Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Julie DelegalSeptember 14, 2014

Former and would-be Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has defied this columnist’s prediction. Coming out on a policy that has divided Florida for 16 years was definitely against the odds. The Tanned One has chutzpah. The policy is education reform, and, as governor, Crist stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his predecessor, Jeb Bush, for whom education is now […]

Julie DelegalJuly 31, 2014

Two weeks ago Context Florida asked why former Gov. Jeb Bush remained silent while more than 50,000 unaccompanied child-refugees crossed into the United States. The children fled violence in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. In those countries, drug cartels battle for power and kill people — children, included — who don’t fall in line with […]

Martin DyckmanJuly 23, 2014

Rick Scott needs to hear from Sandra Day O’Connor. Not that he’d listen. The retired justice, who must surely regret what has happened to the U.S. Supreme Court since she left, is devoting her time now to fighting for the independence of the judiciary. She has become a prominent and oft-spoken critic of what she […]

Julie DelegalJuly 14, 2014

Sanity is beginning to trickle into the debate on immigration reform, writes columnist Rick Outzen. The Florida Chamber of Commerce says that developing clearer paths to citizenship is good business and will help fill critical worker gaps in the state’s economy. The chamber, a conservative bastion of entrepreneurs, stood shoulder to shoulder with Catholic bishops […]

Peter SchorschJune 9, 2014

J. Stanley Marshall, former president of Florida State University (1969-76) and founder of the James Madison Institute, died Sunday at 91. “Ol’ Stan Marshall puts his pants on one leg at time,” the barber said as he trimmed the back of my head, which may have been trembling too much for him to cut in […]

Martin DyckmanMay 27, 2014

Now you know — as if there was ever doubt — why the right wing is desperate to take over the Florida Supreme Court. Why there’s a constitutional amendment on the ballot to let Gov. Rick Scott pack the court if he is re-elected. The Supreme Court itself illustrated the reasons late Tuesday afternoon when […]

Guest AuthorMay 27, 2014

Last week word leaked out that one of the first agency heads Gov. Rick Scott selected was leaving state government. Wansley Walters, Secretary of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, had signed up for a state pension program that required her to leave state employment after five years. So, her time ran out before the […]

Guest AuthorMay 20, 2014

Who does Jeb Bush think he’s “bushitting”? The extremist former governor of Florida and (for the moment leading) GOP presidential candidate is now parading as the self-proclaimed voice of moderation — and the sycophantish press is letting him get away with it. Floridians know the real Jeb. This entry below from my just-published Dictionary of […]

Guest AuthorMay 19, 2014

In what has to be a classic “duh” moment, she invited me to tag along to a Key West bar for some drinking liberally. Made sense, right? Key West? Bar? Drinking with abandon? From Hemingway to the morning’s cruise ship passenger, Key West lures them with the promise of a permanent alcohol fugue. I went. […]

Guest AuthorMay 14, 2014

A recent opinion column got me to thinking about how shallow our critiques are when we focus on those who are thought of as potential leaders of our country. We have become so immersed in personal attacks and derogatory politics that we cease to focus on the content of the policies espoused by potential office […]

Tag: Jeb Bush

Julie Delegal: Charlie Crist and the Voucher Factory

Julie Delegal: Jeb Bush tacks right on child-refugee crisis

Martin Dyckman: Scott threatens the independence of Florida’s judiciary

Julie Delegal: Why is Jeb Bush silent during this immigration crisis?

Peter Schorsch: On the death of J. Stanley Marshall: Florida has lost a giant

Martin Dyckman: Right wing is desperate to control Fla. Supreme Court

Barney Bishop: Wansley Walters: A visionary leader in juvenile justice

Stephen Goldstein: Jeb Bush: Doomed to act out a Greek tragedy

Linda Cunningham: ‘Drinking Liberally’ lets progressives share sober ideas

Ed Moore: It’s better to criticize the policies, not the person