MITT ROMNEY “SLASHED AND BURNED JOBS” Obama, allies seek to spread Bain questions to Florida [Tampa Bay Times] “The Obama campaign today in Miami will stage a news conference outside a former industrial facility that was acquired by Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital. It will feature Cindy Hewitt, a former employee who told us in January: ‘What bothers me most is that Romney’s campaign says he was a creator of jobs,’ said Cindy Hewitt, a Miami resident who was a human resources manager at Dade Behring. ‘I didn’t see that in any way, shape or form. He didn’t create jobs. He slashed and burned jobs.'”
Mitt Romney “Sucked the Life Blood” Out of Miami Company, Says Disgusted Ex-Employee [Miami News Times] “She was a human resources manager for a medical company called Dade Behring when Bain Capital began tinkering with its bottom line. Under CEO Mitt Romney, Bain shut down a Behring factory in Puerto Rico and sent some of its technicians to Miami. But less than two months later, Bain shut down the Miami lab as well, firing 850 employees including the Puerto Ricans who had just relocated.”
As Mitt Romney hits Florida, Democrats attack Bain’s history of profits and layoffs [Tampa Bay Times] “As Mitt Romney returns to Florida today for two days of campaigning and money-raising, Democrats are trying to ensure Floridians keep two words in mind: Dade Behring. It’s the name of a former medical equipment manufacturer in Miami that Romney’s venture capital firm bought and then closed in the late 1990s, walking away with $242 million in profits.”
Hispanic activists plan to protest Romney in Tampa [Tampa Bay Times]
Obama Camp Sets Tone Before Romney’s Florida Swing [Fl Democracy 2012]
MEANWHILE…WHY IS ROMNEY DUCKING SCOTT? Gov. Scott gives Boca audience tips [Palm Beach Post] “Scott is not scheduled to join presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney when Romney campaigns and raises money in Florida on Wednesday and Thursday.”
Share your thoughts on twitter at #ReasonsRomneysDuckingRick
MACK UNDER FIRE, WILL ROMNEY DUCK HIM TOO? LeMieux, allies hit Mack on his California time [News-Press] “Seven state legislators on Monday sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV, who is running for the U.S. Senate, asking him to release travel vouchers for 2010 and 2011 as part of an effort by a rival campaign to make an issue of how often he is Florida.”
Will Mack Join Romney In Florida This Week? [FLDemocracy2012] “When Mitt Romney embarks on a two-day tour of Florida tomorrow, Rep. Connie Mack—Romney’s leading Florida surrogate during the primary—may be conspicuously absent…A bruising primary battle and what seems like one blunder after another have plagued the once inevitable Senate candidate.”
It’s getting ugly (and weird) LeMieux Camp Says Maybe Connie Mack’s Water Bill Is So Low Because He Drinks Tiger Blood [Palm Beach News Times] “The most recent spat between George LeMieux and Rep. Connie Mack started over a web ad the LeMieux campaign released that suggested Mack doesn’t really live in Florida.”
Politifact rates it FALSE: Chamber says Bill Nelson voted to cut Medicare $500 billion [Politifact]
U.S. Chamber earns ‘Pants on Fire’ for Nelson ad [Orlando Sentinel]
ON THE CONGRESSIONAL FRONT — CALLS FOR BUCHANAN TO RESIGN, SOUTHERLAND’S MAILING HYPOCRISY
Watchdog group calls for Buchanan to resign [McClatchy] “The watchdog group responsible for the ethics complaint against U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan on Tuesday urged Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to ask the Florida congressman to step down.”
Ethics group calls on GOP leadership to demand Rep. Buchanan’s resignation [The Hill] “A watch-dog group is calling on House GOP leadership to demand that Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) resign, claiming that ongoing ethics allegations impede his ability to serve in Congress.”
House freshmen spent millions of tax dollars on mailings [Gannett] “Republican freshmen who came to Congress last year promising to transform Washington’s free-spending culture are no different from most other lawmakers in at least one respect: They mailed out millions of taxpayer-funded flyers and brochures during their first year in office.”
Gloria Romero Roses makes EMILY’s List [News Service of Florida] “EMILY’s List, a national PAC that works to elect pro-choice women, announced Tuesday that it’s backing Gloria Romero Roses in her bid to win the congressional seat currently held by Republican Rep. David Rivera. “
OTHER NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Timing of scrubbing noncitizens from voters rolls worry Florida election supervisors [Tampa Bay Times] “But the Florida Department of State, which knew of the audit, didn’t begin forwarding a portion of those names to county election supervisors until recently — just six months from the presidential election in November.”
FCAT fiasco points up failures at the top [Tampa Bay Times editorial] “Public anger at the overuse of high-stakes standardized tests finally boiled over, as more than 800 people listened in to the conference call and queued up to question how this mess happened — and what it means for their children and their schools. What it means is that there is too much emphasis on standardized tests and that the state’s manipulation of the rules render the test scores meaningless.”
Protect student loans [Miami Herald editorial] “College students are getting squeezed by every other expense affecting education, not merely the cost of loans. Dramatic jumps in tuition or fees have made it harder, coupled with a retreat by state lawmakers that has siphoned money away from higher education.”
Don’t blame the Dems for hyper-partisanship [Miami Herald column] “It was not Democrats who held the economy hostage in a manufactured debt ceiling crisis that caused the nation’s credit rating to be lowered for the first time in history. It was not Democrats who voted down their own deficit reduction resolution, apparently because they didn’t want the president to share credit. It was not a Democratic leader who declared defeating the president his top legislative priority.No, it was Republicans who did all that. And it is not Democrats who have seen a steady trickle of condemnation and defection by their own appalled members.”