Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaNovember 4, 2015

A bill aimed at removing the statue of a Confederate Army general representing Florida at the U.S. Capitol cleared its first House committee on Wednesday. The Economic Development and Tourism subcommittee unanimously OK’d the bill (HB 141), which asks Congress to remove the statue of Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith and replace it with another “prominent Florida citizen.” State Rep. Jose […]

Ryan RayNovember 2, 2015

Coral Springs Rep. Jared Moskowitz filed a bill Monday to create a Florida Holocaust Memorial at the state Capitol in Tallahassee. Moskowitz’s HB 513 would direct the Department of Management Services to receive recommendations from the Florida Historical Commission on where and how to build a memorial within the Capitol complex honoring the millions of victims of Nazi extermination […]

Jim RosicaOctober 29, 2015

A band of “concerned citizens” – including the Republican Party of Florida’s treasurer – is asking Senate President Andy Gardiner to save the decades-old mural that greets visitors to the chamber’s public gallery. Earlier this month, Senate spokeswoman Katie Betta said the mural will be removed from the wall because it’s showing signs of age, including fading and peeling. […]

Jim RosicaOctober 19, 2015

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In a surprise move, Florida Senate President Andy Gardiner on Monday brought up for discussion a plan to remove a Confederate flag from the chamber’s official seal and replace it with the state flag. The plan was adopted without objection during the first floor session of the third Special Session of this year, though not before several senators were […]

Jim RosicaOctober 8, 2015

The Florida Senate’s Rules Committee on Thursday unanimously recommended removing a Confederate flag from the chamber’s official seal and replacing it with the state flag. Senators on the panel voted for the move 9-0. The matter now goes before the full Senate, which could consider it in the beginning of the 2016 Legislative Session in […]

Jim RosicaOctober 8, 2015

The Florida Senate on Thursday will start its formal consideration of removing the Confederate flag from the chamber’s official seal. But another flag depiction greets visitors to the Capitol as they enter the Senate’s 5th floor observation gallery: The “Five Flags Mural,” which includes the Confederate flag near the center of the 10 foot-by-16 foot painting. Critics needn’t worry […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 8, 2015

A Miami-Dade lawmaker introduced legislation on Tuesday to replace the statue of a Confederate Army general at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. If passed, the bill (HB 141) would ask Congress to remove the statue of Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith and replace it with another “prominent Florida citizen.” The new statue would be paid […]

Guest AuthorAugust 27, 2015

Let’s circle back to Jeb Bush’s National Urban League address from several weeks ago, because if a big, pointed word must be used, it is “symptomatic” of Republican racial complacency. (It’s best to exclude Ben Carson, because like all black Republicans from Allen West to Tim Scott, he momentarily forgets that he is black. Colorblindness […]

Mitch PerryAugust 25, 2015

In a just, accountability-fueled society, Florida Republican lawmakers would pay a price next year for the shenanigans they’ve been up to this year. As reported by the AP’s Gary Fineout, the nine-day June special session that occurred after House Speaker Steve Crisafulli pulled his members off the floor 72 hours before the session was scheduled […]

Jac VerSteegAugust 2, 2015

First, give Jeb Bush credit for accepting the Urban League’s invitation to speak in Fort Lauderdale on Friday. Call it a politely hostile forum. Too many other Republican candidates lacked the guts to show up. Give Bush credit also for citing examples of his leadership that could appeal to his Urban League audience. For example, […]

Tag: Confederate flag

Confederate statue bill clears first House committee

Bill filed to create Florida Holocaust Memorial

Concern grows over removal of Senate mural

Senate removes Confederate flag from official seal

Panel OKs erasing Confederate flag from Senate seal

Capitol mural with Confederate flag will be ‘changed out’

Bill filed to replace Confederate general statue at U.S. Capitol

Chris Timmons: The GOP needs a new Nixon plan for blacks

Mitch Perry Report 8.25.15 – Will Florida GOP Legislature pay any price in ’16?

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: The education “achievement” missing from Jeb Bush’s Urban League speech