Photo courtesy Florid Senate: Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo at Sine Die at the Florida Capitol.

The past few years, watching the Florida Legislature has felt a bit like watching a particularly cruel animal show. Everybody performing tries to look excited in hopes of getting a tiny snack, but you can’t shake the feeling nobody would be doing what they are if not for fear of being thrown in a cage and whipped otherwise.

The larger show, at least in this case, was one with higher viewership but and a predictable ending. Ringleader — err, Gov. Ron DeSantis was running for President, for less than a year professionally but in earnest since the pandemic in 2020 made him into a national star. He found his voice lashing out against lockdowns, and quickly came to believe that would provide a path to the Republican nomination for President.

Too much ink already spilled trying to explain why that didn’t work out. But those in Florida know the run had consequences. In an apparent bid for the support of Republican primary voters in Iowa, the Legislature became little more than a policy staffers tasked with drafting a campaign platform, and Florida Statutes turned into a white paper, a template to show voters in other states how he planned to cover a nation.

For those elected lawmakers who dared to want more, the work had to feel suffocating. For those with a competing agenda, it surely felt oppressive. DeSantis last year famously made an example of Sarasota, vetoing ridiculous amounts of local spending after state Sen. Joe Gruters dared to endorse someone else, Donald Trump, for President.

But for the most part, lawmakers got in line with an agenda that inevitably often ran outside the political mainstream. Book bans? Heartbeat bills? Transgender erasure? Lawmakers with diverse communities and constituents inevitably detrimentally impacted by these bills still went along. If anyone ever briefly stepped off course, like when state Rep. Will Robinson opposed Florida’s infamous “don’t say gay” law, the expectation was that they make up for it when the next ridiculous bill came along. Robinson ultimately endorsed DeSantis and trekked the snows of Iowa to convince caucus-goers long after the governor’s chances of victory had melted away.

Some never crossed DeSantis. Legislative leaders certainly didn’t. At least until this year. After the Governor finally folded his campaign, the Legislature started acting like a Legislature again. They passed a social media bill, forced DeSantis to veto it and passed another one before the end of Session that he pretty much must sign now or risk an override.

And they stopped passing the divisive culture war bills that marked the 2021, 2022 and 2023 legislative sessions. Sure, some crazy crap continued to come out of the House — some representatives really need to explain votes like outlawing transgender people putting their gender identity on driver’s licenses. But in the Senate, the hurtfulness hit full stop shortly after DeSantis’ ambitions did the same.

That government ID bill was never heard in the Senate nor were bills to reduce the age to buy assault rifles or ban Pride flags from public property. Bills barring LGBTQ sensitivity at nonprofits or making gold into legal tender never got a hearing in either chamber. A bill to save Confederate monuments (and as a side note that kissing sailor statue) made it a certain distance before the endorsement of flaming racists and bigots derailed it entirely.

A year ago, likely all those bills would pass, or at east earn more consideration. But we aren’t governing to impress Iowa voters anymore.

I realize for many voters, this ends an era they heartily embraced. GOP supermajorities in both chambers offered a change to boldly push Florida to the right. But the truth is this state remains more purple than the last Governor’s race suggests.

Most Floridians will surely welcome the chance for lawmakers to listen first to their communities, and not to one ambitious politician with his focus on Pennsylvania Avenue instead of Tamiami Trail. 

Jacob Ogles is contributing senior editor for SRQ MEDIA.

Photo courtesy Florid Senate: Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo at Sine Die at the Florida Capitol.