Florida Senate Republicans Hate Gay People, Unmarried People, Common Decency

Specifically:

Carey Baker
Rhonda Storms
Dan Webster
Stephen Wise

So says their endorsement of the Hate Amendment.

Atwater Hates Ethics

Republican Jeff Atwater is paying a man, Robert "Budd" Kneip, to aid in his transition to Senate president six months in advance of taking office and prior to his strongly challenged re-election campaign is over. Traditionally, people like this are hired after the election. And usually, they have some experience with this type of thing. Kneip has no such experiences. He's getting paid $7,000 a month and the taxpayers are paying for it. In this time of budget shortfalls and a bad economy, it's good to see that Republicans can still give out sweetheart deals to their friends and stick the rest of us with the bill.

Republicans Hate Floridians

SB 2860, the supposed fix to our insurance problems, is a red herring. "To be candid, this bill was not designed to reduce premiums," said Rep. Don Brown. What else are they lying about?

Webster Hates the Middle and Lower Classes, Loves Tax Increases

Naked Politics reports that Sen. Majority Leader Daniel Webster wants to raise the cost of tolls in Florida. To the rest of us, tolls are nothing more than a tax on people who use a road. So much for "no tax increases."

Crazy Jim Greer Quote of the Day

Aren't we currently in a budget crisis? Greer doesn't seem to know about it:

"When it comes time to get out and speak around the state, it's important that we have the ability to travel there and that we accomplish as much as we can in any given day... You will see that the party is much more engaged in traveling the state..."

They've spent more than $1 million in private charter jet flights in the last year. Greer wants you to think that these expenses are necessary, but the Sarasota Herald Tribune found otherwise, discovering that they lodged "high-flying expenses from last year with tens of thousands of dollars in ritzy New York hotels, thousands of dollars in limousine services and thousands of dollars more in regular air service."

This is while they are seeking to cut healthcare for more than 40,000 low-income senior, disabled and seriously ill Floridians. And it flies in the face of the rhetoric the members of Greer's party regularly spout off...

Charlie Crist: "We're asking local governments to tighten their belts, too. We are tightening ours. We can do no less... I feel for our students and I feel for their families... They are paying higher insurance rates. They are paying higher property taxes. They are paying higher gas prices."

Durell Peaden on the healthcare cuts: "If we don't get to print money, we're going to have to do with what we've got."

Charlie Crist: "If a family with two young boys can tighten their belts to live within their means certainly our cities and counties can also."

Alan Hays: "We cannot ask our state and local governments to tighten their belts if we continue to support frivolous spending."

Mike Haridopolos: "Experience also proves that government in Florida does not have a revenue problem -- it has a spending problem."

Apparently, it's the Republicans who have a spending problem and have pretty serious problems with hypocrisy. I wonder if any of them will call in their votes to cut healthcare for poor people while riding in a limo or if Crist will sign the bill flying in his a chartered jet?

Legislative Watch -- S2400

S2400: Would require that an ultrasound be performed on any woman obtaining an abortion (Webster): This is a thinly-veiled assault on a woman's right to choose. We talked about this bill on the radio show yesterday and it really does two things. First, it tells women that they aren't wise enough to understand the decision they are making and that if they only saw a picture of the fetus, they'd change their mind. Second, it adds an expensive add-on to the cost of an abortion, pricing poor women out of making this particular choice. These type of laws are never equal. No matter hwo many restrictions you put on abortion, rich women will still be able to get them, but laws like this simply make it harder for por women to exercise their constitutional rights.

Crazy Republican Quote of the Day

"You can put that in your peace pipe and smoke it." - Senator Ronda Storms (R-Brandon), March 06, 2008, erratically explaining why she will vote against a tax cut which would add nearly $300 million to the state's education system.

I'm sure you don't actually know this Ronda, but in addition to being dismissive of the horrible state of our education system, comments like this are racist.