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This black American, LtCol Allen West (USA, ret) says it the way it is. HOORAH, Colonel. Spot on. LtCol West's Speech on YouTube >> Article in World Net Daily >> ALLEN WEST FOR CONGRESS 2010 >> The Demorats have just proven beyond any shadow of doubt that they do not care what Americans overwhelmingly think about healthcare. They don't care the debt they've saddled us with for generations. They don't care about this assault on American civil liberty. THROW THEM OUT IN 2010. The fight is on. This is not a drill.

‘Wow.” That was the response of a cynical Florida Republican politico recently reacting to poll numbers showing former state speaker of the house Marco Rubio tied with Gov. Charlie Crist. The two are expected to face one another in an August Republican primary for the Senate seat abandoned by Republican Mel Martinez. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, is wowing even the professionals; his performance is especially impressive because the weight of the Republican establishment is behind Crist, as it has been for most of the year — the National Republican Senatorial Committee endorsed him back in the spring. The...

Politics: Sen. Mary Landrieu was the new "Louisiana Purchase." Sen. Ben Nelson got the federal government to pick up his state's future Medicaid tab. Maybe we should just put Senate votes up on eBay. Nelson, the 60th vote in the middle-of-the-night Senate party line vote on health care reform, will go down in American political history as the inventor of the permanent earmark. His seemingly principled stand against including federal funding for abortion evaporated like the morning dew as he decided to take what was behind door No. 1. The deal for Nelson includes special Medicaid funding for Nebraska, along...

Sen. John McCain is known as a straight talker but he can dodge with the best of them. Asked if pal Charlie Crist's embrace of the stimulus was a political mistake, McCain demurred. "I don't know. I haven't kept up enough to really know about that. I can't judge other people," he told the Buzz. This comes from a guy who recently told Imus "hell no" he didn't support the stimulus. McCain said Marco Rubio is "mounting a serious threat," but quickly added, "I still think Charlie will win." The Arizona Republican and 2008 presidential nominee, who won Florida in...

Election 2010: Florida GOP Senate Primary 2010 Florida GOP Senate Primary: Crist 43%, Rubio 43% Tuesday, December 15 Governor Charlie Crist and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio are now tied in the 2010 race for the Republican Senate nomination in Florida. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely GOP Primary voters finds Crist and Rubio each with 43% of the vote. Five percent (5%) prefer another candidate, and nine percent (9%) are undecided. Crist’s support has fallen from 53% in August to 49% in October. Rasmussen Reports noted at the time, “The fact that Crist has fallen below...

(snip) "It's hard to be more concervative than I am on issues - though there are different ways stylistically to communicate that - I'm pro-life, I'm pro-gun, I'm pro-family, and I''m anti tax. (Critics will note he voted against abortion restrictions as a legislator and used to call himself "pro-choice," that he supported higher cigarette taxes) I don't know what else you're supposed to be, except maybe angry too," Crist said, noting a Daily Kos poll that found Rubio leading among Florida Republicans who doubt President Obama was born in America. (snip)

Gov. Charlie Crist’s office is “looking into” the possibility of removing embattled attorney Scott Rothstein from the state’s Judicial Nominating Committee. Rothstein has offered to surrender his license to practice law. But, he may remain a member of JNC unless, or until, he’s charged with a felony crime. Gov. Charlie Crist named Rothstein to the JNC in August 2008. “Typically, the governor would only step in when felony charges are filed against a public official,” said Sterling Ivey, Crist’s spokesman. “Whether we will act before that point in this case is not clear yet. Our legal office is looking into...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- An attorney who was a major fundraiser for Florida Gov. Charlie Crist allegedly conducted an investment scam that cost investors millions, a lawsuit alleges. A group of investors said in a suit filed against Scott Rothstein that the co-partner of the Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler law firm took part in a scheme that cost the plaintiffs more than $100 million, The Miami Herald reported Friday.

(snip) There’s a list of issues being hammered out, but at the top is finding money for South Florida’s cash-strapped Tri-Rail. Republicans are targeting a $2 fee on rental cars as the source and discussing whether to let county commissions approve the charge or require a referendum.“That’s sort of one of the issues we’re dealing with,” Crist said. Florida’s Republican leaders believe they need to settle funding issues for Tri-Rail and a host of insurance and money issues for a proposed Central Florida line known as SunRail before the state has any chance at securing $2.5 billion in federal stimulus...

