Yeah, yeah. I know. This is the Roman god of war. But I think it could get new mileage as the Roman god of politicians.

The hubbub recently surrounding Charlie Crist jumping ship from the GOP reminded me of how I found it amusing back in 2004 that one of the key strategies that the Bush camp used to beat John Kerry was to peg him as a “flip flopper”. To me, that’s the very definition of a politician. And even politicians I admire seem to adhere to flip flopping as a modus operandi. I personally feel that given the fact that in the states we have what is – in reality – a two-party system that’s manipulated by a corporatocracy, that switching parties or running as an indpendent immediately before an election is a powerful reflection of that politician’s lack of character. Kind of a “Dick Move”. Which is one of the reasons I have so much contempt for one of the most famous Dicks in America, who for some reason prefers to be called “Joe”. Some of the other reasons are that he looks like he probably eats flies for breakfast, drools in his sleep, and lives under a toadstool. But I digress. Charlie Crist’s decision is generating a lot of dialogue, ranging from those who believe it’s more a reflection of Crist’s style, to those who believe it’s a powerful statement about the US political system being broken. But the fact is that party switching is nothing new. If you don’t realize just how common it is, check out the roundup on Wikipedia. You’ll probably be surprised. Just over forty US politicians have done it each of the last two decades.