Elegantly dressed lawmakers, a fidgety governor in the House Well and flower-strewn House and Senate chambers.
The usual sights and sounds of the first day of the 2016 legislative session were augmented Tuesday by the appearance of evangelist Franklin Graham and a Capitol Courtyard filled with uniformed soldiers participating in Florida National Guard Day.
While Governor Rick Scott was giving lawmakers their marching orders in his final State of the State speech, thousands of faithful jammed the entrance to the Old Capitol to listen to a higher calling.
They came to hear Reverend Franklin Graham, son of the world famous preacher to presidents. Bob McDuffie, a life insurance agent from Charlotte County, stood for more than an hour in a brisk wind hoping to hear Graham tell it like it is.
“I’m here because our nation is in deep trouble. The state of the union is this. The truth is, sin sick is our nation, and we need to get well. And I’m called to come up here to pray and encourage others.”
Graham has been roasted by critics for making insensitive remarks about Islam. If the crowd was hoping for a bare knuckle attack on abortion and gay marriage, they weren’t disappointed.
And Graham didn’t spare politicians or church leaders, who he says are too politically correct.
“There’s not one political party out there that can fix this. I have no hope in the Democratic Party. Now before you Republicans start high fiving each other, I have no hope in the Republican Party. The Tea Party or anybody else. My only hope is in Almighty God.”
Republican Representative Doug Broxson of Gulf Breeze stood in the crowd for 20 minutes before walking away with a smile.
“Even though there’s a lot of concern, I think there’s hope. And the hope’s in, not the government, which I represent, but in a greater sense of our faith, and our sense of who he is, not who we are.”
If Graham came to the Capitol to praise the Lord, Command Sergeant Major William Keefer of the Florida National Guard was there to pass the ammunition.
Dressed in green cammo up to his Army beret, Keefer spent much of the day explaining a small asrsenal of military displays, from rifles to helicopters, to passing lawmakers.
“We understand that we cannot operate without finances. We certainly understand that. And our state has been very good to the Florida Guard.”
With that, Keefer was off to continue a briefing with Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
