| Decision 2010
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In The News Pundits Give Their Video Take on Palin Resignation
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| News Point
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| National Forum
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Opinion
Michael: The Last Celebrity
The Age of Celebrity died with Michael Jackson's heart.
Those of us dedicated to the zoology of celebrity should have known it was over when the death of next-to-nobody Anna Nicole Smith filled the airwaves in 2007 for a week. Celebrity had lost its meaning. We will bury its golden age in Jacko's tomb.
Marketing runs the world now. Because of marketing the world is overflowing with people who are famous, or anyway familiar. These people aren't celebrities. Not real celebrities.
The most shocking thing to me about Michael Jackson's death is that he was 50 years old. I thought he was 25. Real celebrities never age, no matter what they look like. When people went to see Elvis in Vegas, you don't think they saw a fat guy in a white suit, do you? They were there to see Elvis. That's what they saw -- Elvis!
Michael: The Last Celebrity/Wall St. Journal/ Daniel Henninger
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| Florida Forum
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| Florida Forum
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Opinion
Property Insurance Bill Veoted
ST. PETERSBURG -- Allowing large insurers to determine their own rates while rates for other insurers are regulated would have undermined the state’s efforts to ease the property insurance crisis.
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| Florida Forum
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Opinion
Drilling Puts Florida's Economy At Risk
TAMPA -- The "drill, baby drill" crowd is at it again. Advocates are clamoring, in Washington and Tallahassee, in legislation and ballot initiatives, to drill off Florida.
It is discouraging that so many people are willing to ruin Florida's coast for the illusory promise of cheap energy and more jobs.
And make no mistake, drilling too close could be the ruin of our renowned beaches and a coastal economy that, including fishing, hotels and other enterprises, accounts for about $562 billion a year.
Drilling off Florida is a false promise/Tampa Tribune/editorial
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| Decision 2010
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Why Florida's Crist Has Made Republicans Smile
WASHINGTON -- How important is today’s announcement by Florida’s popular Republican governor, Charlie Crist, that he’ll run the U.S. Senate next, year rather than seek re-election as governor?
If you’re a Republican hoping to avoid losing even more ground in the Senate, it’s very important indeed.
To see why, look at the ratings of next year’s Senate races produced by the Cook Political Report, which serves as the Bible for those trying to size up congressional races. Before the Crist announcement, the Cook Report listed the Florida seat—coming open because current occupant Mel Martinez is retiring—as a toss-up. That meant the race was seen as very competitive, and by definition indicated that Democrats had a decent shot at taking it over.
As soon as word of the Crist announcement was out, the Cook Report shifted its rating of the seat to “Lean Republican,” meaning the odds now tilt toward the GOP’s retaining the seat.
And keeping that seat is crucial if Republicans want to prevent Democrats from getting an even stronger grip on the Senate. Democrats currently have 57 seats, or 59 if you count independents Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucus with the Democrats. That number probably will rise to 60 if the courts, as expected, name Al Franken the winner of Minnesota’s contested Senate election.
Against that backdrop, 37 Senate seats will be up for re-election next year, 18 of those now held by Democrats and 19 by Republicans. Even after the Crist announcement, there still are four GOP seats that the Cook Report lists in the toss-up category, compared to just two of the Democratic seats. In three of those four, Republicans are hampered by the fact the incumbent is retiring, leaving the seat up for grabs.
In other words, Republicans still are in greater danger of losing seats next year. Given that picture, the Crist announcement was certain to gladden Republican hearts in the Capitol.
Wall St. Journal/Gerald F. Seib
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| Decision 2010
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“With his record of reform in Florida, I know that Governor Crist will bring a fresh perspective to Washington in our efforts to fight for lower taxes, less government, and new job creation for all Americans. Charlie Crist is a tireless advocate on behalf of all Floridians and one of only three Governors who earned an ‘A’ from the CATO Institute for his efforts to restrain spending and cut taxes last year.
“While I believe Marco Rubio has a very bright future within the Republican Party, Charlie Crist is the best candidate in 2010 to ensure that we maintain the checks and balances that Floridians deserve in the United States Senate. Governor Crist is a dedicated public servant and a dynamic leader, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee will provide our full support to ensure that he is elected the next United States Senator from Florida.”
