Put it under the headline “Only in Florida.”

A Republican National Committee memo found in a Boca Grande hotel reveals the GOP’s strategy of using fear to intimidate voters and mocks donors, Politico reported today.

The memo - a Power Point presentation given at an RNC meeting in Florida last month - details the GOP’s plans for this year’s election cycle by luring “ego-driven” rich donors with promises of access and “tchochkes.”

“What can you sell when you do not have the White House, the House, or the Senate…?” it asks.

The answer: “Save the country from trending toward Socialism!”

Read the Politico report here.

The revelations left Democrats licking their chops, naturally.

“If you had any doubt, any doubt whatsoever, that the Republican Party has been taken over by the fear-mongering lunatic fringe, those doubts were erased today,” Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse said in a statement. “The Republican Party, which barely 20 percent of Americans will even admit they belong to anymore, seems hell bent on damaging their battered brand even further by engaging in the most despicable kind of imagery, tactics and rhetoric imaginable. This type of politics at all cost approach to our public discourse is what the American people are sick and tired of – and if anyone thinks this wasn’t approved of or signed off on at the highest levels they are kidding themselves. Republicans across the country have cheered on crowds where these very images appeared, they’ve encouraged and perpetuated scandalous lies about the President and his plans. And, from calling for secession to condoning violence against government officials they have sunk to new and unbelievable lows.”

Capitalizing on the scandal erupting over the state GOP’s credit card spending, national Democrats released a video take-off of the MasterCard “Priceless” television campaign.

The spoof highlights some of the Republican Party of Florida-issued credit card charges now-U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio made when Florida House Speaker, including $1,000 in repairs to his family mini-van.

“Getting your personal bills paid for by the Republican Party of Florida like Marco Rubio: Priceless,” the Democratic National Committee video mocks.

The state GOP may get some unwanted mail as a result of the “Priceless” satire.

“Want your bills paid for by the Republican Party of Florida? Just send them in. 420 E. Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32301,” it concludes.

The DNC ad targets Rubio at a time when the once-long-shot candidate’s popularity is soaring while his GOP primary opponent Gov. Charlie Crist’s is on the wane.

Moderate Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu was dumped as keynote speaker for the Palm Beach County Democratic Party’s recent fund-raising dinner because party activists were upset that Landrieu wouldn’t pledge to block a Republican health care filibuster.

Now ABC News is reporting that Dems are throwing a $100 million sweetener into the health care bill to lock down Landrieu’s vote.

Does that mean she’ll be acceptable for next year’s Palm Beach County Democratic dinner?

One of the biggest laugh lines at Saturday night’s annual fund-raising dinner for the Palm Beach Democratic Party turned out to be this:

“It is a true honor to be one of your keynote speakers tonight.”

State Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, delivered the line, then paused knowingly, drawing laughter from the audience of about 350 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

(more…)

Palm Beach County’s Democratic Party remains without a keynote speaker for Saturday’s annual fund-raising dinner after one headliner was dropped and another withdrew last week.

“We’re still hoping to get an out-of-town keynoter,” county Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel said this morning. But, he said, “you can have a dinner without a speaker.”

The Dems’ $150-and-up dinner at the Palm Beach County Convention Center is on the same night as a “Going Green” lecture at Mizner Park in Boca Raton by former Vice President Al Gore, with tickets ranging from $44.10 to $339.

(more…)

With some local Democratic elected officials in open revolt over his record on Israel, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, has withdrawn as keynote speaker for next week’s Palm Beach County Democratic Party fund-raising dinner.

He’s the second Democratic keynoter to be scratched this week. The party dumped Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu on Tuesday because local activists were upset by her refusal to commit to blocking a Republican filibuster of health care overhaul legislation.

After Kucinich was announced as the replacement speaker, state Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, threatened a boycott and state Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, County Commissioner Burt Aaronson and state Rep. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, voiced disapproval today.

Kucinich has a long history of criticizing the actions of the Israeli government, voting against congressional resolutions in support of Israel and opposing sanctions against the anti-Israel government of Iran.

His critics have “falsely characterized” those stances as being anti-Israel, Kucinich said this afternoon in an e-mail to Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel. While defending his position, Kucinich said he didn’t want the controversy to hurt the local party’s money-raising efforts.

