Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group financially backed by billionaires Charles and David Koch, is slated to release a series of ads aimed at recalling liberal Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince from the state’s highest court.
Elections 2024
Palm Coast Mayor Netts Says Amendment 4 Takes Taxes From “Screwy” to “Screwier”
Other Flagler government leaders joined Jon Netts in criticism of of proposed Constitutional Amendment 4, which would limit the tax liability of commercial, rental and vacant properties while lowering the tax liability of first-time home-buyers, but at the expense of local government revenue, which has been battered since 2007.
Early Voting War Over as Judge, Citing “Souls to the Polls” Sundays, Refuses Injunction
The war over early voting in Florida ahead of November’s presidential election appeared to wind down Monday, with a federal court refusing to block a portion of the state’s controversial 2011 elections law. In a ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan denied a request from Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown and other black voters to […]
Florida Republican Party Wades Into Supreme Court Fight as Justices Curtail Fund-Raising
The Republican Party of Florida issued a statement saying the GOP opposes three justices who form the backbone of the court’s left-of-center majority–R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince. The justices slashed their fund-raising activities according to the latest filings.
Partisanship Works. One-Party States Don’t.
They are two of the most repeated claims you’ll hear every four years: That this is the most important election in our lifetime. And that partisanship is demolishing the country. Rubbish on both counts.
In Flagler’s Elections, Some Coffers Are Depleted, Some Rich in Out-Of-County Donors
The biggest contrast s in the Frank Meeker-Abby Romaine race for the Flagler County Commission, with almost 80 percent of Meeker’s money coming from out of the county, and 100 percent of Romaine’s coming from within it.
Fox News Has Obama Leading by 5 in Florida
The Fox News poll of likely voters has Obama leading Romney 49 percent to 44 in Florida, and by seven points in Ohio and Virginia. If similar results hold on Election Day, Mitt Romney will lose the election.
In Volusia Senate Fight Between Bruno and Hukill, a Bellwether of Republican Dominance
Would voters be better off again electing a Republican to the GOP-dominated Senate? Or is it time for Democrats to claw back a seat in the newly-drawn, swing district? The Senate District 8 race between Democrat Frank Bruno and Republican Dorothy Hukill will answer the questions.
Mitt Romney’s 47 Percent Problem
In 2008 John McCain’s big challenge was to control Sarah Palin’s mouth. In 2012, Mitt Romney’s biggest challenge is to control Mitt Romney’s mouth. His characterization of 47 percent of Americans as victims and dependents, besides being demonstrably false, unravels the cynicism at the core of Romney’s campaign.
Warning of “Scary Things” in Coming Election, County Attorney Hadeed Urges Voter Education
In a surprisingly candid talk framed around the 225th anniversary of the Constitution, Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed warned of the potentially corrupting influence of money in Florida’s judicial elections, and of the Legislature’s loading of the November ballot with 11 purposefully long and confusing constitutional amendments, a spiteful snub of the Supreme Court.
Trey Corbett, Running for Flagler Supervisor Of Elections, Trips Over Several Election Rules
From a minor fine to more serious questions about his home and where he’s voted for the last four elections, Trey Corbett’s pattern of issues stand out because of the office he’s seeking, since he would be responsible for monitoring and controlling those very issues as supervisor of elections.
Property Tax Amendments on November 6 Ballot Would Cut Local Revenue Further
Florida voters in November will face a flurry of proposed amendments to reduce property tax levies for groups ranging from first-time homebuyers to disabled veterans, while preventing increases on those whose homes lose value.
Jamesine Fischer’s Hit-and-Run Trial Pushed to January, Benefitting Flagler Sheriff Fleming
Jamesine Fischer, facing a first-degree felony charge in the killing 76-year-old Francoise Pecqueur in a hit-and-run almost a year ago, will go to trial in January. The continuance works in favor of Flagler County Sheriff Don Fleming’s re-election campaign.
Siegel Resigns Over Comments on Christians’ Israel Support
Mark Alan Siegel has resigned as chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party after saying conservative Christians were allies of Israel only because they wanted to bring on the Second Coming.
No Bounce: Economy Adds Only 96,000 Jobs in August as Unemployment Drops to 8.1%
The national economy added a meager 96,000 jobs in August, and the previous two months’ total was revised downward by 41,000 jobs. Nevertheless the unemployment rate edged down to 8.1 percent, from 8.3 percent, as the employment picture continues to zigzag between hope and anemia.
Raped, Pregnant and 11 Years Old: The Problem with the “Right-to-Life” Movement
In Pinellas County, an 11-year-old girl, pregnant after her rape by her mother’s 42-year-old boyfriend, is a stark rebuke to the right-to-like and personhood movement, argues Mary Jo Melone.
