http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/article1247631.ece You go, Charlie Crist! Note: Crist isn't a Republican Governor right now, but if Mitt gets to be called "Governor Romney" and a Republican, so does Crist.
The Dems really should devote at least one speech in primetime each night during their convention to well-known people like this - you would think they would appeal to moderates/independents who cross over between parties each election cycle. It's one thing for a lifelong Dem to say the GOP has gone nuts. It's another for popular former Republicans to do so.
Is Crist considered popular? I know he ran as an independent after he lost the Republican primary for Senate, but he still lost by 20 points and hasn't been heard much from since.
With GOPers, certainly no. With Dems? Reasonably, but probably not hugely so. But with non-partisans, I'd guess he speaks to them in a way that lifelong supporters of one party can't do - he can speak as a guy that was Republican, but felt like his party went nuts, and he saw the honesty and integrity in Obama even from the opposite of the aisle, and refused to play the GOP game of opposing him at the expense of his own state. That's a message that can resonate with people annoyed with politics as usual and get them to see Obama as the reasonable trying-to-work-with-the-other-side guy they want. Democrats saying that about Obama can't resonate in the same way. Remember, Rubio won his election in Florida with less than 50% of the vote in a GOP tidal wave election. 30% or so of the electorate picked Crist over the mediocre Democrat - if he can speak to some of those people, he has immense value.
Looks like Crist will be speaking: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/crist-to-speak-at-democratic-convention Not sure if it will be one of the primetime televised speeches or not.
Crist is a nobody today but he WAS popular. There was talk of him making a run for president before The Obama Election changed everything for Republicans, talk of him as a potential VP candidate for McCain, etc. Prior to Obama's election spawning the radical tea party, Charlie Crist was a "star".
i look forward to his speech. Spoiler <iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DodyrrzK-zs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
yes (note the pants-around-ankles in the derogatory cartoon above). crist was tea party-d by macro rubio then switched sides. he was always very moderate for a republican, esp one from the south.
