IT’S TIME TO OUT CHARLIE CRIST. Not out him like pundit
Chuck Todd did last August on an MSNBC panel when he
suggested the governor’s hasty and politically well-timed
marriage was a sham.
Not out him like the new documentary
“Outrage,” which targets Crist as a closeted
homosexual who has nonetheless worked to
silence and repress gays and lesbians.
Not out him like “Hardball” pundit
Chris Matthews, who nearly giggled during a
discussion of the governor’s quickie engagement,
back when he was being considered as
a running mate for John McCain.
Not out him like the Broward/Palm
Beach New Times newspaper, which has
written several stories on Crist’s “alleged”
homosexuality, including interviewing customers
and owners of a gay bar that Crist frequented,
and reporting on two men who
claimed to have had sex with Crist.
Not out him like the
conservative Wall Street
Journal, which in June
dubbed Crist the
“Republican Barney
Frank” for — seriously?
—his approach to hurricane
re-insurance.
No. The sexual orientation
of the governor
and wannabe U.S. Senator
has been reported,
explored and gossiped
about ad infinitum, if not
nauseam. What he needs
to be outed for is this
fact: He is a political and
environmental coward.
C’mon, you say, that’s
no “secret.” True, this last
legislative session went a
long way toward exposing
him. But remember, this is
the guy who sold himself
to voters as an advocate of
green building, clean water and renewable
energy. He’s the guy who supported Everglades
restoration, killed a controversial coal
plant, hosted a summit on global climate
change and even installed solar panels on the
roof of the governor’s mansion. Compared to
Jeb Bush — who hired his environmental
regulator from the ranks of polluting industries
and pushed through construction of a
cement plant on the banks of pristine
Ichetucknee Springs — Crist seemed like a
model of enlightened environmentalism.
Welcome to Crist XP. His new political
platform requires that he run hard against
opponent Mario Rubio, the darling of the
right wing and social conservatives, who’s
locked down endorsements from Jeb Bush
and Mike Huckabee despite long odds. In
order to hobble Rubio, Crist is offering
slavering obedience to the development
lobby. He followed the recent legislative
session with a spurt of support for bills
designed to boost his popularity among
wealthy conservatives — the same people
he hopes will line his campaign coffers.
Among the bills Crist got behind was Senate
Bill 360, about which the governor initially
expressed “reservations” but ultimately
signed with a flourish. That bill
does away with state growth regulations
that require large developments to undergo
state review, a move that will only increase
sprawl and further encroach on the state’s
undeveloped lands. Crist followed that
move last week by signing Senate Bill 2080
— a bill he’d tacitly promised environmentalists
he would not support — which
removes the public from large-scale water
permitting processes. Until now, anytime
one of the state’s five water management
districts wanted to issue a consumptive use
permit for water, it needed the approval of
the district board. Because the matter went
before the board, it was open to public
input — and objections.
There was no clearer indication of the
public’s interest in such matters than the
April 13 public hearing on allowing Seminole
County to withdraw St. Johns River
Water—an event that drew some 300
people. A cynical person might suggest that
that kind of public participation is the very
reason the state decided to pull such decisions
behind the executive veil. But even
those who have faith in the motives of lawmakers
can’t ignore the impact of the bill.
The public, once privy to how its own water
resources were used, has been shut out of
the discussion.
It’s a sad development for anyone who
cares about how Florida grows or looks or
lives. But it’s especially pathetic that this
turnaround is being led by someone who
adopts and discards his disguise based
purely on campaign goals. Crist may make
political gains by trammeling the state’s
environment, but he should be careful
about betraying his bedfellows. Otherwise,
instead of voting him in, everyone will
want him out.
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