UPDATED TO INCLUDE VIDEO OF CRIST.
This morning I received an email, that if true, sheds some light on the real reason Charlie Crist won’t debate Nan Rich, and quite possibly the reason people like Eric Conrad left Crist’s campaign.
According to the email, We have all been looking in the wrong direction. Crist doesn’t want to be aligned with ALL of the principles of the Democratic Party because Crist plans on appealing not just to Democrats, but to Republicans and Independents as well, and a primary debate would make that impossible.
We all know what happens to extreme Right-Wing Presidential candidates in a Republican primary, right? They have to appeal to their base by going as far to the right as possible. The Republican primary candidates have to literally “out right” each other, which doesn’t bode well in a general election.
Well the same thing is happening here, only Crist doesn’t want to really go left at all, except on certain issues.
Most political reporters and pundits have said that the reason Crist won’t debate Rich is because he doesn’t want to give her that National Platform. Others have said that Crist is the front-runner and is in no rush to debate someone he has already determined he is going to beat.
According to the email, those things are in fact true, but what is keeping Crist from debating Rich more than anything else is that Crist is planning on running in the General election as more of an Independent, than a true Democrat, in order to capture more Independents and Moderate Republicans. If he says something too far to the left, he risks alienating Independents and Moderate Republicans. He knows that Democrats don’t come out during mid-term elections the way they do during Presidential elections, and he is hoping to scoop up Independents and moderate Republicans by appearing center, or slightly center-right on some issues if they are brought up in a debate with Rick Scott.
At that point, as the nominee already, what choices do Democrats really have?
Sometimes we get so caught up in our emotions, that we lose sight of something that is sitting right in front of our faces!
We all know that Nan Rich is a Democrat through and through. The Democratic base in a primary debate, would expect Crist to be clearly left on all of our principles. Charlie can’t “out-left” Rich without having any comments or answers he makes come back to haunt him in a general election debate against Rick Scott.
Now my first thought is that he has flip-flopped on just about every issue under the sun at this point, which is what he has come to be known for, so why care about how people perceive his flip-flops now.
Then I thought about it. As long as Crist keeps his mouth shut for the most part on certain issues, he can’t be caught in a lie, and he can’t be said to be TOTALLY aligned with Democratic principles in a general election. As far as things he said prior to becoming a Democrat, Democrats will buy the “I’ve changed” routine because we are desperate for a win.
As you recall,recently Politifact caught him in a lie regarding his stances on abortion during that interview with Michael Williams. Crist saying he is pro-life, “by his definition”, allows him to ride the fence.
The only thing Crist has no choice but to be for is the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, because that is the deal he made with President Obama and the rest of the leaders of the National Democratic Party. In order for them to support him ( i.e. Jim Messina, et. al.), he has to be for the President’s signature legislation.
Openly and vociferously.
As we all know, Crist has been beating the Obamacare drum louder than most Democrats who aren’t as new to the party as he is. Now it makes sense as to why.
Notice Crist hasn’t said a lot about gun control. He waffled on abortion during his interview with Michael Williams. In fact, what HAS Crist really said other than “Rick Scott is bad” and Obamacare is good? For some that would be enough, but Democrats have to look a little deeper than that.
The ONLY thing Crist has been matter-of-fact about is Obamacare, and that is because he HAS to be.
As his campaign goes further, people like Eric Conrad, who are true Democrats, will eventually be locked in with everything that Crist says and does, including what he will say and do in a general election to appeal to Independents and Moderate Republicans. While that strategy may work for Crist, it can’t possibly be good for Democratic Operatives in any other campaign aside from Charlie Crist’s.
If that is the real reason Eric Conrad left, then I say good for him. Don’t compromise yourself and ruin your reputation on a man who could care less.
One other thing the email said was that a lot of Crist’s strategy was coming from his father, who is still a registered Republican.
So, to sum it all up, Crist won’t debate Nan Rich because he wants to appeal to voters other than Democrats. He is taking into consideration that Democratic turnout may be terrible. Ask Alex Sink in both 2010 and in her recent loss to Jolly.
He isn’t really a Democrat folks. It was just the only way he could get into the game. It was a win/win setup between Crist and Democratic Leaders.
No one can ever say Crist isn’t a slick politician.
The sad part about all of this, though, is that our Democratic Leaders know what’s going on, and are in on the entire thing.
They are just counting on us to continue to tow the party line, in hopes of getting someone in the governor’s mansion with a “D” after their name, whether it means something to that person or not!
Oh and the money Crist is sending to the Florida Democratic Party doesn’t hurt either.
What they didn’t count on is some Democrats standing up and saying no. They didn’t count on Nan Rich remaining in the race after they have pretty much blocked her as far as fund raising (Emily’s List), and the media. They didn’t count on her supporters standing up for her and having her back.
Guess what? She DID, and we DO!
So to whoever sent me that email, thank you for opening my eyes to the “Kansas City Shuffle” Charlie Crist is pulling!
Update: Charlie Crist proves the email source correct. He is willing to alienate Broward Democrats, and credits Florida job creation to President Obama. Crist is fulfilling his part of the deal to promote Obamacare in exchange for National Democratic support. Crist wants Independents and Moderate Republicans. He’s willing to sacrifice Democrats to do it. Great Round Table discussion on Nan Rich at 26:49 See the video below.
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Leslie Wimes
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And the others that support him in his real party the Republican Party will turn on him before a general election. This article hits the nail on the head he is playing all sides of the fence because when he blunders in this election he can change parties again.
