The Political Whore

‘Memba when Charlie Crist went to Europe last year? Orlando Sentinel columnist Beth Kassab (a former student of mine at UF years ago) takes the opportunity of the 1-year anniversary of the hobnobbing journey to see what exactly Crist accomplished.

Answer: not much.

The big news out of the trip heralded in a news release from the Governor’s Office last year – and the only point Crist mentioned to me when I asked him last week about results of his travels – was that Spanish solar energy company Renovalia would consider building a Florida plant.

Renovalia and Tampa-based Seminole Electric Cooperative signed an agreement to discuss that possibility.

Today those discussions don’t appear to have gone very far.

The formal agreement expired in December, and the two companies didn’t bother to extend it, though talks are still “ongoing,” said Seminole Electric spokeswoman Michele Collet Kriz.

And this man wants to be our next US senator? Can you say, junket??

By Lorna Bracewell
PoHo contributor

This just in from Securing Our Children’s Rights (SOCR), a Tampa-based lobbying group organized to secure, protect and preserve equal rights for children of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents in Florida:

Securing Our Children’s Rights, Inc. (SOCR), is pleased to announce HB 3 – Adoption, for the 2010 legislative session, introduced by Representative Mary Brandenburg, D-West Palm Beach, that is a full repeal of Florida’s ban on adoption by its gay and lesbian citizens. Senator Nan Rich has a companion bill in drafting at this date.

Governor Crist has declared Wednesday, July 22, 2009 as Explore Adoption Day and we must contact Governor Crist and the legislature to Explore Adoption by repealing the ban.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 22, 2009
WHO: Governor Charlie Crist (850) 488-7146 or email to Charlie.Crist@myflorida.com

House Speaker Larry Cretul 850-488-1450 or 352-873-6564 or email to Larry.Cretul@myfloridahouse.gov

Senate President Jeff Atwater 850-487-5100 or 561-625-5101 or email to atwater.jeff.web@flsenate.gov

Your Florida Representative – www.myfloridahouse.gov

Your Florida Senator – www.flsenate.gov

THE ASK:
Please ask the Governor to support the repeal of the adoption ban on gay Floridians and ask him to encourage the legislative leadership to pass the repeal.

Please ask the House Speaker and the Senate President to support the repeal and encourage Committee hearings for the bills.

Please ask your representative and senator to support the repeal, and to become a co-sponsor.

Here are your fun facts and talking points, courtesy of SOCR:

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Gov. X, of course!

At least, that is what the Rush & Molloy gossip column in the New York Daily News is calling him. The paper on Sunday reveals that a prostitute hired by former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer now says he was not her only gubernatorial fuck buddy. There was (as they say) another, an out-of-state date for the “high-priced escort:”

[Annie, the prostitute's pseudonym] contends that, in the spring of 2006, [madam Kirstin] Davis’ agency booked her for an out-of-state date with a man identified as “Michael.”

“He picked me up in an Italian sports car,” says Annie. “He was in his 30s, handsome enough to be an actor, an impeccable dresser. I wouldn’t think he’d have a problem getting girls.

“We went to a restaurant where the governor was dining at another table with two or three other men. Michael said the governor was a client of his. He introduced me to him. I thought it was odd that he’d introduce someone he’d hired, but the governor was very gracious. It was a brief meeting. Later, Michael and I went to an apartment our agency kept. We had sex.

“A couple of days later, Michael booked another appointment. He was supposed to come to the same apartment. I buzzed him in. When I opened the door, it wasn’t Michael. It was the governor. He was smiling. I knew what was happening. I was okay with it.

“He was a very standard client. He didn’t take the full hour. There was no exchange of money. Michael handled the payment.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/07/19/2009-07-19_hooker_who_worked_for_kristin_davis_says_eliot_spitzer_wasnt_her_only_governor.html#ixzz0LpChwDJN

Gov. X’s press ops have denied the allegation, but you know it must be true, because Annie’s madam Kristin Davis vouched for the story, and this is Kristin’s picture from the Daily News:

Read the rest of this entry »

The season of slime starts early, and isn’t even that original, to tell you the truth. Haven’t we seen these same “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” parody attack ads in every elections since at least 2004? Didn’t we see similar ads trotted out against Vern Buchanan two years ago?

