Sen. George LeMieux said he long wondered how disgraced lawyer Scott Rothstein was so successful but never acted on it because he's not "the kind of person to try to pull down others."
"I’ve talked to him and know him," LeMieux, who ran a competing law firm, said last week. "I [...]
U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., is taking aim at Radio and TV Martí, calling it a $300 million "relic of the Cold War ... that virtually no one tunes in to."
"Government studies show that Radio and TV Martí are riddled with problems, and fall short of journalistic standards," Feingold [...]
Lori Edwards' campaign for Florida's 12th Congressional district released a poll today boasting she's got the lead "despite the challenging political environment for Democrats going into 2010."
In a recent survey conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Edwards holds a 4-point edge over Republican challenger Dennis Ross, 46 – 42 percent. [...]
TAMPA — About 1,000 people lined up along Dale Mabry Highway for the chance to meet conservative pundit Glenn Beck, who visited a Borders bookstore as part of his whirlwind tour through Florida on Saturday to promote his latest book, Arguing with Idiots.
His [...]
The U.S. Senate just voted 60-39 to advance the health care bill, exposing deep division that will continue to play out during debate after Thanksgiving. Florida Senators reflected the party line vote.
"This is a debate that we must have. It is a debate that we cannot afford not to have," [...]
WASHINGTON — George LeMieux has been a member of the U.S. Senate only two months but has managed to jam up legislation on oil drilling, a bill cutting funding for Radio Marti and he is blocking President Barack Obama's nominee for ambassador to Brazil.
But what [...]
Attorney General Bill McCollum says there is reason to appeal a circuit court ruling dismissing part of the criminal case against dethroned House Speaker Ray Sansom.
A motion motion filed today with the First District Court of Appeal, lays out several technical arguments why the appeal is justified and asks the appellate court [...]
A motion motion filed today with the First District Court of Appeal, lays out several technical arguments why the appeal is justified and asks the appellate court [...]
UPDATE: Florida's Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson will vote to move the bill forward. Listen to his floor speech
Sen. George LeMieux said he will vote against moving the health care bill to the floor, contending it is still an unfinished product. "It's out for six weeks in Harry Reid's conference [...]Gov. Charlie Crist is in D.C. today raising money at Holland & Knight but insisted he is also focused on the dreadful state of the Florida economy, reinforced by a fresh report about 11.2 percent unemployment.
"I just think it's so important to stay focused on jobs, jobs, jobs," the [...]
Cigarettes sales are down 27 percent in Florida during the past four months, thanks to a new $1-a-pack tax designed to balance the budget and cut down on smoking.
But despite the drop in sales, tobacco tax collections in Florida are high and holding steady. That's because state economists accurately factored [...]
A Tampa company got a $900,000 Air Force contract through a program benefiting veteran-owned businesses but funneled the job to another firm, according to a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
The GAO report on fraud and abuse cites 10 examples in which firms obtained $100 million in contracts [...]
On the heels of Sen. George LeMieux's active use of "holds" to block legislation and the U.S. ambassador to Brazil comes word that he has been reviewing U.S. attorney recommendations suggested to the White House by Sen. Bill Nelson and former Sen. Mel Martinez.
LeMieux met with White House counsel Greg [...]
The Center for Public Integrity today is criticizing a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek that would get rid of a competitive bidding program for Medicare.
"The dispute concerns so-called durable medical equipment — items like power wheelchairs and oxygen supplies. Federal investigators have long complained that the equipment business [...]
Florida Sen. George LeMieux is setting up a political action committee -- Protect America's Future -- and signaling he's likely going to pursue elective office after his temporary gig is up next year.
"The goal is to use it as a vehicle to promote the ideas he believes in: Reducing the [...]
U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite said today that she called a hotline for Recovery.org, the Web site that tracks stimulus spending, and lodged a complaint against the site itself.
"I’m startled by the amount of misinformation on the website and how much money is being wasted at the taxpayer’s expense," she [...]
