Libertarian blog comes out against "Top Two" voting

A Libertarian Party blog post came out against a "Top-Two" primary ballot initiative in Florida.

The plan would move the top two vote-getters in what is effectively an open primary to the general election.  No matter what party the top two candidates belong to, they will advance to the general election and would be the only two candidates on the General Election ballot.

The blog post says the practice, "severely damages the chances for alternative parties and independents to participate in the general election, except where seats are uncontested."

Currently, California and Washington have "Top Two" elections. 

Source:http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/florida-ballot-initiative-for-two-only-general-elections-begins-to-circulate

If Florida Republican Governor ran as independent he would become Senator…

If Florida Republican Governor Charlie Crist ran as independent he would become Senator. Florida Governor Crist is facing a tough primary challenger from the right in his run for U.S. Senate. Many Republicans are not happy with Crist’s more liberal stands on a number of issues, and that has opened the opportunity for former state House Speaker Marco Rubio to make a hard run at Crist for the Republican nod.

So what if Crist were to run as an independent candidate? He would win in a close race. A Daily Kos showed Governor Crist would be come Senator Crist. The likely Democrat in the race is Congressman Kendick Meek.

The poll showed Governor Crist would win, Congressman Meek coming in second, and Rubio coming in third with a tally of 32-31-27. But that shows the winner is with-in the margin of error of the last place finisher.

This could get interesting, especially with 10% people saying they would not know who to vote for if this three-way battle does happen.

SOURCE:

http://lcvonlinenews.blogspot.com/2009/11/senate-florida-2010_20.html

Third Parties using technology to spread the message…

Two third parties recently send-out notes touting their technological out reach.

The Florida Whig Party will be conducting live broadcasting through Livestream.com. While America’s Indpendent Party is hosting “America's Summit - Restore the Republic” conference calls featuring AIP leaders, special guests, and principled, independent, conservatives from across the land

The Florida Whig schedule of broadcast has not been announced, America's Independent Party will hold its conference calls every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 9:00pm Eastern time.

SOURCE:

http://livestream.com/floirdawhig

http://www.aipnews.com/talk/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=7216

3rd Party Candidate says, “Phone ringing off the hook” with third party interest…

Paul C. McKain who is running for Florida's Second Congressional District on the Florida Whig Party ticket tweeted out a comment saying things are looking good for him.

He tweeted, “Phone ringing off the hook with people asking questions about 3rd party. The people are seeing the relevance on their own.”

McKain is trying to unseat Democratic Representative Allen Boyd who was first elected to congress in 1996.

SOURCE:

http://twitter.com/PaulCMcKain

State level third party bolts from national party….

The Florida Whig Party has “discontinued” its association party Modern Whig (Party) Club. On the Florida Whig’s reads the part is leaving it’s national club, “pending a response to a formal request to the past Chair for an independent financal audit, identification of the Club treasurer, a certification as to the true membership of the Club, a copy of the minutes, resolutions, and votes for all meetings since inception by the Board of Directors, and a complete roster of all independent and appointed state and local Whig leaders, clubs, and organizations.”

The Florida Whigs also have issues with the national organization because of, “As of Sunday, November 15, 2009 an unknown person(s) to Chairperson Stephens and the FWP, who is believed associated with the prior administration, has once again removed all links to the Florida Whig Party and its candidates on the website of the Modern Whig Club, formerly headquartered in Washington, D.C.”

The blogger whigblog gave some background on the fray writing, “The ‘Florida Whig Party’ pre-dated the Modern Whig Party by over a year. After the formation of the Modern Whigs, they decided to ally themselves with the Modern Whigs on a national level.”

SOURCE:

http://floridawhig.com/index.php?q=page/about

http://whigblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/florida-whig-party-breaks-with-modern.html

The Tea Party is now a party in…

The Tea Party is now a party in Florida. David Donald writes on DailyCommercial.com, “Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning certified the Tea Party as an official minor political party.”

The Tea Party joins 31 other minor political parties certified by the state.

There had formerly been a “Boston Tea Party” recognized by the State of Florida but that party is no longer listed by the Florida Secretary of States office.

SOURCE:

http://www.dailycommercial.com/localnews/story/110709tea

http://election.dos.state.fl.us/candidate/parties.shtml

Modern Whigs getting noticed in Florida…

Modern Whigs are getting noticed in Florida. Tom McLaighlin writes on NWFDailyNews.com there are a number of people lining-up to unseat incumbent Representatives Jeff Miller and Allen Boyd.

McLaighlin writes about Paul Crandall McKain becoming the, ”first Whig candidate to run for federal office since Abraham Lincoln.” McKain is running against Representataive Boyd. McKain was quoted saying, “If the representative does not represent the wishes of the people, the people’s vote means nothing… they have no representation.”

The article wraps mention that there are three Modern Whig candidates running for Congress from Florida.

SOURCE:

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/low-21936-boyd-miller.html

Florida Modern Whigs searching for candidate to run for empty seat...

Florida Modern Whig Party is searching for a candidate to run in the special election for an empty seat after Congressman Robert Wexler resigns. Congressman Wexler is leaving Congress to head a Washington think tank called the “Center for Middle East Peace & Economic Cooperation”.

The Florida Modern Whig party posted on their website and tweeted out a call for a candidate in the speical election that will happen in the district, Florida’s 19th Congressional District.

