Campaign Crawlers
Charlie Sees Red
In the ultimate tribute to his opponent, Charlie Crist is suddenly pretending to be the true-blue conservative in the Florida Senate race.
TAMPA — Charlie Crist is trying to dress himself in the borrowed robes of a conservative. Even Macbeth, another ambitious guy, knew when the robes weren’t his.
It’s a transparent scam. But will Florida Republican primary voters buy it? They’ve given Crist a pass on a lot of things over his career. But he’s asking them to buy some pretty outlandish things now.
It’s easy enough to see why Florida’s “whichever-way-the-wind-is-blowing” populist governor is worried. An Insider Advantage Poll last week showed Crist’s approval rating had dropped to 48 percent, with 41 percent disapproving of the job he’s doing. If this poll is accurate it marks a significant fall-off from approval ratings in the sixties that Crist enjoyed for his first two years as governor. The poll contains other questions about taxes and the economy which yield about the percentages one would expect, an argument that the poll does reflect reality.
Perhaps a cooling of enthusiasm for Florida’s governor is not too surprising in a state with 11 percent unemployment and which is suffering other ills of the current economic unpleasantness.
Meanwhile, Crist’s conservative opponent for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat that Mel Martinez recently gave up is doing extremely well. He’s excited the party’s conservative base, most of whose members have long ago lost patience with Crist and are convinced the “R” after Crist’s name stands for RINO.
Marco Rubio, a charismatic, young Cuban-American from Miami with a conservative record in the Florida House, collected a little more than a million dollars for his campaign during the quarter-three reporting period. Much less than the sitting governor who’s tight with the party’s establishment money men, but still enough at this point in the campaign (the primary is next August) to ensure he can get his story out across Florida.
On top of his financial success, Rubio, a skilled and articulate campaigner who runs on conservative issues, continues to clean Crist’s clock in straw votes being taken by Republican groups, mostly county executive committees, across the state. In the latest, last week, members of the Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee went for Rubio over Crist by a margin of 90-17.
In 11 straw votes so far — eight county executive committees, two Republican women’s clubs, and the Florida Federation of College Republicans — Rubio is 11-0 and has bested Crist by a total of 495 to 58. Until last week Crist supporters could parry Rubio’s straw-vote victories by saying they took place in small counties that are to the right of the state as a whole. But this can hardly be said of affluent Palm Beach, home to almost 1.3 million souls, including more than 238,000 registered Republicans.
I had the opportunity to ask Crist about these straw votes and about Rubio’s successful financial quarter at a Reagan Day dinner in Tampa a couple of Friday’s back. “Well, it was better than last quarter,” the ever-smiling and unruffleable Crist told me. As for the lopsided straw votes, “I don’t make much of them. There are different factions in the Republican Party. That’s just one group.”
A pretty large group, though. And as these are the party activists and workers, the folks who follow politics most closely, they are the people in the party who know Crist best. They show up to vote in primaries. They also showed up about 35-strong at the site of the Reagan dinner in 92-degree heat (in Tampa, not a dry heat) to wave Rubio signs as attendees arrived. Zero Crist signs.
Later at the dinner Florida Republican Chairman Jim Greer, appointed to his post by Crist, sought me out to clarify. “We have to respect” the straw voters, Greer said. But went on to suggest the straw voters were local activists who are “not in synch with Republican voters across the state.”
I asked Greer about some of the more liberal stances Crist has taken since he’s been governor, and Greer had some remarkable things to say. Asked about the inconsistency between Crist’s saying that he is against more taxes and more government while at the same time supporting cap and trade, Greer said he “couldn’t find where he [Crist] has ever said he supports cap and trade.” I guess I’ll have to lend Jim my clip file. Perhaps it’s difficult to get newspapers delivered or TV reception at Greer’s office. Crist has said this repeatedly, though not lately as support for the idea seems to be sagging.
Greer also insisted Charlie shouldn’t be gigged for trying to get Florida’s fair share of stimulus funds, but he failed to mention that Charlie helped our rookie president whoop up the stimulus package in Florida before it was adopted. This was in February, when Obama and his policies were more popular than they are now.
Greer ended our conversation with this assault on credulity: “Charlie Crist is conservative to the core.” Misfortunately for Crist, much of the conservative base of the Florida Republican Party is convinced, on the available evidence, that Charlie doesn’t have a core. He’s trying to convince them otherwise.
