Kottkamp Concedes

Jeff Kottkamp conceded on Twitter. I have never seen that before.

"I have just called @pambondi and congratulated her on her victory tonight. She ran a great campaign and I wished her well in the general."

I'm wondering if Kottkamp conceded on Twitter because he forgot his My Yearbook password.

Beware of the Man-Hug

Political reporter Gary Fineout tweeted this hysterical attack on Lt. Governor and candidate for attorney general Jeff Kottkamp.

527 group sending out mailer that slams Lt. Gov. Kottkamp b/c of Crist. Shows a man-hug of Crist/Kottkamp on the beach.

It is known to most voters in Florida that Kottkamp is Crist's Lt. Governor. Is Kottkamp getting attacked for being Crist's second in command or because of the man-hug? I am no Kottkamp fan, but it is not his fault Crist left the Republican Party. If Kottkamp gets a man-hug from his boss does that mean he supports Crist? I don't think so. I really like to see the mailer. I really hope Kottkamp's opponents aren't suggesting anything homophobic.

Kottkamp & Crist No Longer BFF

Lt. Goveror Jeff Kottkamp said he has not had face to face meetings or e-mail exchanges with Charlie Crist since the Goveror announced he was leaving the Republican Party. Short version: Crist went from unofficially ignoring Kottkamp to officially ignoring Kottkamp.

Sink Is Swinging

Florida CFO Alex Sink told Palm Beach supporters she is waiting to see what Gov. Charlie Crist will do.

"At this point all of Florida is waiting to hear what the governor's intentions are," Sink said after the fundraiser.

Sink has been openly critical of possible Rupublican governor candidates Bill McCollum and Jeff Kottkamp. The latter has been mired in controversy for travel expenses. Sink has called for the Florida Department of Management Services to post travel records online.

“It’s important that the business of state government is as open and transparent as possible. That’s why I am calling on the Department of Management Services to post details about each state plane flight online,” said CFO Sink. “We have a responsibility to increase openness and transparency in Tallahassee, and making this travel information available to the public continues this commitment.”

Kottkamp's office charged the Department of Management Service $722,101 from January 2007 through December 2008. Florida's Lt. Governor has few official duties. Kottkamp's explanations for his taxpaid trips don't pass the smell test.

McCollum awarded a no-bid contract to Chris Mottola Consulting. The firm was hired to make a video promoting awareness to sexual predators. The catch is Chris Mottola Consulting worked on McCollum's 2006 campaign. Sink spoke at the Palm Beach fundraiser about her displeasure for no-bid contracts. It was obvious who was the target of Sink's attack.

In remarks to Monday's lunch crowd of about 450, Sink highlighted her role as the state's financial watchdog and said "it's my job to be critical of giving favored no-bid contracts, that government officials do occasionally, to their political consultants and cronies using state money. That's just wrong."

Later, Sink said she was referring to McCollum, who gave a no-bid contract to a former political consultant to produce and buy about $2.5 million worth of public service ads aimed at stopping Internet sex predators.

Sink hasn't even announced her candidacy and she is already focused on her general election opponent. Sink must know she won't have a party challenger. Her goal will be to drive up the negatives of McCollum, Kottkamp and Charles Bronson. If the Republican base is pulling for Kottkamp because of social conservative views and support of the Confederate flag then the RPoF is telling voters they don't want to address the economy. I doubt Kottkamp will beat McCollum or Bronson. If he does then Sink is Governor.

The Jim Greer Bashing Continues

I urged fellow progressive bloggers to voice their displeasure at RPoF Chairman Jim Greer's comments that all Democrats are welfare queens.

"Republicans get up and go to work," Greer said he told the boy. "Democrats get up and go down to the mailbox to get their checks."

The welfare queen meme was a race-baiting tactic used by Ronald Reagan during the 1976 presidential campaign. Reagan championed Barry Goldwater and supported apartheid in South Africa. The black community is well aware of the meaning of Greer's polarizing words.

Creative Loafing's Wayne Garcia entitled a post entitled "Blow me, Greer and Kottkamp."

I know lots of Democrats who are out busting their ass in this economy, and plenty of Republicans, too. Last I saw, the national unemployment stats weren’t cross-tabbed by party registration, but maybe that is good idea, right Jim? The reality is that after 10 years of Republican governors and leadership in the House and Senate, Florida consistently is at or near the top of Bad-News Economic Statistics lists these days.

It the economy, Greer. Not race that is hurting Floridians. Of course, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida doesn't want to point out that the GOP controlled Florida legislature has not provided economic relief and Gov. Charlie Crist's overseas trip provided no jobs.

Garcia takes exception with Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp attacking the media. When do Republicans not blame the media for the woes?

"Print media is really archaic," Kottkamp told the board of the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade's nonprofit business recruitment agency. "They're laying off people. Their view of the world is pretty skewed."

What is really shameful is that Kottkamp lacks the heart to stand behind his comment.

Kottkamp quickly backtracked, saying he was just advising the print media to look to the future online.

“My message is not that I don’t like you,” he said. “I love you.”

Ahh. Kottkamp was actually giving the media a big kiss. A former legislator, that that attempted to make it illegal to remove a Confederate flag from public land, should not be the view of others "pretty skewed." What's even more hysterical: Kottkamp had selective memory loss about his Confederate flag bill.

What Kottkamp said when reporters asked him last week about the bill -- a bill that he co-sponsored, mind you -- was: "I don't even remember the flag being mentioned."

Pretty skewed, indeed.