Governor Rick Scott and Democratic Gubernatorial Challenger Charlie Crist clashed Wednesday evening during the second of three debates ahead of the November 4th election. The candidates agreed on very little, and took jabs at one another --including a brief spat over a fan.The debate got off to an awkward start when former Governor Charlie Crist took the stage—and Governor Rick Scott did not. Eliot Rodriguez, CBS4 anchor and debate host, tried to explain:
“The rules of the debate I was shown by the Scott campaign show there should be no fan, Somewhow, there is a fan and for that reason, I am being told Gov. Scott will not join us for that debate”
Scott’s refusal to come on stage was due to the presence of an electric fan for Crist. Crist is known for having a fan with him during public appearances. Later in the debate, when asked about the issue, Scott responded this way:
Sound-“I waited to figure if he would show up…he said he was going to come to the debate. So why come out until he’s ready?”
What’s now being called “fan-gate” on social media dictated the rest of the tone for the evening as Scott and Crist clashed over their records on education, the environment and the economy. Scott, who has made job creation a priority since taking office bashed Crist’s handling of the recession:
“He raised regulations. If you think about building a business, I want to build those businesses to be in Florida. Lower taxes, less regulation. Streamline the permitting process. That’s why we lost 832-thousand jobs in Florida….Crist: Everyone knows I didn’t cause the global economic meltdown…”
The hour-long debate at loss of seven minutes at the start of the event due to the fan conflict, left little time to delve deer into the issues and both candidates stuck largely to their scripts and talking points. But a few issues did stand out. When asked about same-sex marriage and whether its discrimination, Scott answered this way.
“We shouldn’t have ill will when people have different views. But we have to remember all this was started when Charlie was governor…. Moderator: I don’t think I got an answer. Do you think the ban is discriminatory? Scott: I don’t believe in discrimination…”
Meanwhile, Charlie Crist got hung up on an answer to a question on whether the state should have a role in directing family life and teaching people to be better parents:
“I think we have to do as I said at the outset: reinvest in education because of the dramatic cuts Rick Scott has brought about…Moderator: The question was about does the state have a responsibility with family life? Crist: Well, I think the best way to do that is to try to lead by example.”
Absent from the debate was Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Adrian Wyllie. Wyllie tried unsuccessfully to get into the debate but a judge ruled he failed to meet the 15-percent support threshold in a poll that was mandated by debate organizers. The final debate between the candidates is set for October 21st.