The Swamp is Real

Posted April 6, 2023 by CJ Hacker

In March of 2023 I spent 2 days in Tallahassee with the Pasco County chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus. Despite not being a registered Republican, I still support and appreciate the RLC and their principles. The point of this visit to the state capitol was for chapters of the RLC from across the state to meet with our legislators and lobby for the cause of liberty. RLCFL’s 2023 Legislative Agenda can be found here for anyone interested. RLCFL 2023 Legislative Agenda. These are all solid positions, with the exception of one that I will cover in a separate article. 

This wasn't my first visit to the capitol. I had previously attended an open carry rally, delivered petitions to the offices of our representatives, and filed my paperwork to run for public office. It was an eye-opening experience to learn that you can walk the halls of the capitol and speak directly to your legislator or their aides. If you are lucky, the aide might hand over the information you give them to your Representative or Senator. (Remember the time Rep Chuck Brannon’s Office threw petitions in the trash. See this Public Facebook Video Uploaded by Lisa Dick if you need a reminder.)

If you have never been to the capitol, I recommend you go there and do so with a purpose. Attend a rally, deliver petitions, or just talk to your legislators about the bills that you are concerned about, but you will have better luck doing that if you make an appointment.

During our trip in March my group and I had a talk with Representative Kevin Steele of Pasco in his office. He laid something on us that took all of us by surprise and it clearly illustrates why we have a “swamp” problem in our legislature. The Florida House of Representatives in some ways is like high school. They are limited to serving 4 consecutive 2 year terms. This creates “classes”. The freshman class of representatives will gather in the summer when this legislative session is over, and they will elect a “speaker” (Think class president). The intention is that in 6 years that person is going to be the speaker of the house. That person is groomed by leadership for the speaker seat. According to Steele it is the Junior Speaker who controls the direction of what’s on the house floor, with Senior giving the power down to the Junior while also providing oversight. Steele says he is angling himself for this position, and according to him the other contenders are Jennifer Canady of Polk County and Jessica Baker of Duval County. And who is the biggest threat to him? Well, he went into that too. According to Steele, Jessica Baker who had been running for two years, made significant contributions to their classmates.  He is worried about how he is going to earn the loyalty of his classmates with that kind of competition. I haven’t been able to verify the contributions claim yet, I am just passing on what Rep. Steele said.

We talked to several Representatives and Senators during lobby days and the consensus is that this is how things work. If my account of this meeting is not enough for you then look at this clip of Sen. Jonathan Martin of Lee County speaking to the RLC at the Liberty Reception. https://youtu.be/uu4NScu6szg. The person asking the senator the questions is David Wallis, he was with us when Steele told us about this process earlier that day. 

The implications of this are simple. This process stonewalls the people out of government 6 years in advance. The solution is also simple. DRAIN THE SWAMP. Vote out the incumbents in your districts and send up leaders who tell you exactly what they will do and hold them accountable.