Loranne Ausley's Harsh Words for Jeff Atwater and Short Special Session

Former Rep. Loranne Ausley, the Democratic candidate for state CFO, is using the short special session on Tuesday to take aim at her Republican opponent -- Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach.

This week, we witnessed a complete failure of leadership and a complete waste of taxpayer dollars, said Ausley. The gavel-and-go strategy was nothing more than a charade and an attempt to play partisan political games without addressing the real problems facing real families and real businesses who are hurting as a result of the spill.

Given the culture of corruption that has taken over Tallahassee, is it any wonder that we saw no action," she said. In the pay-to-play atmosphere that permeates our state Capitol under Atwaters watch, I can only wonder if we just witnessed a pay-not-to-play session. Raw partisan politics won out over the needs of the people.