In the eyes of Gov. Rick Scott, Scott Walkers victory over the Democrats' and labor unions' recall effort in Wisconsin is validation for similar conservationactions he has pushed in Florida.

It shows you, if you go make the tough choices, and you do exactly what you said when you ran, you will get re-elected, Scott said during radio interviews Friday morning with Southwest Florida radio stations.

That is exactly what Governor Walker did," Scott reiterated on 97.3 FM SKY. "He went and made the tough choices. Weve got to start living within our means.

With former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts winning enough delegates to clinch the Republican presidential nomination after sweeping a series of primaries on Tuesday, his sole surviving major opponent -- U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas -- hinted this week that he would remain politically active even as he retires from Congress after the November elections.

While he may have lost out to Mitt Romney in the battle for the Republican nomination to challenge Barack Obama, Rick Santorum said on Friday that he intends to remain politically active and will do all he can to defeat the Democrat incumbent in November.

Santorum, who surprised the political world by winning 11 states in his battle with Romney, launched a new organization dubbed Patriot Voices on Friday. The former senator from Pennsylvania insists that his new group will help rally and organize 1 million conservatives to be active in the political process.

The Tampa Bay Times has a political statement to make, OK, I get it. But their editors used a reckless comparison to make it, and I can't let that go without comment.

Don't trust your own judgment? Take I-95 north till you reach the 70-mile Nanny Corridor between New Jersey and New York City.

Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff on Thursday told the Capital Tiger Bay Club that he's now trying to reform the political process, via a book and a speaking tour that reveal previously unknown secrets of the inside-the-Beltway culture.

And in a room full of people who have made their living in the political process he admits to abusing, Abramoff also apologized for his role in making it more corrupt.

A trio of mini-sagas has been concluded as state senators Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville, and Jim Norman, R-Tampa, all filed their qualifying paperwork.

Friday is the final day for candidates to qualify, with paperwork due by noon with the state Division of Elections.

Flling for legislative office should be allowed on the local level. I think only filing in Tallahassee is sponsored by FedEx, Sen. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, joked on Twitter before qualifying on Thursday.

In 1919, after Boston police went on strike to protest the city's refusal to recognize their new union, Gov. Calvin Coolidge ordered the National Guard into the streets.