Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Like I said last night, the following post is in response to a lost bet to Jim. Enjoy:

First of all, congratulations to Charlie Crist for winning the election and getting the opportunity to serve as Governor of the great state of Florida.

How can a progressive put a positive spin on Governor-Elect Crist? I’ve been tossing and turning and came up with this: Charlie Crist isn’t as bad as Jeb.

There. That should do it.

Want more?

Crist is a moderate Republican and can sometimes be counted on to make sense. The Terri Schiavo fiasco would never have happened if he were governor. Regarding abortion rights, Charlie Crist wants to focus on changing minds instead of laws. That’s good news to most of us who want Roe v. Wade upheld as the law of the land.

Crist also supports restoring voting rights for felons and opposes off-shore oil drilling.

Governor Crist won’t ignore progressives the way Jeb has for the past eight years. He can’t, because Republicans aren’t nearly as strong as they used to be. Hopefully this election-year smackdown will temper neocons and lead to a spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation.

There are those on my side of the aisle that warned of a governor who will go along with whatever a right-wing legislature throws his way. I believe Charlie Crist to be open to the progressive message, if said message is supported by the citizens of Florida. That presents a challenge and we must rise to the occasion. For the first time in eight years, we will have a governor who is open to ideas beyond his own. Let’s help him focus on programs and solutions that involve us all.

(I had help seeing the positive side of Charlie Crist. He can’t be all bad with you on his side. Thank you.)

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