Gov.-elect Rick Scott's victory lap brings him to Miami

Rick Scott Wants to Give You a Job
The Governor-elect spoke in Little Havana Wednesday night, citing job growth as his number one priority. Jeff talks about working with the Coen Brothers again for their remake of "True Grit." Also, what was it like meeting his young co-star, Hailee Steinfeld, for the first time? Plus, Jeff says his co-star, Matt Damon, is a good guy to hang out with. Director Sofia Coppola chats about her decision to cast Stephen Dorff in the lead role in "Somewhere" and Dakota Fanning's sister, Elle, as his dau...

Rick Scott approaches $3 million for inaugural
Incoming Gov. Rick Scott has collected $2.8 million for his inaugural celebration, according to contribution reports posted Monday. Money-raisers expect to exceed $3 million by next week. The contribution report continues to read like a who's-who of Tallahassee Special Interests. Some of the nanes and companies added to the list include: Altria , formerly known as Philip Morris, this big Tobacco Company wants the state to make Dosal start paying into Florida's landmark tobacco se...

Now that we know him ... we don't like him
"Public Policy Polling released a new survey showing that Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott’s favorability numbers remain in the low 30s, though fewer view him unfavorably. The polling service says the numbers show 'there is little doubt that he’s the most unpopular newly elected Governor in the country.'" "Poll: Scott 'the most unpopular newly elected Governor in the country'". Haridopolos scrapes bottom of the barrel Even the public Employee Pension haters on the Orlando Sentinel editorial b...

Incoming governors' festivities in tune with times
From extravagant black-tie galas to a casual no-tie barbecue, gubernatorial inauguration events in the coming days will vary widely in cost, size and panache. Most Governors-elect and heads of states returning for another term have vowed to stage relatively simple affairs — a deference to the sluggish economy and high Unemployment plaguing the country. Incoming California Gov. Jerry Brown has planned a "no-frill, low-budget and low-key" inauguration schedule, highlighted by a modest recept...

Priorities
Priorities by digby Yikes: State Legislators in 25 states (see list below) planned to introduce SB 1070 clones in upcoming legislative sessions, according to Immigration Impact. Of course, not all — or even most — of these laws will pass. However, Republicans picked up the most seats in the modern era of State Legislatures in 2010 — more than Republicans did in 1994 or Democrats in the post-Watergate wave of 1974. Republicans hold both houses and the governorship in fifteen states (sixt

Gov.-elect Scott urged to get tougher on unemployed
Governor-elect Rick Scott is considering tougher rules to get tens of thousands of Floridians re-employed. Tuesday, Scott's 49-member Economic Development transition team urged him to change Florida's Unemployment system by requiring the unemployed to show proof they've applied for jobs or lose their benefits and forcing unemployed workers to perform Community Service after they've received payments for 12 week. Currently, more than 1 million Floridians are out of a job, of which half are receiv...

Keep An Eye On Rick Scott's New Business
All that, after 12 years of Republican control of the State Legislature and the Governor's office. Yet such was the failure of Democratic messaging in 2010 that those same Republicans, even ones like Scott with huge ethical clouds hanging over them, still got more people out to vote and had their way on Election Day. What's done is done for now, and whether you voted or not, it's worth keeping an eye on how Scott - whose prior claim to fame is as CEO of a massively, criminally fraudulent health ...

Rick Scott Appoints Bryan Koon to Emergency Management and Edwin Buss to Corrections
Incoming Gov. Rick Scott named two key appointments Tuesday -- Bryan Koon as state director of emergency management and Indiana Department of Corrections Commissioner Edwin G. Buss to head up the  Florida Department of Corrections. Like Scott, Koon has a background in the Private Sector, heading up Wal-Mart’s emergency management operations. A former naval officer, Koon also served in the White House Military Office on a number of issues including emergency management. Koon also serve...

