Free Republic

South Florida attorney Scott Rothstein may have ran a $1.2 billion ponzi scheme and is, in general terms, a giant @$$hat with the gaudiest taste known to man, but if he had it his way no one in the lower 48 would have ever heard of a certain pitbull in lipstick. Bob Norman up at New Times Broward-Palm Beach is reporting that Rothstein funded the fledgling efforts to put Gov. Charlie Crist in the McCain campaign's VP slot. The Ponzi schemer was the fourth ranked fundraiser for the GOP candidate in the entire nation, and used that influence (he apparently...

Despite already having seven candidates who have filed to run against U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, the Republican Party continues to hunt for a prominent challenger for the controversial Orlando Democrat. And state Rep. Kurt Kelly is ready to assume the mantle - if no other big-name Republican is willing to do so. The Ocala Republican said in an interview Wednesday that he's waiting to see how the GOP search for a candidate in Grayson's 8th District shakes out before deciding to enter the race. But he would "seriously consider" challenging Grayson under the right circumstances.

With more than 18 million people in Florida, the issue of affordable health care has been a priority of my administration as Governor. We have found that lack of affordable health insurance coverage and the rising cost of prescription medicine to be the most significant health care challenges facing Floridians. Without health insurance coverage, the cost of health care can be staggering. Some fall into bankruptcy due to their inability to pay. To address these problems, we have instituted two programs in Florida. Our Cover Florida Health Care program and the Florida Discount Drug Card were created by partnering with...

Two Republican sources said today that even as former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio campaigns for retiring GOP Sen. Mel Martinez's Senate seat, he has been calling around to top Republican donors and activists in the state to discuss the idea of switching from the Senate primary against GOP Gov. Charlie Crist and into the open-seat race for attorney general, where a serious Republican candidate has yet to emerge.

Sen. John Cornyn’s Facebook friends aren’t in a very friendly mood. The Texas Republican’s page on the popular social networking website has been filled with comments like this one from a Florida real estate broker: “As soon as I read of your endorsement of Charlie Crist, I sent in a donation to the Marco Rubio campaign.” A new Facebook group has since cropped up challenging members to give “not one penny” to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), of which Cornyn is chairman. The online group’s description says: “First they supported Chafee. Then they supported Specter. Now they support Crist.”...

Nobama is all over the news. There is no where to hide from his picture, his voice, his marxism. But who is speaking for us? Oh, sure, plenty of us here on FR, on BTR and on terrestrial talk radio. But of those running for office, who speaks for us? I can't say he speaks for you, but he definitely speaks for me, and to me. Lt. Col. Allen West is one of today’s most admired veterans, leaders and speakers. His speech is a direct reflection of his philosophy, leaving no one in question as to where he stands. Excerpts...

The fundraiser set to be hosted Wednesday by elected officials and business leaders at the posh Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables sounds like countless other receptions benefiting Florida's political establishment. But the invitation topped with bold-faced names is for Marco Rubio, the upstart candidate for the U.S. Senate daring to challenge the popular Gov. Charlie Crist for the GOP nomination. Rubio has been mostly raising money over the Internet. Crist has been attending swanky events almost nightly this month. Their lopsided fundraising battle and poll ratings suggest Rubio's campaign will not end well, but the former Miami lawmaker posted a...

This is what we need to be talking about. Conservative Values and Standing for Something instead of Standing for Everything. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rigML-twftY

This is a video from The Daly Buzz that attempts to shed light on Crist's sexual preference. What are your thoughts?

On the surface, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist appears to be the rising star in the Sunshine State. Mr. Crist won a landslide election, maintains high approval ratings and was considered as a potential vice presidential choice by Republican nominee John McCain. In addition, he was even ranked the most "fiscally conservative governor in the country" by the Cato Institute - beating out even South Carolina's budget hawk Gov. Mark Sanford. Many Florida conservatives, however, have a very different hero - Marco Rubio.

