Crowley Political Report

Republican businessman and Florida U.S. Senate candidate Carlos Beruff says he loves Donald Trump and if rival Marco Rubio doesn't, Beruff would be happy to take his place at the Republican National Convention. Rubio recently described Trump as "worrisome," while still saying he will vote for Trump because he believes Hillary Clinton is worse.

From the Beruff campaign:

Today, Carlos Beruff released the following statement regarding reports that establishment Republicans are shying away from speaking at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland:
 
“Donald Trump is a businessman with real-world experience who’s looking to shake up the status quo in Washington. So am I. The career politicians in Washington are always afraid to lose power and candidates like Trump and myself challenge their authority. It’s no surprise that Marco Rubio and others are shying away from supporting Donald Trump.
 
“I’m happy to take Marco Rubio’s slot at the Republican National Convention because I’m not ashamed of Donald Trump as our nominee. Trump is motiving voters across Florida and the country who have felt ignored by the Republican and Democratic establishment alike. He’s looking to shake up Washington and I’m behind him 100%.”
 

After a crummy week of media reports questioning the veracity of parts of his resume, Democratic Senate candidate Patrick Murphy is apparently hoping to change topics with this tidbit about Republican Marco Rubio. We suspect Rubio (and Murphy's Democratic rival, Alan Grayson, are not about to let Murphy's resume questions slide.

From the Murphy campaign:

Patrick Murphy released the following statement on the anniversary of the Senate passing Comprehensive Immigration Reform:

Governor Rick Scott is urging Florida voters to take a look at his buddy, businessman Carlos Beruff, as their choice to be the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.

Washington GOP leaders begged Marco Rubio to run for a second term and, after much staging, Rubio "reluctantly" announced this week that he would oblige them.

Whoa!, said Scott in post on Facebook earlier today.

When I ran for office in 2010, I was a political outsider and the entire Republican establishment was against me. They already had their hand-picked candidate and it wasn’t me.

But, the voters of Florida spoke and I was elected Governor.

Carlos Beruff is a good friend of mine, a businessman and an outsider to politics. The voters of Florida deserve the opportunity to consider his candidacy alongside Senator Rubio and make their own decision.

The opinions of the political class in Washington are not relevant to the voters of Florida. Florida Republicans will pick the nominee on their own.

Translation - pound sand Marco.

One suspects that the Rubio camp is not happy with the Governor.  

Moments after the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 in the Texas vs. United States immigration case, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton criticized Republicans for failing to act on immigration reform and chastised GOP nominee Donald Trump.

The case could have a significant impact on Florida's Hispanic voters who may view the court's deadlock as a strong signal that the fate of immigration may lay heavily on the who the next president appoints to the Supreme Court.

Here is Clinton's statement:

"Today’s deadlocked decision from the Supreme Court is unacceptable, and show us all just how high the stakes are in this election. As I have consistently said, I believe that President Obama acted well within his constitutional and legal authority in issuing the DAPA and DACA executive actions. These are our friends and family members; neighbors and classmates; DREAMers and parents of Americans and lawful permanent residents. They enrich our communities and contribute to our economy every day. We should be doing everything possible under the law to provide them relief from the specter of deportation.

"Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is purely procedural and casts no doubt on the fact that DAPA and DACA are entirely within the President's legal authority. But in addition to throwing millions of families across our country into a state of uncertainty, this decision reminds us how much damage Senate Republicans are doing by refusing to consider President Obama’s nominee to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Our families and our country need and deserve a full bench, and Senate Republicans need to stop playing political games with our democracy and give Judge Merrick Garland a fair hearing and vote.

"This decision is also a stark reminder of the harm Donald Trump would do to our families, our communities, and our country.

When you decide to run for statewide office in Florida, a candidate can expect the state's media to very carefully examine who they are, what they say, and how they got where they are. If a candidate exaggerates his resume - well, it is gonna get ugly.

Ugly has hit U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy. And none of this is good for his bid to win the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination.

And if does win the nomination, Murphy has handed likely GOP nominee Marco Rubio fodder to use against him.

Reporter Jim DeFede of CBS4 has done a two-part examination of Murphy's claims about his role as a small businessman and as a CPA. In great detail, Defede, one of South Florida's toughest reporters, takes apart Murphy's claims.

He finds that Murphy was not a CPA who spent years reviewing top companies.

