Monthly Archives: December 2016
Democrats collapse in the South – What’s the Matter with Kansas vs A National Party no More
A review of A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat and What’s the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. Two books, two perspectives on the decline of Democrats in the South and Midwest from a decade ago. I bought both these books in the summer of 2004 while embroiled in […]
FDP Rules Reform: Divided perspectives based on geography
Editor’s Note: This article originally ran in February 2015 – however coming off another electoral defeat where Tier 2 counties were an even bigger bloodbath for Democratic candidates and all the controversy over qualifying processes for the FDP Chair’s race the time is right to rerun the piece. However perspectives have changed since this discussion […]
Holiday idea: Reading about the politics of the Everglades
The Everglades get more tourist visits during this time of year than any other. That makes it a great time to also read about the history of the ecosystem and some of the political battles that have shaped it. Then Time Magazine National Editor (current Politico writer) Michael Grunwald’s The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and […]
Holiday book reading recommendation – Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington’s Scandal Culture
This campaign cycle and the 24-hour cable news channel combined with Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, could be the tipping point of the political press being poisoned? Or is it just part of the evolution toward a completely scandal-driven, personality-based brand of political reporting? Since Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio failed in their respective White House bid […]
Holiday book recommendations: The Bush America – American Dynasty and American Theocracy
Jeb Bush’s failed bid for the Presidency in 2016 provides the perfect time to discuss a timeless classic with a little more comfort. Kevin Phillips, who was dubbed in 1995 by one of my Political Science Professors at the University of Florida as “the smartest Republican around,” is widely viewed as the chief architect of […]
Holiday book recommendation: Plutocrats – The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else
A few years ago, I lost perhaps my favorite liberal talking head Chrystia Freeland in the North American media to the world of Canadian politics. Freeland is now in the Cabinet of Canada as Minister for International Trade following the liberal party victory in October’s national election. Freeland entered politics in 2013 after writing about it and […]
Will the third time be the charm for Dwight Bullard? It should not be…
County shopping has become the rage in Florida Democratic Party circles. The most dramatic feature of the 2017 FDP Chairs race has been the willingness of those who want to be FDP Chair to shop for a county who can elect them and make them eligible. Just the other day we thought Alan Clendenin’s move […]
PODCAST IS UP: Krishnaiyer, Piscatella and Hines on FDP Chair race
Mario Piscatella, Kartik Krishnaiyer and myself recorded this Thursday night, after letting the results of Tuesday’s Miami-Dade State Committeeman election settle-in. The discussion covers what it was like on the ground voting in Miami; where we go from here to elect the next Chair of the party; and our wishlist for a new Chair of […]
Holiday book recommendation: Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen
The story of the African-American members of Congress during the Reconstruction era is often forgotten. The long standing Dunning School of history made every effort to paint reconstruction as a mistake and portray that the only way to truly reconcile the nation was to let white southerners do what they want in the region. Thus […]
Holiday book recommendations – Finding Dan McCarty and Jimmy Carter in Plains
Finding Dan McCarty, by Robert Buccellato has been released and is available via Amazon.com (click on the link on the book title to purchase a copy). I’m honored to have contributed to this work writing a Forward which was about the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s in Florida politics. From the book: A thin layer of glass separated him […]
The Florida Squeeze 