You have to see this picture. Don't have time to embed it, but click the link. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2loqh_dRGgc/Sij2FsVwsQI/AAAAAAAAAAw/Ea9jywq_dXI/s1600-h/rhinocrist.jpg

It has been over a month since Marco Rubio announced his candidacy for US Senate in Florida http://www.marcorubio.com Still nothing about him mentioned on the RPOF website, but the RHINO Crist is plastered all over the site & now McCollum is featured. When is the RPOF going to show that they are neutral? I still don't see any actions that lend validity to Jim Greer's words. Contact the RPOF and let them know how you feel about their Bias attempt to push a RHINO into the Senate Seat. 420 E. Jefferson Street PO Box 311 Tallahassee, FL 32301 Phone: 850.222.7920...

The state GOP may be officially neutral in the Republican U.S. senate primary, but as an e-mailer points out to Buzz, you would be hard-pressed to know that Charlie Crist even faces a challenger if you went to the RPOF site. It contains plenty of news about Crist's campaign and endorsements but nada that we can see about Marco Rubio. http://www.rpof.org/index.php

May 5th, 2009 Check in: 6:30pm-Meeting begins: 7pm Hollywood Beach Culture & Community Center 1301 So. Ocean Dr. Hollywood, FL 33019 Refreshments served. Metered parking lot available The SE Broward Republican club will welcome guest speaker Marco Rubio(R) Florida speaker of the house, who is running for the US senate seat currently held by RINO Mel Martinez. We normally have a group of 40-50 members and guests in attendance. So here is a chance to ask questions about what is important to you and get an anwer. I must add that our rules state that all Republicans are welcomed as...

If you live in/around Orlando, please sign up and show up at 6PM. The specifics are on the Source URL below.

Lt. Col. Allen West just wrote his monthly column for Wheels on the Road, South Florida’s motorcycle magazine on his evaluation of the Washington political scene. LTC West is running for Congress in 2010 in Florida’s Congressional District 22. If you haven't seen any true leadership lately, you're not alone and you certainly need to check this out.

I can’t really find too much to argue with what Michelle Malkin said here regarding RNC Chair Michael Steele’s recent comments (audio and video here of Steele’s comments and Rush’s response) about Rush Limbaugh and how Steele fed right into the mainstream media/lefty (but I repeat myself) playbook in agreeing with their over-simplistic characterizations of Rush Limbaugh - and of the convention goers at the GOP National Convention. For the last comment, where he didn’t speak up and protest when the interviewer (CNN’s D.L. Hughley) said that the GOP convention looked like “Nazi Germany,” Steele owes every single conservative an...

What Does the Life and Legacy of Abraham Lincoln Mean to Me? Phil Orenstein • February 1, 2009 • Uncategorized The following are some of my thoughts expressed in an essay for the Queens Village Eagle on the upcoming Lincoln Bicentennial Dinner on Feb. 8th and the significance of the Lincoln Essay Contest and LTC Allen West’s keynote address:

Former Florida Governor JEB Bush has decided not to persue the Senate Seat being vacated by retiring Republican Senator Mel Martinez. JEB was considered the top candidate for the office. Mr. Bush has stated that he is not yet prepared to return to public office.

http://www.babalublog.com/archives/010430.html

Florida is close to being taken off the table as a battleground state and painted red. Could Barack Obama being saying goodbye to Florida? With 350 paid staffers, 50 field offices and spending an estimated $8 million in campaign ads in the “Battle ground” Sunshine state, Obama may soon be saying goodbye to Florida. With all the money, assets and resources used in Florida there is little to show for Team Obama. As stated in the St. Petersburg Times, Obama is farther behind in the state than John Kerry was at this point in 2004, even though McCain began buying...