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| Tampa Bay Forum
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Greco For Mayor? Speculation About 2011 Begins
TAMPA — Voters won't go to the polls to elect a new Tampa mayor until 2011, but jockeying has already begun for the post.
Among those likely to be on the ballot: Tampa City Council Chairman Tom Scott, Hillsborough County Commissioner Rose Ferlita and City Council member Linda Saul-Sena.
And then there's former Mayor Dick Greco, who served as Tampa's chief executive in the 1970s and then again from 1995 to 2002. He publicly toyed with the idea of running against Iorio in 2007, then held a news conference to declare he would not challenge her.
But his name is circulating in the rumor mill as a potential candidate once again.
"This is a very strange thing. In the last three or four months, I have had more people ask me to run for mayor than at any other time in my life," said Greco. "But it would be too early even for me to think about it."
Greco is working on his memoirs with the help of Tampa writer Paul Guzzo.
Photo: Dick Greco/FrontPageFlorida.com photo(c)
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| Email the Editor
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| National Forum
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Opinion
The Day Before July Fourth
TAMPA -- It must have been such a mixed and antsy feeling that July 3, now 233 years ago.
At least it was like that in those few colonies in the Northeast where so much attention was focused on those men gathered in a steamy hall in Philadelphia.
Emotions weren't the same in most of Florida, at the time divided into the British colonies of East Florida and West Florida. In those northern Florida settlements, the feeling apparently was strongly pro-British. Farther south, in the small fishing villages around Tampa Bay, nobody was paying much attention to rumblings more than 1,000 miles away.
The American revolution already had begun. In fact, at the moment the delegates were hammering out what would become our Declaration of Independence, thousands of British regulars were landing in New York and the situation for the Americans was dismal at best.
The unknown.
The Day Before Tomorrow/Tampa Tribune/Steve Otto
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| National Forum
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Opinion
Sanford Behaving Badly
 ST. PETERSBURG -- In the annals of politicians behaving badly, Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford may have set a new standard for career self-immolation. Whatever scintilla of hope he may have harbored that his affair with an Argentine woman, Maria Chapur, might have been forgiven by his constituents and his party as an isolated indiscretion seems to be quickly evaporating in the wake of the his star turn as a "Desperate Governor." Memo to the gov: Start governing, stop talking — or move to Argentina
That's Enough, Governor/St. Petersburg Times/Editorial
Photo: Mark Sanford
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| advertisement
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| Florida Forum
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Nesting Sea Turtles Visit Pinellas Beaches
TREASURE ISLAND — Hundreds of tanned, sweaty people crowded the beach with chairs, towels, umbrellas and beer.
Amid the noise, heat and general party chaos on this hot Saturday afternoon at Caddy's on the Beach, it was easy to miss the most precious thing on the beach: a sea turtle nest, marked by flimsy wooden stakes, orange plastic ribbon and a small "Do Not Disturb" sign.
Just inches under the sand, as many as 120 fragile, pingpong ball-sized sea turtle eggs wait to hatch.
"Turtles love music," joked Brian Hall, 38, wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses as he hung out with friends just behind the nest. "Haven't you seen Finding Nemo?"
Caution, partiers: Sea turtle nests proliferate on Pinellas County beaches/St. Petersburg Times
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Acorn Role In Census Challenged
WASHINGTON -- Some Republican members of Congress want the U.S. Census Bureau to end a 2010 Census partnership with Acorn, the community organizing group that was hit by accusations of voter-registration fraud in the 2006 and 2008 elections.
Acorn, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, signed up in February with the bureau to be a "2010 Census Partner," which includes, among other things, identifying job candidates, encouraging its members to participate in the count and distributing literature explaining the importance of the census.
But in the wake of accusations that some former Acorn employees engaged in voter registration fraud in the 2006 and 2008 elections, the partnership isn't sitting well with some Republicans on Capitol Hill who worry that Acorn could skew results. There's a lot at stake since the census is used to dole out money to states and localities and to allocating seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Acorn Role In Census Challenged/ Wall St. Journal
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| Florida Forum
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Opinion
Public Payroll Becomes An Unfair Load
TAMPA -- The pay and benefits for employees of state and local government are too high, and relative to workers in the private sector, getting higher. Tax revenue stopped growing as pension funds lost value, yet promises of lifetime pay to workers and former workers must be kept.
