Marco Rubio crushes Charlie Crist in another REC straw poll

Tonight it was in Hernando County, Charlie Crist's back yard and Bill McCollum's native county. The tally was 46 for Marco Rubio, zero for Charlie Crist.

"I'm surprised but I'm not surprised,'' said party chairman Blaise Ingoglia, stressing the motion for the straw vote came from the floor, not the leadership. "They believe in Marco Rubio's message and his values. The people in Hernando County tend to be a little more conservative."

Buzz neglected to post earlier this week that rural Gilchrist County also held a straw poll, in which Rubio got 11 votes, Crist 1. REC Chairman Tommy Langford told us a little sheepishly that turnout was low because a cattlmen's meeting and high school volley ball match were going on that night. As for the result, Langford noted that Crist promised property taxes would drop like a rock, and people arte getting TRIM notices that show otherwise.

Comments

[Average Joe]

I'm beginning to think Rubio has a chance. Crist has not taken him on strong enough. Crist need to get tough and call this guy out. Distinguish yourself Charlie and remind us why you won statewide office in the first place.

[Rockabilly]

Straw doesn't vote in the general election.

[Look ma I gots me shooz on the right feets this time!]

Golly, our county is full of empty homes and unemployed construction workers. Let's elect another Republican and do it all over again!

[JonC]

Here go the "eat their own" Republicans. It really is what they do. They have so many problems and yet this is what the leaders allow to happen. Its the right wing that has fractured the party so badly, they go rabid and they think they are the whole Republican party and they are consistently trying to rid the party of the non religious extremist and moderates. Rubio is a extremist and the right wing that have hurt the party so much are allowed to continue this insane tactic. I would hope that the rest of that party, if they are still there, start to fight back. The R party cannot let this happen as they are about to tick off the R moderates and the non extreme and force them to vote for Meek. That will happen. I will do it if Rubio is the R nominee.

[RUBIO = SAMSON]

REC are the most righwing republicans there are. Of course they will vote for rubio. Most polls still show crist with a 20+ point lead.

[Gimmie a break]

The Times (and other Crist haters) so badly want a race worth watching that they are grasping at straws like this.

How's this for a valid glimpse at the overall state of the race: a straw poll influenced by the cattlemen's meeting and a high school volleyball match!

You guys keep hoping against hope that Rubio can make something out of this. But we all know that deep in your heart you KNOW it is just wishful thinking.

If people believed in Rubio, they would put their $ where their mouth is. His teeny tiny war chest says it all. Average Joe, I want some of this action. Let's have us a little wager on the outcome. I'll take Crist, you can have Rubio and the loser (you) buys the steak dinner. I'll take mine medium-rare.

[Florida republican voter]

Rubio is going to win this thing! Crist is too liberal and does not care about us conservatives! Crist is an Obama republican and he can kiss his GOODBYE!Never again! GO MARCO GO!!!

[Que Pasa?]

I think Charlie Crist's vulernability is starting to show. He's still way ahead in the general polls, but among the worker bees it's a different story. Guess Charlie has enough money to buy plenty of ads on TV and win the GOP primary without a ground game.

[Rockabilly]

If you think Crist is too liberal, just wait a while. A windstock is more consistent.

[Rockabilly]

windSOCK

[The Real Marco Rubio?]

How can Marco Rubio preach fiscal responsibility but be over $900K in debt?

Hypocrites don't win elections.

[Rapabilly]

Marco Rubio isn't some right wing zealot, he is just a Republican who believes in good, old-fashioned, Republican values. Of course, when compared to Charlie Crist, that makes Rubio appear to be to the right of Attila the Hun.

[Jeff]

Wow! Marco will definitely win. Are you people serious?

[SmallTalk]

Straw Polls Shmaw polls..people vote, not a few wing nuts...charlie may need to step it up and crush sooner than later

[MarcoRubioNews.com]

Download the Marco Rubio Toolbar at:

MarcoRubioNews.com

[LEMIEUX=CRIST=SPECTER]

Hey, you little RPOF Chuckles the Clown sycophant creep at 10:25, how much of that so-called debt that you claim Rubio has is due to property or properties that he owns and are mortgaged?

