Bill Nelson

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Sat Next to Jay-Z and Beyonce at the Inauguration (and You Are Now Insanely Jealous of Her)

We're sure its an honor just to sit on the steps of capitol at the inauguration, but lets be honest, the hottest seat was next to Beyonce. Which, well, obviously was taken by Jay-Z, but seated directly next to them was South Florida congresswoman and DNC chief was Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who the e ... More >>

Fiscal Cliff Averted, No Thanks To Marco Rubio or Trio of South Florida Representatives

Today is going to be a real bitch, Miami. No question about it. You're back at work already, but those three bottles of champers you chugged on New Year's Eve are not done with you yet. Right now, your head feels like Deadmau5 is spinning a set on your cerebellum.But there is good news. While you we ... More >>

Connie Mack's Wife, Mary Bono Mack, May Have Lost Her Election Last Night Too

It appears that Connie Mack IV won't even get to return to D.C. as a member of the House spouse's club. His wife, Mary Bono Mack, served in a House district representing Palm Springs, California, and after coming up short in the early vote tally, local media is now painting her Democratic challenger ... More >>

Marco Rubio's Fans Call Him a "Pussy," "Idiot" and "Sell Out" for Congratulating Bill Nelson

Last night, Senator Bill Nelson cruised to an easier than expected reelection, and, because Marco Rubio has some decency, Florida's junior senator took to Facebook to congratulate Florida's senior senator. However, a lot of Rubio's Facebook fans were just not having it.

Connie Mack Predicts Connie Mack Will Win Senate Race

So, despite the Real Clear Politics polling average having Connie Mack trailing by six points, and despite Five Thirty Eight giving Connie Mack a one percent chance of winning, and despite the fact not a single newspaper endorsed his candidacy, Connie Mack today has made a bold prediction that Conni ... More >>

No Newspaper Has Endorsed Connie Mack for Senate (And They're Not Nice About It Either)

Poor Rep. Connie Mack IV. He's trying his damnedest to turn the fact that he shares his name with his ex-senator dad into a Senate career of his own, but the latest polls show him trailing boring old incumbent Bill Nelson by anywhere from 5 to 8 points (a practical landslide for Florida's deeply div ... More >>

NBC Poll: Obama Up 49 to 44 In Florida, Most Voters Have Made Up Their Minds

Obama has opened up leads outside the margin of error in Florida and two other swing states, Ohio and Virginia, at least according to a new poll from NBC News, the Wall Street Journal and Marist College. The survey of registered voters in the Sunshine State found Obama with 49 percent of the vote co ... More >>

Connie Mack is Like Best Friends With Lynyrd Skynyrd

Marco Rubio loves Nicki Minaj. We're just going to guess that World's Greatest Elevator Music Vol. 1 is Bill Nelson's favorite album of all time. But what does Republican Senate candidate Connie Mack IV listen to? Confederate flag-embracing rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, of course.

Dear Dems, Please Do Not Run Charlie Crist for Governor

Dear Democratic Party of Florida,Rumors have been swirling that Charlie Crist would be joining your party ever since he got his ass handed to him Tea-Party style in the 2010 Senate race. Now there's very specific gossip going around that he'll announce his official membership in your party in a Sund ... More >>

Connie Mack IV Used to Work for Hooters and Bill Nelson Would Like You to Know

Republican Senate Candidate Connie Mack's wayward youth spent getting into bar fights and road rage incidents is well known to those who have been following this race closely, but incumbent Bill Nelson is about to blast that history across the state with an attack ad.The Nelson campaign characterize ... More >>

Q Poll: Obama Up 51-45 in Florida

Another day, another poll. The latest Quinnipiac Poll shows Barack Obama with a six-point lead in Florida, much larger than the one-point lead a PPP poll reported yesterday. It's the largest lead for Obama that any poll has shown in months.Meanwhile, Quinnipiac also has Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson u ... More >>

George LeMieux Drops Out of Senate Race, Connie Mack Now Likely GOP Nominee

So long, George LeMieux.The former interim senator has dropped his bid to return to DC, and has left Rep. Connie Mack IV as the likely Republican nominee to take on Sen. Bill Nelson in November. LeMieux was never able to overcome his connection to former Gov. Charlie Crist, nor Mack's name recogniti ... More >>

Connie Mack IV Leads GOP Senate Primary by 23 Points Even Though He's Not Officially in the Race

​All it took was word that Rep. Connie Mack IV was about to enter the GOP primary for the parties' Senate nomination to finally heat up that sad race. Despite the fact that Mack hasn't officially announced his candidacy, he now leads the latest Quinnipiac poll by 23 points. George LeMieux and ... More >>

Connie Mack To Enter Senate Race

So far the Republican primary to decide who gets to take on incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012 has been a big, wet, cold heap of "ain't nobody care." Neither George LeMieux nor Adam Hasner have caught on with GOP voters, and pretty much every poll has shown that most are undecided. Well, Rep. Connie ... More >>

