Forbes: the worst Govenor is the US.....guess who? Charlie!

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Charlie Crist is an extraordinarily gifted politician, known for his unpretentious and warm demeanor. He might also be America's worst governor. Given that there is a great deal of competition for this dubious honor, that's saying rather a lot.

Among liberals and progressives, there is a puzzling admiration for Crist, long considered by Democratic and Republican veterans of Florida's political scene to be something of an opportunist if not a lightweight. In May, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne wrote a column suggesting that conservative discontent with Crist reflected an overemphasis on doctrinal purity. In Dionne's view, Crist raised the ire of Florida conservatives when he embraced President Obama's stimulus plan, and indeed when he physically embraced the president himself. While it is certainly true that Republican primary voters tend to be highly ideological, perhaps excessively so, it's worth recounting Crist's reasons for backing the stimulus plan.

When Marc Caputo and Steve Bousquet of the Miami Herald asked Crist about the virtues of the plan, he said, "I think it's fantastic. Are you kidding me? We don't have to raise taxes." Moreover, Crist continued, "we might be able to cut property taxes some more. We have more money for education, so we can increase per-student spending. We can spend more money on our roads and infrastructure. We can provide health care for our people. I mean, it's remarkable." Indeed, something is remarkable, namely Crist's rigid adherence to an ideology more pernicious than orthodox progressivism or conservatism or nudism or anarchoprimitivism. I'm referring, of course, to free-lunchism.

One can argue about the virtues of federal borrowing to stimulate the economy. Because state governments are obligated to balance their budgets, there is a solid case for having Washington offer a temporary countercyclical boost to cash-strapped states. But the notion that the federal stimulus plan gives state governments carte blanche to permanently ratchet up their spending levels while cutting taxes defies logic. Florida's Constitution requires that the state government can't use one-time funds, like windfall from privatization or federal stimulus dollars, to pay for more than 3% of recurring expenses.

Incredibly, Crist demanded that Florida use one-time funds to pay for 12% of the state budget. When Republicans in the state legislature took the difficult step of passing a budget that included unpopular spending cuts, Crist turned around and vetoed hundreds of millions in cuts, despite the continuing deterioration of state revenues. It could be that Crist believes that the federal government will simply pass a stimulus plan every year, one that will grow ever larger without consequence to Florida taxpayers. This, of course, can't possibly be true. As a result, Crist has committed Florida to a fiscal nightmare, one that will lead to draconian tax hikes and spending cuts long after he makes a break for the U.S. Senate or finds some other comfortable sinecure thanks to the good graces of his many wealthy friends.

In fairness, Crist is only the most egregious offender. As Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels noted in The Wall Street Journal in September, the last decade has seen state government spending increase by 6% every year. Dozens of governors of both parties have enthusiastically embraced free-lunchism, with Daniels as one of the rare exceptions. Recognizing that Indiana was on an unsustainable path, Daniels committed the state government to making painful spending cuts, investing in infrastructure and education, and focusing his efforts on the long-term goal of raising household incomes for Hoosiers.


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http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/25/governor-charlie-crist-florida-opinions-columnists-politics-reihan-salam.html

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Chainsaw Charlie is more like the uninvited guest at the Governor's mansion who has not yet noticed that he is no longer welcome. He has become great at being un-confrontational.