Is there any proof he ever has fallen behind on mortgage or other loan payments? Is he being a deadbeat? Has he received any Obama bailouts? Are there creditors after him? Is he on the verge or anywhere near bankruptcy? Is he even late on any payments?

The answer to those questions, you dumb little stooge, is NO.

See, your tanned fairy prince Chuckles the Clown likely doesn't have much debt because he has NEVER EVER OWNED A HOUSE OR ANY PROPERTY in this state that he claims to so love. He has lived in his mommy and daddy's home and then moved into a rented condo. Now, he's living in government housing, and on top of that, married a rich divorcee. The only struggle Chuckles has ever faced is passing the bar exam.

Rubio, on the other hand, didn't marry some rich divorcee. He is the breadwinner of the house HE owns. When has Chuckles the Clown ever collected a paycheck from a non-government entity?

I can pick out a talking point from a mile away. You Crist stooges better come up with a better one than Rubio's alleged "debts."

[SmallTalk]

10:25 I think you hit a nerve :)

[The clock is approaching midnight...]

Chuck is stuck at 50%. Marco has went from 5% to 30%. Obvious trend there don't you think.

This thing is going to continue to get close. It'll be in single digits by late spring and when the national conservative groups see this the money will come in by the millions which will fund a devasting contrast ad.

The tv spot will show Crist hugging Obama and it'll detail the various liberal stances he's taken in the last year including, Stimulus, Cap and trade, Dem Judges, etc.

Crist will be unelectable by primary day and in hindsight it won't be that suprising when he loses.

[FLORIDA REPUBLICAN VOTER]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cPsQl-LSZ4 NUFF SAID!

[Empty Suit Charlie]

Charlie has all the special interest money so this probably will not cost him the election. With that said,he can't feel very good about the fact that the base of the party, the people who run the phone banks, staple the yard signs together, and walk neighborhoods, etc...can not stand him.

[Empty Head, Empty Heart Republicans]

Charlie has already sold out Florida's future to the same developers that ruined our economy so that will probably cost him the election. With that said, he can feel pretty good about the fact that the base of the party, the birthers who wear the tinfoil hats, fingerpaint the yard signs, and howl loudly at passing airplanes, etc...can not stand him.

[terminator]

uh rockabilly:
this will be a PRIMARY election not the general?
The REC voters are also what's referred to as supervoters and those most likely to participate in a primary election.
They also have to ability to influence thousands of other R voters in the counties they represent.
When Chuckles starts airing a gazillion commercials showing his microwave tanned, fake hair dyed androgynous self, my only hope is R primary voters won't be dumb enough to fall for the fluff that is Chuck "the empty chair" Crist.
But then again they don't call it FloriDUH for nothing!
Still this shows Chuckles is in very deep trouble with the "base" you know the term Karl Rove invented?

[We remember]

You appointed a liberal Democrat to the Florida Supreme Court.

[Alice]

ACORN chaos engulfs Crist

Run Marco Run We need you now more than ever. Crist is nothing more than an empty suit with a tan. When Marco wins maybe Crist's buddy Obama will make him a new Czar. HE COULD BE THE PEOPLES CZAR

[Hank in North Florida]

