Looks like the 'real' Charlie Crist is now standing up with his 'no' core values and say anything he thinks will work to get elected. He is quickly becoming unglued with some of his remarks. Bet Charlie finds it hard to believe that Obama didn't dump Meeks for him. Obama might have dumped Meeks if he was white instead of black because he has about as much loyalty as Crist -- not much. Both Crist and Obama look out for #1 and could care less about anyone else unless it benefits them.
What would be the best outcome on November 2nd would be for Meeks to come in 2nd and Crist 3rd to put the final nail in Crist's political future. Wonder if Crist will move rather than have Rubio represent him in the Senate and have Scott for a Governor?
Crist Coming Under Fire for His Flip-Flopping and Hypocritical Attacks
Monday, October 18, 2010 @ 11:10 AM
In Florida, political opportunist Charlie Crist is coming under fire for his perpetual flip-flopping “for political gain” and his hypocritical attacks against Marco Rubio. National Journal’s “Hotline On Call” reports:
Gov. Charlie Crist (I) is up with a new ad in the Florida Senate race attacking Republican Marco Rubio for his "extremist" agenda on issues like Roe v. Wade. There's only one problem: Crist's checkered past on abortion. He has been pro-choice and pro-life in various stages of his political career - changing his positions for political gain.
Meanwhile, Rubio was joined on the campaign trail by popular former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. The Herald Tribune reports:
Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio told a Sarasota crowd Saturday he would protect and build the strength of the United States if sent to Washington, D.C. From defense to the national debt, Rubio said he will stand up to to the Democratic agenda and offer a clear plan to maintain America's legacy as the "greatest nation in human history." Rubio was joined by Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and 2008 GOP presidential primary contender, at the morning rally in Island Park at the Sarasota bayfront.
Several sites have rumors swirling that Charlie Crist is going to get Kendrick Meeks to drop out of the race and endorse him. First of all the ballots have already been printed so Meeks name will be on the ballot. What we see happening is that blacks will stay home in Florida and elsewhere if Obama pulls this off. We are not sure that Meeks would listen to Obama and his people since he is allied with the Clinton/Gore side of the house. This stunt by Crist and Obama if it happens would send a clear message to Democrats across America that Obama favors flip floppers who keep flipping over a longtime Democrat and member of the Black Caucus. Does Obama want to send that message?
Here is the video from Fox News about the race and if you mute Crist who is annoying you will get to the part where Al Gore is campaigning for Meeks and it is actually funny as he goes after Crist.
Any split Republicans have cannot compare to the Clinton/Obama split which is growing more by the day. Then you have Biden who is campaigning for Democrats and doesn't seem happy at all with the crowds or lack thereof he is talking as they have ZERO enthusiasm. With Emanuel leaving the White House, this is now Obama's Administration that surrounds him as Emanuel came from the Clinton camp. Will Hillary leave the Secretary of State in January? Obama the 'great communicator and uniter' has done the opposite in his less than two years in office --
Mondale goes after him for using a teleprompter because he cannot speak without one
Obama has managed to split the Democrats as much as we have ever seen in our lifetime not to mention the absolute disgust a lot of us have on the right and in the middle for his agenda.
We believe that Marco Rubio is going to win this election with or without Meeks formally in the race. We still cannot get over that Charlie Crist is using Republican donor money to run as he is refusing to return any of it except to his handpicked GOP Chair Greer who was fired.
Republican Senators who were so fast to go to Crist side are now watching him use their $10,000 a piece donations to stick it to them. Hopefully Senators and NRSC have learned a lesson not to get involved in an open seat primary like they have been doing this year. Level the playing field in open seats and let the states decide the nominee and then jump in to support the winner.
This morning we decided to do a wrap up of the debate and what has been going on with Marco Rubio this week which is turning into an AWESOME week for Rubio and his supporters. First Rubio raised over $5M for his campaign in the 3rd quarter. More than 95,000 donors from across America who love what they see in Marco Rubio have donated to his campaign.
This morning was remembering back to the beginning of Rubio's campaign when he decided to take on Charlie Crist with the help of the Florida grassroots. At that time was on opposite sides with a very good friend on who to support. Rubio was down over 30 points, but something was telling me he could win -- he knows who he is and what he believes which was a 180 from Charlie Crist. Our site, Democrats for Sale (DfS), started supporting Rubio against Crist from the beginning. Once we launched this site, we moved the positive information on Rubio here and continued to go after Crist at DfS. Eventually my good friend and I were on the same page for Rubio.
There is not a harder working candidate in America than Marco Rubio. He took a 30 point deficit and turned it into a 30 point lead forcing Charlie Crist to go No Party rather than lose. Crist is still the big loser in all of this as he has sacrificed any principles he once had to win votes, but he is still going to lose because voters have no idea what he believes today because of all his flip flops. Although he was good for a laugh when he told a member of the media that he was going to leave the Republican Party even if he won the Republican primary. Yeah right! Crist is turning into a bigger flip flopper than John Kerry which speaks volumes.
Today launches the bus tour across Florida by Marco Rubio. One of these years we expect to see him launch a bus tour across America.
10/7/10: Rubio Launches “Road To Reclaim America” Bus Tour In Jacksonville
Surrounded by family and supporters from across the state like Rep. Ander Crenshaw and Senator George LeMieux, Marco officially kicked off his “Road to Reclaim America” bus tour this morning in Jacksonville. In total, Marco will hit eleven stops over the next three days. The “Road to Reclaim America” bus is now on the way to New Smyrna Beach for a Reclaim America Economy Townhall meeting.
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From the debate last night between Florida Senate candidates Marco Rubio (R), Kendrick Meek (D), and Charlie Crist (NP):
Statement From Senator Connie Mack, Sr., On Charlie Crist’s False Social Security Attacks
Miami, FL – This morning, former Crist campaign chairman Senator Connie Mack, Sr., issued the following statement on Charlie Crist’s false Social Security attacks:
“It is disappointing that Charlie Crist has resorted to false attacks and scare tactics, all simply to try to win an election. Plain and simple, Charlie’s ad is not true and Florida voters deserve better. What is truly disappointing to me is that I know that Charlie knows that too.”
Background:
Crist: “I would work to make sure that I stand with people who will help the people of my state and my country. I am a pragmatic, common-sense conservative, always have been. My political mentor was a guy named Connie Mack, a great United States senator.” (Fox News Sunday Debate, 3/28/10)
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Channel 7, Miami Fox, report declares Rubion the winner of the debate last night :
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10.07.10
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: About Marco’s Win At Last Night’s Debate
Miami, FL – At last night’s ABC Affiliates debate, U.S. Senate Republican nominee Marco Rubio won by focusing on the challenges facing our country and the issues important to Floridians. Check out what they’re saying about Marco’s winning debate below:
Rubio Was The Clear Winner:
Miami Fox: Rubio Wins The Debate. “Overall, our expert felt that Meek stood his ground on some unpopular issues. And he felt Crist lost as he needed to clarify more positions. Leaving Rubio, who he says took charge and won this debate.” (Miami Fox, 10/6/10)
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: “Rubio Helped Himself The Most.” “To my eyes Marco Rubio helped himself the most because neither Gov. Charlie Crist nor Rep. Kendrick Meek were able to draw enough blood to change the dynamic of the race.” (ABC News, 10/7/10)
ABC News: “Neither Gov. Charlie Crist (I) Nor Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) Was Able To Knock Frontrunner Marco Rubio (R) Off His Game.” “The ABC News’ ‘Vote 2010’ midterm debate series kicked-off tonight in Orlando, Florida with a feisty and aggressive debate between the three candidates running for Senate in Florida. While the debate produced fireworks and some great one-liners, in the end, neither Gov. Charlie Crist (I) nor Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) was able to knock frontrunner Marco Rubio (R) off his game.” (ABC News, 10/6/10)
The Washington Post: Rubio Was “Smooth And Calm” In The Debate. “Rubio’s objective, meanwhile, was to weather the criticisms, to show he could take a punch and to avoid making any major mistakes. On all counts, he succeeded, remaining smooth and calm.” (The Washington Post, 10/7/10)
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10.06.10 | Marco Rubio Wins Debate By Focusing On Ideas As An Alternative To Washington
Orlando, FL – Following today’s U.S. Senate debate on ABC 9 in Orlando, Rubio for Senate spokesman Alex Burgos released the following statement:
“There are over 1 million Floridians who are out of work, but all Kendrick Meek and Charlie Crist offered tonight were false attacks, partisan name-calling or calls to continue on the current path of higher taxes, more debt and bigger government. Over the course of 60 minutes, Marco once again made clear what more Floridians have been learning over the past 20 months – that he’s the only candidate in this race who will go to Washington, stand up to politicians in both parties who have taken our country in the wrong direction, and offer a clear alternative based on ideas and principles.
