Florida Republicans rush to weaken Democrats ahead of 2012

[Tony_FLADEM]

Source: St. Petersburg Times

TALLAHASSEE — With an eye toward the 2012 elections, Florida Republicans are mounting the broadest assault on their Democratic counterparts since taking control of the Legislature 15 years ago.

Bills barreling through the House and Senate attempt to starve Democrats of their primary sources of cash and halt partisan gains of the last two election cycles. With Republican supermajorities in both chambers, Democrats can't stop them.

On Thursday, the House passed a bill to block the kind of voter registration drives that helped sweep President Barack Obama into the White House and gave Democrats an edge of more than 600,000 votes.


Read more: www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/florida-republicans-rush-to-weaken-democrats-ahead-of-2012/1165431

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They will probably get away with all this. Although if Rick Scott continues to have a 35% approval rating in November 2012 it probably won't matter.

[Turbineguy]

1. Why don't they just cancel the elections?

Instead of just fucking around?

[Drale]

4. Because they know that would be the last straw

and that someone would probably try to kill one of them, and we all know how much republicans love themselves.

[WhiteTara]

14. That would look bad right now. That comes

in a few years after a few more stolen elections and a few more rounds of shock and awe.

[Shadowflash]

21. They are.

Here in Michigan. They just make election results null and void and put themselves in charge.

I'm sure this is just the beginning.

[wordpix]

26. Dems should put this in their ads: repugs don't want you to vote!

seriously, 'nuff said

[okieinpain]

2. all of that and they will still end up losing florida. n/t.

[Avant Guardian]

3. Or they will lose Fla because of their overreaching

Typical republican asshattery

[jerryster]

7. Are you sure of that?

Florida is far from a sure thing, I'm afraid. They elected an outright criminal as governor so I don't have a lot of faith in that state's voters to begin with. In addition, as the original post here pointed out the Republikochs are launching an assault on voters they are afraid would vote Democratic. This is of course a national Repub strategy. It's beyond despicable. However, the consequences could be catastrophic because it could actually work.

[peace frog]

20. Don't bet on it

Florida's voters are disproportionately conservative, and the Florida Democratic party is woefully weak. Put the two together, you get an overwhelming number of Republicans elected to office. I've lived in this state all my life and have never seen it so wingnutty as it is now, but there it is.

[lector]

5. Florida has a huge case of

BUYERS REMORSE !!

[SoapBox]

16. ...I'm sorry to say as a non-Floridian, that I think Florida has a big case of stupid.

Sorry! But...it seems that way.

[Old and In the Way]

6. If Republicans would use a fraction of their energy and willingness to break law

to empower themselves into, you know, helping to solve the issues that they were elected to do, we'd actually might make progress. But it is the Organized Crime Party, afterall.

[DCBob]

8. This is probably just the beginning of these types of political dirty tricks..

The RW is so pissed and angry we have a "socialist", "non-American", black man with a scary Arab/Muslim name sitting in the WhiteHouse, they will do almost anything to stop him and the Democrats from doing any further "damage". Hopefully the Democrats on on top of this to keep these maniacs from running roughshod over this country.

[JDPriestly]

9. This may actually help Democrats get rid of the bureaucracy and

old, conservative types who have been holding back the party in Florida.

Democrats have run some weak, uninspiring candidates there in recent years. It's about time that the folks who are in it out of habit and don't excite voters stop running the Democratic Party in Florida.

This could be the best thing that ever happened in Florida. It will make way for new leadership in the Democratic Party -- hopefully, creative, progressive leadership that speaks to the needs of Floridians.

[ngant17]

23. Is it true that Alan Grayson will run again?

I've heard some talk about that, hope it's true.

[JDPriestly]

28. He should run.

[2Design]

10. Wish they would be more obvious then southern strategy and jim crow

and tea party and just say - brown people go away and tree huggers leave

[Fuddnik]

11. Unfortunately, The Florida Democratic Party is too inept to counter it.

The Old Guard of worthless DINO's has chased off all of the talent in the party. Most of the DEC's are nothing more than social clubs, with members having bragging rights to being on the "Executive Committee".

They undermine their own candidates, donate money to repukes. Then they sit around and wonder how they got into this situation.

[DonCoquixote]

12. This is nothing less

Than an attempt to avenge 2008. It is also a means to prime the pump for Jeb, as the convention will be in florida 2012, where at the very least, Jeb will wind up starting his campaign for 2016, after giving half-hearted support to the nominee at the very best. Scary thing is, the tea party is strong enough here where they will try to outright cut jeb's throat and back rick scott for 2016.

[Zephie]

13. Ugh, next summer can't come soon enough. I'm ready to get out of this redneck state

I've never liked it here, but good god I can't take much more of this.

[RBInMaine]

15. The people of Florida can still organize and can still vote. Either they can stand up or lie down.

It is up to them. If they don't like getting royally screwed, then organize and VOTE DEMOCRATIC. Where are the armies of grassroots progressives in Florida? Actually doing some organizing, or just bitching? Hopefully the latter.

[gtar100]

17. What?! The integrity of their positions isn't enough? I'm shocked!!

What would republicons be without excessive money, lies, and election fraud?

I know... a fringe, radical minority party. Insignificant except for their occasional violent outbursts.

[highplainsdem]

18. This is ALEC's legislation and influence again. Ion Sancho, Leon County Elections Supervisor,

has already identified the bills designed to suppress voting as coming from ALEC. See this DU topic in GD:

Ion Sancho, Elections Supervisor of Leon County FL, criticizes new voter-suppression bills from ALEC

The legislation to hurt unions, similar to other bills ALEC is pushing across the country, was introduced by Chris Dorworth, an ALEC member.

The tort reform bills are almost certainly from ALEC, since they have a national campaign to push those, which in some states like North Carolina even includes an ALEC tort reform "boot camp."

See the long compilation topic on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for more on what they're doing.

They've had all this very harmful model legislation ready for a long time. Now, with large enough Republican majorities in many legislatures across the country, they're ramming it through as fast as they can.

See the topic I posted yesterday in GD about a WaPo article on how many of these horrible bills are being introduced at once, many of them from ALEC:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x943225

[and-justice-for-all]

19. The noose is around the pukes neck...

and we have all we need to kick the chair.

[Keith Bee]

22. I smell another "Republican Riot" coming down the pike

:grr:

[sendero]

24. Obama faces a problem..

.. with a stagnant economy that is not going to be substantially better in 2012 and in fact might well be worse.

And after 4 years having done nothing really about it he will be held accountable by the voters.

All of the claims of "growth" with real unemployment still above 15% are falling on deaf ears more and more as they should. If this is "growth" what would a full blown recession (which could happen any time) look like?

[wordpix]

27. he's got lots of them with 3 wars & people still getting kicked off health ins. for pre-existing con

ditions. Not to mention his proposal of $36 billion for nuke industry subsidies, $4/gal gasoline and all the rest

[alfredo]

25. Boy the Republican authoritarian side is really showing now.

[classysassy]

29. They keep coming back for more

of that snake oil the republican witch doctors sell the rubs down yonder in Dixie.