Photograph by AP

In this frame grab from video, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio takes a sip of water during his Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, on Feb. 12, 2013,

Sen. Marco Rubio was behind a last-minute change on the final day of Florida’s legislative session to move the state’s presidential primaryelection  into compliance with national party rules.

Rubio, a Republican, might well be on that ballot.

But that’s not the reason Rubio’s team says the change was needed. Instead, it was to ensure the state’s vote is fully counted by the party in the primary.

For the past two presidential elections, Florida has lost delegates at the national conventions because the state violated Republican and Democratic rules with an early primary date. Rubio was state House speaker when the state first jumped the line.

Republicans would have only 12 of their 99 delegates counted in 2016 if they kept an early primary, said Todd Reid, Rubio’s state policy director. The change puts Florida’s election on “the first Tuesday that the rules of the major political parties provide for state delegations to be allocated without penalty.”

Reid thought that would be March 1.

The election bill is on its way to Gov. Rick Scott for his consideration after passing the Florida House and Senate today.

“We pointed out that we needed to make a change,” Reid said. “The juice just wasn’t worth the squeeze any more.”

Original post is Rubio Intervenes in Florida Primary Move by Political Capital.

Photograph by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush autographs his new book ‘Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution’ before speaking at the Reagan Library on March 8, 2013 in Simi Valley, California.

“The success of conservative principles is the best kept secret in American politics,” Jeb Bush writes. And it’s all a matter of communication, he says.

If what the Republican Party has here is a failure to communicate, the former Florida governor points to some talking points:

“Four of the most popular governors in the country – Chris Christie of New Jersey, Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Susana Martinez of New Mexico and Brian Sandoval of Nevada – are from states that supported President Obama last year,” he writes today at Rare.US — “red in the center.”

There are 30 Republican governors, Republican majorities in 26 state legislators, he notes, and the Southeast is leading “a renaissance in American manufacturing” — Boeing Dreamliners built in South Carolina (the batteries are another story.)

Indiana’s Mitch Daniels, one of Bush’s favorite former governors, and Michigan’s Rick Snyder, one of his favorite sitting ones, have made the right-to-work an advantage. His own Rick Scott has “a job-creating juggernaut” in Florida, challenging Texas’ Rick Perry to “ friendly jobs-race.”

“As Republicans,” he writes, “we must focus on a positive message about our success and our vision. Instead of spending all our time and resources saying why President Obama and the Democrats’ ideas are wrong for Americans, we must provide clearly articulated alternatives… Not only must we pursue reform, we must do a much better job communicating how these reforms protect and promote the genius of America.”

Of course, his own family has some work to do in its own communications. His older brother, former President George W. Bush, suggested last week during interviews surrounding the dedication of his presidential library in Texas that Jeb Bush should run for president in 2016. But their mother, wife of another former president, said flatly: ``We’ve had enough Bushes.”

The former two-term governor has said he is “open” to the idea.

“Sure, he’d be terrific, he’d be a wonderful president,” former first lady Laura Bush said of Jeb Bush in 2016. “But who knows? We don’t know, and we’re just letting him decide.”

Original post is Jeb Bush’s ‘Best Kept Secret’ by Political Capital.

Photograph by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer speaks on stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Will he or won’t he?

Whether ex-Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer will ride to the rescue of his fellow Democrats is the question taking center stage in party politics following the surprise retirement announcement today by Max Baucus, the state’s senior U.S. senator.

Even before Baucus, a 71-year-old Democrat, revealed that he won’t seek a seventh term next year, Schweitzer was seen by some analysts as the party’s better bet for keeping the seat. And that race in Montana could prove crucial in a midterm contest in which Democrats are under the gun defending their six-seat Senate majority.

Schweitzer, 57, is considering a Senate run, a person familiar with his thinking told Bloomberg News earlier today, and in a couple of interviews he’s already given the ex-governor isn’t discouraging such speculation.

“I’m the kind of guy that, when I see a broke-down pickup, I’ll get out with my tools and try to fix it, and I can tell you looking at Washington, D.C., from Montana, there is no bigger broke-down pickup than the Senate in Washington, D.C.,” Schweitzer told The Hill, which focuses on congressional news.

He said much the same thing to the Los Angeles Times while, in the best tradition of the wily politician, he stressed how reluctant he would be to leave his home turf.

Writes the Times’ seasoned political reporter Mark Z. Barabak: “Speaking from his home on Georgetown Lake in southwest Montana as he gazed out at the snow-capped mountains, Schweitzer suggested he was in no hurry to leave the state.

