Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Connie Mack proudly trumpeted the news that U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a favorite of the tea party movement and the son of presidential candidate Ron Paul, was backing the One Percent Spending Reduction Act. Mack introduced the proposal which would cut federal spending by 1 percent each year for the next six years. Mack and his backers, including Senate sponsor Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., have also called the measure the Penny Plan.

Appearing on the Hugh Hewitt radio show on Tuesday, Florida Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio took off the gloves and ripped into President Barack Obama over the federal budget negotiations.

Asked by Hewitt if seniors in Florida would be impacted by not getting Social Security checks, Rubio insisted, if that happened, it would be Obamas fault.

A poll released on Wednesday by Quinnipiac University had good news for former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. Not only was Romney leading the pack of hopefuls for the Republican presidential nomination but he was also the only GOP hopeful who wasn't being beaten by double digits by President Barack Obama.

With Washington gearing up for a continued fight over the federal budget, freshman Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross said on Wednesday that he was helping back legislation to ensure Social Security, Medicare, military pay and veterans' benefits would keep flowing even if a shutdown occurred. But he also insisted President Barack Obama was to blame if a federal shutdown did occur.

The 2012 Obama campaign has announced a first quarter fundraising total of $83 million, beating previous records and their own goal of $60 million, Politico reports.

The figure is more than double the $35 million raised by the collective field of Republican hopefuls during the same period.

U.S. Sen Bill Nelson raised $1.85 million in the second quarter, he announced Tuesday, easily besting the fundraising totals of his Republican rivals for his seat.

Nelson also has more than $6 million in the bank for his campaign. He is seen as vulnerable by Republicans, who are lining up to take him on. The top three Republicans vying for his seat, though, could not get near his fundraising total from April through June.

Former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson just will not go quietly into that good night.

The bilious Grayson, apparently not chastened by his double-digit smackdown at the hands of Daniel Webster in the 2010 election, nor ashamed of tagging his opponent "Taliban Dan" in an egregiously unfair attack ad during the campaign, announced Monday that he is running for Congress again.

Col. Mike McCalister is facing Senate President Mike Haridopolos, former state Rep. Adam Hasner and former Gov. Charlie Crist chief of staff George LeMieux in the Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate, a group he refers to as the "Tallahassee triplets."

On Tuesday he was joined by Craig Miller, a fellow political outsider and former CEO of Ruth's Chris. McCalister seemed to welcome him with open arms, releasing the following statement:

Since entering the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination in June, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota has surged in national polls and surveys of key states -- and a new poll has her leading the pack in Iowa, home of the first caucus.

On Tuesday, Craig Miller, the former CEO of Ruths Chris who ran for the Republican nomination for a Central Florida congressional seat in 2010, is expected to announce that he is entering an already crowded primary to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012.

Miller, a Vietnam veteran, has expressed interest in entering the race since early May. Besides touring the state since first leaving the door open, Miller has met with Republican leaders in Washington who have made Nelson --who is seeking a third term --one of their top targets in the 2012 election cycle.