Subject: POLITICO Florida Playbook, presented by Nuclear Matters: Grayson says NYT ‘full of [expletive] but errs himself – Beruff calls Obama an ‘animal’ – Venezuela in crisis – State passes up $250m for foreclosure help – Florida wildlife gone wild
From: Marc Caputo <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 16 May 2016 05:00:49 -0600

05/16/2016 06:58 AM EDT

By Marc Caputo ([email-masked]; @MarcACaputo) with Kristen East ([email-masked]; @kristenicoleast) and the staff of POLITICO Florida

Good Monday morning. There's something in the water in the U.S. Senate race to replace Marco Rubio...

GRAYSON V. THE GREY LADY -- "Grayson says New York Times is 'full of s***,' but then campaign admits he erred," by POLITICO Florida's Daniel Ducassi: Congressman and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alan Grayson lashed out at The New York Times as inaccurately "full of s***" over its coverage of his hedge fund that was questioned by congressional ethics investigators. 

But in the end, it was Grayson - and not the paper - who was in error and his campaign had to correct the candidate by saying he spoke "incorrectly" about his version of events during his interview with CBS4 Miami. At issue: The New York Times in February reported that Grayson's campaign finance director, David Keith, told the paper that he was paid roughly $1,000 a month, in part to help search for hedge-fund investors. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e215e6d2ebd1399176c99aeefeac0df4f37f736edc7239538 ... The original NYT story http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e6fd728433d27becaf6cb21589d0f550ee7e69b377beaafe9 

-- "Grayson accuses TV host, misleadingly, of spreading 'lies,'" by POLITICO Florida's Marc Caputo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e014cbac7302b4de5dfd3f3c41c357509167a730f00a38375

'ANIMAL' - "Rivals condemn Senate candidate for calling Obama an 'animal,' by POLITICO Florida's Marc Caputo: "Unfortunately, for seven and a half years this animal we call president - because he's an animal, OK? ... has surgically and with thought and very smart, intelligent manner, destroyed this country and dismantled the military under not one, not two, but three secretary of defenses," Beruff told the St. John's County Republican Executive Committee on Thursday.

Beruff's remarks, videoed by a tracker and first reported by The Huffington Post on Sunday, were promptly condemned by Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy and his Republican colleague in the U.S. House, David Jolly, both of whom are running for the same Senate seat. Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis took a lesser shot at Beruff later in the day.... 

Beruff's are the third controversial comments from a Florida Republican office-seeker in recent weeks. In the 6th Congressional District, candidate Pat Mooney ... [made] an analogy between monitoring immigrants and tracking cattle with microchips. In the 18th Congressional district ... Mark Freeman ... [said] Obama stokes "envy" among blacks and "gives them free stuff, too." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e5fcde1fcf968403f1ede80db614f744e1433cd4f9320721e

DADDY WARBUCKS -- "The financial muscle behind Patrick Murphy's Senate bid: Dad," by Tampa Bay Times' Alex Leary: "Patrick Murphy burst from obscurity in 2012 by winning a bitter showdown with tea party Rep. Allen West. Now 33, the South Florida resident is strongly positioned to jump to the Senate, a remarkable rise that has national Democrats optimistic of regaining a majority. Murphy is telegenic, even-tempered and well-connected. Last week, Vice President Joe Biden campaigned with him in Orlando. Behind him stands one major asset. His father." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4ea3534cae16c427f2f715be0b715a5dc90a39ecec17a3f4f4

MURPHY MONEY TARGETED - The conservative Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust has filed an FEC complaint alleging "Murphy's super PAC has been primarily funded by Murphy's own company and a family member with whom he has financial ties, which appears to be unlawful coordination between a candidate and his super PAC... 

