POLITICO Florida Playbook: Gyrocopter mailman v. Wasserman Schultz – Rubio calms donors – Jeb defends his sweaters (really) -- RIP: Robert B. Hayling, St. Augustine’s civil rights ‘father’ Presented by Facebook

By Marc Caputo ([email protected]; @MarcACaputo) with Ali Breland ([email protected]; @AliBreland)

Happy Christmas Eve. Housekeeping: We won’t be publishing tomorrow; have a great Christmas. For the next few days, POLITICO Florida’s state capital bureau chief, Matt Dixon, will be taking the reins until Jan. 5. And just to make sure we had one final weird political story before Christmas….


BECAUSE FLORIDA -- “Despite felony, FL gyrocopter mailman plans Wasserman Schultz challenge,” by POLITICO Florida’s Marc Caputo: Democratic National Committee Chair and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz could have the strangest of opponents: The Florida mailman who landed a gyrocopter on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol as a political protest that ultimately led him to plead guilty to a felony for violating restricted airspace.

Douglas Hughes made the announcement, according to the Associated Press, in a court filing Wednesday where he said he would run for the 23d Congressional District, which Wasserman Schultz has safely represented for years. As a felon, Douglas Hughes would not be able to vote for himself, however, because Florida’s constitution bans people who have been convicted of such crimes from access to the ballot box. The Democrat also lives in Ruskin – far away from Wasserman Schultz’s district.

“It’s very bizarre,” Ron Meyer, a Florida election-law expert told POLITICO Florida. “He can go to the federal pen in Destin in the Panhandle and run in Fort Lauderdale in South Florida.” http://politi.co/1J5AZNA

NEW HAMPSHIRE NARRATIVE WATCH – Remember all those stories in the past week about how Marco Rubio isn’t doing enough in New Hampshire? Great job by the other campaigns driving that story because it put Rubio on the defensive. Well, for the second straight NH poll, Rubio’s in second behind Trump (who hasn’t spent much time there either). The newest poll is from American Research Group, 600 likely voters: Trump 21%, Rubio 15%, Kasich 13%, Christie 12%, Cruz 10%, Bush 7%, Carson 6%. That poll is here: http://bit.ly/1OogldN. The other from AIF via Tel Opinion (showing essentially a 3-way tie) is here: http://politi.co/1YvW7Uh

-[email protected]: “Relevant to the ‘why isn’t Marco Rubio campaigning very much?!’ theme: He’s the one and only candidate in New Hampshire today.”

CALMING DONORS – “Rubio reassures nervous donors his strategy is on track,” by POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt: On a Tuesday afternoon call with national contributors, the Florida senator outlined his campaign trail activity and pushed back on the recent media narrative that he’s running a passive campaign.

“I'm amused at those stories,” Rubio said, according to notes provided by one of the participant. “We said at the outset that this campaign was going to be about ideas and our message so we don’t spend much time talking about process or strategy… just because we aren’t telling the media our strategy doesn’t mean we’re not organized.”

He was in New York City last week for a fundraiser that netted $1 million for his campaign ... [and] … now had about 100 full-time staffer s… And he mentioned his upcoming swing through Iowa, a three-day bus tour with seven events across the state. http://politi.co/1QJdX1W

RUBIO’S MORNING JOE PROBLEM – “Rubio’s Real Problem Isn’t Strategy,” by Commentary’s Jonathan S. Tobin: “The most troubling aspect of the Rubio campaign right now is the idea being floated that he is a lazy candidate that isn’t prepared to work hard to persuade early state voters that he deserves their vote. That’s a theme Rubio-bashers like MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough have continually sounded in recent weeks. Scarborough claims he’s heard that Rubio took a Sunday off from campaigning to watch football…

“Scarborough and his liberal co-host Mika Brzezinski even allowed their pal Chris Christie a platform for mocking Rubio for not showing up that often in New Hampshire and missing Senate votes … for Christie, who has become an absentee governor in his quest for the presidency … to play this card on Rubio is hypocritical.” http://bit.ly/1U5JlW2

--Grant @GrantGambling: “…trying to avoid the fray can look like laziness. And what a fray we have...”

