“Last Tuesday, for the second time in a month, Diaz de la Portilla broke with his party’s traditional fealty to the NRA and single-handedly denied the organization a vote on a top legislative priority,” Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun agitators at The Trace report. “The first bill he buried in late January, would have allowed concealed carry permit holders to bring their handguns onto state college campuses. The second would have granted licensed gun owners the right to openly carry their weapons in public.” What else needs saying? Just this, from the horse’s…mouth . . .
“There is no question that the NRA is a powerful lobby that intimidates a number of Republican lawmakers. But we should stand up for what we think is right,” Diaz de la Portilla tells The Trace. “You’d be surprised by the number of Republican lawmakers from both chambers who thanked me. They said they were glad they wouldn’t have to make that tough decision.”
I’d dearly love to know the names of these Republican lawmakers who supported Diaz de la Portilla’s fight to stymie Floridians’ natural, civil and Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. There will be a reckoning . . .
Diaz de la Portilla is up for re-election this year. If he loses to a Democratic challenger, that might clear the way for both bills to finally become law, since no one will be there to block it from heading to the floor for a vote. And if he wins, he may still lose his chair. During the 2017 session there will be a new Senate President, a Republican named Joe Negron. He can appoint someone else to lead the committee, which could remove the last line of defense between the two bills and a vote. Either possibility raises serious concerns for the opposition.
Democrats oppose firearms freedom. But so do some powerful Republicans. They should be removed from office. Meanwhile, let this be a warning to us all.
Yikes. This guy better be relying on some heavy support from Miami if he wants to keep his job. With that said, I don’t care how anti gun you are, people from Miami aren’t going to vote for you with an R next to your name. Better get ready for retirement.
Smoke and Mirrors Folks. Accept the pro-gun lobbyist cash, go through the motions, have a South Florida guy veto the thing at the end. Everybody within the system wins, lobbyists and politicians both. Us people are a necessary inconvenience. Politics is just a massive money grab, by whatever means necessary.
I am hoping the NRA formulates a plan how to get Senator Diaz de la Portilla out of political office.
C*cksucker. Go ahead, delete me. No hard feelings. I just had to say it.
You mean Cuckservative.
How is it that you didn’t get a “FLAME DELETED” for that comment, and my innocent one yesterday did?
I’m not sure that was as much a flame as it was a true description.
Hmmm… Me thinks this guy needs a shellacking. The scary part is that down-state Democrats in Illinois have more respect for their constituents’ gun rights than this particular Republican. Now if only we could kick Chiraq out of the state.
Here this whole time I thought it was called Shitcago, but I like Chiraq too.
“You’d be surprised by the number of Republican lawmakers from both chambers who thanked me.” Yes, I’d be surprised if it were more than…zero! The RINOs are multiplying. Time to make them an endangered species!
I would prefer extinct. But hey, with Trump sweeping the primaries, we might still see the vicious beating of the regressive left and their RINO allies we’ve all been dreaming of.
I don’t think Trump is as much of a friend to us as many think he is. And I don’t think he has a prayer in the general election.
Yeah, if Trump can’t win, then no GOP candidate has a chance. The reality is the Trump is exactly what we need to swing the county back on to a conservative track. He might not be as conservative as we would like, but he’s loads better than Hitlary or the Old Commie. With his cult of personality, he’s also the only one who can swing the popularity contest that modern elections have become.
A Cruz or a Rubio would be great follow up presidents to Trump, but first we need someone like Trump to throttle the socialist left.
You have a point. One can’t get exactly what one wants.
Let him know how you feel. [email protected]
One word would suffice……………jack@ss!!!!
I too want to know who those other hidden RINOs are here in Florida. They will get whats coming to them election time. Id rather have an honest Democrat if there is such a thing take their place. Who at least speaks his or her mind out in public.
As for Diaz de la Portilla his days are also numbered. I don’t think theres enough of a republican base in Dade to keep his butt in office.
For a bunch of part time legislators they sure can screw up what the people of the state want way to easily. Just because Diaz de la Portilla didn’t “feel” like it. He tosses 2 bills that passed the lower state house with almost no interference. If they had made it to the senate. Both bills would be on the Governors desk, which he said he would have signed them.
If it appears as though Im a bit peeved. I sure am.
