GOP surge gives both parties a lot to relearn

MORGAN

By LUCY MORGAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 6, 2001

Florida got a little more Republican this week. And contrary to what many Democrats feared, the world didn't end.

It has been funny to watch state government shift from the hands of Democrats to Republicans. The shift has occurred despite the fact that Democrat voters still outnumber Republicans 3.6-million to 3.3-million.

Democrats are only beginning to learn how to be a minority, and the Republicans are still learning how to govern. Both situations give job security to those of us who watch it and write.

This week the state Cabinet became almost all Republican for the first time since Reconstruction. It appears that Attorney General Bob Butterworth could soon be the only Democrat left.

The only other Democrat, Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford, plans to leave to become head of the Florida Citrus Commission.

That is the opposite of what occurred in 1987 when Jim Smith, a Democrat who switched parties after losing the 1986 Democratic nomination for governor, was appointed secretary of state to replace George Firestone, who resigned.

"I was a trend setter," Smith noted after watching Education Commissioner Charlie Crist and Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher sworn into office.

Smith went on to run for the job as a Republican and was joined by Gallagher after he won the insurance commission race in 1988, but the GOP didn't gain a majority vote until Gov. Jeb Bush was elected in 1998.

The state Senate went into the GOP tent after spending two years in a 20-20 deadlock. It began with a hilarious day of deadlocked voting over who would become president.

They decided to give 1993 to Republican Ander Crenshaw and 1994 to Democrat Pat Thomas. Now the Senate has 25 Republicans and 15 Democrats.

After years of alliances between Democrats and Republicans, the Senate had less trouble shifting its party gears than anyone else. They used to join forces from time to time to pick a more conservative leader than the majority would have chosen.

The House shifted to the GOP in 1996 and has steadily grown more Republican each year. Now there are 77 Republicans and 43 Democrats.

The House had a lot of trouble accepting change. Democrats had already moved into the speaker's office when the GOP gained a majority in 1996. It was hard to move out and learn how to be a minority after so many years of being in charge.

This is the first time since Reconstruction that both houses of the Legislature, the Cabinet and the governor have all been dominated by the GOP and the first time since Reconstruction that Democrats have had so little power.

One of the funniest moments this week came as Gov. Jeb Bush introduced the judges to swear in Crist and Gallagher. Supreme Court Chief Justice Charlie Wells and Leon Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls got as much applause as the politicians did.

Crist invited Sauls, the judge who ruled against Gore after an internationally televised trial, to do the honors. Gallagher invited Wells, author of a strong dissent when his own court supported Gore.

The swearing in honors are handled by Supreme Court justices, but any old judge can do it.

After a week or so of television exposure, Sauls is now better known than most of the politicians in Tallahassee.

Democrats are not dead. They are showing more signs of life than ever. The events of the past year and the prolonged unpleasantness over the presidential election have energized them.

For Republicans, the governor's spot has been the most elusive. Two governors, Claude Kirk and Bob Martinez, served a single term and were tossed by Democrats who stayed around for two terms.

It will be interesting to see if Bush can change things in 2002.

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