Holy Crist!

The tea party purge of the Republican Party continues apace. Godspeed!

Charlie Crist, prominently trotted out in 2008 as a potential running mate for John Blowing-in-the-Wind McCain, leaves the Republican Party today at 5 p.m.

The poor, poor one-term governor of Florida, who blew a 30-point lead in the Republican Senate primary to tea-party darling Marco Rubio, is now determined to run a lonelier race as an independent.

The likely Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek is generally regarded by the gasbags as a weak candidate, but at this point anything can and probably will happen. Florida's Senate race has just gone from safe Republican to who-the-freak-knows?

Monday Morning Laundryline

For all the dissension in the Democratic Party, the Republicans have their own internal rotting fish heads.

Congressman Heath Shuler (NC-11) following not just PhRMA's talking points but the talking points that PhRMA specifically tailored for Republican members of Congress ... about protecting PhRMA's huge profits by way of prohibiting generic versions of certain cancer & AIDS drugs. UPDATE: Tom Sullivan at Scrutiny Hooligans goes a more complete blow-by-blow of all this under the appropriate headline "Corporate Ventriloquism."

The Barracuda bites the hand that fed her.

North Carolina Republicans, even with headliner Dick Armey and the personal blessing of Jesus Christ, can't get but 400 measly protesters out in Raleigh over the weekend? Who'd a thunk it!

Republican conservatives dismember their most promising politicians. Fine by me.

The New Face of the Republican Party

The Party of Torture has its standard-bearer, whether it wants him or not.

They might have chosen Charlie Crist instead, the popular Republican Governor of Florida, who says he's running for the U.S. Senate in 2010, for the seat being vacated by Republican Mel Martinez. But Crist (bless his heart) endorsed President Obama's stimulus plan and had the gall to be seen on the same stage with him, so Florida Republicans (well, some of them, but still) hate his ever-loving guts.

So there's going to be a really nasty Republican primary for Senate in Florida next year, most like, to save the party from any hint of moderation.

You go, guys.