“RIGHT WING CRAZIES” Jim Greer denounces Florida Republican Party officials as liars, ‘right-wing crazies’ in deposition [Tampa Bay Times] “In a wide-ranging deposition that spanned two days in late May, former Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer denounced some party officials as liars and “whack-a-do, right-wing crazies” as he described turmoil in the months before his resignation. Greer said some GOP leaders were meeting to discuss ways they could suppress black votes while others were constantly scheming against each other.”
Greer unloads on Florida GOP, alleges voter suppression plot [Politico] “Looks like it was premature to say last week that Florida Republicans caught a break with the delay of Jim Greer’s criminal trial”
ROMNEY EVENT A STUDY IN HYPOCRISY Tampa businesses criticize Obama at Romney event, but live off government work [Tampa Bay Times] “The campaign held a morning event to highlight A.D. Morgan Corp. and Value Enterprise Solutions as Florida small businesses that became successful because of the pluck of their owners and the benefits of the free enterprise system. Government, in other words, had nothing to do with it. But the Romney campaign couldn’t have picked more puzzling examples. Far from not needing big government, the Tampa companies have embraced government and benefited from it.”
Obama is good for small business [Gainesville Sun LTE] “Voters have a choice this election. We could continue moving forward on the path of growth, support, and success that President Obama has worked hard to create. Or we can turn back the clock on progress with Gov. Mitt Romney who has promised to cut back on the critical regulations that allow our businesses to compete on a level playing field with larger corporations.”
Obama and Insurers Join to Cut Health Care Fraud [New York Times] “President Obama and health insurance executives plan to announce a new joint effort on Thursday to crack down on health care fraud by sharing and comparing claims data, administration officials say.”
MACK STAFFERS TIED TO SECRETIVE ANTI-CHAVEZ FRONT-GROUP Connie Mack’s staff tied to anti-Hugo Chávez group [Politico] “In a little-noticed and highly unusual episode, a trio of Mack staffers worked with a secretive nonprofit group whose sole purpose appears to be promoting the congressman’s crusade against Chávez. It’s not clear who provided the $150,000 used to bankroll the group, which apparently did little else than produce a 30-minute documentary that aired on a Houston TV station and consisted almost entirely of a Mack speech bashing Chávez.”
From the FDP: The Chronology of Connie Mack’s Campaign Implosion
Senate OKs extending tax cuts to everyone except rich [Tampa Tribune] “Democrats pushed a yearlong extension of tax cuts for all but the highest-earning Americans through the Senate today, giving Democrats a significant political victory on a measure that is fated to go no further in Congress.”
ON THE CONGRESSIONAL FRONT — RIVERA AND BUCHANAN “UNDER FIRE,” NEW SUPER PAC TARGETS WEST
Rivera and Buchanan “under fire” [National Journal Hotline] “But GOPers face several of their own incumbents under fire. David Rivera is under scrutiny for allegedly hiding past payments from a dog track company…Vern Buchanan (the NRCC finance chair) was cleared by the House Ethics Cmte over charges he filed inaccurate financial disclosure forms, but he still faces separate federal investigations over more-serious charges he improperly reimbursed donors to his congressional campaigns. He’s been able to get past these lingering allegations since his first run for office, but Dems landed a credible opponent (Fitzgerald), and the DCCC reserved $2.5M in ad time to go after him.”
New Super PAC hopes to ‘Dump West’ [News Service of Florida] “A new Super PAC is getting involved in Republican Congressman Allen West’s re-election campaign — on the other side. Democratic activist Andrew Perez said that “Dump West” will look to raise enough money to get rid of the conservative firebrand in South Florida.”
Lois Frankel: Floridians “frustrated with the paralysis caused by the Tea Party” [New York Times] “’The top two things people are talking to me about are jobs and Medicare,’ said Lois Frankel, the former mayor of West Palm Beach, who is looking to fill the seat Mr. West left behind. ‘They are very frustrated with Washington, but they are frustrated with the paralysis caused by the Tea Party.'”
Democrat Val Demings wins key straw poll in CD 10 race [SaintPetersBlog] “Democratic congressional candidate Chief Val Demings won the straw poll at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando’s Hob Nob last night.”
Grayson leads all challengers with war chest [Politics in Polk] “The winner of the Republican Primary will face former Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson of Orlando and face the challenge of catching up to the nationally televised Democrat’s war chest.”
OTHER NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Divorce, pornography, arrest and restraining orders, and the Colorado killings; Barreiro-Diaz de la Portilla Miami House race is vicious [Miami Herald] “The state House District 112 race looks like it’s the most-vicious in Miami, if not Florida, as former state Rep. Gus Barreiro squares off against former state Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla. Both are Republicans. Both hail from political families.”
The DOE fails [Gainesville Sun Editorial] “We’re not sure if our children are showing adequate progress under Florida’s ever-changing FCAT tests, but the state Department of Education sure seems to be failing.”
AIDS advocates pushing for Medicaid expansion [Politico] “The expansion of the Medicaid program — or the lack thereof — has emerged as a major focus of U.S. AIDS advocates at the 2012 International AIDS Conference this week.”
Where in the world is Rick Scott visiting? [Gannett] “His public schedules have been blank since Saturday”
And where will they hide him during the convention? Jeb to Keynote Convention Luncheon — and More? [National Journal] “One of the many uncomfortable decisions surrounding the speaking lineup at the Republican nominating convention is how to juggle Florida Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Jeb Bush. Bush is a strong, bilingual speaker beloved by the Republican faithful and frequently mentioned as a future presidential candidate. Scott is not.”