Jeff Clemens: Why Charlie Crist needs people like me

 My, that’s quite an ego I have.

What could a former governor, education commissioner and attorney general who parties at the White House possibly need from a first-term Democratic state senator from a notably safe district?

The answer is emblematic, of course. Former Gov. Charlie Crist doesn’t really need me, specifically. But there’s no question he needs people like me: forward-thinking elected officials with progressive credentials and a record fighting against many of the very concepts that Chain Gang Charlie built his reputation on a decade or two ago.

Crist doesn’t have to convince independents or moderates that he is good for Florida. As a Republican, he took on insurance companies that were abusing homeowners, opposed offshore oil drilling, and refused to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case, all popular positions that bucked the right-wing.

And anyone who bothers to pay attention knows that Florida’s economic depression and subsequent recovery have had far more to do with the national economy than anything Crist or Gov. Rick Scott have done.

But his record on rock-solid Democratic issues like equal opportunity, health care, women’s rights, and education is murkier. Like most elections in swing states, the governor’s race in 2014 will be a turnout war. Will core Democratic constituencies warm to Crist in time to mobilize the grassroots efforts that Barack Obama was able to use in 2012?

To do so, leading progressive notables around the state, such as former Sen. Dan Gelber, Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph, and potential future mayor of St. Petersburg Rick Kriseman will be the kinds of voices that core-constituency Democrats will be itching to hear from.

These kinds of intelligent Democratic stalwarts have earned the trust of the grassroots organizers because they have been in the trenches and remained largely true to the cause.

So it is likely that in order to tap into that reservoir of passion that left-leaning activists bring to the table, Crist will need validation.

But won’t Democrats turn out for him anyway, considering that the alternative is one of the least popular governors in the United States?

Don’t be so sure. Much of the Democratic base is already convinced the party has moved too far to the right with each successive gubernatorial nominee over the past 12 years. Many were furious that the party anointed a banker three years ago — when banker approval ratings were even worse than those of politicians.

There is clear evidence that nominating moderate after moderate from Central Florida has been a disaster for our party. Every time we move closer to the center, GOP leadership moves our state further to the right. So much so, that when Gov. Scott signs a bill that allows voters to actually get to the polls, it is seen as some kind of grand effort at cooperation and bipartisanship.

But Crist can overcome this, in part because he is charismatic, and in part because Democrats like myself understand how important it is to end 15 years of one-party rule.

Those 15 years have continued to place the burdens of our state on the middle class, shifted the blame for a weakening infrastructure to our cities, and, especially over the past three years, seen big business take complete control of state government.

The good news is that Democrats are notoriously good at seeing shades of gray. Sometimes, too good. The moral certitude that is both a great strength for Republicans, and occasionally a weakness (see: West, Allen and Santorum, Rick) is not normally a Democratic trait. We’re a little too forgiving, a little too understanding.

So many are willing to give Charlie a chance. Heck, the main reason for having a political party is to create an organization that convinces more people to leave the other party to join yours. Loyal Democrats should agree that the more former Republicans we create, the better.

Nonetheless, with poll numbers tightening, Crist cannot afford to craft an electoral strategy around the hope that the Left’s dislike of the current governor will be enough to mobilize grassroots efforts.

It will be interesting to see if he takes this opportunity to reach out to key progressives, explain his philosophical shift, and convince these leaders that he will be with them when push comes to shove.