The state of Florida is in the middle of a dangerous Constitutional crisis. The crisis is that the entirety of state government is operating in blatant and flagrant violation of the requirement that the people’s business be conducted in the open and that the public be permitted to inspect writings and records created by those we elect to conduct our government affairs.
The general public can be excused for not recognizing the full extent of the ongoing violations or fully appreciating the danger created by a state government that has gone entirely rogue and lawless regarding Constitutional rights because no one, not even press or open government advocates, have used these words to express the full extent of this ongoing crisis. It’s long past time for press, government advocates and especially the press to stand up and boldly proclaim that this constitutional crisis must come to an end.
The latest and frankly one of the most profound transgressions of the Constitutional rights of Florida citizens occurred on Tuesday, April 21 when Florida’s Republican members met in Florida’s capitol in a session closed entirely to the public and press. Reporters who attempted to fulfill their obligation to report the people’s business were physically prevented from entering the room in which these members held their unlawful meeting.
An iconic image of this meeting has emerged, and it’s one that must forever be seared into the mind of the public and press alike. The image features Associated Press reporter Gary Fineout with his ear pressed against the door, struggling in vain to hear how Florida’s elected representatives will provide health care and resolve one of the biggest financial conflicts this state has ever faced. This good reporter and the scene it depicts is the embodiment of an arrogant, lawless and out of control state government that must be reigned in. This is the picture that helps to expresses the very dangerous times that we live in.
This utterly unconstitutional meeting of Florida’s legislative branch occurs on the day before press and open government advocates are set to convene a mediation in one of the many ongoing lawsuits which allege the executive branch is engaging in its own series of very serious constitutional violations…conducting the people’s business in secret and then refusing to comply with executive branch’s Constitutional obligations of disclosure to the public.
A key question that all of us should be asking is why this current government finds it necessary to burrow deep into cloistered and secret meetings. The reason is simple and, once again, quite dangerous. The interests of the people of the State of Florida are being sold off to private entities, individuals and cabals whose interests are not those of the people, but of the shareholders, the cronies and the principals of those organizations.
In the context of a true and undeniable Constitutional crisis, citizens rely upon the judicial branch to stand up and protect core rights. Regrettably, in large measure the entirety of Florida’s judicial branch has shown little willingness to provide those protections or vindicate the core rights of the citizens of this state. Instead they have dodged, denied and failed to give voice to the Constitution the branch is duty bound to uphold. Essential functions of state government like prisons, health care, schools, roads, environmental concerns…even water….they are all being sold off to private corporations whose exclusive interest is to maximize profit and return on investment. Once the profits have been extracted, these interests will evacuate this state, not unlike a reckless mining company that strips the earth bare and then drives off leaving a burning and barren landscape where trees and nature once stood.
In the middle of this crisis must step boldly and decisively the one branch of government whose power must never be underestimated…the fourth branch of government, The Press. Now is the time for the Press, both traditional and new media, to raise their collective voices persistently and unceasingly until this crisis subsides. The press, both traditional and new, must all stand together, boldly and unified and remind the citizens of this state of the critical function performed by the fourth branch. The public in turn must support the press, reject anything less from our state government than unfettered access by the press and unqualified respect for the role the press plays in ensuring good government.
