Obama is "doing what's right for the country" Says Charlie Crist

Now why doesn't this surprise me?  Via The Corner:

In a rare television interview, former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who left the Republican Party during his unsuccessful 2010 U.S. Senate bid, told Chuck Todd on “The Daily Rundown” that he’d consider voting for President Obama in November.

“Consider? Sure, I would consider that,” said Crist. “I really think he’s sincere and genuine. I think we have a lot time, a lot of issues to talk about, but I think, in his heart, he’s trying to do what’s right for the country overall.”

Remember, this blog was founded specifically because in 2009 the NRSC supported Gov. Charlie Crist in a Senate primary against rising conservative star Marco Rubio which enraged conservatives across the nation. 

Charlie Crist has just validated the very existence of this blog.  "...he's trying to do what's right for the country overall"?  Seriously?

Note to Mr. Crist:

Please explain why Solyndra was "right for the country"? 
Why was Fast 'n Furious "right for the country"?
Why was it "right for the country" to nearly triple entitlement spending?
 How is slashing defense spending "right for the country"?
How are those unintended consequences of the power-grabbing Obamacare legislation "right for the country"?
I don't think the folks around the Gulf of Mexico think the drilling moratorium was "right for the country".

Need I go on?

Charlie Crist is free to vote for whomever he chooses, of course, just as conservatives were free to reject Crist's poorly camouflaged liberal tripe. 

And to the NRSC, remember, "Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining."

Not one red cent!

Tonight's" WTF Moment" Comes From Politico

Via Politico, a real WTF moment:

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, helped elect Rubio, and like many Republicans, is putting a lot of pressure on him to live up to expectations.

Hunh?  Isn't Cornyn the guy who endorsed Crist right out of the gate?  What am I missing here?

(Cross posted at And So it Goes in Shreveport)

Finally, An Honest Campaign Ad From Charlie Crist

Via Ace.

Stick with it for the payoff at the end.



Sometimes, it's the simplest of jokes that are the best.

The Other McCain has the original if you are so inclined to see it.


Cross posted here and here.

Charlie Crist Knows Waffles

So Charlie Crist would have us believe that he "misspoke" when he said he'd have voted FOR Obamacare.  What he really meant, he says now, is that he would have voted against it because it's too big and it cuts Medicare Advantage.  That was probably AFTER his handlers reminded him that lots of voters in Florida rely on Medicare Advantage and might think poorly of his position.  Oops.

It's kind of like his "misspoke" when he said he was absolutely going to run as a Republican in this Senate campaign:

“To put these rumors to rest once and for all, as we have said countless times before, Governor Crist is running for the United States Senate as a Republican. He will not run as an Independent or as a No Party Affiliation.

It's kind of like he "misspoke" when he spoke in support of the stimulus but backed off of that and said he never supported it.

"I know it will help my state and that's why I support it!"

While in November 2009 he says "I didn't endorse it!"

Actually, during the debate between Crist and Rubio in March of this year, Crist said he'd vote to repeal Obamacare but he's also said he would not scrap Obamacare.  Which is it?

Which is it, Charlie?  Make up your mind.

Cross posted at And So it Goes in Shreveport

Quarterly Campaign Report Is In For Marco Rubio

In the year ending 2009 quarterly report, Rubio raised $1.75 million.

The first quarter of this year, Rubio was up to $3.6 million.

This last quarter alone, Rubio has raised $4.5 million. Even former Crist donor, U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, has chipped into Rubio's campaign chest.

Crist, on the other hand, has gone from $2 million to $1.1 million to not disclosing what he's brought in so far.

Update: Crist finally chimed in with $1.8 million.

How About "Liar"?

This one's a knee slapper!



I've got a word or two....

As Jim Geraghty points out, this is the guy who swore on national television, multiple times, he was going to run as a Republican.  No ambivalence about it whatsoever.

And now this is the guy running as an independent and who got sued this week for refusing to return campaign donations from Republican donors who believed him.

I've got a word...how about LIAR?

(Cross posted at And So it Goes in Shreveport )

Charlie Crist Being Sued?

Via Legal Insurrection who has more including the PDF of the complaint.

If Charlie Crist would have dropped out, he would have saved himself this trouble.

A pair of Republicans who contributed to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's (I) campaign for Senate have filed a lawsuit demanding that those donations be returned.

The class action suit seeks refunds for all of Crist's GOP donors, arguing that not refunding Republican donors now that the governor has left the party and is running against a Republican, actually violates state law.

