‘See Ya Charlie!’
by Dara Kam | April 29th, 2010Nobody’s taking credit for it, but the bright blue bumper stickers stacked on the desk on the fourth floor rotunda.
But lobbyists hanging out there quickly snapped them up, while politely declining to be photographed with one.
The catty decals popped up hours before Crist is likely to announce that he’s going to run as an independent in the U.S. Senate campaign.
No word yet if they’ll show up on vehicles parked outside the nearby Republican Party of Florida headquarters, or if staffers there are busy scraping the “Charlie Crist for U.S. Senate” stickers off their SUVs.
It refers to a few of the mishaps associated with Crist since he moved into the governor’s mansion in 2007.
- Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer, hand-picked by Crist, was forced out of the party and under federal investigation for questionable spending.
- Crist made headlines after taxpayers footed the $430,000 bill for a 12-day trade junket Crist and his entourage made to Europe two years ago as Florida’s economy was tanking.
- “Stan” was the retiree that Crist invoked over and over again during his gubernatorial campaign. Stan threatened to move back to Vermont because his taxes were too high. He attended Crist’s 2007 state of the state speech at the governor’s invitation.
- Crist, an avid swimmer and the “Green Governor,” had solar panels installed to heat the swimming pool at the governor’s mansion. The cost to taxpayers? About $3,500, which the governor said would be offset within a year by lower electricity bills.
No sighting yet of “Don’t Blame me. I voted for Gallagher” buttons.
The bumper sticker doesn’t have any disclaimer on it showing who paid for it, simply credits “Your Friends in Florida.”
Tags: 2010 campaigns, Charlie Crist
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April 29th, 2010 at 11:57 am
Wake up florida! The majority of constituents in this state are Democrats. Yet the majority of the legislature is Republican. That’s because of the way voting districts have been drawn in their favor. This fall there wil bel Amendment 5 & 6 on the ballot that will enable people to vote and make districts “fair.” Pay attention to this in the next five months. Then make friends aware of the importance of this ballot initiative.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Move over, Charlie the Tuna. Now it’s Charlie the Chicken.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
I guess there wasn’t room on the bumper sticker to include the personal stuff Rubio illegally charged to the GOP credit cards?
April 29th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Thanks David, This is a very important issue. It is not one that many media outlets are making voters aware of.
April 29th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
If Charlie was on the Titanic, he’d steal a dress and toss a kid overboard to get her seat in the lifeboat!
April 29th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Really, David Smith? Perhaps then you can explain why it is that Florida has elected Republicans in 3 out of the 4 races without districts – the statewide races. You think that 75% of the Cabinet being Republican might suggest that either the Republican Party just finds better candidates or voters in Florida vote for the man/woman and not the Party? Your silly little ploy to elect Democrats by changing the lines will not work – unless you are going to change the lines of our state to include parts of Vermont and New York! What David is neglecting to inform us of is that his plan will make it more difficult for minorities in Florida to have a chance to be elected. Sad, sad days for David ahead!
April 29th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Are you kidding, nothing is fair in Florida. Have you seen school districts and how they are gerrymandered?
Where are the hispanic districts? We have no elected hispanics in PBC.
I’mm not even talking democrat/republican, I’m just talking candidates.
What should open up is Rank Voting (I know the dumbos in the condos won’t be able to figure it out) or Instant run off voting.
That could wipe out both democrats and republicans.
Won’t vote for Crist or Meeks. It’s Rubio for me.
April 30th, 2010 at 9:41 am
The curse of American politics. Lobbyist,political donations, buying power in a “for sale democracy.” What happened to “for the people , by the people”? And we try to force American democracy on foreign countries, we see corruption in them, as with our own system. Politicians,sound bites, and money determine outcomes. Charlie Crists listening to the people of Florida bucks the republican agenda. I will vote for Charlie however he runs. The Bush boys and cronies were deprived of profits from there text book companies and educational software companies, by trying to short money to the Florida educatonal system. The buck stopped with Charlie Crist vetoe, thankyou Charlie. tr
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April 30th, 2010 at 9:47 am
Prepare for Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, and all the graduatesof Karl Roves, Ministry of Propaganda, to unleash their venom on Charlie Crist. Rubio will be bombarded with Republican money and praise. Rubio, who is all for backing Israel in a war with Iran, will play ball with this big tea party. Charlie stopped the Republican bill which would have taken money from the Florida educational system, already underfunded. Money the Bush brothers wanted for their educational software, and textbook companies. Thankyou Charlie, you have my vote! tr