Daniel Tilson: It’s up to Democrats to redefine 2014 legislative session

One thing you can say as Florida’s 2014 legislative session concludes is that Democratic candidates have a lot to run for, and against, in this year’s mid-term election races.

For the umpteenth year in a row, the Republican Party of Florida had dominant control over state lawmaking, including the budget process. Large majorities in the Florida House and Senate let them dictate which issues would be addressed, or not, and which laws would be up for debate and possible passage, or not.

Economic reforms to ease the tax burden on Florida’s working families, retirees and middle class weren’t considered.

Common sense, populist moves like closing corporate tax hideouts overseas and loopholes at home weren’t even considered, even though the billions generated by such moves could fund middle-class property tax cuts and increase funding for public schools.

In fact, protecting corporate welfare and handing out still more was once again the GOP’s unspoken economic priority in 2014 — even as they publicly heralded a commitment to “middle class tax relief.”

In the coming months, GOP candidates from Rick Scott on down will keep congratulating themselves for “putting your money back in your pocket,” thanks to a $25-per-person auto fee reduction, and new sales tax holidays. That’s what they’re calling a “tax cut.”

We’ll also hear Republican candidates incessantly taking campaign trail credit for “putting education first” in 2014.

That might have been the case, if a new commitment to public school funding, innovation and excellence had actually been their top priority.

It wasn’t.

A quick scan of legislative news coverage in recent months shows the GOP’s education priority has been to force more tax dollars out of public schools, and into privately managed, for-profit charters and religious schools.

In addition to attempted bamboozling of voters about their education and tax priorities, Republican candidates will refuse to mention, much less be held accountable for, two tragic 2014 failures.

The first is ongoing rejection of $50 billion in federal funding available to insure almost 800,000 working poor Floridians.

Rather than be held accountable for blocking what multiple studies show would be lifesaving, taxpayer-dollar-saving, job-creating, eminently sound public policy; Gov. Scott and other GOP candidates will instead crisscross the state criticizing Obamacare, calling for its repeal.

They’ll keep attacking, without offering any realistic alternative — even after the Affordable Care Act has eased Florida’s health-care crisis by insuring almost a million residents since October.

When they’re not busy attacking Obamacare, they’ll be criticizing a “culture of dependency.” They’ll call for more “personal responsibility,” and “opportunity.” But they won’t take responsibility for their own unwillingness to provide more opportunities.

There’s no better example of how today’s Republican Party of Florida prioritizes the perpetuation of economic unfairness and inequality than its ongoing refusal to raise the state’s minimum wage.

Once again, studies show this would promote the “personal responsibility” they purport to prioritize, diminish “dependency” on taxpayer-funded public assistance, and provide a big overall economic boost.

But GOP candidates will label minimum wage hikes and all worker-friendly initiatives as threats to small business “job creators,” rather than crimps on profit margins for giant businesses like Disney and Darden Restaurants, which contribute so heavily to their campaign committees.

The takeaway there, and from the entire 2014 legislative session, is clear. Republican legislators are convinced they can avoid being held accountable for their profound policy failures and the damaging fallout resulting from them.

It’s up to Democratic candidates to prove them wrong, by connecting the dots for voters and bringing “The Big Picture” into sharper focus.

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.