Politics

Rick Scott Hits Highest Approval Rating but Would Still Lose to Charlie Crist by Ten Points

Has Rick Scott gotten better at being governor, or has he just not been as terrible as usual? According to a new Quinnipiac Poll, Scott has hit his highest job approval rating since taking office. Of course, that approval rating still isn't very good, and most voters still don't think he should be ... More >>

Los Amigos Invisibles at Grand Central Miami June 8

Rick Scott in No Hurry To Name New Lt. Governor

Florida has been without a lieutenant governor now for 86 days, the longest stretch the position has been vacant since it was reinstated in 1969. Gov. Rick Scott, however, is in no particular rush to fill the seat. When Jennifer Carroll resigned form the job on March 11 amidst a scandal involving ... More >>

Homestead Mayor Steve Bateman Gets Put in His Place

At last week's May 15 Homestead City Council meeting, Mayor Steve Bateman got testy with local business owner Michelle Pederson, prompting her husband Kevin to call hizzoner out. The back and forth occurred during the citizen's comments portion of the council meeting after Homestead resident Mark Be ... More >>

Would You Vote in a Second Primary to Ensure Florida Got Fewer Crazy Politicians?

Ever wonder why over the past decade Florida's elected officials seem to have become increasingly partisan? It might just be a general change in mood of politics across the nation. It might be gerrymandering that renders so many state legislative districts uncompetitive. Or it might be par ... More >>

Reader Mail: Tea Party Leader Is a Fraud and a Kook

Reader Mail: Gun Control Is as Boneheaded as Prohibition

Everett Wilkinson: Tea Party Extremist, Media Darling

Another Case of Florida Fraud Found After Felon Wore "I Voted" Sticker to Meet With Probation Officer

Rick Scott's supposed plan to derail voter fraud in Florida resulted in nothing but long lines and the discovery of very little voter fraud. But now it seems there was at least one case of fraud in the past presidential election: a convicted felon wore an "I Voted" sticker to a meeting with her ... More >>

Assault Rifles Are Big Business in Florida as Federal Ban Looms

Jim Greer: Racism and Dead Bodies Ahead

Fake Hugo Chavez Photo Actually Shows Mexican Man With Gigantism

How badly do some people want Hugo Chávez to die?  Badly enough to splash a phony photo purportedly portraying the Venezuelan president's last moments on newspapers and websites around the world.The fake photo was quickly debunked. But who was the poor bastard whose intubation was met with gle ... More >>

Miami Dolphins Stadium Renovation: A Political Insider's Guide

Give Stephen Ross props. He stepped up to Norman Braman one billionaire to another and slapped him across the face with a clean white glove. With a full page ad undermining Braman's credibility in Tuesday's edition of the Miami Herald, Ross let Braman know he's got the cash to parry any attacks the ... More >>

New Florida Rep. Trey Radel Hints at Obama Impeachment Over Gun Control Executive Orders

Rep. Trey Radel, the former improv actor and conservative radio host who won Connie Mack IV's seat in Southwest Florida, is not impressed with the executive order President Obama unveiled today concerning gun control. In fact, he's already hinting at impeachment.

Francis Suarez Will Challenge Tomas Regalado in Miami's Mayor Race

After weeks of speculation, City of Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez officially announced today that he will challenge Mayor Tomas Regalado. Suarez is only 35, and has spent barely three years on the commission, but his family connections have given him a boost to the top of the city's political la ... More >>

Is Charlie Crist Florida's Next Governor?

That Fiscal Cliff Deal Is Going To Cost Florida Billions; Here's How Much More You'll Pay

Chances are, when you heard that the GOP-controlled House had finally relented on a deal that kept the nation from plunging Wile E. Coyote-style off a fiscal cliff, you popped a little mental champagne. But even though the compromise prevents huge tax increases and keeps unemployment benefits in pla ... More >>

Poll: Rick Scott's Approval Rating Is "Awful," Charlie Crist Has Best Chance To Beat Him

Maybe it was the bungled Election Day, or the Stand Your Ground backlash, or the drug testing programs gone awry, or just the fact that he still looks like a cyborg sent from the future to slash entitlement programs. Either way, Gov. Rick Scott continues posting historically bad poll numbers.A new Q ... More >>

Angry Over Gay Mayor's Election, Florida GOP Leader Wants To Stop College Kids From Voting

When Craig Lowe won a run-off two years ago to become Gainesville's first openly gay mayor, many hailed it as a landmark of tolerance in conservative Central Florida. But not the local county's GOP chairman. He saw Lowe's election, he says today, as a victory by a vast liberal conspiracy to use coll ... More >>

Rick Scott Silent on Gun Laws; Marco Rubio Supports Comprehensive Study of Gun Laws

Florida Gov. Rick Scott -- a man who has signed laws forbidding doctors from asking about patients' gun ownership and forcing municipalities to stop enforcing stricter local gun laws  -- was silent today about gun laws when asked about  the Sandy Hook massacre. 

