Crist Goes NPA: Fun While It Lasted

Update: FOX News is reporting sources say Charlie will run as NPA. If FOX has the scoop, does that mean Charlie’s really still a Republican?

Previously posted: I might be the only Floridian who will be sad after Gov. Charlie Crist makes public his decision on whether to remain a Republican in his run for the U.S. Senate. As a Democrat, watching his fellow Republicans try to manage Charlie’s eventual disclosure is truly gratifying.

Take our state legislature for example (please). Ever since the governor boosted his poll numbers with a veto of a truly awful education “reform” bill, the Republican-run state House and Senate have been scrambling to avoid handing Crist any other victories. They’ve been shooting down their own ridiculous bills just to preempt another wildly popular executive veto.

One bill that looked assured of passage early in the session died this week, since it had, “Make Charlie Crist look good with a veto” written all over it. The bill would have allowed property insurance companies to raise rates at their whim, while requiring homeowners to pay at least 40 percent of the cost of repairs for storm damage before filing a claim, ostensibly to discourage fraud. With the costs of most catastrophic repairs at anywhere from $20,000 for a roof to $50,000 and up for water-damaged flooring, walls, and contents, that means people like me would need to pay from $8,000 to $20,000 out of pocket for home repairs before could we contact our insurance companies to see if they’d pay the rest. I don’t know about you but I don’t keep that kind of liquid cash laying around.

The one good thing Crist has done as governor is stop the insurance companies from taking advantage of Floridians, and Republicans in Tallahassee knew the only way this bill wouldn’t be toast was if Charlie were trying to prove how much more of a Republican he is than his primary challenger, Marco Rubio. Knowing Crist is probably about to exit stage left takes away that element.

Meanwhile, in a move largely seen as an indication that Crist will announce that he is switching to No Party Affiliation, the governor took back his support of offshore oil drilling. For those keeping score, we have:

• Crist who took office as governor: Opposed to offshore oil drilling
• Crist who was being considered as John McCain running mate: Open to offshore oil drilling
• Crist who began run for U.S. Senate: Deliriously in favor of offshore oil drilling
• Crist who will announce NPA for U.S. Senate run: Really not thinking offshore oil drilling is such a good idea

After viewing the spill threatening the Louisiana and Alabama shores, Charlie was a changed man (again).

After a 90-minute plane flight Tuesday above the spill, which was spreading in an 80-mile by 42-mile blob, Crist said, “Clearly it could be devastating to Florida if something like that were to occur. It’s the last thing in the world I would want to see happen in our beautiful state.”

He said there is no question now that lawmakers should give up on the idea of drilling off Florida’s coast this year and in coming years. He has said previously he would support drilling if it was far enough from shore, safe enough and clean enough. He said the spill is proof that’s not possible.

“Clearly that one isn’t far enough and that’s about 50 to 60 miles out, it’s clearly not clean enough after we saw what we saw today — that’s horrific — and it certainly isn’t safe enough. It’s the opposite of safe,” Crist said.

Just as Crist can’t bring himself to say whatever that word is that’s the opposite of safe, it’s doubtful he will announce being the opposite of Republican. But we’ll learn soon if Crist will be running as not quite as much the opposite of a Democrat as he started out. And I, for one, will miss all this fun.

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