Crist to Run as an Independent (Updated)
[Guest post by DRJ]
Fox News reports Governor Charlie Crist will run as an independent in the Florida Senate race:
“Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist has decided he will run as an independent in the race to fill the Florida U.S. Senate seat, Crist allies tell Fox News. The official announcement is scheduled for Thursday at 5pm ET in St. Petersburg, Florida.
***
The governor has been open about his consideration of switching parties, but GOP officials were pushing him to drop out rather than split votes among the Republican party — and give Democratic nominee U.S. Kendrick Meek an advantage.On the main page of Crist’s campaign website, there are no visible signs of Republican affiliation. His bio still calls him a “common-sense conservative.”
Crist had until Friday at noon to pick his party.”
Crist has been sinking in the polls as more Republicans announced their support for his opponent, Marco Rubio.
— DRJ
UPDATE: Crist is trying to call the White House?
so now he’s a democrap in independent’s clothing instead of a RINO…. who cares, since you can’t polish a turd?
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 4/28/2010 @ 3:37 pmAnother entry into the Political Hall of Fame under Profiles in Courage, along with Jim Jeffords and Arlen Specter.
AD - RtR/OS! (ecaeda) — 4/28/2010 @ 3:57 pm…and Arlen Specter.
Charlie Crist – Florida’s Arlen Specter.
Blacque Jacques Shellacque (5ef35b) — 4/28/2010 @ 4:00 pmThis worked so well for Pat Buchanan …
Kevin Murphy (805c5b) — 4/28/2010 @ 4:21 pmCaution, there’s no word yet from the horse’s mouth. It’s only Crist’s allies doing the talking so far. The official decision comes at 5pm EST tomorrow. There’s still plenty of time for Crist to have second thoughts.
ropelight (a47510) — 4/28/2010 @ 4:23 pmIt seems a lot of people are waiting for Crist’s first thoughts.
AD - RtR/OS! (ecaeda) — 4/28/2010 @ 4:52 pmThat’s the trouble with supporting RINO’s. Sooner or later, they always stab you in the back.
Subotai (69bf04) — 4/28/2010 @ 5:21 pmAnyone who feels they erred in making a contribution to the fraud’s campaign ought to be demanding their money back.
GeneralMalaise (0a752b) — 4/28/2010 @ 6:00 pmDid any of you RINO hunters vote for Romney?
John Henry Eden (9284aa) — 4/28/2010 @ 7:30 pmCrist has proven himself to be a lying snake.
Beldar (872307) — 4/28/2010 @ 8:01 pmI’ve been hesitant with Rubio, since Rubio is a major Huckabee supporter and I can’t stand Mike Huckabee.
It’s been clear whose the fiscal conservative and whose the real leader in this race for quite some time, but I remember claiming Crist is not as bad as some made him out to be, and he must earned so much loyalty from the party because he’s a good man (I’m a Cornyn fan and took his word for it with Crist).
I was so totally wrong about this. Crist has simply gone back on his word, and surely realizes he has little chance of winning once the GOP turns on him. He’s a spoiler for the democrat. Watch him get a cushy job after he loses, somehow related to the Obama administration he showed so much deference to.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 4/28/2010 @ 8:04 pm“Did any of you RINO hunters vote for Romney?
Comment by John Henry Eden”
I would have, but Romney dropped out. Between Obama and Clinton, I would pick Clinton. Between Stalin and Lenin, I’d pick Lenin. Does that somehow make me unable to point out RINOs?
Romney is one of the party’s major leaders. So is Huck, and so is Mccain, and so is Steele. It’s downright impossible to be a Republican without somehow helping RINOs out. Hopefully, the non RINOs work together and center on one of the flawed prospects, be it inexperienced Ryan or scandalous Palin (or many others) and give the country a chance to have a real choice in 2012.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 4/28/2010 @ 8:08 pmI voted for Guiliani, for what it’s worth, in the Florida primary. What is so scandalous about Palin,
ian cormac (d56635) — 4/28/2010 @ 8:18 pmjust her integrity and conviction, most everybody
else bend like a week reed.
That 30% support for an independent Crist will steadily go down as his financial donations will crater and people will recognize him as an unprincipled political hack that has no platform other than getting elected.
MU789 (13091a) — 4/28/2010 @ 8:24 pmNothing I blame her for, but for some reason people like to make crap up about her and she’s had a lot of BS scandals thrown at her. Just a tongue in cheek comment.
Fact is, there are a lot of open primaries. There are a lot of conservatives who will have a loyal base of supporters. The moderates will be ‘pragmatic’ enough to support one guy, and that guy will attract a lot of votes from not republicans too. The conservative candidates need to work out some kind of endorsement early on, not before any contests occur perhaps, but early on, so that their supporters back someone great.
I really think we need some kind of amazing leader to handle the problems we face. Romney, for example, is not much of a leader at all in my opinion, so much as he’s an excellent politician.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 4/28/2010 @ 8:26 pmI updated the post.
DRJ (d15e92) — 4/28/2010 @ 8:53 pmDo I misremember, or did Crist pledge, in the debate with Rubio, that he wouldn’t run as an independent?
(No, I never took his pledge seriously. I’m just asking whether he’s breaking his word. It’ll be a nice thing to get to use against him, especially if he wants integrity to be an issue.)
Alan (07ccb5) — 4/28/2010 @ 9:08 pmThe update is perplexing.
Meeks isn’t going to drop out. The democrat primaries in Florida probably need to minimize that kind of stunt, given recent history.
I also think they would be wise enough to have any deals made in person with intermediaries, instead of over the phone.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 4/28/2010 @ 9:16 pmDustin:
I read this as Crist possibly paving the way to align with the Democrats if his candidacy sputters and/or he seems like too much of a spoiler. If so, this shows he’s like Dede Scozzafava — the side he’s talking to isn’t Republican.
DRJ (d15e92) — 4/28/2010 @ 9:36 pmI don’t know why I didn’t consider the Dede style, drop out and endorse the democrat possibility. That’s pretty darn possible.
And it’s a betrayal. He shouldn’t have been part of the GOP primary if he wasn’t willing to support the GOP in the general contest. I don’t think Crist has much to offer Obama. Pretty soon, Crist’s endorsement won’t sway anybody.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 4/28/2010 @ 9:44 pmAlan – He swore up down and sideways on Fox News Sunday within the last two weeks he would not run as an independent. (And no I did not believe him for a minute.)
Have Blue (854a6e) — 4/28/2010 @ 9:57 pm> Crist has been sinking in the polls as more Republicans announced their support for his opponent, Marco Rubio.
NAWWWW…. Crist has been sinking in the polls as more and more Florida citizens recognized him for the RINO he’s been all along…
I don’t think he’s going to split the vote in any way that matters. He’s going to be more embarrassed by his showing than Reubin Askew.
IgotBupkis (79d71d) — 4/28/2010 @ 10:02 pmThanks, IgotBupkis. I think my statement is true but it didn’t come out the way I intended it. (Heh!)
What I intended to say is that Crist has been sinking in the polls and, at the same time, more Republicans have announced their support for Rubio. I did not mean to imply that Rubio endorsements caused Crist’s fall in the polls. If anything, it was probably the other way around — the endorsements probably resulted from Crist’s decline in popularity.
DRJ (d15e92) — 4/28/2010 @ 10:12 pmAs for leadership, like this
ian cormac (d56635) — 4/29/2010 @ 6:22 amhttp://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/28/steele-crist-win-a-real-possibility-in-three-way-race/?fbid=tZ0bXKD5mE1Dustin, like this;