Sunburn for 10/21 – A morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics

A morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.

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A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD IN FLORIDA POLITICS h/t to The News Service of Florida 

The death of Congressman C.W. Bill Young this past Friday will set in motion a series of decisions and vents that will have far-reaching ramifications on Tampa Bay and Florida politics.

Meanwhile, the Florida Senate begins a series of four committee meetings on possible changes to the state’s gambling laws next week. The first of the four meetings, which run through mid-November, is in Broward County, and the panel will take public testimony. From there, meetings move in late October to Lakeland, and then in November to Pensacola and Jacksonville. 

In politics, the big show next week will be the Democrats’ annual state conference, which kicks off Friday at Disney. Committees and caucuses meet Friday, with an open session on Saturday morning, and panel discussions on education, gay marriage, health care, in addition to more committee and caucus meetings. The conference wraps on Sunday. Might we see an appearance by Charlie Crist?

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DRIVING THE NAT’L CONVERSATION: FOR OBAMA, A FRUSTRATING HEALTH CARE ROLLOUT via Julie Pace, with Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar of the Associated Press:

Last week, President Obama gathered some of his top advisers in the Oval Office to discuss the problem-plagued rollout of his health care legislation. He told his team the administration had to own up to the fact that there were no excuses for not having the health care website ready to operate on Day One. … Administration officials say more than 476,000 health insurance applications have been filed through federal and state exchanges. The figures mark the most detailed measure yet of the problem-plagued rollout of the insurance market place. …. [W]ithout enrollment figures, it’s unclear whether the program is on track to reach the 7 million people projected by the Congressional Budget Office to gain coverage during the six-month sign-up period. …

Of the 476,000 applications that have been started, just over half have been from the 36 states where the federal government is taking the lead in running the markets. The rest of the applications have come from the 14 states running their own markets, along with … D.C. … An internal memo obtained by AP showed that the administration projected nearly a half million people would enroll for the insurance markets during the first month. Officials say they expect enrollments to be heavier toward the end of the six-month sign up window.

MUST-READ: INSIDE THE CONSERVATIVE GROUP FUELING WARFARE OVER OBAMACARE via Alex Leary of the Tampa Bay Times

… Heritage Action, and a handful of organizations like it, engineered the fight over Obamacare that led to the 16-day shutdown.

The groups are taking on Washington’s power structure, undercutting legislative leaders and traditional political parties, and fueling the warfare starkly on display.

The GOP limped home last week divided internally and damaged in public standing, but Heritage Action sees an upside.

“For the first time in a long time a lot of people can look at House Republicans and say they stood for something, they did something that was politically risky,” said CEO Mike Needham. “It didn’t work. It’s an argument to go win the Senate.”

Some Republican lawmakers are increasingly critical of the outside groups and their tactics, which include setting up challenges to incumbents seen as too willing to compromise. On Thursday three groups — the Club for Growth, Senate Conservatives Fund and the Madison Project — backed a tea party challenger to Sen. Thad Cochran, who voted for the deal to end the budget stalemate. On Friday, Senate Conservatives Fund endorsed a tea party rival to Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

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DO REPUBLICANS NEED AN INTERVENTION?

Charlie Cook: “Here’s a question for conservatives and Republicans: Going into the 2012 Election Day, or even in the last few days before Election Day, did you think Mitt Romney was going to win? A couple of months ago, did you think the strategy of threatening to shut down the government or prevent raising the debt ceiling, to force the outright repeal or defunding of Obamacare, would really work?” 

“So the question is whether conservatives and Republicans should begin to worry if their instincts–specifically, their judgment on matters of politics and policy–are a bit off. Maybe ‘spectacularly wrong’ would be more accurate.”

“It may be time for the GOP’s Non-delusional Caucus to stage an intervention. Otherwise the party may be headed for some voter-administered therapy.”

