This isn’t the most laughably absurd part of Charlie Crist’s explanation for his departure from the GOP, although it’s the most insulting to his former supporters and to everyone’s intelligence. No, the most absurd part of the claim comes when Crist declares that his love of political consistency demanded that he leave the GOP aaaaaand … abandon nearly every political position he ever had, especially on abortion. Instead, Crist played the race card, the gender card, and pretty much every card in the deck, including the joker:

“I couldn’t be consistent with myself, and my core beliefs, and stay with a party that was so unfriendly toward the African-American president. I’ll just go there,” Crist said, saying anti-Obama “activists” were “intolerable.”

“I couldn’t take it anymore,” Crist added.

Still, this is the context to remember before clicking the play button:

https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/464067685153009664

For the record, Crist left the GOP after getting his rear end handed to him in a primary fight — by a Hispanic named Marco Rubio. He also got got his rear end handed to him in the same general election, by the same person. If that seems like an odd application for the race card, well, you haven’t paid much attention to Crist and his endless ambition for political power. Even Huffington Post snickered at this claim.

In any rational world, a politician this openly dishonest would end up in political oblivion. Crist and Kay Hagan will give voters that opportunity this fall, and let’s hope they take it.