Gov. Charlie Crist made a clear play for moderate and left wing voters in his Senate campaign on Monday, releasing a pro gay rights position paper that supports civil unions, gay adoption and the repeal of the controversial military policy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
While Crist had previously talked of supporting repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the state’s gay adoption ban, the policy paper on the whole marks the culmination of a significant shift for Crist, who as a Republican candidate for governor four years ago slammed Democratic opponent Jim Davis in a mailer that pictured Davis at an event for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The campaign literature accused Davis of opposing traditional families and for consistently backing gay adoption, in contrast with Crist.
But with Crist and Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio in a tight race, Crist has been vocally pushing a middle-of-the-road agenda in attempts to pull votes from Democratic nominee, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami. In a CNN poll released earlier this month, Rubio and Crist were running about even with 36 percent to 34 percent respectively. Meek finished third with 24 percent.
Brian Winfield, a spokesman for Equality Florida, which is not endorsing a candidate in the race, said it was clear that Crist is “making a bid for more progressive votes,” but that the group, regardless, was “thrilled” with the governor’s position paper.
“LGBT issues are taking center stage in one of the most watched Senate races in the nation,” Winfield said.
The one-page paper articulates nine different policy points related to gay rights. Crist, earlier this summer, clarified that he opposes Florida’s current gay adoption ban, saying adoption should be considered on a case-by-case basis. But he waded even further into issues supported by the LGBT community in his white paper.
Among his positions is full fledged support for civil unions, domestic partnership benefits, appropriations for HIV/AIDS programs, the employment non-discrimination act and the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
He also voiced support for programs to end anti-gay bullying in schools and the Uniting American Families Act, which would allow an immigrant to sponsor his or her partner as part of family-based immigration.
How many votes the move will win Crist is unknown because he is directly appealing to a constituency that typically votes for Democratic candidates. But it may sway some and shore up Crist’s independent credibility.
“It’s going to be really interesting to see how it plays out,” Winfield said.
Crist’s Democratic opponent U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, immediately criticized the governor for the paper, calling it “too little, too late.” Meek has generally been supportive of gay rights and has sponsored multiple attempts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Abe Dyk, Meek’s campaign manager, said in a statement that the governor is “willing to say anything.”
“The only thing we know about Charlie Crist’s track record is that he is a lifelong conservative Republican who has fought against every Democratic value,” Dyk said. “The governor’s charade trying to hide his lifelong conservative record just to get elected is an insult to every Floridian.”
In addition to the policy paper, Crist also released a new TV ad this week that further reinforces the down the middle image Crist is going for. In the ad, Crist is on a beach and draws a line in the sand, saying that’s what Republicans and Democrats do, while he will take the best ideas from both parties if elected to the Senate.
By Kathleen Haughney
The News Service of Florida