FIGHT FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS ON via New York Times 

The budget fight that led to the first government shutdown in 17 years did not just set off a round of recriminations among Republicans over who was to blame for the politically disastrous standoff. It also heralded a very public escalation of a far more consequential battle for control of the Republican Party, a confrontation between Tea Party conservatives and establishment Republicans that will play out in the coming Congressional and presidential primaries in 2014 and 2016 but has been simmering since President George W. Bush’s administration, if not before.

In dozens of interviews, elected officials, strategists and donors from both wings of the party were unusually blunt in drawing the intraparty battle lines, suggesting that the time for an open feud over the Republican future had arrived.

An interactive map shows the divisions in the Republican Party.

REPUBLICANS WINNING WHERE IT COUNTS via Michael Hirsh of National Journal

The shutdown was a disaster, but there is a serious silver lining for the GOP: “When it comes to policy, it is still the Republicans—that is, the tea party, the GOP’s new beating heart—who are still largely setting the agenda. That’s not about to change. They lost on Obamacare, true enough, and except for a hard-core sub-minority of the tea-party faction, it’s unlikely Republicans will be stupid enough to try to wage that futile fight again. But even with this political setback, the tea partiers have made the sequester and debt-ceiling fights the new normal in Washington, as we will find out again in just a few months when the next deadline is reached.

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REST IN PEACE, C.W. “BILL” YOUNG

“BENEFACTOR” via Andrew Meachem of the Tampa Bay Times

Rep. C.W. Bill Young, the longest-serving Republican in Congress and a legislator who consistently brought federal dollars to the Tampa Bay area and his home district of Pinellas County, died Friday evening from complications related to a chronic injury. He was 82. Mr. Young served with eight U.S. presidents over parts of five decades. He leaves behind a stunning volume of legislative accomplishment in which he tapped federal funds to improve science and public health, military readiness, the beaches, transportation and access to drinking water.

In recent years, the senior statesman and longest-serving Floridian in Congress had become less enchanted with Washington’s ongoing partisan divide. He was also complaining of a nagging back injury, the result of a 1970 plane crash, and was seen walking on the House floor with a cane or being pushed in a wheelchair. On Oct. 9, Mr. Young announced plans to step down after nearly 53 years of service when his 22nd term ended in 2014.

MARTIN DYCKMAN COLUMN FOR CONTEXT FLORIDA: YOUNG WAS CONSUMMATE CONGRESSMAN

Young’s capacity to like something about a political opponent was integral to his ability to work with the other side on issues — among them, notably, the environment — where they might agree.

In a cosmic coincidence, former House Speaker Tom Foley of Washington died the same day. Young, a Republican, and Foley, a Democrat, represented a vanishing breed of practical politicians who did not think they had to be mean to be effective.

Without Young, MacDill Air Force Base might have been closed, there would have no modern Bay Pines VA Medical Center, the University of South Florida would be years behind where it is and there would be no lifesaving C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Marrow Donor Program.

There was nothing wrong with that kind of “pork.” None of it was a bridge to nowhere.

Young was a consummate congressman. It’s a pity he never became minority leader or speaker of the House. I can’t imagine that he would have let himself be bullied, like the present speaker, into bringing his country to the brink of disaster.

PUBLIC FUNERAL SET FOR THURSDAY h/t to Alex Leary of the Tampa Bay Times

Wednesday: Public visitation from 5 to 8 p.m. at Bill Young Armed Forces Reserve Center, 2801 Grand Avenue, Pinellas Park.

Thursday: Public funeral at 1 p.m., First Baptist Indian Rocks, 12685 Ulmerton Road, Largo. Private burial to follow.

REAX

A compilation of reactions to Congressman Young’s passing — from President Obama to acolyte Alan Suskey — can be read here.

TIMES EDITORIAL

“For thousands of Pinellas residents born after the Beatles or who moved here after the Vietnam War, Rep. C.W. Bill Young was their only representative in the U.S. House. Mr. Young, who died Friday at age 82, was a steady presence through more than four decades of dramatic change in Tampa Bay and the nation. He leaves a remarkable legacy in the public projects he funded and the lives he touched.”

WHAT HAPPENS NOW THAT THERE IS A VACANCY IN YOUNG’S SEAT?

