Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanApril 6, 2014

Running for re-election in 1974, Gov. Reubin Askew limited his contributions to $300 per person — no more than $100 for each of the three phases of the campaign. The law allowed $9,000. Sen. Lawton Chiles went one better when he ran for re-election in 1976. He restricted his contributions to $10 a pop, or […]

Guest AuthorMarch 25, 2014

The recent congressional special election in the Tampa Bay area was a painful process to watch. Two decent major party candidates, sincere in their desire to serve the people, displayed their wares, offering different philosophies and different political positions on the issues of the day. Each identified with a political party that has differing plans […]

Daniel TilsonMarch 8, 2014

The good news about the David Jolly-Alex Sink Florida CD 13 special election campaign is…it’s almost over. The vote is Tuesday. The bad news is, it has been an exasperating exercise in the kind of outside interest-funded “gotcha!” politics that confounds and alienates more voters than it informs and engages. The 13th U.S. congressional district […]

Daniel TilsonDecember 23, 2013

Unless you’re one of the infamously rich and reactionary Koch Brothers or top dog of some other profits-over-people multinational corporate empire, or a hardcore right-wing politician, or a conservative media gun-for-hire, or just an Old School Scrooge… Chances are that at this time of year you’re feeling genuine sympathy for poor men and women who […]

Martin DyckmanNovember 20, 2013

A narrow majority on the Supreme Court reads the Constitution as if the calendar had not turned since 1791. According to Justice Antonin Scalia, the court’s duty is to “begin with the text, and to give that text the meaning that it bore when it was adopted by the people.” The trouble — and yes, […]

Guest AuthorNovember 4, 2013

I recently attended a “town hall” event in Tampa sponsored by the Koch-brothers-funded “Americans for Prosperity.” After the presentations, I came to the conclusion that their organization should more aptly be called, “Americans for their own prosperity, and the hell with anyone else.” The first presenter was from the Foundation for Governmental Accountability, as well […]

Tag: Koch Brothers
Rodney Guttman, image via University of West Florida.

Martin Dyckman: Supreme Court ruling is a death warrant for democracy

John Grant: Get ready for the fall elections and a flood of PAC-paid attack ads

Daniel Tilson: Silver lining in clouded Florida CD 13 special election

Daniel Tilson: Dear right-wingers: Ya gotta have heart all year long!

Martin Dyckman: Court’s ‘originalism’ rulings threaten American Republic

Gary Stein: Health-care event light on facts, heavy on rhetoric