Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Daniel TilsonApril 3, 2014

Gov. Rick Scott and Florida’s Republican legislators think lots of Election 2014 votes can be won with a $25 auto fee refund and some sales tax holidays. The Florida Chamber and other big business war chests will finance endlessly misleading multimedia messaging, about how Republicans have achieved “meaningful tax relief for Florida’s families,” by letting […]

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 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 […]

Guest AuthorMarch 9, 2014

The gavel is down and the race is on. The annual session of the Florida Legislature has begun; it ends May 2. As Gov. Rick Scott delivered his fourth State of the State message, he was hoping it would not be his last. The press gallery was overflowing with members of the capitol press corps […]

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 […]

Bob SparksFebruary 25, 2014

Next week the conservative movement receives its annual check-up in National Harbor, Md. The three-day exam known as the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) will feature speeches and panels starring the Who’s Who of political conservatism. If one is considering a run for the White House in 2016, more than likely that potential candidate will […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 18, 2014

In politics, once you take a stand on an issue, you better have a good reason to change your mind. Take the Cuban embargo, which was implemented during the early 1960s during the Cold War, which the West won by the end of the 1980s. Florida politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, for years have supported […]

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 […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 16, 2014

My parents honeymooned there 80 years ago and growing up I heard stories of this offshore paradise with pristine beaches and clear seas, classy Latin entertainment and a fantastic nightlife. It was a true American tourist destination. They sailed there on the steamship Florida. I have always dreamed of taking the kind of trip my […]

Tag: Charlie Crist
Image via FPL.

Daniel Tilson: Florida’s ‘Here’s 25 bucks, vote Republican’ budget

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

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

John Grant: The race is on

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

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

Bob Sparks: CPAC hopes to lead GOP toward tidal wave election

Steve Kurlander: Crist was right to “flip-flop” on Cuban embargo

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

John Grant: The Cuba conundrum: Free trade or further oppression