Gay Republican club supports Charlie Crist for Senate

After Saturday’s Christan Family Coalition breakfast, Governor Charlie Crist made his way up to the ‘Crist for Senate’ grassroots meeting being held at the popular wings eatery, Wings Plus, an event sponsored by the Broward Gay Republican club, Sunshine Republicans.

Broward GOP Chairman Chip LaMarca told me that 125-150 people were in attendance to see Governor Crist and support his campaign.  Sunshine club officials later informed me that they garnered 364 sign-in signatures at the event.  Running yesterday’s Sunshine Republican sponsored meeting was none other than Broward GOP Secretary Michael DeGruccio.  The Crist for Senate campaign is formally represented in Broward and Palm Beach counties by its Field Director and Broward GOP Membership Chairwoman, Anna Alexopoulus. Also in attendance was Broward GOP political consultant Richard DeNapoli.  DeNapoli was a busy little bee by first making an appearance at the FFC breakfast, and he drove quite a ways to be in attendance at the grassroots event.  This is outstanding dedication on DeNapoli’s part.

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FL Senate slugfest spills over onto faith forum

At today’s Florida Family Council forum in Miami, the war of words between Senatorial candidates Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio took center stage as they vyed for the support of the attendees at this morning’s event.

The Democrat candidates were also in attendance.Democrat Congressman Kendrick Meek made it a point to proclaim that he is the pro-choice candidate in the Senate race by stating, “I am Pro-Choice”.  Meeks followed up that remark with, “I am running to be your Senator…“I am not running to be your pastor, not running to be your rabbi.”

Preaching to the choir, Rubio spoke of preserving the sanctity of (all) life and went as far as he denounced Roe v. Wade, stating that the decision should be overturned. “Senators can’t change hearts. Only God can change hearts,” proclaimed Rubio.
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Run David Run!

The long anticipated announcement, yet not so guarded secret that Representative David Rivera would announce his run for congress took place today on the campus of FIU.
 In a recent post, Rivera jumped into the Shark Tank and told me that he was seriously considering the move, well today he dove in, Guayabera and all.

There were a couple of hundred friends and supporters, as well as media folks-including your lovable and ever-so charismatic news man, me in attendance at the University. Rivera showed his political prowess by announcing in English and then repeating the announcement in Español. Español is Spanish for the language of Spanish, for all of you in Rio Lindo.

Also, keep in mind that there is growing anticipation of whether or not Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla (DLP) will also run for Congress and face off with Rivera in a Republican primary. This will no doubt be a slugfest of super politicos.

Marco Rubio living large with the AMEX card

Marco Rubio’s AMEX credit card statement has raised many eyebrows across the nation, including my own. Everyone knows that I have been supportive of Rubio even before he decided to run for the Senate. That being said, I am still scratching my head about what is on Marco’s credit card statement.

Come on Marco, Chick-Fil-A? Could you have at least gone to Wendy’s or even Pollo Tropical?

From my understanding, Rubio paid back the personal items purchased on the party AMEX card. Now, if someone wants to take out their calculator and do the subtraction, go right ahead. After all, isn’t the word of the week ‘transparency’?

On that note, I say that the RPOF disclose the credit card statement for the now ex-Chairman Jim Greer and his lap pooch, Delmar Johnson. Greer and Johnson are the real story here. Whatever Rubio personally spent on the AMEX card can in no way size up to what the ‘Blues Brothers’ spent over the past couple of years.

What is incredibly obvious to us all, is that these two fools epitomized the true meaning of excessiveness while dining out on party funds. Delmar and Jim are very, ummm, ‘healthy’ looking fellows.

Jeanette Nunez poised to represent Florida HD 112

As political races heat up around the state, the race in Florida’s House District 112 is shaping up to be a very spirited one. Born and raised in South Florida and married with 3 children, Jeanette Nunez threw her hat in the race in early 2009. Nunez has worked for the Jackson Health System for the past 5 years as Vice President of Government Affairs. Nunez is very well known in political circles and brings a lot of experience in state and local politics to the table.

The few times that I have spoken to her, whether it was in person or via the phone, Jeanette struck me as an ambitious and committed campaigner with a passion for serving the people of the district she is running in. Over the past several months, all of  Nunez’s efforts have paid off as she has  jumped into front-runner status by aggressively focusing on her grassroots efforts and fundraising.

Here is a bit more about her:

‘In addition to her roles and responsibilities at Jackson Health System, Jeanette has demonstrated her commitment to the South Florida community by being involved in various organizations, such as Kristi House, Community Partnership for the Homeless and Leadership Miami. She is a member of Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Jeanette has also served on the Florida Hospital Association’s Uninsured Taskforce and the National Association of Public Hospitals Fellowship Program, where she was recognized as a “National Success Story” for her advocacy efforts. In 2007, Jeanette was named a South Florida Woman of Distinction’. 

To learn more about Jeanette Nunez and to donate, click on the banner above.

