U.S. Republican Party

Keys Hospitals Submerged by Climate Change, Legislators Told

They were asked not to politicize the issue. And apparently, they succeeded. State legislators both Dem and GOP from throughout South Florida gathered this week to educate themselves (and the public, who can watch it here) on climate change, its impact on our region and what, if anything, can be don ... More >>

Roger Stone for Governor: Legalize Pot, Gay Marriage

Right Wing wild card Roger Stone may throw his hat in the ring of the 2014 Florida governor's race. The ace in his hole: marijuana. He wants to legalize it, and gay marriage. How serious is he? It's always a thin line with Stone, who so revels in outrage it's like he does things just because he ... More >>

Is Charlie Crist Florida's Next Governor?

Palm Beach GOP Chair Dinerstein: "It's Not Our Country"

By 11 last night at the GOP "victory" party at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, it was all over but the shouting -- and there hadn't even been any shouting. The networks having called the show for Obama, all that remained were a few stragglers packing up bunting and party favors, an inflatable elephant c ... More >>

Presidential Debate Protests: Sit-in On Yamato Road, Mass Arrests at the Lynn Debate

It wasn't just Obama and Romney who had something to say last night in Boca Raton. Hundreds of citizens (and some non-citizens) showed up to speak their minds on the election and the issues of the day. Fifteen of those who spoke out went to jail for their troubles. It was all fun and games for the ... More >>

Marco Rubio to Talk About That Bombshell Obama Tape From 1998 That No One Cares About

The GOP is in full AH CRAP THE CAMPAIGN IS ON FIRE! FIX IT! FIX! OHHH THE HUMANITY!! mode and is sending in their golden boy to right the ship. No, not that golden boy. This one! Your very own Sen. Marco Rubio is heading a conference call today at 4 p.m. to talk about that video of then-stat ... More >>

Want to Commit Some Crimes? This Weekend, the BSO Will Be Busy in Tampa

Our neck of the woods will be a little more lawless than usual this weekend, thanks to the Republicans over in Tampa.At 10:30 this morning, nearly 100 deputies from the Broward Sheriff's Office will gather at a substation in Weston before piling in for the drive across Alligator Alley. They, like po ... More >>

Tampa Mayor Says He'll Cancel RNC If Isaac Threatens

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn says he'll cancel the Republican National Convention if Tropical Storm Isaac becomes a real threat.As of Wednesday morning, Isaac is becoming a real threat. "Well, absolutely, we're prepared to call it off," Buckhorn told CNN this morning. "I mean, safety and human life tru ... More >>

Steve Southerland Swam With Skinny Dipping Congressmen in Sea of Galilee, According to Sources

According to multiple sources reporting to Politico, Republican Florida Rep. Steve Southerland, Panama City, went to Israel on a fact-finding mission last year with a bunch of GOP freshmen congressmen and then went swimming while others went skinny dipping at the place Jesus supposedly walked on wat ... More >>

Broward County Was Mostly Meh About Voting in Last Night's Primaries

The results are in: Broward County just didn't have a single crap to give when it came to the primary elections last night. According to the Florida Division of Elections website, Broward posted 10.69 percent turnout, which is pretty darned low, even for Broward's traditional meh stance on prim ... More >>

How Allen West Uses the Military and Ignores Its Biggest Problems

The political entity that is Congressman Allen West would not exist without the military. It is his sole qualification for office, and he touts it at every opportunity. You would be hard-pressed to find any public statement from "the Colonel" that doesn't mention his military service, and he's justi ... More >>

Poll Shows Floridians Like Connie Mack, Stand Your Ground Law, and Rick Scott

Quinnipiac University has been ringing Florida phones off their hooks the past week or two -- a poll yesterday showed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney pulling ahead of Barack Obama in the state, and there's a poll about Florida baseball that came out this morning that's of pretty much n ... More >>

Congress Speaks at Tenth-Grade Level; Florida Totally Average; Connie Mack Simplest Speaker in Congress

There has been a lot of blogspace spent on the Sunlight Foundation's latest study, which found that the speech patterns of members of Congress have gotten markedly simpler over the past 15 years or so."Is Congress getting dumber, or just more plainspoken?" its headline asks, and the whole country at ... More >>

"Working" at Caldwell Theatre: A Musical With Political Relevance

Florida Papers Drop Controversial Doonesbury Abortion Comic Strips; Miami Herald Runs 'Em (UPDATED: Sun-Sentinel Too)

Update, 10:20 a.m.: I messed up. The Sun-Sentinel does carry Doonesbury, but on the page opposite most of its other comics. They've got today's "slut" strip, and I've left a message for comment to see if the rest of them are running too.Update 2, 2:30 p.m.: The Sun-Sentinel's Mary Helen Olejnik ... More >>

