Martin Dyckman, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanMarch 31, 2014

As it had done many times before, the Florida Supreme Court last week set aside a death penalty because the punishment didn’t fit the crime. This time, though, there was an ominous dissent, largely ignored by the media, challenging the court’s authority to do that. There could be many more executions if the dissent ever […]

Martin DyckmanMarch 25, 2014

You’d think the Republicans would have figured out by now how to be rid of President Obama. It would be simple: just say something nice about him, and he’d be put out of action by the shock. He can’t catch a break from them no matter what he does. Their latest snarl blames him for […]

Martin DyckmanMarch 18, 2014

The secret to success in politics, like that of real estate (location, location, location), supposedly consists of three simple words: Turnout, turnout, turnout. That would appear to be the short explanation for why the Democrats narrowly lost last week’s special election in Pinellas County’s 13th Congressional District. Republican David Jolly edged Democrat Alex Sink by […]

Martin DyckmanMarch 13, 2014

Should the Florida Legislature want to pay a truly meaningful tribute to former Gov. Reubin O’D. Askew, who died Thursday, here’s how. Not just with fulsome praise, but with concrete action to protect something he cared deeply about: the integrity of Florida’s courts. First, the history. Although it wasn’t precisely a “midnight” appointment, Gov. Claude […]

Martin DyckmanMarch 9, 2014

Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court set off a useful debate over her frank views on the importance of diversity among judges. Personal experiences, she explained, “affect the facts that judges choose to see.” To be confirmed, she had to walk back some from a celebrated quote that a “wise Latina with […]

Martin DyckmanMarch 4, 2014

Typical of its genre, Charlie Crist’s recently published campaign memoir, “The Party’s Over,” won’t be a convenient resource for historians. It has no footnotes and no index. Another characteristic of such books–indeed, of much autobiography–is a selective memory. There are some fairly obvious omissions in Crist’s, although fewer than I had expected to find. One […]

Martin DyckmanFebruary 26, 2014

North Carolina, the vacation or retirement home for throngs of Floridians, seems to be competing with the Sunshine State for dishonors. The Tarheel state is winning. North Carolina’s legislature has managed to repeal a century of progress in a single session. Its new voter suppression law is among the nation’s most diabolical. In just one […]

Martin DyckmanFebruary 17, 2014

Even as a television plot it would be implausible. A white man enraged by loud music coming from their car shoots 10 bullets at four black teenagers, killing one. But the jury is able to find him guilty only of the shots that missed. Once again, Florida is a theater of the absurd. There are […]

Martin DyckmanFebruary 12, 2014

The Florida Bar is all but begging lawyers to apply for once-coveted memberships on the panels that nominate judges for the governor to appoint. With too few applications on hand for 12 of the 20 judicial circuits and one of the five district courts of appeal, the Bar has extended the deadline from Feb. 11 […]

Martin DyckmanFebruary 9, 2014

Winston Churchill never lived in any of the four constituencies that elected him to Parliament, or in the two others where he ran and lost during his 65 years in politics. He didn’t need to. “Apparently an MP can be elected to Parliament without even living in this country, provided he has citizenship,” writes my […]

Martin Dyckman
Image via Miami International Airport/Miami-Dade County.

Martin Dyckman: If Scott gets to pack the Court, expect more executions

Martin Dyckman: Wilson endured the kind of opposition Obama faces today

Martin Dyckman: Congressional District 13 was drawn to assure a GOP victory

Martin Dyckman: How to honor former Gov. Reubin Askew’s memory

Martin Dyckman: LaBarga’s opinion demonstrates need for minority appointments

Martin Dyckman: Despite obvious omissions, Crist’s memoir is good reading

Martin Dyckman: Feds should force Florida to restore right to vote to felons

Martin Dyckman: ‘Loud music’ killing is another stain on the ‘Gunshine State’

Martin Dyckman: Scott is trying to pack the courts with compliant judges

Martin Dyckman: Politicians shouldn’t have to live in their districts