Tag: Florida
Crist Finally Comes Out; Opponent Rubio Follows
Coming out of the closet and admitting who he really is has made Gov. Charlie Crist more popular. According to a new Rasmussen Reports survey, the formerly Republican Crist, who recently outed himself as a moderate independent, is polling well.
Crist [is] earning 38% support to Republican Marco Rubio’s 34% and Democrat Kendrick Meek’s 17%. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided.
Two weeks ago, before Crist announced his decision to run as an independent candidate, Rubio held a seven point advantage in the race.
Since then, Crist has gained eight (8) percentage points in the poll while Rubio and Meek have each dropped three (3) points. It remains to be seen if this is a temporary bounce or a lasting change in the race.
The poll has a sloppy +/-4.5 percent margin of error, which is more than it shows Crist’s opponents sliding, but still.
So Long, “Big Jim,” I’ll Miss You
Jim “Big Jim” Greer announced today that he is resigning as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, effective Feb. 20. Pressure from a small, conservative group of Florida Republicans had been mounting on Greer to leave his post, mainly due to his blind devotion to Gov. Charlie Crist and his rabid dislike of Marco Rubio, Crist’s likely primary opponent in the U.S. Senate race.
I, for one, will miss Big Jim. I have used this space on several occasions to point out Greer’s idiotic, quote-bedecked ramblings that masqueraded as press releases. To me, Jim Greer is the embodiment of the fat-cat Florida Republican — dangerous as a crocodile, loyal as a hound dog, stubborn as a mule and mean as a rattlesnake — all of it wrapped up in a kind of good ole boy panache enhanced by expensive suits and fashionable polo shirts. And he could sure turn an unusual phrase as he repeatedly challenged the syntactical and punctuational norms of the English language in his periodic messages.
In announcing Greer’s resignation, the RPOF issued a document that consisted of a statement by Crist, a second statement by two of the RPOF members most responsible for kicking Greer to the curb, followed by Greer’s letter of resignation — an interesting and volatile document that effectively encapsulates the negative forces at work inside the RPOF without coming right out and saying it.
Here is two-thirds of Charlie Crist’s three-sentence statement regarding the man he handpicked for the chairmanship three years ago:
Jim has long been a loyal servant to the Republican cause, and I appreciate the many sacrifices the Chairman, his wife Lisa, and their four children have made to ensure our Party’s continued success in the Sunshine State. Chairman Greer has and always will have my unwavering support.
“I call on Florida Republicans to unite behind our common values of less government and more personal freedom and sincerely hope that we can move forward together to ensure statewide Republican victories in 2010.
You couldn’t get a broader and more inclusive statement of the Republican philosophy than the Big Tent of “less government and more personal freedom.” Hell, I bet even Marco Rubio could get behind that ….
Joint Statement by Senator Haridopolos and Representative Cannon Regarding Chairman Jim Greer:
As Chairman, Jim understands not only the importance of this critical election this year, but also the need to adequately prepare the State Party and diverse grassroots communities for the fight ahead, and we believe his legacy will be reflected in many victories yet to come.
It has never been more important that Republicans focus on the task at hand by uniting in support of our common goals. For the first time since Reconstruction, we are facing open races in a United States Senate seat, the Governor’s Mansion, all of our Cabinet seats, half of the Florida Senate, and the entire House of Representatives.
As the 2010 Election Cycle rapidly approaches, we encourage all Florida Republicans to unite together to ensure that Republicans carry the day in 2010.
So they say, but it’s the 2012 election cycle, the one where they want to elect the newfound neo-fascist Rubio over part-time governor Crist, that these two Bozos really are interested in.
And finally we come to Big Jim’s letter of resignation. As has been the case with his more recent RPOF ramblings, it is a mixture of hurt feelings, defense of his record and barely concealed anger with just a hint of a threat in it. Dispensing with the first four paragraphs that recapped his accomplishments, both real and imagined, here are some highlights of the fun bits:
However, despite the great progress our Party has seen over the last three years, a small but vocal group within our Party has made it a point to destroy this progress and negatively impact our opportunity for victory in 2010. There has been, as you may be aware, an effort by this group to seek my removal for reasons that hold no justification. The facts and accuracy relating to this issue have become lost and irrelevant to these disruptive efforts and despite my own efforts, in addition to the efforts of others, to correct the record with the facts and truthfulness, these divisive individuals and their efforts continue without any concern for our Party’s future.
Big Jim goes to great efforts — indeed four of them in one sentence — to allude to some vague untruthiness that shall not be named that’s been lost, but that’s put about by a group always described as “small and vocal.” However, he never gets any more specific than that.
