Charlie Crist is being hailed as a “savior” for the Florida Democrats in some quarters. The Democrats desperate for some sort of statewide success after losing 13 of the last 14 elections for state office (three of those elections were lost to Crist himself), have turned to the former Governor in hopes of reviving a sagging party. The desperation of some party insiders has led some who feel Crist may not be the ideal nominee to be impugned for their motives even though it is those pushing Crist who very well could be compromising the Democratic brand. Not only ideologically but on issues of ethics and entitlement.
The Democrats failure to create a values based issue oriented party which advocates a contrasting vision for Florida’s future beyond token efforts is a subject we will explore in more detail later this week, but for now the issue is where Governor Crist fits into the politics of the 2014 election.
With the Democrats suffering from a lack of a cohesive or consistent message over many years, some insiders hope that Crist could help define the party. However, Crist for much of his career has himself has lacked a clear vision of how he’d govern other than looking at public opinion polls and trying to remain likeable. For the better part of 15 years the Democratic Party in Florida has lacked any sort coherent or consistent messaging or a long term policy vision. The default Democratic tactics of the era has been to attack Republican officeholders, blame others for continued electoral failures including national Democrats and run to the “middle” of the political spectrum essentially denying Floridians a clear cut choice between contrasting visions for the future. Party discipline has been non-existent among Democrats for years and Tallahassee insiders continue to try and dictate events despite being almost completely aloof from developments in the major populations centers of the state. The weakness of the FDP and most local DEC’s has for years promoted a free-for-all among elected officials to accrue influence and in many cases to cut deals with local or Tallahassee-based Republicans. A Crist nomination would only further this problem and create more long-term issues for the party. But that too is an issue for another day.
The culture of accommodation has led some Democrats to accepting cronyism and entitlement as part of how business is conducted in Tallahassee. Deal-cutting and back slapping has become the standard operating procedure for many Democrats, even from the most liberal areas of the state. We have even seen the Democratic caucus consistently shy away from taking public positions on hot-button ideological issues for fear of offending the Republicans. But more recently many progressives have stood up on issues of reform and ethics in Government attempting to make it a statewide issue. One-party control of Tallahassee since 1998 has led to unparalleled levels of arrogance in the capital city, and has not served the general public well. But Governor Crist was not only part of that arrogance and entitlement when he was a Republican, but he has been tied to numerous Republican scandals which otherwise could be highlighted by Democrats in the 2014 campaign.
Florida Republicans have created a class of entitled politicians who lack intellectual curiosity or any governing wisdom. They are not true conservatives as much as they are political whores for power. They have lived for years on easy street being opposed by an impotent Florida Democratic Party that lacked organization or the courage in its own convictions to take the fight to the Republicans. If Charlie Crist were to be the Democratic standard-bearer in 2014 the scandals of the Scott era in Florida Government very well may be off the table as campaign issues. Furthermore, Democrats could be damaged by scandals such as those involving Jim Greer and Harry Sargeant that had nothing to do with any elected Democratic official in the state.
Crist is of course presumed innocent in the scandals that were tied to his administration (as is Scott in the scandals tied to his administration). But the perception of Crist and his political shiftiness through the years could take away some of the most valuable issues the Democrats have to galvanize public opinion across the state against Governor Scott. Perhaps Crist has a greater possible upside than any other potential Democratic nominee but his baggage and potential to damage the Democratic brand or themes that are being developed must be considered before he is simply handed the nomination.
The Florida Squeeze 
Maybe the best thing for Democrats is another Scott term which could allow for real concerted efforts at taking back some power in the legislature. With Crist, we are dead in the water. He does not represent us.
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Agreed Dog. I think a second Scott term may be preferable to Crist as it would allow Democrats to crystalize the issues, rebuild a party and actually become progressives. All these former Republicans running in our party and using our party to regain power is simply unacceptable and disgusting.
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This is a
GREAT GREAT article.
Stopping CharLIE from further prostituting our party is a must.
Keep exposing the truth here and the scenarios which will lead to an easy Scott victory.
Then we can get a real Democrat, be it Nan Rich or someone else to properly represent us next fall!
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Would we be stupid enough to nominate him?
Well we are the dumbo-crats aren’t we?
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Crist is weaker than many think. Polls ljke in 09 are overstating his popularity and strength. He ought to be scrutinized more closely.
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Lets see maybe somebody will actually clean up the corruption. What a concept
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They are so up John Morgan’s rear end nothing you says matters. Minds made up.
Hello Rick Scott term two.
Don’t our leaders realize Crist is a bigger scum bucket than 95 percent of this state’s politicians. And that is saying quite a bit. The Republicans surely do not want him. His switch is all about him and now. It is ok to switch parties for true convictions. It is not ok to be a phony scum who puts yourself above everything and everybody in your way.
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You people are all Rick Scott’s biggest backers. If we loose y’all are to blame. Liberals are the GOPs best friends.
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Stop it with this attacking anyone who questions Crist’s viability as a Scott backer. That’s so simplistic and just plain wrong.
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We need Crist more than he needs us. Maybe it is the Ds fault we are in this position but don’t hold him responsible for the ineptitude of the party staff and leadership. It is on them. Let us clear the primary field and back him!
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We need Crist more than he needs us.
Right because he can run for office as a Republican again. What a ridiculous comment.
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No one is backing Rick Scott or Charlie Crist if they actually want people to vote. Crist’s votes are on him. Watch the fireworks if Crist is the candidate. Watch out everyone’s closet is going to be cleaned. For Crist backers put your real name…..yes we know you are probably elected officials or staffers.
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I dont know why you all waste your time. There is no party. The Ds that are backing Crist are also backing Rick Scott. They are in a jam now because they know Scott is going to tear Crist and others apart. Wake up voters…no Democratic Party in Florida.
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We have a Republican Governor now.
What is the point of putting a former one back in???
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Aren’t you tired of losing all the time?
You yourself CONSTANTLY point out how inept the Florida Dems are and how badly the state party has performed in statewide elections. This is correct. You are on the $$$$ with these well aimed critiques about consultants and party insiders losing everything.
So then why all of a sudden do you advocate the same ole, same ole when we have a PROVEN STATEWIDE VOTE GETTER WILLING TO RUN AS A DEMOCRAT!
We need Crist more than he needs us as someone said above. You of all people, Kartik a reformer should be on his team and leading the charge!
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I am a reformer which is preciously why Crist concerns me.
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I agree with MS. If we push Charlie then both sides can get busted for corruption!
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Dan you are so right. It is sad that the Democrats in power are so damn arrogant that they think they too are not going to get caught. Crist is a joke and so is the party. Let’s hope someone else runs because the so called party is going to go down with the fall. Charlie choo choo chain gang…bite more off then he can chew.
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Crist would make Scott look like an ethical champion.
Charlie is the most talented lying, cheating, two-timing weasel in the state.
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Who is “the party” that is supporting Crist? I haven’t seen or heard the FDP do it. If you want to fault the party, look at the local DECs that are allowing him to keynote their fundraising dinners.
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I agree Susan. It is local DECs, current and former elected officials and consultants associated with Democrats pushing Crist. It is not the FDP proper, but given the decentralized nature of the party anyhow, it appears without FDP support that Crist is being backed heavily by many Democrats.
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[…] Greer. As we discussed last week, a Crist candidacy could effectively take any issues of ethics off the table for the Democrats and hand Scott an easy re-election. It is too early to tell how deep […]
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[…] these reports remind me of what I wrote over a year ago regarding the ability of Democrats to properly leverage the Scott scandals if Crist were the […]
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