The giant campaign rally known as the Legislative Session begins today in Tallahassee, the capital of what Gov. Ron DeSantis calls the Free State of Florida.
Whether you believe DeSantis is America’s Governor or an abomination, you’ve got to admit his political instinct for knowing what connects with supporters is uncanny. While Democrats struggled to find their voice against DeSantis, the Governor scored big by keeping it simple. And when he does screw up, nothing seems to stick.
Yeah, we’re all sick — figuratively, of course — of masks, COVID-19 variations and other restrictions of the last two years.
DeSantis, however, turned virus fatigue into a campaign turbo booster. With a stroke of his pen, the man who rebels against edicts from Washington usurped the power of mayors in Florida to enact safety measures recommended by doctors.
Oh, what do those pointy-headed medical “experts” know anyway, right?
After that, it was a jailbreak for the Governor’s supporters. He gave them the green light to rebel against any restriction they didn’t believe was necessary.
You don’t want a vaccination? No problem.
If you don’t want to wear a mask, don’t.
Personally, I think he got lucky. As we know, Florida is one of the top hot spots for the omicron variant of COVID-19. In the last week of December, infection rates broke state records four times in seven days. Medical experts say that number will keep climbing here and throughout the country.
However, more than 74% of Floridians have received at least one vaccine dose, and 63% of the population is fully vaccinated. The virus can infect vaccinated people, but often with less severe symptoms. Everyone else chose to play Russian roulette with a deadly bug.
Either way, infection rates don’t register with people as much as body counts.
We’ve all seen reports of people waiting in long lines for tests, and that’s never good. And it turns out Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried correctly nailed the Florida Department of Health — and DeSantis — after about 1 million testing kits expired while sitting in a warehouse.
DeSantis, naturally, blamed President Joe Biden.
Anyway, the Session promises to be part victory lap and part campaign rally for Republicans. They’ve shaped the laws in this state for more than 20 years, so why stop now? They will be especially active in an election year where they passed voting restrictions in the name of (cough) security.
DeSantis also wants $6 million to create an election security force. Maybe they should be headquartered in The Villages. That seems to be the only spot in Florida where voter fraud is an issue. Four people from there face charges related to illegal voting.
We also can expect to hear about critical race theory on the legislative floors. It’s not taught in Florida schools, but it makes a great sound bite.
Abortion rights obviously will be a huge topic, and we can probably expect some restrictions to pass. It almost certainly won’t be as bizarre as the Texas law — well, maybe. That’s the one that outlaws abortions once the fetal heartbeat begins, usually at about six weeks.
We don’t think we’ll see bounty hunters stalking anyone getting an abortion or assisting in the process. We’ll see something pass, though, as pro-birth Republicans celebrate. Whether that galvanizes enough women to tip the statewide elections in November remains to be seen.
That might be the only thing that could slow the DeSantis juggernaut. As we know, though, elections often swing primarily on pocketbook issues, and Florida’s economy is in pretty good shape.
Florida Tax Watch predicts the state’s workforce will grow by about 379,500 additional jobs, reducing the state’s unemployment rate to 3.5%.
There are other important issues, especially redistricting and education. We can expect Republicans to have their way with those things, too.
But DeSantis scored big with his proposal to replace the end-of-year Florida Statewide Assessment test. Teachers have had issues with the Governor, but they will love this. They hate that test, and they’re not wrong.
His proposal should pass easily with support from both sides of the aisle.
The Governor will also get a lot of positive press for that move. In an election year, that will suck a lot of the air from his Democratic opponents. And isn’t that the point?
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Now that Session has arrived, so have dozens of CEOs, executives, and government affairs leaders from across the state as part of the 2022 Florida Chamber Legislative Fly-In.
Today and Wednesday, business leaders will pack into the Augustus B. Turnbull Conference Center for a briefing on the top issues of Session and the economic challenges and opportunities Florida faces in the long-term.
