical Christianists ... and of course some discussion of the legacy of Ted Kennedy. Plus, we'll commemorate the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's destructive visit to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, not too far from the broadcast location of Blast Off! Radio today, and we'll take a moment to recall what the president was doing that very day.

As always, though, your participation makes the show happen. It's oh, so easy to be a part of Blast Off! Radio ... here's all you need to know:

TIME: 4:00 pm Eastern TODAY

Click here to listen

Call in number: (646) 716-7543

E-mail: blastoffradio-at-gmail-dot-com

I hope you'll make a point of joining me today for all the snark and substance of Blast Off! Radio. Catch you this afternoon!

(cross-posted at FPC Blog)

It's Senator LeMieux

In a move that comes as not much of a surprise but could prove detrimental to Gov. Crist's own Senate hopes, the governor shortly is expected to nominate has chosen his former chief of staff and campaign manager, George LeMieux, to fill the remainder of U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez's term.

We all knew that Crist would choose someone who had no designs on staying in the Senate seat that the governor covets, so that eliminated a number of potential GOP candidates who would have had to give up their current positions or who still had higher political aspirations (see, e.g., Daniel Webster). But the selection of LeMieux brings to mind the old "spoils system" -- you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours -- and while LeMieux surely is nothing more than a placeholder for the next year or so, the appointment is perceived by at least one leading Florida Republican as "only slightly less damaging than appointing himself."

This can only be good news for Rudy Giuliani Marco Rubio, whose strong performance in county GOP straw polls to date shows Crist's weakness among party loyalists. While Crist continues to lead statewide polls and, not incidentally, the fundraising race handily, there's still a long way to go, and I think Rubio is savvy enough and wingnutty enough to make some political hay from this Senate nomination.

Time will tell ... but the early line from here is that Crist doesn't do himself any favors with this pick.

Mel bids farewell

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) announced today that he will resign from the Senate "effective on a successor taking office to fill out the remainder of [his] term." Martinez gave essentially the same reason for this decision that he gave when he announced last December that he would not run for reelection in 2010: like most Republicans these days, it seems, he wants to spend more time with his family. (While that euphemism from a Republican usually means "I'm facing imminent indictment," I actually tend to believe Mel on this one.)

Martinez's name had been thrown around for a number of education related positions in the state, notably president of Florida International University and chancellor of the state university system (SUS), but both of those positions recently were filled, by former SUS chancellor Mark Rosenberg and former Florida Atlantic University president (and lieutenant governor) Frank Brogan, respectively. So I guess we don't really know yet what's next for Mel ... but the more interesting question is: who's next for the Senate from Florida?

Florida law stipulates that the governor declare an election to fill the vacancy at the next general election -- which already was going to happen anyway -- and in the meantime, appoint a replacement. Of course, Gov. Charlie Crist already is running for Martinez's seat in 2010, but even though there appears to be no legal impediment to the governor appointing himself, or resigning and allowing Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp to appoint him, it seems unlikely he'll do that, as Politico already has reported. For one thing, the big knock against Crist from Democrats is that he's "cutting and running" from the governor's office while Florida is facing an economic crisis, and if he went to Washington now, he'd just reinforce that perception. Secondly, Kottkamp is a political disaster, and Republicans undoubtedly want to keep him as far from power as possible.

The only thing certain is that the appointee will be a Republican, so watch for the hopefuls to line up quickly. In the meantime, we thank Sen. Martinez for his service. Even though he's a Republican, his vote for the Sotomayor nomination and support for relatively sensible immigration reform -- both of which went against the tide of his own party -- shows that he's not a total tool, and for that we all should be grateful.

UPDATE (8:51 pm 8/7/09): At least one article refers to Martinez's resignation as "clearing a path" for Crist. I think it's a little early to say that, but the article does reveal a couple of early favorites for the short-term appointment: former Florida secretary of state Jim Smith and former governor Bob Martinez, both (of course) Republicans. Stay tuned ...

