Darryl Paulson, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Darryl PaulsonNovember 19, 2013

Second of a four-part series on political humor It’s no wonder that politics and politicians are held in such low esteem. Consider some of these absurd statements made by state legislators and members of Congress. A member of Congress was quoted as saying: “We’re going to wrestle to the ground this gigantic orgasm that is […]

Darryl PaulsonNovember 18, 2013

First of a four-part series on political humor For 35 years, I told incoming political science students that politics comes from the ancient Greek word “poly” meaning “many” and “tics” meaning “ugly bloodsucking parasites.” For the first 20 years, the students would laugh. For the last 15 years, students would busily write the definition in […]

Darryl PaulsonNovember 17, 2013

At his Nov. 14 news conference, President Obama proposed a “temporary fix” to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in an attempt to stop the growing public criticism of the president and to stop Democrats from jumping ship. “We fumbled the rollout on the health care law. . . If I fumble the ball, you know, […]

Darryl PaulsonNovember 13, 2013

Charlie Crist has never had a political job he wanted to keep. He has served one term as state senator, one term as education commissioner, one term as attorney general and one term as governor. Not once did he seek re-election to any of those positions. “One and done” Charlie was always looking for his […]

Darryl PaulsonNovember 4, 2013

Democrats love Harry Truman, the president of the common man, and his “the buck stops here” philosophy. He took personal responsibility for what happened during his tenure. Fifty years later, Democrats have another president, Barack Obama, whose philosophy is apparently “I never saw the buck. It wasn’t until several days later, when I read about […]

Darryl PaulsonNovember 3, 2013

With Charlie Crist set launch his bid as the Democratic nominee for governor, he will have to address the following 10 questions. No. 1: Will Crist exercise better judgment concerning his friends, advisers and political associates? Crist’s hand-picked choice to lead the Florida Republican Party, Jim Greer, was a disaster of monumental proportion. Greer is […]

Darryl PaulsonOctober 28, 2013

Second of two parts. Almost everyone, except the most hardened progressive ideologues, believes that the Obamacare rollout is a mess. After three years and $300 million spent on preparing the website, few people have been able to log on, let alone register for health care. The exact number who have successfully signed up for a […]

Darryl PaulsonOctober 27, 2013

First of two parts. During the first year of President Obama’s first term, the American economy was in shambles and the public demanded that government focus on the economy and job creation. In response, the administration passed a stimulus plan that Republicans thought was too large and Democrats thought was too small. The economy continued […]

Darryl PaulsonOctober 21, 2013

After 22 terms and 43 years of congressional service, U.S. Rep. Bill Young died last week. Republicans first won this district in 1954 when Bill Cramer, recognized by many as the founder of the modern Florida Republican Party, defeated Democratic Congressman Courtney Campbell in a close race. Cramer became the first Republican member of Congress […]

Darryl PaulsonOctober 20, 2013

The Democratic Party has found a new political strategist to guide its future. His name is Ted Cruz, Republican U.S. Senator from Texas and the developer of the GOP strategy to link increasing the debt ceiling to eliminating the money for Obamacare. Cruz’s strategy has resulted in the Republican Party receiving a 24 percent favorable […]

Darryl Paulson
Rodney Guttman, image via University of West Florida.

Darryl Paulson: Looney Laws and Stupid Political Statements

Darryl Paulson: Ugly bloodsucking parasites

Darryl Paulson: The Obamacare mess keeps getting messier

Darryl Paulson: The battle for governor: charisma versus competence

Darryl Paulson: Obama is the ‘4 Pinocchio’ President

Darryl Paulson: Ten questions Charlie Crist needs to answer

Darryl Paulson: The problem with Obamacare: the substance

Darryl Paulson: The problem with Obamacare: the process

Darryl Paulson: Will Alex Sink be the successor to Bill Young?

Darryl Paulson: The Cruzifiction of the Republican Party