Gov. Charlie Crist is running ads for his U.S. Senate campaign, including a television ad attacking his chief rival for the Republican nomination, former House Speaker Marco Rubio. The television ad has a narrator saying, We thought he was different. Ideologically pure. Marco Rubio shot to national stardom. Called The Republican Obama. Now, comes the truth. Rubio was a registered lobbyist. His income skyrocketed while his power increased. The ad brings up Rubios handling of Republican Party of Florida credit cards.

While most conservatives have gone along with Sen. John Thrasher's proposal for teacher merit pay, there has been one prominent exception. Gubernatorial candidate Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, and three other Republicans broke ranks to oppose the measure. The Jacksonville Republican's bill passed 21-17. Most Florida teachers do a great job in the classroom and deserve our respect and support as they raise the bar on student performance, Dockery said.

The Senate just voted to expand Florida's corporate-funded Tax Credit Scholarship program and to give state parents a choice to enroll their students in private schools. And, some Democrats joined Republicans in their calls to give low-income families a chance to find private schools that are more suitable for their children than public schools.

Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, certainly wasn't the main focus at Attorney General Bill McCollum's press conference today, but he caught my attention. As soon as he stepped up to the podium to talk about his support for filing suit against the federal government for passing health care reform, I noticed a strange dark shadow over his left eye. Sen. Gaetz had a shiner!

Attorney General Bill McCollums lawsuit against the federal government is garnering heavy media attention. At this moment, a Google news search for Bill McCollum generates 2,932 articles in the last 24 hours. Even McCollums staff seems a bit surprised by all the attention their boss has received. Staffers in his communications office could not even hazard a guess as to how many calls and emails they have received today. A "ton" was their best guess.

Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, has a proposal in the House to reorganize the state Department of Health that passsed theHouse Health Care Regulation Policy Committee on Monday. This afternoon, when asked if he had found a sponsor for his measure in the Senate, Hudson said that he had a few things in the works but did not single out a senator who was planning on introducing the measure.

Less than an hour after President Barack Obama signed new health care legislation into law, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced that he had filed a lawsuit to block the measure. McCollum said, This law represents an unprecedented encroachment on the liberty of the American people, and I will pursue this litigation to the highest court if necessary.

Gov. Charlie Crist is backing Attorney General Bill McCollums plans to challenge the constitutionality of the federal health care legislation that President Barack Obama signed into law today. Crist said, The Democrats refused to pass meaningful, bipartisan health care legislation with real solutions and instead passed a bill that includes an extensive government overreach and intrusion into our citizens personal freedoms.

Two of the Republican candidates running for attorney general have come out swinging at the federal health-care legislation that President Barack Obama signed into law today.

The Florida Board of Governors has withdrawn its lawsuit over the right to raise tuitions at the state's 11 public universities. The suit has been ongoing since 2007, when universities sought to raise tuition by 5 percent. Gov. Charlie Crist just sent out his response:

House Democrats are urging Florida not to "secede" from federal health care reform. An e-mail from Mark Hollis, spokesman for the House Minority Office reads: "In an outrageous display of partisanship and insensitivity to the needs of working families, Florida House Republicans will showcase today their latest frivolous attempt to block federal efforts to provide medical coverage to tens of millions of uninsured working families and senior citizens." The e-mail states the Democrats' opposition HJR 327

Rep. Eric Eisnaugle, R-Orlando, brought a bill to the House Health & Family Services Policy Council supporting Attorney General Bill McCollums proposed litigation against the federal government for forcing individuals to puchase health care. The measure reported favorably through the committee, passing on a 7 to 5 party line vote. Eisnaugle said, Bill McCollum has recognized the right of all Floridians to make their own health care decisions.

Bright Futures scholarships may be as sacrosanct in Tallahassee as Social Security is on Captiol Hill, but state lawmakers are taking on the college fund anyway. Senate Bill 1344 would tighten requirements and cap each grant at four years. Currently, a student who loses a Bright Futures scholarship because of low grades can reapply when grades improve, and qualified students are receiving virtually free tuition for up to seven years

Governor Charlie Crist has formally declared the week of March 21 as Florida Census Week. Today, he sent out a proclamation listing the various reasons there should be a census week for the state. Besides the fact that it's a constitutional mandate for the state to conduct one every ten years, Crist also pointed out that the census is used to distribute Congressional seats to states, determine who will represent you within the state, and allow officials to make decisions about where and how to spend money for community services.

As soon as President Barack Obama signs the health care bill passed by the House of Representatives last night, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum will join attorneys general from nine other states to file a lawsuit asserting the legislation is unconstitutional. "The health care reform legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last night clearly violates the U.S. Constitution and infringes on each state's sovereignty," said Attorney General McCollum.