(snip) Dickinson posted the transcript of that question and answer yesterday at Rolling Stone: Rolling Stone: Just a final question: Had you been in the Senate, would you have voted with the other Republicans for the stimulus package? Crist: Absolutely. (snip)

It was a moment of unintentional comedy earlier this year when newly appointed U.S. Sen. George LeMieux called himself a " Charlie Crist Republican." No doubt LeMieux spoke in earnest about the man who appointed him to the Senate, and who is now running to succeed him in it. But the joke was that nobody knew what he meant. What is a "Charlie Crist Republican" anyway? Honestly, do you know how Charlie Crist would vote on a federal takeover of health care, on a cap-and-trade energy tax, on massive new spending bills, or on another stimulus boondoggle?

A Florida Republican Becomes a Right-Wing Target By KATE ZERNIKE November 15, 2009 NEWBERRY, Fla. — In retrospect, even Charlie Crist admits that “the optics” of The Hug are not great. President Barack Obama with Charlie Crist, governor of Florida, at a town hall meeting in Fort Myers, Fla., in February. Chip Litherland for the New York Times Gov. Charlie Crist, with his wife, Carole, drew protests at a Republican barbecue this month. It was in the glow of a new day in politics last February when Mr. Crist, this state’s popular Republican governor, took the stage with President Obama...

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist says he is not flip-flopping when it comes to support of the federal stimulus package championed by Democrats, saying his comments earlier this week to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer were more about the actual stimulus legislation passed by Congress, and not the effort itself. “I think the question posed to me was, ‘Did you endorse this specific bill?’” Crist told reporters Friday after speaking to the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices policy institute in Tampa. “And I said, ‘No, I didn’t,’ but the concept I thought, and still believe, was important, necessary and it helped...

The White House didn't do its erstwhile stimulus ally Charlie Crist much good on Thursday. Asked about Crist's contention that he never endorsed the stimulus bill, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Crist was behind the package. "I think his words at that event speak for themselves," Gibbs said. "I think he was very supportive of the legislation and supportive of the benefits it would have and has had for the state of Florida." One has to wonder how anxious centrist Republicans will be to get behind Democratic initiatives now that the White House has thrown one of few...

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who recruited Gov. Charlie Crist to run for Florida’s open Senate seat next year, said today that the National Senatorial Campaign Committee will not put money into the primary Republican battle with former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio. “We will not spend money in a contested primary,” Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told ABC News.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Gov. Charlie Crist is saying he did not endorse the $787 billion federal stimulus bill, a statement that might confuse some voters. Crist appeared with President Barak Obama in February to support the bill, asked Florida members of Congress to vote for it and previously told The Associated Press that he would have voted for it if he had been in the Senate. But when the Republican governor talked about the bill Wednesday on CNN, he said he didn't endorse it. Crist told CNN he understood that the bill was going to pass and wanted to...

After months of thinking it over, Sen. Paula Dockery is poised to kick-off her candidacy for governor, party insiders told the News Service of Florida on Friday. The Lakeland Republican is expected to open a campaign account early next week – as a prelude to a formal campaign announcement the following Tuesday in her hometown. It would set the stage for a potentially combative Republican primary contest with Attorney General Bill McCollum, who had seemed on an unimpeded path to the nomination. Democrat Alex Sink, the state’s chief financial officer, doesn’t appear likely to face a serious primary challenge. For...

Talk about desperation. Charlie Crist has set up a fake website to cover the “truth” about Marco Rubio.. Why do I call it a fake website?The website has blog posts time stamped all the way back to 2007 even thought it was only created yesterday. (http://truthaboutrubio.com/) It tries to tie Marco Rubio to a Hitler video parody of Charlie Crist — a video Rubio condemned upon finding out about it (he should have gone after it for a lack of comedic value other than the sun tan jab), but that this Charlie Crist backed site is fixated on. Funny how...

As expected, Marco Rubio has won another county Republican Party straw poll by a huge margin over Gov. Charlie Crist—this one in Palm Beach County by 90-17 — leaving Republicans and others to continue to debate over whether such votes matter. Rubio has already won straw polls of county Republican parties in Bay, Gilchrist, Hernando, Highlands, Jefferson, Lee and Pasco counties, many by lopsided margins — 75-1 in Highlands, for example. The vote tonight was different, however. The earlier ones were all in rural or suburban counties. Palm Beach is the first big urban county in which the Republican Party...

Marco Rubio capitalizes on a photo of Charlie Crist hugging Barack Obama. BY CARLOS MILLER Marco Rubio has less political experience than Charlie Crist. And he hasn’t raised nearly as much money in his run against the governor for U.S. Senate. And he still lags behind the governor in polls leading up the November race. But he hasn’t hugged Barack Obama. And that just may be his ace in the hole. The former republican House Speaker has seized on a February photo that shows Crist hugging Obama as to why he is the better candidate. And it appears to be...

