Friday, April 23, 2010

Florida GOP Tries To Prevent Schism

In a not-to-shocking move, the Florida Republican Party invoked a "party loyalty oath," forbidding party membership to back Gov. Charlie Crist, should he run as an independent.  The oath threatens severe consequences should members disobey.
The Republican Party of Florida requires members of all political party committees organized under the RPOF to abide by a Party Loyalty Oath.
...
Any member who fails to formally revoke his or her public support and request the return of any contributions made to a candidate running against the candidate of the Republican Party would be in violation of the RPOF Rules and would be subject to removal from party office and membership on Republican executive committees.
It appears that the GOP is giving up on the primary and is essentially naming Marco Rubio the winner, while implying Crist is a turncoat.  I believe this is more reason for Crist to run as an independent, or in a long shot situation, Crist should switch parties, becoming a Democrat, and drop the "repeal" nonsense.  Doing so would surely secure the senate seat, but I do not believe that would happen, primarily because Crist is not a Democrat, and while moderate, he is aligned more closely with conservatives then liberals.

I think this memo is interesting for another reason - it shows the Florida Republican Party scared, acknowledging Crist as a threat, which is why they have decided to preemptively strike an independent run by Crist.

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