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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Reedy Creek Administration Building on April 17 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Democrats from Florida were less than impressed with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's Tuesday swing through DC, calling it ill-timed, his political resume goofy, and his ongoing fight with Walt Disney World a devastating vanity project.

The less-than-warm welcomes from Reps. Darren Soto and Debbie Wasserman Schultz came as DeSantis breezed into DC for an after-work event hosted by members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, a hard-right voting bloc that typically lines up behind embattled former president and 2024 candidate Donald Trump.

Soto said he suspected that DeSantis would try to woo supporters for his anticipated presidential bid with stories about all the culture war fights he stoked back home, including the new 6-week abortion ban he just signed into law and his escalating feud with Disney.

"A total loser in the general election. But I'm sure he's trying to appeal to his base," Soto told Insider about DeSantis' contentious policy priorities.

He added that he thought the war on Disney, whose resort and theme park is nestled in the congressional district Soto represents, was counterproductive.

"It'd be nice if he stopped attacking Central Florida's top employer," Soto said, estimating that beating up on the Mouse House may buy him some MAGA love in the GOP primary, but predicted it wouldn't be a winning strategy for the long-term.

Walt Disney World has roughly 80,000 employees in Florida and is the state's biggest tourist attraction. The district housing Disney collects roughly $105 million a year in general revenue,according to CNBC, and paid more than $280 million in property taxes between 2015 and 2020.

"We're talking about trying to get them to invest more money to create more jobs. And this is not helpful to those efforts," Soto warned.

Wasserman Schultz, who serves on the House Judiciary's newly created weaponization subcommittee, accused the governor of misdirecting his state-granted powers "to revive a flailing presidential campaign."

"DeSantis continues to abuse his public office to penalize [Disney], and brags about what further pain he may inflict on this leading economic tourist attraction," she wrote in an email.

Her comments took aim at DeSantis's latest threat to have a district board consider development in land bordering Disney, such as by erecting a state prison.

Wasserman Schultz also challenged House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan to investigate whether DeSantis was putting his political ambitions over the welfare of the Sunshine State.

"While he is here in DC, Chairman Jordan should invite America's most flagrant offender of weaponizing public office to testify and answer questions in front of our select subcommittee," Wasserman Schultz told Insider.

Since March, DeSantis has been swinging across numerous states on a book tour, making the rounds to early voting and swing states ahead of an expected 2024 presidential run.

He was in Ohio last week but returned to Tallahassee to sign the six-week abortion ban into law just before midnight. The next day, he appeared at the evangelical college Liberty University. He's set to speak twice in South Carolina on Wednesday after his stop in DC Tuesday.

The Florida governor wasn't being offered much cover by Florida Republicans on Capitol Hill. Sen. Rick Scott, for instance, brushed off a reporter who asked him if he'd be attending DeSantis' meet and greet.

"I don't know. You'll have to check with my office," he said, turning to the next media outlet.

When another reporter asked whether DeSantis had gone too far by threatening Disney with state prisoners for neighbors, Scott claimed ignorance.

"I didn't see that part," Scott, who served two terms as governor before DeSantis,told reporters.

Back in Florida, Democrats in the state were attacking DeSantis as well over not just the Disney battle, but over his response to flooding in Fort Lauderdale last week that drove people from their homes.

During a press conference Tuesday, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried bashed DeSantis for being in Washington, DC, to curry endorsements from the Florida delegation, saying he should have been asking for federal assistance instead.

Fried was referring to a report from NBC News that said the DeSantis political operation was asking members to hold off on making any endorsements for the 2024 presidential nomination contest. So far, they've lined up to support Trump.

"Ron DeSantis is out campaigning outside of the state of Florida and picking fights with Mickey Mouse," Fried said.

Asked to respond, press secretary Bryan Griffin accused Democrats of playing politics over the matter and said the state's response to the flooding was in "full swing."

"It's wrong for the media and political critics to rush to politicize every natural disaster," Griffin said. "The governor left before the unprecedented flooding (which intensified later in the night.) He returned the next day."

DeSantis' public schedule shows he has been in contact with Broward County officials and signed an emergency declaration for the area on Thursday, the day after the rainfall. He spoke with Mark Gale, the CEO of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, which closed Thursday due to the flooding, his schedule showed.

Alecia Collins, a spokesperson for the agency, said its division was the "governor apparatus for responding to emergencies statewide."

Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, also was on the ground soon after the storm hit. The agency sent vacuum trucks and water pumps to Fort Lauderdale, and distributed meals. Griffin said the agency was helping to get gas stations working again so people could fill up their cars.

