Florida Dems not all aboard CSX rail boondoggle

According to a press release from Senate Democratic leaders Al Lawson and Nan Rich, Florida's secretly-negotiated and ill-advised CSX rail deal may finally face the scrutiny it deserves:

Alarmed by the determination of some Republican leaders to push ahead with the controversial $1.6 billion CSX deal despite Florida’s increasing job losses, Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson (D-Tallahassee) and incoming Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich (D-Weston) on Monday called on the legislature to reverse course on the project and return the money to whence it came.

“More than $600 million was siphoned from shovel-ready transportation and infrastructure projects in towns and communities thoughout Florida in order to deliver a sweetheart deal to a multi-billion dollar private company championing a train even Mickey Mouse can’t use,” said Senator Lawson. “This money needs to be returned to the districts to immediately begin those road and infrastructure projects derailed by the CSX deal. And the money needs to be used to offset skyrocketing hikes in “fees” Floridians are facing for basic motor vehicle services.”

"The Democrats’ alternative plan is twofold. It calls for slamming the brakes on the $159 million Republicans are proposing to raise on title renewals, drivers’ licenses and ID cards, and registration fees to offset the state’s budget hole. And it advocates using the remaining amount, more than $480 million to launch the many transportation and infrastructure projects throughout Florida indefinitely delayed by the state Department of Transportation as it quietly diverted the money to obscure accounts earmarked for CSX.

"This money was railroaded out of the state’s general revenue fund four years ago,” said Senator Rich, noting the disingenious arguments by some lawmakers that trust fund dollars earmarked for transportation couldn’t be directed away from the CSX project.

“Other than a private corporation with well paid lobbyists, there is nothing in law or the constitution to stop this legislature from returning the money to where it found it. If it found the will to divert the funds from the districts in the first place, it can find the will to return the dollars to Florida’s communities to fund the rebuilding of our infrastructure and create jobs.”

The call by the Democrats comes as Florida, along with the rest of nation, continues to reel from the latest unemployment numbers. Nationally, the unemployment rate rose to a 26-year high of 8.5%, with 660,000 Americans losing their jobs in March alone.

Florida’s latest job losses are expected to be disclosed April 17th. In February, however, the state unemployment rate stood at a staggering 9.4 percent.

“Subsidizing a private railroad corporation on the backs of our motorists and those desperately seeking jobs is unconscionable,” said Senator Lawson. “With almost one million Floridians out of work and the number rising, let them explain to the people whose money they’re spending, just what’s more important? New jobs or a choo choo to nowhere?”

See . . . .

• Central Florida commuter rail fast running out of steam
• Is an 'end-run' in the works for Sunrail?
• CSX executive sanctioned for misstated credential
• CSX-SunRail deal: Price tag grows unaffordable
• Wrong Track 4 Florida

Call for renewal: Florida's 1838 constitution

Or should we call for repentance, for how far we've strayed?

Howard Troxler, St. Pete Times, skewers members of the double-dipping, special interest, pay-for-play Florida Legislature:

One of my favorite Florida fun facts is that our constitution of 1838, written while we were still a U.S. territory, banned three special classes of people from public office:

Bank officers.

Duelists.

"Ministers of the Gospel."

We could learn a lot from those pioneers (including some of my own ancestors who settled here before 1820). Who could look at our current legislature, follow the strings all the way to the bank, the church and the gun lobby -- and think otherwise?

Continue . . .

Here's the tip — uh, paycheck, senator
Thomas Dawsey, Florida pioneer

Lakeland group vows to keep CSX deal in spotlight

Ledger photo

In a question-and-answer session with the Ledger, Julie Townsend, executive director of Downtown Lakeland Partnership, reflects on the current state of the CSX controversy:

Ledger: The fight isn't over: Keeping CSX deal in spotlight

Wherever you reside in Florida and whatever your view of the Florida-CSX deal -- a taxpayer outlay hatched in secret by outgoing governor Jeb Bush and now heavily lobbied by an array of special interests -- this is an interview worth reading.

You may not change your mind, but perhaps you will gain a different perspective as the fight over taxpayer money and the future of transportation and passenger rail in Florida continues.

See also . . .

Tampa Tribune: State budget crunch may push huge CSX deal off track

Florida Newspaper Endorsements

Interstate 4 Jammer has compiled an excellent summary of current newspaper endorsements in Florida:

Florida Newspaper Endorsements (Updated Oct. 25)

Sample ballot, Polk County, Pct. 217

Do the Rights Thing, Florida

You Tube: Florida Red & Blue

The Bilerico Project

People of faith oppose Florida Amendment 2

A Statement of Opposition to Amendment 2

As clergy members from a broad spectrum of religious traditions we hold diverse views regarding marriage. However, we are united in our opposition to amending the Florida Constitution to define marriage.

We share a serious concern that proposed Amendment 2, which will appear on the November 4 ballot would infringe on religious liberty. We believe that marriage decisions should be left to couples, their clergy, and their religious beliefs — not the State of Florida.

[ . . . . ]

Amendment 2 would undermine religious liberty. Florida’s religious communities do not support this amendment. As leaders of these communities, we pledge to vote no on Amendment 2 and urge you to join us.

More . . .

Florida Clergy for Fairness

SayNo2.com

Vote No on 2

Lakeland's Politics in the Park announced

Lake Mirror Promenade, Downtown Lakeland
Thursday, October, 5:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Admission to the Event is FREE

Governor Charlie Crist and Command Sergeant Major Michele Jones to Address Crowd at Event

Lakeland, FL – The Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce will host the 2008 Politics in the Park on Thursday, October 16th from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Lake Mirror Promenade in downtown Lakeland.

Politics in the Park is an old-fashioned political rally that gives the community an opportunity to meet with and hear from candidates – across all levels of government – for the 2008 election.

All individuals over 18 years of age will be able to participate in the Straw Poll conducted by the Polk County Supervisor of Elections office, with results announced that evening at the close of the event.

"We hope the Polk County community will get behind this event and come out to support their candidates, enjoy live entertainment and plenty of food and beverage," said Chuck Aiken, 2008 Politics in the Park Committee Chair. "And if voters are undecided, the event will serve as the perfect opportunity to hear from candidates so that they can make an educated decision on November 4th."

Politics in the Park is a family-friendly event with special appearances to be made by AMVETS Post 32, the Lakeland High School Drumline, emcee Jennifer Leigh of News Channel 8, and a Fly-By of a vintage World War II aircraft will kick off the event.

Restaurants participating in the event are: Abuelo's, Ale Gators, Dairy Queen, Fred's Southern Kitchen, Kazbor's Grille, Outback Steakhouse and Rib Crib. In addition, hot dogs will be available.