While I am honored by your unwavering support and the support of Republican members of the Florida Legislature, many members of the State Executive Committee, and many RPOF donors, I have determined that this internal discord has many origins and political agendas, but the one common result is a detrimental effect on the Republican Party. Since 2007, I have made a point to put the best interest of the Party before my own, even when criticisms were misdirected and invalid, and I will do so again now. While some are more interested in tearing and shredding the fabric of the Republican Party to pieces, I will not be a participant in this destructive behavior. Therefore, I am putting the future of our Party first and shall step down as Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida effective February, 20, 2010.
Nope, Jim’s not having none of that tearing and shredding the party into little pieces mess, though he is helping himself to heaping plate of unwavering. As the sacrificial lamb, he must dutifully call for party unity:
As I prepare to leave this post with Republicans maintaining a United State Senate seat, the Governor’s Mansion, three of four Cabinet posts, and strong majorities in the Florida House, Senate and Congressional Delegation, I look forward to continuing to work to elect Republicans to office, and now call upon all Republicans throughout Florida to put our differences aside, end our Party’s internal conflict and disagreements, and focus on electing Republicans in 2010.
See, that’s where Jim lost it — he should know that all Republicans throughout Florida are focused on electing Republicans in 2010 and 2012 — just different Republicans.
But my favorite part was how he closed his letter to Gov. Crist. Not with a heartfelt “sincerely” or manly “yours truly,” but with an icky “warmest regards.” I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I suspect that Greer ain’t gone for good, he’s just going guerrilla on ’em.
So long, Big Jim, we look forward to seeing you bob to the surface as the toilet bowl that is the Republican Party of Florida separates the floaters from the sinkers.
Plan to Join Hands Against Oil Drilling Off Florida
If you’re on the west coast, and of course by that I mean from Naples to Pensacola (not California), listen up. An event to protest any efforts by Florida’s Republican legislators to sell out to oil interests and allow drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is planned for February, just before the legislative session begins. Hands Across the Sand will bring together people on Florida’s Gulf coast, and possibly the entire shoreline, to join hands in one long line of resistance. Literally.
STEP 1 – Go to the beach at 12:00 PM Central Time for one hour, rain or shine.
STEP 2 – At 12:30 PM, hold hands forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in our coastal waters.
STEP 3 – Leave only your footprints.
The event is planned as the largest public gathering in the history of the state. The date is currently Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 although a note on the web site explains that if our esteemed governor/perennial Senate campaigner Charlie Crist calls a special session, it could change. No worries, you can sign up for a newsletter and get the latest information.
Poll Shows Crist Going Down in Tea Bag Flames
How disgusted are Floridians with Gov. Charlie Crist? So disgusted they’d be willing to have Jeb Bush back in Tallahassee. A new poll shows 46 percent of the registered voters asked wish that Jeb were still in the governor’s mansion, while 41 percent would rather keep Charlie, even though he hardly ever spends any actual time in said manse. Among Republicans, who will be selecting either Crist or former state House Speaker Marco Rubio as their U.S. Senate candidate soon, it’s way worse news for Crist. A landslide 71 percent prefer a hypothetical Jeb as governor to Crist, with only 22 percent backing Charlie.
The grimmer detail to emerge from this poll, which was commissioned by the St. Petersburg Times, Miami Herald, and Tampa’s Bay News 9, is that Jeb Bush could have a future in the White House.
“This is absolutely a proxy war between two Republican clans,” MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, the former Republican congressman from Pensacola, told the St. Petersburg Times. “And it’s not just about Florida, but about what Florida politician gets to the front of the line to run for president. It’s a zero sum game. Any advantage Charlie Crist gets hurts Jeb Bush, and any advantage Jeb Bush gets hurts Charlie Crist.”
George Will on ABC’s This Week predicted Rubio would be the winner of the Senate primary, based on the recent upheaval in New York’s U.S. Rep. District 23 race. Republican Dede Scozzafava suspended her campaign after those backing third-party Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman ran ads that described Scozzafava as “Obama’s choice” and hit pretty much every FOX News note.
Dede Scozzafava is one liberal ACORN that’s fallen right from Barack Obama’s liberal tree. A tax-raising liberal who supports gay marriage and abortion for any reason at all — ACORN’s choice, NOT our choice.
The message, in case anyone could miss it, is that if Republicans want to appeal to fearful, angry, racist tea bag types, they better purge themselves of any shred of rationality or moderation. Translation for Charlie Crist: This whole Senate thing ain’t gonna happen.
