Crist wont say whom he will caucus with if he wins as an I...

[DCBob]

Q) If you win as an independent, which party would you caucus with in Washington - the Republicans or Democrats?
A) You're way ahead of me. One day at a time.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/crist-youre-way-ahead-of-me-on-which-party-i-would-caucus-with.php

I think its telling he wouldn't say. I think he's going to caucus with the Dems. Most GOPers have already trashed him, just wait until this election is over with.. its going to get very ugly and if Crist wins I think he will have virtually no choice but go with the Dems.

[bridgit]

1. I'm bet'n that it will *not* be Dick Cheney

[DFW]

2. Either that or.......

He'll become the Republicans' Lieberman

[DCBob]

6. Lieberman was different situation..

He was Senator for ages and had developed friendships and loyalties within the Democratic Senate caucus. Crist would be a Senate newbie and is making more GOP enemies by the day.

[DFW]

10. True, but.......

crist was a Republican Governor of Florida. He would be under immense pressure to join the Democratic caucus if not the party
if he were elected as an independent. I think Lieberman has only resisted the pressure to join the GOP due to his coveted
committee chairmanship. Otherwise he would have been gone long ago, and I think it's in the cards come next January anyway.

[DCBob]

13. yep.. I agree with that..

lots of interesting things could develop.

[QC]

3. That's smart, given the realities of Florida politics. n/t

[SteppingRazor]

4. Meh. I don't think he'll pull off a win in a three-way race anyway.

As the race goes on and he becomes more well-known upstate, Meek will peel votes away from Crist, but he won't do the same to Rubio.

[DCBob]

5. Crist isnt "well known" upstate??

He has been FL Gov for a number of years.. right?

[SteppingRazor]

8. When a pronoun is used in a dependent clause at the beginning of a sentence...

the pronoun describes the noun immediately following the clause. In this case, Meek, not Crist.

[DCBob]

15. Oops.. sorry. got it now. and you may be right.

:hi:

[still_one]

7. I agree, which is why when crist went independent enough repukes trashed him that

he would most likely caucus with the Democrats

Hopefully the Democrat will win so it will be a moot issue

[SteppingRazor]

9. He hasn't gone independent yet. n/t

[DFW]

11. He doesn't have long to straddle the fence.

Deadline for filing is this Friday.

[SteppingRazor]

14. True. And, really, we might as well make like the person I responded to and talk about this ...

in the past tense. He hasn't officially started running as an independent yet, but he's been making all the moves leading up to an independent run -- rumors about massive ad buys, in order to spend Republican donor money before he leaves the party; moving campaign management from from party loyalists to Crist loyalists; and so on.

[still_one]

25. Would the Democrat have a better chance if crist was out of the race? /nt

[SteppingRazor]

26. I think so.

With Crist in the race, he and Meek will fight over the center left, indies and even some liberals, while Rubio takes all the conservatives, some center right and some indies. I think Rubio wins a three-way race because I think Crist does more harm to Meek than he does to Rubio.

[still_one]

27. Thanks for the insight /nt

[DCBob]

12. Yes, of course we as Dems would prefer Meek but..

the prospect of chaos developing among the GOP and teabaggers due to Crist (I) will be entertaining and could have wider benefits for Democrats.

[SteppingRazor]

17. See, that's my problem here. I think the Crist independent run hurts Meek more than Rubio. n/t

[DCBob]

19. From what I have been reading I thought Meek had no chance against Rubio..

in a two way.

[SteppingRazor]

21. The latest poll I've seen was Rasmussen...

which has Rubio over Meek, 48 to 34, with 11 undecided. That's down from a month ago, when Rubio had a 51-31 lead.

I worry that, in a three-way, Crist and Meek split the indie and moderate Dem. vote, while Rubio retains the conservative vote and enough indies to pull it off. But if indies only have the choice of far-right Rubio and Meek, I think a lot of them will go to Meek.

[DCBob]

23. Perhaps but I think Rubio chances of winning go up without Crist (I)

Its very possible though in a 3-way Crist and Rubio could trash each other and Meek can slip in there under the radar with about 35% of the vote.

[kentuck]

16. Would you vote for Kendrick Meek or Charlie Crist?

It will be very difficult for Kendrick to win. It was almost a given that the Republican would win this race. However, Crist has turned it on its head. He has has moderate supporters that voted for him for Governor and many will continue to support him. I suspect if he gets a small percentage of Democratic votes, he will be the next Senator. Also, I think he will caucus with the Democrats and will be more supportive of Democratic issues than Joe Lieberman. This race could determine who controls the US Senate.

[DCBob]

20. I think I would wait until near election day to decide..

If Meek is out of it and its close betweeen Rubio and Crist.. then I would vote for Crist.

[SteppingRazor]

22. I wouldn't be so dismissive of Meek's chances.

He's still mostly unknown upstate, which will change as we get closer to election day. He's an energizing, charismatic politician, and if indies are given the choice between him and a far-right yahoo (Rubio), a lot of them are going to go with Meek.

[kentuck]

24. True.

It's a very interesting scenario. Either way, I think the Democrats win in Florida.

[DefenseLawyer]

18. But he does pledge to re-form "The Singing Senators"