So the blogosphere is simmering with the rumor that Charlie Crist is going to run as an independent if and when he loses to Marco Rubio in the GOP primary. Unlike Joe Lieberman, the best Dem example of this kind of sore loserness, Crist is not running because of any overriding principle, but rather because of an unbridled lust for power, and the desire to save face.

Well, I’m feeling generous today so I’m going to suggest a great win win solution for Mr. Crist.

Gov. Crist:

Drop out. Now. Drop out of the Senate race, realize you’ve lost it and just run for re-election as governor. The deadline hasn’t past, all indications are that you would win, so just do it. Don’t ruin the party that got you where you are by creating an unwinnable 3 way race which will only serve to elect Kendrick Meeks. You probably won’t win that one anyway. Just take for more years as governor, it’ll be easier to work on that tan in Tallahassee anyway. Marco beat you, now save some face and don’t look like a sore loser by throwing a wrench in the system. You are not going to be the junior senator from Florida no matter what, Just cut your losses now and file the papers for governor.

Sincerely,

The 2fek

In case you haven’t seen it yet, there’s a new Rasmussen poll out and the numbers are pretty striking. A near 20 point advantage for Rubio means he has this all but sewn up barring a major reversal or gaffe. Given that he delivered a nice performance at CPAC, he can expect grassroots and other cash to flow into his coffers so Crist cannot dump a deluge of ads and expect no response. So this brings up the inevitable question: What will Charlie do now?

I hate to agree with Kos, but months ago he said that Rubio would wipe Crist out and that the governor’s only option to win was to run as a Democrat since a three way split would not be enough to stop Rubio from winning. I didn’t see anyone else in the blogosphere, left or right, making this claim last fall, so grudgingly full credit to him. But no, I will not link to his diary showing that statement because I don’t want him to have any more traffic.

The numbers, quite frankly, bear this out to be true. The now famous Miami Herald poll demonstrated that Crist simply does not have enough appeal to win as an independent candidate. His only path to victory, then, is to flip to the Democrat side where Kendrick Meek would not put up much of a fight. Or would he?

Crist appeals to the center, I guess, but Florida is a closed primary state. Meek is a liberal from south Florida who would crush Crist in the black vote and probably pick up a substantial segment of the Hispanic vote as well along with the liberal activist vote. That leaves Crist with a tough road to hoe quite honestly. It’s tough to win any Democratic primary by appealing to the right flank, though if anyone can do it in Florida it’s Charlie Crist.

So what will Chameleon Charlie do now? Your guess is as good as mine. The guy is a political survivor and has a very quiet mean streak. But it has to be evident to him that he will not win the Republican senate primary in August. I don’t think he can politically survive a flip to the Democratic side as he would be seen as a total opportunist and he doesn’t have the coalition to run and win as an independent.

I think Crist will wait until the next non-Rasmussen poll comes out on this and then weigh his options. And the most likely scenario for him to survive for another day is for him to drop out of the senate race and jump back into the governor’s race where he’d handily beat Bill McCollum in the primary and spank Alex Sink. Just watch it happen by the end of March.

From the diaries . . .

How sad. Apparently, without the help of NRSC’s crack campaign team, Scott Brown may never have had a chance at victory today. It wasn’t the tea parties, or the grassroots anger at Washington, or Scott Brown’s courage to stand against Obamacare in the bluest of states… No, it was the GOP establishment in Washington that “quietly” engineered this win. You read that right, the same political geniuses that chose Specter over Toomey and Crist over Rubio, are saying Brown couldn’t have done it without them.

Let’s get serious. Here’s a reality check for the NRSC and their desperate attempt to take credit for the people’s uprising in Massachusetts.

Read More →

Soon to be ‘former‘ Gov Charlie Crist’s stacked PSC halts rejects $10 Billion in FPL projects and acts like its a good thing.   Chief among these crucial projects was the construction of two new units at the Turkey Point commercial Nuclear Power Plant, and calls it a “win” for the consumer.  I suppose building two Nuclear Power Plants that represent a Supertanker a day of oil we don’t have to import doesn’t help Floridians as much as all those Shovel Ready jobs from Obama’s Stimulus package:

Florida Power & Light has suspended work on an estimated $10 billion in projects — including the controversial expansion of Turkey Point nuclear plant – after state regulators rejected the utility’s proposed rate hike.

Gov. Charlie Crist said he doubts there will be layoffs and called the rate decision a “win for the consumer.”

Crist had opposed FPL’s rate hike and appointed two outsiders to the five-member commission last year after some critics said it was too “cozy” with utilities.

Since then, the commission rejected FPL’s proposal for a $1.5 billion natural gas pipeline, required the utility to beef up energy conservation goals and all but rejected the utilty’s base rate increase. When asked last year about investors’ concerns that Florida is moving away from a state that’s considered utility friendly, Crist shot back, “To one that’s people friendly?”

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-fpl-scalebacks-20100115,0,6703079.story

Lady: How may I help you?

Me: I was just on the NRSC website and was wondering why certain Republican candidates for Senate weren’t listed.

Lady: What?? I’m confused, what are you talking about? We have everyone listed there.

Me: Then why isn’t Marco Rubio listed as a GOP Candidate for florida on the website?

Lady: Oh, well in Florida’s case the NRSC has already endorsed Charlie Crist.

Me: Well, has the NRSC not endorsed someone in California then? Because I see 3 candidates listed there.

Lady: Well, the NRSC doesn’t endorse candidates until after the primaries.

Me: You just said the NRSC endorsed Crist over Rubio. The primary has not happened yet madam.

Lady: Well, the NRSC chose Crist because he is the most electable.

Me: Than why does Rubio in many polls defeat the Democrat candidate by a similar or larger margin than Crist? And why has Rubio been leading in straw polls done in Florida?

Lady: We are not aware of that sir.

Me: Hm, well thanks.

Lady: Is that all you needed?

Me: Yes mam, that’s what I wanted to hear.

Lady: Why were you curious as to that race specifically?

Me: I wanted to perhaps donate to the NRSC, but I will be sending contributions to Rubio’s campaign directly instead.

Lady: Oh. (hangs up on me without a goodbye or thank you for calling.)

Can someone explain what in the world the NRSC is thinking?!

I just got back from reading the Campaign Spot on National Review Online, and there is a link to a Miami Herald piece that leaves me scratching my head.  First Charlie Crist, it’s stated, is off his game and could still possibly win the nomination without the Cuban-American vote.  Along with all the other bad news that his campaign has had to endure (most of it self inflicted) makes this a real long shot for him to pull it off.  He has lost all momentum and there a lot of people who are in the office pool with bets on a January exit.

Then, why does the NRSC keep pushing the support on a losing candidate for a nomination, but will not support the nominee for the special election in MA? I think I have drawn blood from all the scratching.  The stated goal of the NRSC is to elect more Republicans to the Senate and they won’t give even a token amount to Brown.  This is a special election with a ton of motivation for Republicans to take this seat for multiple reasons, all of them good. But, all of the national organizations are sitting on their hands and waiting this one out.

Oh yeah, to donate http://www.brownforussenate.com/