We are doing all we can to enlighten the left wing in America. We get hundreds of E-mails a day saying how www.StopObamaExpress.com has open the eyes of Obama supporters, by listen to Obama in his own words at www.StopObamaExpress.com . If we all work together we can save our great nation from the liberals. ALL ABOARD! The Stop Obama Express. A great site for Anti-Obama Fun, videos, pictures, quotes and more. Check it out at www.StopObamaExpress.com

The Cook Political Report, a non-partisan newsletter that closely follows congressional races, now calls the contest between Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney and Democrat Suzanne Kosmas a "toss-up.'' Cook this summer had been describing the race as leaning Republican --- a description that indicated it was a competitive race but that the GOP had the advantage. But in a report issued last week, Cook described the race as a "toss-up,'' meaning either party has a good chance of winning. Congressional District 24, which includes part of Volusia County, is the only race in Florida that is labeled a "toss-up.''

Fellow Jacksonville, FL Freepers. Who is interested in meeting to plan local strategy for the election. I will organize, unless someone else is already doing this.

The Central Santa Rosa Republican Club is meeting tonight at the Red Barn Bar-B-Que @ 5887 U.S. 90 in Milton, FL! Dinner starts at 1730 and the program starts at 1900!! The featured speaker will be the Honorable Greg Evers, State Representative of District 1. Topics will be taxes, growth, constitutional amendments and other legislative affairs and how they impact the community and you! Come and join us!!

Maybe they're reading a bit too much into the tea leaves but Wonkette noticed that the web address ObamaNelson.com redirects to Barack Obama's official website. The internet never lies. While similar combinations of Obama and suspected Veep's names lead to Go Daddy holding sites or other internet flotsam. Nelson who? Most likely democratic Florida Senator and former spaceman Bill Nelson. Maybe Obama has found the perfect running mate who can help him deliver Florida, but not secretly poison his coffee.

"I am never better. I'm so glad that you three called me. I'm stunned here. It's great to hear from you," Limbaugh said. (Go to link to hear)

So much for the 50 State Strategy, announced just last week. The Obama campaign admits neither FL and OH "was hospitable to Obama this year." Even three states Kerry won (PA, MI, NH) "look competitive" for McCain. Obama will try to pick off VA, NM, and others to make up the difference. Is Obama the underdog in this Year of the Democrat?

9:53PM - Add Senator Mel Martinez to the list of winners tonight. He looks a lot better backing a winning presidential candidate than he does stepping down prematurely as chair of the RNC. - REID WILSON 9:46PM - The other big winner tonight? Gov. Charlie Crist. From the St. Petersburg Times today on the Crist endorsement: "For Crist, the move is a risky one, but one with a big payoff if it makes him look like a kingmaker." - BLAKE DVORAK 9:42PM - Giuliani dropping out helps McCain, right? Well, not so fast. According to the exit polls, 49% of...

JOHN MCCAINMcCain on Fund's Alito Quote: I Don't Recall Saying ThatJohn McCain held a rapidly-called conference call with bloggers this afternoon. McCain begins by saying, "We're flying all over the state of Florida leave her fairly soon, and do an event in Tampa with Governor Crist. It's a coup to have him signed on. We're locked in a tight race."He begins by remarking about Justice Alito — "I supported him, I thought he was a magnificent choice, I spoke on his behalf from the floor of the Senate... I've said several times that I'd like to find clones for Justices...

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, polling a distant fourth in the upcoming Florida primaries, continued to attack former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, while offering implicit support for his other rival, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in his appearance on "Fox News Sunday." When asked to take sides on a dispute between Romney and McCain over whether the former Massachusetts governor called for a timetable for withdrawal in Iraq last April, Huckabee sided squarely with McCain. “Dishonest? I’ve never seen John McCain say something that is just blatantly untrue,” Huckabee said. Huckabee later praised McCain, saying “we have a civil approach to...

Within hours of the announcement, Democrat Nancy Higgs, a former Brevard County commissioner, said she would run. Two Republican state senators, Mike Haridopolos of Melbourne and Bill Posey of Rockledge, also said they are considering bids.

