Crowley Political Report

Charlie Crist Tweeted a few minutes ago that if the Florida Legislature redraws the congressional map with in a way that favors him - he will run for Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly's seat.

With the Florida Supreme Court telling the legislature that it violated the Florida Constitution with gerrymandered seats, our fine legislative leaders are being forced to do it over again. This is creating the likelihood that Jolly's seat with move in a more Democratic Party direction.

Jolly is announcing this evening that after a short stint in Congress, he wants to move on the U.S. Senate.

Crist, who has gone from Republican to Independent to Democrat, all in an effort to, well, help Crist, lost to Marco Rubio for senate and then narrowly lost to Rick Scott in the governor's race.

So now, he may be handed a congressional seat for which to run.

Unless, Republican leaders can figure out a way to screw him because they hate him.

Is Crist out of magic tricks? 

We'll soon find out.

Charlie CristVerified account‏@CharlieCrist

"If the new congressional map includes my home, I intend on running to serve the people again."

 

 

• RETWEETS46
• FAVORITES20

12:00 PM - 20 Jul 2015

"If the new congressional map includes my home, I intend on running to serve the people again." pic.twitter.com/MYkFTCy1mS

Jeb Bush returned to Tallahassee today to use the town where he spent eight years as governor as a backdrop for his 2016 presidential campaign. The Republican candidate suggested that Washington is place that badly needs his Sunshine State solutions.

It is a speech that is odd in the way it condemns Washington culture - one that has had a Bush in the White House as either Veep or President for 20 of the last years. 

Here are his prepared remarks:

"We’re in the early days of a long campaign.  I’m making my case to voters all across the country, and I’m happy to tell you the signs are good. 

"People are ready to choose a new president.  Among Republicans, they’ve got plenty of choices.  They want to know, not just what we believe, but what we have accomplished – and for me that story begins right here in Tallahassee.

 "In my eight years in office we didn’t just mark time, we filled those years with hard work and real reform. 

 "It wasn’t always a smooth path.  In fact, we used to call this city ‘Mount Tallahassee’ because it was so remote from the people, so caught up in the settled ways of a comfortable establishment.  I was a governor who refused to go along with that establishment.  I wasn’t a member of the club, and that made all the difference. 

 "Should I win this election, you will not find me deferring to the settled ways of ‘Mount Washington,’ either.  The overspending, the overreaching, the arrogance, and the sheer incompetence in that city – these problems have been with us so long that they are sometimes accepted as facts of life.  But a president should never accept them, and I will not.  We need a president willing to challenge the whole culture in our nation’s capital – and I mean to do it.

Take that Donald Trump. You may have more mouth...and lord know you do....but former Florida Governor Jeb Bush clearly has more campaign money.

His Right to Rise USA PAC picked up $103 million from more 9,900 donors. And the PAC still has $98 million suggesting that the Bush group is quite stingy - or, as many do, they delayed paying a bunch of bills until after this reporting period. 

It goes like this..."Hi vendor/campaign worker, how about delaying sending us that invoice until after July 1." 

It is a common campaign stunt. Still, even if there are some millions of in invoices about to land, that's still a huge chunk of campaign cash on hand. 

And if you look at the numbers offered by the PAC, a good bit of the money raised came from about 500 donors.

One wonders if Trump is willing to write his campaign a big check.

Here's what Right to Rise had to say:

Later this month, Right to Rise USA will file our first semi-annual report to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

We are grateful for the overwhelming response from the thousands of donors who have been drawn to Jeb's optimistic message of conservative renewal and reform.

In keeping with our goal of transparency, below is a summary of our preliminary top-line numbers that reflect the total raised by Right to Rise USA from our founding on January 6, 2015, through June 30th, 2015.

Please note that these are preliminary numbers that may change slightly. All data will be available for the public to view when our report is received by the FEC on or before July 31, 2015.