Allen West Considers Senate Run

​Though guys like George LeMieux and Adam Hasner have  for months been running for the GOP nomination to take on Senator Bill Nelson, no one has made much headway with voters. That leaves the field wide open for a potential late entrant. Rep. Adam West, Florida's most Tea-soaked new ... More >>

Marco Rubio and the Grand Old Party Are a "Hot, Sloppy Mess"

A hot, sloppy mess. And Nicki Minaj.​The Riptide national politics desk has been working around the clock to bring you this shocking revelation: Some Democrats suspect the Republican Party is crazy."I think Mitch McConnell, frankly, has lost his mind," said Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Miss ... More >>

Another Rich Guy Seeking Office: Craig Miller Enters GOP Senate Primary Race

​Stop us if you've heard this one before: a millionaire business mogul with little name recognition is using his vast fortune to jumpstart a surprising campaign for a statewide office in Florida. Yep, after the mixed results of Rick Scott and Jeff Greene is 2010, Craig Miller, the former CEO of th ... More >>

GOP Senate Candidate Adam Hasner Compares National Debt to Hitler

Adam Hasner, the Tea Party favorite in the fledgling fight for the GOP's 2012 nomination to take on Senator Bill Nelson, sent out a not-so-cherry Fourth of July message to his supporters in which he compared the national debt to Hitler. Apparently a man bent on world domination, widespread warf ... More >>

Poll: Florida Republicans Still Have No Idea Who They Want to Run for Senate

​At this point the 2012 horse race the republican primary for the Florida senate seat sort of mirrors the party's primary for the presidential nomination: a bunch of not-terribly-exciting politicians that no one seems to be all that excited about. The latest poll by Sunshine State Communications, ... More >>

Is Possible Republican Senate Candidate Adam Hasner The Next Marco Rubio?

​Republicans are eager to claim incumbent Senator Bill Nelson's political scalp in the 2012 election, but no clear Republican candidate has emerged yet. State Rep. Adam Hasner, who represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach County, has started an exploratory committee but is little known around th ... More >>

Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson Want Feds to Crack Down on Porn

​Regulating what America whacks off to has not been a chief concern of the Obama administration. But now a group of 42 senators have sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder complaining that his justice department hasn't been keeping a close enough eye on the mainstream adult pornography busi ... More >>

Joe Biden Locks Florida Journalist in Closet

The closet Powers was locked in.​Governor Rick Scott has had his well-known tiffs with the Florida press pool, but at least he's not locking them in closets. Vice President Joe Biden was in the Orlando area last week headlining a private fundraiser for Democratic Senator Bill Nelson. Journalist Sc ... More >>

Influential Conservative Blog: Mike Haridopolos Should Quit Senate Race Because He Has Girly Hair

​Senate President Mike Haridopolos is the only well-known Republican who's announced his intentions to run against Senator Bill Nelson in 2012, but his campaign isn't off to such a great start. First there was the reminder that he once got $152,00 in taxpayer money to write some crappy book that w ... More >>

Senate President Mike Haridopolos to Run Against Bill Nelson in 2012

​Senator Bill Nelson, currently the only democratic official in Florida to have been elected state-wide is up for re-election in 2012, and he's already beginning to draw Republican opponents. Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos will soon announce his candidacy, and is already talking openly ... More >>

Marco Rubio and Rick Scott Are Pissed Offshore Drilling is Banned off Florida

​After escaping major damage from the BP oil spill this year, the people of Florida should breath a sigh of relief that the Obama administration announced today that offshore drilling will be banned in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic coast of Florida for at least the ... More >>

Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman Resigns

​Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman has offered her resignation letter. Even though she had reportedly been telling several folks even before this month's elections that she was preparing to retire, the election results drove home the fact that the state party desperately needed a shake ... More >>

What the Hell is Wrong with the Florida Democratic Party?

​The Florida Democratic Party has nearly 600,000 more registered voters in the state than the Republicans, yet last night they failed miserably in delivering on a single important race. Their Governor candidate lost to a man who ran a company involved in the biggest Medicare fraud case in American ... More >>

14-Foot Python Found in Miami-Dade Raises Concern of "Super Snake"

via South Florida Water Management District/Sun-Sentinel​The great snake scourge of the Everglades continues to thrive despite the recent cold snap and Sen. Bill Nelson's giant snake killing parties.During a recent sweep, state officials found five African rock pythons, including a 14-foot-female ... More >>

Miami-Dade Democratic Chairman Booted by State Party

​Just days after sending out a fiery letter calling for the resignation of Florida Democratic Party chair Karen Thurman -- a letter that made liberal use of his word processor's bold and underline features -- Miami-Dade Democratic chairman BJ Chiszar has been given the boot. Chiszar's le ... More >>