Rick Scott's vouchers-for-all plan: Jeb Bush's "devious plans" on steroids.
"SB 6 2.0" is not the only plan Florida Public School educators have to worry about in the coming years. Rick Scott came out recently at a rally in Sarasota with a plan for "vouchers for all."  Under this plan, rather than the state putting money directly into public education, parents would be given "control" over their per-pupil funding, letting them direct it toward the school of their choice, whether public, private, charter, parochial or virtual.  This would apply to all parents, ...

Commission meeting called off and one recall halted.
The Special Meeting called today by Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Dennis Moss was called off due to 6 commissioners not showing up, which left the commission one commissioner shy of the number needed for the meeting to go forward. The six who did not attend was Jose Pepe Diaz (who said he would not be able to make it beforehand), Audrey Edmonson, Rebeca Sosa, Javier Soto, Jean Monestine and Carlos Gimenez. Gimenez said he let the chairman know he would not be there, he had i...

Warren promotes Consumer Protection Bureau to Florida foreclosure hotspot
Elizabeth Warren is touting the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to one of the areas hardest hit by the Foreclosure crisis -- Florida. By publishing an editorial in The Miami Herald, reaching readers in one of the parts of the country hardest hit by the Foreclosure crisis, Warren appears to be making an effort to build public support for the fledgling bureau she is charged with building, which continues to be opposed by Republicans and financial industry groups. Specifically, Wa...

Carbon Monoxide Blamed For Death Of 5 Teens
Five young men celebrating a birthday likely died due to carbon monoxide from a car they left running in a garage under their Haileah, Fla., motel room, investigators said Tuesday. A maid at the Presidente Hotel called authorities Monday after seeing people unconscious through a window. Police spokesman Carl Zogby said the teenagers' deaths appear to be accidental, but that the Miami Dade Medical Examiner is investigating the cause. In an emergency call, the maid described a strong smell of gaso...

Top 10 Political Gaffes Of 2010
It was a doozy of a political year, making it hard to narrow the gaffes down to 10. But here they are: The Top 10 Political Gaffes of 2010. (1) Pelosi on ObamaCare : When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of Obamacare: "We have to pass it, to know what’s in it," it was a gift to Republicans, many of whom used it against their Democratic opponents in their midterm-election campaigns. The remark reminded voters both of the arrogance of the Democratic leaders for ramming the unpopular health-c...

Twenty-five Democratic State Legislators Have Switched to GOP
Good thing the New Media is out there, what's the chance you'd see this story on the Nightly News? examiner GOPAC chairman Frank Donatelli just sent out a Press Release crowing that 25 Democratic legislators have now switched parties and become Republican . " We are pleased with the decision of these men and women to leave the Democratic Party and join with us. They are adding to the ranks of Americans who want to put result-oriented ideas into action to get us moving in the right direction. ...

New York's Cuomo gets second chance
NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Democrat Andrew Cuomo becomes New York Governor on Saturday he inherits a $10 billion Budget Deficit, a notoriously corrupt political system and the legacy of his father, the popular former Governor Mario Cuomo. But if he succeeds, the new job also offers a second chance on the national stage for Cuomo, 53, who became the youngest-ever U.S. secretary of housing and urban development under President Bill Clinton in 1997 but whose signature achievement there backfired. "T...

Getting Below the Surface
We of course know that the November 2, 2010, Elections were historical on many different levels. The Republican gains of 63 seats in the House and 6 in the Senate dwarf the Republican Revolution of 1994 and double the historical average gains in the Senate for a party out of power. These gains were made despite a cash-strapped Republican National Committee (RNC), strategic decisions by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) to spend $8 million in the long-shot California Senate race...

Incoming Governors Embrace Frugal Inaugurations
The New York Times reports that incoming governors are grappling with a major decision just moments after they take the oath of office: how big their inauguration parties should be. "It is always a tricky call. Penny-pinching can convey pessimism and impotence. Lavish celebrations may telegraph triumphalism and insensitivity in these Budget-crunched times. But after an election rife with messages about voter anger and mistrust, the risks of an off-key bash are higher this inauguration season, a...