Trying to Look Republican, Florida Gov. Claims He Didn’t Know Pres. Obama Was in State
We told you that Florida’s Gov. Charlie Crist (R) wasn’t planning to hobnob with the president when he came to Florida this week. We knew that the political realities for Crist, who is in a very competitive race for U.S. Senate with an actual Republican conservative, would keep Charlie from appearing too chummy with Obama. After all, a handshake-turned-shoulder-hug this spring still rankles the far right in the governor’s party.
But even we are astounded at Charlie’s excuse for not welcoming the president to his state.
…the governor said he didn’t know President Barack Obama was in the state Monday to honor sailors and Marines at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, less than 200 miles from the Capitol.
“Where was he?” Crist asked Tuesday. “First I’ve known of it.”
While the president was saluting the nation’s fighting men and women, Crist was visiting the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood for a 40th anniversary celebration with tribal leaders.
Shocked reporters didn’t let Crist’s assertion that he knew nothing about the proposed visit, which has pretty much lead every news broadcast in the state for the past week, stand. They kept getting the governor on record throughout the day.
Crist got a second chance to talk about his decision to ignore Obama’s visit, but instead said again he wasn’t aware of the Jacksonville stop.
“Explain that comment? Is it unclear?” Crist responded after being asked a couple of hours later following a Cabinet meeting. “I didn’t know that he was in the state.”
Asked a third time, Crist said he was aware that Obama was coming, but didn’t know the itinerary.
White House spokeswoman Gannet Tseggai said Tuesday that Crist’s office was notified of the president’s Florida visit.
Don’t expect Charlie to start telling the truth now. He’s down in the polls and truly worried about his chances for grabbing that Senate seat.
It’s hard to imagine what will become of Crist if he doesn’t make it out of the primary. He’s thrown away the governorship, so he would likely have to fall back on whatever he did before he was on the taxpayer dole. Even if he follows in Jack Abramoff’s shoes and becomes a high-priced lawyer/lobbyist for the gaming industry, it’s hard to see his socialite wife hanging around for long. When she leaves, she can always claim she didn’t know Charlie would be out of the public spotlight one day.
Where’s Charlie? Governor Missing from Florida Headline Story
When the nation’s largest solar electric generating plant goes online outside a small, sun-baked Florida town this week, Pres. Barack Obama will be there to herald the dawn of a new era of energy production. The state’s governor, Charlie Crist, made a name for himself as the “green governor” in his first two years of office, staging an annual environmental summit where P.R.’s own correspondent, Buck Banks blogged live. So naturally you’d expect Charlie, who would push your paraplegic mother out of the way if she were blocking his photo op, to be there smiling for the cameras and taking credit for Florida’s accomplishment.
But you’d be wrong. The hot button issues from two or three years ago are today’s nuclear meltdown issues, if you’re a Republican. Back then, Charlie was against oil drilling off the Florida coastline. Today, he thinks it could be a great idea. Back then, Charlie wanted to be seen as a moderate good guy in contrast to his predecessor Jeb Bush, who wore his partisan condescension like a white silk tux. Today, with a primary challenger for U.S. Senate whose conservative creds are his selling point, Crist echoes tough rightwing stands. His campaign web site (ironically a clone of the Obama formula) doesn’t even mention the environment among its list of “Issues.” Instead, a page shows Charlie in his red, white, and blue tie with a double American flag lapel pin pumping his fist in the air and looking generally tough, or as tough as a closeted gay guy whose whole life is a lie but is playing the role of the strong, patriotic Senator-to-be can look.
Today, Charlie’s big issues are:
- Better Health Care
- Defend Our Second Amendment Rights
- Education
- Protect Our Family Values
- Stronger America
- Tough on Crime
No doubt research revealed these are the issues today’s tea baggers care about, and today’s Charlie needs to harp on them, while staying as far away from the president as he can. Still, Obama-haters aren’t letting go of Crist’s past.
Conservative voters, who make up the core of Republican primary elections, are still fuming that Crist appeared with Obama in February to promote the $787 billion federal stimulus bill, said David Johnson, a Republican political consultant. Appearing as a leader on climate change issues or glad-handing with Obama are out of the question now, Johnson said.
“Being seen with him again would be a nail in the coffin,” Johnson said.
To repair the damage, Crist is running radio ads on conservative stations in which he now blasts Obama for all of the federal spending.
“Enough is enough,” Crist says in one of the ads. “That’s my message to President Obama. We can’t spend our way into prosperity or tax our way into growth.”
