The week in Florida politics began with Florida Gov. Rick Scott delivering the first punch.
He announced Florida officials had filed a lawsuit against Homeland Security for obstructing access to federal citizenship databases to support the state's voter registration purge of illegal immigrants. The backlash ensued on the national stage with a countersuit from the feds and a clobbering from "The Daily Show."
The stance of Scott, a tea party-supported candidate for his staunch illegal immigration campaign rhetoric, morphed throughout the week into Scott giving a pass to immigrant farm workers, calling the e-Verify system "foolish." Gov. Scott also passed responsibility for immigration reform, and enforcement, from the state back to the federal government.
Here's how the week went down:
Monday, June 11: Florida sues the feds
The Daily Caller reported that Florida officials filed a lawsuit to force the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to comply with a federal law that requires federal assistance to verify eligible voters. The report notes that Florida officials estimated that up to 180,000 ineligible voters maybe be on its registered voter rolls.
Tuesday, June 12: Feds sue Florida; "The Daily Show" rips Gov. Scott
Gov. Scott appeared on CNN to defend the purge, yet stated that Florida election officials had identified only 100 or so illegal voters. Lying in wait, Attorney General Eric Holder then revealed the feds had filed a lawsuit against Florida during a Senate hearing appearance.
Tuesday evening, Jon Stewart lampooned Gov. Scott, his Florida voter registration purge and Florida's election law changes on "The Daily Show."
Wednesday, June 13: Scott defers immigration reform laws to the federal government
The following day, Scott defended the voter registration purge and justified its legal costs to a Florida CPA conference in Tampa. Moreover, The Ledger reported Scott reversed his gubernatorial campaign promise at a Florida Citrus Industry conference luncheon to support a proposed Florida law to require Social Security number verification through the free e-Verify federal database, tea party notwithstanding.
The Marco Eagle reported Scott's executive order that requires state agencies to use the free e-Verify system remains in effect.
Not to be left out, Florida's U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, stumbled through a Bloomberg interview in which he defended the Florida voter registration purge. Rubio, a leading GOP veep contender, supported the "no illegal voters" policy, but sidestepped endorsement of the implementation tactics used by Gov. Scott, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Thursday, June 14: Scott reveals he was declared an ineligible voter in 2006
In a radio interview, Scott acknowledged that he was required to submit a provisional vote, according to WFTV News, when his local precinct informed him that he was deceased.
Friday, June 15: Obama says U.S. should stop deporting young illegal immigrants
Republicans deplored President Barack Obama's executive order to stop deportation of young illegal immigrants, according to the Sun-Sentinel. In a released statement, Florida U.S. Rep. Allen West, a Republican, loathed the move in light of the feds' stance on Florida's voter purge.
Meanwhile, South Florida's immigrant community's response was euphoric. Sen. Marco Rubio, in an unusual departure from the GOP stance, welcomed Obama's deportation leniency measure according to The Hill.