Fred Thompson's political career might very well be over tomorrow. If so, take this post as a postmortem of his candidacy. It is obvious that Senator Thompson has squandered a great deal of good will during the interminable run up to the announcement of his candidacy and his less than stellar performance in the period September through mid-December. The easy analysis is that Thompson was lazy but I don't think it was laziness. I think it was a misguided attempt to run an issues oriented campaign. Thompson's Socratic style of addressing those early crowds was a good way to discuss...

As has been reported elsewhere today, Fred Thompson's mother is gravely ill right now. Our prayers ought to be with Sen. Thompson, his mother, his wife, and their family. This must be a very difficult time for them. All of this political stuff is of only secondary importance right now. That said, here is what I would do, politically, if I were Thompson: I would just lay low. Just wait. See what happens in Louisiana's caucuses tomorrow. See what happens in Florida next week. See who drops out of the race at some point. And then consider reviving my campaign,...

"United States policy must continue to stand with the Cuban people and against those who have oppressed, terrorized, and murdered so many Cubans over the past half-century. This was my position when I served in the Senate; it is my position today; it will be my position as President. Fidel and Raul Castro are unaccountable dictators who can serve no role in Cuba’s future. We must continue supporting the growing internal opposition in Cuba while also denying the regime any source of funding that could prop up this cruel, illegitimate government. This means keeping current sanctions in place, and increasing...

As Rush points out at the top of the excerpt, he does not endorse candidates in primaries. But that does not stop him from taking note of a fact that many Reagan Republicans are seeing Fred Thompson as the only true conservative in the field of Republican candidates. (VIDEO) With 13.5 million weekly listeners (some have suggested the number is closer to 20 million), Rush’s comments will not go unnoticed. Question is, is it enough to keep Fred in the race through?

It just could happen: “But after a sluggish start, Thompson has sensed an opening in Iowa, and he’s moving decisively to exploit it. The opening arises from a combination of Romney’s changes of position on social issues and Huckabee’s stumbles on foreign-policy questions and immigration. After his winning performance in the Des Moines Register’s debate, Thompson has embarked on a lengthy bus tour of the state. During these final days, his campaign says he’ll hold events in 50 communities and will visit 54 of the 99 counties. On Monday, he picked up the surprise endorsement of Congressman Steve King. Of...

Stick a fork in him: With fewer than 20 days until the Iowa caucuses, three men in the Republican Party stand to get their tickets punched out of the Hawkeye State. While everything is still in flux, those likely winners will be Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson. Notably missing out on Iowa’s political rocket fuel is national frontrunner Rudy Giuliani. While most political insiders and pundits have known for months that Giuliani had no plans to compete in Iowa, the general American electorate probably does not. Known to not pay attention to the early political pontificating, the average...

Join us December 13th for a Phone for Fred Party! We get thousands of emails every week from regular folks asking how they can get involved and make a big difference even though they don't live in the early states. Next Thursday, December 13th, we are having a nationwide phone bank for Fred. Hosting a phone bank on the 13th is the best way to make a real difference in the final month going into the Iowa Caucus. Take a group picture of everyone at your party, and if your party makes the most calls we'll make it the feature...

Among the top tier Republican candidates, Rush says that only Fred has been a consistent conservative. You have been given your marching orders. Now you know who to vote for. RUSH: …the genuine moderate as opposed to conservative aspects of three of the top-tier, four of the top-tier candidates were on full-fledged display last night. There was one candidate who did not display any moderateness or liberalism or have any of his past forays into those areas displayed, and that candidate was Fred Thompson. … …we have a campaign now where most of the candidates are not genuine conservatives. They...