The following candidates have confirmed attendance:

• US Representative District 12: Adam Putnam and Doug Tudor
• US Representative District 15: Frank Zilaitis
• State Senate District 17: JD Alexander and Scott Thompson
• State Representative District 64: Alton Smith, Kelli Stargel and Gordon Watts
• State Representative District 65: Bob Hagenmaier and John Wood
• State Representative District 79: Ray Worley
• County Commission District 3: Nancy Daley, Ed Smith and Ghassan Zebdaoui
• County Commission District 5: Jim Brown, Sam Johnson and Jacquelyn Smith
• Polk County Sheriff: Grady Judd and Michael Lashman

"Senators McCain and Obama have received our invitation, and the committee is hopeful," said Aiken.

"Lakeland is located in our nation's largest swing state and in the middle of the all-important I-4 corridor, so it would be in their best interests to attend."

---

For more information on the 2008 Politics in the Park, please contact Ashley at the Chamber at 863/688-8551 ext. 241 or alink@lakelandchamber.com.

Say No to Florida's Amendment 2

Here we go again: Disenfranchising Florida voters

Florida to enforce restrictive 'No-Match No-Vote' law

FLORIDA -- Today voting rights advocates expressed alarm over the Secretary of State’s September 8th decision to enforce the state’s “no-match, no-vote” law, a voter registration law that previously blocked more than 16,000 eligible Florida citizens from registering to vote, through no fault of their own, and could disenfranchise tens of thousands more voters in November.

Secretary of State Browning’s last-minute decision to implement the law in the final month before the registration deadline will pose a significant hurdle to eligible Florida citizens hoping to register and vote in November. It will disenfranchise voters who do not send or bring a photocopy of their driver’s license to county election officials’ offices after voting, even if these voters showed poll workers their driver’s licenses at the polls on Election Day.

“This 11th-hour decision is an ill-advised move to apply a policy the state has never enforced in its current form, at a time when registration activity is at its highest,” said Alvaro Fernandez of the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project, a plaintiff in the case. “The Secretary’s decision will put thousands of real Florida citizens at risk due to bureaucratic typos that under the ‘no-match, no-vote’ law will prevent them from voting this November,” continued Fernandez.

“Voters who do everything right, who submit forms that are complete, timely, and accurate, will suddenly find themselves unregistered when they go to vote, just because someone somewhere punched the wrong letter on a keyboard,” said Myrna Pérez, counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice.

“The no match, no vote policy is unjust and unnecessary, and Florida voters will pay the price this fall,” stated Jean-Robert Lafortune, president of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, another plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The law at issue bars any Florida citizen from becoming registered to vote and voting with a regular ballot if the state cannot validate the applicant’s driver’s license number or the last four digits of the applicant’s Social Security number, no matter how much identification the voter brings to the polls on Election Day. The process starts with an attempt to “match” voter information to other government databases, an error-prone exercise that often fails. For example, the Social Security Administration reports a 46% failure rate when trying to match voter registration applications. State officials admitted in a recent challenge to the law, Florida NAACP v. Browning, that typographical errors by election workers are responsible for most of the failures.

If the state cannot match the voter registration records, many eligible voters who submit registration applications before the October 6th deadline to register may not be notified of the matching failure until Election Day, when they appear at the polls to vote. There, they will be forced to cast a provisional ballot, and that provisional ballot will only be counted if the voter submits a photocopy of his or her driver’s license or Social Security card within 48 hours after the election, even if they already showed their driver’s license at the polls.

“The most senseless part is that the state creates these errors, and then makes it unnecessarily hard to fix the problem,” said Myrna Pérez of the Brennan Center. “If the state insists on enforcing this misguided matching provision, it should at least make it possible for voters to show their driver’s license at the poll and validate their registration then and there. To have registered, brought your ID to the polls, and still be told you can’t vote – all because of a bureaucratic error – is ridiculous.”

“It is unfortunate that the Secretary of State decided to enforce the statute less than a month before registration deadline. It is really the 11th hour and is certain to derail the applications of eligible voters. At the very least, counties can and should help to avoid needless disenfranchisement of eligible voters by permitting voters to correct the problem at the polls. In addition, we strongly urge groups that conduct voter registration drives to ask applicants to submit their driver’s license number (not Social Security number) on their application, which will reduce the likelihood that their application will be rejected for lack of a ‘match,’” urged Elizabeth Westfall of Advancement Project, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs.

“In 2006 alone, more than 12,800 citizens submitting complete and timely forms were kept off of the rolls, and the volume of registration in 2006 is nothing like what we anticipate in this presidential year,” said Robert Atkins, a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, also representing plaintiffs. 2006 was a year of unusually low voter registration rates in Florida because of a separate law that shut down voter registration drives that year. “With the huge number of registration forms pouring in at the end of the registration period, county officials may not be able to fix problems that will cause thousands of eligible voters to be disenfranchised,” Atkins added.

The Secretary of State’s announcement Monday poses the latest obstacle to eligible Florida voters seeking to register before the 2008 elections.

In June, a federal trial court in Gainesville, Florida, refused to stop the “no-match, no-vote” law in Florida NAACP vs. Browning after challenges from several voter advocacy organizations. The case was filed in September 2007 by the Florida branch of the NAACP, the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. The plaintiffs are represented by The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law; Advancement Project; Project Vote; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; and Greenberg Traurig LLP.

In December 2007, the Gainesville federal court granted a preliminary injunction against the no-match, no-vote law under two federal statutes, ruling that Florida’s law “makes it harder to vote by imposing a matching requirement that is a barrier to voter registration.”

The ruling’s criticism of the no match, no vote law prompted the state legislature to revise portions of the statute – eliminating untenable distinctions between typos made by voters and those made by election officials, and standardizing the notice sent to voters kept off the rolls. Still, voting rights advocates argue that the law’s core burdens remain.

In April, the trial court’s original decision was overturned in a split decision from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, following an appeal by the Florida Secretary of State. Plaintiffs in the case returned to the federal trial court to challenge the amended law under the federal constitution, but on remand, the court refused to enjoin the law, citing the changes that the legislature had made to the statute.

For more information about the lawsuit challenging Florida’s voter registration system and how voter database matching laws disproportionately affects Latino voters and other minorities, visit the Brennan Center website here.

More . . . .

States' purges of voter rolls appear illegal

'No match' dropped in Wisconsin after 4 of 6 judges fail

Voter registration by students raises cloud of consequences

Election experts warn of November storm

Orlando scrambles to save the CSX PolitiCorp deal

The Orlando Sentinel, never recognized as a bastion of progressivism, reports (or rather, editorializes) on the faltering CSX-Orlando rail deal today and - guess what - continues the newspaper's campaign of misrepresentation of the issues and distortion of key points.

Sentinel quotations (in italics) are followed by logically inferred meanings:

Today is decision day for commuter rail

The House earlier this week signed off on the deal. But its chief hurdle has always been the Senate, where trial lawyers and unions, along with critics such as Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, and Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, have spent months building a barricade.

