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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
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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.

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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.

 

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The Blog for Friday, March 18, 2005

Dubya Snookers Mel

    Mel's bragging about his tough negotiations with the Bushies, negotiating great concessions for the people of Florida; However, critics of
    Martinez's vote to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge say despite the senator's claims of negotiating great concessions in exchange for his vote, Florida got crumbs.

    In a statement Wednesday after the vote, Martinez announced that he "worked closely with the (Bush) administration to secure its explicit assurance that the current (oil drilling) moratorium on Florida's Gulf Coast will be extended for an additional five years through 2012."

    Not quite, said Mark Ferrulo, director of Florida Public Interest Research Group, who said the Florida Republican's statement was at least inaccurate.

    The drilling moratorium was already in place until 2012 through a 1998 executive order by then-President Clinton. An April 2003 letter to Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., from the Department of Interior underscores that.

    "(Martinez) made it sound like he had secured a much bigger victory for Florida coasts than was actually realized," Ferrulo said. "What he was able to do is secure an expanded buffer zone outside the existing moratorium."
    What's the bottom line?
    It means the only additional area Martinez secured from drilling until 2012 is a narrow strip of water off the Alabama coast.
    "Critic questions Martinez claim on drilling concession".

    Alabama? A "narrow strip"? Until 2012? And in return, Dubya's oil buddies plunder the Wildlife Refuge? Way to go Mel.

    The St. Pete Times goes further, saying Martinez actually did more harm than good:
    Cast in the best light, Martinez sold out Alaska's natural heritage to save ours. But the details of the deal reveal it accomplishes nothing and may actually weaken the effort to protect Florida's coast. Some deal. ...

    It looks as though Martinez claimed credit for existing limits on gulf drilling and probably weakened some of those. If that is his idea of how to "secure the position of Florida's pristine beaches," then marshmallow is the new steel.
    "Thanks a lot, Sen. Martinez". Well, it seems
    either Martinez was fooled into thinking he was getting something that he wasn't, or he's trying to fool Florida voters.
    "Martinez's foolish deal". It think it was the former, that "Martinez was fooled into thinking he was getting something that he wasn't". Whatever the reason, Martinez did Floridians harm in his fealty to the Bushies.

6:42 AM

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