Marco Rubio - U.S. Senate - 2010

“…in a controversial moment, defend his support of the federal stimulus program, an issue that has troubled him in his U.S. Senate primary campaign against former House Speaker Marco Rubio.” (Palm Beach Post, 3/2/10)

“In 2007, Charlie Crist was heralded as the new breed of Republican, surviving the Democratic wave of 2006 and talking about putting people before partisanship. He kicked off his opening session by calling for paper trails for voting machines and higher pay for strong teachers and invoking Robert F. Kennedy. Democrats clapped louder than fellow Republicans. ‘Isn’t it wonderful to have a governor saying Democratic things?’ Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink said at the time.” (St. Petersburg Times, 3/2/10)

“The governor has happily left the heavy lifting to legislators in prior sessions, but this year he can’t afford to look disengaged…It doesn’t help that Crist submitted a budget proposal built heavily on hundreds of millions of dollars from a gaming compact that lawmakers have not approved. Senate President Jeff Atwater never mentioned the governor in his opening remarks, while House Speaker Larry Cretul took a clear swipe at Crist’s budget plans.” (St. Petersburg Times, 3/2/10)

“Much of the most enthusiastic applause for Gov. Charlie Crist’s State of the State speech on Tuesday came from Democrats, while Republicans gave their party leader a more tepid response, particularly his vigorous defense of the federal stimulus.” (News Service of Florida, 3/2/10)

“For a governor who has for years made his political mark firmly as a moderate, and one who has championed civility in the political arena, it wasn’t surprising that Democrats were generally friendly to Crist – but more than in previous years Republicans seemed to do little to hide their lack of enthusiasm for their own governor. ‘It was very quiet up in the front of the room,’ remarked Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, a Democrat who was seated in the front of the House chamber that was full mostly of Republicans.” (News Service of Florida, 3/2/10)

“Crist’s most high profile disagreement with other members of his party has been over the state’s acceptance of the stimulus money – and unlike last year when he seemed to distance himself from it, Crist on Tuesday defended it…When Crist said that ‘a few governors may have rather loudly condemned the stimulus money, but that did not stop them from quietly accepting it,’ it drew one of the most sustained bursts of applause – even cheers – from Democrats.” (News Service of Florida, 3/2/10)

“‘This is the first time in the three years that the governor has been here that there was excitement from the Democrats,’ said Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson of Tallahassee. ‘Democrats have been preaching all last year about the stimulus dollars and what it meant to the state of Florida and the Republican administration up to this point has not acknowledged it.’” (News Service of Florida, 3/2/10)

“Some Democrats liked what they heard more than Republicans did. ‘He didn’t sound like a Republican at all,’ said Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami. ‘He sounded like a good, sensitive moderate.’” (St. Petersburg Times, 3/2/10)

“Many of Crist’s fellow Republicans sat with their hands folded in their laps, rocking in their chairs as he spoke. Skepticism was evident.” (St. Petersburg Times, 3/2/10)

“The loudest applause came from Democrats, sitting in the back, when Crist voiced no regret for taking Florida’s share of federal stimulus money from President Barack Obama’s administration. Only two Republicans joined Democrats in a standing ovation, Rep. J.C. Planas, R-Miami, and Sen. Durell Peaden, R-Crestview.” (St. Petersburg Times, 3/2/10)

“Said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville: ‘I think he was talking to the Senate campaign audience.’” (St. Petersburg Times, 3/2/10)

“On the budget, Crist faces strong resistance from fellow Republicans who fault him for fortifying his spending plan with money from Indian gambling and federal stimulus programs that are not assured. House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, didn’t mention Crist by name, but made clear his disapproval of the governor’s budgeting methods. ‘I want to be very clear about this. We will not play accounting games,’ Cretul said in a House speech that preceded Crist’s address. ‘We won’t base our budget on a wink and a prayer.’ Cretul also made a reference to Crist’s proposal to keep only about $150 million in reserves for emergencies. The speaker said the reserves should be at least $1 billion. ‘State bond experts have told us that in order to preserve the state’s AAA rating, there must be adequate reserves,’ Cretul said. ‘It took Florida over 30 years to reach an AAA rating. We must not lose it in four or five months.’” (St. Petersburg Times, 3/2/10)

“In his final State of the State address, Gov. Charlie Crist made a big claim that we’ve heard before. ‘In our first year, we guided our state through the storm of skyrocketing property taxes and property insurance,’ Crist said March 2, 2010, in front of a joint session of the Florida Legislature. ‘We worked together to enact meaningful property insurance reform and the largest tax cut in Florida history.’… We can’t agree with Crist that the 2007 and 2008 changes constitute the largest tax cut in state history. We rule Crist’s statement False.” (Politifact, 3/2/10)

“Republican Gov. Charlie Crist attempted to reinforce his centrist image tonight, urging state lawmakers to sacrifice ideology, build consensus and to ride out the ‘dark clouds’ hovering over Florida’s economy. ‘During these very difficult economic times, we do a disservice to the people who elected us — the people who are counting on us — to elevate ideology over problem-solving,’ Crist said in his final State of the State speech.” (3/2/10)

“He pressed for a $100 million corporate income tax cut; $10 million in solar energy rebates; and streamlining the state’s permitting process to help developers and businesses. He also asked for $50 million for the Florida Forever land conservation program, $100 million more for state universities and a 10-day sales tax holiday for back-to-school items this summer. ‘It was a pretty expensive speech,’ House Republican Leader Adam Hasner of Boca Raton said. ‘We don’t know where the money is in order to pay for a lot of the things he was talking about.’” (Palm Beach Post, 3/2/10)

“The obvious target of such statements was Rubio, former speaker of the state House and darling of the nation’s conservative media. But the governor could also have been talking about many of his own party members in the audience. A year ago, state House Republican leaders denounced the stimulus dollars emanating from Democratic President Barak Obama’s administration, but finally used them to fill a yawning deficit. The reaction to those parts of the speech was telling: House Republicans for the most part were mute; Democrats stood and applauded. Democratic senator and attorney general candidate Dan Gelber called Crist’s speech ‘mature.’ ‘I think he made a strong defense of the stimulus vote which I think needed to be said because just about everybody in the Legislature, Democrat and Republican, supported the position,’ Gelber, of Miami Beach, said.” (Tampa Tribune, 3/2/10)

“Some Floridians, however, might have had a hard time swallowing Crist’s claims. For instance, Crist took credit for enacting ‘meaningful property insurance reform.’ During his tenure as governor, however, large insurers left the state or canceled policies, pushing tens of thousands of Floridians into the state-run Citizens Insurance program.” (Tampa Tribune, 3/2/10)