Yet another post from my TL
--------------------------------
Charlie Crist wanted to be President. It was simple. He was the Governor of Florida, one of America’s most politically important states, and believed he was entitled to the speculation and coverage that was owed the office. Tanned, with a helmet of quaffed white hair, Crist looked as much the part as Mitt Romney did. He could raise money just as well as Romney, or Barbour, or any of the other potential or declared candidates. He had a solid record that he believed would resonate with voters, despite his tenuous relationship with conservatives. In private some friends joked that Crist was almost a genuine version of his Michigan counterpart; moderate to a fault, but actually willing to embrace it. Willing to put people ahead of politics, and buck the GOP brass. As for running for president, he had been mapping out the possibility of a run for the Republican nomination since just before the midterms and his re-election. Shortly after the midterm results, and emboldened by his narrow victory over Democrat Alex Sink, Crist hunkered down in the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee and chatted with aides and longtime friends over whether he should actually put his plans into action and run. George LeMieux, Crist’s campaign manager for both of his successful gubernatorial runs, expressed concern, admitting that his boss’s record as governor, while attractive in a general election, might prove to be an albatross to Republican primary voters.
You’re not exactly a conservative, warned LeMieux. By current Republican estimates, this was true. Crist’s record on key issues like the environment, same-sex relations, and abortion, were closer in line to many centrist Democrats than the average Republican office holder. Yet when Crist looked at the rest of the field, all he saw were men who were inferior to him. He assailed Mitt Romney as too politically driven and lacking in the human emotion department. As much as he enjoyed Haley Barbour’s company, the Mississippi governor was too unhealthy, too southern, and too unpredictable to serve as Commander-in-Chief. Mike Huckabee suffered from the same problem, plus the relationship between Crist and the former Arkansas governor had soured since the latter moved to Florida. At fundraisers, luncheons, and to whomever would listen, Huckabee decried Charlie Crist as representing what was wrong with the Republican Party. Moderate, unprincipled, and elitist, Huckabee claimed that Florida’s governor suffered from it all. Plus there had been rumours that if he didn’t get the Republican nomination, the former Arkansas resident was looking into nabbing Crist’s job come 2014. To put it plainly, the two men hated one another.
But that was nothing compared to Crist’s relationship with the Bush family. Big money donors weary of Romney had lined up, begging for Jeb Bush to jump into the race. Son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother of failed presidential candidate and former Veterans Secretary George W. Bush, the former Florida Governor and current Senator enjoyed the limelight. After all, Jeb told those who approached him that if he did enter the race, which was far from a sure thing, he’d wipe the floor with Crist for their state’s support. Crist’s success had been built on Jeb’s, and the Senator felt both blind sighted by the amount of coverage his successor was garnering, and angered by his lack of consultation over the presidential race. Former President Bush thought Crist was a lightweight. Barbara Bush routinely called him a traitor to Jeb. George W. encouraged his brother to get into the race before Crist had the chance, and save the party from the likes of “yahoos and weirdos”. But Jeb was torn on the issue. Being a senator meant a stable job, good income, a pulpit to address the issues he was concerned about. Running for president would put all of that, and his family’s much guarded privacy, in jeopardy. Plus it would only confirm all the criticism his Democratic opponents had thrown at him in the midterms; that the senate seat was just a stepping stone for yet another Bush to seek a higher office. Personally, he didn’t feel that way at all. Voters had trusted him to represent them, and they expected him to serve the full six-year term. Ultimately, so did Jeb. According to the Bush clan, Jeb’s refusal to enter the race didn’t mean Florida was Charlie Crist’s for the taking. They’d do everything in their power to make sure he’d have to work for it.
That suited Governor Crist just fine. He had no problem with hard work. To him it was the Bush’s who lacked experience with hard work, with both Jeb and his older brother practically handed everything by their father.
One of Crist’s favourite phrases was “If there’s a will, there’s a way,”. As his campaign team mapped out his admittedly difficult path to the Republican nomination, the Florida governor would utter the phrase and dispatch any potential criticism or worry. In the campaign’s war room there was a white board with a list of issues that would likely plague the governor in the upcoming GOP presidential debates. The governor would mark down the phrase on a yellow sticky-note, slap it on the board, and reassure his team that they would overcome the obstacles in front of him. Sure, voters were pissed off at John Edwards and the members of his administration, but Crist was sure that the angry radicals in his party were a vocal minority, and the common-sense majority, who were concerned with the economy, healthcare, and America’s place in the world, would rally to his campaign and propel him to victory. Iowa was a no go, but with a strong showing in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and a win in Florida, he’d have a shot.
With supporters gathered for Crist’s official announcement in Tampa, Florida, the governor pledged to breath new life into the American promise. He would present them with a positive agenda for the country’s future. Country ahead of partisan politics. Jobs ahead of social issues. Echoing the words of Ronald Reagan, Charlie Crist proclaimed it was time to make America great again.
Now the only issue was convincing enough Republican primary voters that he was the man to make it happen.
