Dear Readers,
Things have gotten busier for me and posts have become less and less often. This was always meant to be something I did in my spare time, and I have less and less of that these days.
So I have come to the decision to officially put the blog on [...]
This week, Major League Baseball is holding the 80th All Star Game in St. Louis. With the recent success of the Tampa Bay Rays, the question could be asked - when will the Rays host the All Star Game?
There are 25 metropolitan areas [...]
The results of the Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial primary are a great example of what may occur in the Florida Republican Senate primary. Here are the comparisons:
Virginia
Florida
Name Recognition Advantage
McAuliffe
Crist
Prior Poll Results favored….
McAuliffe
Crist
Money Advantage
McAuliffe
Crist
Message over money
Deeds
Rubio
Stronger Online Presence
Deeds
Rubio
Winner (the underdog)
Deeds
Rubio?
Currently polls are indicating the Crist is in the lead, however we [...]
United States Senators John Cornyn, Mitch McConnell, Lamar Alexander, Mel Martinez, and now John McCain… all lining up behind Governor Charlie Crist.
Rubio has… um… well… let’s see. I know there is a big grassroots push behind former Florida House of Representatives Speaker Marco Rubio. But, my fellow Republicans, ask yourself [...]
The Buzz has a report on a recent Mason-Dixon poll:
Crist leads Rubio 53% to 18% — this is a minor change since an April Quinnipiac poll showing Crist with a 54% to 8% lead. Rubio’s numbers have gone up as he’s toured the state, but Crist’s have not changed. Among [...]At last night’s Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee, Chairwoman Deborah Cox-Roush gave her report on the recent resolution adopted by the leadership of the REC to express their displeasure at Republican party leaders getting involved in primary races. While I am paraphrasing her speech, she said the GOP should wait [...]
Many Republican activists toss around the term RINO - “Republican In Name Only” - to describe fellow Republicans with whom they disagree on a few issues. Yes, I said a few.
Take Florida’s Republican Governor - Charlie Crist.
During his tenure, he [...]
Received this via email:
A Statement from Mayor Iorio May 11, 2009
There has been a lot of political interest generated since Florida’s Senator Mel Martinez made his announcement about stepping down in 2010. I have gotten my share of phone calls and letters from people wanting to [...]
What a relief! Former Florida House Speaker, Marco Rubio, is in the run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez. He indicated his desire for the post on Univision-Miami, however the official announcement is to be aired on Cinco de Mayo on his website www.MarcoRubio.com [...]
Former Florida House speaker will announce his future political plans on Cinco de Mayo at 10:00am. He will be utilizing today’s current technology and campaign method to make his announcement at www.MarcoRubio.com. Stay tuned and follow back with your comments!
[...]The 2009 Legislative Session passed the 60-day mark yesterday, extended for one more week. The only thing left to do is pass the budget, with tobacco taxes and the Seminole Gaming compact - and the revenue they generate - included.
And so, the next thing for Florida politicos to discuss: Will [...]
In recent days, I read two great pieces that illustrate what I feel is a major problem with my Republican party. The first was an op-ed piece in the New York Times by Maine Republican Senator Olympia Snowe. The second was a column on Forbes.com by Bruce Bartlett. [...]
This Wednesday, as few could ignore, was the filing deadline for federal income tax forms. While approximately 138 million Americans are responsible for lawfully complying with this annual requirement, not all are satisfied with the way in which their tax dollars will likely be, or already have [...]
After hearing speeches from yesterday’s Tea Parties, GOPers are making a mistake in attacking the Obama administration or Democrats. The basis of Tea Parties was that we as Americans are tired of big government spending; this includes both Ds and Rs. We have to admit that some of our guys [...]
It is that time of year for local municipalities in Pasco County to head to the polls. The election will take place on April 14, 2009. Some might wonder, “Why are these election so important to the Pasco Republican Party?” It is quite simple. These elections should serve as developing [...]
The Pasco County Republican Party has been very busy since Election Day. Newly elected Chairman, Randy Maggard, has put forth major initiatives to charter clubs that will outreach to youth, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and folks that value faith and family. Jack Knowles, has led the charge with [...]
