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?

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)

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.

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.

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.

Crist is in for the Senate. Now what?

I'm a little late to the party, I know ... but as you know unless you've been living under a rock for the last few days, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has announced that he's running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Republican Mel Martinez. This sets up a vicious primary fight on the GOP side, featuring Crist taking on neoconservative whackjob and former Florida House speaker Marco Rubio ... and Rubio went on the offensive almost immediately yesterday with this online ad trying to position himself as the true conservative candidate:

Of course, Rubio's difficulty, beyond the mere fact that Crist is arguably the most popular figure in Florida politics since Jeb! Bush, is that his brand of conservatism is anachronistic and generally disdained by most voters -- yes, even here in Florida, as last year's presidential election proved.

Still, the primary election is setting up to be a true humdinger of an electoral battle. My take is that Crist will win the general election handily -- if he gets that far. But despite his popularity, Crist has taken some real political hits from his own party for welcoming the Obama administration's stimulus money and, more generally, just for not being as open to strapping on the swastika armband like the more conservative wing of the GOP.

If Rubio can marshal those wingnut forces and get them behind his candidacy with money and time -- and votes -- he could upset Crist in the primary. But if he does, I believe he's going to be hammered in the general election by whoever emerges on the Democratic side between U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek and state Sen. Dan Gelber ... neither of whom stands a chance, in my estimation, against Crist. Bottom line: Florida remains a deeply divided state, but although the extremes on both sides are noisy, it's usually the moderates who win out. Moderate Republicans (and Democrats) probably will carry the day for Crist in the general election if he's in it ... but are their enough moderates in the GOP to overcome the wingnuts in a party-specific race?

Anyway, barring some unforeseen, Foleyesque misstep between now and next year, I think it boils down to the Republican primary. Will the more extreme GOP voters (and Florida has a whole mess of 'em) stay ideologically consistent and vote for Rubio? Or will they realize that their party's electoral chances overall are far better with Crist in the general and hold their collective noses to vote for him, in order to keep that Senate seat red? Only time will tell ...

Discovering the Rubiosaurus

Scientists this week uncovered a previously unknown species of dinosaur through fossilized remains announcing their candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Florida. Christened the Rubiosaurus, this new species is characterized by prehistoric attitudes, outdated viewpoints, and extinct perspectives ... to wit:

Rubio, a Miami-area lawyer, left the House last year after serving two years as speaker. He is a charismatic public speaker whose conservative message is well-received at Republican events. He has spent the past few months appearing at Republican dinners and other gatherings, including a "tea party" tax protest last month.

He has been critical of the federal stimulus plan and federal bailouts, saying Washington shouldn't be as heavily involved in the economy. He also says the current administration is using taxes to redistribute wealth.

Rubio also said he wants to push for a constitutional amendment that would require the federal government to balance its budget.

Rubio believes some Republicans are becoming indistinguishable from Democrats.

Yeah, those tea parties were rousing successes, weren't they? That's okay, Marco: just keep saying that Obama is a socialist and push for more deregulation, since that worked so well during the last adminstration, and the Obama=socialist charges stick like eggs to Teflon. This guy may be only 38, but politically he's a true dinosaur.

It's kind of funny to see Rubio throw his hat* in the race before Gov. Crist has made his decision public ... Rubio vowed not to be scared of Crist, but it does seem like a Pyrrhic gesture at this point, given that Crist's Senate candidacy seems pretty likely (at least from where I sit).

Hey, Marco, did you ever consider that Republicans may be aligning themselves more with Democratic principles because most Americans prefer Democratic principles? But, you know, good luck with your campaign. You're gonna need it ...

---

* While typing that, I initially wrote "throw his hate in the race." Guess I need an appointment with Dr. Freud ...

Senate race in Florida in 2010 is wide open: Mel Martinez won't run, nor will Alex Sink

The news just broke that U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) has decided not to run for a second term in 2010, in order to -- you guessed it -- spend more time with his family.

Just the other day, I made the case for state CFO Alex Sink to run for this seat rather than for the governorship, but that's apparently off the table as well.

So now what?

On the Democratic side, look for some up-and-comers to consider a run, like state senators Dan Gelber and Dave Aronberg. Unlike some, I don't see Rep. Ron Klein or Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz making a serious run for the gig, simply because I don't think they'd be very strong candidates statewide and they have more potential for leadership in the House (although Klein is being targeted heavily by the GOP for 2010).

For the GOP, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bill McCollum take another crack at it (although he really just needs to sit down and shut up). Also possible: former state House speaker Marco Rubio and maybe even state Sen. Jeff Atwater, if he's willing to give up his Senate leadership position so soon.

No matter what happens, though, with an open seat, there are sure to be suitors aplenty. The silly season is barely over, but here in America's Wang™, it seems to be starting up all over again already.

UPDATE (12:22 pm 12/2/08): TheHill.com suggests other possible candidates, like Democratic congresspersons Allen Boyd, Robert Wexler, and Kathy Castor.

