ICYMI, last night’s debate between Republican Governor Rick Scott and (now) Democrat Charlie Crist got off to rocky start when Scott refused to take the stage because there was a small fan (prohibited by debate rules) at the bottom of Crist’s lectern.
Here’s Miami Herald reporter Marc Caputo’s live reaction to the controversy, quickly dubbed #Fangate on Twitter:
Gov, Rick Scott is refusing to show up at the press debate because Charlie Crist has a fan under his podium. This is not a joke it appears
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 15, 2014
Crist: "Are we really going to debate about a fan. Or are we going to debate about education…"
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 15, 2014
Everyone, turn on your TVs now. It now appears Rick Scott will appear on stage. Scott said debate rules prohibited Crist from having a fan
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 15, 2014
Bizarre.
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 15, 2014
Reaction from Twitter was swift, and the mocking of Scott and his refusal debate began immediately:
That didn't take long. @CharlieCrist campaign is raising money off #fangate
— Gary Fineout (@fineout) October 15, 2014
Well, now we know @FLGovScott would do almost anything to not answer questions #FLGovDebate #FanGate
— Juan Cuba (@juancuba) October 15, 2014
Congratulations, Governor-elect Crist. #fangate
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) October 15, 2014
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The Florida GOP did tweet out this hilarious link to a Buzzfeed piece that has photos of Charlie Crist and his fan at different events…
THIS. IS. WEIRD. http://t.co/5Uwt9XbU10 #CristHitsTheFan #sayfie
— Florida GOP (@FloridaGOP) October 16, 2014
…but the damage might have already been done to Scott when he decided to make an issue of the fan to begin with:
Privately, Republicans/Rick Scott loyalists are telling me the moment he didn't go onstage over fangate was the moment he lost the election
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 16, 2014
A top Republican supporter, disappointed in Rick Scott, reacts to fangate pic.twitter.com/7pbKCeNqur
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 16, 2014
Worse for the Scott campaign, #Fangate isn’t slowing down and is even trending nationally this morning as we write this post, with the Crist campaign now using #Fangate and its popularity to hammer away at Scott:
No need to fear any of those things! RT @ScottFreeFLA: #fearthefan #fangate pic.twitter.com/tqKrYOW0Ow
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) October 16, 2014
RT @NextGenFL: Rick Scott, not a fan of renewable energy… or fans #FLGovDebate #Fangate http://t.co/I7hJ3M1spe
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) October 16, 2014
RT @jamisonfoser: Rick Scott’s explanation for not coming out for the debate is literally this: ¯_(ツ)_/¯https://t.co/BZ4gYpC6yO
— Scott Free Florida (@ScottFreeFLA) October 16, 2014
#fangate – what a night! Now, let's get back to the issues that matter to Florida. 19 days. Say you're in – here: http://t.co/1CFlgKZJsQ
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) October 16, 2014
There have been some pretty funny responses from anti-Crist users, though. For example, that is Charlie Crist on the left. For real:
https://twitter.com/GoMeteoric/status/522577322952908800
And the Twitter account “Charlie Crist’s Fan,” that has been around for years, enjoyed getting so much attention last night:
Looking forward to all those front pages I'll be on tomorrow. Tanman, not so much. He doesn't like people knowing our secret life together.
— Charlie Crist's Fan (@CCristFan) October 16, 2014
Debate rules?? Fuckem. Tanman and I live by our own rules, bitches! http://t.co/o5ac2BrNRP #fangatge #FLGovDebate
— Charlie Crist's Fan (@CCristFan) October 16, 2014
The only spanish words I know are the ones Tanman taught me: pinga and cohones. Dont ask. @aibarra @JessStandsOut @Annette_Taddeo
— Charlie Crist's Fan (@CCristFan) October 16, 2014
..@ananavarro Why should a sweaty ass greek have to move to Alaska when he has me to keep him cool?
— Charlie Crist's Fan (@CCristFan) October 16, 2014
All these years keeping Tanman and thousands of Red Bull cans cool have finally paid off! #fame
— Charlie Crist's Fan (@CCristFan) October 16, 2014
The next debate will be on October 21 and moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper. Will #Fangate come up? Sounds likely:
Seriously, who among us ISN'T a fan of Florida politics? http://t.co/itxDkqtu9K
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 16, 2014
Until then, try to stay cool.
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