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Good Bipartisanship

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Economy
Posted on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 05:25:39 PM EST
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President Barack Obama has invited (and been accepted) Florida Republican Governor Charlie Crist to join him at a Florida stimulus event tomorrow:

Statements from the President and Gov. Crist about tomorrow's event are included below.

"I look forward to traveling to Ft. Meyers tomorrow to talk to Floridians about how we get our nation's economy back on track. Gov. Crist and I have seen firsthand the toll that this economic crisis has taken on the American people, and we agree that we can't allow politics to get in the way of urgent relief for the millions of families and small businesses that need it," said President Barack Obama.

[MORE . . .

"Florida has taken prudent steps to cut taxes for our people and balance our budget in these increasingly difficult times. Any attempts at federal stimulus must prioritize job creation and targeted tax relief for small business owners. I am eager to welcome President Obama to the Sunshine State as he continues to work hard to reignite the US economy," said Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

This is smart bipartisanship. Not only will Crist support the President on the stimulus, he will advocate for putting back the $40B in state aid the Beltway "bipartisan" BSers in the Senate took out of the bill. Well done Mr. President.

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    Good Bipartisanship | 19 comments (19 topical)

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    What I'd like to see (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by lentinel on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 05:34:31 PM EST
    is Obama holding a stimulus event in New Orleans.

    No panache

    Obama should then proceed to beat the crap (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by steviez314 on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 05:41:56 PM EST
    out of Mel Martinez for screwing Florida and Crist.

    He needs "post-up" partisanship, not postpartisanship.

    Heh (none / 0) (#3)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 05:43:23 PM EST
    Good one.

    Parent
    Crist appears to be (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by gyrfalcon on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 06:22:06 PM EST
    one of the very, very small number of national-level Republicans one can actually play bipartisanship with and get somewhere.

    There are also hordes of Republican mayors who are frantic to get this (or any) stimulus bill.  He should round  up a whole mess of D and R mayors for an event and let them tell what the $$ can mean to their cities.  I heard one of them say the other day he's got any number of infrastructure projects he could get people hired and starting the work on in 90 days.  I doubt he's alone in that.

    I think many GOP mayors and governors (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by hairspray on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 07:22:47 PM EST
    would work with Obama a whole lot better than the senators in D.C. These people on the front lines have to balance their budgets and are very accountable at the end of the day for results. Except for the deep south, Obama maybe able to make some inroads if he is so intent on bipartisanship.
    IMHO the Washington GOP legislators are a sorry and miserable lot.

    Parent
    The Republicans in Congress (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by BernieO on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 08:24:18 PM EST
    are even worse than the Senators.

    Parent
    Yes (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by CST on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 08:46:04 PM EST
    But they are also completely irrelevant, which the republicans in the senate are not.

    Parent
    Crist and Arnold (none / 0) (#7)
    by JThomas on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 06:35:29 PM EST
    are both desperate to get some help out of this stimulus bill and the President does need to create a groundswell of support from citizens to mayors to governors.
    The President needs to keep taking it the streets like today to get the momentum behind this bill so he can get is altered in a positive way in the conference process.

    Parent
    Riley in Alabama also (none / 0) (#9)
    by jeffinalabama on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 06:41:13 PM EST
    Riley is depending on this to keep the state going.

    Parent
    And yet Shelby is the 100% most opposed to (none / 0) (#11)
    by steviez314 on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 06:53:19 PM EST
    anything Senator.  What a disconnect between Governor and Senator!

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    Strange, yes, but Shelby (none / 0) (#13)
    by jeffinalabama on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 07:19:04 PM EST
    has always been that way. Even when he was a DINO. He does have principles, even though I disagree with them. Vehemently. At every opportunity.

    Parent
    Ft. Myers a Republican District (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by kaleidescope on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 06:43:14 PM EST
    It's represented by Connie Mack, who voted against the stimulus bill in the House (as did the rep from Elkhart, IN).  Will Mack be there with Crist?  If not, that's an interesting dynamic.  Mack left out of the big bi-partisan economic rescue day in his own district.  

    The New York Times story on Ft. Myers was devastating.  As an environmentalist, it will be interesting to see how these new developments turn back into everglades.  Cormac McCarthy could write that story.

    This just in (none / 0) (#4)
    by echinopsia on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 05:53:05 PM EST
    Justice Department Stands Behind Bush Secrecy In Extraordinary Rendition Case

    Bad.

    There will be a post on that tonight (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 05:55:07 PM EST
    Please keep your comments on topic.

    Any response to this comment will be deleted.

    Parent

    "Good bipartisanship" is ... (none / 0) (#8)
    by Robot Porter on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 06:40:02 PM EST
    getting bipartisan support for your policies.

    This seems to fall into that category.

    Presser started -- great optics (none / 0) (#12)
    by Cream City on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 07:05:14 PM EST
    The setting looks terrific.  Those pillars are not styrofoam!  Very presidential, very impressive.  Maybe this is how it looked on radio for FDR? :-)

    Now let's see if Obama can use his rhetorical skills as impressively to clarify, to console, to encourage America in this modern-day fireside chat.

    Someone said in late October (none / 0) (#15)
    by andgarden on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 08:17:40 PM EST
    that Crist has very good political antennae. Obviously, what he gets out of this is cruise control to reelection.

    Wasn't it Crist (5.00 / 1) (#19)
    by BackFromOhio on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 11:03:41 PM EST
    who reversed Fl's policy of not keeping polls open long enough hours to accommodate demand for early voting?  Smart move...

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    And/or a future run for (none / 0) (#18)
    by oldpro on Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 08:46:26 PM EST
    another office?  Public chumminess with popular Republicans could give them more credibility than they deserve and cost us in the long run.

    Not so sure I like this.

    Parent

    Good Bipartisanship | 19 comments (19 topical)

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