Charlie Crist, Rick Scott take center stage in CNN debate, race deadlocked
Florida is against in the nation’s view of political discourse as November’s midterm elections draw near. There is no hanging chad this time, but rather, the current Republican Governor Rick Scott vying to hold the former GOP Governor of the state, Charlie Crist, who is now running as a Democrat.
donkeyhotey donkeyhotey.wordpress.com
After the last debate was marred by the “fan controversy” aka Fangate, Jake Tapper, the moderator, began by asking “So everybody is comfortable here?”
This prompted a flurry of self-promotion on job creation and the economy while answering to questions on race, the death penalty and whether football players are treated favorably when accused of crimes as pointed out by Politico.
“If you’re somebody like Rick Scott, and you have a private jet and you fly 30,000 feet above people all the time, or you live in an oceanfront mansion, you’re out of touch, and you’re not feeling what people who are watching tonight are feeling at home,” Crist said in response to a question about the minimum wage. “And I know that they are hurting. And I know that they need somebody who is on their side.”
The heated exchange slowly evolved into a competition for who had gone through a tougher childhood.
“Charlie, you grew up with money,” Scott told his predecessor. “I grew up with a family that struggled. … The reason he doesn’t care is because he’s never experienced it. I watched my parents lose the only family car. I watched a father struggle to buy Christmas presents. I went through that as a child.”
Crist responded: “Listen, when I was a little kid, we lived in a small apartment in Atlanta when my dad was going to medical school, and he used to deliver papers to make ends meet. So you don’t know me, and you can’t tell my story. And I won’t tell yours, but I know that you’re worth about $100 or $200 million today, and you know, God bless you, you’ve done well, Rick. But the way you got it was pretty unsavory.”
The unsavory behavior illustrated why many voters are turning to the candidate not present: Libertarian Adrian Wyllie. Wyllie, who is polling at a 6% minimum, but an impressive 10-15% across central Florida, was excluded from the debates with the ever-changing criteria.
The debates was described as “nasty and personal” which can only help the Wyllie movement.
“The Florida governor’s race challenges the idea that voters won’t vote for a candidate they don’t like,” Peter A. Brown, Quinnipiac University’s assistant director of polling said. “In the Sunshine State this year, voters definitely are voting for the lesser of two evils.”
The Miami Herald reports that Crist and Scott are tied at 44% with Wyllie at 7% while a Politico article has them at 42% each and Wyllie at 7%.
I’m voting for Adrian Wyllie and also Bill Wohlsifer.