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Florida House Democratic Leader-designate talks about empathy and leadership James Call

Speaker Richard Corcoran's crusade to end state subsidies to businesses is a dagger aimed at the heart of Gov. Rick Scott's job-creating legacy.(Photo: Steve Cannon, AP)

Florida House Democrats find themselves in an unusual situation they matter. Their 41 votes could be the deciding factor in a fierce turf war raging within the ruling Republican Party.

Gov. Rick Scott and Speaker Richard Corcoran quickly escalated a dispute about how to spend .002 percent of the state budget into what is surely going to be remembered as a classic capital slugfest.

Corcoran threw a haymakeron the eve of a vote to kill Enterprise Florida, the states chief business recruiter. Meeting with GOP lawmakers, he showed a video detailing Enterprise Floridas failed projects and calling business incentives corporate welfare.

Scott countered with his own video, in which he depicted Corcoran as a job-killing Tallahassee politician.

At ringside, available to each corner, are House Democrats. Theyve lacked influence in Tallahassee since the lastdecades of the 20th Century. But in the fight over how to build a 21st Century economy, Democrats find themselves wanted and needed by two unlikely suitors, both Scott and Corcoran.

To get a veto proof majority for the budget, you need to come to us, said Rep. Evan Jenne, the Democrats policy chair. Theyre not there. We havent seen the House's final version of the budget, yet.

'A chance to define the party'

Corcoran and his allies recoil at the idea of giving taxpayers dollars to profitable businesses to make money in Florida. That strategy,Scott claims, has made Florida a national leader in job creation.

Its deeply offensive whether you are a Bernie Sanders progressive or a Ted Cruz conservative, said Rep. Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast. He sponsored the House bill that strips millions of dollars spent on tax credits and other incentives Florida provides businesses from the state budget.

We live in a constrained balanced budget world, said Renner. Those $200 million are not spent on public safety, they are not spent on schools, they are not spent on tax relief and other forms of relief that would benefit all businesses and all people.

The House approved what Scott called "job-killing" legislation with an 87-28 vote.

Twenty-two Democrats voted with the Republican majority to cut business incentives from the state budget. Corcoran cant afford to lose more than seven of them to Scotts side. He needs at least 80 votes to block Scott from vetoing a budget without the incentives the governor demands. And Corcoran needs to get an incentives-free budget througha Senate, which at this point seems more aligned with Scott than with the House.

So, a veto-proof vote on the House floor for the budget means a lot, said House Democratic Leader Janet Cruz, D-Tampa.

Former House Democratic Leader Mark Pafford called it a once-in-a-generation opportunity for theminority party.

"Absolutely, it's a chance to define the party. A party that has lost the confidence of its electorate,"said Pafford, who was term-limited out of office in November.

'The governor could go nuclear'

Cruz said the Democrats are taking it one day at a time while the GOP sorts things out. New House rules require representatives to attach their names to local funding requests. Members are asking for more than $2.3 billion requests both Corcoran and Scott can use as leverage to win votes.

The incentives brawl could prolong the session, keepinglawmakers in Tallahassee into June, sweating out a July 1 deadline to produce a budget Scott will sign.

Last week, Scottheld a campaign-style rally at the statehouses front door to pressure the House. A couple of hundred tourism executives and private sectorworkers crowded into the rotunda to show support for using tax dollars to market the state.

Gov. Scotts 'Fighting for Florida Jobs' rally

Backed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater they dont have a vote in the dispute but signaled the establishment is with the governor Scott explained Floridas economy was on a roll. He urged his listeners to tell lawmakers not to throw away the tools he used to produce 1.2 million jobs since he took office in 2011.

All these people showed up because they care about jobs in this state. This is about jobs for Florida families, jobs, jobs, jobs, said Scott, speaking to reporters afterward. What I asked everybody to do is go talk to their House member, go talk to their Senator.

Scott is playing hardball. He has taken the fight to the districts of opposing lawmakers.He has also been generous in his praise of lawmakers siding with him on business incentives. At a Tallahassee media event, he singled out Representatives Loranne Ausley and Ramon Alexander, two Democrats who voted with him in the House debate. The two have filed 44 bills requesting more than $100 million for local projects.

"Whoever votes to help me make sure we get more jobs, I'm going to praise them," Scott said. "If you're going to vote to decimate the job market in this state, I'm not going to praise you."

On the other hand, playing with lawmakers' funding requests is a dangerous game. If Corcoran were to promise support for a member's vote against Scott, the maneuver could backfire.

"Thegovernor could go nuclear as well and begin systematically line item vetoes on many different specific lines of spending for particular legislators," said Aubrey Jewett, a University of Central Florida political science professor. "If Gov.Scott aimed most of his line item vetos at opposition House members for instance, but left Senate priorities untouched, it might encourage Senators to give up attempts at overrides."

'No guarantees'

Capitol observers cant remember a similar intra-party fight played out in public in the last 50 years.

Were in uncharted waters, headed to the part of the map where it says there are dragons, said Jenne, the Democrats policy chair. Im worried about a month from now when there are two weeks left and theres no agreement."

Jenne has been around politics much of his life. His father served in the Legislature in the 1970s and Jenne has eight sessions under his belt.

Were not trading votes. Weve told our members to vote for whats best for your constituents," said Jenne. "We're focused on policy.

The Democrats'focus does not necessarily line up with either Scotts pro-business or Corcorans limited-government approach. Rep. Kionne McGhee, D-Miami-Dade, who will follow Cruz as the Democratic Leader in 2019, pledged to keep policy discussions about people, especially the underdog.

We will continue to fight on your behalf, McGhee said in his acceptance speech Monday night when he recalledhis struggle to overcome poverty and undiagnosed dyslexia to become a prosecutor. There is no time for apathy. But there is always room for more empathy for those who truly need our help.

While supporters congratulated McGhee on his selection as the futureleader in the Democrats House office, Cruz stayed focus on the present logjam.

The Speaker made it very clear to us what his priorities were, and we, in turn, made it clear to him what our priorities are, said Cruz.

I will tell you not to make any plans for summer vacation," was the Democratic Leader's response when askedwhether the odds were with Scott or Corcoran.

The session is scheduled to end on May 5. Summer begins June 21. The state needs a budget 10 days later.The Senate has yet to weigh in on the dispute. No Senate bills have been filed to advance Corcorans cause.

Some Senators, including Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, have expressed support for incentives.

"Bottom line there are opportunities for the Democrats here," said UCF's Jewett, who like Corcoran once worked for former Speaker Tom Feeney. "But there are no guarantees as to how this will all play out."

Reporter James Call can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on Twitter @CallTallahassee.

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