From DeFede:  when Murphy said in 2012, “I got my CPA license and I spent years going to numerous Fortune 500 companies,” the truth is he only spent at most eight months – and not years – with Deloitte & Touche holding a CPA license valid only in Colorado, a state where Murphy has never lived or worked.

In fact, DeFede reports that Murphy's role at Deloitte & Touche was a minor entry level position.

Murphy also had claimed he was a small business owner of Coastal Environmental which worked on the BP oil spill.

DeFede finds that Murphy did not own the business (something Murphy has acknowledged) and that the company was a subsidiary of his father's company.

From Defede: Murphy’s involvement with Coastal Environmental was brief, no more than two to five months. And while it did operate, according to state records, Murphy wasn’t the president of the company. He was vice president. . . .neither Patrick Murphy nor Coastal Environmental Services were awarded a single contract to clean up oil in the Gulf.

Defede also notes: In May, the Miami Herald pointed out Murphy claimed for years to hold dual degrees from UM in Accounting and Finance. He even listed it as part of his official biography for the House of Representatives. In fact, he holds a single undergraduate degree in Business Administration.

The text of Defede's story can be found here. 

Marco Rubio is asking Floridians to ignore a year of telling them that if he lost his bid for the presidency he would not run for a second term in the U.S. Senate. And Rubio is keeping that promise. How you may ask?

Well, Rubio is not really running for a second, 6-year term. This is a placeholder position for him as he plans his second run for president. So expect that by 2018, Rubio will begin working on the 2020 race. And perhaps by 2019, we'll again get a pledge that Rubio will not run for a third term if he fails to win the GOP nomination.

In fact, Rubio when asked about finishing a second term, would not commit to doing so. According to the Miami Herald, Rubio: made no commitments about his future ambitions, declining to say if he’d serve a full, six-year term or run again for president in 2020 — or 2024.

“What I’m done making is unequivocal statements about anything at this point,” he said. “I don’t even know who the next president’s going to be. But I will say this to you: If I wanted to run for president in 2020, running for re-election in 2016 was probably not the best choice to make politically."

In politics, admitting you’ve changed your mind is not something most people like to do. But here it goes.

I have decided to seek reelection to the United States Senate.

I understand my opponents will try to use this decision to score political
points against me. Have at it. Because I have never claimed to be perfect, or to have all the answers.

Still, the people of Florida deserve to know why I’ve changed my mind.

Florida Democratic congressional candidate Bob Poe, just released a video where he talks publicly for the first time about being  HIV positive

A former state Democratic Party chairman, Poe, 61, says in the video that he was first diagnosed with HIV 18 years ago. Poe is running in Central Florida's 10th congressional district.

Poe also gave an extensive interview to Watermark magazine. It is worth reading. 

You can see the video here.

Nothing surprising about this - President Obama, after meeting with Bernie Sanders today, released a video endorsing Hillary Clinton.

Not said: Dear Bernie, please step the hell aside.

 Transcript as provided by Clinton Campaign:

On the one hand, former presidential candidate Marco Rubio publicly shakes his head in dismay at the conduct of Donald Trump. That of course does not stop Rubio from trying to raise money for the Florida Republican Party in an effort to elect Trump.

See below. 

Friend, You and I can't count on the Bernie Sanders to defeat Hillary Clinton. Nor can we count on the Obama Administration to indict her for jeopardizing our national security with her private email server. The only way we can STOP HILLARY CLINTON is to beat her in the key battleground state of Florida and deny her the Sunshine State's 29 electoral votes. You may not live here, and you may not vote here, but you can still impact the election in Florida by chipping in $10, $15, $25, $50, $100 or more to help fund the Republican Party of Florida's vital grassroots efforts to stop her. I may have suspended my own campaign for President – but I remain 100% committed to making sure the only way Hillary Clinton reaches the Oval Office is as a guest. It is often said you cannot win the Presidency without winning the state of Florida. We get only ONE shot to stop her. It's a huge undertaking with colossal national implications but if we work together and pool our resources we can win. Consider what's at stake if Hillary wins Florida: ObamaCare becomes permanent. Obama's executive orders become permanent. Our military forces continue to decline. Spending skyrockets higher and our debt explodes. And the liberals seize control of the Supreme Court. If you act today, you can help prevent that. Will you chip in $10, $15, $25, $50, $100 or more right now? Sincerely, Marco Rubio Contributions to the Republican Party of Florida are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Contributions received from this solicitation are subject to federal contribution limits and prohibitions and will be deposited into the Republican Party's federal account. Paid for by the Republican Party of Florida. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. www.florida.gop