Monday, July 26, 2004

Democratic National Convention blogs from Florida For those who just can't get enough convention blogs, here's a couple I've come across that have Florida ties. -  Scott Maxwell is a columnist from the Orlando Sentinel. -  The Florida Democratic Party convention blog  is pretty skinny at the moment. Politics comment []10:29:06 PM   trackback []

Castor for Senate News 20040726 On Saturday, Betty Castor's campaign released their second television ad. Like the first, it is airing in Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Gainesville. Its theme is Castor's support for the military. Somewhat unusual for an ad in a Democrat primary, but one that should play well in the places it is being broadcast. Real Player Quick Time Windows Media Text I tend to be suspicious of politicans vowing support for the military. All too often, they are not really pro-military, but are very "pro not getting their base closed". Indeed the ad makes a reference to fighting for Florida's military bases. The ad mentions a Military Families Bill of Rights and lists her website as the reference for it. From the ad Her Military Families' Bill of Rights guarantees health care, housing, and education. source : www.BettyCastor2004.com This seems to be more of an ad for people who want to be pro-military than an ad for people who are actually in the military. Most serving would be puzzled at the guarantee of health care, housing and education, as those are pretty well taken care of. Of course one can always say "but I'll give it even more money". This is what I find on her website Fight for a Military Families Bill of Rights providing better pay, health care, housing and educational benefits for those who serve their country including the National Guard and Reserves. Pretty vague statment, and one that certainly sounds like "I'll make it better by spending more money". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Washington Post mentions that like Tom Daschle, Betty Castor will not be at the Convention on Thursday when John Kerry takes the nomination (despite plans to be there today through Wednesday). Senate Hopefuls Are Convention No-Show. (Washington Post) Florida Senate Campaign, Politics comment []6:31:43 PM   trackback []

Where my news comes from Steven Taylor of the only true Poliblog, recently disclosed his news consumption. Here's mine: 1. Newspapers On a more or less daily basis, I look at the online versions of the Tallahassee Democrat and Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville). The world and opinion sections of London's Telegraph get a daily glance, and so did the Times back when it was free. I will usually look at the Washington Post and at least once a week, I scan the Virginian-Pilot (Hampton Roads) since that's a place that I somewhat consider to be home. When I have time I peruse the Early Bird's compilation of defense and national security stories. As for as dead tree versions go, when I was in the DC area, I would get the print editions of the Washington Times on Mondays thorugh Thursdays and the Post on Fridays through Sundays. Down here I read the print editions of the Democrat occasionally and when I'm in the Jacksonville area, that of the Times-Union. Of course, for my Senate Campaign posts I scan about fifteen newspapers from around Florida. Oh, and one other dead tree, the FSVIEW, the independent student newspaper at Florida State. 2. Television News and Commentary Daily: Nothing really. When I do turn on the tv during the day, I tend to have it on CNBC, which means I sometimes catch Kudlow and Cramer, but usually it's just on during market hours. Occasionally: If I'm home at 6:30 I'll turn on NBC's Nightly News and/or ABC's World News to see the news that most normal people are watching. If for nothing else to see how they are prioritizing and covering (or not covering) the stories of the day. Sabbath punditry: Don't watch the shows nearly as much as I used too. Meet the Press tends to be the only one I turn on. I used to watch ABC's offering until George Stephanopoulos replaced Sam & Cokie. I still shudder at the thought of him filling the seat once held by David Brinkley. There's no one place I turn to for breaking news. I tend to flip around to see who's showing what. During State of the Union speeches and such, I turn to C-Span so I can see the whole thing without the yapping from outsiders. 3. News/opinion magazines I subscribe to The Economist. 4. Radio Not very much anymore. I used to listen to NPR's Morning Edition and All Thing's Considered, but it doesn't really fit into my schedule, so I've fallen out of the habit. Same goes for talk radio in general. 5. Blogs See blogroll. I scan the RSS feeds of them regularly, and visit when I see a story of interest. When I'm away from home (and therefore time limited), I look at Instapundit, Outside the Beltway, and Poliblog and follow up with whatever they're linking too in their posts. One last Poliblog promotion: The outstanding Toast-O-Meter has returned! Jackpotzrebie comment []1:32:18 PM   trackback []

Senate Campaign News 20040726 Not much news today, as most focus on the start of the Democratic National Convention. The Florida-Times Union and South Florida Sun-Sentinel finally published stories about their Senate poll. It is somewhat different from the Mason-Dixon poll released on Friday. The biggest difference on the Republican side is that it has Gallagher in third place at 16% (compared to fourth place at 5% in the M-D poll). McCollum leads at 29% and Mel Martinez follows at 21%. It shows the Democrat race a bit tighter than the Mason-Dixon Poll indicated. It shows Betty Castor leading at 38% with Peter Deutsch in second at 27% and Alex Penelas in third at 16%. On both sides the poll showed fewer people undecided. On the Republican side 25% were and on the Democrat side only 21% said so. The poll was of likely primary voters and had a margin of error of 5%. Senate race tightens for boths sides (Florida Times-Union) Senate front-runners see early leads shrink (South Florida Sun-Sentinal) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Mel Martinez campaign wasted no time putting out the news from the Mason-Dixon Poll. They sent out two e-mails to supporters, both of which had the overall message "Only Martinez can beat Betty Castor". The first e-mail was mostly selected quotes from articles about the Mason-Dixon poll. The second was an article from NewsMax.com: Fla Poll: Only Martinez Can Beat Democrat. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LATER: Missed this article in the St Petersburg Times: Senate hopefuls follow party line on Iraq Not much news on the face of it; if you're a Republican you back President Bush's stance on Iraq, if you're a Democrat, then you don't. Although, on the Democratic side things are somewhat interesting. Representative Peter Deutsch voted for the war resolution. Deutsch now gives the stock "if I knew then what I know now" line to disavow his vote. Alex Penelas is unequivocally against it (he advocates a complete pull-out of troops from Iraq). But what about the front-runner Betty Castor? Former state education commissioner Betty Castor of Tampa refused to answer whether she would vote for it now, saying there are too many "what ifs." Sounds like 'If the war goes well, then I'm for it.' and 'If the war doesn't go well then I'm against it'! Saying t"here are too many 'what ifs' "won't fly on the Senate floor. Florida Senate Campaign, Politics comment []11:06:13 AM   trackback []