Last time Rick Scott picked Jennifer Carroll, the attractive-black-PR specialist-state representative-Navy vet-Aunt Tom, as his running mate. Maybe it fooled enough folks in an electorate that ultimately stuck us with Scott. Now what’s a lieutenant governor-less governor to do as next year’s re-election approaches? Will he perceive the need for another blatant, pandering act of [...]
They are not exactly the “sounds of silence,” but I suspect a lot of us are “hearing without listening.” But not without complaining. Who among us has not been assaulted–or awakened–by drive-by cacophony, masquerading as somebody’s music? Who has not said–and I’ll clean this up for you–”Thanks again for sharing your customized, decibel-driven universe”? Moreover, [...]
We knew from the ominous get-go that this was not good for Florida. First it was high-speed rail, with its guarantee of jobs to expedite the Orlando-to-Tampa megalopolis link. Now it’s Amazon, with its offer to build warehouses and hire several thousand workers. Both were turned down for ideological reasons. But it could be worse. [...]
Searching out agenda-promoting optics that can be converted to campaign-ad fodder later is a political given. And Gov. Rick Scott, as we’ve seen, has been in this mode for months. Dropping by Eustis or The Villages when your poll numbers are still awful is obviously of no re-election help. So, venues such as teacher-wooing schools [...]
If Charlie Crist winds up being the Democratic challenger to Gov. Rick Scott, he will need something–other than Scott’s unpopularity, Medicare-fraud connection and obvious, pander-fest re-election strategy–to divert attention from all his flip-floppery. He could use an issue that truly transcends such baggage. If this were a memo to Crist, it would read: “Why not [...]
At its conclusion, there were so many hardy hand clasps, high fives, fist bumps, embraces, man-hugs and cell-phone poses, you would have thought something celebratory had occurred at this year’s Florida legislative session. Frankly, it would have been more fitting if a Venezuelan Parliament fistfight had broken out. But, yes, a required budget was passed [...]
He knew it was a long shot. Closer to no shot. But Mayor Bob Buckhorn was obviously still disappointed that the referendum-expanding proposal he supported–as well as other mayoral members of the Urban Partnership (St. Petersburg, Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville and Hialeah)–”never saw the light of day” in the recent legislative session. Buckhorn and [...]
Remember all that principled posturing that accompanied the rationale for moving up the Florida presidential primary? How dare the political parties relegate Florida, the mega, election-impacting–if not determining–swing state to possible rubber-stamp status? How dare they grant states that are not demographically reflective of America a priority position on the primary calendar? A position that [...]
Not yet seen on a bumper sticker: Nelson-Iorio 2014. That’s because it’s as preposterous as it is premature. It would mean, for example, that the 72-year-old Nelson likely would have to promise before the election that he would be a one-term, re-election politics-be-damned governor. And he’d probably have to dramatically disagree with those who say [...]
This may be a non-election year, but it’s never a non-speculation year in politics. Here are two prime examples involving prominent individuals with Tampa roots. Native son Frank Sanchez, the current U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade, could be in line for the top spot. Former Commerce Secretary John Bryson resigned last year. The [...]