Marco Rubio releases awesome new campaign ad "Changes"

Today the Rubio campaign launched a new web ad that highlights Charlie Crist's ever changing positions on the major issues facing America.

The timing could not have been more perfect as even the Associated Press released a similar story about Barack Obama today.  I guess they are like peas in a pod!

Need a Job? Marco Rubio Gets It

Florida senatorial candidate Marco Rubio released a statement today commenting on Barack Obama's "Job Summit".

Rubio blasted the Obama administration,democrats and current Florida Governor Charlie Crist. Crist is challenging Rubio in the 2010 senate primary in Florida.

Rubio Comments on President Obama’s Jobs Summit

Miami, FL – U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio today released the following statement regarding President Obama’s Jobs Summit:


“With America’s unemployment at 10.2 percent and Florida’s at a 34-year high, it’s clear the $787 billion stimulus has failed to get Americans back to work as President Obama, the Democrat Congress and Governor Crist promised. Their failed policies have had devastating consequences for the millions of Americans who are out of work.

“Today’s jobs summit reminds us that governing by photo-op and showmanship is no substitute for sound policy. True economic development and job creation begins by empowering small businessmen and women, cutting government red tape, reducing the anxiety Americans feel about runaway Washington spending, and pursuing bold and far-reaching tax reform. Growing government through the stimulus and other liberal initiatives simply cannot replace or compete with the private sector’s limitless potential to create jobs and prosperity.

“If the President, congressional Democrats and their allies are serious about job creation, they should abandon their current path of job-killing government takeovers of health care, cap-and-trade and even another round of wasteful stimulus spending. Instead, they should enact tax policies that encourage private sector investment, work to open new markets for American goods, and salvage what’s left of unused stimulus funds by redirecting them towards the entrepreneurs and risk-takers who built our economy in the first place.”

Crist voted FOR the stimulus before he voted AGAINST It

From National Journal

Gov. Charlie Crist (R) appeared via satellite on the "Situation Room" 11/4 p.m.

Crist, on whether he regrets endorsing the economic stimulus package: "I didn't endorse it. I didn't even have a vote on the darned thing. But I understood that it was going to pass and I wanted to be able to utilize it for the benefit of my fellow Floridians. ... Frankly, I kind of look at it like Florida taxpayers' dollars coming back to the state to benefit them. ... We've go to fight for Florida first. That's all we did here."

Crist, on the picture of himself and Pres. Obama hugging that Ex-state House Speaker Marco Rubio's (R) has on his website: "I think it's important to understand where we were at that time. That was back in February, less than a month after the president was sworn into office, the first time he visits our state. And I was pragmatic, I think, about what we needed to do. Everybody knew the bill was going to pass. I, like all other Republican governors, utilized that money for the benefit of the people in my state. And that's what a pragmatic conservative does. ... And I think it's important to understand that you need to fight for jobs, you need to fight for the economy, do what you think is right for the people."

This is one of those stories that just makes you wonder how stupid politicians think the people are. Hey Charlie!!!!! Ever hear of youtube????

You not only endorsed it, you praised it!!!! You said it is important to pass the stimulus package ... in a bipartisan way..




And just as expected, Marco Rubio responds quickly with his own version of the events. Classic just Classic.



UPDATE: Even Beltway Bob at the Whitehouse knows Crist supported the Stimulus Bill:

Rush Limbaugh: It has Begun

In six short minutes, Rush Limbaugh summed up exactly what I have been thinking for months now.

Although he did not mention Florida's Senatorial candidate Marco Rubio (R) by name, he did mention the race in Florida in which "conservatism is on the rise". Is that an endorsement of Marco Rubio? Rubio is the only conservative in the race for US senate in Florida for 2010. His rival, Gov Charlie Crist, is widely considered a moderate at best.

This coupled with fact that Rush was in attendance during a Marco Rubio Fundraiser at the West Palm Beach restaurant Pistache  in September may be a big hint as to where Limbaugh's instincts have taken him. I am not saying that Rush has endorsed Rubio (yet). But I am saying that it is easy to deduce his thought process in regards to his hopes for the outcome of the Florida senate race based on what he is saying.