The man leading the legal fight is Florida state Rep. Tom Grady, a former regional chairman of Crist's Senate campaign.

From what I've read, a donation to the candidate is a donation to that candidate. Regardless of party affiliation. It's a waiting game on how it will be played out in court.

Quarterly reports will be out at the end of this month. So we'll see how badly he needs to hold onto what funds he has in his account.

Crist Claims Ignorance

And so it begins.  The fallout of the Jim Greer arrest is about to rain down all over Charlie Crist.

Via The St. Petersburg Times:

Gov. Charlie Crist personally signed off on his former Republican Party chairman's confidential fundraising role with the state party, according to Jim Greer's attorney, whose allegation contradicts the governor's statement that he "didn't know anything" about the deal now part of a criminal investigation.

State investigators say Greer and the party's former executive director, Delmar W. Johnson III, secretly set up a shell company called Victory Strategies to divert party money and enrich themselves. Greer was charged Wednesday with fraud and money laundering.

Crist says the entire Greer incident is "surprising" and "unfortunate"  He says he didn't even know about the shell corporation Greer was using to funnel cash into his own pocket "until after Greer resigned in January."  Crist's explanation for not knowing the specifics?  He's too busy running the state.  He can't be bothered with the little stuff.

When did ignorance become an excuse?

Actually, ever the opportunist, Crist attempts to take credit for Greer's current legal troubles by explaining "I'm the one actually who empanelled the state-wide grand jury that came down with this decision."

Greer's attorney contradicts Crist's ignorance excuse, explaining that Crist signed off on the diversion of GOP funds:

Chase said Greer and Crist discussed the fundraising deal at least three times last year: at the golf tournament in February, over the summer; and in the fall at the Fisher Island home of the governor's wife.

"The governor knew about Victory Strategies from the very beginning," Chase said. "They all worked on it together. … They saw it as a way to save money."

Jennifer Rubin points out that Crist is certain to find out that he's the wrong candidate at the wrong time:

In an election year in which inside deals are under scrutiny (with the Sestak and Romanoff scandals swirling) and establishment candidates face a hostile electorate, Crist may find there is little patience for this sort of thing. And it’s a good reminder that the GOP inside the beltway political gurus (who backed Crist) often get it very, very wrong.

Some of us suggested a long time ago that Crist was the wrong guy.  It was the NRSC who thought he was the right guy.  They were wrong.

And so it begins.

(H/T:  Memeorandum)


(Cross posted at And So it Goes in Shreveport)

Crist Uses Oil Spill for Campaign Cash

Reaching lower levels of decency than one could fathom, Charlie Crist is now using the BP oil spill to raise campaign cash.

Via Ben Smith at Politico comes this fundraising plea from Crist:

As you know we are facing tremendous challenges in view of the BP oil spill which is now threatening our shores unlike anything we have ever experienced before.  This spill is now being reported as the largest environmental disaster in our nation’s history.  As we begin our summer it's important that we all come together to face this challenge. 

He goes on to tell you how to donate to his campaign, which I won't link here. 

It's bad enough that Crist refused to return Republican donations after he turned "Independent," now he wants to capitalize off this.

Ah well.  It looks like he's received the kiss of campaign-death anyway.  He's likely going to get Obama's endorsement.

Horrors.

Former Florida GOP Chair Jim Greer is Arrested; Crist is "Disappointed."

Charlie Crist buddy and "top-tier" fundraiser Jim Greer has been arrested at his home in Florida this morning.  Greer was arrested around 9:15 a.m.; his buddy Charlie Crist was informed of the impending arrest around 9:00 a.m.

Greer was hand picked by Crist to head the Florida GOP and Crist steadfastly stood by his man when pressure mounted on Greer to resign earlier this year.  Today, Crist says he's disappointed.

Greer is charged with six felony counts stemming from his corporation Victory Strategies.  Prosecutor William Shepherd explained that Greer set up this shell corporation on which he could write checks to himself from the donations using the money "for his own personal lifestyle."

One one such occasion Greer is suspected of writing himself a check for $39,000 from Victory Strategies for his own personal use.  There are multiple instances of such behavior and Greer is now charged with fraud, money laundering and four counts of grand theft.

During the press conference today, Shepherd was asked about potential prison time:

When asked about potential prison time, it was explained that each of the six charges is a felony count.  Three are third degree felonies which carry a potential five years each in prison.  The two first degree felony counts carry a maximum of thirty years each.

