The media goes wild for Chelsea’s Big Day

The Week calls the media fascination with Chelsea Clinton's wedding "creepy," right before it indulges its media fascination with Chelsea's wedding.
Chelsea Clinton officially enters celebrity-hood, after a week of the press chasing her around town, scoping out the venue, speculating about the price tag, and preparing to try and crash her wedding today, as the former First Daughter marries whoever… Read more
Saturday clicks: ‘Real (would-be) Senate Wives of Florida’
With a hat tip to Fla Politics, the St. Pete Times profiles the wives of Florida’s leading candidates for U.S. Senate (in photo at left, clockwise from top left: Carole Rome Crist, Leslie Meek, Mei Sze Chan (Greene), and Jeanette Dousdebes-Rubio.
Also at the Times: see how bat-shit crazy Arizona has become with a right wing legislature and a willing governor? Peep the future, Florida, and fear the hell out of it.
Back to the Senate race, the Christian magazine World puts Marco Rubio on the cover and hopes for the best. Rubio has already consolidated the Christian right vote, but the question is whether that will be enough to get him out of the 30s, where he’s presently stuck.
… including in a new Florida Poll, commissioned by a confab of the New York Times Media Group and the University of South Florida. That poll finds Charlie Crist crossing the 40-point threshold in a three-way race with Meek as the Democrat, and falling just below that if it’s Greene. The particulars:
Crist pulled 41 perccent with Rubio at 30 percent and Democratic candidate U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek pulling a pathetic 12 percent. When Meek was replaced by primary rival Jeff Greene, the race became a bit closer. Crist took 37 percent, Rubio was at 29 percent and Greene pulled 16 percent. The poll was taken from July 24 to July 28 with 590 likely voters. The margin of error in the poll was at +/- 4 percent.
Meanwhile, this Fla Politics diarist mounts the most passionate case I’ve yet heard (besides the one made to me in person by Broward DEC member and liberal activist Jack Shiffrel) for Democrats to support Meek. Not sure that will be enough at this stage.
Another diarist, this time at Daily Kos, breaks down some of the big Senate races to come, and like many people (including Nate Silver and your humble blogger,) handicaps Florida’s race as likely yielding a Senator Charlie Crist. Read more
Appeals court disarms McCollum
It’s now up to the 527s. An appeals court sided with Rick Scott Friday, ruling that Bill McCollum cannot get a dollar-for-dollar match in public funds for every dollar Scott spends over the millionaires cap. The reversal of a lower court decision frees Scott to spend unlimited sums to bury McCollum, and could leave the Florida attorney general all-but helpless, unless the groups backing him, funded by his colleagues in Tallahassee, come to his rescue. Read more
Gibson gets the Herald nod in the D-17 Dime

Miami Gardens Mayor Shirley Gibson, center, is the Miami Herald's pick to replace Kendrick Meek in Congress
The Herald was torn between the three most viable Democratic candidates in the race for the House seat being vacated by Congressman Kendrick Meek. I’m glad I didn’t have to make this decision, since I know and like a number of the candidates, including all three finalists, plus Rod Vereen, who jumped out of the clustervote to run NPA, and Andre Williams, a Miami Gardens commissioner (and fellow alum), who didn’t make the Herald finals. (That’s why I’ve avoided writing about this race. No way to do it without bias…)
Suffice it to say that all of the Herald’s picks are good people, who would each be an asset to the District. Here’s what the ed board wrote: Read more
The ‘Idol’ shuffle
With Simon gone, and now that Ellen has Twittered herself on out, and apparently, annoying Kara is gone, too (apparently, to be replaced by an older guy who has curiously similar hair…) and with J.Lo reportedly set to park her bumper in the third chair (Jesus, doesn’t Randy have any other job prospects???) … will “American Idol” become even more addictively annoying??? Link to the best scoop source after the jump. Read more
Friday video vault (bonus clip): ‘One Mic’ by Nas
A hip-hop classic from a hip-hop classic. Happy Friday!
Friday video vault: ‘Let me love you,’ by Mario
One of my favorite pop songs, actually written by Neyo, and the last known hit from the artist known as Mario.
Team Meek launches second TV ad: ‘Can buy anything’
… in which they … remind people that “Kendrick Meek is not part of a fraud case,” and that “to say he’s against children’s healthcare is ridiculous.” Um … when 7 out of 10 voters don’t know who you are, mentioning that you’re “not part of a fraud case” is probably not the preferred introduction. But hey, what do I know. Here’s the spot:
Meanwhile, will Meek be involved in President Obama’s upcoming Florida Democratic Party/Alex Sink fundraiser in his hometown of Miami, which comes right after his family vacation in Charlie Crist’s home turf on the Gulf? Um… Read more
Sink ties opponents in Qpac poll

The July 30 Quinnipiac poll shows Alex Sink in a virtual tie with either of her Republican opponents, both of whom are losing altitude as they slug away at each other. Read more
(Video) Anthony Weiner’s epic rant, blasting GOP for killing health aid to 9/11 heroes
Rep. Anthony Weiner rocks the House once again, railing against his Republican colleagues for voting down a bill that would have provided more than $7 billion for healthcare for rescue workers who saved lives on 9/11, only to be sickened by the toxic dust stew created when the World Trade Center towers collapsed. The vote failed 255-159 yesterday, with all but 18 Republicans voting no, and claiming it was due to “procedure.” Weiner was having none of it, and the result was this:



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