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Club for Growth Backs Rubio Over Crist in Florida Senate Race

November 09, 2009 10:23 AM

George Will already predicted that Rubio will topple Crist.

Now the Club for Growth weighs in with its official endorsement.

DavisABC News' Teddy Davis has the story:

The conservative Club for Growth is endorsing former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) over Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) in next year's Florida Senate race, citing Rubio's more conservative record on the stimulus, taxes, and cap-and-trade.

Rubio is hoping that the Club can help him close the fundraising gap while crystallizing the race as a struggle over the direction of the GOP.

At the close of the third quarter which ended on Sept. 30, Crist had $6.2 million in cash on hand as compared to $903,045 for Rubio.

The Club for Growth, which hinted that it would be endorsing Rubio during a recent appearance by its president on ABC's "Top Line", launched a television ad last week hammering Crist for attempting to backpedal his support for President Obama's stimulus during a recent interview with CNN.

Crist's Nov. 4th comments on CNN saying that he "didn't endorse" Obama's stimulus were a far cry from what he told Nightline's Terry Moran on Feb. 10.

Asked if he would be campaigning against Obama in four years, Crist said: "Four years is a long time . . . I'm campaigning for him today, I'll tell you that."

ABC News' Melinda Arons contributed to this report.

November 9, 2009 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (10)

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Wusst Republicans beware ! THose who support the ideals of free enterprise, individual freedom and its inseparable, concurrent, individual responsibility, and the ideal of equal justice for all under law, will oppose vigoursly those who have compromised opposition to those who would destroy these important ideals.

Posted by: Tom Beebe | Nov 9, 2009 11:35:38 AM

It's hard to imagine how "free enterprise" is "inseperable" from "equal justice for all." They seem to carry two different meanings, unless you count them as just "words", in which case we can claim that anything is inseparable from anything else.

At any rate, there's a paradox involved in this news item. Crist happens to be a popular governor in Florida and a national figure who's been mentioned as a presidential or VP candidate. Rubio is a far more conservative nobody.

If Rubio "topples" Crist, the result will be the further geographic and ideological isolation of the Republican party.

Some people will feel this is a good thing -- uncompromising ideological purity. But by an extension of that logic, conservatives will find themselves belonging to a party of one because every person's political position is unique. None of us is entirely like anyone else.

One hundred uncompromising and ideologically pure voters will cast votes for one hundred different candidates -- because everyone will have to vote for himself.

Posted by: Robert Maxwell | Nov 9, 2009 2:28:28 PM

Sorry conservatives....if Pallin, Limbaugh and Steele don't like you....you are out. No room for ideas here. Just same old, same old.

Posted by: talmag | Nov 9, 2009 3:57:32 PM

Another Republican domino is set to fall. One who won by appealing to the independents in the middle. But the cons are interested in winners, only puppets.

Funny the cons are always accusing the dems of being socialist, but they've embarked on a purge of the party that would make Uncle Joe Stalin proud.

Graham, Hutchinson and Crist had better get themselves to a re-education camp or they might be declared to be enemies of the party.

Welcome to the Republican version of the Cultural Revolution where no one is orthodox enough to satisfy the Palinestas.

So take your loyalty oath and don't you dare even think about having an independent thought.

Posted by: OB-Wan222 | Nov 9, 2009 5:11:29 PM

Correction to last post: But the cons AREN'T interested in winners, only puppets.

Posted by: OB-Wan222 | Nov 9, 2009 5:12:56 PM

....BEWARE! AMERICANS, IF YOU'RE NOT "CRAZY' ENOUGH, YOU CAN'T BE A REPUBLICAN...hehe

Posted by: sara | Nov 9, 2009 5:44:23 PM

Time to think outside the box.

This is not at all what is seems to be.

They can fool some of the people some of the time, but can't fool all of the people all the time.

Posted by: godhearus | Nov 9, 2009 7:25:10 PM

"They can fool some of the people some of the time, but can't fool all of the people all the time."

That must be the Geo. Bush version. ACTUALLY, the saying goes:

You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of time. But you can't fool all of the people all of the time.

From recent polling I think that the people you can fool all of the time must be about 17% of the population - the ones that still call themselves Republicans, that is.

Posted by: OB-Wan222 | Nov 9, 2009 11:50:48 PM

This reminds me of "The Scorpion and the Frog", where these far right elements represent the Scorpion and the Frog is represented by the Republican Party. As in the story, we will soon see both of them drown in the pond as a result of the scorpion's sting.

Posted by: Kerry | Nov 10, 2009 11:32:34 AM

Crist is a SOCIALIST RINO Obama supporter. Vote Rubio for Senate 2010!!!

Posted by: TravisMcCormack | Nov 22, 2009 3:38:09 AM

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