Greer is charged in Orange County, Florida and will be tried there.  His bond is $105,000.  There are no further arrests expected at this time.


My report of the press conference is here.


Memeorandum thread is here.


Stacy McCain's post is here.  His Am. Spec. post is here.

Four Reasons Why Crist Will Lose

It's always dangerous to get close to a backstabber. The news that Charlie Crist won't refund contributions he received from Republican donors inspired me to explain why Crist's independent campaign is doomed:

• Crist will get no more Republican money. Fundraising is crucial to politics, and there are no direct-mail lists of "raging moderates" who will donate to an independent Crist campaign. It was estimated in late April that Crist quit the GOP race with $6 million cash-on-hand. Based on his previous "burn rate," he's unlikely to have half that amount remaining by Labor Day. Florida is a large state where running TV ads statewide (from Miami to Orlando to Jacksonville to Pensacola) is very expensive. Crist will get buried under an avalanche of TV ads in September and October.
• Crist has no campaign "ground game" infrastructure. Who will be county chairmen and precinct captains for Crist? Where will he find volunteers to staff local offices, working the phones and handing out yard signs? Crist must build a campaign apparatus from scratch, while Rubio will have the well-established election machinery of the Republican Party working for him. As Rubio's senior advisors said in a memo last month, "Florida’s county GOP offices are some of the most organized and sophisticated in the country . . . Crist will be starting from scratch to recruit, organize and mobilize volunteers for his campaign, whereas both Marco and [Democratic candidate Kendrick] Meek will have built-in volunteer networks to draw from."
• Nobody trusts a traitor. And nobody respects a quitter, as Arlen Specter is belatedly learning. Like Specter's switch to the Democrats, Crist's decision to go independent was pure selfishness. Crist had expected his handpicked state GOP chairman Jim Greer to deliver the Senate nomination on a silver platter, and when that didn't happen, Crist decided to take his ball and go home. Think of how that lends itself to a devastating 30-second TV ad.
• Rubio will win the debates. For nearly a year, Crist avoided debating Rubio. Once they finally met in a debate -- March 28 on "Fox News Sunday" -- it was obvious why, and Crist quit the GOP primary less than a month later. At some point this fall, Crist will have to share a debate stage with Rubio and the Democrat, Meek. Charlie will lose that debate, too, for the simple reason that there is no persuasive political rationale for Crist's candidacy. If Florida voters want an Obama-hugging, stimulus-endorsing, liberal stooge for Harry Reid, they'll support Kendrick Meek.

And any Republican operative who hires on with the Crist campaign is committing career suicide. Working for a RINO is bad enough, but working for an ex-RINO loser . . . well, that's what pilots call an "unrecoverable error."

MARCO RUBIO FOR U.S. SENATE

Charlie Crist Campaigns To Obscurity

Charlie Crist is officially an independent. There's only one thing left to say to him.

Cornyn's Baby Betrays Florida... with OUR money!

Charlie Crist, trailing Mark Rubio  in the Florida GOP polls, is expected to announce his decision to run as an independent for the US Senate... with the money provided for him by GOP donors through the RNC and NRSC.

Michael Steele and John Cornyn once again have chosen to continue their vendetta against their own party membership rather than the Democratic Party majority in DC.  Between them, these two idiots could not score a hooker in Tijuana or crack in a Compton City Council meeting, let alone hand pick GOP candidates for us.

Charlie Crist To Run As An Independent

Via Drudge.

John Cornyn wept.

Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist has decided he will run as an independent in the race to fill the Florida U.S. Senate seat, Crist allies tell Fox News. The official announcement is scheduled for Thursday at 5pm ET in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Senate campaign has been rough and tumble for Crist, he was once the front-runner -- but in recent months began trailing his GOP opponent, Florida State Speaker Marco Rubio.

Crist has said that under no circumstance would he drop out of the race, saying he will do what is best for the voters of Florida. The governor says Republicans in Washington want him to stay in the Republican party but voters in Florida have told him they want him to run as an independent.

Not shocking at all to anyone who has been following the campaign.

Crist Campaign Cracks Up in Florida

What in the world is going on with Charlie Crist?  I've all but blown him off as irrelevant in the past few weeks as Rubio has surged past him in the polls, but now with Crist's "dithering" and odd behavior regarding his status in the race, one can't help but notice.  Maybe that's his intent.

