ANOTHER SARAH PALIN? Marco Rubio Is This Election’s Sarah Palin [Slate] “Picking a vice president is the only presidential-level decision Romney will get to make before Americans vote in November. Romney has argued that his business career gives him special insight and leadership abilities. There are only a few ways to test this thesis. Evaluating his jobs record as a businessman turned governor is one, and evaluating how he makes his first top-level personnel decision is another…Romney may face his toughest test yet in avoiding the allure of Marco Rubio.”

Obama launches new Spanish TV ad in Fla [Tampa Bay Times] “The Barack Obama campaign is airing a new Spanish language ad featuring a Tampa Bay campaign volunteer, Elena McCullough, touting the president’s record on education and helping families. McCullough is a mother of two, a veteran, and a Neighborhood Team Leader.  She served in the Coast Guard for twenty-four years and retired as a Lieutenant.  She is the recipient of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits that she will be passing along for her sons to use for college.” VIDEO HERE.

THE FL SEN PRIMARY RIDICULOUSNESS CONTINUES  Connie Mack: Student loan interest rates are distraction from economic issue [Tampa Bay Times] “The George LeMieux campaign jumped on this: ‘Today, Connie Mack the Fourth showed he’s unable to properly answer a basic policy question, proving again he is unfit and unprepared to be a United States Senator,’ said Anna Nix, spokeswoman for LeMieux. ‘When asked about his position on legislation to stop a doubling of interest rates on college loans, Mack changed the subject and refused to answer. Truth is, we may never know where Mack stands on this important legislation, as he has a history of missing politically sensitive votes'”

Did George LeMieux flip-flop on student loans? [Tampa Bay Times] “Only a few weeks ago at a tea party candidate forum in Orlando, LeMieux sounded decidedly skeptical when asked about subsidized student loans, implying it was probably not worth worth “borrowing the money from China” to pay for additional government spending.”

ON THE CONGRESSIONAL FRONT — SOUTHERLAND DUCKS AG QUESTIONS, ADAMS MICA BRAWL CONTINUES, MORE CANDIDATES NAMED TO DCCC’S RED TO BLUE

Adams: Mica is ‘personification of all that went wrong’ [Orlando Sentinel] “U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams is continuing the bare-knuckles fight for re-election against fellow incumbent U.S. Rep. John Mica, this time calling the 10-term Congressman the ‘personification of all that went wrong’ with the Republican majority.”

Southerland ducks AG questions [Tampa Tribune] “A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, a Florida member of the House Committee on Agriculture, declined to comment on the current progress of a farm bill…”

Murphy Added To DCCC ‘Red to Blue’ List [FL Democracy2012] “In a sign that congressional hopeful Patrick Murphy is gaining national attention, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee today named the Democrat to its Red to Blue list, a designation meant to recognize strong fundraising performance.”

Romero Roses Gets Boost [News Service of Florida] “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Tuesday added Gloria Romero Roses to its list of ’emerging races’ that could help the party regain control of the U.S. House…’Unfortunately, we’ve had a leader in Washington that’s been a little bit busy … defending himself in a corruption scandal,’ she said.”

Frankel, Murphy are top national fundraisers among Dem House challengers [Palm Beach Post] “Former West Palm Beach mayor Lois Frankel and accountant Patrick Murphy, Democrats running in neighboring Palm Beach County congressional districts, have raised more money from outside contributors than any other non-incumbent Democrats in 2012, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says.”

MORE BAD INK FOR JD-U With university boondoggle, GOP gets ‘A’ in hypocrisy [Palm Beach Post column] “So who could imagine that a governor who prides himself on tight fisted, big-business acumen and a group of Republican legislators who look in the mirror and see Ronald Reagan could be behind such a headlong push to commit hundreds of millions in future tax dollars on a layer of duplicative government bureaucracy? Luckily, it’s the Republicans leading this charge, or some people might be getting called “communists” and invited to self-deport. “

GOP VOTER SUPPRESSION LAW HURTING OUR STATE Voter law changes backfire [Sun Sentinel Editorial] “But the changes approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor — including scaring voter-registration groups with steep fines for tardy registrations — have simply gone too far in suppressing voter engagement. And a recent analysis suggests it made the fraud problem worse.”

OTHER NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW

The Gingrich campaign post-mortem: What Newt Gingrich taught us: He is who he is [Tampa Bay Times] “From the start of his campaign, skeptics doubted a man with such a monumental ego and so little discipline could mount a credible campaign. Turns out he couldn’t.”

Attorney General Bondi Backs Arizona On Immigration Case Against Federal Government [AP] “Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is supporting Arizona in its battle with the federal government over immigration.”

Gov. Rick Scott won’t dump his fortune into re-election [Tampa Bay Times] “Scott, who spent more than $73 million of his own money to win in 2010, made the announcement in a matter-of-fact way during a 25-minute question-and-answer session with reporters in his office. A reporter asked the governor whether he anticipated the need to write checks for a second campaign.”

Why did Gov. Rick Scott cut funding for rape victims? [WTSP] “As director of Sexual Assault Services, she sees rape victims each and every day. ‘When they seek our help, we celebrate their life. We are honored that they come to us for help,’ Michele admitted. But a recent action by Governor Rick Scott, she says, is the ultimate slap in the face. Florida’s governor issued a controversial line-item veto, taking away crucial funding for 30 rape crisis centers all over the state.”