Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, was formally sworn into office before the a full house of senators onWednesday. "I really appreciate your taking the time to come out today to celebrate with me and my family," Gibson said to the other members in the Senate chamber. She added that while her opening remarks are not supposed to be political, she noted that her mother has early stages of dementia. She hoped to have an "opportunity to deal with Alzheimer's and dementia" issues.

Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, now running in a crowded Republican primary to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, called on the incumbent to reject comments by Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that private-sector jobs were doing fine but public-sector jobs were in bad shape.

Republicans lining up for Mitt Romney should have been chilled by one line he uttered at the CNN Debate Tuesday night. Badgered into admitting that undocumented workers performed yard service at his home, Romney acknowledged, "Yes I had illegals working on my property from a lawn service." Then, in a most revealing statement, he added: "I went to the lawn service and said, for Pete's sake I can't have illegals, I'm running for office!'"

Attempting to allay tea party concerns about participating in the federal Race to the Top education program, Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday said that the state's grant application does not "unduly burden state taxpayers [or] commit state dollars to federal unfunded mandates." Seeking a $100 million award from the U.S. Department of Education, Florida is one of four states eligible for an Early Learning Challenge grant.

Presentations have dominated the House and Senate committee sessions this month as legislators prepare for the 2012 session that begins in January. So when two bills went before the House Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee Wednesday, one could excuse the apparent excitement of Chairman Doug Holder, R-Sarasota.

Sunshine State News is hitting the radio airwaves on Wednesdayat 2:30 p.m. I will be on the Ed Dean radio show, which is hosted by one of the most feisty, informative and entertaining conservatives in Florida. It can be heard online here and on two stations in South Florida -- 89.3 on the west coast and 90.3 on the Atlantic coast.

In a development that will further stoke suspicions of "anti-Semitism" and roil the ranks of leftist protesters, the American Nazi Party is supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement. Media reports have noted anti-Jewish slogans at "Occupy" demonstrations around the country. And while the most vocal protesters come from the left end of the political spectrum, ANP leader Rocky Suhayda commended the cause.

A day after Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam became the first state Cabinet officer to back a presidential candidate, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts unveiled the endorsement of Florida CFO Jeff Atwater on Wednesday.

An NBC/Marist poll released on Wednesday morning found businessman Herman Cain leading former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts in South Carolina, the first state in the South to hold a presidential primary. Cain took 30 percent in the poll with Romney in a close second with 26 percent. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas was a distant third at 9 percent followed by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 6 percent and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas who was tied with U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota with 5 percent each.

Citing the Florida Constitution, a statewide tea party group is calling on Gov. Rick Scott to bow out of the "Race to the Top" competition for federal education funding. This grant not only costs Florida taxpayers more in the long-term, it will remove quality control from the legislative process, and it goes against the Florida state Constitution, Tea Party Network Chairwoman Patricia Sullivan stated in a letter to Scott.

Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich, D-Weston, and Rep. Lori Berman, D-Delray Beach, announcedTuesday that theyhave once again filed legislation -- SCR 180 and HCR 8003 -- asking Florida's Republican-dominated Legislature to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Comparing their states' economic policies, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry each tried to claim the conservative high ground at Tuesday night's CNN Debate in Las Vegas. But both carried baggage of liberalism -- Romney with Romneycare and Perry as Al Gore's former campaign chairman in Texas -- that left the audience unsure as to who was more "authentic."

Calling for cuts in foreign aid across the globe, Ron Paul said such programs "take money from poor people in this country and give to rich people in other countries." The Texas congressman extended his criticism to the weapons deal engineered with Iran by the Reagan administration. That drew a stiff rebuke from Rick Santorum, but a defense from Newt Gingrich, who noted that Reagan later concluded that the Iran deal was "a mistake."