The People’s Business

People who don’t live here don’t understand why I would fly a modified storm warning flag whenever the lege is in session – I know the path of destruction they can visit on the state while supposedly doing “The People’s Business”.

The Republicans control everything, but that doesn’t mean they will get anything done.

From the Miami Herald‘s Naked Politics blog

Health care:

Republican Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottamp passed out a talking point or too yesterday to Democrats on the House floor yesterday during yesterday’s contentious debate over the House healthcare plan vs. the Senate/Gov. Charlie Crist’s plan. Some Republicans groused that Kottkamp didn’t even stop to talk to them.

Education:

For the second time this week, House Republicans have used a procedural move against the Democratic minority. Instead of hearing a Democratic amendment on a curriculum bill that is the top priority of House Speaker Marco Rubio, the Republicans called for a vote on HB 7045. What was the amendment that Republicans didn’t want to hear? An amendment to place the language by Sen. Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican, that would alter the school grading formula.

floor reaction to this move:

Partisan rancor erupted on the state House floor Friday morning as Democrats and Republicans feuded over procedural moves that led House Speaker Marco Rubio to angrily gavel the chamber quiet, order House guards to shut off Internet access and require members to quietly stay in their seats.

Rubio’s maneuver followed Democratic leader Dan Gelber’s successful stalling tactic to have every word of every bill read in full on the House floor — such as an 86-page condominium association bill that required three different bill readers to switch off reading for more than half an hour.

Here my Senator, a Republican, thanks Democrats for support on education:

What you see is the Republican executive asking the Democrats in the Florida House to help with a health care bill opposed by some House Republicans, and then the Republican Speaker of the House going ballistic because the Democrats what to include the language of a Republican Senator in the Education bill.

I would note that Don Gaetz was the county superintendent of schools before running for the Senate, and actually knows something about school systems in the state. This is apparently annoying to Marco Rubio.

I expect Rubio to take “hostages” [probably uncontroversial bills with Democratic sponsors] before this is over, because he obviously wasn’t paying attention in kindergarten when the teacher talked about playing with others.