Bob Dole Says Charlie Crist Would Have Voted with Republicans After All

​Probably the greatest let down of not electing Charlie Crist to the Senate is not getting to watch him navigate through DC as an independent. He aggressively courted Democrats in the final weeks of the campaign, at one point seemingly open to the idea of Kendrick Meek dropping out and become the Dems de facto candidate, but we'll probably never know who he would have ended up caucusing with for sure. Though good ol' Bob Dole says that he made Crist promise he'd at least vote for Republican control of the Senate.

From The Topeka Capitol-Journal:

From his hospital room, he was active in supporting several conservative candidates he believed in, including Charles Crist, who ran for a U.S. Senate seat from Florida as an independent. Dole told one reporter he extracted a promise that Crist would vote for Republican control of the Senate if elected.

Crist, a former Florida governor, lost that Senate race to conservative Republican Marco Rubio.

Dole has been in Walter Reed Hospital for the past ten months following a knee replacement and three bouts of pneumonia. Would Charlie Crist dare to lie to him? What benefit would he even get form lying to Dole? He may be a respected elder of the party, but the hospital-ridden moderate isn't exactly a power broker in the younger Tea Bagger GOP circles of today.

Of course, Crist never promised Democratic voters he would have ended up caucusing with their party. It's not exactly news he was trying to play both sides anyway.