I'm always interested in metaphors or pop culture references used as framing devices for political campaigns. Recently I've been thinking about what would be the best way for Gov. Crist to package himself in his race for the US Senate, especially now that he has started his move to run as an independent.
CROSS POSTED FROM FLAPOLITICS.COM
After the experience of vetomania (his rejection of the highly unpopular education reform bill known as SB6), the vision that came to mind was the iconic image of the lone gunslinger who rides into town, kills the bad guys, and saves the day for the townspeople. Movies like Shane, High Plains Drifter, and the Gary Cooper-Grace Kelly classic High Noon.
That's the one where no one in the town will help their marshal (played by Cooper) face off against the gunslingers who want revenge. The marshal doesn't run, but takes on and beats the gang by himself (and the help of his peace-loving Quaker wife's shotgun abilities--predating Linda Hamilton's Terminator 2 performance by decades).
When it's over, Cooper, exhausted and filthy from the battle, takes off his marshal's badge and throws it on the ground in contempt.
Don't you know the attention loving Crist would LOVE to play that role in real life, just like Woody Allen's character getting to repeat Bogart's famous words from Casablanca at the end of Play It Again Sam.
Much of the coverage of the political ramifications of Crist's veto have been along this line. For example:
But his comments at a Tallahassee rally Thursday following his veto may have revealed his intentions—and perhaps marked the unofficial launch of his independent bid for the Senate.
"It is the voice of the people that was heard this week, and that’s what’s so important in this country," Crist said before a group of teachers, students and a pep band outside a high school. "The most important thing is to do things right for the right reasons. Vetoing this legislation today was about trying to do what’s right. I don’t always get it right. But hell, I’m always going to try to do what’s right.
In vetoing the bill, Crist stood up to the Republican establishment, starting with the man who is no longer governor but who is still trying to run things, Jeb Bush.
Bush has been trying to destroy teacher unions for years.
But Bush and his buddies, such as Thrasher, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and various business groups, badly missed the point on this one.
The outrage at Thrasher’s bill and the way it was handled didn’t come from just teacher unions and Democrats. Many Republicans were angry, too.
And Crist heard from thousands of people from across the political spectrum urging a veto. He listened to the people instead of the power structure, and that’s going to earn him support.
Steve Schale (who ran Obama's campaign in Florida) has pointed out the monetary difficulties that Crist would face as an independent.
The St. Pete Times reported that if Crist does make the switch the law does not require him to return donations, even if contributors ask for them back.
Of course, the issue would then be, could he still raise new money.
It's possible that he doesn't care. A National Review Article speculates that there are probably a lot of good options for Gov. Crist in a post-politics life.
If that's so, the main advantage of switching would seem to be that he would retain everyone's attention until November, rather than August.
However, I think there is a weird, but plausible, almost Zen-like approach that Crist could take in a race as an independent and really accomplish something.
Due to the lack of big money contributors, Crist would campaign by not directly campaigning. When you think about it, that's exactly what he did with the SB6 veto.
As I mentioned in Shakespeare Charlie, one key to this approach would be to call a special session to deal with campaign finance reform. This would provide Gov. Crist with ENORMOUS attention and allow him to continue to take the moral high ground against the Republican legislative leadership.
But, another issue has recently arisen which has additional campaign potential.
That's the "poison pill" redistricting amendment proposal cooked up by Sen. Mike "I Drive the Tank" Haridopolis that would essentially nullify the redistricting reform constitutional amendment proposals put on the ballot by Fair Districts Florida.
Gov. Crist could make a show of meeting with popular experts like Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho and adopt the powerful language Sancho uses in discussing redistricting. ("Quit calling it gerrymandering, it's rigging elections!)
Gov. Crist could point out that Republicans like California Gov. Swarzenegger and NY Mayor Bloomberg both favor redistricting reform. He could point out the hypocrisy of his predecessor Jeb Bush campaigning for reform in California but dismissing it here in Florida.
That would be sweet.
And here's the kicker. I'm sure Ellen Freidin, Campaign Chair of Fair Districts Florida, would be quite willing to help raise money to have him fly around the state delivering this message.
The beauty of this two pronged, non-partisan, good government approach is how well it fits into the mythic structure he has begun to create with the SB6 veto. Look at all of these quotes:
On Saturday, Crist said if he was playing politics, he would have signed the bill. But he broke with the party, arguing the process was just not right.
He used the word "hypocrisy" in describing how the GOP accused the Democratic Party at the federal level for using partisan politics to push a health care bill - before the Republicans in the state legislature strong-armed for votes in the teacher-pay bill.
"We got calls in our office that not only were arms being twisted, they were being broken to get people to vote for this thing," Crist said.
The Crist campaign has seen a surge in support in the aftermath of the veto. Campaign officials said 725 requests for everything from bumper stickers to volunteer jobs have come in since Thursday afternoon. That's a far cry from the couple dozen or so campaign workers we're used to responding to every couple of days.
"I didn't get elected the governor of just the Republicans of Florida. I got elected the governor of the people of Florida," Crist said.(emphasis added)
Crist added: "I want to be very thoughtful in this. This is a decision that has to be made by (April) 30th, and I want to do what's right for the people of our state."
Everyone is begging Crist to stay put -- except for the recently deposed chairman of the state party, Jim Greer.
He said: "Charlie Crist has always put the people first before partisan politics and that has always upset those who put partisan politics before the people. If putting the people first once again requires him to run as an independent he should do it!''
Even if he lost the Senate race he would do it in a way that greatly enhanced his stature among the people of Florida. He would enter into the realm of "statesman" like former governors Bob Graham and Reuben Askew.
If he stayed in Florida he could become our "Democracy Czar", being a public spokesman that helped average citizens navigate the minefield of constitution amendment proposals.
He might actually really become a true people's champion. And if he took this route I wouldn't necessarily count him out of winning the US Senate race.
Hey, I can hear the strains of that classic song cuing up . . .
Okay, that was fun, but I need to make clear that I'm a LONG time supporter of Kendrick Meek. (My first post on him goes back to 2008!) I have written that Rep. Meek can win a three way race by getting out his base, which he is poised to do.
So why encourage Gov. Crist to run as an independent? Here's why:
Former state party chairman Al Cardenas said Crist could do long-term damage to the GOP if he bowed out of the Aug. 24 primary and ran as an independent in November. The switch would create a potentially competitive three-way race between Rubio, Crist and the likely Democratic nominee, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami.
With Democrats ahead by 700,000-plus voters in Florida, Republican candidates rely on independent voters for statewide success, Cardenas said. A well-known independent candidate, he said, could hurt the GOP's outreach to nonpartisan voters and the Hispanic electorate. (emphasis added)
I also believe that the best way for redistricting reform to pass on the November ballot is if it has a popular state-wide spokesperson.
So, if you would like to help do long-term damage to the GOP in Florida and help promote some good government initiatives, please contact Gov. Crist and urge him to run as an independent and take up campaign finance reform and redistricting reform as his main issues.
(Use link above for email)
Mailing Address PO Box 1694 Tallahassee, FL 32302
Phone: 850-907-1218 Fax: 850-907-1219