"In April 2015, Floridians was formed as a super PAC to support Murphy's candidacy for U.S. Senate. Since registering with the FEC, Floridians has been primarily funded by entities and individuals directly tied to Murphy. One $300,000 donation came from Murphy's own family business, Coastal Construction Group, of which Murphy owns between $1,000,001 and $5,000,000 of the company. Murphy's father, Thomas P, Murphy, Jr., who is the CEO of Coastal Construction and financially tied to Murphy, has donated an additional $200,000 to the super PAC. As of Floridians' last FEC filing, these two donations make up over half of all contributions made to the super PAC." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4ebd2734792869d62cd8b9971194717dcac9880efe9e459e70

--Murphy's campaign wouldn't comment, but it pointed to this quote from a Miami Herald story as an explanation of sorts: "When asked whether the family shareholders were consulted about the contribution, Coastal vice chairman Dan Whiteman told the Times/Herald on Tuesday that Thomas Murphy personally directed the contribution." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e54919be891eeac422924156cb384a7395d9c9d3a0da63cc9 

'SHE SAID YES' - Congratulations to Murphy campaign spokesman Joshua Karp and Dorian Mergler. Here's Joshua: "I told her we were going to a fundraiser to give us an excuse to get all dressed up. When we arrived at the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach she was a little skeptical ('the fundraiser is here?!'), but once I got down on one knee it all came together. She said YES!" The happy couple met at the Florida Democratic Party's convention in October 2013, when Dorian was working for state Senator Nan Rich's gubernatorial campaign and Joshua was the communications director at FDP.

JOLLY INSIDER -- "Jolly not playing outsider Trump card in Florida Senate race," by AP's Brendan Farrington: "There are four Republican Senate candidates trying hard to convince voters they are Washington outsiders. Then there's U.S. Rep. David Jolly. In an election year when it is in vogue for Republicans to declare they aren't part of the political establishment, Jolly is embracing his Washington resume, which includes work as a lobbyist and as an aide to his predecessor, the late Congressman Bill Young." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e16ad82e84729d020a0a96b5370b1e6baf992b0f39325e498

BROKE BACK GOOD OLE BOYS - "Porn images of Marco Rubio flash on 2 Alabama billboards after apparent hack," by AL.com's Leada Gore: "Phony pornographic images of former presidential candidate Marco Rubio flashed on at least two billboards in Alabama today after a hacker allegedly breached the controls. Motherboard reports the images were displayed on two billboards after a hacker using the name Johnny (expletive) Ring followed directions released on the internet to hack into LED billboards. The directions had been posted the previous day by hacker Andrew Aurnheimer, known as Weev. Johnny told Motherboard he hacked the billboards to test Aurnheimer's statements." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e12f7105bf6a54b068052d52f6819e9e94860bc516458e0b0

EUREKA! -- "Rubio to alleged slumlord: 'You guys are disgusting,'" by Hot Air's Ed Morrissey: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4ea054611ee89fdf9643f4755b25a53d218636675183f3a5f1

-- "Yes, it's time to think about the 2020 presidential race," by CNN Politics' Stephen Collinson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e7ef7d7db66ef76ac0725e19206ccd4aa1cfde60b0b253793

NO RUBIO. STILL. -- @realDonaldTrump: "The @washingtonpost report on potential VP candidates is wrong. Marco Rubio and most others mentioned are NOT under consideration." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e4b4786535826dd6077723fd44769720807464524d7c776e7 

OOPS -- "Carson says Christie, Cruz, Kasich, Rubio and Palin are on Trump's shortlist for VP," by Yahoo's Dylan Stableford: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e26332b6acb961706edc4ff7079da9293e547b614dc1a188a

-- "The vice presidency no one should want," by Jeff Greenfield in Politico Magazine: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e49a70e45aea7fb682ff39b9c84347e4b072dd9200d29521d

THREE GOP REASONS FOR TRUMP -- "Florida GOP meets in Tampa to urge unity behind Trump, pick delegates," by POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon: "Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton," said Republican Party of Florida Chairman Blaise Ingoglia, of the "three reasons" the Republican Party will unify after a divisive primary. His comments came at the RPOF quarterly meeting, which also included the party selecting 15 statewide delegates, a slate that had Trump supporters added as the meeting approached.

