Top GOP Officials Writing Off Crist
Top GOP officials in DC now believe it is a virtual certainty that FL Gov. Charlie Crist (R) will bolt the GOP and run instead as an independent, sources tell Hotline OnCall.
Over the weekend, Crist pulled TV advertisements that had been running in key markets, slamming ex-FL House Speaker Marco Rubio (R). Those ads, on which Crist spent close to $1.5M so far, were aimed at moving poll numbers that showed Crist losing badly.
In taking the ads down, top GOP officials have surmised both that Crist has made his decision to run as an independent, and that the attacks weren't having an impact on the race.
Privately, GOP officials have even tried to broach the idea that Crist drop out of the race. NRSC chair John Cornyn called Crist on Friday, intending to make it clear that Crist should drop out if he doesn't believe he can win a party primary. Crist did not answer the phone, a source close to Cornyn said, and as of today Cornyn's call hasn't been returned.
Party leaders spent the weekend sending more overt warnings. Cornyn told Politico last week Crist would be ending his GOP career by running as an independent, while Senate Min. Leader Mitch McConnell told CNN Crist would lose party backing if he leaves.
Instead of from party leaders, insiders believe Crist is getting advice from Sen. George LeMieux (R), the man Crist hopes to replace. LeMieux ran Crist's '06 GOV race and has served as his top aide in the past.
LeMieux has denied he knows anything about a potential party switch. During a conference call with reporters last week, LeMieux told Hotline OnCall he expected Crist to run as a GOPer, comments he echoed this morning.
Crist has yet to ask his staff whether they would stay on if he runs as an independent, but several top advisors have already told party sources they would sever ties. GOP ad expert Stuart Stevens, of The Stevens and Schriefer Group, would leave the campaign, and party officials say they believe most senior staff would exit too.
Crist's pollster, Glen Bolger, is also expected to leave, though he would not comment for this story. Bolger already lost one client this year -- Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) -- after a party switch.
As GOP leaders have replaced idle gossip that Crist may switch parties with near certainty that a public announcement is imminent, the party has sought to illustrate the severity of the consequences.
The once-popular FL gov. is walking a tightrope as he considers whether to run on his own, whether to drop out or whether to plod along in his bid against Rubio. If he runs as an independent, angry donors could ask for their money back, and Crist might not be able to find the financial resources to replace it.
And with no party apparatus to rely on, Crist's organizational options would be seriously limited. A successful FL campaign relies on an early voting strategy, and without the FL GOP executing that strategy on his behalf, Crist would face a serious organizational deficit.
Charlie, it is over. If you run as an independent, you won't be respected. If you run and split the vote and a Democrat is elected you will be despised.
The party is moving back to the core constitutional principles upon which this country was founded. Protection FROM government. Protecting the individual by restraining government. The majority of Americans do not want European style healthcare, welfare and levels of taxation and debt.
Adios Charlie. Exit the stage gracefully with honor or be tossed off....your choice.
Had Crist governed as a conservative, instead some sort of hybrid progressive, then he would not be in the political trouble that he finds himself in now. Huge miscalculation(s) on his part demonstrating an incompetence not needed in the next Senator from Florida.
Just a couple of weeks ago, on Fox News Sunday, Crist said he would not run as an Independent. A few weeks before that, he tried to convince us that he had never supported the stimulus bill, when there is extensive video of him on MSNBC and elsewhere to the contrary. He's a liar, and he needs to go away, and soon!
Kendrick Meek is BY FAR the best candidate in the race, for the people of FL and for the U.S.A. in general.
We need more people like him in Congress, a hard-working public servant with the focus on a sustainable Middle Class.
If he runs as an independent, he'll take a lot of the democrat votes. This situation reminds me of Lieberman's independent bid for senate, where he took half the dem vote, and almost all of the rep vote.
Keith, there are several pretty large differences between those two scenarios. The biggest being that Crist would lose a ton of financial support of Republicans if he ran as an Indie. Lieberman had cash from all over the political map as a Senator with ~30 years of experience in the Senate (and considerable political influence). Crist is a one-term mediocre governor with little to no influence in Congress.
Also, Meek is currently representing Florida in the House of Representatives with years of experience fighting for the Middle Class and a solid (and growing) fundraising base. Lamont was as-yet unproven in 2006, with no base of his own and little name recognition other than press he generated through progressive activists online.
I am for Charles Crist. I'm really fed up with GOP Party, their devil Tea Party and Sarah Palin. They haven't gasped about the close collapse economy yet. I predict that Gov. Crist will run as an Independent. I'm a very strong Moderate Independent. Right wing convensatives are too far. I don't trust them. The incumbents (both parties) should be voted out. We need a new face and fresh candidates who understand and care like President Obama. Florida needs an open-mind and independent US Senator...FL DO NOT NEED a NARROW MIND US Senator period!!! Sarah Palin, John Boehoner, and Mitch Mc Connell are a very narrow people as I ever have heard!!! They are very clueless. What the hell happened to Senator McCain??? GOP Party is too far. I predict that the party will be doomed....I can't wait to cast my vote against the GOP incumbents in November...