Boyd's too blue-dog to be a viable candidate, and as much as I love Wexler, he would have the same problem, in my opinion, as Klein and Wasserman Schultz: no following statewide. Castor? As Sarah Palin might say, let me get back to you on that one ...

(cross-posted at FPC Blog)

Wingnut welfare for Ray Sansom ... and he's not even out of office!

It used to be that Wingnut Welfare -- Republicans arranging jobs for themselves or their cronies in exchange (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) for certain political favors -- didn't come into play until the wingnut in question was, or was about to be, out of office. For example, Marco Rubio (R-Miami), the batshit crazy former speaker of the Florida house, landed a sweet gig at FIU once he was term-limited out of office.

But, like equally batshit crazy state Sen. Mike Haridopolos (R-Indialantic), who secured a cushy job at the University of Florida while still in office, Rubio's successor as speaker, Ray Sansom (R-Destin), managed to get a six-figure position at Northwest Florida State College ("NFSC," formerly Okaloosa-Walton Community College), which just happened to benefit from millions of legislative dollars that just happened to be steered their way by Sansom, who just happened to chair the House Policy and Budget Council.

The assistance, documented in a memo the St. Petersburg Times obtained this week through a public records request, highlights the close relationship between Sansom and the college president, Bob Richburg.

Last week that affiliation burst into public view when Sansom was given a $110,000 job as a vice president at the college.

It came on the same day Sansom was sworn in as speaker of the Florida House, a juxtaposition that has elicited cries of cronyism.

Sansom, who has a master's degree in education, denies any correlation and says he was merely doing his job as a citizen legislator.

But the extra $24.5-million was not the only boon to the school, renamed Northwest Florida State College in July under legislation Sansom supported that boosted the school's ability to offer bachelor's degrees.

State records show the college received $1-million more than initially budgeted for an extension center in Walton County and $105,000 more than initially budgeted for general renovation.

Sansom also got $750,000 added to the budget for "startup funds" for the college's leadership institute, according to records the House released Wednesday. The Times reported last week that it got $200,000, but that was based on a preliminary request.

The amount ballooned some time before a Dec. 5, 2007, meeting between Sansom and college president Richburg. A memo from the meeting details how the two discussed accelerating funding — hence $1-million becoming $25.5-million.

That was the single-largest public education capital outlay (PECO) award for community college projects this year.

Not even Miami-Dade College, which has 160,000 students to Northwest Florida State College's 15,000, fared better in a single budget line.

I've worked in Florida's community college system, and I have never seen a more politically charged, "good ol' boy" atmosphere anywhere in my professional career. See, the problem here is not that NFSC got state money ... it's the fact that it got such a disproportionate amount of state money that raises eyebrows -- and questions.

The PECO money is hard to come by -- I know from working in community colleges and state universities. The schools battle for it tooth-and-nail, trying to secure funds for much needed classroom space, faculty offices, and the like. Particularly in these difficult budget times, isn't it just a little bit curious that NFSC gets a huge chunk of money and then hires Ray Sansom?

In law, we call it "avoiding the appearance of impropriety." Needless to say, Sansom and NFSC, even if they haven't done anything wrong or illegal (and I find that a dubious proposition at best), hardly have avoided the appearance of impropriety. This needs to be investigated and, if any wrongdoing is found, punished accordingly. Otherwise, it's just business as usual for Florida Republicans.

Wingnut welfare for Marco Rubio

Well, it seems our old friend Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio found himself a nice, cushy gig after he's term-limited out of the legislature: working in one of the very state universities his asinine property tax cuts have decimated.

Rubio, of Miami, was offered a part-time job at Florida International University. He will co-teach a class on politics at FIU’s Metropolitan Center. His term as speaker in the Florida Legislature ends Nov. 4.

Rubio will also line up guest speakers and develop plans for local governments to build affordable housing.

Rubio’s salary will be $69,000, paid for by private donations. The announcement of Rubio’s new position comes one month after the school raised tuition by 15 percent, cut 23 degree programs and 200 jobs.

Yeah, they'd better use donations to pay his salary. It sounds like it's a position they created for him ... which really shouldn't surprise me. But $69,000 for a part-time gig co-teaching, getting speakers, and working with local governments?

Oh, that's right. He's a Republican, so it's okay. Never mind.

(h/t nash, via e-mail)

UPDATE (3:24 pm 7/25/08): I meant to mention that this situation sounds very much like the gig Sen. Mike Haridopolos (R-Indialantic) got to "teach" at UF. That one hits close to home, because Haridopolos previously landed a $150,000 "advance" from a Florida community college (where I once worked) to write a book that, to be kind, was not that great and which has never been published. Once again, though, IOKIYAR.

What hath tax cuts wrought?

Open up the paper today and you'll see more good times resulting from the odious Crist-Rubio tax cuts. And by "good times," I mean lost jobs, decreased public services, and personal hardships aplenty.

From today's Palm Beach Post:

---

2 courts purge total of 27 jobs

Statewide budget cuts hit home Monday as circuit court officials announced how they trimmed more than $766,000 in salary costs: Eliminate 16 positions.