Either way, the shadowy 527 group Don’t Bank on Sink has released an Internet ad mocking CFO and governor candidate Alex Sink’s use of state airplanes.

Watch the entire ad and learn more about who’s behind the group after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Was this a wack-job move or the first salvo in her campaign for the presidency in 2012? Depending on your perspective, you can read Sarah Palin’s press conference today either way.

The breathless recitation of right-wing talking points and multiple excuses for skipping out on her job, recited as if her inner tape-recorder were stuck on high speed, could be viewed as a slightly unhinged monologue in the Mark Sanford vein.

Then again, a breathless recitation of right-wing talking points could be just the thing her base wants to hear, and you can already imagine the scenario that’s being shaped for future campaigns: “She couldn’t stand to take part anymore in big-government Obamanomics because she’s a maverick! She’s declaring her independence!”

Never mind that Alaska has been lapping up government welfare for years; suddenly when her erstwhile Democratic opponent was doing the doling out, the money was tainted. And no matter that she’s declaring her independence from a job the voters expected her to complete; she doesn’t play by those conventional rules, people!

See video of the conference after the break. Be sure to hang on for the basketball metaphors. Read the rest of this entry »

By Heidi Lux
Daily Loaf contributor

After my brief, stolen moment with Governor C. at the charity fashion show, my life returned to its usual mundane routine. I was a nobody. Why would C. even remember me?

So when I answered my cell phone after class Monday afternoon, I was astonished to find myself on the line with C.’s assistant. Apparently, the Governor had been impressed by me and wished to meet me under better circumstances, and would I be available Friday night? I would. I was instructed not to tell anyone the Governor and I would be meeting, nor was I told where the meeting would take place.

The week passed by me as I sat through my USF classes, unable to concentrate, my entire attention on C. What should I wear? Where would we meet? Was it a date? But the biggest question I had was, why me?

Finally at eight o’clock on Friday night, I stood on the stoop of my apartment building, in a black dress pilfered from my older and more fashionable sister Fate’s closet, and held my breath in anticipation.

Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the scene, accompanied by a loud noise and gusting wind. I didn’t know what to secure first, my hair or my skirt. So I halfheartedly tried to catch both while managing to hold neither, as a shiny, black helicopter descended in front of me. Read the rest of this entry »

The most dangerous predator on the Appalachian Trail: The Argentinian cougar

By Dan Sullivan
PoHo contributor

I love a good political scandal. There’s just something about the revelation that those we elect to office are regular human beings – susceptible to all the same temptations and lapses in judgment as the rest of us.

Naturally though, I prefer scandals that involve Democrats. The Blago scandal was one-in-a-million. And I think only the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal could top Gary Hart’s 1988 romp on a boat called “Monkey Business.”

It’s not so much fun to read about Republicans breaking their word and compromising their good morals. Especially rising stars such as South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.

Read the rest of this entry »

Love this story. Just love this story.

Soon-to-be-former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford first came up missing, then his staff explained that he was hiking alone on the Appalachian Trail, then earlier today came word she was cruising off the coast of Argentina. Now, the truth.

Yes, it’s another woman.

From CNN:

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday, amid speculation over his whereabouts for the last several days, that he has been engaged in an extramarital affair with an Argentinian woman.

“I’ve been unfaithful to my wife,” Sanford told a news conference in Columbia, the state capital. “I developed a relationship with what started as a dear, dear friend from Argentina.”

His voice choking at times, Sanford apologized to his wife and four sons, his staff and supporters, and said he would resign immediately as head of the Republican Governors Association. The affair was discovered five months ago, Sanford said.

Watch the video of his admission from a live news conference after the jump:

Read the rest of this entry »

Cross-posted from The Daily Loaf

By Heidi Lux

I did not go seeking my scandalous affair with Governor C., it found me. 

The first time I met C. was on a freezing cold February evening. The temperature had fallen to an unbelievably low 68 degrees, and I was forced to wear a t-shirt due to the extreme temperature. Fate, my older sister, had dragged me, reluctantly, along with her to a charity fashion show she was modeling in at the Vinoy in St. Petersburg.

