Florida has been without a lieutenant governor now for 100 days, and Rick Scott has shown no signs that he’s going to pick a replacement anytime soon. Though, an intriguing name has been circulating in political circles: Former Senator George LeMieux. Yes, Charlie Crist’s former best friend and chief of…
What happens when you speak at a Tea Party rally and decide to drop a bit of Spanish into your speech? Like we even have to ask. Obviously, there’ll be at least someone in the crowd who yells, “Learn English,” at you. And that’s exactly what happened to Rep. Mario…
Will Marco Rubio see a surprise primary challenge in 2016 from Allen West? That’s up to God. West was a guest on conservative talker Larry O’Connor’s radio show yesterday, and the host asked West if he would consider challenging Rubio. At first West was pretty blunt, offering a “no,” but…
There was a time when virtually every mention of Florida Democratic congressman Alan Grayson on this blog came with the descriptor “hot liberal mess who is not apologizing for it.” But something funny has happened. After a term-long absence, Grayson returned to the United State House six months ago and…
Has Rick Scott gotten better at being governor, or has he just not been as terrible as usual? According to a new Quinnipiac Poll, Scott has hit his highest job approval rating since taking office. Of course, that approval rating still isn’t very good, and most voters still don’t think…
As the U.S. Senate’s immigration overhaul has inched forward, shepherded by our own Sen. Marco Rubio, South Floridians have hotly debated the most contentious issues: English-speaking requirements for immigrants, long wait periods for citizenship, a ban on LGBT benefits. But it seems we’ve ignored a silent threat tucked into the…
As the Senate wrangles over a compromise immigration reform bill — pushed in large part by our own Marco Rubio — a new poll suggests a huge majority of Floridians are eager to see any path to citizenship opened for immigrants. The poll finds 71 percent of Floridians back the…
Earlier today Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen posed for the NOH8 gay rights campaign. Meanwhile, Sen. Marco Rubio, who as a young man got his political start as an intern in Ros-Lehtinen’s congressional office, made two jaw-dropping statements in which he firmly opposed gay rights…
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has followed in the footsteps of the likes of the Kardashian sisters and the cast of Glee by getting “NOH8” painted over her face, duct tape placed over her mouth, and a ring flashed for the gay rights campaign. Whiles Ros-Lehtinen isn’t the first member of congress…
Every right-thinking American who’s not a local municipal bean counter knows that red-light cameras are a total scam. Numerous studies have suggested they actually make intersections less safe, and last month a Tampa TV station even found proof that Florida had covertly changed the rules to allow shorter yellow-light times…
Congratulations, Pam Bondi! As far as we can tell, you’re the first state attorney general in history who has ever given an exclusive statement to muckraking gossip website TMZ. Then again, as someone who used to be a Fox News legal analyst, maybe you don’t have high standards about what…
As part of Florida’s efforts to crack down on pill mills, the state initiated an online database in 2009 that tracked the store prescribing and dispensing data for controlled substances. Well, according to the ACLU, the private medical data of more than 3,000 Floridians has now leaked from that database…
Sen. Marco Rubio, the son of pre-Castro Cuban immigrants, has added a new amendment to his immigration bill that strengthens requirements that immigrants be proficient in English before being granted permanent residential status, also known as a green card. “On the day we announced the principles that would shape the…
In 2011, he brought the Sexy Sax Man to a city commission meeting, pot decriminalization to the debate, and a surprising 23 percent of voters to the polls. Steve Berke, a comedian and YouTube marijuana advocate, came in second to incumbent Matti Herrera Bower in that campaign. Now, with Bower…
Florida has been without a lieutenant governor now for 86 days, the longest stretch the position has been vacant since it was reinstated in 1969. Gov. Rick Scott, however, is in no particular rush to fill the seat. When Jennifer Carroll resigned form the job on March 11 amidst a…
In a bid to stir up some PR and reaffirm his party’s opposition to Obamacare, Florida Senator Marco Rubio proposed a constitutional amendment today that would effectively eliminate the personal mandate section of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The thing has about zero chance of actually going anywhere,…
Even though both were elected into their respective mayorships thanks in large part to their opposition to the Marlins Park deal, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado aren’t on the same page on much else. As Regalado’s reelection efforts heat up, Gimenez now has…
The actual gubernatorial election is more than a year and a half away, but Republicans have already dug in their heels by attacking Rick Scott’s presumptive Democratic challenger. Mostly that’s involved throwing barbs at former Republican Charlie Crist, who may or may not actually run, and who may or may…
Don’t expect Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to make a shopping spree at Urban Outfitters anytime soon. Bondi has joined 22 other state AGs in criticizing the entry-level hipster clothing chain (which has three locations in Miami-Dade) for selling merchandise that they feel makes light of prescription drug abuse, a…
Miami is full of strange structures with odd stories, from foreclosed upon mansions to ancient burial grounds — not to mention $2 billion baseball boondoggles. No building boasts a bio as bizarre as 540 NW 7th Street, however. Once bought by a Colombian politician for $1.6 million, the Overtown apartment…
Lincoln Gabriel Diaz-Balart, the 29-year-old son of former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and a member of one of Miami’s more politically powerful and connected families, passed away over the weekend. No official cause of death has been released. The family is asking for privacy at the time, but noted that the…
Allen West’s entire four years in Washington were essentially a giant performance art piece aimed at Fox News viewers. The Republican rep would bluster at a Muslim constituent that “you attacked us,” or claim that 80 sitting Democrats in Congress are secret communists or blabber about gays “breaking down” the…
