Crush Liberalism

Reports say Crist will abandon GOP, run as independent

A couple of events have occurred over the last several days which have not portended well for our artificially tanned governor: (1) polls showing him trailing Marco Rubio by 18% in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate; and (2) Crist staffers jumping off of his campaign bandwagon.

As a result, stories like this come as no surprise:

Two highly placed and independent sources, speaking strictly on background, tell me that Gov. Charlie Crist is preparing to leave the Republican Party and run as an independent in the race for the U.S. Senate.

With Crist trailing Marco Rubio by 18 points in the latest polls, the Crist campaign has been in panic mode, launching attack after attack on the conservative Rubio. 

It’s not official, but as the blog author says, ask yourself this: “do you believe it is possible that Crist will leave the Republican Party to run as an independent? You do, don’t you?”

Crist has always been a squishy Republican.  From his endorsement of John McCain in 2008 (which angered conservative Floridians when it had its intended consequences, i.e. handing McCain a FL primary win), to his ill-advised property tax reform, to his embrace of Obama and the Porkulus bill (a position he still defends unabashedly today), Crist was not well-suited to the true base of the Florida Republican Party.  Sure, had he won the primary, we would have voted for him over Obamaton Kendrick Meek.  Fortunately, now we don’t have to.

Is this bad news for us, i.e. is this a Joe Libermann 2006 situation?  Don’t know.  After all, CT Republicans voted for Joe in 2006, knowing that their guy was going to get rolled anyway, so they voted for Joe as a way to stick it to the liberal whackadoodles in their state.  Different dynamics at work here.

Is it possible that Crist could split the vote for the good guys this November? Sure.   Crist could siphon some votes that otherwise would have gone to Rubio.  On the other hand, polls show that Rubio is crushing Meek by over 20% anyway, and I don’t know if an independent Crist could attract 20% of Florida voters, especially 20% of the FL GOP base.  Besides, many thought that disgruntled Hillary voters might deprive B.O. from the presidency in 2008, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.  I think it’s possible some folks may read too much into this.

Anywho, as of now, this is a rumor.  But admit it: it’s one you can see being true, isn’t it?

February 25, 2010 - Posted by crushliberalism | Charlie Crist, Florida, Marco Rubio