Who is Charlie Crist, anyway?

Charlie Crist, Republican governor of Florida, was married last Friday to Carole Rome, a wealthy "socialite," owner of a company that makes Halloween costumes and masks.

Both have been married before. Rome has two daughters from her previous marriage.

Crist said he was very happy, and that his new bride made a "beautiful first lady." Senator Mel Martinez said everyone could see Charlie and Carole were "elated."

Charlie Crist is a conservative Christian and a member of the United Methodist Church. Carole Rome Crist is Jewish. They were married at the First United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Some folks insist that Crist is gay and Carole is a beard. A group of gay activists made their presence known at the wedding in St. Petersburg to protest Crist's opposition to gay marriage. One held up a sign asking "Can I get married now, Charlie?"


When Charlie Crist was elected Florida Education Commissioner in 2000, I was dismayed. From all I had heard, he was a hard-core, extremist on the Christian right who favored educational vouchers.

Lately, it seems he has become more moderate. I'm not so sure. It's hard to tell.


Who is Charlie Crist, anyway?


Charlie's father emigrated to the U.S. from Cyprus in 1912. He was a member of the Greek Orthodox Church. Charlie's mother, however, of Scots-Irish descent, was a Methodist, and Charlie was raised in the Methodist Church.

Charlie's father's name was Christodoulos, which he changed in 1949. He was a doctor. In 1960, the Crist family, consisting of three daughters and one son, moved from Atlanta to St. Petersburg, where Dr. Crist had obtained a job with the Bayfront Medical Center. In 1966, the doctor won election to the Pinellas County School Board.

Charlie, meanwhile, played football for his high school team, a "starring" quarterback, according to some reports. In 1974, he left home to attend Wake Forest University in North Carolina. While his official biography says he played quarterback for Wake Forest, he had suffered a knee injury while in his last year in high school, and was sidelined to the junior varsity, never taking "a snap in a varsity contest."

His military record appears to be non-existent. At the end of his sophomore year, Charlie transferred to Florida State University in Tallahassee, and graduated from that school in 1978. He then headed to Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.

And that's where he married Amanda Morrow. Not a good idea. He filed for divorce after six months and it was "dissolved" in February of 1980. Amanda Morrow is a lesbian and has been living with another woman for many years.

Crist failed the bar examination twice. Passed the third time around.


In 1986, he began to dabble in politics, running an unsuccessful campaign for the state senate. In 1992, he ran again and was successful. Charlie must have taken 1997 off, but in 1998 he challenged Bob Graham for Graham's seat in the U.S. Senate to no avail. Jeb Bush appointed him Deputy Director for the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation in 1999. A year late he won election as Florida Education Commissioner.

From January 2003, Crist served as Florida's Attorney General. He was elected governor in 2006, moving into the governor's manson on January 2, 2007.


Personally, I don't care if he is gay or not. He has always insisted he is not. He is now married. It doesn't matter, unless he's in the closet. Then, as they say, "Houston, we've got a problem." While one's sexual preference should have no bearing on one's capacity to serve in an official position, to carry on a deception by pretending to be what you're not, speaks to integrity and honesty and transparency.


Crist's religious beliefs are also confusing. While he professes to be a Christian, he doesn't quite fit in the fundamentalist camp, though the fundys would like to claim him, and he will not willingly slide into the more "liberal" group of Christian cults.

Thus, fundys remain uneasy about him, and that is no doubt one reason McCain kicked him off the VP list.

Charlie remains an enigma, as is shown clearly in an interview he gave to the Florida Baptist Witness in August of 2006.

In that interview, when asked about his "personal religious faith," Crist responded he was a United Methodist. Wrong answer! When a Baptist asks that question, what they want to know is when you were saved! They want to know the date, the time, the weather, and the clothes you were wearing!

Crist said he was a member of the First United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg and that he had been very active in that congregation.

In response to other questions, Crist expressed confidence that he would spent eternity with God in heaven and if God asked him why he should be admitted to Paradise, Crist, said he would tell God he believed in Jesus and that he's lived a good life, followed the precepts of the Bible and "worked hard to be a good Christian and a man of faith."

That's not gonna do it, for the rabid fundies. He should have told God that heaven was his reward for accepting Jesus as his personal savior. The rest of that stuff--living a good life, being a man of faith," etc., just doesn't cut it.


Crist went on to say he supported faith-based initiatives in government. That's good, from the Baptist point of view. But when asked if he would support "civil rights protections on the basis of sexual preference," he jumped out on the thin ice, saying he supported "civil rights protections on the basis of people."