It was a half hour drive from our apartment in Tampa. If I had known the way things were going to turn out, would I have still crossed the Howard Frankland, or would I have paused and reconsidered when I reached West Shore Plaza, stopping in the mall for some window shopping at BCBG before heading back to my mundane middle class life? I cannot honestly say whether the Destiny St. Clair I was then would have been so bold as to willingly embark upon the life I have since lived, but as I reflect now, I’m glad it all happened. Read the rest of this entry »

The Gainesville Sun has an article detailing how right-wing Attorney General Bill McCollum has dropped code words friendly to social conservatives in a bid to appeal to moderate voters in his bid for Florida Governor.

Equality Florida says:

The Gainesville Sun reports that Republican Bill McCollum is moderating his political views and appealing to the Charlie Crist voters in his run for Florida Governor. The article points out that McCollum’s support for includng sexual orientation in Hate Crimes laws and the fact that his finance chairman’s lead oppositon to Amendment 2 has drawn the ire of arch conservatives including form Christian Coalition leader Dennis Baxley.

His finance team chairman is Jonathan Kislak, who last year led a group that unsuccessfully opposed a constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage in the state. McCollum says he disagrees with his friend on that issue.

Just because some of the winger groups are “upset” at McCollum not breathing fire on stem-cell research or hate crimes or God knows what else doesn’t mean that McCollum has fundamentally changed his stripes.

He hasn’t.

Here’s an advance look at my print column that will run in next Wednesday’s issue of Creative Loafing:

Green in 2008: Gov. Charlie Crist when being green was easier, with Michael Rea of the Carbon Trust in the U.K. signing an agreement for Florida and that nation to “share expertise on low carbon innovation and investment and to jointly develop strategies to attract low carbon industries.”
Photo: Florida Governor’s Office

They were heady, green days for Charlie Crist in July 2008 as he flew to London to attend a global climate-change conference and hobnob with members of Parliament to discuss the planet’s growing environmental crisis.

Back in the day, Crist shared a national spotlight with the likes of movie star Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, gaining attention as a group of state leaders who stepped up for the environment when George W. Bush’s administration turned a blind eye to science.

It was zenith of his 2007 pledge to turn Florida green, lower emissions and grow a biofuel industry. Last year, he laid out a $200 million investment in his green vision. But today, as Crist is all but a lame duck governor running for the U.S. Senate, very few of those hopes and promises have come true. Blame the knuckle-draggers in the Legislature. Blame the recession. Or, if you are like some environmentalists in the state, blame Crist for not having the strength or guile to get his way on green.

Read the rest of this entry »

From the Orlando Sentinel:

By Dan Sullivan
PoHo contributor

Dear Attorney General Bill McCollum,

There’s no easy way to tell you this, so I think I’ll just go ahead and say it: I think we should see other people. Don’t get me wrong, you’re a great guy and all, but I’m just not so sure I can handle a serious relationship with you for governor. It’s not you, it’s me. Well, actually, it’s just you.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bill McCollum, currently the most dangerous weasel in Florida politics, yesterday announced the endorsements of 60 state legislators. (This is, of course, a meaningless gesture. I remember having the endorsements of just about every member of the House during my work managing the 2004 Johnnie Byrd for US Senate campaign and look where that got him. A fourth-place primary finish.)

The nine West Central Florida Republicans lining up to stroke their presumptive nominee (perhaps not presumptive? Recall our earlier story about possible challenger Paula Dockery) are Sens. Victor Crist, Mike Fasano and Nancy Detert; and Reps. Ed Homan, Ed Hooper, Faye Culp, John Legg, Peter Nehr and Will Weatherford.

By Jim Johnson
PoHo contributor and founder of The State of Sunshine

In case you missed it, Gov. Charlie Crist made a slight step this week that could help in his Senate race. Especially when you add it to a measure from the 2008 session.

This week, Crist signed the 2009-2010 budget for the State of Florida. Florida’s governor has line-item veto power, a tool many governors use to nix budget provisions with which they disagree. This year, Crist vetoed two items: the first veto restored state workers salaries to current levels, undoing the 2 percent pay cut passed by the Legislature.

