Charlie Crist: A better governor as an independent

It was the entire Republican delegation from Pinellas County that helped force through the controversial HB 1143. This included Rep. Nehr, Rep. Hooper, Rep. Frishe and others.

While, he didn't mention these rogue legislators by name, it was clear how Governor Crist felt:

The notion that there would be a forced ultrasound, if you will, that would have to be paid for by the woman involved. Those are the things that seem to be pretty difficult for a woman already in a difficult situation. . . 

 

Even Gov. Crist, who recently left the Republican Party, is embarrassed by any association with the Republican legislators from Pinellas County.

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Charlie Crist was forced to become an independent when Marco Rubio, hard right conservative, surged ahead in pools for a Florida senate race. the the conservative Club for Growth has been running ideological candidates in primary races to defeat moderate Republicans like Crist.

Even if the moderate Republican wins the primary race, he or she may lose the general election because of campaign funds that were depleted during the primary.

Apparently Club for Growth types believe it is better to have a Democrat in office than a moderate conservative. Crist turned to tables on these hardliners by running as an independent candidate for the Senate.

Shortly after Crist became an independent he vetoed an education bill that was a top priority of the state's Republican Party. The radical bill would have fractured the state school system by doing away with tenure and putting teachers on one year renewable contracts that the charter schools use.

The bill was  supported by former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, who still remains popular among Florida conservatives. The bill was sponsored by Sen. John Thrasher, the state's Republican Party chairman.

The governor's veto drew a stark line between his administration and the Republican establishment. It earned plaudits from teachers and parents unions, which opposed the bill.

Crist also vetoed HB1143 writing: “From the start, HB 1143 has been an outsized political maneuver by one faction of a party to undermine women's constitutionally protected right to an abortion.”

This bill treated adult women like children. If a women wanted an abortion, she would have to have to pay for an ultrasound of the fetus before the operation and read the narrative of the ultrasound. Of course, most ultrasounds have LCD screens that the patient can see during the procedure.

This is another GOP invasion of family privacy. You would think conservatives would have learned something after the Terri Schaivo debacle.

This is another GOP invasion of family privacy. You would think conservatives would have learned something after the Terri Schaivo  debacle. 
 


Absurdly, the measures were added to a bill authorizing Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum's lawsuit against national health care reform. That law requires nearly everyone to have insurance or pay a tax by 2014.

So as lawmakers sought to undermine new federal requirements, they mandated treatment on women of child-bearing age. HB1143 is another example of Republican 'family values' sophistry.'

HB1143 is another example of Republican 'family values' sophistry.'

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Rick Scott, one of the worst Florida GOP candiates ever

Immigration is not a Florida issue and Scott must have forgotten what happened to Republicans who ran on this issue in the last election. Scott seems to think he is running against Obama which is another red herring.

How can Floridians support a man who was asleep as the switch when he was CEO of (Columbia) HCA?

The real issues affecting Floridians are one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, the Gulf Oil spill and the big drop in tourism. Drill, baby, drill is the GOP slogan.

Rick Scott has no political experience and his leadership skills as the CEO of HCA are suspect after it received a record $1.7 trillion fine for Medicare fraud. Can Florida risk it political future on a man with such shaky credentials?

Scott was forced out as CEO in 1997, but he got a $10 million severance package for his incompetent management of HCA. Florida can do better than this bum!


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MiamiHerald.com: Who is Alex Sink?

Alex Sink's campaign team switching it up - Florida & Local - MiamiHerald.com
Posted on Friday, 04.09.10

BY ADAM C. SMITH AND BETH REINHARD
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

Trailing in the polls and facing widespread doubts about the visibility and effectiveness of her gubernatorial campaign, Alex Sink is making changes.

The Sink campaign announced its campaign manager, Paul Dunn, has left, along with her finance director -- Sink's third fund raising chief to date. Then senior advisor Ken Morley, hired only weeks earlier to replace another top consultant, suddenly resigned from Sink's campaign too.

``The campaign is making some changes as we head into the summer and fall and will be even stronger as a result,'' Sink campaign spokeswoman Kyra Jennings said.

Jim Cassady, a longtime friend and fellow banker who served as her top aide in the CFO's office, remains the senior manager in her campaign. The campaign also hired as deputy campaign manager Shellie Levin, a friend of Sink's and veteran fundraiser for the liberal group Emily's List, which raises money for women candidates.

