« BACK  |  PRINT

RS

MEMBER DIARY

Heads Up to RedState, RPOF, GOP and Rubio: Crist is Winning and Meeks is Imploding

By: Bloggy Bayou (Diary)  |  May 9th, 2010 at 10:20 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

As of today, 9 May 2010, Charlie Crist is leading in the race for Senator in Florida.  The main reason can be attributed to the fact that Kendrick Meeks, a weak opponent to begin with, is imploding and left leaning Independents, Democrats are deserting him for Crist.  Crist also has a core of support in the GOP and they are sticking with him.  I know November is a long six months away, but the longer Crist remains a viable alternative and IN THE LEAD, the more dangerous he becomes and the more likely he has a chance of winning.

Crist is playing hardball.  He is playing to the fears of Floridians about the recent oil spill and is going to call a special session to get the legislature to ban off-shore drilling in Florida. (Just Like California has) and make a push for “renewable” (read Al gore sponsored “green” energy).  Here is my Post from yesterday as to why this “knee-jerk” response is dangerous to all America.

With his cynical veto of SB6 (I know it was a sausage of a bill – but don’t think for a second Crist would have NOT vetoed that bill if he was winning the Senate GOP primary. If you think that was a principled stand by Crist, I got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell to you), he has seduced the teacher’s union to back him and is now playing on the fears of Floridians who depend on tourism.  Never mind the fact that Crist’s support for TARP, the Stimulus and now his apparent willingness to work with Democrats means bankrupting the country and that means NO ONE will be vacationing away from home much for quite while when the economy really tanks.

The RPOF has put up a Anti-Charlie website: Here is a link: “Can’t trust Charlie”.  My first reaction was, honestly “M’eh…”. The page is static in nature and unless you are a political junkie like me, you probably wouldn’t have found it.

What Rubio needs is “Boots on the Ground”.  He needs massive, personal support from all the GOP heavyweights and needs to be holding big rallies with these people around the state. He needs to shore up not the GOP base, but the GOP middle.

The RPOF and other groups, however, need to slam Crist, HARD.  He needs to be put on the defensive and if he calls a special session, our GOP lawmakers need to be ready to hijack that session and pass laws that are popular with the Republicans. If Charlie signs off on them, he alienates the left independents and Democrats.  If he DOESN’T sign them, then his core republican and Conservative/Moderate Independent voters desert him.  I expect the elected GOP political pro’s in Tallahassee to prove to me that they know how to play hardball and paint Crist in a corner.  If they can’t, then what good are they?

Finally, Obama’s response to the spill has been anemic.  Marco Rubio can make it an issue with the voters and say truthfully, that Crist is an Obama supporter.  Rubio needs to tour the Panhandle ASAP and bring some heavy GOP hitters with him.  He needs to on the cutting edge of support for is solid Republican  voting block and needs to hammer Crist as a hypocrite.  Where is Crist quoted as blasting Obama and his administrations response?  Why didn’t Crist use his influence to get Obama and the administration to act more quickly?  Unlike Katrina, when a major Oil spill off the U.S. coast happens, the Federal Government is the first responder, not the local and state authorities when a hurricane hits.  Obama and his administration failed miserably and Charlie Crist, by his de facto abandonment of the GOP and by his own actions in the past is now a key supporter of the administration.  That is a cold hard political fact that needs to be repeated often and with EXTREME vigor.

Bottom Line: RPOF and Rubio: Don’t wait till after the Primary to start hammering the Obama/Crist response to the spill.  DO IT NOW.

Get Alerts

COMMENTS

POSTING RULES  |  LOGIN TO COMMENT  |  REGISTER TODAY
  • acat

    Dead on about boxing Crist into a corner.

    There’s another tack that needs taking as well – and that is pointing out to the Dems just how “reliable” an ally old Charlie has been, just as has been done (and will continue to be done) to Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania.

    The meme from the Crist camp is going to be that Charlie went independent because Rubio is too far right – the counter is that Charlie went independent because *it’s all about Charlie* – and therefore, can the Dems who would vote for him over Meeks really trust him?

    Mew

    • David123

      Crist was pro-TARP and Rubio is anti-TARP? Seems like Rubio’s got the better policy choice on that one. Crist pals around with Obama and Rubio doesn’t? Considering the kind of people who pal around with Obama, seems like Rubio’s the better choice there too.

      But, I think you nailed it – it’s not really about policy. It’s about Crist being a sore loser. Crist wanted to be a Republican Senator – fine. He enters the primary, tries to win, and if he does he hopefully goes on to win the general election. That’s playing by the rules. But running in the Republican party, then quitting, and trying to run as an independent – that’s just being a sore loser … and a cheater.

      What’s Crist’s first name anyway? DeDe?

      • SteveLA

        As in Joseph Isadore “Joe” Lieberman.

