Ben Kirby - page 7

In late September of 2008, in the heat of the general campaign for President of the United States, Republican nominee John McCain did the unthinkable: he floated the idea of suspending the campaign in the midst of the global economic meltdown. This was just days after global financial institution Lehman Brothers collapsed.  Obama didn’t play the game. He said at the time, “It’s my belief that this is exactly the time that the American people need to hear from the person who…

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About a month ago, some interesting poll results were posted here, the subject of which was Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. The polling was a sort of good news/bad news scenario for the mayor.  Buckhorn all but laps all of the possible challengers tested against him, including Rose Ferlita, whom Buckhorn defeated in 2011 to win the Mayor’s Office. Against Ferlita, Buckhorn is favored 62 – 20 percent; against David Straz, Buckhorn leads 64 – 14 percent; against Jan Platt it’s…

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In the run-up to New York City’s mayoral primary, there was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment of Clinton nostalgia that comes around everyone once and again. It peaked just before un-classy Anthony Weiner finished dead last in that race. The buzz was around his very classy wife, Huma Abedin. Ms. Abedin was a long-time aide to Hillary Clinton — from the time Mrs. Clinton was First Lady, through her Senate tenure, and then as Secretary of State. Typically, this nostalgia affects those of us who either…

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Here’s a campaign tip: you know you’re the front-runner when the headline fails to mention your opponent. If there is any truth to this, the campaign team at the Kriseman for Mayor headquarters must be elated. Today, the headline over the Adam Smith article at the Tampa Bay Times says: “Kriseman needs a detailed vision to sell”. Here’s another tip: when the press criticizes you for not being “detailed” enough, they are simply acting out on a need to criticize…

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House Republicans narrowly passed severe cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP — also called “food stamps”. The plan slashes close to $40 billion in funding for SNAP and related programs over the course of the next decade, shifting much of the costs of the federal program to states. Politically, this is being hailed as a “victory” for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. This is the fruition of his strategy, hatched this summer, effectively split the farm bill into two parts: one…

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Washington, D.C. is reeling from another tragic mass shooting in America, this time in the heart of D.C. itself, in Southeast, at the U.S. Navy Yard, home to the Chief of Naval Operations. It seems likely that the political class will, instead of pursue vigorous gun control legislation as one might reasonably expect, distract themselves with a possible government shutdown. The horrific shooting — and the unforgivable lack of political will to do anything to prevent the next shooting — is a very…

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Just two days after this blog reported St. Petersburg mayoral challenger Rick Kriseman up ten points over incumbent Bill Foster, the campaign reports that Kriseman‘s fundraising haul for the first reporting period after the runoff is over $50,000. The former city councilman and state representative raised $59,004, bringing his cash on hand in the run-off election to $60,487.   “Once again, I am humbled by the outpouring of support for my campaign for mayor of St. Petersburg,” said Kriseman. “This…

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