Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Julie DelegalFebruary 5, 2014

You’ve got to hand it to him: Charlie Crist is scrappy. Striking back against the Republican Party in the web-video wars, the former-and-would-be Florida governor lobbed a grenade: “[R]emember, it was guys like Rick Scott who crashed our economy.” In a video, the Florida GOP, which helped put Crist in office the first time, essentially […]

Julie DelegalJanuary 20, 2014

There is a middle-aged man I know who lives in a small structure — not the “main house” — on his family’s rural property. The man is fond of alcohol, which might have something to do with why he lost his job and his marriage. In his eyes, though, the troubles in his life trace […]

Julie DelegalJanuary 8, 2014

Context Florida’s Steve Kurlander applauded U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor for blocking the contraception mandate from the Affordable Care Act, more widely known as “Obamacare. Catholic leaders asked her to do it because they didn’t want to provide medical care that violates their religious teachings. The Obama administration has alleviated their concerns, however, by […]

Julie DelegalJanuary 5, 2014

It’s a principle of our representative democracy that we, the people, don’t weigh in on every bit of minutia entailed in making laws and policy. The oft-quoted maxim, usually attributed to Prussian statesman Otto Von Bismark, posits that lawmaking, like sausage-making, is a process better left unviewed. But at what points in the “sausage-making” should […]

Julie DelegalDecember 3, 2013

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently said that “suburban” moms, whose children are about to face the higher hurdles of the Common Core State Standards, would soon discover that “their child isn’t as bright as they thought they were.” In one pithy, impolitic sound bite, Duncan brushes aside deep and unanswered concerns about the reform […]

Julie DelegalNovember 27, 2013

As we approach the anniversary of one of the saddest days in recent history, Adam Lanza, the man who murdered 20 first graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, has reappeared in the news. This week, the Connecticut State Police released a report that compiles odd details about the shooter’s life. But, as […]

Julie DelegalNovember 6, 2013

Former state senator Dan Gelber’s got it. So does my fellow Context Florida columnist, Susan Clary. And if you believe what you read, Florida Internet publisher Peter Schorsch suffers from the same contagion. It’s called Charlie Fever, and if left unchecked, may cause political blindness. Don’t get me wrong. Florida’s newly announced once-and-future gubernatorial candidate, Charlie Crist, may be exactly […]

Julie DelegalNovember 4, 2013

George Will is right. Daniel Moynihan was right. And former Vice President Dan Quayle was at least half-right. The breakdown of the family unit in our society is a harbinger of national disaster. To say it out loud is not to blame the “victims,” i.e., the children who are born outside of marriage, or the women […]

Julie DelegalOctober 27, 2013

Here’s a prediction that no one wants to hear. Ten years down the road, after the Common Core State Standards have been implemented, after some company makes millions of dollars on tests and tools, and after more Florida public schools close and more private ones begin feeding at the public trough, poverty will still be […]

Julie DelegalOctober 20, 2013

Last of six parts. A test developed by the Partnership for the Assessment of College and Career Readiness (PARCC) might still win Florida’s contract, even though Gov. Rick Scott withdrew Florida from the multi-state, test-development group on Sept. 23. Scott also dissolved Florida’s obligations as fiscal agent for the group, so bids for PARCC’s testing-related […]

Tag: Julie Delegal

Julie Delegal: Scrappy is not enough, but Jacksonville’s got plenty

Julie Delegal: America has too much anger and too many guns

Julie Delegal: The Little Sisters’ ludicrous litigation

Julie Delegal: Voters benefit when the ‘sausage’ is made in public

Julie Delegal: If we ignore poverty, any education reform will fail

Julie Delegal: Not everyone’s joyful, but we can help each other

Julie Delegal: Some folks have developed a nasty bout of Charlie Fever

Julie Delegal: Conservatives, liberals both weaken American family

Julie Delegal: Education reform will fail if poverty isn’t addressed

Julie Delegal: Florida and the Common Core: What’s next?