Marco Rubio Criticizes Governor
Marco Rubio Criticizes Governor
Ex-speaker of Florida House addresses Lakeland Republicans.
Ledger POLITICAL EDITOR
Last Modified: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 10:00 p.m.
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 with The Ledger, was that Republicans should elect members of Congress who will stand up uncompromisingly to the “radical” economic policies of the administration of President Barack Obama. He implied that Crist wouldn’t do that.
Rubio, 38, said the state and national Republican hierarchy’s endorsement of Crist means little in the primary race.
“That has no negative impact. I am not new to politics,” he said. “We are showing the voters the choice they have.”
“Republicans are looking for someone to stand up to the most radical voice in Washington in American history, someone who is credible to Republican principles, and someone who understands that the Republicans of Florida are the natural home of alternative policies that are closer to what the country wants,” he said in his Ledger interview.
Rubio said he was disappointed in Crist’s choice of George Lemieux, the governor’s former chief of staff, to fill out the unexpired term of U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez. He questioned whether “the governor’s best friend” was the best choice out of 4 million Florida Republicans.
He said he wants a debate with Crist, but said a year before the Republican primary, the Crist campaign is saying the governor doesn’t have the time for a debate.
Rubio cited Crist’s support for Obama’s stimulus package, his support for ”cap-and-trade” energy policy and his appointment to the Florida Supreme Court of James E.C. Perry, who Rubio called a radical. He said those stands show Crist doesn’t deserve Republican votes.
He also criticized Crist for what he said was a violation of his no-tax pledge by supporting large fee increases including the new, larger driver license fee.
“I think there has never been a bigger disconnect between the rank-and-file Republicans and the party leaders at the state and national level,” Rubio said.
He referred to radical policies of the Democratic Congress and administration, but explained to the audience that he was speaking of the economy.
“Let me be clear, this is not going to become Cuba or Angola. The American people will never allow that, but what makes America unique among nations is being lost,” he said.
And Republicans are to blame as well as Democrats, he said.
“Republicans in Washington are guilty. By 2001 Republicans were in control, but no tax reform, no fair tax. I say to them, you ran as Ronald Reagan and you governed as Lyndon Johnson,” he said to claps of approval from the audience.
He took issue with Crist’s support of the Obama stimulus plan and the governor’s statement that the stimulus money is Floridian’s tax money coming back home.
“I’ve got news for you,” Rubio said. “That’s not our tax money; they spent that 10 years ago.
“That’s Chinese money,” he said referring to loans from Chinese banks to the U.S. government. “More importantly that’s my 9-year-old daughter’s money.”
The program has gone much farther than most Americans had expected, he said.
“America accepted government spending because it was scared. It now has become a radical attempt to change the economy. Our (Republicans) only chance of success is to have alternatives not just to be the opposition,” he said.
One of those important alternatives, he said, is the fair or flat tax on income.
Rubio told his audience that health care reform may come in increments and that Republicans cannot take pride that they may stop half of the program this year.
“If they just set up the architecture this year, they will then come back each time until they achieve what I believe is their ultimate goal, a single-payer health insurance system,” he said.
Backers of health care reforms in the Senate Finance Committee have said that they do not intend to create a single-payer system, but to protect choices within the reform bill.
In his interview with The Ledger, Rubio said some straw polls of county Republican executive committees, which are being pushed by conservative organizations, have shown him winning handily over Crist.
He said he hopes to raise funds and campaign in many of the traditional areas and also make use of You Tube and Twitter to get his message across to younger voters.
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