Full-body imaging might have detected that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had stuffed his underwear with explosives before he boarded a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas day.

But a considerable bipartisan majority of U.S. House members are on record opposing the widespread use of such scans in a vote that saw privacy concerns trump security measures. In June, the House voted 310-to-118 for an amendment by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, that would have prohibited whole-body imaging as a “primary screening” method at airports. The amendment died in the Senate.

Chaffetz’s amendment would have allowed such scans as a “secondary” screening method, but passengers would be given the option of a pat-down search in lieu of whole-body imaging and the Transportation Security Administration would have been banned from “storing, transferring, or copying any images” from the scans.

Local U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar; Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta; and Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, supported the ban on whole-body imaging. U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, voted against the Chaffetz amendment.

Gov. Charlie Crist moved the special election to replace U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler ahead a week after Jewish voters complained the original election would have taken place during Passover.

The Jewish holiday ends on April 6, the date Crist originally picked for the special election.

“Originally, the special general election was inadvertently scheduled during Passover, and out of respect to the Jewish community, the special general election has been rescheduled to Tuesday, April 13, 2010,” Crist’s office wrote in a memo announcing the new election date.

The special primary election in the heavily Jewish Congressional District 19 will still take place on Feb. 2.

State Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, is considered the favorite to replace Wexler, who resigned to head the nonprofit Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation.

Deutch secured not only Wexler’s support but practically the entire South Florida Democratic delegation. He’s been endorsed by U.S. Reps. Ron Klein, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Alcee Hastings.

With Broward County lawyer and political mega-moneyman Scott Rothstein facing accusations of misappropriating large sums of money from investor trust accounts, the beneficiaries of his past largesse are facing pressure to give the money back.

This afternoon’s key word: “monitoring.”

Chief Financial Officer and 2010 Democratic governor candidate Alex Sink’s campaign announced she’s returning at least $2,000 in Rothstein-related contributions. The campaign has pledged to return more money if other contributors are determined to be tainted.

The Florida Democratic Party, which got a $200,000 check from Rothstein’s law firm in September, says it is “monitoring” the accusations against Rothstein and will return the money if it turns out to be tainted. The Republican Party of Florida, which has received about $500,000 from Rothstein and his law firm since 2002, also says it is “monitoring” the case.

And Gov. Charlie Crist, whose 2010 U.S. Senate campaign got $4,800 apiece from Rothstein and his wife? You guessed it: “monitoring” the allegations.

Read detailed statements after the jump…..

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South Florida Democratic U.S. Reps. Robert Wexler, Ron Klein, Alcee Hastings and Debbie Wasserman Schultz today endorsed state Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, to succeed Wexler in a special congressional election.

In addition to the display of endorsement firepower, Deutch’s campaign said it has already raised more than $200,000 in its first 10 days. And Deutch has about a dozen fund-raisers scheduled for the next six weeks, including one in Washington hosted by his congressional endorsers and events in New York and Cleveland.

Wexler is resigning in January to head the nonprofit Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation. A special election is expected in early 2010.

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Although it’s a prostitution-themed video sting that has rocked ACORN, Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton, hopes to use the scandal to revive Republican efforts to clamp down on elections activities by the left-leaning outfit and its allies.

Hasner and other Republicans have long accused the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now of perpetrating voter fraud.

But Republican Gov. Charlie Crist pooh-poohed those concerns in Florida last year when John McCain’s presidential campaign tried to make them an issue. And Crist voiced concerns this year when Hasner and other Republicans pushed for heightened restrictions and stiffer penalties for groups like ACORN that specialize in voter-registration and petition drives. The legislation died.

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U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, and some other Democrats who voted against a measure to deny federal money to scandal-tainted ACORN said they did so because they regarded the action as an unconstitutional “bill of attainder.”

Wexler was on the losing end of a 345-75 House vote in which local U.S. Reps. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, and Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, voted with the majority and U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, answered “present.”

A bill of attainder, forbidden in Article I, Section IX of the constitution, is a legislative act that imposes punishment on a specific person or group without a trial or hearing. But there’s legal precendent allowing a law that singles out an entity if “the law under challenge, viewed in terms of the type and severity of burdens imposed, reasonably can be said to further nonpunitive legislative purposes.”

UCLA law professor and blogger Eugene Volokh offers this discussion of the matter and concludes: “My rereading of the precedents leads me to confidently and unambiguously say, ‘I don’t know.’ “

The U.S. House joined the U.S. Senate this afternoon in voting to cut off any federal money to scandal-plagued ACORN.

The vote was 345-75 to attach a Republican anti-ACORN measure to a student aid bill. All 75 “no” votes came from Democrats, including U.S. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton. Wexler considers the language unconstitutional, a spokesman said.

