May 19, 2013

Florida’s Senate race could get a little ‘sizzle’

June 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

June 9, 2011 – Orlando –  Florida’s race for the Senate seat currently held by Bill Nelson could be getting some fresh meat. Craig Miller, former CEO of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse has made it clear that he is “seriously considering” mixing it up with Mike Haridopolos, Adam Hasner, and George LeMieux in the Florida Republican Primary for the Senate seat. In an interview with the staff of the pithy and sharp Daily Caller, Miller explained that he had been meeting with National Republican Senatorial Committee, as well as supporters for his potential bid, and is “so far, very, very encouraged”.

Unlike current Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos, Former State Representative Adam Hasner, and Former U.S. Senator George LeMieux, Craig Miller does not have a great deal of political experience. His narrowly unsuccessful run for the U.S. House seat in Florida’s 24th District has not, however, lowered the flames of his political aspirations and apparent passion for a business approach to federal governance.

“So many people in Washington think that Washington can create jobs,” said Miller. “Washington can’t create jobs.” He states in the recent Daily Caller interview, citing his business experience as a clear alternative to those currently elected. “I’m a different candidate than the other people in the race. I’m not a career politician … I’m a business person.” Although that statement may be an oft-used cliché, in Millers case it may resonate with the majority of voters. Grassroots groups have been consistently rejecting ‘professional politicians’ and favoring more ‘life experience’ candidates in recent elections.

While his lack of political experience may be viewed as a detriment by some, Craig Miller has been in pressured situations before. He is a veteran of the war in Vietnam, and has been in the top spot of one of the most successful restaurants nationwide well-known for its excellence in service. During the tenure of Jeb Bush as Florida Governor, Miller was also former chairman of the National Restaurant Association, and a commissioner for Florida tourism.

Miller may have an uphill battle against the field of candidates thus far in the race. Hasner has made significant progress with many voters with his unabashedly conservative platform and speech. Haridopolos has led the Florida Senate through some tough votes, and has the charisma and drive to garner the support of Florida voters. LeMieux, despite his ties to former Governor Charlie Crist, can make the case that he has already served in the U.S. Senate and held his ground on several issues important to the majority of Florida voters. Miller seems unfazed by this though as he stated in his interview with the Daily Caller “There’s no game changer in the race…”

The race to be Florida’s Republican choice for the U.S. Senate will no doubt continue to build with pressure, and with Craig Miller’s possible entry into the race the challenge will become that much more heated. Each of the candidates will have to consider the old axiom ‘If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.’ Florida voters will select the candidate with principles and beliefs that they can sink their teeth into, and while Craig Miller may be that candidate, there is still a long trail ahead.

We are looking forward to our interviews with each of the candidates in the weeks ahead.

Keep Watch!

Filed Under: Florida Politics Tagged With: , , , , ,

POWER GRAB IN DC, SOME DID NOT LISTEN 11/4/10

January 11, 2011 By 1 Comment

Senator Harry Reid has begun playing political games with our government, just prior to the 112th Congress taking office. Senator Reid wants to change the Senate rules on the Filibuster from a two thirds majority to a simple majority of 51 votes. Apparently Senator Reid just has a message problem (which seems to be the case in DC these days). After the money he spent and the hard campaigning he had to do to retain his seat in the senate you would think even his shadow understood the message from the Nov. election.

Where is the outrage from the other Senators? I haven’t heard very much from them about this and I subscribe to newsletters from several Senators! The citizens need to send a clear message that we expect our Senators to stand up for the rules as they exist now. Contact your Senator and let them know where you stand and where you expect them to stand on this issue. The danger of this rule change is that it eliminates the checks and balances that stand in the Senate. The filibuster is to stop the majority party from shutting out the minority party and both parties need this check to remain.

Mitch McConnell was quoted in The Washington Post on Jan. 5, 2011 saying:
“What every Republican senator, and many Democratic senators, realized at the time was that any attempt by a sitting majority to grasp at power would come back to haunt us. Even worse, any rule change aimed at making it easier for one party to force legislation through the Senate with only a slim partisan majority would undermine the Senate’s unique role as a moderating influence and put a permanent end to bipartisanship.”

