Bob Sparks, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Bob SparksApril 21, 2015

In order to adjourn on time, all 160 members of the Florida Legislature must have a budget on their desks sometime on April 28. Florida law requires legislators have at least 72 hours to look over the budget before voting on it just before sine die on May 1. The odds of completing a budget […]

Bob SparksApril 16, 2015

This week, two more candidates jumped on the elevator heading for the top floor of the executive branch. The announcement on Sunday by Hillary Clinton and on Monday by Marco Rubio brings the number of announced candidates for president of the United States to four. While several others will follow, it is amazing to look […]

Bob SparksApril 10, 2015

For years Florida governors and legislators stressed the need to diversify Florida’s economy. A state’s financial well-being so heavily dependent upon tourism and agriculture is a disaster or recession away from economic calamity, they said. They, and their successors who toe the same line, are right. Resorts, parks and Fresh From Florida are great for […]

Bob SparksApril 9, 2015

For years Florida governors and legislators stressed the need to diversify Florida’s economy. A state’s financial well-being so heavily dependent upon tourism and agriculture is a disaster or recession away from economic calamity, they said. They, and their successors who toe the same line, are right. Resorts, parks and Fresh From Florida are great for […]

Bob SparksMarch 26, 2015

The Florida Legislature is deciding, with certain restrictions, whether to allow guns on Florida college campuses. This brief, but controversial, bill (House Bill 4005 and Senate Bill 176) removes restrictions on campus for qualified gun permit holders. Other prohibitions remain untouched, including courthouses, polling places, K-12 schools and numerous others. Republicans generally favor the legislation […]

Bob SparksMarch 19, 2015

In the 1970s inflation was soaring. It was so bad, interest rates climbed above 20 percent. President Jimmy Carter, like his immediate predecessors Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, struggled for solutions. Carter didn’t bring back Ford’s WIN (Whip Inflation Now) campaign buttons, but he did hire economics professor Alfred E. Kahn to serve as, for […]

Bob SparksMarch 12, 2015

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Florida Republican legislators are waving the white flag. The fight seems to be over. Peace is at hand. After two insurrections against Republican National Committee (RNC) mandates covering presidential primary dates, the Florida House and Senate are poised to make a wise decision to cease hostilities. House Bill 7035 (and a companion Senate bill) opens […]

Bob SparksMarch 11, 2015

Florida Republican legislators are waving the white flag. The fight seems to be over. Peace is at hand. After two insurrections against Republican National Committee (RNC) mandates covering presidential primary dates, the Florida House and Senate are poised to make a wise decision to cease hostilities. House Bill 7035 (and a companion Senate bill) paves […]

Bob SparksMarch 3, 2015

Florida’s most conservative Republican governor in history was about to speak before last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, MD. Despite a record few Republicans in any state could match, his appearance before a room full of conservatives was considered a road game. Between 2007 and 2015, he fell from grace among […]

Bob SparksFebruary 20, 2015

Bill Clinton is known to use the term “dead-bang loser” to deride the policies or actions of political opponents. One of his more recent targets was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker for the latter’s epic fights with the state teachers’ union. Clinton described Walker’s success in those fights as a dead-bang loser for Wisconsin. With Walker’s […]

Bob Sparks

Bob Sparks: So far for this Legislature, the FHIX is not in

Bob Sparks: Top priority for diverse GOP field is beating Hillary Clinton

Bob Sparks: Entertainment industry adds to Florida’s economic menu

Bob Sparks: Entertainment industry adds to Florida's economic menu

Bob Sparks: Logic, passion and courage describe guns-on-campus debate

Bob Sparks: The strange relationship between climate change and bananas

Bob Sparks: Florida nears end of renegade primary era

Bob Sparks: Florida nears end of renegade primary era

Bob Sparks: Jeb Bush earns a respectable passing grade at CPAC

Bob Sparks: Tax credit scholarship lawsuit a "dead-bang loser"