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 Monday, January 17, 2011

RPOFer "token talk about 'Hispanic friends'"

    "Amid token talk about 'Hispanic friends,' tea parties are steaming and Greer's ghost lurks". "Florida Republicans: New Era or Same Old Stuff?"


    Nelson explains it all

    "Republicans won all five statewide races in Florida in November, knocked off four Democratic congressional incumbents and padded their already lopsided advantages in the state House and Senate."

    But the only Democrat remaining in statewide office - U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson - says that doesn't mean Florida has become a red state. ...

    "Florida is not going more conservative," said Nelson, who's up for reelection in 2012, during a Palm Beach Post editorial board interview last week. "Florida is a reflection of the country, and that's because the country has moved to Florida."

    That boffo GOP November, Nelson said, was "a phenomenon that was applicable to a country that was sour, that the people didn't think the country was going in the right direction and it was born in large part out of a sour economy.

    "The economy is improving, albeit slowly in a place like Florida. And (President) Obama's faves are likely to go up."
    "Nelson downplays state's shift to GOP".


    "Widespread deception visited upon Florida courts"

    The Saint Petersburg Times editors: "Attorney General Pam Bondi wisely intends to continue the work started by her predecessor to investigate foreclosure malpractice in Florida. Banks, loan servicers and their law firms like to complain that the reason for all the faulty paperwork in foreclosure cases is due to the high volume of cases. In fact, corners often were purposely cut to speed foreclosures through the courts as cheaply and quickly as possible. The result has been widespread deception visited upon Florida courts." "Ferreting out mortgage fraud".


    Ricky's silly "promise of $2 billion in tax cuts"

    The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board: "In a matter of weeks, Gov. Rick Scott must figure out how to deliver on his campaign promise of $2 billion in tax cuts -- or else find a way to retreat gracefully in the face of a projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall (some say the real gap is around $4 billion)."

    Senate President Mike Haridopolis, R-Merritt Island, said recently that Senate leaders aren't planning any major tax cuts -- but the governor is welcome to propose them if he comes up with offsetting budget cuts.

    The underlying message from the Senate president seems to be this: We'll take the heat for $3.6 billion in cuts, but we're not going to don asbestos pants and slash another $2 billion for the governor.
    "Governor should put big tax cuts on hold".


    Lazy bastards expect taxpayers to pay their pensions

    As we enjoy the day off, "firefighters provided CPR at the scene and then transported him to Imperial Point Medical Center where he was pronounced dead" and "officers answering a 911 call about shots fired ... Six people were hit, including a woman in her 20's who was pronounced dead ... Police are continuing to search for the two gunmen who fled the scene."


    RPOFers delay pill mill regs

    "Drug users in Florida are dying of pill overdoses at a rate of seven per day as measures aimed at curbing crooked pain clinics are held up in a thicket of delays and setbacks."

    After the legislature last year passed the toughest restrictions yet for pain clinics, here's what was supposed to have happened: The state boards of medicine and osteopathic medicine were to hammer out tough new rules for clinics, complete with penalties.

    Those rules, combined with a prescription drug monitoring program that would come online Dec. 1, 2010, would staunch the flow of oxycodone painkillers and other powerful drugs from storefront clinics to junkies and multi-state drug traffickers.

    Here's what actually happened: In a special session on Nov. 16, lawmakers overrode a veto and revived a bill that effectively quashed state agencies' ability to make rules.

    Although the state Board of Osteopathic Medicine, which oversees doctors with osteopathic degrees, finalized rules before the veto override, the move shelved pain clinic standards of another medical panel, the Board of Medicine, nine days before they were to take effect.

    Now, standards for physicians with doctor of medicine degrees have to wait for the legislature's approval during the coming regular session.

    Adding to the uncertainty, Gov. Rick Scott's first executive order, signed the day of his inauguration, "freezes all new regulations" and creates an accountability office to review rules before they're enacted, possibly requiring pain clinic rules to jump another hurdle.
    "Pain-clinic crackdown stalled".


    Rubio strides world's stage

    "US Sen. Marco Rubio visits Afghanistan". See also "Rubio: U.S. 'Headed in Right Direction' in Afghanistan". Isn't Rubio young enough to enlist? Just asking.


    Heroes and zeroes

    Nancy Smith: "Martin Luther King Jr., American Hero; Arizona No-Show John Boehner, Zero".


    Public finance

    "Florida taxpayers spent more than $5.8 million to bolster the campaigns of 10 candidates for statewide office last year, giving public dollars to individuals who arguably didn't need the money but took it anyway." "Candidates collected $5.8 million in public money".


    Ricky "a case study"

    Steve Bousquet: "Scott's first two weeks in office are a case study in how governing can be disorderly and messy at times." "Gov. Rick Scott is straining so far to get his arms around Tallahassee".


    Millionaire car salesman shakes up Miami politics

    "Alvarez, Seijas in fight for survival".


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