        Strange isn’t it how history has a way of repeating itself.

        • David123

          Lieberman wants to win the global war on terror, and he’s pretty passionate about that.

          If Crist is really passionate about TARP/stimulus and he wants to be senator so he can push TARP/stimulus, I can sort of respect that. However it certainly looks like it’s more about Crist than it is about TARP.

          • acat

            That’s the *only* reason Lamont won the Dem nom.

            After The People realized they’d actually *elected* the doof, they dumped him as fast as possible.

            Mew

          • IJB

            This is a quasi-threadjack, so I’ll try to keep this brief:

            Dems did *not* abandon Ned Lamont in 2006. In fact, CT Dems were quite pleased with Lamont and backed him fully.

            Lamont lost because *Indies* abandoned him for Lieberman in droves. That, combined with nearly total CT GOP support for Lieberman, allowed Lieberman to win.

            However, if Lieberman is foolish enough to run again in 2012, he will almost certainly be defeated, because (CT) Dems still hate him on foreign policy (and, to a lesser extent, on social issues), and now Republicans hate him for ObamaCare and being an Obama rubberstamp. I’m not even sure how well off Lieberman is with CT Indies these days…

          • acat

            It sounds like you’re saying that there are more Independents than Democrats, and that can’t be right…

            Mew

      • acat

        But the media won’t cover them.

        Remember, their agenda is going to be to see either Charlie or Meeks in the seat to defend the Obama agenda. A word-of-mouth (maybe word-of-Facebook?) campaign … make it about Charlie’s ego.

        Mew

  • Scope

    is temporary. Or, the polling outfit construed their questions in order to get pre-desired results. Crist was so highly unpopular before becoming an Independent, and, by switching he has proven that he will take himself in policies, where he thinks the votes may be. When Crist was running as an R, Meeks was still widely seen as a weak D candidate. If those D’s and left leaning Independents, that are supposedly now going with Crist, because Weeks is weak, they could just as easily have increased Crist’s poll numbers as an R. It isn’t like Crist has only recently taken left positions, and supported Obama. He was still an R candidate when he vetoed the educational reform bill. He was still an R when he embraced Obama, and the Stimulus bill. I does not mean D or R, and it is very hard to believe that he gained so much support from anyone, as an I, when he was at the bottom of the barrel as a known RINO.

    It is also possible that Rubio, hopefully only temporarily, hurt himslef by his AZ immigration law comments, and, his cautious take on continuing drilling for our own oil. The large majority of Americans are supportive of the AZ law, and, also in favor of still drilling for our own oil. I suspect that time will remove the memory of his comments, and, he will retake the lead in the polls. But, he must continue to work his campaign as I’m sure he will. Rubio has more than enough ad material to successfully portray Crist as the finger in the wind dirt bag that he is.

    • IJB

      …Muchraker is right – the time to go after Crist and hammer him is *now*.

      Dems will eventually return to Meek, and we can hammer him later.

      But, right now, a vote for Crist has to be made *toxic* to both right-leaning, and left-leaning, voters:

      - Right-leaning voters have to be made to understood that a vote for Crist is effectively a vote *FOR* the Obama/Reid/Pelosi agenda.

      - Conversely, left-leaning voters have to be made to understood that Crist is *not* a *reliable* vote for that same agenda, and if they want to back Obama, they have to vote for Meek.

      Someone needs to get on running ads on these, along with more generic ads that show how self-absorbed and unprincipled Charlie Crist is, *RIGHT NOW*.

      • Scope

        the time is ripe now for Crist’s total demise in politics. From what I read, Crist went looking to DC for D support over Meeks. They told him to take a hike, and, that they will be heavily supporting Meeks.

        So, you have the not too bright R elites that backed Crist, asking for their money back. You have the D elites telling him to hit the road. Soon enough you will see Meeks numbers pass Crist’s, and Rubio’s number making Crist’s look like a baby’s IQ, or a Progressives. Not sure which one is lower.

    • CowboyUp4419

      Crist is getting a lot of fawning media right now and most Democrats don’t even know who Kendrick Meek is yet. He’s also going to have to start shelling out his own money for support and campaign infrastructure now that he doesn’t have a party apparatus to lean on, and he’ll be relying on moderates and independents (who generally aren’t very politically engaged until Election Day) for those contributions and to be his campaign volunteers. Not only is this bump temporary, it represents his high water mark.

  • SIConservative

    “He needs to be put on the defensive and if he calls a special session, our GOP lawmakers need to be ready to hijack that session and pass laws that are popular with the Republicans…”

    They should be doing that anyway, and not to score political points. They were elected to enact sound policies, and those policies should not be dependent upon an election cycle.

