Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Marc YachtJanuary 27, 2014

Refusing to expand Medicaid and accept the huge amount of federal money that goes with it continues to haunt Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican Legislature. Without the expansion many working Floridians who earn between the poverty line and 138 percent of poverty will go without health insurance. A Jackson Hewitt tax service report estimates […]

Daniel TilsonJanuary 19, 2014

With Florida public policy and lawmaking controlled by Republicans since 1996 and by Gov. Rick Scott’s posse of hardcore GOP conservatives since 2011, Martin Luther King Day 2014 seems high time to ask: What MLK would make of the state of the Sunshine State these days? It’s safe to say he wouldn’t see eye to […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 16, 2014

There is an old saying around Florida that if you don’t like the weather just wait a couple of hours and suddenly it will change. Likewise, there are Florida political suddenlies as well. One day nearly 30 years ago, I rolled out of bed, a satisfied member of the Florida House of Representatives cruising to […]

Daniel TilsonJanuary 15, 2014

First in a series. Fallacies are falling like raindrops in storm season, facts are being discarded like yesterday’s trash and fairness is a commodity fewer and fewer voters seem to value very much anymore. “Game On!” It’s time for Florida’s 2014 midterm elections!! Don’t all stand and cheer at once. Stand and cheer is what […]

Daniel TilsonJanuary 9, 2014

Working and retired Floridians from all walks of life commonly flock together in long lottery ticket lines, dreaming of better days. But joining forces to vote for progressive political candidates who could help fulfill that dream … that’s another story. I get it that no politician or elected official, no matter how progressive, can make […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 1, 2014

As we venture into the new year, old habits linger. One is the Dec. 31-Jan.1 ritual — the New Year’s resolution. But this will not be a diatribe about personal self-improvement, although my wife will gladly tell you that I am still a largely unfinished project. This will not be a list of vows […]

Daniel TilsonDecember 30, 2013

Given the tragicomedy characterizing Florida political theater in recent years, it feels right reaching for a Shakespeare quote when looking back at 2013 and ahead to 2014: “What’s past is prologue.” The state’s prevailing powers-that-be (richest individual and corporate residents acting through “supportive” elected officials) continued widening the income and economic opportunity gap between them […]

Marc YachtDecember 19, 2013

Although the recent slaying of a Zephyrhills High School student was not part of a school rampage, it does bring home Florida’s vulnerability to a school incident. Furthermore, on the eve of the anniversary of the Newtown, Conn., tragedy, an apparently well-known and liked Colorado student brought a shotgun to school and shot one girl critically, […]

Bob SparksDecember 18, 2013

Over the next 11 months, education policy will be debated in many forums, including the legislative session. The campaign for governor will not be silent on the future of our schools. Yes, jobs, health care and the economy will be front and center, but how Florida’s public education system responds to life after the FCAT […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 15, 2013

There’s a phrase in Shakespeare that ought to be printed on every politician’s paycheck: Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed That he is grown so great? It might remind him or her that, all too often, it’s all too easy to forget who is supposed to be serving whom. So it is a […]

Tag: Gov. Rick Scott

Marc Yacht: State needs expanded Medicaid and money that goes with it

Daniel Tilson: What would MLK make of Florida in 2014?

John Grant: Florida’s best spectator sport, hands down

Daniel Tilson: Election 2014 Florida: Fallacies, facts and fairness

Daniel Tilson: The Florida GOP’s 2014 version of ‘Believe It or Not’

Andrew Skerritt: My New Year’s resolutions call for a better Florida

Daniel Tilson: Decoding Florida GOP’s 2013 words and deeds

Marc Yacht: Florida officials can do better on gun control

Bob Sparks: Despite its promise, will Florida abandon Common Core?

Martin Dyckman: Crucial court appointments face next governor