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."

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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 Tuesday, May 26, 2009

"Remember That Charlie Crist?"

    Randy Schultz: "Remember the Charlie Crist who in February happily shared a stage in Fort Myers with President Obama? Remember the Charlie Crist who loved the nearly $800 billion economic stimulus plan that only three of his fellow Republicans in Congress voted for? Remember That Charlie Crist?"
    As of last week, he ceased to exist. That Charlie Crist was governor of Florida, desperate for the $13.7 billion the state would get from the stimulus. That Charlie Crist wanted the federal money so he could round off the edges of the next two state budgets. That Charlie Crist wanted people to think that Florida is spending a little more on education than last year even during historically bad financial times without raising taxes.
    Much more: "For Senate, it's Crist vs. Crist".


    Clerk bill

    The Miami Herald editorial board: "The lobbyists, statistics, studies and letters to the editor generated by a dust-up between the state's judges and 67 county court clerks during the legislative session have faded, and in their wake is SB 2108. Gov. Charlie Crist should sign this bill, which was unanimously approved in the Senate and passed in the House on a 75-32 vote. The dispute was over the fines levied by the courts and collected by the clerks. The courts have been increasingly starved for funding, while watching the clerks use the money generated by the fines pretty much as they pleased." "Crist should sign court funding bill".


    Lucky Charlie?

    The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Gov. Charlie Crist is now running for the U.S. Senate, but his political fortunes could well depend on the weather and whether Florida is lucky enough to escape a massive hurricane this year." "Averting financial disaster".


    Cuba and the OAS

    Andres Oppenheimer: "Key U.S. senators and most Cuban exile leaders are up in arms over the Organization of American States' move to lift Cuba's decades-old suspension from the group, and possibly readmit it. But perhaps they should welcome the debate, and turn it against Cuba's military dictatorship." "U.S. should help end Cuba ban -- with a twist".


    Privatization follies

    The Tallahassee Democrat editorial board: "The Legislature decided to take over review of most state contracts this year — or at least that's the plan unless Gov. Charlie Crist wisely puts the kibosh on this rushed-through idea."

    If boondoggles are bad now, be advised that they could get worse with 160 members weighing in and responding to political supporters who have money to leverage influence accordingly.
    "Editorial: Hatched in haste".

    You have to wonder how bad the bill really is, if "Associated Industries of Florida is urging the governor to veto the bill".


    "Past their prime?"

    "Elections are the backbone of a democracy. But leaders of both major political parties are discouraging them in the 2010 campaign season - at least when it comes to primaries. The reason: fear." "Are state primaries past their prime?".


    Checkbook Charlie to sign "sprawl" bill?

    The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial Board: "Senate Bill 360 ... was put together hastily, with only cursory input from local and regional government planners and other stakeholders. But more to the point, it is seriously flawed in the way it defines "dense urban areas," creating an open invitation to sprawl, exactly the opposite of what the bill is supposed to stop."

    Crist and the bill's supporters say it would help revive Florida's housing construction and create jobs. But Charles Pattison, president of 1000 Friends of Florida, a growth watchdog group, rightly pointed out that the state has a huge inventory of vacant housing units and development plans already approved for more than 600,000 more. The bill would promote "unchecked and inappropriate development" in vast areas of the state, he said. Pattison didn't say it, but we will: This bill is nothing less than a huge land grab for developers, using the economy as excuse to let them have their way miles beyond what would truly be urban infill.
    "Veto flawed growth bill".


    Little White House

    "Supporters of the Key West home known as the Little White House are courting President Barack Obama. The house has completed a seven-year, $1 million renovation, and those that run it are hoping Obama will follow in his predecessors' footsteps and pay a visit, either for a vacation or official business." "Key West lobbies for presidential visit".


    Some call it "entrepreneurship"

    The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Health-care fraud is a problem that hits close to home for Floridians. South Florida has become the nation's capital for bilking Medicare and Medicaid. And U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of Miami, who has prosecuted more than 700 people responsible for more than $2 billion in fraudulent Medicare billings since 2006, has warned that his crackdown is chasing crooks elsewhere, including into Central Florida." "What we think: Root out health fraud".


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