Florida’s Future Governor: Alex Sink or Bill McCollum
During the recent shootings here in Downtown Orlando, a man who’s hair is as silver as a nickel and skin is as golden as the sun, swooped into town to save the day. That mans name? Charlie Crist.
Who?
Okay, he didn’t exactly save the day and his skin is more like the rind of an Orange, but good ol’ Charlie Crist is our Governor here in the great state of Florida and NEVER misses an opportunity to have his picture taken (or go on vacation). He is a shining example of when politicians get elected because Americans are too busy WORKING to pay attention to local politics. We elected him into office because he could talk, because he looked pretty, not because he had anything to actually DO for our state. He leeched onto the success of Jeb Bush and pretty much walked into office without missing one appointment at Hollywood Tans. Sure he spouted off his ideas of improving eduation and cutting taxes, but did the opposite for both.
In fact, he hasn’t done anything but SPEND our money on policies that are worthless and take a whole lot of vacation time. He must be very proud of being the butt of the long running joke that he takes more time off than any other politician, ever, in the entire history of the world. Combined.
***Note: Most politicians take around 10-15 weeks of vacation every year. Yes, the people who are supposed to be running our state, take about 5 times more vacation than the normal American EVEN when our state is in debt, our schools are failing and our fountains aren’t working.***
I didn’t want this to be a post bashing our current Governor but it’s so easy. I didn’t vote during his election, I had only lived in Florida for a few months prior to the election and honestly didn’t even know it was happening. In fact, only 46.6% of Floridians did. But guess what? That was a statewide voter turnout HIGH for a midterm election. HALF of the people living in Florida showed up to vote for the person who makes decisions for this state! That cannot continue.
Charlie Crist got elected because of a slick tongue and handsome demeanor. He raised money and became a household name. That is all politics is, whoever raises the most money so that they can shove their names down your throats until you have no choice but to vote for them. I assure you the only reason he wanted to be our Governor was so that he could quickly move himself up the political ladder in hopes that one day he will become President of the United States (guess who’s already rumored to be running in 2012?). In May of this year he announced that he will not be seeking re-election as Governor and instead will be vying for Mel Martinez’s spot on the Senate. Mel resigned this week by the way. Charlie Crist pretty much resigned mentally about a year into his Governorship.
I digress. This blog is meant to shine light on who our newest candidates for Governor are and why you, me, everyone should start paying attention NOW to what they are promising to do to help Florida.
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Right now, the most likely of candidates for Governor (election is on November 4th, 2010) are current state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink (democrat) and current State Attorney General, Bill McCollum (republican). I guarantee you that only one of those names sounds familiar and it certainly isn’t because of what an outstanding leader he is. It’s simply because Bill McCollum has been in politics for 26 years, most recently Attorney General and formerly as a member of the House of Representatives for Florida’s 8th district. So, to start, just because you know the name, doesn’t necessarily mean anything positive or that you should vote for them.
Because I didn’t want a repeat of the last 4 years, I decided to take to the internet to find out about each of these candidates, what they stand for and how they plan on improving the state of Florida. The first place I looked was at their personal websites devoted to their race for Governor.
Assume while reading this that I have zero idea who I will be voting for. Assume that I am neither Republican or Democrat. Assume that these are our only two options (which they most likely will). I am simply trying to educate myself on which candidate will do the better job.
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Democrat, ALEX SINK
I’m going to begin with our current Chief Financial Officer in Tallahassee, Democrat Alex Sink. I had never heard of Alex Sink prior to my research. I was surprised to see that she does not have an extensive career in politics as it seems most would when trying to become Governor. In fact her resume shows a 26 year career in private business. Alex was a President of Florida’s largest bank (before her election in 2006 for CFO), supervising more than 9,000 employees and earned a reputation for “credibility, integrity and dedication to her customers”.
My first instincts is to run. If we’ve learned anything in the past 2 years, it’s that Presidents of banking institutions are generally scumbags. However, I am going to give Alex the benefit of the doubt and pretend she was in fact credible and dedicated. (I searched to find anything negative about this woman during her stint as a banking president and found nothing.)