    “If they can

    • http://www.bloggybayou.com muckraker

      It is not needed and is a waste of taxpayers money. However, if it is called and all the GOP does is take the ball and go home and refuse to play, it’s a win for Crist.

      Therefore the Florida GOP should come to the Session and make it backfire in Crists face…That WILL be good poltics and defeating Crist and electing Rubio is GOOD Policy.

      Poltics is a mixture of Art, science and policy wonks… Sometimes you have to make a good impression on the Public “stage”….

  • exitsfunnel

    I think that none of the polling means anything until Crist declares for which side he’ll cast his organizing vote. He’s weasled out of answering the question so far, but at some point he’s going to have to declare. Let’s see which way he goes and what the numbers look like then.

    • Scope

      that even if Crist does verbalize who he will caucus with that anyone will believe him. He has already declared which side of the isle he is on when he vetoed the education reform bill, and embraced the Stimulus package, and, is looking to permanently bar off shore drilling off Florida’s coasts. I say he will not verbalize for the R’s or the D’s. He thinks he can fool people on both sides, and it will backfire badly.

  • redneck_hippie
  • JadedByPolitics

    it is important for the GRASSROOTS to not lose site of this seat just because Crist is a whiney baby, I knew the Democrats would go with Crist but it is going to be the “elite, liberal” GOP members that WE are going to have to work on over the next 6 months. Donations and calls for Rubio are what WE must continue to do. This is not the time to relax because it is expected that the summer is the “quiet” time in politics and it needs to be the time WE GO VIRAL :)

  • kdey

    Crist has made himself a non-factor by being the very vote-pandering bitch that he is. He doesn’t care about Florida,… or this Country. He’s nothing more than another vote-pandering politician – like everything we’ve seen before. I am completely ashamed of myself for having voted for him the first time.

  • http://www.bloggybayou.com muckraker

    Meeks is dead man walking…. The Democrats will desert himand vote for Crist just to spite Rubio.

  • IJB

    The only way Crist pulls down Dem voters on election day is if the state and national Dem parties more formally and officially disassociate themselves from Meek and start backing Crist (a la what Republicans did with Lieberman in 2006, and what Dems regularly do in VT with Bernie Sanders).

    I honestly cannot imagine a scenario under which FL and national Dems will throw a loyal *black* Democrat under the bus for a mercurial egomaniac who may stab the Dem’s agenda in the back on a momentary whim.

    When Summer rolls around, I can guarantee you the FL state and national Dems will be pulling hard for whoever is leading the Dem primary in FL (likely to be Meek).

    And, once that happen, Crist will be left without a meaningful constituency and will see his poll numbers plummet.

    But, as you say, to ensure that happens, groups on both the Left and the Right need to start hammering Crist *NOW*.

  • kuksool

    In FL, Tea Party is a registered 3rd party in FL. If I was advising Crist, I would tell him to try to run under the fledgining Tea Pary banner. Then Crist could claim to be an independent thinking man not beholden to special interests in public. In private, Crist would contact Obama and assure the President that he will side with him in the Senate. Then Crist will receive Soros and MoveOn money and become the de facto Dem candidate.

  • CowboyUp4419

    There’s a very real possibility there will be no African-Americans in the United States Senate if Meek doesn’t win this seat. The Democrats aren’t going to abandon him for anything.

    This won’t look anything like Connecticut did in 2006. Connecticut is a deep blue state that hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate (unless you count Lowell Weicker, which I don’t) since Prescott Bush. The state Republican Party throwing their support behind someone bad (Lieberman) to keep someone worse (Lamont) out of office was the perfectly reasonable course of action because, realistically, their guy wasn’t going to win anyway. Florida’s a purple state that will elect a Democrat. It makes no sense for the Democrats to throw their support to Crist just to stop Rubio when their own candidate should be viable.

    I’m just glad that unlike NY-23 we’ve got six months for the RINO to be forced to stand on their own so all out voters can come home.

  • Kyle-MI

    After briefly flirting with opposing the stimulus in the primary, Crist is back to supporting it. IMO one of the biggest issues of the Tea Party movement is the out of control spending by congress and Obama. The stimulus is the worst example of this. Crist should not have any credibility running as a Tea Party candidate. The Tea Party should have nothing to do with him if they want to maintain their credibility.

  • Kyle-MI

    From Rasmussen, 62% of FL voters favor repeal of Obamacare. 53% of FL voters disapprove of Obama’s job performance. They did not have any info on approval of the stimulus but I don’t think it would be in any better shape.

    Crist is benefiting from his performance as Gov. He ran and governed mostly as a continuation of Jeb Bush. That is probably not the way he will vote as a Senator, but a lot of swing voters will not know until after he has a Senate voting record.

    Rubio needs to push him on issues and get Jeb out there hitting Crist as well. This will take money. This is a critical race. As conservatives we need to support Rubio more. I certainly intend to.