This column is a vehicle for a number of items in a bits-and-pieces, strictly opinion, sometimes irreverent format. Look for "Just Sayin'" to run once a week in this spot.
FDP, RPOF Polar Opposites Even in Craziness
Both major political parties in Florida are crazier than a fruit bat, if you ask me. They could both use a shrink.
The Democrats keep their party chair two years too long, then freak out when they realize what a pickle they're in.
The Republicans win it all, president to dog catcher, and immediately the titular head of the party, Gov. Rick Scott, allegedly orchestrates a challenge to replace Chairman Blaise Ingoglia. Huh?
With the Democrats, I get it. They're in shock. On Nov. 7, they were poised to win it all. A day later, nothing. Fizzle. There were no Hillary Clinton coattails and few happy surprises. So Allison Tant quits -- and here comes the real chaos: More than half a dozen hands go up to replace Tant. That's a lot of people who want to get behind the wheel before they've got a road map. Expect the ride to get bumpier before FDP leadership is resolved.
The Republican craziness is a different story. Now, I'm not about to knock Christian Ziegler. By all accounts this young fellow from the Gulf Coast opposing Ingoglia is an able fellow. But I have to ask ... who dumps their party chairman after he delivers the state a president, a U.S. senator, 25 state senators and 79 representatives in a 120-member state House? Even if those good works weren't all the party chairman's doing, what am I missing?
I hope Ziegler doesn't take offense. I said the same thing in a column Dec. 3, 2014, only then I was defending the good work of Leslie Dougher: "Why does the chair of the Republican Party of Florida, who only helped her party to one of the nation's biggest avalanches in last month's national GOP blizzard, have to claw her way through a brutal, insider election to stay out of the unemployment line?"
The Democrats delude themselves, the Republicans mess with success. I guess after all these years, I still don't entirely understand the intricacies of the game.
Trump and the Environment: All We Can Do Is Wait and See
Donald Trump, the first developer to occupy the White House, might actually mean what he says when he promises to prioritize Everglades restoration. Certainly Trump and Gov. Rick Scott are on the same page on many policy issues, and Scott is pushing heavily for the feds to honor their commitment to Florida's water needs and the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
Trump told a Collier County rally in late October, “A Trump administration will work alongside you to restore and protect the beautiful Everglades ..."
The soon-to-be 45th president of the United States assured the large crowd he would safeguard the dwindling water supplies in Florida, where he owns three golf courses.
“Our plan will also help you upgrade water and wastewater," he said. "And you know you have a huge problem with wastewater -- so that the Florida aquifer is pure and safe from pollution. We have to do it. We will also repair the Herbert Hoover dike in Lake Okeechobee, a lake I’m very familiar with.”
As the Bradenton Herald said Friday, "Everglades restoration, the largest environmental project undertaken in the nation’s history, is essentially a giant infrastructure job." Refreshing existing and building new infrastructure, remember, has been high on Trump's to-do list from the beginning.
On the down side -- and there's plenty of it, particularly for environmentalists -- Trump calls climate change a giant hoax created by the Chinese. He has said he will pull out of the Paris Agreement that committed the U.S. to reducing the nation’s greenhouse gases by up to 28 percent over the next decade. He has promised to slash environmental regulations, revive the sagging coal industry and increase drilling.
Also, expect wholesale gutting at the Environmental Protection Agency. Trump chose Myron Ebell to lead the transition of the Environmental Protection Agency, a move that infuriated climate advocates who collected 88,000 signatures on a Whitehouse.gov petition. Ebell works for a Libertarian think tank "that pushes skepticism on climate change and is backed by the oil and coal industry."
Whether Trump means what he said about elevating Everglades restoration during his administration remains to be seen. All we can do now is help keep it on his radar.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