It's always those pesky lawyers and unions and a few "ferocious" and "foolish" politicians (the Sentinel's own creative labels; cute of us, huh?) who throw up the barricades. That's why we had to leave them out of the loop for as long as humanly possible.

Overlooked by our eyes - and rightfully so - are, among others, the only Democrat in the state Cabinet, editorialists from several major newspapers from all across the state, residents of communities that would be negatively impacted by the CSX deal, educators, nurses and providers of other public services, and the people they serve - and millions of taxpayers from Pensacola to Key West.

Barring a dramatic turnaround, CSX spokesman Gary Sease said the company would decide during the next few days how it wanted to proceed.

"We don't want to do things hastily," he said. "We want to consider all the options."

You know, like we wanted to, but forgot to, consider all the options during our secret negotiations to beget this baby.

"It's a great project for the whole state," said Noranne Downs, the Florida Department of Transportation's Central Florida head.

"The feds are ready for us. The locals are ready for us. The state House is ready for us. It would be a darn shame if it got this far and did not pass."

See, everybody's ready for this deal except the people who take the time to look at it objectively. That's what happens when the state's in a financial crisis, people are losing their homes and jobs and we're forced to provide more disclosure than the folks can handle. All this sunshine - it's "a darn shame."

But a frustrated Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the federal funding won't wait.

"I think it probably kills any form of commuter rail in Florida for 20 years," Dyer said. "A lot of people haven't looked at the big picture."

Added Dyer, " Tampa and Lakeland will never in our lifetimes see commuter rail if this goes down, and they don't seem to understand."

It's darn near impossible that we the people pushing this deal are the ones who don't seem to understand, who refuse to look at the big picture. And we Orlando visionaries, facing a minor delay now because of a few little questions about secrecy, liability, and impact studies, will never, ever, lower ourselves to work on a comprehensive, long-term, state-wide plan, not in this lifetime, pal. You hear me, Tampa and Lakeland?

"There comes a point in time where there's not a lot more a lobbyist can do," said John Thrasher, a former House speaker and lobbyist for Orlando.

But I'll keep wracking my brain because I make good money shuttling between my old legislative associates and my corporate "acquaintances."

Rep. Dean Cannon had hoped to build a coalition of Senate votes by packing the rail deal with perks for other regions of the state.

Sorry, grandma, we had to cut your meds this year. Priorities and all, ya know. Congestion has become downright hellacious around here. Take an aspirin and call me next year.


The Sentinel's position: Siplin, Crist and Lynn are critical to today's momentous commuter-rail decision

Without commuter rail, Mrs. Lynn, the more than 30,000 commuters who drive each day from their homes in Volusia to their jobs in Orange and Seminole will remain I-4 hostages. Another generation of your constituents would be left suffering the miseries of high gas prices and wasted hours sitting in their cars instead of productive time at their jobs or enjoyable hours with their families.

Free the hostages! Save the planet! With commuter rail, Mrs. Lynn, I-4 may remain largely unchanged - but commuter rail could lead to further land development, business opportunities (wink) and urban sprawl - a good thing for your tax base. Our Orlando advertisers know what's best for you and your future. And keep this in mind: there are zero alternatives to the package our friends have delivered. It's this or nothing; now or never.

The more than $400 million the state would spend on commuter rail would mean construction jobs just as many of your constituents are suffering through this bad economy.

Maybe we can even hire a few of the laid-off teachers and nurses to fill all those new construction jobs. And we at the Sentinel have discovered plenty of money in parts of the state that, from all we care, are totally unaffected by "this bad economy." So get your slice of the pie or somebody undeserving will gobble it up.

But even more important are the exciting new housing opportunities and job centers that are likely to spring up along the 61-mile route from DeLand to Poinciana. No longer would families be trapped simply because they can't afford a second -- or even first -- car.

Trapped, in the very spot they chose to dwell. Forget how we got here, and they got there. Our plan is great for development. Just look at what we've built here in the City Beautiful. Ah, the grandeur... but I digress.

When folks start complaining about unfettered development, keep in mind there's always somebody all too happy to have the untenable consequences dumped on their heads. Look what we're doing to the country bumpkins in Polk County, bless their little hearts.

Mrs. Lynn and Mr. Siplin are being pushed hard by the state's trial lawyers. This special interest doesn't want the state to cover the liability costs in wrecks involving commuter rail, which would run on tracks owned by CSX freight company. Clearly, these lawyers are trying to protect the possibility of their own billion-dollar payday from a wreck. They have even gone so far as to threaten lawmakers by showing them the attack ads they'll see this election if they support commuter rail.

We hate lawyers, don't you? Without this deal, they won't make any money at all off commuter rail accidents because we won't have commuter rail. That's why they want to kill it. See how sneaky they are? So get busy, make them a deal they can't refuse. The taxpayers won't have to know the minor details. They'll be blinded at the sight of our sleek new trains.

Mr. Crist, only the weight of your leadership can overcome that kind of vicious politics. You've voiced support for commuter rail; now it's time for you to fight for it.

And this is commuter rail, so it's your lucky day. If you have ever supported or will ever support it, anywhere, under any circumstances, whatever the cost and conditions, you must support this deal. We know we can count on you.

Look, it's a vicious world out there. Paula hates us. Everybody hates us. We want what we want and we want it now, but we're weak. We have no voice. Woe is us. Can't you do for us what you did for John?

This is more than a Central Florida issue, Governor. If commuter rail dies today, it could be a generation before Florida gets another shot. Forget about projects in Jacksonville and Tampa. Forget about your legacy as a leader of the national effort to reduce pollution spewed by cars.

Life as we know it will cease to exist. You don't want that on your conscience.

Look, I'm stamping my foot! Do you believe me now?

NEWS UPDATE, 5:24 p.m.: CSX commuter rail project fails

Webster lashes out at opponents for meddling in 'a local issue'

With growing unrest over the specter of Florida taxpayers' paying for CSX negligence, Sen. Dan Webster, R-Winter Garden, said Wednesday night the project could proceed without lawmakers' doing anything this year.

"I think the liability issue is dead," Webster said. He lashed out at opponents' meddling in what he perceived as a local issue. (Ledger, May 1, 2008)

Webster said the state could move forward with every aspect of the rail plan except for the liability and immunity provisions. He said those issues could be addressed at a later time before the train goes on the tracks -- a strategy that appears to raise the possibility the state could ante up hundreds of millions of dollars with no guarantee the train would run.

"I didn't say we were going to spend it . . ." Webster said. "I just said there's nothing prohibiting us from doing that; we could go forward with any of that." (News Journal, May 1, 2008)

What a piece of work. Watch how easily he slides from the scare of "it's now or never, we can't wait," to "the show goes on, with or without taxpayer funding in 2008."
Beware this man and his connections - he has spent 28 seasons in Tallahassee and knows the meaning of power. If you blink, the next thing you see may be a freight train barreling down on you.