In the event of a Congressional vacancy, Gov. Rick Scott calls a special election, but there is no specific timetable in Florida law.

What the law does mandate is that a special election “shall be held” in four distinct instances — a vacancy in the House of Representatives of Congress is one of them.

Scott is also bound by law to set a date for the special election, after consulting with Secretary of State Ken Detzner, Florida’s chief elections officer.

Scott’s orders will set dates for the special primary and election, as well as the qualifying deadline. This is so candidates can start collecting voters’ signatures on petitions — instead of paying a filing fee — as well as deadlines for filing campaign contribution and expense reports.

Again, Florida law dictates a period of at least two weeks between primary and general elections.

The resignation of Rep. Robert Wexler in October of 2009 was the last time there was a mid-term vacancy for a Florida congressional seat. The Boca Raton Democrat resigned to take a job with a nonprofit organization promoting peace in the Middle East. Although Wexler declared his resignation in October 2009, it was effective Jan. 3, 2010.

WILL MARCH 11, 2014 BE ELECTION DAY? via Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times

… Florida law provides no specific time frame, but March 11 appears to be a likely date for either the primary or general election, given that more than a dozen Pinellas cities already have elections scheduled that day.

Get ready to see some Washington Beltway reporters on the campaign trail in Pinellas. The race should draw widespread attention as a barometer of the national political mood as the 2014 election cycle gets underway. Often the off-year gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia serve as early signals of the public mood, but this year Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Democratic Virginia gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe are heavily favored to win their races and the national repercussions are limited at best.

In Congressional District 13, however, we have the ultimate swing district, easily winnable by either party, though Republicans have the registration advantage.

Whether swing voter backlash over tea party Republicans in Washington shutting down the government over health care reform is short-lived or not, it may be clear by the results in Pinellas.

QUOTE OF THE DAY via GOP political consultant Rick Wilson: “Special elections in a compressed time frame favor known quantities: Neither side has much of an opportunity to build an organization or an image. Candidates who step in it during a special have a hard time washing it off their shoes for Election Day.”

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DEMOCRAT INCUMBENT PATRICK MURPHY LEADS IN TWO POTENTIAL MATCH-UPS, INTERNAL POLLING SHOWS via George Bennett of the Palm Beach Post

The survey by Democratic pollster Keith Frederick, taken during the first week of the federal government shutdown, shows 57 percent of voters in Murphy’s Palm Beach-Treasure Coast swing district approving of the job he’s doing, with 30 percent disapproving. That includes a 52-to-39 percent approval score from independents. Among Republicans, 40 percent approve and 43 percent disapprove.

In hypothetical head-to-head tests, Murphy topped former state Rep. Domino and former state House majority leader Hasner by identical 52-to-25 percent margins. Domino opened a campaign in July. Hasner is not a candidate, but hasn’t ruled out running.

The poll of 300 voters was taken Oct. 6-8 and has a 5.6 percent margin of error. The sample was 43 percent Republican, 37 percent Democrat and 20 percent independent — a slightly more Republican tilt than the District 18 registration figures, but probably in line with turnout patterns in a non-presidential election year.

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APPOINTED: Monica Brasington to the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court.

APPOINTED: Edwin A. Scales, III to the Third District Court of Appeal.

DEP DISCUSSES LAND SALES via The News Service of Florida

The Department of Environmental Protection will hold a public meeting to discuss plans to sell portions of some state-owned lands to help finance the acquisition of more-valuable conservation property. Jacksonville City Hall, 6 p.m.

HEIRS OF BEN HILL GRIFFIN SELL SHARES IN COMPANY via The Associated Press

The heirs of Florida citrus baron Ben Hill Griffin Jr., for whom the football stadium at the University of Florida is named, are giving up control of a company that remains one of the state’s largest private landowners.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA INITIATIVE ANALYZED via The News Service of Florida

The Financial Impact Estimating Conference will hold a workshop about a ballot initiative that would legal medical marijuana. 117 Knott Building, the Capitol. 9 a.m.