“Kendrick Meek wants to continue on America’s current direction while Charlie Crist could care less what direction we go in so long as he can be a senator. But Floridians know we simply can’t afford the next two years to be like the past two years. It’s clear that the current agenda being pursued in Washington stands in sharp contrast with the mainstream ideas Marco Rubio supports to promote job creation, tackle our dangerous debt and ensure our country remains the strongest nation on earth.”
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10.06.10 | Marco Rubio Sets Fundraising Record With More Than $5 Million Raised In 3rd Quarter Campaign Heads Into Final Stretch With More Than $5.5 Million Cash On Hand
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In making this announcement, Rubio Senior Strategist Todd Harris issued the following statement:
“This campaign started at the grassroots, was fueled by the grassroots, and when we win on Election Day it’s going to be because of the grassroots, the best candidate and the best message. While we still fully expect this final report to show us trailing Crist in cash on hand, we are confident we will have the resources to meet or exceed whatever our opponents are spending on television during October. With close to 100,000 donors, the size and enthusiasm of our donor base gives us a virtually unlimited pool of support we can return to again and again over the final stretch of this campaign.
“We will need our grassroots support over the next four weeks more than ever before. As we have already seen, Charlie Crist is desperate. He will say and do anything to win this election. He will run millions in false attack ads to smear Marco. And he is sitting on more than $6 million dollars which will allow him to keep up his shameless attacks.
“But with the help of our grassroots base of support, and the strength of Marco’s leadership and message, we are confident of victory come Election Day.”
Alaska absentee ballots will not be counted until next week so we still don't know the results of the US Senate race between Lisa Murkowski, the incumbent, and Joe Miller. Murkowski's Dad did not do her any favors when he appointed her to that seat and gave her what looks to be the entitlement mindset after winning six years ago.
What is Lisa Murkowski going to do if the absentee ballots don't go her way? Are rumors true that she will run on the Libertarian Party ticket and perhaps defeat Joe Miller that way giving the Senate seat to the Democrat? That would be short sighted and frankly arrogant to risk a Republican seat because she feels entitiled. Reminds us of another former Republican, the NO PARTY Charlie Crist, of Florida when faced with losing the primary to Marco Rubio went NO PARTY.
It is time for Murkowski to pledge to support Joe Miller if he turns out to be the winner of the Senate race and put all thoughts aside of running for Senate. The people of Alaska will have spoken and she needs to honor their wishes.
Getting very tired of this entitlement mentality by some of our candidates. We are seeing it in Florida where Attorney General Bill McCollum thought he had the nomination for Governor all sewed up, but along comes Scott who is tired of the lobbyists and power brokers in Tallahassee and threw a wrench into the plans of McCollum. All of this would have been avoided if Crist had not decided he preferred to be Senator instead of Governor. Arrogance ruled the day. Now McCollum is wishy washy on his support. Same McCollum who got Tom Gallagher out of the Senate race in 2002 so he would not have to spend money in the primary. Powers at be in Tallahassee should have told McCollum that day -- NO!
If you run for office, you accept your victory with humility and any loss with grace. After the race is over, then you support the winner not with a lukewarm response but with the same response you would have expected your opponent to give you if you won. That should be the first lesson every candidate learns before setting foot in the political arena.
In Colorado after a tough race between Ken Buck and Jane Norton for the Senate seat, the two candidates on election night were shining examples of how to win with humility and lose gracefully. Jane Norton didn't hestitate to throw her full support behind Ken Buck which was very refreshing. Ken Buck, likewise, talked about how they were friends before the race and would be after.
Time for the candidates in the remainder of our Republican primaries to follow the example of Ken Buck and Jane Norton on election night.
08.25.10 | Rubio For Senate Releases First General Election Ad, “Dream”
Miami, FL – The Rubio for Senate campaign today launched its first ad of the General Election. The spot, titled “Dream,” will begin running tomorrow across Florida as part of a significant broadcast buy.
