Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanMay 21, 2015

Of all the differences between the major parties, one is particularly confounding. Why should Republicans appear to be nearly twice as bloodthirsty as Democrats? According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, overall support for the death penalty has fallen to 56 percent, down six points since 2011 and by 22 since 1996 when 78 […]

Martin DyckmanMay 18, 2015

There’s a Republican running for president who promises unequivocally to “protect Social Security and Medicare…to kill anything that poses a threat to the promises we have made to America’s seniors.” But he’s also calling for a “tax reform” that would bleed seniors as they’ve never been bled before. What do you call such a politician? […]

Martin DyckmanMay 18, 2015

There’s a Republican running for president who promises unequivocally to “protect Social Security and Medicare…to kill anything that poses a threat to the promises we have made to America’s seniors.” But he’s also calling for a “tax reform” that would bleed seniors as they’ve never been bled before. What do you call such a politician? […]

Martin DyckmanMay 12, 2015

Confronted with a particularly mean Legislature that was accomplishing nothing good, Florida’s governor knew one reason why. “Remarks have been made, ‘What do we care? We won’t be around,'” he said. That was the late Lawton Chiles, commenting 20 years ago on the most immediate effect of the 1992 term limits initiative. Although the axe […]

Martin DyckmanMay 12, 2015

Confronted with a particularly mean Legislature that was accomplishing nothing good, Florida’s governor knew one reason why. “Remarks have been made, ‘What do we care? We won’t be around,'” he said. That was the late Lawton Chiles, commenting 20 years ago on the most immediate effect of the 1992 term limits initiative. Although the axe […]

Martin DyckmanMay 5, 2015

American politics these days can make one wonder, why bother? Why care? What’s the use of even hoping? In a devastating exposé, “Higher Ed Hustle,” the Miami Herald documents how for-profit private colleges have been ripping off unsuspecting students and calls out politicians in both Tallahassee and Washington for helping the predators feast on the […]

Phil AmmannMay 1, 2015

On Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott named two Tampa legal experts to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court, which serves Hillsborough County. Judge Christopher Nash, 43, of Tampa, currently serves as Hillsborough County Judge in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. He previously practiced with Leavengood, Nash, Dauval & Boyle from 2004-2013. Before that, he worked with Akerman Senterfitt […]

Martin DyckmanApril 30, 2015

Florida Gov. Rick Scott continues to build a record that no successor should be allowed to emulate. None should even want to. But you never know. Twenty-one times now, Scott has rejected lawyers recommended by the Florida Bar for seats on some of Florida’s 26 judicial nominating commissions. The latest such act was on April […]

Martin DyckmanApril 28, 2015

Once again, Florida leads the nation in a sobering statistic. At least 42 of its people have gone to prison, including one who was executed and as many as nine who remain on death row, after trials in which FBI “experts” gave testimony that the agency concedes to have been unscientific. No other state comes […]

Martin DyckmanApril 21, 2015

The delusional Don Quixote, who fancied himself a knight errant and galloped headstrong into battle with windmills he believed to be giants, has become a metaphor and an adjective – quixotic – for people who dare to pursue impossible dreams. He was, of course, a figure of fiction, not fact. What shall we say, then, […]

Tag: Martin Dyckman

Martin Dyckman: Why do Republicans favor death penalty so much more than Democrats?

Martin Dyckman: Mike Huckabee’s tax plan is a huckster’s scheme that would slam seniors

Martin Dyckman: Mike Huckabee's tax plan is a huckster's scheme that would slam seniors

Martin Dyckman: Add House-Senate meltdown to ill effects of Florida’s term limits

Martin Dyckman: Add House-Senate meltdown to ill effects of Florida's term limits

Martin Dyckman: Supreme Court failing to cure the terminal illness of American democracy

Gov. Scott names Tampa’s Christopher Nash and Mark Kiser to Circuit Court

Martin Dyckman: Gov. Scott's contempt of court must be stopped

Martin Dyckman: Tainted FBI evidence puts Florida convictions in doubt

Martin Dyckman: Mailman delivers message; cash delivers Congress