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."
Who do we blame for the current controversy about Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio?
By now you know the story. The St. Petersburg Times published a story last week about nut-case birthers questioning whether Rubio could legally become vice president or president.
A day later, The Washington Post ran a story suggesting that Rubio lied about his family history by claiming that his parents had fled Fidel Castro's Cuba when in fact they did not.
Rubio easily dismissed the birther question. But he has been in full campaign mode trying to explain why his statements over the years about his parents have been, at best, muddled.
Thousands of words have been written. Prominent Republicans have jumped to Rubio's defense. There has been quibbling over the word "exile." And of course it is all a plot by the evil, liberal media.
All the noise drowns out a very simple fact - at times, Rubio fibbed about his parents. They did not come to the United State after Castro took over Cuba on New Year's Day 1959. Rubio's parents came here in 1956.
Fibbed. Crowley Political Report uses the word very deliberately. A fib is defined as a "small or trivial lie; a minor falsehood."
It appears that Texas Gov. Rick Perry is sending a signal that he is very serious about winning the Florida Republican presidential primary even as former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman beat a hasty retreat from the Sunshine State.
In addition to announcing that he will be a major presence at Presidency 5, Perry's campaign just named three new Florida staffers - Nick Hansen, Bret Prater and Anthony Bustamante.
Here's the press release:
AUSTIN – Texas Gov. Rick Perry will participate in the Florida Presidency 5 (P5), including the P5 debate, CPAC and straw poll in Orlando, Fla. at the end of September. Gov. Perry also announced key members of his Florida team for his presidential campaign. Nick Hansen will serve as the Florida State Director, Bret Prater will serve as the Florida Political Director, and Anthony Bustamante will advise the Florida team’s grassroots efforts.
“Florida is very important to me, and I am looking forward to bringing my pro-jobs conservative message to Florida and the Presidency 5 straw poll events,” said Gov. Perry. “I have also assembled a strong team of Florida Republican professionals to help carry my record and vision for job creation and fiscal conservatism to the voters of the Sunshine State.”
Reclaim America is outraged. In an email, the newly formed PAC defends it founder, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, against Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz.
And Reclaim America would like you to help buy sending them a few bucks.
From the PAC:
Dear,
Last week, Marco gave a historic speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that's been called an "important", "powerful", and "thoughtful" step in promoting a conservative path forward.
But not everyone was impressed. The speech drove extreme liberals crazy, and they are on the attack. We need your help to fight back and support limited government candidates who share Marco"s conservative vision for America.
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow chopped up Marco's words and distorted them, even weaving in mentions of Marco's parents to attack him.
Ed Schultz attacked Marco's speech as "psycho talk" and called Marco a "political hack".
These are the typical attacks that are routinely launched against those who are standing up for our conservative principles.
These extreme liberals have no interest in finding common sense solutions to the challenges facing our country. They just want to attack and tear down anyone who doesn't share their extreme ideology.
Crowley Political Report was asked to ponder the fate of Marco Rubio by a Time magazine reporter a few hours before Rubio gave a speech Tuesday night at the Reagan Library in California.
Lots of folks are pondering the future of Florida's hot new U.S. Senator. And there are no shortage of Republicans who think Rubio should be running for president or, at the very least, that he should get the number-two slot on the national ticket.
2012 is going to be a very good year for Rubio and he doesn't have to do a thing.
The rollout of Rubio has been nothing short of brilliant. His first few months in the senate he said very little, apparently content to find his way around Washington and get a feel for how the senate operates.
Interestingly, the less Rubio said, the more others said for him. Rush Limbaugh gushed on air that Rubio should get in the presidential race.
By early summer, Rubio started making more appearances on national television, gave his first speech on the senate floor and repeatedly, but firmly, denied any interest in running for president or vice president.
Folks seem to be willing to take him at his word that he is not interested in being at the top of the 2012 ticket, but many Republicans still swoon at the idea of Rubio getting the number two slot.
