CHARLIE CRIST MULLING INDEPENDENT BID

It goes without saying, the November 2010 elections are critical. One of the races that has been exciting to watch is the battle between my hero, Marco Rubio, and the sleezy Charlie Crist. Crist had such a lead in the beginning, some 30 points, and he wallowed in it with his cocky I-can't-be-beat attitude. Now that the wheels have fallen off, we can see his true colors.

Since Crist is one who changes his mind like a chameleon, he can't quite make up his mind which sinking ship to jump to next. 'What to do, what to do. Oh!! Let's do a focus group, 'cause I don't have the spine to stand by my own convictions. I'll do an Arlen Specter. It's been so successful for him.'

And the NRSC hasn't been any help either, since they chose Crist in the first place. They messed up with Crist, just as they did with Dede Scozzafava, who ran to the Democrats with her tail between her legs. Will Crist follow? Probably not, because I see him as a middle of the roader - non-committal. Independent should be a nice safe place for him.

The best tea partiers can do from now until November is get behind your constitutional conservative choice, as many as you can, campaign to get them noticed, and encourage Americans to get out and vote.

Erick Erickson has a little piece on Crist in Red State:


Charlie Crist Mulling Independent Bid
by Erick Erickson, April 19, 2010

Well, Charlie Crist is now himself saying he may run as an independent.

Don’t expect Rob Jesmer to lose his job. Jesmer, the man who woo’ed Crist into the Senate race thereby throwing the Florida Governor’s race into turmoil and the Senate race into turmoil will no doubt get a pay raise as chief strategist at the NRSC.

So what to do with Crist? The more relevant question is what to do with those who support Crist.

First, every Republican Senator who backed Crist must immediately demand their money back. That’s a no brainer.

Second, we need to see which Republican operatives stay with Crist and make sure they have a hard time finding work after leaving Crist.

Third, I hope the Club for Growth will, like they did with Arlen Specter, get every Crist donor to demand their money back.

Lastly, and most importantly, let’s anticipate the media narrative over the next week. It will go something like this:

Icky, close-minded conservatives drove Charlie Crist out of the GOP in their never ending quest for purity. That is the common and oft repeated mantra in the press.

But the data shows otherwise. When Scozzafava couldn’t win, she fled to the Democrats. When Charlie Crist couldn’t win, he too fled toward the left. Arlen Specter couldn’t win. He fled to the left.

When liberals lose, they take their footballs, go home, and get the media to run stories on how mean those conservatives are.

The best way for conservatives to shut them up? Beat them at the ballot box.

And in Florida, we will.