The Puppet Speaks

Charlie Crist crony and the newly minted junior Senator for Florida, George LeMieux had his first floor speech as a member of Congress recently. The St. Petersburg Times was not amused.

In Tallahassee, LeMieux, Gov. Charlie Crist's former chief of staff, was credited with helping the governor's populist appeal. But Wednesday, he sacrificed candor in a predictable play to a partisan constituency. He reasonably equated Congress to a family who recklessly relies on credit cards to pay the bills. But he implied the runaway spending stems from Democratic control, ignoring that it began under President George W. Bush.

LeMieux really lost the high ground when he bragged that Crist and the Florida Legislature have cut spending by nearly 10 percent, or $7 billion, to balance the budget. LeMieux's omission: This year's state budget was balanced only because of $5 billion in federal stimulus dollars and $2.2 billion in new taxes and fees. Florida didn't live within its means. In fact, it was more like the spoiled offspring of a wealthy family who called Mom or Dad for a bailout.

Just remember that whenever LeMieux's lips are moving its really Crist's voice that you are hearing. If you think that Crist will bring any kind of change to the "Party of No" in the Senate you are sadly mistaken. All you have to do for the next 16 months is take note of what his hand picked seat warmer says and you will see all you need to know about how Crist would govern as a Senator.

The choice here is clear. You can have Crist as your Senator serving his party rather than his constituents in petty partisan games, or you can have a strong advocate for Florida with Congressman Kendrick Meek. I report, you decide...