Got an email last night:
Hi Asshat,
I’m assuming since you’re an asshat in the far right’s eyes you’re probably a pretty decent guy, and I know you’ve “never really been the type to stand around and watch, especially when half-truths and lies are being disseminated with no one to challenge them” so I’m writing to enlist your help in urging Gov. Crist to veto SB 360, the bill which will gut Florida’s growth management laws. The Governor was supposedly going to sign it a couple weeks ago, but he delayed the signing, most likely in response to the thousands of calls he received opposing it. He still has not vetoed it, though, and he has until Tuesday to do so; if he does not veto the bill it will become law, even without his signature. Crist is under intense pressure from developers to sign the bill, so if the phones stop ringing we can pretty much count on it becoming law. I respectfully request that you urge your readers to contact the Governor immediately at (850) 488-4441 to ask him to veto SB 360.
I created this video to provide a summary of the issue, and I welcome you to use it in any way you see fit if you think your readers might find it useful. I’ve also included some links below that provide more information on the bill. Thank you so much for your time and assistance on this matter.
You had me at “Hi Asshat.”
Seriously, though, this is an unbelievably bad bill for Florida. Check out the video and you’ll see what I mean. Pay particular attention to the way in which the bill defines “dense urban land area,” and you’ll see how the GOP-dominated Florida Legislature is trying to pull the wool over our eyes:
Speculation is that Gov. Crist is going to let this bill become law without signing it, given his apparent shift to the right in preparation for his U.S. Senate campaign. Of course, as my correspondent notes above, tomorrow is the deadline, so it is especially important that we who love Florida share with the governor, who also is a Floridian and should know better, exactly what a disaster this bill, should it become law, would be for the state.
Oh, and below are the links mentioned in the email. You ought to check them out and learn more about this heinous exploitation of our home state’s land and natural resources.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/1065316.html
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article1003741.ece
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/politicalwhore/2009/05/25/senator-mike-bennett-serves-up-the-kool-aid-on-sb-360/
http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/2009/05/happy-memorial-day-remember-gov-crist.html
http://www.news-press.com/article/20090526/OPINION/905260322/1015
Call the governor’s office: (850) 488-4441 Do it now. Don’t let Charlie’s phone stop ringing. Florida’s future depends on it.
UPDATE (2:52 pm 6/1/09): Adam Smith quotes the Orlando Sentinel as saying Crist plans to sign the bill. CALL NOW!
UPDATE (4:34 pm 6/1/09): Gov. Crist signed the bill into law this afternoon. Way to burnish those right-wing credentials by selling out Florida, Charlie.
(cross-posted at FPC Blog)
