Phil Ammann
In November, Florida Republicans flipped six seats to gain a super-majority in the state House of Representatives, giving the chamber a veto-proof majority.
The Democratic trouncing was not only across Florida, but also nationally, evidenced in Bill Day’s latest. Day provides a glimpse of who is now running the show in Tallahassee, and — to a somewhat lesser extent — in Washington.
For the next two years, the already conservative House leans slightly further to the right.
November’s GOP wave brought the Sunshine State a two-thirds super-majority, similar to what they enjoyed in the 2010 and 2011 sessions.
In Washington, the Republican sweep, where the GOP now controls both the House and Senate, ensures continuing friction between Congress and the Democratic White House.
The new D.C. metrics will no doubt serve to check President Barack Obama‘s attempts to act on a broad range of issues, from immigration to regulations limiting carbon emissions in an effort to combat climate change.
If he is to address any of these matters, the president will likely act unilaterally without congressional approval.
Of course, Republicans will attempt to oppose him at every turn, evidenced by the most recent example: the move to block Loretta Lynch, Obama’s nominee for Attorney General.
“You don’t hold attorney general nominees hostage for other issues,” Obama told the Huffington Post this week. “This is our top law enforcement officer. Nobody denies that she’s well-qualified. We need to go ahead and get her done.”
As for immigration — another issue significant to Florida — Republican obstructionism over Obama’s attempts to keep families’ together guarantees it will infuse the 2016 presidential race. Then, Republicans might face an electoral pounding from Hispanics as well as the millions more who sympathize the plight of undocumented immigrants.
Nevertheless, the national political landscape is in two camps, for now: the White House and seemingly everyone else. In Tallahassee, with a GOP super-majority and a Republican governor, the lines are even blurrier.
