Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls: A Q&A, accusations of 'manufactured angst' in culture wars

As the 2022 legislative session winds to a close, the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature has passed several conservative culture war bills that have sent progressives into a tailspin. 

That's the way House Speaker Chris Sprowls wants it — and he gets it.

Legislation is on its way to Gov. Ron DeSantis, for instance, that would largely ban abortions in the state after 15 weeks, head off critical race theory in schools and business trainings and regulate conversations in the classroom about gender identity and sexual orientation. 

Coverage and commentary on the 2022 Legislative Session:

• Missed opportunities? As Florida lawmakers fought culture war, other issues fell by wayside
• ‘Worst it’s ever been’: Culture wars got personal this legislative session
• DeSantis is masterful at appeasing his supporters. His 'Stop WOKE' act is the latest | Bill Cotterell
• New limits on talk of race in schools and work sent to Florida Gov. DeSantis
• Florida Legislature passes 'Don't Say Gay' bill, sends to Gov. DeSantis for signature

If passing "red meat" issues is a measure of success, the Palm Harbor Republican — a lawyer who's term limited this year — can count his last year in office as a policy triumph.

It helped that the Senate, under the leadership of President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, did not deflect or soften the bills as that chamber has done in years past. 

Sprowls spoke with reporters Thursday night after the daily floor session, facing questions about those bills. He countered that, as far as any public pushback went, the news media was part of the problem. (Questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.) 

Q: I have a general question about this session and specifically about the parental rights in education bill, or "Don't Say Gay," and the critical race theory bill. They caused a lot of angst among lawmakers of color and gay lawmakers in both chambers this year. And neither of those bills was actually an issue that had been a problem that was being solved in Florida. And I'm wondering, was the legislation really worth it, considering all of the angst and national attention?

Sprowls: I believe the vast majority of the angst was created by misreporting, by mischaracterizing, by headlines that are good for clickbait, but have nothing to do with the four page bill that we actually put out. So did it create angst in the public? For sure. When it's talked about in the White House press room and things like that, but the reality is none of that is a reflection of fact.

So the real question is, why is that the case? Why is it that people aren't reporting about what's actually in the bill and then, if they disagree, having the conversation on the editorial page or on TV about what's actually in the bill. Did it create angst? Yes. Do I think it was sort of manufactured angst by the media?

Because look, you all here are reading the bills. It's our job to read the bills. It's our job to know what's in the bills. But you know, people are working. They're trying to put their kids through school. We can't expect them to see an article on Twitter or on the Tampa bay Times and go to the MyFloridaHouse.gov website and pull up the bill and read it for themselves.

If people want to be outraged once they have the information, great. But what I have experienced has been the complete opposite, when people are actually told, 'this is what in the bill,' their demeanor changes. And they go, "Well, I don't understand what the big deal is." It's like, "Well, neither do we."

Q: The angst question among many people is that it's not just what you say in black and white. It's the message you're conveying. There is this idea that teachers are going to be afraid because you got the parental cause of action and that is what we're reporting on, their angst. We're not making it up.

Sprowls: I'm gonna push back on that ... I would say the media as a whole on this bill has totally misreported the facts. So when you say, "Well, gosh, it's created angst," you have to own some of that angst. You've got to own the angst because the reality is they think that and feel that way because of what they read, not what is in the bill. 

... It's like, well, if I create the fire and then I put it out, do I get credit? No, you created the fire, being the press, on that bill by misreporting it.

Q: But Republicans have had a history themselves of characterizing legislation and initiatives by their opponents and putting names on them and attaching messaging points ... There are names that both sides use all the time to try to win the messaging war. Were you sort of taken aback by the fact that the opponents of the bill ... came up with "Don't Say Gay"?

Sprowls: If the advocates are trying to vilify the bill, it's great branding. I'm not blaming the advocates for doing what advocates do, which is to try to paint something as nefarious. What I'm saying is, we all have the responsibility of actually knowing what the facts are and making those decisions.

... The bill sponsor, Joe Harding, got on the floor and I thought he did an excellent job. I thought he was an incredibly compassionate person. He was talking about that we care and love all children. I think he did an amazing job. So nobody would see what he said, what he wrote, and think that we were doing anything nefarious.

But when you don't see those things and you don't actually read the law and all you get is the Twitter click, then you're gonna be misled.

Reach Jim Rosica at jrosica@tallahassee.com and follow him on Twitter @JimRosicaFL. 

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