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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.

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.

 

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The Blog for Wednesday, October 12, 2005

"Jeb!"'s Flip Flop: "Odor of [National] Politics"

    From the Bradenton Herald: "Offshore drilling switch has odor of politics":
    Bush's sudden switch has weakened Florida's long-standing, united effort to protect the Sunshine State's fragile shores from the damage that offshore drilling could do to pristine beaches and the tourism that they generate. The governor's sarcastic retort to the suggestion that bipartisan leaders believe unity will help make Florida's case against drilling was unworthy of his office: "Sure they do. . . . I've talked to the fairy godmother about it."

    More likely he has talked to political consultants who are looking into the future to position Bush for a presidential race in 2008, when his brother the president's second term will be up. Sure, there may be short-term political damage from Floridians who like the fact that they can't see oil rigs from their condos and don't have to step on tar balls when they walk the beach.

    But Bush also knows that voters in lots of other states don't especially care whether Florida gets a pass on drilling - especially if it helps keep down the price of gas for their sport utility vehicles. Obviously he'll need widespread support for a national race, and this stand will firmly establish him as a non-tree-hugger for the conservative base. ...

    With Bush's flip-flop, he's established the fact that the drilling line is negotiable; the only question remaining is the price for the next concession.
    "Jeb's flip-flop".

    Well, someone finally said it: "Jeb!" may screwing Floridians to set himself up for a national race.

9:09 AM

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