After major (even not so major) news goes through the transom these days, most political reporters and bloggers in Florida get, well, if not flooded, at least a fair number of e-mails in their boxes from candidates opining on various issues.
But strangely, after a California Judge ruled yesterday that the Golden State's ban on same sex marriage was unconstitutional, we heard ……..nothing from any of the Democrats running statewide this month.
Nothing from Jeff Greene, Kendrick Meek, Dan Gelber or Dave Aronberg. I don't know what that means, but I can guess: like other establishment Dems (none bigger than President Obama), they probably say they're still opposed to same sex marriage. That's Alex Sink's position, of course, and in 2008 Floridians with Amendment Two pretty convincingly went to the polls and said they wanted a ban on such unions (the measure won with 62% of the vote).
But the times, they are 'changin' pretty quickly when it comes to this issue. I'm sure it would still lose at the polls in Florida, so in that respect it's the safe, default position by lawmakers. But more and more people are changing their minds on the issue. But when it comes to gays and Florida, where of course the Sunshine State stands along in banning gay adoptions, don't expect any of your "progressive" leaders to jump out in front on this issue – not until they're elected at least.
In other news,
Incoming Florida state Senate President Mike Haridopolos, like most of his Republican brethren, isn't a fan of the new federal health care bill passed by Congress earlier this year. Those and other thoughts will be shared by the legislator from Melbourne and invited guests on his Medicaid Tour later today in Tampa.
Big news in local public radio yesterday, with the announcement that after holding out with their classical music format, Tampa's NPR affiliate WUSF 89.7, is finally going the way of most of its network and devoting itself during the weekday hours to full on news and information programming, after purchasing a Sarasota station that they put their classical musical programming on.
And with reports of some homeless people in St. Pete moving up to Hillsborough to sell newspapers at intersections after that city passed an ordinance forbidding such actions, County Commissioners are talking of now aping St.Pete's law.
And we have a quick hit on the latest on the Jeff Greene Cuba trip from 2007 that is dogging the Senate candidate.
the report here.
This article appears in Aug 5-11, 2010.