Crist is going down the same road as his apparent mentor John Kerry.
Posted on 08/28/2010 6:52:28 AM PDT by Brilliant
Gov. Charlie Crist said Friday he would have voted for President Barack Obama's healthcare bill -- only to retract his statement two hours later.
His two opponents in the U.S. Senate race -- Democrat Kendrick Meek and Republican Marco Rubio -- immediately seized on the gaffe.
Meek's camp diagnosed Crist with ``political amnesia,'' a reference to his repeated reversals on major policies in this campaign.
In a statement, Rubio's campaign said Crist had flip-flopped several times on the issue: ``Charlie Crist's political opportunism puts him in a league of his own. After changing his mind six times, I'm still not sure what he believes because he will likely change it again tomorrow.''
As a House lawmaker, Meek voted in favor of the healthcare bill; Rubio opposes it and wants it repealed.
In a noon interview at an Orlando television station, the anchor asked: ``Healthcare bill, how would you have voted on that?''
The now-independent Crist responded: ``I would have voted for it, but I think it can be done better. I really do.''
At 2 p.m., campaign spokesman Danny Kanner attempted to clarify Crist's remarks.
``Apparently . . . there may be some confusion regarding my position on healthcare,'' Crist said in the statement.
``If I misspoke, I want to be abundantly clear: the healthcare bill was too big, too expensive and expanded the role of government far too much.
``Had I been in the United States Senate at the time,'' Crist continued, ``I would have voted against the bill because of unacceptable provisions like the cuts to the Medicare Advantage program.''
FEELING PRESSURE
The warp speed flip-flop is the latest example of how Crist is shifting his stances as he gets pressure from Rubio on the right and Meek on the left in the unusual three-way race.
On March 21, entrenched in a Republican primary battle with Rubio, Crist said he hoped to repeal the healthcare bill. ``The bill is comprised of secret backroom, sweetheart deals . . . and the passage of such a bill is a direct affront to the American people,'' he said in a campaign statement the day the legislation passed the U.S. House.
In July, however, after leaving the Republican Party, Crist told the Wall Street Journal he didn't support a repeal.
RUNNING WITH IT
In his statement Friday, he continued in this direction, noting ``some positive aspects'' about the bill and saying ``repeal must be accompanied by a responsible substitute.''
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/27/1796088/opponents-rubio-meek-jump-on-crists.html#ixzz0xuLU7Im6
Crist is going down the same road as his apparent mentor John Kerry.
It appears just the opposite is happening. Crist and Meek are effectively splitting the Democratic vote and Rubio is losing a much smaller percentage (15-20%) of Republicans to Crist. Crist is facing a no-win situation. If he goes even harder for Dem votes, he risks losing the 15-25% support he is currently getting from Republicans and he might also cost himself support among indies as well.
Rubio 43%Crust retires from politics, writes a book nobody buys, starts selling real estate in the Everglades...
Meek 39%
Crust 17%
Hanging chad 1%
“As a House lawmaker, Meek voted in favor of the healthcare bill; Rubio opposes it and wants it repealed. “
At least with Meek and Rubio you know what you get - a liberal or a conservative. With Crist, you get a shapeshifter.
The Green Iguana made him do it.
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2008-02-28/news/the-talk-of-the-green-iguana/
The Talk of the Green Iguana
By Bob Norman Thursday, Feb 28 2008
The rumors about Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and the Green Iguana just wouldn’t go away.
The story goes that the Florida governor frequented the Green Iguana, a bar in Tampa, back in the early 1990s when he was just starting his political career. He was less careful back then, people say, and during his partying at the Green Iguana, he was openly gay.
When I got Rick Calderoni, the bar’s well-known owner, on the phone, I expected him to stonewall me about it.
He didn’t.
Calderoni, who is gay, confirmed that Crist came into his bar quite often and that the two of them became friends.
Getting to the point, I asked him if he knew Crist to be gay.
“Yes,” he answered bluntly. “I just wish he would come out and admit it. That would be a great thing if he did.”
I asked Calderoni if he was certain that Crist is gay. He told me that Crist socialized with a gay clique of friends but conceded that he’d never actually seen Crist become intimate with another man.
So how can he be sure Crist is gay?
“The way he acted,” Calderoni said.
How did he act?
Calderoni laughed and said, “Very feminine.”
I get the feeling Crist will wait until the last moment and then come out of the closet to get some sympathy votes.
Maybe he’ll even announce with his boyfriend from Fort Lauderdale on stage.
Crist is just a weak Meek.
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He has done well in the polls thus far only because he is a sitting Governor. When people start really paying attention to the Election in September and October, his numbers will plummet.
In politics, that's known as "pulling a Romney" (or it ought to be).
As in:
"Gosh, Tom, I just don't know who to vote for in the Arizona primary. McCain talks a strong game, but I remember when he was for giving illegal immigrants amnesty. Now he says he's against it. Frankly, it's hard to trust anything McCain says".
"Yeah, Mary, I know what you mean. McCain really pulled a Romney on us this time, didn't he".
I hope so. As we’ve expanded the voting franchise we seem to have scraped the bottom of the barrel.
The stupidity of the voter knows no bounds.
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