Charlie Crist Is No Joe Lieberman

A recent Politico article, warned Florida Governor Charlie Crist that he would likely see his Washington establishment friends disappear if he ran as an independent. The same would likely occur in his home state.

The collective warning from Washington’s GOP establishment was one that Crist can’t afford to ignore as the April 30 filing deadline approaches. Statewide races in sprawling Florida, with its 10 media markets, are fought on the airwaves — which makes them expensive endeavors. And if Crist runs as an independent, his national fundraising could quickly dry up.

“If he runs as an independent, I think the best day he has is the day he announces,” a longtime Crist adviser conceded. “The normal rules of gravity apply. How do you raise money?”

This source, who has talked to Crist about his decision, said, “I told him that every Republican official is going to support [Republican Senate challenger Marco] Rubio. And by telegraphing this, you’re making them jump.” http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36119.html#ixzz0ljnU6QtB

This is one of three main reasons why Crist would be ill-advised to run as an independent.

1) Crist ain't Lieberman. As discussed above, Crist would lose the support of allies, donors and advisers. Crist is simply not the type of establishment figure in his home state or nationally that Joe Lieberman was in 2006. Lieberman had spent nearly twenty years representing Connecticut in the Senate in 2006 and was just a handful of votes away from being Vice President in 2000. Comparatively, Crist has been Govenor for less than four years and was a virtual unknown outside of Florida politics before then.

2)Rubio ain't Lamont. Lieberman's liberal challenger was a fringe candidate. Ned Lamont was a product of a DailyKos inspired "netroots" movement. Rubio, on the other hand, is a mainstream conservative supported by everyone from Jim Demint to Mike Huckabee.

3)Florida ain't Connecticut. In 2006 the GOP had no chance in Connecticut. The Lieberman/Lamont race was a two-way contest. This year in Florida, however, the Democrats will have a chance. This may be the biggest factor of all. The Connecticut race was essentially a state wide do-over of the Democratic Primary and every voter knew it. That would not be the case in Florida.