Crist Education Veto Angers GOP, Shakes Up Florida Senate Race

A governor doesn't usually make national news by vetoing an education bill. But Florida Gov. Charlie Crist did so this week with a veto that allies him with teacher unions, pits him against fellow Republicans and casts uncertainty on the future of his troubled Senate race against the more conservative Marco Rubio.

In the Republican Senate primary, Crist trails Tea Party favorite Rubio by an average of nearly 23 points in recent polls. He has said in the past that he won't run as an independent, but the reaction from prominent Republicans in his state raises questions about whether he can continue a Republican campaign. Will he drop out of the GOP primary and run as an independent? Will he drop out of the race altogether?

A Fox affiliate in Florida said Crist could announce an independent candidacy as soon as Friday. But Crist, asked about the idea Friday, said he would look at it "later on." The suspense won't drag on indefinitely; the filing deadline for the Florida primary is April 30.

The veto has had a number of immediate effects that point to Crist abandoning the GOP. Former Sen. Connie Mack resigned as chairman of Crist's campaign. The deputy majority leader of the Florida House, Seth McKeel, endorsed Rubio, a former speaker of the Florida House. Mitt Romney was expected to endorse Rubio on Saturday.

Crist's predecessor, Republican Jeb Bush, issued a stinging statement saying Crist had "jeopardized the ability of Florida to build on the progress of the last decade," when Bush made education reform a cornerstone of his two terms. He said his reforms were "challenging, controversial and sometimes even unpopular," implying that Crist had caved to interest groups. GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum made that accusation outright. He said Crist had "succumbed to the pressure from Democrat Alex Sink [who is running for governor] and the unions by putting bureaucracy above the best interest of our children and teachers." McCollum pledged that as governor, he would "lead the charge" to enact the bill.

Even as Republicans desert and criticize him, Crist is winning praise from Democrats and unions. Sink said he did the right thing by vetoing a "radical" bill. Florida Education Association president Andy Ford said he was "thankful" for Crist's veto of an "ill-conceived" bill. Ford said it would have vastly increased standardized testing, reduced local control of local schools and upended the teaching profession, and was developed without input from teachers, administrators or parents.

Crist said in a letter to legislators that he vetoed the bill because, among other things, it didn't give enough consideration to special education students and teachers; it encroached on local control of schools; and teachers could be fired or lose their teaching certificates despite unclear standards by which to judge performance and no consideration of circumstances beyond the control of teachers. He also said teachers, parents and schools weren't consulted in shaping the bill.

Just to put this in context, it's not impossible to win a statewide Senate race as an independent after your party rejects you. Joe Lieberman did it in Connecticut after anti-war Democrat Ned Lamont beat him in the 2006 primary. Like Lieberman, Crist is a popular figure with a long political history in his state.

A three-way race would pit Crist and Rubio against Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek. Meek, by the way, did not praise Crist for vetoing the education bill. Rather, he praised "Florida's teachers and students for bringing public pressure" on Crist to block it.