So this is the way the legislative session ends: not with a bang but a whimper.
On the final day of this year’s session, many things remained as they’ve always been. Lobbyists in fancy suits and three-inch heels punched messages into their BlackBerries, chatting about their bills as they milled around the Capitol’s fourth floor. Legislative aides congratulated each other on a job well done while journalists sat sequestered in the press galleries, furiously typing at their laptops.
And yet.
Something was different this time. With Gov. Charlie Crist bolting his own party, animosity and tension ran high, and budget worries have cast a dark cloud over the entire lawmaking session.
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