Marco Rubio - U.S. Senate - 2010

For Crist, “It Depends” What Type Of Big Government Spending Obama Proposes

Miami, FL – As Governor Charlie Crist flies around Florida today at taxpayer expense to attend purely ceremonial bill signings, will his message echo that of his stimulus patron, President Barack Obama?

Unfazed by the original stimulus’ failure, the President is now calling for America to “spend our way out of recession” with a second stimulus that Governor Crist says he is open to supporting. It marks Crist’s re-embrace of the notion that more government spending can create lasting jobs and prosperity after months of conflicting and deceptive messages about his enthusiastic endorsement of the $787 billion stimulus.

“Despite the first stimulus’ failure to live up to promises, Charlie Crist still wrongly believes more government spending is the right formula for lasting job creation,” said Rubio for Senate campaign spokesman Alex Burgos. “It’s been more than a week since Governor Crist left the door open to once again supporting President Obama in his quest to ‘spend our way out of recession’ through an ill-fated second stimulus.

“Charlie Crist’s refusal to condemn the second stimulus is just another example of why he can’t be trusted to go to Washington and stand up to President Obama’s big government, deficit-growing agenda,” Burgos added. “When will Charlie Crist finally admit that his first stimulus mistake is not worth repeating with a second stimulus?”

BACKGROUND: CRIST ON 12/8/2009

Reporter: “The president said that we should ’spend our way out of this recession’ and is proposing some incentives for small businesses as well as increased infrastructure spending. Do you have any thoughts on that and would you support that?”

Crist: “Well, it depends on what the particulars of it would be. Certainly we do that here in Florida. Uh, the Office of Tourism Trade and Economic Development, um, you know, we just met with the Chicago Cubs the other day about the notion of utilizing some monies that the legislature has appropriated to try to bring new businesses to the state. We’ve done it with Piper, uh, Aircraft in the past uh, and with some biotech, uh, industries in the past. So, it’s been successful for Florida. As long as it provides jobs, I’m for it.”