Forget about the labels in Florida

[The Backlash Cometh]

For a moment, let's forget about the labels. If you think that Republicans are all bad, (okay, that's my weakness, but if you're going to err, it's atleast in the right direction) and Democrats are all good, you're going to miss the big picture. What you need to stop falling for are the misleading labels which seem to resonate to members of both parties: fiscal conservatism, small government, entrepreneurship, property rights, more local autonomy. In application, blue dogs believe in all those things and they are a big part of the Florida picture. If you can get passed the labels, you'll see that both parties are following an agenda which is neither one or the other. What we're becoming as a state, is neither Republican nor Democratic, but Libertarian. If you are on the fore-front of community development issues you'll see it in its extreme form. If not, then this is what you need to know:

There has been a property-rights movement in Central Florida which most people don't even know exists because the media went silent when it was first organized over twenty years ago. It involved people in the real estate business, lawyers and judges, landowners and developers, and, common people who have found it lucrative to carry their water. Their main aim is to weaken government regulation in order to facilitate their construction projects, and to give them peace of mind by making it nearly impossible for a homeowner to find recourse when something goes terribly wrong.

The methods are multiple: The Republican legislature has been weakening the laws that protect the public interest for as long as they have been in control of the state; land use lawyers exploit the weakened wording of the laws; and private developer/lawyers have figured out how to use the plight of the common person to present their property rights cases in court, knowing their development companies will benefit from the precedent. And then you have your Dems going along with it. Why? Maybe because at some level, they believe in the neo-liberal philosophy that government should be used to revitalize blighted areas, and if they can't raise tax dollars to do this, then turning a blind eye to these "entrepreneurs" is the next best thing? It sounds cavalier, but I think their true intentions are exposed when you discover they're involved in the real estate industry in one form or another and the areas that are getting brutalized with improper zoning changes to revitalize them, are not blighted.

What shocks me the most is how long this has been going on and no one is talking about it. So, to all you journalists out there, I want to know, why? Why the secrecy? Is it because Florida Dems are involved with it too? Hasn't it occurred to anybody that if the two parties are protecting each other, that a third party would benefit from the silence? Isn't it time to tell Floridians the truth that they are being dragged toward a system of Libertarian government which is dispensing with its responsibility to the public safety, welfare and health? And moving toward a crisis-oriented government which seems like they're heroes each time a storm hits and they manage to pull in federal dollars, when the truth is they know exactly where we're the most vulnerable in Florida because they know which storm maps they ignored when these projects were approved?

Isn't it time that someone starts talking?

[Aviation Pro]

1. Dig behind this effort and, yes, you will find....

...a Bush.

In this case, Jebbediah, the future loser of the 2016 presidential race.

[Subtropical]

3. Absolutely

Jeb hollowed out the financial and governmental infrastructure of Florida,
as his big brother's regime did the same for the rest of the country.
Swooning Republican legislatures were happy enablers for each,
and were used by both.

[nashville_brook]

2. i think it's difficult to approach widescale political inaction in terms of belief.

it doesn't matter what Dems actually believe. what matters is who has the power and who doesn't. lets say we elect a solid community rights supporter to the 24th district (my district, where Sasso just lost). they might have the "right ideas" about how to deter sprawl, but without a democratic machine ready to stand behind them, they are as good as dead.

i'm not saying that belief isn't important -- just that where the rubber meets the road, focusing about belief doesn't help much. we need to make it a politically smart decision to advocate for smart growth.

i'm with you on the ambiguity of Rep and Dem labels vis a vis this issue -- there's been some decent republican support of light rail in Central Florida, which i think is key to addressing sprawl (and the environmental degradation that goes along with it -- i'm thinking particularly of our endangered springs and rivers).

i'm fairly new to central florida politics so i'd love to know who to seek out to get involved in land use issues. i'm a commercial real estate insider and the SO is a lawyer who works in land use. we'd love to get involved. please PM with any suggestions for getting involved. or just to chat.