Super Grover- Open Sesame Street to Illegals

Great times were had last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC),  but none were more fun than a panel discussion I sat in on regarding  Hispanic outreach. The organization sponsoring the Hispanic outreach session was American Principles Project.

The purpose of the session was to bring awareness to the fact that Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing demographic in the United States, and also to express the fact that Hispanics are here to stay. The real agenda was to promote amnesty for illegal immigrants that are in our country, say it with me now, ‘illegally’.

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Miami native Juan D’Arce makes a bid for Florida HS 112

Last week I spoke with  Juan D’Arce , candidate fo Florida State House seat # 112 about why he is running for office. Juan D’Arce is a school teacher that is employed by the Miami-Dade  County School District.

I have to tell you that I was very impressed with D’Arce’s passion for serving his community. He seemed genuinly concerned about the future of Education in the state, as well as the direction the country is going in. And from what I am hearing around town, his campaign is making great strides getting out the message and reaching out to potential voters

Here is a little snippet of his bio that is posted on his website:

‘Juan D’Arce fled to Miami from communist Nicaragua when he was eight years old. The son of Dr. Juan D’Arce and Cardelina, Juan has worked tirelessly to excel in all his endeavors and give back to his community. Juan has collaborated alongside civic leaders to fight for his community and help the less fortunate since he was a child. He is an active member of the Lions Club, has worked extensively with the United Way of Miami-Dade and has dedicated countless hours to the service of others. He has also given back to the community through his diverse work experiences, which include serving as a judicial assistant and currently as a Miami-Dade County Public School teacher. As a young man he chose to attend local schools to attain his education. Juan graduated from Miami High School and received degrees from both Miami-Dade College and Florida International University, where he met his wife Madelin D’Arce.’

To learn more about Juan D’Arce and to donate, click on to the banner.

Doug Hoffman to re-enter NY CD 23 race within a week

Last week as I strolled the halls at CPAC, I ran into Doug Hoffman. Rememer him? Hoffman’s race sparked the activist movement around the country that has brought victories for the GOP in Virginia, New Jersey and  Massachusetts. The next election that could see this same effect  is Florida’s CD 19. Republican Edward Lynch will be contending with Democrat Ted Deutch for Congressman Robert Wexler’s old seat. Hoffman told me that he had not been paying close attention to the race in Florida, but would look into it.

Mr. Hoffman and his staff did however inform me that his announcement to run for the Congressional seat up in New York was imminent. The timetable they gave me was 7-10 days-that was 5 days ago. You do the math.

Tea Party Tempest

The Shark Tank has learned that Florida Tea Party leaders who sued founders of a third political party one month ago have added more than two dozen additional plaintiffs to their suit and filed an amended complaint Wednesday afternoon listing those additional groups and activists.

The defendants, Republican consultant Doug Guetzloe and his partners in the new TEA Party of Florida, Democrat Fred O’Neal, and Ron Paul backer Nick Egoroff are reportedly contacting authentic Tea Party activists and organizations across the Sunshine State in an effort to kill a federal lawsuit against their third party.

South Florida Tea Party v. TEA Party of Florida, filed January 19 in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, seeks a declaratory judgment separating the new third party from the original Tea Party movement.  The lawsuit also wants the court to order Guetzloe, O’Neal and Egoroff to stop threatening legal action against Tea Party activists and organizations – even the national Tea Party convention.

To date, only one true Tea Party activist has signed on to the third party’s settlement strategy: Robin Stublen, founder of the Punta Gorda Tea Party. Guetzloe originally warned Stublen “I will sue you for everything you own” on the Tea Party Patriots blog.  Stublen is now backing the political party’s attempt to settle the suit on their terms.  His friends in the state’s Tea Party movement say Stublen was intimidated by the legal threats.

A recent statement by the third party trio also listed Tom Gaitens of Freedomworks Florida as backing settlement. In fact, when Gaitens learned he was listed as urging settlement he demanded his name be deleted – he wants no part of the disagreement. The political party still lists Gaitens as backing them on Facebook and in direct communiqués with authentic Tea Party activists  There’s another problem: Stublen is not a party to the lawsuit, and the Guetzloe gang has not peeled away even one plaintiff from the complaint.

Stay tuned to the Shark Tank as we report on this legal action being watched closely by Tea Party activists across the country.

Congressman David Rivera?

Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart’s decision not to seek re-election later this year for Congress has set off a scramble and rumor frenzy concerning both state and local politics. The only person whose name is being thrown around at this juncture, and in my opinion would be considered a perfect fit to replace Diaz-Balart is Florida House Representative David Rivera.

But wait, there is a twist to all of this. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, Lincoln’s younger brother, is rumored to run for Lincoln’s seat and leave Congressional District 25 open. By doing this, he will leave the door wide open for David Rivera.

Rivera’s fundraising prowess and popularity has made him the clear front-runner in the State Senate seat he is presently running for. 

I spoke to Representative Rivera earlier this morning, and according to him, he is “seriously considering it”- running for Congress, that is.  Knowing how aggressive and ambitious David Rivera is, I would bet my last glazed donut that Rivera will not let this opportunity pass him by.