In the Land of the Blind, the One-eyed Man Is King: Could Republicans Be Hurting Themselves by Supporting Rubio over Crist in Florida?

In the Florida senate race Republican primaries, an October poll showed Governor Charlie Crist solidly ahead of conservative and former Florida state house speaker Marco Rubio though Rubio seemed to be gaining ground.  However, the same poll revealed that in the match up between Rubio and the probable Democratic challenger in the general race, Kendrick Meeks, independents and moderates would more then likely swing their support to Meeks.

So, what did the Republican establishment do?  Still furious with him for supporting Present Obama’s stimulus plan even though this state sorely needed the stimulus funds, Republicans from all quarters threw their support solidly behind Rubio who then quickly overtook and surpassed Crist in the polls.  But keep in mind that this is only the Republican primary.

Now deserted by his former party who seemed so enthralled with him in better days, Governor Crist is considering running as an Independent.  And polls show that if Crist were to run as an independent, in a three way race between him, Rubio, and Meeks, he would most likely be the victor.  

Let me take the time to make this observation for you in case you have not been keeping score.  According to polls, Rubio probably cannot win that Florida senate seat.  So, what does the Republican establishment do?  They double down on Rubio, and send a number of prominent Republicans and party leaders into the state to further endorse Rubio.  Because, I guess, that's what you do when the odds are against you;  you beat even more.

If I may quote that great American poet, Forrest Gump, “I am not a smart man,” but even in my state of depressed mental capacity, I can see that this makes no sense.  However, I can readily ascertain the motives behind their actions;  you see, Marco Rubio is the Tea Party Movement’s candidate, and because the GOP is being driven primarily by the whims of the Tea Party Movement, they must follow the Tea Party Movement’s wishes, even if those wishes don’t make much sense.  And herein lies the rub.

Let me ask you a question.  Do you think it was necessary for the GOP to embrace they Tea Party so ardently?  Oh, I can completely understand why they did it.  After President George W. Bush’s abysmal eight years as president and the subsequent drubbing they took in the 2008 elections, the GOP was without direction.  They were bereft of ideas. 

They were like a room full of blind women and men, milling aimlessly about, bumbling and stumbling into each other.  And along came the Tea Party Movement.  The Tea Party Movement was not much better than the GOP when it came to ideas.  But they did have a palpable, if not racially motivated, rage, and their antics knew no bounds, and the media seemed absolutely captivated by them.  So, the GOP grabbed up their canes and their seeing eye dogs and rushed off blindly behind them.

In a period when the nation most needed solid, well-reasoned leadership, the GOP instead chose to follow.  And it all seems like fun and games now, but let me make this bold prediction.  In about five years or so, the GOP will rue the day they allowed themselves to be seduced by the Tea Party Movement. 

Just like right now in Florida, they find themselves having to take more and more untenable positions and make more and more questionable decisions because of their allegiance to the Republic of Tea until that day when they have driven away the moderates and independents and find themselves all alone in a room full of kooks. 

But, hey, as the old saying goes, “In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.”  It’s just too bad that the GOP cannot see where it is going.