Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryJuly 14, 2015

With Scott Walker’s official entry into the GOP Presidential contest on Monday, there are now 15 Republicans vying for the highest office in the land. But if you were to just follow the polls during the past week, there are now two men who matter in midsummer 2015: Donald Trump and Jeb Bush. A new Suffolk University/USA Today poll published on Tuesday shows […]

Mitch PerryMay 19, 2015

Republican U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and David Vitter of Louisiana contend there remains $7 billion to $8 billion in unsettled debt from property that Fidel and Raul Castro in Cuba confiscated from American citizens and businesses. They introduced legislation Tuesday that would require the communist government to address those claims before re-establishing full diplomatic relations […]

Mitch PerryApril 30, 2015

We finally have a challenger to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential nomination contest. Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, 73, officially announces his candidacy Thursday, though he says he won’t give a big speech noting the event until May 26. “I’ve been traveling around the country for the last year trying to ascertain whether there […]

Mitch PerryApril 28, 2015

“Banning the Box” on job applications for companies who contract with the city of Tampa was a bridge too far for the City Council to consider back in February, but it’s good enough for the Koch Brothers and other major corporations. In February, the Council declined to pass a law that would have “banned the box” […]

Mitch PerryApril 23, 2015

Attempting to build up positive momentum in the lead-up to next week’s U.S. Supreme Court hearing on same-sex marriage, a new group has been formed to show the growing bipartisan backing for gay marriage in the Sunshine State. It’s called, Florida Republicans for the Freedom to Marry, a joint effort between Equality Florida and Freedom […]

Mitch PerryApril 20, 2015

In Tallahassee on Monday, a state Senate committee postponed a vote on a controversial bill that would allow private adoption agencies in Florida to turn away same-sex couples based on religious and moral beliefs. The fate of the legislation is now in question. Senate Rules Committee Chairman David Simmons said he would confer with Senate President […]

Mitch PerryDecember 10, 2014

The CIA and its supporters are in full pushback mode today, a day after the publication of a summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into the use of torture (or as the CIA euphemistically refers to it as, “enhanced interrogation tactics”). Like so many other things that come out of Washington, the political establishment […]

Adam WeinsteinOctober 9, 2014

The capital of Florida used to have a good newspaper, I’m told. It’s hard to know, because by the time I started working there — 2006 — Knight Ridder had sold the Tallahassee Democrat to Gannett, the cigarette-perfumed, drunken used-car salesman of media corporations, and the paper was a ghost of itself. There was always […]

Bob SparksApril 14, 2014

Last week, a living legend made news for two reasons. First, he was honored for a remarkable accomplishment witnessed by millions on television 40 years ago. What he said during an interview in conjunction with the remembrance dwarfed the significance of the celebration itself. Hank Aaron, one of the greatest to ever play baseball, became […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 14, 2014

In 2010 USA Today reported that roughly 30 percent of college freshmen are the first in their family to attend college. Twenty-four percent of college freshmen are first generation and low income. Nationally, a shocking 89 percent of low-income first-generation college students leave school within six years without a degree. They leave for a variety […]

Tag: USA Today

Donald Trumps leads Jeb Bush nationally in USA Today poll 17% to 14%

Marco Rubio co-sponsors legislation requiring Cuba to settle legal claims with U.S.

Mitch Perry Report for 4.30.15 — Hillary Clinton finally has challenger

Koch Brothers latest to seize on “ban the box” movement; is Tampa next?

GOP “Freedom to Marry” group forms for SCOTUS same-sex hearing

Senate panel postpones vote on gay adoption ban

Mitch Perry Report for 12.10.14 – The politics of torture

Adam Weinstein: Another bloodbath at the deteriorating Tallahassee Democrat

Bob Sparks: Despite comments, Hank Aaron still greatly admired

Jeff Kottkamp: Raising tuition reduces access to higher education