Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Bill PrescottJune 30, 2015

Those who flaunt the Confederate flag insist that it symbolizes “heritage,” not hate. Call it what they will, but that heritage is a heritage of hate. The slave owners and their politicians fancied themselves good, decent, God-fearing people. How could they square that with the countless hideous brutalities they inflicted on their human chattels? They […]

Mitch PerryJune 29, 2015

Last month Justice Department announced that the Obama administration would provide $20 million in grants to local police departments to help buy body cameras for officers. It’s the first portion to be approved by Congress of a $75 million, three-year body camera funding program requested by the President last December. That’s not to be confused […]

Diane RobertsJune 26, 2015

I am the descendant of at least 10 Confederate soldiers. A few owned slaves; most did not. One great-great-grandfather fought at the Battle of Natural Bridge. Another survived the Siege of Petersburg. So don’t throw the Y-word at me. Don’t tell me I don’t understand. I understand all too well. The Confederate battle flag is […]

Guest AuthorJune 25, 2015

It would make it easier on all of us if there was not so much shame around being human. – Natasha Lyonne, actress and prison-reform advocate Thanks to social media, a 24-hour news cycle, reality television and millions upon millions of people who’d rather feel than think – public shaming is a growth industry. Instead […]

Phil AmmannJune 25, 2015

With businessman Donald Trump entering the race for the GOP presidential nomination, a new Fox News poll found a shift in the leader board, with both Trump and Jeb Bush receiving bumps after their formal announcements. On the list of Republican contenders, Bush leads with his best showing yet, getting 15 percent support among primary […]

Mitch PerryJune 24, 2015

Although he’s been in politics for a long time now, Joe Gruters has just became a political candidate for the first time in 15 years. The 38-year-old Republican Party chairman of Sarasota County and vice chair and head of fundraising for the Republican Party of Florida recently announced his candidacy for the House District 73 […]

Mitch PerryJune 23, 2015

Although it should go without saying that polls conducted as the summer of 2015 commence may not have anything to do with what happens in the winter of 2016, nevertheless they are the “snapshot in time,” as the proverbial phrase goes regarding where the electorate stands. That should be good news for Jeb Bush in […]

Mitch PerryJune 22, 2015

Criminal justice reform has become a hot topic this year, and Rand Paul isn’t the only Republican talking about such efforts on the GOP campaign trail. Crime rates have been dropping across the country over the past decade, but in Florida the state’s incarceration rates have continued to rise. The ACLU will soon pick three […]

Mitch PerryJune 22, 2015

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With a new poll showing Jeb Bush gaining support and Rand Paul losing it with some GOP primary voters, the Kentucky Senator’s Super PAC is now attacking the former Florida Governor as “Bailout Bush” in a new digital ad and website (though as of this morning that website is up but hasn’t been constructed yet). […]

Mitch PerryJune 21, 2015

Potential support for Jeb Bush has edged upward in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released on Sunday, with the share of Republican primary voters who said they were open to his candidacy rising to 75 percent in June from 70 percent in April and just 49 percent in March. Preliminary numbers from the […]

Tag: Rand Paul

Martin Dyckman: The time is now to take it down

Patrick Murphy joins Corrine Brown in pushing for federal funding for police body cameras

Diane Roberts: Take it down already!

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Public shaming is a growth industry

Fox News: Jeb Bush leads, Donald Trump enters top tier in post-announcement polling

Joe Gruters begins transition from party insider to political candidate

New NH poll shows Jeb Bush as the early leader, with Donald Trump right behind him

Florida under consideration for ACLU push on sentencing reform?

Rand Paul super PAC attacks Jeb Bush as “Bailout Bush”

Support for Jeb Bush grows in new WSJ/NBC News poll