The spot will introduce Marco to General Election voters, giving them a real sense of who he is, his family background, and the events of his life that have shaped his core beliefs. The ad will set the stage for the upcoming conversation with Florida voters about Marco’s “Ideas to Reclaim America” policy agenda, and the choices facing voters about the direction of our country.
NOTE: Please visit Marco Rubio.com to learn more about Marco Rubio's Ideas to Reclaim America. Please consider donating to the Rubio campaign to defeat NO PARTY/NO Ideology Crist and Liberal Democrat Meeks! Let's help Marco keep the Florida Senate seat RED!
Please volunteer to help or donate to Marco Rubio for the Florida Senate seat. When Rubio raises his hand to take the oath of office in January 2011, he will be joining Dr. Tom Coburn in the fight against earmarks and pork to save the taxpayer dollars.
The separation in polls between Marco Rubio and Crist should grow even more after Labor Day as people in Florida take a real interest in this race. We would like to know when the Black Democrat Caucus in Congress is going to get up in arms with Harry Reid and Obama for ignoring the Democrat Meeks and supporting Crist behind the scenes. The most interesting part of this in the end will be between Crist and Meeks as they fight for the Democrat votes. Do Democrats trust Crist after the last few months?
Rubio keeps getting crowds to his events as word is spreading throughout Florida about what a great candidate he is for the Florida Senate seat this year. Contrast that to the smaller numbers coming out to see the other two. Who are the unions going to support -- the official Dem candidate Meeks or the NO Party candidate Crist? Would you trust Crist not to flip flop some more if you were a Democrat before this over? Crist has no core values left as he now panders to Democrat trial attorneys and unions. Crist is nothing more than someone who puts their finger in the wind to see which way it is blowing and if it blows the other direction the next day he will flip flop again. His flip flops make Kerry's seem small in comparison.
Anyone who knows Rubio or hears him speak knows he is a conservative and where he stands on issues.
There is only one principled candidate for the Florida Senate seat and that is Marco Rubio who this site is proud to support 100%.
Florida Senate: Rubio 36%, Crist 34%, Meek 15% Thursday, July 08, 2010 Email to a Friend ShareThisAdvertisement Florida’s Senate race remains all about Republican-turned-independent Charlie Crist and likely GOP nominee Marco Rubio.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Florida finds the two candidates neck-and-neck again this month, with Rubio earning 36% support and Crist, the state’s current Republican governor, capturing 34% of the vote. Prospective Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek remains a distant third, picking up 15%. Fourteen percent (14%) of the state’s voters remain undecided.
A month ago, Rubio, former speaker of the Florida House, and Crist were tied at 37% apiece. Meek, an African-American congressman from the North Miami area, again was at 15%.
Obvious from the first day that Crist contacted the Senator Reid and the White House to ask Obama to support Crist which party Crist intended to caucus with. Frankly Republicans wouldn't have wanted Crist after he refused to refund their donations when he left the Republican Party. The chances of Crist winning in November no matter what the polls say is slim to none.
Wonder what the Black Caucus thinks of Obama and Reid throwing Meeks under the bus in favor of Crist? They should be very mad at their candidate being dissed by Reid and Obama.
Marco Rubio will be the next Senator from Florida and Crist can go fishing on the island with his wife.
We wondered how low Charlie Crist would go since it has become obvious that he has no core values and now we are finding out. No self respecting conservative would ever reach out to trial attorneys. What makes them think if elected, Crist won't turn on them like he has everyone else.
Crist is probably the worst example of a politician that I can remember, and there have been some bad ones but this is the first I have seen a candidate toss out everything they stood for in the last 20 years and do a total 180. It is not like Specter who was a Democrat before he became a Republican and then went back Democrat. Crist had always been a Republican.
Tells us that the Gallagher supporters, I was one, were right about Crist in 2006, but Crist snowed the conservatives and ruthlessly attacked Gallagher so he won the nomination and the Governor's office. We could not get conservative websites to understand that Crist held no core values and was just saying what they wanted to hear. Those same sites have turned on him this time. Too many sites endorse candidates without looking at their background just because candidates say they say they are conservative.
Club for Growth investigates their candidates before giving support which is why their record is so good this time.