An economic recovery that is strong and fast would provide some relief, but if the recovery is slow, local governments could be forced to lay off workers to keep paying generous retirement benefits to former workers.
A statewide investigation is needed to determine the scope of the problem, publicize the financial facts that politicians find embarrassing and come up with solutions.
The first step is to agree an imbalance exists, that more has been promised to government workers than taxpayers might be able to pay. And they won't be willing to pay because they can't understand why government service deserves a much richer reward than similar jobs in the private sector.
Public Payrool Becomes An UnFair Load/Tampa Tribune/Editorial
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| National Forum
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Poll: Obama's Approval Rating Slipping; New Concerns Over Budget Deficit And Economy
 WASHINGTON -- After a fairly smooth opening, President Barack Obama faces new concerns among the American public about the budget deficit and government intervention in the economy as he works to enact ambitious health and energy legislation, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds.
These rising doubts threaten to overshadow the president's personal popularity and his agenda, in what may be a new phase of the Obama presidency.
"The public is really moving from evaluating him as a charismatic and charming leader to his specific handling of the challenges facing the country," says Peter D. Hart, a Democratic pollster who conducts the survey with Republican Bill McInturff. Going forward, he says, Mr. Obama and his allies "are going to have to navigate in pretty choppy waters."
Public Wary of Deficit, Economic Intervention/Wall Street Journal
Photo: President Barack Obama
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| Florida Forum
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'Liberals' Pushing Redraw Of Legislative Districts
MIAMI -- Republican Mike Haridopolos, who is slated to lead the political map-making in the Florida Senate, said the redistricting process already follows guidelines meant to ensure fairness.
''There are already very, very strict laws -- let alone court rulings -- in place,'' he said. ``The fact is that liberals are clearly pushing this.''
Not everyone thinks the state's voting boundaries are out of whack. Opposition is expected from Republican legislators on tap to control redistricting after the 2010 census, and also possibly from some black incumbents concerned about job security.
An unlikely alliance between African-American Democrats and Republicans forged the 1992 redistricting map that helped elect Florida's first black members of Congress since Reconstruction and paved the way for the GOP takeover of the Legislature. Black voters were assigned to a small handful of districts to maximize their political clout, while removing the threat they could pose to Republican candidates in neighboring districts.
Drive targets tailored voting districts in Florida/Miami Herald
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| Decision 2010
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Rep. Adam Putnam Might Be The Future Of The Republican Party
 WASHINGTON — For two years, as chairman of the House Republican Conference, Adam Putnam managed the daily message and served as his party's pit bull in chief. It was a job that kept him in the national spotlight and then, after the November election, threatened to make him irrelevant.
So he quit.
Which is why on recent spring day, as Republican House leaders rallied their troops to warn of the liberals' latest "economic declaration of war" on America, the Florida representative was free to spend the morning at the White House conferring with members of President Barack Obama's Cabinet and Democratic lawmakers about his bill on food safety.
Rep. Adam Putnam might be the future of the Republican Party/St. Petersburg Times
Photo: Adam Putnam
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| Florida Forum
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Opinion
Securing Our Future Responsibly
By Charlie Crist
 TALLAHASSEE -- Last year I supported Senator John McCain for president. Despite these efforts, the American public chose Barack Obama as the person they wanted in the White House to confront the worst financial market turmoil since the Great Depression and the worst recession in a generation. Regardless of whom they voted for on November 4, he is our President and every patriotic American should hope he succeeds in ending the economic problems that now beset our country.
Soon after his inauguration, the President signed legislation aimed at stimulating economic growth. Many good and decent people opposed this measure, and some even offered proposals to reduce the tax burden and the proposed spending that I would have preferred to see enacted. But the case for doing something to help the economy was overwhelming, and I was glad the President and Congress were able to pass a bill.
read the full article
Photo: Charlie Crist/FrontPageFlorida.com photo(c)
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| Decision 2010
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Bill McCollum: I'm Running For Governor
 ORLANDO – Attorney General of Florida, Bill McCollum, today announced his candidacy to become Florida’s next Republican Governor. Surrounded by family and friends, local and statewide elected leaders, and supporters from across the state, McCollum shared his vision for Florida’s future.
“The hallmark of my administration will be access and inclusion,” said McCollum. “It will be an administration that does not focus on partisan labels but brings the brightest minds from every walk of life together – every race, creed, religion - to solve problems and move this state forward.”
