Independentcandidates.ca

Poor Raj Sherman. If only he’d been a member of the British Conservative Party instead of the Alberta Tories, he’d likely still be in caucus today.

Dr. Sherman is the latest politician to be banished from his party’s ranks for remarks deemed to have reflected poorly on his leader. The MLA from Edmonton refused to drink the health policy Kool-Aid his party was serving and instead joined his fellow doctors in declaring a crisis in Alberta’s emergency rooms. Read more…

Charlie Frist – An Independent in his own words – YouTube

Centrist Florida governor falls through the cracks of a deeply divided GOP

Florida Governor Charlie Crist with Florida first lady Carole Crist, left, announces that he will run as an independent for U.S. Senate at a news conference in St. Petersburg, Fla. Scott Audette/Reuters

Candidacy sets stage for three-way race for coveted Florida Senate seat, with Governor Charlie Crist favoured to winKonrad Yakabuski

Consider the following comments about this article before reading it:

Comment 1:

“I am not so sure this will hurt the Republicans in the long run. Likely in the short run, though. Christ, who is definitely a Republican in behaviour, has said he will continue to vote with the Republicans if elected, and is clearly feeling bullied enough that he will tow the party line after this experience, if elected, which is bad. The irony of all this blacklisting by Republicans is that it is becoming elitist where only a few decide Republican policy and who runs. Only a few decide for the entire party which is less input for the rest. Strange times. Those who care about fairness and justness would really hope this ‘experiment’ by extreme Republicans fails miserably.”

and

Comment 2

“Just to help out the Globe and its collection of insulated readers, I am helpfully posting a link to the Politico article on Mr.Charlie and his ‘principled’ crusade. I know I am throwing away all that cash from my winnings on that pool I suggested earlier, but I’m just a helper at heart.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36575.html

Charlie’s chances of winning in November – Slim & None and the bus is all but warmed up as they say.
Charlie’s chances of going out of politics as both a buffoon and a poltroon. Excellent.

I look forward to his forthcoming utter humiliation as a salutatory lesson to all the other poltroons out there in political land. Self-absorption and self-regard are NOT ENOUGH.
You have to both offer something and more importantly BE something.”

Washington — From Friday’s Globe and Mail Published on Friday, Apr. 30, 2010 4:55AM EDT Last updated on Friday, Apr. 30, 2010 10:30AM EDT

It’s Ross Perot in reverse.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist’s move to quit the Republican Party to run as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate this fall illustrates just how far the GOP has swung right since Mr. Perot ran for president in 1992.

Read more…