Rubio set out to visit every county in the state and was available to speak to any group. His support began to increase as he visited the various county party organizations and attended events around Florida. People were able to hear him speak and liked what they liked what they were hearing. They knew Marco as the young Speaker of the Florida House but now they got to talk with him in person and learn about Marco Rubio who was running for the United States Senate.
Rubio has been running the same type of grassroots effort that Senator Tom Coburn, MD, ran in Oklahoma in 2004 which sent him to the Senate. Right alongside Rubio is Club for Growth who was there for Dr. Coburn. When you have the grassroots behind you as a candidate, you may not have the dollars but you have the people who are going to go door to door, make the phone calls, and assist you in ways that paid staff may not. You cannot buy loyalty of your supporters.
With the grassroots supporters, eventually will come the dollars which had already started when two of Florida's favorite people, Jeb Jr., and George P. Bush teamed up to do a fundraiser for Rubio. It is common knowledge throughout FL that former Governor Jeb Bush and current Governor Crist are not the best of friends. Jeb's sons throwing this fundraising sent a further message to donors looking for a candidate -- take a long hard look at Rubio. By this time Rubio was leading Crist in the polls. Jeb has not 'officially' endorsed but there is no mistaking the fact that he is supporting Rubio in his run for Senate.
While Senator Cornyn, NRSC Chairman, endorsed Crist early at the request of FL GOP Chairman Greer (who resigned under pressure), and Cornyn has just reaffirmed that endorsement, Senators DeMint (R-SC) and Inhofe (R-OK) endorsed Rubio. If you ask us, those two endorsements from DeMint and Inhofe carry much more weight. NRSC has seen the last dime of any of our money with this reaffirmed endorsement of Crist as the NRSC doesn't seem to get it even after Marco Rubio's speech at CPAC:
People from outside of Florida keep asking what happened, why was Crist going down in the polls and why did NRSC endorse Crist? We have been asking that question of NRSC from Day One since this is a contested primary with no incumbent. Why didn't Cornyn and the NRSC stay neutral in the primary. We can answer reasons for Crist to start gong down in the polls but we have no clue why the NRSC endorsed.
Everything started going south for Gov Crist when Sen Mel Martinez decided to retire early from the Senate and Crist had to choose a replacement. He had some very good candidates to choose from including former Representative Mike Bilarakis. Governor Crist called all the County Chairs to get their opinions and then did the opposite of what they recommended by choosing George LeMieux in Sep 09 who was the central figure in the negotiation of the Indian Gambling compact between Florida and the Seminole Indian Tribe which granted the Indians card-games not allowed by state law. From the Palm Beach Post:
Well, it's being reported that George LeMieux, Fort Lauderdale lawyer and GOP operator, is Crist's pick for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez. This was actually pretty predictable. Crist, of course, is running for the seat in 2010, and LeMieux is Crist's boy. He definitely won't take the seat like Gollum and try to run off with it. With Shaw and some of the others, there was always that chance. With LeMieux, he'll just keep it warm with his loyal fanny.This set off a firestorm among the County Chairs, but then what happened next sent Republicans and Independents to Marco Rubio's camp who were on the fence. You could say a picture is worth a thousand words and in this instance you would be correct. As the Miami Herald so aptly put it: "Republican Senate Nomination May Come Down to a Hug"
But it reveals Crist's character. How can you put any man or woman in a U.S. Senate seat who has never been elected to anything? LeMieux is a political operative, not a statesman.
The Miami Herald had this to say about the picture of Gov Crist hugging President Obama last October 25th:
Only time will tell but one thing is certain. Rubio is not the only republican who believes Crist is a closet liberal. The hug only seemed to cement that sentiment.The embrace of the Obama and his stimulus continued the poll numbers going south for Governor Crist after his appointment of LeMieux but what happened next with Marco Rubio's poll numbers rising and Crist falling, is almost too funny for words as the credit card dirty trick has backfired.
"I was horrified," Rubio said, adding that Crist canceled lunch at the governor's mansion with former Gov. Jeb Bush and other former governors to be with Obama.
"This was more than just a courtesy greeting, this was an embrace and a support of $800 billion of deficit spending."
Crist says he has no regrets about appearing with Obama.
"I was happy and delighted to do so. I'm a civil guy. The president of the United States is the president of the United States," Crist said. "Especially when it's the first visit to Florida and I'm invited to be there. I have that kind of respect in my soul."
Rumor has it the FL GOP credit card record release for Rubio came from the Crist camp and was shopped to the media by Democrats. We need to note here that Crist was never was given a FL GOP credit card because he expects his aides to pick up the bills for him as he doesn't pay for his own meals or items. Maybe they should release the credit card records of his aides as we have heard rumors that Rubio spent less in several years then Crist aides have done in a year. We expect the dirty tricks to continue out of the Crist Camp although he is already starting to lose staffers from his Governor's campaign.
