Yes, yes, yes, a million times, yes:
http://members.jacksonville.com/...
Speaking at the annual convention of the Florida Press Association and the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, Crist said state lawmakers should reconsider the “stand your ground” law that allows someone to use deadly force if they believe their life is in jeopardy.
He also said the Legislature should review the “10-20-life” rule after hearing the circumstances of a case in which a man was sentenced to 80 years in prison for firing a gun into the air.
“I’m always open-minded to looking at those kinds of things,” Crist said of the gun laws, adding that the measures may have resulted in unintended consequences. “When you’re faced with new facts, I think you ought to listen.”
The former Republican governor has been working to burnish his Democratic credentials as he faces a primary challenge from former state Sen. Nan Rich, a liberal firebrand who has struggled to raise the kind of money typically necessary to run a statewide race. - Florida Times-Union, 7/10/14
Here's some more info:
http://www.tallahassee.com/...
While the “stand your ground” law remains popular in Florida, changing the measure has been a Democratic cause since the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in central Florida. On Thursday, Crist recalled the acquittal of George Zimmerman without using his name, saying “the instigator of an event has no punishment for taking a life. There’s something wrong with that.”
On the “10-20-life” law, Crist responded to a question about the case of Ronald Williams, who received four mandatory minimum sentences under the law after being convicted of pointing a gun at four gay men who were whistling and ogling him from a neighbor’s Riviera Beach home and then firing into the air several times. Nobody was injured.
The judge who sentenced him said the law gave him no leeway and that the sentences had to run consecutively — effectively handing down a life sentence for Williams, who was 26 at the time of the crime. An appeals court agreed. Williams has appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, arguing that judges should have more discretion.
“It doesn’t sound fair and it doesn’t sound equitable,” Crist said of the sentence. “I think fairness should be the standard on which we look at any statute.”
Facing questions about his political conversion, the former Republican called his party switch “very authentic,” saying he had grown uncomfortable in the GOP because of its positions on gay rights, women’s issues and environmental protection.
He detailed a laundry list of actions he took as governor that aligned him with Democrats, including vetoing measures that would have instituted a merit-pay system for teachers and required women to undergo ultrasounds before having abortions.
He also touted his efforts to restore voting rights for ex-felons and extend voting hours in the 2008 presidential election.
While Crist acknowledged Florida’s economic recovery under Republican Gov. Rick Scott, he said middle class families were still struggling. “It’s not so rosy out there,” Crist said. “I think it’s improved some but we can be doing a lot more.” - Tallahassee Democrat, 7/11/14
I applaud Crist for wanting to fix these issues and this is the Charlie Crist that now needs to run Florida. Now Crist didn't run away from his record though when he recently attacked Rick Scott (R. FL):
http://www.tampabay.com/...
Former Gov. Charlie Crist defended his record leading Florida through the recession and attacked Gov. Rick Scott's record on everything from education funding to rejecting federal dollars during a speech Thursday to the Florida Press Association.
During the event Thursday, Crist pointed to opportunities that Scott passed up that would have grown jobs, including his rejection of $2.4 billion in federal dollars for high-speed rail. Crist also criticized Scott for the state's failure to accept $51 billion over 10 years to expand Medicaid. Scott initially opposed the expansion, but later said he supported it. Scott didn't lobby Republican legislative leaders, and the Legislature rejected it in 2013.
"How many jobs have we lost because of Rick Scott's inaction or wrong decisions?" Crist told the association.
Crist framed his opposition to the U.S. embargo on Cuba as a jobs issue, too, arguing that Cuba will need a lot of reconstruction.
"Florida would be a natural launching pad for that," he said. "That's a jobs program."
Earlier this year Crist said that he no longer supported the 1962 U.S. embargo against Cuba — an increasingly common stance in public opinion polls. Crist had supported the embargo while governor and as a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010 — PolitiFact Florida gave him a Full Flop for his change in stance. Crist later upped the ante by saying that he wanted to visit Cuba during his campaign, but then scrapped that plan, citing the demands of his campaign. His decision followed a poll that showed his plans to visit Cuba were not popular with Cuban-American voters in Miami-Dade.
