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Joe Scarborough usually sets the tone on Morning Joe. But today, Mika Brzezinski took the lead, abruptly booting Florida Governor Rick Scott from the show today for his refusal to comment substantively on Donald Trump's statement yesterday that "Islam hates us." As Scott repeated various bland statements about Florida, Mika could be heard muttering "wrap it" and "no, no." After a final try at getting Scott to respond, Mika curtly announced "we will move on now. Thanks." When the show returned after a break, Mika excoriated Scott, calling his performance "weak, sniveling political wavering," saying he was "pathetic" and that...

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed into law a major overhaul of Florida’s death penalty on Monday in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring the previous system unconstitutional. The new law requires at least 10 out of 12 jurors recommend execution for it to be carried out. Florida previously required that a majority of jurors recommend the death sentence. The law was found unconstitutional in January because jurors served an advisory role while judges had the final say in death penalty cases. “It is my solemn duty to uphold the laws of Florida and my foremost concern is always...

Gov. Rick Scott is getting handed a string of defeats this year that could render his final 2½ years in office nearly irrelevant. Republican legislators have already rejected Scott's pitch for steep tax cuts and $250 million for business incentives. They are poised to scuttle a major gambling deal he negotiated with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and may reject his hand-picked leader for the state's health department. And there is growing talk that if Scott vetoes parts of this year's budget, lawmakers will override him. ...

Donald Trump’s winning over of Republican lawmakers continues, as Florida Gov. Rick Scott will endorse him, Fox News reported. The report was made on the air by Bret Baier of Fox News and subsequently confirmed by CBS’s Major Garrett. “I have a lot of respect for Rick Scott. I don’t know about his endorsement,” Mr. Trump said.

Donald Trump has added a press conference at his Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Super Tuesday, fueling speculations of another high-profile endorsement...Some speculate that Florida Gov. Rick Scott could announce his support of Trump at the press conference, which is scheduled two weeks before Florida's Republican primary.

Scott, who like Trump had no prior political experience before running for public office, has been on many pundits' VP shortlist since Trump announced his presidential campaign. As the governor of an important swing state, he's a natural fit, but some say Trump already has plenty of ties to Florida, and would be better served by nominating the governor of another important swing state, like Ohio, for example. Scott drew even more attention to himself in January, when he penned an op ed in USA Today praising Trump. The article, written long before a single caucus or primary vote was...

7 reasons Mike Pence will be the GOP nominee in 2016 Updated by Matthew Yglesias on September 30, 2014, 8:30 a.m. ET @mattyglesiasmatt@vox.com Tweet Share on Twitter (191) Share Share on Facebook (1,129) +1 LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn (15) Email Email MikePence.com Don't miss stories. Follow Vox! Early polling tells you almost nothing about presidential nomination battles, since it ends up almost exclusively telling you about name recognition. Early media buzz is similar. People like to read stories about figures they've already heard of, and it's easier to write stories about politicians you've already covered.But you don't need to be a...

The #Florida Turnaround story under Governor Scott @FLDEO

TAMPA — Gov. Rick Scott wants an appointee who called a local public relations consultant a "tax-payer subsidized slut" to resign his seat on the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board, Scott's office said Tuesday. But the appointee, influential Republican activist Sam Rashid, said he intends to stay put — for now. Rashid's misogynistic comments, made Sept. 2 on Facebook, were directed at Beth Leytham, a Tampa consultant hired to help win public support for the county transportation sales tax referendum known as Go Hillsborough. In the same post, he alleged that Leytham made "several million dollars" as an "unregistered lobbyist...

The congressman who infamously said during the Obamacare debate that Republicans wanted sick people to “die quickly” now says Planned Parenthood defunding proponents will shepherd in a new wave of deaths. If the attempt to destroy #PlannedParenthood is successful, the result is that many women will suffer and die. #flsen http://t.co/rQTmYmOan4 — Rep. Alan Grayson (@AlanGrayson) August 9, 2015 Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), who is running for the Senate seat Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is vacating to run for president, linked an article about his criticism of Florida Gov. Rick Scott and healthcare regulators for investigating 16 Planned Parenthood clinics in...

Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered state health officials to inspect Planned Parenthood offices that perform abortions, saying he is troubled by videos describing the organization’s procedures for providing tissue from aborted fetuses for research. The Republican governor said Wednesday the state will take quick legal and regulatory action if any of the 16 facilities in Florida are found in violation of the law. “The videos coming out about Planned Parenthood are deeply troubling to say the least. It is against the law for any organization to sell body parts,” Scott said in a statement. Planned Parenthood has come under congressional...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In the wake of the deadly shootings at two Tennessee military centers, Gov. Rick Scott has signed an executive order meant to protect and arm members of the Florida National Guard. In the executive order signed Saturday, Scott wants "to ensure that all qualified full-time Guardsmen are adequately armed for their personal protection." The order calls for expedited processing of concealed weapons permits for Florida Guardsmen.

Gov. Jerry Brown says he has a message for Republican governors planning to visit California to woo business from the state: Welcome. Florida Gov. Rick Scott is the latest governor to say he’s planning a recruiting trip to California. A letter he sent to shipping companies in California takes shots at Brown’s “tax and spend administration.” […] Brown says California has done the opposite of what Republicans advocate. He says the state is tackling climate change, immigration reform and taxing high-income people, and the state is prospering. …

Florida Governor Rick Scott has opened the door to illegal aliens voting in Florida elections. He has decided that Florida will not appeal a ruling that limited the state’s ability to remove illegal aliens and non-citizens from Florida’s voter rolls. Even Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi opposes Scott’s abandonment of the appeal. But do non-citizens and illegal aliens actually vote in Florida elections? Yes, hundreds of times, and more. Meet Yvonne Wigglesworth. Wigglesworth was but one of hundreds of non-citizens found by local news media investigative reports as having voted in multiple Florida elections. Wigglesworth is not a citizen. John...

While Miami-Dade residents were strike recently with new, rare fee hikes on vital east-west arteries, Gov. Rick Scott was rewarding his farming regressive supporters with $9 million to build and urge their toll-free roads. So while down south we compensate a way, a folks adult north who minister reduction to state revenues get a giveaway ride. Poor timing? Irony? A giggle to go with a slap to a pockets of Miami-Dade’s toll-payers? The governor’s proclamation from Tallahassee was all those things — and came by approach of press releases finished with difference of regard from a prolonged register of who’s...

A Tallahassee judge opened the door Monday for a new complaint against Gov. Rick Scott that alleges the governor intentionally withheld public records in violation of state law....

The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) released a poll from On Message on Monday which gives a good indication of how Gov. Rick Scott was able to defeat former Gov. Charlie Crist in last month’s Florida general election. The poll of Floridians who voted in November shows Scott did better than expected with Hispanic voters while also taking a majority of male voters and seniors. Scott won the election 48 percent to 47 percent and did well with Hispanics, running almost dead even with Crist. The poll shows 49 percent of Hispanic voters backed the Democrat while 47 percent supported...

There's a meme that's been going strong on Reddit's Florida page all summer. It shows Rick Scott and Charlie Crist side-by-side with the caption "Giant Douche Versus Turd Sandwich." That South Park reference seemed to resonate especially in Democrat-rich South Florida. As Riptide noted yesterday, local Facebook feeds and Twitter updates were rich with cynical "Why bother?" messages because of the matchup. Sure enough, Miami-Dade had the worst turnout in Florida yesterday, with Broward not far behind. In a razor-tight election, the result of that voter apathy in those left-leaning bastions became clear by around 10:30 last night: Gov. Rick...

I’d almost forgotten to write this column. I’m sitting here watching election returns, and I am just stunned. Massachusetts? Maryland? MARYLAND?!?! Forget the Senate for a minute, or the massive Republican majority in the House, and think about the fact that Republicans did so well in the gubernatorial races across the country. In Michigan, after passing a “Right-To-Work” law, Gov. Rick Snyder wins handily. Union money and muscle plus President Obama campaigning against him couldn’t sink a man with the Twitter handle @OneToughNerd. Speaking of unions, no one had a bigger target placed on their back by the unions than...

Charlie Crist is quietly running a last-minute radio ad from President Barack Obama on Florida radio stations with large African-American audiences. “Don’t let anyone or anything keep you from voting,” the president says in the ad.