Free Republic

Congress has seen plenty of firebrands and confrontational lawmakers — especially from Florida. But Washington still might be in for a shock when it comes to Randy Fine. Over his nine years in the Florida Legislature, he gained a reputation for his bare-knuckle style of politics and spats with local officials. Now the former gambling executive will be going national with last week’s special election win in a deep-red district on Florida’s northeast coast. Three years ago, Fine called a school-board member a “whore” in a text. During Covid, he got sanctioned by Facebook after he wrote a post alerting...

The Trumpian midterm reelection plan Republican Sen. Rick Scott had hoped would electrify colleagues has instead reenergized Democrats in both chambers, sparking nationwide campaign ads, fundraising appeals, and fresh lines of attack against GOP lawmakers on the ballot this fall. The 11-point strategy, which Scott developed on his own and unveiled February 22, takes conservative-fueled culture wars and MAGA priorities to another level — prompting fellow Republicans to characterize it as "polarizing" and "silly." In addition to imposing new taxes on low- and middle-income earners currently exempt from federal collections, Scott declares war on national mask mandates, local school boards,...