Larry Thornberry at American Spectator has been keeping an eye on Crist while I've had my head turned and posts a great piece this morning:

Well, there are promises and there are Charlie Crist promises. After two years of most un-Republican-like behavior, Crist appears to be on a path to making the obvious official by leaving the Republican Party. Finding himself behind Rubio by between 11 and 32 points, depending on which recent poll he consulted, for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat Mel Martinez resigned from last summer, Crist is left with the options of admitting defeat and withdrawing from the race or running as an independent. He has until the April 30 filing deadline to decide.

That's the big question right now:  will Crist run as an independent, a Republican, or drop out altogether.  It's interesting that nobody seems to really trust what Crist says.  Even though he has said countless times that he'll run as a Republican, who really believes that?  

The Wall Street Journal reports that Crist is already laying the groundwork for an independent run:

Several advisers to Mr. Crist say the governor believes that an independent candidacy is his only chance to win the Senate seat. He is moving closer to deciding to take that course, they say, but still has qualms about leaving the GOP.

Crist's campaign against Rubio has been primarily one of character assassination because even Crist knows he can't beat Rubio on the issues.  Met with disdain from Republicans, Crist has now pulled his attack ads against Rubio in some Florida markets.

The entire boondoggle gets even more complicated today as we get word that the Feds are now investigating Rubio and two of Crist's advisers regarding the use of party credit cards.  


Ed Morrissey at Hot Air points out that Rubio has the most to lose in this investigation:

Obviously, Rubio has the most to lose. Not only is he the front runner in this race, but he’s the one candidate whose name has been attached to the scandal. Running on a Tea Party platform of government reform and accountability, Rubio also has the most to lose in terms of public perception.

I would contend that is stating the obvious.  Rubio has already addressed this issue publicly and paid back the funds in question.

And, really, what does Crist have to lose at this point?

Cross posted at And So it Goes in Shreveport

It is Too Late for Charlie to Come Back Now

Compare this:

BACKGROUND: RUBIO’S STRAW POLL RECORD (23-0)

-Pasco County REC: 73-9 (June 2009)

-Lee County REC: 60-11 (July 2009)

-Highlands County REC: 75-1 (July 2009)

-Bay County REC: 23-2 (August 2009)

-Jefferson County REC: 87 Percent (August 2009)

-Florida Federation of College Republicans: 19-6 (August 2009)

-Republican Women’s Club of Duval Federated: 65-4 (September 2009)

-Gilchrist County REC: 11-1 (September 2009)

-Hernando County REC: 46-0 (September 2009)

-Northwest Orange Republican Women Federation: 49-3 (September 2009)

-Marion County REC: 40-8 (September 2009)

-Palm Beach County REC: 90-17 (October 2009)

-Okaloosa County REC: 86-4 (November 2009)

-Republican Club of South Sarasota County: 70-17 Percent (November 2009)

-Orange County Republican Party Hob Nob: 211-27 (November 2009)

-Pinellas County REC: 106-54 (January 2010)

-Okeechobee County REC: 10-0 (January 2010)

-Florida Federation of College Republicans: 71 percent (January 2010)

-Republican Business Council of North Central Florida: 141-12 (January 2010)

-Capital Conservatives: 40-0 (February 2010)

-Capital City Republican Club: 71-15 (February 2010)

-Brevard County GOP: 321-45 (February 2010)

-Orlando Tea Party: 277-17 (February 2010)

With this:

Charlie Crist gets to set the course for the GOP after all. (Whether it’s where Republicans want to be led -- that’s another question.)

Since we know that he’s listening and all -- what he’s hearing back is some mixed sounds, of varying volumes.

A party switch for Gov. Crist, R-Fla., may be his only remaining path to becoming a United States senator.

But it’s a path fraught with peril for the Republican Party -- and the possibility of Democrat Kendrick Meek winning in a three-way race would only be the GOP’s most immediate concern.

The storyline of Republican disarray was just about put to bed, or at least was on track to come to an end with this year’s primary season. Under the preferred (conservative) Republican scenario, Marcio Rubio defeats Charlie Crist, the Tea Party gets to drink deeply in victory, and there’s no Dede Scozzafava to worry about.

But if Crist runs as an independent, he writes a new chapter in a divisive story for the GOP, one that we’ll still be reading in November.

Looking at the results from the straw polls we see a Florida Republican Party that is united, statewide, behind Marco Rubio. In the excerpt above from Rick Klein’s article in The Note you would think that Rubio is the “Tea Party” candidate and that Crist is the “mainstream” guy. Not exactly the reality of the situation. And while it may be true that the national Republican Party has been in disarray, our state GOP is quite cohesive, particularly since we’ve been rid of Crist crony, former state chairman Jim Greer. Further, Klein’s article assumes two scenarios in the event of a three way race:

First, Rubio captures the far Right, Meek captures the far Left and Crist wins that wide swath in the middle.

