When Gov. Charlie Crist bolted from the Republican Party in April, he called it a "declaration of independence."

It was a savvy marketing ploy by a politician in deep trouble who needed to reinvent himself to have any hope of being elected to the U.S. Senate.

The day Crist did that, some Republican insiders now say, Jeff Kottkamp should have immediately declared his independence from Charlie Crist and resigned as lieutenant governor.

That's because Kottkamp is now a Republican candidate for attorney general, and he is coveting the very voters who despise Crist the most: conservative Republicans. (story here)