Tag: florida
Polls In Florida's Sixth District Special Are Scaring Republicans

Polls In Florida's Sixth District Special Are Scaring Republicans

Last Tuesday, a Democrat pulled off an upset win in a deep-red Pennsylvania state Senate seat where President Donald Trump won by 15 percentage points last year.

Add that into the list of other special elections Democrats have overperformed in this year, and it’s clear why Republicans are suddenly sweating the special election in Florida's Sixth Congressional District.

Florida’s Sixth District was vacated by Republican Mike Waltz, who you might now know as the world’s most incompetent national security adviser. Last year, Trump won the district by 30 points—a huge margin—so it shouldn’t be, by any stretch of the imagination, competitive.

And yet …

A poll by St. Pete Polls for news outlet Florida Politics finds that Republican nominee Randy Fine is leading Democrat Josh Weil by a measly four points, 48 percent to 44 percent. That puts a Weil victory within the poll’s margin of error. Even worse for Republicans is that an internal poll from Tony Fabrizio, Trump’s 2024 pollster, finds Fine down 3 points to Weil, according to Axios. The same pollster had Fine up 12 points in February.

But let’s take a breath. Normally, undecided voters end up voting in line with their district/state’s partisan lean, which is R+14 for Florida’s Sixth, according to the Cook Political Report. That means it’s 14 points more Republican than the country as a whole. So, in a normal election, I would expect the Republican would win this seat with roughly 57 percent of the vote to the Democrat’s 43 percent—a spread of 14 points.

That, in itself, would flash some warning signs in GOP hallways. In November, Waltz won the seat with over 66 percent of the vote, in what ended up being a good cycle for Republicans overall.

But this isn’t a normal election. This is a special election in April, in a climate in which rank-and-file Democrats are seething over the state of the nation. Turnout will be the name of the game, and by all indications, Democrats are far more motivated than Republicans.

In the St. Pete/Florida Politics poll, Weil leads among those who have voted, 51 percent to 43 percent. As of Thursday, in early-voting returns, registered Republicans have just a five-point advantage in who has voted so far. The chances of an upset are small, but they do exist—shockingly. And a lot of that could be because, according to that St. Pete’s/Florida Politics poll, 51 percent of the district’s likely voters approve of the job Trump is doing as president, while 45 percent disapprove. Remember, he won by 30 points in November. Given that, it’s not so surprising to see Fine’s anemic early performance.

Uncertainty over this district reportedly played a role in the Trump administration pulling Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be U.N. ambassador. The nomination had already been languishing as House Republicans were loath to (temporarily) lose her vote, given their razor-thin majority in the chamber.

But pulling Stefanik’s nomination doesn’t solve the GOP’s bigger problem. Its ability to maintain party discipline in the House has been genuinely impressive, and has been driven almost exclusively by Trump’s strong-arm efforts to threaten members who stray with primary challenges. They fear Trump. And Elon Musk, who might fund those challengers if a representative crosses the president.

But what happens if Trump is also alienating voters to such an extent that districts that backed him by 30 points are now competitive?

Put another way, Trump keeps his troops in line because they think his backing will give them the best chance to win reelection in 2026. So what happens if being closely tied to Trump makes it less likely they survive? What good is weathering a Republican primary only to end up getting steamrolled by a Democrat in the general election? It’s quite the conundrum, isn’t it?

The closer the margin in Tuesday’s special election, the bigger that conundrum for Republicans. And if Democrats pull off a big upset?

Then look out.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi

How Pam Bondi Could Curtail Abortion And Contraception Access

Pam Bondi was sworn in on February 5 as the 87th U.S. attorney general.

Bondi, who served as Florida’s first female attorney general from 2011 to 2019, is now responsible for advising President Donald Trump on legal matters and oversees the Department of Justice.

As Florida attorney general, Bondi supported and argued for restrictions and bans on abortion and contraception. She now has the power to enforce federal laws, including the Comstock Act.

The Comstock Act has been part of the U.S. Code since 1873. The so-called anti-vice law criminalizes the distribution through the U.S. mail of “obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance; and— Every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use.” The punishment for violating the law is a fine, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.

While the scope of the law has been restricted over the years, and it has not been regularly enforced since the 1930s, anti-abortion activists and politicians see it as a tool for blocking the distribution of abortion medications. Bondi has not directly discussed her position on enforcing the Comstock Act, but her record of opposing abortion in Florida indicates the direction she is likely to go.

Bondi supported 24-hour mandatory waiting periods for patients seeking abortions. She joined amicus briefs against access to contraception, arguing the mandate that employers provide insurance coverage for it under the Affordable Care Act was a violation of religious freedom. She also joined with other state attorneys general in filing a brief defending a law in Alabama prohibiting abortion clinics from operating near schools and criminalizing abortion providers over the disposal of fetal tissue. She signed on to an amicus brief in support of Texas Senate Bill 8, which banned abortion after 14-16 weeks of pregnancy.

More recently, when Sen. Cory Booker asked Bondi during her January 14 confirmation hearing whether she would commit to continuing the U.S. Department of Justice’s defense of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval in 2000 of the abortion medication mifepristone as safe and effective, she said: “I will look at that policy. I am personally pro-life. I have always been pro-life,” adding, “I will not let my personal beliefs affect how I carry out the law.”