The second veto, however, was a bit more important to Crist’s political future.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Answer me this question, because I am very much interested in trying to replace Obama. Okay?”

That is how U.S. Sen. Roland Burris opens the door to the idea of being appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the Senate seat left open by the election of Barack Obama. This comes during a taped conversation with Robert Blagojevich, the former gov’s brother and fundraising muscle. Robert Blagojevich, as you may recall from our coverage, is a University of Tampa graduate, and gave the commencement address there a few years back.

But then Burris goes on to say that since it is known that he wanted the appointment, that he couldn’t be raising money for Blago without it being seen as an attempt to buy the seat. Burris said, “Rob, I’m in a dilemma right now trying to help the governor. I’m now trying to figure out what the hell the best thing to do. I know I could give him a check, myself.”

Which he never did.

So, should Roland Burris be removed from the Senate on the basis of this conversation?

Listen to the audio in full after the jump:

Read the rest of this entry »

By Heidi Lux
Daily Loaf contributor

Cross-posted from the Daily Loaf blog.

I have a secret I can no longer keep. It burns my soul and pains my conscience. I had an affair. I loved a man powerful in Florida politics, and he loved me back. I cannot reveal his name. My honor and his lawyers do not permit me. I will refer to him only as C. He currently seeks more power, and I know that rumors will begin to fly, so I submit my story publicly to save us both, and our love, from the public’s harsh scrutiny.

It all began in the winter of 2008. I was a 19-year-old USF student, wandering through my studies with no real direction, still trying to find myself among the textbooks and study halls. My life did not live up to my name – Destiny St. Clair – and my bright red hair spoke of an excitement I could not claim. I was, I must say, average in every way, certainly not the type you might soon expect to be sipping champagne on yachts with the most powerful man in the state.

I can remember the exact moment my life changed forever. Jan. 30, 2008, the day John McCain won the Florida Republican primaries. “That man is such a silver fox,” my older sister, Fate, said as we watched the announcement on TV. C. was standing at a podium behind John McCain, looking pleased as they announced the elderly senator’s victory. “How is that man even still a bachelor.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Florida’s right-wing attorney general, Bill McCollum, is set to confirm his gubernatorial bid this morning, a genuinely scary thought since he could be a fluke election away from being our next governor.

Here’s my column from the upcoming print Creative Loafing issue about how McCollum should be freaking you out by now:

Read the rest of this entry »

Here is her video launch:

Having another guv from the Tampa Bay area (Alex Sink and her hubby, former gov candidate Bill McBride, still have a large lakefront home out in Thonotosassa in eastern Hillsborough) wouldn’t be a bad thing. Last one was Bob Martinez in the 1980s. And today, Sink, a former banker turned Florida’s chief financial officer, made it official that she will seek (and get) the Democratic nomination for governor in 2010 as Charlie Crist flees the mansion.

The Palm Beach Post has her full statement:

Read the rest of this entry »

From the nascent Draft Jeb! movement. We can only hope the movement is limited to the folks in this photo, but knowing the state’s electorate the way I do, I doubt it.

Many people expect an announcement that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will say he’s running for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, when the governor is set to announce his political future. To be sure, an open Senate seat does not come along very often … but this could be a major problem for Republicans.

Read the rest of this entry »

The 2009 Legislative Session passed the 60-day mark on Friday, extended for one more week. The only thing left to do is pass the budget, with tobacco taxes and the Seminole Gaming compact — and the revenue they generate — included.

And so, the next thing for Florida politicos to discuss: Will Governor Charlie Crist run for re-election or for the United States Senate? And when?

So today on Twitter, there is a new #cristcountdown discussion.

What do you think? Post your tweet on Twitter:

RT @StateOfSunshine @jaketapper @markknoller #cristcoundown | Date and office

---

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users’ updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers). Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow anybody to access them. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, text message, or external applications. The service is free to use over the Internet, but using text messages may incur phone service provider fees.

Follow State of Sunshine on Twitter

Follow PoHo on Twitter