Author Archives: Brook Hines
Fear of a media fiasco? Repubs table heinous “stand your ground” bill
This is what’s it’s come to in Florida. Right-wingers and the NRA not only want an environment in The Gunshine State where killing people is convenient — they’re also demanding that victims’ families must fight legal barriers to seeking justice when they’ve lost a loved one. A bill that petered out today (SB 344), would have forced State Attorneys to prosecute “stand […]
Sometimes it’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so
“….And the nomination is going to Rand Paul. You watch, this is what I do for a living.” Chris Matthews, Hardball, 2013 The pundits who enlighten and amuse political junkies like myself can’t be faulted for predictions are wildly off-base from time to time. If it’s your job to discuss politics 24-7, there will be boners such as […]
What if Bernie loses Iowa? (hint…not much)
Polling and results in early races are fun to watch, but they predict very little. While it’s interesting that no candidate has lost the nomination after winning both Iowa and New Hampshire, that doesn’t mean it’s scientifically proven that winning Iowa and New Hampshire ensures a party nomination. Correlation is not causation. It will signal […]
The real threat to abortion in Florida isn’t an all-out ban
HB 865, the all-out ban on abortion attracted national media attention this week, but this bill won’t end abortion in Florida. It’s a distraction. Instead, what’s more likely to end abortion services in Florida this session are so-called TRAP bills that threaten to close any number of the 65 abortion clinics in Florida, 16 of which […]
TFS Interview: Yulissa Arce, From Paris to Orlando
I sat down with Yulissa Arce the Director of Outreach for Organize Now and the Florida Institute for Reform and Empowerment (F.I.R.E) earlier this week to discuss Climate Change and its local impact. Climate Change is a subject many conservative politicians want to avoid discussing and it does have serious local implications. The interview focuses on […]
Alan Grayson consistently leads Patrick Murphy in statewide polling
Florida Atlantic University released a new statewide poll conducted by the College of Business showing that Rep. Alan Grayson holds a convincing 7-point lead over New Dem primary challenger Patrick Murphy. When I first heard these poll numbers on Nicole Sandler’s “Radio Or Not” show* today it was one of those blink twice and check if you […]
Darren Soto + Donald Trump: why ConservaDems spell disaster in 2016
IN a political environment driven by campaign cash, it matters who is at the top of candidate fundraisers because it shows who the candidate aligns himself with, while providing a road map of who is bidding on that lawmaker’s future votes. Who co-chairs a fundraiser can help tell the story of a candidate’s past and […]
How to spot a threat to Democracy: Bernie Sanders and Philip K. Dick on radicalism and revolt
This is a column about Bernie Sanders, democratic socialism and Philip K. Dick. Bernie Sanders gave his “democratic socialism” speech at Georgetown University on November 19. Then, at midnight, all 10 episodes of PKD’s The Man In The High Castle were released. For better or worse, the two are now indelibly connected in my […]
SEIU decorates their new stall in the Clinton veal pen
Last week I mentioned it would be interesting to see if SEIU Florida keeps its pledge to exclusively endorse and make contributions to candidates who agree to both take the Minimum Wage Challenge in the Fight For $15 campaign, and support $15 an hour minimum wage bills. At issue was the case of Darren Soto running […]
Hillary Clinton: regulate Wall Street and the terrorists win
Last night Hillary Clinton went “full Giuliani” when she compared criticism of her Wall Street ties to letting the terrorists win. For a candidate who is superb debate performer, the creepiest thing about last night is that this message wasn’t deployed as the result of a fumble. She said exactly what she meant to say. It all began when […]
The Florida Squeeze 