I love this guy:
http://miami.cbslocal.com/...
An awkward political moment between state Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera and former governor Charlie Crist was caught on camera.
During a speech at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches on Monday the Republican-turned-Democrat heaped criticism on Gov. Rick Scott on virtually every area of his leadership.
“Florida doesn’t have an economic plan unless you count flying around in your private plane and holding press conferences and giving away taxpayer money to your buddies,” Crist told the crowd.
Scott’s campaign dispatched Lopez-Cantera to rebut Crist. Talking with reporters after Crist’s speech, the lieutenant governor said most of it was divisive and untrue.
“Charlie is willing to say whatever you want to hear to get elected but when it comes down to the facts, the record, when it was time to stand up and make a difference, he left,” said Lopez-Cantera.
Just then Crist walked up to him.
“Carlos, Carlos, good to see you, how are you, everything well,” Crist asked a visibly stunned Lopez-Cantera as he patted him on the back and shook his hand.
As Crist walked away he told Lopez-Cantera to “Say hi to your family for me.”
When asked by reporters how he felt about the Lt. Governor’s remarks that he lied, Crist dismissed Lopez-Cantera governor as not good enough to debate.
“Give me Scott,” he declared. - CBS Miami, - CBS Miami, 4/15/14
What Crist did was really smooth:
http://www.politicususa.com/...
Republican Gov. Rick Scott is in danger of not being reelected, because his opponent Charlie Crist knows all of the angles. He knows the GOP’s manipulations and dirty tricks, because he used to be a Republican. Crist isn’t going to stand off to the side, and let the Scott campaign pull the rug out from under him.
Crist was so smooth, and his appearance was so unexpected, that Lopez-Cantera was left speechless. Just like that, a Republican dirty trick was derailed, and Charlie Crist took back all of the headlines, by being a nice guy and greeting the Lt. Governor.
The way Crist walked away and demanded that Rick Scott be brought to him was the ultimate psyche out move. In his quest to be reelected to a second term, Rick Scott has 99 problems, and Charlie Crist is his biggest one. - Policus USA, 4/15/14
Nice. Crist trolls Scott's Lt. Governor right after he royally trashed him:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Charlie Crist didn't hold anything back Monday, delivering an aggressive denunciation of Gov. Rick Scott personally and politically, depicting him as an ethically suspect chief executive who doles out favors to big campaign contributors and doesn't understand or care about the lives and needs of average Floridians.
"Governor Scott has led like this: embrace the ideological fringe, take care of his friends, bully his opponents, hide from the public and the press, and run from tough issues," said Crist, a former governor who's seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Scott in November.
"It shouldn't come as a surprise," Crist said, running through what he sees as transgressions by the Republican governor. "He's already run ads that independent fact-checkers are calling misleading and false. But what does Rick Scott do? He keeps on running them because the truth means little to Rick Scott."
Crist delivered the broadside before nearly 700 people gathered for a luncheon at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches, a bipartisan group that attracts movers and shakers from the political, legal and business worlds in Palm Beach County. He received polite, but not extensive applause; at the end, less than half the audience stood to clap.
Besides the tone, Crist's speech was unusual in that he put on his glasses and read a prepared text for the first two-thirds of the 23-minute speech. It's only the second time since Crist announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor on Nov. 4 that he's read his remarks, something he said later he did because he had a lot to say about Scott and wanted to make sure he got it all correct. - Huffington Post, 4/14/14
Crist not only trashed Scott, he also praised Obamacare:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/...
Crist said Obamacare is a great achievement and the battering he's receiving over the issue from Scott TV ads isn't going to hurt him the way Republicans believe. "I don't shy away from it. I don't back away from it. I don't apologize for it. It's the right thing to do."
He contrasted the health care law with Scott's background. When Scott was chief executive of Columbia/HCA, the company was found guilty of inflating Medicare bills and paid a $1.7 billion fine. Crist said Scott's wealth comes from "hundreds of millions of dollars of money you stole from poor, sick people."
During the speech and 18 minutes in which he answered a dozen questions, Crist said:
• Scott is giving away tax money to special interests who are funding his campaign. "Right now, Florida doesn't have an economic plan — unless you count flying around in your private plane and holding press conferences and giving away taxpayer money to your buddies a plan. That may be a great way to take care of your friends and raise campaign dollars, but that's no way to create an economy that's built to last."
