Former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon often likes to say these days that “60 is the new 40,” but in American politics, 60 has become the 51 for quite some time now. By that I mean the two big votes in the U.S. Senate that “lost” last night — the Keystone XL pipeline (also known as the Save Mary Landrieu Act) bill and the vote to reform the National Security Agency’s surveillance program, both had strong majorities in their…
Hillsborough County Commissioners gathered on Tuesday for their “Investiture Ceremony,” where they swore in their newly elected members. With the exception of former School Board member Stacy White (in for Mark Sharpe), it is pretty much the same board that it has been since 2010. Sandy Murman was named the new chair, succeeding Sharpe, who was term-limited off the board earlier this month. The Davis Islands resident was elected in 2010 in the same seat held in previous years by Rose Ferlita…
A coalition of groups in Florida are preparing to try to get a constitutional amendment on the 2016 ballot in Florida that would restore the voting rights of most individuals with past felony convictions upon completion of their sentence. These groups include the ACLU of Florida, the League of Women Voters, Faith in Florida and the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. The proposed constitutional amendment would not apply to those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense. The state’s current policy regarding…
Pinellas County Republican David Jolly has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would repeal the individual mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act, which requires all Americans to have health care insurance or a pay a fine. Calling it the “Patient Freedom Act of 2014,” the bill would remove that provision, perhaps the most controversial aspect of President Obama’s signature domestic legislative achievement. “I believe the American people should be in control of their own health care decisions,…
In the wake of the Democratic Party of Florida’s shellacking at the polls two weeks ago, state Party Chair Allison Tant has convened a task force to find out where the party needs to go to be more competitive in the future. But the party’s Vice Chair, State and National Democratic Committeeman Alan Clendenin, says he hopes that doesn’t translate into the party becoming more moderate to respond to the party’s continuing struggles to win elections. “Our values…were something that…
Yesterday I opened up my copy of the New York Post (a guilty pleasure I indulge in about three times a week), where I was stunned to read on page 2 a story by Fred Dicker quoting New York Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox predicting that New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio — and not Hillary Rodham Clinton — will be the Democratic nominee for president in 2016. “It’s like Barack Obama; he was a brand-new freshman senator, and…
President Obama’s expected announcement on immigration that could shield up to five million people from deportation and provide work permits for many of them has inspired all sorts of indignation from conservatives and congressional Republicans. Washington Post syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer told Fox News’ Megan Kelly last week that Obama’s immigration order as described in media reports would be “an impeachable offense,” while House Speaker John Boehner has said that he would add the immigration issue to a lawsuit already pending regarding executive…