Marco Rubio's campaign for U.S. Senate, already picking up speed with fundraising, now has another endorsement to tout. The Buzz is U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Olahoma, will endorse the former Republican House speaker today. Rubio was previously endorsed by South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint.

While his party leaders have lined up behind Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida’s Republican Senate primary next year, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) announced Monday that he was endorsing former state Speaker Marco Rubio. “I enthusiastically support Marco Rubio in his campaign for U.S. Senate,” Inhofe said in a statement released Monday afternoon. “Marco is exactly the type of conservative leader Americans need in Washington today fighting for the principles of limited government, individual liberty and personal responsibility.” In his endorsement, Inhofe also appeared to take an indirect shot at the more moderate Crist for backing President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus...

Charlie Crist has begun airing the first radio ads of the U.S. Senate race – blasting President Obama for his freespending of taxpayer money, some of which the governor earlier endorsed. A pair of 60-second spots have begun airing statewide – one sending a “message” to Obama that “enough is enough.” The other claims “Washington is out of control. “Yet the president has the same tired answer for every problem – to spend more of your money,” the spot begins. Crist’s approach to Obama and federal spending is a departure from just months ago. Shortly after joining Obama in Fort...

<snip> The growing numbers of Americans coming out to the Tax Day Tea Party, the Fourth of July Tea Parties, and then the 9/12 Tea Party march on Washington are going back to their home districts and keeping up — even intensifying — the fight for smaller government and more transparency on spending and taxation. In places like New York, Florida, California, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, local, state, congressional, and gubernatorial seats are suddenly being tugged to-and-fro by the new and unruly political force. The upshot? The street energy is welcome for an otherwise moribund Republican party looking for new...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Weeks after his harsh remarks toward the GOP, a Florida congressman's popularity with Democrats isn't dying quickly. U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, who said late last month that Republicans' health care plans amount to wanting sick people to "die quickly," told a wildly enthusiastic crowd of about 2,000 Democrats Saturday that the GOP should change its name to "The Selfish Party." The first-term congressman from Orlando was given a standing ovation for his remarks at the Florida Democratic Party's annual convention. People stood in line to take pictures with him and gush over him, and a...

Gov. Charlie Crist and his ``stimulus czar'' said Friday that a recent federal report supports Florida's go-slow approach to spending federal recovery money earmarked for highway projects and schools. Even so, Florida's overall stimulus spending is a bit ahead of schedule, said czar Don Winstead, whose official title is special advisor to the governor on economic stimulus. Federal officials in February said they expected the state to spend about 20 percent of its estimated $15 billion in stimulus money by the end of September. ``I think we will be ahead of that schedule,'' Winstead said. ``We are seeing rapid deployment...

With many eyes trained on candidate recruitment efforts against Rep. Alan Grayson (D) in Florida’s 8th district, it appears that speculation about who might be the GOP’s standard-bearer is focused squarely on one high-profile potential challenger — former state Sen. Dan Webster.

Conservative Republican Marco Rubio says $1 million in donations to his Senate campaign is a 'strong statement' about the direction of the GOP. BY BETH REINHARD U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio said Tuesday he raised nearly $1 million in the past three months to challenge Charlie Crist for the Republican nomination, turning what looked like a cakewalk for the popular incumbent governor into a potentially competitive race. In the previous fundraising quarter, Crist's $4.3 million dwarfed the $340,000 raised by Rubio. But the former leader of the Florida House from Miami gained momentum, winning 11 small, unofficial polls of county...

October 05, 2009 Categories: Florida Rove donated to Rubio NBC News’ Chuck Todd has the scoop that Karl Rove is supporting Marco Rubio, the conservative challenger to Gov. Charlie Crist, in the Republican primary for the Senate in Florida – at least with his money. Rove donated $1,000 to Rubio's campaign -- a sign of support for the underdog as he goes up against the governor, who holds a significant fundraising advantage. NBC's First Read also concludes that the donation as a sign of where former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's true loyalties lie: Many believe this is Jeb's way of...

Over the past few weeks, Florida GOP Gov. Charlie Crist has found himself being put on the defensive more and more in the primary thanks to the challenge by ex-state House Speaker Marco Rubio. While Crist has financially overwhelmed Rubio to date, there are many Republicans -- particularly those in Flordia that are close to former GOP Gov. Jeb Bush -- who have publicly become more comfortable airing their skepticism about Crist in public. One of those Republicans with close ties to the Bush family, Karl Rove, has signaled his preference with his wallet. Rove confirms to NBC News that...