But Fried said DeSantis should have come himself rather than send a surrogate.

"When there is a disaster that happens in a part of our state," Fried said, "he has an obligation to be here."

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DeSantis gets chilly reception in DC from frustrated Florida Democrats - Business Insider

David Royer and Ashley Paul

1 day ago

MEMPHIS, Tenn. A bill pushed by a Memphis lawmaker that would require rape kits to be tested within 30 days did not receive funding in the governors proposed state budget Tuesday.

That means HB104, sponsored by Antonio Parkinson, is dead, according to House Democrats. The bill had previously been recommended for passage by the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee.

Parkinson (D-Memphis) said a similar bill he backed in 2014 suffered the same fate.

Honestly what it looks like to me is that again, there was no will to make this a priority, to make funding rape kits a priority in the Tennessee legislature. Thats it, plain and simple, Parkinson said.

It currently takes months in many cases for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to test rape kit evidence. The delay has been reported by WREG for years, and the problem came to light last year after the murder of Memphis jogger Eliza Fletcher.

Fletchers alleged killer, Cleotha Abston, had been linked to an earlier rape case, but the evidence in that case sat untested.

Parkinson said if the rape kit had been tested in a timely manner, its possible that Henderson would have been incarcerated and unable to abduct and murder Fletcher.

I am completely disappointed in the lack of action on the part of the Tennessee legislature to fund getting rape kits testedin 30 days, Parkinson said in a statement. This is an exact repeat of what took place in 2014. Our inaction in 2014, played a part in the death of Eliza Fletcher. This is a slap in the face to all victims of rape in our state.We put $250 million into the rainy day fund that put us over $2 billion dollars. But we wouldnt fund $5 million to test rape kitsin 30 days.We can do better.

Parkinson said the state is not doing its part in preventing another tragedy like that from happening again.

We have a duty to protect the citizens of Tennessee and we are failing miserably when it comes to protecting our citizens, he said.

Parkinson said he seemed to have a lot of support for this bill, and when he asked why it was excluded from the budget, he was given a bunch of excuses that he says dont make sense.

As time goes on, their energy and their zeal to get something done apparently waned, and its unfortunate that were here in the same exact posture that actually added to Eliza Fletcher not being here anymore, he said.

Parkinson said this just means hell have to try again because he wont stop until he feels everything is done to keep Tennesseans safe.

Until we pass the budget, until we wrap session up, I will use every single second, every opportunity that I have, every procedure that I have at my hands, to be able to make this thing work and to try to fix it, he said.

More here:
Bill to test rape kits in 30 days is dead, TN Democrats say - WREG NewsChannel 3

State Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, who represents Arvada, is strongly opposed to the idea of imposing density on local governments.

If this was not mandated, then I think you could find a lot of agreement [on the goal of building housing, she said. But these things are mandated and it takes away local control. And I think that I would much rather take a stance of providing incentives and working collaboratively than sticks and mandates.

Other lawmakers say they support the bills central idea, but want to see more protections for the people who might be displaced by development.

State Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Democrat, said that she wanted the legislature to also enact the just cause eviction protections bill this year. Gonzales is a member of the committee that is hearing the bill.

The land-use bill is one important policy, but there are many different ways that we are working this legislative session in order to protect communities from displacement, she said.

Moreno said he supports the anti-eviction legislation.

Even if the bill clears its committee hearing on Tuesday, it could still face a tough fight in the full Senate.

This is one of those bills that doesn't fall cleanly into either partisan camp. I think it does fall into the camp of whether or not you believe in local control. So this is gonna be intense, Zenzinger said.

Democrats can afford to lose only five votes in the full chamber, assuming that no Republicans support the bill. Republicans in some states have supported similar reforms, but Colorados GOP has largely rejected the proposal, saying its an unconstitutional overreach.

Editors note: This article was updated on April 14, 2023 with additional information about the Eagle River Water & Sanitation Districts concerns and to correct the number of votes Democrats have in the Senate.

Original post:
Ski towns could be exempted from controversial land-use bill as ... - Colorado Public Radio

GREEN BAY, Wis. Eric Genrich is running a full-throated campaign in support of abortion rights, reminding voters of his position at every turn and hammering his anti-abortion opponent in television ads. At a recent event, he featured an obstetrician who now commutes to a state where abortion is legal to treat patients and a local woman who traveled to Colorado to terminate a nonviable pregnancy.

Theres just one inconvenient reality: Mr. Genrich is running for re-election as mayor of Green Bay, Wis., an office that has nothing to do with abortion policy.

