The 60-day legislative session began today in Tallahassee. This is the time of the year when Florida’s citizens are most under threat from over reaching hand of ideologues in state government whose mantra of “less government and lower taxes,” usually means the opposite.

As the session approached former Governor Charlie Crist, the Democratic front-runner in this year’s Gubernatorial election began to find his voice. Last week he sent out a solicitation for money which strongly attacked the Republican incumbent Rick Scott and the GOP legislature for its continued policies on cronyism.

Over the past sixteen years Florida Republicans have created a class of entitled politicians many of whom lack intellectual curiosity or any governing wisdom. They are not conservatives as much as they are political whores for power and certain big business (hence their lack of true fiscal conservatism on a number of economic matters) . They have lived for years on easy street being opposed by an impotent Florida Democratic Party that lacked organization or the courage in its own convictions to take the fight to the Republicans on these issues.

Sometimes it takes one to know one. Charlie Crist, long a leader in the Republican Party of Florida understands how the GOP works. His recent attacks on Rick Scott’s cronyism right before session begins is probably a connection to a larger theme about Republican excess and arrogance throughout the corridors of state government.

Crist is heading in the right direction with his recent line of attack. If he continues down this path the choice will be clear for Floridians – Business as usual or a positive change.

I would be remiss if I did not point out Crist himself is a heavily flawed messenger on these issues. But perhaps it could be argued those mistakes were made as a Republican and acting as any leading Republican in Florida does. As a Democrat, he has an opportunity to be different and to play the entitlement card against the Republicans.

No doubt Crist takes a risk of opening his own skeletons in the closet with this line of attack. But he has the megaphone now, and the Democrats have long been complicit in this culture in that they have been scared to raise it in a very public fashion. Governor Crist appears poised to change that.