Republican Gov. Charlie Crist probably wasn't worried that literally embracing President Barack Obama back in February and strongly supporting the $787 billion federal stimulus package would hurt his U.S. Senate campaign.Crist is another one of these big spending/big government Republicans who are quickly falling out of favor with most of the party's voters. Rubio is a sharp young guy with a lot of talent who is quickly winning over conservatives and moderates alike. Given the aversion to the massive spending of the Obama administration, Crist made a tactical error in supporting the stimulus and playing nice with Obama. I think in the end he'll be knocked off by Rubio.
Sure, the hardcore party base wasn't happy, but the appearance was an opportunity to win over Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans who voted for Obama. The president's approval ratings were high, and any Republican thinking about running for an open seat in 2010 stopped thinking about it when Crist signaled interest.
All except former House Speaker Marco Rubio. Political insiders said it wasn't logical to challenge an incumbent governor who had high approval ratings and could raise gobs of money. However, Rubio said it didn't make sense for the highest-profile Republican in Florida to embrace a Democratic president and a plan that would raise the federal deficit.
Now Rubio is gaining momentum as he reminds Republican voters of Crist's hug. And the same political insiders who downplayed Rubio are starting to think the unthinkable: Crist's campaign might be threatened by another Republican.
"I just knew that if we were true to ourselves and what we stand for, and we went out and told enough people about it, that we would begin to make progress and that's what's happening," Rubio said.
Rubio has swept 12 straw polls held by county Republican committees by enormous percentages. He nearly tripled his fundraising last quarter, topping the $1 million mark to provide a financial and psychological boost to his campaign. Conservative radio talk show hosts adore him, as well as party activists. He's been praised by conservative columnist George Will and endorsed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Jim DeMint, R-S.C..
In two months, Crist's lead over Rubio in a Quinnipiac University poll shrunk from 29 percentage points to 15 points. Although it still doesn't mean Crist is in trouble.
"There's nothing to celebrate," Rubio said. "The truth is we're still behind. The only good news is we're not behind by as much as we used to be."
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The Hug of Death
Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida is finding out that embracing Obamunism...literally...may keep him from winning the open Florida Senate seat:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
I wish that we had an option like Rubio here in Ohio. I pray that we do have one in the future, the very near future.
We had one in Ken Blackwell and he was soundly defeated, but maybe we have acquired some wisdom since then. If God has mercy on us, we'll have another chance here and other states will as well.
Go Rubio Go. It's about time the voting base wakes up and throws out a lot of the left wing Republicans from the offices which they hold. They are only wolves in sheeps clothing and they do not reflect or support the basic beliefs of the parts. It time to get out a big broom and sweeping some this trash out of office.
Post a Comment