Author: Kimberly Schwandt

Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist has decided he will run as an independent in the race to fill the Florida U.S. Senate seat, Crist allies tell Fox News. The official announcement is scheduled for Thursday at 5pm ET in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Senate campaign has been rough and tumble for Crist, he was once the front-runner — but in recent months began trailing his GOP opponent, Florida State Speaker Marco Rubio.

Crist has said that under no circumstance would he drop out of the race, saying he will do what is best for the voters of Florida. The governor says Republicans in Washington want him to stay in the Republican party but voters in Florida have told him they want him to run as an independent.

His campaign and the governor’s office have not officially confirmed anything, however this move by Crist has made internal communications difficult because some staff are unlikely to continue to work with Crist as an independent candidate.

The governor is expected to use much of Thursday for courtesy calls to supporters, allies and some Republican officials nationwide. Close advisers expect him to say tomorrow that he looks forward to caucusing with Republicans but that is not a certainty, there are still some issues being worked out and discussed.

Rubio has clinched endorsements from big name Republicans including former Vice President Dick Cheney, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former 2008 presidential candidate and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

“Washington is broken and Congress is already overflowing with politicians who need pollsters to tell them what to think. It certainly doesn’t need another one. Now more than ever America needs leaders with the strength of conviction. That is why I am proud to endorse Marco Rubio,” Cheney said in a statement.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who initially supported Crist, indicated Sunday that if Crist switched to run as an independent, he would no longer support him.

Crist had until Friday at noon to pick his party affiliation.

Fox News’ Carl Cameron contributed to this report.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele told a group of students that African-Americans haven’t been given a good “reason” to want to vote Republican.

“We haven’t done a very good job of really giving you one,” Steele said at DePaul University Tuesday, as reported by the Chicago-Sun Times.

“We have lost sight of the historic, integral link between the party and African-Americans.” “This party was co-founded by blacks, among them Frederick Douglass. The Republican Party had a hand in forming the NAACP, and yet we have mistreated that relationship. People don’t walk away from parties, their parties walk away from them,” Steele said.

The former lieutenant governor of Maryland has been staying relatively low-key since news broke about how money is being spent at the RNC, including funds that went for an erotic club in L.A.

He did not delve into RNC money woes in his remarks.

Steele did bring up the Tea Party movement and what he’s told other leaders, “I have advised our state chairs: Don’t turn your nose up, or turn away those who are active in the Tea Party movement. Embrace them. Welcome them. Talk to them.”

Steele also mentioned the Florida Senate race that is heating up between Marco Rubio and Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

“In Florida, Marco Rubio has captured the imagination of the Tea Party there to the detriment of the governor, Gov. [Charlie] Crist, but from my perspective, Marco Rubio if he wins is a good candidate to run for the U.S. Senate. Should Gov. Crist win, he’s a good candidate to run for the U.S. Senate. It’s a win-win,” Steele said.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney Thursday morning endorsed Florida Senate GOP candidate Marco Rubio and  unleashed some scathing views of Rubio’s GOP opponent, Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

“Washington is broken and Congress is already overflowing with politicians who need pollsters to tell them what to think. It certainly doesn’t need another one. Now more than ever America needs leaders with the strength of conviction. That is why I am proud to endorse Marco Rubio,” Cheney said in a statement.

“Charlie Crist has shown time and again that he cannot be trusted in Washington to take on the Obama agenda because on issue after issue he actually supports that agenda,” Cheney said.

Rubio was once trailing Crist in polls, but now Rubio has taken the lead — also clinching the endorsement of other big name Republicans including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former 2008 presidential candidate and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. 

There’s also a swirl of rumors if Crist should or will run as an independent, although Crist so far has stayed course as a GOP candidate.  He has until April 30 to decide.

“Lately it seems Charlie Crist cannot be trusted even to remain a Republican. I strongly urge him to either stay in the Republican Primary or drop out of the race. The only winners from an independent bid by Crist would be Barack Obama and Harry Reid,” Cheney added.

The Florida GOP is also ensnared in controversy over whether or not it misused funds.  The IRS is reportedly looking into the tax records of former state party Chairman Jim Greer and former Executive Director Delmar Johnson and if they used party credit cards for personal use.  The inquiry though also ties in Crist & Rubio.  Greer was a close confidant of Rubio and  the investigation will look into the more than $100,000 Rubio spent on the GOP American Express card. 

As of now, there are no plans for a joint appearance with Cheney and Rubio.

For weeks the White House Press Corp has been challenging White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about claims made by Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa. that Sestak was offered a federal job in exchange for not running in a Senate primary race against Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa.

Sestak says he turned the alleged job down, but has declined to reveal who in the White House made the  apparent offer.

If the allegations were proven true, it could be violation of the U.S. Criminal Code, Title 18.

Reporters first started pressing Gibbs on February 23 and had six exchanges with him by mid-March.

Tuesday they finally got somewhat of an answer.

“I’m told that whatever conversations have been had are not problematic. I think Congressman Sestak has discussed that this is — whatever happened is in the past, and he’s focused on his primary election,” Gibbs said.

Be sure to also read my colleague James Rosen’s piece  Anatomy of a Scandal: The Curious Case of Joe Sestak’s Job Offer.

It’s still a couple years away, but the Republican National Committee has announced its 2012 convention date.

Tuesday night the RNC announced the Republican National Convention will be the week of August 27th 2012.

