Crist’s Move to the Democratic Party — the Latest in a Trend of Political Cowardice

Posted in Tea Party News Network

Weak-kneed former Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist has officially come out as a Democrat.

Crist’s odyssey to move to the left has been ongoing and has become a saga of reform based on political convenience. He was the Republican governor of Florida, and then switched to an Independent to run for the U.S. Senate- a bid which he lost. Now, realizing there is still another option, he has come full-circle and arrived at the inevitable conclusion; he has registered as a Democrat.

On Friday, Crist tweeted a picture of himself and his wife, Carol, with his new voter registration form at a Christmas reception at the White House. The president greeted his new found liberal enthusiasm with a fist bump. The tweet said,

“Proud and honored to join the Democratic Party in the home of President @BarackObama!”

Maybe he might make it as a Democrat after all; he’s already got the most important move down — suck up to the anointed leader and never go against him.

Crist noted, “I’ve had friends for years tell me, ‘You know Charlie, you’re a Democrat and you don’t know it.”

However, his recent transformation does not necessarily signal a true ideological shift, but rather one of political convenience. The former Republican governor was once known as “Chain Gang Charlie” for his tough stance on crime. He was also an opponent of gay marriage and he had also been relatively pro-gun rights, even going so far as to signing into law the “Bring Your Guns to Work” law- a law which made it illegal for public and private employers to have policies prohibiting firearms on their private property.

So, it would sound odd that all those friends for years would have been telling him that he was a latent Democrat when he possessed many stances that would have made him an odd fit for the modern Democratic Party. Though, in recent years, this move has become more and more inevitable.

I’ll just go ahead and say what Crist won’t: his recent switch illustrates a trend that is becoming more and more pervasive in these chaotic political times. Crist has no real allegiance to one particular Party or ideology, but instead, wishes to regain office.

As Republicans become RINOs and seek to betray the ideological purity of the GOP, we are seeing more and more that these fair-weather friends are really just political mercenaries going to whichever party or ideology that can offer them the most possible benefit.

While there can certainly be varying degrees of commitment to ideas, the outright abandonment of core principles has become entirely too accepted. Crist is moving to the Democratic Party, but for what?

To run for governor in a state that is already crawling with real Democrats? Nobody trusts the wishy-washy Party member.

So, with Crist’s severing of ties with the right, we say, “Good riddance.”