Here is a partial transcript of Rush' remarks. The full transcript is available at the link below.

Conservatism on the Ascendency

RUSH: ... In the first hour today we had this from Rasmussen Reports: "73% of Republican voters say congressional Republicans have lost touch with their base. Just 15% of Republicans who plan to vote in 2012 state primaries say the primary's representatives in Congress have done a good job representing Republican values," and that would be conservative values. So you're not alone. You're among 73%. Sarah Palin and Rick Santorum have now thrown down in the New York election. They have endorsed Doug Hoffman. Talk radio has thrown down, ditto Florida. Conservatism is in the ascendancy. Conservatives are ascending, money is flowing and we're turning a corner...

These "Republicans first" and these Republicans-in-name-only, these people who claim that they want to be moderate Republicans, "That's the only way we're ever going to be win the broad-based election," are just missing the point. I don't know what's so hard to figure out about going back to 1980 and 1984 and looking at the results. Sarah Palin is defying the party. Rick Santorum is defying the party. Forty-nine percent say no health care reform better than the current plan. This also from Rasmussen. Slowly we creep, my friends, to getting a majority of people who understand. "Forty-nine percent of voters nationwide say that passing no health care reform bill this year would be better than passing the plan currently working its way through Congress." I think it has begun.

Click here for the entire transcipt.

Charlie Crist having Trouble with the Facts in Michigan

Florida Governor Charlie Crist seems to have trouble with some of the facts as he addresses the 28th biennial Republican Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island Michigan.

Click here for the full story. ( "Charlie Crist looks to be dissing Jeb Bush's legacy in speech" )The story above gives the TRUE details of Crist's claims.


The office of Crist's republican rival for the 2010 US senate seat, Marco Rubio, quickly responded.Here is their statement:

"Unfortunately for Charlie Crist, what happened in Michigan this weekend, didn't stay in Michigan. If the beleaguered citizens of Michigan are looking for answers to their economic problems, they can do better than listening to Charlie Crist. Michiganders should ignore Charlie Crist's suggestion that they copy his prescription of historic tax increases, bigger government, more wasteful spending and no jobs to show for it. As Floridians can attest, the pain of the Charlie Crist Economy is nothing to brag about.

"In an effort to hide his own economic record, Charlie Crist even appears to have taken a page out of the Obama playbook by blaming a Bush for what he inherited. Charlie Crist needs to own up to the fact that he inherited a state with 3.3 percent unemployment that has now soared to 10.7 percent on his watch."

Charlie Crist's ACORN Association Bites Again. Marco Rubio Comments

In a press release today, Former Florida House Speaker and republican senatorial candidate Marco Rubio issued the following statement regarding Florida's flawed felon's rights restoration program.

Miami, FL–U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio today issued the following statement regarding Florida's felons' rights restoration program, which has mistakenly authorized restoring the rights of 13 felons, including a child rapist:


"In 2007, Governor Crist sided with ACORN in pushing for the expansion of a felons' rights restoration program in Florida. His flawed, mismanaged program has now erroneously allowed a child rapist and 12 other felons to have their rights restored.

"Governor Crist was wrong to support this program's expansion and he has failed to oversee its proper implementation. In light of the flaws that have come to light, Governor Crist should suspend this program indefinitely to ensure more of these mistakes are not made on his watch."

In April 2007 the St. Petersburg times ran a huge story about the Felons Rights Restoration Program. It is a MUST read to learn more about opposition to the program and how Charlie Crist ignored many of his own administration to aprrove it. It also mentions a number of liberal groups that influenced Crist's decision.

Calling it "simple human justice," Gov. Charlie Crist and two Cabinet members voted Thursday to reverse decades of Florida history by automatically restoring some civil rights to tens of thousands of felons...

...Attorney General Bill McCollum, however, called the change "reckless and irresponsible." His criticism of Crist during the meeting appeared to open a rift between the state's two top Republicans..."I'm just very upset about this," McCollum said. "I think we're making a grave mistake today."...