“`There’s not a sound to be heard, unless it’s the howl of a wolf or the yip of a coyote,’ he said. `“Life is good. You can print that in the L.A. Times.’”

As Schweitzer’s comments indicate, if he does seek a Senate seat, “folksy” is the term that almost inevitably will be included in any national story on him. It was a persona he honed during what turned out to be a star turn at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Clad in his signature look — blazer, blue jeans, bolo tie and cowboy boots — he took the stage one night with the seemingly unenviable task of proceeding the evening’s featured attraction, Hillary Clinton, who was set to do her part to tout nominee-in-waiting Barack Obama. He didn’t quite steal her thunder — but he came close.

As the Christian Science Monitor noted at the time, Schweitzer ”did the equivalent of summiting Everest … getting the crowd to roar while discussing renewable energy. Sir Edmund Hilary would be proud.”

If anything, Schwetizer did himself one better the next morning in an appearance before a presumably sleepy Florida delegation. As a post in the South Florida Sun Sentinel headlined it: “Montana Star Makes `Big Dog’ Florida Bark.”

And how did he do that? By promoting Obama’s chances of carrying Montana, and challenging Florida Democrats not to be outdone.

“Florida is the big dog,’’ Schweitzer told his listeners. “Are you going to let a tail like Montana wag the big dog, or is the big dog going to stand up and bark?’’

His challenge, the Sun Sentinel reported, “prompted more than a few to `bark! bark! bark!’’’

Obama went on to easily carry Florida that year, though he fell short in Montana, losing it by about 3 percentage points. Schweitzer, meanwhile, won re-election with 66 percent of the vote.

That’s the sort of showing that makes national Democratic leaders yearn for him to seek to replace Baucus. And his common-man political touch notwithstanding, Schwetizer would bring an interesting skills-set to the Senate. Though he tends not to promote this part of his resume, he holds a master’s degree in soil science, spent several years working overseas on irrigation projects and speaks Arabic.

Original post is Schweitzer, Who Made Democrats Bark, Mulls ‘Broke-Down’ Senate by Political Capital.

Photograph by J.Pat Carter/AP Photo

Sen. Bob Graham and his daughter, Gwen, talk to supporters at a John Kerry campaign rally in Riviera Beach, Fla., in this June 1, 2004 file photo.

Gwen Graham, daughter of former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham, caught a certain political bug during her father’s ill-fated campaign for president in 2004. She campaigned hard across Iowa and other venues for her dad.

Now she is waging her own campaign for Congress.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Congress is a dysfunctional mess,” the younger Graham said in a campaign-launching statement issued today.“They’d rather fight each other with the goal of scoring points on cable news instead of focusing on creating jobs and balancing the budget – in fact, Congress hasn’t even passed a budget since Bobby Bowden was coach at FSU.”

Just as her father tackled tough odds when he sought the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in a field dominated by former Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Gwen Graham faces a race in a far-flung district of North Florida that once was the domain of Yellow Dog Democrats but has gone Republican. Rep. Steve Southerland, the Republican incumbent in District 2, defeated former longtime Democratic Rep. Allen Boyd by 54 to 41 percent in 2010.

The Miami-born Graham settled in Tallahassee after her father was elected governor in 1978,  she went off to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a law degree at American University and then returned to the leafy state capital to raise her family.

As she sets out across North Florida campaigning, she may take a page from her father’s campaigns, which appealed to an old Florida — his own mother hailing from the Panhandle. His penchant for folksy songs in his early campaigns — including that later short-lived presidential bid — led to the memorable: ``I’m a Graham cracker” (appealing to an old Florida crowd whom the late Lawton Chiles embodied as “the old he-coon.”)

In Florida, the elder Graham also held a certain distinction: Never losing an election, he was elected to the state Legislature in 1966, as governor in ’78 and the Senate in ’86. (He stepped out of the presidential ring before the first primaries). He retired in January 2005.

Which all adds up to quite a challenge on Gwen Graham’s shoulders.

Original post is Gwen Graham: Florida Family Encore by Political Capital.

It was a state dinner at the home of President Shimon Peres of Israel.

The guest of honor was President Barack Obama, who received Israel’s Presidential Medal of Distinction.

The host served a Mediterranean sea plate of seared tuna, ceviche, tomato-based tower in Galilee olive oil, fillet of beef and lamb chop duet on a potato tart, zucchini flower with mushroom medley and beetroot foam and peppedio pepper with cracked wheat.

