McCain VP short list should be minus one

John McCain's short list for VP assumedly still includes one name that should be scrubbed immediately. Florida Governor Charlie Crist is not worthy of the honor and McCain would be wise to drop him hard and fast.

Crist knowingly and deliberately violated the rules and bylaws of both the RNC and the DNC by holding Florida's presidential primary prior to February 5th, 2008. He is guilty of stealing votes from the citizens of Florida and needs to be held accountable, not rewarded.

It should not matter if you are a Republican, a Democrat or an Independent. Americans cannot allow our state legislatures and our governors to conspire to rob us of our electoral voice. Crist knew the party rules, he knew the consequences of his choice and yet, he still signed the bill which cost the Florida Democrats all of their delegates (until recently) and the Republicans one half of theirs. He was even given 30 days to change the date and he still chose to take his stand against the voters.

This act of election manipulation should be considered criminal, not commendable. The fact that he publicly denounced the DNC instead of accepting responsibility for his own failing is sad at best. The citizens of Florida did deserve to have their vote count, until he stole it from them. If he had any integrity, Crist would own up to his mistake and resign his post.

If McCain wants loser governors on his short list, he should add Governor Jennifer Granholm from Michigan. After all, she did the exact same thing to Michiganders that Crist did to Floridians. Like Crist, she conspired with her own legislature to steal the vote from her own people. Like Crist, she has blamed just about everyone but herself for defrauding her own citizens of their vote. If nothing else, she can blame her stupidity on being a liberal from Canada. What is Charlie's excuse?

Although the DNC finally caved and allowed delegates to be seated at the upcoming convention, the citizens of Florida and Michigan still have every right to be angry over losing their respective party delegates. The problem is, they are mad at the wrong people. They need to take this issue directly to the source, their own elected officials. They need to make sure their state governments don't defraud them again. Meanwhile, John McCain needs to make sure Charlie Crist stays in Florida to take his medicine.