...As a candidate for governor last year, and in his first weeks in office, Crist demanded an easing of full citizenship barriers for felons, despite a poll showing most Floridians and law enforcement groups which supported his candidacy opposed the idea...

A tense, hourlong debate before the vote exposed deep philosophical differences between McCollum, who replaced Crist as attorney general in January, and the man who calls himself "the people's governor."


McCollum cited opposition from the Florida Sheriffs Association, Florida Police Chiefs Association and Fraternal Order of Police, among others.

I don't know McCollum very well yet but I certainly liked his position on this issue.

Absent Gov Charlie Crist Flip Flops AGAIN

Florida Governor Charlie Crist will be leaving for Chicago tonight to raise money from insurance executives he once celebrated putting "the nail in the coffin" of.

THEN: GOVERNOR CRIST

..."When the Florida legislature finished its spring session last year, Republican governor Charlie Crist hailed lawmakers for what he considered their most important accomplishment: 'You put the nail in the coffin this afternoon on the industry that was hurting our people.' ...

'I am amazed at their level of greed and I am amazed at the callous nature of their corporate decisions,' he told the St. Petersburg Times last summer." ("'He's No Jeb Bush,'" National Review, 4/7/08)

NOW: CANDIDATE CRIST

"Gov. Charlie Crist has a busy day [Thursday]: A morning meeting of the clemency board ... followed by a fundraiser in Chicago for his U.S. Senate campaign. This one is hosted by Tallahassee lobbyist Fred Karlinsky and a cadre of insurance bigwigs, including Richard Parillo Sr. and his son of the same name, execs in the United Auto Insurance Co." ("Crist's Thursday: Felon's Rights In Tally, More Cash In Chicago, St. Petersburg Times, 9/23/09)

Charlie Crist still seems to have a propensity to follow the direction of  the nearest "wind sock" without regard to his constituency.

He continues to ignore the conservative base and allows himself to be persuaded by those who prefer a more liberal tack.

I am amazed at the callous nature of  HIS decisions and his refusal to debate a boni fide opponent (Marco Rubio) during the campaign.

This isthe same Charlie Crist who supported Barack Obam's Stimulus Plan and said,

"It's important that we pass a stimulus package. It's important. It is important to do so to help education, to help our infrastructure, and to help HEALTH CARE for those that need it the most. The most vulnerable among us. And let me finish Mr. President by saying that we need to do it in a bipartisan way."... 

Later he changed his mind for political expediency and called the Health Care Plan "cockamamie". 

From TBO.comORLANDO - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist called President Barack Obama's proposed health care overhaul "cockamamie" as he and the state Republican Party tried Saturday to get activists charged up for the 2010 election year.

Charlie Crist Plays Word Games with the ACORN Controversy

Charlie Crist is playing political word games to support his position on the ACORN controversy. Crist's office was quoted this week as saying, "...there is "no evidence" of a "voter fraud problem" in Florida...". This simple statement on it's own may be true but it is an obvious attempt at diverting attention away from "Voter REGISTRATION Fraud".


It stands to reason that one would first have to commit voter registration fraud before voting fraudulently. If that somehow escapes Charlie Crist then he needs to have his advisors educate him on the voting process.

Voter registration fraud is a FELONY and Crist acts as if it never happened. Maybe he needs to talk to Florida state attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle. I'm sure he can find her number.

The case in Florida is simple and the information is readily available to those who are actually willing to take the time investigate a little.

Here is a story via FoxNews

"...Federal and state authorities in Miami are still searching for five of the 11 people suspected of falsifying information on hundreds of voter registration cards -- including registering the name of the late actor Paul Newman -- the Florida Department of Law Enforcement told FOXNews.com Thursday.

Six people were taken into custody Wednesday as arrest warrants were issued for 11 workers hired by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -- or ACORN -- on charges of voter registration fraud.