Last week in Lakeland (the largest city in conservative Polk County), Crist told a lunch crowd of about 200, put together by the Lakeland Republican Club, that he’s “about as conservative as you can get.” The governor who crooned about the need for Obama’s elephantine slush fund (aka the stimulus package) just eight months ago is now saying in sensible venues such as Lakeland, “The message I have for Washington is enough is enough — no more runaway spending.” (No wonder Crist was recently nominated for the 2009 Bill Clinton Shamelessness Award.)
About the Author
Larry Thornberry is a writer in Tampa.
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Pingback| 10.19.09 @ 6:51AM
Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : Charlie Sees Red [spectator.org] on links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
drudge ette obama| 10.19.09 @ 7:03AM
I am still chapped over Crist and his sneeky support of Huckabee, that pushed out Romney, the better of the bunch last year.
Will the Republicans ever learn? They like getting gored by the RINOs.
Al Adab| 10.19.09 @ 3:25PM
Sorry Drudg ette,
Romney is a RINO. He signed state sponsered health care in Mass and don't forget his father's position vis a vis Goldwater. That being said, we hurt our cause by paying too much attention to the "who" and not enough to the "what". The priniciples are what matter not so much the spokesman.
loulou| 10.19.09 @ 6:48PM
Al Adab: You are correct. Romney is a RINO. He may be a good, smart businessman but he is a RINO nonetheless. As is Tim Pawlenty.
Melvin| 10.19.09 @ 7:50AM
With any luck the people of Florida will recognize Crist for what he is. A silver haired,botoxed, spray tanned carpet bagger that needs to be packed up and shipped off to Maine.
He'll be in good company with Olympia, and Miss Susan.
WhiteBikerTrash| 10.19.09 @ 9:35AM
The problem with this pairing of candidates is the people who have a stranglehold on the Republican party. They don't want Conservatives, they want control! Just like the Democratic party, and are willing to share with their brethren. They believe that they can control the election cycle! What they miss is that 23% of the voters are Conservative in belief, and will prefer to vote for no one, if a true Conservative is not put forward by the party. So, they lose the seat but hold the control, and the Democrats do the dirty work for them!!
Northern Rebel| 10.19.09 @ 11:02AM
He can't fool me! There are small piles of moderate shit everywhere he goes!
Red in WV| 10.19.09 @ 11:03AM
So sticking to conservative principles actually works? Would someone please explain this to idiots like Peggy Noonan and Susan Eisenhower? This RINO bimbos are like eighth grade girls, Snowe and Collins too, and Crist is their Prom King. Sorry, Obama is their Prom King, Crist is Student Council President.
Al Adab| 10.19.09 @ 3:23PM
Red:
What we all call RINOs actually are the Republican party. The Conservative base is only a minority within the GOP. Although we have been the source of whatever success the party has enjoyed over the last 30 years. Electing accomodationists works to our disadvantage.
Pingback| 10.19.09 @ 11:28AM
Political Wisdom: Are Young Votes Checking Out on Obama? - Capital Journal - WSJ links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
AL | 10.19.09 @ 11:42AM
This article forgot to mention the $800 billion in new fees that Charlie Crist signed off on to balance the state of Florida's budget. These fees targeted everyone from small business, to Joe Blow 6-pack.
Crist also should be chastized for not keeping his campaign promise when he ran for governor to lower taxes and fix the property insurance problems in this state; property insurance that includes a public option with Florida's own Citizen's Insurance, crippling the property owners with huge increases in premiums.
M Jackson| 10.19.09 @ 12:31PM
Check me on this but shouldn't Crist have said "less spending and fewer taxes" not "less spending and less taxes"?
jj| 10.19.09 @ 2:32PM
I'm not a Floridian, but I hope the good folks down there throw Crist out on his butt. All states need to be holding their RINO's accountable moving forward. Let's get them out and keep them out of Washington. We have got to have an opposition party.
Steve in Fla| 10.19.09 @ 2:51PM
I have been pissed off about "Charlie" for quite a while. He created our revenue shortfall by lowering property tax millage rates as the housing bubble was bursting. My taxes went down about $76! Wow, a dinner for four at Red Lobster. The impact on education was devastating!