Among them are law clerks, case managers and administrative staff for magistrates - behind-the-scenes people who help judges and magistrates streamline the crush of cases.

It was not the dramatic furlough of many more employees, including judges' assistants, once considered. Nevertheless, Chief Judge Kathleen Kroll said it will have an impact residents will observe in delays and hindered public access to the court.

The staff cut comes as caseload continues to increase, Kroll said. Legislators created 38 additional crimes in the last session and as the economy falters, court business like foreclosures and domestic violence cases increases.

Chief Deputy Court Administrator Krista Garber said 10 court employees were notified Monday that they have their jobs until July 1. Other eliminated positions were vacant.

Some of the long-term state employees were stunned at the news, Garber said. But most agreed to stay until month's end to help in the transition to fewer staff.

---

Attorneys for Dade's poor vow to spurn most felony cases
Underfunded and overwhelmed with cases, the Miami-Dade Public Defender's office plans to refuse certain cases.

[article appeared in the Post but link is to the original source, the Miami Herald]

The Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office plans to begin turning away thousands of cases in the coming weeks, arguing it is so short-staffed and underfunded that attorneys can't effectively cover their assigned cases.

"We're dancing as fast as we can. We can't keep this up. We don't have any alternative," Public Defender Bennett Brummer said Monday, noting that his attorneys are required by the Constitution to provide adequate representation for indigent defendants.

Brummer's plan: Refuse most felony cases. The office will continue to take cases in juvenile and misdemeanor court and the most serious felony cases -- first-degree murders and capital sexual batteries.

Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein is considering a similar measure.

"No public defenders office can provide effective assistance because we are overwhelmed with cases and have inexperienced lawyers and have high turnover," Finkelstein said. "There is a line as public defenders we cannot walk across. The judicial system is crumbling."

Brummer blames state legislators for creating the problem.

"These people have a choice as to how much conduct to criminalize," he said. "They should be living within their means, too. They can posture and be tough on crime without regard for their ability to support the courts that are necessary to process their cases."

But state Sen. Victor Crist [no relation to Gov. Crist, except that they're both Republicans], chair of the Justice Appropriations Committee, said Brummer is grandstanding "because the cuts weren't that severe and they can find better ways to deal with them."

---

Way to go, Charlie! How nice that a former state attorney general can manage, as governor, to "crumble" the judicial system. Thirty-eight new crimes and millions of dollars less to prosecute them ... which is okay, because the defendants won't have their constitutional access to representation anyway.

And don't you love Sen. Crist's response? It's another version of "I've got mine, so screw you" -- the standard bleat of the overfed, selfish, rich-and-ignorant Republican.

Of course, the damage isn't limited to Florida, as the Bush Boom(!) has brought us this sampling of headlines and subheaders in today's Business section:

Construction bust takes toll across economy

Big losses force out CEO at Wachovia: Bank's shares plunged 58% in year

WaMu does corporate reshuffling

Economic lags, bank shake-ups blamed for Wall Street retreats

Boca-based tech firm reports loss

Airline losses forecast

U.S. Marriotts weak

Honestly, I can't understand how anyone in command of their senses can vote Republican this year ... well, any year, really, but especially this year. The economy in Florida and nationally is in the shitter, and it's Republican policies that have led to this near disaster.

At least in Palm Beach County, they're doing something about it, by considering an 8.3% increase in county property taxes to try to staunch the bleeding caused by the statewide GOP tax cuts. But the damage is done already, and if Sen. Victor Crist's callous disregard for the citizenry is any indication, it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Someone give Gov. Crist a fiddle ...

... because he might as well fiddle while Florida -- at least its economy -- burns down around him.

Just take a look at section B of the Palm Beach Post today. The front page of the section alone has three articles about the drastic measures Palm Beach County and its municipalities are having to take in order to contend with the cuts in revenue caused by the heinous Crist/Rubio tax cuts.

At the top:

Cuts prompt exodus at state attorney's office
-- Longtime homicide prosecutor is latest to resign

With the office's budget cut 6 percent this year and projected to be slashed another 10 percent for the year beginning July 1, career prosecutors are jumping ship, too. The latest: Homicide prosecutor Patrick McKamey. His last day on the job is Friday. McKamey is joining the criminal defense law firm of Perlet & Shiner, where he will make more than the $80,000 he's paid as a prosecutor.

Husband and wife Heidi Perlet and Marc Shiner also are former Palm Beach County prosecutors, as is another attorney in their firm, Darren Shull.

McKamey, 40, has been a prosecutor for nearly 12 years. With no pay raises or cost-of-living increases for two years, McKamey said he has taken a pay cut when inflation is factored in.

"When you get to that crossroads financially, you start losing ground," McKamey said. "I made the financial sacrifice as long as I could to do something I love. It was a hard decision. I struggled with it for months."

McKamey is married with a 2-year-old son, and he said that was a factor. "If I were still single, I could have weathered the storm."

