In re Crist: candidates that are recent Repubs-turned-Dems are suspicious.

[DanM]

What smells more like crass opportunism than being an R, losing, then becoming a D and announcing your candidacy?

I understand people have a change of heart, or the parties morph and become different to a person's unchanged beliefs. But that takes quite a bit of time.

[leftstreet]

1. At least conservative corporate Democrats stay Democrats!

[jsr]

2. LOL.

[JVS]

14. Is that supposed to be a sarcastic joke. What about Lieberman?

[stevenleser]

3. Crist was never a real Republican to begin with. I say this from knowing several folks who

have known him his whole life.

[DanM]

15. He opportunistically clothed himself as a Repub at one time? That sounds REALLY bad. n/t

[stevenleser]

17. Nope, he was in denial. nt

[DanM]

21. That's dangerous. Nixon's mind was capable of denial, and we see where that led him. n/t

[stevenleser]

22. Nope, not that kind of denial. nt

[DanM]

23. Not yet, perhaps. Particularized manifestations of denial often are not isolated. Beware. n/t

[JustAnotherGen]

4. Glad someone else stated it

Maybe I'm missing something - but isn't there someone with a little bit more cred as a Democratic party member to run in Florida? Is he REALLY the ONLY game in town?

[Pretzel_Warrior]

5. DRAFT GRAYSON!!!

Bahahaha!

[JustAnotherGen]

7. Hey

Draft anyone! : I'm in NJ - the most perfect progressive can't beat Christie here . . . But that numnuts down in Tallahassee looks like easy pickings.

[polichick]

9. You prefer Crist?

[Pretzel_Warrior]

10. Of course I don't prefer Crist. But Grayson will need a few more years

In office establishing a record for Florida and not just controversial statements before he could win statewide.

I kind of agree another Dem should have run. But now that Crist is in, others can forget about a legit shot.

[polichick]

11. The sad thing is, if Floridians just listened to Grayson he'd be elected...

Unfortunately many are too brainwashed by Faux News to even listen.

(Florida is my home state and I still have a place there though I vote in VA.)

[polichick]

6. Most politicians are opportunists.

[DanM]

16. True but, just as in hell, there are degrees of much better and much worse. n/t

[meadowlark5]

8. I thought Crist was a dem before becoming a repub and now going back to dem

My only problem with repubs becoming and switching to the dem party is they are still repubs. I'm sure they haven't suddenly become fans of govt or medicare or regulations on corporations and banks or the right to choose or gay marriage or believe in climate change or, or, or...

Instead of these shunned republicans coming over and mucking up the democratic party, why don't they muscle out those nutjob baggers and make them form their own party.

[monmouth3]

12. Charlie will be a fine Democratic governor. I can't wait to vote for him...n/t

[TheKentuckian]

13. Was he a fine Democratic Governor before? There is a track record.

I'm thinking he was a shifty TeaPubliKlan Governor.

[DanM]

18. Interesting: how did he measure up as a D, when he was an R? LOL n/t

[kydo]

19. Well he wasn't

DanM wrote:

being an R, losing, then becoming a D and announcing your candidacy

He was back in the day when he ran for gov mostly moderate when we had moderate repubs. He wasn't a loser he served in the Florida Senate from 1993 to 1999, running unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1998 and then serving as Florida Education Commissioner from 2001 to 2003 and Florida Attorney General from 2003 to 2007 before being elected Governor in 2006.

While he did leave the repubs while still in office, he didn't become a dem he became an independent. It wasn't until the summer of 2012 that he officially became a dem.


From Wikipedia

Crist has received criticism for his fiscal approach, for his support of President Barack Obama's fiscal policies, and for his official schedule.[22][23][24][25]

Crist supported capital punishment[26] and gun rights. In 2008 he signed a provision that prevents employers from prohibiting employees' bringing firearms to the workplace, as long as the weapons are secure and individuals maintain a concealed carry license.[27][28]

His position on abortion issues is not clear-cut.[29] In 1998 Crist ran for Senate as a pro-choice candidate,[29] and has stated that he opposes overturning Roe vs. Wade.[29][30] Crist has said that he opposes a mandatory 24-hour waiting period before a woman can undergo an abortion.[29] In the 2010 Senate campaign, Crist first presented himself a pro-life Republican[31] but after he lost the Republican nomination and became an unaffiliated candidate, had all pro-life statements removed from his website.[32] On June 11, 2010 Crist vetoed a bill which would have removed taxpayer funding for abortion,[33] as well as require a woman to have an ultrasound before having an abortion.[34]

Crist supported efforts to ban same-sex marriage in Florida, and supported the current ban on adoption by homosexual prospective parents – saying that a "traditional family provides the best environment for children."[35][36] His position led gay rights groups to protest the passage of the Florida Amendment 2 (now Article 1 Section 27 of the Florida Constitution) ban on same-sex marriage during his wedding in 2008.[37][38] He shifted in June 2010, when he stated that he no longer supported Florida's ban on same-sex adoption: "A better way and approach would be to let judges make that decision on a case-by-case basis."[39]

On other issues, Crist differs from other Republicans, particularly on environmental policy, an important issue in Florida. He announced plans to sign executive orders to impose strict air pollution standards in the state, with aims to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent of the 1990 levels, by 2050 .[40] In his gubernatorial campaign, Crist opposed offshore oil drilling. Crist altered that position in June 2008, when oil reached peak prices, saying "I mean, let's face it, the price of gas has gone through the roof, and Florida families are suffering, and my heart bleeds for them." [41][42]

As a strong environmental advocate, Crist, in June 2008, publicly proposed the State of Florida purchase 187,000 acres (760 km2) from the United States Sugar Corporation for $1.2 billion. The U.S. Sugar purchase would remove roughly 187,000 acres of sugar farming for restoration efforts. In front of a plethora of supporters in Palm Beach County, Crist described the deal "as monumental as our nation's first national park."[43] Shortly after the original agreement, the national economy collapsed causing the U.S. Sugar purchase to be downsized. After a number of months debating a condensed transaction, the agreement, which still faces legal and financing challenges, would give the state 73,000 acres (300 km2) of sugar and citrus plantations for Everglades restoration projects.[44][45][46]

Crist was the first Republican governor to accept the state's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) invitation to a convention. Crist endorsed legislation requiring paper records of all ballots cast during an election, stemming from criticism that votes were being undercounted in black communities by computerized voting machines. He has also tackled the state's regulation of the insurance industry, particularly for property (in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina) and health insurance. While new property insurance legislation has proved controversial – in particular the creation of the Citizen's Property Insurance Corp and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (both of which have been described as risky and underfunded) – the health insurance reform efforts have been well received. Standing next to former football star Dan Marino (whose son, Michael, is autistic and who inspired the Dan Marino Foundation[47]), Crist signed a law expanding health coverage statewide for autism disorders and he has also signed legislation expanding low-income coverage and creating public and private insurance options in the state.[48][49][50][51][52][53]

[gopiscrap]

20. I never trust a person once they claim they are or have been a repuke!