During the speech Thursday, Crist highlighted his choice to accept federal stimulus dollars, which he says saved 20,000 teacher jobs. When Crist has taken credit for those saved jobs, PolitiFact Florida ruled a similar claim Half True because it was federal action that saved the jobs, and the precise number of teachers who avoided layoffs is difficult to assess.
Crist told the press association that despite the hard times, he invested in K-12 education.
"We were able to fund almost $200 more per pupil than the current administration is doing with almost a $3 billion surplus," he said.
That's actually a reference to before the recession in 2007-08, when per pupil spending was higher than what is included in the most recent budget. Scott can claim that he has overseen the highest K-12 funding in terms of total dollars.
Crist repeated promises he has made throughout the campaign, including that he wants to make it easier for Floridians to vote and expand early voting. Crist reiterated his support for the medical marijuana amendment on the ballot, but when asked if he supports recreational marijuana he said, "not at this point."
The governor's race is the only competitive statewide race this fall in which Democrats appear to have any shot. Crist hopes to drive up turnout among Democrats in South Florida who show up at the polls in far smaller numbers than in presidential years. Broward's 41 percent turnout in 2010 was a key reason behind Democrat Alex Sink's loss to Scott.
Crist told the room full of editors that he will accept their invitations to speak at editorial boards, taking a stab at Scott: "If memory serves I don't think he attended one editorial board four years ago." - Tampa Bay Times, 7/10/14
Well said. Meanwhile, Scott is getting hit with this:
http://www.miamiherald.com/...
A police union official filed a complaint Thursday with the Florida Elections Commission, accusing Gov. Rick Scott of illegally coercing on-duty police officers to attend a campaign event in Tampa on Monday.
The complaint was filed by Jeff Marano of the Florida Police Benevolent Association, a union supporting Scott’s leading Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist. Marano is president of the PBA’s Broward County chapter.
Under Florida law, it’s a first-degree misdemeanor for a public official to “directly or indirectly coerce” any employee to engage in political activity, and employees are prohibited from doing so while working.
Scott’s campaign said it made its intentions clear but a high-ranking member of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office insisted that he believed he was going to a state event to meet the governor and discuss ways to reduce crime, which is why he asked several deputies to come along.
“We obviously didn’t know we were going to a campaign event,” said Hillsborough Col. Jim Previtera. “Had we known it was a campaign event, we wouldn’t have been there.” - Miami Herald, 7/10/14
It's these kinds of missteps that have the GOP nervous:
http://abcnews.go.com/...
Among the notable misfires by Scott's office and his campaign:
— Scott bashed Crist for saying he backs in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants when he previously opposed it. Scott himself also flip-flopped on the issue.
— Scott repeatedly said Crist is bad for education. The state Republican Party tried proving the point with a list of bills Crist vetoed, including a college tuition increase and cuts for public schools — actions Crist took to help education.
— Scott relentlessly attacked Crist for supporting President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. But when staff from the governor's office set up a round table to discuss it in heavily Democratic Palm Beach County, the gathered seniors praised the plan.
Greg Blair, a spokesman for Scott's campaign, did not dispute it had made errors, but said recent polls show Scott no longer trails Crist.
"Every campaign makes mistakes," Blair said, pointing out that Crist's once strong lead in the polls had withered.
And yes, Crist has made mistakes, such as announcing in Miami's Little Havana that he'd like to make a campaign fact-finding trip to Cuba. After much backlash, Crist's campaign said he wouldn't visit communist-ruled island before the election.
Still, Scott's campaign gaffes have received more attention.
Earlier this year, top donor Mike Fernandez complained in emails leaked to the media that campaign staffers mocked Mexican accents — which the campaign denied. Curt Anderson, a Washington D.C.-based Scott adviser, responded by insulting Fernandez in an interview with Politico. Fernandez had personally contributed $1.4 million to the political committee formed to re-elect Scott and raised millions more.
The result? Fernandez quit as campaign finance chairman.
"The missteps I think have to do with bringing in outsiders to help run the campaign that are not familiar with the Florida terrain, and it's easy to make mistakes," said Daniel Smith, a University of Florida political science professor. - ABC News, 7/10/14
Scott may have an ad blitz but Crist is only getting started with throwing punches. Lets help fuel Crist's campaign so he can take out Scott in November:
http://www.charliecrist.com/