Florida Democratic Party

Dems Fight to be Ruler of the Playground

News Roundup

LocalFather Lay Minister Cutié gave his first sermon as an Episcopalian, and apparently his old Church is a little pissed he's made such a big deal about the switch. [USAToday]No, but seriously. It's not a good week for the Catholic Church in Miami. They'll be closing 13 churches. [H ... More >>

From Bitter to Sweet

Forget the awful past, say Alfonso and Pepe Fanjul, Florida's sugar barons. It's time to make nice and go into real estate.

Hillary Rained Out Before Mentioning Obama

Forget the awful past, say Alfonso and Pepe Fanjul, Florida's sugar barons. It's time to make nice and go into real estate.

And Now Some Dumb Words from Your State Political Parties

You know what is really, really hot right now? Governor corruption! Especially involving governors who are quite particular about their hair. So the Democratic Party of Florida decided to get in on this hot political meme by issuing a memo from spokesman Eric Jotkoff charging Charlie Crist with his ... More >>

Florida Democrats Lacking Latino Candidates

Absent from the list of possible candidates for the Democratic nomination for either governor or senator in 2010 are Latinos. It's nothing new. The Democrats have never run a Latino for governor or the Senate, and they've never elected one to the U.S. House of Representatives. In fact, one would be ... More >>

Hot New Senate Campaign Gimmick Alert: Petitions!

These dang Florida Democrats can't seem to run for Senate without some sort of campaign gimmick. Lawton Chiles had his walk, Bob Graham had working days, and Dan Gelber is undertaking 100 days of public service. Rep. Kendrick Meek might be leading in fundraising, but he is totally losing in the gimm ... More >>

Tallahassee Discovers Twitter, Goes a Little Overboard

I'm not immediately sure how this is useful, but there's a new website for people in Tallahassee to get excited over. It's called the Florida Gaggle, and its main feature is that it aggregates the Twitter feeds from politicians, politicos, and reporters. How exciting! It also aggregates the same fi ... More >>

End of the Diaz-Balart Dynasty

The Republican brothers are headed for defeat, and Cuban-American politics will change forever.

Scalded

A long-time aide. A few thousand dollars' worth of dubious insurance receipts. A cauldron of allegations. U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey has been . . . scalded

Gonzo Gore

The ex-vice prez sure can talk. Who knew?

Classroom Felon

Steve Clark teaches criminal law in Miami. He's an expert.

The Camelot Legacy

He may live in Miami Beach for now, but Anthony Kennedy Shriver has his eye on Tallahassee

Count All Votes -- Except Those for Nader

The Reform Party's presidential candidate makes some people crazy

Loaded

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

The 3% Man

Ralph Nader looks at Florida and sees a decadent Democratic Party

The Will Adams Embargo

The sad saga of how the feds hounded a senior citizen over, what else, Cuba

Blues for the Fire Department

Add Willie Latimore's name to the Opa-locka Three

Waiting for Otto

Why would a man sullied by Iran-contra and illegal propaganda campaigns be a Bush nominee? Good question.

Democracy Is Messy

And it doesn't get any messier than a gaggle of Democrats gathering to elect their own leaders

Donkey Demise

Miami-Dade's Democratic Party is a shambles. Blame Joe Geller, candidate and chairman.

Miami's Man in Havana

Unrepentant leftist, friend to Castro, and loyal Cuban, Max Lesnik continues to defy the ideological mandates of el exilio

Hot Air Waves

The head honcho thinks The Alex and Miriam Show would be totally cool, but internal strife is boiling over at Radio and TV Marti

Scalded: The Afterburn

A state fraud investigator says he was punished because he tangled with U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey

'Til Death

Why did a gay-rights activist stab her wife with a screwdriver 222 times?

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 >>

Polls: Rubio Regains Lead, Apparently Any Republican Can Beat Alex Sink

Do you even recognize these candidates? ​Hey, Democratic Party of Florida, you do realize that you're supposed to win elections don't you? You're aware that President Obama won this state in 2008, and that you have a pretty hefty voter registration advantage over Republicans? You know that your ma ... More >>

Dems Ask Bill McCollum to Pay Back $120K He Paid to George Rekers

McCollum paid Rekers six figure to testify against gay adoption​The dominoes continue to fall after New Times exposed anti-gay activist and "researcher" Geroge Rekers's ten-day trip to Europe with a twinky, young male escort he met through RentBoy.com. The blow back has reached Attorney General Bi ... More >>