Ryan J. Burgess, you may want to live under a Godless authoritarian like Obama who dangles the illusion of unlimited freebies before you. But decent, hard-working, tax-paying, God fearing Americans do not.
John Schofield, you are welcome to your own opinions, but not your own facts.
John Schofield, you may want to pretend that racism and xenophobia is an aspirational government structure, but decent, hard-working, tax-paying, Patriotic Americans do not.
Return to your closet and continue to ponder your toes... your close-minded views are unwelcome in our American community.
"If he runs as an independent, he'll take a lot of the democrat votes."
Keith: Is this wishful thinking? Lieberman took Democratic votes b/c he was a Democrat. Crist, a Republican, will accordingly siphon off Republican votes. He will get some Democratic votes, sure but "a lot" -- I don't think so.
I will donate to Crist if he runs as an independent. I will never vote for a Cuban immigrant whose parent violated our laws to bring him here.
Vote the white race!
Crist wants to be loved and is a political animal with no core center of philosophy. He is the typical RINO and yet is not really a Dem either but he might just run as an Indep. With his flip flops and the vetoing of the education bill will not get him elected. If Charlie is smart, he will gracefully drop out, endorse Rubio, and take on Nelson or run as guv again.
I'm so tired of the pure republican party, the tea party and the idiots who think the nation just hit the toilet in January 2009.
Crist has his issues but Rubio is no saint, I want to see him make our state budget work without stim $, won't happen. Bush was the worst FL governer in my 30 years living in this state, our education system sucks and Rubio will continue his reign of destruction.
I'll vote Crist, or Meek if need be, but no way in hell will I vote for Rubio.
"I will never vote for a Cuban immigrant whose parent violated our laws to bring him here."
WTF are you talking about?
Cuban immigrants DO NOT violate immigrations laws ... they are granted political asylum.
To deport a Cuban would be to sentance them to certain death.
Spanish surname by the grace of marriage to a Cuban immigrant.
Taylor Swift is probably the best young artist in country music. Her music is so amazing and dynamic. She's's easily my favourite musician.
I think Surge Protection makes an excellent point, and should be applauded for doing so.
meek is definitely NOT the best man for the job, ethan! he is just another democrat that want to hand over all people's "property" to the government! this not only means property, but also all their money as well (of which is their property!). he is a "tax 'em all" democrat. the only one that cares about the country in this race is Marco Rubio! he DOES care about his constituents and the country!
so vote Marco Rubio! he does care!
GO MARCO GO!
'Devil Tea Party?'
Great open mind you have. I am reminded of Hillary when she said, "I am sick and tired of people saying that if you debate or disagree with this administration you are somehow unpatriotic. Well I think you can debate and disagree with this or any administration..."
Ahhh those were the good ol' days. Disagreeing used to be patriotic. Now they are 'devils'(Ryan), Nazi's, brown shirts, unpatriotic, seditious...
Do people on the left have any memory at all?
I will pause now while they completely ignore my arguments and scream, "Oh yea, well, the right does it too!" (yea, that makes it okay...especially since they are 'devils').
Crist on a crutch - Florida has their own personal version of Arlen Specter. Don't trust a politician who spins like a weather vane when you live in a hurricane zone.
Gone_Rogue; you know what your name means, right?
I like Crist, and I believe he's been a good governor. However, his campaign against Rubio has been petty, and if he runs as an Independent, it shows that he's in if for himself, and not for the values that made him be a Republican to begin with.
I'm one of maybe a dozen Republicans in the state of Florida who joined the party because it stood for fiscal conservatism & less government intrusion in peoples' lives. Unfortunately, the Fla Republican party has been co-opted just as the national party has - by extreme right-wing fanatics who only want to FORCE their morals & beliefs on EVERYONE !!! They believe in Big Brother (as long as Big Brother is enforcing THEIR "values"). If you're not a white, Christian, gun-loving male (females accepted as long as they keep in their place), then you are the enemy!!!
Charlie Crist has been walking a tightrope between trying to please these extreme right radicals & doing what's right for the citizens of the state. Note his veto of the horrendous education bill that was sent to him last week. Look at his environmental initiatives to preserve the Everglades. It's too bad that he's being rail-roaded for governing with the entire state's interests in mind rather than being a radical puppet that the Republicans wanted him to be.
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lets write them until the admit it, or stop doing it! i am writing them now!
:)
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