Try as he might, Charlie Crist’s problems persist. Although I disagree with a couple points in this Orlando Sentinel article, the article is right that Crist is in trouble. Here’s one thing where I think they’re wrong:

His sunny disposition; Crist has famously described himself as a “live-and-let-live kind of guy”, suited Florida during the boom times, but it now may be working against him among the party’s social conservatives, “Tea Party” activists and fans of Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck.

Crist’s “live-and-let-live” politics work better when dealing with sane people. When a lunatic Congress is pushing a radical agenda, We The People require a politician with backbone. That clearly doesn’t describe Crist, who is altogether too flexible for the Senate. (It’s one thing to fight a good fight for your principles, then compromise at the end to get something worthwhile done. It’s another to give up before the first punch is thrown. PS- Passing the current health care legislation ISN’T getting soemthing worthwhile done.)

“People are mad, and they want to see somebody mad,” said David Johnson, a Republican consultant and former executive director of the state party. “But Charlie’s not an angry person. He doesn’t shout; he talks.”

This is why conservatives aren’t happy with the GOP. This is also code for ‘Charlie is a spineless politician’. When dealing with sane people, it’s perfectly fine to talk in reasonable tones. When dealing with hardliners like Chuckie Schumer, Rahm Emanuel and others, it’s best to be prepared. It’s best to bring your brass knuckles, grenades and other weapons of warfare.

Seeking to backpedal from a president considered dangerous by many base Republicans, Crist claimed he never endorsed the package. Around the same time, he also said he did not know Obama would be visiting the state in late October, though e-mails showed his office had been notified.

Both incidents fueled the perception that Crist is a political chameleon.

That’s politespeak for saying that Crist doesn’t stand for anything, which isn’t true. He stands for whatever he thinks the people want. The most accurate way of putting it is that Crist likely hasn’t thought things through and he hasn’t settled on the right set of core principles. At this point, it’s doubtful that he’ll ever develop a spine or a conservative streak.

Crist’s spokespeople aren’t doing him any favors either:

Crist spokeswoman Andrea Saul described Crist’s comment about not endorsing the stimulus as “a miscommunication.” She said in accepting the money the governor was simply being “pragmatic” during a time of “unprecedented” economic turmoil. Crist, she said, understood there are times when compromise is necessary.

“If you stand your ground on everything,” Saul said, “you don’t get anything done.”

The last refuge of a spineless scoundrel is the cliche ‘Surely, we must do something.’ Getting things done isn’t a virtue when the thing that’s getting done is throwing away $787,000,000,000 on things that fatten state governments, contribute mightily to a record deficit and that don’t create jobs.

Also, it’s insulting for Ms. Saul to say that Crist’s denying that he endorsed President Obama’s stimulus was “a miscommunication.” It was Crist attempting to distance himself from a stupid decision.

Crist should’ve manned up right away and admitted that he’d made a major mistake. It wouldn’t have erased his mistake but it wouldn’t have compounded his problems by making him look dishonest as well as spineless.

The ‘indictment’ against Charlie Crist, as I see it, is that he’s a go-along-to-get-along type when we need men of principle, that he’s slippery and evasive when we need politicians that say what they mean and mean what they say, and that his priorities aren’t his constituents’ priorities.

It’s time for Floridians to elect a reliable conservative whose priorities are their priorities and who means what says and says what he means. That description only fits Marco Rubio.

Technorati: Primaries, Charlie Crist, Stimulus, President Obama, RINO, Honesty, Marco Rubio, Conservatism, GOP Primary, Election 2010

Cross-posted at California Conservative