Posted by Mitch Perry on May. 18, 2009, at 6:01 am
By Mitch Perry
PoHo contributor Mitch Perry is the anchor of the WMNF Evening News on 88.5 FM community radio
When Marco Rubio declared his candidacy for U.S. Senate earlier this month, he said his campaign wasn’t “against anyone or anything.” On the Spanish language Univision Network, however, his tone was as different as the idiom, saying he was interested in combating “the kind of American Socialism that they want to establish in the U.S.”
Last Friday night in Tampa, I asked the former House speaker, who will compete head to head against Gov. Charlie Crist for the nomination to succeed Mel Martinez in the Senate next year, what exactly did he mean by that?
Only after Charlie Crist announced his bid for the Senate was Marco Rubio’s campaign message, to use his words, “coming into focus.” After Crist announced his Senate candidacy, Rubio aired his first attack ad which linked Crist to President Barack Obama. Rubio then went on Fox News to pitch his campaign and talk about why Crist is not the man for the job.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 12, 2009, at 10:07 am
“Some politicians support trillions in reckless spending…” is one of the attack lines from the Marco Rubio campaign as it launches a full spread of phaser and photon torpedoes (yes, we’re staying with the Star Trek theme until the movie drops below $10m a week at the box office) at Charlie Crist just minutes after the governor declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
The ad, predictably, ties Crist at the hip with President Barack Obama.
Posted by Jim Johnson on May. 11, 2009, at 6:22 am
Many people expect an announcement that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will say he’s running for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, when the governor is set to announce his political future. To be sure, an open Senate seat does not come along very often … but this could be a major problem for Republicans.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 7, 2009, at 6:58 am
Our governor is not having a good 2009. Maybe it all started when he (rightly) stood with President Barack Obama to tout the economic stimulus plan. Whatever the start of the slide, one thing is increasingly clear: Charlie Crist’s political capital in Tallahassee is near zero.
His clean energy bill — a priority — was killed by the speaker-designate in the House as retribution for not getting messy offshore oil drilling. Crist’s proposed budget was ignored on arrival. He faces a tough primary battle against conservative forces led by Marco Rubio should he decide to seek the U.S. Senate nomination in 2010 that, just a few months ago, was viewed as more of a coronation than an election.
The latest slip in Crist’s power? The Legislature has approved changes that give the governor less latitude when outsourcing public work to private industry. Former Miami Herald scribe Gary Fineout blogs:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 5, 2009, at 2:36 pm
Just in time for Marco Rubio’s announcement today that he will seek the U.S. Senate seat in 2010 from Florida comes a film that features the man widely expected to be running against him, Gov. Charlie Crist. Outrage appears to be a well told look at the hypocrisy of closeted politicians, done by director Kirby Dick.
The film opens this Friday nationwide but we have not been able to find a Tampa Bay location for it yet. Will update when/if I do.
Here is the synopsis from the Outrage website:
Academy Award nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) delivers a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of closeted politicians who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to. OUTRAGE boldly reveals the hidden lives of some of our nation’s most powerful policymakers, details the harm they’ve inflicted on millions of Americans, and examines the media’s complicity in keeping their secrets.
And the long-rumored bisexual life of our governor is a topic for the film, reports Bob Norman, the Broward-Palm Beach New Times reporter who had documented several men who say they have had sex with Crist:
I’m in the new film Outrage about hypocritical gay Republicans. And no, I offer no proof that our governor is gay.
Just a lot of compelling evidence.
The Academy Award-nominated documentarian Kirby Dick — who has compiled an excellent body of work – came to my house to talk about my reporting on Jason Wetherington and Bruce Carlton Jordan, the pair of Katherine Harris campaign staffers who told numerous witnesses they had affairs with Gov. Charlie Crist. The filmmaker interviewed me and retraced some of reporting on those stories for the movie.
Watch the full trailer for Outrage after the jump:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 5, 2009, at 6:15 am
It’s on like Donkey Kong: a battle for the heart and soul of the Florida Republican Party!
Conservative standard-bearer Marco Rubio has thrown his hat into the post-Mel Martinez 2010 U.S. Senate elections, setting up a likely battle royal with Gov. Charlie Crist that will be one of the national Republican Party’s highest profile battle between its conservative faction (Rubio, Jeb Bush) and its centrist, big-tent faction (Crist, Arnold Schwarzenegger, as examples).
Rubio made the announcement on the Spanish language Univision and followed up with a video on YouTube this morning.
Rubio says he wants a balanced budget amendment and pro-business laws. He also obliquely acknowledges the 800-pound GOP elephant in the room that is Crist: “I know that there are people more famous than I who will enter this race. But nothing in life worth doing is easy.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on May. 4, 2009, at 6:20 am
Adam C. Smith, political editor over at the St. Petersburg Times and chief Buzz-ster, asks an intriguing question in light of the party switch of Penn. Sen. Arlen Specter:
Can the stimulus-lovin’ Charlie Crist possibly find a home in the increasingly right-wing GOP?
It’s a crazy question, considering the GOP these days is only marginally more popular than the flu, while the Republican governor of America’s biggest battleground state enjoys astronomical approval ratings.
But it’s worth pondering now that moderate Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania has become a Democrat, and the political world is convinced that the moderate Florida governor is about to run for the U.S. Senate. If Crist runs and wins, he will join Maine’s Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe – a pair reviled by many conservatives – as the only Republican senators who supported President Barack Obama’s stimulus package.
“If you agree with Susan Collins or Olympia Snowe on some of these issues, you might as well become a Democrat,” said former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, a Republican who is likely to run for the Senate, whether or not Crist does.
The 2009 Legislative Session passed the 60-day mark on Friday, extended for one more week. The only thing left to do is pass the budget, with tobacco taxes and the Seminole Gaming compact — and the revenue they generate — included.
And so, the next thing for Florida politicos to discuss: Will Governor Charlie Crist run for re-election or for the United States Senate? And when?
So today on Twitter, there is a new #cristcountdown discussion.
RT @StateOfSunshine @jaketapper @markknoller #cristcoundown | Date and office
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users’ updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers). Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow anybody to access them. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, text message, or external applications. The service is free to use over the Internet, but using text messages may incur phone service provider fees.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Apr. 30, 2009, at 5:00 am
Why wait, I always say. Actually, given Charlie’s continuing tremendous popularity ratings, starting to whittle him down to size is a good tactic for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which released the ad today.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Apr. 29, 2009, at 1:55 pm
Daytona Beach News-Journal columnist (and early media blogger) Mark Lane is money in his latest column about Gov. Charlie Crist and how the sun-tanned one embodies the finest principles of Taoism:
Charlie Crist is Florida’s Taoist governor.He strives by not striving. He wins by not playing.
He is the uncarved block upon which independent voters can visualize their wishes.
Crist does not react to the flow of public opinion; he is one with the flow of public opinion.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Apr. 20, 2009, at 12:13 pm
This week I was joined by ABC Action News anchor Brendan McLaughlin and Democratic consultant Ana Cruz. We discussed, according to my pre-production notes and links:
Is Obama a wimp? The NYT questions Obama’s determination for a good fight and details how he has compromised and capitulated. And is Obama too enamored with being on TV and being a star and not enough on producing the change he promised? What about this handshake with Hugo Chavez? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/us/politics/19lobby.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Posted by Mitch Perry on Apr. 13, 2009, at 9:41 am
By Mitch Perry
PoHo contributor Mitch Perry is the anchor of the WMNF Evening News on 88.5 FM community radio.
This is the story of a little-known South Florida mayor, a progressive anti-automatic weapons kinda politician with little name recognition and labeled with the tag “the gay candidate” in his quest to be the next U.S. senator from Florida. His name is Kevin Burns. More about him after we set the rest of the field.
Charlie Christ’s decision to wait until the end of the legislative session before declaring his political future has frozen most Republicans with fanciful ambitions of higher office through the first part of 2009.
But with three weeks to go before the popular chief executive announces whether he’ll run for re-election or opt to set his sights on Mel Martinez’s seat in Washington, some members of the GOP last week realized they can’t wait any longer.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Apr. 2, 2009, at 5:58 pm
It might as well be official that Gov. Charlie Crist is in the 2010 US Senate race to replace outgoing Mel Martinez. A prime contender who ran strong in some polls just on name recognition alone, Congressman Connie Mack today revealed he will not run.
As you contemplate this decision, I want to let you know that I have decided not seek election to the U.S. Senate in 2010, and that I will instead seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
I also want you to know that, as you contemplate your own political future, I will be your strongest supporter and champion — regardless of whether you seek re-election or election to the Senate.
The people of Florida are lucky to have you as a public servant, and I’m fortunate to have you as my friend. No matter the decision you make, we will all be fortunate to have you standing up for Florida in the years to come.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Mar. 24, 2009, at 9:11 am
Former House Speaker and keeper of the Jeb! flame Marco Rubio weighs in with another video from his non-campaign for the U.S. Senate. The only real question here is will he go ahead with a run against Charlie Crist (widely expected to seek the cozy Senate seat being abandoned by Melquiades Martinez in 2010 to die on the sword of conservatism against an the infidel governor??
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Mar. 23, 2009, at 8:19 am
The Sun-Sentinel has done a helluva job piecing together a tough story without any help from Florida’s “transparency” governor, Charlie Crist.
The upshot: The gov takes a lot of flights on private jets owned by some of the wealthiest and influential Florida corporate titans – or those who are angling to be. And his office doesn’t keep records on the flights.
From the story this weekend:
Crist regularly flies on the private jets of wealthy businessmen, the Sun Sentinel found, but the governor won’t disclose the details.
Over the past two years, Crist’s calendar shows about 100 occasions when he was scheduled to fly in or out of private air terminals to get to the capital, concerts, dinners, sporting events, political appearances and stays in St. Petersburg and South Florida.
Crist’s office would not reveal who paid for specific flights or answer questions about them, despite the governor’s vow of transparency when he took office. “Our constitution requires that our government be open and transparent,” Crist said in his January 2007 inaugural address. “And under my administration it will be like never before.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Mar. 10, 2009, at 10:03 am
There are two big problems with the landmark deal being pushed by Charlie Crist to buy out U.S. Sugar’s acreage in the Everglades Agricultural Area: he wants to pay too much for the property, even at the premium it should demand as a trade-off for going out of the business of growing sugar and polluting the Everglades with fertilizer; and it isn’t enough land or a quick enough timetable for the sugar shutdown.
But Crist pushed ahead with the historic deal. The recession and the Legislature, however, may scuttle it.
The St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee bureau reports:
The last two months have been rather gloomy times for term-limited St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker. First, it was the news that Alex Sink would not run for the U.S Senate, thereby keeping the CFO position to herself. Then it was Bill McCollum passing on a senate bid to stay on as Attorney General. All the while, every city council member since Connie Kone served popped-in to City Hall to measure the drapes in your office.
For Hizzoner, it’s like what any bartender will tell you at closing time, ‘You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.’ Fortunately for Baker, Charlie Crist may be ready to throw him an after-party. Read the rest of this entry »
UPDATE: I have a correction to post here. Turns out I am the late one to find out what everyone else knew already: It will be elected not appointed. The correction is posted here.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Mar. 1, 2009, at 10:50 am
The Florida Legislature’s annual lawmaking session starts Tuesday, with Gov. Charlie Crist’s State of the State Address that evening. The lawmakers have to fill billions of dollars worth of budget deficit, and Crist’s insistence that federal stimulus money will ease the pain is finding disagreement among the hardcore conservatives who control the House and (to a lesser degree) the Senate.
The stimulus money leaves Republicans in a difficult position. If they spend the money, they would look as if they’re siding with and acting like Democrats. If they refuse the cash, they would have to make deep budget cuts that would be tough to explain to constituents.
Adding to the tension: Lawmakers will likely forego tens of millions in home-town projects that they are accustomed to bringing back to their districts. Also, the House was thrown into disarray over Rep. Ray Sansom’s connections to a home-town college to which he disproportionately steered money, only to win an unadvertised job there. He faces a criminal investigation and his quit both the college job and his post as House speaker.
Lawmakers will take the federal money, if Crist has anything to do with it. He has publicly advocated for the stimulus money in appearances around the state, with President Barack Obama and on national television. Crist is entertaining a run for the U.S. Senate.
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles on Wednesday indicted a Jordanian businessman with connections to the Florida Republican Party on charges of funneling illegal contributions to three former presidential candidates and Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida.
The indictment of the businessman, Ala’a al-Ali, 37, shines a spotlight on the role of a business associate who the complaint asserts helped collect the donations. The associate, Harry Sargeant III, is a major Republican fund-raiser who owns an oil company with government contracts in Iraq and who recently resigned as finance chairman of the Florida Republican Party. Mr. Sargeant raised more than $500,000 for the 2008 Republican presidential campaign of Senator John McCain.
News organizations raised questions last summer about suspect donations to Mr. McCain from Arab-Americans that the campaign initially linked to Mr. Sargeant’s fund-raising before attributing them instead to another one of his Arab associates.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Feb. 24, 2009, at 6:00 am
…these two men, Bobby Jindal and Charlie Crist, representing both the split ideology of the Republican Party and its new, swarthier face.The Indian-American vs. the Greek-American.
The big question that will remain for GOP voters in a little less than four years: White hair or dark?
Posted by Mitch Perry on Feb. 23, 2009, at 4:21 pm
By Mitch Perry
PoHo contributor
Mitch Perry is the anchor of the WMNF Evening News on 88.5 FM community radio. This is his first post as a PoHo contributor.
Under the category of “Whose GOP is it anyway?”, NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday served up what some political junkies hoped might be a potential death match rumble on the Beltway’s Sunday morning television’s crown jewel of punditry over the past 15 years.
But MTP has had very few Must See TV episodes since Tim Russert’s tragic death of a heart attack last summer, and this rhetorical rumble failed to materialize.
That’s because in the battle of dueling GOP Governors on the stimulus bill, NBC’s David Gregory chose to bring his two guests on in separate segments to reflect the dissent within the Grand Old Party.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Feb. 22, 2009, at 2:54 pm
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist! Simply because Jindal’s jingoism of “conservative alternative solutions” falls flat after eight years of that crap not working.
Here’s the MTP interviews with Crist and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, done separately.
Posted by Scott Farrell on Feb. 13, 2009, at 8:45 am
By Scott Farrell
PoHo contributor
Scott Farrell is the host of The Scott Farrell Show weeknights from 9 – 11 pm on NewsTalk AM 820 WWBA.
Darwin has been vindicated by a former foe.
You intelligent designers or unintelligent designers – as the case may be – no longer have a friend in the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee. Charlie Crist proved again Monday that Darwin was correct 150 years ago when he put forth his theory of natural selection, or at least as it pertains to political evolution. Crist clearly has an innate sense of the political peacock with the most ornate poll numbers. That’s why the Governor couldn’t stop himself from jumping on his Flying Beagle and heading down to Fort Myers. As Fox News ran the clip of Gov. Crist introducing President Obama – the groans emanating from Men’s Grills in country clubs from Palma Ceia to Naples were palpable: “Say it ain’t so, Charlie.”
Charlie has ditched the Jebfords (think male Stepfords – identical bad jokes, argyle socks and oversized Rolexes) for the Lehigh Acres foreclosure crowd. But why? Because Crist’s political DNA knows if he doesn’t make this move his political future may end up deader than the future of Northwest Florida State College.
So did the Governor believe all the stuff he said as a state senator in the 1990’s? It is remembered by many Floridians as the Chain Gang Charlie Era. It’s not Charlie’s choice to make. He’s part of Darwin’s natural selection plan. And currently the political peacock with the best tail feathers is Barack Obama.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Feb. 12, 2009, at 12:39 pm
With everybody awaiting Gov. Charlie Crist’s decision on whether he will get in the race or not, early polling in the 2010 U.S. Senate elections in Florida is highly speculative.
But it does have value. On the Democratic side, it helps shape decisions to run or not to run. And it helps the early money figure out on whom to bet, errr, give a campaign contribution.