Even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, putting back into effect a Wisconsin law from 1849 that bans nearly all abortions, the city did not have a clinic that performed the procedure, nor a health department that regulated it.

Mr. Genrich is one of several candidates for municipal offices on the ballot this spring in races in Wisconsin, Chicago, St. Louis, Lincoln, Neb., and elsewhere who are making their support for abortion rights and often their opponents past opposition a centerpiece of their campaigns, even though abortion policy in all of these places is decided at the state level.

Democrats used a muscular defense of abortion rights to great success in the midterm elections last fall, and, if that strategy works again, they are likely to copy it next year in races at all levels of government, including in President Bidens campaign if he seeks re-election.

The focus on abortion rights in down-ballot races, however, reflects Democrats increased nationalization of local politics. For decades, local Republican candidates ran on issues like abortion, immigration and national security, putting them in simple terms: A noun, a verb and 9/11, Mr. Biden once said in describing the phenomenon.

Now Democrats are doing the same on abortion in left-leaning cities, hoping to win over independent voters and some moderate Republicans.

Doing so allows Democrats to avoid discussing crime rates or other less appealing campaign topics. But beyond that, they recognize and emphasize that in todays tribal politics, the precise responsibilities of an office matter less than sending a strong signal to voters about ones broader political loyalties.

Its definitely not a municipal issue per se, Mr. Genrich said in an interview. Voters dont care about some of these parochial distinctions between municipal boundaries. This is a city issue, a state issue, a federal issue. Some of their most important questions are, what do you stand for fundamentally?

Mr. Genrich declined repeated opportunities to explain what, precisely, the mayor of Green Bay could do about abortion in his city.

Still, Republicans running for mayor find themselves doing a political tap dance, trying to de-emphasize but not disavow their opposition to abortion rights, which is not an electoral winner in Democratic cities. In Green Bay, Mr. Biden won 53 percent of the vote in 2020; last year, Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, took 55 percent of the citys vote.

Mr. Genrichs opponent in Tuesdays officially nonpartisan election, Chad Weininger, is a former state legislator who cast a series of votes to restrict abortion rights before last years Supreme Court ruling. Now, as television ads and campaign mail blast his stance and label him MAGA Chad to emphasize his Republican politics, he is trying to change the subject.

Im running for mayor, Im not debating abortion, Mr. Weininger said. We could have discussions about nuclear arms, but guess what? Cant do anything about it. We can have discussions about securing our borders, but theres nothing we can do about it.

National Democratic organizations that do not typically involve themselves in local elections are using abortion policy to promote and raise money for candidates who back abortion rights.

Emilys List, a group that backs women who support abortion rights, has endorsed mayoral candidates in Jacksonville, Fla., Madison, Wis., and Lincoln, Neb.

In Lincoln, where Mr. Biden won 54 percent of the vote in 2020, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, a Democrat, said her constituents had demanded to know what she could do about proposed legislation in the Nebraska Legislature that would restrict abortion rights. Her answer: speak out against the bills.

Voters, Ms. Gaylor Baird said, are much more interested in knowing where people stand. So I expect that people will want to know where I stand on this issue, even if it isnt a local issue typically.

Her main opponent, Suzanne Geist, a Republican state senator who has sponsored bills to restrict or ban abortion in Nebraska, said her actions in the State Capitol should have little bearing on how she would run the states capital city. She said she would prefer to focus on issues like public safety and the health of the citys business community.

Talking about abortion, Ms. Geist said, is a way of avoiding what the present issues are and trying to get the public wrapped around something that really has nothing to do with the mayors office or the mayors race.

Past opposition to some abortion rights has become a political liability even for candidates who support them now. In Chicago, Paul Vallas, the former Chicago Public Schools chief executive who is running for mayor, is being attacked by his more liberal opponent, Brandon Johnson, for a 2009 television interview in which Mr. Vallas said, Fundamentally, I oppose abortion.

Mr. Vallass statement, which he made when he being asked about possibly running for state office as a Republican, came after he had declared himself personally pro-choice but said he would favor banning some late-term abortions.

Mr. Johnson is now broadcasting ads with a clip of Mr. Vallass statement that he opposed abortion; Mr. Vallas has responded with advertising declaring that he supports abortion rights.

In an interview on Sunday at a Greek restaurant, Mr. Vallas said Mr. Johnson had taken his past abortion comments out of context.

Its had some impact, he acknowledged.

In other races, municipal candidates are trying to find ways to make their cities have some influence over abortion access.