At the height of his hypocrisy, the Senate Majority Leader (supposedly working for the whole state) lashes out at his opponents for meddling in "a local issue."

• A "local issue" that depends upon taxpayers' money from every corner of the state and from Washington.
• A "local issue" that dumps his local constituents' problems on their non-local neighbors who weren't consulted, but are nevertheless expected to sit down, shut up and ante up for the privilege of relieving his "local" problem of traffic congestion.
  

That takes cojones. Obviously a handful of the legislative members supported the "bull-testicle law" with good reason. The dangling truck ornaments - had the House agreed with the Senate - could have become shameful reminders of Dan Webster and his cohorts in organized effrontery.

(Note: The House chose to avoid negative publicity by removing the dangling participle ban from the transportation bill. - News-Press)

Photo: Full-featured photo of a state senator. That's how the artificial commingling of unrelated issues works, as the senator knows.

Blow whistle on CSX

Although Webster insists that the project can go on without the Legislature's funding or blessing, he should admit that, as things stand, the "issue is dead."

START OVER, WORK IN OPEN

The Legislature should halt consideration of any of the CSX-related projects this year, either as a reconstituted plan or piecemeal.

It should order that the following be completed in time for consideration during the 2009 legislative session, and be undertaken in the open with time for full public comment:


• Negotiate with CSX for the Orlando tracks needed for commuter trains, minus any state indemnification.
• Complete the development of regional impact study for the Winter Haven freight hub, being sure to include downstream impacts such as additional freight traffic in local communities and the substantial increase of truck traffic on area highways.
• Undertake and complete a study to resolve the downtown Lakeland congestion from the CSX freight trains - whether by rerouting freight traffic around the city or by other means - and identify a method of funding the remedy. (Ledger editorial, May 1, 2008)

CSX plan carries too many costs, needs regional planning

It has been interesting listening to the rationalizations and justifications that seek to improve the conditions of one community to the clear detriment of others. [....]

We've also argued that no plan should move forward without critically necessary long-range regional planning.

I believe that we're headed in the wrong direction. First of all, this sends the wrong message: that quid pro quo supersedes principle. Moreover, the two should not even be connected. I believe proper planning would show that commuter rail should absolutely be established for Orlando - as well as for Tampa, and eventually Lakeland and other parts of Central Florida. But that in no way should ignore what I believe that planning will also show - that Lakeland's interests must not be set aside because of political posturing.

Frankly, you don't have to have a degree in planning to look at a large-scale map and recognize that there is a better route for the CSX freight line and a better location for the integrated logistics center. (R. Howard Wiggs, City Commissioner, Lakeland)

Florida's CSX rail plan: Do it right or not at all

(This is my response to a progressive thinker and commuter rail proponent who resides in the Orlando area. In view of the many positive aspects of the deal, he suggested that we would have blood on our hands if we killed it.)

'To rail or not to rail' is not the question

It's understandable that progressives from both sides of this issue view the problems and solutions from their own perspectives. From everything I have seen, though, I believe that the CSX rail deal offers a false choice between a faulty plan and no plan at all. When I see the bills that are being force-fed through legislative appropriations committees, I hear Stevie Wonder's "Here I am, baby; signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours." The only options seem to be, take it or bend over and take it.

Regarding this rail plan, or any other, I have never suggested that "we abandon it altogether." Neither has anyone that I know in Lakeland. Like many cities over the past two decades, Lakeland (an urban area of 255,000, but known to the Orlando Sentinel only as the quaint Orlampa) - has spent millions of dollars revitalizing its downtown, building parks, saving historic architecture, encouraging responsible development including business and housing, even constructing an Amtrak/passenger rail station in the heart of downtown and providing leadership for a much more comprehensive approach to rail travel than the one on the table today (for example, see Bullet Train News). The city's approach to growth management and revitalization is what led me to buy a home in the historic district nearly twenty years ago, and I have not regretted it. (Obviously, I was not expecting to inherit Orlando's headaches.)

As a seventh-generation Floridian, I share your passion for protecting the environment and developing alternative energy sources. I have watched the gradual (and not so gradual in some cases) destruction of the state I always loved and thought I would never leave. But Florida no longer belongs to me and people like me - it belongs to developers, politicians, the NRA and carpetbaggers. And CSX Corp.

So for me the debate is not over whether Orlando should have commuter rail, but how both federal and Florida taxpayer dollars should best be appropriated to reach the goals that both of us agree need to be achieved. Any time a deal between government officials and private industry is cooked up in secret - including the need for signed confidentiality agreements - alarms should be tripped.

Artificial linkages

Before this deal saw the light of day, it was polished to a shimmering brilliance, of course. Commuter rail for Orlando may indeed be a good thing, but that's only one facet of this legislative gem. Getting rid of the rail and hub problem - not to be overlooked as a driving force behind the deal - is good for Orlando, we can agree. Trains in the area were a problem as far back as the early 1970's. Three decades later, the problems have increased significantly. In 2002, an Orlando-based planning group produced a paper titled: "Why Can't We Solve Orlando's Traffic Congestion Problems By Moving the Freight Trains?"

For good reason, then, mass transit is an easy sell in Orlando. But the CSX deal doesn't stop there. A crucial facet for CSX is a new logistics center to be built on 1250 acres in Winter Haven. That may be a good thing for Winter Haven's tax base and some members of the community (except for nearby homeowners or people who drive passenger cars on the same roads), but whether the site is the most appropriate location within the region is open to question. In a state the size of Florida, with millions of undeveloped acres, why here, why now? Was it in the public interest, or in the financial interests of CSX and certain developers and landowners? How much consideration was given to alternative sites north of Interstate 4 or in southern Polk County, using routes that would bypass major cities? Was any consideration given to old rail right-of-ways that may be only slightly less convenient than the "S" line down the center of the state and through the center of Lakeland? (See "Rails to Trails," for example.)

Follow the money

Consider the secrecy surrounding the initial negotiations and legislation in 2005; the rush to bypass local and regional impact studies on the Winter Haven rail hub and other impacted towns; the pressure on legislators for funding during "the worst government budget conditions in Florida's history"; the secret involvement of Jeb Bush and his appointees with this deal as well as the Florida East Coast Industries deal that benefitted his friends; the profit motives of politician-landowners, other major landowners, businesses and developers in Polk County and surrounding counties; the lack of timely regional and state planning necessary for development on a massive scale; the possible loss or indefinitely extended delays of commuter rail between Tampa and Orlando, and other cities; the future expansion of "the mother of all rail hubs" to accept containerized cargo coming from the US west coast and Asia through an expanded Panama Canal; transportation of increased cargo from Latin and South America through the Winter Haven ILC, Central Florida and outward in all directions via a proposed airport, expanded rail extensions to the gulf coast and points north, and new highways, including the proposed Central Polk Parkway and Heartland Parkway.

With the proposed deal, who are the major beneficiaries - Florida's taxpayers or special interests?