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Blocks Miami Democratic Leader Annette Taddeo-Goldstein's Bid for State Chair

There's a big battle brewing between the Old Guard and the New Guard for the top leadership position of Florida's Democratic Party. Several South Florida Hispanic Democrats are voicing their displeasure with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz's move to support Tallahasee's Allison Tant in next m ... More >>

Florida Is Set to Issue Its One Millionth Concealed Carry Permit Next Week

Florida is on pace to become the first state to issue its one millionth active concealed carry permit sometime next week, as more than 167,000 permits are issued each year. Florida has already issued more concealed carry permits than any other state, and is set to become the first to break the one m ... More >>

GOP Chair Reince Priebus Sued for "Underfranchising" Hispanic Voters

After last month's electoral loss, the Republican Party is desperately trying to make it self over as a Hispanic friendly group, but the fact that a group representing Hispanic Republican voters in Florida has now filed a lawsuit against  Reince Priebus, the national GOP chair with a name that ... More >>

Obama Might Have Been the First Democrat to Win Florida's Cuban Vote

For decades Cuban-Americans have been one of the Republican party's most reliable bases in Florida. Well, maybe not anymore. Some exit poll analysis suggests that Barack Obama actually outperformed Mitt Romney among Cubans in Florida. While others don't show him quite pulling off that historic demog ... More >>

Puerto Rican Referendum: 65 Percent of Voters Choose U.S. Statehood UPDATED

While Floridians were busy re-electing Barack Obama, voters in Puerto Rico yesterday participated in a referendum posing a fundamental question to their political status with the United States: statehood or no statehood?The first question on the two-part referendum asked voters if they wanted to cha ... More >>

Florida County Literally Calls People to Tell Them They Can Vote Until Tomorrow

The joke about telling voters on the other side that they can vote the day after the election is almost as old as democracy itself, but this is Florida, and democracy here sometimes does look like a joke.Indeed, 12,525 people living in Pinellas County, Florida got a robocall this morning from their ... More >>

In Early Voting Debacle in Doral, Carlos Gimenez Fails To Lead

As the 2012 presidential election in Miami-Dade County spirals into calamity, alcalde fuerte Carlos Gimenez is doing nothing to stop another embarrassing, national indictment of our Banana Republic's voting system. Despite long lines of voters who waited two-to-six hours to cast their ballots during ... More >>

Latest Florida Polls Have No Idea If Romney or Obama Is in the Lead

The latest polls released in the past few days really have not brought much clarity to the question of who exactly is in the lead in Florida. Two recent newspaper-commissioned polls show Mitt Romney with a sizable lead, but others show Barack Obama with a slim lead. Taken all together, we wouldn't b ... More >>

Obama Up 1 to 2 Percent in Three Latest Florida Polls

The race for Florida is still basically tied, but three new polls released this morning show President Obama with the slightest of leads. Though, all those leads are within the margin of error. Either way, it seems that both Obama and Mitt Romney still have a good shot at winning the Sunshine State.

Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez Tried To Pull a Fast One at Early Voting Site

Yesterday, while Julio Rodriguez waited in line to cast his ballot at the John F. Kennedy library, the Hialeah voter noticed his city's mayor stumping for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. No big deal right? Wrong.Carlos Hernandez was ignoring a local election law that prohibits people fr ... More >>

Miami Blacks Are Key to Obama's Re-Election

Nearly 10 Percent of Florida Voters Have Cast an Absentee Ballot So Far; Republicans Hold Edge

Just under one million Floridians have already cast their ballots in the presidential elections, and the number is closing in on the 10 percent total mark of all Florida registered voters. So far, though, Republicans have turned in more absentee ballots than Democrats, but their absentee advantage i ... More >>

Fidel Castro Reportedly Made Public Appearance at Havana's Hotel National

Wow, what opportune timing.After weeks of the rumor mill churning out reports of Fidel Castro's ailing health, the retired Cuban dictator has reportedly made an appearance at Havana's famed National Hotel and talked to hotel workers for about half an hour.

