Crowley Political Report

Florida newspapers and the mystery of Sheldon Adelson

Who is Sheldon Adelson, and why does he matter to the presidential campaign? If you are a Florida voter and rely on your local newspaper for your information, you likely have no clue. Yet Adelson is likely to be—along with his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson—one of the most important figures in determining who will win the January 31 Florida Republican primary.

That is the start of new Columbia Journalism Review story by Crowley Political Report. 

Other excepts:

This is a moment when Florida voters should be able to look to their news organizations to dissect the attack ads they’re seeing and hearing, explore who is paying for these ads (to the extent it can be known, an admitted challenge) and, perhaps, why they’re paying, and to offer a primer on super PACs and the complex new world of campaign spending.

So far, from my reading and watching, Florida’s news organizations have largely fallen short.

New Gringrich ad says you can't trust Romney

Newt Gingrich has a new ad dubbed "What Kind 0f Man?"  Crowley Political Report has not seen the ad yet but the campaign sent us this transcript:

Governor Huckabee: "If a man's dishonest to get a job, he'll be dishonest on the job." (Source) Narrator: What kind of man would mislead, distort, and deceive just to win an election? This man would be Mitt Romney. Romney said he has always voted Republican when he had the opportunity. But in the 1992 Presidential Primary Romney had the chance to vote for George H.W. Bush or Pat Buchanan but he voted for a liberal Democrat instead. (Source) Romney said his investments in Fannie and Freddie were in a blind trust. But as reported in the National Journal, Romney earned tens of thousands of dollars from investments NOT in a blind trust. (Source) Romney denied seeing a false ad his campaign used to attack Newt Gingrich.  But Romney's own campaign paid for the ad...Romney's own voice is on the ad approving the content. (Source) If we can't trust Romney in a debate, how can we trust him in the White House?

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Some very strange campaign videos

 Warning: You either need a very wierd sense of humor or a strong tolerance for the absurd to watch these videos.

Let's start with this gentlemen who makes texting and driving appear safe: 

 

 Crowley Political Report is left speechless by this next ad. It is oddly both good and awful.  

 

And then as you cruise the video world, you discover a very unusual candidate who has some strong words for Gingrich

 

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Mitt Romney's Spanish TV ad slamming Newt Gingrich

You may not be a regular viewer of Spanish language television, so Crowley Political Reporter plucked out this day-old Mitt Romney ad for your viewing pleasure. 

Romney's campaign offered this explanation as a caption under the video: Newt Gingrich claims to be a Reagan conservative but said he would not change the failed Obama policy to allow travel to Cuba, profited from Freddie Mac while Hispanics suffered during the housing crisis, partnered with Nancy Pelosi, and said that Spanish was the language of the ghetto.

If nothing else, it is worth watching to hear Romney give the ending disclaimer in Spanish.

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Gingrich announces support from Florida Tea Party folks

Crowley Political Report just received this release from the Newt Gingrich campaign touting support from the Florida Tea Party Coaltion:

Lake County, FL – Newt 2012 FL announced the formal support of more than 30 Florida based Tea Party leaders who have pledged their support to Newt Gingrich for President of the United States.  The coalition of Florida Tea Party Leaders will help elect Newt and defeat Massachusetts Moderate Mitt Romney and then President Barack Obama. 

 “I’ve considered all the candidates, and Speaker Gingrich has the right combination of vision and experience to lead this country out of the economic misery created by government overreach that has been occurring for generations,” said Peter Lee, Founder and Director of the East Side Tea Party of Orlando. “It is clear to me and many others in the Tea Party movement that Newt is the Reagan Conservative that America needs – not a Massachusetts Moderate.”

 “I stand with Newt because I know he will stand up to the establishment and insist on fiscal reforms. Obama and his failed policies have met their match. With the Speaker's leadership, and engaged citizens, we can restore prosperity to America,” concluded Patricia Sullivan, Patriot Army Founder.

Marco Rubio explains the Hispanic vote in Florida

Hispanic voters have become the focus of attention for much of the media during the past couple of days as Florida's GOP Jan. 31 primary draws closer. 

As Crowley Political Report noted in an earlier post, Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has a column in The Washington Post today where he warns Republicans that Hispanic voters are drifting away from the GOP. He offers the party four things they can do to bring Hispanic voters into the fold.

This morning, Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio was featured on CBS This Morning, where he talked about the diversity of Hispanics and the issues that are important to them. And as is required in any media appearance by Rubio, he was obliged to answer questions about becoming the nominee for vice president.

Rubio calls the race for president, "close, yes, close."

He goes on to say that the importance of  moving up Florida's primary has been proven because "what you are watching now is that all the major issues that our country is facing are being confronted in Florida."

See it below and follow us on Twitter @crowleyreport.

  

Why Newt Gingrich could win Florida

Long, straight and narrow, the asphalt road is ragged and lonely. Juan Berrios stands in front of his attractive home in what he thought would be a thriving neighborhood. Instead, his neighbors are few.  Juan is angry and disgusted.

 A couple hours earlier, Juan was at a rally for Mitt Romney in Lehigh Acres. He stood there in the heat, a husky, friendly guy with a small, brown, long-haired dog named “Bo” on a leash.  Juan listened carefully as Romney spoke for a few minutes in front of a home that was in foreclosure.

