When will Crist, Sink and McCollum have to take a stand?

Gov. Charlie Crist had just one public appearance in Tallahassee last week - a visit to the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. That appearance came the same day that his campaign announced that Crist had raised $4.3 million for his U.S. Senate campaign.

It wasn't too surprising then that most of the questions directed to the governor dealt with his fundraising acumen.

There was one question that dealt directly with his position on health care reform, a big issue right now in Washington D.C. Crist, who pushed through his own health care proposal last year, is governor in a state where as many as 1 in 5 adults under 65 are uninsured.

When asked about the ongoing health care debate and the idea of whether or not he is opposed to creating a public plan Crist had this response:

"Obviously the health care debate is incredibly important, it's a huge issue for Florida clearly and I think, you know, that we want to have as much as the private sector involved as possible,'' Crist said.

This is not an isolated incident. Crist has steered clear of talking much about any of the federal issues, although in that same availability he did say briefly that he did not believe that a second stimulus was needed. Crist's support for the first round of federal stimulus has become one of the items that GOP primary rival Marco Rubio has criticized him over.

But Crist's careful positioning over U.S. Senate issues is not unique to him. Both Attorney General Bill McCollum and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink - the two leading contenders for governor - have been very careful in avoiding taking stances on controversial issues confronting Crist. Neither Sink or McCollum, for example, would take a position on the worker's compensation legislation that Crist ultimately signed. The bill was opposed by the state's trial lawyers and the Florida Police Benevolent Association but supported by business groups.

The two other main candidates in the U.S. Senate race are so far taking a different route than Crist. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, the main Democrat in the race, has been touting the fact that he supported the federal stimulus and climate control legislation. Meek is making sure to remind everyone that he is working with President Barack Obama. And his website has an entire page dedicated to Meek's stances on different issues.

Rubio has spent most of his campaign focusing on what he thinks is wrong with the Obama administration all down the line. In a recent conference call with campaign supporters, Rubio criticized health care reform, the stimulus, climate control proposals and suggested that the removal of Honduras President Manuel Zelaya has been "misrepresented as a coup." On his Twitter page, Rubio went further and said "voters deserve to have candidates that will speak clearly about where they stand on the issues."

But of course Rubio is focusing on issues at the same time that he has to deal with the fact that he has been unable to win anywhere near the same amount of financial resources as Crist. Like it or not, fundraising is viewed by the media - and potential donors and supporters - as a sign of viability with the electorate.

The 2010 elections are still a long, long way off. There is an argument that can be made that there is no reason to take a stand on various issues until voters are actually engaged in the race. Right now, the election is being followed largely by grassroots activists, political junkies and media types.

Still it's worth wondering when the campaigns for governor - and U.S. Senate - will begin to focus on issues like health care reform, taxes, climate control, stimulus, gambling, etc. etc.

 

Comments

[Nancy Imperiale]

From your blog:
Rubio has spent most of his campaign focusing on what he thinks is wrong with the Obama administration all down the line. In a recent conference call with campaign supporters, Rubio criticized health care reform, the stimulus, climate control proposals and suggested that the removal of Honduras President Manuel Zelaya has been "misrepresented as a coup." On his Twitter page, Rubio went further and said "voters deserve to have candidates that will speak clearly about where they stand on the issues."

Then Mr. Rubio should speak clearly about where he stands on health care.

Is this the same Rubio who was architect of a tax relief plan that was going to fix everything, but failed miserably?

What is HAPPENING with health care. That's what I can't figure out???