Florida Man Would Like His Lock Of Simon Bolivar's Hair Back, Sues Venezuela

In Miami's federal courthouse downtown, thousands of lawsuits are filed every day over every conceivable kind of property: houses, boats, cars, drug money, jewelry, fine art. It's a fair bet, though, that a suit filed two weeks ago is a first: A demand that the Venezuelan government give a lock of S ... More >>

Florida Republicans' Ballot Fraud 2012

Florida Absentee Ballot System Destroying Democracy

Has President Barack Obama caught the absentee ballot fever that has corrupted Florida's electoral system? Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Tribune reported Barry's reelection campaign is launching an "unprecedented program to encourage supporters to vote by absentee ballot right away." Elections offices ac ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Wins Reelection With 54 Percent

In an election held more than a thousand miles away, but one that will hit home for thousands of locals, Hugo Chavez has won reelection with 54 percent of the vote in today's presidential election in Venezuela. The controversial Chavez has been in power for 13 years, and will rule for another s ... More >>

Connie Mack: Pay No Attention to Those Other Biased Polls, My Poll Shows I'm Losing Too

Florida Senate nominee Connie Mack IV isn't fighting Democrat Bill Nelson as much as he's scrapping with polling and perception. For weeks now, polls have shown Nelson with a huge lead over Mack, and the challenger is in danger of having his campaign written off as unwinnable by donors. So Mack has ... More >>

Gov. Rick Scott Paid $5,000 to an Accused Ballot Collector

Rick Scott Paid $5,000 To An Alleged Boletera For His 2010 Campaign

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has been dead serious about cleaning up Florida's elections. First, he targeted 180,000 suspected ineligible voters to strike from the rolls (though he ended up eliminating only 200 after the Department of Justice stepped in). Then, he severely restricted voter registration a ... More >>

A Huge Majority Of Dems Want Crist As Gov., According to Poll No One is Sure Whether to Trust

Should Charlie Crist return to politics as a Democrat his biggest roadblock may be, well, Democratic voters. After all, one would figure that a man who has a pretty solid Republican political history (despite what Tea Partiers might have had you believed) would have a hard time winning in a Democrat ... More >>

Mitt Romney Had Virtually No Convention Bounce in Florida

National polls are showing that President Barack Obama definitely sustained a significant post-convention bounce after last week's DNC, but what about ol' Mitt Romney? One would figure that by virtue of hosting the Republican National Convention right here in Florida, that the GOP candidate would at ... More >>

Rick Scott Finally Caught a Foreigner Voting in Florida: A Damn Canadian

Gov. Rick Scott's Department of State recently amassed a list of 180,000 possible non-citizens who were registered to vote in Florida. Eventually that list was whittled down to 2,600, and even many on that list were found to be actual citizens.Turns out so far only a single person on that list of re ... More >>

Rick Scott's Voter Registration Laws Are Dead, But Democratic Voter Registration In Florida Has Plummeted

Between July 1 of last year and July 31 of this year, only 11,365 new voters have registered as Democrats in Florida. In that same time, 128,039 new Republicans have registered to vote in the state. While Democrats still have more registered voters in the state, the trend marks a historic change in ... More >>

Poll: President Obama Still Leads Florida As Ryan Pick Slightly Boosts Romney

From the moment Mitt Romney picked budget radical Paul Ryan as his running mate, one of the biggest question is how the Wisconsin rep would play in Florida. Romney desperately needs the swing state, but Ryan's plans to turn Medicare into a voucher system -- not to mention his shaky record on the Cub ... More >>

South Beach-Based Author Michael Grunwald Is Changing D.C.'s Mind About the Stimulus

In our nation's capital, real consensus happens as often as a noncreepy Rick Scott grin. Yet for the past couple of years, everyone in Washington, D.C., has agreed on this: President Obama's mammoth 2009 stimulus was kind of laughable. Green-energy initiatives? Saving America from financial ruin? Ha ... More >>

Bruno Barreiro Will Head Into Commission Run-Off Against Luis Garcia

Well, Norman Braman's quest to unseat incumbent Miami-Dade County Commissioners was far from a smashing success, but one of his candidates will live to see another electoral day. Incumbent Bruno Barreiro barely missed the 50 percent threshold to avoid a runoff by just nine votes. So now he'll face o ... More >>

Mass Shootings Prove Gun Buyers Should Be Drug-Tested

Candidates Endorsed by Miami's Leading Anti-Gay Group Mostly Tanked Big Time in Tuesday's Elections

Several local candidates competing in Tuesday's elections sought the endorsement of the controversial anti-gay group the Christian Family Coalition, but it turns out that the group's endorsement isn't worth much. Out of the dozens of candidates the group endorsed this cycle, only three of the non-in ... More >>

Miami Beach Elects Florida's First Openly Gay State Legislator, David Richardson

Until last night, Florida was the largest state in the union to have never elected an openly gay candidate to its state legislature. Yes, even Texans elected an openly gay representative all the way back in 1991.That changed last night as voters in Florida 113th House district, which encompasses par ... More >>