Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschFebruary 10, 2015

Governor Scott, Excuse my impertinence, but I’m talking to you. Today, a Quinnipiac poll shows that more Floridians disapprove of your performance as governor than approve of it, this despite the fact that you just spent $80 million burnishing your TV image and Floridians’ generally sunny outlook about the future of the Sunshine State. How […]

Peter SchorschFebruary 9, 2015

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are the three unalienable rights that the Declaration of Independence says have been given to all of us by the “Creator,” and that governments are created to protect. Were the Declaration to be updated for the 21st century, could it be amended to include a right to hail […]

Peter SchorschFebruary 8, 2015

Despite his impending book tour with its planned trips to Iowa and Nevada, an increasing number of signs point to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio forgoing a full-scale presidential run, seeking re-election in 2016 and running for Florida governor in 2018. In early January, devout Rubio-watcher Marc Caputo of Politico wrote that there is “increasing political chatter that Rubio is well-positioned to run […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 26, 2015

Is it #Baileygate or #FDLEscandal? For as much as the Capitol Press Corps has been writing about the set of allegations made by former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey to the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald, no one is really sure how to describe this latest roogoodoo by the Rick Scott administration, much less where […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 15, 2015

A new scandal exploded across Tallahassee on Tuesday afternoon after Gov. Rick Scott admitted that Gerald Bailey did not voluntarily resign as commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but was forced out against his will. Under Florida law, the governor cannot fire the head of FDLE without the support of at least one other member […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 12, 2015

The first full week of January brought lawmakers and politicos to Tallahassee for a round of legislative committee meetings and the inauguration of Gov. Rick Scott. This provided quite a clash of cultures at local institutions where the natives mix with the out-of-towners. On one side were the legislators, lobbyists and staffers still hung over […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 5, 2015

A surefire way for a player to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame is to bat .400 or better in a season, although no one has done so since Ted Williams in 1941. Still, if you get a hit every two times out of five in professional baseball, you will be more than an All-Star, […]

Peter SchorschDecember 29, 2014

If only the Rick Scott we got to know during this past election year had been the one who first entered the Governor’s Mansion in 2011. Remember that guy? The former health-care exec with a chip on his shoulder who bragged he was a Tea Partier before the Tea Party was cool. He was the novice politician […]

Peter SchorschDecember 21, 2014

As much as we would like to think otherwise, in politics not everyone can be a winner. To put it another way, as Judge Smails did in the eminently quotable Caddyshack: “The world needs ditch diggers, too.” Few will disagree that 2014 was a particularly fertile political year, one that produced a bumper crop of political winners – […]

Peter SchorschDecember 18, 2014

Jeb Bush’s announcement Tuesday that he is setting up an exploratory committee for the 2016 presidential race may be his most decisive move yet, but it was anything but a surprise. However, since it has been more than 150 years since a successful candidate had a 14-year gap between his last election and winning the White House, […]

Tag: Peter Schorsch

Peter Schorsch: Gov. Scott and D-list team fail at policy, people & process

Peter Schorsch: Raise a toast to disruption in Tallahassee

Peter Schorsch: Rick Scott could seize Marco Rubio's Senate seat

Takeaways from Tallahassee

Peter Schorsch: What’s the Scott administration going to do about Bailey’s firing?

Peter Schorsch: Insights from the inauguration

Peter Schorsch: A reluctant Rubio and four other bold predictions for 2015

Peter Schorsch: Refurbished Rick Scott is Florida’s politician of the year

Peter Schorsch: Florida’s political ditch diggers of 2014

Peter Schorsch: Did Jeb Bush wait too long after his last election for a White House run?