Florida state attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle said the 11 workers hired to register voters by ACORN in Homestead, Fla., submitted 888 fraudulent names -- which included names of people who were already registered voters, fictitious names, and the name of the late actor Paul Newman, who died in Sept. 2008...

...In a statement sent to FOXNews.com. on Wednesday, Florida ACORN board member Leroy Bell said, "We want to commend the state attorney for taking decisive action. Today's action demonstrates the seriousness we brought to the task of not only expanding the electorate, but also of protecting the integrity of the voting process. "...

The story gets a little more interesting when you look at the actual arrest affidavit.

It seems that only 25% of one workers cards were analyzed out of a total of about 160 for a total of 40. Out of the 40, 37 of them could not be matched to a living person.

If you extrapolate that out to the total number submitted by Williams you would come up with 147 Fraudulent Voter Registrations out of 160. Extraordinary that Charlie Crist does not seem to find this a problem.
 

This is just ONE OFFICE in the whole state and ONE person.  The next question I have for Governor Crist is how many of these fraudulent submissions have been accepted and are you willing to follow thru and investigate ALL of them to see how many people may have been able to cast invalid votes during the 2008 election?

Identifying the fraudulent registrations is only the first step. Will you demand that the second step be taken or are you in the same camp as Barack Obama.

''I think that there's probably less [fraud] than is being discussed. As we're coming into the closing days of any campaign, there are some who enjoy chaos,'' Crist told reporters. Crist made his comments as the Republican National Committee hosted a conference call with reporters to tie Democrat Barack Obama to suspicious voter-registration cards submitted by ACORN across the nation and in four Florida counties, including Broward.- Charlie Crist via The Buzz

"... it's[The Acorn Scandal] not something I'm paying a lot of attention to."

         --Barack Obama Here is the video.

Marco Rubio sends Letter to Charlie Crist regarding ACORN

I decided to ad a separate post to show Marco Rubio's letter to current Governor Charlie Crist outlining his concerns over the ACORN controversy. Check out the last paragraph. Its a zinger!
Here is the letter again:
The Honorable Charlie Crist
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Dear Governor Crist:

As you are no doubt aware, the community organizing group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is now under intense scrutiny for recent reports of its involvement in questionable behavior and potentially illegal activity in several states.

In addition to the damning video reports of ACORN employees now familiar to most Floridians, just last week the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announced that arrest warrants were issued for 11 former ACORN employees accused of faking voter registration cards. While it is commendable that ACORN assisted in the investigations that led to the arrests, it begs the question: why were so many people capable of these crimes working for ACORN in the first place?

Last Friday, the Census Bureau severed ties with ACORN. On Tuesday, U.S. Senators Bill Nelson and George LeMieux joined 81 other Senators in an overwhelming and bipartisan vote to strip federal funding from ACORN. Just yesterday, Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger in California and Tim Pawlenty in Minnesota took similar action, asking officials to investigate ACORN’s behavior in their respective states and prevent state taxpayer funding of the group.

Based on the mounting evidence against ACORN and the serious questions surrounding this organization, I respectfully ask that you follow the lead of the other elected officials I mentioned above and take immediate steps to initiate a thorough investigation into ACORN’s activities in Florida, including a detailed accounting of what state funds, if any, ACORN may be receiving. If it is discovered that they are receiving state funds, I believe further steps should be taken to cut off any taxpayer funding of ACORN.

The St. Petersburg Times also reported yesterday that your office may have partnered with ACORN in the past on several initiatives, including your 2007 effort to restore voting rights to convicted felons in Florida. If you partnered with ACORN, I have no reason to doubt you did so unaware of ACORN’s propensity for questionable activity, and with what you believed at the time to be the best interests of Floridians at heart. However, given the recent revelations about ACORN, I believe it is now in the best interest of all Floridians for your office to provide a thorough accounting of its relationship with ACORN and what, if any, influence ACORN may have had in any actions you have taken on behalf of the people of Florida.

