NorthWest Florida Republican

Charlie Crist recently vetoed bill Senate Bill 6 passed by the Florida Legislature after a couple of days of contemplation. This is a bill that was passed pretty much along party lines by Republicans.

This should be of some considerable concern to those who would have him as a Congressional Senator. Not only has he embraced President Obama’s agenda with the Stimulus bill but he is going against the party wishes.

Now, I don’t think that Senate Bill 6 was all that great. Mostly because it continues to use many standardized tests throughout the year to determine teacher effectiveness. This just causes teachers to teach the test and kids do not actually learn anything. But it was a great step towards getting Union influence out of our schools by getting of bad teachers regardless of tenure. There needs to be a better way to gauge teaching.

With this veto, Charlie Crist appears to be setting himself up for a possible independent run for the Senate seat. Allahpundit over at HotAir has this to say about the veto:

Either he’s using this as a pretext to head for the lifeboats because the Republican nomination is now officially unwinnable or Crist’s told him privately that he’s running as an independent and Mack refuses to go against the party. Either way, Crist’s days as a Republican Senate candidate are over.

And I tend to agree with him. However, I have been saying this for a couple of months. Charlie Crist is not the Republican he would like you to believe. He really won’t be that much different than Senator Bill Nelson.

Over at The Shark Tank, there are questions of Quid Pro Quo.

In an effort to get Crist to oppose the bill, teachers from Hillsborough County canvassed their county urging residents to support Governor’s Senate campaign provided that he veto the legislative intiative.

There are rumors of a deal in place between the Florida Education Association (FEA) and Charlie Crist for the union to run one million dollars of attack ads against Marco Rubio, Crist’s opponent in the U.S. Senate primary.

It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if this was indeed the case. Nor would it surprise me to see Charlie Crist switch to an independent bid by the end of the month since all of his help is starting to jump ship and the big guns are not saying good things about his actions lately.

Gov. Charlie Crist’s political mentor, former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack, resigned Thursday as Crist’s campaign chairman in his race for the U.S. Senate…

I am disappointed by the veto of Senate Bill 6. By taking this action, Governor Crist has jeopardized the ability of Florida to build on the progress of the last decade, which includes raising student achievement across the board, narrowing the achievement gap for poor and minority students, and improving graduation rates. – Jeb Bush

And we already have one Congressman who votes with his heart. We really don’t need another. We need someone who will listen to the will of the people in the state of Florida and vote accordingly.

“I know in my heart it’s the right thing to do,” Crist said of his veto. – HotAir

All of this from a man who worries about how Marco Rubio used his GOP credit card.