Crist dumps GOP
By Brian Kirwin | Friday, April 30th, 2010 | PoliticsWhat the hell is going on?
After pictures surfaced of a now-famous Obama hug, Florida Governor Charlie Crist drops 30 points in a primary contest and drops out to run as an independent?
Not without precedent. There’s a Senator named Lieberman who got whupped in a primary by lefty-loved Ned Lamont. Lieberman now serves as an (I) and is doing quite well, thank you.
Of course, this is after the famed New York Congressional race in the 23rd where the Republican dropped out to endorse the Democrat and helped defeat the Conservative Party candidate.
We are in the midst of a wave that quite conceivably could be the most tumultuous in my lifetime. Voters are pretty independently making decisions that those in the power apparatus seem quite incapable of controlling.
Is Obama so toxic that a hug decimates a political campaign? Are voters so opposed to both parties, that they’re more willing than ever to vote for an Independent and ditch Rs and Ds?
Crist was hardly unpopular. Was it “presumptive nominee” backlash? Some anti-pseudoincumbency?.
I’ve spent a great deal of time on the phone with some Florida political folks who are very confident that Crist in a General Election is unbeatable in Florida. We’ll see.
But I haven’t seen the ground this fluid and unstable …..ever.
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The right wants to jeer him. The left wants to censor him. Moderates usually want both. Brian Kirwin is a political consultant and public relations strategist in Virginia Beach with a lightning-rod flair. Brian also serves on the VB Arts & Humanities Commission and frequently appears on Hampton Roads theatrical stages, if only to prove that all actors aren’t liberals. Kirwin’s columns stir up debate and hit the political scene with no punches pulled.
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10 Responses to "Crist dumps GOP"
Yes, I have to agree that the situation is fluid, and that applies to partisanship as well as to effects of timing. Those who thing that appealing to the extremes of the political spectrum may end up being very disappointed in November; same with those who think the fiscal and economic situation will be the same as they were six months ago. Fact is, one need only look to Governor McDonnell as one very effective way to run; that is, he ran just like the President did; that is, a broad appeal to the moderates in the center of the political spectrum. Now, that may have just been right for that time, and it may have been a different story with a different nominee, but republicans in Florida have chosen a different tact. They, like our District, have moved to the right, to the extreme end of the spectrum. We instead appear to have chosen an evangelical in tune with the values of Pat Robertson to run against Nye who has arguably been a very effective first time Congressman with broad appreal to those on the moderate right of center scale of partisanship. Stay tuned.
When I think back to Crist entering the Senate race in Florida, it’s almost unbelievable to me that he fell so far so fast and is now running as an Independent. Who would have thought this would happen a year ago?
After pictures surfaced of a now-famous Obama hug, Florida Governor Charlie Crist drops 30 points in a primary contest and drops out to run as an independent?
Really, the hug did this?
Joel, I’ve talked to quite a few folks involved in Florida, and they’ve all said the same thing.
I think you two are confusing who left whom. MJB sends!
Crist left the GOP. He took his base for granted constantly thumbing his nose at them. We don’t live in Florida so we don’t know all of the nuances, but my friends in Tallahassee tell me that Crist has seemingly gone out of his way over the last 18 months to piss off the conservative base. When Crist was falling off the charts with the conservatives he could have tried to make amends with them or he could work to bring new people into the party to counteract the conservatives. He did neither. This is a democracy and people are free to support whomever they wish. They chose, in enormous numbers within the Republican Party of Florida, not to support their governor who they now view as hostile to their interests and values. The stimulus issue, with the hug, got the ball rolling and Crist never worked to get these voters back into his tent. That arrogant attitude that cost him the nomination.
You cannot view this as a right wing takeover of the Florida GOP either. Virtually all of the leadership within the Party has abandoned Crist over the past year – Jeb Bush, Connie Mack, all of the major players. Sometimes politicians make decisions to self-immolate. That’s what Crist has done as the putitive leader of his state’s Republican party.
Regarding Brian’s comment that he may not be beatable in a general – the guy has no grassroots operation because he has no party and now the Dems will come in with big bucks because they no longer need a majority to win. Also, a huge majority of Crist’s major fundraisers will stay with the party – although not all of them. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Ron, to clarify, it wasn’t my comment that Crist was unbeatable.
Brian: I thinkw we will, over the next five to ten years, see more independents elected. The nominating process is BOTH parties is dominate by the base, which is farther to the right than the country on the GOP side and too far left on the Dems side. People will be looking for an independent voice, neither right nor left, but real.
Remember that in 2008 that was part of Obama’s appeal. He promised, a promise he hasn’t been able to live up to, to break through partisan gridlock.
oops. my mistake.
[...] Florida Governor Crist? Losing in a primary so badly he drops out of the Republican Party (brilliantly covered here). [...]
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