Lastly, during last year’s presidential election, despite what now seems to be a prescient chorus of concerned parties asking for an investigation into ACORN’s election-related activities, you insisted that you were unconcerned with ACORN’s activities. In light of the recent allegations against ACORN, I suggest you reconsider your position, demand a full investigation of ACORN’s election-related activities, and take whatever steps available to you to prevent ACORN from engaging in voter registration and other election-related activities until the questions surrounding this organization are resolved.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio asks Charlie Crist to Investigate ACORN

From Tampabay.com

Does this explain the state GOP's silence over ACORN?

Huffington Post: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, for example, partnered with ACORN in March 2008 for a "Homeownership Promotes The Economy" taskforce. More recently, Crist declared that -- contrary to GOP outrage -- he was not upset with the group's voter registration efforts in his state. The New York Times reported that ACORN supported a law signed by Governor Crist, which "changed the rules last year to restore the voting rights of about 112,000 former convicts."

The Buzz: "Breaking with the talking points of his fellow Republicans in Washington, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said he does not think voter fraud and the vote-registration group ACORN are a major problem in the Sunshine State. ''I think that there's probably less [fraud] than is being discussed. As we're coming into the closing days of any campaign, there are some who enjoy chaos,'' Crist told reporters. Crist made his comments as the Republican National Committee hosted a conference call with reporters to tie Democrat Barack Obama to suspicious voter-registration cards submitted by ACORN across the nation and in four Florida counties, including Broward. (photo from Acorn Web site)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also,I found this. Marco Rubio sent a letter to Governor Crist asking him to investigate ACORN Florida. Rubio did not hold back. Here is the letter:

Marco Rubio: "Crist is a Fair Weather Republican"

From Politco.com

Marco Rubio does not hold back when he explains the tactics that Charlie Crist will use to try for a win in the 2010 Florida Senate race.

Rubio has been consistent in his values and policies while Crist has based his decisions on the latest poll results. Crist tries to use popular sentiment as a guide to HIS future and totally disregards those with true principles that disagree with him.

..."At the same time, Crist’s support for the stimulus continues to embolden conservatives such as Rubio to attack the governor as a fair-weather Republican — a complaint he has lodged repeatedly in their primary battle. Rubio’s campaign press releases now refer to the issue as the “Charlie Crist-backed-stimulus-bill.”


“I have no doubt that Charlie Crist is willing to go to Washington and oppose the Obama administration if it’s popular,” Rubio said in an interview. “If it’s popular to be with the Obama administration, he’ll be with them — that’s what he proved last February.”

Video:Barbara Boxer: Well Dressed Right Wing Surrogates Attend Protests to Obama's Plans

Here are some pics of the "well dressed" people at the Jacksonville Tea Party(video below):







Senator Barbara Boxer claims that protestors are too well dressed to be "regular citzens".



Elitism has Found a NEW LOW!

Gov. Charlie Crist Endorses Obama Health Care Plan?

Crist: "It's important that we pass a stimulus package. It's important. It is important to do so to help education, to help our infrastructure, and to help HEALTH CARE for those that need it the most. The most vulnerable among us.

And let me finish Mr. President by saying that we need to do it in a bipartisan way."...


I do not recall that Crist's statements in regard to health care and the Obama stimulus plan have been the subject of any questioning by the media.

Here is Crist in his own words appearing with President Obama at a rally to support the stimulus plan. The quote from Crist that I gave above starts just before the 3:00 minute mark of the video below:


A Specter in the making?...The bipartisanship meme seems to be destroying the focus of the Conservative agenda...

Video:Marco Rubio on Republicanism and Crist

Here is a short Fox News interview with Marco Rubio in which Rubio challenges Crist on conservatism. I am also including the video of Crist with Obama in support of the stimulus.



CRIST WITH OBAMA in SUPPORT of the STIMULUS:
This is a 4 minute video and you have to go to the 1:30 mark before Crist speaks. He also mentions healthcare in the clip. I do not recall that part of the appearance getting much media attention.



It's clear to me that Rubio is the only "CONSERVATIVE" running for US senate in Florida for the 2010 senate race.