The Banana Republic of Florida

For too long in Florida, once someone is elected, they stay in office. In the past 10 years, according to an examination of state records, only 10 of 505 incumbent lawmakers – less than 2 percent – have been defeated in bids for re-election. That includes a successful re-election rate of 98.9 percent for state senators and 97.8 percent for House members.

In fact, most election cycles for the state House and Senate will see many candidates will be sworn back into office that never received a vote. They simply filed without any opposition.

Once politicians feel secure that they will stay in office, they really have no motivation to be responsive to their constituents’ needs.

The term “Banana Republic” has its roots in South American Dictators but is now used to describe a government that is primarily concerned with special interest rather than values of citizens. The main feature of the “Banana Republic” is that it creates a pseudo-democracy, which means elections are rigged, so that a pre-selected candidate is guaranteed victory. This puppet leader has ensured the special interest power players that he or she will follow their directives to create laws that only benefit their interest.

The current political landscape is controlled by the big money, big special interest groups, and if we do not change how things are done behind closed doors, are liberties will continue to fade away. The problem is that real citizen grassroots candidates do not stand a chance in the culture of big money special interests that control elections. The candidates that get elected are the ones backed by the party establishment and high priced lobbyist, who don’t care about your individual liberty, they only care about staying in power and the favors they need to pass out to receive the special interest money that funds their campaigns.

Who are the special interests controlling elections and choosing Candidates?