Mitch Perry
At the Republican Party of Florida’s summer quarterly meeting this weekend in Tampa, David Jolly, Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Ron DeSantis all mentioned how fed up they are with how Republicans in Washington have been doing – or not doing – their jobs.
“There are millions of Republican voters throughout the country who are demoralized, depressed and dejected about what’s happened since we took over the Senate in November,” DeSantis told Florida Politics.
“I’ve been here getting things done here in Florida, ” Lopez-Cantera said in a speech on Saturday, referring to how he help cut taxes and deregulate the government. “Whereas in Washington, we only hear complaints about it.”
In his speech before hundreds of state Republicans, Jolly boasted that he was a Florida Republican, not a Washington Republican, and blasted “Washington math” in referring to how he was in a minority of House Republicans to oppose their own budget because it would add hundreds of millions of dollars to the deficit.
Kathy Castor says she gets it.
The Tampa Bay area congresswoman often bashes the John Boehner-led House of Representatives, and she says dissatisfaction with Congress is universal, though she’s not talking about her fellow Democrats who are now in the minority in the House and Senate.
“The Republican Congress is stuck in a rut,” she said Monday. “They’ve got the country stuck in a rut. We can’t raise wages, they stopped the minimum wage increase. They stopped progress on comprehensive immigration reform that’s common sense. It looks like we’re going to have another budget battle and possible government shutdown over what? Because of women’s health issues and Planned Parenhood? So I agree with folks who say what the heck are Republicans doing in Washington?”
On other issues, Castor said that she was somewhat sympathetic to the complaints by Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders that there may be as few as just four debates among the Democratic candidates in the next few months.
When told that the Democrats had 27 such debates in 2007-2008, Castor acknowledged that the Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton battle was exciting and did generate huge interest. “So yeah, it would be healthy to have additional debates.”
Castor said Vice President Joe Biden and former secretary of state Clinton have worked as close allies over the years, so she doubts that the veep will enter the Democratic race.
“I have such great respect for both,” she said when asked who she supports in the race. But she appears to be leaning toward Clinton. “I’m inspired by her service to the country, what she’s talking about when it comes to student loans, helping students, helping families, when it comes to family leave she’s an expert. I’m hopeful, I look forward to the debate, because the Republicans are so wrong on those issues,” she said, referring to interest rates on student loans, workplace leave issues, and the minimum wage.
Castor has yet to weigh in on the nuclear deal between the P5 +1 countries and Iran that Congress will consider next month, and says she will announce her decision by the end of this week.
However, if you enjoy a wager, consider that Castor was among the 150 House Democrats who signed a letter in May supporting President Obama’s framework for a nuclear deal with Iran. To this point, none of those Democrats have come out against the deal.
