I am not a fan of John Avlon (the husband of caffeine hyped, always giggling, Margaret Hoover, who appears on O’Reilly’s “Culture Warriors” segment every week), who has taken to conservative bashing lately, however he nails Charlie Crist for the opportunistic loser that he really is. Crist’s principles consist of “How will this impact me politically?” Personally I feel that most Independents register as Independents because they like to feel “above it all” but in reality are Democrats or Republicans who do not want to be labeled as such.
by John Avlon
As an independent and a centrist, I should be a textbook supporter of Charlie Crist’s newly announced independent candidacy for U.S. Senate.
But I’m not—because Charlie Crist confirms the worst stereotypes of a centrist. Instead of being principled in his differences with his party, he is opportunistic.
Most independents and centrists feel politically homeless in our polarized two-party system because they are too fiscally conservative for Democrats but too socially liberal for Republicans. It is a principled position that refuses to conform to the go-along/get-along ideological straitjacket imposed by the special interests in both parties. But Charlie Crist does not represent this courageous tradition with any consistency—instead it is just a pose he is adopting for short-term political gain.
Case in point was his recent veto of a bill that would have brought merit pay to Florida teachers. An education reform backed by the Obama administration, it was predictably opposed by the powerful teachers union. Crist was previously a supporter of the bill, but weeks before his filing deadline—and likely looking for general-election support—he vetoed it. This not only locked the Sunshine State into a failed system while other states back this important reform, but it placed Crist to the left of Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. It is one example of many.
“This is just the latest in a long line of personal betrayals by Charlie Crist,” Florida-based GOP consultant Rick Wilson told me on the day of Crist’s formal defection. “The real challenge is whether the national media gets what Floridians already know: He is a faux-independent—a guy who’s never had a discernible ideology other than ‘how do I get to the next election.’ Charlie Crist has always been a guy of tremendous personal and moral flexibility as long as it serves his personal and political ambition.”
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Read the rest here: The phony centrism of Charlie Crist
UPDATE – Rich Lowry chimes in
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is the saddest of political spectacles — an opportun ist running out of opportunities.
His relentless rise through Florida politics — from state senator to education commissioner to attorney general to the governorship he wants to leave for the US Senate — petered out in the Republican primary, with conservative upstart Marco Rubio drubbing him by a roughly 2-1 margin in the polls.
Crist could have bowed out gracefully, except it would have required entirely too much grace. He has declared himself an independent and will fight a three-way race against Rubio and Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek in the fall. Along with fellow GOP apostate Arlen Specter, Crist is waging the revolt of the principleless. In a year of conviction politics, he seeks to forge a glorious cause out of his sheer impatience for another promotion.
Crist recently made such Shermanesque denials of any intention to run as an independent that William Tecumseh Sherman himself might have believed him. His campaign manager told reporters in an e-mail, “To put these rumors to rest once and for all, as we have said countless times before, Gov. Crist is running for the United States Senate as a Republican.” He should have added: As long as it suits his self-interest.
The seeds of Crist’s destruction in the Republican primary were sown in February 2009 when he hugged President Obama at an event in Fort Myers and endorsed the stimulus.
Tags: Charlie Crist, John Avlon