Marco Rubio really wants to debate Charlie Crist. He has been asking for months. Now again in a letter:
Dear Eric (Eikenberg):
Unfortunately, Governor Crist has shown no interest in debating Marco thus far. Instead, the media has widely reported on behind-the-scenes maneuvering by your campaign to attack Marco and [...]
New federal guidelines that women should get mammograms starting at age 50, not 40, have provoked a spirited debate, and one prominent critic is Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who battled breast cancer herself.
"I am very concerned that these guidelines conflict with many of the well-established recommendations from the [...]
The Buzz caught up with Sen. George LeMieux today and he talked about various issues (see jump) before the topic turned to Gov. Charlie Crist's campaign problems, chiefly his association with President Obama's stimulus bailout. But LeMieux promptly turned it into a critique of Marco Rubio.
"Being governor means you have [...]
Ex-House Speaker Ray Sansom today denied any wrongdoing in his dealings with a Panhandle college where he would later work, and said the budgets that included millions for the school were signed off by many lawmakers.
"Final passage of a budget is the collective work of the legislative body and not that of a single" [...]
Former House Speaker Ray Sansom says it was all there for any member of the Legislature to review: Millions in taxpayer dollars stuck in the state budget for a Panhandle college.
On Monday, Sansom offered that up as his defense against allegations that he damaged public faith in the House through [...]
Democrats have targeted U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young in a new radio ad that continues an effort against 32 House Republicans who opposed the health care bill but represent districts won by Barack Obama.
"In last year's historic election, voters in Florida's 10th Congressional District supported President Obama and his [...]
Steve Bousquet: For nearly four years, Erin Isaac was a constant, hard-working presence at the side of Charlie Crist, loyally serving spin and positive imagery for a governor who until recently performed capably as his own best spokesman.
It was Isaac who could be heard on TV shouting "Last question!" in [...]
State Sen. Al Lawson had some tough words today for his Democratic primary rival, U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, who voted last week against the House health care bill.
"In my opinion, he's in the pocket of the health care industry," the Tallahassee lawmaker said in an interview, charging his opponent with [...]
The White House today named Tim Manning as Florida state executive director for the Farm Service Agency at the USDA.
“Tim Manning has a solid understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing our rural communities and will help build on the Obama Administration’s efforts to rebuild and revitalize rural America,” said [...]
The Food and Drug Administration has backed off a plan to ban the sale of raw oysters collected along the Gulf Coast during warm months -- a victory to a signature Florida industry.
"Since making its initial announcement, the FDA has heard from Gulf Coast oyster [...]
Howard Troxler: Imagine trying to explain the Florida Legislature to the proverbial visitor from Mars. "Okay, we have this thing called committee week," we say. "The members of our Legislature go up to Tallahassee now and then, supposedly to work on laws in advance."
"That is very commendable," our Martian [...]
Rep. Sandy Adams of Orlando got a boost today in her bid to be the Republican to take on U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach. Endorsements came from House Speaker Larry Cretul and Reps. Adam Hasner, Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Will Weatherford.
Adams faces Winter Park [...]
U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young's Pinellas County office may get a bit busy over the next few days. Democratic activists upset with his "no" vote on the House health care bill are asking people to stop by and voice their displeasure. The same effort is directed at Republican Rep. Ileana [...]
The Florida headquarters of the Obama campaign were electric on Nov. 4, 2008. In the frenzy, a high-ranking official's cell phone rang. It was Charlie Crist's office. He wanted to arrange a call to the president-elect, who had not yet delivered his victory speech in Chicago.
Over the next two days, [...]
New Florida Sen. George LeMieux will make his first official mini-tour of the state tomorrow, visiting veterans at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center before heading to Orlando to address advocates of high speed rail.
[...]Gov. Charlie Crist told reporters late last month that he did not know President Barack Obama was in Jacksonville to visit with U.S. troops. But if the denial didn't strain credulity enough, e-mails show Crist's top aides in Washington and Tallahassee were notified of the trip. (click images below [...]
