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

Darryl PaulsonApril 11, 2017

What little Americans know about the filibuster is due to James Stewart‘s portrayal of Senator Jefferson Smith in the classic movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. In the movie, Senator Smith filibusters a fraudulent land deal until finally collapsing on the Senate floor. This past week, it was the filibuster that collapsed on the Senate […]

Darryl PaulsonMarch 30, 2017

We know Donald Trump won and Hillary Clinton lost the 2018 presidential election. What else do we need to know? We need to know why Trump won and Clinton lost. We know that Clinton won the popular vote 65,844,954 to 62,979,879, or by 2.9 million votes. Trump’s popular vote deficit was the largest ever for […]

Darryl PaulsonMarch 29, 2017

Until 1987, presidential nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court were respectfully received and reviewed by the U.S. Senate. In 1986, Antonin Scalia, a judicial conservative and constitutional originalist, was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a vacancy on the court. He was confirmed 98 to 0 by the U.S. Senate. The confirmation process imploded in […]

Darryl PaulsonMarch 24, 2017

In the previous three pieces, I have written about how university hiring policies have led to the virtual exclusion of conservatives on college faculties. We have seen how universities have wrapped students in a protective cocoon to prevent them from hearing speech that might be offensive with the use of speech codes, safe spaces, and […]

Darryl PaulsonMarch 22, 2017

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Free speech is an essential element for vibrant intellectual discourse and discovery at American universities. Part of that speech requires the students and faculty to be exposed to competing ideas. Too often, one side, the conservative side is missing in action not by choice, but by exclusion. Since 2000, the Foundation for Individual Rights in […]

Darryl PaulsonMarch 20, 2017

Most universities recruit students by offering specialized curricula, top quality faculty and promising to expose students to diverse views which will stimulate creative thinking and prepare the student for life after their university experience. Universities may be partially successful on the first two items, but dramatically fail in exposing students to diverse viewpoints. It is […]

Darryl PaulsonMarch 17, 2017

Universities are touted as bastions of diversity whose prime role is to encourage students to engage in critical thinking, ask tough questions and expose themselves to a diversity of ideas and opinions. If that is the mission of the university, they have dismally failed. Diversity is respected, up to a point, as long as it […]

Darryl PaulsonMarch 9, 2017

As a lifelong Republican and a former Fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, I have always preferred voting for the Republican and conservative candidate. Preferably, the candidate is both Republican and conservative, although that is not always the case. For only the second time in my life, I did not vote for the Republican presidential […]

Darryl PaulsonFebruary 27, 2017

Democrats in Florida and at the national level have a similar problem. In both cases, there are more Democratic voters than Republicans, but in both cases, the Republican candidates have trounced the Democrats. Between 2009 and 2016, which coincides with the terms of Barack Obama as president, Democratic candidates suffered heavier casualties than many military […]

Darryl PaulsonFebruary 17, 2017

“In like Flynn” has been part of American language since the 1940s. The San Francisco Examiner in February 1942 contained the first known use of the term when it stated: “Answer these questions correctly, and your name is Flynn, meaning you’re in …” Within a few months, the term became closely identified with movie idol […]

Darryl Paulson

Darryl Paulson: The filibuster, the nuclear option and the future of American politics

Darryl Paulson: Why Donald Trump won — A review of the 2016 election

Darryl Paulson: On Neil Gorsuch; both parties should just grow up!

Darryl Paulson: Do universities discriminate? Promoting ideological diversity, free speech in U.S. universities

Darryl Paulson: Do universities discriminate? The assault on conservative speakers at American universities

Darryl Paulson: Do universities discriminate? The assault on free speech

Darryl Paulson: Do universities discriminate in hiring?

Repeal and replace — The end of traditional conservatism

Groundhog Day for Democrats: Selecting the Party chair

Out like Flynn: The firing of National Security adviser Mike Flynn