Oops! Not good enough! So the next question went like this: "...the homosexual lobby is pressing for civil rights on [the] basis [of] sexual preference or sexual orientation ... Do you support that agenda.

Crist: "No, it's not an agenda item that I support. But I support civil rights to fight discrimination."

Huh? Does that many any sense? Does he support civil rights for gays or not?

Crist told the Baptists that he did NOT support "repealing the ban on homosexual adoption."And with regard to homosexuals serving as foster parents, Crist said he didn't subscribe to that "rationale but it's currently the law of the land..." so, as governor, he'd have to uphold the law.

Moving on to abortion. Crist said he's "pro-life."

"Is abortion a moral evil?"

"I don't think we should have abortions."

Baptist frustration showed through: "What I'm trying to do is get to the ethical question before the public policy question. Is abortion an evil? Is it a bad thing?"

"It's a bad thing. Of course it is."

Whew!

Next the Baptist asked if he would try to do what South Dakota was up to at the time, pushing the limits of abortion in order to get the abortion issue back before the U.S. Supreme Court. "Do you support that sort of an agenda in Florida to challenge Roe v. Wade?"

"No."

Crist also said he opposed the effort to keep Terri Schiavo alive. He said he favored federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. He is opposed to expanding gambling.


No wonder the fundies are fundamentally confused with regard to Charlie Crist. Is he on their side or not? Yes and no. No and yes. Perhaps. Sometimes. Maybe.


Who is Charlie Crist, anyway?


There are a few who are sure that Crist is for Christ. Well, at least they were a couple of years ago. That's when a whacko christianist preacher, O'Neal Dozier, of the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach, said the Lord came to him in a dream and told him Charlie Crist was going to be governor. Charlie hadn't even mentioned he was planning to run for governor! O'Neal and Jesus must be pyschic! Or something!

"The Lord Jesus spoke to me and he said, 'There's something I want you to know. Charlie Crist will be the next governor of the state of Florida."

At a pastor's breakfast, Crist said, "It's the most amazing thing anyone's ever told me. It's beyond overwhelming, but the reverend has a very strong faith in his heart and he's a good man. I'm very grateful for his help and his support and his belief."

Yeah, right! Didn't it occur to Charlie or any of the others attending this breakfast to ask why Jesus would appear to this kook from Pompano Beach? Why didn't Jesus appear to Charlie? Why didn't he appear to Jeb Bush, the current governor? Why didn't he appear to all the TV station managers and newspaper editors and we could have all received the word at the same time?

My god, think of all the money and trouble we could have saved ourselves. We wouldn't even have had to hold an election!

And Charlie was wrong. Dozier may have a strong faith, but that doesn't mean diddly-squat. Lots of people have strong faith and their dumber than a box of rocks! And anyone who walks around telling people that Jesus spoke to him should be taken gently away and doctors should examine his head!


Christ for Crist. Not likely. He does seem to desire some divine protection, though. Of a Jewish kind. Maybe that's why he married Carole.

Charlie went to Israel, and has gone to temple with Dan and Steve Gelber, and last year the guv "affixed a mezuzah, a sacred Jewish parchment usually kept within a case, to the frame of the door leading into his formal office at the capitol."

Is Crist renouncing Christ? Omigod!

Nah. In a statement to Jewish media outlets, he said, "Being able to display religious symbols is just as fundamental as being able to practice your religious beliefs. I am honored to display a mezuzah on my door. The freedoms and ideals that make our country great are the same ideals that people all over the world seek every day."

What the hell a mezuzah has to do with the "freedoms and ideals that make our country great" is beyond me!

A mezuzah is like a talisman. It contains within it a scroll, done exactly right, of the Shema, and is placed on a doorpost as a sign of Jewishness and a prayer for divine protection. It's magic! It's a nice tradition if you're Jewish, but for a Goyim to put up a mezuzah is crazy already!

A Miami Herald blog quotes Rabbi Schneur Oirechman, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of the Panhandle, who assisted Crist in putting up the mezuzah, as saying "Governor Crist's actions today will not only provide security inside his office, but will also serve to protect the people of Florida."

Right! Christianists are not the only delusional ones!


Who is Charlie Crist?


I'll be damned if I know!


One final note. Charlie should take down the mezuzah! Religious symbols do NOT belong in the office of a state official! He could put it in his pocket. The deity would probably be able to see it hidden in the clothing and still provide his divine protection!


Read more here. And here. Find out all about the Shema and mezuzah's here.


Note:  Click here for an update on Charlie Crist and why he should be elected governor of Florida on November 4, 2014.