Governor and Democrats find cause to agree
By BETH REINHARD
breinhard@MiamiHerald.com
In the Bizarro World of Florida politics under new Gov. Charlie Crist, the Republicans sound like Democrats, the Democrats sound like Republicans and everyone gets along famously.
For those unfamiliar with comic book lore, Bizarro is the polar opposite of Superman. He lives on the planet Htrae, where doing good equals a life of crime. Or as Jerry Seinfeld explained in one episode of his long-running sitcom: 'Up is down, down is up. He says `Hello' when he leaves, 'Goodbye' when he arrives.''
Since Crist's inauguration one month ago, things have been similarly weird. The Republican whose campaign broke records hitting up corporate interests went on to tap Democrats to lead two key state agencies, add consumer-friendly picks to a state utility board and insist that government was the solution to the insurance crisis.
Crist adopted reforms long touted by Democratic lawmakers and invited them to share the glory at bill-signing ceremonies around the state.
''The tone in Tallahassee is night and day from what we had under Gov. Jeb Bush and our former legislative leaders,'' said state Sen. Steve Geller, a Hallandale Beach Democrat. ``Candidly, Gov. Crist has not acted like a Democrat or a Republican, but as more of a populist. I have met far more with Gov. Crist in less than a month than I did in eight years with Gov. Bush.''
ROLE REVERSAL?
The Bizarro logic continued at this week's Florida Cabinet meeting, where Crist stood up for the little guy and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink -- a Democrat -- defended big business. The governor's proposal to temporarily freeze rates, she argued, could diminish competition among insurers. ''They're not all deadbeats,'' Sink was quoted as saying.
In contrast, when an insurance lobbyist said the industry needs to reap ''nice profits'' so it can cover claims after a storm, Crist snapped: ``We don't have a problem with nice profits. We have a problem with egregious profits.''
This is the same Crist who canceled his inaugural ball, saying a fancy affair would seem insensitive when homeowners are suffering, and the same Sink who held her party anyway.
Even Sink acknowledged that a legislator recently asked her if she was a closet Republican. ''I'm just being myself,'' she said. ``I am concerned about the citizens, but I also want to make sure that insurers can compete in Florida.''
Crist as Bizarro peaked at a press conference this week where the governor traded attaboys with Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, a fierce critic of the Republican-led resistance to requiring paper records for touch-screen voting machines. Crist flew to Wexler's home turf in Palm Beach County, the predominantly Democratic county where the butterfly ballot and hanging chads threw the 2000 election into chaos, to announce he'd budget $32.5 million for machines that make a paper trail.
STEM-CELL SURPRISE
But just when it seemed that the Bizarro World would eclipse the sun, partisan bickering returned.
Retreating from a popular stance he took during his campaign, Crist announced $20 million for stem-cell research that does not include discarded human embryos.
Democratic lawmakers were outraged that the governor would cave in to pressure from social conservatives and overlook what some scientists say is the most promising research for Parkinson's disease and other chronic illnesses.
''Before a shot has been fired, the governor has retreated from a position shared by millions of Floridians,'' said state Rep. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach. ``The governor has the biggest megaphone in the state, and he ought to use it to advance the discovery of life-saving measures.''
Now that the governor has unveiled his budget, Democrats and Republicans are braced for a major battle over property taxes.
Feels good to be back on Planet Earth.
Beth Reinhard is the political writer for The Miami Herald. |
