Team Obama Joins Team Crist

It appears all that fundraising Charlie Crist did for President Barack Obama is paying off. Three former Obama campaign staffers are working for Crist's campaign for governor.

Meet the former members of Team Obama now on Team Crist

Steve Schale - senior advisor

Jim Margolis - media consultant

John Anzalone - pollster

Crist is the establishment candidate. Nan Rich needs to find a way to get in the good graces of Team Obama and the DNC if she is going to have a chance.

Steve Schale Drumming Up Excitement For Alex Sink

Steve Schale is actively trying to get excitement behind Alex Sink running for governor in 2014.

“If Alex runs, Alex is the frontrunner,” said Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist who advised Sink on her run for the Governor’s Mansion last year.

If Alex Sink runs in 2014 she will lose the primary. I seriously doubt other Democrats are going to be intimidated about running against her. If by some miracle Sink wins the primary then Rick Scott will win the second term. No statewide candidate in the nation had a worst GOTV. Sink blew off Democratic-leaning South Florida for the extremely red Panhandle. Sink then blamed Obama for her inability to win the most conservative part of Florida.

Team Obama will likely they elected Team Obama will remember Sink publicly dissing them. Team Obama will remember Sink losing to Scott. Team Obama will recruit a candidate to primary against Sink. That person may well be Charlie Crist.

Join Stop Alex Sink on Facebook and Twitter.

Crist & Meek Will Debate

Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek will debate at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches on Sept. 15. The Marco Rubio campaign said their candidate cannot be there because of a scheduling conflict. More likely Rubio noticed he is ahead in the polls and decided to duck the debate.

Update: Steve Schale makes the claim that Kendrick Meek will increase in the polls once Democrats realize Meek is the anointed one.

Today, Rubio has the clearest path to victory, but once Democrats figure out that Meek is their only option, his path will get much more clear as well. For Crist, I wouldn't rush to book that early January plane ticket from Tallahassee to DC-- a trip that starting in October 2010, the rest of us will be able make without stopping in Atlanta or Charlotte!

Actually, Democratic voters view Crist as an option. Meek's poll numbers continue to suck. Schale is a smart guy, but a Meek supporter selling bullshit spin. Meek and Crist or splitting the Democratic vote and making Rubio's job easier. Rubio has the GOP base locked up and received superb voter turnout. Democrats feel less enthusiasm this election cycle. This has become Rubio's race to lose. Crist could beat Rubio in a two man race. The same cannot be said about Meek.

Kendrick Meek will go down in Florida politics, along with Hugh Rodham and Bill McBride, as candidates people will wonder at how they ever gotten nominated.

Kendrick Meek Death Watch: Dems Spin About Meek's Demise Begins

Steve Schale explains how Kendrick Meek's campaign will suddenly catch on fire.

Crist has always had high favorable that crossed partisan lines. He also has universal name ID, a rarity in Florida that is likely only shared by Jeb Bush (not even Bill Nelson or five time statewide winner Bob Graham can claim it). And unlike Crist, neither of his general election opponents, Marco Rubio or Kendrick Meek have anything near it. Hence the polling. It is all about him having real name ID, while his opponents do not.

However, that will change. While the press has been writing him off, Meek has slowly been building up a healthy war chest, one that will allow him to run a healthy paid media effort during his primary. And as Meek’s name ID increases and voters become more comfortable with his story, so will his polling numbers.

Pay no attention to Crist's superior poll numbers or name-recognition. Even though Pollster.com has been tracking Meek's numbers going into freefalling.



Pay no attention to unions endorsing Gov. Charlie Crist over Meek.

Pay no attention to Democrats raising money for Crist's Senate campaign.

Pay no attention to Jim Johnson's comment on Schale's blog.

Steven,

Congressman Meek is far from the sharpest tool in the shed - I had the pleasure of seeing him as a state legislator, and he often misunderstood the issues being debated (other than law enforcement issues).

He has also relatively little money, and will have to spend most of it in the primary.

Let's face it. Meek has always ridden his mother's coattails. Sure, he was a Florida Trooper - but he has never really had to "run" for office in any competitive race.

I have as much chance of winning the Senate race as Meek.

Pay no attention to my comment on Schale's blog.

This isn't blogging. It is spin. If Kendrick Meek was doing so you would not be writing a post about not counting him out. Crist has above 50 percent approval and been tearing into Meek's political and fundraising base. Jeff Greene can buy TV ads across the state. Meek will suddenly become known to Democrats and win it all. When exactly is Meek going to catch on fire? I want an exact day.

Pay no attention to reality. Most of all, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

RPOF Loyality Oath

The Republican Party of Florida is making members take a loyality oath. No member is allowed to support the independent candidacy of Charlie Crist. This idea comes from new Chairman John Thrasher. I am the last person to tell Florida Republicans how to run their party. I will say that I am enjoying the party moving so far right that it is pushing moderates out. Former RPoF chairman (and no fan of Crist) Tom Slade thinks this is a stupid idea.

Even former state GOP chairman Tom Slade, a vocal critic of Crist ("He's deader than the day before yesterday," he said of Crist political future), said it was a bad move. "That's going a step or two too far," Slade said. "Organized political parties can do some stupid stuff from time to time ... That loyalty oath doesn't make any sense to me."

David Frum's statement that the Republican Party panders to Fox News is an important truism. Marco Rubio has done Mitt Romney level flip flops on immigration and rail. Rubio's Tea Party pandering makes him less mainstream for the general election. Fox News CEO Roger Ailes recently ordered Sean Hannity not to appear at a Tea Party rally. You know the Tea Party is not mainstream when Fox News is getting nervous.

There is also the issue of Rubio's credit card scandal. Rubio can hardly paint himself as a fiscal conservative after spending $110,000 on a RPoF credit card. Rubio demanded former RPoF Chairman Jim Greer release his credit card records.

"It has become clear that Charlie Crist and Jim Greer have done untold damage to the Republican party of Florida. As Republican leaders, it is all of our responsibilities to clean up the mess they made as quickly as possible so we can turn the page and return to the true focus of the RPOF: to elect Republicans. Therefor I would ask you to strongly consider releasing all AMEX statement from Jim Greer's time as chairman to the RPOF Executive Committee," the letter states.

However, Rubio refuses to release records of his credit card transactions. Rubio also fails to mention that Crist never had a RPoF American Express card.

If the Republican Party wasn't operating in Fox News Bizarro World: Rubio wouldn't come near the GOP Senate nomination. Sarah Palin was the worst vice-presidential candidate since James Stockdale. She is now being talked about as a serious presidential contender. This is what happens when a political party is more concerned with silly loyality oaths than governing effectively.

Update: Steve Schale makexs a point that I have been thinking about. This is less about Rubio then the Florida Republican Party base looking for someone to defeat Charlie Crist. Fox News helped create the Tea Party. Republican politicians are too terrified to publicly criticize Fox News. David Frum was forced to resign from the American Enterprise Institute, after speaking out against Fox News. The GOP is pushing further to the Right. There is no room in the current GOP for Crist.