Earlier this month, Michelle Marken quit the office after about seven years. She too blamed the lack of pay or cost-of-living raises now and in the foreseeable future. Marken was making $67,729 and prosecuted difficult crimes against children cases, in addition to arson cases. She has gone to work as a prosecutor in Virginia.

"This is the second year we're going to be stagnant," said Al Johnson, a 15-year veteran of the office. "Basically, there is no future in the state of Florida in the state attorney's office - that's what the legislature is saying."

[...]

"You cannot put a three-year prosecutor in crimes against children," Johnson said. "Patrick's caseload doubled in the last three weeks."

It could get worse before it gets better. In order to make payroll if next year's budget is trimmed 10 percent, [State Attorney Barry] Krischer says he will have to lay off some attorneys. This on top of other experienced prosecutors he lost in recent months. Among them: Stacey Ibarra, who went to the statewide prosecutor's office, and Jennifer Millien, who joined the U.S. Attorney's Office.

[...]

[T]here were 5,131 active felony cases as of April 14, including 2,141 that were 6 months old or older, Johnson said. "The less time you can devote to each individual case, you're going to see more cases fall through the cracks. We cannot concentrate on every case.

"The public is suffering now. They just don't know it yet."

These are real consequences, folks: the real effect of the few hundred dollars that Crist and House Speaker Marco Rubio have put back in a few Floridians' pockets (mostly wealthy homeowners who don't really need the extra cash).

Want more evidence?

$36 million in school cuts seen; officials say it could be worse

Palm Beach County schools will need to cut $36 million from its budget next year after legislators approved the 2008-09 education spending plan they plan to finalize on Friday.

The cuts amount to a 2.7 percent budget reduction, slightly better than the state average.

Florida would spend about $130 less on each of its 2.6 million public school students next year [according to] the state budget. In Palm Beach County, the per-pupil cut would be $117.

[...]

District officials point to school districts such as in Broward and Miami-Dade counties that drew up multiyear contracts promising rising salaries to teachers.

Now those districts may have to go back on their promise or lay off teachers to make ends meet. Miami-Dade Superintendent Rudy Crew already recommended the school board suspend raises negotiated two years ago.

It's the same thing that happened in the early 1990s, when Palm Beach County schools had to renegotiate its contract with teachers after it couldn't afford promised raises.

Okay, so let's see what the damage is so far: we're sloughing off law enforcement personnel left and right, our public schools are suffering cuts they can't afford, and attorneys and teachers alike are losing or are at risk of losing their jobs. Nice work, Charlie!

But wait -- there's more!

Delray residents pitch in on budget

Facing a difficult budget process in the coming months, the city should consider freezing employee salaries, combining the police and fire departments and dissolving the community redevelopment agency.

The recommendations were among the dozens of cost-cutting ideas residents offered at a small forum Tuesday night at the Delray Beach Golf Club.

[...]

Delray Beach, like most Florida cities, is bracing for a bloody budget process this fall because of a decrease in tax revenue from the voter-approved property tax amendment combined with a failing economy and stagnant housing market.

The city must approve a budget by the start of the new fiscal year, Oct. 1.

Kucera urged commissioners to spend wisely and find small ways to increase revenue, such as increasing parking fees. Other residents proposed increasing the fines for driving and code violations, charging user fees for parks and using the tennis complex for more events.

We shouldn't have to do this, Charlie, not in an already sluggish economy. And we likely wouldn't -- at least not to such a great extent -- but for the hard-on you and Marco have for burnishing your Good Republican Credentials (an oxymoron if there ever was one) by pushing through tax cuts the state neither needs nor can afford.

Let me put it more simply, Charlie: you are slowly strangling Florida. Is that what you want your legacy to be? You can be the governor who forced Florida into bankruptcy! Congratulations, Gov. Crist!

I can see it now: Tallahassee, 2011. "Sorry we don't have a gold watch to present to you as you head off into the sunset, Charlie, but here's a hearty pat on the back for burying the state in mountains of debt. You did more to destroy the state in four years than Jeb! could do in eight. Way to go!"

The picture's not much better in the rest of the country, thanks once again to Republican asshats making the decisions in Washington. Why, just look at the Post's Business section, starting on pages 10B and 11B of today's paper. The headlines alone are sick-inducing:

Flouring Dilemma: Global demand finally affects U.S.

Consumers continue to see grim prospects
(featuring a graphic headed "Confidence free-fall")

State incentive fund to lure big biotech dries up

Nursing home costs up, especially in Florida

Sounds just peachy, doesn't it? I know, I know ... no one could have predicted that we'd be paying nearly $4 a gallon for gas and having stores ration flour and rice and ... well, that's a bunch of bullshit, and Charlie, you know that as well as anyone. What the fuck were you thinking, pushing tax cuts in the midst of a recession that threatens to become a full-fledged depression?

We're going to remember this, Charlie. And I for one won't let you forget.