Right to Rise USA Fundraising Facts:

• TOTAL RAISED:  Over $103,000,000
• CASH ON HAND:  Over $98,000,000
• TOTAL DONORS:  Over 9,900
• DONORS $25k & BELOW:  Over 9,400

Well what a mess created by Florida Republican leaders in the state House and Senate. Their grim determination to draw congressional districts to best suit the needs of the GOP - and to do much of it in secret - showed a particular disdain for Florida voters.

As the Florida Supreme Court noted today: Our citizens declared that the Legislature must “redistrict in a manner that prohibits favoritism or discrimination.”

Then Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Dean Cannon, cheerfully ignored Florida's constitution both for redistricting and the public's right to know. The trial court witnessed arrogant testimony and deliberate efforts to mislead the courts and voters about the role of GOP lobbyists in the redistricting process.

In the court's 5-2 decision, the court noted: The Legislature’s failure to preserve redistricting records and its decision to make important changes to the map during non-public meetings are factors that caused the trial court, and cause this Court, great concern as to whether the Legislature has complied with the constitutional provision to outlaw partisan political gerrymandering.

Now, eight members of Florida's congressional delegation have been told they occupy unconstitutional districts. They will have to be redrawn. Other members of the delegation may also have their districts altered to accommodate the changes.

U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, (District 21, Dem. Boca Raton), has already sent out an email declaring an "emergency" as he faces redrawn district. 

Not many candidates for the U.S. Senate would have a campaign website dubbed "with guts." But then not many candidates are like Congressman Alan Grayson.

Today Grayson announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Senate. The Florida congressman will be pressuring the party establishment's favorite, Congressman Patrick Murphy.

Grayson's pitch is hard left with themes echoing the liberal movement that once was hallmark of Democratic candidates.

Grayson is an unpredictable candidate prone to say whatever is on his mind in language that is colorful and leaves one no doubt about his thinking.

With four presidential candidates calling Florida home, Grayson's addition to the Senate race ensures that the Sunshine State will be a fascinating place to be during the 2016 campaign.

Grayson's website: http://senatorwithguts.com/

 Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has a new video that starts with him reminding voters that, "I took on the teachers union in Florida."  The 2016 Republican presidential candidate also criticizes Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for only having "three bills that she sponsored" become law.

In the video Bush says: "Conservatives can be elected president of the United States. I am absolutely convinced of it."

Well that is true. One could suggest that his father and brother were conservatives who got elected president. And there was that guy Reagan. 

But we digress.

Bush goes on to say, "this about being a beacon of peace and prosperity for the world."

This ad is brought to you by Jeb! 2016.

In a lengthy column on the conservative Town Hall website, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is sharply critical of the ongoing negotiations with Iran over nuclear weapons. Bush, a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, also questions the Obama administration's overall Middle East policy. 

While the column is deep in criticism it is a tad light in outlining solutions.

Some excerpts provided by the Bush 2016 campaign:

Governor Jeb Bush
Townhall
July 2, 2015

Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons poses a grave threat to the United States, to Israel, to other close partners in the Middle East, and to international peace and security. There is not yet a nuclear deal with Iran, but I agree with the many experts who believe an agreement is likely. Repeated concessions and desperate accommodation suggest the Obama Administration will do anything to secure a deal. And with America playing such a weak hand, why shouldn’t the Supreme Leader squeeze President Obama for more concessions?

…

As we await details of the latest concessions the Obama Administration is making to Iran, we should recall the grave danger posed to the world by Iran’s non-nuclear aggression across the Middle East. Without a comprehensive strategy to deal with the totality of Iran’s threats to our interests, the expected nuclear deal is likely to offer only short-term political benefits for President Obama, not lasting security benefits for America.

…

Iran foments instability and sectarian tension throughout the region. It is a delusion to believe, as the President does, that the current regime in Tehran can be a force for stability in the Middle East. Iran has bankrolled and armed the Assad regime during its war against the Syrian people, and hundreds of Iranian special operations forces are operating as combatants in Syria. Iranian-backed militia have subverted the Iraqi state and helped fuel sectarian tensions that have driven many Sunnis into the arms of ISIL.