During former Gov. Charlie Crist's drift from Republican to independent to Democrat, there's been at least one GOP friend who has stuck by his side: Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano, a former longtime lawmaker.
On Thursday, after months of absence and (relative) silence, Fasano returned to the capital and lashed out at an ad backing the re-election campaign of Republican Gov. Rick Scott -- the man who appointed Fasano to his current position and is now facing Crist in the November election.
"This is as low as you can get, Rick Scott, with the type of ad and the type of lies that you're now putting out on the TV to every home in the state of Florida," Fasano said.
Later, Fasano added: "Enough of this type of campaigning, and enough of Rick Scott."
The ad in question attempted to revive questions about Crist's ties to South Florida lawyer Scott Rothstein, who was sent to prison for a massive Ponzi scheme. It features a "victim" of Rothstein's scam, later identified by the Miami Herald as Dean Kretschmar -- who recovered most of his losses and still lives in an upscale house in Fort Lauderdale. Crist has never been linked to Rothstein's crimes.
Fighting with Fasano, who registered to vote on his 18th birthday so he could support Ronald Reagan, is nothing new for GOP leaders. Fasano charted a maverick course in the Legislature, including sponsoring a failed measure to expand Medicaid in 2013.
And he never abandoned Crist.
Republicans appeared to come up with a plan last year to get Fasano out of their hair: have Scott send him back to Pasco County, away from the Tallahassee spotlight. But Fasano has made no secret in his social media posts of his continued disdain for the incumbent.
"If you don't know that I support Charlie Crist, you don't read my tweets," he said Thursday.
During Thursday's press conference -- organized by the Crist campaign -- Fasano was spouting the kind of populist fire that made him a favorite quote during his legislative days.
"I'm a lifelong Republican and I support Republicans throughout the state," he said. "But I cannot support a gentleman, in my opinion, who has left behind the little guy and gal -- the ratepayers, the premium payers, those who are struggling each and every day."
To counter Fasano -- who is still immensely popular in Pasco County -- the Scott campaign issued a statement from another Pasco Republican: House Speaker Will Weatherford. Without referring to the Rothstein charges, Weatherford argued that Crist's metamorphosis over the years was still a deception.
"Its sad to see Mike Fasano has fallen so far as to endorse a serial swindler with no principles except personal ambition," Weatherford said.
Fasano's response came via Twitter: "Sorry to see that [Weatherford] continues to follow the inside the Tallahassee beltway script. #sayfie #thelittleguyandgal"
WHERE'S NOAH?
Just when you thought you had seen it all in this year's gubernatorial campaign, get ready for an ark.
NextGen Climate, a political group founded by California hedge-fund tycoon Tom Steyer, introduced a 22-foot-long wooden "ark" on Thursday. It will be used in a multi-city tour to promote scientific claims that most of Florida will be underwater within a century because of climate change and to highlight Gov. Rick Scott's skepticism about the climate issue.
"Florida's families and communities may not have the campaign cash to get a ticket on the ark, but what we do have is a choice," Jillian Mushman, a Florida State University junior from New Jersey interning with NextGen, said during a news conference in Tallahassee.
Tapping into the biblical story of Noah collecting two of every animal to protect them from an oncoming, divinely created flood, NextGen paints Scott's passengers as special-interest campaign contributors such as sugar lobbyists, oil drillers and energy industry insiders.
The tour kickoff came as scientists from a number of colleges and universities in Florida, some of whom recently met with Scott, sent a letter requesting the governor convene a summit this fall on climate change.
Scott's campaign cast the "ark" as a "silly stunt."
"Its not surprising that people in the Crist campaign want to build an ark to escape the flood of Florida voters who want him to stop changing parties and stop running for office," said Scott campaign spokesman Greg Blair. "Once again, Barack Obama is dispatching his liberal, out-of-state allies to help salvage the sinking ship that is Charlie Crists campaign."
The "ark" is expected to be towed into Tampa on Friday, with additional stops planned for Gainesville, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
TWEET OF THE WEEK: "Protesters organized by @ScottforFlorida can't answer questions about who Scott Rothstein is. 'Charlie's friend' is the only thing they know." -- Gary Fineout (@fineout)
