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How Will Florida Be Impacted By The Trump Presidency? · Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We are joined by our first visit of the new
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  Speaker 1: year with the president of the James Madison Institute. He's
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: a familiar voice. He is doctor Bob McClure. Doctor McClure,
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  Speaker 1: Happy New Year, How are you, sir?
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  Speaker 2: Happy New Year to you, my friend, how are you?
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  Speaker 1: I am terrific.
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  Speaker 2: You know.
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  Speaker 1: I ended the year making a little subtle transition. I
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  Speaker 1: had been counting the number of days this country was
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: held hostage by the Obiden administration. Now I'm counting it down.
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  Speaker 1: We're down to twelve days before the new administration. What
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  Speaker 1: are you most excited about with the new administration and
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  Speaker 1: doctor McClure, what are you most apprehensive about?
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  Speaker 2: Well, first, Preston and I want to wish all your
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  Speaker 2: listeners a happy new year in in you know, wonderful
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  Speaker 2: twenty twenty five as well. What is disheartening to me
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  Speaker 2: is what I'm seeing from the Biden administration on the
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  Speaker 2: way out the door, whether it's the pardons, the relief
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  Speaker 2: of the Guantanamo Bay hostage terrorists, what they've done with
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  Speaker 2: oil and gas, and the list goes on. In terms
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  Speaker 2: of what I'm saying, it is very disheartening. It's Unamerican
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  Speaker 2: I'll say it. It is horrific. People have compared it to,
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  Speaker 2: you know, the crazy ex girlfriend who's you know, gonna
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  Speaker 2: burn everything down on the way out of the door.
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  Speaker 2: But I think it's worse than that. And while I
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  Speaker 2: think the new administration can change a lot of that
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  Speaker 2: of what it's been done, it's going to take time.
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  Speaker 2: It just hand strings them and slows them down. Having
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  Speaker 2: said that, what I'm most excited about is that we
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  Speaker 2: have adults back in charge. We have a president, whether
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  Speaker 2: you love or hate his tweets or his personality, who
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  Speaker 2: knows where he's going. He ran on very clear, very specific,
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  Speaker 2: common sense policies, and I love that he didn't run
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  Speaker 2: on platitudes. And we have adults back in charge, and
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  Speaker 2: they are not waiting and they're not messing around, and
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  Speaker 2: so I'm very excited about where we're going to go
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  Speaker 2: over the next two years.
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  Speaker 1: The president coming in Donald Trump, obviously he has benefited
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  Speaker 1: by the fact he's been there before, and I suspect
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  Speaker 1: he's learned some lessons. What is your sense, doctor McClure,
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  Speaker 1: because you are as well connected inside the state of Florida,
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  Speaker 1: because that's your focus. JMI is all about Florida focus.
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  Speaker 1: What is your sense of what these first hundred days
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  Speaker 1: of the Trump administration and its impact by selecting certain
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  Speaker 1: members of Florida's Congressional caucus or you know, some of
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  Speaker 1: Florida's best to serve in his administration, What will the
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  Speaker 1: impact of those hundred days be on the Sunshine State?
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  Speaker 2: You know what I think fascinating is that. And I
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  Speaker 2: was having this conversation with someone yesterday. Florida has a
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  Speaker 2: thirty year history, and you and I have talked about
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  Speaker 2: this starting I would say, let's just say with Jeb
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  Speaker 2: of movement conservatism, I mean like deep thinkers on tax
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  Speaker 2: and regulations, on school choice, on all of these different issues.
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  Speaker 2: Unafraid movement conservatism, which is very different than Mitch McConnell's
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  Speaker 2: Republican Party. You know, Mitt Romney's Republican Party is very different.
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  Speaker 2: And I scream it from the rooftops. We have this
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  Speaker 2: brain trust that has been made strong in an iron
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  Speaker 2: sharpens iron kind of way here in the furnace of Florida.
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  Speaker 2: Whether it's Susie Wilds or James Blair, who's a new
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  Speaker 2: policy director who many of your listeners won't know under Trump,
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  Speaker 2: whether it's Pam Bondy, Marco Rubio, national Security, with Walts.
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  Speaker 2: The list goes on, they're gonna all move to DC
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  Speaker 2: and they're gonna war to make Washington more like Florida.
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  Speaker 2: Now it's different, it's going to be harder. There are
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  Speaker 2: a lot of reasons we can talk about, but what
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  Speaker 2: I'm most excited about, Preston, is that the bench here
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  Speaker 2: in Florida is so strong. There are so many strong
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  Speaker 2: movement conservatives, starting with our governor, but Byron Donalds, and
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  Speaker 2: the list goes on, who are not going to be
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  Speaker 2: in this new administration, who are still here to make
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  Speaker 2: Florida the shining city on the hill, to continue our success.
