The Florida governor’s race; Close and Caustic.

[Fla Dem]

"FOR two white males approximately 60 years old, both of whom have been Republican governors of Florida for one term, Rick Scott and Charlie Crist are remarkably different. Mr Scott, the incumbent, does not appear to enjoy speaking in public, an unusual quality for a politician. At a campaign event held in a factory where the space shuttle was once maintained, he introduced other speakers and then stood with his hands glued to his sides, grinning. His own speech was put in the shade when the head of Orlando’s science museum took the floor. The following day, over on the state’s Gulf coast, the Democratic challenger did his thing. Mr Crist, who was until 2010 a Republican, met with teachers in Sarasota. He poured on charm as thick as suntan lotion. Before entering the room he stared straight into a television camera and told the lens, “I care about you.”"

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http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21610338-two-unpopular-candidates-battle-it-out-sunshine-state-close-and-caustic

This is a very tight race. I just can't imagine another 4 years of Rick "The Fraud" Scott



http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/fl/florida_governor_scott_vs_crist-3545.html

[djean111]

1. Rick Scott does not believe he should have to actually have contact with voters at all,

except for carefully staged photo-ops. This is what I think, as a Floridian who sees pictures of him now and again.
He became governor in order to line his and his cronies' pockets, not to rub elbows with ordinary people.
If it does look like Crist will win, I suspect we will see a whole bunch of nasty legislation pushed through his legislature or he will just issue a bunch more executive orders. He issues a LOT of those.

http://www.flgov.com/all-executive-orders/

I didn't count them. There are a lot.

[obxhead]

2. 3 weeks

I'll be relocated to Sarasota. Any advice on groups to join to help with the coming election are welcome.

[Fla Dem]

3. Florida's Democratic Party not the most effective, but

here's a link to their web page with a section for volunteering.

http://www.floridadems.org/

[COLGATE4]

4. One purely personal observation. I live in

the greater Tampa area. The only Cristi TV commercial I have seen is a vague, pointless montage of Charlie walking and talking in the old High School he attended in St, Petersburg, proclaiming that Scott's government is spending almost $200 less per student than when he was governor and how he worked with the opposing party to get things done and he will do it again. End.

Scott on the other hand is blanketing the TV airways, including important Spanish language channels with glowing personal endorsements from real voters who describe in glowing terms how Scott has made a huge (beneficial) difference to their lives. No pictures of Scott. Just "real folks" telling compelling "real" stories.

I just don't understand how we Democrats are so absolutely terrible in getting our message out. If I were low-information and had not paid attention to the campaign and was going to (as many do) vote based on what I saw on TV I would vote for Scott in a heartbeat. We really need to do a hell of a lot better.