Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Bob SparksApril 2, 2014

Florida’s Secretary of State as well as the former United States Secretary of State both have been in the news recently. Ken Detzner may not know Condoleeza Rice, but they could compare notes about freedom of speech. Detzner, and by extension the administration of Gov. Rick Scott, are accused of silencing a critic by […]

Daniel TilsonApril 1, 2014

Overcoming epic rollout woes, constant conservative attacks, repeated Republican repeal attempts and nonstop negative media coverage, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has met and exceeded its benchmark goal of gaining 7 million enrollees by March 31. The ironic icing on the cake for Florida progressives is that infamous “Obamacare” opponent Gov. Rick Scott must endure […]

Florence SnyderMarch 31, 2014

Florida agency heads have been lying to reporters, spinning like dreidels, and withholding public records since the Chiles administration. So let’s give Rick Scott’s Secretary of State Ken Detzner points for breaking new ground with his prior restraint on journalist, author, Florida State University (FSU) professor and all-around state treasure Diane Roberts. Roberts is an eighth […]

Guest AuthorMarch 31, 2014

The farce is over — thankfully. Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner called a halt to his voter purge — a hunt for ghost non-citizens who apparently have been standing in line to cast ballots and elect Democrats. “From the beginning, I have said that the law requires state officials to ensure that the voter […]

Peter SchorschMarch 30, 2014

The Florida Constitution gives the governor authority to grant pardons or commute punishments with the approval of two members of the Cabinet. But this doesn’t happen very often. Only six people in the past 10 years who were convicted of murder have had their sentences commuted. There’s a case making news now, however, on which Gov. Rick […]

Daniel TilsonMarch 29, 2014

The details of a messy divorce between Gov. Rick Scott and campaign finance co-chair Mike Fernandez became public last week, shedding unflattering new light on the dysfunctional political culture Scott has created in Tallahassee. It’s a light that could help millions of Florida voters see through this year’s attempted “extreme makeover” of Scott, intended to soften […]

Guest AuthorMarch 27, 2014

I’m beginning to think that Adam Putnam is just about the only grown-up in Tallahassee. Which is ironic because Putnam, Florida’s commissioner of agriculture, isn’t even 40 yet. But he’s served in the Florida and U.S. Houses of Representatives and as agriculture commissioner has demonstrated that — future ambitions aside — he’s at least looking […]

Daniel TilsonMarch 26, 2014

Have you ever had part of your weekly salary stolen? By an employer using unethical or outright illegal means? Over, and over, and over again? If your answers to the first two much less all three questions are “yes,” then you know how unfair and awful wage theft is. If you answered no, then imagine […]

Guest AuthorMarch 16, 2014

The start of the new legislative session could rightly be called the silly season. The men and women elected to represent us have endeavored to propose some of the most nonsensical legislation. It makes you question the quality of our leadership. So many of the bills, such as the “Warning Shot” bill, can be considered […]

Daniel TilsonMarch 12, 2014

So Alex Sink lost another big one. Not exactly a surprise. After all, this is the same Sink who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in 2010, enabling an ultra-conservative, ethically tainted multimillionaire businessman to get elected Florida governor. Like Rick Scott then, Republican David Jolly beat Sink in Tuesday’s CD 13 special election […]

Tag: Rick Scott
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Bob Sparks: Attempts to limit critical voices is usually a bad idea

Daniel Tilson: Florida leads way on Obamacare, for better and worse

Florence Snyder: Detzner praises “witty” speaker, then cancels her lecture

Andrew Skerritt: Will halting the voter purge help Scott with Hispanic voters?

Peter Schorsch: Scott and Cabinet should pardon deaf man wrongfully convicted

Daniel Tilson: Gov. Rick Scott’s culture of insensitivity and paranoia

Cary McMullen: Kudos to Putnam for trying to get money to fix schools

Daniel Tilson: Florida House wage-theft bill adds insult to injury

Andrew Skerritt: The Florida legislative session is the silly season

Daniel Tilson: Lessons for losers from Florida congressional district 13