Posted on 03/22/2004 8:11:52 AM PST by a5478
Driven by the meddlesome right wing of the Republican Party, the Florida Legislature has almost talked its way out of a job.
Since Gov. Jeb Bush arrived in town six years ago promoting empty-building government and giving away fundamental government responsibilities to private companies, lawmakers devote themselves to variations of proselytizing.
This is offensive to those of us who devoutly believe that higher life forms don't need to be nagged, reminded or browbeaten.
But it also diminishes their jobs as as government's board of directors, policy-makers and problem solvers.
As a class, lawmakers in recent years seem to have lost the will to do meaningful or complex work.
They're not terribly interested in overseeing or improving even the streamlined functions of government: education, public safety, welfare of the most vulnerable. They turn it over to private vendors or they neglect it.
They haven't been notably good stewards of government revenues, borrowing from trust funds, rarely investing in programs that save money down the road and giving vast sums to private companies, such as the Scripps Research Institute, with almost no oversight of how that $310 million will be used. Though our tax code is over 50 years old, they dare not approach it for updating, though many thoughtful conservatives such as former Senate President John McKay say it's direly needed.
In the second week of the 2004 session, Florida's Capitol was scarcely stirring - except for ramming through some new educational institutions (Senate Majority Leader Dennis Jones' chiropractic school at FSU, also supported by Senate President Jim King; House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's Alzheimer's research center in Tampa).
These bills are passing without so much as a how-do-you-do to the new Board of Governors, which is constitutionally mandated to check out higher education programs for redundancy, waste and appropriateness to higher education's mission. Good for U.S. Sen. Bob Graham for mounting a legal challenge to the Legislature for bypassing the BOG in this regard.
In this parallel universe over at the junction of Apalachee Parkway and Monroe Street, lawmakers are spending the majority of their time moralizing about matters that are primarily emotional, spiritual and personal and which, by the way, require very little research or intellectual sweat.
They are occupying their time with matters that are none of government's business. For example:
• A ban on gay marriage.
• A mandate that American flags wave in all classrooms, from kindergarten through every post-doc class in public universities - and no money to implement such a law, by the way.
• Laws that make sure students are praying in school just in case they aren't moved to address God in their own way, on their own time.
• Abdicating public education responsibilities and dollars to parochial and private schools using public dollars in the form of vouchers.
• Involvement in an end-of-life decision regarding one Florida woman, Terri Schiavo, whose tragic medical case sets no particular precedent that rises to the level of public policy.
I doubt that many members of the Legislature ever dreamed when they were running for office that they could trivialize their own jobs the way they have. They do it by going along to get along and by not learning enough about the process to stand up to leadership, lobbyists, executive-branch pressures - or for themselves.
This is an election year and no doubt many lawmakers just wish to stay below the radar, not get into trouble and make no waves that might rock their re-election.
But I wonder, with so many problems in our state, so many areas of education, health insurance, child welfare, where we rank abysmally low among the states, what it will take for legislators to want to stand up and begin to make a difference.
If term limits do anything, you'd think they'd motivate officeholders to make the most of the time they have to make Florida a better place to live. Instead, they are just biding their time: talking the talk but not walking the walk.
A. They won't raise more taxes for the state bureaucrats to squander
B. They want to encourage private schools rather than pouring more tax money down the public school rathole.
C. They want, horrors, to help inculcate patriotism and awareness of our American heritage in FL's children by mandating flying of the grand old Stars and Stripes in FL public school classrooms.
D. They passed legislation to prevent helpless disabled people being murdered in their hospital beds on the orders of liberal pro-euthanasia judges.
E. In general, they steadfastly refuse to lower their trousers, bend over, and let the liberal south FL Democrats have their way with them.
I could go on down the list of her woes, but those are representative of her beefs with the GOP controlled FL government. If only she could resurrect the old "He Coon" Walkin Lawton he could put those uppity Republicans in their place, yesirree Bob.
I see, a 'thoughtful conservative' is one who wants to raise taxes. What's a 'compassionate consevative' again?
I hope that NW FL sees the light and secedes from the pregnant pig/monorail afficionados down south.
Maybe a break along the Franklin, Calhoun, Jackson, Liberty county lines is in order. Something about those names makes it seem almost prophetic...
As a class, lawmakers in recent years seem to have lost the will to do meaningful or complex work.
Sounds like good government to me! LOL What she probably means is that they see no need to cram more socialist legislation down the throats of the voters. Awww, let's all cry like spoiled children, shall we? LOL
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