By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published Sunday, April 7, 2013

A moose is an animal with horns on the front of its head and a hunting-lodge wall on its back. So goes an old laugh line.

These days, Charlie Crist is the moose of Florida politics. He appears to be a threat for sure, though he is not threatening at all once you turn on the lights and see the hunting-lodge wall on his back.

Make no mistake, Crist once was a real threat. Then Republicans showed him the door following the Jim Greer fiasco, and after his multiple flip-flops on lifelong conservative positions, not to mention the infamous hug.

Today, Crist and his smiling face, with his perfectly coiffed silver hair, glows on billboards for ubiquitous trial lawyer John Morgan. Crist now works for Morgan’s law firm. His mug frequently replaces Morgan’s on TV, allowing Crist to maintain a high profile as he pitches being (more…)

Young State Representative Grant embroiled in another “grant” controversy (pardon the shameless puns)

By Chris Ingram

Youthful, and woefully inexperienced should have been enough to cause voters to pause when young Jamie Grant felt he was the best man for the job of state representative from Tampa. But voters are easily fooled — at least once.

However, the fact that before he even was elected he had questionable judgment and what looked like sweat-heart deals should have given them a clue that this skunk stinks. Unfortunately they didn’t, and Grant is now in the state legislature in Tallahassee — that bastion of ethics and good judgment of people who represent us.

For a little background on Grant, read what I wrote about him on October 13, 2010: (more…)

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The fact that Jim Greer pleaded guilty Monday to grand theft and money laundering (a fraud charge was dropped), has the Republican Party of Florida and many current and former elected Republicans, as well as former Gov. Charlie Crist (who is now a Democrat) breathing a sigh of relief.

Whether those officials had anything to worry about or not, we may never know. But they are doubtlessly happy that Greer’s trial — which was bound to have a circus-like atmosphere — will not take place. Had the trial occurred, Greer — the former party chairman whose oversized frame competed with his oversized ego — had promised lots of dirt on a who’s who of Florida politics, including Crist, former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, former Republican Party of Florida Chairman John Thrasher, former Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon, former Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos and House Speaker Will Weatherford.

Photo: Jim Greer cuts up his RPOF Amex. card.

The subject matter during the trial was certain to include Greer’s claims that party leaders were aware of (more…)

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published Tuesday, February 5, 2013

If Charles Manson showed up at your door and offered you a free box of Girl Scout cookies, would it make you forget about his evil ways?

If you were a public school teacher who hasn’t had a pay raise in years, and Gov. Rick Scott offered you a $2,500 pay raise (merit pay be damned), would it make you forget that he cut  more than a billion dollars in the state’s education budget his first year in office and indirectly cut your take-home pay by 3 percent?

If you were a member of the Florida Legislature who sees himself as a team-playing, collaborative kind of guy who likes to plan spending and budgets, and things like pay raises for teachers, would it bother you that you learned of the governor’s $2,500 pay-raise-for-teachers plan by reading about it in the paper?

If you were a police officer or firefighter and learned that if you were to become permanently disabled on the job, you wouldn’t receive a dime in pension disability payments under proposed changes to the GOP’s pension reform plan, would you respond to a burglary  or fire at Scott’s mansion in Naples?

If you were a dog and Scott adopted you, would you (more…)

Chris Ingram interviewed by Dan Maduri on AM 820 Tampa

Topics: Jim Greer trial, Rick Scott’s reelection, Charlie Crist and what’s wrong with the GOP

Click here to listen.

Photo: Dan Maduri

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published Saturday, December 28, 2012

The state of Florida recently “forgave” $142.2 million in taxes, fines and overpaid benefits for the third year in a row. The previous two years, the state wrote off $110.5 million and $109 million. I wasn’t ever really good at math, but I can add 142, plus 110, plus 109 and realize that’s more than $350 million the state failed to collect.

What I lack in math skills, I make up for in knowing how government works. It works like this: Every time the state fails to collect money it is owed, somebody else has to make up the difference.

That’s you and me, folks. It works out to be about 19 bucks a person for every resident of the state — that is, if the state could collect it.

To make matters worse, (more…)

Bay News 9′s campaign 2012 coverage starts tonight with a live election coverage beginning tonight at 5:00 p.m. on channel 1009 HD/9SD on Brighthouse Networks in the Tampa media market. Join Al Ruchel, Ana Cruz and me with the rest of the Bay News 9 team for complete “Florida Decides” coverage of local and national elections.

By Chris Ingram

With apologies to early voters, Irreverent View’s annual general election ballot suggestions are indicated below. If you haven’t already voted, please do so today. This is going to be a close election and your vote counts.

For president of the United States, Irreverent View strongly recommends Mitt Romney. If you need to know why, or haven’t already made up your mind on this one, you need your head examined by a licensed medical professional. I predict Romney will win Florida by three percent and will also win the presidency with significantly more popular votes than Obama, and a squeaker in the Electoral College.

Photo: Mitt Romney meets with Adam Putnam and Jeb Bush in Tampa. Photo courtesy of Todd Marks.

For U.S. Senate from Florida, Irreverent View very reluctantly recommends Connie Mack IV. This guy is about the most ridiculous, unqualified, and unaccomplished candidate the Republican party in Florida has nominated since Mike Haridopolos became president of the Florida Senate. So why am I recommending him? (more…)

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published Saturday, October 20, 2012

In 1968, Florida adopted a new constitution that provided a mechanism to amend the state’s constitution through ballot initiative. The new right was first exercised in 1976, when the “Sunshine Amendment” — which related to ethics in government and financial disclosure for elected officials — was approved.

Since then, there have been 124 proposed constitutional amendments for voters to consider. Of those, 54 percent have been put on the ballot by the state Legislature, 26 percent by citizens and 19 percent by the Constitutional Review Commission or the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Committee.

Florida voters have voted on everything from gambling, term limits, land use, taxes, gay marriage, smoking in public, and pregnant pigs. I kid you not — there is an amendment in the Flori-duh constitution that guarantees the rights of pregnant pigs. The constitution! And pigs! You can’t make up nonsense like this.

Since 1976, (more…)

By Chris Ingram

The Tampa Tribune

Published Saturday, September 29, 2012

Political Satire

At his beachfront mansion in Naples, the doorbell rings as Gov. Rick Scott anxiously awaits the arrival of his top political adviser. A servant opens the door as Scott stands in the foyer.

Scott: You’re seven minutes late. You’ve got to learn to be on time. Let’s go down to the basement and plan my re-election strategy.

Adviser: Your house on the beach has a basement?

Scott: Bunker, really. It’s where I keep all my firearms in preparation for civil unrest, and it’s where I have secret cabinet meetings. We had to dig up a bunch of sea turtle nests in the middle of the night before the enviro whackos realized they were there, or I would’ve never gotten the permits to build this place.

Adviser: Really?

Scott: Yes. Now forget about that. How, uh, am I, uh, going to get re-elected?

Adviser: The easy answer is: (more…)