RUBIO’S CHRISTIE PROBLEM – Yesterday’s Florida Playbook noted that Rubio has a Christie problem, and Commentary’s Noah Rothman had his own take at the same time in his piece “Christie the Establishment Spoiler” http://bit.ly/1OoDCMJ.

BUSH’S CHRISTIE PROBLEM -- “Chris Christie creeps up on Jeb Bush in New Hampshire,” by POLITICO’s Daniel Strauss and Ben White: Christie, who’s enjoyed a modest surge in the state through relentless campaigning, got some further good news on Tuesday: A new Quinnipiac national poll showed him just ahead of Bush. (A CNN/ORC poll out Wednesday also showed Christie ahead of Bush, 5 percent to 3 percent.) The New Jersey governor is already polling ahead of his establishment rival in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire, [passing] Bush in the RealClearPolitics average of state polls, 6 percent to 4 percent.” http://politi.co/1ZpXjp9

SO, NO RUBIO ENDORSEMENT? – “All (Presidential) Politics Is Local,” by The Conway Daily Sun’s Erik Eisele: Rubio “was like watching a computer algorithm designed to cover talking points. He said a lot, but at the same time said nothing. It was like someone wound him up, pointed him towards the doors and pushed play. If there was a human side to senator, a soul, it didn’t come across through ... he talked at us for 20 minutes. To him, we might as well have been television cameras. … Marco Rubio, a man so stuck on script it doesn’t even matter when the cameras are off. Living in a political environment where only the script makes sense, where the race is about the television audience rather than the general electorate, why deviate? Those willing to risk off-message interaction also risk alienating. It’s too great a risk, and retail politics drops by the wayside as voters are courted only by the millions, not one-by-one.” http://bit.ly/1J5hZyw

--“Fact Check: Marco Rubio’s Claim on Putin’s Acts,” by The New York Times’ Andrew E. Kramer: Rubio claim: “Vladimir Putin is a person who has killed. He’s jailed and murdered journalists, political opponents. He bombed an apartment building as a pretext to attack the Chechens. He is responsible for the downing of that Malaysian airliner over Ukraine, because he provided the antiaircraft weaponry that was used for that.” Determination: “all in all, the version that Mr. Rubio puts forward is the generally accepted one of what happened, as stated by Western governments. Russia denies it.” http://nyti.ms/1OosBeg

MIAMI MAN’S HAIR -- “Counterpoint: Marco Rubio's Hairline Is Strong and Getting Stronger,” by Gawker’s Tom Scocca: “Marco Rubio’s hair is one of the most underappreciated plot lines of this 2016 campaign, and one of the most impressive accomplishments in the entire presidential field. It has come a long way since Rubio’s first big national appearance, when he delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address.” http://bit.ly/22q0Cit

MIAMI MAN’S SWEATER -- “Has Jeb Bush Worn the Same Sweater Four Days in a Row?” by Gawker’s Ashley Feinberg: “Jeb Bush has been making the rounds in New Hampshire this week, which is perfectly normal behavior for a man running for president. But the many tweets coming from Jeb’s camp this week have included more than just photos of Jeb’s stilted handshakes—they’ve also raised questions. Specifically: Why has Jeb Bush been wearing the exact same sweater for the past four days? http://bit.ly/1U5kvpe”

--Tim Miller @Timodc: “Would like for this story to be updated with the following comment, @ashleyfeinberg. Jeb is from Miami.”

--Tim Miller @Timodc: “In fact @PatriciaMazzei had to *borrow* a coat in order to cover the Jeb/Marco North Country swing.”

JEB! SPEAKS! Later in the day, Bush emailed Feinberg. The text: “It wasn't four consecutive days I was in Miami on Sunday. Notice on Tuesday evening I wore another Sweater. And also notice that Isis has not been defeated. I am the proud owner of four sweaters. And I have the best tax plan.”

