Monthly Archives: March 2015
The FDP Mess and US Senate Hopefuls
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz (also DNC Chairwoman) has been in the news recently, both for hinting that she is considering a Senate run and for her stance on marijuana over a very public spat with John Morgan. While her Senate aspirations have encouraged some Democrats around the state, who are faced with an almost empty […]
A Progressive’s Guide to the 2015 Legislative Session – Issues: Education
Testing is becoming a big issue on the right and the left, with both sides drawing lines around over-testing. With the awful debacle of testing around the state this week, everyone is paying attention and parents are angry. Legislators are demanding the Governor Scott halt the testing, school districts are trying to What this […]
Why are GOP legislators rushing to move the Florida Presidential Primary?
Two words – Jeb Bush. On Monday, legislators rushed through the House Ethics and Elections Committee a measure that would move Florida’s Presidential Primary back to March 2016 from its current late January date. The Senate passed a similar measure quickly through committee. For years, the Florida Primary was a critical moment in the nomination […]
EDITORIAL: Large scale gambling has no place in our Florida
House Majority Leader Dana Young (R-Tampa) has had an active couple of days. After being solicited by the Florida Democratic Party for a donation, she formed a Legislative Brewing Liberty Caucus (regardless of your perspective on craft breweries the state has much more pressing issues) and now has filed a bill that would lead to […]
Awake The State Orlando rally targets Senate President Gardiner
For the fifth consecutive year, “Awake The State” rallied working Floridians and those who care about good government across Florida on the opening day of the legislative session. Activists and concerned citizens in Central Florida rallied in front of Senate President Andy Gardiner’s district office. In wake of the most recent scandals involving Republican officeholders, […]
State of the State: Fluff, Awkwardness, and Mark Pafford’s Rhetorical Questions
Rick Scott tried to prepare us for the rambling speech by opening with a joke about his speaking skills. Unfortunately, it did not help or make it any less painful. The state of the state was flat, boring, and the openly-cued clapping was cringe-worthy. Rick Scott tried to put forward an idea of “Florida exceptionalism” […]
A Progressive’s Guide to the 2015 Legislative Session – Issues: Water
Everybody is talking about water due in large part to the overwhelming popularity of Amendment 1. The 75% passage rate changed the dialogue in Tallahassee: now at least the Legislature has recognized this is an important issue for voters on both sides of the aisle. While there will be huge battles of the allocation of […]
Some words on the start of session, recent legislative history and where progressive energy should be focused
I have been going to Tallahassee or following legislative sessions for 20 years. I plan to be in the capital city at some point this session though I cannot say I am overly enthusiastic about it. The one thing I can positively say is that Tallahassee has really grown up since I was first driving […]
A Progressive’s Guide to the 2015 Legislative Session: Democratic Players
Session overview here Legislative session kicks off tomorrow in Tallahassee and the Democrats have six less members of the House than last session and continue with 14 Senators. The Republicans have basically maxed out on potential seats (TFS estimates 83 as the maximum number of House seats the Republicans can win under this current map […]
Monday Musings: Netanyahu’s speech, Jared Moskowitz and Greyhounds, Kimberly Mitchell gaining more Democratic support, Jeb Bush, CPAC and Scott Walker’s viability
The controversy over Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech this week in front of the US Congress continues to simmer. It is worth noting that despite Republican rhetoric regarding Netanyahu and Israel’s loyalty to the United States, exactly a year ago Israel failed to vote on the UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262. The resolution introduced by Canada, Germany and […]
The Florida Squeeze 