In Charlotte, Democrats Welcome Crist as Floridians Wonder Whether to Trust Him
As Charlie Crist takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention to embrace President Barack Obama, Florida Democrats are facing a question that could shape their party’s future: How much do they trust Charlie Crist? It’s part of a soap opera unfolding before partisans in two states.
When Lies Are Elevated to a Campaign Strategy
The lies of presidents could re-carve Rushmore by audacity alone, yet the lies of the Romney-Ryan campaign have taken the art of lying to new lows, but not without the complicity of voters, who, in the golden age of fact-checking, have no excuse to be misinformed.
What Makes Us Exceptional
It is not that American Exceptionalism is being lost, it’s that those who want to “tabe back America” have lost sight of what has made America exceptional, argues Dan Gelber after watching the Republican National Convention.
Romney-Ryan’s Voucher Plan for Medicare, Long the Third Rail of Florida Politics
GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan said the nation must rethink Medicare as he and Mitt Romney propose changing the health-insurance program for 65-and-over Americans to a “fixed-amount” voucher that would essentially privatize the benefit.
The Tea Party, Missing from the Republican National Convention’s Big Tent
Despite cluelessness by liberals and Democrats, those outside the tea party movement still don’t grasp that “people like me are the absolute last folks who would be invited to the RNC,” argues tea party leader Henry Kelley.
Conventional Wisdom: Florida GOP Dishes Up Victory Talk
Florida delegates to the Republican National Convention dined on French toast, Allen West, John Bolton, Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich Thursday morning, a prime-beef line-up that fired up the faithful for the November elections.
Rumble in the Jumble: Marking Territory, Flagler Republicans Just Can’t Get Along
John Ruffalo, a member of the Ronald Reagan Republican Assemblies, allegedly used force against a 72-year-old woman to keep her from going into Republican headquarters in the Staples shopping center Saturday, even though she is the wife of the chairman of the Flagler County Republican Executive Committee, and a member of the committee herself.
“Just Stop Acting Stupid,” Jeb Bush Tells Republicans Over Immigration Extremism
Worried about losing the Latino vote, Bush and other Republicans nevertheless brushed off questions about whether the still-extremist immigration plank of the Republican Party could prove to be too much of a hurdle for the presidential campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
RNC Notebook: Wednesday
Republican National Convention quickies for Wednesday: the word on Alan Grayson, Republican lawmakers’ absence from delegate breakfasts, the Florida delegation’s buses can;t run on time, and big names, among them Newt Gingrich and Allen West, slated for Thursday’s breakfast.
Jeb Bush, the Elephant at the Republican National Convention, May Be Thinking 2016
Jeb Bush, sought after for establishment Republican endorsements, appears ready to take his brand of policy-driven conservatism to a broader national audience, with the 2016 or 2020 presidentials in mind.
A Few Florida Facts for Republican National Convention Delegates
Florida under the leadership of Republican icons like Bush, Scott and Rubio, and supported by proud and unthinking GOP legislatures for the last 15 years, has happily served as the grow house for Republican policies. The results are stunning, writes former lawmaker Dan Gelber.
Charlie Crist Bear-Hugs Obama Closer As He Excoriates GOP’s Rightward Slouch
Ex-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Sunday urged voters to support President Barack Obama in the crucial swing state where the Democratic incumbent and Republican candidate Mitt Romney remain in a razor thin race.
Isaac Forces Republican Leaders to Shutter Monday’s Convention Schedule in Tampa
With Tropical Storm Isaac bearing down on Florida, Republican leaders will convene Monday and immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon. Organizers are concerned, in part, about transportation problems as high winds and other storm conditions threaten the Tampa Bay area.
A Micro-Bump for Romney in Florida, But Obama Still Leads, Especially on Medicare
The latest Quinnipiac polls in swing states show President Obama maintaining diminishing leads over Mitt Romney despite voters saying Obama will do a better job on Medicare. The polls reflect Romney’s pick of Wisconsin’s Paul Ryan.
Gov. Rick Scott Threatens to Remove Monroe’s Supervisor of Elections Over Early Voting
Gov. Rick Scott issued a statement Tuesday that some read as a veiled threat to the Monroe County supervisor of elections, escalating a conflict over early-voting days in the run-up to the November elections. Harry Sawyer, the Republican supervisor in Monroe, said Monday he didn’t support an effort by Secretary of State Ken Detzner […]
Flagler School Board Hails Sales Tax Victory and Revenue But Readies to Lose $2 Million
As Sue Dickinson and Colleen Conklin took their seats after winning a fourth term, the school board learned that its sales tax revenue was up to $4.2 million, thanks to more sales activity in the county. But the district is also losing at least $2 million from the expiration of an unrelated tax by year’s end.
