Nothing scares corporate Florida and the insurance industry more than the sight of a trial lawyer in office. That’s what Gary Farmer is facing in Senate District 34 where a barrage of mailers backed by GOP interests have hit the Parkland attorney seeking to throw the seat to former State Representative Jim Waldman. As a State Representative, Waldman repeatedly worked well with Republican-backed interests, something we will outline in the very near future.
Lawyer lobbyist Mark Delegal told the Tampa Bay Times,
“Gary Farmer is a lawyer who makes a fortune suing insurance companies. That money’s got to come from someplace, and it comes from the policyholders of this state”
Delegal who represents State Farm told the Times that “a lot of business groups in Tallahassee want Waldman in the Senate, not Farmer.”
This represents the classic corporate, Republican and industry view of trial lawyers and others who protect the interests of Florida’s working class citizens. To the corporate interests and monied class that controls the State Legislature, anyone who might stand up for consumers or working class Floridians is a threat and has be portrayed as greedy – a classic case of projection which has been mastered for years by the insurance industry and other corporate interests who benefit from right-wing, corporatist rule in this state.
Former State Representative Eddy Gonzalez has shifted over $30,000 in cash from his committee to one backing Waldman’s candidacy according to the Times. This shift of cash is part of a larger strategy by corporate interests to influence Democratic primaries up and down the state.
Insurance and GOP interests are also playing hard in other Democratic primaries according to the Tampa Bay Times. Monied interests throughout the state have taken on battles like this in Democratic primaries during the last several election cycles.
The Florida Squeeze 