This might do it for you, if you need a laugh for the day.
Florida has a lot of things going for it. In addition to the beaches and the good weather, Republican control and freedom in the state are great things, too. You have Democrats doing all they can to criticize Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republicans in control in the state, but then, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), they’re caught partying in the state.
Floridians is also known for their special stories, and this is one of them.
Florida state representative Will Robinson, Jr., who represents House District 71, had moved to the public testimony portion of consideration of fellow Republican Rep. Tiffany Esposito’s bill on residential tenancies. He began reading off a list of people who had registered whether they were for or against the bill that was under consideration before the House Civil Justice Subcommittee this week. Robinson looked up as he called their names, to see if they wanted to speak from the floor.
Warning for language and yes, a Bart Simpson moment:
VOLUME UP pic.twitter.com/I5pO34wCk4
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 23, 2023
Robinson reads off a real name, then reads “Anita Dick” and looks up. The girl on the right, you can see her facepalming; she gets it, but she holds her composure.
She realizes he just said Anita Dick pic.twitter.com/bxfWUV0aEW
— Phil Osborne 😷 (@pamo28) March 24, 2023
Robinson doesn’t get it. He then moves on to the next name and looks up again for “Holden Hiscock.” Holden, of course, wasn’t there. Both Anita and Holden were “opponents,” who waive “in opposition.”
Robinson then called out the name of “Jimmy.” Even that didn’t throw Robinson off. But as it turned out, “Jimmy” was a real person and was there to answer the call.
But, that wasn’t all. The same legislature got hit later in the week, when “Holden” struck again.
Florida Legislature is not having a good week.
They just got hit with a fake name AGAIN https://t.co/tuJ6URtVfW pic.twitter.com/z6HF7zjvcU
— Alec Sears (@alec_sears) March 25, 2023
Most people loved it and enjoyed the humor behind the effort.
I thought for sure Dick Gozinya would be there too
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 23, 2023
Considering the things that we often see in the political arena and all the rancor, it’s a great thing to see things like this that we can all have a little fun with. Besides Greg Price’s suggestion, I think all we were missing was hearing from Ivana Tinkle.
I also have to give it up to Robinson, who took it very well. Robinson realized later what hijinx had gone on, after the video of the prank went viral. He was a good sport about the whole thing, inviting Hiscock and Dick to come to the next meeting. “Committee does meet again next week! Anita and Holden, please stop by!” Robinson tweeted with a suitable “facepalm” emoji.
Committee does meet again next week! Anita and Holden, please stop by! 🤦🏻♂️😎 https://t.co/nW5xHXbRhb
— Will Robinson (@will_robinsonjr) March 23, 2023
This is a takeoff on the long-running Bart Simpson joke on “The Simpsons,” where Bart and his buddies call up Moe’s Tavern asking to speak to people with similar names. This isn’t the first time this prank has had success. This school board meeting from last year had a panoply of fun names, and what was great about it was that they sounded like real names. But sound them out slowly… and you’ll get them.
