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, August 24, 2005

"What are these lobbyists trying to buy?"

    More on the lobbying thing:
    What are these lobbyists trying to buy? That question often isn't answered until long after lawmakers give them what they want. In some cases, lobbyists represent worthy causes -- including community health centers, consumer advocate groups or statewide associations like AARP. But the vast majority of registered lobbyists represent business interests or industry associations. It's not fair to make broad assumptions about their intentions. But Floridians should be able to compare special-interest spending on gifts, meals and other lobbying expenses to legislation that benefits, or hurts, those interests.

    Under current state law, that's impossible. The salaries paid to the state's most influential influence brokers are never disclosed.

    Florida's political climate only makes the situation worse. Since the state adopted term limits for legislators, competition for leadership positions in the House and Senate has become brutal. There's powerful incentive to heed the words of well-connected lobbyists -- many of them former lawmakers -- who whisper promises of campaign help and career assistance. Even the less-ambitious lawmakers often rely on lobbyists for quick summaries of complex issues. The "friendly" advice often goes down better when it's accompanied by a plate of crab legs and a cold beer or two.

    Thus lawmakers are persuaded to approve bills that allow drastic -- and unjustified -- hikes in monthly telephone bills. Thus are they dissuaded from holding dangerous doctors publicly accountable. Thus they are convinced to write laws favoring insurance companies at the expense of their consumers. Floridians might not know what is happening at the time, but they are the ones who ultimately foot the bill for the army of lobbyists that descends on Tallahassee every year.
    "Influence watch".

5:35 AM

<< Home