Yes Crist has a lot of money and is ahead in polls of all voters. This is a Primary fight, GOP only. Look at likely GOP voters and you will see it is much closer; the last one I saw was Crist ahead by 2 points. These straw polls are an important indicator as these REC members are the grassroots who walk the neighborhoods and do the phone calls locally. They will gather the volunteers to help with these activities. The money will come as it is very early to most people but they are plenty agitated with this President and Congress. Rubio support will grow as we get the word out and hopefully we can remove RINO Crist from public office. His appointment of Lemieux was a sham. Greer will be in trouble when his Crist Cover is removed. We need to get the North Florida County REC's to hold a Straw Poll as well. This is not eating your own this is the way the process should work so the party voters elect the candidate they want. Otherwise we get the pathetic politicians like McCain, Sen. Martinez and maybe Crist that are anointed by Wash DC or State Party leaders. Very disappointed in Sen. Cornyn and Sen. McConnell immediately supporting CRIST THE RINO. This is a major reason why the party got its butt kicked in 2006 and 2008 as we did not real Republicans standing up to the Spending and other Fed government intrusion into our lives. Bush should have vetoed many spending bills and never passed Prescription entitlement or any of the asinine stimulus or TARP bills. NOTE the Democrats owned spending since 2007, it starts there and he should have vetoed everything he could until they put a reasonable bill forward. The GOP Congress should have stood up to President Bush on the spending which is a tough act challenging your Party Leader. Bush was not a true conservative and we the grassroots put him in. I preferred Cheney to run for President. So we suffer at the polls as there was "no perceived difference", also McCain never fought Obama and ran a Democrat light campaign, real base never worked for him, Palin made it close and he threw her under the bus. The MSM lied and fought for Obama and still does. McCain needs to be replaced. So now we sit on the sidelines and wonder what happened. Easy, Democrat light never works, so I say lets clear the deck of RINO's and put Conservative Republicans back in Congress and in all the state and local offices. Florida is a conservative GOP state and Crist and Greer need to be replaced ASAP through the political process. Marco Rubio and Bob Smith are the Conservative Republicans.
Crist publicly stated he would have supported the Stimulus bill in the Senate just like Specter. Crist vetoed Property Insurance reform that would have started getting the FLORIDA taxpayer out of the insurance business that should never happened in the first place. Crist believes in Global Warming and held meetings so he is a Cap and Trade supporter by default. He shut down coal plants in Florida and believes in the Green crap. He is a big government proponent by his associations and positions.

[Orson Taylor]

Charlie has a lot better tan than Marco and he needs to get out of Dodge before there is a major hurricane. His dreadfully incompetent handling of the Citizen's Insurance issue has yet to surface. But it will, and when it does Charlie's career is toast. But he'll still have a nicer tan and if he gets to D.C. he'll be closer to the Missus in New York.

[Randall Stevens]

Interesting thing going on... Charlie had to make a choice from the get-go... to attempt to participate or ignore the straw polls... given his positions on some issues, and the general perception that straw polls don't mean much... the decision was probably good...

The only problem Charlie now faces is that if Rubio gets within 10 points of him, he will need to reach out to the very people that have been voting against him, which will just further what most of us already know - he panders...

Add in that at that point, he will be lending credibility to Rubio, he really is in a catch 22...

Charlie's campaign has some tough choices at this point... but my guess is, there will be some vague 527 group created to begin questioning and bashing Rubio... and that will happen when/if Rubio gets within 15 points of Charlie... ultimately allowing Charlie to wash his hands of any negativity...

[A Republican for US Senate]

But you should have heard that lying RINO, Crist talking to the NFRW convention! He told Republicam women from all over the country all about the drop in proparty taxes and insurance rates... and, on yes, how he is sooo touch on crime. He forgot to tell them how he gave convicted felons the right to vote automatically.

[Senator Rubio in '10]

Everyone who believes in and appreciates preserving the core fundamentals of the Republican Party loves Marco Rubio, he is the real deal.

[Crist hating is ridiculous]

I don't get Republicans, even though I am one. Charlie Crist has been a decent governor, and here comes this Rubio guy telling conservatives how conservative he is and this and that and what has he actually done? Seems like another attempt to "purify" the party...guess what? If we don't have moderates voting for our guy, we won't win elections.

[Accountability]

12:09, how can you defend your statement that "Crist has been a decent governor?"

I would like for you to really try to defend that comment and provide concrete examples of Governor Crist's accomplishments as Governor.

Secondly, this isn't about who is more conservative, this is about holding elected officials accountable. Governor Crist has broken promise after promise to the people of Florida. Accountability and honesty should be the first measure by which a candidate is judged. Based on this measure alone, Crist has been a failure.

I'm supporting Marco Rubio, not because I "hate" Crist, but rather because I believe Rubio's values and his record are superior to Crist's. In addition, I believe Crist has disqualified himself from further public service due to his record as Governor. Lastly, I believe Governor Crist is a symptom of the greater disease which has infected politics in our nation. He is a career politician who seems more interested in his personal successes than in truly serving the public. It is time to stop rewarding career politicians and start holding them, Republican, Democrat, or independent, accountable.

I don't hate Charie Crist, I just think Florida can do better.

[Rob]

"Cist has been a decent governor"....HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAH

and I'm a Republican !

[XX]

Accountability (1:34p), well said!