Avoid a stampede mentality

In addition to the up-front and long-term costs to the state and federal government - and not ignoring the proposed liability costs to the state - no one has calculated the hidden but very real financial, environmental and quality-of-life costs to a number of impacted communities. Demanding the acceptance of one option, with no comprehensive long-range planning, environmental and infrastructure impact studies, or involvement of the most direly affected communities, should be unacceptable in this state - the state of "government in the sunshine." Evidently it is not.

Too often, people without the time to study the issues are misled by politicians and vested interests. This deal is the perfect example. To accept the claim that it's the only plan on the table, so we should get on with it even if some of us are adversely affected (an understatement in itself), is not good public policy. We've been burned too many times by politicians relying on the stampede mentality. If this deal is important to Florida, it should be fixed before - not after - it is dragged and pushed through the 2008 legislature. What's worth doing is worth doing right.

We should not allow ourselves to be rushed into an artificial lumping together - with too few answers to major questions - mass transportation, freight transportation, energy demands and environmental concerns. We must not accept vague generalities and worthless promises from the crowd that has been less than forthcoming from the start - the same crowd that got us into the mess we're already in. It can always get worse.

And we shouldn't be overly concerned about "having blood on our hands," as you suggested, in the event that the deal is delayed until its backers are forced to correct its most glaring flaws. What I worry about is cutting funding for education, when Florida is already ranked near the bottom in the country. I worry about cutting crucial services to the sick and infirm, the young and the old. I worry about many things gone wrong in Florida.

I don't worry so much about whether someone will be driving a Prius or riding a train from Deland to Winter Park in 2012.

[Photo: WFTV News, Orlando, Feb. 13, 2008, Tuesday. Eyewitness News timed the CSX train sitting on the tracks along South Street. It didn't move for 30 minutes.]

Florida's 'leaders' wade deeper into the swamp

The fact that Florida's legislators, with the prodding of one governor and the acquiescence of another, have for a decade shown no shame in wrecking the state is in itself a shame greater than the combination of all their leadership failures.

The 2008 session completes the gestalt of shameless, self-serving, backroom deals and the avoidance of responsibility.

But so long as voters show more interest in hot-button social warfare than with substantive issues and legislative accomplishments, the elected legislative and executive leaders will continue to wade in their swamp of shame and shamelessness.

Come fall, it's time to drain the swamp.

Session of shame

What's wrong with Tallahassee? Is there no adult supervision in the political romper room called the Florida Legislature? Are our elected lawmakers really prepared to end the session this week by passing out an almost criminally negligent state budget that will do incalculable harm to Florida's education, health care, social service and criminal justice institutions?

This is far and away the worst session we've ever witnessed. We cannot recall ever seeing lawmakers conduct themselves in such an irresponsible manner and with so little apparent regard for the future of Florida and the well-being of its residents. The consequences of lawmakers' failure to take their responsibilities seriously will be dire and far-reaching.

This Legislature is a disgrace. In this final week of the session lawmakers are willfully putting at risk the health, safety and welfare of their constituents. Meanwhile, Gov. Charlie Crist remains largely silent and passive, as though he has little or no leadership role in the debacle that is unfolding in the House and Senate. - Gainesville Sun editorial, April 29, 2008Session of shame

On vital issues, legislators fail

Barring a Tallahassee miracle, when the Legislature adjourns Friday it will have failed in every respect to responsibly address the state's most pressing issues. It is hard to imagine re-election campaigns based on a record of imposing painful spending cuts, protecting special interest tax breaks, forcing universities to cap enrollments and raising local property taxes to keep public education limping along. But incumbents will try to paper over the sins of the spring with misleading campaign ads in the fall, and voters should not let them get away with it.

The Legislature's failures mean public frustration will continue to grow over unaffordable and often unavailable property insurance, inadequate health coverage, underfinanced higher education, inferior public transportation, unfair tax systems and poor growth management. - St. Pete Times editorial, April 29, 2008

One more reason to pull CSX deal

If Tallahassee were filled with reasonable people, the state would renegotiate the CSX deal to get Orlando the tracks it needs - without giving away the store and sending up to 56 trains a day through communities that never saw them coming.

But the capital is filled with people who acquiesce. To do otherwise risks losing a committee assignment or a hearing on a pet project.

Yet when lawmakers vote on the CSX deal this week, the last week of the legislative session, they will define themselves for voters in the fall.

Do they stand for good government or back-room deals? Do they believe in sound business practices, or anything goes with taxpayer dollars? Do they believe in the conservative value of self determination, or should a powerful part of the state be able to hurt communities that have little say?

No matter what Orlando lawmakers say, this contract is not the last shot at making commuter rail happen there. Indeed, while some say Florida would lose credibility with federal officials if it pulls the deal back, it's the feds who are asking the tough questions.

In making their decisions this week, lawmakers should cast a vote for good government.

It's so rare that someone does. - Tampa Tribune editorial, April 29, 2008

Update from The Orlando Sentinel, 1:54 p.m. . . . .

House opts to go with Senate commuter rail deal

No surprise there.

What hurts my heart is that House negotiator Dean Cannon is my friend. His roots are in Lakeland. Since his high school years I have expected great achievements from him.

Little did I know that one of his most significant accomplishments would be to railroad his own hometown for political expedience.

If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.

My reasons for opposing the CSX rail boondoggle

This is my response to a supporter of the CSX rail deal that is grinding its way through the Florida legislature:

Gene, as I have stated previously, I favor commuter rail - when and if someone comes up with a plan that passes the smell test. The one being ramrodded through the Florida legislature is a scheme designed to alleviate Orlando's rail problems and dump them on other, less politically influential, communities. Anyone familiar with the Orlando area knows that trains and the accompanying traffic issues there have been a source of irritation for decades. The city has long sought a way to rid rid itself of a major problem. It now has one. See 2005 state study cited freight traffic headaches

This rail deal does not represent progress. Your analysis - basically that rail is more efficient than autos, so "build it and they will ride" - misses the destination by a mile. You cannot predict ridership, so you cannot possibly have a meaningful formula to determine if and when fuel efficiency goals for this particular commuter rail project would ever be met - and at what additional costs above the millions already bandied about. See Does rail transit save energy or reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

As for freight rail efficiency, the deal does nothing. It does not take freight off trucks and move it onto rail, it simply takes trains that are already running and diverts them through communities like Lakeland and Ocala, towns which have used better judgment in making growth management decisions than has the city of Orlando.

