Debbie Wasserman-Schultz offers early opposition to Crist 2014

[Donerail]

DWS was on "Facing South Florida", a Sunday morning political TV show in South Florida. While on the show, she demanded Crist change his position on abortion, and said he has to "prove himself with some of our Democratic leaders before that’s a sure thing" (referring to a 2014 bid). "We are the big tent party. We elect on the issue of a woman’s right to choose." Crist has "a lot of ground work to do" to convince Democrats he is the right choice in 2014.

Thoughts?

[Vosem]

It's not like Schultz is going to run herself -- but, that said, I think Crist will make up this ground. When moderate politicians switch parties, they tend to become hardcore ideologues (see Nathan Deal/Arlen Specter).

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

There are better things to have a litmus test on than abortion. And didn't she directly contradict herself by saying "we're a big tent, but you have to be pro-choice"?

Honestly, it may win elections by appealing to secular single women, but from a policy standpoint, doubling down on social issues won't help improve the country as a whole in the long run. Child poverty, campaign finance reform, and obviously economic recovery are all more critical at the moment.

[CatoMinor]

LOL "We are the big tent party." "He has to change his position".

[Keystone Phil]

LOL "We are the big tent party." "He has to change his position".

It will be so much fun to look back several years from now as everyone begins to notice the hypocrisy. Not to defend Crist though. He's horrible, of course, and I hope he loses his primary. I'd love to see the FL Dems throw this one away.

[Maxwell]

LOL "We are the big tent party." "He has to change his position".

It will be so much fun to look back several years from now as everyone begins to notice the hypocrisy. Not to defend Crist though. He's horrible, of course, and I hope he loses his primary. I'd love to see the FL Dems throw this one away.

It's not like Florida Dems know how to do anything else, considering their record in the state.

[bballrox4717]

This just makes me want to support Crist more. Wasserman-Schultz is terrible.

[morgieb]

Don't do it. There are some people who are unelectable in the FDP and she's one of them.

[tmthforu94]

Well, I wanted her for Minority Leader, but this could be entertaining as well.

[Beet]

There are better things to have a litmus test on than abortion. And didn't she directly contradict herself by saying "we're a big tent, but you have to be pro-choice"?

Honestly, it may win elections by appealing to secular single women, but from a policy standpoint, doubling down on social issues won't help improve the country as a whole in the long run. Child poverty, campaign finance reform, and obviously economic recovery are all more critical at the moment.

I don't see these as being mutually exclusive. Making sure women have control over their reproductive choices is a good way to reduce child poverty, for instance.

In any case, I feel that after the last 16 years, Florida Democrats deserve at least a somewhat progressive gubernatorial candidate than someone who was already governor as a Republican.

[Donerail]

Don't do it. There are some people who are unelectable in the FDP and she's one of them.

I doubt she's running, but this is probably a sign she's going to support one of the FDP's more liberal/South Florida wing (State Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich, State Sen. & AG candidate Dan Gelber, State Sen. Jeremy Ring, State Attorney & former State Sen. Dave Aronberg, Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, Anthony Shriver, or maybe even County Commissioner Jimmy Morales).

[morgieb]

There are better things to have a litmus test on than abortion. And didn't she directly contradict herself by saying "we're a big tent, but you have to be pro-choice"?

Honestly, it may win elections by appealing to secular single women, but from a policy standpoint, doubling down on social issues won't help improve the country as a whole in the long run. Child poverty, campaign finance reform, and obviously economic recovery are all more critical at the moment.

I don't see these as being mutually exclusive. Making sure women have control over their reproductive choices is a good way to reduce child poverty, for instance.

In any case, I feel that after the last 16 years, Florida Democrats deserve at least a somewhat progressive gubernatorial candidate than someone who was already governor as a Republican.

Au contraie, shouldn't after 16 years the FDP go for someone more electable?

[Oldiesfreak1854]

In any case, I feel that after the last 16 years, Florida Democrats deserve at least a somewhat progressive gubernatorial candidate than someone who was already governor as a Republican.

My feelings exactly.  I don't like Crist, but I also don't like the way he was bullied out of the GOP by the ideology hacks.  Ironically, now the Democrats are forcing him to cater to them on abortion.  Maybe he'd consider becoming a Republican again, now that they're doing it?

[GMantis]

There are better things to have a litmus test on than abortion. And didn't she directly contradict herself by saying "we're a big tent, but you have to be pro-choice"?

Honestly, it may win elections by appealing to secular single women, but from a policy standpoint, doubling down on social issues won't help improve the country as a whole in the long run. Child poverty, campaign finance reform, and obviously economic recovery are all more critical at the moment.

I don't see these as being mutually exclusive. Making sure women have control over their reproductive choices is a good way to reduce child poverty, for instance.

In any case, I feel that after the last 16 years, Florida Democrats deserve at least a somewhat progressive gubernatorial candidate than someone who was already governor as a Republican.

Au contraie, shouldn't after 16 years the FDP go for someone more electable?

I thought that all four candidates the FDP nominated in the last 16 years were pretty electable and it got them nowhere.
Anyway, with Scott's unpopularity, the Democrats may well be better off with a "non-electable" candidate than they were with supposedly electable candidates in previous years.

[CountryRoads]

I really hope DWS runs. I'd even support her dumb butt in the primary just because of how bad of a politician she is.

[nolesfan2011]

DWS is horrible, Crist is horrible... that is all I got to say about that, I wish they would both quit politics and stop making Florida suffer

LOL "We are the big tent party." "He has to change his position".

