Conexion Miami / Plutocracy, and there’s money to prove it

Money is the mother’s milk of American politics. There are PACs, super PACs, cash under the table, and actual contributions to the candidates. Money is the equivalent of a steroid that allows you to flex your political muscle to its fullest. Take a look at Jeb and Marco. Bush leads all aspirants with $119 million raised; Marco Rubio a distant third with more than $45 million. Ted Cruz was second with more than $51 million. Compare that to the 1992 Clinton, Bush and Perot race. Combined they spent approximately $300 million (adjusted to 2011 dollars). Look no closer than George W. Bush and Al Gore who combined for approximately $400 million. Democracy? Nah… plutocracy.

Debbie ‘earns’ anti-Cuba dollars

The news is not new (in fact it’s stale) when Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz decries anything positive about our relationship with Cuba. Last week the south Florida Democrat was quoted as saying: “My view is different from President Obama’s … I believe a relationship with the United States should be earned.” Words she used to address Cuba’s human rights record and our soon to be diplomatic relationship with the island. We wonder if when she speaks of ‘earning’ she refers to the way she’s ‘earned’ that NO vote on everything Cuba as she has happily accepted anti-Cuba money since she got to congress.

Teach-in to save the economy

There’s a teach-in to save the economy happening on Saturday (July 18) in Miami. It starts at 3 p.m. and it will take place in North Miami on 125 Street and 15 Avenue. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and MoveOn released a 12-video series called “The Big Picture: Ideas to Save the Economy.” In these videos, Reich lays out simple and clear ways we can take action and get our economy working for everyone. They’ve been viewed 8 million times. If you want to attend, click here.

It’s Hillary

How many persons are running for president on the Republican side? It doesn’t matter; we’re still trying to figure out who’s worse. But the fact is there are six possible candidates on the Democratic side, and as of this past week, Hillary Clinton is way ahead. The Real Clear Politicsaverage of major polls has Clinton with 62.8%, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders with 14.3%, VP Joe Biden with 13.3% and then it’s Webb, O’Malley and Chafee with insignificant numbers so far. By the way, if an election between Clinton and Bush were held today: Clinton is ahead by 5.6 percentage points. With Marco: It’s Clinton by 6.8%.

Shaking in their boots

Redistricting has always been a joke in Florida. But the Florida Supreme Court is now involved and as the Sun Sentinel explained: “A majority of the high court’s justices agreed that eight of the state’s 27 districts violated [a Florida] constitutional mandate because they were drawn to give the Republican Party or incumbents an advantage in elections. Reconfiguring those eight districts, however, will force changes in surrounding ones. A total of 22 could be affected.” Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Curbelo and a few others are starting to worry, we have heard…

Sen. Nelson has cancer

Sen. Bill Nelson announced last week he has prostrate cancer. That’s bad news and we wish him well and a speedy recovery. Still, there are those spreading rumors that the 72-year-old senator may soon retire. Nelson denies it. Nelson is the ONLY Democrat who holds statewide elective office in Florida.

Killing it not so softly

Floridians are slowly killing the Everglades. Marjory Stoneman Douglas published “River of Grass” about the Everglades in 1947, a book that called attention to the degrading quality of life in the Everglades. But things have only gotten worse. The South Florida Sun Sentinel recently reported that a Miami company has applied for a permit to drill for oil in the Everglades on the western edges of Broward County. “Kanter Real Estate LLC, which owns 20,000 undeveloped acres of the Everglades in far southwestern Broward County, filed applications with the state to drill a well more than two miles deep to assess the feasibility of extracting oil,” the Sun Sentinel reported.