Read his complete statement to Siegel after the jump….

(more…)

More trouble for the Palm Beach County Democratic Party’s annual fund-raising dinner.

Its original Jefferson-Jackson name was dropped because of qualms about Thomas Jefferson’s slave ownership and Andrew Jackson’s Indian-removal policies. Then the renamed Truman-Kennedy-Johnson dinner’s planned keynote speaker, moderate Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, was unceremoniously dumped this week because party leaders disliked Landrieu’s stance on health care reform.

Now Landrieu’s replacement — liberal U.S. Rep. and former presidential candidate Denis Kucinich, D-Ohio — is prompting a boycott threat from state Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, because of Kucinich’s voting record on Israel.

State Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, has announced he won’t attend or support the event, calling Kucinich “someone whose position on Israel stands in total opposition to the conscience of this community.”

(more…)

Democratic Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu is out as keynote speaker for the Palm Beach County Democratic Party’s annual fund-raising dinner next week because party leaders dislike her stance on health care reform, county Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel said today.

Landrieu, a moderate who recently described herself as “extremely concerned about a government-run, taxpayer-funded, national public plan,” has not committed to voting to cut off a likely Republican filibuster and forcing a vote on the legislation.

(more…)

Two Louisiana Democrats — Sen. Mary Landrieu and Rep. Charlie Melancon, who’s challenging Republican Sen. David Vitter — will be the headliners for the Palm Beach County Democratic Party’s annual fund-raising dinner on Nov. 14.

The event used to be known as the Jefferson-Jackson dinner, but Declaration of Independence author Thomas Jefferson’s slave ownership and $20 bill portrait model Andrew Jackson’s “Trail of Tears” Indian-removal policies offended the sensibilities of local Dem leaders. The name of the event was changed to the Truman-Kennedy-Johnson dinner instead.

County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel said the party hopes to draw about 500 people to the $150-and-up event.

UPDATE: Democratic activist and prolific lensman Rick Neuhoff has posted a large collection of photos of Joan Joseph here. Also, a memorial page has been set up here.

Joan Joseph, a Jupiter resident who was a key political operative for candidates from Barack Obama to West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel, died early today of cancer.

Mrs. Joseph, 64, was a go-to figure for Democratic candidates seeking to build a grass-roots organization in Florida. She was a paid staffer in Palm Beach County for Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, then was the statewide coordinator of volunteers for John Kerry’s 2004 campaign.

When Barack Obama launched his presidential bid in early 2007 as a decided underdog, Mrs. Joseph was a key early organizer in Florida.

“She was one of the first people that we went to for Obama” in Florida, said Kirk Wagar, who was the Obama campaign’s Florida finance chairman. Obama’s first major Florida event, a March 2007 “low-dollar” fund-raiser that drew about 1,000 people to the Palm Beach County Convention Center, was largely put together by Mrs. Joseph, Wagar said.

(more…)

Glades County Sheriff Stuart Whiddon is endorsing state Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, in the Democratic primary for Florida attorney general. Whiddon joins Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara in backing Aronberg, who faces state Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, in the primary for Florida’s top lawyer’s job.

Said Whiddon, in a statement released today by Aronberg’s campaign: “Dave fits the mold of an ideal Attorney General….previous experience already working in the office as assistant AG, a track record of getting consumer protection laws passed, even experience at the federal level fighting terrorism by going after money laundering operations…no one else can offer Floridians that kind of background and dedication to the job.“

Just because Palm Beach County’s Democratic Party gave its blessing to a 14.9 percent countywide property tax rate hike doesn’t mean all Democratic candidates are on board.

“A 15 percent increase in the tax rate is unconscionable in the kind of economy we’re in right now,” said state Rep. Mary Brandenburg, D-West Palm Beach, who’s running next year for the District 2 commission seat of term-limited Jeff Koons.

(more…)

As Palm Beach County commissioners prepare for a public hearing tonight on the 2009-10 county budget, the county Democratic Party is endorsing County Administrator Bob Weisman’s proposal to to increase the countywide property tax rate from about $3.7811 per $1,000 of appraised value to $4.344.

