There was a time when Christian fundamentalist issues were on the sidelines in Florida politics — when candidates certainly courted the anti-abortion vote, for instance, but when those morality-based themes didn't predominate.
No longer.
From top to bottom on November's ballot in Florida, theocratically-driven ideas are shaping the races, candidates and referendum. Candidates who were moderate are suddenly falling all over themselves to appeal to social conservatives. Fighting gay marriage. Advocating Intelligent Design in public schools. Intervening in the Terri Schiavo case. Toughening abortion laws. One Christian lawmaker has gone beyond the usual suspects to attack the root source of our moral malaise: violent video games.
Here is a quick list of the most visible examples:
Katherine Harris
The would-be Senator recently moved more publicly into the Christian camp, and media reports named a well-known Christian "spiritual adviser" as her campaign strategist. Dale Burroughs counsels top Christian fundamentalists across the country, including Focus on the Family's James Dobson, and is now reputed to be the head guru in the Harris campaign. (Burroughs denied such a role in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times, which paraphrased her as saying "she has little role in the campaign beyond helping reach out to religious voters and is merely a Bible study partner and close friend.")
In explaining her announcement that she was pumping $10 million into her flagging campaign, Harris used an allusion to a New Testament parable. She also was recently a featured speaker at the "Reclaiming America for Christ" conference in Coral Springs in front of about 1,000 politically active evangelists.
Tom Gallagher
Gallagher's born-again transformation from a moderate politico and reputed playboy to right-wing family man has made him a contender on the Republican side of the governor's race. He was pro-choice and single when he ran in 1994; today, he is married, has a son, newfound social conservative zeal and is against all abortions. In 2000, pre-conversion, he changed the state's education policy on teaching the Bible in public schools, taking it out of history classes and labeling it as literature. Today, he supports teaching Intelligent Design creationism hypotheses in high school science classes.
Charlie Crist
In attempting to outflank Gallagher, his Republican gubernatorial rival, Crist has come out strongly against abortion, telling an audience recently that he would sign a bill outlawing abortion similar to the one adopted in South Dakota. While a law-and-order Republican, Crist was always viewed as more moderate on social issues. In 1995, the then-legislator voted against a 24-hour waiting period for abortions. He cast the deciding vote.
Joe Negron
State Rep. Negron (R-Stuart) has a few big advantages in the Republican race for attorney general. First and foremost, he's been able to raise more than $1 million due to his position as the House Appropriations chairman. More quietly, however, he is the furthest right socially, a viewpoint he touts in appearances. From his perfect rating from the Christian Coalition in 2003 and 2004 (he slipped to 93 percent last year) to his vote to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case, Negron can count on as much as 30 to 40 percent of the Republican primary vote if he can take advantage of those kinds of credentials with conservative voters. And he intends to let them know about it; his website includes the following: "Rep. Negron believes that our rights and freedoms do not come from the government, but instead are granted to us by our Creator through our Constitution." And in 2002, according to the Miami Herald, he told a Hobe Sound audience angry about religion being shut out of public schools, "We must resist the pervasive view that opinions about religion are somehow inherently risky and inferior to ideas grounded in economics, politics, philosophy or popular culture."
Tom Lee
Nowhere is the "move-to-the-right" Republican primary requirement more evident than in Florida's race for chief financial officer. Tom Lee — a moderate on taxes who's best known for his maverick stances against lobbyists — has been forced to at least sound more socially conservative by his opponent Randy Johnson. Johnson led the state's unsuccessful fight against slot machines, and Lee has been forced to disavow gambling because of it. And while Lee always enjoyed Christian right support, he never talked much about social issues — until this campaign. Earlier this year, it was Lee who was delivering the sound bites when the Republican Party doubled its contributions to organizers of the anti-gay marriage amendment, saying it was important to spend the money because it is an issue that is important to Republicans.
The Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment
Speaking of which, the No. 1 public policy referendum item in the pipeline (although it won't be on the ballot until 2008) is the attempt to constitutionally ban gay marriage. Part social conservatism, part slick attempt to drive Republican voters to the polls, the amendment would have been on the ballot this year if its organizers hadn't misjudged how hard it is to gather more than 600,000 signatures statewide without professional help.
Mel Martinez
Want proof that wrapping yourself in God works? Look no further than our current U.S. Sen. Martinez. Neck and neck in a crowded primary race in 2004, his campaign orchestrated a conference call among social conservative leaders and the press at which opponent Bill McCollum was accused of being soft on gays because of his vote to include sexual orientation in federal hate crime laws. Martinez won the primary and went on to club Betty Castor, the Democrat who had won statewide before — back when social issues didn't rule the day.
Democrats get shy
The strong wedge of social conservatism has also forced Democrats to recalibrate. It is almost impossible to find a truly liberal Democrat winning the support of the Florida party these days. Democrats have been forced to move to the middle to be more palatable to the general election voter. Case in point: At a February conference of the Florida Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Democratic Caucus in Tampa, only one candidate supported the notion of gay marriages. The two gubernatorial candidates, Jim Davis and Rod Smith, both opt for some kind of civil unions rather than openly backing gay marriage.
Gay adoptions
It seems a no-brainer; Florida has more children in foster care awaiting adoption than it knows what to do with. Some of the kindest, most caring foster parents are gay. But Florida law prohibits gays and lesbians from adopting children. A push is on in this Legislature to change that law, but it has met tough resistance. One Florida Baptist Witness editorial called the legislation "State-sanctioned child abuse in Florida."
Hillsborough County's dynamic duo
Up until last year, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms was the only one who got to sing "Onward, Christian Soldiers" when it came to social issues in greater Tampa. She now has a born-again sidekick: Commissioner Brian Blair, whose political journey recalls that of Tom Gallagher. Blair was a fairly wild-livin' professional wrestler until putting aside those childish things to get elected and appear on Bill O'Reilly's television show to argue against school board members who wanted to drop Easter from the vacation calendar. Not to mention his stalwart support of Storms' anti-gay crusade and overt-and-covert battle to keep a Valrico bikini bar from opening.
This article appears in Apr 5-11, 2006.