Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez was ousted from office Tuesday night by voters angry over county spending, tax increases and a controversial stadium deal. The recall election, engineered by South Florida auto magnate Norman Braman, attracted a relatively heavy turnout. With more than half the votes tallied, 88 percent were against Alvarez, making it mathematically impossible for him to win. Early votes also were running heavily against County Commissioner Natacha Seijas, who was also up for recall.

Amid rising discontent with the patchwork budget process, the U.S. House has passed yet another continuing resolution to keep the government funded for another three weeks. By a vote of 271-158, the House approved the measure that also cuts $6 billion from the federal budget. The resolution now heads to the Senate.

As part of its faux green nuclear agenda, the Obama administration wants Congress to provide a $4 billion loan guarantee for two new nuclear reactors on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The power plants would be honchoed by a local consortium and -- you guessed it -- TEPCO, the outfit that built the toasted reactor at Fukushima Station 1. Holy cow! Hold on to your iodine pills.

The U.S. House passed a continuing resolution on Tuesday, keeping the federal government funded for three more weeks. While the measure passed with 271 votes, an increasing number of Republicans voted against it. On Tuesday, 54 Republicans who backed the last continuing budgetary resolution voted against the latest one. Republicans pointed the blame at President Barack Obama and Democrats in control of the U.S. Senate.

Freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross joined U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in standing against continuing federal budget resolutions on Tuesday. Ross said it was time for Congress to pass a full budget.

Radio talker Rush Limbaugh warmly applauded U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Tuesday, saying, "I wish he would run for president." Sharing Rubio's concern over U.S. debt, and Congress's timid efforts to reduce it, Limbaugh praised the freshman senator for challenging GOP leaders to be more aggressive on budget cuts. Limbaugh also tweaked establishment Republicans by predicting that disgruntled tea partiers could bolt the GOP to form a third party.

On Tuesday, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. David Rivera raised the stakes on Capitol Hill, saying he will help block a free-trade agreement with South Korea if similar agreements with Colombia and Panama continue to stall.

Beneath Florida's Vietnam Veterans Memorial across the street from the Capitol building, Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll and Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Adam Putnam pledged their support for legislation carving out parts of state parks specifically for U.S. military veterans. Bills filed in the House and Senate would create special areas for veterans to enjoy outdoor activities like hunting. Advocates for the bill say the new veterans' areas will be parts of state parks that go largely unused.

From his perch as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis weighed in on the crisis Japan continues to face at nuclear power plants, and responses in the U.S. --including Gov. Rick Scotts actions in Florida.

Sunshine State News reports that Senate President Mike Haridopolos is already dousing Anitere Flores' attempt to delete the E-Verify requirement from the Judiciary Committee's immigration bill. Among the Republicans watching the political maneuvering is House Judiciary Chairman Will Snyder, whose committee is working on its own bill. Whichever way the Senate goes, Snyder says his goal is "to do all we can to preserve jobs for Floridians who are legally eligible to work here."

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam says it's a natural fit to make the department that oversees the state's fruits and vegetables also responsible for getting that fresh produce on children's lunch trays at school. During the Florida Board of Education meeting Tuesday morning, Putnam made his case before the board as to why children's nutrition programs should be transferred from the Department of Education to the new commissioner's department. Putnam contends that things have changed significantly over the last few years.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, were quick to issue releases Tuesday applauding the passing of the "smart cap" bill that would allow voters to decide whether to place a cap on state revenues. 'Smart cap' was an early priority for Senate Republicans for good reason. By creating revenue limits on state government, we will prevent the overuse of taxpayer dollars and avoid digging a deeper financial hole for our children.

Florida senators voted to pass the "smart cap" bill Tuesday that would place a constitutional amendment before voters in 2012 to limit state revenues. Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, swept aside concerns over the bill's effect on the state's bond rating and changing the Constitution. "The folks in the chamber who believe in fiscal restraint can say to the people, 'Do you want to have that for the future?' This is something we're going to put before the people. If government takes less, the people have more," Bogdanoff said.

On Tuesday, Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio joined with U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to propose that taxpayers could designate 10 percent of their tax liability to pay down the national debt. The senators maintained that refunds would not be impacted. McCain has introduced similar proposals for the IRS to include this option in previous years.

According to a piece run by Politico on Tuesday, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. David Rivera continues to face pressure from the GOP. As questions continue to arise regarding Riveras ethics, Politico is reporting that a few possible primary challengers are thinking about 2012. From the article: