From the Tampa Bay Times —
Facing a friendly Democratic crowd Tuesday, Charlie Crist called Gov. Rick Scott “a disaster” for Florida and predicted “the nightmare will be over” when he wins in November.
In a 30-minute luncheon speech laced with scorn for his successor, Crist addressed about 300 members of the Capital Tiger Bay Club in Tallahassee, many with ties to his alma mater, Florida State. Ignoring the club’s tradition of light frivolity, Crist was all business as he challenged the crowd to help him defeat Scott, who has said he will spend $100 million to win a second term.
“I need you to be with me and I don’t need for you to be casual about it. Don’t just give us a couple of bucks,” Crist said. “We’ve got six months to go and the nightmare will be over, and you’ll have somebody up there with a heart again.”
Speaking with a higher degree of intensity and combativeness than in past campaigns, Crist ripped Scott for seeking $3.3 billion in cuts to schools in his first year in office, rejecting billions in federal money for high-speed rail and failing to persuade the Legislature to expand Medicaid.
And he reminded the crowd of the $1.7 billion fraud fine paid by the governor’s former hospital company, Columbia/HCA…..MORE HERE
