RUBIO VEEPSTAKES IMPLOSION Case against Marco Rubio for VP grows by $8,000 [Miami Herald] “Sen. Marco Rubio just gave Republican Mitt Romney 8,000 reasons to not pick him as a vice presidential running mate. Rubio’s 2010 Senate campaign was fined $8,000 by the Federal Elections Commission, according to a just-released report that said it received ‘prohibited, excessive and other impermissible contributions totaling $210,173.09…’ And it feeds into a broader narrative that Rubio is risky”
Rubio losing ground in Veepstakes [Tampa Bay Times] “Rubio last week voted against a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, and Florida Democrats pounced, calling it a ‘gross display of partisanship and extremism over sound policy.’ “
Democrats raising money on Marco Rubio’s Violence Against Women Act vote [Miami Herald] “The Senate voted 68-31 yesterday to renew the Violence Against Women Act, and as predicted, the vote is factoring into election year politics. The Florida Democratic Party is using it to raise money, by pointing out that Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson voted for it and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio did not. ‘At least Florida has one senator who stands for women,’ the party wrote”
Democrats and Republicans agree: VP Rubio not magic bullet with Hispanics [CBS Face the Nation] “Republican Haley Barbour, the former governor of Mississippi, and Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa agree a Mitt Romney/Marco Rubio ticket won’t guarantee Romney the all-important Hispanic vote in 2012.
Rubio fined for taking improper donations [Politico]
LA mayor says Rubio’s DREAM Act would create a ‘second class’ [The Hill] “
Marco Rubio Campaign Fined For Improper Contributions [AP]
Rubio’s ‘Dream Act Light’ Jumbles Immigration Issue [NPR]
Will Marco Rubio’s Campaign Finance Problem Be a Veepstake Disqualifier? [NY Times Magazine]
Rubio Senate Campaign Admits Violations, Pays Fine [CBS Miami]
Marco Rubio’s Senate campaign fined $8,000 for accepting improper contributions [Washington Post]
Pat Buchanan: Rubio ‘too young,’ ‘too callow’ too ‘neoconservative’ for VP slot [Daily caller]
BAD INK FOR RICK SCOTT: Vote suppression laws wrong for state [Florida Times Union Editorial] “These laws are the subject of lawsuits and a federal inquiry; the nonpartisan League of Women Voters stopped voter registration drives because of the laws that were passed last year. So it was surprising that Gov. Rick Scott said he didn’t ‘understand the complaint’ about the laws when he was asked during an appearance before the Times-Union editorial board whether the measures should be reconsidered.”
Political maneuvering over Poly is deja vu [Tampa Tribune] “A single, powerful lawmaker pushed a bill through the state Legislature this year creating a university in Lakeland, his backyard. It sidelined a Board of Governors’ plan to create Florida Polytechnic University years down the road, after it met criteria to prove it could survive. Former Florida governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham has a word for that: ‘unconstitutional.'”
Charter schools get a second helping of free money [Miami Herald] “The grant money is intended to help new charter schools get started. But several South Florida charter school operators have tapped into this money by creating new “schools” within existing schools. In many cases, the two schools are indistinguishable, sharing the same building, equipment and administrators”
ON THE CONGRESSIONAL FRONT — DEMOCRATS SPEAK OUT FOR WOMEN, THE HUNT FOR ALLEN WEST, BILL YOUNG THE EARMARK KING
Across the state: Florida Democrats speak out for women [FlaDems] “Following Senator Marco Rubio and the Republicans’ NO vote on the Violence Against Women Act, Florida Democrats are speaking out against the GOP’s War on Women. Here’s what they’re saying:”
Rep. West’s words make him a top Democratic target [AP] “Congressman Allen West has compared Democrats to Nazis, said dozens of his Democratic colleagues are communists and called a congresswoman vile and despicable. He said President Barack Obama is ‘probably the dumbest person walking around in America’ and described himself as the modern day Harriet Tubman leading black voters away from Democrats who keep them on the plantation. Those statements and others have outraged Democrats, who have targeted him for defeat.”
Liberal PAC opens Palm Beach County office to ‘take down Allen West’ [Palm Beach Post]
The hunt for Allen West [Politico]
When Mitt Romney needed an earmark, he went to C.W. Bill Young [Tampa Bay Times] “Mitt Romney, presidential candidate, hates earmarks. But it wasn’t always that way, and when he needed one — to provide security for the Salt Lake City Olympic Games — Romney went to Florida’s earmark king. ‘He came to me, we worked it out together,’ recalled Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Indian Shores, who was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee in 2002.”
Is Buchanan worried about Democratic push? [Herald Tribune] “U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is showing the first signs that he could be worried about Democratic efforts to unseat him in 2012.”
OTHER NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW
In print today: Mack get’s caught with his pants on Fire [Tampa Bay Times] “Mack said, ‘I have always said that I would be for drilling.’ But that misrepresents his actual record on a high-profile state issue. In 2005, he repeatedly said he was against allowing drilling closer to Florida’s shores. We rate his statement Pants on Fire!”
First-ever County Caucus in Lee [Cape Coral Daily Breeze] “This year, Florida will send seven local residents as part of a 300 delegation to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. to officially select the Democratic nominees for President and Vice President as well as adopt the Party’s National Platform. The convention will be held the week of Sept. 3. This is an opportunity to build the party and get the grassroots activists excited. Since the Florida Democratic Party is following the Democratic National Committee rules by not holding the caucus too early, they are rewarded with an extra 20 delegates at the national convention.”