Today the Florida house, on the final day of the legislative session, passedand sent to the Governor a bill that would mandate that women pay for an ultrasound exam before receiving an abortion. (Please click on the link to read a couple of the comments from Democrats in the Florida house.
While this attempt to circumvent Roe v. Wade is typical of the conservative nature of the control Republicans have in Tallahassee, it will also provide the first glimpse into Gov. Crist's approach as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Charlie Crist has always claimed to be a "pro-life" candidate. However this attempt to add another layer of burden upon women seeking a legal abortion will show moderate and liberal voters in Florida just what their vote will be supporting if they are leaning towards Charlie Crist.
Signing this heinous legislation will probably not gain him a single right-wing vote; those are already going for Marco Rubio, the likely Republican nominee. However, it will send a clear signal to the rest of Florida voters, that while he may have shed his Republican party label, he really isn't that different from Marco Rubio and the Republicans who currently have a firm control over the state of Florida.
Vetoing this bill, however, would certainly enhance his stature as an independent candidate and would seem to me to be a necessary action if he has any hope of attracting voters from the middle that he's going to need for this independent run.
One can only hope he chooses the latter and vetoes this very bad legislation.