Again, Rubio politely but firmly says he is not interested in vice president.
The fact is that the 40-year old Floridian will be one of top finalists for GOP nominee whomever he or she might be.
Rubio is charismatic, articulate, Hispanic, conservative, a Tea Party hero, and he represents a state with 29 electoral votes.
Yes, he will be a finalist. And if Rubio gets the call from the nominee he is going to be hard-pressed to turn down a shot at being the first Hispanic vice president.
Rubio would have nothing to lose. Assuming he made no major gaffes, even if the ticket lost, Rubio would not be blamed. He could simply return to his senate seat and perhaps emerge as a national GOP leader - not a bad place to be in 2016.
And if he is not chosen for the ticket - Rubio will still play an important role in the party's effort to close the gap with Hispanic voters.
Amazing considering that just 20 months ago, Rubio was considered a long shot to defeat former Gov. Charlie Crist.
Now, he could become one of the most influential voices in the 2012 presidential election.
A Florida Republican political operative said to Crowley Political Report recently that he has never seen such a bunch of amateurs running some of the U.S. senate campaigns.
Tis a bit harsh.
Still, it has been an interesting few days for Florida senate watchers.
NO.
The big headline is that Allen West finally gave a firm "no" - to the question of whether he would enter the senate race.
That huge sigh-of-relief you hear is coming from Adam Hasner, George LeMieux, Mike McCalister and Craig Miller who certainly trembled at the idea of West getting in the race. Loved by Tea Party voters and sitting on far more cash than any of the other candidates, West would have rocketed into top contender status.
After mulling the idea a bit, West concluded he would rather run for a second term in the 22nd congressional district.
"I believe the place where I can best effect the needed change is from the people's House — the House of Representatives," West said in a statement. "I have been given one of the highest honors to serve in the House of Representatives, and I will continue to serve the citizens in that capacity."
OOPS.
That basically was the explanation that McCalister offered after the Miami Herald's Marc Caputo caught him on camera fibbing about whether he had testified before Congress while serving in the Army.
Video of the former colonel claiming he testified before Congress is out there on YouTube. Caputo asked McCalister about those claims after Saturday's candidate forum in Orlando. McCalister denied ever saying he testified before Congress.
By Monday, he was backing off with a petulant written statement in which he grudgingly admits: "Although I didn’t recall saying it when asked by the reporter, I did say that I testified."
EXPLAINING.
LeMieux took several swipes at his senate race rivals during a recent meeting with Sarasota County Republicans.
Consider the possibilities of Charlie Crist endorsement in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
Sure, you could argue that an endorsement from the former Florida governor would be worthless. And there is little doubt that most Republicans want little to do with Crist - especially the Tea Party faction.
On the other hand, a Crist endorsement would be an interesting political ploy.
Imagine if Crist endorsed Adam Hasner. That would be a wonderful thing for George LeMieux who is being portrayed by Hasner as Crist's twin brother.
Marco Rubio may be the most valuable player in the 2012 Florida GOP primary for U.S. Senate.
Rubio's endorsement could turn out to be more valuable than that of former Gov. Jeb Bush or Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
Rubio has been a U.S. Senator for about four months - long enough for conservatives like Rush Limbaugh to swoon over the idea of a Rubio presidency.
And the fact is that despite Jeb Bush's enormous popularity, the luster starts to fade when you have been out of office for more than four years and are showing no signs of getting back in the game.
And while a sitting governor can be a huge help, if Rick Scott's popularity doesn't begin to climb his endorsement may do more harm than good.
Which brings us back to Rubio - who will he endorse?
Crowley Political Report will have to check the records books but this may be the earliest that one candidate has attacked another in a Floirda U.S. Senate race.
Former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner sent out an email - complete with video - blasting former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux.
Interestingly, Hasner doesn't mention his other rival for the Republican nomination, Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos.
Here is the email. The video is after the email. Oh, and should we be surprised that the email turns into a request for a few bucks?
