Florida Governor Charlie Crist is widely considered to be a "moderate" republican (i.e. one who does not mindlessly agree with conservatives on every single issue). He is running for the U.S. Senate, but -- in the current volatile political climate in which the "tea party" seeks to run all "moderate" republicans out of the republican party -- Crist currently trails republican primary challenger and conservative golden boy Marco Rubio by a whopping 20-30 points in the polls (depending on which one you look at). Put another way, Crist (a very popular political figure in Florida) likely will not be able to beat Rubio in the GOP primary this year in the Senate race. However, polls are showing that he could very well beat Rubio and democrat Kendrick Meek in the general election if Crist runs as an Independent. And that's precisely what Crist is considering doing at this moment (link below).Not that I generally care at all about Florida politics, but I would love to see Crist run as an Independent down there. Independents need viable candidates to start running for more offices, and the precedent that Crist would set by running as an Independent would be awesome. He is getting a lot of pressure from republicans -- including some of his own top fundraisers -- not to turn Independent. But I say, go for it, Charlie! Screw a republican party that obviously does not want you! It's your only possible way to win, and do you really want to continue to hang out in a party whose base despises you? Run, baby, Run -- Run as an Independent!
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35937.html
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