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 Saturday, January 07, 2006

Pay No Attention to the Drilling

    Where Was "Jeb!"?

    "Change in jurisdiction could lead to drilling in the eastern Gulf":
    Weeks before the Bush administration releases a new offshore drilling plan for the Gulf of Mexico, a federal agency has given Louisiana authority over waters as close as 100 miles from Florida's coastline.

    While the full impact isn't yet clear, the new boundaries position Louisiana as the primary stakeholder over millions of acres of waters Florida has historically controlled in the eastern Gulf, including an area south of the Panhandle, that is not currently protected from drilling.
    "Feds give control of Fla. waters to Louisiana".


    Voucher Madness

    "The Florida Supreme Court ruling that struck down the state's oldest voucher program was clear that the use of tax dollars to pay private school tuition is unconstitutional, but it left loopholes that allow other programs to continue to spend public money at private preschools and colleges." "Voucher ruling doesn't stop state money flowing to private schools". See also "Some vouchers out, but the rest?" ("Legal experts for and against school vouchers say the ruling against one program could be used to knock out two others.")

    A good review of how we got to this point: "Governor's power can't save vouchers". This piece by Bousquet is good as well: "Vouchers loss tough and ironic for Bush".

    This could be where we may be going next: "A day after the Florida Supreme Court struck down one of Gov. Jeb Bush's private school voucher programs, a two-pronged strategy to save it began emerging in the Republican-led state Legislature." "Legislature crafts plan to keep school vouchers". See also "Legislators want private option" ("State leaders on Friday vowed to find a way to revive a private school voucher program ").

    Also, you guessed it ... an amendment: "A day after the Florida Supreme Court struck down a key part of Gov. Jeb Bush's school-voucher program, Bush said Friday that he would support a constitutional amendment to salvage the plan that gives tax money to students attending private schools." "Governor sticks by vouchers".


    Twist

    "A reinvestigation finds no reason to press new charges, but Bush names a special prosecutor.". "A new twist in '64 racial slaying case".


    Tribune Company Loves Vouchers

    Like the Tampa Trib yesterday, the Sun Sentinel editorial board laments the Florida Supreme Court's decision striking down the voucher program. "Education".


    Money Race

    Dems: "On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa estimates raising more than $505,000 in the final quarter of 2005, nearly doubling the $264,000 reported for state Sen. Rod Smith. All told, Davis estimates raising more than $1.6-million and Smith more than $1.3-million."

    Repubs: " Republican Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher reportedFriday raising about $770,000 in the final three months of the year, bringing his combined total to about $5.29-million raised. Crist nearly doubled him in the last quarter, with $1.5-million, bringing the attorney general's overall total to $6.86-million. That's about $30,000 a day in contributions of up to $500.". "Crist surges ahead in fundraising". See also "Crist's latest fund-raising outstrips GOP rival's".


    Whatever

    "League of Mayors opens with excitement".


    Isn't it Sad ...

    that we have to hope the Florida GOP will "avoid retribution":

    Tallahasseeans working in the state court system here can attest that the Florida Legislature has been known to take out its frustration over certain court rulings with passive-aggressive enthusiasm. When considering the state's budget, lawmakers find ways to withhold or delay judicial requests for additional funding for clerks, equipment, physical space or more judges.

    Thursday's Florida Supreme Court 5-2 declaration of the unconstitutionality of Opportunity Scholarships - a 6-year-old "choice" program that has been used by about 700 students out of the state's 2.6 million public school students - brought about quick accusations of "activist" judges and the politicization of the court.
    "Voucher politics".


    Dirty Money

    "Add the Republican Party of Florida to the list of politicians and groups distancing themselves from Jack Abramoff. The RPOF in 2002 received $5,000 from SuncCruz Casino, formerly owned by Abramoff." "FL GOP Sheds SunCruz Money".


    Baptists and Catholics

    "[R]epresentatives of the Florida Catholic Conference and Florida Baptist Convention made clear their organizations don't endorse political candidates." But they do seem to like the reformed Mr. Gallagher. "Don't Let the Candidate Upstage You".


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