Pinellas Democratic Establishment Endorses Sink

Congressional candidate Alex Sink has received endorsements from the Pinellas County Democratic establishment. Here is the list if endorsements sent out by the Sink campaign.

Pinellas County Commissioner Charlie Justice; Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long; Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch; Pinellas School Board Member Linda Lerner; Pinellas School Board Member Rene Flowers; State Representative Dwight Dudley; State Representative Darryl Rouson; State Representative Carl Zimmermann; St. Petersburg City Council member Darden Rice; St. Petersburg City Council member Karl Nurse; St. Petersburg City Council member Steve Kornell; Seminole Councilor Patricia Plantamura; Largo Mayor Pat Gerard; Former Largo Mayor Robert Jackson; Largo Commissioner Mike Smith; Belleair Bluffs Commissioner Joseph Barkley;

Mark Pafford Next Florida House Monority Leader

It is nice to see the Florida Democratic establishment actually do something right. After the disaster that was the brief Darryl Rouson tenure; Florida House Democrats have made Mark Pafford the next Minority Leader.

Pafford was nominated and seconded by two state representatives who had been mentioned as possible leadership candidates: House Democratic Leader Pro Tempore Mia Jones, D-Jacksonville, and Rep. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa. Jones lost out to Rouson to be the next Democratic leader back in February by a narrow margin. Rep. Shev Jones, D-West Park, and Rep. Katie Edwards, D-Plantation, nominated and seconded Williams.

Pafford in a leadership position will make progressives in Florida happy.

Update: Florida Democratic Party chair Allison Tant statement on Pafford.

"I congratulate Representative Mark Pafford for winning the support of his colleagues. I look forward to working with Rep. Pafford and all House Democrats in building a unified and and strong Caucus. I am excited for the great work ahead, and I am confident Representative Pafford will have great success."

The Bong Bill

This is how bad the Florida legislature has become. Rep. Darryl Rouson’s "bong bill" has finally made it into law.

Rep. Darryl Rouson’s “bong bill” was widely ridiculed, since its inception in 2010 as a sales tax on drug paraphernalia, and the concept has been tied up in court challenges by retailers who sell various pipes and other smoking devices. But Rouson, a recovered drug addict who has marked 15 years of sobriety, argued that the pseudo-smoke shops congregate in college towns and openly market their wares to young people.

The St. Petersburg Democrat's bill (HB 49) makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly sell paraphernalia generally associated with drug use. Repeat offenses are felonies.

I respect Rouson's feelings as a recovering addict. However, police resources should be used for other things besides raiding smoke shops.

Kendrick Meek Death Watch: Crist Getting Dem Money

The powerful progressive blog Taliking Points Memo ran a story titled "Are Democrats Abandoning Kendrick Meek In Florida." The question is rhetorical. Florida Democrats Jon Ausman, Carol Roberts and Joe Angelo have endorsed Jeff Greene over Meek. The fact that Meek has been in the Senate race for nearly two years and didn't seal up endorsements is pathetic. Meek is getting flanked by Greene in the primary.

Gov. Charlie Crist has tapped into the Democratic fundraising machine. The St. Petersburg Times reports of Crist receiving donations from trial lawyers and unions. Lance Block hosted a fundraiser for Crist. In attendance were Former Democratic Florida House Speaker T.K. Wetherell and Dexter Douglass, a former advisor to Lawton Chiles. Rep. Darryl Rouson (D) was at another Crist fundraiser.

Even Democratic guru Steve Schale admitted support for Meek has been weak.

"There is certainly a 'Can Kendrick win?' or 'Can Jeff win?' factor," said Democratic strategist Steve Schale, "but I think most of it is personal loyalty (to Crist)."

The well-staged photo-op of Crist and President Barack Obama was not an accident on the part of the White House. Florida Democrats took the Obama-Crist photo-op as an unofficial endorsement. The White House knows Meek is a horrible candidate and feel Crist is the best chance for Democrats to keep the majority in Congress. Crist will meet with Vice-President Joe Biden tomorrow in Pensacola.

On My 22, I wrote a blog post declaring that Meek had no chance of becoming a U.S. Senator. I stand by that assessment.

Will Be Governor For Food Part 2

The Wall Street Journal shows states with surpluses in green and deficits in red. No data is available for the states in white. The majority of states will have trouble funding schools, law enforcement and infrastructure projects.

Minnesota Governor and 2012 presidential contender Tim Pawlenty went to the recent meeting Barack Obama had with governors. Pawlenty disparingly remarked on Obama's plan for a stimulus package.

Republican governors told Mr. Obama they had qualms about what they called indiscriminate federal spending. "Every dollar they send to us is money they don't have," Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said. "Meantime, that bill is being sent to our children and grandchildren."

When pressed by the media, Pawlenty and other Republican governors would not go on-the-record against taking federal stimiulus dollars. These Republicans have future political ambitions. They do not want to anger Grover Norquist by raising taxes.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to separate the sheep from the goats," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. "The guys who turn around and say 'I can't rein in spending, I must raise taxes'...are going to have a hard time."

Norquist is a anti-tax radical with ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Norquist keeps an enemies list of Republicans that have strayed from his message. Norquist went after Florida congressman Vern Buchanan for voting for a tax increase. Norquist's influence is so strong that the Bush administration sent a representative to his weekly meetings.

Republican governors are screwed if their states go broke. Yet, they won't stand up to Norquist. The Governor with the biggest budget problems is Florida's Charlie Crist.

Among the states led by Republicans, Florida may have the biggest headache. Gov. Crist faces a $1.7 billion mid-fiscal-year shortfall, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Meanwhile, tax revenue in the state, which doesn't have an income tax, plunged 8.2% in the quarter ended in September from a year earlier as sales took a hit, according to the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. Seeking to balance the budget, Gov. Crist has said he would consider a cigarette-tax increase of 50 cents a pack.

Rick Kriseman are pushing for a cigarette tax in the Florida House. Darryl Rouson is expanding the tax to cover tobacco-related products in smoke shops. Republican Sen. Dennis Jones supports a modest cigarette tax. Florida currently has the fifth lowest cigarette tax in the nation. A 50 cent tax increase would raise an estimated $400 million to $500 million in additional revenue.

Crist is faced with balancing the budget. His opponents will attack him on Florida's economic woes. If the tax is raised, Crist will have made an enemy out of Norquist. The latter will go to great pains to kill Crist's presidential ambitions.

Related : Will Be Governor For Food

Larry Biddle Member of Darden Rice's Team

The Alex Sink campaign used the internet better than any Florida local or state campaign. The reason for that is Larry Biddle. Pinellas County Commission candidate Darden Rice has hired Biddle to increase her internet presence.

This is a sign that Rice is serious. I scoffed at serial candidate Joe Redner for hiring Kelly Benjamin. Canidates are not going to get elected by hiring a former (and arrested) pirate radio operator. Rice received the endorsements of Rick Kriseman and Darryl Rouson because she is running a credible campaign.

Rice will face Republican Nancy Bostock in the general election. Rice's currently is the Southeast project manager of the Sierra Club.

Related links:

Darden Rice on the Issues
Darden Rice Interview

Update: Wayne Garcia did a 2007 profile on Larry Biddle.