Rep. Jim Davis wants to fix the Republican problem in Tallahassee

By PHILIP GAILEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 15, 2001

U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, D-Tampa, dropped by last week to meet with the Times editorial board. He had a political itch, and we were happy to give him an opportunity to scratch it. This third-term congressman is seriously considering running for governor next year. He doesn't like what President George W. Bush and the Republican Congress are doing to the country, but he likes even less what Gov. Jeb Bush and this Republican Legislature are doing to Florida.

We started out talking about what was going on in Washington. He didn't say much he hadn't said before in his low-key way. The congressman spoke calmly and deliberatively about using the surplus to pay down the national debt, invest in education and protect Medicare and Social Security. He thinks President Bush's proposed $1.6-trillion tax cut is way too big and doesn't like the administration's direction on the environment and other domestic issues. But when the questions turned to Florida politics, Davis snapped to attention.

Suddenly, there was passion in his voice as he spoke of the atrocities being committed by the Florida Legislature, with either the support or acquiescence of Gov. Bush. He would never allow himself to use such language, but the gist of what he was saying was, "Damn these Republicans, they're trying to destroy everything I spent years in the Legislature trying to build." Their assaults on the independence of Florida's judiciary and their political takeover of higher education has him on the edge of outrage.

Davis believes Bush and the Republican Legislature have given Democrats some powerful issues for next year's elections, and the only question is whether the state's Democratic Party, which used to grow tall political timber, can find a candidate in the mold of Reubin Askew, Bob Graham or Lawton Chiles to awaken the voters to the damage the Republicans are doing to the state's future. Of the few names being mentioned at this point, Davis may be the best horse the Democrats can saddle up for the race. But even Davis would be an underdog. He understands that he lacks name recognition outside the Tampa Bay area and that Republicans will have the advantage of incumbency and big money. The word is out that Bob Graham, who shares Davis' anger over what's going on in Tallahassee, could be counted on to throw his political organization behind Davis, should he win the nomination.

Unlike some Democrats, Davis does not underestimate Jeb Bush. The governor may have suffered some political damage from the presidential election dispute in Florida last year, but Democrats will be making a big mistake if they try to make next year's election for governor a referendum on last year's election for president. That issue may energize the Democratic base -- labor unions, abortion rights activists and African-Americans -- but it won't win the election. Democrats need a gubernatorial candidate who can hold the party's base and at the same time appeal to a broader segment of the electorate on issues that resonate with independent and suburban voters, such issues as education and the environment.

Davis could be such a candidate. He is a political pragmatist, not an ideologue. On Capitol Hill, he is constantly looking for ways to compromise and build coalitions across party lines. He is too conservative for his party's House leadership and too liberal for conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats. He must wonder where he fits in. Although he generally supports organized labor, Davis is not afraid to break ranks. He is a free-trade advocate, who was only one of 29 House Democrats who voted to give the president fast-track authority to negotiate international trade agreements. And although he is generally left of center on social policy issues, Davis in 1997 was one of only two Florida Democrats to vote for a ban on partial-birth abortion.

Being a moderate on the minority side in a polarized House must be frustrating for a man who served eight years in the Florida House, the last two as majority leader, back when Democrats were in control of the governorship and the Legislature. Those days are not likely to return any time soon, if ever. Even if he could topple Bush from the governor's office, Davis would still have to contend with Republican majorities in the state House and Senate. Maybe he figures he could at least use his veto power and bully pulpit to prevent some of their worst excesses.

Davis insists he loves his job in Washington, and I'm sure he does. But I also sense Congress is not where he wants to spend the rest of his political career. From what I'm hearing, Davis' main hesitation about making the race is a family consideration. He has been told he would have to devote at least one full year to fundraising and campaigning, with little time left for his wife and two young sons. It won't be an easy decision for this devoted husband and father. Maybe there is a better Democrat for the job, but I haven't heard the name yet.

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