Wife of Sheriff Bob Crowder Pulls a Carole Crist, Moves to the Left for her Husband

Bob Crowder, the Martin County sheriff who lost to Allen West in the District 18 Republican congressional primary, is going to back the Democrat in the general election, Patrick Murphy.

Well, sort of.

It's actually his wife Debbie who stepped out in front of her husband and released the statement. "While he was unable to compete against West's millions in out-of-state tea party money ...Bob was committed to giving Republican voters a choice in the primary, rather than letting the party dictate who our representative would be," she said.

Debbie Crowder is right. The party money did go to West. As much as he wanted. He was the incumbent, a party loyalist. Why would the Republicans -- especially the Florida GOP -- reward "Republican" Crowder who in 2010 turned coat in the heat of a close battle and went on national television in full sheriff regalia to pledge his support for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink? Certainly many Republican leaders were skeptical of Rick Scott, but unlike Crowder, they didn't throw their support across party lines in a splashy public display.

"While my husband's campaign is over, I feel compelled to stay involved and vocal. Regardless of who our next president is, members of Congress must be able and willing to work together. ...That is why I hope you will join me in supporting (Democrat) Patrick Murphy for U.S. Congress."

Sounds a lot like Carole Crist, who gave it a year after husband's defeat as a no-party-affiliated Senate candidate to step out in front of Charlie and officially join the Democratic Party.

Maybe both men -- behind their wives' skirts, smiling in the shadows as they are -- believe they keep their options open that way. If that's the case, they're dreaming.