(Re-posted today, due to recent Republican implosions and a much greater vacuum at the top of their party.)
As an Art teacher embroiled in the worst budget crisis of my 25 year career, Charlie Crist gave a speech that was sweet music to my ears.
"I urge you to pass legislation requiring school districts to spend 70 percent of their budgets in the classroom for our students and teachers, and to instill transparency by requiring school districts to provide dollar-by-dollar details online. Floridians deserve to know how their hard-earned dollars are being spent, and parents have a right to demand accountability. And I ask you to consider, as I have proposed, increasing per-student funding – Florida’s children deserve it."
Yes, he is also pushing for no new taxes when we desperately need more. Yes, as soon as the stimulus money is gone we will be back to square one. Yes, I love the destructive nature of the Rush Limbaugh circus. But.
Yes, I want to see the GOP come to their senses and follow Charlie Crist's lead.
''We should not ask what it means to be a Republican,'' Crist said in his annual address to both chambers of the Legislature. ``Nor should we ask what it means to be a Democrat; but rather we should ask what it means to be a good, decent human being.'"
The Miami Herald:
Republicans are trying to find a voice and a direction
The governor's annual report card on the state of Florida exposed the nationwide rift in the Republican Party over whether increased government spending will repair the economy.
BY BETH REINHARD AND MARY ELLEN KLAS
Comparing ideals to stars, a top Republican leader in Tallahassee presented lawmakers Tuesday with an old navigational instrument used by seafarers in uncharted waters. The sextants, said Senate President Jeff Atwater, would remind the legislators not to lose their way in a rough economy.
But hours later, Gov. Charlie Crist did, in fact, urge many of his party's elected leaders to change course. The Republican governor called for propping up Florida's budget with $12.2 billion in federal stimulus money, casting it as a moral duty even though the massive spending plan veers from his party's core belief in limited government.
The ideological tension within the controlling party in Tallahassee reflects the GOP's broader struggle as it tries to find a compelling voice on the outskirts of power in Washington.
Will it come from rock-ribbed conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, who said he wanted President Barack Obama's economic agenda to fail to prove the folly of big government? Or does the party's comeback rest on moderates like Crist, who are eager to accept a helping hand from a popular Democratic president, even if it means expanding the federal government's reach?
In a state where so many people have lost their jobs, homes and life savings, the GOP's traditional message of personal responsibility may be a tougher sell.
We are, indeed, gaining massive traction down here in the Sunshine State. Lawmakers are actually talking sales tax, cigarette tax, and funding education. The tide is turning, and the GOP might get swamped.
Especially with brilliant stuff like this:
''We should not ask what it means to be a Republican,'' Crist said in his annual address to both chambers of the Legislature. ``Nor should we ask what it means to be a Democrat; but rather we should ask what it means to be a good, decent human being.'"
Wow. That, folks, came out of a Republican mouth. Real leadership in a time of real crisis. It gives me hope, especially since we have been working our tails off to make sure our students are not left out in the cold.
The Daytona News-Journal:
That was apparent during a lunchtime rally outside the Capitol, when college students and faculty railed against budget cuts, chanting, "No more cuts, no more cuts, no more cuts."
Lawmakers face a potential $700 million deficit during the current fiscal year and as much as a $6 billion shortfall during the year that starts July 1.
But Crist, who is known for his optimism, repeatedly cast the challenges facing lawmakers as an "opportunity." He also tried to deflect criticism from some state and national Republicans about using the federal stimulus money, which Democratic President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress approved.
"My friends, while our people worry, we cannot put politics over their needs -- the needs of our students and our teachers, the sick and the infirm or those out of work altogether," the GOP governor said.
House Democrats praised Crist for his willingness to use the stimulus money to avoid budget cuts.
"The governor is making sure we're putting everything on the table and looking at every available thing," said Rep. Dwayne Taylor, D-Daytona Beach.
But Rep. Pat Patterson, R-DeLand, described the use of the federal money as "delicate balancing." To even go along with Crist, lawmakers would have to override legal limits that are designed to prevent the state from relying too heavily on one-time infusions of money.
"Some of our holes can't be plugged with stimulus money," Patterson said.
But a key issue in making the decisions will be paying for public schools.
"Funding education will eclipse every other issue by far," said Sen. Carey Baker, a Eustis Republican whose district includes part of western Volusia County.
Eclipse for the win. I am actually thinking about standing on a street corner with a cardboard sign that says "Art Teacher suffering from School Board budget cuts. Need help badly." Then I will pass out flyers with phone numbers to raise awareness.
Thankfully, my GOP Governor seems to be ready to listen. He may be the real leader of their party.
One more time, with feeling, from Charlie Crist:
''We should not ask what it means to be a Republican,'' Crist said in his annual address to both chambers of the Legislature. ``Nor should we ask what it means to be a Democrat; but rather we should ask what it means to be a good, decent human being.'"