And did we mention the Fresh Israeli Salad?

Obama’s toast, delivered in Hebrew, translated as: “Until you’re 120 years old.”

Peres will turn 90 in August.

But guess who else came to dinner from the U.S. — a couple of congressmen, including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, who chairs the Democratic National Committee.

As she returned to the King David Hotel after dinner, Wasserman Schultz said: “It was really good.  Peres is the most inspiring speaker. And when I’m sitting there at dinner I felt like I was sitting with my grandfather.”

Original post is State Dinner in Jerusalem: Mediterranean Diet by Political Capital.

Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Charles “Charlie” Crist in Washington.

Charlie Crist, the only Florida governor to willingly decline a second term, looks well positioned if he wants his old job back. The second poll in as many days shows the Republican-turned-independent-turned Democrat leading incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Scott trailing by double digits in a potential race.

In the poll out this morning from Quinnipiac University, Crist leads Scott by a margin of 50 percent to 34 percent. A survey yesterday from  Public Policy Polling showed Crist up by 52 percent to 40 percent.

Scott’s approval rating was 36 percent, according to Quinnipiac, the 15th time the Connecticut college’s pollsters asked registered voters about Scott’s approval since he took office in 2011. Among all those polls, Scott’s approval rose as high as 41 percent and dropped as low as 29 percent.

If you’re a Scott fan looking for good news, it might be his 66 percent approval among Republicans. Granted, that’s nowhere near the 87 percent that U.S. Senator Marco Rubio enjoys within their party in the same poll. But Scott’s rating among GOP voters is up 3 percentage points since the last Q poll in December, and comes after he upset many tea party activists by supporting Medicaid expansion envisioned in President Barack Obama’s health care law and proposed a $74.2 billion budget, the largest in state history.

Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,000 registered voters from March 13-18, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. PPP surveyed 500 Florida voters March 15-18, with a margin of error is 4.4 percentage points.

Original post is Crist’s Second Chance: Beating Scott by Political Capital.

The House will devote the whole day to debating fiscal 2014 budget blueprints. Look for votes on alternatives to the proposal drafted by Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican. The Senate edges forward on the spending bill for the rest of fiscal 2013, with votes planned on a substitute amendment. If the Senate can reach agreement for a final vote on the spending bill today, work can begin on its fiscal 2014 budget plan.

And members of the Federal Open Market Committee are expected to keep interest rates near zero as they conclude two days of talks over policy today. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is tightening control of the central bank’s communications to ensure investors hear his pro-stimulus message over the more hawkish views from regional bank presidents, Blooomberg News reported.

Former Gov. Charlie Crist, running as a  Democrat, tops Florida Gov. Rick Scott by 50-34 percent among registered voters in a survey about the 2014 election,, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. Voters say by 50-40 percent that Crist’s switch from Republican to independent to Democrat shows he is a pragmatist rather than lacking in core beliefs.

The Interior Department opens bids to lease 38.6 million acres off coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama for exploration that may tap 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, and Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, will hold news conference at the same time on legislation aimed at ensuring producing states receive a fair share of energy revenues.

The House Agriculture Committee marks up seven bills today, mostly dealing with swaps and intended to ease Dodd-Frank derivative rules.Republcian  Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia appears on Bloomberg TV to discuss legislation that allows states to collect taxes on sales by out-of-state companies incl Amazon. Republican Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, Orrin Hatch of Pennsylvania and Mike Johanns of Nebraska hold a media availability on legislation “to repeal the most burdensome and costly aspects of the president’s health care law.”

The FCC holds an open meeting to consider measure to improve reliability of 9-1-1 service.

And on the first day of Spring, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc. hosts The Pink Tie Party, a fundraiser held with more than 30 participating restaurants to kick off the 2013 National Cherry Blossom Festival.

There are, however, no blossoms around the Tidal Basin yet.

Original post is Washington Daybook: Awaiting Cherries by Political Capital.

Attorney General Eric Holder did just that today, using the 50th anniversary of Gideon Vs. Wainwright, the 1963 Supreme Court ruling that state courts are required to provide attorneys for defendants who cannot afford them in criminal cases, as a way to underline the devastation of the budget cuts that went into effect on March 1.

“Put simply, this department cannot afford to lose such a significant portion of its budget – particularly in a time of uncommon challenges, when many legal assistance organizations are facing shortfalls, and state and local officials have been asked to do more with less,” Holder said.