State Supreme Court Says New Broward, Palm Beach Senate Districts Unconstitutional

​In November 2010, Florida voters approved two amendments to the Florida state constitution that would ostensibly remove partisanship from the once-a-decade state redistricting process, the idea being that the House and Senate would no longer be able to draw their maps along partisan lines that fa ... More >>

NBC News/Tampa Bay Times GOP Debate: Live Blog

​Tonight at 9, the remaining four contenders for the GOP presidential nomination take the stage in Tampa to talk about the issues -- and, usually, the nonissues.Either way, Florida's primary election next week is a winner-take-all contest for the state's 50 delegates, and the contest between forme ... More >>

Herman Cain Is a "Distracter," According to Allen West [Insert Laughter Here]

Rep. Allen West​Of all the people to call for GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain to drop out of the race because he's a distraction, it was Rep. Allen West.Yes, West, quite possibly the biggest distraction in the House of Representatives, said Cain's being a "distracter" was enough for him to ... More >>

Florida Has Old People, Old People Love Newt Gingrich, Poll Says He Leads by 30 Points

​Former House Speaker Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is apparently a thing in the GOP presidential race now, with the most recent poll released this afternoon showing nearly half of Florida Republicans opting for him to be the party's nominee.Gingrich somehow managed to raise his poll numbers with a ... More >>

Poll: Marco Rubio on GOP Ticket Would Win Florida, Unless Hillary Clinton Gets Involved

saucesome.netFifty percent of Florida voters say otherwise.​According to a poll released yesterday evening by Suffolk University, Florida voters like highly unlikely vice-presidential scenarios.If Sen. Marco Rubio were to be the selection on the GOP ticket, pollsters say Republicans would carry Fl ... More >>

Patrick Murphy: Allen West's Campaign Donors Are Tea Party "Whacktivists"

crooksandliars.comMaybe you should get your hands on a dictionary.​Well, here's one way to explain the $3 million difference between the fundraising totals of Rep. Allen West ($4.1 million) and hopeful Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy ($1.1 million): 50,000 Tea Party "whacktivists" across the ... More >>

Rick Scott's Approval Rating Reaches an All-Time High: 37 Percent

​Gov. Rick Scott's approval rating was polled as the highest of his governorship at 37 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released this morning.The increase is due to a higher opinion of Scott's job performance from members of the Republican Party, as both Democrats and Independent ... More >>

Allen West Gets a "Defense Fund" From Joe Miller Over Reelection Worries

Harriet Tubman​Apparently there's great concern over Rep. Allen West's reelection bid, since Tea Party hero Joe Miller -- the guy who lost a Senate campaign in Alaska to a write-in candidate -- and his political action committee have started the "Allen West Defense Fund" to keep the congressman in ... More >>

South Florida Environmentalists Say Sale of Any Water District Lands Is a Dumb Idea

U.S. Fish & Wildlife ServiceDear humans, Get off my land. Love, this panther​The South Florida agency charged with securing water -- the stuff that makes your shampoo foamy -- for future generations has been having a tough time lately.Rick Scott and the GOP-led Legislature capped property taxe ... More >>

Rick Perry Leads CNN Poll Going Into Debate, Followed by Mitt Romney and... Sarah Palin

Texas Gov. Rick Perry​In anticipation of the GOP presidential debate it's hosting, CNN released its freshest poll numbers, with Texas Gov. Rick Perry leading the pack -- ahead by 12 percentage points over second-place Mitt Romney.The poll showed that 30 percent of the 446 Republican voters surveye ... More >>

Who Will Win Florida's Presidency 5 Straw Poll?

​About a month from now, most of the GOP presidential candidates will be in Orlando for the Republican Party of Florida's "Presidency 5" straw poll.It'll work a little differently than the recent Iowa straw poll -- the 3,500 delegates will be pre-selected, and neither Michele Bachmann nor Mitt ... More >>

Allen West Doesn't Rule Out Vice Presidential Bid

​The First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale: a place for worship, celebration, and a forum for Rep. Allen West to discuss his possible bid as vice president in the 2012 election.During the church's "Faith, Freedom and Fireworks" celebration on Sunday, Rev. Larry Thompson, on stage next to West, t ... More >>

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Is Now "Debbie Downer" According To Republican Video

Debbie Wasserman Schultz​Democratic National Committee Chairwoman and South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is now the basis of a recycled joke.American Crossroads -- the group that provided millions of dollars to put conservative candidates in office in the 2010 midterm electio ... More >>

Allen West Placed in GOP Incumbent Protection Program

The RNCC thinks Allen West is going to need some help getting re-elected​The National Republican Congressional Committee says they're not giving out free campaign money to Republicans facing a tough re-election campaign anymore -- you have to earn it.That's why they started the Patriot Program ... More >>