Federal Court Rejects Provisions of Florida’s Early Voting Rules as Discriminatory to Blacks
Facing a potentially razor thin race in a critical swing state, a three-judge federal panel has rejected as discriminatory a provision of a state law passed last year that reduced the number of early voting days, but offered Florida election officials a way to make the changes comply with the federal Voting Rights Act.
You’ll Shop for 43 Minutes a Day, But You Won’t Take 15 Minutes to Vote Every Two Years
Less than 16 percent of Florida’s eligible voters, and 20 percent of Flagler’s, cast a ballot in last Tuesday’s primary, once again reminding the world that Americans’s interest in community and citizenship is among the lowest of any democracies. Perhaps it’s time to make voting mandatory.
Tea Party Mojo: What Ted Yoho, Republican Who Defeated Cliff Stearns, Stands For
Ted Yoho’s policy positions show him to be more than just a flame thrower with broad anti-government pronouncements. He unseated 12-term Congressman Cliff Stearns through a showman’s eye and the ability to use it to his campaign’s advantage.
With David Richardson, Floridians Elect the First Openly Gay Member of the Legislature
In primary elections shaped by newly drawn districts, Florida voters Tuesday appeared to send three incumbent House members packing, rejuvenated the political careers of a few old names — and likely elected the state’s first openly gay lawmaker.
Ayn Rand vs. Paul Ryan
Modern conservatives, Paul Ryan included, ignore the fundamental principles that animated Ayn Rand: personal as well as economic freedom, argues Jennifer Burns, while Maureen Dowd calls Randism “a state of arrested adolescence.”
The Winners: Fleming, Manfre, Holland, Conklin, Dickinson, Wadsworth, Larizza, Corbett, Ericksen, Meeker and the School Tax
Flagler County election results posted live and fresh as soon as they’re tabulated, with rolling analyses of the races.
Your Only Job Today: Vote
Polls opened at 7 this morning. They will close at 7 this evening. You have one, brief job today–by far a more important job than sitting at your desk or punching a clock: find your precinct and go vote.
In Two Key Flagler County Races, Candidates Swell Their Coffers With Their Own Money
As the primary campaign culminates with Tuesday’s vote, the races for Flagler County Court Judge and Flagler County Sheriff have overwhelmed all others in money raised and spent, but with notable exceptions, candidates’ own money talked loudest.
Paul Ryan’s Budget: The CBO Analysis
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office produced a 17-page analysis of the budget Congressman Paul Ryan submitted in 2012. The full analysis is presented.
Election Homework: The Goods on Paul Ryan
Everything you always wanted to know about Paul Ryan but were afraid was true: profiles, backgrounders, an FAQ on his plans for Medicare, and some of the best reporting on Mitt Romney’s vice presidential pick.
Two White Men Who Like to Cut Things: On Romney’s Nomination of Paul Ryan
Mitt Romney’s pick of Paul Ryan, the seven-term Wisconsin congressman, born during the first Nixon administration, is a puzzling choice, more calculated than inspiring, more cautious than bold, and in some respects, just as strategically faulty as John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin.
Commission Candidates Support a Jail Sales Tax, But Not the Way the County Went About It
Four of the five candidates for the Flagler County Commission agree with renewing the county’s portion of a half-cent sales tax, on the books for 20 years, but they’re very critical of the way the commission opted out of a voter referendum on the issue.
In Flagler Commission Race, Ronald Reagan Club Targets Fellow-Republican Meeker
A complaint alleges that Frank Meeker, the Palm Coast council member running for county commission, is violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits employees of any agency receiving federal dollars from running for office. Meeker works for the St. Johns River Water Management District, which gets 0.4 percent of its revenue from the federal government.
Smart-Phone Canvassing: Is Your Neighbor A Democrat? Obama Has an App for That.
