Charlie Crist slams Rick Scott's repressive early voting decision as 'unconscionable'

[seafan]

Mary Ellen Klas reports at the Tampa Bay Times:


November 4, 2012

Before former Gov. Charlie Crist rallied the crowd at President Barack Obama’s final Florida rally on Sunday, he made a guest appearance on CBS4’s Facing South Florida with Jim Defede and did some politicking of his own.

.....

Crist laughed when Defede said his first encounter with Obama was a “hug heard around the world” and recalled how he also
“got a lot of grief from Republicans” when he extended early voting hours in 2008.

“But when you’re governor, you don’t just work for one party or the other you work for the people of the state,’’ Crist said. “I saw the long lines. I saw it was still hot in South Florida, that a lot of senior citizens were waiting in those lines, and I realized it was an emergency situation and people needed to have the opportunity to vote.

.....

“To me it’s just a responsibility and obligation. This is a precious right. It’s a cherished right that people have fought and died for and the notion that you would try to suppress that, and reduce the opportunity for the right to vote whether they vote Republican or Democrat or independent is just unconscionable to me.”

In classic Crist fashion, he refused to directly lay blame on Scott for suppressing the vote but he implied it.

“When you go from 14 days of early voting to 8. When you reduce the number of hours from 120 to about 96, it’s hard to look at it another way,’’ Crist said. I think the people of Florida and this country expect early voting.”

.....

And, never forget, it was a deliberate move by the GOP-controlled Legislature and its henchman Rick Scott, to suppress the people's right to vote.




Now is our opportunity to vote against every single anti-American Republican occupying our state Legislature; these people have enforced complete control over the Legislature and Governor's office since 1998. They do not represent the people.

It is time to strip them of political power.



Thank you, Governor Crist, for standing up to these bastards. May you have many more opportunities ahead.

[madfloridian]

1. Crist is being very outspoken and pro-Obama.

I detest Rick Scott. He plays only to the tea party.

[Enthusiast]

2. "I detest Rick Scott."

Me too.

[No Elephants]

3. I cannot abide Rick Scott, either, but I don't trust people who change parties whenever it suits

their personal self interest.

Specter did it twice. Lieberman did it. Etc.

I was very disappointed when Democrats did not back their own candidate against Crist, Lieberman and Specter. That's not why Democrats donate to the Democratic Party.

[Leopolds Ghost]

4. It's interesting that Crist came out in support of Obama and now it's in play for Dems again.

It had appeared to be trending right wing with a lot of Southern Baptist evangelicals moving into the I-4 corridor. But not only did Tampa vote against Romney by a wide margin, they were surprisingly supportive of the occupy etc. protests at the RNC up and down the line, from what I've heard. It was in Charlotte where there was a lot of anger at protesters.