FL State Senate leader vows to fight 'liberal' and 'anti-God' forces

[seafan]

Senator pledges allegiance to the oath and Boy Scouts

BY MARC CAPUTO

TALLAHASSEE - In a call to fight ''liberal judges, the radical ACLU and the anti-God left,'' the future leader of the Florida Senate is urging fellow Republicans to support the Boy Scouts and a constitutional amendment initiative requiring the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.

Sen. Ken Pruitt's four-page election-year letter, paid for by the Republican Party of Florida, requests donations of $20 to $1,000 to ensure that he has enough money and support to push the Pledge of Allegiance proposal.
''Part of my purpose,'' he wrote, ''is to force liberals in the Florida Senate to take a stand one way or the other.'' Also, he wants to ``impeach any judge in Florida who votes to overturn this law.''

snip

Pruitt's letter shocked some Republicans and Democrats who perceived him as a moderate. Even before he received enough votes to become Senate president next year, Pruitt repeatedly talked about the moderating influence of the 40-member chamber.
''This letter is what you expect from a right-wing extremist, and Sen. Pruitt is not one,'' said Sen. Steve Geller, a Hallandale Beach Democrat, who will lead his party next year. //snip// ...Pruitt acknowledged that the amendment would help bring religious conservatives out to vote in this year's statewide elections.

snip

He said he felt the need to act because a federal court in California had ruled against the use of the word ''God'' in the pledge and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to clear up the issue. Also, he said, Boy Scouts have been under assault for their stance against homosexuality.

Pruitt said he would have proposed this sooner, but decided to act now because he's in charge of party fundraising for the Senate. He said more such initiatives -- including a legislative proposal to put a constitutional gay-marriage ban before voters -- could be in the works, especially as he gets closer to leading the Senate.

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/politics/13713508.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp



They are really coming out of the woodwork now.

[jackster]

1. OH GOD I'M SO GLAD I LEFT

that friggin' place - !

[meegbear]

2. FLORIDA UBER ALLES!!!

[grytpype]

3. What a loonie!

PRAISE JESUS BUSH!

[gratuitous]

4. So this move allegedly shocked some of his fellow Republicans?

I wonder what they plan to do about it? He is, after all, one of their own. Will they rein in Pruitt or fall into lock-step behind him? Just another "stealth" Republican who waits until he gets his grimy mitts on the levers of power before revealing his true colors.

[undergroundpanther]

5. fucking fascist swine

They are oinking out of the woodwork.

[seafan]

6. Fallout from this in today's papers, 1-27-06:

State senator's letter outrages Democrats

By MARC CAPUTO
January 27, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - Outraged with a Republican senator's fundraising letter that accused liberals of being against God, the Boy Scouts and the Pledge of Allegiance, Florida's Democratic Party is accusing its author of hypocritically misusing his office.

Democrats say Ken Pruitt, slated to lead the state Senate next year, should be censured by the very panel he chairs: the Senate Rules Committee.

Democratic Party chairwoman Karen Thurman said Pruitt violated a Senate rule calling on members to uphold the integrity of their office because his letter spoke of his official position, noting that it gives him ``influence over what bills are voted on.''

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/13722848.htm




State senator's fund-raising letter prompts call for censure from Democrats

By Jason Garcia
Tallahassee Bureau
Posted January 27 2006

TALLAHASSEE · When state Sen. Ken Pruitt, the man in line to become president of the Florida Senate later this year, set out to raise money for a campaign to require the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, he made sure potential donors knew who was asking them to contribute.

"My name is Ken Pruitt. I am the Chairman of the Rules Committee in the Florida Senate and Senate President Designate," Pruitt wrote near the top of a four-page fund-raising letter. "So I have a lot of influence over what bills are voted on."

The Florida Democratic Party seized on that introduction Thursday, calling on the Senate to consider censuring the Port St. Lucie Republican for invoking his official position while soliciting campaign contributions.

"The GOP culture of corruption that has poisoned the atmosphere of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., is being cultivated here in Tallahassee," Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman said in a statement.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-fpruitt27jan27,0,5071912.story?coll=sfla-news-florida





Pruitt's fiery letter raises hackles

By STEVE BOUSQUET, Times Staff Writer
Published January 27, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - State Sen. Ken Pruitt, a Port St. Lucie Republican poised to become Senate president in the fall, has set off a furor with a party fundraising letter that accuses "liberal judges, the radical ACLU and the anti-God left" of assaulting the Pledge of Allegiance and the Boy Scouts.
The Republican Party of Florida paid for the letter, but the letterhead names Pruitt as "chairman, Florida Senate Rules Committee," and in the letter he says: "I have a lot of influence over what bills are voted on."

snip

The letter asks recipients to mail copies of an "emergency petition" to the Senate to "save the Boy Scouts and the Pledge of Allegiance from being outlawed by liberal Florida judges."

snip

An ethics law expert, Mark Herron, said Pruitt could face ethics problems and a possible Senate rules violation if it is found he used his office to solicit contributions.
Herron, who advises Democrats, said the ethics code bars an official from using his position in a corrupt manner to secure a benefit for himself and others, and Senate rules require senators to "maintain the integrity and responsibility" of the office.

snip

Pruitt's letter asked Republicans to mail campaign donations to the West Palm Beach office of Randy Nielsen, a political strategist who has worked with Pruitt on many campaigns.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/01/27/State/Pruitt_s_fiery_letter.shtml