Jim DeMint backs Marco Rubio in Florida senate race

[ccharles000]

Conservative Sen. Jim DeMint’s backing of Marco Rubio in the Florida Senate race is the latest salvo in an internal Republican struggle over who will lead the way in salvaging the GOP’s damaged brand.


On Tuesday, the South Carolina Republican will endorse Rubio, a 38-year-old former state House speaker, bucking the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s endorsement of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a moderate who has periodically found himself at odds with right-wing elements of his party. National Republicans argue that the popular Crist is best positioned to ensure the critical seat stays in GOP hands at a time when Democrats have a stranglehold on power in Washington.


The move is not out of character for DeMint, who often finds himself at odds with GOP leaders over thorny political issues.


But DeMint has a significant grass-roots conservative following, and the fight speaks to the larger struggle over the GOP’s tent: Should it be big enough to include more moderate candidates who have a better chance of winning but stray from the party’s principles? Or should it be mainly limited to bedrock conservatives who would help the party return to its socially conservative and limited government roots?


http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23754.html

[DonCoquixote]

1. This is going to be ugly

On side one, you have Charlie Crist, someone who can paint himself as far to the left of those scary GOP types, after all, he took the stimulus money, (even though he used it to avoid raising taxes on the rich.) He will appeal to many who want the re-brand. He is charming, ecologically sound, an enemy of the Bushes, and even supposedly Gay. He also pretty stabbed many in the back by annihilating regulations on development and pushing for oil drilling off Florida. In the normal world, breaking promises to your voters would get you in trouble, but Charlie handed prizes to the oil industry, giving them more access then even Jeb did, and all but ensured the rich developers got exactly what they wanted. His coffers will be FULL. The developers know Charlie is the Golden Goose that lays their eggs.

On the OTHER hand, you have Marco Rubio, firm conservative and Cuban, who appeals to the people in the GOP who cannot STAND Charlie. They know that Charlie is an attempt to flee from the Christian Theocratic base. Keep in mind, Florida is full of huge Baptist Churches that want nothing less than complete domination over all spheres of life,and they are NOT going to let the GOP forget who gave them this state! I cannot stress enough how much the churches dominate the Florida GOP. Some of these churches are full out compounds complete with stadium. These are places that host people like Mike Huckabee, and where GOP candidates outright begin their election campaign. Add to this that many of the Florida locals elected Charlie because they thought he, being a local, would try to stem the growth and property taxes. He did not, instead, he follows his "idol" Arnold Schwarzenegger, and people are already seeing out fate in them. There is a LOT of bad blood between the disgruntled voters and Charlie, and it did not help that he broke yet another promise not to abandon the Governor's mansion to run for national office.

[DonCoquixote]

2. It will be ugly

But sorry to say, it could not happen to a nicer bunch of people.