 LeHigh Acres has been hammered by the housing crisis and thousands of homes are either in foreclosure or have owners desperately struggling to hang on.  Romney and his entourage arrived in expensive black SUV’s that cost nearly as much as some of the smaller homes in the community.

 Juan listened closely. He had driven nearly 30 minutes to hear what Romney had to say. Romney made a point of telling the several hundred people gathered at the rally that he understood that the foreclosed home behind him represented the lost dreams and shattered lives of a family.

 Back at his home, Juan, 58, said he was unimpressed. “I didn’t hear anything that would make a difference in the people’s lives here,” he said as he looked around at the vacant lots that isolate his home on this quiet stretch of road.

 “We need someone who will fight,” said Juan, who left Atlanta where he owned a small limousine service. “People are hurting. We need jobs. We need development to come back.”

Jeb Bush warns that Hispanic voters are drifting away from the GOP

 Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose wife Columba is from Mexico, has written about the the importance of Hispanic voters in the presidential campaign. In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Bush says the Republican Party must do a better job to bring Hispanics into the GOP tent.

Some excerpts:

In the 15 states that are likely to decide who controls the White House and the Senate in 2013, Hispanic voters will represent the margin of victory.

For the Republican Party, the stakes could not be greater. Just eight years after the party’s successful effort to woo Hispanic voters in 2004, this community — the fastest-growing group in the United States, according to census data — has drifted away.

. . .

(Republicans)  need to recognize this is not a monochromatic community but, rather, a deeply diverse one. . .Some came here 50 years ago to make a better life; others came last year. Some have lots of education, some have none. The traditional Republican emphasis on the importance of the individual has never been more relevant. . . Like all voters, Hispanics respond to candidates who show respect and understanding for their experiences.

Bush goes on to talk about how Republicans can engage Hispanics on issues involving business, education and immigration. Visit the Washington Post here to read the rest of Bush's comments.

One thing is missing - Bush still does not endorse a candidate in the GOP Florida primary. 

That seems pointlessly odd.

What you should know about Mitt Romney and Mormons

Crowley Political Report is packing a lot of infomation about Florida Mormons and Mitt Romney in today's edition of CPR.

We first posted this report in October but with Florida voters ready to go to the polls to vote for a Republican presidential nominee - it worth repeating.

It would also be worth your time to read the Palm Beach Post's Andrew Abramson's interview with Worldwide Christian Center Pastor, Rev. O'Neil Dozier who apparently thinks little Mormons. After hosting a campaign stop by Rick Santorum, Dozier told the Post:

“You can look at the June Gallup poll that shows the people have already spoken – 22 percent of the electorate will not vote for a Mormon,” Dozier said. “The American people will not vote for a Mormon to be president of the United States.”

Dozier, who is black, said a Republican will need at least 10 percent of the black vote to win the presidency.

“Blacks are not going to vote for anyone of the Mormon faith,” Dozier said. “The book of Mormon says the Negro skin is cursed.”

Read more of the Post report here.

In 2007, we watched as Romney was shouted down during a visit to The Villages, a mandatory Florida campaign stop for Republcian candidates, by an angry man who accused him of pretending to be a Christian. The man refused to accept the idea that a Mormon could be a Christian.

That outburst, led to the following 2007 story about Florida Mormons - a story that is even more important today as Romney leads in most polls.

By Brian E. Crowley - Palm Beach Post Politcal Editor

There are always questions.

Some are merely curious: Why do Mormons avoid coffee and tea? Shun tobacco?

Others are more pointed: Are you polygamists? Are you Christians? Are you a cult?

None of this is new to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But what is new is the presidential campaign of Republican former Massachusetts governor and devout Mormon.

Romney has made Florida a key state in his bid to win the GOP nomination, bringing with him a spotlight on his religion and the 125,000 Mormons who live and worship in the Sunshine State.

Members, including more than 15,000 in South Florida, also must deal with this sobering fact: A USA Today/Gallup poll in February found that 24 percent of those asked said they would not vote for a well-qualified Mormon to be president. Among Republicans the number was 30 percent.

"You, sir, are a pretender. You do not know the Lord. You are a Mormon," a man yelled at Romney during a campaign stop last month at The Villages, a retirement community near Ocala.

The man was shouted down by the crowd of more than 800, but he offered a view of the church that is not uncommon. The Southern Baptist Convention describes Latter-day Saints as a cult.

A political hurricane hits Florida today

It is just a week before South Carolina voters are to go to the polls when Crowley Political Report is asked to contact Florida supporters of Newt Gingrich.  A French television crew wants to meet with Gingrich supporters, interview them and get video of them in action waving signs on a street corner.

 “We don’t have signs yet,” says Tami with the enthusiasm of a supporter who can’t wait to start waving at motorists.

 Two days later, they have their signs and a couple of dozen Gingrich supporters wave and cheer at passing motorists in Boca Raton.

 On Saturday, we drop by the home of Melissa who is in her garage with a group of Mitt Romney supporters. They are putting together Romney yard signs. The plan is to have 2,000 signs throughout Palm Beach County.

 Melissa and Tami are best friends.

 These two women are the kind of folks who make campaigns tick. The volunteers are the ones who go door-to-door, call their friends, meet with supporters, organize their neighborhoods and beyond.

 Despite all the hoopla of the big campaign machine – often the most successful primary campaigns have been smaller and more agile.

At this point, there is a question as to whether the precision movement of the Romney campaign is agile enough to compete with the more erratic Gingrich campaign.