Addressing the crowd gathered in Orlando for the announcement, McCollum outlined his priorities if elected Florida’s next Governor. His plan to improve the quality of life and the standard of living for Florida’s children and grandchildren includes:
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Fostering a better climate for growing jobs and our economy by luring businesses to the state and growing our own.
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Creating an elementary, secondary, and higher education system that is second to none.
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Improving affordable, accessible quality of healthcare – especially for our children, our veterans and our elderly.
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Renewing the state’s commitment to protecting our environment and preserving our natural resources.
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Promoting intelligent, responsible growth by tackling the tough issues of property insurance, taxes, and water usage.
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Making public safety the top priority it should be.
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Solving Florida’s transportation needs for the 21st century.
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Establishing Florida as the leader in solar energy, clean energy, and nuclear power.
“Together we can meet all these challenges,” McCollum added. “As your governor I will work hard every day to turn obstacles into opportunities.”
McCollum continued, "Florida faces challenges today unlike any other time in our state’s history. With your help, I will be elected Florida’s next Governor and together our state will grow, prosper, and continue to be one of the most wonderful places on earth to live, work, and raise a family.”
A native Floridian, McCollum has served the nation and the citizens of Florida for more than 30 years. First as an officer in the United States Navy JAG Corps, next as a member of the United States Congress, and most recently as Florida’s Attorney General.
Under his leadership as Attorney General, Florida has become a national leader in the fight against child pornography and child internet predators. McCollum also developed a statewide gang reduction strategy which serves as a "blueprint" to prevent the growth of gangs across or state. Consumer protection has been another priority for McCollum who has dedicated much of his time to protecting Florida’s consumers from various types of scams including mortgage fraud and identity theft.
“Over the past three decades, I have focused my career as a public servant on advocating for and protecting the people of Florida.” McCollum concluded. “As Florida’s next Governor, I will continue to work hard to ensure safety and security to our citizens, along with providing potential and opportunity for our citizens as we tackle the challenging times ahead.”
-- McCollum campaign release
Photo: Bill McCollum
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| Decision 2010
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It's Official: Gov. Crist Announces U.S. Senate Bid
Statement by Crist talks about putting "people first."
 "Over the last several months I have spoken with many Floridians about the challenges that we face together and the issues affecting our daily lives.
“Our country is facing the most profound public policy questions in our lifetime – questions relating to the economy, taxes, healthcare, the environment and national security. The answers to these questions will have a lasting impact on the country we love and the nation we will leave to our children and grandchildren.
“As I have previously said, my decision whether to seek the office of U.S. Senator or re-election as Governor would not be made until after the important work of the Legislature was completed at which time I could reflect on how to best serve the people of this great state.
“Here in Florida, we’ve shown that when we put people first and work together much can be accomplished, and I intend to bring that same approach to Washington. That is why, after thoughtful consideration with my wife Carole, I have decided to run for the U.S. Senate.
“As Governor, each day I will continue to focus on fighting for all Floridians. And if I am given the honor of serving as their Senator, I will take that fight for the people of this state I love so dearly to the halls of Congress.
“Thank you and God bless the great state of Florida and the United States of America.” -- Gov. Charlie Crist.
Photo: Charlie Crist campaigning for tax cuts in 2008/FrontPageFlorida.com file photo(c)
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| National Forum
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Dick Morris: Hillary Is 'Hired Help'
 ST. PETERSBURG -- He recalled in detail Bill Clinton's long ago poll numbers, talked about Hillary and President Barack Obama, but political pundit Dick Morrris spent most of his 90 minutes on stage at the downtown Palladium Theater giving his take on what caused today's financial crisis. The Fox News analyst, in an appearance sponsored by the Pinellas County Republican Party, called Obama an "absolute political genius," but pointed to the President's declining numbers in a Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking Poll as reason for GOP optimism in 2012 Morris, a former Clinton advisor who reads the poll "every morning with my orange juice," opined during a question-and-answer session that "Hillary may primary Obama if he is unpopular as I think he will be" in 2012. "Hillary was at a par with Obama -- now she is hired help" as Obama's Secretary of State.
--FrontPageFlorida.com report/Photo: Dick Morris/FrontPageFlorida.com(c)
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