Email today from the Rubio campaign:
Sharon,
Just how much is Charlie Crist willing to do and say to get elected? We are continually shocked to see that Charlie will stop at nothing to ensure that Marco Rubio is not the next U.S. Senator from Florida, because for them this is an "Anybody but Rubio" campaign.
Yesterday's headline in the St. Petersburg Times highlights Charlie's desperate attempts to just win: "Trial lawyers, union and Democratic loyalists are helping to fund Crist in U.S. Senate race." "A governor who once courted conservatives by calling himself a ‘Jeb Bush Republican’ is getting help from liberal trial lawyers, union activists and even elected Democrats, who are shunning their party's Senate hopefuls, wealthy Palm Beach businessman Jeff Greene and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami.”
“Trial attorneys out in force for Crist … If you needed an attorney, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s fundraiser on Siesta Key earlier this week would have been a good place to start. It seemed every attorney in the region that has an ad on a taxi, phonebook or on television was milling around the first big Crist fundraiser in the region since he changed his party registration to run as an independent.”
As Charlie Crist has transparently “shifted to the left on some issues,” he is cashing in with large fundraisers hosted by Democrat special interests. Why are they opening up their wallets and giving big bucks? Because they are desperate to support any candidate who will go to Washington and be a “yes” vote for President Obama’s liberal agenda. These special interests want to keep piling up debt on future generations of Americans, implement a costly cap-and-trade national energy tax and fight reforms that will end frivolous lawsuits.
We must continue to stand together. We need your support, especially now, to ensure that Washington doesn't remain on this same path. The quarter is winding down which means that once again, we are asking for your financial support. This is another important opportunity to show Charlie what this election is really about - the need for true leadership, a return to conservative, American values, and a better future for our children.
How much money does Crist have on hand? We are betting if he paid everyone back who has requested a return of their donation, they it would bankrupt his campaign which is exactly what should happen. Guess trophy wife doesn't want to help fund his campaign.
Club for Growth was able to get $1.2M back from the Specter campaign when he left the GOP which makes Specter more honorable than Crist. After this latest, Crist qualifies for the scumbag title. People gave him campaign donations because he was running in the Republican primary. Once he left the GOP, every last dime should be returned but then Crist would have to have some ethics which are sorely lacking.
Crist will be missing out on the opportunity of being a major player in 2012 when Tampa hosts the GOP Convention. Can guarantee that he will not be welcome at this event. His ego in wanting to be a member of the Senate trumped common sense. Now he thinks people are going to take not getting their donations returned lying down and not saying a word. Not going to happen -- this will become a major thorn in Crist's side as the campaign progresses and out of state pollsters finally become honest on who they are polling.
Dumb move on top of dumb moves out of Charlie Crist.
May 12, 2010 No refunds, Crist campaign says Posted: May 12th, 2010 03:46 PM ET
From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart
The Crist Senate campaign will not return donations made before he decided to run as an independent, a campaign adviser told CNN Wednesday. (CNN) – Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will not refund Senate campaign contributions made before he decided to forego the Republican primary and, instead, mount an independent bid, according to a Crist campaign adviser.
"The governor's position is people donated to a good cause and we intend to spend their money on a good cause," Michelle Todd, an adviser to the Crist campaign, told CNN Wednesday.
The Florida governor decided late last month to skip a Republican primary face-off against former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio who had a more than 20-percentage-point lead over Crist in GOP primary polling. Crist is continuing his Senate run as a non-party-affiliated candidate.
A poll released last week showed Crist leading Rubio in a hypothetical three-way general election race between the two men and Rep. Kendrick Meek, the likely Democratic nominee.
Crist's decision not to issue refunds comes in the wake of several high-profile requests from members of the Republican establishment to return money given to Crist's campaign prior to his decision to bolt from the GOP primary.
Last week, a group of prominent Florida Republicans penned a letter to Crist seeking refunds of their personal donations and encouraging the governor to refund the donations of every GOP contributor who wants their money back. Anticipating Crist's announcement of his independent bid, the National Republican Senatorial Committee said it would seek a refund of its $10,000 donation to Crist's campaign and the Club for Growth, a conservative advocacy group, has also said it would lead an effort to help Crist donors seek refunds.
The new head of Florida GOP is proving why he was chosen the Chair after Greer, the previous chair appointed by Crist, was fired. Greer was a Crist man all the way and if Crist said jump, Greer would ask "how high?" We are looking forward to the report from the Feds about the mixing of GOP/Governor campaign funds in the 2006 election. The reason Crist did not have a credit card is that he expected Greer and his aides to use theirs for his benefit.
