orange you glad?
by Sandra Neish
Published: June 26, 2008
Question: when should an orange not be picked?
Answer: when it is a potential vice presidential candidate.
As far as potential veeps go, Florida Governor Charlie Crist seems to have it all. He is young and fit, South Florida loves him and to top it all off, he has a tan that rivals George Hamilton’s. This Florida orange could deliver McCain the crucial swing state of Florida and help negate his older-than-dirt image problems.
But not so fast. Here in North Florida, where I reside, the general electorate is not particularly keen on our bronzed governor. Though we have a bit of fun mocking his fake-and-bake image and his fitness obsession, and most of us get a laugh out of his purported setup of fans at press conferences so he doesn’t begin to sweat on camera, when it comes down to it, we have concrete reasons for disliking him.
Initially, when his name was bandied about as a potential McCain running mate, the majority of Northern Floridians was thrilled. We were going to be rid of him at last! He would drop the governorship to run amok on the country. Alas, our hopes were thwarted. A recent Florida law allows him to retain his local seat while running for a national one. A measure he, himself, signed into law (Miami Herald). For a governor who claims repeatedly to only care about the future of Florida, he sure knows how to leave his options open.
Then there’s his stance on property insurance, which has not proven popular outside of South Florida. Most property insurance carriers have fled the state as there are now caps on how much they can charge individuals for insurance. For instance, if my husband were not active-duty military posted here in the Panhandle, USAA would not offer us property insurance and would have dropped us when these caps were made law. According to an Orlando Sentinel article, Crist agreed to freeze the rates for state-run Citizens Property Insurance, again. Now, those in the highest hurricane risk areas are paying only $0.70 for $1.30 worth of coverage. To make up the difference, there is a new tax on those who are paying premiums to private companies. That tax is conveniently hidden in the insurance bill, leading most to believe their insurance company has raised their rates. Are you starting to see why we love our governor so much?
Finally, there is the highly controversial Martin Lee Anderson case. In 2006, 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson entered a Bay County boot camp instead of being incarcerated in a youth detention center. During physical training, Anderson complained of fatigue and collapsed. The guards thought he was malingering and began to use coercive techniques including pressure-point applications. Then, they covered his mouth and forced him to inhale ammonia. When he became unresponsive, he was taken to the hospital and died the next day. The Bay County medical examiner attributed his death to a sickle cell crisis as Anderson had sickle cell trait, unbeknown to the boot camp. Had the boot camp been aware of this, he would not have been admitted. There was a national controversy regarding whether or not the boot camp instructors were guilty of manslaughter or even murder.
The boot camp instructors and nurse went on trial for aggravated manslaughter of a child. Anderson’s parents filed a $40 million lawsuit against the state. Crist was the state attorney general at the time. When Crist gained the governor’s mansion, he recommended the state settle the lawsuit for $5 million. The particular bill (Senate Bill 2968) agreeing to the $5 million settlement stated as fact many issues that were in dispute in the criminal case against the boot camp workers. The separation of powers exists for a reason; neither the legislative nor the executive branches should decide the facts of a judicial matter prior to the judicial branch. (Panama City News Herald).
I could go on as to why this Florida orange seems unfit for office, but given our nation’s economic woes and foreign entanglements, why would we seriously consider for national office a man who doesn’t understand the market economy and has a difficult time with the concept of separation of powers. Not to mention his commitment issues; he has only been governor of Florida since 2007 and apparently, he would be happy to allow his primary duties to take a back seat to a vice presidential bid. If McCain truly wants to balance the Republican ticket with a worthwhile running mate, he should not pick an unripened orange.
—
(email this article or post to social network)
—
(6)
June 27th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Sandra,
Christ should not make the Republican ticket, but not because he capped premiums or settled a murder case, he shouldn’t get the nod because he’s a white male. Nowadays, that just won’t cut it.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
If Condoleeza doesn’t have a sister in politics then the Republicans are doomed.
June 28th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Well, maybe if Barack Obama has a conservative brother…nah, we’re doomed.
July 1st, 2008 at 11:29 am
Actually Daniel, Christ is a middle-eastern male…so that wouldn’t be a problem (there are others though).
Governor Crist is, of course, pure WASP, so of no help to Senator McCain.
Russ