Rick Scott Spending Hundreds of Thousands Of Taxpayer Money on Lawyer Fees

This could have all been avoided if more people freaking decided to show up on election day.

Rick Scott's illicit removal of the top law enforcement commissioner with no public vote means a dozen of taxpayer-funded lawyers that are charging up to $400 EACH HOUR. On top of that, if Scott and his Cabinet lose, which is likely, all of the first amendment groups and media outlets suing would be entitled to have their fees and costs recouped.

Scott and Cabinet members have in-house counsel but are allowed under our stupid state to hire expensive outside attorneys while in office for actions "made in the course of duty".

This is hundreds of thousands of dollars that could have gone to save the rape crisis centers that Rick cut. Or money that could have gone to our suffering roads, schools, or heck, even donated to an animal shelter that takes in abandoned dogs---like Rick Scott's puppy.

Tampa Bay Times Sues Rick Scott

The Tampa Bay Times, along with several good government groups, announced that they are suing Rick Scott to force somebody in this wretched, corrupt government of ours to examine whether or not he violated our state's Sunshine Law over "Baileygate". This is the first time the newspaper has ever had to take this type of action against our highest elected official, but then again, we never had a governor like Rick Scott.

Even several top GOP officials asked for an investigation, but did anyone in this state seriously think the guy who defrauded millions from Medicaid would have the integrity to investigate himself?

This was a "last resort" as Rick Scott's friend and, unfortunately, our attorney general Pam Bondi refused to do any investigation because she said she didn't believe that her friend Rick Scott would ever do wrong--even though he's famous for that kind of thing. Bondi admitted that she had no proof and even admitted that she never discussed the matter with Rick Scott, but she just knows OKAY!!

The rest of us who aren't friends with Rick Scott would like answers. I agree it's sad to have to sue in order for our highly paid top leadership to do their jobs, but thus is the state of Florida today.

Tallahassee Regime Defies Same Sex Marriage Ruling: Threatens Jailing Clerks!

People who love to wrap themselves in the Constitution sure don't mind using it as toilet paper.

Two weeks ago, a good day was had in Florida. A Federal judge ruled that Florida's stupid ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

That's a word conservatives love to use, but only with legal executive orders or lawful bills that become law which they don't like. When it's something that truly is "unconstitutional", but permitted them to discriminate, they defend it no matter how reprehensible.

Rick Scott's personal, extraordinarily corrupt Attorney General went bananas over the ruling. Wasn't she and Rick in charge of everything? They have already spent a small fortune in taxpayer money fighting same-sex marriage and lost every time. Immediately after the ruling, Pam "I have friends who are gay so it's all cool" Bondi tried to demand a request for an extended stay on the now illegal ban and was instantly shot down by a Florida Judicial Court judge.

Undeterred, Bondi has now filed an "emergency stay" with the US Supreme Court. Given their past rulings, that will fail miserably too but Pam Bondi is left grasping at straws. (UPDATE: SCOTUS denied the stay 7-2)

It's over. The fat lady is singing. Aging bigots are the only ones left cheering Bondi on with this quixotic quest, and now she has nowhere to go. Legal experts have already weighed in saying that because the law was ruled unconstitutional, county clerks of court can start issuing marriage licenses when the stay expires after midnight on January 6.

However, this being Florida, and in true GOP fashion, the Tallahassee teabags who run our government are going to be dicks about this all the way to the end.

In what can only be described as appalling, the Tallahassee-based lawfirm, Greenberg Traurig, which represents the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers, sent out a memo designed to intimate all 67 Clerks of Court saying that anyone who issues a marriage license to a same-sex couple will be "committing a misdemeanor" punishable up to one year in jail.

This has got to be the most tortured legal logic I've ever heard. The memo argued that even though the Federal court ruled the state law was unconstitutional, it only applies to one county "where the original ruling was made".

What?

Lemme get this right. A state law is ruled unconstitutional, but the decision by the Circuit Court was meant for just one county and not all the others because....well, we're Florida. Oh, and we'll arrest you for not following this discarded law.

This is the kind of extreme stupid that makes our state so famous:

Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, called the prospect of clerks being arrested ludicrous.

"Are local officials seriously preparing to arrest and criminally charge county clerks for enforcing a federal judge's order? That's preposterous."

"When a federal judge declares a law unconstitutional, all public officials should cease enforcing that law. Period," he said in a written statement.

Attorneys are justifiably outraged. Attorney Sasha Westerman-Keuning said criminal prosecutions would indeed be a real abuse of power, but unfortunately, that never stopped anyone here before.

