Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorNovember 18, 2014

“Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech.” Those sweeping words of the First Amendment are the crown jewels of our Bill of Rights, the equivalent of “Let freedom ring,” the bedrock of our Republic. If Americans cherish anything, it is their constitutional protection to speak their minds. But however […]

Martin DyckmanNovember 6, 2014

It can no longer be said that the country is going to hell. We have arrived. The worst disappointment isn’t the re-election of the kleptocrat Rick Scott, or U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan’s defeat by a Koch stooge in North Carolina, or even the fact that Ted Cruz is now running amok in a Senate majority. […]

Guest AuthorNovember 4, 2014

It’s 2016. Even before all of the just-cast votes have been officially tallied, pundits are predicting who will run for president — among them, Jeb Bush, of course. But, since Americans have the historical perspective of fruit flies, it’s time to take a walk down memory lane and remind ourselves that where there’s a Bush, […]

Bruce RitchieOctober 30, 2014

Do you want to know where the candidates stand on the issues? You should. That’s a central tenet of a functioning democracy and separates us from the dictatorships that rule over much of the rest of the world. The job of journalists is to provide information to help readers understand how the candidates have performed. […]

Guest AuthorOctober 7, 2014

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is the reincarnation of Richard Nixon. “Tricky Dick,” the 37th U.S. president, was a walking thesaurus of negatives: imperious, secretive, draconian, paranoid, duplicitous, underhanded, and insincere — for starters. The committee formed to re-elect him — and that got him into Watergate trouble that led to his resignation — aptly went […]

Bruce RitchieSeptember 23, 2014

When Gov. Rick Scott last year announced Florida was suing Georgia in the U.S. Supreme Court over water use, he selected a scenic view along Apalachicola Bay that had been purchased with state and local dollars. The Apalachicola Riverfront Park encourages tourism by providing a place where busy seafood festivals are held and where visitors […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 9, 2014

De facto, the United States has devolved into a theocracy. Religion — or, more exactly what a relative handful of schemers has perpetrated in the name of religion — has trashed the Constitution. The Founders would be appalled. But, either because they are afraid of burning in hell or, more importantly, not getting or staying […]

Martin DyckmanJuly 23, 2014

Rick Scott needs to hear from Sandra Day O’Connor. Not that he’d listen. The retired justice, who must surely regret what has happened to the U.S. Supreme Court since she left, is devoting her time now to fighting for the independence of the judiciary. She has become a prominent and oft-spoken critic of what she […]

Martin DyckmanJuly 14, 2014

Democracy in Florida is still a work in progress, even as to the basic principle that every citizen’s vote should count the same. It has been half a century since the U.S. Supreme Court put an end to rural rule by which legislators representing less than a fifth of Florida’s population held more than half […]

Daniel TilsonJuly 10, 2014

The uproar following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision targeting American women is well warranted. But another awful court decision, this one targeting American workers, got far too little attention in the process and may well have more far-reaching, damaging impact. The good news: The June 30 Harris v. Quinn ruling in question appears […]

Tag: U.S. Supreme Court
Golf ball and golf club in bag on green grass

Stephen Goldstein: Democrats must become better liars than Republicans

Martin Dyckman: This is what’s worse: Now we auction our government to the highest bidders

Stephen Goldstein: Bush will need voters with short memories to win presidency

Bruce Ritchie: Court order from 2010 still blocks public view in water fight between governors

Stephen Goldstein: Florida’s Richard Nixon: “Tricky” Rick Scott

Bruce Ritchie: Gov. Scott is circumventing funding formula for conservation

Stephen Goldstein: Don’t oppose same-sex marriage in God’s name, or she’ll get even

Martin Dyckman: Scott threatens the independence of Florida’s judiciary

Martin Dyckman: Fla. should adopt Iowa’s system for drawing political districts

Daniel Tilson: That other awful U.S. Supreme Court ruling