GOP Donors to NO Party Crist: Return our Money

Crist may not be required to give the money back according to the article but that is news to the rest of us who follow politics. Club for Growth is now contacting Crist donors to help get their money back like they did with Specter. If Crist thinks he can go back on his word to give the money back, he better think again. Some of these people are not going to take this lying down. As you can tell by the excerpts of the letter, they have supported Crist for years and are now furious he turned his back on all of them and the Republican Party for his own self interest after taking all that money and volunteer efforts over the years.

Using his office as Governor, Crist signed a compact with the Seminoles which we are sure was a sweetheart deal for them in order to get them to support him in his campaign for Senator. Crist must think voters are stupid not to see through what he is doing but the Seminole better think long and hard before getting behind Crist because the next Governor might not be so quick to give the Seminoles the upper hand in negotiations. Since we are from a State that has tribal compacts, we have yet to see where the deal is equal or where the money they say the State will get actually arrives.

Since Crist is now NO PARTY aka Independent he is welcomed to this site because frankly he should have run as a Democrat since he is so loyal to Obama.

GOP Donors to NO Party Crist: Return our MoneyThe Associated Press
Published: May 5, 2010
Updated: 07:47 pm

TALLAHASSEE - Twenty major Republican donors demanded today that Gov. Charlie Crist return every penny of the money they gave him for his Senate campaign, saying he broke their trust when he decided to run as an independent candidate.

The donors, including former state GOP chairman Al Cardenas, noted that Crist had $7.6 million in his campaign account at the end of March and said anyone who wants their money back should have it returned.

"We helped to support, and yes to bankroll, your political career. For years you have been asking us for money. And for years we have put our names and credibility on the line by asking our friends to donate to you. Those days are over," the letter read.

Crist announced last week that he would run on his own rather than face former House Speaker Marco Rubio. He was immediately criticized by Republican leaders who called for him to drop out of the race if he felt he couldn't win the Aug. 24 primary.

Polls showed Crist more than 20 points behind Rubio, but competitive in a three-way race. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek is the Democratic front-runner.

"For years you have been one of the Republican Party's most outstanding and vocal leaders. But now, because of simple self-interest and political calculation, you are walking away from the people and principles that you often told us defined you 'to your core,'" the donors' letter said.

As individuals, the donors are limited to giving $2,400 for the primary and another $2,400 for the general election. But more importantly, they also help persuade others to contribute. The most the 20 individual donors could have given, collectively, would be less than $100,000. While they are prominent among Republican insiders, most are not everyday household names.

Crist is not required to give back the money.

A Crist spokeswoman didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. Crist didn't immediately return a message left on his cell phone.

Republicans have harshly criticized the governor, once a superstar in the party. Earlier in the week the state GOP said out an e-mail that included the statement "You can't spell Charlie without lie."

But Crist did get love from some people with a lot of money: The Seminole Indian tribe.

In a signing ceremony that was as much a rally to support Crist's Senate race as it was a celebration of a gambling contract, Crist put his name on a 20-year deal with the tribe that will pay the state about $1.2 billion over the next five years.

Powerful tribe leaders said they would remember Crist's loyalty and people waved signs that said. "We love Charlie Crist."

"In the Constitution, it doesn't say we the party, it says we the people," council representative Max Osceola told Crist, referencing a line the governor has used to explain his party switch. "When you're a friend of Seminoles, you'll be a friend of Seminoles for life."

Source: Tampa Bay Online