MIAMI MEN IN NH -- “Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush try to make inroads in tough New Hampshire ‘North Country’,” by Miami Herald’s Patricia Mazzei: New Hampshire’s rugged North Country has a way of stripping any delusions of grandeur from running for the most powerful job in the world — especially if you’re a candidate campaigning with something to prove.” http://hrld.us/1TieIfW

JEB’S ATTACK PROBLEM -- “Why Jeb Bush's Attacks on Donald Trump Miss Their Mark,” by the Atlantic’s Peter Beinart: “Trump’s candidacy is based on bigotry and lies. But Jeb never says that. Instead, he criticizes Trump for being too emotional, too unruly, too fervent. It’s less the content of what Trump says that offends Jeb than the manner in which he says it.” http://theatln.tc/1mgHKBN

As noted in yesterday’s Florida Playbook, Jeb’s problem is structural: Republicans like Trump better. Many probably aren’t truly listening to his criticisms to start with.

BY THE GRAHAM -- “Jeb Bush draws backers of Lindsey Graham,” by Tampa Bay Times’ Alex Leary: http://bit.ly/1mB2ULm

BUSH AND THE BEARS – Jeb’s longtime adviser, Sally Bradshaw, snapped perhaps the best picture of the campaign in New Hampshire of the candidate making calls while sitting on a bench surrounded by stuffed bears. Some of the Twitter replies were cute and fun. Some were mean and funny. http://bit.ly/1Jvtb2v

[email protected]: “A candidate, his phone, and some Granite State friends @JebBush working the phones in New Hampshire http://bit.ly/1Jvtb2v”

--Alex Lundry @alexlundry: “@sallybradshaw good to see @JebBush bearing down on the hard work of campaigning.”

--Peter Schorsch @SaintPetersblog: “@sallybradshaw But what about tomorrow’s front page: ‘NH bearish on Bush’ Yikes!”

--Brett Bosse @brett8055: “…Secret Service doing a great job of blending in.”

THE MEAN TWEETS:

--Jack Fitzpatrick @jackfitzdc: “Jeb: ‘Look, I’m here with my advisers and they’re telling me we’ve got Trump exactly where we want him.’”

[email protected]: “…@JebBush with his voter base in NH.”

--cjlamb @16campaignbites: “@JebBush The stuffed bears get more phone calls than Jeb Bush.”

REBEL…WELL? – The Democratic National Committee highlighted how Jeb Bush said, when asked about the Rebel flag, that “the problem with the Confederate flag isn’t the Confederacy.” The full context of the quote, where Bush points out how he had it unilaterally moved from the state Capitol to a state museum, shows he’s no neo-Confederate. Here’s a video of his whole exchange with a New Hampshire voter http://bit.ly/1OodoK9

MERRY PANDER-MAS -- “Jeb Bush Acts Very Merry About a Certain Holiday,” by New York Times First Draft’s Ashley Parker: http://nyti.ms/1OM3cpl

FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US -- “Rand Paul airs Festivus grievances,” by POLITICO’s Nick Gass: http://politi.co/1U4ESTu

[email protected]: “[email protected] is always trying to change the debate rules to allow extra time for awkward pauses in answers. Not gonna happen. #Festivus”

[email protected]: “to my absentee friend @marcorubio, I didn't put your $170k+ salary in my waste report today. But I could have #Festivus”

GO GATA! -- “Corinne Brown to run in Jacksonville; Lawson says ‘Go Gata!’,” by POLITICO Florida’s Marc Caputo: Lawson also joked that Brown’s University of Florida allegiance might turn off capital city Florida State University fans. “Showing up in Gator colors in Tallahassee, I don’t know about that,” Lawson laughed, before recalling Brown’s widely mocked speech on the U.S. House floor in 2009 when she praised UF for its college football national title victory. “You know,” Lawson said, chuckling. “Go Gata!” http://politi.co/1Pl22Wm

RPOF FLEXES -- “In year-end memo, Florida GOP focuses on delivering in 2016,” by Florida Playbook’s Matt Dixon: “Florida once again will decide who wins the White House in 2016, and the Republican Party of Florida is way ahead of the game compared to where we were in the 2008 and 2012 presidential cycles,” wrote Brad Herold, the party’s executive director.