John Thune was quoted in the US News stating:
“It would forever change the nature of the Senate and constitute a naked partisan power grab. Such a move would disrespect our bipartisan system and the will of the American people.”

A post on the CBS Political Hotsheet states that some Democrats are fearful of a weakened filibuster and are skeptical of the rule change.

Are the citizens of the country going to stand for this I ask? I believe the election on Nov. 4, 2010 answered that question pretty clearly. The citizenry of this country are fed up with tactics such as this and are now engaged. Millions of citizens are doing their civic duty to help steer their representatives in the direction they were elected to take this country. Lets hope Senator Reid and his staff are listening.

In closing I would like to wish all of those hurt in the Arizona shooting a fast and speedy recovery and to the families of those who lost someone my deepest sympathies. We need only to blame the shooter, those close to him who knew him and those in the community who also knew he was a loose cannon and did nothing. It is time we as a country look out for the safety of each other.

Filed Under: Congress Watch, Nationwide Politics, Senate Tagged With: , ,

Congress Overturns Military Ban of Gays Serving Openly, Sends Bill to Obama's Desk

December 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

December 18, 2010 

WASHINGTON – In a landmark vote, the Senate on Saturday ended the Clinton-era ban on gays serving openly in the military, marking a major triumph for President Obama, liberals and the gay community. 

The final vote to end the Pentagon’s 1993 “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was 65-31, drawing support from eight Republicans. 

The bill now goes to the White House for Obama’s signature. He is expected to sign the bill into law next week, a senior White House aide told Fox News. 

“It is time to close this chapter in our history,” Obama said in a statement after a test vote cleared the way for final action. “It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed.” 

Once the law is repealed, gays will be openly accepted by the military for the first time in U.S. history, and can acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being kicked out. More than 13,500 service members have been dismissed under the 1993 law.

After two failed attempts this year to repeal the policy, the third time proved to be the charm for Congress. The bill passed the House this week in a 250-175 vote, and cleared a final Senate hurdle earlier Saturday in a 63-33 vote, clearing the way for final passage. 

The eight Republicans who joined Democrats in passing the repeal were: Sens. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mark Kirk of Illinois, George Voinovich of Ohio, Richard Burr of North Carolina, John Ensign of Nevada and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine. 

Voinovich said in a statement that he had vowed to keep an open mind until the release earlier this month of the Pentagon’s report on the impact of overturning the ban. 

“Having reviewed the report, I accept its findings and Secertary Gates’ recommendation and reassurance that the repeal will be implemented when the battle effectiveness of our forces is assured and proper preparations have been completed,” he said. 

Supporters of repealing the ban applauded the repeal. 

“Today’s vote is the critical strike against ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ and toward creating a path that could end in lesbian, gay and bisexual people being able to serve openly, honestly, and to great benefit of our country,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. “We celebrate this important victory and thank all the senators who supported fairness today. We are on the brink of making history.” 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the vote “closes the door on a fundamental unfairness in our nation.” 

“When President Obama signs this bill into law, we will begin opening the doors of our armed forces to all patriotic Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation,” she said. 

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he welcomed repeal of the policy and added that the Pentagon “will immediately proceed with the planning necessary to carry out this change carefully and methodically, but purposefully.” 

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was pleased to see Congress repeal the policy. 

“More critically, it is the right thing to do,” he said. “No longer will able men and women who want to serve and sacrifice for their country have to sacrifice their integrity to do so. We will be a better military as a result.” 

Secretary Hillary Clinton, who was first lady when “don’t ask, don’t tell” was first enacted, issued a statement cheering its repeal. 

“This is historic step forward for all Americans, a step toward a more perfect union and a more perfect reflection of our core values,” she said. “As the president and I have repeatedly said, we are committed to universal standards abroad and here at home. Our progress on equality here strengthens our advocacy for human dignity everywhere.” 

The passage delivers a resounding victory to Obama, who made repeal of the 17-year-old law a campaign promise in 2008. 

It also is a win for congressional Democrats who have struggled in the final hours of the lame-duck session to overcome Republican objections, and for gay rights groups who said Saturday’s vote was their best shot at changing the law because a new GOP-dominated Congress will take control in January. 

