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 Thursday, March 12, 2015

Crist considering Senate run

    "Charlie Crist is considering another run for the U.S. Senate, in the 2016 race."
    "Well, I have been encouraged to," Crist said Wednesday when asked by phone about reports that he might run again. Crist, who is in New York, declined to elaborate.

    Crist, a former Republican governor of Florida, ran for the Senate in 2010 as an independent, losing handily to Republican Marco Rubio, but finishing ahead of Democrat Kendrick Meek.

    In 2013 he formally changed his party affiliation to Democrat and last year ran again for governor, losing to incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Scott in a close race.

    There is a chance that Rubio will not seek re-election. He has repeatedly said that if he decides to run for president, he would not seek re-election to the Senate.

    "Crist says he is considering U.S. Senate run."

    Nancy Smith: "Charlie Crist's career as a highway billboard was embarrassing enough. But running for a U.S. Senate seat he already lost twice? Five months after he came up empty in the Florida governor's race?" "Sure You Want to Run Again, Charlie?."


    Even the Trib

    Even the Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Senate committee’s Medicaid expansion plan a worthy measure."


    "Jeb Bush withdraws from remaining businesses"

    "Preparing for presidential run, Jeb Bush withdraws from remaining businesses."


    "Florida's budget faces an unexpected deficit"

    "Florida's budget faces an unexpected deficit. Accepting the federal Medicaid money could potentially offset the loss of the Low-Income Pool Funds. But the plan faces stiff opposition." "Fearing Loss of $1 Billion in Federal Aid, Senate Again Considers Medicaid Expansion."


    Yee haw!

    "Education Committee Easily Approves Gun-Carrying By Select Florida School Employees."


    "Bill would remove gay adoption ban"

    "A bill that would create incentives to adopt children in state care passed the House on Wednesday on a vote made much closer because of opposition from conservative Republicans who don't want gay couples to adopt children despite an appeals court ruling five years ago that said they can." "House bill would remove gay adoption ban from law."


    "Law firm funding attack ads"

    "Fort Myers law firm funding attack ads in Tampa race."


    "Drastically different plans"

    "The House and Senate are drafting drastically different plans on how to spend Amendment 1 money that could only complicate efforts to come up with a comprehensive water policy." "Water bill splits House and Senate, but for how long?" Related: "Transportation, Housing Funds Split Senate, House."


    "Santorum Ramps Up Florida Outreach"

    "In spite of former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., testing the 2016 waters, Santorum will make a swing through Florida, offering an address to The Villages Conservative Action Group in The Villages on Friday night. On Saturday morning, Santorum will travel to Orlando to speak on 'Celebrating Faith, Family, and Freedom' at the Awakening Conference." "Rick Santorum Ramps Up Florida Outreach as 2016 Nears."


    "Florida Blames School Testing Trouble on Cyber Attack"

    "Florida Blames School Testing Trouble on Cyber Attack as FDLE Investigates."


    "Koch brothers sock puppet"

    Fred Grimm has a little fun with our Gub'ner, who insists on running the gub'mint like a bidness: "Unfair! It’s so unfair how our governor has been disparaged across social media."

    As if Rick Scott was some kind of anti-science, Koch brothers sock puppet, just because his administration forbade state workers from employing — let’s face it — some pretty depressing terminology.

    “Climate change” and “global warming” are not terms apt to help Floridians kick their Xanax addiction.

    Just two measly terms, mind you. When it comes to state censorship, Scott’s administration is a piker compared to the Chinese Politburo, which has forbidden hundreds of search terms on the Chinese Internet including “Dalai Lama” and “sea cucumber Holothuria,” something Scott ought to consider adding to his own blacklist. What with rising sea levels, folks wading through the flooded streets of Miami Beach don’t want to be thinking about fat, black, squishy invertebrates underfoot. . . .

    In a state particularly vulnerable to the vagaries of climate, especially sea level changes, failing to account for global warming might make the Department of Environmental Protection seem like an oxymoron. But Rick “I am not a scientist” Scott clearly needed a new strategy. With 2014 going down as the hottest year on record, after 14 of the last 15 years registered as the hottest ever, denial began to seem moronic, without the oxy.

    Scott couldn’t just tell his constituents, “Who cares? I’ll be out of office before things turn really nasty. Then I’ll just take my millions and move to balmy Canada.”

    Obviously, censorship’s more expedient than that honesty stuff.

    Besides, other government entities have done a dandy job of suppressing unwelcome information. And not just dictators in Uzbekistan and Cuba.

    Since 1996, the Centers for Disease Control has been banned (through Congress at the behest of the National Rifle Association) from conducting research on gun violence. Because, sometimes, for politicians, it’s better not to know.

    The Texas Board of Education demanded textbooks that deemphasize unwanted stuff about evolution and climate change. North Carolina passed a bill in 2012 that banned ban state agencies from basing coastal policies on the latest scientific predictions about sea level.

    The mean Mr. Grimm closes his piece with this cattiness:
    Rick Scott catches all this heat for censoring two little terms. Obviously, in a rush to judgment, the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting didn’t consider another possible explanation when the governor’s administration forbade DEP workers from uttering “climate change” or “global warming” aloud.

    Scott, fun-loving guy that he is, just might be a big fan of charades.

    "None of this climate change stuff. Just happy talk."


    "Tenth day of the 2015 legislative session"

    "Thursday marks the tenth day of the 2015 legislative session. More than a dozen House committees and subcommittees are scheduled to discuss a variety of issues. It will be much slower in the Senate." "Thursday: Top things to watch in Tallahassee."


    "Spirited Battle"

    "Spirited Battle Ahead over Florida's Liquor Separation Law."


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