To make his point, Herold pointed to the party’s data collection efforts in 2015, including signing up more than 1,800 2016 volunteers, and collecting nearly 30,000 new email address, 15,000 new addresses and 8,485 new phone numbers. http://politi.co/1ZpXjp9

¡ÑO! CLINTON ACCUSED OF HISPANDERING – “‘Not my abuela’: Twitter explodes in outrage over Hillary Clinton’s ‘Hispandering,’” by Salon’s Ben Norton: “Hillary Clinton’s campaign published an article yesterday titled ‘7 Ways Hillary Clinton Is Just Like Your Abuela,’ using the Spanish word for ‘grandmother.’ Twitter exploded in outrage, criticizing what users called Clinton’s ‘Hispandering’ and what they see as her hypocrisy vis-à-vis political policies.” http://bit.ly/1ki3cos

HERMOSA -- “Assignment America: Little Havana,” by The New York Times’ Lizette Alvarez: “In the working-class center of Calle Ocho, I stop by the counter of El Exquisito for my sugar-soaked cafecito and media noche sandwich. I linger at Domino Park to watch the old Cuban men slap fichas on the table and talk trash about their opponents. Then at night, I head to CubaOcho, for hours of frenzied improv by musicians jamming on bongos and trumpets.

“Each time, a kind of cultural despojo — a cleansing — occurs as the sights, sounds and scents of the neighborhood never fail to snap me back to my childhood ‘Florida room,’ where relatives swapped verbal postcards of a free Cuba frozen in time. For me, the firstborn American in my Cuban family, Little Havana was my Havana.” http://nyti.ms/1OoyiJf

A LEGEND PASSES -- “’Never Give Up’: Dr. Robert B. Hayling, father of St. Augustine's civil rights movement, passes away,” by The St. Augustine Record: “Dr. Robert B. Hayling, hailed as the ‘father’ of St. Augustine’s civil rights movement, passed away at his home in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, according to family members. Hayling, 86, led demonstrations and endured violence in St. Augustine during the 1960s, actions that pressured elected officials to sign the Voting Rights Act.” http://bit.ly/1VaCA6g

--The rioting in St. Augustine -- including the arrest of MLK and the beating of Andrew Young -- led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. More in this 2014 piece: “St. Augustine haunted by ghosts of civil rights turmoil 50 years ago,” by The Tampa Bay Times’ Craig Pittman http://bit.ly/1iGIX2Fn 2015

NEW RULES, OLDEST STREETS -- “Street performer rules draw scrutiny in St. Augustine - again,” by The St. Augustine Record’s Sheldon Gardener: “Artist Charles Dickinson said he doesn’t agree with city rules that prohibit the creation of art in some public spaces in St. Augustine … The same city ordinance that bans performances on northern St. George Street also prohibits artists from painting or drawing in that area. http://bit.ly/1khNtpt

BIG BUY -- “Email Insights: North Florida land trust makes its biggest land buy ever,” by Florida Politics’ Melissa Ross: “The parcel is 2,551 acres along the Nassau River. It was the largest piece of unprotected land in the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.” http://bit.ly/1J5dt3g

IT’S THE MOST OUTRAGED TIME OF THE YEAR -- “Carlos Lopez-Cantera hits David Jolly for breezy talk on veterans,” by Florida Politics’ A.G. Ganarski: There may be a Christmas slowdown somewhere, but not in the GOP Senate primary, where Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera slammed Rep. David Jolly for comments regarding veteran care yesterday, related to a change in VA policy. The money quote: ‘with congressional approval ratings so low, I’ve had to turn to bringing Veterans back to life just to try to up our poll ratings in Congress and increase our approval.’

