The Fun Never Ends
The Pensacola News Journal has a couple of Florida political stories that will really annoy Republicans: Gov. Crist calls special session for oil drilling ban this month
Rubio supporters in the House and Senate have blasted Crist for what they see as political grandstanding on the issue. They note that Florida law already prohibits offshore drilling in state waters and that a special session will cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars a day.
Crist denied that he is playing politics.
He noted that speaker-designate Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, and Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, nearly passed legislation repealing the offshore drilling ban in 2009, with the help of powerful and anonymous industry backers.
“Politics has nothing to do with this,” Crist said. “This has everything to do with doing what’s right for a place that I love. I love Florida and I know it’s already barred statutorily but I also know that just a year ago they tried to change that statute and drill holes three miles off the coast of Florida and that’s why it’s the will of the people that should be heard on this.”
Charlie, it wasn’t just a year ago, it was also this Spring, and they didn’t pull the bill to open the coast to drilling until after the Well from Hell blew up. They tried to sneak it in without debate because it was backed by the Republican leadership in the legislature.
This is good news: Judge: Lawmakers’ redistricting amendment can’t go on ballot.
A citizens’ group has two amendments, 5 & 6, on the November ballot that will change the way the state does redistricting. For some reason they believe that districts should be compact and all parts contiguous, rather that the current flights of fancy that have a tendency to come out of the legislature.
To avoid these restrictions the legislature passed amendment 7 for the ballot which was designed to negate everything in amendments 5 & 6. Alas, their intent was a bit too obvious for this judge to buy. They will appeal, but the forces of good won the first round.
2 comments
Hmph. Do you have any districts that run a hundred miles or more along a highway between cities? You can’t even enter the absurd-districting contest unless you have those. We do, or did. Show us your districts that are 50 yards wide; then we’ll talk about gerry-redistricting.
You mean like Florida-18 from Miami to Key West along US-1, with a few islands in bays thrown in. I posted on Florida-20 with an official map. I laugh at your 50 yards and raise the three center lanes of roads to connect two pieces of a district – yes, we have roads that are in three Congressional districts.