Just today, former Florida state House Speaker Marco Rubio, a conservative from Miami, has declared his candidacy for the Senate seat that will be vacated by Mel Martinez next year. According to this article he said that “the more Republicans become less distinguishable from Democrats, the less people will vote for Republicans… I don’t agree with the notion that to grow our party we need to become more like Democrats.” Amen. This could be a criticism is current Florida Governor Charlie Crist who was a vocal supporter of the massive spending contained in Obama’s Stimulus Package. Interestingly enough, Crist is expected to run for that same seat, though he has not announced his candidacy yet.

With Crist’s high popularity in Florida and name recognition it will be difficult for Rubio to secure the party’s nomination, but this race will give voters a chance to see a moderate who has sided with the president pitted against a more conservative candidate. Crist has been named the RINO of the Year in 2009 (so far) by conservative website Humanevents.com for giving in to Democrats’ opposition to the appointment of a conservative judge to the Florida Supreme Court. Crist also swam against the current and in spite of nearly universal rejection of Obama’s higher spending by Republicans, he actually stood by Obama and defended the stimulus. I completely disagree with Crist on this point. See this video:

This may come back to bite him especially since the mood of the GOP is strongly against taxes and spending. In this article he is being compared to Arlen Specter, who recently left the Republican party. Crist also opposes offshore drilling, not an unpopular position in Florida with its beautiful beaches. Add to that a new documentary that questions Crist’s sexuality, a rumor that seems unsubstantiated but won’t go away (various men have said that they know first-hand that Crist is gay). These rumors never cost him politically though, especially since Crist is strongly in favor of a Florida Defense of Marriage Act that makes marriage an institution between a man and a woman. The rest of his positions are pretty conservative, promising no new taxes, being pro-life, tough on crime, pro-second amendment, etc. He’s a tough guy to beat.

Crist has often appeared on the national stage with Arnold Schwarzenegger

Marco Rubio has guts to go up against a big name candidate like this, but the political process is all about choosing someone who will represent his or her constituents best. Rubio’s politics are easier to characterize, something that might end up working for him in the election. With respect to education he proposes making our current comprehensive tests reflect a world-class standard and incentivizing good student and school performance. He stands for transparency in government budgets. He advocates tough penalties for sex predators, for those enabling sex crimes, and to get tough on gangs and hate groups. Reduce the scope of government by privatizing certain services such as the Division of Drivers’ Licenses and to partner with private companies to improve roadways. Also is for lowering or eliminating taxes in order to stimulate the economy and communities. The list goes on and a lot of his ideas can be found here.

While I am not endorsing anyone yet, it looks like it might be a good race to watch. Good luck to both.

-AG