Under the bill, the president and his top military advisers — the defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — are required to certify to Congress that lifting the ban won’t hurt troops’ ability to fight. After that, 60 days must pass before any changes go into effect 

A small but vocal group of Republicans led by Sen. John McCain of Arizona said the law shouldn’t be changed during wartime. 

“We send these young people into combat,” said McCain. “We think they’re mature enough to fight and die. I think they’re mature enough to make a judgment on who they want to serve with and the impact on their battle effectiveness.” 

But the Democratic push for repeal was strengthened by the release of a major Pentagon study that concluded gays could serve openly without affecting combat effectiveness. The assessment found that two-thirds of troops predicted little impact if the law is repealed.

Original Article from Fox News, the Associated Press contributed.

Filed Under: Congress Watch, Nationwide Politics, Senate Tagged With: , , , ,

Reid Pulls Controversial $1.2 Trillion Spending Bill in Favor of Short-Term Budget Fix

December 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

December 16, 2010 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, bowing to Republican opposition to a 1,924-page $1.2 trillion spending measure packed with earmarks, withdrew the bill and said he would work with Republican leaders on a smaller, short-term budget fix to avoid a looming government shutdown. 

The government already is operating on a temporary stopgap measure, set to expire at the end of Friday. Republicans had insisted on having the massive spending bill read aloud – a move that would have delayed a final vote until next week. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has offered a one-page stopgap bill that would fund the government for just the next two months. Reid said he would with McConnell to finalize such a measure. 

Reid, in announcing his decision, lashed out, saying that he had the support of the nine GOP senators needed to pass the measure, but suddenly that support evaporated. 

“This action taken by my friends on other side of aisle going to cause people to lose their job,” Reid said. 

McConnell gave a different interpretation. 

“He doesn’t have the votes,” McConnell said. “And the reason he doesn’t have the votes is because members on this side of the aisle increasingly felt concerned about the way we do business.” 

A McConnell aide said the leader “worked the phones” for days, pressing his members to quash the bill. Republicans had strongly condemned the $1.27 trillion omnibus spending bill, which would fund the government through Sept. 30, for its $8.3 billion worth of earmarks — though some of those earmarks belong to Republicans. 

Defenders of earmarks point out that the money for congressional earmarks represents a tiny portion of the bill — less than 1 percent — and that lawmakers know the needs of their states and congressional districts better than administration bureaucrats. And just because something is in the president’s budget doesn’t mean that it’s not pork. 

“If you look up earmark in the dictionary, it means ‘to designate or set aside.’ It is not ‘in addition to,’” said Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah. “If the Congress does not exercise its constitutional authority to designate where the funds will go, the administration will usurp that authority and you will get every bit as much pork barrel spending.” 

Such arguments, however, have been drowned out by protests from Tea Party activists and other opponents of the projects, who make fun of earmarks like $100,000 obtained by Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., to renovate the Edgar Allan Poe museum in the Bronx, a cottage where the poet lived for the final three years of his life. 

Other senators with earmarks in the bill after voting last month to ban them include Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Kay Baily Hutchison, R-Texas; Bill Nelson, D-Fla.; and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. 

Even avid earmarker Thad Cochran of Mississippi, the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee — who obtained almost 300 earmarks totaling more than $500 million — hasn’t explicitly come out in support of the bill, though he’s widely expected to vote with Democrats later this week to advance it. 

So is Ohio Republican George Voinovich, who’s responsible, along with Democratic homestate colleague Sherrod Brown, for 77 earmarks totaling $94 million. 

Fox News’ Trish Turner and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Original Article

Filed Under: Congress Watch, Nationwide Politics, Senate Tagged With: , , ,

Senate Republicans Reject Obama's Plan to Extend Tax Cuts for Middle Class Only

December 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Senate Republicans on Saturday voted against President Obama’s plan to extend the Bush tax cuts to only the middle class in a pair of votes Democrats are seizing to paint the GOP as guardians of the rich. The Senate voted 53-36 to extend all expiring tax cuts on individuals with incomes of less than $200,000 a year and married couples making less than $250,000 — seven shy of the required 60 to advance. The other proposal, which drew opposition from White House officials, would have renewed them for all tax filers with incomes of $1 million or less. That also failed in a 53-36 vote.