Charlie Crist: careening to the right

I knew all along that as soon as he announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was going to have to move to the right in order to burnish his conservative credentials in the primary battle against former state House Speaker Marco Rubio. After all, Rubio is trying to position himself as the true conservative Republican candidate, in an effort to cast Crist as too moderate. But I didn't really think ol' Charlie would move so far right so quickly.

Yesterday, when Crist signed into law SB 360, thus pleasing the corporatist Republican powers at the expense of regular Floridians like you and me, he showed that from this point forward, we can expect him to fall all over himself to prove that he's a worthy successor to the disasters legacies of folks like Jeb! Bush (whose seat he occupies) and Mel Martinez (whose seat he wants).

Of course, this isn't an isolated example. Just last week, he did the politically expedient thing with regard to the state budget. Never mind that the budget already cripples the state's public education services among other things: Charlie sought to win some votes by vetoing the 2% pay cut for state employees -- looks populist, but it's not*, because it helps the few (state employees) at the expense of the many (the rest of us) -- and, more egregiously, he buckled to pressure from the NRA and gun nuts and restored $6 million in spending for a program that expedites delayed firearms permits. Clearly, the governor must think that pissing off the NRA is no way to win the GOP Senate nomination over Rubio, let alone the Senate seat itself.

All I'm trying to say with all this is that if you're walking with Gov. Crist, stay away from his right side ... because otherwise, you're liable to get run over.

---

* I imagine many, including Bill Cotterell of the Tallahassee Democrat, disagree with me and see this move as counter to conservative doctrine, because it helps rank-and-file government workers; my take, though, is that it was more politically motivated -- to get votes -- than altruistic and generous. In short, I don't trust Charlie Crist.

Gov. Crist: just say no to 360 Never mind.

Got an email last night:

Hi Asshat,

I'm assuming since you're an asshat in the far right's eyes you're probably a pretty decent guy, and I know you've "never really been the type to stand around and watch, especially when half-truths and lies are being disseminated with no one to challenge them" so I'm writing to enlist your help in urging Gov. Crist to veto SB 360, the bill which will gut Florida's growth management laws. The Governor was supposedly going to sign it a couple weeks ago, but he delayed the signing, most likely in response to the thousands of calls he received opposing it. He still has not vetoed it, though, and he has until Tuesday to do so; if he does not veto the bill it will become law, even without his signature. Crist is under intense pressure from developers to sign the bill, so if the phones stop ringing we can pretty much count on it becoming law. I respectfully request that you urge your readers to contact the Governor immediately at (850) 488-4441 to ask him to veto SB 360.

I created this video to provide a summary of the issue, and I welcome you to use it in any way you see fit if you think your readers might find it useful. I've also included some links below that provide more information on the bill. Thank you so much for your time and assistance on this matter.

You had me at "Hi Asshat."

Seriously, though, this is an unbelievably bad bill for Florida. Check out the video and you'll see what I mean. Pay particular attention to the way in which the bill defines "dense urban land area," and you'll see how the GOP-dominated Florida Legislature is trying to pull the wool over our eyes:

Speculation is that Gov. Crist is going to let this bill become law without signing it, given his apparent shift to the right in preparation for his U.S. Senate campaign. Of course, as my correspondent notes above, tomorrow is the deadline, so it is especially important that we who love Florida share with the governor, who also is a Floridian and should know better, exactly what a disaster this bill, should it become law, would be for the state.

Oh, and below are the links mentioned in the email. You ought to check them out and learn more about this heinous exploitation of our home state's land and natural resources.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/1065316.html
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article1003741.ece
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/politicalwhore/2009/05/25/senator-mike-bennett-serves-up-the-kool-aid-on-sb-360/
http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/2009/05/happy-memorial-day-remember-gov-crist.html
http://www.news-press.com/article/20090526/OPINION/905260322/1015

Call the governor's office: (850) 488-4441 Do it now. Don't let Charlie's phone stop ringing. Florida's future depends on it.

