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Butterworth's surprising step down doesn't mean that he's out
© St. Petersburg Times Bob Butterworth, our state attorney general, certainly could have become a justice of the Florida Supreme Court, if only he had asked the last Democratic governor to appoint him. Or, Butterworth probably could have been a federal judge, with a lifetime job, if he had asked the last Democratic president to nominate him. He had a reasonable chance of becoming governor of Florida, if he had chosen to run. This year, leaving his old job because of term limits, Butterworth might have been a strong candidate for another statewide office, such as the new post of chief financial officer. But, no. Butterworth chose none of those things. Typically inscrutable, at the last minute heannounced he would run for . . . The state Senate. The Senate! Butterworth seeks to demote himself from an executive post, elected statewide, to being one of 40 senators, elected from a local district covering parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties. Not only that, but he would be a Democrat in a chamber dominated by Republicans. He would be doomed to sit in the back row, at least figuratively. Even for some Democrats, being in the minority party in the Senate is not so bad. The place can be fairly bipartisan. Some Democrats have committee posts of influence and the friendly ears of their collegial Republican colleagues. But remember that Butterworth was Al Gore's state campaign chairman who led the Democrats' side of the battle in the mess following the 2000 election. Republicans accused him of abusing his state authority. He is to Republicans what Secretary of State Katherine Harris is to Democrats. Here's your new office, senator. Sorry about the flooding. Just turn on this bilge pump every few hours. It would be quite a transition, going from the top executive posts in government -- with law enforcement powers, at that -- to being one of 40 members of a legislative body. Even Butterworth's old job as sheriff of Broward County was more autonomous. Heck, he wouldn't even have subpoena power. He wouldn't be able to threaten anybody with an antitrust lawsuit. What fun is that? Yet if anybody can make good use of such an unusual career turn, it's Butterworth. Who says that a former governor or Cabinet member wouldn't make a good legislator? The way it usually works, legislators run for executive office -- and we complain about their lack of experience in running anything. Here, we have a deeply experienced executive who wants to go to the legislative branch. The all-time model for that sort of thing is John Quincy Adams, the sixth U.S. president. He was thrown out of the White House after one term, and went home to Massachusetts -- only to be elected to Congress two years later. John Quincy was a so-so president, but he was a great ex-president. He served the last 18 years of his life in the House of Representatives, fighting a heroic fight against slavery. One of his greatest triumphs came after an eight-year fight against a "gag rule" that had been rammed through by Southern congressmen, automatically tabling any anti-slavery measure. Adams finally got the rule repealed. They called him "Old Man Eloquent." Butterworth is only 59. If he wants to stay in public service, the Senate is as good a place as any. You could make the case that the Democrats have a pretty thin farm team these days. They can use all the talent they can get. Under term limits, he could serve eight years in the Senate, plenty of time to have an impact as a warhorse of the loyal Democratic opposition. Who knows? By the time of the 2006 governor's race he'll still be only 63, maybe stronger than ever. It will be just the time for him to announce he's running for dog catcher. -- You can reach Howard Troxler at (727) 893-8505 or at troxler@sptimes.com.
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Times columns today Howard Troxler Gary Shelton Sara Fritz From the Times Metro desk |