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AMANDA MURPHY WASTES NO TIME IN ADVOCATING AGAINST NUKE FEE

Amanda Murphy, who was elected last Tuesday to the Florida House in a special election, is already taking aim at the Florida Public Service Commission. She urged the Legislature to reduce what customers pay for the Levy County nuclear plant. In a Friday press release she stated, “It is outrageous that the Public Service Commission would agree that ratepayers should be held responsible for another $3.2 billion in fees for a power plant that will never be built. There is no question that the Florida Legislature must act now and repeal the irresponsible nuclear cost fee.”

DOROTHY HUKILL PROPOSES CHANGES TO FLORIDA’S POET LAUREATE 

Florida has not had a poet laureate since Pulitzer Prize nominee Edmund Skellings died in August 2012. With the filing of SB 290, Sen. Dorothy Hukill would like to see the program revived, but with a few changes. Rather than being a lifetime appointment of the governor, Hukill would revise the post to be a 4-year position with the appointment involving nominations from the Florida Council on Arts And Culture.  The House supported the measure without opposition in 2013, but Hukill’s Senate bill only made it through the Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee.

DWIGHT BULLARD REFILES BILL TO CHANGE ‘STAND YOUR GROUND’, SAYS IT GOES FURTHER THAN ‘TWEAK’ via Sasha Cordner of WFSU

Just last week, a proposal aimed at tweaking Stand Your Ground passed its first committee. It’s a combination of two separate bills sponsored by Altamonte Springs Republican Senator David Simmonsand Senate Democratic Leader Chris Smith of Fort Lauderdale. Senator Bullard says that bill is a step in the right direction, but he’s not satisfied.

“The sort of bits and pieces that they took from the two bills could have gone further,” said Bullard.

That’s why Bullard says he refiled a bill that aims to, in his words, “tie up any loose ends that most Floridians are concerned about.” That includes explicitly defining that an aggressor is someone engaged in an overt act of violence, such as brandishing a weapon…

“…but, it would also again switch up that aggressor language so that one could not be provoked and then upon provocation, choose to defend themselves. And, then the person who did the provoking is able to use deadly force—that little loophole is what led to the unfortunate acquittal of George Zimmerman,” he added.

The “aggressor” term is not fully defined in Simmons and Smith’s bill—though Smith says he’s working to get that included in the finished product.

LEGISLATIVE STAFFING MERRY-GO-ROUND h/t to the Florida Current

On: Cindy Kynoch replaced Mike Hansen as staff director of the Joint Legislative Budget Commission

Off: Molly Caddell has left her position as a legilative assistant in the office of Sen. Greg Evers.

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MEGA-FUNDRAISER SET FOR 9 GOP REPS ON OCT. 29 IN TAMPA 

Corcoran & Johnson, Florida Crystals, North Bay Health Associates, and Southern Strategy Group invite you to join them along with House Leadership, Johnson & Blanton, the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, and six other hosts for a reception to benefit the reelection campaigns of nine GOP representatives: Larry Ahern, Ben Albritton, James Grant, Kathleen Peters, Ray Pilon, Jake Raburn, Dan Raulerson, Jimmie Smith, and Ross Spano.  They will gather onTuesday, Oct. 29, at the Oxford Exchange in Tampa from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. for a VIP reception, and from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. for a general reception.

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IT WAS A YEAR AGO TODAY THAT WE LOST STEVE MADDEN…

I did not really know Steve Madden, but … I’ve come to understand what he stood for, or at least part of what he stood for. He represents that untouched, but threatened, part of “this thing of ours” or however you want to describe politics and consulting and lobbying.

The untouched aspect which allows most of us, at our finest hours, to put aside the adversarial back-and-forth to be our better angels.

Don’t believe in these better angels? Go read Steve’s Facebook page. Read about the many, many lives he impacted for the better. Than ask yourself, if you died today, would people be saying the same about you.

I didn’t know Steve Madden, but his death had a profound, albeit contained, impact on me. His death was the first of someone I knew since the birth of my daughter, Ella. Steve Madden, to me, is like the headline on the newspaper printed on the day of Ella’s birth.

