Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorFebruary 23, 2014

The curtain is about to go up on the 2014 session of the Florida Legislature and perhaps the top story is not what our leaders will accomplish, but what they will ignore. Since the enactment of term limits, legislators know when they are leaving from the day they are elected. The election night tally begins […]

Daniel TilsonFebruary 19, 2014

Here they go again. A determined cohort of elected officials in our Legislature is trying to turn working and retired people against each other, to better the odds of a dangerous bill becoming destructive law. As reported in The Florida Current, the Senate Community Affairs Committee Tuesday passed a bill by a 5-4 vote that […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 30, 2014

Any closed door can be opened. Such is the case of medical marijuana and the State of Florida. Twenty states have legalized medical marijuana in the past few years, while the conservative Florida Legislature ramped up its war against the drug. It is ironic that Florida is known throughout the country as THE destination for […]

Daniel TilsonJanuary 29, 2014

Millions of middle-class Floridians will have the opportunity this year to prove an important point to comfortably incumbent state legislators. The point? When members of the Florida Senate and House of Representatives distort or hide the truth about their achievements, motives, methods and goals, sufficient numbers of voters will be savvy enough to catch on […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 20, 2014

For a full decade, a measure filed in the Legislature was doomed before bill drafting entered the final line. The proposal — to give in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants living in Florida — was unthinkable in Florida’s two Republican-controlled chambers. Remember, these elected Republicans were to answer to their Republican constituents every election cycle, and […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 5, 2014

Political prognostication is not an exact science despite what forecasters and pundits would have readers believe. Many fall somewhere between the obvious and the inane, and often take a familiar and non-threatening shape. “The race for (insert candidate here) comes down to which campaign turns out their voters,” or some similar form. Imagine a sports […]

Daniel TilsonDecember 30, 2013

Given the tragicomedy characterizing Florida political theater in recent years, it feels right reaching for a Shakespeare quote when looking back at 2013 and ahead to 2014: “What’s past is prologue.” The state’s prevailing powers-that-be (richest individual and corporate residents acting through “supportive” elected officials) continued widening the income and economic opportunity gap between them […]

Daniel TilsonDecember 23, 2013

Unless you’re one of the infamously rich and reactionary Koch Brothers or top dog of some other profits-over-people multinational corporate empire, or a hardcore right-wing politician, or a conservative media gun-for-hire, or just an Old School Scrooge… Chances are that at this time of year you’re feeling genuine sympathy for poor men and women who […]

Peter SchorschDecember 4, 2013

In 333 BC, Alexander of Macedonia, on his march through Anatolia, reached Gordium. There he was shown the chariot of the ancient founder of the city, Gordius, with its yoke lashed to the pole by an intricate knot. According to tradition, this knot was to be untied only by the future conqueror of Asia. According to legend, Alexander sliced through the […]

Peter SchorschNovember 25, 2013

From the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee to Charlie Crist’s waterfront condominium in St. Petersburg and from a cafeteria in a drug rehab facility to a Cracker Barrel in Wesley Chapel, politicians across Florida will gather around Thanksgiving dinner tables to celebrate the most American of holidays. Before they dig into dishes of Parmesan roasted Florida […]

Tag: Will Weatherford

John Grant: ‘Bulldozer politics’ is good for politicians, bad for citizens

Daniel Tilson: Fla. Legislature must stop 2014 attack on public employee pensions

Gary J. Stein: Legislation, a constitutional amendment open door to medical marijuana in Florida

Daniel Tilson: Florida Republicans reveal 2014 legislative agenda

Peter Schorsch: Odds good for in-state tuition for undocumented students

Peter Schorsch: Five bold predictions for Florida politics in 2014

Daniel Tilson: Decoding Florida GOP’s 2013 words and deeds

Daniel Tilson: Dear right-wingers: Ya gotta have heart all year long!

Peter Schorsch: Kudos to Weatherford for trying to cut gaming knot

Peter Schorsch: Florida politicians should be thankful for their good luck