Daniel TilsonFlorida earned its status as America’s favorite political punchline. During the past 15-20 years our electoral systems, public policy formation, lawmaking and regulatory processes all fell under the control of hardcore conservative Republicans. Their dogged pursuit, preservation and expansion of political power has been so successful that the very notion of Florida still being a multiparty democracy in 2015…is a bad joke.
As we’ve ascended to become the most pivotal of all politically divided swing states on the national landscape, too many of us have also descended into the depths of being so civically disengaged and cynical about our government that we willingly play “straight men.”
Jon Stewart put it this way: “As you know, Florida is the lynchpin to the presidency. Florida – home of the wet T-shirt contest.”
Bumper stickers include:
FLORIDA: “Don’t blame me, my vote didn’t count.”
And…
FLORIDA: “If you think we can’t vote, wait till you see us drive.”
From comedy stars to common folk, people point at us and make mocking note of ideologically radical Republican overreaches and hyper-partisan power plays. But here at home there seems little widespread recognition of just how far out of line things really are, little irritation at being the laughingstock of American politics.
It started with the 2000 presidential election, the Gore v. Bush debacle. Punch-card ballots made many a gray-haired head spin in Palm Beach County and turned the phrase “hanging chads” into an infamous artifact in our political lexicon. After 36 days, 47 lawsuits, 1033 Secretary of State Katherine Harris makeup malfunctions, and countless other crazy sideshows, the United States Supreme Court called off a ballot recount and handed the presidency to George W. Bush.
Jay Leno, then-host of The Tonight Show, chided:
“You know, it shows how old I am. I can remember the good old days when the president picked the Supreme Court justices instead of the other way around.”
But instead of getting fed up being the butt of jokes, Florida’s vast, silent, nonvoting majority fell into a still-in-progress stupor.
Witness the 2010 election of Rick Scott by 15 percent of Floridians. Then came the Republican Party of Florida voter suppression conspiracy that sought to derail President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection, but instead became a national embarrassment. Then came Scott’s reelection, his banning of climate change terminology, his FDLE scandal, his Medicaid flip-flop…
You see, in the age of Gov. Scott, it’s not wet T-shirt contests or Spring Break silliness that makes people nationwide laugh nervously and shake their heads with worry. It’s the guns you’re welcome to strap over or conceal under those T-shirts or whatever else you’re wearing. And it’s the “Stand Your Ground” right you have to use your gun to shoot folks you find threatening…or, um, fire a warning shot.
It’s the proven unwillingness of elected officials to organize Florida into dispassionately drawn legislative districts that fairly and accurately represent the presence of hundreds of thousands more registered Democrats than Republicans. And it’s the proven willingness of elected officials to keep proactively planning and implementing targeted voter disenfranchisement and suppression strategies.
It’s the eagerness to chip and chop away at women’s reproductive rights, while failing to establish and protect equal rights under the law for people of color, poor people, workers and LGBT citizens.
By now, the rest of America must be wondering if prolonged exposure to sunshine and warmth has rendered Florida unable to recognize, confront and rein in a government gone wild.
We shall see.
Daniel Tilson has a Boca Raton-based communications firm called Full Cup Media, specializing in online video and written content for non-profits, political candidates and organizations, and small businesses. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