The Whigs want a candidate that will, “concur with the majority of the Party Platform and will support the twelve 912 candidate values to step forward and seek office as a Whig. The twelve 912 candidate values are: Honesty, Reverence, Hope, Thrift, Humility, Charity, Sincerity, Moderation, Hard Work, Courage, Personal Responsibility, and Gratitude… The Florida Whig Party is specifically looking for those who have never held public office to step forward… If you have seen the loss of credit, real estate values, jobs, and at times struggled with health, employment, and overall real-life issues, then you are more qualified than the vast majority of career politicians.”

The Whigs go on to say their backed candidate could get a, “website (a pre-designed template is ready for all Whig Candidates for any and all offices sought), automatic phone calls (up to 25,000 per day), printed material (business and palm cards), signs, virtual online town, community, and volunteer meetings, weekly Florida and Out-of-State Whig candidate conferences, campaign letters, voter registration lists, database design, master campaign plan development, a daily national and state issue briefing, and virtual campaign guidance from various Whigs throughout the State.”

So who would this Whig candidate face? It’s early. Beth Reinhard on MiamiHerald.com wrote, “…state Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Parkland.. was `’for sure'’ considering a run for the seat. Other potential Democratic contenders in the district… are state Sen. Ted Deutch of Delray Beach, West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel, Broward County Mayor Stacy Ritter and former Broward County Commissioner Ben Graber.”

The Miami Herald did not mention any Republicans that may try to run for the seat.

SOURCE:

http://floridawhig.com/index.php?q=issue/floridas-19th-congressional

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1281623.html

Whig Party candidate is the first third party candidate to be listed on Fec.gov for third quarter...

Of all of the third party and independent candidates running for Federal office in 2010, Paul McKain comes in first. He is the first to be listed in fec.gov for report fundraising in the third quarter of 2009.

Paul McKain, running under the Modern Whig Party banner for Florida’s Third Congressional District, has $9,346 cash on hand.

McKain is the first person to ever run for any office under the Modern Whig Party banner.

SOURCE:

http://fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/HSRefreshCandList.do?election_yr=2010&category=stateH_oth&stateName=FL

Professor to run for Senate…

Professor to run for Senate… in Florida.

Marshall L. DeRosa has filed to run for U.S. Senate in Florida on the Constitution Party ticket.

The Constitution Party of Florida’s website describes DeRosa as, “..a Professor of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Houston, and has taught at Louisiana State University and Davis and Elkins College. He is an adjunct faculty member for the Ludwig von Mises Institute, a Salvatori Fellow of the Heritage Foundation, and a member of the Philadelphia Society.”

DeRosa says Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential run inspired him to run for office.

SOURCE:

http://www.cpflorida.com/candidates.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy27phHLmoc&feature=related

http://election.dos.state.fl.us/candidate/CanDetail.asp?account=50626

Another Whig is on...

Another Whig is on... the ballot. The second Modern Whig Party candidate to run for office has made it official.

Gene L. Baldassari qualified to run for New Jersey Assembly in the 14th Legislative District. He has become "New Jersey’s first candidate on the Modern Whig Party".

Paul C. McKain, who is running for Congress from Florida, became the first Modern Whig candidate ever.

SOURCES:

http://www.paulmckain.com/

http://www.VoteGene.com/

The Whig goes to…

The Whig goes to… Paul C. McKain.

McKain has filed to run for Congress in Florida’s Second Congressional seat. With that McKain becomes the first Modern Whig to run for an office.

McKain is running for the seat currently held by Democrat Allen Boyd. The district is in Florida’s panhandle including the state capital, Tallahassee.

At this point Boyd is also facing a primary challenger of Al Lawson. No Republican or any other candidate has yet filed to run for the seat.

A Modern Whig Party news release describes McKain as, "McKain worked his way through college to earn his Bachelor of Science degree from Florida International University where he majored in Education and minored in Physical Sciences. Upon graduation, he taught for 3 ½ years then applied for and was selected to join Sunrise Florida Fire and Rescue Department where he worked for 23 years until his retirement in 2003. While off duty, McKain built and developed several businesses from the ground up, most recently working on a global scale culminating with the passage of legislation through the US Congress."

SOURCE:

http://www.paulmckain.com/

http://www.modernwhig.org/

http://www.floridawhig.com/

http://election.dos.state.fl.us/candidate/CanDetail.asp?account=50517

Are Bars, Doctors & Lawyers now credit companies?

Are Bars, Doctors & Lawyers now credit companies?

Waving the Red Flag on "The Red Flag"... The Florida Modern Whigs were tweeting out their concerns of the New Red Flag Requirement from the FTC.  It's a program to "detect, prevent, and mitigate" identity theft.

The FTC says the Red Flags Rules only apply: to “financial institutions” and “creditors” with “covered accounts.”

But, what does that mean?  The Whig Tweets claim: "A bar runs a tab for their regulars; however with the FTC Red Flag Law, the Bar is required to collect photo ID as they are now a credit co." and tweets warn of "if you sign a pledge card 4 a non-profit or charity, they are required to obtain your photo ID and keep it on file."

Analysis from Business Management Daily says small and mid-sized business think this new rule to protect credit fraud does not apply to them, but they could find-out with "audits, fines and class action suits."

The Wisconsin Law Journal points out doctors and lawyers could also be forced to live up to these new rules.

So if you qualify for this rule, what do you have to do?

*Develop a written program that identifies and detects the red flags of identity theft.

*Describe appropriate responses that prevent and mitigate identity theft.

*The program must be managed by the Board of Directors or senior employees. 

SOURCE:

http://twitter.com/FloridaWhig

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/alerts/alt050.shtm

http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/articles/17265/1/The-Red-Flag-rules-Looming-deadline-for-businesses/Page1.html#

http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2009/05/11/FTC-delays-enforcing-identity-theft-red-flag-rule