(cross-posted at Florida Progressive Coalition Blog)

Fuck the legislature

Sorry, but it's come to that. I'm just so pissed off at the dumbfuck Republicans who run this state, I could scream. Or rant. Maybe I'll just rant, then.

If you've been reading this sucky blog, you know that Florida's fiscal woes are causing huge difficulties for local and municipal governments (among others) as they try to figure out how they're going to cut even further from budgets already strained to the max. I've been telling you that services are going to be cut and that it's ultimately going to affect every Floridian's quality of life in a very real sense. But the Republicans just smile and point to the few hundred bucks they're "giving back" to homeowners through the property tax cuts. Never mind the fact that law enforcement is going to be in the shitter very, very soon:

Palm Beach County's criminal justice system is in crisis as arrest rates soar and legislators are set to slash millions to the lawyers and court system that must process the cases, State Attorney Barry Krischer said Thursday.

Krischer, speaking before a group from Leadership Palm Beach County, depicted the 10 percent budget cut currently bandied about by legislators as an inevitability.

"On July 1, I will not be able to make payroll in my office without laying off an additional 12 attorneys," Krischer told the group.

Already, he has dismantled four key specialized units in his office that prosecuted economic crimes, crimes against children and the elderly and felony domestic violence cases. Those highly specialized prosecutors, who understand sophisticated DNA techniques for rape cases or forensic accounting for fraud cases, have been reassigned to help cover the crush of filed crimes, expected to hit 20,000 this year, he said.

"I cannot provide public safety. I cannot adequately represent victims if I don't have trained, experienced lawyers in the courtroom and they are slowly but surely moving out of the office," Krischer said.

Public Defender Carey Haughwout also spoke of the budget cut's impact on her office, which provides lawyers for the poor. Haughwout portended at some point this year standing up in court and refusing to accept new cases. She has a constitutional and ethical duty to do so, she said.

"I can't have a lawyer handling 200 or 300 felony cases. That's a joke to say that's effective representation. We're not going to cover up and just make do," Haughwout said.

The current budget cut will eliminate substance abuse education and treatment in prison, where as much as 80 percent of crimes committed are related to drugs, she said. "It's nuts as far as I'm concerned."

It's criminal, really, and I don't say that as an exaggeration. The legislature, or more accurately the Republicans in charge, led by chief dumbfuck wingnut House Speaker Marco Rubio, has well and truly fucked Florida. The beauty of what they've done, if you can call it that, is that the real effects of the tax service cuts trumpeted by Rubio won't be felt until after the 2008 election, when Rubio is term-limited out and people turn their attentions elsewhere. Besides, that Gov. Crist is just such a nice guy.

Well, fuck you, Republicans in the legislature. And anyone who voted for these asshats, you can just forget about complaining when you are a crime victim and can't get the suspect prosecuted, or you call 911 and it takes a little longer for the response -- just long enough for someone to die -- or your parks and community pools go to shit ... well, just shut the fuck up. You wanted these morons, you got 'em.

And the whole state has to suffer for your ignorance.

Since when is immigration a state concern?

I can't believe I have to admit that I'm on the same side as Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R-aving lunatic), but for once I am.

This other wingnut in the state House, Trudi Williams (R-Fort Myers), has introduced an immigration bill in Tallahassee:

A package of immigration-related bills has been slated for a workshop session today in the House Committee of State Affairs.

Included in the half-dozen proposals is a measure by Rep. Trudi Williams, R-Fort Myers, that would allow illegal immigrants being held in jail to be voluntarily returned to their country of origin at state expense.

No votes or action can be taken at a workshop, which is for discussion only. At this late point in the session, a workshop for bills means its outlook is bleak.

The Senate companion to Williams' bill is sponsored by Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, and it had its first committee hearing about a week ago.

It passed, but only after Bennett revised it to mirror an already-existing federal program, saying that could help it survive questions about legality and intrusion into federal matters.

Putting aside for the moment the obvious-yet-customary GOP racism and xenophobia inherent in this kind of immigration "reform," the biggest problem is that such a program could cost the state up to $70 million, at a time when Florida faces its biggest fiscal crisis in decades.

Moreover, as Rep. Rubio points out, the Wangian™ legislature has, well, other priorities:

Additionally, House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-Miami, and a likely candidate for Miami-Dade mayor after being termed out this year, said he, too, had problems with the bills intruding into federal matters.

While the measures have been popular with many voters — some anti-immigrant organizations have produced ads attacking Rubio for blocking the proposal — Rubio said the House has other pressing matters taking members' attention.

So Marco and I agree. Great.

Perhaps I should see a doctor.

The damaging legacy of Jeb! Bush, Vol. 4: School spending next to last in U.S.

Blast Off!'s continuing series about the damage done to Florida by Jeb! Bush and his minions looks once more at education, where the former governor's scorched-earth strategy seems to have had the most effect.

A report in today's Palm Beach Post reveals that Florida ranks next-to-last among the states and the District of Columbia in school spending relative to wealth.

