Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) has confirmed that he is considering an independent campaign for Senate.Indeed, Republicans are lining up to take their parting shots at Crist, warning him that he's done if he decides to make this a three-way race and split the vote among conservatives. The latest: Mitt Romney giving Crist something of an ultimatum: stay in the primary and lose like a man, or drop out and endorse Rubio. Running as an independent is not one of Crist's options, according to the GOP.
"I can tell you I'm getting a lot of advice in that direction," Crist told ABC Action News in Tampa. "I'm a listener and so I'm certainly listening to it,"
"The law gives you until April 30 to make such a declaration," Crist added. "And I'm gonna take my time and be as thoughtful as I think I need to be, and it should be for the people before making that decision."
So that leaves Crist in an interesting position. All indications are he's going to bolt any time now given the fact he's down 25 points and nobody in the GOP is giving him the time of day. Everyone has come out for Rubio. I think here the Republicans have made a terrible mistake: they haven't given Crist any reason to stay in the GOP and take his lumps. In fact, the GOP has done everything it can to make Charlie Crist the poster boy for Republicans that need to be purged from the party altogether (ask Joe Lieberman what happens then.)
As I've said before, the guy most wanting Crist to do this is the Democrat in all this, Kendrick Meek. He stands to benefit greatly from such a close race. We'll see what happens, but my gut is telling me Crist will change his party stripes before the end of the month deadline.
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You know, I'd really love to see more functional political groups in the US, but the idea of the Teabaggers being the US's third party does not fill me with happy thoughts.
That said, Kitty's guess if this does turn into a mêlée à trois, while it favors Meek, it would generally favor the progressives.
If Meek wins, Democrat gets the seat, whee. Crist and Rubio blame each other, and the "moderates" and Teabaggers get another thing to fight over. This will generally make things worse for Republicans as the two sides are basically going to tear the party further apart.
If Rubio wins, this can be good and bad. The lesson the Republicans take from this is that Teabaggers can win over "moderate" Republicans and Democrats, and the Republican party goes further right. This will generally put off the middle, but it does put another mark on Teabagger ascension. Some of the less extreme Republicans may revolt.
If Crist wins, the lesson is that less extreme candidates can win over Teabaggers and Dems. This MAY push the Republicans to the left, but that really depends on how Crist acts. I would not consider Crist the Republican's Lieberman, but I imagine he'd be a little more supportive of pissing off his old party after they abandoned him. This could help the Dems.
Those are all rather uneducated (and very optimistic) guesses, but that's my thoughts on this. Either way, the best thing that could happen for us if for a hard three-way fight. If Crist bows out, then it's likely the Teabaggers will win this one, even if Meek somehow comes out on top.
Star is an idiot, in case people didn't know. He likes to spout off talking points that he's absolutely clueless about.
You know, I'm sure this is going to be epic, so correct me?
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