The coming civil war in the Republican Party

By Richard K. Barry

One of the bigger stories of the weekend was that former Republican Governor of Florida Charlie Crist has endorsed Barack Obama for the presidency. Crist is now an independent, and this endorsement is hardly a huge surprise given that the GOP threw him under the bus for Tea Party favourite Marco Rubio in the Florida Senate race a few years ago.

This may not be that important in terms of Crist's political heft in the state, but the Republican Party should consider his words carefully, especially if Romney goes down in November. If that happens, there is going to be a civil war in the GOP, and though Crist may have crossed the floor by the time it happens, others who have remained might feel as he does.

This is a part of Crist's statement detailing the reasons for his endorsement: 

[A]n element of their party has pitched so far to the extreme right on issues important to women, immigrants, seniors and students that they’ve proven incapable of governing for the people. Look no further than the inclusion of the Akin amendment in the Republican Party platform, which bans abortion, even for rape victims. 

Battle lines are being drawn.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)