However, Bondi recently told Louisiana 18th Judicial District Attorney Tony Clayton, after he issued an indictment against a New York abortion provider on charges of mailing abortion pills to patients in the state, “I would love to work with you,” a possible indication that she might be willing to enforce Comstock or stop shield laws, legislation that protects medical providers from investigation, subpoenas, warrants, and demands for extradition from another state.

On January 22, 13 anti-abortion leaders sent a letter to acting Attorney General James McHenry asking the Department of Justice to begin enforcing Comstock, referring to it as a “trafficking” law.

“Enforcement of the federal anti-abortion trafficking law is crucial to ensuring that abortion pills are not distributed in violation of federal and state laws,” reads the letter, posted online by the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life. “Blatant violations of the federal Act expose women to dangerous and unsafe drugs and undermine the integrity of the medical profession. We ask that the DOJ prioritize investigations and enforcement against those who are involved in the illegal distribution of abortion pills.”

Reprinted with permission from Wisconsin Independent.

Donald Trump

Trump Complains About Remote Work While Taking Extended Florida Golf Jaunt

President Donald Trump took time away from golfing to speak to a group of billionaires at the Saudi Public Future Investment Initiative Institute summit in Miami, during which he complained about remote work.

“All federal employees must once again show up to work. It's a new phenomenon. You know, since COVID. Show up to work in person like the rest of us. You can't work at home. They're not working. They're playing tennis, they're playing golf, or they have other jobs, but they're not working or they're certainly not working hard. You could never build a company or a country with that,” he said.

One of Trump’s first edicts was to issue a memo demanding all federal workers to return to the office while he went … golfing.

Since then, Trump’s itinerary has included trips to the Super Bowl, a publicity stunt at the Daytona 500, and a lot more golfing—all at taxpayers' expense.

It isn’t surprising. While billionaire Elon Musk is busy dismantling U.S. administrative functions, Trump is picking up where his first administration left off: spending time at his many estates and playing a lot of golf.

During Trump’s first go-around, his golf habit set historic records in costs to the U.S. taxpayer, and it looks like he’s on track to break that record. So far, it has been estimated that Trump’s golf game has cost Americans around $10.7 million, with Trump heading to the golf course at least 10 times in his first 31 days in office.

As for the federal workers who haven’t been fired or placed on administrative leave, research shows that remote work benefits both workers and employers. There is also evidence that women and minority groups are negatively impacted the most by a lack of remote or hybrid work options.

But as long as Trump’s golf game isn’t affected, why would he care?

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Hey Suckers! Stop Taking Trump's Boob Bait On Greenland And Panama

Hey Suckers! Stop Taking Trump's Boob Bait On Greenland And Panama

Donald Trump had a rough couple of weeks. Members of his own party sunk his attempt to escape a vote on the debt limit for two years. Some of Trump's picks for top jobs weren't received with universal applause. A revolt by Republican senators against his choice of Matt Gaetz as attorney general forced the Florida Republican to withdraw from consideration. Then there was, yuck, the Gaetz report.

If you were Trump confronted with this unwanted evidence of limited political potency, what would you do? You would throw out some dazzling nonsense to distract the public's attention from your difficulties. You would make outlandish comments on such matters as buying Greenland and taking back the Panama Canal. You'd suggest that Canada become the 51st state.

And what has much of respectable media done with this fusillade of goofy chatter? Unfortunately, they jumped at the bait with unseemly speed and moved their focus to Trump's muttering about plans to stomp on the sovereignty of friendly countries. They led news reports with serious discussions of the international ramifications.

"The US is unlikely to take control of any of these regions," the BBC wrote with a straight face, "but these statements could indicate that Trump's 'America First' vision includes flexing the superpower's muscle beyond its borders for US trade and national security interests."

We've been here before.

In August 2019, then-President Trump told reporters of the "strategically interesting" idea of buying Greenland, which is a territory of Denmark. The Danish prime minister called the proposal "absurd." Trump then canceled a planned state visit to Denmark, citing such remarks as the reason.

But to show what a ha-ha headbang that attention-grabbing stunt really was, Trump tweeted a photograph of a skyscraper in the middle of an Arctic setting with the Trump logo at the top.

He wrote: "I promise not to do this to Greenland!"

He just dusted off the ridiculous idea again, writing on a social media post that the U.S. "feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity" for reasons of national security and global freedom.

Media again snapped at the floating lures.

The Wall Street Journal offered the headline, "Trump Threatens to Take Control of Panama Canal, Greenland." The New York Times headline was "Trump's Wish to Control Greenland and Panama Canal: Not a Joke This Time." The article asserted: "Over the past two days, President-elect Donald J. Trump has made clear that he has designs for American territorial expansion."

Not a joke? Trump's son Eric posted an image on X showing Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Canada in an Amazon online shopping cart.

The Danish prime minister's office simply brushed off the latest provocation. It blandly remarked that the government was "looking forward to working with the new administration" and left it at that.

As for the Panama Canal, one serious news source noted that Trump would be able to use "the world's largest military" to back up his demands. The irony of discussing such rash international adventures without noting that Trump routinely accused his political opponents of being war-mongers was lost.

Greenland is still not for sale, but if it were on the market, it would be a big-ticket item, to say the least. Some analysts put the value of its natural resources alone in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Taking it by force would be a costly military operation.

How would starting the United States on a round of territorial expansion fit in with vows to chop $2 trillion out of the budget? Not well and another reason to dismiss the clown show.

At the very least, Trump should have to come up with new material.

Reprinted with permission from Creators.

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