He’s a reminder, an inspiration, a touchstone.

I wish I had known you better, Steve.

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19 FAPL MEMBERS EARN DESIGNATED PROFESSIONAL LOBBYIST APPELLATIONS 

At this year’s annual conference, 19 FAPL members earned their DPL appellation. To achieve the designation, a registered Florida lobbyist must obtain four hours of ethics training, three hours related to the laws and rules of Florida, along with three hours related to the “general business” of lobbying.

Earning their designations this year are: Kimberly Agee, Health First, Inc; David Ash, DLA Consulting LLC; Adam Babington, Disney; Mario Bailey, Becker Poliakoff; Brewster Bevis, Associated Industries of Florida; Melanie Brown, Johnson Blanton; Rivers Buford III, Florida Institute of CPA’s; Bryan Cherry, Adams St. Advocates; James Cordero, Asphalt Contractors Association of Florida; David Cruz, Florida League of Cities; Christopher  Dawson, Gray Robinson; Reggie Garcia, Reggie Garcia, P.A.; Jennifer Goen, Florida Gulf Coast University; Jim Henry, Adams St. Advocates; Alisa LaPolt, Topsail Public Affairs; Georgia McKeown, G.A. McKeown & Associates; Mike McQuone, McQuone Consulting; Ed Moore, Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida; and Christopher Moya, The Moya Group.

FEDERAL LOBBYISTS READY FOR NEW SPENDING FIGHT via the New York Times

Throughout the tense fiscal deadlock in recent weeks, some of the most powerful forces in Washington, including retirees and defense contractors, largely sat on the sidelines. Now they are preparing for a political fight with billions of federal dollars at stake.

With automatic cuts to the military set to take effect by January and a separate round of cuts scheduled for Medicare, lawmakers will have to decide who gets hit the hardest. Washington’s lobbying machine — representing older citizens, doctors, educators, military contractors and a wide range of corporate interests — is gearing up to ensure that the slices of federal money for those groups are spared in new negotiations over government spending.

ICYMI: SSN NAMES RON BOOK, PA, FLORIDA’S TOP LOBBYING FIRM Full profile here

Mega-lobbyist Ron Book has gained notoriety as one of the state’s top lobbyists. His three-man shop brought in an impressive number in legislative fees in 2012, and many refer to Book as a “lobbying machine.” Book’s prowess and overwhelming success brings his firm to the No. 1 spot on Sunshine State News’ Top Lobbyists in Florida.

NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS

Lisa Aaron: Paymentcard Services Inc.

H. French Brown, Hopping Green & Sams: American Resort Development Association

Chris Carmody, Fred Leonhardt, Robert Stuart, GrayRobinson: Volusia County Government

Edgar Castro, Nelson Diaz, Fatima Perez, Southern Strategy Group: Town of Southwest Ranches

Charles Liem: Accenture LLP; Centene Corporation & Sunshine State Health Plan, Inc.

Mark Maxwell, Lane Stephens, SCG Governmental Affairs: Paymentcard Services Inc.

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POLITICS AFTER 5: NEW WEB SERIES WITH “NO SUITS, NO TIES, JUST REAL TALK” Visit Politicsafter5.com

Former political operative Joe Culotta wanted to put a new spin on the traditional news show, so he turned to Kickstarter.

The result is Politics After 5, a new weekly web series with an informal, relaxed feel — no suit or ties (as Culotta likes to say) — that touches on matters that go beyond the reach of the typical talking-head news program.

Culotta, a self-described “half political junkie, half socialite” will address a variety of personal themes in a happy hour setting — things like music, sports and fashion — on Politics after 5.

The Orlando-based Culotta political bona fides include work for the Republican Party of Florida, the College Republican National Committee and the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections office. 

Of course, on Politics after 5, Culotta promises to be non-partisan and “play nicely with Democrats.” 

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY belatedly to Adam Babington, the chief state lobbyist for Walt Disney and who is so incredibly patient every time my wife and complain to him about our hotel stay at one of WD’s properties.