Darryl PaulsonWith Charlie Crist set launch his bid as the Democratic nominee for governor, he will have to address the following 10 questions.
No. 1: Will Crist exercise better judgment concerning his friends, advisers and political associates?
Crist’s hand-picked choice to lead the Florida Republican Party, Jim Greer, was a disaster of monumental proportion. Greer is now in prison for money laundering. Will Greer’s forthcoming book prove embarrassing to Crist, who is the godfather of Greer’s child?
Scott Rothstein, a friend and major campaign contributor to Crist, is now serving a 50-year sentence for funding his charitable and political contributions through a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
Alan Mendelsohn, a Hollywood eye doctor and member of Crist’s 2006 transition team, was sentence to four years in prison for skimming $300,000 from a political committee he ran and for failing to report more than $700,000 in income from his medical practice and lobbying.
Greg Eagle, a Lee County Realtor, was convicted of bank fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud. In 2006, Eagle put $1 million in a third-party political organization, Floridians for a Better and Brighter Florida. The money was then transferred to another group that helped Crist win the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2006.
No. 2: Will Democrats accept Crist as one of their own? Nan Rich, a former state senator and the only other announced Democratic candidate, constantly calls herself a “life-long Democrat.” Wanda Smith, a delegate at the recent Democratic state convention, called Rich “the true Democrat.” Crist “didn’t always do the right thing for the state” during his term.
No. 3: Will Democratic voters turn out to support Crist? Many Democrats say that will not be a problem as they seek to make Florida “Scott free.”
In the 2010 governor’s race, 76 percent of Republicans voted compared to 70 percent of Democrats. Alex Sink cited the lower turnout as the primary reason she narrowly lost to Rick Scott.
No. 4: Will Crist’s ties to President Obama help him or hurt him? Republicans were united in opposing Crist in the 2010 Senate race after “the hug” with Obama in Ft. Myers. Scott has been attacking Obama at every turn in an effort to mobilize the Republican base. We can be sure that the Governor will tie Crist to Obama on almost every issue.
No. 5: Will Crist be able to defend his record on the economy compared to Scott’s? Hundreds of thousands of Floridians lost their jobs during Crist’s tenure and the housing market collapsed. The improving economy under Scott will be the major issue in the race and Republicans are already highlighting the “Crist collapse versus the Scott surge.”
No. 6: Will black voters turn out to support Crist? No one expects Scott to get more than a small percentage of the black vote, but will blacks turn out in large numbers as they did in 2012 or will many of them stay home?
Crist has two primary problems with black voters. As a state senator, Crist spoke on the floor of the Senate holding chains over his head as he supported reinstituting chain gangs. The St. Petersburg Times described the chain gang proposal as “the worst idea of 1995.”
Another Crist problem with black voters was his run as an Independent candidate for the Senate in 2010. Many blacks viewed Crist as undermining the campaign of the Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek, the first serious major party black nominee for the Senate in Florida history.
No. 7: Can Crist overcome the flip-flopper problem? Crist has flip-flopped on issues, ideology and party. In 2006 and 2010, Crist aggressively campaigned as a “Ronald Reagan, Jeb Bush conservative.” Suddenly, Crist has morphed into a liberal Democrat. Will voters believe the transformation?
In 2008, Crist endorsed Republican John McCain and hoped to be his vice president. Four years later, Crist enthusiastically endorses Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention. From Republican to Independent to Democrat in three years. As Marco Rubio points out, Crist is running out of parties.
No. 8: Does Crist have the gravitas to be governor? Supporters argue that his first term as governor lays this issue to rest.
Critics contend that Crist has charisma, but that does not equate to the skills needed to govern one of the mega-states. Pat Benson, a delegate to the recent Democratic convention, notes that Nan Rich has the intelligence, but Crist has the charisma. Is charisma enough?
A recent Politico article cites a Florida Democrat who describes Crist as a “nice man, who might not be the smartest guy, might not be the most forceful leader, might not have any principles,” but Democrats like him because “he is always smiling on TV talking about Florida and how great ‘she’ is.”
No. 9: Can Crist convince voters that he is more than just a political opportunist? He has been elected as state senator, education commissioner, attorney general and governor, but he has never once sought a second term to any of those offices. Will voters accept a “one and done” politician?
No. 10: Most important, can Crist explain to Florida voters why he did not seek a second term as governor in 2010 and, instead, ran for the Senate? Even Democrats raise this issue.
Susan Smith, head of the Florida Progressive Caucus, criticized Crist for abandoning “the job and Florida once before to run for the Senate and that’s a big part of why Rick Scott is governor today.”
It’s not good when members of Crist’s new party blame him for causing the election of Scott. As Desi used to say to Lucy, “You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do.”
