Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 20, 2009, at 1:00 pm
Jeff Kottkamp took his whacks for misusing the state airplane earlier this year, so it will be interesting to see how (if??) the public reacts to his announcement that he wants to be the GOP nominee for attorney general in 2010.
Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp filed paperwork today to run for attorney general in 2010, even as an ethics complaint over his use of state planes remains unresolved.
Kottkamp, a trial attorney who has served as Florida’s second-in-command since January 2007, told reporters that the attorney general job is the “culmination of a lot of the experiences I’ve had in my life, it’s something that I feel passionate about.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 29, 2009, at 9:45 am
A stunning admission, if completely unsurprising to anybody who has run campaigns in any African-American community in this state: The way to get coverage in black-owned media is to pay for it.
That was the direct message to Jim Greer, chairman of the Florida Republican Party, from a group of African-American media execs over the weekend:
“At the end of the day, it’s about money. If you buy advertising, you’re more likely to get coverage,” said Johnny Hunter, president of the Florida Association of Black Owned Media and publisher of Sarasota’s Tempo News.
That according to coverage of the meeting in the Orlando Sentinel. Greer’s response?
Greer promised that the party would stop ignoring black media. He said that mainstream newspapers such as the Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Tribune and Tallahassee Democrat cover the party’s issues regardless of whether they advertise, but the party chairman nevertheless seemed willing to accept the quid-pro-quo arrangement.
“When I hear that when we advertise, the paper will be more likely to disseminate Republican issues, am I hearing right?” Greer asked. “I don’t understand the legitimacy of disseminating information and having a tie-in to revenue — but I get it.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jun. 4, 2009, at 1:30 pm
The Atlantic has a great column by Conor Clarke that should be required reading for every numnut who is going around spouting off that President Barack Obama has turned this nation into a socialist satellite. Yes, we can argue the wisdom of the GM bailout/semi-nationalization (and it appears, at least at this point, to be a bad deal for us taxpayers) but we are farrrrr from a socialist nation as a result, as Clark points out in his column and in this amazing graphic:
Do me and The Atlantic a favor and read the entire column and pass it along via e-mail to your goofy friends/relatives who bombard you with BS email about how we are becoming socialists.
Has anyone else noticed that Dick Cheney just won’t go away? Maureen Dowd of The New York Times has. Her take on Cheney as the new “Rogue Diva of Doom” after the jump.
Only after Charlie Crist announced his bid for the Senate was Marco Rubio’s campaign message, to use his words, “coming into focus.” After Crist announced his Senate candidacy, Rubio aired his first attack ad which linked Crist to President Barack Obama. Rubio then went on Fox News to pitch his campaign and talk about why Crist is not the man for the job.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 5, 2009, at 6:15 am
It’s on like Donkey Kong: a battle for the heart and soul of the Florida Republican Party!
Conservative standard-bearer Marco Rubio has thrown his hat into the post-Mel Martinez 2010 U.S. Senate elections, setting up a likely battle royal with Gov. Charlie Crist that will be one of the national Republican Party’s highest profile battle between its conservative faction (Rubio, Jeb Bush) and its centrist, big-tent faction (Crist, Arnold Schwarzenegger, as examples).
Rubio made the announcement on the Spanish language Univision and followed up with a video on YouTube this morning.
Rubio says he wants a balanced budget amendment and pro-business laws. He also obliquely acknowledges the 800-pound GOP elephant in the room that is Crist: “I know that there are people more famous than I who will enter this race. But nothing in life worth doing is easy.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 4, 2009, at 6:20 am
Adam C. Smith, political editor over at the St. Petersburg Times and chief Buzz-ster, asks an intriguing question in light of the party switch of Penn. Sen. Arlen Specter:
Can the stimulus-lovin’ Charlie Crist possibly find a home in the increasingly right-wing GOP?
It’s a crazy question, considering the GOP these days is only marginally more popular than the flu, while the Republican governor of America’s biggest battleground state enjoys astronomical approval ratings.
But it’s worth pondering now that moderate Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania has become a Democrat, and the political world is convinced that the moderate Florida governor is about to run for the U.S. Senate. If Crist runs and wins, he will join Maine’s Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe – a pair reviled by many conservatives – as the only Republican senators who supported President Barack Obama’s stimulus package.
“If you agree with Susan Collins or Olympia Snowe on some of these issues, you might as well become a Democrat,” said former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, a Republican who is likely to run for the Senate, whether or not Crist does.
The first 100 days of the president’s administration is usually used as a report card to judge its success or gauge where it might be for the rest of its term. However, the closing of President Obama’s honeymoon may not even be the news headline as reports of Arlen Specter switching parties overshadows the president. This completely arbitrary 100th-day-mark might underscore more the status of the Republican Party than anything else.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Feb. 11, 2009, at 3:03 pm
From March on Politics:
Hillsborough County Republican Party Chairman Debbie Cox-Roush says it’s up to the state Republican Party whether Carol Carter can rescind her resignation from a county party post.
“We don’t have the authority to accept or reject Ms. Carter’s resign,” Cox-Roush said in an interview a few minutes ago. “It’s out of our hands and we are waiting for direction from the Republican Party of Florida.”
Carter resigned her post as Hillsborough County state committeewoman last week after it became publicly known that she had forwarded an email joke some considered racially insensitive. Today, she sent state party Chairman Jim Greer a letter seeking to rescind the resignation.
Haley Barbour on GOP’s hope for a comeback: “When you’ve had the White House for eight years, you become a very top-down party. We Republicans are clearly better as a bottom-up party.”
“If you spend your life teaching people in media about social media, about conversational publishing and genuine online community, you will spend a good percentage of your time being told you are wrong.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Dec. 15, 2008, at 8:29 am
This morning’s top political and media stories in Tampa Bay, Florida and beyond:
The Tampa Tribune’s bizarre front-page: We’re not dead! “By organizing the paper as we have, we’ve been able to preserve more space for local content. The Times, which clings to traditional sections as being more important to readers than local news, is stuck with a format that requires reducing local content.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Nov. 24, 2008, at 3:17 pm
Sarah Palin was just the start, if Andrew Breitbart’s commentary in the Washington Times is any indication:
The future of the Grand Old Party needs to be dangerously youthful, devastatingly attractive and outrageously fun.
Throw the liberal baby boomer bums out. And let’s elect to higher office some good-looking, freedom-loving Net Generation babes. Face it: Democracy needs a face-lift and a youth movement. (I’m from Los Angeles, what can I tell you?)
Sounds like a night clubbing in downtown St. Pete.
I hate to tell Breitbart, but TMZ already beat him to this brilliant deduction.
I have been a resident of Macomb County my whole life. I graduated from Chippewa Valley High School. I also have a degree from Macomb Community College. I have a very supportive family, whose morals, religious and political views have shaped my ambitions to be active in community events. My Wonderful husband is a Macomb County business owner. My Father USMC Sergeant Larry DeJaeghere was a Vietnam Veteran. He was laid to rest in 2005 at Arlington National Cemetery. My Mother was a spokesperson and survivor for Ovarian Cancer awareness for over 20 years. She passed away in 2007, but has inspired me to carry on her message. My father-in-law has been a doctor in Macomb County for almost 40 years. My mother-in-law is a public schools teacher.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Nov. 18, 2008, at 3:21 pm
Former Ark. Gov. MIke Huckabee has a new book out in which he berates his fellow Republicans for not embracing his presidential campaign the way they should have. He calls out Mitt Romney, according to an NYT account of Time’s preview:
Mr. Huckabee, who came from way back in the Republican pack to defeat Mr. Romney in the Iowa, excoriates his former foe in the book as “anything but conservative until he changed the light bulbs in his chandelier in time to run for president,” according to a report in Time magazine.
Oh, snap!
The Huckster is bringing his road show of part-memoir, part-2012 campaign launch to Tampa in a book signing being sponsored by the independent Inkwood Books:
On Friday, November 28, Inkwood Books presents MIKE HUCKABEE as he signs his book, DO THE RIGHT THING: INSIDE THE MOVEMENT THAT’S BRINGING COMMON SENSE BACK TO AMERICA. The event is for one hour only, from 9 until 10 a.m. in Hyde Park Village – our thanks to the management. Do the Right Thing is part campaign memoir, part manifesto, with the inside story of Huckabee’s longshot grassroots Presidential campaign, plus his optimistic vision for America’s future. The signing is limited to books purchased from Inkwood, with no personalization. Books will be available for purchase at the event, but we encourage advance purchase for your convenience. For additional details contact the bookstore at 813-253-2638 or inkwoodbks@aol.com.
Driving into work today, I decided to switch on a conservative radio show and see how the other side was reacting to Obama’s win. I ended up at 970 AM and Glenn Beck.
I listened to him speak for more than 20 minutes straight — about how McCain was not the right guy, how it’s no time for a Republican pity party, how it’s the perfect opportunity for the Republicans to redefine themselves, how Sarah Palin was not the reason McCain lost; and then he segued into love for the founding fathers and the people of America (well, certain people).
Beck actually soft-pedaled — as much as a conservative pundit could — the doom-and-gloom that’s coming under Obama.
It was an impressive performance. Didn’t sound scripted. I actually agreed with bits and pieces of it.
Then, at the end of the segment, Beck said, “Tonight I’m going to celebrate with a [Brand name, something like AG] steak.” I thought he was talking about his favorite steakhouse.
