DownWithTyranny!: Republican Civil War-- Florida And Kentucky, Mostly Florida

Perhaps Florida Governor Charlie Crist, now the controversial NRSC pick for the Florida Republican Senate primary, should send Michael Steele a thank you card. The clownish head of the RNC, who's still allowed to talk but not allowed to spend money, bowed to pressure from the party's nutroots-- which has called for a financial boycott of the NRSC-- and told Meet the Press that he would not endorse Crist. I guess that fits nice and smoothly with Steele's homophobia.

I'm sure Crist considers himself better off not being endorsed by a walking, talking national punch-line. And it wouldn't surprise me if Rubio feels more comfortable with neutrality than with an endorsement of Steele. Interestingly, though, Steele wasn't the only high-profile Republican "leader" refusing to endorse another Republican yesterday. Although he wasn't invited onto any real TV shows this weekend, Mitch McConnell hissed his disapproval of poor beleaguered Jim Bunning on Fox News Sunday when he was asked, point blank, to endorse his fellow Kentucky Republican for re-election. (What a bitch!)

CHRIS WALLACE: Finally, your fellow Republican senator from the state of Kentucky, Jim Bunning , is mad at you, I think it’s fair to say. He says you don’t want him to seek re-election and that while you’ve given money to other GOP incumbents, you’ve stiffed him.

You can put this all to rest right now, Senator. I’m going to give you the opportunity. Do you endorse Jim Bunning for re-election?

MISS MCCONNELL: Well, what’s happening in Kentucky, obviously, is the race has not yet formed. Senator Bunning has encouraged someone to file an exploratory committee. There are now two exploratory committees. And there’s a Democratic primary on the other side. I think it’s safe to say the Kentucky Senate race is unfolding.

WALLACE: I didn’t hear an endorsement there. You usually endorse as the Senate...

MCCONNELL: Well, it’s -- it’s just not clear exactly who the players are going to be in Kentucky.

WALLACE: So you’re not endorsing him.

MCCONNELL: It’s not clear who the players are going to be yet.

WALLACE: I tried.

MCCONNELL: You did.

Now, back to Florida, where there's a lot more at stake than the cat fight over who's the real Republican, Marco Rubio or Charlie Crist. Another lunatic fringe Republican from the Rubio wing of the party, Bill McCollum, an ex-congressman who was widely considered the most corrupt legislator in Washington, is announcing his candidacy for governor today. Republican leaders are feigning excitement and even strong-arming other contenders out of the way so McCollum has no primary opponent.

But behind the scenes, and usually off the record, there are serious concerns in party circles that the party is putting too much stock in McCollum's chances against Democratic candidate Alex Sink, a charismatic former banker with Republican appeal who could be the state's first female governor.

Demographically, McCollum presents voters with everything that the Republican Party is struggling with these days, said David Johnson, a Republican political consultant based in Atlanta.

McCollum, who will be 65 in July, is an older white politician who could struggle to win over independent women, young voters and minorities, who make up key voting groups along the pivotal Interstate 4 corridor where so many Florida races are decided.

"He's not very exciting," said Johnson. "He's not your charismatic rising star. He's more of your solid party man."

And while he will campaign on his career as a public servant, at the same time it will be difficult for him to campaign against big government when he has been a part of government for most of the last 30 years, said Chris Ingram, a Republican campaign consultant based in Tampa... "If we nominate Bill McCollum, it's over," said Ingram.