Roughly 43 minutes after convening the special session of the Florida Legislature today, House Speaker Larry Cretul adjourned, spitting in the eye of Gov. Charlie Crist and pissing all over the chance to put a question before voters this year on banning oil drills in state waters.
From Sunshine State News:
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“The Florida Constitution authorizes the governor to call the Legislature into special session for any legislative purpose,” said Cretul. “When the call is issued, we are compelled to assemble.“But from the moment a quorum assembled here, the agenda in this House is and always will be set by its membership.
“The governor has no direct authority to propose constitutional amendments to voters. The governor has no veto power over proposed constitutional amendments. The fact remains that he has called us here at the last possible moment to consider a constitutional amendment for which he never proposed language and permitted far too little time for reflection and review. That is a terrible way to propose constitutional changes.”
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I was hoping Senate President Jeff Atwater would go ahead and follow through with a vote in his chamber because he has been such a champion in the fight against offshore drilling. Alas, no. Instead, he closed up the Senate and blamed both Crist and Cretul for putting politics ahead of state interests. And in the state capitol no less. Also, he is shocked, shocked!, that there is gambling at the Hard Rock.
At least he left the door open for coming back to Tallahassee to tackle this, suggesting a broader call by the governor could lead to a longer, perhaps even multi-day, session.
Via TBO:
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"I firmly believe there is much more meaningful work that can be done,'' he (Atwater) added. "It is quite likely we will find ourselves here again in the near future.''
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So what does this mean politically?
Clearly, there is little love among Florida GOP leaders for the recently independent governor. But Cretul is surely not so inept as to think this hurts Crist with voters. This furthers the narrative Crist is the true independent voice in the Senate race. In Charlie's world, Marco Rubio represents the wingnut fringe and Kendrick Meek doesn't exist. Sigh.
For Atwater, this gets him out of a political pinch short-term. He is running for CFO and enjoys being the anti-drilling Republican on the state ballot. By letting this break down into a process question, it avoids the risk of Atwater leading an unsuccessful charge to get a referendum on a drilling ban before voters. That said, he is now on record against discussing a drilling ban, and Democratic opponent Lorrane Ausley is on record in support. This, in many ways, is the opening she needs to take the high ground on an important statewide issue where Atwater has always enjoyed good standing.
This also opens up the door to criticism of lawmakers around the state that they place politics ahead of saving the state from the black doom in the Gulf of Mexico. Who sees the upside to this? Some inland lawmakers, who likely weren't at risk over drilling anyway, won't be badly hurt by a vote quashing a drilling debate, but a vote to end the session by coastal Republicans seems to me an easy thing for opponents to prey on. Of course, that assumes lawmakers have opponents in elections.
Sadly, this really shows how broken the Tallahassee political system remains. When there is no accountability for our leaders, then they will not react to crisis in a way the first benefits the voters. We have seen special sessions called to discuss property taxes and insurance rates, to discuss education reforms and other highly politicized topics. The argument a vote on oil isn't necessary right now, even as sludge creeps to our shores, is ludicrous when compared to previous calls.
But it is what it is. Now it is up to environmentally-minded voters in Florida to use this against opponents of clean beaches.
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