Stealth Campaigns
So far the only commercials I’ve seen for governor are attack ads about Jim Davis’s attendance record in Congress.
There have been no real ads about what either candidate is going to, other that Crist saying he’s going to “stay the course” plotted by JEB Bush, and Davis is going in a new direction.
Both are complaining about the cost of property insurance, and the Republicans have to take the blame on this one. Although Davis doesn’t have a detailed plan, it is rather obvious that “stay the course” and “business as usual” aren’t going to cut it in Florida. The insurance situation is a mess and the taxpayers are going to be holding the bag, no matter what’s done. Insurance companies can’t claim they need new increases while they are racking up huge profits.
The big issue would seem to be whether or not Charlie Crist is gay. I have no idea why this would make a difference in how he does his job, and taxpayers will certainly save on not providing all of the benefits that go with a “first lady.” Given the multiple embarrassments caused by the current “first family” and their problems with the laws of Florida and the United States, having a single governor could be viewed as a major plus for the state.
Davis doesn’t seem to be a very exciting guy, but it’s time for a lack of excitement. I don’t think Florida needs any more departments headed by imported fundamentalists, or people tied to major state contractors. I would hope that Davis appoints some people who want to do their job, without all of the incompetence and corruption we’ve seen under Bush.
Update: Both Mustang Bobby and Robert C. have proclaimed the Crist-Davis debate a snooze, about as exciting as a cheese sandwich from a vending machine.
4 comments
Bryan,
As a member of the human race, I find it humiliating to see how many politicians apparently consider their constituents so thoroughly stupid as to be influenced by their superficial drek and slight-of-hand (“watch this hand… and see the real issues disappear up my other sleeve”). They must think we are really stupid — or else they are.
Either way, it doesn’t say much for mankind.
It would be really nice if we saw some actual proposals that have a chance of being enacted. You can’t depend on hurricanes to provide a boost to tax revenues at critical points. If we can afford “tax holidays” why can’t we afford to drop the sales tax rate?
There needs to be an overhaul of the entire tax system to provide a consistent funding solution so we can tell what the tax rates should be. This single-year budgeting is inefficient, but you can’t go to multi-year until the revenue side has some consistency. Things have to be done in order, not randomly, with the politically painless the first on the list.
It would be nice if we could vote for some people who were more interested in running the state, than running for office.
Had a call today from someone polling over Davis vs. Crist. I’m pretty sure it was a Davis inspired poll. Seems a little late to me. No, it seems a LOT late. I told ’em I hadn’t made my mind up (not true) because I didn’t know much about Davis. Thing is, that last bit is true — and I am one who pays a whole lot more attention to such stuff than most folk.
Davis isn’t just colorless and boring and bereft of any creative ideas. He’s been virtually invisible and mute as far as I can tell. His is one of the lousiest, most lackadaisical campaigns I’ve ever seen for a statewide position in ANY state for ANY office — and I’ve watched decades of ’em in a dozen or more states.
Truly unbelievable. He has my vote, because I know too much about Crist. But, heck, I’d vote for Bryan’s cat before I voted for Crist.
I’m more than a little mystified how a state the size of Florida somehow couldn’t field a Democratic candidate with more get-up-and-go than a cold corpse, which is (unfortunately) the way Davis conducted himself during the debate.
It’s almost as if no one wanted the job, as if they had decided to concede the race before the election and needed someone to go through the motions.
I guess it’s possible that the Democratic Party has given up on the Panhandle and doesn’t bother to spend any money up here.