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Florida Democratic Party News Clips – June 8, 2012

FDP CHAIR ROD SMITH TAKES ON RICK SCOTT’S VOTER PURGE ON MSNBC 

WATCH FDP chair Rod Smith on MSNBC Talking Gov. Scott’s Voter Suppression [MSNBC’s Politics Nation] Smith: “This goes to the core of democracy, which is participation…this is about driving down numbers because they realize for the last four months in Florida we’ve out registered them in Florida, our people are energized.”

So Sue Them [New York Times column] “I find myself in complete agreement with Governor Scott. The Justice Department should sue the state, which seems to have violated the Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act–all in the name of fixing a non-existent problem.” 

Governor, halt the flawed voter purge [Tampa Bay Times editorial] “Florida should not be at war with Washington, and Floridians should not have to rely on the Justice Department to prevent their rights from being compromised by their state government. Governor, we again join in the call for you to stop this flawed purging of the voter rolls. To continue this approach puts at risk the image of this state, the rights of its citizens and your own reputation.”

Election supervisors say they won’t restart hunt for non-U.S. Citizens [Miami Herald] “The 67 county elections supervisors — who have final say over voter purges — are not moving forward with the purge for now because nearly all of them don’t trust the accuracy of a list of nearly 2,700 potential noncitizens identified by the state’s elections office.”

Florida SOS: Voter purge time is now [Politico] “Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner pushed back Friday against critics of the state’s voter purge, arguing that it’s ‘time to act now’ rather than after the fall elections.” 

AG Holder insists Scott administration breaking the law with voter purge [Palm Beach Post] “Republicans’ assertions that the purge is needed to combat voter fraud ‘preposterous and offensive’ because only 16 cases of voter fraud were found out of more than 8 million votes cast in the last presidential election in Florida, Deutch said…’we should be engaged in a process that does not put off the rolls people who have served their country, veterans, people who want to exercise their fundamental American rights. The notion that this is somehow a political ploy is inconsistent. One only has to look at the law which is clear. Ninety days. It is very, very clear. Ninety days,’ Holder said.”

 

NEW POLL: NELSON LEADS ALL OPPONENTS BY DOUBLE DIGITS [PPP] 

Key takeaways: 

LeMieux: Mack “Wants to hide from me” [Tampa Tribune] “His refusal didn’t sit well with his two most prominent Republican opponents, George LeMieux and Dave Weldon. ‘It’s emblematic of his entire campaign — he wants to hide from me, and he wants to be coronated,’ said LeMieux. Weldon campaign spokesman Hogan Gidley said during the GOP presidential primary campaign, ‘All the candidates, whether they had a ton of name ID or not, got up there to tell why they should be the leader of the free world. This should be no different. … Debates are an important part of the process.'” 

 

OFA-FL HIGHLIGHTS ROMNEY ECONOMICS Obama supporters try to plant doubts about Romney record [Sun Sentinel] “Speaking this week at a news conference outside an Obama for America campaign office, Smith said Massachusetts job creation fell under Romney and manufacturing jobs decreased. And, [State. Sen] Smith said, Romney cut taxes for the wealthy while Massachusetts raised fees on things like drivers licenses and marriage licenses and he vetoed an increase in the minimum wage. ‘When you look at his record in Massachusetts, it’s not as stellar as he’d have you believe,’ Smith said.”

Mitt Romney’s entitlement: Winning for losing [Tampa Bay Times column] “Romney is the one who has taken advantage of government entitlements — the ones that flow to the wealthy. And his interest in opportunity lies with rich investors who exploit government rules, often to the detriment of Main Street. Romney’s use of the federal bankruptcy courts to extinguish debts owed to suppliers, shops and service providers is a perfect example”

 

OTHER NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Poll: Voters prefer full Dream Act to Rubio’s version [Tampa Bay Times] “Voters prefer the full Dream Act to the stripped down version being crafted by Sen. Marco Rubio, according to a new Latino Decisions poll.”

A dead end on transportation [Miami Herald editorial] “House GOP members have made unacceptable demands. They want to slash funding for Amtrak, stiff-arm environmental-impact analysis of projects, and require approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. The most alarming provision eliminates dedicated funding for mass transit…Instead of using the transportation bill as a vehicle for ideological issues, House GOP members should line up with their Senate colleagues. There is a clear need to provide federal funding for all forms of transportation.”

Lyin’ Lenny on Voter Suppression [FDP blog] “When a politician says one thing but the facts are exactly the opposite, it’s hard to trust him with Florida’s future. On June 7th, Florida Republican Party Chairman Lenny Curry said “Fla is NOT removing pol w right to vote.” A couple of problems with Lyin’ Lenny’s claim”

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