I also have noticed that men don’t like to debate women because as I have always stated women have concerns and want resolve men like to piddle paddle around the truth. I say that from just conversations with my own husband when there is a difference in objection.
et al will see this too ……
All true Democrats need to realize that the only Democrat is Nan Rich.
I am a registered Democrat and considered to be a “Supervoter” by the Broward SOE. I am voting for Nan Rich in August. She truly is the real Democrat in this race!!!
Patricia, Charlie Crist said on television yesterday that he was willing to alienate Broward County voters!
All true Democrats need to realize that our state will only be set back for four more long, painful years by re-electing Scott.
That’s what will happen if we don’t unify behind a candidate who can win statewide.
Nan Rich, much as we may love her history as a progressive, *cannot* and will not win statewide.
I am fully in agreement that we need a much deeper bench of candidates running — God knows I yearn for the day when we have progressive women candidates running up and down the ballot in Florida. And you know how we can take one important step in that direction? By electing a Democratic governor who will control multiple administrative appointments, thus providing a platform to bolster the political career of future Dems who can run statewide — and who will force our Republican legislature into actual conversation on the issues by wielding a line-item veto (and just maybe asking them to start acting a little more moderately).
We won’t take back the Florida House or Senate till 2022 at the very earliest. The race that we CAN control this year, with LOTS of work, determination and collaboration, is the governor’s race. I am a bleeding-heart, pro-choice, pro-gay rights, pro-gun control liberal — and I believe we need to see the bigger picture in this election. The enemy is not Charlie Crist — the enemy is Rick Scott. We can’t lose sight of that.
The Rick Scott guilt trip has no power here. I don’t vote willy-nilly. Charlie Crist just said he doesn’t care about alienating democrats in Broward County. Does that sound like someone who really cares? All of this over a simple debate? It is because he doesn’t want independents and moderate republicans to think he is “too” much of a democrat, so they will vote for him. No ma’am. I will not vote for him in a general and will continue to urge others to do the same. He has no respect for voters or this party. He just wants back into the political game. Shame on the Democrats who are willing to overlook his history for a win. You are half correct. The enemy is Rick Scott, but the enemy is Charlie Crist as well!
If you would truly choose not to vote at all rather than vote for a Democratic candidate for governor, than you have no respect for the best interests of Florida’s people or the real end game here — taking back the governor’s mansion — and you are blind to political reality.
We must take back the governorship in Florida. Is Charlie Crist a consummate politician? Yes. That means that he knows which way the wind blows — and he knows that as governor he must act in ways accountable to the people who elected him (aka Democrats), or kiss his political future goodbye. Yes, he has changed his positions on some issues; and what exactly was Rick Scott doing when he flip-flopped to support in-state tuition for DREAMers this year? Politicians reverse their position on issues. All the better when they move in the direction of positive, progressive change.
There is too much at stake in this election to use your decision not to vote as a bargaining chip. Democrats not voting is the very core of the problem — not the solution. Not this election, and not ever.
Read my keyboard: I’m NOT voting for Crist. Deal with it.
Thank you, Elizabeth Drake, for trying to talk some sense to a potential voter, but trying to argue with a purist, hardcore, idealism-above-all leftist is like trying to argue with a concrete wall.
At least with a tea bagger, some words and phrases can get through that they don’t hear in their right-wing media echo chambers, much like a dog will hear: “Blah, blah, blah, LEASH, blah blah, WALK, blah, blah TREAT!”
The left has little to no say not only in the FL legislature but across this country. The Supreme Court and the right-wing have succeeded in making just about every single thing in politics entirely about money. What we should aim for on the left is a FOOT IN THE DOOR, and that means electing Democrats.
You can vote however you wish in the primary. Those who live in reality know that Charlie Crist will win. Then, after that, those who actually care about people, the environment and the state over petty idealistic purity will vote for WHOMEVER is the Democratic nominee for the general election.
Ralph Nader said that there’s barely “a dime’s worth of difference” between the two parties. Well, that dime’s worth can be a huge chasm for the most vulnerable in our society.
Effete, removed, academic and petty liberals who demand that their democracy is handed to them only as they shall have it on a silver platter are simply anti-democracy, although they’ll never admit that to themselves let along anyone else.
We exist in an oligarchy. Most elections are entirely about money. The Democratic Party hasn’t done anything to stomp on Nan Rich. It’s Nan herself that has done little else but poison the political reality for some on the left who have entirely lost focus.
What has been written about Nan vs. Charlie on this blog has been nothing but poisonous to the exceedingly difficult effort of ridding this state of Rick Scott.
It’s entirely up to Nan, not her party, to get her message out. Thus far since Charlie declared, Nan’s entire message has been “Sniping, not solutions!”
Support and vote for Nan as the “genuine” Democrat, but I kindly and humbly suggest voting for Democrats of any ilk in any general election over Republicans. It does make a difference, and that difference is very important.
That’s where you are wrong. The Democratic Party HAS done something to stomp on Nan Rich. I will continue to voice my support for Nan, and my objections to Charlie Crist. If you don’t like it, tough! Say what you will, but I will continue to gather those who will NEVER vote for Crist in a general election, and believe me the list is growing.
“To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”
~Thomas Paine
And to start throwing quotes around just because others don’t do what you want them to do means nothing.-Leslie Wimes
To all you crist lovers out there, do you remember when the dems voted for him the last time he ran for the Senate against Kendrick Meek, we got Marco Rubio. Same guy, different day.We have a primary in August, use your vote and Vote for Nan Rich in the primary. The same logic you are using against Nan could go toward her opponent. He can’t win and what makes you think he can? The republicans don’t have anything on Nan like they have on old flip flop. Great article Leslie, very true.