  Come Meet Marco RubioThank you for all the support you've given Marco in his campaign for U.S. Senate, especially during the third quarter that just concluded this week.  Because of you and others who have rallied behind Marco, this campaign is riding a wave of momentum - one that will ultimately send him to Washington to stand up for us in the U.S. Senate. As the month of October gets under way, here's a list of upcoming opportunities for you to come see Marco in person. As always, we encourage you to bring others.  Pack your car with family and friends...

Leadership: Scores of congressmen and women are trying to hide from their constituents this August recess as the revolt over ObamaCare continues. If you haven't seen him or her lately, you might try your refrigerator.IBD Exclusive Series: Government-Run Healthcare: A Prescription For FailureIt's amazing how frightened of the community the party of the great community organizer has become now that the community has organized itself against his attempt to impose socialized medicine on the country. They cheered when he told them to get in the faces of their opponents. Now they won't show their faces, period. Senate Majority Whip Dick...

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Charlie Crist is a Republican. But in so many ways, you wouldn't know it -- from championing felon rights to backing the federal stimulus package, he's bucked his party's agenda until now. Crist welcomed President Barack Obama to the Sunshine State with open arms seven months ago. The president was here to campaign for the stimulus. That was then and this is now. "There are concerns that we have about the direction of this administration," Crist said on CNN. Crist said the country won't vote for Obama again. The governor even hit national news Tuesday morning to...

The Rocky Balboa fight of politics is occurring right before our eyes here in the Sunshine State. Charlie Crist, the ever-popular governor of Florida with approval ratings in the 60's is getting more than he ever bargained for in his race for the United States Senate from Marco Rubio, the former speaker of the house in the Florida state legislature. The pundits predicted an early landslide. The Republican establishment in Florida offered Rubio an easier office to win. Maybe Attorney General? Rubio declined. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) even threw their hat behind Crist the...

. . . . . . the fourth-most-populous state will loom over American politics next summer when Republicans select a Senate nominee. Their primary will test whether the party has become so risk-averse that it flinches from interesting choices.The nominee almost certainly will be either Gov. Charlie Crist or Marco Rubio, former speaker of the Florida House (term limits, which he supports, retired him). Leading national Republicans rushed to endorse Crist. In tennis, such decisions are called unforced errors.. . . . . . .In January 2011, one Floridian will leave for the U.S. Senate. He is unlikely to be...

Gov. Charlie Crist is far outspending fellow Republican Marco Rubio in the race to be their party’s candidate to represent Florida in the U.S. Senate, but if recent straw polls are any indication, Crist could be in trouble. Republican Executive Committee polls in several key counties have Rubio, the former speaker of the state House, way ahead of Crist for the 2010 Republican primary. Straw polls aren’t scientific and may not be an accurate reflection of how the rank and file party members will vote, but election watchers have taken notice. Former state representative and past Monroe County mayor Ken...

BROOKSVILLE - Former House Speaker Marco Rubio crushed Gov. Charlie Crist in the U.S. Senate Republican primary race Thursday by a vote of 46-0. At least that was the result of a straw poll held by the Hernando County Republican Executive Committee (HCREC) at its monthly meeting.

Charlie Crist is swimming in campaign money, and polls consistently show him to be among the most popular politicians in America. But something ominous and unpredictable is brewing in Florida....

Crist's popularity as governor doesn't always extend to members of his own Republican Party, and that might make him vulnerable as he runs for U.S. Senate. BY ADAM C. SMITH Charlie Crist is swimming in campaign money, and polls consistently show him to be among the most popular politicians in America. But something ominous and unpredictable is brewing in Florida, and a growing number of Republicans are starting to consider the unthinkable: the people's governor could lose his campaign for U.S. Senate. "It's rare that I talk to anyone that's got a good thing to say about the governor right...

It has been my contention for the past decade that when it comes to politics, as Florida goes, so goes the nation. Think about the 2008 presidential election. First, following the CNN-YouTube debate, the last major Republican debate to be held before the Iowa caucus, our firm polled Floridians for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. We asked respondents who won the debate. A then-unknown candidate was the clear winner, and the boost he received in Florida gave Mike Huckabee a win in Iowa just over a month later. The tipping point in the Republican presidential contest was Florida Gov. Charlie...

Ex-speaker of Florida House addresses Lakeland Republicans. BY BILL RUFTY LAKELAND - If Marco Rubio's appearance in Lakeland on Wednesday is any indication of his support in his campaign for the U.S. Senate then Gov. Charlie Crist had better take notice. Rubio, the former speaker of the Florida House who is challenging Crist for the Republican nomination, addressed a Lakeland Republican Club luncheon at Cleveland Heights Golf Course. The crowd that was expected to be about 160 grew to a little more than 190 and gave him three standing ovations. His main message, to the audience and during an interview...

