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ELECTION DAY NEWS CLIPS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY — JANUARY 31

Jan 31, 2012 Blog

**FRAMING THE DAY — FLORIDA DEMOCRATS RELEASE NEW VIDEO**

THE RESULTS MAY BE OUT BY THE VERDICT IS IN -- GOP AD WARS MAKE DEMS & PRESIDENT THE REAL WINNER TONIGHT [Talking Points Memo] "Titled “The Real Winner in Florida,” Florida Democratic Party’s new video highlights the role the vicious ad wars are playing in the state. The winner may be Mitt Romney tonight, but the message Democrats are pushing is that the real winner of all the GOP infighting is President Obama." Click here to watch the video

Chairman Smith: Romney campaign an exercise in name dropping [Talking Points Memo] "His take on the Romney that’s going to emerge from Florida? Romney just can’t connect with voters 'in a visceral way,' Smith said. The very public battle over Reagan’s legacy hasn’t helped solve that problem one bit, in the view of Democrats gearing up to defend this all-important swing state in November."

GOP Primary may leave general election wounds [Palm Beach Post] "But some observers think the GOP does have to worry about the wounds inflicted this primary season. An ABC/Washington Post poll taken Jan. 18-22 showed 49 percent of U.S. voters had an unfavorable opinion of Romney and only 31 percent favorable. Gingrich's was even worse, 51 percent unfavorable to 29 percent favorable, and the two have only continued to hammer at each other since."

PEW: Even Republicans have negative feelings about Republican field [PEW] "Amid a bruising primary campaign, Republicans remain unimpressed with their party’s presidential field. In fact, more Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters say the GOP field is only fair or poor (52%) than did so in early January (44%)."

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain [Miami Herald] "Shadowy outside groups funded by anonymous donors and working on behalf of candidates they support have pummeled Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and others for the past two months by spending millions of dollars on mostly negative TV ads that have had an enormous impact on the fight for the Republican presidential nomination. Now, for the first time since they started shaping this campaign in earnest, many of those "super" political action committees are set to disclose just who is financing their pseudo-campaign operations."

GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATURE

Campaign finance watchdog highlights money behind Florida prison privatization move [Florida Independent] ""The National Institute on Money in State Politics released a report yesterday that highlights the money behind the state’s renewed plans to privatize state prisons."

Barbs fly in prison privatization fight [Public News Service] "Captain Riley points out that private prison operators typically cut staff to save money. He predicts the higher unemployment that would result will devastate local communities and businesses. He also claims the private companies choose staff members who were fired by the State Department of Corrections."

Florida's voting fairness problem [Tampa Bay Times Editorial] "Florida does not have a problem with voter fraud, as every hearing witness agreed. But the state does have a fairness problem, with an election law designed to keep some people from participating in the democratic process."

IN OTHER NEWS…OTHER 2012 RACES:

On the congressional front — Miller pulls out of Senate race to run for Congress [Orlando Sentinel] "Craig Miller has pulled out of the U.S. Senate race in Florida and announced he will run instead for Congress in the district newly drawn to center on Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam counties – a race that could pit him against veteran Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica."

Poll shows toll on House GOP image [Politico] "House Republican poll ratings have plunged over the past year, as Washington’s brutal battles have taken a toll on a party that was flying high last January when it took the majority."