Rubio's a little overrated
Marco Rubio is probably the most hyped of the 2011 freshman Senate class, to the extent that there's already discussion about him as a possible 2012 Presidential Candidate. Our latest Florida poll though suggests that it might be time for everyone to slow down a little bit on that front. Rubio is the most hyped new Senator...and he might be the most overrated too. Here's what we found: -Rubio is not unusually popular with Florida voters- they're pretty evenly divided in their feelings about him...

Campaign finance leftovers from 2010 who gave to everybody?
Some campaign contributors  spread their money around in last year’s Elections. Nearly 100 political action committees, corporations and individuals gave at least 50 checks of the maximum-amount to various state office Candidates in Florida for the 2010 election, including 33 contributors who cut more than 100 such checks, according to an Orlando Sentinel review of Campaign Contributions. Almost all of the frequent givers spread the money to both Rep...

Jacory Harris will start at QB for Miami
Miami Quarterback Jacory Harris models a cowboy boot during the team's visit Monday, Dec. 27, 2010, to Lucchese Boot Co. in El Paso, Texas. Miami is scheduled to play Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl NCAA College Football game on New Year's Eve. Jacory Harris will be Miami's starting Quarterback in the Sun Bowl against Notre Dame, getting the nod while Stephen Morris nurses an ankle sprain. Interim coach Jeff Stoutland made the announcement Thursday, saying Harris puts the Hurricanes in the best posi...

Steelman fundraises off START
The final flurry of year-end Fundraising appeals are rolling in and Missouri Senate Candidate Sarah Steelman is looking to pull in some cash by targeting Sen. Claire McCaskill's vote to ratify the START Treaty. The former Missouri state treasurer called the Bipartisan 71-26 vote a "cave to the Special Interests and Foreign Policy elites" in a Fundraising e-mail Thursday. "Now the politicians can brag about their 'accomplishment' for short-term political gain, but they presented ...

M&I Announces Extension of Foreclosure Moratorium to Assist Distressed Homeowners
M&I's Homeowner Assistance Program also features streamlined assistance programs for potentially distressed Homeowners who are identified in advance and proactively offered assistance. It also offers a Foreclosure abatement program that features several refinancing options, including term extensions and reduced rates that can be used, as necessary and applicable, to reduce monthly payments.   In addition, M&I continues to extend new credit to new and existing customers. Since the in...

Bum Rush: Twenty-five Democratic State Legislators Defect to GOP
(Washington Examiner)- GOPAC chairman Frank Donatelli just sent out a Press Release crowing that 25 Democratic legislators have now switched parties and become Republican. “We are pleased with the decision of these men and women to leave the Democratic Party and join with us. They are adding to the ranks of Americans who want to put result-oriented ideas into action to get us moving in the right direction. Each of these legislators’ insight, experience, and commitment to common-sens...

Cuomo to take governor's oath on NYE at 10 p.m.
ALBANY - Andrew Cuomo is so eager to take office that he'll be sworn-in two hours before actually becoming Governor. Cuomo is set to be given the oath of office privately by Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman at 10 p.m. Friday following a family New Year's Eve dinner at the executive mansion. Previous governors have taken the oath just after midnight Jan. 1, when the term officially begins. Cuomo is said to be going early so the young kids attending the dinner can watch. Other onloo...

East Hartford mayor to take over DMV
East Hartford Mayor Melody A. Currey, Gov.-elect Dan Malloy's choice to head the State Department of Motor Vehicles, said Thursday she is taking over with the goal of making the much-maligned agency more streamlined and efficient. "My marching orders are very direct: Make sure the customer is taken care of and make sure we do it in an efficient and effective manner and as fiscally conservative as possible," Currey said after Malloy announced her appointment. Malloy said he would like Currey to...