Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanSeptember 14, 2014

The widely denounced Citizens United decision that did a great disservice to the nation and disgraces five Supreme Court justices is only the tip of a hulking iceberg. An urgent effort to melt that iceberg began in the U.S. Senate last week. You probably didn’t hear about it. The foundation for Citizens in 2010 was […]

Guest AuthorJune 1, 2014

Take your blinders off: This is why the Koch Brothers and radical-right groups will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the 2014 midterm elections, why Gov. Rick Scott wants to raise $100 million to get re-elected — and how you can defeat them. If the Tea Party-GOP gains control of the U.S. Senate, Sen. […]

Martin DyckmanApril 8, 2014

In one of those eerie coincidences that make a point, Charles H. Keating Jr. died just two days before the U.S. Supreme Court’s radical majority subverted the nation once again in its hideous McCutcheon decision. For those who don’t know or who choose –like the Congress and the court — to forget, Keating personified what’s […]

Guest AuthorMarch 13, 2014

I hate reading lists that begin with long-winded explanations of what’s to come. So let’s get down to brass tacks and examine three of the biggest myths about the special election in Florida’s 13th Congressional District. Big data is king To be sure, knowing who your voters are, their beliefs and motivations, their habits, and […]

Martin DyckmanFebruary 4, 2014

If there’s one rule that really matters in politics, it’s this: Don’t let best be the enemy of good. Otherwise, both are likely to lose. For people who favor universal health insurance — as I do — Obamacare was a hard swallow. It falls far short of covering everybody. It’s too complex, guaranteeing that there […]

Guest AuthorNovember 21, 2013

As everyone now knows, former Gov. Charlie Crist wants to be Governor, again. As I have reported before, there are many Democratic officials who fear a Crist nomination because of all of the baggage that comes with him. Charlie, as I’ve said before and will again, is one of the nicest people you will ever […]

Darryl PaulsonNovember 21, 2013

Last of a four-part series on political humor In the first article in this series, I mentioned that most political humor focuses on a dominant trait of a candidate. Dan Qualye and George W. Bush were accused of not being the sharpest knives in the drawer; Clinton jokes focused on womanizing; McCain jokes were about […]

Julie DelegalOctober 3, 2013

“How did conservatives get this radical?” That’s the title of a recent New York Times Opinionator blog — one that’s chock-full of cutting-edge voter psychology research. The older, more basic poli-psych concepts, however, like normativism, humanism, religiosity, and punitivism might shed light on some of today’s conservative voters and politicians. These ideas shed light, for […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 11, 2013

President Obama’s astounding lack of a coherent foreign and military policy in regard to the Syrian civil war has resulted in a lack of support for military action there both in Congress and among the American people. A large majority of Americans just don’t want to fight another war where the policy objectives are blurred, […]

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Martin Dyckman: Media must report nascent efforts to curb power of money in politics

Stephen Goldstein: Will the Koch Brothers own Florida in November?

Martin Dyckman: Supreme Court chief justice says you have to pay to play

Fred Piccolo: Three myths about the Congressional District 13 race

Martin Dyckman: Compromise appears possible on immigration reform

Barney Bishop: Charlie Crist is nice guy, but can you believe him?

Darryl Paulson: Presidential humor

Julie Delegal: The politics of personal resentment

Steve Kurlander: Stop the semantics and just call the use of military power ‘war’