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  Speaker 2: So that because what I'm seeing, Preston is people don't
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  Speaker 2: care anymore. I mean, you're seeing people on CNN coming
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  Speaker 2: out and acknowledging, you know, Trump is going to be
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  Speaker 2: a success if he hasn't been already. You've seen the
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  Speaker 2: New York Times acknowledge some of some things, and people
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  Speaker 2: don't care anymore. They're not afraid now that he's won,
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  Speaker 2: now that he's won the popular vote, and they're looking
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  Speaker 2: to Florida for guidance on policy. These other states, the
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  Speaker 2: other forty nine states. The reality is that all of
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  Speaker 2: this brain trust that has been refined by fire is
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  Speaker 2: going to DC, and it's not leaving a vacuum here
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  Speaker 2: in Florida. There is tremendous conservative leaderships still here in
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  Speaker 2: this state and the other forty nine states have been
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  Speaker 2: following Florida's lead for so long. That's going to continue,
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  Speaker 2: and now we have an opportunity to impact for the generationally.
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  Speaker 2: Washington d C. With the same kind of quote free
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  Speaker 2: state of Florida values tell me this.
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  Speaker 1: I know that we've got a lot to talk about
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  Speaker 1: with regard to the upcoming legislative session, and I know
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  Speaker 1: that you've got a ton of irons in that particular fire, Bob.
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  Speaker 1: But it is sounding as if the rumor mill is
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  Speaker 1: pointing to Ashley Moody being the choice for the rest
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  Speaker 1: of Senator Mark or Rubio's term in the United States Senate,
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  Speaker 1: that Governor DeSantis will pick Ashley Moody. Do you concur
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  Speaker 1: with that, and secondly, your thoughts if so.
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  Speaker 2: First, I've heard lots of different names, and I would
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  Speaker 2: be I would be. I don't think it's fair for
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  Speaker 2: me to say one way or the other. I think
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  Speaker 2: the governor has several really really interesting choices because of
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  Speaker 2: the bench is so deep. Secondly, Ashley Moody has been
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  Speaker 2: a terrific age. She would do a terrific job as
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  Speaker 2: a US Senator. She is strong, she is smart, she
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  Speaker 2: has got tons of common sense, and she's not going
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  Speaker 2: to fall victim to the kind of Washington you know,
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  Speaker 2: drink the water situation. She's going to remain in many
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  Speaker 2: ways the way Rick Scott has just stellar and resolute
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  Speaker 2: in her beliefs and her value. She'd be an excellent pick,
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  Speaker 2: but I'm not here to say that. I know that too.
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  Speaker 2: The governor's going to pick. There are a lot of choices.
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  Speaker 1: It seems as though a lot of the media outlets
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  Speaker 1: in the state are leaning towards comments made about making
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  Speaker 1: sure that whoever it is is going to be supporting
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  Speaker 1: the border policies of the incoming president and so forth.
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  Speaker 1: It just seems to be pointing towards her. So we'll
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  Speaker 1: have to wait and see. With the legislative session coming
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  Speaker 1: up in March, we've got a minute left in this segment,
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  Speaker 1: Doctor McClure. What's first What's most important to JMI.
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  Speaker 2: Two things. Affordable housing, which means not building affordable housing,
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  Speaker 2: but building housing that's affordable. And property insurance. The trial
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  Speaker 2: bar is coming back to make it sound like wrongly,
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  Speaker 2: that the insurance performs didn't work, that prices aren't coming down,
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  Speaker 2: that insurance companies big bad insurance companies don't pay their claims.
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  Speaker 2: None of that is true. But property insurance and affordable housing,
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  Speaker 2: that is housing that's affordable, those are the two really
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  Speaker 2: big issues for us moving forward in the state of Florida.
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  Speaker 2: There are a lot of others, but those stand out.
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  Speaker 1: Doctor McClure. You've been through this legislative session thing for years.
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  Speaker 1: The Republicans have controlled the legislature for for quite a
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  Speaker 1: while now, and they kind of have it down to
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  Speaker 1: a science. The way that they move leadership in and out.
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  Speaker 1: Is there much of a break in time for the
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  Speaker 1: new leaders in the House and the Senate.
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  Speaker 2: Not really for the leadership. The break in time comes
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  Speaker 2: with the newly elected officials, so they have supermajorities in
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  Speaker 2: both the House and the Senate. But you have a
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  Speaker 2: fair amount I don't know the exact number of newly
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  Speaker 2: elected House members and newly elected Senate members. So you
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  Speaker 2: you know, you there is a training and a learning
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  Speaker 2: for those men and women to understand how the process works,
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  Speaker 2: how it's going to work. You know, those those freshman classes,
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  Speaker 2: particularly in the House or or are electing their speaker
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  Speaker 2: because we have term limits even though that speaker is
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  Speaker 2: years away from becoming speaker. So that can be a
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  Speaker 2: little disy sometimes. One of the things that we do
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  Speaker 2: at JMI, and we're doing it actually next week, is
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  Speaker 2: we are doing a legislative process where we're bringing in
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  Speaker 2: some of these new legislators and teaching them not the
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  Speaker 2: ropes of the process, that's the role of leadership, but
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  Speaker 2: what is federalism? Why do states matter? How can we
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  Speaker 2: push back against the dictats of DC and things like that.
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  Speaker 2: So that's where the education comes with a lot of
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  Speaker 2: these newer members. Because we have term limits eight years, Preston,
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  Speaker 2: there's a lot of turnover on a regular basis well, And.