Former Florida House Speaker, Marco Rubio, will make a special appearance during the Hispanic Republican Fiesta & fundraiser hosted by the RHCHC (Republican Hispanic Club of Hillsborough County) on Friday, May 15. For those closely watching his next move, this will be an opportune time to be present for what [...]
Founder & CEO of Conservative Republican Alliance, Javier Manjarres, interviewed Former House Speaker Marco Rubio. I must warn you it is about 25 minutes long, so grab the popcorn. Rubio talks about his interest in the Senate seat, immigration, national security, the economy, taxes and the 2nd Amendment.
Former Florida House Speaker, Marco Rubio, is already creating a buzz through social networking tools such as Facebook (Stand with Marco Rubio and Marco Rubio for Senate) and Twitter. This viral marketing tool is a kick off to recruit friends, post thoughts, ask questions (yes he does [...]
So why do I have to come all the way to Washington D.C. to hear how successful Florida has done in improving its education and how the rest of the country should look at Florida’s policies that helped reshape its schools? Don’t forget these are Republican ideas that were implemented [...]
HOUSE MOVES FORWARD ON PROPERTY TAX RELIEF
~Four bills pass with overwhelming Republican support~
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Several pieces of legislation aimed at providing additional property tax relief for Floridians passed the House Military & Local Affairs Policy Committee today. These bills will provide additional homestead exemptions for first-time property owners, [...]
Okay. I goofed. Y’all read it. I proclaimed Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan’s to-be-vacated seat would be appointed. Allow me to clean the egg off my face.
You see, I was going on the literal reading of the Florida Constitution … but I knew the entire case hinged on the definition [...]
Governor Crist Receives National Wildlife Federation Conservation Award
~ Award recognizes Governor Crist’s leadership in addressing climate change, environmental preservation ~
TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist today received the National Wildlife Federation’s “Conservation Achievement Award for Government,” in recognition of his work to position Florida as a leader in addressing climate change [...]
Don’t forget to check out Creative Loafing’s Political Whore blog. Each day I am posting a preview of the bills and issues heard in the Florida Legislature.
The State of Sunshine on PoHo… Check it out!
[...]TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist today announced details about federal stimulus funding coming to Florida as a result of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. While addressing the Florida Hospital Association’s annual Hospital Day in the Legislature, Governor Crist confirmed the federal share of Florida’s Medicaid costs [...]
Hello to all! In this first piece for the State of Sunshine, I had initially planned to discuss a variety of items relative to this past Tuesday, including our Governor’s State of the State address, and the beginning of our state’s legislative session in Tallahassee. [...]
Soon after the November election I was interviewed by a journalist in regards to the outcome of the Hispanic vote. The Hispanics shifted greatly in favor of Obama and more Hispanics registered Democrat than Republican in the state of Florida for the 1st time in History. The reporter asked, “Do you [...]
Beth Reinhard of the Miami Herald is reporting that former Republican House speaker Marco Rubio will run for the United States Senate seat:
Okay, so it’s not unexpected that former House Speaker Marco Rubio is actively running for the U.S. Senate. Except that he never made a formal announcement.
But [...]
Governor Charlie Crist’s 2009 State of the State Address
March 3, 2009
Remarks as prepared for delivery
Good evening. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Lt. Governor, Madam Chief Justice and members of the court, members of the Cabinet, members of the Legislature, honored guests, and my fellow Floridians. Good evening to you all.
I want [...]
Today’s daily preview of the Florida Legislature agendas has been posted to Creative Loafing’s Political Whore. Check it out: [blogs.creativeloafing.com]
[...]A few weeks ago, the news broke that Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, currently in District 2, has filed to run for outgoing Commissioner Jim Norman’s District 5 seat. I posted about this a few weeks ago. Wayne Garcia posted last week that State Senator Victor Crist has [...]
I’ve had a Twitter account for some time, but have more recently started using it more. Actually, my issue has been not wanting to use my mobile phone for Twitter — but I installed TweetDeck as my primary “tweet” interface.
So, if you’re on Twitter - feel free to follow me: [...]
Change is in the air, and it’s not just a Democrat sound bite anymore. The Republican National Committee has taken an enormous stride towards our Party’s collective future in electing former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele as the GOP’s new Chairman.
As the first major state party [...]