U.S. Reps. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, and Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, supported the measure.

U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, answered “present.”

The left-leaning Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now has been under fire since a pair of guerrilla videographers — one of them a 20-year-old minister’s daughter who attends Florida International University — posed as a prostitute and a pimp and captured hidden-camera footage of ACORN employees offering advice on how to set up a brothel and conceal the income.

ACORN has ordered an independent investigation.

While some Democrats press for a “resolution of disapproval” against U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., for shouting “You lie!” at President Obama during a joint session of Congress last week, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, hopes his party lets the matter die.

“I abhor Joe Wilson’s behavior at the presidential address. But the man has apologized….I think we should heed President Obama’s advice and end the bickering, and maybe we Democrats can play our part by moving on,” said Wexler, known as one of his party’s fiercest partisans.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., has led the push for a resolution reprimanding Wilson.

Wilson apologized to President Obama through White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. But some Democrats have said he should apologize on the floor of the House as well because his outburst occurred there.

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Call it the Klein-Craft Axiom: In Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, Democratic enthusiasm for a government-run public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers is inversely proportional to the percentage of Republicans in one’s congressional district.

Liberal U.S. Reps. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, and Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, are vocal cheerleaders for the “public option” that is a centerpiece of the health care overhaul pushed by House Democratic leaders.

Wexler and Hastings represent slam-dunk Democratic districts.

But in nearby Palm Beach-Broward District 22, which has slightly more Republican voters than Dems, U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, approached the topic cautiously in a “telephone town hall” with constituents last week.

During the teleconference, Klein sounded as if he’s leaning toward the public option and rejected the argument that putting the federal government in the market would drive out private insurers.

But he stopped short of embracing it.

“I’m still looking at it. I haven’t committed to it yet,” Klein said of the public option. And as for the entire 10-year, $1 trillion House plan, Klein said he has problems with the price tag and described himself as “not quite there yet on saying I’m supporting the bill.”

Striking a similarly cautious tone is Democrat Chris Craft, the St. Lucie County commissioner drafted by national Dems to try to unseat freshman U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, in Republican-leaning congressional District 16.

The public option, says Craft, “is an option that’s on the table. I’m not 100 percent sold on it.”

* * *

Marcia Andrews, a former teacher and principal and school district administrator, is considering a run for the school board seat of veteran incumbent Sandra Richmond.

School board seats are nonpartisan. But here’s what makes Andrews’ potential bid interesting: she’s a member of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party’s executive board. And Richmond, elected six times since 1988, is one of the county’s longest-serving Democratic elected officials.

Party leaders traditionally discourage challenges of incumbents from within the party. County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel says he’s not backing Andrews, but hasn’t discouraged her, either, because “I don’t know if Sandi’s running again.”

Richmond says she’ll “probably” seek reelection next year.

* * *

Cedrick Thomas, who lost to Mack Bernard in last week’s special state House election, has to give up his Riviera Beach council seat Sept. 22 because he ran for the House.

But he doesn’t rule out seeking reappointment by the council.

Thomas is also weighing a 2010 challenge of Bernard or taking on County Commissioner Priscilla Taylor, who was a key Bernard backer.

U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, will appear with a pair of Republican congressional candidates from other districts at a health care forum next week organized by the Palm Beach County GOP.

Hastings contacted county GOP Chairman Sid Dinerstein after seeing a Dinerstein quote accusing Democrats of ducking public meetings with constituents on health care. Hastings is scheduled to appear with Republican Allen West, who challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Klein of Boca Raton last year and is gearing for a 2010 rematch, and Ed Lynch, who challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler of Boca Raton last year and is planning on another challenge next year.

Dinerstein said he’s trying to line up another supporter of Democratic health care reform proposals to join Hastings on the panel.

The event is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 3, at 1 p.m. at the county commission chambers in the Governmental Center in West Palm Beach. Seating is limited and those wishing to attend should call the county GOP headquarters at 561-686-1616 to reserve a spot.

The event carries almost zero political risk for Hastings. He represents a district that’s more than 4-to-1 Democratic and he was reelected with 82.2 percent of the vote last year.

Actblue.com launched a website to urge contributors to give to Democratic Congressmen who back a public health care option despite the toll the health care reforms have taken on President Barack Obama’s popularity here in Florida.

The organization’s website Actblue.com claims to have raised nearly $250,000 from more than 4,000 supporters for Democrats.

“Democratic members of Congress need to understand that a healthcare reform bill with a Public Option is simply not an option– it’s a requirement. The congressmembers on this list have said in no uncertain terms that they will not vote for a bill without a public option all the way through Conference. That takes courage, and we need to show them how much we appreciate them for doing so,” the website urges.

