McCain and Crist, Romney and Bush, by gimleteye

Here's a shout-out to The New Republic website, and S.V. Date's "Are you ready to rumble: in Florida the interesting fight is between Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist."

I've written on our blog, eyeonmiami.blogspot.com, of this conflict, played out through the opposition of Jeb's surrogate, Marco Rubio to Governor Crist's energy reform initiatives to combat global warming. These have yet to emerge in public policy form from appointed committees, but the pushing and shoving (including the matter of political appointments to environmental policy boards and direction from the governor's office to environmental agencies and initiatives, like patrolling the Growth Management Act) within the Republican camp is a lot more interesting to watch than the Democrats, whose political muscles remain badly atrophied, other than what House Minority Leader Dan Gelber brings to bear.

Date writes,

If you cared what Jeb thought, then Romney (whose presidential campaign message--equal parts social "values" and trickle down economics--was far more in line with Jeb-ism than that of any of the other major GOP hopefuls) was your man. Everyone from Bush's state party chairman Al Cardenas to congressman Tom Feeney jumped aboard. Even some who rolled their eyes at Romney's quickly shifting positions wrote out $2,300 checks as a favor to Bush, one such fund-raiser acknowledged privately to me.

McCain spells trouble for Bush political fortunes. And for Bush allies, there may not be enough time before Super Tuesday for the infamous attack machinery to chew up the momentum McCain carries out of Florida.

I agree with Date's observation: that Charlie Crist has successfully navigated without the benefit of the political fund raising machinery that Jeb managed, since his father's successful run at Florida in the 1988 presidential race. And I would go one step further:

The state's deepening recession and abysmal housing markets have stripped the gears from that same fund raising machinery. The Bush family acolytes have only themselves and their enthusiasms to blame: enthusiasts like Al Hoffman, of WCI Communities, who beat the drum of the housing boom straight into dust.

Florida's budget is in crisis, but at this point in the script, Crist is the winner.

It is almost like the penultimate scene in the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy slaps the wicked witch of the west with a bucket of water and she begins to dissolve. "I'm melting! I'm melting!"

Date ends by noting, the fight is still in its early stages.

That would be, CLEAN water, Governor Crist.