TAMPA - Think of the expression on a foreign diplomat's face as he waits several moments for a question to be translated. That's roughly the blinking incomprehension people display when a reporter asks them their opinion of the Legislature.
(Blank stare)
The Florida Legislature.
( )
The session begins March 2.
"To tell you the truth I don't follow politics locally as much as you might think," says Jim Cunningham, a retired Tampa firefighter, who at that moment is perusing the political science section of a Borders bookstore near Kennedy Boulevard. "I'm more interested in what we're doing globally as an imperial power."
No doubt an important issue, and one that's likely to play a role in the November presidential election. But the neoconservative agenda of the Bush White House is probably not going to have as much immediate impact on Floridians as the increase in telephone rates the Legislature rammed through last session.
So what about those rate hikes?
"Such a nonissue," says Scott Scherschel, 46, as he emerges from a treadmill workout in South Tampa. "Gay rights, human rights generally. Getting rid of George W. Bush. Those are my pet issues. State politics is a real gray area."
In Plant City, home district of Rep. Johnnie Byrd, speaker of the House, the sentiments are nearly as bland.
"What I really care about is country of origin labeling," said Brett Bon, a 37-year-old strawberry farmer from Wimauma, as he waited to be seated at Fred's Market Restaurant. "Other countries don't have to abide by the same rules as we do. (Labeling) gives buyers a choice."
That comes under federal jurisdiction, doesn't it?
"Yes."
How about a more local issue? How's Rep. Byrd doing?
"Johnnie's doing a good job," Bon said. "I think he tries to represent the values of this community - less government, family values."
Even the e-mail legislators have been receiving lately is generally respectful, if a little boring.
"I urge you to oppose SB 626," wrote Charles Hauser of Orlando. "This bill would allow lesser trained anesthesia assistants to administer anesthesia in Florida . . . Would you want someone to administer anesthesia to you who had only 2-3 years of training?"
Humberto Sanchez of Cyber Citizens for Justice wanted to let Speaker Byrd know that he was "astonished to read that (Gov. Bush) is suggesting to take $6,000,000 from the Condo Trust Funds to place them in the General Funds."
So there you have it, the needle of public opinion is twitching somewhere over "Monumental Indifference" with occasional fluctuations into "Tepid Approval" and "Mounting Concern."
It's not like the public isn't capable of strong opinions. We inundated legislators with calls and e-mails last fall until they passed a law to reinsert Terry Schiavo's feeding tube. Turns out 65 percent of Floridians disagree with the law, but legislators didn't ask those people what they thought.
We weren't too happy last May either. Remember when the Legislature failed to pass a budget, the one thing it is constitutionally mandated to do? Remember how lawmakers found time to delay the Everglades cleanup until 2013? But they couldn't get together on the pressing issues of medical malpractice insurance and workers' compensation?
Sensing widespread outrage, this paper and two others commissioned a phone survey.
Fifty-eight percent of the people surveyed disapproved of the job the Legislature did, while 16 percent approved. And they were all lobbyists for telecommunications companies. (No, that's not fair. All those lobbyists were out celebrating and couldn't be reached.)
The story we ran with the survey said, "the pollsters could not recall another survey that gave a political body such low marks."
"It is the worst legislative report card I've ever seen in 20 years of polling," said pollster Rob Schroth.
Like fans of a perennial basement dweller attending the first game of spring training, Florida voters may be harboring a temporary delusion that the new session will be a triumph of high-minded bipartisanship, erasing the humiliation of last year.
Stephen C. Craig, professor of political science at the University of Florida, would not be surprised to hear public opinion was generally better now than last spring.
"But," he adds, that's "subject to fluctuation depending on developments in Tallahassee."
In other words, give them time to do something and they'll play to form.