President Obama said he was “very disappointed” in the Senate’s verdict. “Those provisions should have passed,” he said.”It makes no sense to to hold tax cuts for the middle class hostage to permanent tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans especially when those high-income tax cuts would cost an additional $700 billion that we don’t have and would add to our deficit.” “But with so much at stake, today’s votes cannot be the end of the discussion,” he said. “It’s absolutely essential to hardworking middle class families and to the economy to make sure their taxes don’t go up on Jan. 1.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell immediately slammed the political maneuvering by Democrats after the votes. “According to the strange the logic of Democratic leaders in Congress, the best way to show middle class Americans that they care about creating jobs is to slam some of America’s top job creators with a massive tax hike,” he said on the Senate floor. “Today’s vote was an affront to the millions of Americans who are struggling to find work and a clear signal that Democrats in Congress still haven’t got the message from the November elections,” he said. The Senate vote is expected to clear the way for negotiations between the White House and Republicans to resume on a bill to extend the tax cuts at all levels. Any agreement is also expected to renew expiring jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed.

Also part of the discussions is a possible increase in the federal debt limit, which allows the government to continue to borrow to meet its financial obligations. But Democrats, already eyeing the 2012 elections, wanted to use this showdown to weaken a resurgent GOP. “All those people out there in the Tea Party that are angry about the economics of Washington, they really need to look at this,” Sen. Claire McCaskill., D-Mo., said Friday as Democrats took turns pummeling Republicans. “They need to pull back the curtain and realize that you’ve got a Republican Party that’s not worried about the people in the Tea Party,” said McCaskill, who will be on the ballot next year. “They’re worried about people that can’t decide which home to go to over the Christmas holidays.”

In the weekly White House radio and Internet address, Vice President Biden, skipped lightly over Obama’s willingness to negotiate with the GOP on the Bush-era tax breaks. “We’ve got to extend the tax cuts for the middle class that are set to expire at the end of the month,” he said. “If we don’t, millions of middle-class families will see a big bite out of their paychecks starting January 1. And that’s the last thing we should let happen.” “And the second thing we’ve got to do is extend unemployment insurance for Americans who have lost their jobs in a tough economy,” Biden said. Delivering the Republican address, Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, who was sworn into office this week, said voters in the midterm elections demonstrated their distaste for any tax increases. “The current leaders of Congress should not move forward with plans that were just rejected by the American people,” he said. “These leaders should not raise taxes and risk another recession. Instead, Congress should reduce spending and prevent another tax hike on American taxpayers.”

 - The Associated Press

Filed Under: Nationwide Politics, Senate Tagged With: , , ,

Palin Tells New Members of Congress: Distrust Media

November 15, 2010 By 3 Comments

15 Nov 2010

Sarah Palin is advising new members of Congress to stick to the principles that propelled them to victory in the 2010 midterm elections. On Palin’s Facebook page, the 2008 vice-presidential candidate challenged incoming GOP freshmen to keep to their campaign promises to rein in out-of-control government spending and extend tax cuts for high-income earners.

Meanwhile, the newbies should keep an eye on the press, the former Alaska governor says.

Repealing President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, ending burdensome regulation of business, and strengthening border security to shut out illegal immigrants also should be part of the Republican agenda, Palin writes in an open letter.

“These are promises that you must keep. Obamacare is a job-killer, a regulatory nightmare, and an enormous unfunded mandate. The American people don’t want it and we can’t afford it. We ask, with all due respect, that you remember your job will be to work to replace this legislation with real reform that relies on free market principles and patient-centered policies. The first step is, of course, to defund Obamacare.”

Palin warns new members of Congress not to become isolated inside the Beltway, far removed from the economic pain out-of-work Americans feel.

“Please remember that, if we want real job growth, we must create a stable investment climate by ending the tidal wave of overly burdensome regulations coming out of Washington,” Palin writes. “Businesses need certainty –– and freedom that incentivizes competition –– to grow and expand our workforce.”

Palin suggests that Republicans, who now control the House and gained in the Senate, extend an open hand to Obama and the Democrats, but only if the president shows a willingness to accept the party’s ideas for change, including cutting the deficit, stopping all earmarks, canceling all further spending on the failed stimulus program, and rolling back non-discretionary spending to 2008 levels.

Original Article

Filed Under: House, Nationwide Politics, Senate Tagged With: , , ,
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