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Crist: Obama Implored Congress to Help People but They Just Said No
Former Republican Governor Charlie Crist was campaigning for Obama last weekend in Ohio and at one rally, he explained why he admires Obama so much and put an end to the Republican myth that Obama isn’t bipartisan, saying, “(T)his great man, this great president, came to Florida even though I was a Republican at the time.” Crist then talked about how much Obama wanted to help the 100 percent of Ameircans and how Congress just said no.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone describe the gridlock in Congress quite so well or with the credibility Crist brings, having been a Republican at the time when he first worked with the President to help his state of Florida.
The Tampa Bay Times reported Crist saying, “He wanted to do everything he could. He was imploring the congress to help people – real people, all of them, 100 percent – and the congress just said no.”
Crist, who ran for the Senate as an Independent and is now loathed by Republicans, endorsed Obama in August. That same month, he wrote an editorial for the Tampa Bay Times explaining that he left his party because it “has failed to demonstrate the kind of leadership or seriousness voters deserve.” Crist further clarified that while working with Obama made him a pariah to Republicans, “I didn’t stand with our president because of what it could mean politically; I did it because uniting to recover from the worst financial crisis of our lifetimes was more important than party affiliation. I stood with our nation’s leader because it was right for my state.”
So that man, the man who said the Republican Party has become too extreme to govern the people and who used to be a Republican himself, but who put his state and the people over the Republican Party’s goal of crushing Obama, he has some credibility. He took a stand for the people of Florida, his party be damned.
Crist told a TV interviewer this past weekend that Obama came to his state to help even though he was a Republican, and he endorsed the stimulus for helping his state — something you won’t hear other Republicans do, even though they had their hands out for it and took the money and posed for ribbon cutting ceremonies at projects funded by the stimulus.
To a TV interviewer, Crist spoke how much the stimulus package helped Floridians: “I understood and saw as governor of Florida, this great man, this great president, came to Florida even though I was a Republican at the time, helped us with out teachers, our firefighters, our law enforcement officers.”
This is what things could be like if Republicans could actually run on their own ideas instead of ginning up hate and obstruction for political purposes. Crist was a Republican in ideas, not as a reaction to being out of power. Republicans used to work with Democrats and Democrats with Republicans for the good of the country and its people. Country first.
Now, Republicans will do anything to destroy Obama, including saying no to helping the American people out of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression – a crisis brought on by their own party’s malfeasance. Ironically, they have managed to blame the lazy 47% for a fate brought on by the Republican Party’s policies. Republicans blame the people hurt by the GOP’s extreme, big spending ideology rather than take responsibility for their failed policies, huge deficit, unfunded wars and tax cuts and laissez-faire approach to too big to fail. Laissez-faire until the banks needed taxpayer bailouts, that is.
This, of course, is the people’s fault according to Republicans and the people need to make more sacrifices so that the Romney and the Republicans can give yet another unfunded tax cut to the rich.
President Obama implored Congress to help all people, 100 percent of them, and Congress just said no. Now, those same obstructionists are running on that failure to help you and blaming it on Obama. In spite of their just say no mantra, Obama managed to get a lot done, but there’s obviously a lot more to do. Just imagine what we could get done for the people without a Congress full of petty partisans.
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13 Responses to Crist: Obama Implored Congress to Help People but They Just Said No
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Kenneth Morgan
Oct. 16th, 2012 at 11:13 am
This should be in an ad to run in all swing states.
Reynardine
Oct. 16th, 2012 at 11:13 am
Tell you what, I dearly miss Governor Crist.
A Walkaway
Oct. 16th, 2012 at 11:48 am
I’ve been missing Crist since the present jackass took over the office. I’d have liked to see a real liberal get in office, but with the racist homophobic anti-woman anti-intelligence anti-anything-but-”Good Christians” bigoted atmosphere in most of this state, it’s not likely.
stenc
Oct. 16th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
This should be a clear message to the hate-filled “Republican” idealogues and their dumb supporters, who just don’t get it. They think this is American Idol, not an election which could determine the fate of millions of Americans.