For every $1,000 of residents' personal income, Florida spends $33.51 compared with the U.S. average of $43.34. Comparably poor Georgia ranks 13th, spending $48.21 for every $1,000.

Residents in South Florida and parts of the Treasure Coast, also bear an uncommon share of the burden.

Though local school districts spend less on education per student than the national average, they tend to pay a much larger portion of the bill.

Local funding in property-rich Palm Beach and Martin counties accounts for 70 percent and 74 percent, respectively, of all education spending, compared with 48 percent for the average U.S. school district. St. Lucie County is closer to the norm. It ponied up 55 percent of total school funding in 2006.

Palm Beach County is more generous than Treasure Coast school districts when it comes to spending per student, but it still pays only $8,345 compared with a national average of $9,138. Martin spends $7,674 and St. Lucie $7,239 per child.

The U.S. Census Bureau this week released detailed public school finance figures for every U.S. school district from the 2005-2006 school year as part of an annual report.

Given the state's budget crisis, local school districts will be forced to cover even more of the cost to educate Florida's children, said Vern Pickup-Crawford, a lobbyist for Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie county school districts.

The state employs a Robin Hood formula, which takes money from districts with high property values and healthy tax rolls and feeds a portion to poor districts. There have been three lawsuits in the 30 years since the formula was enacted, Pickup-Crawford said. The courts upheld the formula in each case.

Meanwhile, on the same page of the paper, we see that the ludicrous and destructive Crist-Rubio revenue slashing has increased the burden on school districts profoundly.

The Palm Beach County School District will have to ax between $25 million to $30 million next school year under proposals released Wednesday by the Florida House and Senate.

It was no surprise for the district, which had expected next year's $1.5 billion operating budget to be the worst it's seen in more than a decade, but it comes at a time when the district has already made cuts to its budget and faces rising costs for utilities, fuel and health insurance.

"We have a challenge," Superintendent Art Johnson said at a school board discussion on the budget. "We do not have a crisis at this point, but it's not business as usual."

[...]

If passed, the budget would mark the first time in a decade the district is getting less money from the state than the year before. Just two years ago, the budget grew by $99 million.

The district is faced with making the cuts a few months before it opens three new schools, which will increase spending on electricity and personnel by $3 million. The interest it earns on investments is also decreasing, which will leave the district with $5 million less than a year ago.

Unlike in previous tough budget years, when the district could leave teaching positions unfilled to save money, the state's class-size amendment requires caps on class size, making it more difficult to make significant cuts in the budget.

I realize all of this has been a conscious strategy by Jeb! and his GOP sycophants, later folks like Crist and Rubio, to destroy public education in an effort to advance truly repugnant ideas like privatization and vouchers. However, the real damage is done to our children, who are left behind as always by Republicans. You see, needless to say, Republicans don't give a shit about children or education or the poor, no matter what rhetoric they might use to suggest otherwise. All they care about is making themselves and their cronies richer, and one way some believe they can do that is to privatize everything.

Republican rule has been disastrous for Florida, economically, educationally, culturally, and morally. As a former educator and one with two small children who are or will be in Florida public schools, I'm disgusted with the way education has been minimalized and compartmentalized by our state's leaders.

It's going to take years to undo the damage done by the Bushies, but we're going to have to start by kicking the idiots out, beginning this fall. A tall order, I know, given the social conservatives who dominate the state outside of the Glans™ ... but just as Howard Dean's 50-State Strategy brought gains in Congress for the Democrats, so too must we implement a 67-County Strategy in Florida. Our kids deserve our best effort ... and under GOP rule, they're getting far from it.

Destroying Florida: it's the Republican way

Okay, class. Pick up your number 2 pencils ... and ... begin:

1. You live in a state in a fiscal crisis, with municipal services being cut, state employees being laid off, and facing an additional $24 billion cut in revenue over the next five years. In addition, there's always the threat of a natural disaster, but the revenue cuts have limited your state's ability to respond adequately to a catastrophe. And you're a decisionmaker who can help influence the economic course of your state in the future. What's the first thing you do?

1. Explore options for increasing state revenue through higher taxes.
2. Propose limits on state spending by eliminating superfluous programs
3. Develop a plan to reduce the flow of state money to municipalities even further by capping revenue, making sure to exempt your hometown
4. Quit your job and move to Paraguay before the grand jury can indict you
5. None of the above

Well, if you are Duval County Tax Collector Mike Hogan, although you ought to pick "D," you choose "C." And you're a batshit crazy wingnut as well.

Hogan is a member of the infamous Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, which we discussed yesterday as a committee thereof tries to route state money to churches. This is a wholly separate proposal in which Hogan is trying to put the brakes on rampant government spending.

Wait ... we have rampant government spending in Florida? Uh, no. Quite the contrary, in fact -- our municipalities generally are damn near bankrupt. But that's not stopping Hogan and his, um, heroes:

An economist hired by the commission predicts that despite Florida's slow economy, the measure will force the state to cut $1.2 billion in taxes by the 2010-11 fiscal year and local governments to cut $375 million. While that will give taxpayers more money to spend, Miami economist Tony Villamil predicts it will also slow the state's economic engine and decrease employment.

