FLORIDA POLITICS
Since 2002, daily Florida political news and commentary

 

UPDATE: Every morning we review and individually digest Florida political news articles, editorials and punditry. Our sister site, FLA Politics was selected by Campaigns & Elections as one of only ten state blogs in the nation
"every political insider should be reading right now."

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Welcome To Florida Politics

Thanks for visiting. On a semi-daily basis we scan Florida's major daily newspapers for significant Florida political news and punditry. We also review the editorial pages and political columnists/pundits for Florida political commentary. The papers we review include: the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Naples News, Sarasota Herald Tribune, St Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Tallahassee Democrat, and, occasionally, the Florida Times Union; we also review the political news blogs associated with these newspapers.

For each story, column, article or editorial we deem significant, we post at least the headline and link to the piece; the linked headline always appears in quotes. We quote the headline for two reasons: first, to allow researchers looking for the cited piece to find it (if the link has expired) by searching for the original title/headline via a commercial research service. Second, quotation of the original headline permits readers to appreciate the spin from the original piece, as opposed to our spin.

Not that we don't provide spin; we do, and plenty of it. Our perspective appears in post headlines, the subtitles within the post (in bold), and the excerpts from the linked stories we select to quote; we also occasionally provide other links and commentary about certain stories. While our bias should be immediately apparent to any reader, we nevertheless attempt to link to every article, column or editorial about Florida politics in every major online Florida newspaper.

 

Older posts [back to 2002]

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The Blog for Sunday, March 30, 2014

"Here he comes . . . Who will remember him?"

    The media is loving the Jebbie - especially Florida's ink stained wretches (who stand to gain if the fellow about whom they possess special insight goes for the brass ring in 2016). That's right, Jeb Bush - he of the "shoot-first, take-no-advice method of governing", and whose "back-to-back terms were marred by frequent ethics scandals, official bungling and the inability of the government he downsized to meet growing demands for state services, including education and aid for the infirm and the elderly." "The Jeb Bush Era Ends in Florida".

    Facts be damned, the media loves the thought of a political dynasty, so here's a taste: this from FoxNews: "A group of top Republican donors have reportedly begun an intense effort to draft former Florida governor Jeb Bush into the race for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016."

    A Washington Post report quotes one major donor as saying that the "vast majority" of the top 100 givers to 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney would back Bush in a nomination fight.
    "GOP donors reportedly working to draft Jeb Bush for 2016 presidential run".

    The Washington Post:

    Many of the Republican Party’s most powerful insiders and financiers have begun a behind-the-scenes campaign to draft former Florida governor Jeb Bush into the 2016 presidential race, courting him and his intimates and starting talks on fundraising strategy.
    "Influential Republicans working to draft Jeb Bush into 2016 presidential race". And get this, from the guy - with a degree in Latin American affairs - who doesn't get the difference between a Spanish and U.S. "Republican": "Jeb Bush Blames Obama for ‘American Passivity’".

    And the redoubtable locals, like the Tribune Company's Sun Sentinel editors, of course argue "Jeb Bush, GOP's best choice for 2016" (subscription required).


    Free speech, Scott style

    "Florida officials have abruptly canceled a talk by a Florida State professor and writer who has been critical of the administration of Gov. Rick Scott." "Florida abruptly cancels talk by professor and writer".


    Scott's claims "Mostly False"

    "The ad suggests that the Congressional Budget Office reported a loss of 2.5 million jobs under Obamacare, but PolitiFact found no such number in the report." "Scott’s ad claim on lost jobs under Obamacare doesn’t add up". More: "Rick Scott’s political committee says Obamacare has led to 300,000 health plans canceled".


    Chapter 119

    "A bill that unanimously cleared the Senate last week, and is set for a House subcommittee hearing Monday, would make it a little quicker and easier for Floridians to get a look at documents produced by state and local governments. The proposal was produced by the Senate Governmental Oversight and Productivity Committee at the behest of Senate President Don Gaetz, and it represents a change in attitude as much as a new set of ground rules for the public’s right to know." "Proposal codifies Sunshine law".


    Runnin' gun'mint like a bidness

    "State workers may have to decide next year whether they want a health-insurance plan with more benefits and higher monthly premiums or a cheaper one with fewer benefits and more take-home pay." "Changes may be coming to state employee health insurance plans".


    "Fracking has hit a partisan brick wall"

    "A bill that would require oil companies to disclose the chemicals used in a controversial drilling process called fracking has hit a partisan brick wall, its sponsor says."

    Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, doesn’t think House Bill 71 will pass. The chilly reception is due to partisan politics in an election year, Rodrigues claims.
    "Fracking bill smacks a partisan brick wall".


    Voucher games

    "An attempt to revive a sweeping expansion of the state’s de facto voucher system passed a House subcommittee on a party-line vote Friday, setting up a potential showdown with the Senate over school choice legislation."

    The House Education Appropriations Subcommittee voted 8-4 to introduce the measure (PCB EDAS 14-03), which would bind together a program aimed at students with disabilities and the voucher expansion. Senate leaders last week pulled their counterpart to the House voucher bill, but the measure for students with disabilities remains alive. . . .

    The House move injected legislative brinksmanship to the debate about one of House Speaker Will Weatherford’s top priorities. Bills establishing a “Personal Learning Scholarship Account Program,” which would reimburse parents for some educational services for children with disabilities, have been moving on both sides of the Capitol. . . .

    But Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, told reporters that he wasn’t trying to jam the Senate by attaching the two measures. . . .

    The Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, ripped the move to combine the two measures during comments at the subcommittee meeting Friday.

    “While we have concerns about the personal learning accounts for children with disabilities, I have to say, as a teacher who taught disabled students daily, that this attempt to salvage the expansion of the … voucher program by attaching it to this bill is disingenuous to the public and those of us who have dedicated our lives to serving disabled students,” said FEA Vice President Joanne McCall.

    "'Opportunity Scholarships': Lawmakers Revive Vast Expansion of School Vouchers By Riding Coattails of Students With Disabilities".

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