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  Speaker 1: That leads me to my next question, and only someone
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  Speaker 1: in your position can really answer it, Bob, How does
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  Speaker 1: Florida or how has Florida protected itself from what has
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  Speaker 1: infected Washington, d C. Obviously they've got a year round
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  Speaker 1: legislature and I can't stand it. Florida does a part
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  Speaker 1: time legis but how do they keep it so the
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  Speaker 1: bureaucrats don't end up running everything. As you said, you've
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  Speaker 1: got new members, you got to break in, but you
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  Speaker 1: still have the people that aren't elected that do have
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  Speaker 1: a lot of sway.
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  Speaker 2: It takes time. I was having this conversation with someone
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  Speaker 2: yesterday in Naples and they were saying, you know, it's
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  Speaker 2: four years enough for Trump. Well, Washington is different from Florida.
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  Speaker 2: And this for two reasons. One of the bureaucracy is
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  Speaker 2: massive and more firmly entrenched. But secondly, there are no
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  Speaker 2: term limits. And I really believe that those term limits
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  Speaker 2: really matter with fresh blood and new energy and then attitude.
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  Speaker 2: I think term limits, you know, people come in. I
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  Speaker 2: had a legislator tell me he was a former Speaker
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  Speaker 2: of the House. He said, you know, Bob, my first
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  Speaker 2: four years in office, I looked at every bill, I
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  Speaker 2: read every John Entittle. I was prepped for every committee meeting.
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  Speaker 2: By the fifth year, sixty or seventh year. What does
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  Speaker 2: staff tell me to do? What should I be doing?
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  Speaker 2: And that's what happens. And you think of that writ
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  Speaker 2: large in DC. So term limits in Florida bring in
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  Speaker 2: fresh blood, new energy, new ideas. But we have also
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  Speaker 2: pressed and been blessed with tremendous Again, I go back,
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  Speaker 2: starting with Jeb but with Rick Scott, Ron Desantus, Danny Webster.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, all these old names of people John McKay,
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  Speaker 2: Paul Renner. But later you know movement conservatives who are unafraid.
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  Speaker 2: And what we have found is that good policy and
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  Speaker 2: I've said this on your show before, is good politics.
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  Speaker 2: It takes time, but once you implement good policy and
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  Speaker 2: politicians realize nobody died, nobody got shot, and you can
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  Speaker 2: get re elected, it just becomes a flywheel with momentum.
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  Speaker 2: And now that's what we have here in Florida, is
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  Speaker 2: this conservative movement in the most diverse state in the country.
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  Speaker 1: Now, I don't want to upset anybody, and I know
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  Speaker 1: you certainly don't. But that said, you mentioned one of
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  Speaker 1: the most important issues you think coming up is the
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  Speaker 1: whole property insurance issue and the pushback from trial lawyers.
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  Speaker 1: I think we would all agree there are good and
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  Speaker 1: bad and every profession trial lawyers are the same. That said,
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  Speaker 1: how much of that legislative action that is required or
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  Speaker 1: pushback that is required is compromised because so many members
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  Speaker 1: of the legislature are in fact attorneys.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I'll tell you. I mean I grew up in
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  Speaker 2: a family of attorneys, so I never understood lawyer jokes
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  Speaker 2: because I loved all the lawyers that I was around.
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  Speaker 2: My dad was a lawyer, my uncle was a judge.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I had lawyers. So I am not painting
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  Speaker 2: with the broad brush lawyers. But having said that, I
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  Speaker 2: think the legislature is going to see major pushback from
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  Speaker 2: the trial bar because that is you know, where many
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  Speaker 2: of them make their money. Just look at the billboards
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  Speaker 2: and the buses, and you know the idea that these
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: reforms which should have been put in place ten twenty
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  Speaker 2: years ago, we're only put in place about two years ago.
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  Speaker 2: But they're already starting to work. Companies are coming back
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  Speaker 2: into Florida. Prices are going to have slowly, very slowly,
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  Speaker 2: too slow for all of us, are slowly going to
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  Speaker 2: come down or stay where they are. But the trial
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  Speaker 2: bar is not going to allow that to happen. And yes,
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  Speaker 2: there are lawyers in the legislature, so this is going
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  Speaker 2: to be an immense fight. They're not going to overturn
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  Speaker 2: the law. They're going to try to demonize insurance companies
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  Speaker 2: and look who loves their insurance company, right, not me,
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  Speaker 2: not you, not many people. They don't help themselves, but
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  Speaker 2: they're going to try to demonize insurance companies and say
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  Speaker 2: these reforms don't work. We need to get rid of
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  Speaker 2: these laws that were recently passed.
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  Speaker 1: It's going to be interesting to watch. And when we
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  Speaker 1: next talk, we're going to be one month closer and
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  Speaker 1: one month away from the session starting, and I cannot wait.
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  Speaker 2: Bob, thank you, thanks for having me, my friend. Happy
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  Speaker 2: New Year to you and everybody in your audience.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks so very much, Doctor Bob McClure with us this
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  Speaker 1: morning from the James Madison Institute twenty seven past the
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  Speaker 1: hour