U.S. Congress

Is Charlie Crist Florida's Next Governor?

Allen West Almost Became the New Speaker of the House

After many House Republicans lost their shit over Speaker of the House John "It's Not Pronounced Boner" Boehner helped them lose their fight over the fiscal cliff bill that was passed on New Year's Eve, many began to make harrumph noises about whether he was fit for duty. So when the 113th Congress ... More >>

Allen West's Lawyers: Let's Interrogate Elections Officials

Since mock execution is not an accepted method of investigating election results in South Florida, confessed torturer and probable one-term congressman Allen West has turned to the next-best thing: a team of high-powered attorneys.See also:-Allen West Won't Concede, Demands RecountTuesday's results ... More >>

Marco Rubio Endorses Allen West

Because this is a crucial time for our nation, where character and courage are indeed needed, because the United States needs to get back to prosperity and ensure its citizens are secure for generations to come, Marco Rubio has decided to endorse Allen West for Congress. Because Allen West obviousl ... More >>

Charlie Crist Will Switch to Democrat, According To Rumors

See also: Dear Dems, Please Do Not Run Charlie Crist for GovernorIn probably what is the least-shocking news ever, former Governor Charlie Crist might be switching over to Democrat this week. Saint Petersblog's Peter Schorsch tweeted out that a rumor is going around the Republican National ... More >>

Todd Akin's Dumbass Rape Comments Could Affect Florida Races

In a televised interview on Sunday, U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin of Missouri said victims of "legitimate rape" rarely get pregnant. He then explained this by saying something about how a woman's body magically saves the victim from getting pregnant from their attacker. Or something. Illegitimate ... More >>

House Republicans Agitating for Health-Care-Themed Gov't Shutdown; Florida Reps Love It

If you're wondering what the next ridiculously destructive posturing move House Republicans are going to be embarking upon (other than seeking reelection), it just might be outlined in a letter that they sent to Speaker of the House John Boehner.Details started coming out this week about the letter, ... More >>

Bill Clinton Looks at Obama's Problems, Points to Allen West

Absent any actual legislative influence or accomplishments of his own to tout in his campaign, Allen West has turned to whining nonstop about Barack Hussein Obama and his evil communist Marxist progressive liberal despicable agenda. Don't take my word for it -- check out West's Facebook page and loo ... More >>

Dave Weldon Announces Run for Senate; Vote for Him Because Obama Stinks or Something

All across Florida... people are running. For Senate.The latest entry into the hunt for Sen. Bill Nelson's seat is former Florida Rep. Dave Weldon, who served seven terms in the House before retiring in 2008 to spend more time with his family. Apparently he got tired of them.

Florida Republican Reps Vote to Pass CISPA, Let the Government Root Around in Your Internet Data

For all their talk of small government, Florida's Republicans sure do like a bill that would let Big Brother spy on all the stuff you've been doing online.The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act would remove the legal barriers between the websites that have your data and the governmen ... More >>

Five Lies Allen West Told on Mark Levin's Radio Show Friday Night

Allen West has been getting a lot of bad press lately -- news outlets across the country, including this one, latched onto his declaration that "there are 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party that are members of the Communist Party."He's since moved past that assertion and onto the (slightly) ... More >>

Allen West "Willing and Ready" to Be Vice President

​When asked about a vice presidential nod by CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien this morning, Congressman Allen West that he is "always willing and ready to serve my country in whatever capacity that the American people would desire.""As far as the vice president thing, you know, who knows what the future ... More >>

Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ted Deutch Happen to Get Money From SOPA Supporters

​Believe it or not, South Florida Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ted Deutch -- supporters of the Stop Online Piracy Act -- happened to get a lot of money from interest groups supporting the legislation.According to the nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization MapLight, Wasserman ... More >>

Patrick Murphy: "I Am Proud to Stand With the 99%"

​Patrick Murphy, one of the Democratic hopefuls in the race for Rep. Allen West's congressional seat, has joined several of his party colleagues -- including DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and former Rep. Alan Grayson -- to come out in support of the Occupy movement.In an email t ... More >>

Muslim Nezar Hamze Kept Out of Broward GOP Committee Amid "Pit of Discrimination"

Photo by Mike RiceNezar Hamze (left) across from local radio host "Joe Citizen" in a July protest outside a Margate mosque.​Nezar Hamze -- a Muslim and executive director of Florida's Council on American-Islamic Relations -- is no stranger to taking heat from right-wing politicos in Broward County ... More >>

