Exactly. For example, I posted on here that I felt strongly that McCain should've picked Romney as his VP candidate--and if he did, he would've had a fighting chance against Obama (because the economy was starting to tank bad enough for more individuals to vote based primarily on it, even more than they normally do).

I mean, its a bit silly. Stupid even... but *intolerable*?

What does that even mean?

perhaps you should wait to call law school grads attorneys... maybe when they become partners, you can call them attorneys. mostly, the weakness of this pathetically weak knee-jerk ad hominem tells me all i need to know about your level of intelligence and insecurity. if you weren't some hard-working-but-slow tool, you wouldn't have reached for some inaccurate label

let's review: things i said i like about mittens:

- more intelligent/ better understanding of issues

- truly bipartisan, ran a very liberal state in a pragmatic way

- doesn't really believe the religious bullshit, but doesn't go out of his way to indulge in religious talk to prove anything to people

- great experience in high finance and government

none of that is really anything a freeper would cite. in fact, i'm pretty sure freepers would dislike romney for a plethora of reasons. you're really fucking slow

btw, just for you, i will hold off on saying orthopaedic surgeon until i finish residency. hope that makes you feel better

"because i'm not a douche"

link? that is clearly inaccurate.

How does keep you from being a douche?

Sure, you're a doctor as a resident, but the general public makes certain assumptions when they hear doctor/physician rather than resident. It's more of an experience thing, which you compared quite nicely with the lawyering profession.

re: romney, he's the only republican at the moment I can see myself voting for in a presidential election. I probably would've went with him last time around if he beat out McCain.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/senate/fl/florida_senate_republican_primary-1064.html

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/florida/election_2010_florida_republican_primary_for_senate

This is despite the fact that Crist has a 65% favorable rating in the state. Rubio rates slightly more favorable, but his lead over Crist is primarily due to a huge advantage among men. Male voters prefer Marco Rubio by 17% in this poll.

Mark this post--I'm calling the seat for Crist (whether as the GOP winner or as an independent in the general).

Posted: 02/02/10 10:23 AM

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Rubio's peaking way too early. He's not going to look so hot after 11 months of voter scrutiny and cooling-off.

Mark this post--I'm calling the seat for Crist (whether as the GOP winner or as an independent in the general).

_____________________

Marked

Or in 6 months, when the primary is?

Or in 7 weeks, when the petition forms are due for independent candidates running for Senate?

HTH

The "national spotlight" matters because media attention matters, and candidates in the national spotlight are placed under much greater scrutiny. For example, Sarah Palin fell apart completely when exposed to the "national spotlight." She became ineffective even in Alaska, where her approval ratings plummeted. She was so pathetically hamstrung that she quit her job as governor.

If you're the same George Allen who used to post here, you were a huge fan of Palin's back before she was exposed as a moronic huckster. Apparently you haven't learned much from recent history.

The truth is that I haven't read a single article about Rubio/Crist and don't really know or care about all the premature hype. I'll probably get interested in congressional races in six months or so. But the Rubio trolling was getting obnoxious, so I thought I'd lob in a prediction.

Turns out GA and XOH get pretty testy when someone questions the prospects of their beloved candidate.

Link?

And never mind, I forgot that you were the reason I stopped visiting BLB in the first place. I'll take another few years off and see if you've dried up.

You probably can't picture this, but in some states, being on the GOP party line matters, and FL is one of those states. FL isn't going to elect an Independent when they haev a viable change candidate running on the GOP side. Rubio is FL's chance to grab the national spotlight, because like Obama he has the personality and political skills that make him an instant possibility for VP/P consideration after a few yrs.

People vote for Independents when the Independent is the best candidate--Crist is a piece of shit.

No need to get so upset, I wouldn't have been so blunt about Rubio's imminent failure if I realized you had a crush on him.

Rubio is killing Crist among Independents, not just Republicans. And he's done this without spending money--he didn't have much money until recently, but now it's pouring in because the word is out that Crist is against transparency and wants to preserve the status quo. He's more concerned about his career trajectory than representing the state.

Crist's job approval as governor is under 50% right now, good luck to him running as an Independent in a time when people want fresh ideas.

I previously mentioned this. Might be too far out, but I could see it presenting an issue later.

As more polls come out, I will update. This is far different from Joe Lieberman who was an incumbent Senator and former VP nominee. Floridians aren't supportive of Crist and his backers have seriously curtailed donations. His opposition (Marco Rubio) is a well-known, well-liked, well-spoken elected official who brings big constituencies with him, not an inexperienced upstart rich white businessman handpicked by Daily Kos readers (Ned Lamont).

You made those same points what, four times yesterday? Keep it up! I'm sure they'll grow increasingly meaningful if you repeat them regularly for the next nine months.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/03/02/charlie_crist_looks_doomed/index.html

We might as well start calling Marco Rubio a Senator. Crist only cares about himself and holding power--he's a shiftless asshole.

Two good quotes:

"Rumors abound in Florida political circles that Crist is having serious trouble raising money; one Republican operative describes a recent conversation with a Crist fundraiser in which the latter described her job as akin to pulling teeth."

And:

"The national media has presented Crist's fall -- and the rise of Rubio, who keynoted the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington -- as a tea party-inspired uprising against a pragmatic centrist. But there's more to it than that.

A series of interviews with Florida political observers and GOP insiders tells a different story -- one in which Crist's problems have less to do with his purported moderation than with an ardor for political expediency and opportunism.