On Jan. 3, Crowley Political Report wondered how long it would take for folks to start wondering if Florida Gov. Rick Scott was vice presidential material.
It didn't take long. Within weeks some speculation began trickling out - with a few folks wondering if Scott could make the top of the ticket.
Scott doesn't appear to be thinking about the White House in 2012, but as we wrote in January if you are Florida's governor, someone is thinking you might be a dandy vice-president.
By the summer of 2012, Scott - assuming he is not a disaster - could be getting a lot of national attention as Republicans begin to gather in Tampa for their national convention.
Unfortunately for Scott he is being eclipsed on the national stage by Florida's newest United States Senator - Marco Rubio.
Rubio rolled out his national visibility campaign this week insisting all he wants to be is a good senator for Florida.
President? Nope. Vice President? Nope.
When Rubio declines this causes genuine pain for the nation's conservative commentators. They L-O-V-E Rubio.
Meanwhile, let's just say Scott is a little less loved.
Republican Florida Congressman Connie Mack announced he is not going to run for the U.S. Senate.
Yawn.
His reason - family. Oh and he's already very influential in Congress.
"I've got two small children and it's hard enough to get to spend a lot of good quality time now. I have a wife. They are all very important to me and at the end of the day family has to be number one,'' Mack told the St. Petersburg Times.
Of course.
This is good new for former state Rep. Adam Hasner. With Senate President Mike Haridopolos already blundering and former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux still on the sidelines, Hasner could quickly become a leading contender.
Hasner is pushing hard right apparently counting on winning strong support from Tea Party activists. Hasner is also likely to benefit from supporting Marco Rubio for the U.S. Senate long before most people thought Rubio had a chance of winning.
It's early and much will happen in the month to come - but today Hasner seems to have gained the most from Mack's decision.
LeMieux needs to make his intentions known soon. And Haridopolos needs to give back that $152,000 he got for that bogus book and deeply apologize. It would be a small price to pay if doing so salvaged his candidacy.
It is going to be a very interesting Republican primary.
Apparently making tens-of-millions of dollars for chatting on the radio for three hours a day is not a big enough dream for Rush Limbaugh.
Considering the fact that he gets paid for doing what any decent Irishman does over a pint - offer political opinion - you would think Limbaugh would be a happy fellow.
Instead, he finds doom everywhere. His latest solution for saving us from ourselves is Marco Rubio.
Limbaugh loves Rubio. He believes Rubio should run for president and said as much on his program Tuesday.
"I wish the damn guy, I wish the guy would run for president. Marco Rubio."
The "damn guy" was said with affection.
President? Really?
Based on what? Two months as a United States senator.
Crowley Political Report suspects that Rubio knows better. The Republican freshman is probably enjoying the attention and there is little doubt that he will be a finalist when the eventual GOP nominee is shopping for a running mate.
Meanwhile, take a deep breath Rush and enjoy the ocean view from your Palm Beach mansion.
U.S. Senator-elect Marco Rubio has now become Florida most powerful politician. Even if Rick Scott is elected governor he will be hardpressed to outshine Rubio.
Young, energtic, and telegenic, Rubio is instantly a national favorite of the Republican Party. And he will be in a strong position to help the GOP presidential nominee carry Florida in 2012 even if Rubio is not on the ticket.
The question now is how will Rubio try to position himself in the new Washington political landscape?
Crowley Political Report artist Patrick Crowley gives us a view of Florida and the nation's two most influential politicians this year. Democrats couldn't stay far enough away from them and Republicans couldn't win without them.
Whether you were running for govenor, U.S. Senate or a local office you had to distance yourself from President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to appease angry voters who believe that Obama and Pelosi have single-handedly ruined their lives.
Much of the rhetoric during this election year was over-the-top nonsense but few people listen to logical discussion when they are pissed off. Republicans made the most of it and Democrats were largely inept.