And then … he flowed right into a pitch for this brand of mail-order steaks that he endorses. They’re yummy, and good for you too, kind of thing.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Feb. 6, 2008, at 6:13 pm
From the Libertarian Party today:
Washington, D.C. – Following a solid McCain victory in the Super Tuesday primaries, the Libertarian Party has sent Republican headquarters a funeral wreath marking the death of limited-government values within the Republican Party. The wreath was hand-delivered to the D.C. offices of the Republican National Committee. “We simply felt the need to express our heartfelt sympathy for the Republican Party as they undergo this tough time within their party,” says Libertarian Party National Media Coordinator Andrew Davis, who delivered the wreath.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jan. 15, 2008, at 11:00 am
The Timesreports that unsuccessful 2006 Republican legislative candidate Angelo Cappelli is off the Hotel Graybar for a 21-month stay:
Judge Joseph Bulone sentenced Cappelli to 21 months behind bars on Friday after Cappelli pleaded guilty to charges of grand theft and perjury.
“He wanted to get this behind him,” said Frank Louderback, Cappelli’s attorney. “He’s very remorseful and feels very bad about what happened.”
Cappell is a guy who had it all: a Yale education, money, a good job in banking (I know, that’s an oxymoron), house, car, wife, etc. When I sat down with him at the start of the 2006 election cycle for my column in CL, I was impressed with his in-depth knowledge of the issues and some of his ideas on how to solve them. I thought he was dressed far to garishly (expensive white-collared shirts, cuff links, braces, the whole corporate banking look) to come off as a “Man of the People” that was needed in the St. Pete district where he was running. Even our gay, married editor David Warner liked Cappelli, who was against gay rights, in a story Warner did about the Heller-Cappelli race. I was later disappointed to see that he had succumbed to the state Republican Party’s ham-handed inclination to attack his opponent, Bill Heller, in an unfair and untrue way in mailers and other ads. It cost Cappelli the election and his reputation as a caring, good guy.
Cappelli had some friends in high places, as well:
Well-known developer Mel Sembler and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker supported Cappelli’s run against Democrat Bill Heller for House District 52 in 2006. Cappelli ended up raising $160,000 more than Heller but lost the race in a difficult election year for most Republicans across the state.
I have spoken with folks who spoke privately with Cappelli right after his arrest story broke. He was devastated and didn’t have an answer for why he lifted $100K from the estate of a dead client. My source knew Cappelli fairly well and was dumbfounded, too.
I’ve already seen lots of blog chatter on Cappelli being a hypocritical Republican, and given the GOP scandals of the past three years, that’s understandable. But Cappelli admitted his crime immediately, paid back all the money, didn’t fight the charges, and his taking his medicine rather than paying sharp lawyers to get him off or at least appeal the case for years and years. He pleaded guilty but didn’t bargain for a low prison sentence.
I think Angelo deserves some credit for that, and not a fresh bunch of lumps from blog-commenting knuckleheads. I think Cappelli still has something he can contribute to our Tampa Bay community when he gets out; let’s hope he turns things around enough to be able to do that.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Dec. 5, 2007, at 1:13 pm
Here’s the latest flap in the world of Ron Paul straw polling: organizers of a GOP straw poll in San Francisco pulled the plug on their voting when they were swamped with camera-weilding Ron Paul supporters.
A pro-Paul report from the pro-Paul LeeRockwell.com LewRockwell.com blog:
An on-scene report from Jerry Cullen: “The San Francisco Republican Alliance headed by Gail Neira held their pre election banquet at the Holiday Inn at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco last evening, December 4th, 2007. The gathering was advertised as a gala affair of loyal Republicans to be followed by a straw poll to select the favorite Presidential Candidate. The featured speaker was Republican State Senator Sam Aanesta (CA 4th SD). The Senator treated the audience to an hour long election pitch for Fred Thompson that cured the insomnia of all in attendance. After endless delays of meaningless trivia the doors were opened to the late comers to the straw poll each of whom had paid $5 for admission. The flood of Ron Paul supporters entered the room to join an already substantial number of Ron Paul supporters that had attended the ‘banquet’.
“A shocked Gail Neira in consultation with the Fred Thompson Northern CA Coordinator cancelled the straw poll vote offering a series of fraudulent, incomprehensible and incoherent reasons. The result was chaos as more than one hundred Ron Paul supporters objected to the outright deception. Neira’s ratings reached a level of unreality beyond description. Security was called to evict the peaceful if upset Ron Paul followers. When I asked that a picture be taken to attest to security attacking the 79-year-old me, security turned and disappeared.
I can’t find any journalistic coverage of the event, so here’s the video, see if you can figure it out:
Cappell is a guy who had it all: a Yale education, money, a good job in banking (I know, that’s an oxymoron), house, car, wife, etc. When I sat down with him at the start of the 2006 election cycle for my column in CL, I was impressed with his in-depth knowledge of the issues and some of his ideas on how to solve them. I thought he was dressed far to garishly (expensive white-collared shirts, cuff links, braces, the whole corporate banking look) to come off as a “Man of the People” that was needed in the St. Pete district where he was running. Even our gay, married editor David Warner liked Cappelli, who was against gay rights, 
