If ever there was a “poster boy” for being a self-serving politician, Charlie Crist is the guy. He is all for himself, he couldn’t care less for honesty, integrity, and loyalty. He reminds me of the little boy who gets called out in a sandlot game (do they still have sandlot games?) and gets piqued and takes his bat and ball, which they were using in the game, and goes home to momma thereby stopping the game for the others.
Most Republicans supported Crist when he ran and won the Florida governorship and supported him big-time up till the beginning of 2008, when his support started to wane due to some political backstabbing. Word got out that he was going to support Rudy Guiliani for President, but when he was mentioned as a vice-presidential candidate for a McCain ticket, he switched his support from Giuliani to McCain. It was determined then that Charlie Crist’s word was not to be trusted and the erosion of his G.O.P. support started to unravel slowly but surely. Over the past year and a half, the perception of Charlie Crist, is a politician who puts his finger up in the air to see which way the wind was blowing and then he follows the wind. Does the name Bill Clinton come to mind?
Take, for instance, Charlie was originally against drilling for gas and oil off the coast of Florida, but when he was mentioned as a potential Veep candidate, he suddenly switched and became a proponent of drilling. A miraculous conversion occurred, to say the least. Now, as he plans to run as an independent, he now has reservations again about whether drilling is a good thing to pursue. Maybe he has his eyes on the liberals and the Democrats he is planning to court during his “independent” campaign?
In addition, last year it was almost unanimous within the Republican Party to oppose the Obama “Stimulus Bill”. Being promised money for some of his pet projects, like a bullet train between Tampa and Orlando, he embraced Obama in Tampa and eagerly accepted the promise of getting funds from the “Stimulus Bill”. That hug and flowing praise by Crist for Obama did not sit well with the G.O.P. rank and file, but he still had substantial support within the G.O.P. But, some rumblings were starting to be heard from the troops on the ground in the Republican Party.
In the meantime, he made it known that he was interested in running for the Senate seat that was once held by Mel Martinez. He was considered to be the front-runner for the nomination. Out of nowhere, a young, good-looking, articulate conservative state legislator by the name of Marco Rubio made it be known that he was going to challenge Crist and run for the Senate seat. When Rubio made his announcement, Charlie Crist had over a 30 point lead and millions of dollars in his campaign chest. He was an odds-on favorite.
As Crist waffled or flip-flopped on issue after issue and Rubio’s energetic campaigning around the state, the once insurmountable lead of Charlie Crist evaporated. Over the past few months, Rubio came on like gangbusters and opened up a double digit lead over Charlie Crist. Panic set in the Crist camp and rumors of an independent run was put out as a possibility as the polls continued to tumble. On Fox News Sunday in April, five times Chris Wallace asked him if would run for the Senate as a Republican and five times he unequivocally said yes. Now, since Crist has lost most of the conservative base, he looked to do something to appeal to the liberals, so when the education reform bill, which he was in favor of as a Republican, came to his governor’s desk, he flip-flopped again and vetoed the bill, ingratiating himself with the liberal teacher’s union and hopefully gaining their support in November.
Some people wonder what principles Charlie Crist have. This political “narcissist” seems to be interested only in himself and his self-preservation as a politician, the Party and the public be damned.
So, goodbye Charlie, it was nice knowing you when you still had some integrity.
Conservative commentary by Chuck Lehmann
4 comments:
Crist said he left the door open to support & vote for a Democratic candidate. How could anyone support the DEMs after giving us Barry? Is Crist a Racist also???
Watching and listening to Charlie Crist as he does cartwheels to try to justify his running as an Independent, brought back memories of attorney Joseph Welch as he confronted Joe McCarthy at the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1953. What he said at that time would now apply to Charlie Crist. Here's what Joseph Welch said,"Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency"? Charlie Crist have you no sense of decency left? He will finish a distant third in the election and deservedly so.
Re: Charlie Crist -- I think the person who posted this comment not only shares my sentiments, but those of many Floridians -- "I'd rather see and/or vote for a "known bank robber" as Senator than Charlie Crist. "Is, Always Has Been, and Always Will Be" no More Than A "self-serving" politican. Jeb Bush has him pegged to a tee -- Let's hope he not only gets beat out of the Senate seat, but anything else dealing with Florida's welfare.
Crist is the poster boy for for what is wrong with our politicans. Crist will say and do anything to get elected. Sort of reminds me of Barry. The saying that power corrupts certainly applies to Crist.
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