On 9/11 Anniversary, Allen West Blames "Radical" Islam, Never Mentions Bin Laden

West continues his anti-Islam rhetoric.​Ten years ago, as the Twin Towers fell, there were fears the attacks would bring on a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment in America. Some people worried that every innocent citizen in a headscarf would be blamed for the terrorists' plot and that ethnic and religi ... More >>

House Page Program, Which Mark Foley Thought Was a Dating Service, Comes to an End

Mark Foley​House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced today that they're eliminating the House page program, which brought in high school kids to do administrative work for the House.Pages were once "stretched to the limit" in their work delivering packages and ... More >>

Allen West Proves The Onion Sometimes Gets it Right

​The Onion may be the world's greatest source of satirical news, but sometimes its hilarity actually yields more fact than fiction.For President Obama's birthday yesterday, The Onion ran a news brief with the headline "Obama Turns 50 Despite Republican Opposition.""After months of heated negot ... More >>

Jon Stewart on Allen West: "Quick, Robin! To the Batshit Mobile!" (Video)

thedailyshow.com​Rep. Allen West was the subject of another Comedy Central news satire yesterday, when Daily Show host Jon Stewart made a quip starring West as Batman -- except he's driving the "Batshit mobile." Republican House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy showed the GOP House members a clip fro ... More >>

Tea Party Outdoes Rick Scott -- Unveils Prewritten Faxes to Send Wasserman Schultz

This is what the future looks like.​Remember how old-school that Gov. Rick Scott was when he asked his supporters to send out prewritten letters about himself to newspapers around the state? Well, he has been outdone by the South Florida Tea Party, which is embracing the height of 1980s telecommun ... More >>

Playing Doctor: Politicking Medical Professionals Kill Anti-Concussion Bill, Leaving Kids Unprotected

Got Damage? ​ Pop quiz.You're a legislator, and you've got a chance to vote on a bill that would protect kids from deadly brain injuries at no additional cost to the state.

Allen West Interview: Florida Tea Party Favorite Talks About Islam and Donald Trump (Part 1)

Photo by Michael McElroy​The light is dim and smoky inside the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8182 in Pompano Beach. Red, white, and blue slogans brighten the low walls and ceilings, urging patrons to "Thank a Vet" and to remember "Freedom Is Not Free." At the far end of the small, bunker-sized roo ... More >>

Rick Scott Stops Fighting Prescription Database, Warily

​Hackers. That's the governor's new concern regarding a pain-pill prescription database being launched by the Department of Health. Scott originally opposed the database, saying it impinged on privacy and was better left to private enterprise (even though the state was in the midst of a bidding di ... More >>

Numerous KFC Stores Shutting Down Across Broward

Finger lickin' gone? Information is sketchy right now, but reports are coming in that Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants at more than 20 locations in Broward County are being shut down as I type this. The only confirmed shutdown so far is at the KFC at 815 Hallandale Beach Boulevard. I called the ... More >>

After Tucson, Stacy Ritter Wants More Security -- From 'Bloggers'

In the wake of the Tucson shooting, Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter said at yesterday's public meeting that she wants to beef up security and have metal detectors at the county governmental building. ​All That Glitters, who watched the meeting (I didn't), reported the ... More >>

The Show Must Go On

Working on a Tea Party story but in the meantime wanted to share a photo that has been spreading across the internets lately. Here it is:                   What the hell is this, you ask, and why is it on the Pulp? Well, ... More >>

Concede? Hell No. Secede!

​It just happened. Florida has officially elected the man who oversaw the greatest Medicare fraud in U.S. history as its governor. You might think I would welcome this sort of thing. I remember when I covered the 2000 recount thinking at the end of it, after the U.S. Supreme Court gave t ... More >>

Election Day Notes

Let's start this thing off with a couple of blog votes. On Amendments 5 and 6, it's pretty easy: If you like gerrymandering, vote against them. As for me, it's a yes vote on these two. On the judicial race between John Fry and John Howes for County Court Judge in District 1, I've made a decision. T ... More >>

Broward Election Results

For those of you wanting to keep an eye on the results as they come in, click here. Early voting totals are in. They are pretty good indicators but you can see pretty good swings in some races as the night wears on. Will Keechl make it? ​In Broward, West is up over Klein by ten points (i ... More >>

Dirtiest Campaign Season Ever?

