Hack job: why is the Miami Herald abusing Governor Charlie Crist? by gimleteye

The Herald's continues its strange relationship to the news in its odd coverage of Gov. Charlie Crist. The Sunday front page, "How the Luster Dimmed", seems so careless. Why? The writers Steve Bousquet and Marc Caputo are good journalists. It is one thing to say-- or acknowledge-- that Charlie Crist's approach to politics is like eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, but to fail as the Herald does to link Crist's performance to the underlying tension in the Florida GOP is to simply following suite. I suppose I shouldn't care anymore that the Herald has done so poorly at covering so many stories underlying the Magic City and the Sunshine State, but the Herald's rare bursts of light give rise to greater expectations.

Eyeonmiami does a better job piercing the veil of the money and business interests in Miami -- where Charlie spends a fair amount of time-- that exert such powerful influence in Tallahassee. Even today, the mainstream media will not print the story how big GOP campaign donors, assembled from Florida's Growth Machine, propelled Governor Jeb Bush to Tallahassee and policies that fomented the building boom and subsequent crash.

But there is a better example in terms of the forces tearing at the upcoming GOP primary for the US Senate seat vacated by Mel Martinez: how Florida Power and Light is pushing its way to $1.3 billion in new rate increases in order to get you and me to take on commitments for $20 billion in new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point, at sea level, while existing reactors and cooling canals fail to meet permitting commitments and threaten by speeding salt water intrusion the water supply of South Dade and the Florida Keys.

The Herald spots, without further comment, FPL in its timeline of Charlie Crist's year: it shows that on October 1, Charlie appointed two new members to the Public Service Commission with no ties to major utilities. In the body of the report, the Herald fails to explain why that event is so important to Crist's opposition. It is pretty clear why big business in Florida has a problem with "new blood" at the PSC that isn't their blood. The Herald report doesn't even mention the anger of utilities who may not get the votes to impose rate increases they are seeking; a decision looming this month.

Another example of going "lite" in its report on Crist: the deal between the state and US Sugar, to buy out tens of thousands of acres of sugar lands. The purchase of sugar land is cited by Crist's appointee to the US Senate, George Lemiuex, as one of Charlie's significant achievements. And it is, even in its shortened form. Any time sugar is taken out of production to serve the purposes of Everglades restoration is historic. The lead-in by Lemieux gave the Herald editors the opportunity to comment on the opposition to the deal, mostly from the Fanjul family interests: a story reported out by other mainstream newspapers like the Orlando Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post. But not the Herald. Why?

The Herald report gives a throwaway quote to one of Florida's dunder-heads, Associated Industries chief Barney Bishop: "... I think people wanted more than cheerfulness. They want somebody who will change what is going on." What Bishop knows well is that "what is going on" is that industries like those his association represents have used the economic crisis to ratchet up their control of the levers of power in Tallahassee. Charlie Crist has done as well as he could for them except in one area of public policy: refusing to eviscerate growth management from inside, out.

Crist's opposition-- the camp of former Governor Jeb Bush and the aspirant former House speaker Marco Rubio-- is perfectly pleased appealing to the far right wing of the Florida GOP by the throw-away, Fox News segment of Charlie Crist and the "man-hug" of President Obama. Come on, Herald: you can do better than cutting and pasting rote political gestures?

In one key respect, Charlie hasn't helped himself. As a fundraising machine (documented in an earlier report by the Herald), Crist makes the "ask" as though those being asked to contribute don't care about the substance of achievement. The trap set by Rothstein and Mendelson is very, very heavy political baggage. If Crist had spent more time explaining to Florida voters what has been required to navigate the undercurrents of a state dominated by big business and insider lobbyists he might have put down roots that could withstand spurious challenges. And if he had ventured to explain those undercurrents in terms of the party being hijacked by the same interests who helped tip the economy into such a mess through the overdevelopment of Florida, he would have multiple points of traction within his own party. And if the Herald had helped explain for its readers-- instead of hiding from the wrath of advertisers-- the domestic, local roots of the economic crisis, the voting public might have higher expectations. It is a lot of if's. But as Eyeonmiami readers know, I'm an optimist at heart.