Big Money Floods Florida With Political Ads

by Frank Derfler www.derfler.biz

This week Florida voters exist in a spray of political ads as thick as the humidity in summer. But only about half of the drippy ads come from federal candidates. A large portion of the ads in the steady stream come from a couple of proposed amendments to the state constitution that involve the interests and money of casinos and that pit doctors against malpractice lawyers. The advertising on all sides of these issues is spun so tightly that the spin itself becomes an issue. Ad-burn out, voter fatigue, and inaccurate voter polls are the results.
Florida’s Constitution allows voters to create amendments with a simple majority vote. Proposed amendments can get onto the ballot with slightly under 500,000 signatures. One argument is that this arrangement gives a path around a corrupt or stagnant legislature. Another argument is that it makes it too easy for special interests to pass smelly issues under the noses of the voters without them getting a whiff.
In 2002 the voters of the state amended the constitution to prohibit penning pregnant pigs. In the end, the amendment did discourage the high-density swine factories that the animal-rights people targeted, but many argue that there were better ways to reach that goal than a constitutional amendment.
A few years ago the voters amended the Constitution to order the creation of a light rail system that would more or less parallel the over-crowded and often stalled Interstate 4 linking Tampa, Orlando’s attractions, and the east coast of the state. The politicians, bureaucrats, and special interests never worked together to meet the deadline imposed by the amendment. The 2004 state ballot carries a proposed amendment, sponsored by a group called Derail the Bullet Train (DEBT), that would cancel the previous amendment.
But the big fights in Florida this election year are over gambling and law suits for medical malpractice – although if you just watch the TV ads you’d never know it. Gambling interests have had their eyes on Florida for decades. Most of the previous attempts to somehow legalize gambling argued that gambling means lower taxes. This year, the pro-gambling interests adopted the cap and gown of education. The proposed constitutional amendment would authorize a referendum on slot machines in Miami-Dade and Broward counties –far away from the constriction of the North Florida Bible Belt. The proposal says that slot machine taxes would supplement spending on education. So, the ads supporting this proposed amendment show happy teachers and happy students engaging in happy education. Ads in opposition show slot machines popping up on beaches, driving away tourists who support family values. There’s no discussion of proposed revenue or social pros and cons.
Medical interests are attacking legal interests over malpractice attorney’s fees in a proposed amendment that would, in essence, limit an attorney’s portion of any large medical malpractice award to about $150,000. Attorneys I have talked to already have strategies for working around this cap, but it will still hurt them on the bottom line. Both sides have pulled out the stops on ads using deformed bodies and depressing stories. One ad in favor of the amendment shows a woman in a wheel chair (later revealed by the opposition as an actor) complaining that her attorney took all of her jury-awarded money. The same side took the actor-gaff in stride and put out new ads using people who proclaim, “I am not an actor” and voice more complaints against lawyers. The lawyers arguing against the amendment swamp the emotions with ads featuring grieving families and people with damaged bodies who argue that they would not receive fair treatment under the law if the limitation passes.
The deluge of political advertising in Florida is teaching viewers to use the mute button on their remotes that they never knew existed. No one at my barbershop, coffee shop, or fishing pier wants to discuss politics anymore. The fire hose stream has numbed even people who had high political interest. My personal opinion is that you shouldn’t put a lot of faith in polls of voter intentions you see from Florida. The volume of political advertising is changing the impact of that advertising. It is very difficult to extract fish from a raging river.