So is anyone buying the new Charlie? His Republican primary challenger, former State House Speaker Marco Rubio, sure isn’t.
Rubio, who was in Sarasota two weeks ago to speak to a local Republican Club, has made Crist’s change of emphasis a key part of his stump speech.
“The biggest problem in American politics today are people that will be whatever you want them to be,” Rubio said. “‘What do the polls say? That’s what I’ll be for.'”
Ouch. Crist, malleable and amenable as he is, will have his hardest time during this campaign spinning away the truth — and when it comes to exposing Charlie’s raw ambition, Rubio definitely has the truth on his side.
Florida Rep. Robert Wexler to Resign
Wexler plans to meet with reporters Wednesday morning in Boca Raton to detail his next move. A Democratic source with knowledge of Wexler’s plans said the seven-term congressman is likely to take a public policy job that deals with the Middle East. The job does not involve working for the Obama administration and does not involve lobbying.
Although Palm Beach County, which makes up a lot of Wexler’s district, is fairly safely Democrat, it’s a bad time to be down one fire-breathing liberal in Congress. His leadership will be missed, as until Rep. Alan Grayson came along with his “Don’t get sick and if you get sick, die quickly” summation of Republican health care reform, Wexler was one of the straightest-talking elected officials Florida had. Inside his state, he is credited as the man, along with Sen. Bill Nelson (D), who gave Florida back its paper ballots, as well as shredding former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in questioning before the House Judiciary Committee.
Where’s Charlie? “Florida’s Most Influential” List Doesn’t Include Gov. Crist
One name was conspicuously absent from a recent list of Florida’s political influencers: the governor himself, Charlie Crist.
The list was compiled for Politics Magazine, and includes 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. It was put together by a former reporter and seemingly knowledgeable wonk.
Lucy Morgan was a St. Petersburg Times reporter from 1968 to 2005. She now works on special projects and writes occasional columns for the Times. She’s the winner of the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. After her retirement, the Florida Senate honored her by renaming the press gallery in Tallahassee the Lucy Morgan Senate Press Gallery. Elections’ Politics magazine, is a new regular feature designed to help you navigate the treacherous waters of state-level politics.
Morgan explained some of her methodology after a comment left on a Facebook profile referenced the list and noted that at least one person, Ron Book, rather than being a registered Democrat, is “No Party Affiliation,” or NPA.
The list was intended to be a look at those who have influence with state and federal government – those who can get something done. It wasn’t supposed to be a list of public officials. And there are two – one on each list – who are not registered in the party where they have the most influence. And I suspect everyone with knowledge of Florida politics would have a different lisst (sic)!
Further comments continued to note the lack of the Republican governor. While not replying specifically to that concern, Morgan’s response still said it all.
actually I was looking for people who seem to have influence that goes beyond the moment – more than just the job they are in and I don’t think some of those you mention would fall in that category..
For a guy whose greatest accomplishment since taking office is marrying, but not necessarily living with, a New York socialite, Crist could have done worse than not making this list. His Republican challenger in the 2010 U.S. Senate race, former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, however, did. Whoops.
To Kill a Movement to Replace the Mockingbird
I had to read this twice to make sure it wasn’t satire. NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer is slamming efforts to change Florida’s state bird to one more unique than the mockingbird. Florida shares its current state bird with Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas and Hammer wants to keep it that way.
The outspoken Hammer, inducted by former Gov. Jeb Bush into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame, has devoted a lot of thought to the subject. Even though the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission suggests the osprey as a better choice, Hammer is adamant.
“They can be seen on any given day in any area of the state by children and adults alike,” Hammer explained…
She also likes the fact that mockingbirds are willing to fight other birds, even larger ones, that might threaten their nests.
“They are very protective of their family and of their territory,” she said.
She also finds their ability to mimic other bird songs and even various sounds highly entertaining. On her home territory, at the state Capitol Building, she has noticed mockingbirds mimicking the sound of ringing cell phones.
They’re so convincing “you will see lobbyists and other people reaching for their cell phones,” she said, chuckling.
O.K., but what about the endangered Florida scrub jay?
Supporters of the scrub jay boasted about how gentle it is, how it will eat peanuts right out of a person’s hand.
Hammer was unmoved.
“Begging for food isn’t sweet,” she testified in a committee hearing. “It’s lazy and it’s a welfare mentality.”
Maybe Hammer identifies with the mockingbird because of its violent personality. Mockingbirds are known to dive-bomb people, dogs, cats, squirrels, and anything that come close to its nest. Some research even suggests the birds can identify certain people and make a point to attack them. Sounds a lot like Hammer.
