MCCOLLUM TAKES ON CRIST AT HIS OWN RISK

Bill McCollum did what no politician has yet dared to
do.

He took off the gloves and took on Gov. Charlie Crist.

The Republican state attorney general strongly criticized Crist for
pushing automatic restoration of civil rights for non-violent felons
and for making it easier for a larger class of violent offenders to
regain their rights.

McCollum said so many felons commit new crimes after their release
that granting them new rights is a dangerous idea. He said some
criminals should never regain the right to vote or hold a business
license.

"Some people should have this as a permanent lifetime ban because of
the crimes they have committed," he argued Thursday in a Board of
Clemency meeting. "Serving prison time and making restitution isn't
enough."

Crist totally disagreed.

"We need to be able to find it in our hearts to forgive," Crist said.
"Our creator does it."

Crist used the bully pulpit and powers of persuasion to bring two
Cabinet members to his side, Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Charlie
Bronson, who cast the critical third vote.

It's a safe bet that the changes would not have happened if Jim Davis
had won the governor's race, because it's unlikely that Bronson would
have sided with a Democrat as he did with Crist.

McCollum has said the clemency board should meet more often to sweep
away its case backlog, and that more should be done to help felons
return to society.

But when he proposed that the state compile data on future civil
rights restoration cases, Crist and Sink voted no, killing the idea.

McCollum looked alone and isolated. But the weight of public opinion
may be on his side, as well as the collective opposition of many in
law enforcement.

A poll by Quinnipiac University in December said Floridians oppose
automatic restoration of civil rights for felons, 55 percent to 38
percent, with Republicans nearly twice as likely as Democrats to oppose it.

For those wondering when Crist would take a stand that was not popular
with the public, this may be it.

What Crist calls "simple, human justice," McCollum calls "a grave
mistake." What Crist calls "fundamental fairness," McCollum calls
"very liberal."

There it is again. The L-word.

As a U.S. Senate candidate in 2000, McCollum called Democrat Bill
Nelson a liberal.

As a U.S. Senate candidate again in 2004, McCollum called Mel Martinez
a liberal trial lawyer Crist supported Martinez.

As the civil rights debate intensified Thursday, McCollum morphed into
his former self, the Congressman.

He wagged his finger at attorney Rob Wheeler, the clemency expert in
Crist's office. He shouted "Point of order!" after catching Crist on a
parliamentary mistake. He "yielded myself back my time," the way they
talk in Washington.

When McCollum accidentally referred to Crist as "Mister" (Mr.
Chairman, presumably), Crist shot him an icy glare and said: "It's ...
Governor."

There's more at work here than a clash of philosophies.

By taking a hard-line stand on this one issue, McCollum may have just
inherited the mantle of the anti-Crists, conservatives who think Crist
has moved too far to the left too fast.

Some will call McCollum courageous. Others will say he's pandering to
public fears.

Still others will say McCollum blundered by questioning the motives
and judgment of Crist, the titular head of the Republican Party who's
riding a 73-percent public approval rating.

McCollum tried to put a happy face on this deep and very public
division.

"We're still friends, and we're going to continue to be," McCollum
said. "I hope. I hope."

"Sure we are," Crist replied.