Bill McCollum Hired George Rekers Despite Strong Warnings From Staff

McCollum (L) paid Rekers (R) $120,000 to testify against gay adoption.​Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is running for Governor as a Republican, has tried to distance himself from anti-gay activist George Rekers, but recently released emails show that McCollum hired Rekers as an expert witness ... More >>

President Obama Coming to Fontainebleau Next Month for Fundraiser With Alex Sink

​Democrats love partying at the Fontainebleau. Bill Clinton held a fundraiser at the hotel's club LIV earlier this summer, and President Obama, who's no stranger to the megaresort, will return to town August 18. He'll be on hand to raise funds for the Florida Democratic Party a ... More >>

Alex Sink to Pick Boring Rod Smith as Running Mate

​According to two state papers, Florida gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink is set to announce Rod Smith as her running mate this Thursday at an event in West Palm Beach. Yawn. A former state senator, Smith lost the 2006 Democratic primary for governor to similarly boring Jim Davis. The move seems t ... More >>

Meek Ad: Charlie Crist Used to Love George W. Bush, Sarah Palin

​As most other Democratic senate candidates in the nation try to scuttle to the political middle in the face of a climate that's supposedly hostile to liberals, Florida's Kendrick Meek is in the unique position of reminding everyone, proudly, that he's a tried and true Democrat. That's because Ind ... More >>

DNC Member Wants Bob Graham To Hammer Out Deal Between Crist and Meek

Bob Graham, the deal maker?​Jon Ausman is a representative for Florida on the Democratic National Committee, and boy does he have a good idea on how to prevent Marco Rubio from winning the senate race. He wants former Governor and Senator Bob Graham to sit down with Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek ... More >>

Sore Loser Maurice Ferré Endorses Rick Scott To Spite Dems

Maurice Ferré, who 25 years ago was the mayor of the City of Miami, thinks he didn't get a fair shake in his long shot run for Senate in the Democratic primary. Somehow he's claiming this is "an insult to every Hispanic voter in our state." So what does he do to get back at the Democratic party? He ... 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 >>

Rick Scott is Governor Because South Floridians Are Too Lazy to Vote

South Florida Cat Forgot to Vote​What the hell did you have going on Tuesday where you couldn't vote? Yes, I'm talking to you, South Florida. Because a stronger turn out in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach which happen to be the most populace counties in the state and all voted super strongly fo ... More >>

Alex Sink Blames Obama Administration for Her Loss

Is Alex Sink chewing on a bushel of sour grapes following her loss to Rick Scott or is she accurately hitting on some of the political and messaging failures of the Obama White House and the Democratic party in general? In an article on Politico this weekend, Sink lays some of the blame for her loss ... 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 >>

Rising Star Andrew Gillum, 31, Enters Race for Florida Democratic Chair

​Florida Democrats desperately need a Marco Rubio of their own, and 31-year-old Andrew Gillum, a commissioner for the City of Tallahassee may be the answer. He's not running for statewide elected office (yet, anyway), but has entered the race to replace Karen Thurman as the chair of the Florida De ... More >>

Rod Smith Will Be the Next Chair of the Florida Democratic Party

​Hey, looks like Rod Smith will finally win an election. The failed candidate for Governor in 2006 and Lt. Governor in 2010 is all be guaranteed to be the next chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Supposedly Smith's record of astounding personal failure in statewide races and wishy-washy moderat ... More >>

Rick Scott's Administration Really Hates Sunshine Laws

​"Are there things we don't want you to know? Yes," Brian Burgess, Rick Scott's communication director (or misdirector in many cases) tells the Times/Herald's Tallahassee Bureau. "There are things we don't want to broadcast to our opponents."Florida's Sunshine Laws are supposed to foster an o ... More >>

Could Charlie Crist Take on Rick Scott in 2014 As a Democrat?

​Gov. Rick Scott's leadership hasn't given Floridians much to celebrate. He's the most unpopular governor in America, and his poll numbers don't appear to be getting any better. But Democrats see a silver lining in the dark cloud. Scott's deep unpopularity gives them renewed electoral hope. I ... More >>

Do Florida Democrats Have a Hispanic Outreach Problem?

​Democrats in Florida have a huge registered voter advantage over Republicans, but you couldn't tell that by looking at the leadership in Tallahassee and the Republican super majorities in both house of the state legislature. There's a few reasons for that situation (including the Republican-contr ... More >>