The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on April 1, 2023. Submit your own letter to the editor by clicking HERE.
Let’s all talk about drag queens. And trans kids. And CRT. At least the Republican legislators in Tallahassee want us to.
What’s that? You don’t think those things affect you?
Well, you’re right. Especially not in comparison to important issues. Like skyrocketing insurance bills. Or Charlotte Harbor pollution. Or keeping our schools healthy and safe. But the Tallahassee Republicans don’t want to tackle those issues. Because those issues are hard. And they might involve saying “no” to rich donors.
Over the past decade and especially since 2020, Republicans have grown to a super-majority in the Florida Legislature. That means that they, along with Governor DeSantis, can do pretty much anything they want. And Democrats and independents can’t stop them or even slow them down.
You’d think that with all that power, the GOP super-majority would take on important issues. Issues like pollution of our coastal waters, or soaring power bills, or uncontrolled commercial development. They’d solve the problems with no opposition, right?
No. Instead, the Tallahassee crowd and their lobbyist buddies are sacking away lots of out-of-state, special interest dollars. Meanwhile, they distract us with culture wars.
This is what happens when one party becomes so powerful that it is no longer answerable to us.
While they distracted us, we were left unserved. And the wealthy and powerful grew more wealthy and more powerful.
One-party rule is bad for the citizens of authoritarian-ruled countries like China or Cuba or Venezuela. It’s also bad for Florida. Remember that on election day.
Jim Blue, Punta Gorda
