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BREAKING: Charlie Crist Serves His Own Interests, Not Florida’s In Picking George LeMieux

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  August 28th, 2009 at 11:03 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Good grief.

A state lawmaker says Gov. Charlie Crist is picking his former chief of staff George LeMieux to replace Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, who is resigning.

State Rep. Jennifer Carroll, who was considered for the position, said Crist told her he is choosing LeMieux.

By choosing LeMieux, Crist picked the candidate he trusts most to fill out the term that expires in January 2011. That’s when Crist hopes to be sworn in as Florida’s next elected senator. Crist will make the announcement later Friday.

LeMieux ran Crist’s 2006 campaign for governor. Crist then picked LeMieux as chief of staff. He left for a Tallahassee law firm in December 2007.

So LeMieux will keep the seat warm for Charlie. Once his errand boy, always his errand boy.

Remember, Crist said, “I want to be well-represented in the U.S. Senate too.” It’s all about Charlie. LeMieux says he’ll be a “Charlie Crist Republican,” no doubt meaning his first legislation will be a second stimulus followed by cap and trade.

UPDATED: Wow. It’s looking more and more like Crist is shooting himself in the foot.

LeMieux, who is rumored to be aiding the selection process behind the scenes, could cause some controversy, given his close ties to Crist.

Picking him, said Orange County Republican Party Chairman Lew Oliver, “would only be, from a perception perspective, only slightly less damaging than appointing himself.”

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COMMENTS

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  • INC

    This is so typical of Crist; however, this may prove the death of his Senate hopes. If LeMieux really votes as a ?Charlie Crist Republican? I expect that Republicans will vote accordingly against Crist in the primary next year.

    Rubio has won numerous straw polls of Republican county leadership. They will be the work horses against Crist.

    Marco Rubio for Senate!

  • redloft

    but I’m not even going to try and justify this one. Let’s just call this what it is–arrogance. As a friend just said to me, “never seen a guy where more things just go his way despite his best efforts.” I doubt this has any real influence on Charlie’s campaign, but it certainly doesn’t help.

  • Repubtallygirl

    Just another reason to vote for Rubio!

  • E Pluribus Unum

    GO RUBIO!!!!!

  • E Pluribus Unum

    GO RUBIO!!!!!

  • RedBeard

    …as soon as his true colors came out.

    More importantly, we have a truly viable challenger in Marco Rubio. And lest this be taken wrong, this is NOT a case of cutting down Republicans; it’s a matter of supporting a BETTER Republican, a true conservative who can win in the general election.

    I really look forward to Marco debating Charlie. Marco has a strong set of core principles plus the ability to articulate them well. Charlie won’t stand a chance in a true debate setting.

  • Aaron Gardner
  • Aaron Gardner

    A Rubio/Crist Debate would expose Crist for the glamorous fool he is.

  • archer52

    Once in, so many politicians just can’t seem to get off the power addiction. They’ll do what they have to do, just like a crack addict.

    Here’s a rule I follow: Never trust a man who spends more time in a tanning booth than a bikini model. If they care that much about how they look it is because they spend hours admiring themselves in the mirror. I’ll bet if you lifted prints off the surface, you’d find lip marks.

    Yuck.

  • Darin_H

    it’s in St Augustine, nice yard, good schools, friendly neighborhood. What’s that? Yes, we’ll be FL residents by the time the primary comes around, why do you ask?

  • Swamp_Yankee

    Its two seperate fights now. There is Crist – Rubio. There is Lemieux – Obama now. Whatever you think of Crist, we need Lemieux in our corner.

    There is seventeen months until January 2011. Just as its sometimes unwise to focus on 2012. It is also unwise to focus on 2010.

    Dont let anger with Crist conflate with Lemieux’s Office. What needs to happen is that the base should put pressure on Lemieux. He was appointed, IT is done. He was not responsible. Anyone offered that position probably would have taken it.

    But he must know what the people are thinking. C&T and HB3200 are unacceptable.

  • Finrod

    I’d been intending to write up something about these stories but time got away from me. Here’s a story from a couple weeks ago about the Palm Beach County GOP failing to censure Charlie Crist on a 65-65 tie vote:

    http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/local_news/epaper/2009/08/12/a1a_crist_censure_0813.html

    Here’s another article from around the same timeframe about how Charlie Crist realizes he’s in deep trouble with the party base in Florida:

    http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/08/ring-ring-the-new-conservative-charlie-crist-is-calling.html

  • morstar150

    It would have been nice if Jennifer Carroll had been appointed. She is an up and coming Republican from the Jax area. Former military and good person. Thank goodness for her that she doesn’t have to live with the CRIST CURSE.

    I must say that I was never a Rubio fan. I don’t really trust the conservative label attached to him. I will keep my thoughts to myself however, since the alternative is so repulsive. As for the alternative, candidate I should say, and not lifestyle, although rumors have it… love that tan.

    The CRIST CURSE — everything he touches falls apart!!!