Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschNovember 24, 2013

Pardon me while I channel my inner David Simon… Can’t Congressman Trey Radel find some measure of political comfort in last week’s Quinnipiac poll showing overwhelming support by Floridians for the medical use of marijuana? By now you know the tragic story of Radel and his arrest on possession of cocaine. The freshman lawmaker is now on his […]

Peter SchorschNovember 21, 2013

There’s logic to limiting the number of hospitals that pop up in an area: if a region has too many, resources are spread thin and costs may not be easily recovered. Florida has a process for managing new hospital construction, and generally speaking, it works. But trauma centers are different. People using trauma centers don’t […]

Peter SchorschNovember 18, 2013

Allow me to share the rumor du jour out of Tallahassee. It’s one that is really out of left field; actually it’s out of right field, i.e., East Hillsborough. The rumor is that state Sen. Tom Lee is at the top of the list to be Gov. Rick Scott’s new Lieutenant Governor. I guess it’s […]

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 […]

Peter SchorschOctober 29, 2013

By coincidence, the two most recommended articles on the New York Times website as of Sunday afternoon were a pair of very different stories about the seemingly never-ending effort to expand gaming in Florida. The first was about the trial of Anthony Ferrari, a former owner of a Miami Beach security company who had ties to the Gambino crime family […]

Peter SchorschOctober 28, 2013

If you are involved in Florida politics and have a Facebook page, it’s likely your timeline was dominated by pictures of Charlie Crist working the crowd at the Florida Democratic Party’s state conference. There’s Charlie planting a kiss on the head of likely primary rival Nan Rich! There’s Charlie being trailed by his new entourage of Dan Gelber, […]

Peter SchorschOctober 8, 2013

When lobbyists Ron Book and Guy Spearman filed suit in 2006 to block enforcement of a law requiring lobbyists to report how much they are paid, it probably never occurred to them that the compensation reports they sought to keep private would one day be used as marketing tools. Book, Spearman, and other members of […]

Peter SchorschOctober 3, 2013

Imagine you are an NFL player whose team has made it deep into the playoffs. You have one game left — the conference championship — standing between you and playing in the Super Bowl. Now imagine that your opponent in that conference championship match-up just decided it won’t be playing that game, meaning you’re on […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 19, 2013

Even though my last guess — I won’t call it a prediction — about when Charlie Crist would announce his plans for 2014 turned out to be very wrong, I’m ready to make another bold prediction, err, I mean guess: Charlie Crist will announce he is running for governor … later rather than sooner. I can […]

Florence SnyderSeptember 8, 2013

Context Florida Publisher Peter Schorsch got it wrong — dead wrong — when he suggested in his Sept. 5 Saintpetersblog post that reporter envy might taint coverage of “the Chris Clark imbroglio.” Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas broke the story that Florida’s power elite spent the week chewing over, praying over, and […]

Tag: Peter Schorsch

Peter Schorsch: Radel’s arrest more evidence that ‘War on Drugs’ is lost

Peter Schorsch: Trauma patients shouldn’t be treated like ‘market share’

Peter Schorsch: Is Tom Lee going to be the next Lieutenant Governor?

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

Peter Schorsch: Predicting winner of debate over expanded gambling still a coin-flip

Peter Schorsch: By sitting on floor, Crist shows the humility Scott administration lacks

Peter Schorsch: Rescind law that requires lobbyists to report how much they’re paid

Peter Schorsch: Winners, losers emerging from Alex Sink’s decision not to run for governor

Peter Schorsch: When, oh when, Charlie?

Florence Snyder: Columnist wrong to suggest envy might taint coverage