We know monkeys are intelligent, but who could have guessed that they are able to craft ballot language for charter questions?
And use legal dictionaries and dart boards to boot!
That’s the assertion Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell made last week when he offered his folksy two-cents on four potential changes to the Orange County charter voters will be deciding on in the upcoming election.
The thought of monkeys and dart boards conjures up a vision of the columnist throwing darts at a board covered with images of the Republican commissioners as he penned his missive — better known as “the hacks on the commission,” as he labeled them in his column.
In this scenario, can there be any doubt that Commissioner Fred Brummer’s mug would be resting on the bulls eye?
Not only does Maxwell continue the myth that professional activists well compensated by labor unions and other liberal organizations are nothing more than “citizens,” he eagerly embraces the potential for them to “take democracy into their own hands.”
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In addressing Question A, he looks past our representative form of government to talk about being able to “directly petition” the commission. This is known as direct democracy, which often goes by another name — mob rule.
The expanded 150 day time limit allows locals more time to better understand how ballot initiatives may affect the community before voting on them, and for this reason alone voters should vote YES on A.
He tells readers that Question B will “ban” them from addressing economic issues, which is disingenuous. These issues can certainly be addressed through those elected to represent the community — that is what they are there for. If you don’t like their decisions, vote them out.
The economic issues he speaks of — favored by labor unions — will limit local opportunity. Voting YES on B will prevent out-of-state special interests from forcing a job-killing agenda on Orange County.
Maxwell gets it right on Question C, vote NO — even a broken clock is accurate twice a day.
He ripped those behind Question D for combining two issues, but wasn’t nearly as harsh on Democrats for doing the same thing on C. In the end, this issue will help protect Orange County from polarizing political agendas — and establish term limits — and voters should vote YES on D.
In baseball jargon, a great pitch is preceded by a proper setup, and in this case, Maxwell’s setup stinks. Which means Orange County voters can’t trust that he’s throwing strikes — vote NO on C and ignore Maxwell and vote YES on Questions A, B and D.
TomTillisonFL@gmail.com
Florida Rattle Tale 