Because overall property values have declined, the 14.9 percent rate hike would generate roughly the same amount of revenue in 2009-10 as the county is getting this year and therefore wouldn’t meet the state’s legal definition of a tax increase. But homesteaded property owners, whose taxes have been relatively flat in recent years because of appraisal limits in the state’s Save Our Homes act, would see higher tax bills under the plan.

(more…)

The pre-Boomer doo-wop demographic still matters in Palm Beach County politics.

The county Democratic Party is hosting a doo-wop themed dinner-’n'-dance fundraiser on Sept. 12 at Ellie’s ’50s Diner in Delray Beach. A $65 advance ticket (or $70 at the door) buys an evening of entertainment headlined by Vinnie Cagno & the Doo Wop Kid, along with a deejay.

Eleven days later, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Boca Raton resident Dion DiMucci will sing at a Boca Raton Republican Club meeting featuring congressional candidate Allen West. DiMucci began as frontman for the doo-wopping Dion and the Belmonts and survived Buddy Holly’s ill-fated 1959 Winter Dance Party tour before conquering other genres. Tickets for the GOP event are $30 with dinner included or $5 to hear Dion and West without a meal.

More details after the jump…..

(more…)

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.

Don’t expect any YouTubed confrontations when U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, hosts a town hall meeting later this month to discuss the 1,018-page House Democratic health care bill.

Klein is planning a “telephone town hall” that he says will reach far more constituents than an in-the-flesh event.

Republican challenger Allen West says Klein’s a chicken.

“The unwillingness to stand in front of your constituents can only be called cowardice,” said West.

Klein dismissed West’s claim. He said the teleconference has been planned for weeks and was not a reaction to the recent transformation of town hall events from soporific C-SPAN affairs to shout-fests that go viral on the Internet.

(more…)

Elissa Pearl, a labor lawyer who was running for an open state House seat, announced this afternoon that she instead plans to run for the seat of Palm Beach County Commissioner and fellow Democrat Jess Santamaria next year.

Pearl, 37, is a relative unknown in local politics. But she is expected to hire well-connected Neil Schiller and Eric Johnson as her consultants. Attorney Schiller has handled several successful legislative campaigns and Johnson is the chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton.

Santamaria, 71, represents western District 6 on the commission. A longtime developer and businessman in Royal Palm Beach, Santamaria entered politics for the first time in 2006 and won the seat as a reformist outsider after former District 6 Commissioner Tony Masilotti resigned in a corruption scandal.

(more…)

Former Democratic state Rep. Richard Machek, who left the state House because of term limits last year and pursued a failed bid for Palm Beach County property appraiser, isn’t ruling out a comeback attempt if his successor — state Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach — leaves the House to run for state Senate.

Rader, notwithstanding the concerns of Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel, is expected to give up his House District 78 seat to run in 2010 for the seat of Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, who’s running for attorney general.

“If he files, to tell you the truth, I probably would take a hard look at it,” said Machek, who said he’s already fielded several calls asking him to consider the House race.

Chiropractror Steven Perman, who challenged Machek in a 2006 Democratic primary and finished only 198 votes behind Rader last year, says he’ll also consider running if Rader leaves.

Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Joseph Leonard is going to work for President Barack Obama’s administration.

Joseph, 34, is taking over as chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security Office of Policy.

The Dems tapped a Florida outsider, Scott Arcenaux, to replace Joseph as ED and also serve as political director.

Joseph, who also worked on John Kerry’s presidential campaign, has been at the ED post for about three years and first went to work for the state party in 2005.

Arcenaux was also executive director for the Louisiana state party and was U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd’s national political director in his losing presidential bid.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, makes his first appearance in Palm Beach County as a Senate candidate at 11:45 a.m. Saturday. West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel is slated to appear with Meek at the courtyard outside the new City Hall and library downtown. It’s part of Meek’s effort to collect signatures to get on the 2010 ballot.

Meek is the best-known Democrat running for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Mel Martinez. State Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, recently dropped out of the Senate race to run for attorney general, but U.S. Rep. Corinne Brown, D-Jacksonville, has been exploring a Senate run.

Gov. Charlie Crist and former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio are running on the Republican side.