Just where it will take place though is still a mystery. They’ve narrowed it down to three cities: Phoenix, Tampa and Salt Lake City. Members of the selection committee plan to visit final trio of places in the coming months.

And just when will the Democratic National Convention take place? Well tradition has a role in that, the party that is in the White House holds its convention after the party that’s in the minority. That puts the DNC one scheduled for the week of September 3rd.

Political conventions typically take place the summer before a presidential election. Delegates from both parties gather to formalize their party’s nominee.

Senator John McCain and Joe Wurzelbacher at campaign event (Reuters)

Joe the Plumber, (whose real name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher) made some harsh statements about Senator John McCain this weekend saying the former GOP presidential candidate “really screwed my life up.”

The jabs came at a fundraiser in Pennsylvania over the weekend where he headlined state Representative Sam Rohrer’s Mobilize for Liberty event.  As reported by Pennsylvania Public Radio Reporter Scott Detrow, who spoke to Wurzelbacher after the event, the outbreak media star of the 2008 presidential campaign held nothing back.

During the event, Wurzelbacher reportedly said he doesn’t support Sarah Palin anymore because she is backing McCain’s Senate re-election,“John McCain is no public servant,” he said in his remarks, calling the 2008 Republican nominee a “career politician.”

Detrow pointed out how Wurzelbacher owes his fame in part to McCain, and the Ohio plumber fired back to that charge,  “I don’t owe him s—. He really screwed my life up, is how I look at it.”

“McCain was trying to use me. I happened to be the face of middle Americans. It was a ploy,” he added.

Wurzelbacher also said people should lay off the extreme personal attacks on President Obama.  “The birthers, the truthers — if people are trying to bunch them [with tea partiers], that would kill us. That just pushes away Democrats and independents who might come out for our cause otherwise,” Detrow reports him as saying.

He even had some positive remarks about the president, “I think his ideology is un-American, but he’s one of the more honest politicians. At least he told us what he wanted to do.”

Joe the Plumber gained his nickname and claim to fame during the 2008 presidential election when he asked then candidate Obama about taxes at a campaign stop in Ohio.  His question then became a hot topic for debate and campaign fodder.

Wurzelbacher also eventually went on to campaign for Senator McCain.

A group of more than 80 leaders are looking to solidify the direction of the conservative movement by putting their ideas into an official statement of belief this week.

Conservative activists will gather Wednesday just outside Washington at a library that was an original part of George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate and sign what they’re calling “The Mount Vernon Statement.” 

The group describes the document as “defining the movement’s principles, beliefs and values in light of the challenges facing the country and the need for Constitutional Conservatism since the Obama administration came to power.” 

The event will take place at the Collingwood Library and Museum on the eve of the large yearly gathering called the Conservative Political Action Conference (or CPAC) happening in Washington this weekend.

Those involved with the signing compare the new manifesto to “The Sharon Statement” signed at the home of William F. Buckley, Jr. in Sharon, Connecticut in 1960. The “Sharon Statement” was signed and formed by the Young Americans for Freedom.   Read the original “Sharon Statement” here.

Organizers say the event will be presided by U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese, whom they call “senior statesman of the conservative movement.”

Other participants include Edwin Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, and Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. 

As of now, grassroots leaders and not elected politicians are expected to sign the statement this week.

AP photo from Saturday's Snowball fight

Official Snowball Fight Logo

It’s rematch time.  In a facebook message to followers,  “The Official DC Snowball Fight Crew” (or The ODCSF Crew for short) is encouraging DC to take part in “The action, the fun, the thrill of the fight!”

The group is even peddling t-shirts, magnets, mugs and other souvenirs to mark the occasion.

At 2 p.m. Wednesday DC residents are expected to congregate to the area’s popular Dupont Circle for another massive snowball fight.

Just last Saturday a huge crowd took part in a snowball fight after DC’s most recent snow dump.  Nearly 2,000 reportedly attended that one.

Organizers are calling today’s conditions “IDEAL” for a good “fight.”

Participants also won’t just be throwing some frozen fast balls, it might just look more like a big party or parade.  They’re encouraged to bring flags, banners, shields, ammo trays, drums, and furry costumes.

The situation is ripe for a good turnout today with the federal government closed due to the weather and many businesses shut down, there will be plenty of idle and cabin-fevered residents looking for something do.

The snowball fights have been mostly organized through social networking.

Organizers are noting they want to keep the event active, but not too rowdy, ” let’s keep the fight CLEAN and SAFE for all involved!”

Check out the facebook page here.

College football star Tim Tebow is expected to make an appearance at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington Thursday morning.

Tebow, who was the 2007 Heisman trophy winner, has been very open about his Christian faith in the past .

Most recently there has been controversy surrounding a Super Bowl ad he’s featured in that is slated to air on CBS Sunday during the game.

The ad is sponsored by Focus on the Family and has a pro-life message telling the story about his mom, who says doctors recommended she have an abortion after she became ill during the pregnancy, but that she ultimately decided to still give birth.

The National Prayer Breakfast is a tradition dating back to the 1950s and was previously called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast.

It’s a yearly event sponsored by a group called the Fellowship Foundation or “The Family” that takes place in the nation’s capital and is usually attended by the president, international diplomats, faith leaders and members of congress.

President Obama attended the breakfast last year and is scheduled to go Thursday as well.

Tebow was a star quarterback for the University of Florida and led his team to two BCS championships.

The other list of speakers for the breakfast has not been officially announced.  The event usually has a few thousand attendees.