Notes For Monday, September 08, 2003

"Why Bob Graham should seek re-election to the Senate" - From The American Prospect:

Graham's decision is important because he is a political institution in Florida, an otherwise decidedly centrist state. Should he drop out of the Senate race, his seat would clearly become up for grabs. But because Graham's personal popularity in Florida transcends party lines, he would almost certainly win if he seeks re-election.

Republicans already have the numerical advantage in next year's Senate elections, with 15 seats to defend compared with the Democrats' 19. A Graham decision not to run would put another seat in play, and one that otherwise would have been safe.

If Graham stood a good chance of winning the Oval Office, I'd tell him to go for it. At this point, however, he doesn't. The race is now a fight between former Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.), Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and perhaps another, yet-to-be-determined candidate. In a recent Zogby poll of New Hampshire voters, Graham finished with 1 percent -- behind former Gen. Wesley Clark, who has yet to even say whether he's running.

The rest of it. 8:58 PM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

Daniel Ruth has a little fun:

Soundeth the trumpets!!!! Prepare to grovel in humiliation! Avert thy eyes! The governor in all his majesty, his regalness, his omniscience approaches!
. . .

"Today I am announcing that I and I alone have defeated, conquered, put to rest forever racial inequality in this state thanks to my brilliant One Florida initiative, which was completely my own idea. And that is why I have ordered my image to be engraved upon Mount Rushmore.''

Wow, that's the cat's meow, My Splendidness. And how, may I ask, did you arrive at this conclusion?

"Numbers, numbers, numbers, my good man. All you need to do is look at the numbers of minority students flooding our state university campuses. Why, I expect a call any moment from Nelson Mandela nominating me for the Nobel Prize.''

Uh, My Petulantness? It appears, by your administration's own figures, that minority enrollments only went from 34 percent last year to 34.3 percent this year. How does a less than 1 percentage point increase qualify you for Martin Luther King status?
. . .

My Lordship. It's just that you are claiming One Florida is the best thing to happen to minorities since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, but there's just one problem.

"Yes, well, yes? What is it?''

You're not going to like this, My Wizardness. But while it is true, for example, that the 6,094 black freshmen entering the state university system this fall is a record enrollment number, those same students only account for 16.7 percent of all first-year students.

And that number represents, I'm sorry to say, a one percentage point decline since One Florida was implemented by you in 1999.

"Hark! Hear Ye! The Governor Speaketh Because He Can".


It's A Start - "Anti-Bush gathering draws hundreds in Delray Beach". For an appraisal of the opposition to Dubya in 2004, see this LA Times article published yesterday: "Some Florida Democrats Losing Enthusiasm for Rematch With Bush".


Hmmm, How Did That Dean Guy Do It Again? "Maddox looks to the Net to revive Democrats" (a Buddy Nevins column from Saturday).


Using DNA To Free The Wrongfully Imprisoned - It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Florida needs to "Extend Deadline For DNA Testing".


Hey, Why Not Try This?

More than 30 states across the nation have raised cigarette taxes since last year, both to discourage smoking-related health ailments and to pump extra cash into struggling state budgets. But Florida, with one of the lowest cigarette taxes in the nation, hasn't joined in. The reason? GOP leaders say they've never met a tax increase they like. Higher tobacco taxes in other states raised $3 billion nationwide, more than any other kind of tax increase passed by cash-starved states in 2002, said Mindy Rafool, a tax policy analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

"State turns deaf ear to appeal of raising taxes on cigarettes".


"Jeb!", Tom And Mel -

[S]ome Republicans close to [Jeb!] Bush want Gallagher to give up the [2006] governor's race and run for the Senate in 2006. Bush didn't respond to questions posed by e-mail Friday. Some say our governor likes the idea of having Mel Martinez, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, come back home to run for governor. Martinez is a former Orange County chairman - akin to the county mayor - who was appointed by President Bush to run the housing agency.

The Bush-Gallagher relationship has never been close, but the tension these days is obvious. And the Bush folks recently imported Oscar Anderson, a longtime Martinez deputy who is the likely point man for a potential Martinez campaign in 2006. . . . Martinez has been coy with reporters about his future plans, but other Republicans say he's very interested in running for governor. "There is no question that Martinez is interested," says Senate President Jim King. "He is doing more than testing the water."

Some of Gallagher's supporters say Bush has not treated him or other Republican Cabinet members with the respect they deserve.
. . .

Bush might find it increasingly difficult to get along with Cabinet members who have their own political ambitions, and an increasingly fractious Legislature. In 2004 Bush will face a new Senate president, Tom Lee of Brandon, and a new House speaker, Allan Bense of Panama City. Bush already has made an enemy of Lee despite all the nice smiles at session's end this summer. Bense is a pretty conservative guy, but unlikely to be the kind of pushover Bush is accustomed to in the House.

A governor accustomed to getting his way could find it hard to get anything done if he doesn't learn to play well with others.

"Bush choice may topple Gallagher's ambitions" (a Lucy Morgan column from Saturday).


Simple Disrespect - Gov. Jeb Bush's approach to government is amply illustrated by a set of "hiring guidelines" issued to his department heads. "Guidelines for hiring bespeak Bush's mind-set".


DCF - "Regier's mixed first year".

"Justice Denied" - As usual, the Daytona Beach News Journal is way ahead of the curve on this issue:

Collection agencies keep calling about debts -- even though they've long been repaid.

An ex-husband files a notice that he's moving to another state -- and wants to take the children with him.

A car dealer misrepresents the condition of a used car -- and then denies any responsibility.

Too many Floridians are caught in these traps every day. They know they aren't being treated in accordance with the law, or even inside the bounds of simple justice. But they don't see how they will ever be able to afford an attorney or negotiate the legal system alone.

"Justice denied". 7:37 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]