Falsehoods, exaggerations and stumbles Summary The CNN/YouTube debate among Republicans lacked any talking snowmen, but we did note a few false and misleading statements by the candidates. * Romney claimed New York called itself a “sanctuary city” for illegal aliens. It didn’t. * Giuliani denied New York actually was a “sanctuary city.” But the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has classified it as such, based on immigrant-friendly policies Giuliani still defends. * Huckabee claimed he would “abolish the IRS.” He failed to mention that he’d replace it with another big tax bureaucracy. * Huckabee said he had proposed to make children...

CNN's YouTube debate was a good one. And Americans -- while wacky at times with their homemade videos -- may have convinced me they can ask better, more direct questions than the media elite usually do. As for tonight's winners and losers, I think John McCain, Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani helped themselves; Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul had both ups and down -- and Mitt Romney was an unmitigated disaster... Let's start with Romney. I've said since he first entered the race that I think Republicans would be in bad shape if he emerged as the party's nominee. If...

"I just want to give my buddies here a little air time." -- Fred Thompson sounding like Ronald Reagan (after showing a video about Romney and Huckabee that would take the bark off the trees, and being told the others would have time to respond) ... Thompson's video utilized YouTube clips that have been circulating for quite some time on YouTube. Only this time, they are also being broadcast on CNN. My bet is getting this negative information out is a lot better use of his time than merely putting out some puff-piece ...

Welcome to our Phone for Fred online phone bank! Person to person contact is the most effective way to make a difference in an election. We created the Phone for Fred program for all of you Friends of Fred who want to volunteer and do more for Fred! We need your help in the early primary states. Our Phone for Fred online phone bank makes it easy for you to make a difference! Fred only needs a small commitment of time and you will soon see that your phone calls and person to person contact will help Fred win! Pick...

Fred Thompson's campaign named a handful of volunteer grassroots leaders in Miami-Dade to help boost its outreach to Latino voters -- a territory rival Rudy Giuliani is putting great effort in reaching. County leadership positions announced today include co-chairs: Homestead Mayor Lynda Bell and Miami-Dade Commissioners Joe Martinez and Natacha Seijas. The latter two previously endorsed Thompson when he appeared at Miami's Urbeita Oil in October. Other's involved Lois Jones, Chris Miles and Luis Rodriguez.

The meeting of Ron Paul activists was well under way when organizer Steven Talcott Smith offered the kind of basic advice you probably wouldn't hear at a gathering of any other Republican presidential candidate's supporters. "By the way," Smith told the Internet-driven "meet-up" of about 40 people at a library west of Boynton Beach, "by the end of this year everybody in this room should plan to be a Republican." Florida's Jan. 29 Republican primary is, not surprisingly, limited to registered GOP voters. But a Republican pedigree or a familiarity with the elections process cannot be taken for granted with...

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson brought his message of beefing up the military and securing the nation's borders to the conservative Florida Panhandle on Friday as he worked to bolster his poll numbers. Thompson, who trails the four top Republican presidential candidates in Florida, told about 100 supporters that the average 20-year-old soldier in Iraq has a better understanding of national security than the average 20-year-veteran of Capitol Hill. And the U.S. should not pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan with "our tail between our legs. We will regret it," said Thompson, who held a private meeting earlier with about...

MC LEAN, Va., Nov. 14 /Standard Newswire/ -- Today the Fred Thompson campaign announced its Students For Fred National and State Leadership Teams. These student volunteers will be actively leading the Fred Thompson grassroots efforts on college campuses across the nation. Matthew Farrar will serve as the Florida Chairman as well as a National Co-Chair of Students for Fred Thompson. A senior political science major at Florida State University, Farrar has previously served on the 2006 Charlie Crist Gubernatorial campaigns and has worked on numerous state races throughout Florida. "Sen. Fred Thompson has made it clear that he is the...

The Florida Family Policy Council will be hosting, An evening with… Fred Thompson Friday November 16, 2007 VIP Reception 5:30-6:30pm Dinner 6:30-9:00pm Westin Diplomat Hotel: 3555 South Ocean Drive, Hollywood, Florida http://www.flfamily.org/events_details.php?id=47