Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorMarch 4, 2014

Recently I was cycling with a friend from grade school, and let’s politely say our political views have been at odds since seventh grade. But she says that she’d be a Republican on most issues, except for the environment. I remarked how there are no greater conservationists than those folks who grow up camping, fishing, hunting […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 28, 2014

Last week, news events added fuel to the growing fire that suggests a continued war on women. Marlise Munoz, a Texas woman found unconscious by her husband in November, was kept alive against the wishes of her family so that a deformed fetus could be carried to term. A Texas judge finally ordered the woman […]

Martin DyckmanJanuary 7, 2014

Among the Republicans who ruled Pinellas County midway in the last century, none was more conservative than Wilda J. Cook, the supervisor of elections. Deploring what she called “curbstone registration,” she permitted enrollment at only four or five locations. Had she lived to see the Motor-Voter law, she might not have survived the shock. “We’re […]

Daniel TilsonDecember 17, 2013

Bells tolled, tears rolled and prayers rose toward the heavens on the first anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School gun massacre last Saturday, while the profound lack of progress in reducing gun violence weighed down many a mourning spirit. In the wake of that tragedy, the victims’ families and friends galvanized millions of new […]

Guest AuthorNovember 14, 2013

We are a little more than 11 months away from mid-term elections, but the presidential sweepstakes continue to heat up. Hillary Clinton seems to have the inside track for the Democratic nomination while Gov. Chris Christie seems to be gaining attention after his big reelection win in New Jersey on a pretty poor night for […]

Guest AuthorNovember 6, 2013

As expected, former GOP Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced on Monday that he is running for the statehouse in Tallahassee again, this time as a Democrat. Crist is a survivor, a career politician who served as a Republican state senator, education commissioner, attorney general and then governor. His big mistake: Crist then ran and lost […]

Guest AuthorOctober 30, 2013

Political momentum, on the national stage, is like the tides, coming and going and constantly changing. It often brings in flotsam and rarely takes any of the detritus away. Almost weekly you can hear the pundits claiming the tides have shifted in favor of — insert political party here — only until the next scandal […]

Darryl PaulsonOctober 27, 2013

First of two parts. During the first year of President Obama’s first term, the American economy was in shambles and the public demanded that government focus on the economy and job creation. In response, the administration passed a stimulus plan that Republicans thought was too large and Democrats thought was too small. The economy continued […]

Darryl PaulsonOctober 10, 2013

Congressman Bill Young’s announcement Wednesday that he would retire at the end of his current term took politicians across Florida by surprise. Young, who has represented Pinellas County since 1970 and is in in his 22nd term, is the longest-serving Republican in the House. During his tenure, Young has secured hundreds of millions of dollars […]

Guest AuthorOctober 3, 2013

Our beautiful 237-year experiment in democracy has brought us to a difficult crossroad. Either we are going to continue to lurch from financial crisis to financial crisis or someone in Washington, D.C., is going to have to get over their childish temper tantrums. At this point in time I’m ready to declare a pox on […]

Tag: Republicans
Pastel colored tropical townhomes

Henry Kelley: Conservatives are often the most ardent conservationists

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Evidence shows that the war on women continues

Martin Dyckman: Republicans display a growing antipathy to science

Daniel Tilson: The secret to gun safety in Florida

Jamie Miller: Is there a ‘reasonable Republican’ to win in 2016?

Steve Kurlander: If Crist wins, expect national implications for both parties

Ed Moore: Politicians and pundits should not treat governing like a sporting event

Darryl Paulson: The problem with Obamacare: the process

Darryl Paulson: Who will seek long-serving Congressman Bill Young’s Florida seat?

Barney Bishop: A pox on both political parties