--------------------------------
Charlie Crist wanted to be President. It was simple. He was the Governor of Florida, one of America’s most politically important states, and believed he was entitled to the speculation and coverage that was owed the office. Tanned, with a helmet of quaffed white hair, Crist looked as much the part as Mitt Romney did. He could raise money just as well as Romney, or Barbour, or any of the other potential or declared candidates. He had a solid record that he believed would resonate with voters, despite his tenuous relationship with conservatives. In private some friends joked that Crist was almost a genuine version of his Michigan counterpart; moderate to a fault, but actually willing to embrace it. Willing to put people ahead of politics, and buck the GOP brass. As for running for president, he had been mapping out the possibility of a run for the Republican nomination since just before the midterms and his re-election. Shortly after the midterm results, and emboldened by his narrow victory over Democrat Alex Sink, Crist hunkered down in the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee and chatted with aides and longtime friends over whether he should actually put his plans into action and run. George LeMieux, Crist’s campaign manager for both of his successful gubernatorial runs, expressed concern, admitting that his boss’s record as governor, while attractive in a general election, might prove to be an albatross to Republican primary voters.
You’re not exactly a conservative, warned LeMieux. By current Republican estimates, this was true. Crist’s record on key issues like the environment, same-sex relations, and abortion, were closer in line to many centrist Democrats than the average Republican office holder. Yet when Crist looked at the rest of the field, all he saw were men who were inferior to him. He assailed Mitt Romney as too politically driven and lacking in the human emotion department. As much as he enjoyed Haley Barbour’s company, the Mississippi governor was too unhealthy, too southern, and too unpredictable to serve as Commander-in-Chief. Mike Huckabee suffered from the same problem, plus the relationship between Crist and the former Arkansas governor had soured since the latter moved to Florida. At fundraisers, luncheons, and to whomever would listen, Huckabee decried Charlie Crist as representing what was wrong with the Republican Party. Moderate, unprincipled, and elitist, Huckabee claimed that Florida’s governor suffered from it all. Plus there had been rumours that if he didn’t get the Republican nomination, the former Arkansas resident was looking into nabbing Crist’s job come 2014. To put it plainly, the two men hated one another.
But that was nothing compared to Crist’s relationship with the Bush family. Big money donors weary of Romney had lined up, begging for Jeb Bush to jump into the race. Son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother of failed presidential candidate and former Veterans Secretary George W. Bush, the former Florida Governor and current Senator enjoyed the limelight. After all, Jeb told those who approached him that if he did enter the race, which was far from a sure thing, he’d wipe the floor with Crist for their state’s support. Crist’s success had been built on Jeb’s, and the Senator felt both blind sighted by the amount of coverage his successor was garnering, and angered by his lack of consultation over the presidential race. Former President Bush thought Crist was a lightweight. Barbara Bush routinely called him a traitor to Jeb. George W. encouraged his brother to get into the race before Crist had the chance, and save the party from the likes of “yahoos and weirdos”. But Jeb was torn on the issue. Being a senator meant a stable job, good income, a pulpit to address the issues he was concerned about. Running for president would put all of that, and his family’s much guarded privacy, in jeopardy. Plus it would only confirm all the criticism his Democratic opponents had thrown at him in the midterms; that the senate seat was just a stepping stone for yet another Bush to seek a higher office. Personally, he didn’t feel that way at all. Voters had trusted him to represent them, and they expected him to serve the full six-year term. Ultimately, so did Jeb. According to the Bush clan, Jeb’s refusal to enter the race didn’t mean Florida was Charlie Crist’s for the taking. They’d do everything in their power to make sure he’d have to work for it.
That suited Governor Crist just fine. He had no problem with hard work. To him it was the Bush’s who lacked experience with hard work, with both Jeb and his older brother practically handed everything by their father.
One of Crist’s favourite phrases was “If there’s a will, there’s a way,”. As his campaign team mapped out his admittedly difficult path to the Republican nomination, the Florida governor would utter the phrase and dispatch any potential criticism or worry. In the campaign’s war room there was a white board with a list of issues that would likely plague the governor in the upcoming GOP presidential debates. The governor would mark down the phrase on a yellow sticky-note, slap it on the board, and reassure his team that they would overcome the obstacles in front of him. Sure, voters were pissed off at John Edwards and the members of his administration, but Crist was sure that the angry radicals in his party were a vocal minority, and the common-sense majority, who were concerned with the economy, healthcare, and America’s place in the world, would rally to his campaign and propel him to victory. Iowa was a no go, but with a strong showing in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and a win in Florida, he’d have a shot.
With supporters gathered for Crist’s official announcement in Tampa, Florida, the governor pledged to breath new life into the American promise. He would present them with a positive agenda for the country’s future. Country ahead of partisan politics. Jobs ahead of social issues. Echoing the words of Ronald Reagan, Charlie Crist proclaimed it was time to make America great again.
Now the only issue was convincing enough Republican primary voters that he was the man to make it happen.