The caps will allow people to keep more of their money, he said, but private-sector employment will rise only moderately and wages will decline. The result will reduce the state's overall economic output, he said.

Hogan modeled his original version after the controversial Taxpayer's Bill of Rights Colorado passed in 1992 and suspended in 2005. Similar proposals are being promoted in dozens of other states by conservative and libertarian groups. Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio touts it as a key component to making the state more affordable for working families.

If the amendment gets on the ballot and passes, Rubio told a group of tax cut proponents from Miami on Tuesday, "never again will government grow faster than our economy."

He predicted that Hogan's changes will be enough to win the commission's approval.

If the cap had been in place between 2001-06, Miami-Dade and Broward counties would have been forced to return billions in property-tax revenue and an undetermined amount in other revenue.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning Washington-based think tank, estimates the state would have had to reduce taxes $5.6 billion during that time.

Hogan, a former Jacksonville state legislator, says the cap is needed to let taxpayers "have some say about what they pay."

But opponents warn that Florida shouldn't make the same mistake as Colorado, which suspended its spending and revenue cap at the urging of the business community, after school funding declined from 35th to 49th in the nation, higher education spending dropped by 31 percent and money for work on roads and bridges disappeared.

Five Colorado business leaders, including leading Republicans, sent letters to members of the Florida Taxation and Budget Commission on Tuesday, urging them to reject the "rigid" formula and avoid their headaches.

Only in Florida could we model a program after another state's program THAT FAILED. And naturally the Taxpayer's Best Friend Wang's™ Bacterial Infection Marco Rubio just loves the idea. After all, he never met a destructive fiscal policy he didn't like. Plus, we've got all these bodies of water in which to drown the government! Yippee!

Marco, of course government won't grow faster than the economy if this passes. Both of them are going to shrink away to nothing ... which is what you want, isn't it?

Oh, and the best part? Hogan exempted his own city from the revenue cuts:

Hogan has excluded government-owned airports, seaport and utility services from the revenue caps. He has exempted special taxing districts, state universities and community colleges. He has carved out an exemption for cities and counties that consolidate services -- a measure that would give special benefits to Jacksonville and Duval County.

Rubio and Hogan and their cronies will stop at nothing to destroy Florida economically while simultaneously covering their own asses. If they haven't succeeded already, maybe this proposal will achieve their dream of utter ruin; if not, I'm sure they have another plan up their sleeves. People like them aren't just dangerous -- they're malicious, craven and, yes, batshit crazy.

Want a revote? How about no Democratic candidate in November?

Gov. Crist says if the Democrats pony up the $4 million or so that it would cost to do a revote, the state will oversee the election. Well, that's mighty nice of him ... I'm sure he'd love to have the Division of Elections, part of the Department of State, led by noted wingnut Kurt Browning, supervise the do-over.

But leave it to House Speaker Marco Rubio (R-ude) to sum things up from the Fascist perspective:

Republican House Speaker Marco Rubio of West Miami said he doesn't like Crist's plan because "our elections supervisors are already over-burdened."

"We already had an election. A record number of Democrats voted. Why can't they just ... respect those votes and move on? I don't understand why Howard Dean is so obsessed with punishing Florida's Democrats."

Shorter Rubio: "Why can't the dirty Democrats just bend over and take what we in the Legislature forced on them in the first place?"

But hold on -- it gets better:

Florida House rules chairman David Rivera, a Republican, said he likes the idea of a mail election if the Democrats pay for it. Meantime, he has asked the House elections committee to research a bill that would ban the Democratic nominee from the Florida ballot in November if the national party refuses to seat the state's delegates. It's Senate Republican leader Dan Webster's idea, but he's not wedded to it.

Sen. Nan Rich, a Democratic supporter of Clinton, said the idea would hurt the nominee and again disenfranchise voters.

House leader Rubio, agreed, saying the idea "would make us as bad as Howard Dean."

Holy. Fucking. Shit. Let me break this down so you don't miss the carnage of democracy's demise: a legislator from one party is looking into whether the state legally can keep the other party's candidate off the ballot completely. "Hurt the nominee?" How about "bury American government once and for all?"

I don't know whether we should have a new election or not, but what I do know is Rubio calling Howard Dean "bad" is the very worst kind of irony. And Webster's idea is the very worst kind of petty, undemocratic bullshit.

(cross-posted at FPC Blog)

Florida's fundies take their creation fight to the Legislature

This is really disturbing. These anti-science morons here in Florida just won't give up, and with the legislative session starting this week in Tallahassee, they're at it again.

