Carl Hiaasen: and the bucks keep flowing in

[peace frog]

Unlike Sarah Palin, Charlie Crist has chosen not to quit his governorship early. Florida's own one-term wonder is using his remaining time to ingratiate himself with as many deep-pocket interest groups as possible.

The governor's unseemly burst of groveling is directly connected to his upcoming run for the U.S. Senate. Sucking up to the National Rifle Association and the Christian right, Crist last week declared his opposition to the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, whose confirmation is already a done deal.

Many of Crist's longtime supporters were surprised, but they shouldn't have been. Charlie has no problem with timely pandering.

Take Senate Bill 360, which he signed into law last month. Authored by lobbyists for developers, it's one of the worst pieces of legislation to come out of one of the country's most buyable legislatures.

The law emaciates Florida's Growth Management Act by removing state oversight of massive residential and commercial projects known as Developments of Regional Impact, which put enormous stress on neighboring communities.

More outrageously, the new law will stick taxpayers -- not developers -- with most of the high costs for roads and other infrastructure that housing subdivisions require.

It's a recipe for more reckless sprawl, which is the last thing Florida needs, and the last thing a self-baptized environmentalist like Crist should be endorsing.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/carl-hiaasen/story/1156985.html

[iamjoy]

1. Governor Skank

a new character (based on Charlie Crist) for Hiaasen novels. Of course, appearance-wise Crist is attractive and well-groomed, but it seems like he'd do or say anything for money or popularity.

[Enthusiast]

2. Now we have Skink and Skank.

:rofl:

[peace frog]

3. He's going all-out

to build a huge war chest for the 2010 Senate race. Marco Rubio should just cut his losses and quit right now, Crist has the Repub nomination sewn up.