Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerrySeptember 18, 2015

Screen-Shot-2015-09-18-at-8.46.12-AM-1024x1024.png

Months after he issued his encyclical about the dangers of neglecting the environmental, Pope Francis is set to arrive in the United States on Tuesday for his first visit. In his second papal encyclical, Francis warned that humanity is faced with “global environmental deterioration,” and said climate change “represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in […]

Associated PressSeptember 13, 2015

To some Republican presidential candidates, it’s better to be with the popular pope than against him. Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have deep policy differences with Pope Francis, but the senators will break off campaign travel to attend his address to Congress later this month, a centerpiece of his eagerly anticipated visit to […]

Melissa RossSeptember 3, 2015

Amidst all the celebration and revelry of St. Augustine’s 450th commemorations this week, some are planning to protest the way the nation’s oldest city was founded. A coalition of Native American groups is calling for a boycott of the 450th, saying it “shamefully celebrates and honors the Doctrine of Discovery and Spain’s crimes against humanity.” The […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 1, 2015

Jim Norman, who has been meeting with all types of folks in the community the past few weeks and months in preparation for a return to local politics, makes it official Tuesday. He’s running for a seat on the Hillsborough County Commission. Actually, he made it official Monday by making pilgrimages to the editorial board […]

Associated PressAugust 23, 2015

President Barack Obama may have finally shed his summer curse — just in time for a daunting fall. After a string of sunny seasons gripped by controversy, crises and plummeting popularity, the summer of 2015 has been among the most productive stretches of Obama’s presidency. Late June victories in the Supreme Court on health care […]

Mitch PerryJuly 27, 2015

Although he expressed some criticism about Pope Francis earlier this summer, Jeb Bush said at at town-hall meeting just outside of Orlando that he’s a “huge fan” of the current pontiff, and says he hopes to be “part of the flock” when His Holiness comes to the U.S. in September. “He’s impressive beyond belief,” Bush […]

Jac VerSteegJune 28, 2015

It’s hard to be a straight-down-the-line Catholic and maintain logical consistency. It’s easier to be a cafeteria Catholic, picking and choosing which church positions to embrace. It’s even easier to be – as I am – a cafeteria non-Catholic; we don’t have to feel guilty about diverging from the Vatican’s official line. The Most Rev. […]

Martin DyckmanJune 24, 2015

Pope Francis‘s encyclical on saving the world — “our common home” — from what we are doing to it is a powerful appeal to everyone, not just to those who belong to the church he leads. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism — my denomination — praised Francis for having “shone a Catholic spotlight […]

Martin DyckmanJune 23, 2015

Pope Francis’s encyclical on saving the world — “our common home” — from what we are doing to it is a powerful appeal to everyone, not just to those who belong to the church he leads. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism — my denomination — praised Francis for having “shone a Catholic spotlight […]

Diane RobertsJune 23, 2015

There’s a reason your mama told you not to bring up politics or religion in company. Things are bound to get ugly. If you’re a religious conservative politico running for president, you might want to steer clear of science, too, especially now that Pope Francis has delivered himself of an encyclical urging action on climate […]

New ad hails pope’s climate change stance on eve of U.S. visit

For GOP candidates, better to be with pope than against him

Native Americans protest St. Augustine’s 450th bash

Mitch Perry Report for 9.1.15 – The meaning of Jim Norman’s return

Barack Obama sheds summer curse, just in time for daunting fall

Jeb Bush aims to see pope when during September U.S. visit

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Archbishop draws strange parallel between Dred Scott, gay marriage

Martin Dyckman: Jeb cherry-picks where to enforce his faith

Martin Dyckman: Jeb Bush cherry-picks where to enforce his faith

Diane Roberts: Pols get hot as pope warms to climate change