Tuesday Morning Bytes

It just keeps happening to Gov Rick Scott. He makes a decision from his evil alien gut -- you know, like slashing funding for the developmentally disabled -- and then when masses of bona fide Earth-born human beings rise up to oppose it, he reverses course. Model Citizen​(Rick Scott is h ... More >>

Ann Coulter: If You're Reading This, You're Probably a Traitor

Surrounded by enemies, but smiling.​Tuesday on Coulter Watch, I tried defending SoFla's sexiest pundit for her Q&A performance at last week's CPAC. I stand by my defense. In those twenty minutes, she seemed to honestly wrestle with issues of concern to both her and her audience. And if she cam ... More >>

"Client 9" Investigates Eliot Spitzer's Own Worst Enemies

Palm Beach GOP Leader Sid Dinerstein Isn't Picking on Opponents Because They're Not Rich

Dinerstein did not call himself an "excellent" fundraiser.​Palm Beach County GOP Chair Sid Dinerstein wants you to know that he did not, not, not write a mailer accusing his opponents for the GOP chairmanship of Florida of being stingy little peasants without the earning power to do the party a da ... More >>

Allen West a New Face for Sarah Palin

And so it begins. As Sarah Palin campaigns for 2012, she's already using Allen West as a symbol of the cringe-worthy change she will bring. Notice a theme among the newly elected GOP stars Palin's highlighting here. West and Marco Rubio hail from the political crucible of Florida, plus they fill all ... More >>

AWF Gives Florida's Labor Climate a C; Hooray, We're Passing!

FlickrThe red badge of honor​Ever get news that you know is supposed to be bad, but it's actually kind of awesome? Like when your parents are really solemn about getting divorced but you're like, woo, two Christmases? This is one of those times: The Alliance for Worker Freedom released its biannua ... More >>

Morning Juice: Crist Veto May Signal Indy Run; Life for Killer in Sunrise

​A glance through the Friday-morning headlines:Charlie Crist's veto of Senate Bill 6 has touched off conflict with fellow state Republicans, leading to more speculation that Crist will declare as an independent in the race for U.S. Senate. [Sun-Sentinel]The tea partiers did their tax-day thing out ... More >>

Morning Juice: Deerfield Beach Burn Victim Talks; Governor Does Not

​Here's the view of the front page this Tuesday in Broward and Palm Beach:Charlie Crist came to Fort Lauderdale to drum up support from local Republicans and to duck questions about Marco Rubio. Check out the video -- Crist reacts to the Rubio name the way Captain Hook reacts to the ticking clock ... More >>

Crist's Three Disciples: Men Closest to Governor All From Broward

LeMieux getting comfortable in the office Charlie scored for him.​Say this about young Broward County Republicans: They know a meal ticket when they see one. By my count, the three men who have the most crucial roles in getting Charlie Crist elected to the U.S. Senate are all from Broward.We know ... More >>

Just Look at the House Republicans Inaction!

When House Republicans caucus, I'll bet it looks something like this: Star Wars-Imperial March - Click here for more amazing videosAmid all the other state budget crises, it's not getting nearly enough attention, but the Florida Legislature is on the brink of giving the heave-ho to $444 million in f ... More >>

Mysterious Candidates to Be Questioned in Suit, Rare Benevolent Lawyer Steps Up

A judge has cleared the way for the Green Party to figure out who's behind the Florida Five, a group of mysterious Green Party candidates who ran in contested races across the state last November. Most of the Florida Five were broke young people who couldn't have afforded the couple thousand dollars ... More >>

Crist's Wedding Dress, the GOP's KKK Problem, and the Dunkin' Badass

  Crist Buys Wedding Dress, Won't Be One Wearing It If you're the type of person who laughs at the sight of a beard-wedding dress combination, you'll appreciate the news that Charlie Crist's fiancee recently bought herself a wedding gown. I say this not because the accusations that Carole Rome ... More >>

Stacy Ritter For President!

Adam Hasner Goes Fishing

Gators Win, Readers Lose

The GOP's Brain

Fear good. Facts bad. Frank Luntz reveals the Republican way.

Prelude to a Butt Whippin'

The GOP eyes a George W. Bush victory in traditionally Democratic Palm Beach County. Here's why.

Minority Madness

Wisecracking Democrats in Tallahassee were steamrollered during the presidential contest. But they didn't take it lying down.

Letters to the Editor

Letters for December 14, 2000

It's Chad-tastic!

A reporter plunges into the heart of electoral darkness in Broward County, only to see the light -- through a pricked chad

Letters to the Editor

Letters for November 9, 2000