Why Crist Betrayed Rudy And Conservatives

Update: Should have added this - as the Florida Gov, Crist knows the state better than anyone else. Somehow I doubt he risks his political credibility on a loser in Fla. That, more than anything, might prepare you for tonight's result. We'll see. Allah is posting some predictions.

Well, I guess Crist felt McCain was going to win in the end. By endorsing him, that would make him a king maker and likely VP. Apparently that was the price for his promised endorsement of Rudy. He betrayed conservatives and a friend for potential personal benefit.

Hopefully McCain loses and it also damages Crist's in-state Tax Initiative. Crist will now be in the cross-hairs of Florida's anti-McCain voters and pols.

For Crist, the move is a risky one, but one with a big payoff if it makes him look like a king maker.

In becoming the first governor of an early election state to endorse, Crist risks antagonizing allies, damaging the prospects of the Amendment 1 tax initiative so closely associated with him and, if McCain loses, raising questions about his influence.

Former state House Speaker Alan Bense, a Romney supporter in the Panhandle, said he had received 48 phone calls from people wanting to help Romney since the Crist endorsement. "Apparently it was not good for Senator McCain," he said. "This is a very conservative part of the state."

Comments

[Fred Beloit]

"Former state House Speaker Alan Bense, a Romney supporter in the Panhandle, said he had received 48 phone calls from people wanting to help Romney since the Crist endorsement."

Bense is still a popular political heavyweight here in the Panhandle and announced he was for Romney a few months ago. At that time Thompson was still in the race. It is interesting he and Crist have parted company in this matter.

[Philip McDaniel]

Governor Crist is no conservative. He's an opportunist and a liberal in Republican clothing. This is easy to see when one sees where he stands on various issues. He would be better off being the governor of California.

[Fred Beloit]

Couldn't agree more Philip.

[creepy dude]

48 phone calls!

Like 2 less than 50?!!!!

It's a tsunami!!!!

[seekeronos]

Somewhere over on Malkin's site, there is a piece up about a posible Crist/McCain/Soros/Mel Martinez MoveOn.org Amnesty connection.

Yup, another dirty, stinking, low-down back-stabbing RINO (read: pinko-liberal) in the ring, lads.

[seekeronos]

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/01/26/shamnesty-supporting-florida-gov-endorsesmccain/

[elixelx]

Are you absolutely SURE, seekeronos, that McCain had nothing to do with bringing down the Twin Towers?

Also he was old enough to have been on that grassy knoll!

Boy, are you ever a stinky-poo!

[docweasel]

Why is every political decision necessarily so devious and steeped in calculation and skullduggery? The main people carping about it seem to be the people who don't like who Crist supported. If he had said he liked Romney for President I don't think Dan would have dreamed up underhanded motives and subterfuge as his motivation.

Is it at all possible Crist believes McCain is the best candidate?

The big twin complaints of most conservatives about McCain, immigration and finance reform, don't bother me, I support a fair and quick route to citizenship for anyone who wants it. I don't see where McCain/Feingold destroyed political discourse or expression. And I'm willing to bet those 2 things won't matter much to most independents, and the same to Democrats who just can't stomach Hillary. Which is why, if McCain is nominated, he'll win. Now that Rudy is gone, he's the only Republican who can win. Knock yourself out, purist, doctrinaire conservatives backing the guy from the cult of Mormon. Romney would lose if the Democrats nominated Kuchinich, he's that despicable to anyone who isn't a lockstep, hard right conservative.

For every disgruntled conservative who "sits it out rather than vote for McCain" to send a message, 2 independents and a Democrat will probably vote for McCain. I don't see many Republicans crossing the other way.

[Chris]

'support a fair and quick route to citizenship for anyone who wants it. I don't see where McCain/Feingold destroyed political discourse or expression. And I'm willing to bet those 2 things won't matter much to most independents, and the same to Democrats who just can't stomach Hillary'

Oh God. I agree with a Republican! I better go home and take a nap.

[WAHOO WILLIE SEZ:]

"'support a fair and quick route to citizenship for anyone who wants it."

Chrissy you might want an aspirin before that nap when I say that MOST people agree with that. I personally do not care if they all come here. I simply ask that they do it legally like everyone else is supposed to.

[docweasel]

I also have yet to hear a good argument as to why gay people shouldn't be allowed to marry.

There are actually a lot of issues with which I disagree with doctrinaire Republicans. Mostly on social issues. Especially the kind of stuff that makes Republicans look like hypocritical prudes, like trying to outlaw sex toys or put child warning labels on everything from CDs to video games to TV shows. Usually this kind of crap is just a conservative version of using government to control people, like liberals do with environmentalism.

[WAHOO WILLIE SEZ:]

"child warning labels on everything from CDs "

While I will gladly give you that repubs jumped over each other to get on the wagon. Surely you recall that Tipper GORE was the one that got that wagon moving.

[seekeronos]

And it is times like these when I ponder that Japan has hardly any problem with third-world nations and in particular, Islamic migrants within her borders, or even the Red Chinese and the Norks:

It is because Japan's immigration policy is locked down tighter than Ft. Knox.

Gee, I wonder what would happen if we imitated a good thing like that?

Contrast that to most of Europe (France, Germany, and the UK especially) as their population explodes (pun intended) with hostile foreigners.

A McCain presidency (/snort) or any (D) presidency will open us up further to exactly that.

[WAHOO WILLIE SEZ:]

"It is because Japan's immigration policy is locked down tighter than Ft. Knox."

Seeker you might want to think about that a moment. Japan's policy is based on xenophobia, keeping the race pure and such. Americans probably wouldn't want to sign onto that.

[Joe Kool]

Glad McCain doesn't need the conserative vote per docweasel because he's not going to get it.

I live in the Panhandle and Crist is hated by most.

[Yoda]

Crist is a liberal democrat. I won't vote for McCain as it is, Crist as VP would make me stay home for sure.

[seekeronos]

"--- Seeker you might want to think about that a moment. Japan's policy is based on xenophobia, keeping the race pure and such. Americans probably wouldn't want to sign onto that. ---"

I cannot discount that item entirely, as my dearest wife (she is from Japan) informs me that race and miscegenation fears factor in partially, and kind of werdly:

Japanese tend not to like intermarrying/interbreeding with other Asians (especially Chinese, and to a lesser degree Koreans) but take well to marrying and having cute little mixed Eurasian kids with Americans, Brits, and various other caucasians.

It's strange to me there is something of a "we can be friends, but marriage is frowned upon" mindset (according to Mrs. Seeker) in that Koreans are about as closely related to one of the ancestral stocks of the Japanese, the Yamato, in about as close of a kinship as the English are related to the Danes and the Germans (Saxons).

But that might stem from multiple wars and invasions back and forth between Japan and the Sino-Korean peninsula as well as lingering aggravations remaining from WW2 and the subsequent decades of tension between Red China and her proxies.

Nevertheless, I look at the end result of their immigration policy and not the underlying causes of it, and see some good that could accrue to us, if we were so able to close down our borders.

Being a series of small islands with no land borders also helps -- whereas we have several thousand miles of land borders to keep locked down.

I am not so much opposed to legal immigration, as I'd like to see higher barriers and protections for those of us who are already here... The USA is plenty big, but we cannot reasonably be expected to house, clothe, and feed everybody from the Yukon down to Patagonia.

Keeping our house begins with making sure its members are taken care of first.