The hits just keep coming in from the right at the Republican National Convention for Florida’s former GOP governor-flip-flopped-to-Obama-backer, Charlie Crist.

Former Republican Party of Florida Chair Carole Jean Jordan, the current tax collector in Indian River County, didn’t hold back Tuesday when asked about Crist’s endorsement of Obama and his plans to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week.

“I think Charlie Crist is a total embarrassment to himself,” Jordan said while at Innisbrook Resort and Spa in Palm Harbor, where the Florida delegation has been housed. “He’s an embarrassment to the party and to the men and women across this state, and most importantly in this county, Pinellas, who worked endless hours to get him into office.”

Jordan added that she is glad she didn’t have to work with him as governor, as she was replaced as chair after four years at Crist’s urging in 2007 in favor of the now criminally challenged Jim Greer.

“He had a façade that allowed him to become the Republican governor of Florida,” Jordan said.

“He wasn’t a Jeb Bush Republican.  He was way to the left in his governing, he wasn’t’ way to the left in his message when he ran.  He wanted to be a Jeb Bush Republican.  But he wasn’t.”

Jordan, an ‘at-large’ delegate, is just the latest to lay into Crist as delegates convened for the Republican National Convention.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush, House Speaker-designate Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Miami, and Republican Party of Florida Chairman Lenny Curry have been taking jabs since Crist’s column endorsing Obama appeared Sunday in the Tampa Bay Times.

Jordan said if Crist ran for governor in 2010 instead of U.S. Senate, where he held the early lead but was pushed aside for eventual winner Marco Rubio, R-Miami, many in the party would have supported him, but he still might have found himself usurped for a better candidate.

“I think it would have been interesting to see if a good businessman came in and made a difference,” Jordan said.

She could see Crist -- registered with no party since failing to capture the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate -- running as a Democrat in 2014 against Gov. Rick Scott as billboards for Morgan & Morgan law firm featuring Crist have been appearing across state.

“I imagine (the Democrats) will (run Crist), as they haven’t done well with their picks,” Jordan said. “They’ll get a lot of press with it, but will he win? I don’t think so. I don’t think the Democrats I know are going to vote for Charlie. You can’t trust him.”

Meanwhile, Crist, appearing Tuesday evening on MSNBC, denied that he has his sights set on office, particularly Scott's.

I’m enjoying the private sector very much,” Crist told Chris Matthews.

“I’m going to talk about the fact that I think [President Barack Obama] has been a great leader, that he has really led us in a very difficult time,” Crist said. 

“He inherited a real mess. And the fact that he’s worked across the aisle, I mean, I talked about it earlier, that he helped Florida when I was a Republican and didn’t really care about, you know, the partisanship of it at all. He was very nonpartisan and was a gentleman. One of the things that I really appreciate about him is the demeanor and the way in which he leads.”


Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.