Jeff Kottkamp is going to bat for medical marijuana and he is a far better public face on the issue than John Morgan.
Kottkamp was hurt badly by being Charlie Crists lieutenant governor in 2010 when he ran for attorney general, but he was the favorite of social and religious conservatives. In his primary against Pam Bondi, Kottkamp tried to run to her right.
This week, news broke that Kottkamp will be lobbying for Florida for Care to expand medical marijuana. A family man with strong ties to conservatives, Kottkamp will be far more welcome in Tallahassee than Morgan in pushing medical marijuana. Remember, even though he was Crists lieutenant governor, Kottkamp backed Marco Rubio in the 2010 Senate election.
Morgan, on the other hand, is pure poison, both with the Republican-controlled Legislature and with Florida voters based on how Amendment 2 on medical marijuana lost. With Morgan bringing another medical marijuana proposal out for the 2016 ballot, he would be wise to lessen his role and let Kottkamp take the lead.
After the November election, Morgan blamed seniors and attack ads for Amendment 2 going down. But he refused to admit what a major role he played in its defeat. A Web video of Morgans profanity-laced speech at a rally in support of Amendment 2 went viral and hurt his cause. He became the face of Amendment 2 -- not suffering patients whose pain could be alleviated by medical marijuana.
Even at the end of the campaign, when the attack ads were being run across Florida, Morgan -- and not patients -- was the focus on a Today show story on Amendment 2.
Morgan might have his face plastered on billboards across Florida while his firms ads are constantly in rotation on the airwaves, and even some buses are covered with pictures of Morgan advertising his firm. But being well-known is not the same thing as being popular or admired. Morgans antics only hurt Amendment 2 and it appears he has not learned his lesson. Back in November he took to Twitter to ask rapper Snoop Dogg to come down to Florida and join in the fight for medical marijuana in 2016.
Morgan clearly likes the spotlight. He stars in his own ads and prominently showed off his support for Amendment 2 in the recent election. But his political judgment is, at best, questionable. The video of Morgans rambling speech and sending trial balloons up for his son Matt to run for Florida attorney general shows bad political instincts.
Morgans antics may have ensured Amendment 2 fell just short of the 60 percent it needed to pass and his post-election comments -- that many of the seniors who voted against it will be dead come 2016 -- show he has no plans to tone down his style.
Claiming Amendment 2s ads didnt help the cause, Morgan said he will bring out better ones next time. But the problem with Amendment 2s ads wasn't the content; it was the lack of it. Opponents of Amendment 2 crowded Floridas airwaves with ads; Amendment 2s champions did little to counter them until it was too late.
Marijuana supporters like the Marijuana Majority questioned Amendment 2 backers tactics and pointed some of the blame at Morgan. Applauding Morgans intentions, they called for the trial lawyer to play a less prominent role in the future.
But Morgan seems incapable of doing that. Unfortunately for Amendment 2s supporters, Morgan became the story, not the Floridians whose sufferings would be lessened by medical marijuana. Even worse for those who want to expand medical marijuana in Florida, Morgan has apparently learned nothing from Amendment 2s defeat.
That gives Kottkamp an opportunity. After his 2010 loss, Kottkamp has been in a bit of a political wilderness. Hes been lobbying and practicing law. Kottkamps tenure as CEO at VR Labs in Naples was a bit of a fizzle and hes even called it a mistake in hindsight.Its also telling that Kottkamp did not enter congressional races in Southwest Florida as Connie Mack and Trey Radel left Congress.
A favorite of Christian conservatives like John Stemberger back in 2010, Kottkamp will be able to reach out to the Republicans controlling Tallahassee. Hell also make a far better public face for medical marijuana than Morgan. Medical marijuana backers should embrace the former lieutenant governor and move Morgan out of the limelight.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