Recipients include Floridian U.S. Reps. Robert Wexler of Delray Beach, Corrine Brown of Jacksonville and Alcee Hastings of Miramar. Wexler and Hastings held a jam-packed health care town hall meeting in Delray Beach today.

Wexler received $3,610 from the site. Brown pulled in $3,306 and Hastings $3,195.

You can add another political bigwig to Thursday’s health care forum at the South County Civic Center near Delray Beach, which is already attracting lots of attention from both supporters and opponents of Democratic health-care proposals: U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Democrat from Miramar, says he’s going to join the already-announced Robert Wexler.

According to an e-mail from Hastings chief of staff Lale M. Mamaux:

“I just wanted to give you the heads up that Congressman Hastings will be participating in the town hall meeting tomorrow hosted by the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans. During the August recess he has met with physicians, home health care representatives, health underwriters, hospital officials, nurses, patients, and representatives from a community health center to discuss health care reform.”

Once again, this is an event put on by the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, which said it was requiring tickets and giving preference to members. Feel free to contact them for more information.

Supporters and opponents of a Democratic health care overhaul bill and at least one member of Palm Beach County’s congressional delegation will converge next week for a public forum sponsored by a labor-backed retiree group.

U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, plans to attend the Aug. 20 event at 1 p.m. at the South County Civic Center west of Delray Beach. The event is sponsored by the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO and supports the Democratic bill.

Other local members of Congress were invited but it wasn’t immediately clear today whether any others would attend.

Opponents of the legislation plan to show up as well.

“We’ll be there with signs but, more importantly, we’ll be there with questions,” said Everett Wilkinson, the state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots group.

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Here’s one of many video clips available on the Internet from Thursday night’s shout-and-shovefest on health care in Tampa, which was originally billed as a town hall meeting hosted by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa….

And here’s an account of the evening from the estimable Adam Smith of The St. Pete Times.

In Palm Beach County, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, has scheduled a town hall meeting on health care for Aug. 20 at 1 p.m. at the South County Civic Center west of Delray Beach.

U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, is planning a “telephone town hall” later this month, but hasn’t set a date. (Here’s an account of a Wednesday health care dustup between protesters and Klein’s staff.)

U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, has no town hall meetings scheduled. Plans for U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, were not immediately available.

Blaming pressure from the Obama administration and congressional colleagues, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, has dropped an amendment aimed at weakening the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on gays.

Hastings’ amendment to a defense appropriations bill would not have repealed the policy that allows the military to discharge a servicemember for homosexual conduct, but would have withheld the use of federal money to investigate or discharge military personnel for revealing their sexual orientation.

“Due to pressure from some of my Congressional colleagues and from the White House, I have withdrawn my amendment. I would, however, like to note that it is most unfortunate that we are not addressing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell at this time. We should not be appropriating funds to enable qualified service members to be booted out just because they are honest about whom they are,” a Hastings statement late yesterday said.

Read his entire statement after the jump……

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Conservative freshman U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, doesn’t often join with the likes of liberal Democratic U.S. Reps. Dennis Kucinich, Maxine Waters, John Conyers and Fortney H. “Pete” Stark. But Rooney and most of the House GOP were joined by 32 largely anti-war Dems in Tuesday’s vote on appropriating money for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The $106 billion measure passed 226-202, with 221 Democrats — including local U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings, Ron Klein and Robert Wexler — in favor. All but five Republicans voted against the measure, objecting to an array of non-military measures added to the bill.

Statements by Rooney and Kucinich illustrate the odd coalition that voted against the bill.

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U.S. Rep. Ron Klein’s investment portfolio took a hit last year while U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney saw the value of his family trusts increase, according to the latest round of congressional financial disclosure reports.

The reports show that U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, incurred fresh college-loan debt in 2008 while U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, continues to list liabilities of more than $2.1 million for legal fees from a 1980s impeachment fight.

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U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, is defending his use of $24,730 in taxpayer money last year to lease a 2008 Lexus hybrid sedan.

As noted over the weekend, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, was the first example cited by The Wall Street Journal in an article about legal but “eye-catching” expenses that members of Congress have passed on to taxpayers.

“The lease of the vehicle in question has been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives,” Hastings’ chief of staff, Lale Mamaux, said in an e-mail Monday.

“It is an energy-efficient vehicle that the congressman feels safe driving throughout his district, which … encompasses Palm Beach, Broward, Hendry, Martin and St. Lucie counties,” Mamaux said. “He believes that the overall cost of the vehicle will decrease as he plans to keep it over the next six years for official business.”

Mamaux didn’t respond to a follow-up request for more detailed information about the lease, so it was unclear what period was covered by the $24,730.

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The latest batch of Federal Election Commission reports are in!

Read about ‘em after the jump……

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