Charlie Crist Looks Increasingly Desperate…
Last night Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who continues to be drummed in the polls in his campaign to knock off Marco Rubio for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, took to the airwaves on Greta Van Susteren’s show on Fox News. Crist came out swinging with attacks on Rubio – and it would seem he didn’t hit much.
Here’s a highlight…
Back waxing? Really?
Crist’s campaign has been so unimpressive compared to Rubio’s that the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which angered many conservatives by endorsing Crist early on in the campaign despite his embracing of the Obama stimulus plan last year, is now backing away. NRSC chairman John Cornyn (R-TX), who has taken a great deal of grief for the endorsement, put out the following statement yesterday:
“I looked around to see who was the most popular Republican in the state and somebody who was a good fundraiser, and that was Charlie Crist. And selfishly, given the limited resources we have and the national scope of our responsibilities here, I didn’t want to spend any money in Florida if we didn’t have to to help. So Charlie Crist seemed like the ideal candidate. This had nothing to do with Marco Rubio, who I subsequently met and have a lot of respect for,” Cornyn told reporters this morning.
“So I think our posture here is I endorsed Gov. Crist early on, really before this became a real contest. I’m not going to do anything to change that. I think I’m honor-bound to leave it as it is, but it doesn’t mean that we’re going to be spending any money in the primary,” Cornyn added. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to be saying anything bad about Marco Rubio. To the contrary, I think Marco Rubio, if he wins the nomination, will beat Kendrick Meek (D).”
Cornyn might be slow, but he’s not stupid. Public Policy Polling has a new poll out on the race today in which Rubio leads Crist by a staggering 60-28 margin. And Crist’s approval rating of 29 percent among Republicans is beginning to look like a death rattle.
Shouldn’t this man get out of the race and do what’s necessary to save his political career?
Filed under: 2010 Elections, Congress, Conservatism, Marco Rubio, Polls, The GOP
