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Tired of soft talk, will Bush reach for big stick?
© St. Petersburg Times Sometimes a governor has to declare war on the Legislature. It's not easy, and the outcome is not certain. But Florida seems to be approaching the moment when the only way to finish a state budget and other important business is for Gov. Jeb Bush to take the proverbial 2-by-4 and smack lawmakers in the collective head. Actually, the governor might have to take a whack at only one person, Senate President John McKay, since he seems to be the biggest problem. McKay isn't seeking re-election, says he doesn't ever plan to run for anything again and doesn't really care how long it takes to get a budget or how bad his fellow Republicans look. Some think McKay wants something -- veto immunity for millions of dollars of projects in his district, a governor's appointment for a friend, things legislators brag about at home. Others suggest McKay wants revenge against House Speaker Tom Feeney and a governor he doesn't like. Bush and Feeney have political races to run this year and need to look like they are capable of running the state. McKay is going home to Bradenton. This is not a pretty picture, but nothing about this year's Legislature is pretty or even rational. We've had legislative leaders before who didn't think much of each other, but they rarely let it show so openly and they never let it keep the state from passing a budget. Some Democrats have publicly blamed the governor for a lack of leadership. So far the governor has done little to fire back at them. Perhaps he thinks it would look unseemly for a governor to openly criticize a Legislature controlled by his own party. But that little detail didn't stop Democrats who occupied the Governor's Mansion from criticizing Legislatures controlled by Democrats. Some governors, like Reubin Askew, waged war with lawmakers and won voter approval of measures lawmakers refused to pass. That's the way Askew finally got meaningful financial disclosure and other ethics laws on the books. Year after year, lawmakers refused to accept his recommendations. Askew used the voters to cram good government down their throats. Twice this year lawmakers have agreed on a rewrite of school laws. House and Senate conference committee members even signed copies of the agreement, but both times McKay kept the issue from a floor vote and adjourned without passing a bill. Feeney likes to say that his members can only dance with a partner and cannot get the Senate to dance. I suspect that much of what we are seeing is the result of term limits. Some lawmakers are leaving office this year with no plan to run again, a move that leaves them free to do almost anything. Others are moving on to seek higher office, mindful of the way they look, but few have been there long enough to develop respect for the reputation of the institution in which they serve. Bush's frustration with the Legislature boiled over Monday night at a dinner in Jacksonville. Observers said Bush was more intense than they've ever seen him in a conversation with Senate Majority Leader Jim King and GOP business leaders. It happened at the offices of the St. Joe Co., one of the state's biggest landowners, during a catered dinner. Bush said he doesn't understand why lawmakers are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. Some described the governor as angry. Others said he was "intense and frustrated." He left no doubt in anybody's mind that he wanted King and the others to help wrestle the thing to the ground. King says he's trying and insists the Senate wants to get things over with as much as anyone. Will it work? Perhaps. If not we could see a Republican governor taking a stick to a Republican legislature. What fun!
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Times columns today Lucy Morgan Sandra Thompson From the Times State news desk Lucy Morgan |
