Rules of Engagement-There are none! Rubio vs Crist Debate 3-28-10

On Sunday March 28th, Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist will sit side-by-side on the set of the popular Sunday talk show Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. There are no rules and the event  may consume the entire hour of the program.

Recent polls show Rubio with a double digit lead over sitting Governor Charlie Crist in his  bid to become Florida's next US senator. That is the complete opposite from the way the polls looked as early as last summer.

Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos told me:

Format is Sunday Show-talk style. The debate will take place in FOX's DC Bureau, where the FOX News Sunday set is located. There will be no audience, and it is expected to last most if not all of the show (with some commercial breaks).

It will be the first time that the two candidates have met head-to-head to exchange their opinions about the future of the state and their role in Washington. It is MUST SEE TV if you are in to politics. It should be a "spicy" debate with each candidate attempting to further his views about the state of the nation and the state of Florida.

Marco Rubio WOWS Huge crowd in Jacksonville Beach

I attended the Marco Rubio event in Jacksonville Beach yesterday and was happy to see hundreds of people coming out to support Marco.  (photos below)

There were more than 300 people there. I know because I counted seats. (And all the standing people AND the people literally standing outside the door.

NewsJacksonville.com has  a great article about the event. Here are some excerpts and you can read the entire story by clicking on the link.

A cheering crowd. A massive, nearly identical lead in two polls over as many days. Marco Rubio walked into a Beaches community hall Wednesday seeming anything but the underdog he was just months ago...

To the crowd of about 300 packed wall-to-wall, Rubio said he couldn’t concentrate on popularity statistics. He had to stop, to sometimes-standing applause, as he reaffirmed his position against government-run health care, accused Washington of dismantling the free market system and said Americans are within plain sight of losing everything that makes the nation great.

The NewsJacksonville.com link also has a link to a dozen or more photos which are better than mine. Time to get a real camera for me. :)

Rubio: Congratulations to Charlie Crist for Standing O by Democrats

The Rubio campaign wasted little time in panning rival Charlie Crist for his State of the State address in Florida today. Crist was given a standing ovation by Democrats for his support of Obama's 787 billion dollar stimulus plan. Republicans actually BOOed him.

It really sounded like Crist was touting democrat policies with more and more spending. No mention of where he would find the money to pay for everything he proposed.

Rubio campaign:

CRIST DEFENDS STIMULUS AS THE "RESPONSIBLE THING TO DO,” DEMOCRATS RESPOND WITH A STANDING “O”


Miami, FL – In a rousing speech that brought Democrats to their feet, Governor Charlie Crist tonight delivered his final State of the State remarks, highlighting his support for the stimulus.

“Tonight, Charlie Crist tried to reinvent himself as someone who had no choice but to help President Obama pass the failed stimulus a year ago,” said Rubio for Senate spokesman Alex Burgos. “But Floridians know it was Charlie Crist who helped force the failed government stimulus down their throats instead of working towards a fiscally responsible alternative to stimulate the true job creators in the private sector.

“Charlie Crist's claim that he acted merely to get Floridians their fair share is not only untrue, it is offensive. Floridians' fair share was squandered years ago by out-of-control Washington spending, and the money Charlie Crist is using to fund his campaign year spending spree is actually being stolen from future generations of Floridians.”