Friendly bets on sporting games by officeholders is a hallowed tradition in which headline-hungry politicians make cheap bids for soft coverage. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently got a nice batch of stone crab claws from Miami Mayor Manny Diaz when the Hurricanes lost the Emerald Bowl to Cal. Which…
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…
During the last part of 2008, it seemed like Jeb Bush had already won the 2010 Senate race, but this afternoon he announced he won’t be running. “While the opportunity to serve my state and country during these turbulent and dynamic times is compelling, now is not the right time to…
Florida’s capitol has been completely controlled by Republicans for the past ten years, and with that regime has come tax cut after tax cut after tax cut. Jeb Bush cut taxes by $12.2 billion during his terms, with half of those savings going toward the wealthiest 4.5 percent. Charlie Crist…
We’re not sure whether the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza is pulling this out of his ass or if he’s heard things we haven’t (quite possible), but toward the end of a blog post about Jeb Bush’s forthcoming Senate decision, he includes Manny Diaz as a possible Democratic contender for the…
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 population of…
It is probably for the best that respected newspapers such as USA Today (at this point respected not because of journalistic integrity but because it’s not on the total brink of bankruptcy and collapse) don’t yet allow their journalists to inject snark into stories, but sometimes you can tell they want…
Tucked away in the RedState.com post we linked to earlier is this delicious little nugget: “Charlie Crist has been on a roll lately undermining conservatives. Behind the scenes, he is trying to drum up opposition to Jeb Bush’s Senate run, not because he doesn’t want another Bush, but because he wants…
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew from his commerce secretary appointment over the weekend owing to allegations that a company which donated to his presidential run was unfairly awarded a hefty state contract. Damn you, Rod Blagojevich, you’ve gone and made everyone extrasensitive about political taint. Richardson was Obama’s highest-profile Hispanic cabinet pick,…
If anyone had any doubts that Jeb Bush’s possible run for Senate would be more about personal ambition and trying to save the GOP, look no further than George Bush Sr., who went on Fox News this weekend and said he’d like to see President Jeb one day. “I’d like to see…
Last month we did some caffiene-fueled theorizing about Gov. Charlie Crist’s third Supreme Court appointment and wondered “Will Crist be able to satisfy both his seeming need for diversity and his record for pleasing the right wing in one candidate? … Or will Charlie have to settle for a minority…
We’ve been criticizing ol’ Jebby Bush for positioning his possible run for Senate as an end to the problems of the GOP, and not the end to the problems of America and Florida. Well, along comes Broward Congressman Kendrick Meek, who told the AP that indeed he is considering running…
We imagine running the GOP looks exactly like this anyway: wearing a wizard’s hat while leading a bunch of racially insensitive white people with children’s brains. The Republican Party has become more or less a parody of itself. Chip Saltsman is running to chair that sinking ship, and as part…
The years coinciding with George W. Bush’s Presidency were sort of like a 1-15 season for America. We got our asses handed to us repeatedly by teams like the Wall Street Crashers, the Saudi Oilers, the Heartland Morality Police, the Gulf Coast Hurricanes, the Main Street Mortgage Meltdowns, the Detroit…
This full rotation around the sun that we have designated as 2008 was a very busy political year. And while we may be soon saying so long to our dear President George W. Bush, thus ending a golden age of dumb political quotes, there are plenty of other blow hards…
The holiday break brought us so many cheerful tidings: The Dolphins are heading the playoffs, gas prices are at a four year low, we get an iPhone, and the new Animal Collective leaked. So of course there has to be some sort of proverbial coal in the stocking: Jeb Bush…
Oh for the love of a secular female iteration of an Earth power God, it is Christmas Eve. Can we please keep the partisan bickering to arguing with your Republican uncle after copious amounts of egg nog? No, sir. The conservative blogosphere is nonstop. While this particular strained metaphor doesn’t match the stupidity of yesterday’s…
Florida Dems, let us share a bit of well-known advice that helped your national party unseat a seemingly unbeatable Republican incumbent back in ’92: It’s the economy, stupid. After re-electing party chairwoman Karen Thurman this weekend, the state Democrats vowed to continue their crusade against “Empty Chair Charlie.” “We know that we hit a nerve…
Sorry, Annette Taddeo, you’re not going to Washington either, apparently. This afternoon Obama tapped venture capitalist Karen Mills as head of the Small Business Administration. There was some buzz earlier in the week that Taddeo, who ran for Congress against Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, might get the nod because she’s also the…
Here is Calle Ocho’s favorite protest group Code Pink throwing shoes at a guy in a Bush mask outside of the White House, because these very mature actions will end the Iraq War tomorrow. The Washington Post has decided to be a very wry version of The Daily Show, and…
America, meet your new Transportation Secretary (reportedly)! It is Republican Congressman Ray LaHood. Miraculously LaHood did not serve in the Clinton Administration or run against Obama in the primaries like every other member of the Cabinet, but he is a white guy and from Illinois (oops, he’s of Lebanese decent…
Congratulations to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen who moved her Washington, D.C. offices this weekend, and as is her custom, she sent out a release about it, with lots and lots of exclamation marks!Starting today Monday, December 15, 2008, this will be our new home away from home. If you have recently sent…