Besides, if the goal of the memo was to intimidate, it has worked beautifully. Osceola County had planned to allow the Kissimmee clerk's office to open one minute after midnight to allow couples in, but after the memo was released they cancelled.

My advice? Every same-sex couple that wants to get married in Florida should be at Washington County's Clerk Office on Tuesday morning, January 6: 1293 Jackson Ave Ste 100, Chipley, FL 32428. You will have to drive through Tallahassee so make sure your car is decked out in streamers, cans, and a nice big "Getting Married" sign --- with the added words "get used to it, Pam".

No Endorsement, Just Recommendation: George Sheldon for AG Primary

An endorsement to me means a solid backing. I'll be honest, I don't have as much a strong inclination to George Sheldon over Perry Thurston as I do for who I think will win over Pam Bondi. She is godawful, and I mean really, really godawful. Even rightwing extremists like McCollum occasionally fought for the citizens. PamBo never has. For a position that requires the trust of all Florida citizens, Bondi is the most ideological AG in our nation's history. Members of the Florida and American bar rank her worst in the nation.

PamBo has never taken action against a conservative: whether it be completely ignoring criminals who drew, in secret meetings, illegally gerrymandered districts; or dropping the investigation into Donald Trump's scam college. (Coincidentally, it was dropped at the same moment Trump made a donation to her campaign.)

Both Democrats challenging her are good men; and both have racked up separate endorsements. The Tampa Bay paper loved Thurston's passion, while the Miami Herald loved Sheldon's experience.

In the end, I made my decision based on the numbers. Unfortunately, there has not been a whole lot of polling being done outside of unreliable, wingnut polls like Gravis. However, PPP has polled. Public Policy Polling was ranked the most accurate in the past two elections. Currently, they showed Sheldon with only a 3% deficit with PamBo. Thurston had a 7% deficit. Anything over 5% at this point in the election is difficult unless you have a wave of support after the primary.

Here's the thing: as important as the AG position is, the FL Dem party and the standard donors seem to be hyper-focused on the governor's race. If Thurston had the money Sheldon did; or I believed there would be a floodgate of money and support coming, I would lean towards Thurston. No doubt there will be a boost to the primary victor, but I think it is what it is. For this reason I'm going with Sheldon.

Opposing view: My friend Howard made an excellent point about Perry Thurston:

I've decided to go Perry Thurston over George Sheldon because he might help Broward Turnout for Charlie and even though it's unlikely he will beat Bondi, I like how he talks about how The AG Office would be progressive like in California.

The African-American vote, which needs to be very high for Crist to win, will be encouraged by a very strong, passionate, articulate African-American in a high-profile race. I also agree that a Thurston victory would be more of a help to Crist. I went back and forth on this all day.

At the end of the day, though, I have to base a recommendation on who is best to beat an awful candidate for the position they are running for. I am going with George Sheldon.

Yet know that this is one recommendation that I will not die on the hill for. If Perry Thurston wins, he can expect all I can give to make him AG next year. Next to the governorship, it's the most important race in Florida. We can't let PamBo do any more damage.

Just How AWFUL is Our Attorney General in Rick Scott's Florida?

#93 of My Stupid State series

Crossposted on DKOS

Rick Scott said this week he will vote against a proposed constitutional amendment to allow the medical use of marijuana, which would be shameful enough if he also wasn't trying to stop the people of Florida from even having the opportunity to vote on this compassionate measure. Rick Scott turned to his young, lackey Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to try to stop it. Out of all the issues facing Floridians, she has made keeping this proposal off the ballot her top priority by arguing the 74-word summary is confusing.

(Mind you we had 11 amendments in 2012, none of which came from citizens but from the GOP legislature, that were purposefully written to be as confusing as possible. One columnist compared them to a Chinese menu written upside down in Hebrew. Yet PamBo had no problem with those.)

It was PamBo who did her Master's bidding and led the fight to deny healthcare to millions of Floridians with a Quixotic attack on Obamacare, costing our state millions. In fact, over a million in legal fees alone has been spent on a pointless defense of Rick Scott's long list of controversial legislation: ruining our states pension plans, requiring drug tests of state employees and welfare recipients, cutting teacher's salaries, and purging voters.

In fact, you can always tell a Rick Scott initiative by asking three questions:

• Is it unConstitutional?
• Is it designed to HURT rather than HELP Floridians?
• Will Bondi fight for it?

