Democrats are giddy this morning over an interesting column from St. Petersburg Times political editor Adam Smith that pulls together some recent trends to conclude that “Today’s Florida Republican Party looks more and more like yesterday’s dysfunctional Florida Democratic Party.”

No question that Florida Democrats should be energized: the political pendulum has swung in their favor and there would be alarms sounding if they weren’t capitalizing on the trends to increase their registration numbers and bankroll.

But one quarter of out-raising the Republican Party of Florida, while noteworthy, is perhaps a little early to claim victory (especially during a quarter when the leader of RPOF pulled in $4.3 million for his own U.S. Senate campaign).

Meanwhile, does anyone else find it a little amusing that Democrats are passing around a story that uses their own very recent past to define dysfunctional?

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.

State Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, announced his candidacy today for state attorney general. Watch his announcement above.

The announcement sets up a primary with Palm Beach County’s Dave Aronberg, who filed his paperwork last week.

 Loading ...

(more…)

Career hit a dead-end? Boss driving you crazy? Well, cheer up. At least you’re not the guy leaning against the wall in this photo whose job for at least the next few weeks is to follow around House Majority Leader Adam Hasner and videotape his every move on behalf of the Florida Democratic Party. (Hasner is the Boca Raton Republican just to the left of Rep. Perry Thurston, who appears to be pondering the House Rules Committee room ceiling in this superb example of photojournalism.)

Depending on what footage the cameraman can collect, here the only three ways we can see this turning out:

1. In the heat of a House floor debate (preferably on boot day), Hasner forgets all about the steady, unblinking camera eye and has a meltdown for the ages. FDP communications director Eric Jotkoff resigns hours later, announcing he has nothing left to accomplish.

2. A bunch of unflattering angles of Hasner get set to 28-seconds of the Halloween soundtrack fading out just in time to hear “Paid for by Citizens for Ron Klein.”

3. Cameraman goes rogue — He keeps all of the footage out of Democratic hands and instead assembles a heartbreaking documentary about the secret world of legislative bill drafting.

Hot off the November elections, then-Speaker Ray Sansom, R-Destin, brought his GOP caucus to WaterColor Inn & Resort in Santa Rosa Beach for a pre-session retreat.

According campaign finance reports published Friday, the Republican Party of Florida paid $47,895 to treat 74 of the 76 House Republicans and their families.

It was at the posh resort that Sansom delivered a message about the state’s dismal financial situation and announced there would be no money for local projects. It was also at the resort that news broke about Sansom’s new job with Northwest Florida State College, setting off an avalanche of stories about whether he received the job in return for tucking money for the school into a shrinking budget.

(more…)