You are correct on this point: CSX "currently has no liability for commuter rail." But of course. Please read Sweet deal with CSX may violate state constitution

You may care about the environment, but so do those opposing the CSX deal. Do you have any idea of how this deal in its entirety would eventually impact the environment of communities outside Orlando? If so, you must be way ahead of the people who attempted to bypass regional impact studies - studies that, now that they have finally begun, have not concluded even for the first 319-acre phase of development of "the mother of all rail yards" in Winter Haven. Not to mention the second 931-acre part of the plan. I don't have to tell you why the dealmakers, acting in secret and avoiding public hearings, divided the CSX project into two parts. Hint: To avoid scrutiny, i.e., Florida sunshine, perhaps? Even today, Jeb Bush refuses to answer questions on another of his "devious plans," and Charlie Crist has no interest in hearing from members of my community. (Tours with John and evenings with George are much more fun for "the people's guv'na.")

Yes, a few local politicians and developers support the rail hub in Winter Haven. It's also true that many of those fighting the hardest for the deal will benefit financially and/or politically from the "financial aid" package.

My personal interest

Most people take pride in their homes and community. I will support Orlando's efforts to improve life in their city, but not their right to disrupt the lives of people several miles away. The rail proposal goes well beyond dumping trash in my backyard. Noise pollution, safety concerns and deteriorated quality of life will extend directly into my living room. For politicians, or anyone else, to behave as if I should have no say in the matter - and that is exactly what has happened - is insulting almost beyond words.

The impact of this deal on me, personally, reflects that of countless others - perhaps more people than the eventual ridership of the Orlando train, should the legislative boondoggle be allowed to succeed. I live in a historic part of Lakeland, near Lake Morton and Florida Southern College (see map of Main St. and CSX rail line). I have worked all my life to pay for the home in which I had intended to live out my life in peace. Police and major medical facilities are located on the north side of town, across the railroad tracks from the majority of Lakeland residents. A quarter of a million people are served. Watson Clinic, for example, has more than 200 providers offering 38 specialties, and the Lakeland Regional Medical Center's emergency room is the second busiest in the state.

If the politicians, the developers and CSX get their way, I will, through no fault of my own decisions, live in a city split in two by tracks carrying dozens of freight trains (up to 56 trips daily) of unknown length running hour after hour, day and night, with constant rumbles and whistles that disrupt sleep, work, commerce, traffic flow through downtown and emergency services. Road conditions and highway safety will be impacted by greatly increased truck traffic flowing from the mother of all rail hubs in Winter Haven. No one supporting the rail-and-hub deal can give exact answers to either the increased rail or truck traffic. In light of past deceptions, projections made by CSX would not be credible anyway. If I choose to sell my home, its value will likely have plummeted. So, use whatever logic works for you to support the rail deal, but don't use my own tax dollars to diminish my quality of life. Don't pretend that it's a wonderful thing for mankind. Don't piss on my boot and tell me it's raining.

Those who live in greater Orlando do so for their own reasons. They understood the problems when they made the decision to live and work there. Freight trains and rail yards did not spring up near their homes overnight. For decades, new residents of Orlando saw the conditions, weighed the lifestyle opportunities against the problems, and made their choice. I chose a different community for my own reasons - to avoid the problems of a city like Orlando - and I resent being dumped on by morally bankrupt politicians who have no interest in fairness or in protecting my community. For a temporary, largely political fix, or for whatever other reasons they may employ to hoodwink the public, a group of powerful politicians are, with no integrity and little regard for anyone's interests outside their own, breaking arms to pass a deal that is contrary to the well-being of several communities, to the state of Florida and to good government itself.

Is my city considered a wasteland, made useful only by absorbing a major problem of a larger city? Am I to pay for Orlando's continued, unfettered "development"? The threat to my community is real. Promises of future amelioration are absent from today's discussion. In fact, there are no serious discussions of even having meaningful discussions, so help is not on the way. Once done, the damage will never be undone. Once done, the politicians will focus on a thousand priorities (or the the priorities of their corporate sponsors) that rank above fixing the mess they created.

If the deal were as beneficial to the state as supporters suggest, if it were for "the greater good," please explain the secrecy, the lack of comprehensive studies and optional plans, and a total disregard for the communities most negatively impacted. Florida taxpayers, many within the Orlando area itself, who have taken the time to study the issue do not want their tax dollars taken from education, health care and other pressing needs and used for a CSX deal to "get people out of their cars."

Beyond the obvious

I won't belabor the obvious, since over several weeks I have documented the points I am making. With the exception of CSX stockholders, who were treated to a 46% profit increase last quarter, it's a bad deal for most Florida taxpayers - even environmentalists - who live outside the immediate commuter route being proposed.

Here are two points that the citizens of Florida need to know:

1 - The Port of Manatee is gearing up for the expansion of the Panama Canal. That will allow increased freight from the US west coast and Asia to flow through Florida to the entire eastern United States. That's where the Winter Haven "mother of all rail yards" fits into the long-range regional planning:

"Primarily at the beginning it will feed the consumer demand of the state of Florida for goods coming from the West Coast ports," Hood said. "As the growth of the Southeast ports happens, like at Port Manatee, Tampa and Jacksonville, there's an opportunity to feed this as a distribution point for goods to the Midwest and the northern part of the country. If something comes in to the Port of Manatee and the destination is Ohio or Indianapolis, the containers could be sent to those destinations and beyond."

"It's one more important tool that we have to market the port," said Steve Tyndal, Port Manatee's senior director of trade development and special projects. "If a shipper in Asia knows that a sophisticated intermodal facility like the one proposed for Winter Haven is only an hour away, that means we could more easily sell Port Manatee as a port of entry.

"Port Manatee is already well served by CSX but the new facility in Winter Haven will help drive capacity, specifically for containerized cargo," Tyndal said. "And that's important because the Panama Canal is expanding and the port is taking a proactive measure now to be ready for when that happens." - Bradenton Herald, Sept. 20, 2007, Port hopes rail brings growth

2 - The CSX-Orlando deal is likely to delay, probably for my lifetime, commuter rail between Tampa Bay and Orlando. The fifty-six freight trains projected for CSX's S-1 line would eliminate the prospect of using those tracks for commuter rail, and the state is unwilling to invest in high-speed rail. Travel by automobile will worsen from the hundreds of additional trucks cruising to and from the Winter Haven hub, and all along the I-4 corridor from Tampa to Orlando.

That's one of the reasons the editors of the Tampa Tribune, as well as editors of other newspapers across the state, have condemned this mother of all corrupt deals, so putrid it was hatched and nurtured in the dead of night and hidden from the public for as long as humanly possible. See Secret deal for railroad hub lays bare shady practices at DOT

For these reasons and others I have made before in this blog, I will do whatever is possible to derail a deal that should never have seen the light of day - especially at a time when, in the words of Speaker Rubio, our state faces "the worst government budget conditions in Florida's history."


A note on the governor's 'leadership' . . . .

When pressed to comment on the CSX rail issue, Gov. Crist responded Monday with a boxcar full of evasions: "not necessarily," "it depends," looks "forward to reviewing it," depends on "what the purpose is and what the rationale would be," "kind of factor all those things," "will factor and weigh and make a responsible decision."

Thanks, governor. How reassuring.

