Flip-Flopping to Defeat
I'm fairly certain if Floridians want a debate about offshore oil drilling, the GOP is not taking the high road. Senator Bill Nelson calls it a «gimmick», and Republican Senator Mel Martinez is looking for special treatment, but it looks like spinelessness.
Though Democrats and Republicans in the 25-member delegation had been nearly unanimously opposed to drilling off Florida's beaches -- only U.S. Rep. John Mica of Winter Park voted for it a few years ago -- most of the 16 GOP members now support loosening the ban.
They were joined this week by Gov. Charlie Crist, who when asked June 10 whether he was dropping his opposition to drilling had replied, «I am not.» But Crist changed his mind after Republican presidential nominee John McCain urged an end to a long-standing moratorium on offshore drilling.
The Florida Republicans -- some of whom changed their positions this week -- cited high energy prices, better drilling technology and the absence of oil spills from wells in the western Gulf, even after Hurricane Katrina.
As some polls show putative Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama sliding ahead of GOP Senator John McCain, Republican Governor Charlie Crist might have made a key mistake, and definitely not leading a discussion.
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