RICK SCOTT AND FLORIDA REPUBLICAN’S #EDUCATION #FAILURE

 Rick Scott heard nothing on his ‘listening tour.’ [Palm Beach Post editorial] “Somebody check to see if Gov. Scott has wax in his ears…The governor cut education spending $1.3 billion his first year, restored in the neighborhood of $1 billion his second year, and has sort-of pledged to hold education spending steady in the next legislative session. You even can argue that Gov. Scott raised taxes on teachers when he supported and signed legislation requiring them to contribute 3 percent of pay into a retirement system that since 1974 had been non-contributory…A meaningful listening tour would have helped.”

More oversight needed for Florida charter, virtual schools [Sun Sentinel Column]  “Welcome to the darker side of Florida’s world of charter and virtual schools. In recent years, state legislators who espouse the virtues of school choice – and private companies who’ve profited from picking off traditional public school students – have reshaped the educational landscape to an unsettling degree.”

Students sign petition protesting education cuts [ABC Fort Myers] “Florida Gulf Coast University students say they are fed up with the years of state funding cuts to education and they are taking action. Students have started a petition denouncing the $3.6 million in cuts.” 

Whoever’s to blame, heavy vetting must stop [Tampa Bay Times] “What is the world coming to when a governor starts using the time and resources of the state’s top law enforcement agency to do background checks on parents who want to talk to him about public education? That’s what Gov. Rick Scott has been doing.” 

Times/Herald/Bay News 9 exclusive poll: Rick Scott remains unpopular, trails potential 2014 opponents [Times/Herald] “Gov. Rick Scott’s low standing with voters persists in a new Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald/Bay News 9 poll, and he should be more concerned about a possible 2014 rematch against Democrat Alex Sink than a challenge from a remade Charlie Crist. Scott still can’t gain ground with his constituents even after a recent Republican Party TV ad blitz that emphasized his focus on improving schools.”

ROMNEY HAMMERED ON MEDICARE AND 47-PERCENT New Ad: Preserving – Obama for America TV Ad [OFA] “It’s true, Mitt Romney will replace Medicare’s guaranteed benefits with a voucher system. The Romney-Ryan plan could raise senior’s costs up to $6,400 a year. While under President Obama: a 75% increase in health-care fraud prosecutions, lowering senior’s Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket costs. And eliminating $156 billion in wasteful Medicare subsidies to private insurance companies. A difference that matters”

New Video: The 47-Percent: Seniors [OFA] “Romney thinks more than half of senior citizens don’t “care for their lives.” We talked with Americans who disagree.”  

FL Jewish poll: Obama 69%-Romney 25%; Paul Ryan unpopular VP pick compared to Joe Biden [Miami Herald] “More than two-thirds — 69 percent — of Jewish voters in Florida say they will choose President Obama over Governor Romney, who will win 25 percent of the state’s Jewish vote, according to a new American Jewish Committee (AJC) survey.”

Nation’s Economy Is in Better Shape Than It Was Four Years Ago [The Ledger LTE] “Gov. Mitt Romney and vice presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan continue to urge us to ask ourselves, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” OK, governor. I did and here’s my answer. Yes I am.”

Obama has bigger bankroll than Romney for sprint to Election Day [AP] “President Barack Obama has about $88 million available to spend for the presidential campaign’s final stretch, giving him a sizable cash-on-hand advantage over Republican rival Mitt Romney.”

ON THE CONGRESSIONAL FRONT — FL-2 SENIORS SPEAK OUT ON SOUTHERLAND  Dist. 2 Cong. Race Turns Into Fight Over Medicare, Social Security Benefits for Seniors [WFSU] “Florida’s Democratic Party Chairman joined state Congressional Candidate for District 2 Al Lawson on the campaign trail talking about why voters should not re-elect incumbent Congressman Steve Southerland. They held a roundtable discussion Thursday morning in Tallahassee with some of Florida’s seniors to talk about Southerland’s record on Medicare and Social Security…’So, you’ve got to go up there willing to work. My opponent in this race wants to privatize Social Security, wants to privatize Medicare,” said Lawson. “And it’s time now for a change.’”

BREAKING — FRANK BRUNO OUTRAISES HUKILL [Daytona Beach News Journal] “Volusia County Chair Frank Bruno is showing that he won’t be beat in his state Senate race for lack of effort…Bruno reported taking in nearly $66,000 in the latest reporting period, slightly more than his opponent, Republican state Rep. Dorothy Hukill.” 

OTHER NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW 

Keynote Speaker: Newark Mayor Cory Booker [Hillsborough County Democratic Party] “Join us for our annual dinner as we set the stage for this election! Named for John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., this evening event will honor two of America’s most revered statesmen who have change the course of the country”

Civil rights icon John Lewis helps Broward Democrats raise campaign money [Sun Sentinel] “John Lewis, the only surviving member of the “Big Six” leaders of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, is coming to Broward for a fundraising event to help Democratic Party efforts to re-elect President Barack Obama and the party’s other candidates.”

West Palm Beach should review Digital Domain dealings [Palm Beach Post Editorial] “West Palm Beach is at the bottom of a list of much bigger suckers. The Legislature in 2009 bypassed the usual reviews to give Mr. Textor’s company $20 million. Port St. Lucie, where Digital Domain just shut its animation studio and laid off most of its 300 employees, pledged $60 million in cash, land and construction financing.” 

Prices to drop for Florida seniors on Medicare Advantage [Palm Beach Post] “Just weeks from the opening of a new Medicare enrollment period, the federal government announced that most Florida seniors in private plans will pay less for their health coverage in 2013.”

Revised try at purging noncitizen voters draws legal fire [Palm Beach Post] “Two Miami-Dade County voters and Hispanic voting groups have asked a federal judge to halt Gov. Rick Scott’s revised to purge voter rolls of non-citizens, saying it comes too close to the Nov. 6 election and remains problematic.”