• Scott doesn't care about education. "Sadly, while our teachers work hard to make our schools great, the support they receive from this governor is pitiful. Four education commissioners in four years, budget cuts, constantly moving the ball on accountability and a governor who cares so little that he didn't even come to his own education summit — though he did find the time to go to the tea party conventions that same week."
• Lifting the trade embargo on Cuba would help bring freedom to that country's people and open an important market to Florida.
• He believes in "a better way" to govern. "We can go in a new direction that embraces common sense and optimism — and one that rejects the nasty tone of today's politics."
• He left the Republican Party to be "true to my core principles" after it was "taken over by the tea party."
• In response to questions from students at Santaluces High School in Lantana that he favors raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and supports legalization of same-sex marriage.
• His governing style wouldn't be much different than it was when he was the Republican governor from 2007 to2011. He said he'd reach out to both parties and independents. And he said he could work with a Republican-controlled Legislature "by being straightforward and honest and looking them in the eye." - South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4/15/14
By the way, check out Scott trying to act like he hasn't been lying about the ACA:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
When reporters asked Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) about reelection campaign ads that incorrectly imply 300,000 people in the state have lost their health insurance plans as a result of Obamacare, he licked his lips and dug in.
"Clearly, the ad's accurate," Scott told reporters gathered outside a senior center in Miami on Wednesday.
"But it's not, governor!" insisted one reporter, who pointed out that the Blue Cross-run agency at the center of the claim had already debunked the numbers. A second reporter continued to question the assertion, which has been factchecked by newspapers across the state and discredited. Scott, however, remained unmoved before being "quickly ushered away by his media aide," according to CBS:
- Huffington Post, 4/10/14
Scott knows his attack ads aren't working because Crist is still leading him in the latest polls:
http://www.surveyusa.com/...
29 weeks till votes are counted in Florida, incumbent Republican Governor Rick Scott is the underdog in a fight against (now) Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for WFLA-TV in Tampa. Today, it's Christ 46%, Scott 41%. 502 likely voters interviewed.
Scott's support is older. Crist's support is younger. The older the electorate on Election Day, the better Scott will do. The younger the electorate, the better Crist will do.
Scott leads 2:1 in Northeast Florida, and more narrowly leads in Southwest Florida (which includes the Tampa Bay region). Crist leads 3:2 in Southeast Florida and more narrowly in Central Florida and Northwest Florida. A small turnout in Dade and Broward counties helps Scott. A large turnout in Dade and Broward counties helps Crist. Scott holds 71% of the Republican base, compared to Crist, who holds 80% of the Democratic base. Independents split. Conservatives vote 7:1 Republican. Liberals vote 8:1 Democratic. Importantly, moderates break 7:4 for the Democrat Crist.
Scott and Crist are effectively even among college graduates. Crist leads among less educated voters. Scott leads among upper-income voters. Crist leads among lower-income voters. Middle-income voters split. Scott leads narrowly among white voters; Crist leads overwhelmingly among African Americans, and materially among Asian Americans. Both Cubans and non-Cuban Hispanics lean slightly Republican -- but that is based on a small sample and caution should be exercised in projecting those numbers out to Election Day. - Survey USA, 4/15/14
So Scott and the RGA are trying to paint him as a good Governor:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/...
The Republican Governors Association today launched the next video of the American Comeback project, a national advertising effort designed to tell the success stories and accomplishments of Republican governors.
The newest video of the American Comeback project features Florida Governor Rick Scott. As governor, Scott readily calls upon the struggles his family experienced throughout his childhood as a driving force behind his resolve to create more jobs, more opportunity and more prosperity for the people of Florida.
“I don’t know my natural father. My mom got remarried a year or so after I was born. My adoptive father had a sixth-grade education. They struggled for money. I grew up in public housing,” said Governor Scott. “But I lived in America, and I had every opportunity there was.”
“I want our state to be number one: the number one place for your family to get a job, the number one place for your children to get a great education,” added Governor Scott. “We’re going to have the jobs. We’re going to have the most growth.
“My mom and my dad wanted something better for me, and I want people to have the same shot I had,” said Governor Scott. “Republican governors are driving America’s comeback.” - Miami Herald, 4/15/14
Expect more of this bull shit from Scott and the RGA. Lets help keep Crist's campaign fueled and ready to go so he can kick Scott's ass in November:
http://www.charliecrist.com/