Crist's views on GOP extremism. "The Party's Over"

I posted this also in General Discussion. Give a rec there if you don't mind.

The first few paragraphs of Charlie Crist's book The Party's Over are like he is looking back at his GOP days and not liking the image he saw.

First the fan at the DNC 2012.

A small fan was whirring at my feet. I always like a fan at the podium when I give a big speech. You have no idea how hot those TV lights can be. But I could still feel tiny beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I don’t usually get nervous giving speeches. My heart was pumping now.

More from the book:

An excerpt from Charlie Crist’s “The Party’s Over”

I’d been the low‑tax, pro‑life, pro‑ gun Republican governor of Florida. As a young state senator, I’d been such an anti‑crime cru­sader, people called me “Chain Gang Charlie”—and I considered it a compliment. Heck, I’d named my boat Freedom. Was that Republican—or what? I’d risen through the ranks from education commissioner to attorney general to governor, always running with an “R” next to my name. In the 2008 presidential campaign, I’d worked diligently for John McCain, even making his short list for vice president. At various points along the way, I had referred to my­self as a “Ronald Reagan Republican.”

And here I was with a prime‑time, Thursday‑night speaking role at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, preparing to sing the praises of Barack Hussein Obama. That’s how many of my old party mates liked referring to him, as if he weren’t just a president from a different party but a highly suspect, otherworldly creature and prob­ably a Muslim too.

....I was addressing this Democratic crowd the same night the pres­ident was. My slot was after Caroline Kennedy and just before John Kerry and Joe Biden. The big addresses from Michelle and Barack Obama were coming right after that. You’d have to look long and hard in the annals of American politics to find a fish more out of water than I was that night.

He speaks about how many of his friends were telling him he was really a Democrat at heart. He speaks about the new direction of his party.

I had this notion about bringing our bipartisan Florida values to Washington. It was just about then that a band of crazy extremists hijacked the party I’d grown up in. Pedal to the metal, they drove it off an ideological cliff. I got banged up riding with these unsavory characters. But thankfully, I leapt to safety just in time. Now I’m happier than I’ve ever been and feeling thoroughly at home.

Someone in a post yesterday said I was hero-worshipping. No, that is not true. I am exercising common sense in a situation that could forever damage my state. I have neighbors who will vote for Scott no matter what he does or says. That is just scary. What's even scarier is that these are supposedly intelligent educated people.