Gov. Charlie Crist: Did we pick the wrong guy?

I think that there's a question that conservatives all over Florida should be asking themselves: Would things be any worse for Florida politics if Jim Davis would have been elected governor?

The immediate reaction is to say, "Sure things would be worse; Jim Davis is much more liberal than Charlie Crist." But if you think about a little bit, you may realize that it is not that simple. The Florida legislature is overwhelmingly Republican, most of whom consider themselves conservative. They would be happy to fight Davis' liberal agenda every step of the way. In essence, nothing would happen that Republicans didn't approve of first.

On the other hand Charlie Crist has been able to move the Florida government to the left in ways that Davis would have never been able to. The reason is that legislators feel obliged to support the governor, the leader of their party. A governor from your party can bring hell to pay for any legislator. Under Crist there has been: huge government intervention into the home insurance market (which hasn't worked), huge government intervention into the energy market, and a reinstatement of voting rights to felons.

The only conservative policy that has taken place is a property tax cut. Even here, Crist's lack of political courage led to a cut that is much milder than Speaker Rubio would have liked.

So why the betrayal. Crist ran as a conservative and on Jeb Bush's legacy and has governed to the contrary. Crist wants to stay popular because Crist wants to be Vice-President. Crist's strategy to achieve this has been clear: count on party loyalty to stay popular among Republicans and pander to the left to gain their support. In addition, Charlie Crist has established what is the closest thing to direct democracy in the United States, he checks the polls and uses the data to craft his policy. To tell you the truth Crist becoming Vice-President might be very good for Florida conservatives because it would take him out of Tallahassee. Unfortunately the Florida legislature made it so Crist wouldn't have to resign to run for V.P., which means that if Republicans lose nationally were still stuck with him.

Should Crist rethink his strategy. Crist was initially counting on a John McCain nomination to become Vice-President but everyone knows that's gone to hell. Rumors through the political grapevine suggest that Crist may now be counting on a Rudy nomination and that he doesn't like Mitt Romney. I don't think that Rudy would pick Crist because that wouldn't help the Rudy ticket at all. What could a non-family values Republican do for another non-family values Republican? In all likelihood, if I am correct, Crist will stay as Florida governor. What will happen in his next election? Who will walk for him? Who will donate to his campaign? Who will replace his base? Crist is very popular but his support is very shallow. There really isn't many Crist lovers out there that are willing to sacrifice to get him elected. As for me, unless things change, I may vote for Crist but I will not move a muscle to help Crist be reelected.