In 2006, never having ran for elective office before, she won and became our Chief Financial Officer. My second instincts are to run even faster. Florida is billions of dollars in debt and isn’t that something that the Chief Financial Officer of Florida would have something to do with? We have even managed to make it into the Top Ten list of US states facing budget disasters.
I feel a little bit more comfortable knowing that Alex has taken her reign as CFO and turned herself into a “watchdog for the people of Florida”. She has pledged to “crack down on unaccountable, poorly performing, no bid state contracts” and has actually done a pretty good job at doing that. The website claims she has saved taxpayers millions, which is pretty good considering she has only been in office for a few years.
Sink has also created two websites, one called Get Lean Florida and the other Sunshine Spending. The Get Lean Florida website was built as a 24 hour annonymous website and phone system that allows Floridians to make the government more accountable for YOUR tax dollars. You can input any ideas, insight, changes that might improve government services. It’s actually a pretty neat website, very simple to use and the reasoning behind it is to open up the lines of communication between Floridians and the Florida Government.
The Sunshine Spending website was created to allow Floridians to see exactly how their taxpayer dollars are spent and which companies are getting the money. Updated nightly, users can see the comings and goings of taxpayer money. I like that the site makes a point to mention that tax dollars did not pay for the website itself. Is anybody using this website? I don’t think so, but it’s nice to know that it exists. Sink obviously has nothing to hide or at the very least is asking for citizens to help locate any use of taxpayer dollars that might be wonky.
Alex Sink’s website makes a very clear case that she is focused and determined to not let money be wasted. She believes in it so much so, that she decided not to put any additional information on her website regarding education, health care, crime, environmental issues, etc. The ONLY thing she talks about is saving money.
I understand that we have a problem here in Florida concerning our finances. Controlling our finances is definitely one of the most, if not the most, important aspects of a governor I will be looking for. However, I need to know more. I need to know what she plans on doing to improve education. I need to know how she plans on giving jobs back to teachers who have been laid off. I need to know how she plans on giving jobs back to firefighters and police officers who lost their jobs this year because of budget cuts. I need to know how she plans on working to bring more jobs into Florida. I need to know how she feels about the current Health Care Reform plan. I need to know what she plans on doing for cities riddled with crime. I also need to know how she feels about the environment and energy saving.
It is early, I understand. But I need to know about these issues now, not in 6 months. As a citizen of Florida, I want to be able to take the time to weigh out my options before casting my vote.
I like the idea of Alex Sink. I like that she has had a career in business and has been a working American. It seems like her concern right now is for Florida and it’s citizens, not on becoming a career politician. Her heart seems to be in the right place, but can she handle the pressures that come with being in that sort of position? Politics are ruthless, they are scummy and they are no place for someone with thin skin.
Dearest Future Governor, Alex Sink:
Please Update your website with key issues and how you stand on them. I need to know how you feel about all of the most important aspects concerning this state and also on National issues. From a voter standpoint I suggest you do not get yourself involved in ANY of the name calling smear campaign kindergarten playground politics that Bill McCollum is already involved in. If something is wrong, step up to the plate, take blame if need be, and fix it. Show us why you are CFO and why you should be the Governor of this state. Show us that you truly care about Floridians. Do not ride on the coattails of President Obama and assume that because Americans have a bad taste for Republican politics right now, that you can just walk into this position because you can’t. Prove that you can be my Governor. Sway former Republican supporters and others to your side, not by smearing Bill McCollums name, but by proving yourself and explaining to us the ways you plan on improving this state. Again, update your website.
A quote from Alex Sink about Bill McCollum that I couldn’t agree more with (however exactly what I tell her to refrain from previously):
“Bill McCollum spent 20 years in Congress and six years as a paid Washington lobbyist, which must explain his obsession with federal issues. General McCollum’s refusal to concentrate on state issues … is bad for Florida”.
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Republican, BILL MCCOLLUM
Next up, Florida State Attorney General, Republican Bill McCollum. Unlike Alex Sink, it’s extremely easy to find out the way Bill McCollum stands on a majority of issues. He has been voting in the House of Representatives for years, has been in the news for decades, and is definitely your typical Republican politician.
