Byrd Drowning In His Own Hubris - "House Speaker Johnnie Byrd passionately tried this week to defend fundraising in the middle of an important special session on medical malpractice. He doesn't seem to understand how unseemly it looks for lawmakers to be debating the hottest issue of the year one minute and putting out their hands for contributions the next. Government shouldn't tell candidates what they can do, Byrd insists. It's enough to ban fundraising during the regular session, he says." See "Byrd should bone up on history, not fundraising".
Malpractice - "Facing a stalemate with the Senate on medical malpractice reform, Gov. Jeb Bush dropped his insistence on a $250,000 cap on damages Friday, saying he could support a $750,000 cap like one recently enacted in Texas. . . . Although the comment was the first time Bush had publicly mentioned a figure he could support other than the $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages, he disparaged the Senate plan, which includes a $1.5 million tiered cap, saying it 'will not solve the crisis at hand.' Meanwhile, House and Senate leaders, who remain vastly apart on the question of caps and other issues, have agreed to hire an insurance actuary from out of state to evaluate their proposals rather than continuing to rely on data from insurance industry officials in Florida whose futures are at stake." See "Bush begrudgingly budges on malpractice cap".
If you can get past the headline, "Gov. Bush steps into role as malpractice negotiator" - after all, our "Jeb!", who we suspect missed the "Art of Compromise" class at Andover Prep, likely could not negotiate his way out of a wet paper bag - the article is worth a read.
Secret Malpractice Negotiations - "The uncertainty isn't surprising. Legislators are being asked to pass non-effective reforms in response to a manufactured crisis. With no firm factual ground to stand on, the House and Senate had little hope of ever reaching a balance. Florida has a time-tested method for resolving knotty issues like this one: Go underground."
"Talking in secret -- and in many cases, in direct violation of the state open-government laws -- lawmakers can cut deals that mollify the most powerful special interests involved. They plant and cultivate clandestine deals, then burst into the sunshine with a full-blown flower. It's only later -- after hurried hearings and a quick vote -- that the petals start to fall off and people realize what has really happened." See "Out in the open".
Ouch - "The House and Senate couldn't agree on malpractice reform this week, but insurers agreed that it would be a good idea to knife doctors in the back." See "Insurers betray doctor 'allies'".
As If We Didn't Already Have Enough Candidates - "Voters won't consider the race for U.S. Sen. Bob Graham's seat for more than a year. But the Legislature's decision to eliminate the state's runoff primary could inject a wrinkle into the campaign. . . . That could help single-issue candidates who have a small but dedicated following win their party's nomination, but experts say these are the type of candidates who often falter in the general election because they lack broad support." See "Legislators' elimination of runoff primaries could change Fla. politics.
When Will It Ever End? "Latest lawsuit against Janet Reno dismissed over Eli?n raid". Apparently it won't be ending anytime soon: "Larry Klayman, said it will re-file the lawsuit with more specific allegations about Reno's role in civil rights violations that occurred during the raid." Yes, that Larry Klayman, "[t]he suit was filed by the conservative government watchdog group Judicial Watch on behalf of Eli?n rescuer Donato Dalrymple and others who were at the home of the boy's Miami relatives the morning of the raid. "