Those added to the list include Susie Wiles, the Trump campaign's Florida co-chair; Rep. Jeff Miller, who has endorsed Trump; and Robin Bernstein, who Ingoglia described as a "close personal friend" of Trump. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e69f0ce0313ff35bba8afb5b9dc4eeab9439f9ff59e82a0a7

TRUMP HAS A PLAYBOOK? -- "Trump uses Scott's playbook for White House run," by Tallahassee Democrat's James Call: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e2c0493cc1341ef115347467cb5526f14c0624bdec67ed0e1

CLOSE TO HOME -- "With a transgender son, Miami's Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has personal stake in debate," by the New York Times' Lizette Alvarez: "The day Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen told his prominent parents about his new gender identity, he did so in a letter that he left on their bed. Then he grabbed a packed bag and, unsure of whether he would be welcomed back, went to a friend's house to see if his family would love him or leave him.

"His shocked parents, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami Republican, and Dexter Lehtinen, who served as the top federal prosecutor here, did not hesitate. They grabbed the phone and told him that they loved him and that family trumped all, and asked him to come home. But as with many parents of transgender children, they were also overwhelmed by fear: The future they saw for their then 21-year-old, whom they had named Amanda, would be pockmarked with discrimination and bullying, if not outright violence." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4ee90b6816bdc0ee187d5c9d9f788d1ed9b933847f963da1b1

--@POLITICO: "The right has been consistently losing culture-war fights during the Obama era" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4ee6d68ba27d6543d17192948aa7886a0d84d1f2d337d2b816

** A Message from Nuclear Matters: Nuclear energy plants play a vital role in achieving our clean-energy and carbon-reduction goals. Florida's nuclear energy fleet supports more than 2,270 jobs and provides $1.9 billion to the state's GDP. Learn more at NuclearMatters.com. **

SUKHIA'S STRAW POLL - via press release: "Former United States Attorney Ken Sukhia won a decisive victory over the three other Republican candidates in the race for Florida's 2nd Congressional District seat following last week's Florida Family Policy Council debate held in Tallahassee. In a straw poll held following the debate, Sukhia won with 42% (97 votes) followed by Mary Thomas at 28% (64), Neal Dunn 27% (59) and Jeff Moran 3% (8)."

NO FORECLOSURE PROBLEMS HERE... - "Florida opts to not seek U.S. foreclosure-relief funds," by the Orlando Sentinel's Mary Shanklin: "Already lagging behind the rest of the country in aiding struggling homeowners with federal foreclosure-relief funds, Florida missed out on a chance at $250 million in additional assistance. More than a dozen of the nation's 18 hardest-hit states got word at the end of April that they won a new round of federal foreclosure-relief funds they had sought. Florida was not among those states. It never applied, a Treasury spokesman said, even though it may have gotten $250 million. State officials did not say why they didn't seek the funds but pointed instead to a
 $78 million infusion of 'Hardest Hit Funds' which the federal government gave to all qualified states." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e325d6edfbbaf4d68f6e899cd2ad7c48d26e27fb0c527cacf

NO INSURANCE PROBLEMS HERE... - "Census: Many counties in Florida have high uninsured rates," by AP: "Nearly half of the counties in Florida have high numbers of uninsured adults according to new estimates released this week by the United States Census Bureau. The Census data shows that 29 counties have high numbers of working-age adults without health insurance. The counties, which are largely located in central and South Florida, have uninsured rates of at least 20 percent or higher according to 2014 data released by the Census Bureau. The urban counties of Orange, Miami-Dade and Broward were among those on the list." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e7e07cec10d41ac4488a52c334cb86890068cde6f2b5aef85