Bill served in the Navy, the US congress and most recently is Florida’s 36th Attorney General. On his website, that really has zero information about how he stands on any issues whatsoever, he states the following:
“As Attorney General, I have committed myself (to) making Florida a safer place for all of our citizens. Under my leadership, our state has become as a national leader in the fight against child pornography and internet child predators. I developed strategies to lower gang activity, protect consumers against identity theft and bring justice to those who defraud and exploit our citizens. Most importantly, I’ve worked to protect those who cannot defend themselves – our children and seniors.”
He’s good. Any career politician knows that you always bring up the welfare of children in any speech that you give. Any career politician in FLORIDA, knows that you also always bring up senior citizens. Also, I love that HE is lowering the gang activity in Florida. The only people who are fighting and lowering gang activity in Florida are the local law enforcement, not the Attorney General who takes 13 weeks of vacation every year.
You can visit this website to get a clear view of how Bill McCollum stands on everything from abortion to gun laws. There is no reason for me to point out all of his stances here, as they are already spelled out with his years of political presence in Congress.
I know I said earlier to assume I wasn’t leaning left or right, but I have a big issue with career politicians. This is a man who has ALREADY started the name calling. He is already being a political bully to Alex Sink and it’s disgusting to me. He knows how to play this game and he knows how to play it well. He doesn’t need Floridians to fall in love with him, he just needs enough Floridians to think that Alex Sink is bad for the job.
Dearest Future Govenor, Bill McCollum:
Please step back from your Republican high horse and talk to me. Talk to me as a citizen of Florida. Talk to me as a young American. Tell me why you should be my Governor. I don’t care if you pretty much led the charge to get President Clinton impeached during the sex scandal. I don’t care if you want everyone in America to be able to buy guns at their local 7-11 without background checks or waiting periods. What I do care about is what you are going to do to HELP Floridians. I want to know what you will be doing differently than Charlie Crist. I want to know what you will be doing for our children’s futures. I want you to focus less on smearing the Alex Sink name, and focus more on making yourself not look like a right wing nut case. I agree with your fight against child pornography and internet child predators, but what exactly are you doing in order to help defeat those things? How are you protecting citizens from being exploited when you cannot even take responsibility for debt collectors threatening our citizens?
Stop thinking like a politician for once and talk to the citizens of Florida as if you were one of them. That is how you will win this election. We are not so easily duped nowadays. Simply bullying your opponent and trying as hard as possible to dig up any dirt you can about Alex Sink, will not win you this election. It may have worked in the past, but politics are changing. Your long career in politics may have once been looked at as a perfect resume for Governor, however it is not looked at the same now. Americans hate politicians. So i’d put all that effort your putting into smearing Alex Sinks name, into making yourself look a lot less like a career politician and more like a normal human being.
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Here are a few interesting articles:
http://quinnell.us/sspb/?p=6881
Quote I loved from this article:
“…And that’s the whole point. You can tell an awful lot about people, politicians and real vs. supposed leaders, by how they react to pressure, by how much empathy they show for those around them, by whether or not they’re willing to stretch the limits of ethical behavior in order to achieve their own personal aspirations.
Need I say more about what has happened to the Republican Party, in Florida, as in the rest of the country?”
Quote I loved from this article:
“For instance, the single item that jumps out of the 20-plus year congressional resume of this ultra-conservative Florida native is his 1998 “service” at the bequest of the then-ruling Republican Party, as one of an emboldened posse of prosecutors trying to impeach President William Jefferson Clinton for allegedly obstructing investigations into his sexual infidelities and into his subsequent statements about those infidelities. Tell me, how many mainstream moderate voters in this country, Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative, knowing what they know now about the kinds of presidential misdeeds that actually do have critical importance and impact, how many do you think believe that Bill Clinton’s personal demons and sexual misconduct warranted the kind of prolonged partisan witch-hunt that Congressman Bill McCollum helped lead?”
Follow Alex Sink on Twitter.
Follow Bill McCollum on Twitter.
Follow Me on Twitter.
-Your Future Governor, Jamie O’Dell
ComaSow
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