* The votes for the law were 89-31 in the House and 30-9 in the Senate. The House vote went largely along party lines, but in the Senate, newly elected Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, voted for it.
By Howard Troxler, Times Columnist
In Print: Sunday, March 27, 2011. Read the full article here.
The Florida Legislature proved this past week, once and for all, that it is the utter Whore of Babylon.
It is now legal in our state to pay off the Legislature directly, (effective immediately). Who says so? The Legislature.
On March 24th, the Legislature voted to relegalize a bygone and corrupt institution, outlawed in this state for more than two decades, known as "leadership funds."
These "leadership funds" are campaign slush funds operated legally and officially by the leaders of the Legislature themselves: The president of the Florida Senate and his successor, the speaker of the Florida House and his chosen successor, the "speaker designate," and the leaders of the minority party in the House and Senate.
(This means under the law, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, are now able to raise unlimited funds for campaigns.)
This is Florida — where the laws of our democracy are now openly, officially For Sale.
And they call it 'reform.'
