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Another devastating resignation for Charlie Crist: his biggest ‘fan’ is quitting campaign

in Peter/Statewide by

It’s a political earthquake in one of the most-watched GOP contests of the year: Gov. Charlie Crist, once considered the odds-on favorite to become Florida’s next senator but now facing fierce Tea Party opposition and lagging in the polls, just lost his biggest fan. Actually, Crist has lost the support of his campaign fan.  Not a person, mind you, but the actual fan that accompanies Crist at his speaking engagements.

The Fan, affectionately known to the Governor’s staff and FDLE escort as ‘Blade’, resigned his post yesterday. According to the Associated Press, the fan resigned out of protest to Crist’s Thursday veto of a bill that would have tied teacher pay and job security to student test scores and to the increasing workload placed that is expected to be placed upon The Fan now that the campaign heads into the warm Summer months.

In a letter to Crist (I’m not exactly sure who wrote the letter for The Fan, but my sources indicate the author may have been gubernatorial staffer Michelle Todd), The Fan recounted a friendship of “many years” and said “I prize our relationship.” But The Fan, a Honeywell product, said he considers Crist’s veto “unsupportable and wrong.”

“I can no longer create a breeze of air to keep you cool for your campaign for the United States Senate,” The Fan wrote. “This letter serves as my resignation.”  The Fan closed the letter with two words of advice for Crist: “Be cool.”

Saint Petersblog attempted to contact The Fan, but I have been told he has been re-assigned by the Department of Management Services to an indoor painting crew refurbishing an annex near The Capitol. A response from Crist also was pending.  An interim replacement for The Fan has already been identified and purchased from Sharper Image.

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.

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