We applaud the new Chair of Florida GOP with his novel approach of recouping money paid for the photographs of Crist and Greer to the tune of $7,500. Florida state Senator John Thrasher understands what it is going to take to get FL GOP back on the right track after Greer and Crist left it in shambles.
Florida GOP: Crist not a pretty picture
By Sean Lengell April 30, 2010
If a picture is worth a thousands words, is a portrait of newly independent Senate candidate Florida Gov. Charlie Crist worth $7,500 on eBay?
The Florida Republican Party wants to find out.
Florida state Sen. John Thrasher, chairman of the Florida GOP, has removed a portrait of Mr. Crist from the party's Tallahassee headquarters and plans to put it up for sale on the online auction site.
The portrait, along with a painting of former party Chairman Jim Greer, who recently was forced from office amid reports he misused party money, had cost the party $7,500.
"We just want to recoup the cost," said Florida Republican Party spokeswoman Katie Betta.
"This is just an example of the extravagant spending under the leadership of Mr. Greer and Gov. Crist." She described the works as oil paintings on linen canvas.
Mr. Greer has claimed his likeness. But party officials say they hope to begin bidding for the governor's portrait on eBay as soon as today.
The Florida party already as received several calls from prospective bidders, Mrs. Betta said.
She said she was unaware of why the callers were interested in the portrait.
"Obviously we can't control what people would do with it," she said. "But it's certainly no use to us anymore."
Mr. Crist, once a darling in the Republican Party in Florida and considered a rising star nationally, on Thursday withdrew from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate to run as an independent.
Mr. Crist's main Republican challenger, former Florida House speaker Marco Rubio, in recent months has cruised to double-digit poll leads over the governor for the Aug. 24 GOP primary.
Recent polls suggest Mr. Rubio still would defeat Mr. Crist and Democratic Rep. Kendrick B. Meek in a three-way race, though the margin is much tighter.
Quote of the day "To put these rumors to rest once and for all, as we have said countless times before, Gov. Crist is running for the United States Senate as a Republican. He will not run as an Independent or as a No Party Affiliation.
"The governor is proud of his conservative credentials and stands firmly behind the principles of limited government and more personal freedom, the bedrock values of the Republican Party. He is proud to be a member of the party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.
"This should completely and utterly put to rest any of the unfounded rumors coming from the Rubio campaign that Gov. Crist would run as anything other than the Republican that he is."
Eric Eikenberg, Charlie Crist's campaign manager. April 8, 2010
Now today, 29 April 2010, which is 21 days later to be exact, Charlie Crist is doing exactly what the Rubio campaign said he was going to do -- leave the Republican Party where he is way behind in the polls to run No-Party. Have no clue what the difference between No Party and Independent is. You could say he was standing on principle but Crist has no principles as Mark Thornberry of the American Specatator explained in the sidebar of this site.
Crist is all about Crist and will stick his finger in the wind to see which way it is blowing and the group that praises him the most like teachers will get his support.
Crist was late to his Press Announcement but what is new?
Crist was elected as a Republican Governor, and we want to know why he is allowed to stay as Governor to campaign at taxpayer expense. His security detail will be with him at the events even though he has chosen to leave the GOP. The Republican Party of Florida has not changed their stance on issues, it is Crist who played up to Obama and Democrats who is finally outing himself as a liberal.
Now we have to hear how he is a man of the people when he lives in a $4M+ condo on an exclusive island off Miami-Dade County. Not going to fly this time!
His campaign has released they are going to pro-rate the return of contributions which we have never heard of before. He should give 100% of the contribution back if requested by the donor.
It is about time that Senator Cornyn at NRSC laid out the facts -- never should have endorsed Crist as many of us wrote to tell him. Don't get involved in an open, contested primary -- simple as that. Cannot believe Cornyn said his endorsement as Chair of NRSC didn't help Crist so why did he do it. Crist was already starting to feel the heat of the race when Greer, the former disgraced FL GOP Chair, was twisting arms for endorsements for Crist. It was payback for Crist naming him as the GOP Chair.