Florida politicians: Protecting 'core services' -- or core interests?

"Florida is in a recession, resulting in the worst government budget conditions in Florida's history," House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, said in a statement released Sunday.

"It is important to remember that as bad as it may seem for government, our people are hurting even more. I am pleased that we have produced a budget that is balanced and protects core services."

. . . .

State officials negotiated a deal that would help shield CSX Transportation and state railroad contractors from lawsuits if accidents occur on the commuter system.

But lawmakers have to approve the liability protections, and the proposals have drawn criticism in both the House and Senate. The protections are a key part of the deal in which CSX would sell to the state 61 miles of tracks from DeLand to Osceola County.

-- Florida's major issues remain unresolved

A moral call to arms: Defeat the 'Hate Amendment'

Proposed Florida Amendment 2: "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."

Yesterday, Kenneth Quinnell, of the Florida Progressive Coalition, listed 15 arguments against the Amendment . . .

• Recap: The wildcard

Today, Mustang Bobby, of Bark Bark Woof Woof, responded with a follow-on . . .

• What did we do?

I recommend both essays to anyone who cares about human rights at their most basic level.

Updates on CSX rail in Polk

For residents interested in the impact of CSX rail's plans for Polk County and Lakeland, see Billy Townsend's blog entry for Tuesday:

One entire section of this study [the 2005 Rail Relocation Feasibility Study] is devoted to recapping previous papers and studies that focused on problems posed by Orlando’s freight train traffic.

One of those, a 2002 paper prepared by METROPLAN Orlando, was titled: “Why Can’t We Solve Orlando’s Traffic Congestion Problems by Moving the Freight Trains?”

More . . . 2005 state study cited freight traffic headaches

In today's Tampa Tribune, Lindsay Peterson reports on public aid for CSX:

Times have never been better for America's major railroads. Profits are rising. Stock prices are up. And so are subsidies from taxpayers.

State governments are giving freight rail companies millions to build new tracks, bridges and tunnels. Since 2005, Florida officials have approved plans to give CSX Transportation and other railroad companies more than half a billion dollars through 2010.

That's not all the rail companies want. They're lobbying Congress this year for a federal tax credit worth more than $1 billion a year to pay for track improvements.

The money isn't for safety measures at public crossings. Government has paid railroads billions over the years to build, repair and maintain crossing signals at public roads. This money is for business expansion in areas the public never uses. -

More . . . CSX seeking public aid amid its growing profit

Continuing Updates . . .

• Oct. 12: Commissioner wants more answers...
• Oct. 16: Lakeland Local
• Oct. 20: CSX: No state money, no realighment deal

Ignorance is rampant in Dems' firing circle

Howard Dean, DNC Chairman:

"Do I wish this fight weren't happening? Yes," he said during a fundraising trip to Tallahassee. "In the big picture of what really matters in the country, this is a very small blip. This is a fight among politicians." - Oct. 10, 2007, Miami Herald

What a profoundly ignorant statement by a man whose claim to fame is his own failed primary campaign of 2004. Good show while it lasted, but without it, few people outside Vermont would know his name today. Even with the Iraq issue on his side, he managed to lose his ass in the great state of Iowa - the same state he's now willing to sacrifice a national election to appease.

Howard Dean, who knows less about Florida politics than he knows about a donkey's bray, calls what he's doing to Florida voters "a very small blip," and "a fight among politicians."

"One way or another, when the votes really count, Floridians' votes are going to count," Dean said. - Oct. 10, TBO.com

It all depends on the meaning of "when," the meaning of "votes," the meaning of "count" and the meaning of "one way or another," doesn't it, Howard?

How patronizing, even repulsive, your comments appear to the people who do "count." Here's your new word for the day: "voters." Why don't you take your arrogance somewhere else. Iowa. South Carolina. Wherever. And raise your money there, if you can.


And the betrayals keep flying . . .


Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House:

"The reality is if you want to know if Florida is going to be seated, ask the Democratic nominee as soon as one emerges." - Oct. 9, 2007, The Buzz

Great discernment by a leader who, with Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, can't change much of anything because her hands are tied by another "very small blip" - that nasty Republican minority.

According to Nancy, only after Florida delegates no longer count can they be counted. So what if November 2008 is too late to convince a few thousand extremely angry Democrats to support the candidate they were denied a role in selecting. A seat in Denver, once it no longer matters, may be good enough for 210 Florida delegates, but it will do little to change thousands of voters' minds.


Donna Brazile, DNC rules committee member:

"Perhaps by 2012 both major parties will commit to reforming the nominating process to give as many people as much of a voice as possible. We're long overdue for a rational system to elect a president of the United States." - Sept. 1, 2007, "Why we stood up to Florida," Washington Post

"Perhaps," indeed. So long as it's not this year, right? I know, I know: rules are rules. Such a long time since 2000, isn't it, Donna? Just not long enough yet, perhaps.


Jon M. Ausman, Florida member of the DNC:

"When elected officials blatantly blame the DNC for enforcing its rules and ignore the complicity of Florida Democratic elected officials in creating this situation they are not serving the Democrats of Florida well. They may get headlines, they may get support, but they are being demagogues rather than leaders." - Aug. 27, 2007, Jon and Donna Ausman, letter to Florida Dems

Good move, Jon. Insult the voters and the Democratic officeholders who managed to "get support" - that is, elected - in a Republican-leaning state. They "get headlines." They are the "demagogues." And they might cost you your seat at the table if they work for Florida voters rather than your personal interests.


Sharon Stroschein, DNC committee member, South Dakota:

"The last thing we want is Democrats not all coming together to elect our Democratic president, so this is not a pleasant thing, but someone has to crack the whip." - St. Pete Times

So now, even party insiders from faraway South Dakota know more about Florida than the elected officials here do. "Perhaps" Sharon has been so successful in filling South Dakota elective offices with Democrats she knows exactly what Florida needs - a little whip action.

Come on, Sharon, admit that the crack of the whip is not all that unpleasant to you.


Carol Fowler, DNC rules committee and chairwoman of the South Carolina Democratic Party:

"It's hard for us to control the states and keep individual state legislatures from going off and doing things, so we needed some sticks. I'm sorry to be the one to say, Florida is not the center of the universe." - The Buzz

Carol.

Please allow me to recommend a little book. It's by Dale Carnegie, and it's very inexpensive.

Seven days in '08 could sink Democrats' hopes

Democratic candidates for president, along with Howard Dean and members of the Democratic National Committee, may think they are battling Florida Democratic officials.

They are not. They are battling four million Democratic voters in Florida -- and a Republican Party delighted by the Democrats' attack on their own party members.

_____

January 29, 2008: The date for Florida's presidential primary. It was established by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Charlie Crist. Republicans controlled both houses that passed the bill, although many Democratic legislators voted for the elections reform package that included a paper trail for ballots, something that most fair-minded voters strongly supported.

