Daniel Tilson, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Daniel TilsonMarch 10, 2015

Pardon an old pun, but…Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. In fact, it’s becoming one of Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s favorite “go-to” plays in a still-new second administration chock full of full-court pressure from the press. This latest denial was of the claim made in a story first published last weekend by the Florida […]

Daniel TilsonMarch 8, 2015

You’d think 50 years was long enough for Florida lawmakers to get something right. But when it comes to ensuring all Floridians have equal opportunity to exercise their right to vote, and then overwhelmingly choose to use it, most of us know we’ve still got a long way to go. Here we are, fresh off […]

Daniel TilsonMarch 5, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott wrote a letter to President Obama this week. Isn’t that special? Well, yes and no. Yes, because it’s something that doesn’t happen every day. In a different world it might actually hold some promise of a constructive new dialogue beginning between presumably the most powerful man in Florida, and the most powerful […]

Daniel TilsonMarch 3, 2015

Once again, Rick Scott owes George Orwell a debt of gratitude. Without the classic novel “1984” and its primer on political doublespeak, the governor’s State of the State speech this week would have been way more…let’s say transparent, since that’s a word repeatedly and ridiculously run through Scott’s Orwellian propaganda grinder recently. My dictionary defines […]

Daniel TilsonMarch 1, 2015

As a Florida man “of a certain age” with a wife and two daughters, I’m sick and tired of pandering politicians putting so many of our beloved women at risk every year during the state’s 60-day legislative session. I’m fed up with ambitious elected ideologues and wannabes talking tough about protecting individual liberty and personal […]

Daniel TilsonFebruary 25, 2015

I’ll never forget the Florida prison guard who started crying when I asked her about the challenges she faced on the job, not to mention from elected and other officials responsible for the state penal system. I visited with her family for a few hours in a sketchy Miami neighborhood, where she and her school […]

Daniel TilsonFebruary 22, 2015

On behalf of ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, I want to thank you, especially you, Governor-elect Scott, for having me here. What can I say? Jobs are first, last and everything. Jobs. J. O. B. S. Create enough more jobs – the right kind – and drive down those ugly unemployment numbers, and you’re […]

Daniel TilsonFebruary 19, 2015

So we’ve got this Sunshine Law in Florida. It’s supposed to be all about “open” government decision-making and freedom of information, including unrestricted access to public records. As many of us now know more than ever before, Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet have made a farce of the law. And they’ve had plenty […]

Daniel TilsonFebruary 17, 2015

America’s undocumented immigrants aren’t political footballs, or soccer balls. But they keep getting thrown out of bounds and kicked to the sidelines. The latest blow was delivered by Texas federal Judge Andrew Hanen, the 2002 George W. Bush judicial appointee who in 2013 infamously advised the Homeland Security Department to start arresting undocumented parents trying […]

Daniel TilsonFebruary 15, 2015

“Hello there, Gunshine State. Hello all you folks in the sunset of your winter snowboarding season – better then snow shoveling, right? And hello all you other freedom lovers, thanks for being here at the fair today! “When I’m done talking, make sure you come visit the extinct, uh, the exotic species deep-fry tent on […]

Daniel Tilson
Las Vegas Strip transforms into a Grand Prix.

Daniel Tilson: Top 10 other words on Rick Scott's forbidden list

Daniel Tilson: Voting rights – from Selma, 1965 to Tallahassee, 2015

Daniel Tilson: Gov. Scott's latest tactics in 'Operation Obamacare Fail'

Daniel Tilson: Gov. Scott touts Florida 'Exceptionalism' full of exceptions

Daniel Tilson: Florida men can't let Legislature overpower women

Daniel Tilson: Legislature needs to catch some hell to recapture its soul

Daniel Tilson: Florida GOP's secret 2010 post-election economic training

Daniel Tilson: Ain’t no sunshine: Make our legislators clean the mud off Florida government ‘transparency’

Daniel Tilson: Judge's ruling kicks immigrants to the sidelines – again

Daniel Tilson: Vice President Sarah Palin's Presidents Day message