[GOP SUPER VOTER]

The members of the REC's represent their counties. Pinellas county is a moderate county but us Republicans in this county know Crist better than any other county since he grew up here. Pasco(next door) 73-9, Hernando(two counties away, but in Tampa Bay) 46-0!! and Palm Beach soon to come with Hillsbourgh soon there after, then what. These REC members are not the fringe-THEY ARE THE PARTY! Pinellas is scheduled to hold a straw poll in December and thats Crist's home county. What if Rubio can win in Pinellas, then what will you nay-sayers do; just say that all of us,are fringe people too. Bye the way in 2006 this same REC group voted to endorse Crist unanimmously in the primary and gave him $50,000 to boot. Well now I think he will still get the boot.
Go Rubio!!!!!!!

[GOP SUPER VOTER]

The members of the REC's represent their counties. Pinellas county is a moderate county but us Republicans in this county know Crist better than any other county since he grew up here. Pasco(next door) 73-9, Hernando(two counties away, but in Tampa Bay) 46-0!! and Palm Beach soon to come with Hillsbourgh soon there after, then what. These REC members are not the fringe-THEY ARE THE PARTY! Pinellas is scheduled to hold a straw poll in December and thats Crist's home county. What if Rubio can win in Pinellas, then what will you nay-sayers do; just say that all of us,are fringe people too. Bye the way in 2006 this same REC group voted to endorse Crist unanimmously in the primary and gave him $50,000 to boot. Well now I think he will still get the boot.
Go Rubio!!!!!!!

[GOP SUPER VOTER]

The members of the REC's represent their counties. Pinellas county is a moderate county but us Republicans in this county know Crist better than any other county since he grew up here. Pasco(next door) 73-9, Hernando(two counties away, but in Tampa Bay) 46-0!! and Palm Beach soon to come with Hillsbourgh soon there after, then what. These REC members are not the fringe-THEY ARE THE PARTY! Pinellas is scheduled to hold a straw poll in December and thats Crist's home county. What if Rubio can win in Pinellas, then what will you nay-sayers do; just say that all of us,are fringe people too. Bye the way in 2006 this same REC group voted to endorse Crist unanimmously in the primary and gave him $50,000 to boot. Well now I think he will still get the boot.
Go Rubio!!!!!!!

[Kaye Byrnes]

I pray that Rubio wins the GOP primary. Because the democrats and independent voters in Florida that sent Obama to the White House will turn out in full force to defeat a wingnut like Mario. He wouldn't stand a chance of replacing Mel Martinez. His foam at the mouth redneck base will love him, but he can't win the general election.

[GOP SUPER VOTER]

Crist 67% approvel rating among GOP voters? Poll done by Crists/Greer RPOF?
Who did they really poll?
VERY INTERESTING WOULDN'T YOU SAY-HMM

[Watchit]

Crist has allowed a bundler/donor to steal tax dollars. Stanaki Land Deal FCT Grant 08-004-ff8 . FCT approved a grant to pay Crist donor and bundler Mori Hosseini ( Same huy who is flying crist around in his jets but crist cannot produce proof he reimbursed him for the flights) 5.8 million for land the FDEP set a maximum approved purcase price of 3.6 milllion on!! Crist should be in prison next to Sansom.

[GOP SUPER VOTER]

Watchit

Please give you information to the media, they love to expose wrong doing by any elected person in power.

[Catherine]

Is Crist that tan all over or is it just his face and hands?

He reminds me of Bob Barker.

[Ted]

I feel that, barring some unforseen circumstance, Sarah Palin will secure the GOP POTUS Nomination in 2012.

If you agree -- or even if you don't -- I think some readers would be interested in knowing whether others share what is my view that Palin should appear in support of Marco Rubio in his GOP Primary candidacy for US Senate (FL) against Charlie Crist.

In the past, concerns were raised for Palin not to participate in the primaries or against Crist, for fears of alienation of some supporters and/or her previous commitments to Crist.

I think circumstances have changed (Rubio's current upward trajectory, Crist's error in failing to select a conservative temporarily to hold retiring Martinez's seat, Crist's previous support for and appearance with Obama coupled with Obama's downward trajectory).

Also, I've established a forum for exactly this topic in the event C4P feels this is jumping the gun.

See --

http://palinrubio12.blogspot.com/