In FL Democrats' obsession over Rick Scott, they often overlook this crucial piece in the GOP's oppressive regime--- one who is a character all of her own. But who exactly is Pam Bondi?

PamBo is Florida's Attorney General. Before being AG, she was only known for being a right-wing talking head on Sean Hannity's show on Faux News.

She is the most ideological AG in Florida's history and probably the nation's history. She is exactly what the wingnut powerbrokers wanted when they took over Tallahassee in 2010: a partisan who would finally implement a doctrinaire conservative interpretation of the law. (Or should I say "misinterpret", which is why she costs the state so much in fighting battles based on ideology rather than law. But her anti-intellectualism is part of her base's appeal).

Bondi is dishonest. She is also, frankly, stupid. She is rightfully considered the worst AG in the country today by many members of the American and Florida bar.

I will just point out a few things to enhance my points:

Ideologue

Its easy to forget that Pam Bondi doesn't work at Fox News anymore since she's been on there more times than when she was actually working there. Whether its to lie about the healthcare navigators, defend herself from turning her office into a partisan hackshop, or just to bask in the hollow praise of the idiots at Fox and Friends, you will always see her dumb smile. She's so well known at Fox that she even made that part of her pitch to voters.

If you have been reading the MY STUPID STATE series, you may wonder why no one has tried to stop Rick Scott with all the clearly illegal things he is doing. Well, its because Democrats here have also lost 10 out of the 11 cabinet races, and elections have consequences. We now have a Fox News lackey as our Attorney General and, so far, has ignored everything he has done. So, for example, when we expect our AG to fight against Scott's illegal voter purges, instead we have PamBo vigorously defending the voter purges (both in the Courts and on Fox News) even after knowing the majority of people kicked off were legitimate!

Incompetent

Every state in the union was awarded 25 billion from the five largest banks due to mortgage fraud. Our state led the nation in bad foreclosures, but unfortunately for us, each state's AG was responsible for handling the funds. Our idiot AG struck a horrible, horrible deal that didn't give the money to the distressed homeowners, but to our corrupt legislature who were already in bed with the mortgage companies to begin with.

Not like Bondi really cared. She has always put the fraudulent mortgage companies first. In fact, she abruptly fired two assistant AGs because they were successfully fighting mortgage fraud. She claimed they were fired because of poor performance, despite the fact that they received glowing reviews right before their firings.

Corrupt

Even worse than politically motivated firings is her reluctance to pursue charges against people who give her money. Donald Trump ran a get-rich quick seminar that fleeced Floridians and New Yorkers out of tens of thousands of dollars. When this scam came to light, the New York AG immediately filed charges. Pam Bondi's office told the Orlando Sentinel on September 14 of last year that she was studying the New York case and was planning on taking action here as well.

Three days later, Sept. 17--Trump cut Bondi a LARGE check for her re-election this year. Bondi then miraculously decided not to press charges.

So how much does campaign cash trump justice for PamBo? She literally moved an execution date for a prisoner because it coincided with a fundraiser. Yeah, that stuff happens here. She was called out on it, apologized, and it was never to be heard from again in our media.

Just recently, she used taxpayer money to sue to stop the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. WTF?! you might be asking. Why is she trying to spending money to fight a cleanup in a Bay that isn't even in freaking Florida? Big agriculture wants her to. And she works for the special interests, not the people of Florida.

Awful

And when she is not being just awful at her job, she is just being plain awful. She took a Louisiana family's Katrina dog and refused to give it back to them when they were finally able to track the St. Bernard down. The children's pleas for their dog back fell on deaf ears, and PamBo even accused the family of neglecting the dog. (I guess it was their fault for allowing the dog to be washed away in the hurricane).

The case was settled. The family got the dog back but PamBo was allowed to visit and promised to provide for the dog with food and medication for life.

She stopped after one month.

Thankfully, PamBo is fighting for her political life and will be defeated unless our incompetent State Party doesn't screw this up. Even though she has clearly been obsessed over fundraising and has been campaigning vigorously, she leads only slightly against her two potential Dem rivals: George Sheldon and Perry Thurston.

This race deserves some attention. More so than any other cabinet race.

1. Donate to George Sheldon!
2. Spread the word on PamBo! Share this post. Write about her in your local paper or on a blogpost. Talk to your friends when they bring up how much they hate Rick Scott.
3. Get Pam Bondi Out of Office Facebook Page

Send this Fox News flunkie back to Hannity and out of office so we can put someone there who will actually fight for Floridians for a change.

Bondi serving drinks on a bizarre trip to the Caymans