UPDATE (2:52 pm 6/1/09): Adam Smith quotes the Orlando Sentinel as saying Crist plans to sign the bill. CALL NOW!

UPDATE (4:34 pm 6/1/09): Gov. Crist signed the bill into law this afternoon. Way to burnish those right-wing credentials by selling out Florida, Charlie.

(cross-posted at FPC Blog)

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner 2009: liveblogging, page 3

Rep. Corrine Brown is speaking now. I forgot that she always starts speaking by saying, "God is good," waiting for the response "All the time," then she says "All the time" and people respond "God is good." The response was, well, tepid.

Anyway, she's talking about education, focusing on how Florida ranks 50th in public high school graduation rates. She met with Gov. Crist and discovered he did not even apply for a funding waiver from the federal government that would have meant literally billions of dollars. She says she is determined to work on changing Florida's direction.

Rep. Allen Boyd speaking now: "the most important function of our federal government is to make our homeland secure. We have the strongest military in the world ..." I'm not surprised to hear Blue Dog Boyd speak on this topic ... then again, they may have saved it for him, since each member of Congress is speaking about a different topic. He recounts how he returned from Vietnam to "an ungrateful nation." Therefore, we must make sure that those returning from war now are taken care of ... "but unlike the other party, we realize that will take money."

All Dem members of the state House have taken the stage. Looks a little crowded up there -- there are over 40 of them. Of course, they still represent less than a third of the entire House because of the completely disproportionate GOP majority under which we suffer ...

UPDATE (6:50 pm 5/30/09): Florida's Democratic state senate delegation just appeared on stage, or (as Mario Piscatella said) at least those who are running for higher office. Sen. Nan Rich spoke on their behalf ... sorry, I drifted for a while, so I wasn't really listening. So sue me.

Now there's a lull with music (no, I'm not the DJ, although I would have done it if asked) as they prepare for, well, I've really no idea what exactly. I'm sure it's going to be Very Exciting, though. Stay tuned.

Some helpful advice for the Republican Party of Florida

You know, RPOF, you're looking at a real uphill climb in the 2010 elections. I mean, maybe Charlie Crist can get elected to the U.S. Senate on his popularity alone -- provided he can get past the people who dislike him most, you Republicans, in the primary. But beyond that, your candidates look a little, um ... alike.

At a time when the Florida electorate is growing increasingly diverse, the Republican party is gearing up to field an all-male, all-white slate in 2010.

In contrast, the Democratic front-runners for the top of the ticket are U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a 42-year-old African American running for the U.S. Senate, and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink for governor, who would be the state's first female chief executive. A handful of Hispanic and Jewish Democrats are potentially in the mix for attorney general and chief financial officer.

"It's something I see as an advantage for Florida voters, that the Democratic ticket could end up looking like it represents Florida's population," said Ana Cruz, a top Meek advisor.

The Republican front-runners for statewide office include Gov. Charlie Crist for Senate, Attorney General Bill McCollum for governor, Senate President Jeff Atwater for chief financial officer and U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam for agriculture commissioner. Putnam is the only one of the GOP candidates under 50 years old.

Hmmm ... basically a bunch of old, white men. Should we rename the GOP to the GOML, for "Get Off My Lawn?"

What you need is someone who's not a white man. Say, someone with widespread name recognition ... a history of deeply loyal Republican behavior ... maybe even some past congressional experience.

And I think I have just the candidate for you:


Come on, RPOF: Bring. It. On. (You know you want to ...)

Blast Off! Radio today at 4:00 pm EDT: "Musical Chairs" in Florida politics

It's been an interesting week in Florida from a political standpoint. First, Gov. Charlie Crist announced that he will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, setting up a tough primary fight with former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, the darling of the extreme Right.

