Category RPOF
State House Race Ratings – June 29
With the qualifying process complete we have updated our State House Race Ratings and will do so every Sunday from now until the election. Our Congressional Race Ratings will return this Wednesday on a weekly basis as well now that NRCC and DCCC decisions have been made regarding multiple Florida seats. A general trend towards […]
Miami-Dade’s Hot 7 and the Failures of the Democratic Pipeline
On Monday, to great celebration and a shiny fancy press conference, the Miami-Dade DEC announced they had candidates to run against all of seven Miami-Dade Republican state legislators. There was even an adorable little catchphrase to chant: “No More Free Rides!” pointing out that this was the first time in history that Democrats have ever […]
Monday Musings: FEA Endorses Crist, Matt Gaetz’s reefer madness, Infrastructure development, Anti-Americanism and Islam in India post election , RPOF (again) obstructs redistricting investigation
The Florida Education Association endorsed Charlie Crist for Governor on Saturday. The recommendation was long expected. The state’s teachers’ union has been concerned about the continued assault on public schools under the Scott Administration and the current legislative leadership. However, many activists have questioned the FEA’s endorsement based on Crist’s previous record on issues related […]
The Rise of the Republican Party of Florida & the Decline of the Middle-Class
Florida Governor Rick Scott has claimed that the Florida economy is doing better than the rest of the nation and business publications, like Florida Trend, have proclaimed, “Florida is back!” The headlines sound great but the facts tell another story. A recent study by Florida International University’s Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy found […]
The controversial past of big GOP donor Mel Sembler
Last week, Governor Rick Scott held a fundraiser at the home of Pinellas County based developer Mel Sembler. Over the course of the past two decades Sembler, his family and his companies have donated over a $1,000,000 to the coffers of various Florida Republicans or the RPOF. Sembler has long been one of the go-to […]
Water issues will define 2014 session, both parties in Tallahassee
Oh, I know that in one’s youth that beauty, justice, truth / Seem to be what life is all about. But when the facts are faced, you realize that life is based / On water coming in and going out. “The Plumber is the Man” by Garrison Keillor Due to national attention regarding Florida’s choking waterways it’s now […]
HB 255: Rep. Gaetz’s ‘Red Meat for Gun Nuts’ Act
Whether you’re begrudgingly supportive of Charlie Crist, optimistically still backing Nan Rich, quixotically hoping for Bill Nelson to jump in, or one of those sociopaths that voted for Gov. Scott, one thing we can all agree on: Florida faces many problems. Real problems that affect people’s lives in real ways. Some of which can be […]
Republican Party fueled Rothstein-Crist analysis largely off the mark
Florida’s papers and political press have had a field day in the last week buying into a Republican Party fueled narrative about the “close ties” between Scott Rothstein based largely on the court testimony of the convicted fraudster and ponzi-schemer this week. It appears to many a neutral observer that Rothstein’s shots at Crist could […]
HB 143: The Latest Republican Tax Hike in Disguise
The 2014 legislative session begins March 4th. TFS will be providing in-depth coverage of notable bills and their progress in both chambers from now until Sine Die and beyond. Rep. Jake Raburn (R-Valrico) from District 57 represents one of the safest Republican House seats in Central Florida, an 80% white, largely rural locale you may have taken […]
Rick Scott’s Florida: Examples of why #ItsNotWorking, with Commentary
We here at the Florida Squeeze have long planned on doing a series regarding Rick Scott’s unfulfilled job promises and misleading job claims in early 2014. A simple narrative had developed that Governor Scott has put Floridians to work after Governor Crist cost the state jobs. This, however, is a simplistic way of looking at […]
The Florida Squeeze 