x

x

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."

E-Mail Florida Politics

This is our Main Page
Our Sister Site
On FaceBook
Follow us on Twitter
Our Google+ Page
Contact [E-Mail Florida Politics]
Site Feed
...and other resources

 

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]

Previous Articles by Derek Newton: Ten Things Fox on Line 1 Stem Cells are Intelligent Design Katrina Spin No Can't Win Perhaps the Most Important Race Senate Outlook The Nelson Thing Deep, Dark Secret Smart Boy Bringing Guns to a Knife Fight Playing to our Strength  

The Blog for Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Prediction: Bense Is In

    Consider:
    Just back from a meeting with White House and Senate leaders in Washington, D.C., House Speaker Allan Bense said Tuesday he will make a decision on running for the U.S. Senate within the next week to 10 days. ...

    Bense is being encouraged to join the race by the White House and the political allies of the president, including his brother Gov. Jeb Bush, although U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Longboat Key, has announced her intentions to challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the Democratic incumbent, next year.

    On Monday, Bense met with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is recruiting GOP candidates for next year's Senate races.

    "It's safe to say that she thinks he would be a great candidate," said Brian Nick, a committee spokesman.

    Bense also met with Karl Rove, a presidential adviser and top strategist for the party, according to Roll Call, a Washington-based newspaper. ...

    Although he has not made a decision, Bense said not running is still a possibility.
    "Bense tests waters for run at U.S. Senate". From the Bense camp (they now have a camp):
    A spokesman for Bense said he is intrigued by the Washington visit and likely to make a decision on the 2006 race soon.

    "He's now got quite a bit to think about," said Bense spokesman Towson Fraser.

    "My understanding is that they were very encouraging and expressing hope that he would seriously consider it."
    "GOP amps up push for Harris rival" ("Republicans stepped up efforts to nudge House Speaker Allan Bense into a primary against U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, fearing she would be too divisive against the incumbent.")

    It is amazing that things have gotten this far, but Bense actually asked for a primary endorsement (against the sitting Congresswoman who almost singlehandedly installed Dubya in 2000), but, not surprisingly, "he received no promises of a primary endorsement." So far. "Washington meetings leave Bense torn about Senate run".

    Prediction: Bense is in. Further Prediction: Ms. Harris will hand Mr. Bense his derriere (Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey of 1,248 registered voters in Florida from June 22-26):
    Harris would easily defeat either GOP challenger [Bense or Lee] if an election were held now, the Quinnipiac survey indicated.

    She was favored by 54 percent of the 477 Republicans surveyed to Lee's 10 percent and just 6 percent for Bense.
    It will be delicious to hear a desperate Bense - backed by the Bush Brothers - attacking Harris as the race gets down to the wire.

6:46 AM

<< Home