Cannot believe Cornyn gave him $10,000 from his PAC. Love it that Crist will have to refund the money. Crist has no choice but to refund any money he has received to run for Senate. This is going to be going on for some time with requests for refunds flooding Charlie Crist.
Club for Growth will be contacting donors like they did for Specter where they were about to get $1.2M refunded. Maybe Crist should have listened to Specter who this week said he could probably have done more good as a Republican than switching. Seems he doesn't like being a Democrat.
GOP Senator: Crist 'irreparably' damaging himself as Independent By Sean J. Miller - 04/29/10 10:47 AM ET
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is “irreparably” damaging himself by choosing to run as an Independent for the Senate, according to the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Crist, a Florida Republican, is expected to withdraw from the race for the GOP Senate nomination and announce his Independent candidacy during a press conference Thursday evening in St. Petersburg.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Thursday that Republicans encouraged Crist to either stay in the GOP primary or drop out and run again in 2012 against Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).
“Staying in the primary and dropping out and running in ’12 are preferable, much more preferable, than running as Independent,” Cornyn said Thursday at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.
“His future electoral prospects are irreparably damaged by his deciding now to run as an Independent.”
Cornyn admitted he hasn’t been able to speak with the governor directly about his decision. “I’ve played a lot of phone tag with him,” Cornyn said. “I’ve sort of given up out of frustration.
“But I know that message has been communicated, both by my staff and by other people close to the governor,” Cornyn said. “He’s a smart guy he can see what his choices are.”
Should the governor switch his party affiliation, “it will end our support and we will throw our support enthusiastically behind the Republican nominee, Marco Rubio,” Cornyn said.
Cornyn wouldn’t quantify the amount of money Crist would have to refund if he launches an Independent bid. But he did say he would request Crist return the $10,000 his leadership PAC donated.
After Crist’s announcement, the primary is effectively over and Cornyn said the committee’s focus will turn to the Democrat in the race, Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.). “Once we get by this drama of today, it’s going to be in essence a general election campaign and people are going to begin focusing on Kendrick Meek. A guy who voted for half-a-trillion-dollar cuts in Medicare, which Florida’s senior population may take a dim view of,” Cornyn said.
Cornyn said he initially tried to recruit former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) to run for Senate before moving to recruit Crist.
“When Jeb Bush told me he wasn’t going to run, I looked around for the most popular Republican in the state, and it was pretty clear who that was,” he said.
“At the time we made the endorsement, Gov. Crist was one of the most popular governors in America. It’s been a breathtaking change of circumstance to see him now contemplating this course.”
Cornyn admitted the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s endorsement of Crist didn’t help his campaign.
“In this political environment, it’s not necessarily helpful for candidates running in states to have the national party chairman endorse them,” Cornyn noted. “That’s been a learning experience.”
We have heard of dumb moves by politicians but this might just rank at the top of the list. Any Republican still considering voting for Crist will never vote for him now. Don't imagine most Florida independents will vote for him either. Maybe he should have used his wife as his consultant for this important decision since she comes from NJ/NY and changes are that she is a liberal Democrat because her advice to call the White House sure sounds like that. No Republican consultant would even think of telling him that, but then he has none left.
Wanting to Obama to back him over the Democrat Meeks shows total desperation and tells us that Marco Rubio will be the next Senator from FL. All of us need to give whatever we can and help in any way possible to ensure a Rubio win!
Crist learns the value of reciprocity in Obama WH APRIL 29, 2010 ED MORRISSEY
A year ago, when Barack Obama needed some bipartisan cover for the Porkulus package that got written without any Republican input, he headed down to Florida and got Charlie Crist to appear on stage to give him a boost. Now, Charlie Crist wants to dump the GOP and run as an independent, with an announcement expected later today, and he needs a big boost to get taken seriously by Sunshine State voters. According to Marc Ambinder, Crist tried calling his friends in the Obama White House — who refused to take his call:
Here first: Charlie Crist, soon to be independent Senate candidate from Florida, tried to reach White House chief of staff Emanuel through intermediates. WH refuses to take the call. Dems plan big talent/money blitz for Kendrick Meek. BTW: Obama’s approval rating in FL is in high 40s, per internal Dem polling.
From Tampa Bay On-Line comes the latest on the Charlie Crist saga. Club for Growth has one again proved why they are such a valuable organization for Republican Conservative candidates. If Crist runs as no party, they will be helping donors to Crist get their money refunded the same as they did when Arlen Specter decided to switch to Democrat.