This is an update to a previous post: May the Future State Committee Woman please Stand Up.
Latest news, according to March on Politics reporter William March, State Committeewoman Carol Carter is retracting her resignation and wants to keep her position with the Hillsborough GOP. Some fear that if [...]
Hillsborough’s GOP will be holding an election on March 17 for a new State Committeewomen following the resignation of Carol Carter. According to facebook and other sources 5 women are in the run: Heather Weintrobe, Mel Jurado, Christine Vasconcelo, Janice Torgersen, and Anne Voss. Some are business owners and all [...]
With a hat-tip to Mariella Smith, who posted a note on Facebook, it seems County Commissioner Ken Hagan has decided after all to run for outgoing County Commissioner Jim Norman’s seat. This could trigger Governor Crist to appoint a replacement to fill the remainder of his term.
The issue is, [...]
Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer, an early supporter of new Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, has been appointed to the RNC Transition Team. Chairman Greer said, “I look forward to working with Chairman Steele’s Transition Team to review the RNC’s current policies, strategies, and staff and to [...]
As many of you may have discovered, I was invited to join the team at Wayne Garcia’s Political Whore blog on CreativeLoafing.com. Quite a few Tampa Bay bloggers on both sides of the aisle have joined an expanded team to provide a broader range of posts.
I am honored to [...]
The State of Sunshine welcomes Angelette Aviles and Steve van Gorden to the list of contributors.
Angelette provides much insight to what motivates Hispanics as well as the general market through her communications firm, Americas Marketing & Graphics. She received a Political Science degree from the University [...]
It came in the form of a Facebook status update: Ken Welch is remaining on the County Commission, and looking forward to the challenges ahead…
This comes the same day that State Representative Rick Kriseman decided not to run for mayor. When Kriseman bowed out, conventional wisdom was that Welch [...]
Watching the Florida Channel tonight, the Florida House Republican Conference took the bold step to formally replace former Speaker Ray Sansom as the leader of the House of Representatives. Following proper procedure, formal motions were adopted to waive the Conference rules allowing Sansom’s resignation to be accepted and to nominate [...]
Corcoran & Johnston, a Dade City government relations firm, is passing along information from Roll Call that Senator Mel Martinez is considering resigning early, and that Governor Charlie Crist is eyeing a run:
Senator Martinez Considering Resignation; Governor Crist Eyes The U.S. Senate
Republican sources and national publication Roll Call are [...]
Last week, Peter Schorsch Posted the CW was State Representative Rick Kriseman would be staying in his seat, not running for Mayor of St. Petersburg.
This morning there is a headline with no post on Kriseman’s personal website: “Running for Mayor“.
UPDATEAn opportunity [...]
While the Super Bowl was being played in Tampa, news was breaking up Interstate 4 that everyone and their brother had been expecting: Congressman Adam Putnam will be running for the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture:
U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, who quickly rose to power in Congress after being elected as [...]
Last week, I wrote a post for PoHo on Creative Loafing discussing why I think the Republicans in DC need Charlie much more than they need him:
Charlie Crist remains über popular. He is on track to cruise to re-election as Governor - so much so that no real viable [...]
Former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele was elected Chairman of the RNC today.
Michael Steele, a former Maryland lieutenant governor, was elected chairman of the Republican National Committee on Friday.
Steele, the first African-American to hold the post, defeated South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson, 91-77, in the final round [...]
Republican House Speaker Ray Sansom has announced he will resign his position, turning the reins of power to Republican Larry Cretul.
From the Tallahassee Press Corp:
St. Petersburg Times (The Buzz):
Besieged by criticism and facing criminal and ethical investigations into his dealings with a state college, House Speaker Ray Sansom is [...]
In an interesting turn of events, it seems State Representative Seth McKeel likely won’t be running for Congress. McKeel was among those publicly considering running for Congressman Adam Putnam’s seat when (if?) Congressman Putnam announces his bid for Commissioner of Agriculture.
At [...]
In case you missed the news today, Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum and Democrat Congressman Allen Boyd both announced today they will not enter the race for the open United States Senate being vacated by Senator Mel Martinez. Earlier this week, Tampa Mayor (and Democrat) Pam Iorio announced she is [...]
