Charlie Crist Claims "Hundreds of Thousands" of Jobs SAVED in Florida

Florida Governor Charlie Crist will say ANYTHING to get himself elected as Florida's next US senator.

Often within weeks of positing a position on issue "A" he reverses himself and chooses position "B" on the same issue.

This habit is well documented even in the "Main Stream Media".

Changing a position for political expediency is one thing. But to just flat out lie by making up the facts as you go along seems somewhat pathological.

Charlie Crist has done just that.

His official website claims that the Obama stimulus saved 80 thousand Florida jobs. Crist was the only Republican Governor to endorse Obama's plan.

"Governor Crist wisely utilized stimulus funding, making sure federal taxes paid by Floridians returned home to the Sunshine State. Because of Governor Crist’s leadership, over 20,000 teachers’ positions and 60,000 additional jobs throughout our state were saved, while important infrastructure projects were started."

Yet during his recent interview with Time, Crist clearly states that the stimulus saved "Hundreds of Thousands" of Florida jobs.

Crist: "Hundreds of thousands of people continue to have employment because of the stimulus..."

Forward to the 3:55 mark of the Time interview video to hear Crist in his own words.

Video: 30 Minutes with Marco Rubio on WSRE

If you want to find out a little more about Marco Rubio and his positions on key issues, you need to spend the time to watch this interview by Jeff Weeks of  WSRE.

Taxes
War on Terror
Energy independence
And many more including a little football talk at the end.

Video: Marco Rubio Interview on MSNBC Morning Joe

Florida conservative candidate Marco Rubio appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe today. There were some interesting exchanges between the "hosts" and Rubio.

Dan Senor: All of the Washington Republicans are supporting Crist and I think it is going to blow up in their faces!

Rubio: I think what is going on is that people are tired of apologizing for their principles.

Charlie Crist Loses Cato's Grade A Tax Rating

Current Florida Governor and US Senate candidate Charlie Crist has been touting his "A" grade on tax policy from the Cato Intsitute in his latest radio ads.

Cato Institute's Tax Policy Director Chris Edwards is now having second thoughts about that rating.

In an email sent out by Edwards he rescinds his original evaluation of Crist's tax record and points out that the evaluation was made much earlier and before Crist decided to raise taxes on Floridians.

From an Edwards email:

According to the Herald’s Naked Politics (October 16), Gov. Charlie Crist is trumpeting his grade of “A” on Cato’s “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors.” The governor earned the grade in last year’s report based mainly on his property tax cuts and moderate spending approach.

I am pleased that Crist values Cato’s ratings because we work hard to make them accurate and nonpartisan. But as the report’s author, I am concerned that the governor has fallen off the fiscal responsibility horse since the report was written in mid-2008.

In particular, Crist approved a huge $2.2 billion tax increase for the fiscal 2010 budget, even though he had promised that $12 billion in federal “stimulus” money showered on Florida over three years would obviate the need for tax increases.

About $1 billion of the tax increases are on cigarette consumers, which will particularly harm moderate-income families. The rest of the increases are in the form of higher costs for often mandatory services, such as automobile registration, which is really just a sneaky form of tax increases.

These tax increases will be particularly painful to Floridians in the short-term because of the recession. But Crist has also jeopardized the state’s long-term finances with his expanded subsidies for hurricane insurance. Hurricanes are a major challenge in Florida, but giving big subsidies to coastal property owners, driving private insurers out of the state, and guaranteeing a massive state bailout when the next hurricane hits strikes me as the height of fiscally irresponsibility.
Sincerely,
Chris Edwards
Director of Tax Policy
Cato Institute
Washington, D.C.

Crist is in a tough battle with former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio for the chance to compete against the Democrat challenger Kendrick Meek. Crist's lead in the polls was cut in half by Rubio this week and Rubio is gaining grassroots conservative support along with an impressive number of contributions to his campaign in the last quarter of over a million dollars.

The momentum is clearly in Rubio's favor at this point and Crist has reason to worry about his bid for senate.

Marco Rubio: Crist does not respect informed voters

In this short audio clip from 92.5 FM Fox News with Mandy Connell, Marco Rubio says that Charlie Crist does not respect the intelligence of the electorate.

His answer was in response to a question about Charlie Crist's radio ads which came out last week.

Crist's ads were deceptive at best and downright misleading when it comes to his record.

Marco Rubio says ,"The People will Decide"

Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio speaks to The Ledger.com in this 10 minute interview.

Rubio covers many important subjects including the war on terror, budget, Charlie Crist, and how the "people" will decide the winner of the race for Florida's US senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez.

Rubio is very passionate about saying, "We will Win". He has been gaining huge grass roots support and feels that Conservatives will help him beat current Gov Crist in the primary battle. He stresses that the "establishment" will not decide this election.

Rubio has virtually annihilated Crist in half a dozen straw polls during the past couple of months. Many of those polls were held in large counties throughout Florida.

Is Crist Losing Ground to a Rubio Surge-Crist Censured in Volusia County

From Sun Sentinel.com
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist censured in his own state.
By Jack Furnari

In a move sure to strike fear in the hearts of the current regime in charge of the Republican Party of Florida, the Volusia County Republican Executive Committee passed a motion by voice vote Saturday morning censuring Republican Gov. Charlie Crist.

The Volusia motion ends with a wink and a nod to the Republican Party of Palm Beach County's own battle over censuring Crist. In what might be perceived as a plea for solidarity from Palm Beach County REC members, the resolution says: "Governor Crist's appointment of Democrats to boards is not limited to Volusia County. He also appointed Democrat Pricilla Taylor to the Palm Beach Board of County Commissioners; and he appointed Democrat Carrie Hill to the Palm Beach County School Board."

Back in April, the PBC Republican Party voted 66-24 to table a Crist censure motion introduced by REC member Steven Ledewitz until August. Now that August is here, the Board of Directors of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County, in anticipation of the motion being introduced again at the upcoming Aug. 12 meeting, recently voted 9-0 to oppose any motion to censure Crist.

Disclosure: As a member of the Board of Directors of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County, I voted, along with the rest of the board, against the local motion to censure Gov. Crist.

In an e-mail sent to grass-roots conservative activists across the state, former Palm Beach County resident and current Volusia County REC member Sally Stewart wrote: "This is the first step toward taking back our government. We need counties throughout the state to send a message that we don't like business as usual.... Our elected officials pander for our votes and when they gain office, turn their backs on us and do the bidding of the big-money lobbyists and special interests."

Click here to read the full article that spells out the reasons for the censure vote.

Rubio is gaining momentum and I think Crist is starting to feel the heat.

Marco Rubio: I am NOT Quitting My Senate Race

Marco Rubio denies rumors that he will drop out of his senate race against moderate Gov. Charlie Crist.

Here is the video of the interview. Rubio makes the declaration at about the 1:30 mark of the video:



The interviewer actually compares Rubio to Obama.

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.