It is not right to have a candidate take money from one party and then switch in midstream. When a candidate switches they should be obligated to return every last dime and then let the donor decide if they want to give the candidate money.
Looks like Thursday will be the day of the announcement by Crist.
TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist said today he expects to announce whether he will run for U.S. Senate as an independent on Thursday.
"I sort of imposed a deadline on myself of Thursday, so I look forward to coming to a conclusion by then," he told reporters.
He said he hopes he would both decide and announce on Thursday. "I think both would be my preference… to go ahead and get that concluded and then look forward to the last day of session."
Running well behind former state House Speaker Marco Rubio for the Republican nomination, Crist has until noon Friday to file as a Republican, Democrat, minor party or no-party affiliate.
If he decides not to run as a Republican, he would be listed as a no-party affiliate, or NPA, candidate on the ballot.
Although seen as the front-runner a year ago, when Rubio was still a virtual unknown, Crist is now behind in some polls by 20 points or more.
Asked whether the Republican party had changed, Crist told reporters, "Things ebb and flow and that's true of parties and other institutions, and certainly that's part of what's happening here."
Meanwhile, the business-backed conservative group Club for Growth, which is known to spend millions in Republican primaries, has announced it plans to lead a campaign contribution refund effort if Crist runs as an independent.
"Candidates who switch parties in the middle of a campaign have an obligation to return contributions on request," said Club President Chris Chocola in a press release. "If and when Charlie Crist leaves the Republican Party, we will contact his contributors and help them make formal refund requests to his campaign."
The group received permission last year from the Federal Election Commission to do the same when U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, of Pennsylvania, switched from the Republican to the Democratic party. The group says Specter's campaign has refunded about $1.2 million.
According to some campaign finance people today, it looks like Crist will not be able to spend the money raised for a Republican run for Senate but must return the money if he runs as an Indy.
Crist, who helped McCain win Florida in the 2008 presidential GOP primary, has recently indicated he is mulling an Independent bid. McCain has backed Crist, but made it clear Tuesday that his endorsement will not stand if Crist is not the Republican candidate.
Asked if he will support Crist as an Independent, McCain told The Hill, “No.” Pressed further, McCain said, “I support Republicans.”
McCain, who is facing a GOP primary challenge this year, added that Crist is “a dear friend. I like him, admire him and respect him, but I’m also a Republican.” Polls show that GOP candidate Marco Rubio has a significant lead over Crist. However, polls also indicate that as an Independent, Crist has a small lead over Rubio and likely Democratic candidate Rep. Kendrick Meek (Fla.).
Crist has until April 30 to decide whether he wants to run as an Independent. While Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) had to collect signatures to run as an Independent in 2006, Crist merely has to pay a filing fee.
Now we are learning that Crist didn't return NRSC Chair Cornyn's call. That takes nerve after Cornyn went out on a limb for Crist at the beginning but we are not surprised because Crist is so arrogant.
If Crist runs as an Indy, you can expect the NRSC will be all over that race for Rubio along with a lot of Republican activists who have had it with the arrogant Crist.
The Crist Implosion The Wall Street Journal 04-20-10 KIM STRASSEL
An independent run for Charlie Crist looks better on paper than it does in reality. Would Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in fact be politically smarter simply to drop out of the Senate race?
Mr. Crist yesterday acknowledged to reporters that he has been "certainly listening" to those who argue he should quit the GOP primary against Marco Rubio and run in the fall as an independent. His admission came after the National Republican Senatorial Committee issued a memo saying there's "zero chance" Mr. Crist would remain in the primary. The memo, which urged Mr. Crist to drop out of the race completely, was released publicly after Mr. Crist reportedly didn't return a call to receive the same message privately from Senator John Cornyn of Texas, who heads the NRSC.
Mr. Crist is struggling to navigate what could potentially be a devastating end to his political career. He's 20 points down against Mr. Rubio. Last week he vetoed a popular education bill as a favor to the state teachers union, repudiating a decade-long GOP effort to bring accountability to the state's schools. With senior Republican supporters abandoning him in droves, Mr. Crist is clearly tempted by a Quinnipiac poll showing he might still win a three-way Senate race as an independent.