Florida Chamber President and CEO Mark Wilson will kick off the event with a “State of Florida Business” address at 2 p.m. with Florida Chamber Foundation Executive Vice President David Gillespie set to follow him up with a presentation on the state’s economic outlook for 2022 and beyond.
Day One also features panels on the 2022 election, the business tax climate, and what’s driving rapidly rising property insurance rates.
The final panel will see Florida Chamber Executive Vice President Frank Walker, Senior Director of Business, Economic Development, and Innovation Policy Carolyn Johnson and Director of Talent, Education, and Infrastructure Policy Anna Grace Lewis outline the Chamber’s 2022 Florida Business Agenda.
It caps off with a little fun — a “Bills, Beers, and Business” legislative reception at the Florida Health Care Association’s rooftop lounge.
A full agenda and registration details are available on the Florida Chamber’s website.
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Capital City Consulting announced Tuesday that Maicel Green will be joining its government affairs practice as a partner.
Green comes to CCC with more than 20 years of experience in public relations, client management, coaching, recruiting and crisis communication. Most recently, she served as the media and external affairs coordinator at Talquin Electric Cooperative.
“Maicel’s recent experience as media and external affairs coordinator at Talquin Electric Cooperative will prove to be an exceptional benefit to CCC’s clients,” said CCC Founding Partner Nick Iarossi. “Her proven ability to navigate and sustain critical partnerships with the news media, key agencies, elected officials, businesses, policymakers and stakeholders makes Maicel a welcome addition to CCC’s expanding team.”
CCC Founding Partner Ron LaFace added, “With her broad knowledge, cross-sector experience and commitment to success, Maicel will thrive within the culture of CCC, and her dedication to furthering relationships and knowledge on key issues will work well alongside our team.”
Green received her bachelor’s degree in communications from Arizona State University and her master’s degree in physical education at Florida A&M University. She is an active board member for numerous civic, social and leadership organizations.
Green is also a highly decorated track and field athlete — she is a two-time Olympian, an Olympic Gold Medalist, a World Champion, a two-time USA National Champion and was recently inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame.
“I am pleased to join CCC and honored to have the opportunity to work together with accomplished professionals who offer unmatched government affairs services to their clients,” said Green.
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
—@Twitter: may your Tweets prosper and you never be ratioed
—@Psythor: This is an incredibly obvious thing to say, but it’s just incredible that we had this really bad new disease emerge and we as a species managed to invent basically a magic miracle cure within the space of a year and have literally half the world’s population jabbed within two.
—@J_g_Allen: The hospitalization rate for vaccinated school-aged kids, during the peak of the Omicron surge in New York, is 2-3 per million. Source: NYS Dept of Health, January 7 report
—@AmandaLitman: The way to win national elections and save democracy is to fight for and win lots and lots of local elections.
Tweet, tweet:
Thank you to the @MiamiDolphins for supporting @FLRightsRestore! pic.twitter.com/2kN4x8EzBh
— Desmond Meade (@desmondmeade) January 9, 2022
—@SFDB: You know how you can tell when a U.S. Congressman (Matt Gaetz) isn’t doing his job? When they have the time to snitch on music festivals trying to protect their participants and patrons during a pandemic.
—@RealJacobPerry: If you’re driving through downtown Tallahassee this evening, please drive carefully and keep an eye out for the lobbyists who are scurrying around delivering their last checks before Session starts.
—@MDixon55: Shoutout to the Florida House for scheduling their congressional and legislative redistricting subcommittee meetings at the same time tomorrow.
Tweet, tweet:
Go Armie! 9lbs 5oz on Jan 7th. Our hearts are full in the Waltz family. pic.twitter.com/MbeM1NxRBv
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) January 10, 2022
—@ScottFeinberg: Terrible 10-day stretch: Betty White. Peter Bogdanovich. Sidney Poitier. Marilyn Bergman. Bob Saget.
Republished with permission [/vc_message]
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