Holder’s remarks came as a rare panel of top officials — the attorney general, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and former Vice President Walter Mondale — gathered in front of a standing-room only crowd in the Justice Department’s Great Hall to commemorate the ruling.

Sitting three floors above the event was the original handwritten letter that Clarence Earl Gideon, in pencil and on Florida prison stationery, personally mailed to the Supreme Court challenging his conviction for robbery — a guilty charge that came after Gideon was forced to defend himself because he lacked the money to hire a lawyer.

The event included a preview of a documentary about the case that premieres March 18, a film that prominently features Mondale, who as the young attorney general of Minnesota helped lead a group of his counterparts in other states in supporting Gideon in an amicus brief. The film is narrated by actor Martin Sheen.

All three participants said the case marked the beginning, not the end, of the ongoing fight to secure adequate legal services for the poor in the U.S. Each pressed for lawyers on both sides of the table — prosecutors and defenders — to donate time and money to increase access to legal counsel.

“We must never stop fighting to realize the principle that we have come to know by his name – by guaranteeing that every person in this country can access quality legal representation any time they come before the criminal justice system,” Holder said.

Original post is Landmark Ruling: Venue for Budget Talk by Political Capital.

Photograph by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Rep. Allen West speaks during an address to the 39th Conservative Political Action Committee in this file photo.

Tea Party-favorite Allen West, who narrowly lost his bid for a second term in Congress in the nation’s most expensive House race, has announced his next step: A political action committee known as the Allen West Guardian Fund.

West has plenty of money to get his new venture off the ground; he reported a campaign bank account balance of $940,574 at the end of last year, money he can roll over into the new PAC.

As a member of the House, West told constituents that about 80 House Democrats were “members of the Communist Party,” and defeat hasn’t quieted him. In his fundraising e-mail, he described President Barack Obama as someone who “does not tell the truth nor is he trustworthy.”

Having raised more than $19 million for his failed re-election, West’s new fundraising goals appear modest: $5 million to help elect 12 “hard-charging constitutional conservatives” who are either minority candidates, military veterans, or like himself, both.

“America is the land of the free and the home of the brave,” West wrote in an e-mail to supporters. “But which one will prevail over the next four years depends on you, me, and how we together fight to win the battle for our beloved country.”

West lost his re-election to Democrat Patrick Murphy by just 1,904 votes, one of the closest House races in the country.

Original post is West Goes to New Battle: Guardian by Political Capital.

Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Texas Governor Rick Perry says his first priority as president would be to do away with the new health care law while being interviewed by Google Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair pin this August 15, 2011 file photo in Iowa.

Updated at 3:30 pm EDT

What don’t Rick Perry and Mitt Romney have in common?

Health insurance for their fellow home states’ residents.

It was Perry, the Texas governor who also sought the Republican Party’s presidential nomination last year, who announced last summer that he would reject the health-care exchanges and Medicaid expansion included in President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.

“The bottom line here is that Medicaid is a failed program,” Perry said in an appearance on Fox News. “To expand this program is not unlike adding a thousand people to the Titanic.”

Yet look what else is sinking:

For the fifth year in a row, Texas ranks No. 1 in Americans lacking health insurance, according to a Gallup-Healthways survey.

More than a quarter of adult Texans — 28.8 percent — lacked coverage in 2012, the highest rate for any state since the survey started in January 2008.

Massachusetts, it goes to figure, has the lowest rate, at 4.5 percent — thanks to another former governor, Romney, who once advocated a mandate there that became less appealing to him in the 2012 presidential election contest.

Nationwide, an average of 16.9 percent of all adults lacked coverage.

While Perry holds out against the Medicaid expansion, other Republican governors — including Florida’s Rick Scott — have started reassessing their opposition to the provision of “Obama-care” that offers states expanded funding and coverage for more people. The Florida Legislature, however, appears to want none of it today.

In Florida, 22.8 percent of all adults were uninsured for health care.

Gallup’s Elizabeth Mendes reports: “Uninsured rates in about half the U.S. remained higher in 2012 than in 2008. Just four states, though, show year-over-year increases every year since 2008 — Rhode Island, New Jersey, California, and New York. And Texas — the state with the highest adult uninsured rate in the country for five years in a row — continues to widen the gap between it and the state with the second-highest uninsured rate in the U.S.”

Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey throughout 2012, with a random sample of 353,564 adults and a possible margin of error of 1 percentage point.

Original post is Perry’s Titanic Texas: Health Insurance by Political Capital.