Republican Governor Charlie Crist continues to maintain a sizable lead over his chief Democratic opponent, Rep. Kendrick Meek, in Florida’s 2010 race for the U.S. Senate. A new Rasmussen Reports survey of Florida voters show Crist with a 19-point lead over Meek – 48% to 29%. Ten percent (10%) like some other candidate, and 13% are not sure. These findings are little changed from June when Crist held a 50% to 29% lead over Meek. But the African-American congressman from the North Miami area doesn’t fare much better when pitted against the other prominent Republican seeking his party’s Senate nomination,...

At a contentious meeting, Broward Republicans decided to hold off on deciding whether to have a straw poll to indicate their preference for Charlie Crist or Marco Rubio for Senate. BY AMY SHERMAN A move for Broward Republicans to hold a straw poll in the U.S. Senate race failed Monday night, avoiding for the moment what would have been the kind of tense vote that has taken place in other parts of the state. But there was lots of tension. Patrick Castronovo, a Lauderdale Lakes committeeman, made a motion to hold a straw poll to choose between two Republican candidates...

MARIANNA, Fla. — Rep Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) is a skilled politician who has pretty much seen it all — a Deep South Democrat who’s managed to dispatch all opponents in his conservative-leaning Panhandle district since winning election in 1996. But as he fended off gnats buzzing through the August humidity after a morning fending off angry constituents at a town hall meeting here, Boyd confided that the depth of the unease spurred by the health care debate had caught him by surprise. “People are scared,” Boyd said twice, trying to explain what would drive his constituents away from home and...

Florida governor Charlie Crist is running for the Senate, and he isn’t supposed to lose — let alone lose in the Republican primary. He enjoys a high approval rating, has a history of success among voters, and raises campaign cash with the intensity of a Category 5 hurricane. His main opponent in the GOP primary is Marco Rubio, a 38-year-old Miami native who quotes Snoop Dogg lyrics on his Twitter account. On paper, it looks like a mismatch between an unbeatable juggernaut and a doomed also-ran. Yet Crist may be vulnerable: He warmly embraced President Obama’s stimulus spending and is...

2010 Florida GOP Primary: Crist 53%, Rubio 31% Wednesday, August 19 Conservative Republicans in Florida may be rumbling about Charlie Crist’s run for the U.S. Senate, but so far the governor is well ahead of his chief 2010 GOP Primary challenger. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Sunshine State shows Crist leading former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio by 22 points among likely Republican Primary voters – 53% to 31%. Five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate, and 11% are undecided. Still, the fact that Crist is barely above 50% in a primary against a much lesser known...

Joe Biden knows who wears the pants in the White House — and apparently it isn't him. The vice president was joking about the former administration during a fundraising dinner Wednesday in Florida, when he responded to a suggestion that President Bush leaned heavily on Vice President Cheney for guidance. That's not how the Obama administration works, Biden reportedly told about 150 political donors at the Orlando event. "He's the president, I'm the vice president. We've got the pecking order in this administration right," Biden said. "I know George Bush, and he's no Barack Obama." Biden, known for his often...

Conservative Republicans in Florida may be rumbling about Charlie Crist’s run for the U.S. Senate, but so far the governor is well ahead of his chief 2010 GOP Primary challenger. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Sunshine State shows Crist leading former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio by 22 points among likely Republican Primary voters – 53% to 31%. Five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate, and 11% are undecided. Still, the fact that Crist is barely above 50% in a primary against a much lesser known opponent suggests at least a potential vulnerability. This is the first...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez's early retirement will leave the nation's fourth-largest state with a temp in a chamber that rewards seniority with power. Martinez had planned to step down at the end of his term next year but said last week he'll leave office as soon as Gov. Charlie Crist appoints a replacement. Since Crist is running for the seat himself, he's expected to choose a stand-in entrusted to keep the seat warm until the November 2010 election. In the meantime, key votes on healthcare reform, climate change and possibly immigration reform will be bearing down on Congress....

Several months back, I suggested that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was the perfect moderate politician to help bring independent voters back to the Republican Party. Crist had just announced his plans to skip a second term as governor and instead seek the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Mel Martinez. In that race next year, Crist is being challenged in the GOP primary by a young Cuban-American, the highly conservative former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Marco Rubio. When that column was written, Barack Obama's approval rating was near 70 percent and moderation seemed to be the...