[Mr. Morden]

PPP tweets:

http://twitter.com/ppppolls/status/291270280934981632

http://twitter.com/ppppolls/status/291276485514371072

http://twitter.com/ppppolls/status/291284418369310721

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[Donerail]

So are we all pretty certain that both Charlie Crist and Alex Sink will seek the democratic nod for governor?

Both are all but assured to run. Rich is already in the race.

[Donerail]

So are we all pretty certain that both Charlie Crist and Alex Sink will seek the democratic nod for governor?

Both are all but assured to run. Rich is already in the race.

And does Florida have the same runoff law for election? Like, lets say that five candidates are on the ballot for the democratic primary, and either Crist or Sink win the initial primary election, but fall below 50% of the vote, would Sink and Crist go into a runoff?

Nope. We repealed it starting in 2002.

[Donerail]

So are we all pretty certain that both Charlie Crist and Alex Sink will seek the democratic nod for governor?

Both are all but assured to run. Rich is already in the race.

And does Florida have the same runoff law for election? Like, lets say that five candidates are on the ballot for the democratic primary, and either Crist or Sink win the initial primary election, but fall below 50% of the vote, would Sink and Crist go into a runoff?

Nope. We repealed it starting in 2002.

Okay, now in general election; what are the chances of one of those (Crist or Sink) winning the democratic nod but Bud Chiles running as an independent?

I don't think Chiles runs if Sink runs (he endorsed her last time), but he might if Crist runs and would prove a major pain (getting the 'he isn't a real Democrat' that make up ~20% of the FDP) but not a chance at the Governorship.

[Donerail]

So are we all pretty certain that both Charlie Crist and Alex Sink will seek the democratic nod for governor?

Both are all but assured to run. Rich is already in the race.

And does Florida have the same runoff law for election? Like, lets say that five candidates are on the ballot for the democratic primary, and either Crist or Sink win the initial primary election, but fall below 50% of the vote, would Sink and Crist go into a runoff?

Nope. We repealed it starting in 2002.

Okay, now in general election; what are the chances of one of those (Crist or Sink) winning the democratic nod but Bud Chiles running as an independent?

I don't think Chiles runs if Sink runs (he endorsed her last time), but he might if Crist runs and would prove a major pain (getting the 'he isn't a real Democrat' that make up ~20% of the FDP) but not a chance at the Governorship.

Does Scott win in a Crist-Scott-Chiles race?

It's certainly likely (what'd probably happen is like 2010 Senate, with Chiles as the Meek splitting the left), although not certain (the widespread anathema towards Scott, and Chiles doesn't have the D next to his name).

[Donerail]

So are we all pretty certain that both Charlie Crist and Alex Sink will seek the democratic nod for governor?

Both are all but assured to run. Rich is already in the race.

And does Florida have the same runoff law for election? Like, lets say that five candidates are on the ballot for the democratic primary, and either Crist or Sink win the initial primary election, but fall below 50% of the vote, would Sink and Crist go into a runoff?

Nope. We repealed it starting in 2002.

Okay, now in general election; what are the chances of one of those (Crist or Sink) winning the democratic nod but Bud Chiles running as an independent?

I don't think Chiles runs if Sink runs (he endorsed her last time), but he might if Crist runs and would prove a major pain (getting the 'he isn't a real Democrat' that make up ~20% of the FDP) but not a chance at the Governorship.

Does Scott win in a Crist-Scott-Chiles race?

It's certainly likely (what'd probably happen is like 2010 Senate, with Chiles as the Meek splitting the left), although not certain (the widespread anathema towards Scott, and Chiles doesn't have the D next to his name).

Is Chiles still a pretty popular former governor in Florida at least when it comes to Floridians picking their favorite governor, I realize Rick Scott might be their least favorite at least in recent history. But is Chiles still a popular name there like Reagan is in some parts of America at least through the nineties and into modern times?

He's still relatively popular, if not that well-known. His time in office was in the middle of a string of popular Florida Governors (Bob Graham, him, Jeb Bush). If you asked Republicans, they'd say Bush, but if you asked Democrats, they'd answer either Chiles or Graham with an edge towards Graham.

[Dereich]

So are we all pretty certain that both Charlie Crist and Alex Sink will seek the democratic nod for governor?

Both are all but assured to run. Rich is already in the race.

And does Florida have the same runoff law for election? Like, lets say that five candidates are on the ballot for the democratic primary, and either Crist or Sink win the initial primary election, but fall below 50% of the vote, would Sink and Crist go into a runoff?

Nope. We repealed it starting in 2002.

Okay, now in general election; what are the chances of one of those (Crist or Sink) winning the democratic nod but Bud Chiles running as an independent?

I don't think Chiles runs if Sink runs (he endorsed her last time), but he might if Crist runs and would prove a major pain (getting the 'he isn't a real Democrat' that make up ~20% of the FDP) but not a chance at the Governorship.

Does Scott win in a Crist-Scott-Chiles race?

It's certainly likely (what'd probably happen is like 2010 Senate, with Chiles as the Meek splitting the left), although not certain (the widespread anathema towards Scott, and Chiles doesn't have the D next to his name).

Is Chiles still a pretty popular former governor in Florida at least when it comes to Floridians picking their favorite governor, I realize Rick Scott might be their least favorite at least in recent history. But is Chiles still a popular name there like Reagan is in some parts of America at least through the nineties and into modern times?

Florida politics has changed a lot in the past few decades. Lawton Chiles was the last of the mostly (but not entirely) North Florida based rural and southern Democrats who dominated the state since forever. Chiles would probably be popular with Democrats still, but that would mostly be because he was the last governor with the (D) next to his name. Bob Graham better represents today's democrats, even though he was before Chiles. If Bud Chiles decided to run he couldn't just try to be a re-do of his father, the state is too different.