Crist takes heat from Republicans for supporting stimulus package

[Political Tiger]

Charlie Crist: statesman or sellout?

Democrats may be lavishing praise on Florida's Republican governor for enthusiastically supporting the Democrats' economic stimulus package, but Republicans are questioning whether Crist damaged his future in national politics.

"I don't think he's helped any national Republican ambitions he may have by stepping up to the plate and batting for the other team. … There's a difference between working in a bipartisan way for the common good and switching sides and putting on the other team's jersey," said veteran Republican consultant Alex Castellanos. "At the one moment when we've finally found our voice and remember who we are as Republicans, Charlie Crist forgets. It's stunning."

Crist's full-throated support evoked a rare rebuke from one of his closest political allies, Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, who said on the Senate floor that Crist didn't get it.

"I don't know that my governor understands all the details of this package — that there will be nothing here to help with Florida's housing economy," Martinez said stressing the need for more tax cuts.

Crist acknowledged that he hasn't seen all the details, but said Florida needs federal help, period.

Still, he is way out of the Republican mainstream in supporting the $789 billion stimulus package that won just three Republican votes in the Senate and zero in the House. Even moderate Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire withdrew his nomination as President Obama's commerce secretary Thursday because he could not support the stimulus package.

"It certainly hurts Charlie Crist with the Republican base. … There's a lot of energy among Republicans across the country in opposition to this. The fury that I have seen directed against Arlen Specter and the two Maine ladies is amazing," Pat Toomey, president of the conservative Club for Growth, said, referring to the three Republican senators who voted for the package.

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"They may not be saying it outright, but the Republican delegation is very angry. If they got Charlie Crist in a dark alley, all you'd have left is a tuft of white hair," said Ana Navarro, a Republican consultant from Miami, suggesting Crist has dampened enthusiasm for a potential Senate run in 2010.

"I've gotten about four or five calls from national Republican donors saying, 'What is this guy doing? Is he really thinking of running for Senate?' " Navarro said. "We're going to spend 30 to 40 million dollars to get a Republican elected to that Senate seat, and we could end up with a guy who's going to be the 60th vote for Democrats."

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Just up the coast, at a Palm Beach County Republican Party meeting Wednesday night, one activist unsuccessfully pushed for a vote to censure Crist, according to the Palm Beach Post, which reported that his censure motion drew applause before being blocked on procedural grounds.

"You still have the same division in our party between the base who are extreme and the moderates who are interested in getting something done," said Republican operative and Crist supporter Roger Stone of Miami. "The extremists love purity. And they love losing elections."

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FULL STORY:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/article975544.ece