February 5, 2008 (one week later): "Super Duper" Tuesday. About two dozen states will hold primaries. Florida could have scheduled its primary for February 5 without penalty.

DNC sanctions imposed for the 7-day infraction: The loss of all 210 delegates who would have represented Florida's primary voters at the Democratic nominating convention in Denver next summer.

In an attempt to enforce party rules with draconian measures, the national party turned a seven-day issue created by Republicans in Florida into a losing strategy for Democrats nationally.


Seven thoughts for Primary Madness Week, Jan. 29 - Feb. 5

• Florida voters did not set the primary date.
  
• Democratic party officials, with no power to impose sanctions upon the Republican legislature, are exacting undue punishment upon Florida Democrats. The attitude, as reflected in official pronouncements (even in the "progressive" blogosphere), seems to be, Hey, who cares what the whiners in Florida think? It's one state among many with "primary envy." We're right, they're wrong; we'll change the rules some day ... maybe ... if we want to. Democratic "demagogues" elected to office in Florida didn't fight hard enough against the early primary. Besides, "Flori-duh" lost us the presidential election in 2000 ... blah, blah, blah; blah, blah, blah.
• Leading Democratic candidates, failing to see beyond their own noses, quickly agreed to boycott the Florida primary.
• The Republican Party will consider a lesser punishment to Florida for breaking their primary calendar, and those responsible for the early primary may not be punished by their party at all (Medals of Freedom, perhaps?). Republican candidates will continue to campaign gleefully in Florida while Democrats appear even more hypocritical by exploiting fund-raising loopholes in their boycott pledge and by sending surrogates to the state.
• Note to DNC headquarters: Florida is a swing state because it is so evenly divided. Small matters (like the butterfly ballot or a third-party candidate) can tip the balance.
• Other important elections at the state and local levels will be affected by voters' attitudes toward the Democratic Party's handling of its self-imposed "primary madness week."
  
• Only seven days - January 29 to February 5 - stand between likely victory and an entirely possible defeat for Democrats. Will Democrats need Florida? Probably. Are they willing to sacrifice everything for one single week of making a point on party rules? Apparently.
  

Who benefits from the Democrats' internecine warfare?

Republicans will use the ill-advised pledge of Democratic candidates to boycott Florida voters as a huge weapon to beat Democrats over the head. Florida is not a state the Democrats can afford to take for granted, especially in a year when Bush has handed us a golden opportunity to swing the state into a more progressive voting pattern.

Adherence to rules for the sake of preserving some misbegotten principle draws attention from the issues that should drive the campaign. It’s like fighting over the words “betray us”: it may not be fair but it’s the reality of politics and media coverage. For some party officials and activists (especially those from outside Florida) to simply cover their eyes and ears - while offering the same old saw on what Florida voters “should do” or “should ignore,” and suggesting that "the primaries will be forgotten by November 2008" - will not influence a single voter to go out and vote for Democrats.


Democrats should focus on winning

Forget who’s right and who's wrong. Beating Republicans is "right;" anything less is "wrong," in my opinion. So modify the damn rules, remove or reduce the inappropriate penalties to Florida voters, and/or change the primary dates for the four "first states." Everyone admits the rules are antiquated and must be changed, anyway, and the changes are needed now, not some future election cycle.

Democrats, please do not let a seven-day gap between Jan. 29 and Feb. 5 become an inpassable bridge of inflexibility, failure and recrimination:

• It's time to ignore the outrage of party "activists" who fear losing their folding chairs, straw hats and party kazoos in Denver more than they fear losing the election.
• It’s time for people like Jon Ausman and Donna Brazille to stop using terms like “demagogues,” "arrogance" and “primary envy” to describe Democrats in Florida who managed to win elections in a deeply divided state.
• It’s time to consider how Floridians are reacting to the monumental snub. Their negative first reactions have the potential of becoming even wider and stronger during the primary season and election campaign - and Republicans know a gift when they see one.
  
• It’s past time for major Democratic candidates to rethink their pledge to appease a handful of party apparatchiks in the DNC and the four states that "wag" the donkey. Republican candidates are already visiting Florida at a record pace, and one can only imagine the media hype come January, when Republicans will be crisscrossing Florida and reminding voters on a daily basis that their Democratic counterparts are somewhere in Iowa building snowmen.

Politics is the art of compromise

All it takes to resolve the problem - and to win the election - is for Democrats to forget how we got here and develop a strategy for winning. Move on. That means revisiting the admittedly outdated rules and the punishment imposed upon Florida voters - and to do it now, not after the third election in a row is lost. Consider 2008, not 2012 or some year in the vague future, as "the year of change.”

To say that we'll all just have to work harder to put a smiley face on the party's mess is whistling past the graveyard. Wavering voters in Florida will depart the Democratic Party in droves next year unless the party gives them a feeling of empowerment. We need something and someone to vote for, rather than against (and George W. Bush will not be in the race, in case party officials have not noticed).

The party faithful in Florida will likely support the Democratic nominee regardless of how the nomination is won, but I am not willing to bet on any candidate's ability to regain support between March and November that is frittered away between October and February. I had thought there was no way that Democrats could lose the 2008 presidential election. Every day the Florida primary issue remains unresolved creates more concern, however.

Is there no leader capable of bridging the gap between Jan. 29 and Feb. 5? It's only seven days, after all.

_____

Update, Oct. 7, 2007--The St. Pete Times reviews how we got here:

• Florida faces a primary problem

A better title would be, "The Democratic Party faces a general election problem."

Hubs and rubs in Central Florida

The hub: CSX Railroad wants to move its Orlando rail hub to Winter Haven.

The rub: The deal lacks transparency, public input and thorough, unbiased studies weighing the positive and negative consequences to Polk County and the region.

Since the announcement was made last August, CSX has remained mum on the project, showing no capacity for good public relations.

The secrecy leaves the impression that [ex-governor Jeb] Bush and the railroad failed to consider the negative effects on communities beyond Winter Haven. It's predicted that some 1,000 more tractor-trailer rigs will be added to Polk's highways each day, making traffic unmanageable.

Lakeland, for example, would see a significant increase in rail traffic through downtown. City leaders fear the traffic could damage the integrity of newly restored buildings. The same could be said about Plant City, Auburndale, Dade City and Lake Wales, since each are bisected by tracks.

Their questions deserve answers.

Among them: Why Winter Haven? Why can't the hub be moved farther south, where CSX owns phosphate tracks in a more rural part of Polk? Or why not locate the hub somewhere north of Interstate 4? How will the project's negative impacts be offset? And will the deal shut the door on commuter rail between Orlando and Tampa? - Tampa Tribune editorial, Sept. 19, 2007

See also . . . .

• A look at the latest CSX chatter
• Another "devious plan" hits the fast rail
• Rail yard could alter course of Southeast's economy
• Big wheels tearing up Florida's roads
• Crist meets again with CSX. Will he meet with critics?