Both in Florida and nationally election day is expected to be a disaster for Democrats. The best hope for Florida Democrats is Alex Sink who still has a chance of defeating Republican Rick Scott in the governor's race.
Should Sink win, she will instantly become a Democratic star - because she will be one of the few good news stories for the party on Tuesday night. If Scott wins it will solidify what should be a big night for Florida Republicans who will likely sweep the the other statewide races.
Barring a huge upset, Marco Rubio will win the U.S. Senate seat and the only mystery left is which of the cable pundits will be the first to start talking about Rubio being on the 2012 presidential ticket.
Election night should be fascinating to watch. You can see Crowley Political Report on WPTV-NewsChannel 5 and on wsj.com where the Wall Street Journal will be providing live video coverage of the election.
And remember our slogan - Elections may come and go but politics never stops.
Some might laugh at Charlie Crist but the continuing saga of his political demise is truely a sad tale.
Florida's no-party governor is at the end of an embarrasing desperate effort to force Democrat Kendrick Meek to quit the U.S. Senate race.
On Friday, Peter Wallsten of the Wall Street Journal, was told by Meek that Crist called him at 4 a.m., leaving a voice mail urging Meek to meet with him.
Democrat Kendrick Meek found himself late last night calling a hasty press conference to deny reports that former President Bill Clinton had urged Meek to drop out of the race to be Florida's next U.S. senator.
"I am in this race until Tuesday 7 o'clock central standard time, " said Meek shortly after 9:35 p.m.
Meek said President Clinton remains a supporter of his campaign and "President Clinton did not ask me to drop out of this race."
About an hour after Meek's statement, President Clinton told CNN that he did not ask Meek to drop out of the race.
But Clinton acknowledged that they talked about Meek dropping out but Clinton did not ask Meek to drop out.
“He was trying to determine what was the best thing for him to do,” Clinton said in an interview with CNN’s Susan Candiotti Thursday. “I knew it was being discussed, people had discussed it on and off… it was no secret.”
Using images of the Great Depression, the military, a child holding an American flag, Republican Marco Rubio has a two minute video presenting the closing argument of his campaign for the U.S. Senate.
After all the touching images, Rubio warns that the America is going downhill - "If we stay on this road Washinton has us on right now we will risk the essence of what makes us exceptional."
Rubio talks about his parents fleeing Cuba and how good America has been to his family.
"So now we are being asked whether we want to keep all that or whether we want to become more like the place my parents came from."
Really? That's the choice? Florida voters must decide whether we want a communist dictatorship or Marco Rubio?
Charlie Crist took a couple of gentle shots at Marco Rubio during Tuesday night's debate but there was none of the aggressive, personal attacks that Crist used in the last debate.
Overall, this final debate for the three Florida U.S. Senate candidates was a lofty affair with much discussion about issues confronting the state and the nation.
Crist did steadfastedly ignore Democrat Kendrick Meek in an apparent effort to convince voters that the race is really just between Florida's No-Party governor and Rubio, the Republican candidate.
But that tactic seemed silly with viewers obviously aware that there were three candidates in the race.
This has got to be a very tough week for Crist. He knows his path to victory is now nearly impossible. In less than 10 months he has gone from a popular governor to a politician without a party or an immediate future.
Which is what made tonight's debate so striking.
Crist seemed to shift from caustic "heckler" in the last debate two days ago to someone who appeared to be wearily realizng that tonight's debate would not change his fate on election day.
With polls showing him still double digits behind Republican Marco Rubio, Crist's six month journey as a No-Party candidate for Florida U.S. Senate appears to be going nowhere.
During Sunday's CNN/St. Petersburg Times debate, Crist frequently lashed out at Rubio and in the final minutes of the debate Crist interrupted Rubio so often that Rubio, clearly annoyed, called Crist a "heckler."
Both Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek questioned Crist's political honesty. They accused Crist of flip-flopping on the issues just to save his political career.
Crist, a former college quarterback, offered this explanation:
