Zealots in the House

Sometimes I really wonder if there should be a Florida House. Usually, those moments are brought on by the passage of such bills as the recent abortion restrictions which got passed out of the chamber.

Of course, it is no surprise these bills passed, considering the fact the onerous ultrasound bill was thrown at Charlie Crist last year purely out of the potential to politically embarrass the governor for using common sense in the wielding of his veto pen.

Politicians in Tallahassee are raising the rhetoric on the bill, with even a few pro-life Democrats citing the 10 commandments as a good arguing for legislating the morality of women in Florida. (Thank you, Daphne Campbell, for not only breaking ranks but just spitting on the entire principle of church-state separation as you voted in support of this disgusting attack on a woman's right to choose.)

But while I am disgusted, I am not surprised. The Florida House, made up of members representing relatively small districts that seem perfectly shaped to protect incumbents in nearly every part of this state. The chamber has been a bastion of extremism for as long as anyone can remember. Even when Democrats controlled the chamber, it ran to the fringes on the left compared to the deliberative state Senate.

If anything makes this House something to fear with more caution than normal, it is that we have a governor as crazy as the looniest of members. He practically promised to challenge Roe v. Wade on the trail in his quest to buy the governor's mansion.

And so we are left with this nonsensical legislation bearing a stronger-than-usual possibility of becoming actual statute.

Many people have suggested the House, elected every two years, better reflects the current attitudes of the state as a whole. I would say the Florida House has never done that and always gets dominated by extremists, and right now has a chance to ram legislation written by zealots and make Florida live under draconian laws.

The only bright side is that the extraordinary national embarrassment being delivered to the Sunshine State by the Scott administration and his far-right chronies will inspire a response from voters in 2012.

Sadly, that seems a very slim prospect.

Abortion, Politics and Charlie Crist

The look-at-your-baby-before-you-kill-it bill was vetoed today by Gov. Charlie Crist, another clear move to the left by the newly independent Senate candidate. Not coincidentally, the Republican Party of Florida released an advertisement this morning which rakes Charlie over the coals for 12 years of shifting views on abortion. And once again, all of Florida politics is centered momentarily on the principles of Florida's most principally-challenged leader.

Pro-choice groups, of course, are throwing a party, but I think this was an extremely empty gesture to the left. This entire abortion bill was a terrible attempt by the Florida Legislature to chip at Crist's right-wing support, and is going to blow up in their face. This bill would never have been passed if not for Crist's flee from the party and the desire of Republican lawmakers to stick it to the usurped ruler.

A pity, because the RPOF really nails Crist in an accurate and focused way. Watch below:

I was genuinely surprised to realize Crist called himself pro-choice during the Senate race against Bob Graham. I recalled his platform at the time as pretty right-wing, but issues like vouchers, tax cuts and tort reform were the topics of the day. That campaign was always hopeless, and had no purpose beyond expanding Crist's name recognition statewide. It is delightful to see his most progressive views of that campaign cycle come to bite him.

Unfortunately, this whole affair will likely boost Crist's support instead of erode it. Those right-wingers who hate Crist for vetoing this bill would never have supported him anyway. They were already in Camp Rubio before Crist had his April hissy-fit, and if not, were certainly going to support the Republican nominee once Crist left the primary. Perhaps lawmakers were blinded by spite, but it was obvious to most observers that passing a vicious anti-abortion bill, which went so far as to put financial onus on the mother for a pre-procedure ultrasound, would only give Crist a free chance to appeal to moderate and liberal voters. And by being so rabidly anti-mother, the bill lets Crist hide behind a "personally pro-life" shield while waving the sword of veto.

The RPOF ad, though, seems to recognize this situation better than Larry Cretul. Check the last line: "Can you trust he won't change again?" That is a message to pro-choice voters, not to the Republican base. I hope we hear it loud and clear.