Politics

How about another chance to vote for Al?

By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor
Published October 28, 2007

Buzz is just thinking out loud here. Democratic Senate and House leaders Steve Geller and Dan Gelber and state Democratic chairwoman Karen Thurman have full discretion to put any name they want on the Jan. 29 primary ballot, but they must make the call within a few days.

So why not throw Al Gore onto Florida's presidential primary ballot? Geller says he's open to the idea, and Gelber said he has had a number of people e-mail him about it.

Heck, most of the Democratic candidates are boycotting Florida's primary and even refused to send their spouses to mix with party regulars in Orlando this weekend. Why not have some fun with it and add a Nobel Peace Prize winner to the ballot? Call it a favor to those Palm Beachers who accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan in 2000 and want another chance to vote for Gore.

Governor's only as old as he feels, at 3 a.m.

Big Daddy's is a Tallahassee dive bar that offers free beer on "booty night" and rarely draws anyone older than 30, let alone 50. So imagine people's surprise last week when the People's Governor swung by.

Sarasota's Herald-Tribune reported that Gov. Charlie Crist wound up in photos posted on Facebook, including one of him next to a beer-toting lady set to graduate in 2010.

One student quoted in the Tallahassee Democrat said Crist arrived with his security detail and an unidentified woman, and they left around 3 a.m.

On TV, a lot, but by accident

Buzz noted that State GOP chairman Jim Greer switched seats with his wife, Lisa, during the Republican presidential debate Oct. 21 in Orlando, ensuring he got a lot more face time on TV behind the Fox News questioners.

But Greer assures us that wasn't his goal. He simply wanted to sit next to the governor: "Lisa's a lot better looking on TV than I am."

Sink says there's help to decide tax relief

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink wishes state lawmakers would let the state Tax and Budget Reform Commission analyze and recommend the best way to provide Floridians with property tax relief, rather than rush something.

Check out Sink's interview today on Political Connections at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Bay News 9 where she laments the Democratic presidential boycott of Florida but predicts Democrats still have a strong shot at Florida's 27 electoral votes.

"Any Democrat can win Florida. I would put any of our Democratic candidates up against any one of the nine Republican look-alikes," said Sink, who does not intend to endorse anyone, though husband, Bill McBride, is helping Hillary Clinton.

The challenger for 2010?

Who in the world would mull challenging a governor with approval ratings higher than 70 percent? From the sound of former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rod Smith in Orlando Saturday, we wouldn't rule him out as a Crist challenger in 2010.

"In Tallahassee, they need to remember among the Republican leadership that governing is not about poll numbers and the most recent approval ratings. It's about making the tough, long-term decisions that need to be made," he said.

Smith complained that instead of striving to improve Florida schools, Republicans "spent the entire year talking about a premature, ill-considered and overly expensive tax cut at the direct expense of our students."

Poll: Crist still good, property taxes bad

This in from an Oct. 17-19 Florida Chamber of Commerce poll by Insider Advantage/Majority Opinion Research: Crist has a 79 percent approval rating even though 51 percent say Florida is heading in the wrong direction. The poll also identified these as the most important issues facing Floridians: property taxes (39 percent), health care (18 percent), property insurance (16 percent) and education (8 percent).

Among Republican presidential front-runners, Rudy Giuliani leads with 33 percent followed by Mitt Romney with 17 percent, Fred Thompson with 13 percent and John McCain with 9 percent. Among Democrats, Clinton leads with 53 percent, followed by Barack Obama with 19 percent and John Edwards with 9.

Someone's not a fan of Dems' chairwoman

Monroe County state committee member George Maurer is expected to try to persuade other members of the state executive committee to remove Karen Thurman from office.

Among other things, he objects to her side work as a lobbyist and to the way Florida lost all its delegates to the national convention.

He also doubts, however, that his call will go very far.

Adam C. Smith contributed to this week's Buzz.

[Last modified October 27, 2007, 23:50:03]