OR

Second, Rubio captures the far Right and Meek and Crist split everything else with Crist taking just enough to become Florida's next senator.

More likely, if Crist launches an Independent bid, Crist and Meek will split the Left while Rubio will take the Center and Right and Rubio will be our Senator. As it stands now, Crist can't even take Pinellas County.

2008 not withstanding, Florida is a Center Right to Right state. Neither Meek nor Crist stand a chance of winning in November. Crist's best hope is 2012, but only if he uses the next two years to reinvent himself, ala John McCain, as a Conservative. If Crist really is a pragmatist, now would be a good time for him to show it.

Cross posted at Carol's Closet

This Friday News Dump Was Embarrassing

Especially in light of Rubio's releasing his numbers earlier this week.

Charlie Crist has finally released his figures from the last quarter.

Charlie Crist, once known as a world champion money-raiser, announced Friday that he had raised $1.1 million for his U.S. Senate campaign this year -- less than one-third of what Republican front-runner Marco Rubio raised in that period.
[. . .]
Crist campaign manager Eric Eikenberg spun the weak total as due to Crist being busy governing. . .

That's about half of what he raised in the last quarter of 2009. Which was less than the quarter before that. I think the word is 'Nomentum'.

Cross posted here At The Point Of A Gun.

Sorry Charlie Crist Circles the Drain

If it wasn't stick-a-fork-in-him time Monday, when Rudy Giuliani endorsed Marco Rubio, maybe the latest fundraising numbers will convince Sorry Charlie to pull the plug:

Marco Rubio's remarkable fundraising haul — $3.6 million this quarter, he just announced — is a reminder of the scale of his stardom inside the Republican Party, all of whose core constituencies seem to like the guy.

That's the Politico's Ben Smith, who finds spontaneous 2012 Rubio-for-President talk coming from Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention. That's getting way ahead of the game, but it does indicate the kind of insuperable energy that has been unleashed against Crist.

What's impressive about Rubio's fundraising report is that his average donation was less than $100 and fewer than 1% of his donors are "maxed out." He's had more than 50,000 contributors to date. That means all he has to do is contact his list of donors and say, "How about another $20?" and -- bam! -- he's got another million dollars, right there. Small donors make a big difference, and it's highly unlikely that Crist can match that kind of grassroots enthusiasm.

Check out this new campaign ad by Rubio:

This Is Interesting

Considering that the NRSC endorsed Charlie Crist with nary a thought about the primary.

Senator Tom Coburn has endorsed Marco Rubio.

“I have closely studied Florida’s Senate candidates and have no doubt that Marco Rubio is the only fiscal conservative in this race," the Oklahoma Republican said in a statement. “Rubio would be a faithful guardian of taxpayer dollars in Washington and a valued ally in the Senate. At a time when Washington is piling on crippling debt on our economy, the American people need Marco Rubio in Washington to stand up to this reckless behavior and offer clear conservative solutions."

Crist needs to withdrawal quietly. Especially if he wants John McCain to campaign for him. The last thing the media needs is an R on R battle with lines being drawn in the sand all the way up to the US Senate. It's for the greater good, Charlie Crist. Quit now.

RELATED/ADDED:

Crist received the Don Shula endorsement. As well as the stamp of approval from this guy:

[Col. Bud] Day confirmed he was speaking of Obama and Rubio.

“You’ve got the black one with the reading thing. He can go as fast as the speed of light and has no idea what he’s saying,” Day said. “I put Rubio in that same category, except I don’t know if he’s using one of those readers.” [emphasis mine]

Charlie Crist Flips Flops On ObamaCare

The Winds of Change are in the air and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist just wet his finger and stuck it in the air to find out what position he needed to take today.

Back in February, Gov. Charlie Crist expressed what could only be support for ObamaCare, saying that “There may be parts of it that you don’t have to scrap."

Now the 'moderate' Republican has changed his mind. In his debate with Marco Rubio last Sunday, repeal suddenly sounded like a good idea to him. “What we need to do is go ahead and repeal this thing,” said Crist bluntly. “Let’s start over.” Transcript here.

Not sure if he meant that as "start over" with a meddling plan that Republicans designed or not.

Suffice it to say, Rubio has been against ObamaCare from the start.

Cross posted here At The Point Of A Gun.