"I don't know whether Charlie is left-of-center or right-of-center," says Brett Doster, an unaligned GOP strategist in the state. "Charlie is all about Charlie."

Sorry Charlie, you just suck.

lulz

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/florida/election_2010_florida_republican_primary_for_senate

Only a few more months until FL primaries. It's also too late for Crist to file the sigs to run as an Independent, which he was never going to do anyway.

Lulz.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63R4UR20100429

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/us/politics/22crist.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126167759

http://www.southernpoliticalreport.com/storylink_420_1370.aspx

In a general election, Crist will destroy Rubio.

One thing is for sure, Crist will not be running as the GOP nominee.

Because he could not win in FL if forced out of the closet, I doubt he will run as an Independent. Being very pro-gay rights myself, I find guys like Crist utterly digusting, because they're willing to say or do anything to step on the rights of other gays... and they can get away with it because they have power and privilege.

* The documentary includes several clips of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R), who was recently married, denying he is gay, and his former girlfriend Kelly Heyniger saying, ?I think I should just keep my mouth shut. Call me in 10 years, and I?ll tell you a story.?

"It's also too late for Crist to file the sigs to run as an Independent."

And I don't think this is true, given the fact that he is apparently planning on doing just that.

I can't see FL putting anything other than a GOP nominee in the Senate. I know you're new to FL and haven't been to most of the counties, but outside of some small areas, FL is very conservative. Hard to see Crist winning if he ran as an (I) and some Rubio front groups ran some ads letting people know that Charlie Crist prefers men. It's not right, but it's reality. It would be a variation on the "Swift Boating" of John Kerry. Crist is really uptight about his sexuality for some reason and would prefer to lose in a GOP primary rather than be outed. Probably for the same reason that he's a pussy who has spoken against gay marriage when it suited him.

I'm basing this on conversations I've had with a guy in my office who grew up in a small town in north FL, went to UF for all of his degrees, lived in Tampa right out of LS for three years and now lives in Miami. I think he has a good sense of FL voters and politics.

"MIAMI ? Gov. Charlie Crist announced Thursday that he will run independently for the United States Senate, giving Florida a race that will once again make the state a gawk-worthy stage of American politics, where the country's desires, fears and conflicts play out."

"Kendrick Meek, Democrat

Biggest Advantage:

No one would seem to benefit more from a Crist run as an independent than Kendrick Meek, for one simple reason: the numbers are on his side. There are at least 650,000 more registered Democrats in Florida than Republicans, and assuming Mr. Meek wins the primary and registration continues along its expected path, that lead would amount to about two percentage points in November. If he does better with Democratic voters than either Mr. Crist or Mr. Rubio do with Republicans ? and Mr. Crist does not win nearly every independent vote ? Mr. Meek becomes Florida?s next senator."

"Marco Rubio, Republican

Biggest Challenge:

The Tea Party is not enough: Mr. Rubio has said he would not change his fiery, fiscally conservative message for the general election, but the activist wing of the Republican Party is not enough to get him to victory. There are signs that he has already moderated his approach ? this week he criticized the new Arizona immigration law. If he goes too far to the middle, he angers his most ardent fans. If he does not go far enough, he may lose the swing voters in places like the Route I-4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando, where recent Florida elections have been won."

"Charlie Crist, No Party Affiliation

Biggest Advantage:

Everyone knows Mr. Crist. He has served for more than a decade in public office, and his approval ratings are higher than those of some other governors in states suffering greatly from the recession. His everyman appeal (complete with flowered shirts, opposition to rate hikes from utilities and insurance companies, and ?I feel your pain? expressions) now combines with his ability to say he is running against partisan extremism. And with his veto of a controversial education bill tying teacher pay to student performance, he now has a high-profile example that is already paying dividends.

Several teachers joined him on stage with him for his announcement. "We are a very loyal bunch of people," said Andy Ford, president of Florida?s largest teachers union. "A lot of people are thinking we owe him this because he stood up for us."

Biggest Challenge:

Money and infrastructure: When Senator Joseph I. Lieberman ran and won as an independent in Connecticut four years ago, he had a national fund-raising base among the Jewish community, and a trusted campaign staff. Mr. Crist, has about $7.6 million on hand but by bolting the Republican Party he loses growth potential. ?It takes $20 million to be competitive and he is going to have huge defections from his fundraiser base,? said Randy Nielsen, a Republican consultant in West Palm Beach. ?The turnstiles will be busier than a New York subway at 5 o?clock.? This could matter greatly down the stretch. Mr. Lieberman?s campaign, for example, focused heavily on simple logistics ? recruiting poll workers and running utilitarian advertisements pointing out where he could be found on the ballot. Mr. Crist, in a state filled with older voters, may need precious dollars to do the same."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/us/politics/29crist.html

"Indeed, he faces stiff competition in Kendrick B. Meek, a Democratic congressman from Miami who has methodically campaigned statewide for more than a year; and Marco Rubio, a Republican wunderkind and favorite of the Tea Party movement whose double-digit lead in the polls apparently pushed Mr. Crist from the Republican primary.

Simply by entering the race as a third-party candidate, Mr. Crist would change the game. The seat had been seen as safely Republican since Mel Martinez retired last year. But in a state where Democrats have a registration advantage, the race is now wide open."

Crist announced his plans to run as an Independent. This changes the dynamics of the race from an almost certainty for the Republicans to a wide open race.

Meek has the numbers on his side. Rubio needs to get more than the tea baggers to support him. Crist is facing financing issues.

alsoalosaslo "we may as well start calling Rubio Senator"