Al Adab| 10.19.09 @ 3:20PM
This behavior is one (if not the main) reason Conservatives are tired of the GOP. Pretences in election years to salve the feelings is no longer enough, if it ever was.
The Conservative movement brought the GOP success in 1980 and 1994. Without that leadership the GOP just falters in a sea of accommodationism.
Unless the movement re-invigorates the GOP and shows adherence to strong principles there is little future left to any of us.
Louis Jenkins| 10.19.09 @ 3:36PM
Miami Herald 10-19-09
``The governor clearly has a problem with the base of the Republican Party,'' said Sid Dinerstein, chairman of the Palm Beach County party. ``The first question you have to ask in a primary election is: Are voters ready to get rid of someone they once favored? The answer is yes, the Republican Party is willing to get rid of Charlie Crist.''
Anything 'Obama' is a negative for a conservative or RHINO. Adversity from the base affects aspirations to an office and can change the attitude of a politician in a hurry. Mission creep affects all politicians in some form or fashion, but its worse when its a so called Conservative!!
Jim O'Brien| 10.19.09 @ 3:52PM
Rubio supports the Fair Tax legislation, already introduced in Congress, which would eliminate the federal income tax, eliminate the IRS, and result in unprecedented economic growth. (See www.fairtax.org)
If Crist announced his support for the Fair Tax, I might even vote for him. Still, I am suspicious that he would be just another fake conservative.
2Anglico| 10.19.09 @ 4:00PM
Steve in FLA, would you have us believe that a dinner for 4 at Red Lobster ($76), per house in Florida would solve the education funding "crisis" you lament?
Orlandocajun| 10.19.09 @ 4:25PM
2Anglico, maybe if you multiplied that $76 times several million homes we might. 5million homes at that rate is $380million. Yes, I would have to say that the education funding crisis would be solved.
Dunnellonrider| 10.20.09 @ 7:45AM
380 million out of a state and local education budget of 18,386,876,554 is 2% of the total. A 2% reduction in a recession with revenues falling at a much higher rate os good management.
I am sure there is 2% of waste that can be found in any budget. Also if you don't want the $76 send it to you county I am sure they will take it!
jr| 10.19.09 @ 5:24PM
As governor, Crist had a line item veto choice to spend or cut. He chose spend. Democrats choose spend. Crist is quiet about off shore drilling. I guess we don't need oil, there is plenty in the arab-islam world. Is that a major contributor to the trade deficit? I forget.
John OB| 10.19.09 @ 6:11PM
Snap shot: Barack Obama and Charlie Crist share the same podium. Plaster that picture around the state for the next two weeks. It's worth a million words-oops-I mean votes.
Richard Baker| 10.19.09 @ 7:08PM
Crist is a serial political chameleon who needs to leave. As a Florida voter, I want him GONE.
kerry| 10.19.09 @ 9:25PM
we need to remove and/or prevent RINOs from getting into office. Put your email where your mouth is and go to removerinos.com and help support a better candidate!
北京汽车租赁 | 10.19.09 @ 11:23PM
The first question you have to ask in a primary election is: Are voters ready to get rid of someone they once favored? The answer is yes, the Republican Party is willing to get rid of Charlie Crist.''
Pingback| 10.20.09 @ 12:08PM
Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : Charlie Sees Red [spectator.org] on links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Repubtallygirl| 10.20.09 @ 12:47PM
This Conservative from North FL will be voting for RUBIO!
Crist - At the last minute got into bed with McCain, hoping for a VP bid, when he didn't get it, the RPOF did nothing for McCain.
Crist has expanded gambling, after campaigning that he wouldn't.
Crist signed a budget including $2.2 billion in new fees and taxes.
Crist appointed 2 liberal judges to the FL Supreme Court.
Crist has been slowly undoing all of JEB's policies.
CRIST is NO conservative.
CurlEgirl| 10.20.09 @ 1:43PM
I am a conservative that has HBO and they are airing a movie "OUTRAGED". Charlie Crist will NEVER have my vote......NEVER.
Debbie| 10.20.09 @ 8:51PM
I will be looking into this Maro Rubio. I will try my best to work for anybody that opposes Crist. He fell all over himself with the governator or California came to Florida and talked about he wanted to adopt California's environmental policies. The same policies that are killing California.
dgg | 12.8.09 @ 1:24AM
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