Party be damned. I agree. That’s where the GOP is headed.
ericarose
Oct. 16th, 2012 at 12:11 pm
Charlie Crist is a wonderful human being who has the great courage to stand up for what he believes in. The Repubs may hate him now, but he’s the one who will go down in history as having down the right thing. They will (or should be) all ashamed of themselves.
kimbutgar
Oct. 16th, 2012 at 12:49 pm
I hope the President brings up tonight in the debate about how the republican obstructed everything to make him a one term President. How they took an pledge to an unelected person Grover Norquist to not raise taxeswhile neglecting their constitutional elected duties to the citizens they represent. I hope he brings up all the jobs bills and how the GOP Senators did record filibusters to stop progress. The President has so much to attack and there is so little time in the debate. Willard is a coward also for not going on the View.
Tommys_girl
Oct. 16th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Dearest Sarah,
I always look forward to your articles – one question though: whenever do you find time to sleep? There has to be a way to get this on a TV ad RIGHT NOW! I’ve been saying this forever, it seems, but my Republican associates just don’t get it. What part of this can they not see? The President can’t be bi-partisan if the other side of the House won’t play. Shame on them all for putting greed, power and Grover Norquist before America!
Michael
Oct. 16th, 2012 at 2:49 pm
Might I be so bold as to point something out to the author? It is always correct and proper to refer to the President of the United States as THE PRESIDENT or President so-and-so. You use “Former Republican Governor” when referring to Mr Crist, but only “Obama” when referring to the President. This is not only grammatically incorrect, but also shows a lack of respect both for the man and the office.
Reynardine
Oct. 16th, 2012 at 5:47 pm
If it is not clear to you and everyone here whom we respect and who has forfeited our respect, I doubt a fine point of grammar would enlighten you.
majii
Oct. 16th, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Jim Greer is another FL politicians who has become an enemy of the GOP because he revealed the true purpose behind all of the voter ID laws that republicans in state legislatures have been introducing to suppress the votes of us “undesirable Americans.” He also revealed that, in meetings he attended before the FL ID law was written, there was no talk of voter fraud being a concern of these cheaters. I was glad when Crist behaved like a real statesman and welcomed PBO to FL, and I wanted to b*tch slap Brewer when she shook her finger in the president’s face when he went to AZ. Republicans can say whatever they want about PBO, but that will never change the fact that when it comes to decency, concern for his fellow man, respect for others, concern for 100% of America, and class, he’s #1.
David Hinson
Oct. 17th, 2012 at 1:22 am
it amazes me, this whole election, so billionaires have spent over 238 million on a 4 year anti-obama campaign [rather than spend what even their secrataries are taxed], many major corporations have sent memos to all employees, “if Obama wins, expect layoffs” attempting votes, by coersion and threat, [i hope not effectively] 3 billionaires quoted in forbes, and the New Yorker, that “we will be shown a class war” between outsourcing American jobs and the Coup d’etat wall street theft of America. We have been experiencing class warfare, the elite wealthy spews their vile propaganda, sit back and laugh at how they manipulate and divide US, the lower classes, to fight each other…. and I hear them scream about socialism. When our top capitalists sell out America, and capitalism is supposed to drive our American freedom, well hell yes, it’s natural we would like some type of social contract, that if you want to rob us blind, drive us into poverty, we would like some kind of guarantee that at least we won’t starve and children can go to school[ which isn't likely since that is a socialist scheme]…. and while I am at it..lol… ayn rand was an idiot driven mad by her hate of the russian communist. I am sorry, but her primise that simply having wealth is alone virtuous, so the rich can do no wrong is at best highly objectionable. this is all too surreal, I almost expect to find sleeping people attached to giant bean pods waking up as repugnantians.
Silly Git
Oct. 17th, 2012 at 4:12 am
Ayn Rand’s grasp of economics has been described by actual economists as ‘comic book’ economics.
Anne
Oct. 18th, 2012 at 3:53 am
Crist is an honorable man who couldn’t stand what his former party has become. I remember when he was vilified for choosing to work with the president, which is indicative of just how far off the deep end the GOP has gone. It’s scary just to see how far they would go to regain power, and they have hurt countless Americans by refusing to work with the president. Crist probably would have won against Marco Rubio if the Democrat in the race, Carrie Meeks–who had no chance of winning–hadn’t also been running.