Weekly Roundup: Not quite a 'conventional convention'

By JIM SAUNDERS
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 22, 2016.......... It wasn't exactly a scripted lovefest. Unless the scripting was done by the folks who put on professional wrestling matches.

The Republican National Convention this week offered drama, shouting, villains and even a little suspected skullduggery. But in the end, Donald Trump was still standing.

Now, Trump faces the challenge of pulling together enough voters to wrest Florida and other critical states away from Democrat Hillary Clinton --- who, it almost goes without saying, was the villain of all villains during the convention in Cleveland.

If there is anything that unites Republicans this year, it is a desire to keep Clinton out of the White House.

"There's only two people on the ballot: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. ... The party needs to unify. Everybody needs to support Donald Trump, and we need to have a big win in November," Scott told reporters in Cleveland.

But Clinton isn't backing away from the fight. As Democrats prepare to hold their convention next week in Philadelphia, Clinton traveled Friday to Orlando and Tampa to try to rally support in Florida's crucial "I-4 corridor."

Just moments after taking the stage for a rally in Tampa, she drew laughter and cheers when she noted all the attention she got during the GOP convention.

"It was kind of perversely flattering," she quipped.

CRUZ MISSILE

The Trump campaign has roiled Republican politics for the past year. Some GOP leaders, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, couldn't bring themselves to go to Cleveland and support the billionaire businessman. Of course, it didn't help that Trump demolished Bush and the rest of the field in the presidential primaries.

But any hopes that the convention would go smoothly didn't last long.

On Monday afternoon, the first day of the gathering, the question of whether the convention would approve rules on a voice vote or through a roll call vote --- the outcome was not really in doubt --- led to a boisterous scene on the floor. Delegates traded chants over the fight, and the convention essentially ground to a standstill at one point for 10 minutes.
 
The highlight of the first day for Trump's campaign seemed to be a speech by his wife, Melania, meant to highlight the softer side of Trump. But within hours, allegations were bubbling up that portions of the speech appeared to have been lifted from a similar convention address by First Lady Michelle Obama.

As might be expected, Democratic leaders were gleeful.

"Day 1 of the Republican convention was a mess on so many levels," said Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman. "We heard a lot of anger, a lot of yelling, but no substance --- just empty rhetoric and divisive language."

GOP leaders tried to brush off the initial problems. Asked Tuesday about the situation, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam reacted with exasperation.

"You guys can't have it both ways," he told reporters. "You know, you bemoan the sterile, scripted conventions and then you get a very unscripted moment yesterday, and you're complaining about that. This is anything but a conventional convention."

The idea of a conventional convention, however, largely evaporated Wednesday night when Texas Sen. Ted Cruz --- another of Trump's vanquished primary opponents --- refused to explicitly endorse the GOP nominee during a prime-time speech. Cruz's move drew heavy booing from the convention floor and led to him being vilified by many delegates.

Other Republican candidates who lost to Trump, including U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, backed the nominee during convention speeches.
 
"There was a sharp contrast between our senator from the great state of Florida, Marco Rubio, and the comments made by the senator from Texas," Florida GOP Chairman Blaise Ingoglia said Thursday.
 
Ingoglia, who is also a state House member from Spring Hill, said Cruz's comments were "unfortunate" and suggested the implied snub of Trump and the reaction to it might have been what Cruz had in mind.
 
"I don't know if that was intended," Ingoglia said. "But if that was what was intended, I would say that it was extremely unstatesmanlike."

FLORIDA IN FOCUS

Clinton's trip Friday to Orlando and Tampa reinforced Florida's critical role in the November election. It was her chance to quickly fire back after the GOP convention and to try to gain momentum before the Democratic convention.

But Trump enjoys enthusiastic backing from Scott and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, both of whom received speaking slots Wednesday night at the convention. At least in part, they followed Trump's line of attack against Clinton and President Barack Obama.

Scott, for example, cast in stark terms the stakes of the choice between Trump and Clinton.
 
"But this election is not actually about Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton," he said. "In fact, it's not the election of you or me. This election is about the very survival of the American Dream."
 
Bondi, in part, touched on the future of the U.S. Supreme Court, something aimed at rallying social conservatives behind Trump. The next president could fill a seat left vacant by the death of conservative stalwart Antonin Scalia and likely will replace some other current justices on the court.
 
"Hillary will stack the Supreme Court with liberal justices who will allow government to continue its rampage against our individual rights, with utter contempt for our Second Amendment," Bondi said. "I know Donald, and I am proud to know Donald. He will appoint conservative justices who will defend rather than rewrite our Constitution."

Not all of the Florida politicking at the convention, however, involved Trump's bid for the White House. Speculation also swirled about the futures of other Florida political figures such as Putnam, who is widely expected to run for governor in 2018.

Former Republican Congressman Allen West addressed Putnam's future when he stepped to the podium for the opening prayer at a delegation breakfast Tuesday. West began by talking about how Putnam got him an opportunity to speak before the U.S. House GOP caucus when West was considering a run for Congress.
 
"I want to tell you right now, when you decide to run for governor, I'll be right there supporting you," West told Putnam, setting off applause from the crowd.

Putnam, however, was hardly the only GOP official weighing his future. Scott is reportedly thinking about a campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in 2018. And potential down-ballot candidates are also starting to consider what to do.
 
Outgoing House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said Tuesday he would make a decision "over the next several months" about what his future in public office might be --- with one likely option being a run to replace Putnam as agriculture commissioner. Crisafulli comes from a family with deep roots in the state's citrus industry.
 
For now, Crisafulli said he's looking to finish his administrative duties as speaker before leaving office in November.
 
"I'll have that opportunity to go home and speak more with my family about it," he said of a future run. "There's no secret that the commissioner of agriculture position is something that I've taken some interest in just because of my family background and history."

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Everyone knows that we are the most important swing state in the nation. And you're seeing that not only in the speakers that are here, the speakers that are on the main stage, but how the state of Florida is being treated." --- Republican Party of Florida Chairman Blaise Ingoglia.