Onward with Charlie Crist
MIAMI – Last night Democrats embraced Charlie Crist enthusiastically. Despite running against a very respected and long time state legislator and progressive voice in former State Senator Nan Rich, Charlie collected nearly 75% of the vote. And he did it despite a $30 million campaign against him by Rick Scott and his minions.
How was Charlie able to appeal to Democrats so easily? Simple, we already knew him. When he was last governor, Charlie Crist compiled a record that proved he was neither an ideologue nor a reactionary. From climate change, to voting rights, to investing in education, Crist proved who he was through his actions. When he took on utility companies to lower rates, or insurance companies to keep windstorm insurance from spiraling out of control, he proved he had our back. When he vetoed an ultrasound bill that invaded a woman’s control over her own body, he showed he was less a partisan and more a Floridian. And when he sought automatic restoration of civil rights for nonviolent felons, he demonstrated his compassion.
The lesson of this primary is that Rick Scott has a formidable task. He has to persuade people to disregard their existing impressions of Charlie, while at the same time convincing them to set aside their dim impressions of him. It’s not easy as last night’s returns proved. When it’s time to vote, people tend to trust their guts. They trust what they know.
It is true, Scott will say anything or spend anything. But Floridians aren’t going to be fooled again. Now they know Scott, and all the election eve conversions in the world won’t seriously alter their impression of him.
Interestingly, Republican primary turnout was 950,000. That’s almost 350,000 less than in 2010 (when they had a very good year in the general); and about 175,000 less than in 2012 (when they had a very bad year in the general). I’m not sure Republican voters are particularly excited about their guy, probably because they know him too.
(Dan Gelber was a former democratic state senator who represented South Florida.)
(From the The Gelber blog)
