Crist Suddenly Realizes Gas Prices Are High - Did McCain Have to Tell Him?

Where Was Crist When Dems Tried to Suspend Gas Tax in '05 and '06?

For Immediate Release: April 16, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Barely a day after his buddy John McCain proposed a similar idea nationally, Empty Chair Charlie Crist this morning suggested temporarily suspending the state gas tax to help Florida families - a great idea.

Too bad it's not new. In fact, Crist has been silent on this for years while Democrats have proposed suspending the gas tax several times.

Today, in a radio interview, Crist said: "It's ridiculous to me what's being charged at the pump. This might be a way to alleviate costs for families." Yet for the past few years, he's refused to support the Democrats efforts to suspend the gas tax to help Florida families.

In 2005, then-Senate Democratic Leader Les Miller and Sen. Skip Campbell called on then-Gov. Jeb Bush to suspend the gas tax through executive order, similar to what had been in Georgia. Bush refused.

Likewise, Crist, as the state's attorney general, didn't show any leadership on the issue. Though he eventually launched mostly ceremonial probes into antitrust violations by gas stations, his minimal effort did nothing to help consumers at the pump. In 2006, Campbell and Sen. Ron Klein made multiple attempts to pass an amendment offering Floridians a gas tax holiday, but were defeated.

"It's great that he's finally following the Democrats' lead, but where was Empty Chair Charlie Crist then? Maybe if he had shown more leadership then, we might not be in the mess we are now," Florida Democratic Party spokesman Mark Bubriski said. "But he didn't. He failed to show any leadership. What has changed since then - other than even higher gas prices? Did Crist just realize that the cost of living for Floridians is out of control?"