Known throughout the state from his ubiquitous advertising for his law firm, Morgan is the chief backer of Amendment 2.
Morgan claims he is driven to support the amendment as a result of seeing his father suffer during his battle with cancer, while critics point out that Charlie Crist, a former employee and spokesman for Morgan & Morgan, is on the November ballot and can be helped if younger voters come out to cast ballots for Amendment 2.
Morgan didnt help his cause at the end of last month when a video of his profanity-laced speech to a get-out-the-vote rally went viral. In the video, Morgan, drink in hand, uses vulgar language and talks about his own use of marijuana and, using ample amounts of swear words, urged the crowd to bust their tails off and come out and vote for Amendment 2.
The raucous crowd can be heard chanting for the reefer, a take-off of Morgans for the people mantra.
Opponents of Amendment 2 had a field day with the video. This week, the Drug Free America Foundation put up a billboard in downtown Orlando and made Morgan the focus of it.
Amendment 2 is riddled with loopholes: It is one thing to be compassionate; its another to be reckless, the billboard reads. Does John Morgan know the difference?
Ben Pollara of United for Care, the group which Morgan chairs that has been in the vanguard of backing Amendment 2, took the bait.
If they think they can win this election by making it a referendum on John Morgan, bring it on, Pollara said. This campaign is about providing medicine to sick and suffering Floridians and thats what well talk about.
The opposition has so far been focused on trying to trick the electorate into thinking this is about legalization and not medicine; now they want to run against a lawyer and not the issue at hand, Pollara continued. We trust that the electorate is intelligent and compassionate. They continue to insult the voters at every opportunity.
Unfortunately for Pollara, Morgan, who serves as the chairman of United for Care, has been out front and center on Amendment 2, appearing in radio ads for it and debating Grady Judd on the issue. Morgan also continued making himself part of the issue with his remarks at the rally.
In this day and age where trackers stalk politicians at almost every appearance, Morgan should have realized his remarks could come back and haunt Amendment 2.
Morgan needs to get off the stage so Pollara and other supporters can make suffering patients the faces of Amendment 2. Florida voters support medical marijuana though opponents of Amendment 2 look to cast some doubt on it by pointing toward the proposals various loopholes. But trial lawyers like Morgan are far less popular than either medical marijuana in general and Amendment 2 in particular.
If opponents can make Amendment 2 about John Morgan, they have a shot at keeping it from meeting the 60 percent threshold needed to pass it. Morgan isnt helping his cause by being its chief proponent and needs to get out of the limelight.
Tallahassee-based political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
