Leave it to the Diaz-Balarts to possible have screwed this up. Yesterday's announcement that they were withdrawing their support from Charlie Crist was supposed to leave egg on the Gov's face. But they didn't mention why they were doing it, and it appears the popular emerging theory is pretty damn shallow: Crist didn't give a job to Lincoln's son's friend.
If true, it seems the Diaz-Balart's motives didn't have anything to do with what they felt was best for Floridians, but because they didn't get their way. Credit the theory to The Herald's Beth Reinhard:
The reason, sources familiar with the situation say, is that Crist overlooked a candidate for a North Florida judgeship who is friendly with Lincoln's son...
Asked today if they withdrew their support because of the judicial appointment, Crist said: "No comment. The whole situation saddens me."
Diaz-Balart would not say yesterday whether the judicial pick was the reason, but he did restate his support for his preferred candidate, Frank Allman, who met his law student son when he interned at the Gadsden County State Attorney's Office.
The Brothers Balart gave no reason of their own for the withdrawl yesterday, leaving some to speculate that they'd soon join the Marco Rubio bandwagon. But the Miami Representatives, especially Lincoln, are more in line politically with Crist. Let's put it this way: Rubio has acquired the "Hispanic Newt Gingrich" nick name, and Lincoln was one of two republican candidates for the House, incumbent or otherwise, who didn't sign on to the actual Gingrich's Contract with America.
Unless the Diaz-Balarts offer a better explanation than, "The governor knows why we withdrew," it's going to make them look like foolish, typical-Pols who are only out for their own.
By the way, the Judge Crist picked over Junior's friend will be the first African-American to serve on the bench in the predominately African-American Gadsden County.
