Our Observation

An amendment to abortion legislation on Gov. Charlie Crist's desk could mean much more for the future of the Florida's politics than just a turning point on a contentious issue. On a quest to curtail abortions, Republicans have slowly lost their moderate legislators.

After two controversial votes, the Florida Legislature passed an amendment on April 30 that would require seekers of first-term abortions to view an ultrasound of their fetus unless in the case of rape or domestic violence. Victims of those crimes would have to legally prove that they'd been raped or assaulted in order to conditionally opt out of the $200-$1,000 ultrasound.

Ironically, it was predominately liberal Democrats who viewed it as an expansion of governmental intrusion into privacy. Socially conservative Republicans looked the other way while they cast their votes in favor of it.

For those feeling a tinge of deja vu, the amendment is nearly identical to one that died in the State Senate in 2008. But that bill wasn't killed by Democrats. It was killed by seven Republicans, who split from the majority of their party.

Last year, one of the 2008 bill's strongest Republican opponents, Sen. Jim King, died of pancreatic cancer a year after he successfully argued that the bill disagreed with core Republican values.

He had joined the party because he believed in "less government, more freedom," King said during the debate. "But folks, this is not less government. This is more government. It's government intrusion."

King recoiled against the idea that in a country formed with a separation of politics and religion, his party would become increasingly dominated by the politics of religion at the expense of one of the party's most historically sacrosanct principles.

Despite being lauded by his peers on the Senate floor, King's brand of politics was quietly pushed out the door. In King's wake, the departure of more moderates has left a quiet void in the largely Republican State Legislature. King's seat was later filled by Sen. John Thrasher, largely regarded as a more conservative Republican. In the meantime, the voices of the middle — who represent a rapidly growing portion of the voting public — have grown nearly silent.

As the few remaining Republican moderates watched on April 30, a bill that King two years earlier had openly apologized for on the Senate floor passed by a wide margin.

In his place, a new group of Republicans had voted nearly along party lines.

Now Crist has found himself at odds with a growing segment of the Republican party as he's chosen to run as an independent against Republican Marco Rubio, the party's favorite, for a U.S. Senate seat.

In a precarious position, he's hoping his message resonates for traditionally moderate independent voters from both sides of the spectrum, while alienating as few Republican supporters as possible.

And in the meantime, he has to make a tough decision on the verge of an election. Cast as an independent by necessity, Crist's political career could hinge on how he defines Republicanism: by politics, or by religion.