More Old Friends

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jewish Democrat from Davie, was one of the strongest opponents of the 1994 and 1996 versions of the school prayer bills. Shultz is now a U.S. Congresswoman.

The school prayer battle was proving ground for many a current politician. Back then, Ron Klein was a state rep--now he is a U.S. Congressman.

On Edit: I just discovered that Tom Feeney, now U.S. Congressman Feeney (R), was one of the prime movers for social reform in the state legislature during Chiles' governor years. Feeney later worked as running mate to Jeb Bush in his failed bid for the governorship in 1994. Of course, current senior U.S. senator from Florida, Bill Nelson, ran unsuccessfully against Chiles in the 1990 gubernatorial primary. Former Congresswoman Katherine Harris (R) grew up in Bartow in Polk County and once interned for Lawton Chiles when he served in the U.S. Senate. There are few major politicos in Florida with more than one or two degrees of separation from Walkin' Lawton.