OVERDOSE CRISIS - "Fentanyl laced heroin fuels new synthetic drug epidemic in South Florida," by Local 10's Amy Viteri: "Julia Cannon is five months into her recovery from heroin and can still remember seeking out dealers whose product had a deadly record. "If you know of a dealer whose bag killed someone, you're going to go to that dealer," Cannon, 21, said. "Because theirs is the strongest." Heroin use in South Florida is on the rise in South Florida and outdoes the crack epidemic this outdoes the cocaine epidemic, according to epidemiologist Jim Hall of Nova Southeastern University." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e2ddc3eb639b1ef6396fb1f68f412f64cba31154b371295d8

VENEZUELA CRISIS - "Dying Infants and No Medicine: Inside Venezuela's Failing Hospitals," by The New York Times' Nicholas Casey: "By morning, three newborns were already dead. The day had begun with the usual hazards: chronic shortages of antibiotics, intravenous solutions, even food. Then a blackout swept over the city, shutting down the respirators in the maternity ward. Doctors kept ailing infants alive by pumping air into their lungs by hand for hours. By nightfall, four more newborns had died. 

"The death of a baby is our daily bread," said Dr. Osleidy Camejo, a surgeon in the nation's capital, Caracas, referring to the toll from Venezuela's collapsing hospitals.

"The economic crisis in this country has exploded into a public health emergency, claiming the lives of untold numbers of Venezuelans. It is just part of a larger unraveling here that has become so severe it has prompted President Nicol&aacute;s Maduro to impose a state of emergency and has raised fears of a government collapse." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e197196e9e0f7ada0fcd0149e0eca0af9ee84c8517f3c9826

OUT OF A MOVIE - "3 Cubans stowaway in cargo ship transporting movie equipment," by NBC Miami: "Three Cubans were found hiding in a cargo ship traveling from Cuba to South Florida. Port Everglades spokesperson Ellen Kennedy said three Cuban nationals were found by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials hiding in an auto carrier aboard a cargo ship Friday. The cargo ship was carrying movie equipment for the movie ``Fast and Furious 8'' from Cuba to Port Everglades." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e6508e50c207bbc2ace17f3491fdebb2803000345395e66d2

CHEMICAL BURN -- "Public blasts DEP over new water toxics limits," by Tallahassee Democrat's Jeff Burlew: "The state of Florida wants to weaken its restrictions on roughly two dozen cancer-causing chemicals that can be discharged into its rivers, lakes, streams and coastal waters. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is in the process of revising limits on toxic chemicals that can be released into surface waters, something it's supposed to do from time to time under the Clean Water Act but hasn't since the early 1990s." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e434463fe9e4919162bf862a39bd1cac4e9d1f1532156e40c

BITTER-ISH HARVEST -- "It has been a very bad year for growing blueberries in Florida," by Tampa Bay Times' Alli Knothe: "For a few weeks each April, central and South Florida dominate the country's blueberry supply. During that time, hundreds of small local farmers churn out millions of pounds of blueberries for grocery stores around the country. They typically beat blueberries from other states to market and make the money they need to survive the year.

"Florida farmers lost that sweet spot this year due to peculiar spring and winter weather, which delayed the blueberry harvest and forced them to compete with other states. As a result, the value of those berries plunged by more than half. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e8231605047ade5c574dfd2fc645cca1aef4b33f0d387d7df

GODWIN'S YACHT CLUB - "North Naples boating dispute leads to Nazi name-calling," by News-Press' Ryan Mills: "A dispute over boaters' rights in a North Naples gated community led one resident to unfurl a Nazi flag Saturday and erect a sign likening one of his neighbors to a fascist. John Gursoy, 53, a resident of the Quarry, hung the Nazi flag and sign from a blue and white cherry picker by the back entrance to the community, just north of Immokalee Road and Collier Boulevard. A 'handful' of residents filed complaints with the Collier County Sheriff's Office, spokeswoman Michelle Batten said. Several others criticized the display on Nextdoor, a neighborhood social network, calling it an
 embarrassment and a disgrace." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e299c333e851c6479b234497d9003aac80a9f3f1e4f66a548

WHY NOT? -- "Kindergarten teacher by day, pro wrestler at night," by News-Press' Janine Zeitlin: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e8b3cfc9be0684d509e8134f2bd45d7d74d45771d94c9644f 

THE FLORIDA ZOO....

