Judas H. Crist! I think Crist looks like he might be a clone of Marshall Applewhite, of the Heaven's Gate Cult! Just give him a few years...
We report. You decide.
Posted on 07/31/2005 3:38:47 AM PDT by amdgmary
TALLAHASSEE - It was one of the shortest speeches of Charlie Crist's career, but as a campaign for governor unfolds, it may prove to be one of the most memorable.
Two weeks ago, the Republican attorney general and candidate for governor gave a late-night speech to a roomful of lawyers in Miami where he referred to the judges in the Terri Schiavo case as "heroes."
Crist insists he wasn't endorsing court rulings that prevented the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube from being reconnected, but critics view it differently. And by appearing to break his silence in the Schiavo case, Crist has sharpened the contrast between himself and Republican rival Tom Gallagher, who has said he favored government action to "prevent Terri's starvation."
At the dinner in Miami, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer and U.S. District Judge James Whittemore of Tampa were honored as jurists of the year by the Florida chapter of ABOTA, the American Board of Trial Advocates. The group champions judicial independence and its members are lawyers who represent both plaintiffs and defendants.
Greer is the judge who ordered Schiavo's feeding tube removed, rejecting a subpoena from Congress and pleas from Gov. Jeb Bush, and Whittemore also denied emergency requests to reinsert the tube in the weeks before Schiavo died March 31. Both men's decisions were later upheld by higher courts, and both were praised and vilified by opposing sides of the emotionally charged end-of-life case.
Crist said he was "proud" of both judges.
"You are heroes to all of us, and your defense of the judiciary and what is right is beyond admirable," Crist was quoted in the Daily Business Review, a Miami newspaper that provided the only news account of the July 15 event at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.
In an interview, Crist did not dispute the quotations. Nor did he offer a view of whether he agreed with their decisions. Rather, he said, he praised them for fulfilling their constitutional duty to provide checks and balances against the other two branches of government.
"I try to say nice things about judges. I'm sure I was complimentary," said Crist, who as the state's chief legal officer often speaks at bar-related events. "I didn't talk about any specific case. ... It's important that those checks and balances exist. Our system of government needs to have that."
Crist's comments have resonated far beyond the Biltmore.
"Judge Greer is a poster child for everything that's wrong with the judiciary," said Gary Cass, executive director of the Center for Reclaiming America, a grass roots Christian political group in Fort Lauderdale that lists "sanctity of life" as one of its priorities and plans to form a political action committee.
"For Charlie Crist to hold that up as an example of good judicial practice concerns me," Cass said. "I think it was a mistake for Charlie to say that. I don't know how anybody can be happy about a woman being deprived food and water."
Rep. Dennis Baxley, the Republican from Ocala who sponsored legislation last spring to force the tube to be reconnected, said Crist's speech was revealing.
"I think it is one of those very important moments for us to know where he (Crist) stands," Baxley said. "I truly believe there's a lot of people out there who were sensitive to this case who are going to find those comments, and that association, very instructive. I'm understanding where people line up on this."
Baxley said that while Crist was "conspicuously absent" from the Schiavo debate in the Legislature, Gallagher sent Baxley a personal letter of support last spring. While activists in the Schiavo debate take aim at Crist, his Republican rival Gallagher is not.
"Tom's made his position very clear in the past. There's really no comment we're going to make on that," said David Johnson, a Gallagher adviser.
Polls show a majority of Americans agreed with the judges' decisions to order the removal of Schiavo's tube, as her husband, Michael, said she wanted. By a greater margin, polls show people were opposed to Congress' intervention in the case.
But to those who view the long-running Schiavo saga as a test case of support for the sanctity of life - like abortion - Greer and Whittemore are "judicial activists" who starved a woman to death.
Many of those people can vote in the Republican primary for governor in September 2006. Crist's stand on the Schiavo case could prove to be an asset if he wins the GOP nomination and faces a Democrat. But one Republican strategist said the damage has been done.
"Schiavo killed the Republicans. They've lost the women's vote," said Matt Towery, an ex-Republican legislator who now runs an Atlanta media and polling firm. "It's one of those turning points that you just can't get away from."
Some say Frist and some say Crist
Some say Crist and some say Frist
Frist, Crist, Crist, Frist
Oh, let's call them both off, too
Leni
What the Crist is he trying to do?
I don't listen to talk radio much any more including Rush because I've lost interest in it.
All Crist needs is the spaceship.
Frist flip flopped on Terri - looks like a pattern to me.
With the word out on how the scam is run, I hear assignments of lucrative guardianships have been hard to come by the past four months. Fear not, when the heat is off, the dirty parasites will be back. I am still not forgetting the Clearwater courthouse looting and theft of just one modest estate -- talk about perverse kangaroo injustice. It's always about greed driven official abuse of power and their bag men (and women) operating under color of law corrupted.
These are EVIL MEN and the trail of corruption and deceit goes all the way to Tallahassee and to Washington District of Criminals.
More Crist bashing over here.
Count me as another.
Well, I got at least one person that lives in Florida to say that he will NOT vote for Charlie Crist...
"Count me as another."
:)
Somebody said that Crist was not very helpful throughout the "Jessica Lunsford" matter. Do you know anything about this?
He strikes me a Southern style Chris Shays.
I didn't realize Crist was so hip to the lameass Eminent Domain ruling. Count me as someone who will work AGAINST Crist for governor.
Same here, tenthirteen. Crist is going to face massive opposition from this household. Someone else posted on this thread that Crist's opinion of the Eminent Domain ruling by SCOTUS is favorable. Whatta massive RINO.
there are two "accesories to the crime" that they let off the hook somehow. Another screwup
Here is the thread I posted with Crist's statements a la eminent domain here in FloriDUH:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1435707/posts
We want this for governor?
No, we don't want him for governor. Not at all.
"there are two "accesories to the crime" that they let off the hook somehow. Another screwup"
Some naive people are saying that he is conservative, but if he is weak on law and order, worse than weak on the social conservative issues and pro-eminent domain, how is he conservative??
This re: Jessical Lumsford:
http://billoreilly.com/show?action=...ow&showID=241#1
Interesting snippet from the link:
Quote:
Crist said he has no authority to order Brad King to prosecute Couey's acquaintances. "He's an independently elected individual and has the prosecutorial discretion to make those kinds of decisions." The Factor again expressed anger at the decision not to prosecute. "What do you say to Jessica's father? These three people are partially responsible for that little girl's death. You can't just let them walk around the state of Florida without being punished."
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