Charlie Crist 2.0: Relaunching As A Democrat

Posted by | October 26, 2013 10:58 | Filed under: Politics Top Stories


Just as the press made a justifiably big deal of the 2011 comeback of California governor Jerry Brown, they are focusing on the former governor of Florida, who changed parties at about the same time as Republicans in Washington were splitting along Tea Party and Neo-Reagan lines. With the “Party of Lincoln” is shooting itself in the foot, Crist is clearly seeing an advantage – and although he is not officially in the race yet, he is already sending out signals that he will throw his hat into next year’s gubernatorial race:

Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist, a Republican-turned-Democrat, launched a campaign-style video and website on Friday that threw open the door to a likely run for his old job in 2014.

In the video posted on YouTube and the website (www.charliecrist.com), Crist highlights his past as governor, calling the period from 2007-2011 a time when “the people were in charge.”

Criticizing the current powers that be, he also asks Floridians to tell him how he can get the fourth most populous state in the country heading back in the right direction.

Crist has maintained a high public and media profile since leaving office. Given both the political fissures in the GOP and intrastate political factors, he is perceived as a good fit for the Democratic slot in next year’s gubernatorial race:

As he travels the nation’s largest swing-voting state, Crist is emphasizing the bipartisanship and consensus-building that marked his sole term as governor. Most early polls show him leading the unpopular incumbent, Republican Gov. Rick Scott, a former hospital company executive elected with tea party support in 2010.Democratic officials, looking for a candidate to lead them back to power in Florida after 15 years, have embraced the convert.

In an era of political polarization, Democratic leaders see his pragmatic governing record as a national model for a party trying to claim the political center and solidify gains among the country’s fast-growing bloc of independent voters.

A statewide victory also would give Florida Democrats an organizational edge in the 2016 presidential election.

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Copyright 2013 Liberaland
By: dave-dr-gonzo

David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.

* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.