SB6 Punishment of Teachers Bill Passed in the Middle of the NIght

[scooterbug44]

The article I read said that Crist vetoed it after receiving over 100,000 messages from constituents overwhelmingly against the bill, so I don't think it is exactly a career ender.

 

[GoodWitch58]

A Quinipac poll I was made aware of before leaving Tallahassee does not agree, or so I was told. It narrows the margin of Rubio over Crist to single digits with Crist as a third party candidate. It also, as I was informed, shows Meek doing well (gaining) against Rubio. Now I have not seen the poll, but I tend to believe the source. So although Crist said he would not run as an Independent, he may still decide to run as an NPA, although most say he won't. We'll have to wait and see. After finding the Poll I was wrong, Meek looked better and Crist still looked bad against Rubio. Sorry for my misunderstanding of what I was told.

it's a little bit more nuanced:

Poll: Crist leads 3-way contest if race held now

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Charlie Crist has fallen far behind in Florida's Republican primary contest for the U.S. Senate, but he could capture a three-way race in November, a poll released Thursday suggests.

Crist must decide by April 30 whether to remain in the GOP primary where former state House Speaker Marco Rubio is favored or pursue an independent bid. He has refused to shut the door on speculation he might bolt the party that helped him win races as Florida's attorney general and education commissioner before he became governor in 2006.

If the general election were held now, 32 percent of voters would favor Crist, compared with 30 percent for Rubio and 24 percent for the Democratic hopeful, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, according to a survey of 1,250 registered voters taken April 8-13 by Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.

"The biggest threat to Crist's political career is the Republican primary," said Peter Brown, Quinnipiac's assistant polling director. "People overall think he is doing a good job as governor, but that doesn't mean Republicans think that he should be their U.S. senator

Governor Crist, knew this was bad for Florida's education system--fortunately, he also had the courage to do the right thing. Here is the Veto Letter if anyone is interested.
http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2010/PDFs/sb6.pdf

 

[rapunzel]

Just got back from Tallahassee, and I was not suprised SB 6 was passed. There was a lot of arm twisting to get that bill passed. I suspect there will be a lot of turn over in both the House and Senate because of it. What was suprising was that I was told this was a good Bill and some were even angry because they were questioned about it. It was disappointing that quite a few of them were from our area and have teachers in or are teachers. When I brought up Mark Davis and his comments with regards to the Bill, I got the extreme impression that it did not make any difference. To Representative Marti Coley's credit, she understood my concerns and was at least honest when she told me she was going to vote for the Bill, but even she had concerns. There were others who told me flat out they would not vote for the Bill and then did.

Let me guess...did Marti Coley give you the old "I don't like this bill but I will vote for it so that I don't lose my seat at the table" excuse? I swear, it seems like Dean Cannon and the House leadership must shove bamboo under the nails of anyone who tries to speak up for their constituents. It makes you wonder why Marti Coley supports Dean for Speaker.

I refuse to accept this excuse. She is an elected representative, and she should demand a voice and a seat at the table, or she should go home. Being a woman is not an excuse to be ineffective.

 

[Bob Wells]

Let me guess...did Marti Coley give you the old "I don't like this bill but I will vote for it so that I don't lose my seat at the table" excuse? I swear, it seems like Dean Cannon and the House leadership must shove bamboo under the nails of anyone who tries to speak up for their constituents. It makes you wonder why Marti Coley supports Dean for Speaker.

I refuse to accept this excuse. She is an elected representative, and she should demand a voice and a seat at the table, or she should go home. Being a woman is not an excuse to be ineffective.

No, according to her, she liked a lot of it, but did have issues with some of it. She voted for it without the changes though. As for other issues we discussed, she was under a lot of pressure to vote for it and she stood her ground.
Representative Drake on the other hand voted for SB 6 without reservation and appeared highly agitated when asked about it. He believes that the Unions put out so much bad info on this Bill, which there was some errors in the info, but in spite of that info it was still a bad Bill. Although I'm not a Crist supporter he did the right thing in this case, no matter the reason. I will be curious to see if those who voted yes on this issue will have their feet held to the fire in the next election.