As happened a few times over the years, the St. Petersburg Times embedded a reporter to follow now former Florida Governor Charlie Crist for a day – that day being yesterday, when he officially handed over power to Rick Scott.
Aaron Sharockman provides the sometimes minute-by-minute description of the Crist's waning moments as king of Florida.
Though historians will certainly say that ultimately Crist probably could have retained power in Tallahassee and withstood serious opposition if he had opted not to be so ambitious and run for Senate, that obviously matters little now. Of more concern for Crist might be how he'll be evaluated compared to his predecessors in office.
Looking back on the past four years, I believe you could summarize Crist's tenure as consisting of three separate sections.
The first would be the glory years of 2007 and 2008, when his approval rankings were in the stratosphere. Why? Mainly because he was supported by most Republicans (though obviously there were those from the get go who knew he was no Jeb Bush, a patron saint to many), and nearly as many Democrats, who appreciated his non-ideological stance on many issues, and his ability to get along with some Democrats (which again was always a problem for some Republicans). In this respect he was a refreshing change from Bush's intense and partisan persona, and those Democrats were grateful for it.
Crist wowed the pants off of some Democrats early in '07 when he announced rules that would make it easier for ex-felons to get their voting rights restored (though a report issued by the ACLU 2 years later showed that the state's procedures were so cumbersome, bureaucratic and confusing that many of those ex-cons were still being denied their rights).
Obviously the economy was pretty good those first few years, and so Crist soaked in the good feelings still being felt by the construction industry pre- subprime mortgage crises in Florida. That began to change significantly in 2009, but then frankly, so did Crist's credibility, though it had little to do with the economy's downturn.
No, the credibility started to erode when his philosophy changed. Considered in the Republican vanguard in terms of his concern about the environment, including hosting two Green Energy summits in '07 and '08, that agenda all of a sudden became less important for the governor in '09.
Obviously, much of that change occurred after Marco Rubio's early entrance into the U.S. Senate race.
Though analysts frequently point out that Crist had a 30 point lead over the former House Speaker for months back in 2009, Crist always took Rubio seriously, and began moving in a more right-wing direction than ever before in his time in office, as now that there was an articulate spokesman for issues that Florida Republicans cared about.
Rubio's hammering Crist over his literal embrace of President Obama in Fort Myers and of the $862 billion stimulus program, hated by most of the right, exposed the governor tremendously, and Crist didn't handle it well, leading to all types of contradictions (including a comment in 2010 that he hadn't endorsed the stimulus plan, a mine blowing act that he quickly took back after making the claim on CNN with Wolf Blitzer).
The last part of his time in governor was with his "declaration of independence," where he went back to being the populist and non-ideological. And also no longer officially a Republican. Those were heady times when he was being courted by school teachers all across the state to veto SB 6, better known as the teacher tenure bill. And when he officially broke with the GOP and became an independent (strictly because he was a dead man walking in the GOP primary), he gave himself a few more months as a candidate, before getting blown out by Rubio by 19%.
There were many other items that Crist did that Democrats appreciated, especially keeping the early voting polls open for more hours back in October of 2008, much to the distress of his fellow Republicans. He also responded to the sentiments of the public when he declared that touch screen voting machines should no longer be used in the state, after so many concerns about their credibility.
And no doubt, his moderation will stand out compared to the 8 years of Jeb Bush, and presumably the next 4 of Rick Scott.
Charlie Crist had loads of charisma, as much as anybody in politics, including Marco Rubio. His people skills are legendary. This was a man who actually liked calling up people and asking them for money. He may be back, though with the Florida GOP? One has to question if they'll have him.
No doubt he'll thrive in the private sector, or in teaching, or whatever he ends up doing. Personally I think he can be a powerful spokesman for the independent, 3rd party movement, whatever that amounts to.
He'll be missed.
brought an articulate spokesman from the political right in Florida, Crist wilted
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— Florida’s procedures for restoring voting rights to convicted felons are so cumbersome, bureaucratic and confusing that some ex-convicts are being denied their rights, according to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.
This article appears in Dec 30, 2010 – Jan 5, 2011.