Forums: Florida Gators

Florida governor and Republican-turned-independent Senate candidate Charlie Crist said in an interview on an Orlando television station today that he would have voted for the health care overhaul passed earlier this year - and then promptly claimed he "misspoke" and actually opposes the bill. "I would have voted for it, but I think it can be done better," Crist said in the interview, the relevant portion of which which you can see at left. The comment seemed to reflect a change in position by the governor, who had stated previously he would have opposed the bill. Not long after the...

One man is in custody and Miami International Airport is back open this morning after a suspicious device caused a major evacuation and shutdown Thursday night. The security scare happened just after 9 p.m., when a baggage screener spotted a suspicious item in a checked piece of luggage in the Customs area. -snip- A video of what is believed to be part of the suspicious device showed a silver canister, though police haven't confirmed what was found. Police also haven't released the identity of the man taken into custody, but airport officials said he had been on a flight from...

4th DCA kills cane cutters’ appeal over wages Sugar cane cutters’ 21-year effort to sue for back wages hit another roadblock Wednesday when the 4th District Court of Appeal upheld a decision requiring each worker to post a $100 bond to sue in small claims court. A split three-judge panel ruled a Palm Beach Circuit appellate panel acted within its discretion when workers challenged a section of the 1838 state Constitution requiring nonresidents to post the bond when filing lawsuits. The decision is just the latest setback for farmworkers trying to sue for back wages since 1989. About 1,500 workers,...

The threat of illegal immigration may have been a political flashpoint in the recent Florida primaries, but a new study suggests that fewer undocumented immigrants call the state home. The analysis by Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C., found that more illegal immigrants have been leaving Florida than have moved in during the past few years. A small percentage have become legalized. The population of immigrants living illegally in Florida dropped by an estimated 375,000 as the economic downturn worsened from 2007 to 2009, the study said. There were an estimated 675,000 undocumented immigrants in the state in 2009, down...

JACKSONVILLE — Republican nominee for governor Rick Scott is set to name State Rep. Jennifer Carroll as his running mate. Scott's campaign said he would announce his choice for lieutenant governor Thursday in Jacksonville. Events in Orlando and the Tampa area will follow. Carroll confirmed in an e-mail to The Associated Press early Thursday that she is Scott's choice. The 51-year-old Carroll served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years and was elected to the Florida Legislature in 2003. She would become the state's first black woman to be a candidate for lieutenant governor.

The threat of illegal immigration may have been a political flashpoint in the recent Florida primaries, but a new study suggests that fewer undocumented immigrants call the state home. The analysis by Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C., found that more illegal immigrants have been leaving Florida than have moved in during the past few years. A small percentage have become legalized. The population of immigrants living illegally in Florida dropped by an estimated 375,000 as the economic downturn worsened from 2007 to 2009, the study said. There were an estimated 675,000 undocumented immigrants in the state in 2009, down...

State Rep. Jennifer Carroll will be announced as Rick Scott’s running mate this morning during a news conference in Jacksonville. A source close to the campaign confirmed to The Times-Union Wednesday night that Carroll, of Fleming Island, is the choice. Neither Scott nor Carroll could be reached for comment. The news conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. outside Jacksonville Naval Air Station. Carroll is a Navy veteran and has represented parts of Clay and Duval Counties since 2003. Many politicians from around the area say that politically, the 51-year-old lawmaker makes sense as Scott’s running mate. “I just really think...

For years, Republican leaders complained about their party’s inability to change its moribund image. The GOP was seen as the party of old Washington hands — of old, white men. The face of the party was the unpopular George Bush, and the grassroots had grown completely disconnected from the party over spending and other issues. Conservatives complained that the party had lost its way, while many small-government libertarians voted for the most liberal presidential candidate ever elected. The plight of the GOP was so bad that Time Magazine declared the party dead in 2006. Newsweek wrote just last year that...

A key Muslim ally of Florida Governor and US Senate candidate Charlie Crist, Imam Muhammad Musri, hosted a fundraiser in Orlando for the terrorist group Hamas in June 2009, and a camera crew from ACT for America infiltrated the event held at Masjid Al-Rahman, Musri’s mosque, to record the proceedings. Imam Musri, head of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, serves on Crist’s Faith-Based and Community Advisory Council and was appointed by Crist to his 2010 Sunshine Census Committee. The Orlando Hamas fundraiser featured as its keynote speakers former UK parliamentarian George Galloway and Mahdi Bray of the Muslim American...

There are a lot of idle libel threats in politics, but Jeff Greene's appears not to have been among them. As Haberman notes, " it's a long road between filing a libel suit and actually winning one — but it's also an expensive headache to fight against, which Greene is clearly aware of as he starts settling scores."