“I am appalled by David Jolly’s statement, and words like these show the disconnect between Washington and the rest of us. His claim of using Veterans to raise his poll numbers is disgraceful and insulting to those who have served. Veterans are our nation’s heroes, not poll numbers,” said Lopez-Cantera. http://bit.ly/1JvV6zk

POLITICAL GROWTH -- “Prediction: Which States Will Gain, and Lose, House Seats in 2020,” by The Wall Street Journal’s Janet Adamy: “Tuesday’s release by the U.S. Census Bureau of state-by-state population changes sparked instant predictions about which states will gain and lose House seats after the 2020 census. That pie of 435 seats gets recut every 10 years based on whether states swelled or shrank, and the number of House seats and presidential electoral votes for the states shift accordingly.” http://on.wsj.com/22q1LXk

PUERTO RICAN POWER -- Michael McDonald @ElectProject: “According to Census Bureau, Puerto Rico has lost 251,607 since April, 2010. Good number of these strong Dem U.S. citizens moving to Florida.”

-- @ElectProject “This is among the most consequential stories of the 2016 general election, and severely under-reported.”

COLLEGE MANAGEMENT 101 -- “Audit: Florida Poly lax on background checks, textbook affordability,” by Florida Politico Pro’s Jessica Bakeman: http://politi.co/1YCsXxo

BLAME IT ON THE A…A…A…A…A…A… ALCOHOL -- “Could Uber be bad for your health, causing you to drink too much?,” by Sun-Sentinel’s Daniel Vasquez: http://bit.ly/1IrAAoA

DOPE -- “Manager of clinic tied to nine deaths opens up about Florida’s pill-mill,” by Miami New-Times’ Jessica Weiss: http://bit.ly/1ScIwMs

WHY PAY WHEN YOU CAN BUY? – “Fred Grimm: Opa-locka ignored unpaid bills, falling revenues and the seller’s history.” by Miami Herald’s Fred Grimm: http://hrld.us/1NMsALI

AT A GLANCE:

-- “Study assessed impacts of Deepwater Horizon oil spill on sea turtles,” University of Miami Rosentiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science via EurekAlert!: http://bit.ly/1YyBs1G

-- “Woman accused of vandalizing city of Boynton Beach Christmas tree,” by Sun-Sentinel’s Adam Sacasa: http://bit.ly/1OoFCEQ

-- “Christmas wreath revolt at West Palm Beach condo grows,” by Palm Beach Post’s Tony Doris: http://bit.ly/1Plw9wN

-- “Man on video call showing how to clean gun accidentally shoots, kills himself,” by Miami Herald’s Carli Teproff: http://hrld.us/1V9Te60

[email protected]: “Florida man named Angel punches child in the face for being late to church.” http://bit.ly/1ThVl6u

--“Florida Patriots Issue Fatwa Against Sheriff For Hiring Muslim Deputy,” by Wonkette's Doktor Zoom: http://bit.ly/1QIEegP

--Craig Pittman @craigtimes: “Oh #Florida! Man tells cops fiancé gouged his eyes out tho they can see he still has ‘em. http://bit.ly/22q0C1W”

--“Grinch Alert: Warrant issued after Christmas tree was stolen from St. Johns County pet shelter,” by The Florida Times Union’s Dan Scanlan: http://bit.ly/1VavpuT

ONE PANCAKE TORTOISE, 38 PYTHONS NO FRENCH HENS… -- “Collier County man accused of stealing dozens of exotic reptile eggs,” by Jessica Lipscomb of the Naples Daily News: “[Wayne Edward] Simmons turned over all 57 animals, including one pancake tortoise, one cherry head tortoise, seven yellow-footed tortoises, nine red-footed tortoises and 38 children’s spotted pythons. All of the reptiles were returned to the business [Reptile Industries].” http://bit.ly/1ZpU01j

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