The Pensacola News Journal, I believe, is the first major newspaper to editorialize that Charlie Crist should drop out of the Republican Primary and run as an Independent or with No Party Affiliation:
It’s time for Gov. Charlie Crist to abandon his Republican primary run for the U.S. Senate and instead face off against challengers Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek as an Independent in the November election. Such a race would allow Florida voters to make a clear liberal-moderate-conservative choice…
t seems as if Crist has been positioning himself to take an independent path with the teacher-pay veto. He waited and waited to let the crescendo of opposition peak, and then thrilled the teachers’ union with the veto. It was a masterful political move and one that smells of favor-granted, future-favor-expected.
We also believe that who Floridians put in the Senate chair is too important to be governed by party boundaries. The lack of support by former Sen. Mel Martinez hurt the chances of Mobile getting the Air Force tanker bid, and that damaged the Panhandle economically.
Crist should face Rubio in November, not in August. Florida voters will be better off because of it.
