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Arrested DeSantis protesters still singing as they get booked

The arrested DeSantis protesters were booked on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, in the Cabinet Meeting Room on the floor below the governor's office. They still sang.

Douglas Soule, USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA

These are dark times for Florida Democrats in the Legislature.

The just completed 2023 session saw them consistently lose debates as Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican majority "seized the moment" and passed a culture-war laden agenda that expanded gun rights, restricted access to abortion, and banned diversity efforts in public education among other things.The session also saw mass arrests from two separate protests, when demonstrators refused orders to vacate the premises.

Elements of DeSantis's legislative blueprint sailed through House and Senate committee meetings on 15-5 and 5-3 votes as the GOP consistently rolled over the outnumbered Democrats.

Registered Democratic voters stayed on the sidelines last November, with more than half not casting a ballot.

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That enabled DeSantis to score a 19-point reelection victory and become the big man on the Capitol Campus - backed by two-third Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

Thursday, DeSantis said the GOP went on a historic run that has never been seen before in this states history, as he set the stage for a potential presidential bid.

House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa knew election night when Democrats sank deep into superminority status they would hold little or no influence at the state capitol.

At the time, she told Tampa public radio her fear was that Democratic voices would be shut out of the process in Tallahassee.

That is what happened this session, she said Thursday.

We saw the Republican supermajority bend to the will of the governor. I think that he and the Republicans in the legislature felt very emboldened, so much so that they passed bill after bill that's unpopular with the people, said Driskell.

A University of North Florida poll found more than 77% of respondents opposed the Legislatures decision to allow permit less carry of firearms, and 75% opposed to the six-week ban on abortion.

Superminority status is a math problem; too few votes to block, delay, or mitigate the majorities initiatives, according to Charles Zelden, political science professor at Nova Southeastern University.

Rhetoric is all you have at that point because you cant shape the outcome of policy, said Zelden.

The best you can do is to make good PR. Sellan alternative vision to the public and hope that will help in the next election cycle, said Zelden.

Democrats say they did not intentionally craft viral moments in legislative debate but their assertions, and questions produced some memorable ones that may become decisive talking points in a 2024 election featuring Florida's head of state.

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Brevard said, damn right, about the possibility of erasing Drag Queens if it meant protecting children.

Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, argued Second Amendment rights were more important than protecting children from gun violence.

Rep. Jeff Holcomb, R-Spring Hill, defended support of a gay ban in the military with the conclusion, Our terrorist enemies hate homosexuals more than we do.

And Rep. Webster Barnaby, R-Deltona, compared transgender people to demons.

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I wish I could take credit for that, said Driskell in a discussion of a series of statements Republicans made that were shared widely on social media and picked up by national news outlets.

They pushed and rammed through all those things and were their worst enemy. It's starting to have adverse consequences for Ron DeSantis, and I hope its reflected at the ballot box in 2024, said Driskell.

It wasnt all bad news in 2023 for Driskell and the Democrats.

Lawmakers approved a $117 billion state budget that included many local spending projects and initiatives submitted by Democrats.

Driskell was able to secure $5 million for a sickle cell disease care program and approval of a historical cemetery program to locate, identify, and maintain abandoned cemeteries.

Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, landed a $1.9 million check to refurbish a shelter for theBig Bend Homeless Coalition, and $720,000 for a special needs shelter in Jefferson County.

To combat rising sea levels, Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, got a saltwater intrusion grant program established within the Department of Environmental Protection

Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Miami, chaperoned a child custody bill in cases involving domestic violence to unanimous approval by the House and Senate it now awaits DeSantis signature.

And while it appears every lawmaker got something to take back home for their time in Tallahassee, Driskell said budget victories do not ease the feelings of defeat that came with losses on major policy bills.

You can not take away Floridians rights and then soothe the loss of those rights with a water project. We have to have a government that actually is for the people and by the people. Not what we've had with this Republican supermajority, which is really just serving the Governor, said Driskell.

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahasse

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What Democrats got done as a superminority in Florida Legislative Session - Tallahassee Democrat