BIRD WOES - "State to nature center: Replace birds' broken home or lose them," by News-Press' Amy Bennett Williams: "With shot-out eyes, cut-off wings and mangled legs, there's no way this motley flock of broken birds could ever make it in the wild. At Fort Myers' Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium's aviary, though, they're surviving - thriving, even. But this damaged dozen or so is facing a new threat: homelessness. Or worse. Last October, the oft-repaired 30-year-old bird apartment failed a routine inspection. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Investigator Lar Gregory found it in 'extremely poor condition. Many of the structural support beams are badly deteriorated and
 show signs of severe wood rot. ... no longer safe & suitable for use as an aviary,' he wrote in his report." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e70d3ba0bc1005ff44c89d137e58a09fecdbc23f972391e8f

PANTHER PROBLEMS -- "As Florida panthers die, we keep on developing wild Florida," by The Tampa Bay Times' Julie Hauserman: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4ea1862a75374a35ac0631401d6ef28bc59efd255c121f7799

TIGER ATTACK -- "USDA report: Zookeeper killed by tiger did not follow safety protocol," by Palm Beach Post's Hannah Winston: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4ea80192e856be3653f0c197b8661bcb331e2bb20c4d372683

FLYING TURTLE - "Turtle Crashes Through Florida Woman's Windshield on I-4: Both the driver and the flying turtle were OK," by NBC6-Miami: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4ed00f6d2237f34ae61cb042cb5f78cf84370af6a7632cd682

HERO DOG -- "Family dog takes rattlesnake bite for 7-year-old," by Fox 13's Evan Axelbank: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4eca0ca2ea4f88c2d10de5298c763460b699cd6a4633b4ebf1

OUCH - "Shark bite in Boca Raton: Woman taken to hospital with nurse shark attached to her arm," by South Florida Sun Sentinel's: Brian Ballou, Mike Clary and Maria Lorenzino: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e5280c25c6e8134986796d275cfe8ca4dcaaaec85b58c2495

VENOM TRAINING - "Parker man survives cobra bite after building up venom immunity," by Panama City News Herald Zack McDonald: "On the front door of F.T. Robertson's Parker duplex, a sign bluntly cautions anyone wanting to enter: 'venomous snakes inside.' Inside are the promised slithering creatures: Among Robertson's roommates are pet lavender monocle cobras and coral snakes.

Robertson recently recovered after being bitten by one of his cobras. Luckily, he'd been taking the cobra's venom for some time before, a method called 'envenomation,' in anticipation for just such an occasion...The bite, in which a single fang punctured Robertson's index finger, caused only mild swelling in his arm because of his foresight. A stranger to the venom would have suffered a much worse fate. Robertson has milked his cobras and coral snakes for years and undergone self-envenomation treatments. He said he takes venom in micrograms diluted in a saline solution." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bcfe7654b8c9d4e1f9c023416d1c090202c870f445ac3d782d629fc6c030c31

** A Message from Nuclear Matters: America's fleet of nuclear energy plants support 475,000 jobs nationwide and provide more than 62% of America's carbon-free electricity. Our existing, state-of-the-art nuclear energy plants play a vital role in achieving our clean-energy and carbon-reduction goals.

In Florida, nuclear energy plants provide 12 percent of the state's electricity and a large majority of our carbon-free electricity. The existing nuclear energy plants in Florida also support more than 2,270 jobs and provide $1.9 billion to the state's GDP. To help keep Florida working, we need the state's technologically advanced nuclear energy plants continuing to work for all of us. Join us at NuclearMatters.com. **

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