Jim Rosica
Richard Corcoran, Speaker-designate of the Florida House, already is flexing his political muscles with a call-to-action email sent to supporters Monday.
The intransigence of the Florida Senate gave him no choice, he told FloridaPolitics.com, explaining that the House’s priorities are languishing in the upper chamber.
For example, a measure calling for term limits of 12 years for the state’s Supreme Court justices and appellate judges is ready for debate on the House floor, but a Senate companion still has not been heard.
Measures are “going nowhere” in the Senate, “so it’s clear that we will have to go directly to the people,” he said in a telephone interview. “They want government cleaned up; they want it to be more accountable.”
His email’s subject line is “Please Read This,” with a message signed by Corcoran, the Land O’ Lakes Republican set to be Speaker for the 2017 and 2018 sessions.
“Last year, we stopped the Obamacare expansion of Medicaid in Florida. We could not have done it without you. That is why we’re asking for your help again,” the email begins.
“We are launching a new campaign to clean up Florida’s government and push back against the growing power of the special interests. Only by putting the needs of the people over the desires of the powerful can we fix our broken healthcare system, give all children access to a quality education, and reform an imperfect judicial system. We cannot allow Tallahassee to be overtaken by corruption like Washington, D.C.
“We are ready to lead this revolt from the inside and to make this fight the mission of the Florida House of Representatives. But we can’t do it without you. Please raise your voice and help us spread the word about the need for real change in Tallahassee. Florida deserves a better government and her citizens deserve a better life. If we stand together, we can make that dream a reality.”
The email links to a YouTube video, with excerpts from Corcoran’s designation acceptance speech from September. He is now Appropriations chair, in charge of planning the House version of the state budget.
The video starts with a mention of his parents being from the “Greatest Generation,” the term popularized by journalist Tom Brokaw to describe those Americans who grew up in the Great Depression to go on to fight World War II.
“How do you honor the legacy of all those people who sacrificed so much so that we have this unique opportunity to serve?” he asks. “We honor them by telling the truth.”
The video then summarizes his “platform” from that acceptance speech, focusing on ethics, judicial, education, and health care reforms.
“That is the truth,” he concludes. “We can choose to sacrifice our self-interests.”
The video – sponsored by Florida Roundtable, a Corcoran-controlled political committee – leads to a website: Florida Deserves Better. That’s where he highlights his major concerns.
Among other things, Corcoran, whose brother Michael is a prominent state lobbyist, has called for a ban on any state elected official from lobbying the legislative or executive branch for six years after leaving office.
With the 2016 Legislative Session set to end in less than a month, however, it’s unclear whether the “moral suasion” tactic will get House-favored bills through the Senate and to Gov. Rick Scott‘s desk.
