Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Walton County has been picking on Freeport’s Horse Power Pavilion, but they have a formidable ally in their corner: Rep. Joel Rudman.
The first-term GOP lawmaker will show some literal rock ’n’ roll-style defiance Thursday night when he and his band hit the stage for a 7 p.m. concert.
Rudman is a physician during business hours but is known to sling a guitar over his shoulder and play it loud at local venues throughout his district, which includes parts of Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties.
That means this outing is an away game — the Walton County line is just east of the House District 3 borders. Still, the good doctor isn’t shy when he gets in front of a microphone. He’s no fan of Walton’s code enforcement arm, either.
The Horse Power Pavilion has been warring with the county government for years. Owners Kate and Fred Holland opened the venue in 2019 and though the Hollands had obtained a business permit, county officials groused that the paperwork didn’t mention there would be a stage or bar on the premises.
The business and the county have been embroiled in a court battle ever since and it’s the type of conflict that runs counter to the third “G” in Rudman’s ethos of “God, Guns and Less Government” — coincidentally, that’s the name of the Panhandle tour his band, Dr. Rudman and the Freedom Fighters, embarked on earlier this summer.
The Navarre Republican jams out on rhythm guitar (a Gibson Les Paul that sports the Working-Class Dog album cover) with his son backing him up on the drums.
Notably, the Freedom Fighters’ tour started a couple of weeks after Rudman shattered his kneecap in a “freak bike accident.” Rudman tells Florida Politics that the recovery process is going well — in a recent social media post, he shared that he’s achieved a personal best of 110 degrees of flexion in his knee, which is about 30 degrees from full use.
Evening Reads
—”How do Ron DeSantis’ suspensions of two top Florida prosecutors compare?” via Sue Carlton of the Miami Herald
—“The truth about Monique Worrell” via Judd Legum and Tesnim Zekeria of Popular Information
—”DeSantis-appointed State Attorney cancels diversion programs, nixes policy following Worrell’s ouster” via Christopher Cann of the Orlando Sentinel
—”Poll: DeSantis drops to 3rd place in national survey of GOP primary” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—”Never Tweet” via Charlie Warzel of The Atlantic
—“Donald Tump might not debate. He’d have a legitimately good reason.” via Jim Newell of Slate
—”Colleges spend like there’s no tomorrow. ‘These places are just devouring money.’” via Melissa Korn, Andrea Fuller and Jennifer S. Forsyth of The Wall Street Journal
—“Proposed Florida rule would favor only one side in book challenges” via Jeffrey Solochek of the Tampa Bay Times
—“Florida AP Psychology dispute could hit teachers’ bank accounts” via Ana Goñi-Lessan of The Florida Times-Union
—”This strange hurricane season may take a turn for the worse” via Umair Irfan of Vox
—“Rescue of Florida’s endangered Okaloosa darter is quite a fish tale” via Craig Pittman of the Florida Phoenix
—“He infiltrated a notorious White nationalist group. Now, he’s being sued for exposing them” via Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone
Quote of the Day
“He’s got no personality; he’s got nothing going on and he’s dropped like a rock. I don’t even think he’s going to be No. 2 for long.”
— Donald Trump, goading Ron DeSantis as his poll numbers continue to slip.
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Breakthrough Insights
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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