Sink did call on Governor Crist to veto Senate Bill 6/House Bill 7189 that passed late last night in the Florida House. This is the first life Rightardia has in this campaign for a while.

"I'm calling on Governor Crist to veto Senate Bill 6 and stand with the people of Florida against this attempt by Tallahassee politicians to take control away from our local schools.  This Tallahassee cram-down is wrong for our children and our state," said Alex Sink.  "Senate Bill 6 is an unfunded mandate, rushed though by politicians who are trying to dictate a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach to our local schools districts, school boards, superintendents, teachers, students and communities."

Much like her husband Bill McBride's general election campaign for governor in 2002, Sink is surrounding herself with trusted friends, who have limited experience running statewide campaigns.

``Change is inevitable in campaigns. This type of change occurs in every campaign, in every cycle,'' said Democratic consultant Screven Watson, who is not working on Sink's campaign.

``Many campaigns that make changes like this end up better for it. The campaign where the change is occurring see it as opportunity. Of course, the opponents always frame it as crisis.''

``You would think that being 15 points down in the polls would cause a liberal candidate to tread more toward the center, but apparently Sink is using the opportunity to further highlight her support from one of the most far left, liberal organizations in the country,'' said state GOP executive director Ronnie Whitaker, referring to Emily's List.

Sink has proven a strong money-raiser and has about $5 million on hand, compared to nearly $4 million for her main Republican rival, attorney general Bill McCollum. But McCollum has outraised her over the past six months and his lead in polls has grown to a current average of 13 percentage points, according to Pollster.com .

Rightardia comment: Most Floridians don't know what Alex Sink stands for. She did have a booth at the Democratic convention in Orlando, but she did not attend the convention. That was probably a mistake because Alan Grayson was there and he raised more than $1 million on the Friday night before the convention kicked off.  She does have an agenda on her web site: See http://www.alexsink2010.com/agenda/
 
She needs a more spirited campaign to win. Florida is in dire straits and and there are plenty of opportunities for Democrats in November. The economy in Florida is awful with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

It's time for Alex Sink to stand up and fight the Republicans that have led Florida into an economic morass after 12 years of GOP leadership. Alex Sink needs to get aggressive. She will not win without taking some strong stands on education and the Florida economy. 

Who is Alex Sink? Floridians need to know. 

source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35484.html

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Chalie Crist picks unknown to replace Sen. Mel Martinez

Florida GOP Gov. Charlie Crist on Friday named former aide George LeMieux to fill the seat of outgoing GOP Sen. Mel Martinez who resigned without explanation.

LeMieux, a longtime Republican insider in the state, has served as chairman of the Broward County Republican Party, deputy state attorney general and campaign manager for Crist’s 2006 run for governor. He ran unsuccessfully for the state house in 1998.

The first choice was Rep. CW 'Bill' Young who declined the honor. Young is a congressman form the Tenth Congressional District of Florida in Pinellas County.


GOP state Rep. Jennifer Carroll, another contender for the vacant seat, told POLITICO that she found out LeMieux was the pick when Crist called her Friday morning to inform her.

Carroll said Crist made the pick because “he probably felt safe in knowing George, he’s been his chief of staff and confidant for years.”

Crist choice was not popular

Mac Stipanovich, a top Florida Republican lobbyist who supports Crist, was “surprised” by the governor’s choice of LeMieux.

“I’m dumbfounded. I’m never without something to say and I’m practically speechless,” Stipanovich said. “The governor certainly won't have anything to worry about in terms of the new senator doing anything contrary to his interests.” He said LeMieux is a peculiar choice when looking at the breadth of experience present on Crist's short list of possibilities.

Stipanovich said that LeMieux “never held public office. He’s never run a large business. He's not a war hero.”

Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen L. Thurman wasted little time in attacking the pick as an example of cronyism and accused Crist of playing “political games with the public’s trust.”

“In appointing LeMieux, someone who has made millions over the past several years selling access to Crist to the highest bidders among Tallahassee's special interests, Charlie Crist once again put his own political ambition above doing what is right for Florida,” Thurman said in a statement.

Thurman added, “Floridians are sick of the Republican culture of corruption and the Tallahassee back room dealings that clearly led Crist to pick LeMieux, whose only qualification is being Charlie Crist's crony.”

source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26540.html

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