The Democratic National Committee said today that it will target "vulnerable" Florida Republicans C.W. Bill Young and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for voting against the House health care plan despite Barack Obama winning their districts in 2008.
"You would think a member of Congress should think twice about voting against health insurance reform that [...]
If there was one thing Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein craved, it was attention. And how better to get it than to whip out his checkbook?
Like at Gov. Charlie Crist's 52nd birthday party/GOP fundraiser last year, when, instead of buying a $1,000 candle, Rothstein bought [...]
One of the dramatic moments during yesterday's marathon health care debate was an amendment barring any government-subsidized insurance plan from covering abortions. It passed with the help of 64 Democrats. But none was from Florida.
All 10 Democrats voted against the amendment; all 15 Republicans voted for the measure.
U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd plans to vote against the health care bill, confirming his long-held doubts about the size and reach of the proposal.
"While the House bill does take some positive steps toward increasing coverage and reforming insurance regulations, it simply falls short when it comes to lowering healthcare costs [...]
Bill McCollum is the anti-Crist. As in Charlie Crist.
The question is: Will people in Florida be ready for such a jarring transition of styles in the Governor's Office?
Or is McCollum the perfect act to follow the tanned and rested one? These two Republicans couldn't be more different. Where Crist exudes [...]
Jerry Melvin, a longtime House Republican who faced terms limits in 2002 and paved the way for Ray Sansom, plans to run for his old seat.
A story in the Destin Log quoted Melvin as saying he would seek changes mandating a committee hearing before anything is inserted into the budget, [...]
"Out of an abundance of caution," Adam Putnam said today that he would return "several" contributions connected to Scott Rothstein's law firm.
The campaign did not receive any personal contributions from the Rothstein, said Putnam, who is running for state agricultural commissioner. The contributions amounted [...]
Orlando-area Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas will abandon fellow Democrats and vote against the health care bill, the first known defection from Florida.
"While the health care reform bill before the U.S. House of Representatives has many positive elements, I believe that it does not do enough to slow the growth of health [...]
Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein's office was a secured inner sanctum, complete with video cameras, secured entrance and hidden private elevator.
It also was a shrine to himself, plastered with photos showing Rothstein embracing powerful politicians, framed thank-you letters from charities and candidates he lavished with generous donations, grownup toys like [...]
The federal Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating possible fraud by the Florida State Board of Administration, the agency that manages $132 billion in public investments for hundreds of local governments and 1 million current and future retirees.
The federal investigation centers on whether the state and three Wall Street giants [...]
Relaxing marijuana laws is an issue you won't see the Florida Legislature take up in 2010, but the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington has a new study out today that says the state has the harshest penalties in the nation.
"State law provides for a maximum [...]
On Nov. 5, 2008, Ray Sansom pulled up a chair before a swarm of reporters and essentially began his term as speaker of the Florida House, exulting in Republican success at the polls the night before and staring down a $2 billion budget deficit.
"It's going to be a tough one," [...]
On Nov. 5, 2008, Ray Sansom pulled up a chair before a swarm of reporters and essentially began his term as speaker of the Florida House, exulting in Republican success at the polls the night before and staring down a $2 billion budget deficit.
"It's going [...]
Scores of Florida House Republicans have sent a letter to U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and George LeMieux urging them to oppose health care changes that will add an estimated 1.4 million Floridians to Medicaid, costing the state billions.
"With Florida already facing budget shortfalls of potentially $2.3 to 5.5 billion over the next two [...]
Ray Sansom's lawyer today filed a motion that seeks to squash State Attorney Willie Meggs' appeal of a circuit decision throwing out part of the criminal charges against the former House speaker.
The motion with the First District Court of Appeal matches one previously filed by co-defendant Jay Odom.
"The lower court's order'" [...]
Ray Sansom's lawyer today filed a motion that seeks to squash State Attorney Willie Meggs' appeal of a circuit decision throwing out part of the criminal charges against the former House speaker.
The motion with the First District Court of Appeal matches one previously filed by co-defendant Jay Odom.
"The [...]