Charlie Crist Facebook Wild Art: Democratic state Rep. Ari Porth pays homage to Charlie Crist at a campaign stop in Century Village/Pembroke Pines a couple of weeks ago.   Not by a long shot. Capri​Let's get the weekend started right with a little political parody from ... More >>

One Blog, One Vote

I'll be writing more about the infamous crusher handshake later, but a few people have asked me who I'm voting for (or would vote for if in a certain district). I got it a lot in the primary too. So I thought I'd go ahead and spit it out. Don't call these endorsements. I wo ... More >>

It's a Small World After All: Republicans Use Audit of Jim Greer to Sabotage Charlie Crist

​They say that in every crisis, there's an opportunity. So it is with the Republican Party of Florida, scandalized by the sybaritic ways of its former chairman, Jim Greer, who's now facing charges of money laundering and fraud, a case that prompted a forensic audit of the party's books. And those ... More >>

Crist, Meek Dunce Meter: In Competition for Union Vote, Both Look Like Losers

Teamster Charlie.​As Election Day approaches, the three-way U.S. Senate race between Independent Charlie Crist, Republican Marco Rubio, and Democrat Kendrick Meek gets stranger by the minute. In today's installment, Crist and Meek both canceled a scheduled talk at the Kravis Center in West Palm Be ... More >>

Andrew Breitbart, Conservative Character Assassin, Endorses Kendrick Meek?!?

FlickrBreitbart wishes there were more microphones in the world.​The man famous for calling Shirley Sherrod a racist is now trying to destroy the reputation of another prominent African-American, U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek. Andrew Breitbart, who passes for a hero among many in the tea par ... More >>

Jeff Greene Tells WPBF That Stories of Parties on his Yacht Are Just a 'Silly Sideshow'

​With an ear-to-ear smirk and a laugh, U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene responded to stories about the parties aboard his yacht, calling the whole thing a "silly sideshow." The interview, posted today to YouTube by WPBF, mentions the first-person account printed here this week of Greene's former ... More >>

Jeff Greene's Party Yacht: The Insider's Tale From His Former Stewardess

Photos provided by Sharyn PeachMike Tyson with a Summerwind employee.​Sharyn Peach has been in the news a lot lately, telling of the days she worked on the yacht owned by Jeff Greene, a candidate for U.S. Senate. Peach, from Fort Lauderdale, is the lead singer of BitchFire, winner of the New Times ... More >>

Poll Confirms the Obvious: Kendrick Meek's Campaign a Disaster for Florida Democrats

Flickr: maximas.prime​There's nothing particularly dynamic about the U.S. Senate campaign being run by Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene -- except when you compare it to the one by Miami Congressman Kendrick Meek. Greene doesn't really have a message, unless you count his constant bellyaching abo ... More >>

Still No Takers on Crist Uncloseted Meme; Pundits Say Charlie Doesn't Need "Game-Changer"

​In a U.S. Senate race that has already had so many spectacular plot twists, can anyone blame me for hoping that the biggest shocker is yet to come? But for the Crist-Comes-Outta-the-Closet meme to take hold, it will take some brave pundits besides me to give him a helpful nudge.So with that in mi ... More >>

"Iron Man 2" Will Lead to "3" and Probably "4," but That Doesn't Mean It's Good

George LeMieux Wants to Party Like It's 2007

Maybe it's not so hard, running this "government." George LeMieux sure makes it look easy. No matter how complex the problem, LeMieux finds a solution so simple, a total idiot could understand it. But these must be frustrating times for the Broward-born U.S. Senate appointee. First Congress failed ... More >>

LeMieux Asks Congress Members to Sacrifice Their Own Health-Care Plans So He Can Make a Point

Nearly every one of the 535 members of U.S. Congress got there through a grueling, humbling campaign, convincing one voter at a time to entrust him or her with the role of casting votes in the nation's capital. But not George LeMieux. The only guy he had to convince was his BFF, Charlie Crist. So ... More >>

Do Not Mention "Perennial" Around Andy Martin

Here's a radio interview that must be heard to be believed: That's Andy Martin, who used to be a constantly campaigning candidate in Palm Beach County and has since taken his constant campaigning to Illinois, where he's a candidate for U.S. Senate.Martin​As you can hear for yourself, the interview ... More >>

Morning Juice: Fin Circling in Playoff Waters; Feds May Soon Have Kraft Work

​Headlines from the weekend past in Broward and Palm Beach:The Dolphins squeaked out a win in Jacksonville yesterday afternoon, thanks to some hard running by Ricky Williams and a timely sack by Randy Starks. [NFL.com]Matthew Bent, one of the Deerfield Beach boys accused of torching Michael Brewer ... More >>

Letters for December 8-14, 2005

Herban Renewal

There's a lot more elbow room in the new Kitchen

Last Candidate Standing

Davie's Richard Grayson has built a political career of joke campaigns

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Undercurrents

Singing for supper

The Straight Dope