I am not in his district. But should either him, his brother, or Andy Gardiner seek an office for which i can vote, they will not get my primary vote or my general election vote. So they cannot count on this usual straight ticket republican.
I have sent emails to representatives that I can not vote for, to let then know that I will be financially supporting anyone that runs against you. He may not care, but you’ll feel better.
The NRA doesn’t get a particular number of votes in the election. But gun owners do.
Amen! Well put!
If this is your state Senator make sure you support someone else in the next primary.
What a POS. He needs to be taken out.
I wonder if the NRA will kick him out. He claimed to be a member (probably joined for their lobbying funds and to look good to his electorate).
Grand Old Progressive
Politely tore him a new one in an email. In a nutshell I told him to leave the Third World mindset in the Third World and remember that he’s an American. No dashes, no preceding term, just “American”.
“Miguel Diaz de la Portilla” sounds like the people that Obama is importing to water down America and turn the country into a banana republic. Now we know why.
This is so frustrating! Two years in a row he has done this. The Florida House overwhelmingly passed the bills and the Senate will not even get a chance to vote. Diaz de la Portilla called the bills DOA. I hope his political ambitions end up the same.
I believe open carry was outlawed in 1987 in Florida due to a scare campaign centered around Open Carry after Concealed Carry Shall Issue and state pre-emption laws had been passed. It was driven by our then Attorney General Janet Reno (you may remember her) and passed in an emergency legislative session that, I think, was originally for an unrelated tax issue. Someone please correct this if I am off base here but I am pretty certain that is correct. Imagine, politicians using a bait and switch tactic in a legislative session to pass laws that restrict our liberties.
Republican senators Dean, Latvala, Gardiner, and Grimsley are among those who probably thanked Portilla.
Thanks to TTAG for covering state freedom/political issues. This is especially important in big states like Florida and Texas. Florida needs to get general open carry next year.
It s an often seen problem that (texas joe straus too this crimainal supported sucker) thats house speaker have to mutch power thats end in an art dicatorship …….
Gouverneur veto can overriden white 2/3 maximum but house speaker can t forced to give bills an vote ??
Thats need law changes and remove his power in this point !
English. Do you speak it?
Otherwise I agree.
I realize we’re talking about Florida here, or as it’s known in NY State “Long Island South”, BUT, when did carpetbagging gazillionaires purchasing political influence in the south become a good thing?
A more honest reporting seems in order:
“Last Tuesday, for the second time in a month, Diaz de la Portilla broke caved to a carpet-bagging gazillionaire purchasing media and influencing elections from afar, to reject the consistent preferences of his constituencies, and the millions(!) of citizens & residents he represents.
Rather than go on record, he chose to administratively block “a top legislative priority,” as characterized by the interlopers. If they thought they were going to win, why block the vote? Both bills would have slightly rolled-back restrictions on where lawful citizens – meaning people already complying with all the state’s procedures for gun ownership – could carry their legal guns.
The carpet-bagging interlopers recognized “… that the NRA is a powerful lobby …” which might have something to do with being in line with Floridian’s preferences, yet seem pleased at imposing their preferences, through procedural maneuvers and outside money, on the people of Florida. They then celebrated the lawmakers who were relived at not having to make the tough decision required by a vote. So corrupting the system with outside money to deny the people a voice through their representatives counts as a win, apparently.
While Bloomberg and his networks of organizations both overt and shadowy are unabashed about influencing legislation and elections in other states with New York money, when Floridians do get the vote that can’t be stifled in committee, they might end up voting for someone who won’t stifle everything else in committee, especially to appease someone who doesn’t have to live under Florida’s laws.”
Frankly, this kind of interference, propaganda and vote-buying by outside 3rd parties is at least distasteful. (If it’s OK, I have a list of laws Bloomie ought to be living under. I’m sure he won’t mind.) At the least, the mere fact of playing with these apparatchiks should be political suicide.
If you’re working for them, you ain’t for the rest of us, so why would we want you in office?
“Caved to Bloomberg”?
We wish. De La Communist is anti gun, doing what anti-gunners do, he can’t cane in to the antis’ wishes on anything.
It would be interesting to know how much of Nanny Bloomberg’s money his campaign has received. Anyone know?
Vote his ass out