Given those two benefits, you have to think that today’s Strategic Visions poll on the 2010 race emboldens Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Feb. 10, 2009, at 7:47 am
From the Miami Herald:
When the Republican governor helps the Democratic president sell his economic stimulus plan tomorrow in Fort Myers, Charlie Crist will put himself at odds with all of the state’s representatives on Capitol Hill. Every House Republican voted against the plan, and Sen. Mel Martinez is also expected to vote no.
Consider Crist’s support in the context of the statement issued Friday by U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, a Republican who represents the Fort Myers area.
“While he is here, we hope the President will take the time to listen to the people’s views on why the Democrats’ stimulus plan won’t stimulate the economy, and why we need pro-growth solutions that will create jobs and jumpstart our economy,” Mack said. “The people of Southwest Florida, and indeed the nation, want to see a plan that will get our economy moving, not a plan that is chock-full of spending for pork and special interests.”
An aside: It is especially hilarious to hear Mack call for more unfettered growth, since he represents one of the worst cases of overbuilding and speculation without proper growth management down in Lehigh Acres. The New York Times wrote of the place: “In Lehigh Acres, homes are selling at 80 percent off their peak prices. Only two years after there were more jobs than people to work them, fast-food restaurants are laying people off or closing. Crime is up, school enrollment is down, and one in four residents received food stamps in December, nearly a fourfold increase since 2006.”
But Mack depends on those landowners and developers for his campaign cash, and since he’s mulling a U.S. Senate run, he wants to push his “conservative” credentials against the president’s stimulus plan. Since when did being a conservative equate to being a land-rush huckster?
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Feb. 9, 2009, at 3:50 pm
Our Gov will introduce the president, who is fighting against Crist’s own party to try to save his stimulus package. Politico reports:
Aides to the governor confirm Crist will appear with Obama at the noon town hall planned for Tuesday.
Crist was one of a handful of GOP governors who affixed his name to a letter of state chief executives in support of the stimulus package.
Florida has been ravaged by the recession, thanks in large part to the collapse of the home construction industry and spike in foreclosures. The state faces a $2.4 billion budget deficit that is growing.
Just shows you how politics works: Throw a few billion at someone in the other party and they will love the shit out of you.
Posted by Jim Johnson on Feb. 7, 2009, at 10:43 am
By Jim Johnson
PoHo contributor
With a hat-tip to Mariella Smith, who posted a note on Facebook, it seems Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan has decided after all to run for outgoing County Commissioner Jim Norman’s seat. This could trigger Governor Crist to appoint a replacement to fill the remainder of his term. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Feb. 3, 2009, at 12:03 pm
But the silver-haired gov tells the Palm Beach Post that he is putting off any decision until (wait for it) after the sessions ends, in May:
“When the session is over I’ve have a long discussion with my wife Carole and make a decision,” he said after meeting with sports industry officials at the mansion this morning.
“I’m focused on the Florida budget and those kinds of issues. I think it’s important to stay focused on the issues of the day. I’m focused on working with the members of the House and Senate to make sure that this budget stays in balance and we provide the needs of the people of Florida. I’m not really thinking about politics.”
Bullshit. That is all the gov thinks about. He is the most political animal I know, and I say that in an admiring way.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jan. 30, 2009, at 5:02 pm
The Club for Growth, Grover Norquist’s that supply-side neocon outpost, puts a boot into Florida’s governor this week as it institutes its first Comrade of the Month award:
FLORIDA GOV. CHARLIE CRIST: State Farm Insurance recently announced that it would stop selling property insurance in the Sunshine State due to overly punitive government regulations. In response, Crist was unremorseful. He said, “”Well, they probably charge the highest rates in the state anyway. I think Floridians will be much better off without them.” Crist now wants to punish State Farm by kicking their auto insurance business out of Florida as well. Crist tries to pass himself off as a fiscal conservative, but his actions as governor contradict his rhetoric.
Crist is up against Congressman Barney Frank, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Congresswoman Betty McCollum and liberal pundit Bob Beckel. All Democrats.
The 2009 Legislative Session passed the 60-day mark on Friday, extended for one more week. The only thing left to do is pass the budget, with tobacco taxes and the Seminole Gaming compact — and the revenue they generate — included.
