What a Difference a Senate Race Makes

Yesterday I took a short break to grab something to eat at a buffet close to the hospital where my father is staying. I picked a copy of the St. Pete Times to read while I ate (I quit reading the Tampa Tribune over a year ago). There was Charlie Crist on page one under the headline: Charlie Crist sheds environmentalist image. Well, heh, Charlie Crist has been desperate to shed several aspects of his image since Marco Rubio came out as a viable challenger for the Republican candidate for the US Senate race, the environmentalists are just the latest Crist constituency to find themselves under the bus.

From the Times Piece:

"(Charlie Crist) was more green than any governor had ever been before," said David Guest of Earthjustice, an environmental law firm.

But since he launched his bid for a U.S. Senate seat this year, Crist has left environmentalists feeling jilted. He canceled his climate summit. He didn't fight the Legislature's move to end funding for the popular Florida Forever environmental land-buying program. He signed a controversial bill changing the state's growth management law. And he has all but endorsed a proposal to allow drilling for oil near Florida's gulf beaches.

What happened to the man they once called "Governor Green"? A tough primary challenge from Marco Rubio.

Of course Charlie insists that he is the same Governor Green he always was but he says he's putting the environment on the back burner while he works on the state’s economic problems. As a Floridian I am glad that the Governor is finally recognizing that the state has economic problems but I find it disingenuous that his epiphany only came after Rubio posted his challenge.
Crist has toned down his rhetoric in an effort to preserve his viability in the race against Rubio. Should he prevail he will revert to the same old Charlie:

Guest predicted that, if Crist beats Rubio in the Republican primary, he will revert to his old positions.

"I don't think Charlie's green politics were gambit," he said. "I think that was the real Charlie."

Guest is correct about the real Crist. Florida can’t afford to send the real Crist to the Senate.

This just another Crist flip flop for the election's sake.