In the Florida election for Governor, the two major candidates are Charlie Crist (former Attorney General, state legislature Senator, and Commissioner of Education) and Jim Davis (former state legislature Representative, current U.S. Congress Representative for the 11th district). Here’s why I’m not voting for Crist:

• He supports the The Freedom to Worship Safely Act which grants special privileges and status to churches (and oddly, the wording of the text may make it a first degree misdemeanor if a pastor reads from certain passages of the Bible that command physical harm). He helped draft the bill.
• He is pro-deregulation on just about every issue involving private property and business (regardless of impact). This leaves him on shaky ground in regards to environmental issues. It also makes me worry about monopolies and safety regulations.
• He actually believes in supply-side economics (i.e. make the rich richer). Also known as Reaganomics. Evidence of this can be found all over his website and in his campaign ads.
• He regularly uses the phrase, “activist judges” which indicates a severe leaning towards FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) politics. A good indication that his tank is filled with BS. “Activist Judges” is a made-up term that is supposed to scare voters into voting for you and scare them out of voting for the other guy. In reality it is just made-up, meaningless bullshit.
• He is a strong supporter of limiting liability and accountability for injuries. So if a company is found to be negligent or accidentally cuts off your arm, your ability to seek damages will be severely limited by law instead of, you know, the judgment of a jury. It would be one thing if awards for damages were out of control (which was a popular political myth a few years ago), but it turns out it has been debunked.
• He fought against off-shore oil drilling not because it is bad for the environment, poses safety concerns, and contributes to global warming. No, he fought against it because it would be ugly (“A mere ten miles from our shoreline”!).

• This is the most important reason: His website is far too sparse as to where he stands on various issues. Imagine if a teacher assigned you a writing assignment that was supposed to be at least 10 pages and you only handed in 1 page. That is what his page on where he stands is like. This leaves me with a severe aura of distrust in regards to Charlie Crist, especially when you compare it to Jim Davis’ stance page

  Here’s why I’m voting for Davis:

• His educational plan focuses on improving general education and not on improving FCAT scores—which really only test math and reading skills (note that I didn’t say writing skills). Instead of using the FCAT as a form of punishment for schools, it will be used as a diagnostic tool. You know, what tests are supposed to be for! He also wants to build a lot more schools to reduce class size (yes!) and raise teacher salaries (way too low).
• He wants to provide tax credits for job training and certifications. Tax incentives for gaining knowledge are a very good and very old idea.
• He appears to believe in socialized medicine (aka “single payer system”). He recognizes that one giant entity can negotiate much better prices for treatment and medication than a whole lot of smaller players.
• His environmental policy is much more realistic and advantageous than Crist’s: “Jim Davis will protect and preserve Florida’s environment by fighting to protect Florida’s coastline from offshore oil drilling, managing Florida’s land conservation efforts, protecting Florida’s public lands, and fighting for full funding of Everglades protection and restoration.” Look at that, he actually associated offshore oil drilling with an environmental impact! Apparently this is kind of association is too much for Crist.

• And now for my favorite reason to vote for Davis: “Every small business and community in Florida should be able to harness the power of high-speed Internet access. Jim Davis will bring broadband Internet access to every community in Florida, including rural communities.” YES!