Batshit crazy state Sen. Ronda Storms (R-Valrico) (right ... FAR right) has introduced a bill that theoretically would allow K-12 teachers in Florida to teach the faux "theory" of intelligent design in public schools. To wit:

(2) The Legislature finds that current law does not expressly protect the right of teachers to objectively present scientific information relevant to the full range of scientific views regarding chemical and biological evolution. The Legislature finds that in many instances educators have experienced or feared discipline, discrimination, or other adverse consequences as a result of presenting the full range of scientific views regarding chemical and biological evolution. The Legislature further finds that existing law does not expressly protect students from discrimination due to their positions or views regarding biological or chemical evolution. The Legislature finds that the topic of biological and chemical evolution has generated intense controversy about the rights of teachers and students to hold differing views on those subjects. It is therefore the intent of the Legislature that this section expressly protects those rights.

(3) Every public school teacher in the state's K-12 school system shall have the affirmative right and freedom to objectively present scientific information relevant to the full range of scientific views regarding biological and chemical evolution in connection with teaching any prescribed curriculum regarding chemical or biological origins.

In yet another classic neocon oxymoronic misnomer (à la "Clean Water Act" or "President Bush"), Sen. Storms has called this piece of garbage the "Academic Freedom Act." You know, because we want to give teachers in our state the "freedom" to teach fantasy as fact. Even the language of the bill is ironic, since there is absolutely no scientific information supporting "intelligent design" or creation. There's plenty of "faith-based" information on it, but in terms of satisfying the scientific method, intelligent design won't cut it.

For a while this really flew under the radar, but I see the Tampa Tribune's political blog "March on Politics" has picked this up. Good. I want this idiocy to see the full light of day in a reality-based world -- with which Sen. Storms has absolutely no experience.

I didn't even realize Storms had been elected to the state Senate. After all, her performance was notorious at best as a Hillsborough County commissioner, where she was known for her crusades against dirty, dirty gays and pr0n and, you know, pretty much anything that didn't jibe with her efforts to interfere in the private lives of every Floridian for her own satisfaction. So thanks, eastern Hillsborough County, for inflicting Ronda on the rest of the state.

You'd think that the Legislature would be smart enough to laugh (figuratively ... oh, what the hell, make it literally) in Ronda's smug little face on this. But don't be too sure:

Asked after the ed board’s vote last month about the prospect of wading into the issue of evolution during the session, several GOP lawmakers expressed reluctance at best, if not outright opposition. As Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa, quipped at the time, “I thought we had evolved beyond that.”

But House Speaker Marco Rubio told the Florida Baptist Witness last month that the House “may have sufficient votes” for “academic freedom"-styled legislation. “And for me, personally,” Rubio told the FBW, according to its Feb. 21 article, “I don’t want a school system that teaches kids that what they’re learning at home is wrong.”

Marco and Ronda ... birds of a feather. Cuckoo birds, that is ...

Sticks of Fire has a different (and funnier) take on this ...

(h/t Interrobang; cross-posted at Florida Progressive Coalition Blog)

It's a wonderful state

Mimicking the run on the banks in the iconic holiday movie It's a Wonderful Life, the run on Florida's investment fund seems to have slowed down considerably:

Local governments withdrew about $560 million of their money from Florida's state-run investment pool Friday, but the beleaguered fund's managers were pleased that figure was about half the amount from a day before.

BlackRock Inc. officials said some calm appeared to be returning a day after the fund reopened from a freeze. BlackRock was hired to restore order to the biggest fund of this kind in the country.

Well, compared with yesterday's $1.2 billion in withdrawals, I certainly can see cause for optimism. [/snark]

Apparently, so can the BlackRock folks, who have a rather inflated opinion of themselves:

Simon Mendelson, the chief of the BlackRock team, pointed out that withdrawals Friday were well within the firm's expectations.

"Our expectation is those outflows will gradually decline over time and stabilize," Mendelson said. "Our sense is we've done a nice job of restoring calm; we have not yet restored full confidence. That is our job."

That confidence is going to be hard to come by, if Leon County (where Tallahassee is located, for the non-Wang™-centric readers) is any indication:

After Florida's state-run investment pool was frozen last week, Leon County Schools came perilously close to not being able to pay many of its 4,000-plus employees.

Superintendent Jackie Pons found out about 6:30 p.m. Nov. 29 — the day the pool was frozen — that he wouldn't be able to access nearly $46 million in the pool. The district also couldn't get its hands on more than $30 million in a Tampa investment account without 24 hours notice.

And he had to make payroll the next day.

The district was able to pay its people only after securing an after-hours loan for $10 million from Capital City Bank, Pons said in an interview Thursday.

[...]

Gov. Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink released a statement saying they're pleased that new deposits were made.

"We hope to see continued deposits from fund investors and remind local governments that all new subscriptions are fully available for withdrawal under the new plan," the statement read.

Pons, however, said he has lost confidence in the pool.

It's yet another indicator that Florida's economic health is poor, and getting worse. And yet "leaders" like Speaker of the House Marco Rubio (R-Miami Lakes) want to continue to cut taxes, in the style of Their Hero Jeb! Bush.

Thanks for running Florida into the ground, Republicans. The fault lies squarely on your shoulders. Come next Election Day, I hope the blame does, too.

Hee haw, indeed.