Daniela Velzquez, a public relations executive running for the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, is campaigning on continuing the citys policy of providing money for women seeking abortions to travel across the Mississippi River to Illinois, where the procedure remains legal. While abortion became illegal in Missouri after the Supreme Courts decision, Ms. Velzquez said many in St. Louis supported abortion rights.

I have been knocking on doors and people have looked at our lit and been like, Oh, you know, pro-choice, she said. Then they say, Yeah, Im going to vote for you.

Democrats are open in their belief at the current moment, the best way to win votes is to focus on the abortion fight.

Abortion and reproductive rights is the No. 1 issue in 2023, said Ben Wikler, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to back Mr. Genrich in Green Bay and Mayor Cory Mason in Racine, who is making similar arguments there. Its the No. 1 issue that moves voters that normally vote Republican to vote for someone else and its the No. 1 issue to get Democrats off the couch and casting ballots.

In November, Racine asked voters on the midterm-election ballot if Wisconsins 1849 abortion ban should be repealed and 71 percent said yes. Mr. Mason is now running television ads highlighting his stance in favor of abortion rights and attacking his opponent.

Abortion, Mr. Mason said, comes up in his discussions with voters as much as snow plowing, public safety and housing.

These two big issues around freedom, the freedom to vote and the freedom to make your own health care decisions, they are every bit as front and center in this race as anything else that we deal with at the municipal level, Mr. Mason said.

Mr. Masons opponent, Henry Perez, a Republican city alderman opposed to abortion rights, said voters in Racine did not care much about the issue. He said that he did not remember how he had voted in the November abortion referendum, and that too much fuss was being made over abortion being banned in Racine when it was available across the state line in Illinois, roughly 25 miles south of the city.

A lot of people Ive talked to say, Henry, abortion, really? Mr. Perez said. What do we care about it here? I mean, its not a thing that we do. And theres always options like going out of town, you know, or going over to the next state to take care of an abortion if they need to.

Mitch Smith contributed reporting from Chicago.

Read the rest here:
Democrats Run on Abortion, Even for Offices With Little Say on the Issue - The New York Times

Mainor sent us a lengthy response to the threats of a primary challenge. She defended her votes on the two measures and said she was standing up for her community.

The marginalized never have a voice fighting for them, she wrote. Heres more:

Democrat lawmakers (not constituents) will cry about abortion rights, wail for transgender rights, demand AAPI protections, and create legislation for antisemitism. Yet, if a Black independent female Democrat legislator who grew up in poverty wants to give the bottom 25% of children attending failing schools a second chance at education infuriates some of my fellow Democrats to the point they are soliciting my opposition that's exactly the problem."

- Georgia Rep. Mesha Mainor, D-Atlanta

Defeating Mainor, who holds one of the most liberal seats in Georgia, wont be easy. She emerged from a three-way primary in 2020 and ran unopposed that November. She easily fended off two Democratic primary challengers last year to win a second term.

And there are already signs her next campaign could be a proxy fight over education policy if she faces a formidable primary opponent. Among those amplifying her fundraising calls is Corey DeAngelis, of the American Federation for Children, a pro-voucher group.

Mainor has forged her own path since she arrived at the Capitol in 2021, which she wrote about in an AJC commentary last year. After getting hammered by her fellow Democrats for sitting out a vote on an agriculture issue, she said she found support from an unexpected source: House Speaker David Ralston.

He told her, Be you, be authentic and represent the people in your district, and you will be fine.

***

Credit: Christopher Lee/The New York Times

Credit: Christopher Lee/The New York Times

NATIONAL POLL. A national survey conducted by InsiderAdvantage last week found former President Donald Trump with a significant edge over a group of 10 potential Republican rivals.

The poll of 550 likely voters showed Trump with 57% support, ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (27%) and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (5%). Other contenders, including former Vice President Mike Pence, lagged in the single-digits.

More than half of respondents of the poll said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs decision to indict Trump made them more likely to support the former president, while about 14% say theyre less supportive. Roughly one-third said it had no effect on their views.

The margin of error was 4.2%.

***

MTG ON 60 MINUTES. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene got the 60 Minutes treatment on Sunday, and regular readers of The Jolt likely saw a repeat of themes weve covered in this space for the past two years.

The Rome Republican talked about her negative views of Democrats, defended her support for former President Donald Trump and political views that fit into the umbrella of Christian nationalism.

The Founding Fathers quoted the Bible constantly and were driven by their faith, Greene told host Lesley Stahl.