![For each targeted address, the app displays the first name, age and gender of the voter or voters who live there: "Lori C., 58 F, Democrat." All this is public information, which campaigns have long given to volunteers. But you no longer have to schedule a visit to a field office and wait for a staffer to hand you a clipboard and a printed-out list of addresses. With the Obama app, getting a glimpse of your neighbor's political affiliation can take seconds. While The New York Times dubbed the app "the science-fiction dream of political operatives," some of the voters who appear in the app are less enthusiastic about it. "I do think it's something useful for them, but it's also creepy," said Lori Carena, 58, a long-time Brooklyn resident, when she was shown the app. "My neighbors across the street can know that I'm a Democrat. I'm not sure I like that." It's unclear if the app displays all registered Democrats who live in a certain area, or only a subset of voters President Obama's campaign is trying to reach. Asked about the privacy aspects of the new app, a spokesperson for the Obama campaign wrote that "anyone familiar with the political process in America knows this information about registered voters is available and easily accessible to the public." The information included in the app has "traditionally been available to anyone who walks into a campaign field office," said the spokesperson, who declined to be named. While the app makes voter information instantly available, it displays only a small cluster of addresses at a time. It has built-in mechanisms to detect when people are misusing the data, "such as people submitting way too many voter contacts in a short period of time," the spokesman said. "The campaign is strongly committed to ensuring the safety and privacy of the public and follows up with appropriate action, including alerting appropriate authorities if necessary, in any case of abuse or inappropriate behavior," said the spokesperson. "Any voter who requests not to be contacted again is immediately removed from any provided to volunteers." This isn't the first time campaigns have released digital tools that make voter information freely available. Both the Obama and Romney campaigns currently have online calling tools that give anyone who registers for their websites the names and phone numbers of voters to contact. In 2008, the Obama campaign's "Neighbor to Neighbor" program allowed volunteers to use their home computers to print out lists of names and addresses to contact. Two years later, the Democratic group Organizing for America, formed to keep mobilizing the president's supporters after Obama was elected, released a mobile app that was in some ways a prototype of Obama's new app. Volunteers in the 2010 midterm elections could use their mobile phones to map voters in their immediate vicinity and then send in responses from the voters they had contacted, which eliminated the need for clipboards and printed lists. Natalie Foster, who was the new media director of Organizing for America, said the tools used in 2010 had built-in privacy limits, "where you are only given a certain number of voters that you could conceivably canvass. If somebody goes above that limit, or is just obviously clicking a button over or over, we'll just shut it down." Privacy "was definitely a consideration and something that was focused on, to make sure people aren't just going in and downloading a lot of data," said Joshua Hendler, the former director of technology for Organizing for America. Foster, who is now the CEO of the economic advocacy group Rebuild the Dream, and Hendler, who now works for PR firm Hill and Knowlton Strategies, said that making voter information more open makes the political process more democratic, because it lowers the barrier for people to get involved in political campaigns. Shaun Dakin, a voter privacy advocate and longtime critic of political robocalling, flagged the Obama app last week as a "total privacy fail." Dakin, who criticized the Obama campaign's 2008 Neighbor to Neighbor program on similar grounds, said voters should have the right to opt out of being contacted by political campaigns. He also questioned why the Obama app included the ages of nearby voters, another piece of information that people might not want to have made public. Lori Carena, the Brooklyn voter, said she doesn't object to having canvassers knock on her door. In fact, she said she wishes it happened more often in New York, a state that's such a Democratic stronghold she feels the campaign isn't interested in hearing her concerns. Asked what she feels is the difference between the traditional way of canvassing — with voter names and addresses on a printed-out list — and the new mobile app, she said, "Well, I just don't get all this new stuff with computers and apps. That's probably more creepy to me." Even low-tech tools used to distribute voter data can upset some voters. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this June that a liberal group in Wisconsin was sending fliers to voters which included a list of their neighbors and whether they had voted in 2008 and 2010. The fliers encouraged recipients to help get out the vote for the recall election of Gov. Scott Walker. Some voters were angry that their names and addresses were being distributed publicly. "I think this is invasion of my privacy and every other woman's privacy. It's like — 'Here, this is where all the women are,'" one woman told the Journal Sentinel. Jonathan Zittrain, a Harvard law professor and the co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, said the Obama app represented a significant shift. While voter data has been "technically public," it is usually accessed only by political campaigns and companies that sell consumer data. He said it was "heartening" that the app makes data available to citizens who want to talk to their neighbors about their political choices. "The purpose of this app may be Democrats visiting Democrats. I can see apps where you ask Republicans to visit Democrats and Democrats to visit Republicans." "If we're comfortable enough to have [this information] go into the maw of big data processors, both political and otherwise, it seems consistent for neighbors to talk to neighbors over it," he said. "Much of our feelings around privacy are driven by what you might call status-quo-ism," he said, so many people may feel that the app is creepy simply because it represents something new. Interested to learn more about how political groups are using your personal information? See our reporting on tailored campaign emails and the new wave of targeted online ads.](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/obama-app.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The Obama for America app, “the science-fiction dream of political operatives,” is turning canvassing on its head as public information long available no longer has to scheduled through a visit to a field office and waits for staffers to hand volunteers clipboards and a printed-out lists of addresses.
Ray Stevens, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
Ray Stevens is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.
John Pollinger, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
John Pollinger, a Republican, is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.
Jim Manfre, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
Jim Manfre is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.
Don Fleming, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
Don Fleming is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.