When It Comes to "Government Waste," Ros-Lehtinen and the Diaz-Balarts Might as Well Be Democrats

Cover art from CAGW's Waste Watch​The Citizens Against Government Waste's name pretty much says it all. The fiscally conservative think tank hates pork and government waste, which apparently includes programs such as expanding health care to kids in low-income families, providing low-interest loan ... More >>

News Roundup

Over the weekend, pretty much every newspaper editorial board in the state wrote mean things about new Sen. George LeMieux. [Buzz]Oh, and word on the street is LeMieux might be interested in running for U.S. Senate against Bill Nelson in 2012, or for attorney general. [Buzz]Debbie Wasserman Sch ... More >>

Volusia County GOP Censures Charlie Crist

​Some of the county-level Repulican party organizations have been mumbling not-so-nice things about Gov. Charlie Crist, but yesterday the Volusia County GOP passed a motion censuring him. Among Crist's crimes: Appointing Democrats to political positions, appointing so-called liberal ... More >>

Manny Diaz Urges Senators to Vote No on Bill That Could Water Down Concealed Weapons Laws

via Drab Makyo's flickrCity of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz has come out against the "Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009." The bill, introduced by Sen. Jon Thune (R-ND), would allow citizens who have a license to carry a concealed firearm in their state to carry ... More >>

Annette Taddeo Won't Run For CFO

Miami-are business woman and former House candidate Annette Taddeo announced today she won't run for CFO, despite mentioning interest back in May. The Democrats are currently with out a CFO candidate, and considering CFO is the only state wide elected office the party currently holds aside from ... More >>

Daily Kos Has Wet Dream About Charlie Crist Coming Out as a Democrat

Markos 'Kos' Moulitsas of The Daily Kos has a dream that one day Charlie Crist will do some soul searching, look deep inside himself, and finally come out ...as a Democrat. And it will all be Marco Rubio's fault. See, Marco Rubio is calling upon the dark forces of the right wing --the wingnut ... More >>

The Fall of a Titan

A downtown Miami firm allegedly helped build an $8 billion Ponzi scheme. It could have been stopped.

McCollum or Boyd Won't Be Your Next Senator

Both sides of the Senate 2010 fray just lost significant rumored candidates. Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum and Democratic Congressmen Allen Boyd have both said they won't seek the open seat. McCollum has sought a Senate seat twice before. He claimed his party's nomination in 2000, but lo ... More >>

Crist Is as Popular as Obama, No One Knows Any of These Senate Wannabes

Charlie Crist is still enjoying a quite enviable approval rating, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll, with 65 percent of Floridians approving of his job performance. That's about the percentage President Obama is getting in nationwide polls. Meanwhile, of all the names being thrown ... More >>

The Week That Was: Celebrating our Freedom of Choice

Some fanatical pro-life group got itself all worked up because Krispy Kreme dared to use the word "choice" in some dumb Inauguration promo. This weekend I choose to eat one Krispy Kreme doughnut for every page view that post received. I will probably be dead by Saturday. Meanwhile the Hollywood Fore ... More >>

The Perfect Resumé for a Florida Senate Seat

Political math god Nate Silver put together a handy pie chart showing that the career stop for a majority of current U.S. senators is a U.S. House seat. Good news for Kendrick Meek, Connie Mack IV, and the handful of other representatives who might be angling for the seat, but don't expect to see a ... More >>

Florida's Congressional Delegation Shockingly Not That Old

USA Today reports that the incoming Congress will be the oldest on record for both houses. The average representative is 57, while the average senator is 63. New Times has the same high-tech tool as USA Today -- a calculator -- and decided to probe further. Since Florida has the oldest average p ... More >>

Sink May Put a Drain On GOP Senate Hopes, Yet

"Sink not running against Martinez," technically this Politico.com headline from Monday is correct, as no one will be running against Mel Martinez, ever again. But their assertion that she wasn't throwing her hat in the ring to become Florida's junior Senator in 2010 may have been off the mark. Nake ... More >>

Nelson Wants To Make Sure Lil' Lieberman Doesn't Make a Fuss

via Ybor City Stogie Yeah it's all insider baseball type stuff that most voters don't care about, but I am pretty sure Floridians didn't elect Bill Nelson on a platform of Save our Liebermans. After the weird psychodrama that has been Joe Lieberman's political life of the past few years (lossing a ... More >>

Either Sen. Nelson is a Surprise VP Choice or Obama's Webmaster is About To Get Fired

Dire Emergency for Internet Radio!!

Loaded

The federal ban on assault weapons never worked, as Miami-Dade Police Ofcr. Keenya Hubert painfully learned

The Untold Story

Guess who's coming to vote? Guess again.

Riptide

The Mayor's Strong Arm

Ambitious to a Fault