But on social media the backlash was against CBS itself for its decision to highlight Greene on its flagship interview program, with the hashtag #Boycott60Minutes trending on Twitter Sunday evening.

Some of those critics noted that Greene has called for protests in New York City tomorrow to coincide with Trumps appearance in a Manhattan courthouse. The former president is expected to turn himself in for arraignment there after news broke last week that he would be indicted on charges related to hush money payments for a former porn star.

The event, which organizers are calling a peaceful protest, will be held at a park near the courthouse in conjunction with the New York Young Republican Club.

Trumps camp announced hell deliver remarks about the indictment from his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida Tuesday night.

***

COLLEGE CRUNCH. University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue spoke out against the $66 million cut to USG included in the 2024 state budget that lawmakers approved last week on the final day of the legislative session.

Now individual colleges around the state are doing the math and speaking out, too.

Among them is University of North Georgia President Bonita Jacobs, whose school will see a $2.45 million cut in its teaching and student services budget as a part of the overall reduction.

This new and unexpected budget cut is concerning, as the university is already in the process of absorbing about $13 million in tuition revenue losses and state funding formula reductions related to credit hour declines occurring between Fiscal Year 2021 and Fiscal Year 2025, Jacobs said in a staff article posted on UNGs website.

The item also details a 10% state appropriations cut of $8.67 million in Fiscal Year 2021, which was not restored, along with separate increases approved by lawmakers this year for equipment and construction.

***

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

VOUCHER VENT. The Wall Street Journal editorial page is back for its third editorial in three weeks on the now-failed effort to create a statewide voucher program for Georgia students.

After pushing for Gov. Brian Kemp to take a public stand on the issue, which he did in the final week of the General Assembly, the paper now says it was too little, too late. A bill to give $6,500 per student for private or homeschool failed in the House on Day 40 after rural Republicans joined most Democrats to oppose it.

His support came too late to change enough minds, the board wrote Sunday. Georgia has two-year legislative terms, and the House can take up the bill again next year. The Senate doesnt need to pass it again. There are hopeful signs for 2024.

Its not clear what would change rural Republicans minds on the issue next year. But an even bigger question is why the New York paper is watching Kemps role in the matter here in Georgia so closely.

***

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

***

HARRIS IN DALTON. Vice President Kamala Harris will tour the Qcells solar panel manufacturing plant in Dalton on Thursday as a part of the Biden administrations Investing in America tour.

In Dalton, she is expected to highlight legislation passed during the first two years of the Biden-Harris administration to increase jobs and strengthen the economy. The measures were designed to address climate change, boost spending on infrastructure, encourage more domestic chip production and provide relief to businesses and families during the coronavirus pandemic.

In January, Qcells announced that it will spend $2.5 billion to build a new plant in Cartersville and expand the capacity of the existing facility in Dalton.

The expansion is expected to bring 2,500 jobs to Georgia by next year when the new production capacity is brought online.

***

HUD SECRETARY IN GWINNETT. President Joe Bidens Investing in America tour is also making a stop in Georgia on Monday.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge will tour the Good Samaritan Health Center in Norcross with U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath. The Good Samaritan facility was developed with a $2.4 million HUD community development grant.

Following the tour, Fudge and McBath will hold a community roundtable and news conference. Fudge will also meet with Gwinnett County elected officials.

***

Credit: Oliver Contreras/The New York Times

Credit: Oliver Contreras/The New York Times

WARNOCK IN NY. Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. has announced that Georgias U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock will be its commencement speaker in May.

Warnocks national profile and role as a pastor-politician have made him a hot ticket on the graduation circuit.

***

DOG OF THE DAY. Any student of American history knows about Jack, Bobby and Teddy Kennedy.

But only the truly in-the-know Georgia politicos have met the West Highland terrier trio of Jack, Bobby, and Teddy Linville, but were here to change that.

These pint-sized politi-pups call Atlanta-based message man, Billy Linville, their person. Since Linville is both the co-founder of Lexicon Strategies and a huge history buff, his dogs are no different.

The power pooches are, of course, named after the famous Kennedy brothers. And Linville named them in order as they joined the family. Jack is 10, Bobby is 8, and Teddy is 5. Like their namesakes, these three enjoy days by the water and evenings hosting powerhouses during Linvilles well-known political shindigs.

Send us your pups of any political persuasion and cats, on a cat-by-cat basis to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC. Weve got lots more coming.

***

AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.

Read more here:
The Jolt: Democrats threaten primary against centrist Atlanta lawmaker - The Atlanta Journal Constitution