After the story broke about credit cards provided by FL GOP for use by FL Republicans in office, the article from the Miami Herald looked into the personal use of the American Express card by Marco Rubio. As the facts began to emerge, you realized that this was backfiring on the Crist camp:
Rubio said Wednesday that he paid for all personal expenses billed to an American Express card given to him by the party to use from 2005 to 2008 when he left public office. The rest of the charges, he said, were legitimate party expenses.
With the articles from around the State showing that Rubio had paid for his own personal expenses and explained the rest of the charges as legitimate party expenses, this became a non-issue.
On the heels of the release of American Express records Gov Crist gave an interview on Feb 27, 2010, with the Palm Coast Editorial Board which shocked not only Floridians but people across America. It appears that Gov Crist is still playing up to Obama when he was interviewed by saying "the Democrats shouldn't scrap their healthcare plans" but it gets better in the interview as he can think of nothing good about them.
Not one good idea?Crist wants to focus on Florida which is fine except the Democrat healthcare bills contain portions about Medicaid and Medicare which will have an adverse impact on senior citizens of Florida along with the Medicaid program for families with little income and no healthcare who depend on the state.
“There may be. There may be. You know, I’m pretty focused on Florida right now. I mean, after the session I’ll be more focused on the issues in Washington. But I’ve got to do my first job first.”
Bottom line on the credit card/healthcare issues is that one candidate (Rubio) paid for all of his personal expenses on the GOP credit card and is against Obamacare and the other candidate (Crist) didn't use a FL GOP credit card because as Governor, he expects his aides to pick up the tab, but he supports Obamacare but doesn't know why.
We believe that Marco Rubio has shown why he deserves the Republican nomination for Senator and to become the next United States Senator from Florida. Three words describe Marco Rubio -- honesty, integrity, and conservative.
The article below from Bryon York of the Washington Examiner gives more reasons to support Rubio over Crist.
Marco Rubio and the Republicans who love himBy:
Byron York Chief Political Correspondent
March 9, 2010
(AP)
Palm Beach, Fla.
Marco Rubio laughs at the idea, heard from some pundits recently, that he's the "Republican Obama." "I'm not sure people even want to be the Democrat Obama these days," he says. For Rubio, the unlikely front-runner in the Florida Republican Senate primary race, the label is a measure of the unhappiness many people feel with their political choices at any given moment. "There's always this constant desire for new people to enter the process," he explains. Now, he's the new guy.
Challenging the head of your own party is not necessarily the path to political glory, but that's what Rubio has done in the race against Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. Last May, when Rubio, the former speaker of the state House, announced his candidacy, the first three polls done in the race showed him trailing Crist by 35, 37, and 31 points, respectively.
Now, the most recent poll, done by Rasmussen Reports in mid-February, shows Rubio up by 18 points. In a conversation before a speech to the conservative Club for Growth here in Palm Beach, Rubio downplays his lead. He didn't get upset when the polls showed him behind, he says, so he's "not going to get too excited about them with six months to go and we're up by a few points." But Rubio knows the numbers reflect something happening with the voters.
People are scared by the Obama agenda. "I do not believe the president fully supports the free-enterprise system that I support," Rubio says. Florida Republicans, Rubio believes, know in their hearts that Crist "is not going to go to Washington and stand up to this agenda and be part of offering an alternative -- he's just not going to do it." Crist's recent praise for the stimulus and tendency to accommodate Obamacare suggest Rubio is right.
Rubio watched closely as Republican Scott Brown pulled off a political miracle in Massachusetts. First, Rubio learned how incredibly intense a high-profile race can become down the stretch -- he better be ready for that. But more importantly, he saw how critical it is to "focus like a laser on a couple of key issues."
"In that campaign, [Brown] was often tempted to get involved in side issues, he was invited to join [Democrat Martha Coakley] in the weeds and talk about things that didn't matter," Rubio says. "But the fact that he focused on the important issues, the things that mattered to real people in the real world, is ultimately what got him over the top, and it's what we're going to strive to do in our election as well."
For Rubio, that means the economic issues -- "national debt, job creation, how our tax code and government spending are discouraging job creation, and entitlement reform. Those are the central issues of the moment."
(snip)
Rubio, born in Miami to Cuban exiles in 1971, is about as fresh a face as you get in a Senate race. He gives a tremendous speech about his love for American free enterprise and opportunity. Politically savvy Republicans across the country are falling in love with him, but they're also realizing they don't really know a lot about him. That's what campaigns are for. By the time Election Day comes around, they're hoping Marco Rubio will turn out to be every bit as good as he seems.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: Washington Examiner
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