The Supreme Court’s ruling on tax increases contained in The Affordable Care Act has galvanized opposition against Florida’s only Senator to vote for it.  The House has again voted to repeal President Obama’s signature legislation, but a Senate vote has not yet been held. Democratic leadership in the Senate has made no indication that a…

By Zayida Baker Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, R-Broward County, wants to oust incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, in November. To win the Republican primary, LeMieux must first shed his image as a “Charlie Crist Republican” beholden to green energy. LeMieux served in the Senate from September 2009 to January 2011, after being appointed by…

By Zayida Baker Republican candidate and former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton, asked a Perry audience January 23 to send him to the U.S. Senate. He decided days later to switch races. At a meeting hosted by the Taylor County Republican Executive Committee, Hasner proclaimed that he wanted to win the Senate…

By Zayida Baker Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., walked October 22 in Perry’s annual Forest Day Parade. Dressed in jeans, he ran from one side of the crowd to the other, chatting and shaking hands. That afternoon Southerland spoke with Zayida Baker of Tea Party Patriots. Find more of the interview here and here. ZAYIDA BAKER:…

By Zayida Baker Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., chaired a September hearing of the Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility that prescribed a tax code with more taxpayers, lower rates and fewer loopholes—a platform that he and Democrats often contradict. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Professor Martin Feldstein, former Michigan Gov. John Engler, Professor John Taylor, and…

By Zayida Baker Retired Army Col. Mike McCalister, R-Plant City, is running to replace Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and be “the last line of defense” against politicians who do not properly protect the U.S. and its Constitution. McCalister spoke June 18 at the Republican Leadership Conference. In November he debated competitors at the Florida Tea…

By Zayida Baker Republican senatorial candidates former Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., former Florida House of Representatives Majority Leader Adam Hasner, businessman Craig Miller, and retired Army Col. Mike McCalister are courting conservatives in a wide-open primary to challenge incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in 2012. The four faced off August 20 in a two-hour Orlando…

By Zayida Baker Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., voted October 11 for President Obama’s jobs bill, a $447 billion package meant to stimulate the economy with infrastructure spending and job-creation. The bill failed to win a filibuster-proof majority. After Obama touted it as his “jobs bill” in a primetime address to Congress and the nation September…

By Zayida Baker Though Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has represented Floridians since 2001, freshman Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., seems to be cultivating a better relationship with them. According to his official biography, “Florida’s own Bill Nelson” is known as “a staunch advocate for all Floridians and a moderate voice in the increasingly partisan world of…

By Zayida Baker Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., serve, respectively, on Senate and House committees that reached a temporary, last-minute truce September 15 over the Federal Aviation Administration. Congress extended FAA operations through January. Nelson sits on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and its Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety,…