FL Governor Crist Making GOP Wary

[seafan]

Governor Making GOP Wary

By WILLIAM MARCH
April 22, 2007

TAMPA - After three months in office, Republican Gov. Charlie Crist has earned praise from surprising quarters - Democrats, environmentalists and even The Nation, which bills itself as America's leading journal of liberal political opinion.
Some conservatives, however, are starting to grumble about the record that earned Crist that praise, from advocating state action against global warming to restoring civil rights for felons.

Though he ran promising to maintain the legacy of former Gov. Jeb Bush, a hero to the conservative wing of the party, critics say Crist is chipping away at that legacy.

.....

"He has been more moderate than many of his supporters felt he would be, including me," said Stanley Tate, a Miami businessman and longtime GOP fundraiser, who said he considers himself moderate and is very happy with Crist.

"The moderates in the Republican Party all give him good marks," Tate said, "but the conservatives do not."

.....

But weeks into his tenure, Crist handed (social and religious conservatives) a victory when he proposed a state-funded stem cell research initiative that didn't include embryonic stem cells, although he had advocated that in his campaign.
Religious conservative activist John Stemberger of Orlando said he is unconcerned about the perception that Crist is moving the GOP to the center, "as long as he continues to govern from the right of center."

.....

In three months on the job, Crist has acted on issues beyond restoring rights and global warming that also won him praise from liberals, worried conservatives, and seemed to undercut the Jeb Bush legacy:

•Bush appointees. Revoking appointments made by Bush and, in some cases, replacing them. Among them was removing former state Rep. Ken Littlefield, a religious conservative business advocate, from the state Public Service Commission and replacing him with Sen. Nancy Argenziano, known as a consumer advocate.

•Gay marriage. Announcing that he doesn't want the Republican Party to continue funding a constitutional amendment petition drive to ban gay marriage. Republicans had hoped having the initiative on the ballot would spur GOP voter turnout.

•Butterworth appointment. Naming a prominent Democrat, former Attorney General Bob Butterworth, as head of the Department of Children & Families.

•Wetlands regulation. Saying he would veto a bill to strip local governments of the authority to regulate destruction of wetlands by developers - a measure strongly favored by developers.

•Parkway foe. Opposing the Heartland Parkway, a proposed highway also favored by developers.

•Voting machines. Joining with U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, a liberal Boca Raton Democrat, to advocate new voting machines that include a paper record of votes cast. The touch-screen machines now in use were adopted during the Bush administration as the answer to the problems of the 2000 presidential election.

•Teacher meeting. Meeting in his office with representatives of the state teachers union, an organization scorned by Bush.

•Bonus pay. Advocating a teacher bonus pay plan less dependent on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT, than the one Bush proposed.

•State song. Advocating a new state song because of what he says are racist overtones in "Old Folks at Home."

.....

The Jeb Bush wing of the GOP has reason to be grouchy about Crist. According to a new statewide poll by the University of North Florida released April 23, 2007, Governor Crist has a 77% approval rating.

Crist's rating tops the 73 percent mark he received in a March poll by Quinnipiac University. It includes an 81 percent approval by Republican respondents and 73 percent by Democrats.

"That's an unprecedented approval level for an opposition party," said UNF professor Matt Corrigan, who heads the polling center. "What he has here is a sense of bipartisanship that's totally different from Jeb Bush."

Crist declined to take credit, saying he was only part of a team that included the House, Senate and executive branch.

"Those aren't my numbers, they're the team's numbers," he said. "The bipartisan numbers mean we're on the right track."

Thankfully, the fetid stench from Tallahassee is starting to clear out.

[gatorboy]

1. Well there goes Florida's FEMA credit line.

Enjoy your coast-line while you can before this hurricane season!

[malaise]

Should be very interesting to see how Bush

deals with Florida hurricanes this year although I'm hoping there will be no hurricanes.

[orwell]

2. That's funny...

...the Jeb Bush "legacy"...

A legacy of shame.

[Robbien]

3. Good thing he is adding paper to the GOP's voting machines

or he wouldn't have his job when the next election comes.

This guy sounds like he is an old school Republican.

[BreweryYardRat]

4. Crist actually is a decent guy.

I'm surprised. Pity he beat Jim Davis, but if we have to have a Repub as governor, better Crist than the guy running against him in the GOP's primaries. That dude had a big fat developer dick up every orifice and in both hands as well.

[trumad]

6. The dude has been fantastic since he's come into office

He's getting big props from the teachers union--- he's not your average repuke that's for sure.

[Grandrose]

5. Another Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Maybe there is hope for the Republics after all!:shrug: