Category Florida Legislature
Florida House Democrats – What is the plan for 2014?
TFS Deputy Editor Ryan Ray contributed to this story The word coming from many in the Florida Democratic Party is that 2014 will be at best a “hold” cycle when it comes to State House seats. While the dynamics of this particular election year are currently not favorable to the Democratic cause, the party is […]
TFS Endorsement – Ross Hancock for State House District 114
Miami-Dade County’s demographics are shifting rapidly — in favor of the Democrats. Since 2008, the swings have become more pronounced as areas that were long untouchable in legislative elections have very quickly become winnable for Dems. One such district is House 114 where incumbent Erik Fresen, the poster child for the school “choice” movement in […]
Video: Medical Marijuana Proposals Broken Down
Check out this excellent video from Sayfie Review’s Forum Telecast regarding the future of medical cannabis and the current legislative climate. We know this issue is of particular concern to many of our readers so please watch the video below and leave any questions/comments (respectful please!) in the comments section.
TFS Announces 2014 Election Project and Google Hangout Plan
Having recently completed Blue With Envy: My American Journey with Manchester City and been offered the opportunity to write another book (this time in monograph form) on a historical topic, I have developed a longer-form writing and research bug which I would like to translate to Florida-related subjects. With this in mind The Florida Squeeze has decided […]
Vouchers: Is this it?
Republicans in the House are still doggedly pushing forward this year’s educational “choice” initiatives, despite Senate enthusiasm for voucher expansion resembling the fevered excitement of a 12-year-old picking at a limpid beef bolognese. On the eve of the final vote on HB 7167, what remains of Speaker Weatherford’s priority legislation is little more than a […]
What Leader Chris Smith got right about the “warning shot” debate
The debates over the so-called “warning shot” legislation in both the House and Senate have been impassioned and contentious rounds of sparring, revealing harsh divides between and within the parties. The bills were an ideological mire for Democrats. And for Republicans, it was another opportunity to manipulate the very real and pressing imbalances created by SYG, which disproportionately […]
Legislative Democrats beginning to score policy successes
Last week, my colleague Justin Snyder called out the Florida Democratic Party for a lack of policy ideas. While we have seen the party itself slow to embrace the type of progressive agenda that moved voters strongly towards Florida Democrats in the 1970s, 1980s and to a lesser extent in the 1990s, many Democratic legislators […]
The Pulp: An Open Letter To Florida Democratic Party- Where Are The Policy Ideas? Where Is The Grassroots Organization?
Dear Florida Democratic Party, I really can’t anymore. Day after day, my Twitter feed, email inbox, and Facebook newsfeed are covered with constant attacks from you against our Republican Governor Rick Scott. Whether it’s bashing him for a weak economic recovery in Florida spearheaded by the creation of minimum wage jobs, his lengthy list of […]
Freshman House Democrats charting a unique course
Our inaugural TFS House scorecard showed that the most conservative members of the Democratic Caucus in 2014 were in fact members of the new class elected in November 2012. This session we have found the freshman class has found its feet and are stepping out in their own rights as effective legislators. It can be argued […]
Die or Get Rich Trying: HCA’s trauma racket finds support in the Legislature
We all know that Gov. Scott’s focus on enterprise and preferential treatment of corporate giants via tax-credit/breaks is the only leg supporting the wobbly stool of policy priorities implemented during his tenure. The Tampa Bay Times’ recent article on the arbitrary, usurious billing policies of the Healthcare Corporation of America’s [HCA] three controversial trauma centers in Florida […]
The Florida Squeeze 