It seems many good men lose their soul when they become a high powered politician. Seemingly consumed with power, a sadly large contingency of these individuals relegate any previously subscribed to principles to the recycle bin.
In recent years, I cannot think of anyone who fits this description more than
Charlie Crist, former GOP Governor of Florida. Crist, a former QB at Wake Forest and a fellow alumni of Florida State University, has made the journey from a product of the Reagan Revolution to a big government socialist standing in opposition to free market principles he once championed.
Crist won election as governor of Florida in 2007 campaigning as a Reagan Republican, which helped him form his political principles. After serving one term, Crist decided to run as a republican for a Senate seat being vacated by
Sen. Mel Martinez. Crist, facing defeat in the primary to now
Sen. Marco Rubio, became an independent and lost in the general election to Rubio,
whom I supported.
Riding the wave of Barack Obama, Crist, without advancing a noted pivot point, discarded all of those once beloved principles of Ronald Reagan and became a Democrat. Crist could often be seen on the campaign trail and at political events with Obama, who is a stated opponent of our founding principles.
One would hope, having been completely discredited on principles and values, Crist would retire to private life and cease in efforts to serve our state politically. However, after joining one of the states largest defense attorney law firms, John Morgan's
Morgan and Morgan, Crist has announced he will challenge sitting Governor
Rick Scott in the upcoming gubernatorial race.
It is not hard to recognize that we have a large contingency of, as
Rush Limbaugh would descibe, low information voters. Americans are awash, drowning in, as
Aldus Huxley projected, a sea of irrelevance. Even still, you would think enough voters would see Crist for what he has priven himslef to be; a man without principles.
Therefore, Crist will play to the lowest denominator, advancing issues that are without merit, hoping to not only secure the vote of Obamabots and rock solid Progressive Democrats, but the low information crowd as well.
Evidence of this was vibrantly clear last week when Crist revealed his plan for a "First Day of Fairness" should he be elected. Action on this day, which would seemingly bypass a heavily weighted GOP legislature, would be done by executive order. Like his new mentor, Crist would have a pen and a phone.
As quoted in an
article by Aaron Deslatte, Tallahassee Bureau Chief or The Orlando Sentinel,
On his first day back as governor, Charlie Crist says he wants to raise the minimum wage and stop job discrimination against women and gays.
That rhetoric will no doubt get the attention of the low information crowd, and although demonstrably false, be ignored by those predisposed to vote D regardless of a platform based on falsities.
Florida does not discriminate against women and gays ( Unlike Crist, I would have utilized a different word of description rather than gays ). It is illegal for public and private sector companies and organizations to do so. In actual fact, in order to be politically correct, many companies welcome the opportunity to hire these folks.
For any company or organization I have ever been involved in, it was a goal to hire the person who best represented the key competencies with the appropriate qualifications and skills to match the job description.
Raising the minimum wage sounds wonderful to those retained on staff, for they will see an increase in pay. However, the company which employs them will may have to reduce staff to compensate, forcing the employee to potentially increase their workload or hours worked. Benefits may be reduced as well, given the extra payroll costs the company may incur.
In the marco, raising the minimum wage increases unemployment, as due to increased payroll costs, refrain from adding staff, which is already happening due to several economic influences, from uncertainty to destructive regulatory action such as Dodd-Frank and Obamacare.
We continue to hear that the minimum wage is a living wage; it is not. An employee should not expect to earn enough to raise a family on minimum wage. Rather than raise the wage to accommodate incorrect life decisions of these workers, including the lack of education and key competencies which prohibit a worker form securing a better job, the best way to help them is for a growing economy to create additional opportunities for advancement.
Crist knew this at one time, but the principles behind these economic principles, due to the ignorance of the electorate, do not represent the easiest path to elected office. What works now is claiming to be the representative of the government who is able, ready and willing to help the people, or, steadily increase the entitlements bestowed upon the lower class workers.
As Thomas Jefferson said, “
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government
from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of
them.”- “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are
willing to work and give to those who would not.”
Should we continue to elect politicians without principle, like Charlie Crist, we will bring about what Jefferson feared; a democracy which will cease to exist.