Then, predictably, everyone began to move around the deck chairs on the Titanic. State CFO Alex Sink declared her candidacy for governor, instantly becoming the Democratic front-runner (and earning Blast Off!'s endorsement almost immedicately following her announcement), while on the GOP side, state Attorney General Bill McCollum has announced his own gubernatorial candidacy today; state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson may join him there. And in the most unintentionally hilarious such situation, Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, whose tenure in Tallahassee has been plagued with charges of corruption, mused last week about running for ... get this ... Attorney General! (It'd be funny if it weren't so sad ...)

So, naturally, today's Blast Off! Radio will cast its eye on how 2010 is shaping up in Florida politics -- after all, I know we sometimes neglect the fact that the show is part of the Florida Progressive Radio Network! But there is plenty of other news to cover, too, including President Obama's speeches at Arizona State University and the University of Notre Dame (lots of hypocrisy to go around in both venues ... and not by the president), an important court ruling in Florida for same-sex couples wishing to adopt children, and a discussion (maybe even ... a rant?!) about whether certain people (*cough* Republicans *cough*) who benefit personally from federal stimulus money might change their tune about Obama now (short answer: are you kidding?).

All this and more, of course, including your phone calls, emails, and chatting in the always-entertaining chat room. But how can you be a part of this frolicsome festival? As usual, it's oh-so-easy to do:

TIME: 4:00 pm Eastern TODAY

Click here to listen

Call in number: (646) 716-7543

E-mail: blastoffradio-at-gmail-dot-com

(I got the link to the show right today ... for once!)

So whatever you're doing this afternoon at 4:00 Eastern (3:00 Central, etc.), just click on over to yet another exciting edition of Blast Off! Radio -- you'll be glad you did!

UPDATE (3:51 pm 5/18/09): Well, that's never happened before.

A technological glitch with my cell service (yes, my bill is paid up!) caused my call, and thus the show, to end prematurely and abruptly with about 15 minutes to go. I'm trying to figure it out now.

Apologies to all listeners; we'll be back in business next week at the usual time for a special Memorial Day edition of Blast Off! Radio.

Another hat in the ring: McCollum announces bid for governor

In a decision that surprises no one, the ever-ambitious loser Bill McCollum (R-You Ever Giving Up?) has announced that he's running for governor of Florida.

Currently the state's Attorney General, McCollum had a lengthy career in Congress before coming to the curious decision that the state deserved a leader of his caliber (by which I mean "BB"), no doubt in the afterglow of his co-management of the Clinton impeachment hearings in the U.S. House. However, unlike his fellow manager Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, he couldn't use the impeachment as a stepping-stone to the U.S. Senate, losing the 2000 election to Democrat Bill Nelson.

McCollum did go on to win the AG post in 2006, albeit against little-known state senator Skip Campbell, who himself went on to bail out of a winnable election that might have returned him to the state Senate in 2008. This hardly burnishes McCollum's record, and he further demonstrated his questionable judgment by eagerly signing onto that electoral Hindenburg, the 2008 presidential campaign of Rudy Giuliani, as his Florida chairman. Bottom line: if McCollum had anything whatsoever to do with Giuliani's disastrous strategy of putting all his eggs into Florida's basket (did he, for example, "guarantee" a Rudy win in the primary?), then he certainly ought not be anywhere near the governor's desk.

The last state AG to run for governor, of course, was none other than Charlie Crist. But McCollum may face opposition from his own party, as state Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson is considering entering the race. Bronson's candidacy would further splinter the state GOP, already reeling from innumerable missteps and mismanagement in 2008, but Bronson probably has a decent shot at winning the nomination against McCollum, who has the campaign acumen of a bowl of wet Corn Flakes. Whether Bronson runs or not, the Republicans appear disorganized and McCollum seems like a consolation prize. And against a Democratic Party unified behind Alex Sink, that doesn't bode well for their chances to retain the governorship ... which, of course, is excellent news for Florida.