Storms sees work in Senate having 'eternal consequences'

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)—Ronda Storms, who earned the scorn of liberal critics in the Tampa Bay area for her efforts against obscenity and homosexual rights when she was a member of the Hillsborough County Commission, has taken her fight for family values to the Florida Senate.

The freshman Republican state senator from Valrico has no intentions of letting the Senate's atmosphere of collegiality and moderate politics stifle her efforts to protect women and children against public policy which is harmful to them.

In an interview with Florida Baptist Witness from her Senate offices in Tallahassee March 28, Storms admits she is learning how to adjust her approach in order to be more effective. Although Storms doesn't want to "fight for the fight's sake," she insists, "I will stand on principle and I will fight for principle."

For Storms, some matters of public policy are simply more important than others.

Reflecting on a recent committee debate concerning a bill to divest Florida's holdings from Sudan, the African government widely acknowledged as allowing genocide in its Darfur region, she said it was argued that the only important question was whether there was a good return on investment.

Storms responded, "What does it profit a man or a country if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul? That's not why I'm here. I am not here about the [economic] bottom line. I'm not here about taxes, although those are important. I am here to make a difference for the people of the State of Florida so that we will change the world and make this world a better place not just for now, but for the future and for eternal consequences."

Storms said getting things done in Tallahassee in comparison to her work on the Hillsborough County Commission is like driving a battleship rather than a speed boat. It's harder to turn the battleship, but more can be accomplished once the battleship's direction is reoriented.

The Senate's culture of collegiality and dampened ideological distinctives, where scripted colloquies are favored over real debate, is frustrating to Storms, who says she has been the "brunt" of reproach from her colleagues because of her unwillingness to play the role of the quiet freshman.

Nevertheless, Storms told the Witness she has "daily confirmation" that "I am serving where I'm supposed to be. I believe that."

A committed evangelical Christian who is a longtime member of First Baptist Church in Brandon, Storms believes politics is a "noble calling" for Christians, but is disturbed at times by the insincere use of religion by some politicians.

"I am troubled by people who use Jesus as a political prop," she said. "I'm not here to say your faith is authentic and yours is not, but I do want to be one of those people that say if you don't have profoundly held religious beliefs at least do us all the courtesy and don't pretend [that you do] because you do us grave damage."

Politicians "by virtue of their profession" have the "tendency to pose," Storms said, resulting a lack of sincerity. "You should be the person in private that you say are in public."

Storms admitted that evangelical Christians are at times guilty of accepting uncritically the spiritual and political claims of politicians without taking the time to carefully evaluate candidates for public office.

"I think there's a real spiritual laziness on the part of believers. ... They're signing out when it comes time to political season," she said.

There are serious consequences of Christians' neglect of the public arena, according to Storms.

"There's a proverb that says, when the wicked rule the people groan. And when the righteous rule the people rejoice. But you see, in America, [it is] the people who rule—not just the elected officials—but it is actually the people who rule" by their election of public officials, she explained.

Storms rejects the claims of some that "separation of church and state" means conservative evangelical Christians should not bring their moral convictions to the public policy debate.

"There's no question that the Founding Fathers ... intended for people with profoundly held religious beliefs to have an appropriate place in society and in government and believed that that was what was best for this government. And I believe that, too," Storms said.

Of course, as a Baptist, Storms also rejects the notion that government should favor one religion over any other. "But that doesn't mean that the foundation of government is not based on Judeo-Christian principles," she added.

Citing Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias, Storms said society should be egalitarian about people, but not ideas. "There are some really lousy ideas out there and it's okay to say, 'no, that's stupid; we're not doing that.'"

As chair of the Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs, Storms is working to pass legislation to improve technology used by the Department of Children and Families to track children under its care. She is also sponsor of legislation to improve Florida's statute requiring parental notification before girls have abortions.

Storms and her family—husband, David, a contractor, and nearly 8-year-old daughter, Roxanna—are active members of First Baptist Brandon where she and her husband teach a young married's Sunday School class. The Storms met at First Baptist and the church has played a critical role in her life. "There's no question about that—it formed me," Storms says of the church.

Asked how Florida Baptists can pray for Storms, she told the Witness, "Pray that no weapon formed against me will prosper. Pray for my family. Pray for wisdom. Pray for grace. ... Politics is a nasty business. There's a lot of reason to hold on to hurts and to keep a record."

About her critics—who at times have attacked even her personal appearance—Storms says, "They have thrown at me the worse that they can throw—almost—and I'm still standing. And I still get elected. Praise the Lord. So, here I am, and I'm still going to stand, and I'm still going to fight, and I'm still going to do what I'm supposed to do."